tives which, however they may have been varied in the expreffion, have been the intention and foundation of all laws whatfoever, human as well as divine; life and good," the reward of obedience ; and "death and evil," the punishment of disobedience.

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No law-giver could ever expect any good effect from his inftitution, upon any other footing; and therefore all have built upon this; and what makes one fet of laws more binding than another, chiefly confifts in the greatness and certainty of the fanction. I fay, chiefly, because a vast deal of the credit of any body of laws depends upon the character and example of the lawgiver himfelf; and other circumstances which

con

contribute to the raising and establishing his facred credit and authority: these are the means to introduce laws to the approbation of any people, and to engage their reception of them. But what must enforce their obedience to them, when approved and received, must be the fanction with which they are guarded, which can be no other than the hope of reward," and the fear

of punishment:" And this reward and punishment must be both great and certain; otherwife, how wholefome foever the laws might appear, and how facred foever the person. and character of the law-giver; yet they would be too uninteresting (without fuch fanction) to influence the general practice.

I fhall

I fhall not therefore insist on our faviour's fuperiority to all other legiflators in point of dignity of perfon, unerring example, and the morality of his inflitution: but, as the text directs me, and what is indeed the ground of our obedience, on the greatness and certainty of the chriftian fanction compared with the mofaic; neglecting all other inftitutions as unworthy to fland in competition with thofe two, which alone, and undoubtedly proceeded from divine revelation, or rather from the mouth of God himself; and are express declarations of his will.

What fhews at once the fpecific difference between the difpenfation of Mofes, and that of Jefus Chrift,

is

is this; the former being intended to prepare a single nation for the temporal poffeffion of an earthly country, and to laft only a determinate time; 'till a more illuftrious law-giver should appear, and a better law be given: The latter is intended to prepare all the nations in the world for the poffeffion of the heavenly Canaan; was given by the creator of all things; being a full revelation of his will, excludes a better, and will last to the end of time. The ordinances of the one being carnal and temporary, required only a temporal fanction : those of the other being spiritual and of eternal obligation, as certainly require fpiritual, and eternal rewards and punishments.

"Life and good," on the one hand, and " death and evil," on the other, are set before the eyes of both Jew and Chriftian. But what was this life promised to the obedient Jew, who fhould walk in all the ordinances of the law blameless? No longer than threefcore and ten, or fourscore years; the period to which fome few arrive in this distant age of the world. Or, fuppofing that the inftances of this kind were in those days more numerous, or under God's peculiar bleffings, even general; yet fince they muft die at laft, though they held out to the age of Methusalem, and enjoyed all the while the most perfect health and vigour of body and mind; yet fill without the expectation of another life even nine centuries