hearts. In human governments appearances may deceive, while the heart is not the least touched. It therefore would be the height of absurdity, that sorrow should make atonement for offences, when we know not whether that sorrow be genuine or not. But if contrition, allowing it to be sincere, for breaking the laws of any government be sufficient to avert the stroke of justice, it would be proper, in such case, for the ruler to apprise his subjects of it, by an open declaration," that whoever shall be guilty of any offence, he shall be pardoned if he does but sincerely repent."-Now, who does not see that this would be giving licence to men to break the laws as often as they pleased, and that such conduct would overthrow every government human and divine ? The only effect sorrow for a crime can ever produce, is reformation and a return to obedience. But this, in the very nature of things, can never be an atonement for past offences; it may indeed prevent the commission of more crimes, but cannot be any satisfaction for those already perpetrated. A person who has plunged himself into debt, may be, and often is extremely sorry for it; and possibly may avoid extravagance for the future. But surely, Gentlemen, this sorrow, and subsequent economy, will never pay off his old debts, or satisfy the demands of his creditors. The utmost contrition that can be experienced is no compensation even for a private injury, much less for a public offence. In the case of a man robbed or murdered, whose wretched orphans are thrown upon the mercy of the world, will it be said, that the keenest pangs of sorrow the criminal can feel, will afford any satisfaction to the helpless children? Certainly not. The punishment of vice is a debt eternally due to public justice, which can be cancelled only by the sufferings of the offender, or an equivalent accepted by a sovereign whose laws are broken.* In human governments the power of dispensing with the laws in particular cases, is universally aknowledged to arise from the * See Dr. Price's Sermons, pag. 252, that there is in vice an intrinsic demerit, which, independently of consequences, makes punishment proper. weakness and imperfection of all human systems. It is properly remarked by Marquis Beccaria on crimes and punishments, that a perfect legislation excludes the idea of par doning or suspending the stroke of justice: and as the divine laws must necessarily be perfect (being the result of infinite wisdom) it clearly follows, there can be no such thing as a complete and total remission of the penalty, where they are broken. Either the offender himself must suffer the penalty, or some other person as a substitute; and there can be no reason why a sovereign may not accept the vicarious sufferings of a substitute, provided the infliction of the punishment upon him will answer the great end of public justice, support the rights of government, and deter others from disobedience to the law, Both human and divine laws constantly require suffering as the only atonement for transgressing them. The ideas of guilt and suffering are indissolubly associated in the human heart. The practice of all nations corroborates the reasoning now advanced; for in all ages and countries, mankind have had recourse to sacrifices in order to appease the Deity by the vicarious sufferings and blood of victims-an unequivocal proof that the voice of nature has uniformly demanded sufferings as the proper atonement of guilt, and that sorrow alone is not a sufficient expiation. From these observations we apprehend, that so far is the light of nature from teaching, that remission of punishment is the ne cessary consequence of repentance, that it teaches the contrary. This pillar of Deism must therefore fall to the ground. Infidelity can only be supported in two ways-one is, by asserting that there is no such thing as moral obligation; which no Deist is hardy enough to do the other is, by proving that sorrow for the violation of a law, is a suffici ent atonement, and that this is discoverable by the light of nature; which we hesitate not to say is utterly impossible, because repugnant to truth, reason, and the plain dictates of common sense. Revelation therefore is necessary to shew on what terms the Deity will pardon the violation of his laws. But it has been said, the Christian religion cannot be this revelation, because, in some things it is unintelligible and incomprehensible. '. It is so, Gentlemen: and were it not so, it would be unlike all the other works of the. Deity, and for that reason only, ought to be rejected as a mere human fabrication. Tell me, thou vain pretender to reason and philosophy! how yonder sun has continued for thousands of years to pour forth such stupendous floods of light without any perceptible diminution? or how its rays, darting with a velocity exceeding the motion of a cannon ball, can meet the eye without the smallest pain or injury?Tell me, why the purple stream that flows in thy veins, not only descends, but as cends, contrary to all the laws of motion Tell me why the magnetic needle points to the poles? and develope if thou canst, the causes of its variation ?Tell me by what finespun cords thy invisible spirit is united to matter, and how thy beating heart began its vital motion ?-Tell me Why the good man's share In life is gall and bitterness of soul?- * |