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SERMON I.

RELIGION IN MAN A RATIONAL AND VOLUNTARY SERVICE.

LUKE xii. 56.

Ye can discern the face of the sky, and of the earth; but how is it, that ye do not discern this time?

JESUS Christ, in the establishment of his religion, did not adopt measures of compulsion. He taught men every essential religious truth, propounded laws for the government of their conduct, and addressed them with the most persuasive mo-. tives. He then left men to act freely, that the happiness of his disciples might be the reward of obedience, which flows from an enlightened mind and a teachable temper.

Our Saviour exhibited the clearest proof of a divine mission. By his life, he displayed the moral worth of his character. To the Jews he stated, that in him their prophecies were fulfilled: in the presence of those who followed him, he wrought miracles; and he called on his countrymen to examine his doctrines, to reflect on his works, and to weigh the actions of his life; and for themselves

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determine, whether they might not confidently receive his communications, obey his precepts, and rely on his promises.

This is the substance of the appeal in our text. In the previous verses, Jesus had observed to those who accompanied him, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, there cometh a shower, and so it is; and when ye perceive the south wind to blow, ye say, there will be heat, and it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites! ye can discern the face of the sky, and of the earth; but how is it, that ye do not discern this time? From usual appearances, you form a correct judgment of the effects of natural principles; why do ye not seriously attend to the moral dispensations of God, and, by the evidence produced, become satisfied of the divine origin of the doctrines I inculcate? In our subsequent context, our Saviour prefaces a case of moral duty with the question, Why, even of yourselves, judge ye not what is right? It is then evident, that Christ recognized powers in man to judge of the evidence on which his religion is founded, and to perceive that his instructions are, conformable to the unchangeable laws of truth and rectitude.

A number of important inferences may be drawn from this appeal of our Saviour to the human mind.

1. Religion in man is a rational and voluntary service.

God has imparted to man the attributes of reason and liberty. These constitute him the subject of a moral government, and make him capable of vir tuous action. Take away these faculties, and he

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