HE following little Essays, were drawn up ma THE ny years ago, partly as helps to moral and divine conference, in a religious society, and partly as the result of such conferences. They are generally the result of free, and pretty enlarged and com prehensive meditations on the subjects they treat of, and consist of such thoughts as occurred first and most obviously to the open mind, in its free and unfettered discursions on said subjects;....and they were meant merely as hints to start the conversation, and to keep it alive, and to the business in hand, that it might not deviate into wild and impertinent digressions. This will account for the nature and form of the Essays, which are very singular and uncommon. They consist of a number of loose, general, and often, unconnected aphorisms, or general maxims, commonly closed by some practical corollaries or inferences of the greatest moment. The primitive design of them, was to convey the most ample, general instruction to the mind on every subject treated of; yet so, as that instruction might exhaust the subject in miniature, as it were, or, in the narrowest compass consistent with perspicuity;....and that the method of explaining the subjects should be calculated, as much as possible, for affecting the heart by proper motives, and stirring up men to the diligent practice of the virtues and duties explained. And I hope the judicious and intelligent Christian reader will find, upon an attentive perusal of the Essays themselves, that they are not ill adapted to this purpose; excepting, perhaps, a few, which are more superficial than the rest. It had been easy to have filled up the skeletons of doctrine, and lengthened them out to the ordinary size of pulpit discourses. In this form they would have had, doubtless, many advantages which they are now necessarily deprived of: In this form, they would have admitted of connexion, argumentation, illustration, persuasion, pathos and all the graces and beauties of fine composition; whereas, their present form necessarily precludes these advantages. But on the other hand, in such a form, they would have been very voluminous and expensive: Few would have purchased them, and perhaps, fewer read them. The present volatile, irreligious taste, nauseates every thing prolix in divinity. Five or six pages of a religious book is as much as we can, in conscience expect, that a modern fine gentleman or lady. should read at one sitting. The taste of the times is, therefore, purposely consulted in the shortness of these Essays. A person of this squeamish disposition, may here read, in eight or ten minutes, some of the most important things which can be said on each of these subjects, without breaking off abruptly, in the midst of the sense, and losing the whole chain of connexion. Besides, if the Essays are tolerably executed on this plan, the doctrinal aphorisms contained in them, should be so plain and self-evident, as to supercede the necessity of arguments and illustrations; the practical corollaries should flow spontaneously and consequentially from these aphorisms, and the whole should be demonstratively built upon the scriptures referred to in the margin. After having humbly recommended these impet-. fect Essays to the public candor and indulgence, and implored the blessing of GOD upon them, for the general good; if I might presume to offer my advice to my fellow-creatures concerning the best way of using them,....it would be as follows: That they would read them, in their private and devout retirements, as hints for meditation on these important subjects, laying their minds open, without prejudice, to the influence of divine truth, and earnestly imploring the Father of lights to write these truths and vir tues with sun-beams upon their understanding; convey them warm to their hearts, and make them powerfully operative and influential on all the active pow ers and faculties of their nature. I have added the Sermons as some compensation to those who may dis-relish the dryness of many of The Essays. ESSAY 'I. CHAP. I. Of CONVERSION, or REGENERATION. 1. RELIGION being a character, must have a principle; and this princi ple must fupremely govern and predominate in the life. We do not call a man generous and friendly, unlefs generosity and friendship prevail in him above churlishnefs and unfriendlinefs, and are fixed principles in his nature. So it would be equally abfurd to call a man religious, only becaufe of the performance of a few outward religious duties, while the main of his temper and character is irreligious and immoral. He only deferves the character of being religious, who is fuch uniformly and predominantly, and in whom morality and religion is a prevailing and difcriminating character! 2. True religion, where it is, muft govern the man; and nothing can do this but an inward principle. Grace, which is this principle, muft oppofe corruption, and finally prevail over it. 3. The word of God, and indeed the B.. nature and reafon of things, place religion primarily and radically in the heart, and reprefent it as flowing thence into the life and converfation. The heart, as it is the fource and fountain of all external corruption, fo it must be of all true religion. The tree must first be made good before its fruit can be good A bitter or polluted fountain, cannot fend forth pure or fweet water. Men gather not grapes of thorns, nor figs of thiftles. Good principles are necessarily prerequifite to morally or formally good actions. Accordingly, the whole ftrefs is laid, in fcripture, upon heart-religion; or that which is feated and radicated in the heart, and proceeds from pure and right principles and motives there*. 4. As it has been the general opinion of mankind, as well as the voice of fcripture, that men are born into this world in a depraved, corrupt and irreligious ftate, with trong propenfities to vice, and a difinclination to that which appears to be virtuous and good, by the very law of their nature, written on their confcience, and manifested to them by their moral instinctive feelings; fo it has been generally thought the peculiar work of the Deity, the GoD and Father of men, to help them, by his grace and Spi *Prov. xxiii. 26. Ezek. xxxvi. 26.xviii. 31. Joel H. 12, 13. Pfal. li. and cxxxix. 1 Sam. xvi. 7. 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. Deut. xiii. 3. rit, to rife out of this ftate of depravity and corruption, and to turn to his obedience, favor and enjoyment, in the steep and narrow path of virtue and piety. This has ever been thought a care and work worthy of God the Father of fpirits, towards his human offspring; and even a heathen could fay, Nullus vir magnus unquam fuit, sine Divino afflatu. 5. Revelation reprefents this change wrought in finners by GoD, under the terms conversion*; repentance; regeneration being born of GOD; created in Christ Fesus**; having a new hearttt; a divine nature putting off the old man, and putting on the new, and the like. 6. Our Lord ftrongly expreffes both the nature and necessity of this change in fin ners, by telling them, That unless they are born again of water, and of the Spirit,and are converted, they not only shall not, but even cannot, enter into the kingdom of beaven***. 7. Granting thefe expreffions of a new birth by the Spirit, and a becoming new *Matth. xviii. 34 Acts iii. 19. Ezek. xxxiii. 11. + Ifa. Iv. 7, Luke xiii. 5. Titus iii. 5 || John i. 13. I John v. 18: **Eph. ii. to. 2 Cor. v. 17. ++ Ezek xxxvi. 25-28. Pfal. li. # Pet. i. 4. Eph. iv. 22, 25. ** John-iii. 3.-6. Matth. xviii. 3. Luke siii. 5, |