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SERM. VII. Thankfulnefs for Mercies received, a neceflary Duty. A Farewel Sf:rmon, preached on board the Whita-ker, at Anchor near Savannah, in Georgia, Sunday, May 17,

1738.

Psalm cvii. 30, 31. Then arc they glad^ bccaufe they arc at rejl^ and fo he bringeth them unto the haven ivhere they would be. O that men luould therefore praife the Lord for his gcodnefs^ and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men! — — — — p. 94*

S E R M. VIII. The Neceffity and Benefits of Religious So-

ciety. jvi^/ac^vv Of<otcb^\o '^•oOA^c^

EcCLEs. iv. 9, 10, II, 12. Turn are better than oncy bccaufe they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall^ the one will lift up his fellow : but zuoe be to him that is alone when he falleth ; for he hath not another to help him up, Again^ if two lie together^ then they have heat ; but how can one be warm alone ? And if one prevail again ft him^ two fjall with/land him ; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. p. 107

$ERM. IX. The Folly and Danger of not being righteous enough.

EcCLEs. vii. 16. Be not righteous over-much^ neither make thyfelf over-wife: why JhouUjl thou dejlroy thyfelf? P* 123

$ERM. X. A Prefervative againft unfettled Notions, and want of Principles, in regard to Righteoufnefs and Chrif-tian Pcrfe6lion. Being a more particular Anfwer to Dodor Trapp's four Sermons upon the fame Text.

EccLEs. vii. 16. Be not righteous over-much., neither make thy-feif over-wife : why Jhouldji thou dejlroy thyfelf? p. 143

3ERM. XL The Benefits of an early Piety. Preached at Bow Church, London, before the Religious Societies.

EccLEs. xii. I. Reincmber now thy Creator in the clays of thy youth.

SERM. XII. Chrift the Believer's Hufband.

Isaiah liv. 5. For thy Maker is thy hufband. V'^1^

* SERM. XIII. The Potter and the Clay*

Jer, xviii. I—6. The word ivhich came to feremiah from the Lord., faying., Arife and go down to the potter s houfe^ and there I will caufe thee to hear my words. Then I went dozun to the potter's houfe, and behold^ he wrought a work on the wheels.

And

jJnd the vejfel that he made of cloy was marred in the hands of the potter^ fo he made it again another vejfel, as feemed good to the potter to make it. Then the tvord of the Lord came to me^ fa\ing, O houfe of IfraeU cannot I do zuith you as this potter P faith the Lord. Behold^ as the cjay is in the potter''s hand.^ fo are ye in mine handy 0 houfe of Ifrael. — P- ^97

SERM. XIV. The Lord our Righteoufners. Jer. xxiii. 6. The Lord our righteoufnefs, p. 2l6

-){e SERM. XV. The R^ighteoufnefs of Chriftan everlafting Righteournefs.

Dan. ix. 24. Jnd to bring in everlafiing righteoufnefs. p. 235

SERM. XVI. The Obfervation of the Birth of Chrlft, the Duty of all Chriilians j or the true Way of keeping Chriftmas.

Matthew i. 21. And Jhe Jhall bring forth a fon, and thou fialt call his name Jefus: for he fiiall fave his people from their fins. — — — — P" 251

% SERM. XVII. The Temptation of Chrifl.

Matt. iv. i —11. Then vjas Jefus led up of the fpirit into the luildernefs^ to he tempted of the devil, i^c. p. 262

SERM. XVIII. The Heinous Sin of profane Curfing and Swearing.

Matt. v. 34. But I fay unto you, Swear not at all, p. 276

SERM. XIX. Chrift the Support of the Tempted. Matt. vi. 13. Lead us not ijito temptation, p. 287

SERM. XX. Worldly Bufinefs no Plea for the Negled of Religion. Matt. viii. 22. Let the dead bury their dead, p. 299

SERM. XXI. Chrift the only Reft for the Weary and Heavy Laden.

Matt. xi. 28. Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rejl. — — P* 3^8

SERM. XXII. The Folly and Danger of parting with Chrift for the Pleafures and Profits of Life.

Matt. viii. 23, to the End. Jnd when he ivas entered into a Jhip,his difciples foUoivedhiwy ipc — P- 3^9

SERM.

* SERM. XXIII, Marks of a True ComTrfion. Matt, xviii. 3. Verily^ I fay ur.to you^ except ye be convertedy and become as little ckildren, ye fnall riot enter iJito the k'lngnoni of heaven, — — —■ P« 3^^

SERM. XXIV. What think ye of Chrift ?

Matt. xxii. 42. JVhat think ye of Chrijl ? — p. 353

SERM. XXV. The wife and foolifti Virgins.

Matt. xxv. 13. Watch therefore^ fi^ y^ know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of man comcth. P* 373

SERM. XXVI. The Eternity of Hell-Torments. Matt. xxv. 46. Thefe Jhallgo aivay into everlajiing punijhment^

P- 392 SERM. XXVII. Blind Bartimeus.

Mark x. 52. And fefus faid unto him^ Go thy way ; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his ftght^ and followed Jefus in the way. — — P« 404

SERM. XXVIII. Diredtions how to hear Sermons. Luke viii. 18. Take heedy therefore^ how ye hear, p. 418

SERM. XXIX. The Extent and Reafonablenefs of Self-Denial.

Luke ix. 23. And he /aid unto them all^ If any man will come after me^ let him deny himfelf — — p. 428

^ SERM. XXX. Chrift's Transfiguration.

Luke ix. 28—36. And it came to pafs about an eight days after theje fayings^ he took Peter and fohn and fames^ and went up into a mountain to pray^ i^c. — p. 440

SERM. XXXI. The Care of the Soul urged as the one thing needful.

Luke x. 42. But one thing is needful, — p. 456

S E R M O N

SERMON I.

The Seed of the Woman, and the Seed of the Serpent.

Genesis hi. 15.

And I will put Enmity between thee and the Woman^ and between thy Seed and her Seed j it JJiall bruife thy Head^ and thoujlialt bruife his Heel,

ON reading to you thefe words, I may addrefs you in the language of the holy angels to the fhepherds, that were watching their flocks by night; "Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy.'' For this is the firft promife that was made of a Saviour to the apoftate race of Adam. We generally look for Christ only in the New Teftament; but chriftianity, in one fenfe, is very near as old as the creation. It is wonderful to obferve how gradually God revealed his Son to mankind. He began with the promife in the text, and this the eledl lived upon, till the time o^ Abraham. To him, God made further difcoverles of his eternal council concerning man's redemption. Afterwards, at fundry times, and in divers manners, God fpoke to the fathers by the prophets, till at length the Lord Jesus himfelf was manifeftcd in flefli, and came and tabernacled amongft us.

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This fird promifc muft ccrcainly be but dark to our flrft parents, in comparifon oi that great light which we enjoy : An J yet, dark as it was, wc may affure Gurfelves ihey built upon it their hopes of eveilaftiii^ falvution, and by that faith were faved.

How they came to (land in need of this proniifc, and what is the extei.t ar.d meaning of it, I intend, God w'.Iling, to make the fubjciSt-marier of your prefent meditation.

The fall of man is writ'cn in too legible characters not to be under flood : Thofe that d. ny it, by their denying, prove it. The very heathens confeficd, and bewailed it : They could fee the ilreams of corruption riinning through the whole race of mankind, but could not trace them to the fountain-head. Before God gave a revelation of his Son, man v/as a riddle to hinifelf. And Mofcs unfolds more, in this one chapter (out of which the text is taken) than all mankind could have been capable of finding out of them-felves, though they had ftudicd to all eternity.

In the preceding chapter he had given us a full account, how God fpoke the woild into being; and efpecially how he formed man of the duft of the earth, and breathed into him the breath of life, fo that he became a living foul. A council of the Trinity was called concerning the formation of this lovely creature. The refult of that council was, " Let us make m.an in our image, after our likenefs. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him.*' Mcfis remarkably repeats thefe words, that we might take paiticular notice of our divine Original. Never was fo much cx.^refTed in fo few words : None but a man infpired could have done fo. But it is remarkable, that though Mofcs mentions our being made in the imag- of God, yet he mentions it but twice, and that in a tranficnt manner; as though he would have faid, " man was made in honour, God made " him upright, ' in the image of Gop, male and female *' created he them.' But man fo fbon fell, and became like " the be«iiis that ptrifn, nay, like the devil himfeif, that it is " fcarcc worth mentioning."

Flow foon man fell af.er he was created, is not told us; and therefore, to fix any time, is to be wife above what is written. And, I think, they who fuppofe that man fell the

fame

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fame day In which he v/as made, hnve rto fufncicnt ground for their opinion. The many things which are croucled together in the former chapter, fuch as the formation of AcL'un's wife, his giving names to the heads, and his being put into the garden which God had planted, I think require a longer fpace of time than a day to be tranfa6led in. However, all a2;ree in this, '' man i^ood not long." How long, or how (hort a while, I will not take upon me to determine. It more concerns us to enquire, how he came to fall from his ftedfaft-nefs, and what was the rife and progrefs of the temptation which prevailed over him. The account given us in this chapter concerning it, is very full ; and it may do us much fervice, under God, to make fome remarks upon it.

" Now the ferpent (fays the facred hiftorian) was more fubtile than any beaft of the field which the Lord God had made ; and he faid unto the woman, Yea, hath God faid, ye Oiall not eat of every tree of the garden ?"

Though this v/as a real ferpent, yet he that fpoke was no other than the devil; from hence, perhaps, called the old ferpent, becaufe he took pofleflion of the ferpent v/hen he came to beguile our firft parents. The devil envied the hap-pinefs of man, who was made, as fome think, to fupply the place of the fallen angels. God made man upright, and with full power to ftand if he would : He was j^ft, therefore, in fuffcring him to be tempted. If he fell, he had no one to blame except himfelf. But hov/ m.uft fatan effect his fall.? He cannot do it by his power, he attempts it therefore by policy : he takes pofieflion of a ferpent, which was more fubtile than all the beafls of the field, v/hich the Lord God had made ; fo that men who are full of fubtilry, but have no piety, are only machines for the devil to work upon, juft as he pleafes.

" And he faid unto the wom.an." Here is an inflance of his fubtilty. He fays unto the woman, the weaker vefTcI, and when fne was alone from her hufband, and therefore was more liable to be overcome; " Yea, hath God faid, ye fhall not cat of every tree of the garden ?" Thcfc words a;e certainly fpoken in anfwer to fomething which the devil either faw or heard. In all probability, the woman was now near the tree of knovv'ledge of good and evil ; (for we fliall find

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her, by and by, plucking an apple from it) perhaps (he might be looking at, and wondering what there was in that tree more than the others, that flie and her hufband (hould be forbidden to tafte of it. Satan feeing this, and coveting to draw her into a parley with him, (for if the devil can per-fuade us not to refift, but to commune with him, he hath gained a great point) he fays, *' Yea, hath God faid, ye fhall not eat of every tree in the garden ?" The firft thing he does is to perfuade her, if pofTible, to entertain hard thoughts of God; this is his general way of dealing with God's children: *' Yea, hath God faid, ye fhall not eat of every tree of the ** garden ? What! hath Gcd planted a garden, and placed *' you in the midft of it, only to teaze and perplex you ? hath *' he planted a garden, and yet forbid you making ufe of any *' of the fruits of it at aU ?" It was impoffible for him to afk a more infnaring queftion, in order to gain his end : For Eve was here feemingly obliged to anfwer, and vindicate CjOd's goodncfs. And therefore,—

Verfe 2, 3. The woman faid unto the ferpent, " We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden : But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midft of the garden, God hath faid, ye (liall not eat of it, neither (hail ye touch it, left ye die."

The former part of the anfwer was good, " We may eat *' of the fruit of the trees of the garden, God has not forbid *' us eating of every tree of the garden. No; we may eat *' of the fruit of the trees in the garden (and, it (hould feem, " even of the tree of life, which was as a facrament to man *' in a ftate of innocence) there is only one tree in the midft ** of the garden, of which God hath faid, ye fliall not cat of *' it, neither fhall ye touch it, left ye die." Here (he begins to warp, and fin begins to conceive in her heart. Already ftie has contradled fome of the ferpent's poifon, by talking with him, v/hich flic ought not to have done at all. For flie might eafily fuppofe, that it could be no good being, that could put fuch a queftion unto her, and infmuate fuch dif-honournble thoughts of God. She fliould therefore have fled from hirn, and not ftood to have parleyed with him at all. Immediately the ill efFedts of it appear, (he begins to foftcn the divine threatning. God had faid, *' the day thou eateft thereof, iron flmlt[urel^ da \,'^ «r, dyin^ thou (halt die. But

Eve 3

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Eve fays, " Ye fhall not eat of it, neither fhall ye touch It, hj} ye die.'' We may be aflured we are fallen Into, and becrin to fall by temptation, when we begin to think God will not be as good as his word, in refped to the execution of his threatnings denounced againfl; fin. Satan knew this, and therefore artfully

" Said unto the woman, (ver. 4.) Ye {hall not furely die,'* in an infinuating manner, *' Ye fhall not furely die. Surely, *' God will not be fo cruel as to damn you only for eating *' an apple, it cannot be.'* Alas! how many does Satan lead captive at his will, by flattering them, that they (hall not furely die; that hell-torments will not be eternal; that GoD is all mercy; that he therefore will not puni{h a few years fin with an eternity of mifery ? But Eve found God as good as his word j and fo will all they who go on in fin, under a falfe hope that they fhall not furely die.

We may alfo underftand the words fpokcn pcfitively, and this is agreeable to what follows ; You fhall"not furely die; *' It is all a delufion, a mere bugbear, to keep you in a fervils " fubjeaion."

For (ver. 5.) " God doth know^ that in the day ye cat thereof, then fhall your eyes be opened, and ye fhall be as gods, knowing good and evil."

What child of GoD can expe£l to efcape flander,- whe^ God himfelf was thus flandered even in paradife ? Surely the underftanding of Eve muft have been, in fome meafure, blinded, or fhe would not have fuffered the tempter to fpeak fuch perverfe things. In what odious colours is God here reprefented ! '' God doth know, that in the day ye eat thcrc-" of, ye fiiail be as gods,'* (equal with Gos.) So that the grand temptation was, that they fliould be hereafter under no controul, equal, if not fuperior, to God that made them, knowing good and evil. Eve could not tell what Satan meant by this 5 but, to be fure, fhe underftood it of fome great privilege which they were to enjoy. And thus Satan now points out a way which feems right to finners, but does not tell them the end of that way is death.

To give lUength and force to this temptation, in all probability, Satan, or the ferpent, at this time plucked an apple frqm the tree, and ate it before Eve \ by which Eve might

A 4 be

be Induced to think, that the fagacity and power of fpcech, U'hich the fcrpent had above the other beads, mud be owing, in a great meafarc, xo his eating that fruit; and, therefore, if he received fo much improvement, {he might alfo expert a like benefit from it. All this, I think, is clear; for, other-wife, I do not fee with what propriety it could be faid, *' When the woman faw that it was good for food." How could {lie know it was good for food, unlefs {lie had feen the ferpent feed upon it?

Satan now begins to get ground apace. Luft had conceived in Ev'e^s heart; {hortly it will bring forth fin. Sin being conceived, brings forth death. Verfe 6. *' And when the woman faw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleafant lo the eyes, and a tree to be defired to make one wife, {he took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave alfo unto her hufband, and he did eat."

Our fer.fcs arc the landing ports of our fpiiitual enemies. How needful is that ie(olution of holy Jobj " I have made a covcinant with mine cycb !*' When Eve began to gaze on the forbidden fruit with her eyes, fhe foon began to long after it with her heart. When llie faw that it was good for food, and pleafant to the eyes, (here was the lull oi the flefn, and lull of the eye) but, above all, a tree to be defired to make one wife, vviier than God Vv'ould have her be, nay, as wife as God himfc:ir; (he took of the fruit thereof, and gave alfo unto her huHiind with her, and he did eat. As foon as ever fhe finned he! Telf, (he turned tempter to her hufoand. It is dreadful, when thofe, who fnouM be help-meets for each ether in the great work of their falvation, are only promoters of each othci's damnation : but thus it is. If we ourfelves are good, we {hA\ excite others to goodnefs; if we do evil, we fhall ei:tiee others to do evil alfo. There is a clofe con-reclion between doing and teachitig. Hov/ needful then is it for us all to take heed that Vv^e do not fin any way ourfelves, Icil: we fhould become fadlors for thic devil, ovA infnare, perhaps, o'.r neareft and deareft relatives? " (he gave alfo unto her hufbjnd v.'ith h^r, and he did eat."

Alas I v.'hat a c; n-iication of crimes was there in this one fingle a6\ of fin ! iicic ?;, an utter di(belief of God's threat-ning; the utmoft ingracicudc to their Maker, who had fo

lately

htcly planted this garden, and placed them in It, with fuch a glorious and comprehcnfive charter. And, the utmoft neg-le6l of their pofterity, who they knew were to (land or h\l with them. Here was the utmoft pride of heart: they wanted to be equal with God. Here's the utmoft contempt put upon his threatning and his law : the devil is credited and obeyed before him, and all this only to fatisfy their fenfual appetite. Never was a crime of fuch a complicated nature committed by any here below: Nothing but the devil's apoftafy and rebellion could equal it.

And what are the confequences of their difobedience ? Are their eyes opened ? Yes, their eyes are opened ; but, alas ! it is only to fee their own nakednefs. For we are told (ver. 7.) *' That the eyes of them both were opened, and they knev/ that they were naked." Naked of God, naked of every thing that was holy and good, and deftitute of the divine image, which they before enjoyed. They might rightly now be termed Ichabod; for the glory of the Lord departed from them. O how low did thefe fons of the morning then fall 1 out of God, into themfelves; from being partakers of the divine nature, into the nature of the devil and the beaft. Well, therefore, might they know that they were naked, not only in body, but in foul.

And how do they behave now they are naked ? Do they flee to God for pardon ? Do they feek to God for a robe to cover their nakednefs ? No, they were now dead to God, and became earthly, fenfual, devilifti : therefore, inftead of applying to God for mercy, " they fewed or platted fig-leaves together, and made themfelves aprons," or things to gird about them. This is a lively reprefentation of all natural men : we fee that we are naked: we, in fome meafure, confefs it; but, inftead of looking up to God for fuccour, we patch up a rlghteoufncfs of our own (as our firft-parents platted fig-leaves together) hoping to cover our nakednefs by that. But our righteoufnefs will not ftand the fcverity of God's judgment: it will do us no more fervice than the flyleaves did JJ.-im and Eve, that is, none at all.

For (ver. 8.) '* They heard the voice of the Lord Cjod

walking in the trees of the garden, in the cool of the day;

and Adam and his wife (notvvithilanJing their fi^-lcaves)

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hid thcmfclvcs from the prefence of the Lord God, among the trees of the garden."

They heard the voice of the Lord God, or the Word of the Lord God, even the Lord Jesus Christ, who is *' the word that was with God, and the word that was God." They heard him walking in the trees of the garden, in the cool of the day. A feafon, perhaps, when Adam and ^ve ufed to go, in an efpecial manner, and offer up an even-ing-facrifice of praife and thankfgiving. The cool of the day. Perhaps the fin was committed early in the morning, or at noon; but God would not come upon them immediately, he ilaid till the cool of the day. And if we would effedually reprove others, we fhould not do it when they are warmed with palTion, but wait till the cool of the day.

But what an alteration is here ! Inftead of rejoicing at the voice of their beloved, inflead of meeting him with open arms and inlarged hearts, as before, they now hide themfelves in the trees of the garden. Alas, what a foolifli attempt was this ? Surely they muft be naked, otherwifc how could they think of hiding themfelves from God ? Whither could they flee from his prefence ? But, by their fall, they had contradled an enmity againft God : they now hated, and were afraid to converfe with God their Maker. And is not this our cafe by nature? AfTuredly it is. We labour to cover our naked-nefs with the fig-leaves of our own righteoufnefs: We hide ourfelves from God as long as we can, and will not come, and never fhould come, did not the Father prevent, draw, and fweetly conflrain us by bis grace, as he here prevented Adam,

Verfe 9. " And the T-crd God called unto Jdam^ and faid unto him, Adam^ where art thou :"

" The Lord God called unto Adam^^ (for othcrwife Adam would never have called unto the IvORD God) and faid, '* Adamy where art thou ? How is it that thou conleft " not to pay thy devotions as ufual ?" Chriftians, reniCmber the Lord keeps an account when you fail coming to worfiiip. Whenever therefore you are tempted to withhold your attendance, let each of you fancy you heard the Lord God calling unto you, and faying, " O man, O woman, where art thou ? It may be undeiilood in another and belter fenfe ;

'^ Adaniy

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** Adam^ where art thou ?" What a condition is thy poor foul in? This is the iirfl thing the Lord aflcs and convinces a finner of; when he prevents and calls him efTcdlually by his grace ; he alfo calls him by name; for unlefs God fpeaks to us in particular, and we know where we are, how poor, how miferable, how blind, how naked, we {hall never value the redemption wrought out for us by the death and obedience of the dear Lord Jesus. " Adam^ where art thou ?'*

Verfe lO. " And he faid, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid." See what cowards fin makes us, IF we knew no fin, we fhould know no fear. " Becaufe I was naked, and I hid myfelf." Ver. ii. "And he faid, who told thee that thou waft naked ? Haft thou eaten of the tree, whereof I (thy Maker and Law-giver) commanded thee, that thou (houldft not eat ?"

God knew very well that Adam was naked, and that he had eaten of the forbidden fruit. But God would know it from Adam's own mouth. Thus God knows all our necef-fities before we afk, but yet infifts upon our a(king for his grace, and confefling our fins. For, by fuch ads, we acknowledge our dependence upon God, take lliame to gurfelves, and thereby give glory to his great name.

Verfe 12. '' And the man faid, the woman which thou gaveft to be with me, fhe gave me of the tree, and I did eat."

Never was nature more lively delineated. See what pride Adam contraded by the fall ! How unv/illing he is to lay the blame upon, or take fhame to himfelf. This anfwer is full of infolence towards God, enmity againfl: his wife, and difin-genuity in refpetSl to himfelf. For herein he tacitly reflecf^s upon God. " The woman that thou gaveft to be with me." As much as to fay, if ihou hadft not given me that womavy I had not eaten the forbidden fruit. Thii-, when men fin, they lay the fault upon their pafTions; then blame and reflect upon God for giving them thofe pafTions. Their language is, *' the appetites that thou gaveft us, they deceived us; anj " therefore we finned againft thee." Bur, as God, notwith-ftanding, puniftied Adam for hearkning to the voice of his wife, fo he will punifh thof^" who hearken to the di.T-ates of their corrupt inclination: : For God compels no mnn to fin.

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Adam might have withftood the folicitatlons of his wife, \iht would. And fo, iF we Ipok. up to God, we (hould find grace to help in the time of need. The devil and our own hearts tempt, but they cannot force us to confent, without the concurrence of our own wills. So that our damnation is of our-felves, as it will evidently appear at the great day, notwith-ftanding all mens prefent impudent replies againft God. As Adam fpeaks infolently in refpc<St to God, fo he fpeaks with enmity againft his wife; the woman, or this woman, flie gave me. He lays all the fault upon her, and fpeaks of her with much contempt. He does not fay, my wife, my dear wife; but, this woman. Sin difunites the moft united hearts: it is the bane of holy fellowfiiip. Thofe who have been companions in fin here, if they die without repentance, will both hate and condemn one another hereafter. All damned fouls are accufers of their brethren. Thus it is, in fome degree, on this fide the grave. " The woman whom thou gaveft to be with me, fhe gave me of the tree, and I did eat." What a difingenurus fptech was here ! He makes ufe of no lefs than fifteen words to excufe himfelf, and but one or two (in the original) to confefs his fault, if it may be called a confefiion at all. " The vv^oman which thou gaveft to be with me, fhe gave me of the tree ;" here are fifteen words; ** and I did eat." With what relu61ance do thefe laft words come out? How foon are they uttered? " And I did cat." But thus it is with an unhumbled, unregenerate heart: It will be laying the fault upon the dcarcft friend in the world, nay, upon God himfelf, rather than take (hame to itfelf. This pride we are all fuhjc6l to by the fall ; and, till our hearts are broken, and made contrite by the fplrit of our Lord Jesus Christ, we ftiall be always charging God fooliflily. " Againft thee, and thee only, have I finned, that thou mighteft be juftified in thy faying, ar^d clear when thou art judged," is the language of none but thofe, who, like Dav'idy are willing to confefs their faults, and are truly forry for their fins. This was not the cafe of Adam : his heart was not broken; and therefore he bys the fault of his difobedience upon his wife and God, and not upon himfelf; " The woman which thou gaveft to be with me, flie gave me of the tree, and I did eat."

Vcrfe

Verfc 13. *' And the Lord God fald, What is this that ihou haft done?" What a wonderlLrl concern does God ex-prefs in this expoftulation ! " What a deluge of mifery haft " thou brought upon thyfelf, thy hufband, and thy pofterity? *' What is this that thou haft done ? Difobeyed thy God, " obeyed the devil, and ruined thy hufband, for whom I " made thee to be an help-meet! What is this that thou haft " done ?" God would here awaken her to a fenfe of her crime and danger, and therefore, as it were, thunders in her ears : for the law muft be preached to felf-righteous finners. We muft take care of healing before v*/e fee Tinners wounded, left we ftiould fay, Peace, peace, where there is no peace. Secure fmners muft hear the thunderings of mount S'mai^ before we bring them to mount Sion. They who never preach up the law, it is to be feared, are unfkilful in delivering the glad tidings of the gofpel. Every minifter fhould be a Boa-nerges^ a fon of thunder, as well as a Barnabas^ a fon of con-folation. There was an earthquake and a whirlwind, before the fmall ftill voice came to Elijah: We muft firft fliew people they are condemned, and then fhew them how they muft be faved. But how and when to preach the law, and when to apply the promifcs of the gofpel, wifdom is profitable to direct. " And the Lord God faid unto the woman, What is this that thou haft done ?"

" And the woman faid. The ferpent beguiled me, and I did eat." She does not make ufe of fo many words to excufe iierfelf, as her hufband; but her heart is as unhumbled as his. What is this, fays God, that thou haft done? God here charges her with doing it. She dares not deny the fa6^, or lay, 1 have not done itj but (he takes all the blame oft" herfelf, and lays it upon the ferpent; " The ferpent beguiled me, and J did eat." She does not fay, " Lord, I was to " biame for talking with the ferpent; Lord, 1 did wron'>-, *' in not haftening to my hufband, when he put the flrft quef-" tion to me ; Lord, i plead guilty, I only am to blame, O " let not my poor hufband fufter for my wickednefs !" 'I'his would have been the language of her heart, had (he now been a true penitent. But both were now alike proud ; therefore neither will lay the blame upon themfelves : *' The ferpent beguiled me, and I did eat. The woman which thou gaveft to be with me, (lie gave me of the tree, and I did eat."

I have

[ u 3

I have been the more particular in remarking this part of their behaviour, becaufe it tends Co much to the magnifying of Free-grace, and plainly fhews us, that falvation cometh only from the Lord. Let us take a fliort view of the mifera-ble circumftances oui firfl parents were now in : They were legally and fpiritually dead, children of wrath, and heirs of hell. They had eaten the fruit, of which God had commanded them, that they (hould not eat j and when arraigned before God, notwithftanding their crime was fo complicated, they could not be brought to confefs it. What reafon can be given, why fentence of death (hould not be pronounced againft the prifoners at the bar r All muft own they are worthy to die. Nay, how can God, confiftently with his juftice, poiHbly forgive them? He had threatened, that the day wherein they eat of the forbidden fruit, they fliould " furely die;" and, if he did not execute this threatening, the devil might then ilander the Almighty indeed. And yet mercy cries, fpare thefe fmners, fpare the work of thine own hands. Behold, then, wifdom contrives a fcheme how God may be juft, and yet be merciful; be faithful to his threatening, punifh the offence, and at the fame time fpare the offender. An amazing fcene of divine love here opens to our view, which had been from all eternity hid in the heart of God ! Notwithftanding Adam and Eve were thus unhumbled, and did not fo much as put up one lingle petition for pardon, God immediately pafles fentence upon the ferpent, and reveals to them a Saviour.

Verfe 14. " And the Lord God faid unto the ferpent, becaufe thou haft done this, thou art accurfed above all cattle, and above every beaft of the field; upon thy belly fhalt thou go, and duft ftialt thou eat all the days of thy life;" /. e. he ftiould be in fubjection, and his power fhould always be limited and rtftrained. " His enemies fhall lick the very duft," fays the Pfalmift. (Ver. 15.) " And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy feed and her feed : it fhall bruife thy head, and thcu ftialt bruife his heel."

Before I proceed to the explanation of this verfe, I cannot but take notice of one great miftake which the author of the JVhole Duty of Alan is guilty of, in making this verfe contain a covenant between GoD and Adam^ as though God now perfonally treated v/ith Adam^ as before the fall. For, talking

C '5 ]

of the fecond covenant in his preface, concerning caring for the foul, fays he, " This fecond covenant was made with *' Adavi^ and us in him, prefently after the fall, and is briefly *' contained in thefe words, Gen. iii. 15. where God declares, " ' The feed of the woman (hall break the ferpcnt's head ;* '*■ and this was made up, as the firft was, of fome mercies to *' be afforded by God, and fome duties to be performed by " us." This is exceeding falfe divinity : for thefe words ar6 not fpoken to Adam \ they are directed only to the ferpenC. Adam and Eve flood by as criminals, and God could not treat with them, becaufe they had broken his covenant. And it is fo far from being a covenant wherein " fome mercies are t6 " be afforded by God, and {oxti^ duties to be performed by us," that here is not a word looking that way ; it js only a declaration of a free gift of falvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. God the Father and God the Son had entered into a covenant concerning the falvation of the ele£l from all eternity, wherein God the Father promifed. That, if the Son would offer his foul a facrifice for fin, he (hould fee his feed. Now^this is an open revelation of this fecret covenant, and therefore God fpeaks in the moft pofitive terms, " It fliall bruife thy head, and thou (halt bruife his heel." The firft Adam^ God had treated with before; he proved falfc : God therefore, to fecure the fecond covenant from being broken, puts it into the hands of the fecond Adam^ the Lord from heaven. Adorn., after the fall, flood no longer as our rcprefen-tativc; he and Eve were only private perfons, as we are, and were only to lay hold on the declaration of mercy contained in this promife by faith, (as they really did) and by that they were faved. I do not fay but we are to believe and obey, if we are everlaftingly faved. Faith and obedience are conditions, if we only mean that they in order go before our falvation ; but I deny that thefe are propofed by God to Adam, of that God treats with him in this promife, as he did before the fall under the covenant of works. P'or how could that be, when Adam and Eve were now pri("oners at the bar, without ftrength to perform any conditions at all ? The truth is this: God, a§ a reward of Christ's fufferings, promiled to give the elect faith and repentance, in order to bring them to eternal life ; and both thri^j and every thing clfe ncccITary for

their

their everiafting happincis, are infallibly fecured to them in this promile ; as Mr. Bc/ion, an excellent" 6V(7/j divine, clearly flijws in a book entitled, " A view of the covenant of *' grace."

This is by no means an unneccfTary diRiniStion ; it is a matter of great importance : for want of knowing this, people have been fo long mifled. They have been taught that they muil DO To and fo, as though they were iiiider a covenant of works, and then for doing this, they Ihould be faved. Whereas, on the contrary, people ftiould be taught. That the Lord Jesus was tnc fecond Adam^ with whom the Father entered into covenant for fidlen man; That they can now do nothing of or for themfelves, and fhouid therefore conie to God, befeeching him to give them faith, by which they iLall be enabl'^d to lay hold on the righteoufnefs of Christ ; and that faith tliey will then fliew forth by their works, out of love and gratitude to the ever-blefied Jesus, their moft glorious Redeemer, for what he has done for their fouls. This is a confiftcnt fcriptural fcheme : without holding this, we muil: run into one of thofc two bad extremes; I mean, Anti-mmiamjm on the one haijd, or Anniniani[m on the other : from both which may the good Lord deliver us !

But to proceed : By the feed of the woman, we are here to underftand the Lord Jesus Christ, who, though very God of very Gcd, was, for us men and our falvation, to have a a body prepared for him by the Holy Ghoft, and to be born of a woman who never knew man, and by his obedience and death make an atonement for man's tranfgreffioii, and bring in an everlafting righicoufnefd, work in them a new nature, and thereby bruife the ferpent's head, u e. deifroy his power and dominion over them. By the ferpent's feed, we are to underftand the devil and all his children, who are permitted by God to tem.pt anduft his children. But, blelled be God, he czm reach no further than our heel.

It is not to be doubted but Adam and Eve underftood this promife in this fcnfe ; for it is plain, in the latter part of the chapter, faciiikes were inftituteJ. From whence (liould thofe fkins come, but from beafts flain for facrifice, of which God made them coats ? We find Abel^ as well as CaiUy offering facrifice in the next chapter : and the Apoftle tells us, he did

it

k by faithj no doubt in this promife. And Evcy when Caht was born, faid, " I have gotten a man from the Lord ;'* oi^ (as Mr. Henry obfervcs, it may be rendered) '' I have gotten a man,—the Lord,—the prcmifed Mcflial)." Some further fuppofe^that Evs was thefirft believer; and therefore they tran-flate it thus, ** The feed, (not of the, but) of this woman ." which magnifies the grace of God fo much the more^ that (he, who was firft in the tranfgreflion, fliould be the firft partaker of redemption. Jdam behcved alio, and was faved : for unto j^dam and his wife did the Lord God make coats of fkins, and cloathed them : which was a remarkable type of their being clothed with the righteoufncfs of our Lord Jesu3 Christ.

This promife was literally fulfilled in the perfon of our Lord Jesus Christ. Satan bruifed his heel, when he tempted him for forty days together in the wildcrnefs : he bruifed his heel, when he raifed up flrong perfecution againft hinri during the time of his public miniftry : he in an efpeciarman-ner bruifed his heel, when our Lord complained, that his foul was exceeding forrowful, even unto death, and he fweat great drops of blood falling upon the ground, in the garden : He bruifed his heel, when he put it into the heart of Judai to betray him : and he bruifed hiai yet mod of all, when his e-miflaries nailed him to an accurfed tree, and our Lord cried out, "My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me?*' Yet, in all this, the blefTed Jesus, the feed of the woman, bruifed Satan's accurfed head : for, in that he was tempted, he was able to fuccour thofc that are tempted. By his ftripes we are healed. The chaftifcment of our peace v/as upon him. By dyings he deftroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. He thereby fpoiled principalities and powers, and made a (hew of them openly, triumphing over them upon the crofs.

This promife has been fulfilled in the ele6l of God, confi-dered collecSlively, as well before, as fince the coming of our Lord in the flefh : for they may be called, the feed of the woman. Marvel not, that all who will live godly in Christ Jesus, muft fufFer perfecution. In this promife, there is an eternal enmity put between the feed of the woman, and the feed of the ferpent ; fo that thofe that are born after the flefb, cannot but perfecute thofe that are born after the fpirit. This

Vol. V. B enmity

4^

Ity fhevved itfclf, foon after this promlfe was revealed. In Cains bruifing the heel of Jbei: it continued in the church through all ages before Christ came in the flefh, as the hiltory of the Bible, and the xith chapter of the Hebrews, plainly fhevv. It raged exceedingly after our Lord's afcen-fion J witnefs the Jjls of the Apojlles^ and the Hiftory of the Primitive Chriftians. It nou' rages, and ^\\\ continue to rage and (hew itfelf, in a greater or lefs degree, to the end of time. But let not this difmay us ; for in all this, the feed of the wo-niaii is more thnn conqueror, and bruifcs the ferpent's head. Thus the Ifraeliies^ the more they vi'ere opprefTed, the more they increafed. Thus it.was with the Apoftles ; thus it was with their immediate followers. So that Teriuilia?t compares the church in his time to a mowed field ; the more frequently it is cut, the more it grows. The blood of the martyrs was always the feed of the church. And I have often fat down with wonder and delight, and admired how God has made the very fchemes which his enemies contrived, in order to hinder, become the moft efFeciual means to propagate his gofpel. The devil has had fo little fuccefs in perfecution, that if I did not know that he and his children, according to this verfe, could not but perfecute, I fliould think he v/ould count it his ftrenglh to fit f!:ill. What did he get by perfe-cuthig the martyrs in Queen Afary's time ? Was not the grace of God exceedingly glorified in their fupport ? What did he get by perfecuting the good old Puritans ? Did it not .^rove the peopling of Neiv-Engla7id? Or, to come nearer our ov/n times, what has he got by putting us out of the (y-nagogues ? Hath not the word of God, fmce that, mightily prevailed ? My dear hearers, you mufl excufe me for enlarging on this head ; God fills my foul,generally, when I come to this topic. 1 can fay with Luther^ *' If it were not for per-*' fecution, I fnould not underftand the fcripture." If Satan fhould be yet fuftered tr- bruife my heel further, and his fcr-vants fhould thrufl me into prifon, I doubt not, but even that would only tend to the more cfFe£lual bruifing of his head. I remember a faying of the then Lord Chancellor to the pious Bradford: " Thou haft done more hurt, faid he, by thy ex-*' hortations in private in prifon, than thou didft in preaching *' before thou waft put in," or words to this eite£t. The pro-mife of the text is my daily fupport; " I will put enmity between

tween thy feed and her feed j it (hall brulfe thy head, and thou (halt brulle his heel."

Further: this promife is alTo fulfilled, not only in the church in general, but in every individual believer in particular. In every believer there are two feeds, the feed of ihe woman, and the feed cf the fcrpent; the flt{h lufting againll: the fpirit, and the fpirit againft the flefli. It is with the believer, when quickened with grace in his heart, as it was with Re-bekahy when (lie had conceived Efaii and Jacob in her womb ; {he felt a ftruggling, and began to be uneafy ; '' If it be fo, fays fhe, why am I thus ?*' Thus grace and nature ftruggle (if I may io fpeak) in the womb of a believer's heart : but, as it was there faid, " The elder fiiall ferve the younger ;" fo it is here,—grace in the end fh;All get the better of nature j the it^^ of the woman fliall bruife the ferpent's head. Maiiy of you that have believed in Christ, perhaps may find feme particular corruption yet ftrong, fo {Irong, that you are fometimes ready to cry out with Davldy " I Hiall fall one day by the hand of SauL'* But, fear not, the promife in the text infures the perfeverance and viclory of believers over fin, Satan, death, and hell. What if indwelling corruption does yet remain, and the feed of the ferpent bruife your heel, in vexing and di-fturbing your righteous fouls ? Fear not, though faint, yet pur-fue : you (hall yet bruife the ferpent's head. Christ hath died for you ; and yet a little while, and he will fend death to deflroy the very being of fin in you. Which brings me

To fliew the moft extenfive manner in which the promife of the text {hall be fulfilled, viz. at the final judgment, when the Lord Jesus fhall prefent the elecl to his Father, without fpot or wrinkle, or any fuch thing, glorified both in body and foul.

Then {hall the feed of the woman give the lad and fatal blov/, in bruifing the ferpent's head. Satan, the accufer of the brethren, and all his accurfed feed, fliall then be cuft out, and never fuffered to difturb the feed of the woman any more. Then (hall the righteous (hine as the fun in the kingdom of their Father, and fit with Christ on thrones in majcity on hiLih.

Let us, therefore, not be weary of well-doing ; for we fhaH reap an eternal harveft of comfort, if we faint not. Dare, dare, my dear brethren in CfiRisT, to follow the Captain of your falvation, who was made perfed through fufFerings. Th#

B 2 feed

[ 20 3

feed of the woman (hall bruife the ferpent's head. Fear not men. Be not too much call: down at the deceitfulneis of your hearts. Fear not devils ; you fhall get the victory even over them. The Lord Jesus has engaged to make you more than conquerors over all. Plead with your Saviour, plead : plead the promife in the text. Wreftle, wreftle with God in prayer. It it has been given you to believe, fear not if it fhould alfo be given you to fufFer. Be not any wife terrified by your adverfaries ; the king of the church has them all in a chain : be kind to them, pray for them ; but fear them not. The Lord will yet bring back his ark, though at prefent driven into the wildernefs; and Satan like lightening fhall fall from heaven.

Are there any enemies of God here ? The promife of the text encourages me to bid you deiiance : the feed of the woman, the ever-bleffed Jesus, fhall bruife the ferpent's head. What fignifies all your malice ? You are only raging waves of the fea, foaming out your own fhame. For you, without repentance, is referved the blacknefs of darknefs for ever. The Lord Jesus fits in heaven, ruling over all, and caufing all things to work for his chlldrens good : he laughs you to fcorn : he hath you in the utmoil: derifion, and therefore fo will L Who are you that perfecute the children of the ever-bleffed God ? Though a poor {tripling, the Lord Jesu^^, the feed of the woman, will enable me to bruife your heads.

My brethren in Christ, I think I do not fpeak thus in my own ftrcngth, but in the firength of my F.edeemer. I know in whom 1 have believed j I am perfuaded he will keep that fafe, which I have committed unto him. He is faithful who hath promifcd, that the feed of the woman (hall bruife the fer* pent's head. May we all experience a daily completion of this promife, both in the church and in our hearts, till we come to the church of the firft-born, the fpirits of juft men made perfedt, in the prefence and adual fruition of the great God our heavenly Father !

To whom, with the Son, ar^J the Holy Ghoft, be afcribed all honour, power, might, majefty, and dominion, now and for evermore. Jmen,

SERMON

[ ai ]

SERMON ir.

Walking with GOD.

Genesis v. 24.

And Enoch walked with God, and he was not^ for God took him.

VARIOUS are the pleas and arguments, which men of corrupt minds frequently urge againfi: yielding obedience to the juft and holy commands of God. But, perhaps, one of the mod common objedions that they make is this,-that our Lord's commands are not pradicable, becaufe contrary to flsfli and blood ; and confequently, that he is " an hard mafter, reaping where he has not fown, and gathering where he has not flrewed." Thefe we £nd were the fenti-ments entertained by that wicked and flothful fervant mentioned in the xxvth of St. Matthew ; and are undoubtedly the fame with many which are maintained in the prefent wicked and adulterous generation. The Holy Ghofl forefeeing this, bath taken care to infpire holy men of old, to record the ex-r.mples of many holy men and women ; who, even under the Old Tcftament difpenfation, were enabled chearfuliy to take Christ's yoke upon them, and counted his fervicc peife^ft freedom. The large catalogue of faints, confeflbrs, and martyrs, drawn up in the xith chapter to the Hcbreivsy abundantly evidences the truth of this obfcrvation. What a great cloud of witnefles have we there prefented to our view ? All eminent for their faith, but fome Ihining with a greater degree of luftre than do ethers. The proto-martyr jlbe'^ leads the van. And next to him, we find Emch mentioned, not only becaufe he was next in order of time, but alfo on account of his exalted picry. He is fpoken of in the words of the text in a very extraordinary manner. We have hers

B 3 a n^or;

a fhort but very full and glorious account, both of his behaviour in this world, and the triumphant manticr of his entering into the next. The former is contained in thcfe words, " And EKcch walked vvi:h God." Thz latter In thefe, " and '* he was not : for God tot-k him." Me was not ; i. e. Pie was not found, he was not taken away in the common manner, he did not fee deaih ; for Heb, xi. 5. God had traiiflated him. Who ihis Enoch was, docs not appear fo plainly. To me, he Teems to h:ive been a perfon of public character. I fuppofe, like Nc:;by a preacher of righteoufnefs. And, if we may credit the ApoiWt yucle, he was a flaming preacher. For he quotes one of his prf)phccies, wherein he faith, " Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thoufand of his faints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard fpecches, which ungodly fmners have fpoken againft him." But whether a public or private perfon, he has a noble tefti-mony given him in the lively oracLs. The author of the epiftle to the Hebrews faith, that before his tranflation he had this teftimony, '' that he pleafed God;" and his being tran-ilated, was a proof of it beyond all doubt. And 1 would ob-ferve, that it was wonderful vi^ifdom in God to tranflate Enoch and Elijah under the Old Teftament difpenfation, that hereafter when it Oiould be afierted, that the Lord Jesus was carried into heaven, it might not feem a thing altogether incredible to the Jezvs \ fince they themfelvcs confefTed, that two cf their own prophets had been tranHatcd federal hundred years before. But it is not my dcfign to detain you any longer, by enlarging, or making ohfervations on Enoch'^ Ihort^ but comprehenfive character. The thing I have in view, being to give a difcourfe, as the Lord (hall enable, upon a weighty and a very important fubjefl; I mean, ivalking ivitb God. " And Enoch walked with God." If fo much as this can be truly faid of ycu and me after cur deceafe, we fhall not have any reafon to complain, that we have lived in vain.

In handling my intended fubjef}, I fhall,

Fiyji^ Endeavour to fiiew, what is implied in thefe words, iva/kcd iviih QoD. '

Sccor.dh\

C 23 ]

Secondly^ I fhall prefcribe fome means, upon the due ob-fervance of which, beliL^vcrs may keep up and maintain their walk with God. And,

Thirdly^ Offer fome motives to ftir us up, if we never walked with God before, to come and walk with God now. The whole (hall be clofed with a v/ord or two of application.

Firji^ I am to fhcw what is implied in thefe words, " walked with God ;" or in other words, what we are to underftand by ivalking with God.

And Firji, Jyalki7ig with God, implies, that the prevailing power of the enmity of a perfon's heart, be taken away by the blefled Spirit of God. Perhaps it may feem a hard faying to fome, but our own experience daily proves, what the fcripture in many places afTert, that the carnal mind, the mind of the unconverted, natural man, nay, the mind of the regenerate, fo far as any part of him remains unrenevv'ed, is enmity, not only an enemy, but " enmity itfelf againft God ; " fo that it is not fubje6l to the law of God, neither indeed '' can it be." Indeed one may well wonder that any creature, efpecially that lovely creature man, made after his Maker's own image, fhould ever have any enmity, much lefs a prevailing enmity againft that very God in whom he lives, and moves, and hath his being. But alas I fo it is. Our firft parents contracted it v/hcn they fell from God by eating the forbidden fruit, and the bitter and malignant contagion of it, hath defcendeJ to, and quite overfpread their whole pofterity. This enmity difcovered itfelf, in Adam\ endeavouring to hide himftlf in the trees of the garden. When he heard the voice of the Lord God, inflead of running with an open heart, faying. Here am 1 ; alas ! he nov/ wanted no communion with God ; and ftill more difcovered his lately contracted enmity, by the excufe he made to the Moft High. " The woman, *' or this woman, thou gaveO: to be with me, fhe gave me of " the tree, and 1 did eat." By faying thus, he in effe£i: lays all the fault upon God ; as though he had faid, if thou hadft not given me this woman, I had not fmned againft thee, fo thou mayft thank thyfelf for my tranfgreffion. In the fame manner this enmity works in the hearts oi Adaiii^ children. I^hey now and again find fomething rifing againft Go», and

B 4 ' faying

f:^ylng even unto God, what docd thou? *'It fcorns any *^ meaner competitor (fays the learned Do(5lor Owen in his ''excellent treatife on indwelling fin) than God himfelf.'* Its command is like that of the Jjjyriam in refpect to Jbab, Shoot only at the Ki"g« And it flrilces agaii.ft every thing that has the appearance of real piety, as the Jj/fians fhot at yeholapkat in Ahub's cloathes. But the oppofition ceafes when it finds that it is only an appearance, as the Ajjjyrians left off {hooting at yehofaphat^ when they perceived it was not Jhab they were fliooting at. This enmity difcovcred itfelf in ac-curkd Cain-y he hated and flew his brother ^f/;^/, becaufe ^heHoved^ and was peculiarly favoured by his God. And this fame enmity rules and prevails in every man that is naturally engendered of the offspring o\'Adam. Hence that averfenefs lo prayer and holy duties, which we find in children, and very often in grown peifons, who have notwith-ftanding been bleiTed with a religious education. And alj that open fin and wickedner?, which like a deluge has overflowed the vvorld, are only fo many flreams running from this Jj^^^d^^Jj contagious fountain 5 I mean the enmity of man's defperately wicked and dcceiiful heart. He that cannot fet ]iis feal to this, kiiows nothing yet, in a faving manner, of the holy fcriptures, or of the power of God. And all that do know this, will readily acknowledge, that before a perfon can be faid to walk with God, the prevailing power of this heart-enmity muii be dcflroyed. For pcrfons do not life to walk and keep company together, who entertain an irreconcilable enmity ajid hatred againft one another. Ob-ferve me, I fay, the prevailing power of this enmity muft be taken away. For the inbeing of it will never be totally removed, till we bow down our heads and give up the ghoft. The apoftle Ptf«/, no doubt, fpeaks of himfclf, and that top not when he was a pharifce, but a real chriilian ; when he complains, " that when he would do good, evil was pre-fent with him ;" not having dominion over him, but op-pofing and refilling his good intentions and aiftions, '' fo that *' he could not do the things which he would," in that per-fecSlion which the new man defired. Tnis is what he calls fin dwelling in him. '* And this is that 'I>p3r'n/>cr/. ^a^v.ou which, *' (to ufe the words of the ninth article of our church J i ^^ fomc

t 25 ]

*'. rome do expound the wiTdom, fome fcnfuaVity, fomc th:; '* affectation, fomc the defirc of the flefli, which doth remain, *' yea, in them that are regenerated.'* But as for its prevailing power, it is dcllroyed in every foul thiU is truly born of God, and gradually more and more weakened as the believer grows in grace, and the fpirit of God gains a greater and greater afcendancy in the heart.

But Secondly, Walking with God not only implies, that the prevailing power of the enmity of a man's heart be taken away, but alfo that aperfon is actually reconciled to God the Father, in and through the all-fufficient righteoufncfs and atonement of his dear Son. *' Can two walk together, (fays *' Solcmon), unlefs they are agreed ?" Jr.sus is our peace, as well as our peace-maker. When we are juiiified by faith jn Christ, then, but not till then, we have peace with God ; and cojUequcntly cannot be faid till then, to walk with him. Walking with a perfon, being a fign and token that we are friends to that perfon, or at leaff, though we have been at variance, yet that now we are reconciled and become friends again. This is the great errand that gofpcl minifters aie fent out upon. To us is committed the miniitry of reconciliation : As ambalTadors for God, we are to befccch fmners, in Christ's (lead, to be reconciled unto God 3 and when they comply with the gracious invitation, and are actually by faith brought into a ftate of reconciliation with God, then, and not till then, may they be faid (0 much as to begin to walk with God.

Further, Thirdly, Walking with God implies, a fettled, ^biding communion and fellowfhip with God, or what in fcripture is called, " The Holy Ghoft dwelling in us." This is what our Lord promifed when he told his difciplcs, that " the Holy Spirit fliould be in, and with them j" not to be like a wayfaring-man, to (lay only for a night, but to refide and make his abode in their hearts. 7'his I am apt to believe is what the Apoftle John would have us underftand, when he talks of a perfon abiding in him, in Christ, '* and f' walking as he himfclf alfo walked." And this is what is particularly meant in the words of our text. *' And Enoch " walked with God." i. e. He kept up and maintained a j]cly, fettled, habitual, though undoubtedly not altogether

unintcnupted

uninterrupted communion and fellowfliip with God, in and through Christ Jesus. So that to Turn up what has been laid on this part of ihe firfl general head, walk'Dig with God confifts efpecially in the fixed habitual bent of the will for God, in an habitual depcndancc upon his power and promife, in an habitual voluntary dedicaiion of our all to his glory, in an habitual eying of his precept in all we do, and in an habitual complacence in his pleafure in all we fufFer.

Fourthly^ IValk'ir.g zuith GoD implies, our making progrefs or advances in the divine life. fValkitig^ in the very firfl idea of the v.'orc, feems to fuppofe a progrefTive motion. A per-fon that vvalk-s, though he move fiawly, yet he goes forwards and does not continue in one place. And fo it is with thofe that walk with God. They go on, as the pfalmift fays, from ftrengrh to flrength ;" or, in the language of the Apoftle Pauly '' they pafs from glory to glory, even by the Spirit of the Lord." Indeed in one fenfe, the divine life admits of neither incrcafe nor dccreafe. When a foul is born of God, to all intents and purpofes he is a child of God, 2nd^ though he fliould live to the age of M^thufclah^ yet he vould then be only a child of God, afccr all. But in another fenfe, the divine life admi.s of decays and additions. Hence it is, that we find the people of God charged with backllidings, and lofing their firft love. And hence it is, that we hear of babes, young men and fathers in Christ ; and upon this account it is that the Apoftle exhorts Timothy^ *' to let his progrefs be made known to all men." And what is here requiicu q^ Timothy in particular; by St. Peter^ is enjoined all chridians in general, " But grow in grace, (fays he) iind in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.'* For the new creature increafes in fpiritual fta-ture ; and though a perfon can but be a new creature, yet there are fomc that are more conformed to the divine image than others, and will, after death, be admitted to a greater degree of blelTednefs. For want of obferving this diftind^ion, even fome gracious fouls that have better hearts than heads, (as well as men of corrupt minds, reprobates concerning the faith) have unawares run into downright Antinoni-ian principles, denying all grov^ih of grace in a believer, or any marks of grace to ae laid down in the fcriptiues of truih. From

fuch

t 27 ]

fuch principle?, and more efpecialiy from practices naturally confequcnt on fuch principles, may the Lord of all Lord's deliver us 1

From what then ha^s been faid, we may now know what i^ implied in the words, " walked with God," viz. Our having the prevailing enmity of our hearts taken away by the power of the Spirit of God ; our being atSlually reconciled and united to him by faith in Jesus Christ ; our having and keeping up a fettled communion and feljowfhip with hirn ; and our making a daily progrefs in this fellowship, fo as to be conformed to the divine image more and more.

How this is done, or, in other words, by what means believers keep up and maintain their walk with God, comes to be confidered under our fccond general head.

And, FirJ}^ Believers keep up and maintain their walk with God, by reading of his holy w^ord. " Search the fcriptures," fays our blcfled Lord, " for thefe are they that teftify of me." And the royal pfalmift tells us, " that God's word was a light unto his feet, and a lanthorn unto his paths;" and he makes it one property of a good man, " that his delight is in the law of the Lord, and that he exercifes him-lelf therein day and night." " Give thyfelf to reading," [hys Paul io Timothy) \ "And this book of the law, (fays God to Jofpua) fha'l not go out of thy mouth." For what-foever was written in afore time, was written for our learning. And the word of GoD is profitable for reproof, correction, and inflrudion in rightcoufnefs, and every way fufH-cient to make every true child of God thoroughly fur-niihed to every good work. If we once get above our Bibles, and ceafe making the written word of God our fole rule, both as to faith and pradice, we (hall foon lie open to all manner of delufion, and be in great danger of making Ihipwreck of faith and a good confcience. Our blefied Lord, though he had the Spirit of God without mcafure, yet always was governed by, and i ought the devil with, " It is written.** This the Apoflle calls the '• Sword of the Spirit." We may fay of It as David faid of Goliah's fword, " None like this." The fcriptures are called the lively oracles oF God : not only becaufe they are generally made ufe of to beget in us a new life, but aUb to keep up and increafe it i:i the foul. The Apoftle Peiefy in his 2d epiftle, prefers it even to feeing

CijIRIST

C 2S ]

Christ transfi^urcJ upon the mount. For after he had faid, chap. i. i8. " That the voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount;'* he adds, ^' We have alfo a more fure word oF prophecy ; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light fliining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-fbr arife in your hearts :" i. e. Till we (hake off thefe bodies, and fee Jesus face to face. Till then, we muft fee and converfe with him through the glafs of his word. We muft make his teftimonies our counfellors, and daily, with Mary', fit at Jesus feet, by faith hearing his word. We (liall then by happy experience find, that they are fpirit and life, meat iniJeed, and drink indeed to our fouls.

Secondly^ Believers kerp up and maintain their walk with God by fecret prayer. The fpirit of grace is always accompanied with the fpirit of fupplication. It is the very breath of the new-creature, tliC fan of the divine life, whereby tliQ fpark of holy fire kindled in the foul by God, is not only kept in, but raifed into a flame. A neg]e(Si: of fecret prayer has been frequently an inlet to many (piritual difeafes, and has been attended with fatal confequences. Origin obferved, *■• That the day he offered incenfe to an idol, he wejit out of *' his clofet without making ufe of fecret prayer.'* It is one of the moft noble parts of the believer's fi:)iritual armour. " Praying always, fays the Apoftle, with all manner of fupplication." " Watch and prny, fiiys our Lord, that ye enter not into temptation." And he fpake a parable, that his difciples fhould pray, and net faint. Not tha: our Lord would have us always upon our knees, or in our clofets, to the negledl of our other relative duties. But he means, that our fouls Hiould be kept in a prating-frame, (o that we might be able to fay, as a good man in Scotla:id once faid to his friends on his death-bed, " Could thefe curtains, or could " thefe walls fpeak, they would tell you what ivvect com-" muuion I have had with my God here." O prayer, prayer ! It brings and keeps God and man together. It raifes man up to God, and brings God down to m.an. If you would therefore, O believers, keep up your walk with God J pray, pray without ceafing. Be much in fecret, fet prayer. And when you are about the common bufinefs oflife.^

h6 much in ejaculatory prayer, and fend, from time to time, Ihort letters poft to heaven upon the wings of faith. They will reach the very heart of God, and return to you a'^aiu loaded with fpiritual blefTings*

Thirdly^ Holy and frequent meditation is another bleficd means of keeping up a believer's walk with God. " Prayer, *' reading, temptation, and meditation," fays Luther, " make *' a minider.'* And they alfo make, and perfedt a chriftian. Meditation to the foul, is the fame as digeftion to the body. Holy David found it fo, and therefore he v/as frequently employed in meditation, even in the night feafon. We read alfo of Ifaacs going out into the fields to meditate in the evening; or, as it is in the margin, to pray. For meditation is a kind of filent prayer, whereby the foul is frequently, as it were, carried out of itfelf to God, and in a degree made like unto thofe blclled Spirits, who by a kind of immediate intuition always behold the face of our heavenly Father. None but thofe happy fouls that have been accuftomed to, this divine employ, can tell what a blefled promoter of the divine life, meditation is. '' "VVhilft I was mufing, fays Da-^ vid, the fire kindled." And whilft the believer is mufin^ on the works and word of God ; efpecially that work of works, that wonder of wonders, that myftcry of godlinefi-', *' God manifefl in the flefli," the Lamb of God flain for the fms of the world : he frequently feels the -fire of divine love kindle, fo that he is obliged to fpeak with his tongue, and tell of the loving-kindnefs of the Lord to his foul. Be frequent therefore in meditation, all ye that defire to keep up and maintain a clofe and uniform walk with the mofl-high God.

Fourthly, Believers keep up their walk with God, by watching and noting his providential dealings with them. If we believe the fcriptures, we muft believe what our Lord hath declared therein, " That the very hairs of his difciples heads are all numbered j and that a fparrow does not fall to the ground, (cither to pick up a grain of corn, or when fnot by a fowler) without the knowledge of our heavenly Father." Every crofs has a call in it, and every particular difpenfation of divine providence, has fome particular end to anfwcr in thofe to whom it is fent. If it bs of an afflictive

nature.

t 30 ]

nature, God does thereby fay, " My fon, keep thyfelf from idols:" if profperou?, he does it as it were by a fmall, ftiil voice, fay, " My fon, give mc thy heart.'* If believers, therefore, would keep up their walk with God, they muft from time to time hear what the Lord has to fay concerning them in the voice of his providence. Thus Vv^e find Abrahams fer-vant, when he went to fetch a wife for his mafter Ifaac^ eyed and watched the providence of God, and by that means found cut the perfon that was defigncd for his maftcr's wife. " For " a little hint from Providence," fays pious Bilhop Hall^ " is *' enough for faith to feed upon." And as I believe it will be one part of our happinefs in heaven, to take a view of, and look back upon, the various links of the golden chain which drew us there ; fo thofe that enjoy moft of heaven below, I believe, will be moft minute in remarking God's various dealings v^^ith them, in refpe£t to his providential difpenfations here on earth.

Fifthly^ In order to walk clofely with God, his children muft not only watch the motions of God's providence without them, but the motions alfo of his blefled Spirit in their hearts. '' As many as are the fons of God, are led by the Spirit of God," and give up thcmfelves to be guided by the Holy Ghoft, as a little child gives its hand to be led by a nurfe or parent. It is no doubt in this fenfe, that we are to be converted, and become like little children. And though it is the quinteffence of enthufiafm, to pretend to be guided by the Spirit without the written word ; yet it is every chriftian's bounden duty to be guided by the Spirit in conjunction with the written word of God. Watch, therefore, I pray you, O believers, the motions of God's blefled Spirit in your fouls, and always try the fuggeftions or imprelrions that you may at any time feel, by the unerring rule of God's moft holy word : and if they are not found to be agreeable to that, rejedt them as diabolical and delufive. By obferviiig this caution, you will fteer a middle courfe between the two dnngcrous extremes many of this generation are in danger of running into; I mean, enthufiafm^ on the one hand, and deifmy and downright infidelity^ on the other.

Sixthly^ They that would maintain a holy walk wnth God, muft walk with him in ordinances as well as providences, &c.

It is, therefore, recorded of 'Zachary and Eli%ahelh^ that *' They walked in all God's ordinances as well as commandments, blamelefs." And all rightly informed chriftians, will Jook upon ordinances, not as beggarly elements, but as To many conduit-pipes, whereby the infinitely condefcending Je.~ hovab conveys his grace to their fouls. They will look upon them as childrens breavL and as their higheft privileges, Confequently they will be glad when they hear others fay, ^' Come, let us go up to the houfe of the Lord." I'hey will delight to vifit the place where God's honour dwelieth, and be very eager to embrace all opportunities to fhew forth the LoiiD Christ's death till he come.

Seventhly and i^iftly^ If you would walk with God, you will aflbciate and keep company with thofe that do walk with him, *' My delight, fays holy David^ is in them that do vxcel" in virtue. They were in his fight, the excellent ones of the earth. And the primitive chriftians, no coubr, kept up their vigour and firft love, by continuing in fenowfi"iip one with another. The Apoftle Paul knew this full well, and therefore exhorts the chriftians to fee to it, that they aid not forfake the afTembling of themfelves together. For how can one be warm alone ? And has not the wifeft of men told us, that, " as Iron fliarpeneth iron, fo doth the countenance of a man his friend ?" If we look, therefore, into church hiftory, or make a juft obfeivation of our own times, I believe we (hall find, that as the power of God prevails, chriftian focieties, and fel-low^ftiip meetings prevail proportionably. And as one decays, the other has infenfibly decayed and dvv'indled away at the fame time. So neceffary is it for thofe that would walk with God, and keep up the life of religion, to meet together as they have opportunity, in order to provoke one another to love and good works.

Proceed we now to the Third general thing propofed, To ofi-'er fome motives to excite all to come and walk with God.

And Fi^Jl, Walking with God, is a very honourable thing. This generally is a prevailing motive to perfons of all rank.'-, toftir them up to any important undertaking. O that it may have its due weight and influence with you, in refpedt to the matter now before us ! 1 fuppofe you would all think it a verv c high

[ 32 ] hlf»h honour to be admitted into an earthly prince's privy-council, to be trufted with his fecrets and to have his ear at all times, and at all fearons. It feems Hainan thought it lb, when he boaltcd, Eflh. v. ii, that befidcs his being '' advanced above the princes and fervants of the king ; yta^ moreover, F.fihcr the Q^ieen did let no man come in with the King unto the banquet that ihe had prepared, butmyfelf; and to-morrow am I invited unto her alio with the King.*' And when afterwards a qucftion was put to this laine Haman^ chap. vi. 6. " What fliall be done unto the nsan whom the Kin^ deliohteth to honour?" he anfwered, ver. 8. " Let the royal apparel be brought which the king ufed to wear, and the horie that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is fet upon his head ; and let this apparel and horfe be delivered to the hand of one of the king's mod noble princes, that they may array the man withal v.'hom the King delights to honour, a4id bring him on horfebnck through the itreet of the city, and proclaim before him. Thus fliali it be done to the man whom the King delighteth to honour." This was all then, it fcems, that an ambitious Haman could afk, and the moft valuable thing that he thought A])ajuerus^ the greateft monarch upon earth, could give. But alas, Vv'hat is this ho^ nour in comparifon of that which the meaneft of thofe enjoy^ that walk with God ! Think ye it a fmall thing, Sirs, to have the fecret of the Lord of Lords with you, and to he called the friends of God ? and fuch honour have all God's ^ faints. '' The fecret of the Lord is with them that fear him :" and *' Henceforth, fays the blefled Jesus, call I you, jio longer fervants, but friends ; for the fervant knoweth not the will of his mafter." Whatever you may think of it, holy David was fo fenfible of the honour attending a v/alk witli God, that he declares, •'■ He had rather be a door-keeper \ti his houfe, than to dwell even in the tents of ungodlinefs." O that all were like-minded with him !

But, Secondly, As it is an honourable, fo it is a pleafirrg thino^ to walk with God. The wifeft of men has told us, that " Wifdcm's ways are ways of pleafantnefs, and all her paths peace." And I remember pious Mr. Henry^ when he was juft about to expire,- faid to a friend, *' You have heard ** many mens dying Words, and thefe are mine ; A life fpent

. " *^in

t 33 ]

** in coinmunlon with God, is the plea/anteft life in thd *' world." I am fire I can fst to my f^jal that this is true. Indeed, I have been lifted under [esus's banner only for a fevV years; but I have enjoyed inore folid pleafure in one modient's communion with my God, than 1 {}iouId or could have enjoyed in the v/ays of fin, thotigh I had continued to have went on in them for thoufands of years. And may J not appeal to all you that fear and walk with Got), for the truth of this .? Has not one day in the Lord's courts, been to you better than a thoufand ? In keeping God's Gommandments, have you not found a prefent and very great reward ? Has hot his word been fweeter to you than the honey, or the honey-comb ^ O what have you f^lt, when, yaccb-Vikey you have been \vreftling with your God ^ Has not Jesus often met you when meditating in the fields, and been tnade known to you over a;nd over again in breaking of bread.? Has riot the Holy Ghoft frequently fhed the divine Jove abroad in your hearts abundantly, and filled you witii joy unfpeakable, even joy that is full of glory ? I khovV you will anfvver all thefe queftions in the affirmative, arid freely acknowledge the yoke of ChrioT to be eafy, and his burden light; or (to ufe the words of one of our coIle6ts) " That *' his fervice is perfe6^ freedorri." And what need we then any further motive to excite us to walk with Gob ?

But methiriks 1 hear fome aimong you fay, '^ How cati *' thefe things be ? For, if walking with GoD", as you fay, is " fuch an honourable and pleafant thing, whence is it, that the *' name of the people of this v/ay is caft out as evil, and every' *' where fpoken againft .? How comes it to pafs that they arc '' frequently aiHidied, tempted, deftitute, and tormented? 1$ *' this the honour, this the pleafure that you fpeak of?" I anfwer. Yes. Stop a while; be not over-hafty. Judge not according to appearance, bat judge righteous judgment, and all will te well. It is true, we acknovv'ledge the " people of '^ this way," as you, aind Pat^i before you, when a perfecutor^' called them, have their names caft out as evil, and are a fcc^ ivery where fpoken againft. But by whom ? Even by the Enemies of the moft high God. And do you thirtk it a dif-grace to be fpoken evil of by them ? BlefTed be God, we have not fo learnt Christ. Our royal Mafter has pro-

VoL. V. C npunced

[ 34 3

nounced thofe " blefled, who are perfecuted, and have all manncrK)f evil fpoken agalnft them falfly.'* He has con^manded them " to rejoice and be exceeding glad." For it is the pri-lege of their difciplefhip, and that their reward will be great in heaven. He himfelf was thus treated. And can there be a greater honour put upon a creature, than to be conformed to the ever-blefled Son of God ? And further, it is equally true, that the people of this way are frequently ciHicSled, tempted, deftitute, and tormented. But what of all this ? Does this deftroy the pleafure of walking with God ? No, in no wife ; for thofe that walk with God, are enabled, through Christ ftrengthening them, to joy even in tribulation, and to rejoice when they fall into divers temptations. And 1 believe I may appeal to the experience of all true and clofe walkers with God, Whether or not their fufFering times, have not frequently been their fweeteft times, and that they enjoyed mod of God, when moft caft out] and defpifed by men ? This we find was the cafe of Christ's primitive fer-vants, when threatened by the Jewifi fanhedrim, and commanded to preach no more in the name of Jesus; they rejoiced, that they were accounted worthy to fufFer fhame for the fake of Jesus. Paul and Silas fang praifes even in a dungeon ; and the face of Stephen^ that glorious proto-martyr of the chriftian church, (hone like the face of an angel. And Jesus is the fame now, as he was then, and takes care fo to fweeten fufferings and afflidions with his love, that his difci-ciples find, by happy experience, that as afflictions abound, confolations do much more abound. And therefore thefe ob-jedions, inftcad of deftroying, do only more enforce the motives before urged to excite you to walk with God.

Bat fuppofing the obje6lions were juft, and walkers with

God Vv^ere as defpicable and unhappy as you would reprefent

•ihem to be; yet I have a third motive to offer, which, if

weighed in the balance of the fan£i:uary, will over-weigh all

.obje<Slions, viz. That there is a heaven at the end of this walk.

For, to ufe the words of pious Biiliop Bevericlgc^ " Though

.** the way be narrow, yet it is not long ; and though the gate

*' be ftraight, yet it opens into everlafting life." Enoch found

it fo. He walked with God on earth, and God took him to

fii down with him for ever in the kingdom of heaven. Not

that we are to expe£l to be taken away as he was : no; I fup-

^ofe wefliall all Jle the common death of all men. But after death, the fpiiits of thofe who have walked with God, faall return to God that gave them ; and at the morning of the refurre(3:ion, foul and body fhall be for ever with the Lord. Their bodies (hall he fafhioned like unto Christ's glorious body, and their fouls filled with all the fulnefs of God. They fhall fit on thrones ; they fiiall judge angels. They fhall be enabled to fuftain an exceeding and eternal weight of glory, even that glory which Jesus Christ enjoyed with the Father before the world began. 0 gloriam quantam ei qualem^ fays the learned and pious Arnclt^ juft before he bowed down his head, and gave up the ghoft. The very thought of it is enough to make us " wiOi to leap our feventy years,'"' as good Dr. IVciits exprefles himfclf, and to make us break out into the earneft language of the royal Pfalmift, '^ .Vly foul is athirft for GoD, yea for the living God. When ihall I come to appear in the immediaie prefence of my GoD ?" I wonder not that a fenfe oi this, when under a more than ordinary irradiation and influx of divine life and love, caufes fome per-fons even to faint away, and for a time lofe the power of their fehfes. A lefs fight than this, even a fight of SoloniGn's glory, made iS/?j^^'s queen aftonifhed j and a ftill lefier fight than that, even a fight of Jofeph''^ waggons, made holy Jaccb to faint, and for a while, as it were, die away. Daniel^ when admitted to a diftant view of this excellent glory, fell down at the feet of the angel as one dead. And if a diftant view of |his glory be To excellent, what muft the actual pofiTefTion of icibe ? If the firft fruits are fo glorious, how infinitely muft the harveft exceed i:a glory ?

And now what fhall I, or indeed what can I well fay more, to excite you, even you that are yet flrangers to Christ, to come and walk with God ? If you love honour, pleafure, and a crown of glory, come, feek it where alone it can be found. Come, put ye on the Lord Jesus. Come, hafte ye away and walk with God, and make no longer provifioii for the fiefh, to fulfil the luft thereof. Stop, ftop, O finner ! turn ye, turn ye, O ye unconverted men ! for the end of that way you are now walking in, however right it miy fecm in your blinded eyes, will be death, even eternal defiruc-tion both of body and foul. Make no long tarrying, I fay : at your peii!. I charop yon, ftep not one ilep further on in

C 2 " your

your prelent walk. For how knoweft thou, O man, but the next Hep thou takeft may be into hell ? Death may feize thee, judgment find thee, and then the great gulph will be iixed between thee and endlefs glory, for ever and ever. O think of thefe things, all ye that are unwillinc: to come and walk with God. Lay them to heart. Shew yourfelves men, and in the ftrength of Jesus fay, Farewel luft of the flefh, 1 will no more walk with thee I Farewel luft of the eye, and pride of life ! Farewel carnal acquaintance, and enemies of the crofs, I will no more walk and be intimate with you [ Welcome Jesus, welcome thy word, welcome thy ordinance?, welcome thy Spirit, welcome thy people, I will henceforth walk with you. O that there may be in you fuch a mind ! God will fet his almighty flat to it, and feal it with the broad feal of heaven, even the fignet of his Holy ISpirit. Yes, he will, though you have been walking with, and following after, the devices and defires of your def-perately wicked hearts, ever fmce you have been born. '* I the high and lofty one," fays the great Jehovah, " that in-habiteth eternity, will dwell with the humble and contrite heart, even with the man that trembleth at my word.'* The blood, even the precious blood of Jesus Christ, if you come to the Father in and through him, fiiall cleanfe you from aU fin.

But the text leads mc to fpeak to you that are faints, as well as to you that are open or unconverted finners. I need not tell you that walking with God is not only honourable, but pleafant and profitable alfo : for ye know it by happy experience, and will find it more and more fo every day. Only give me leave to ftir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, and to bcfecch you by the mercies of God in Christ Jesus, to take heed to yourfelves, and walk clofer with your God, than you have in days paft : for the nearer you walk with God, the more you will enjoy of Him vvhofe prefence is life, and be the better prepared for being placed at his right-hand, where are pleafures for evermore. O do not follow Jesus afar off! O be not fo formal, fo dead and ftupid in your attendance on holy ordinances ! Do not fo Ihamefully forfake the afiembling yourfelves together, or be fo niggardly, and fo indifferent about the things of God. Remember

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member what Jr.sus fays of the church of Laodicpa^ *' Becaufe thou art neither hot nor cold, I will fpew thee out of my mouth." Think of the love of Jesus, and let that love con-ftrain you to keep near unto hiro ; and though yOu die for him, do not deny him, do not keep at a diftance from him ia any wife.

One word to my brethren in the miniftry that are here pre-fent, and I have done. You fee, my brethren, my heart is full; I could almoft fay it is too big to fpeak, and yet too big^ to be filent, without dropping a word to you. For does not the text fpeak in a particular manner 'to thofe who have the honour of being ftiled the ambafladors of Christ, and ftewards of the myfteries of God f I obferved at the beginning of this difcourfe, that Enoch in all probability was a public perfon, and a flaming preacher. Though he be dead, does he not yet fpeak to us, to quicken our zeal, and make us more active in the fervice of our glorious and ever-blefled Matter I How did E7ioch preach ? How did Enoch walk with God, though he lived in a wicked and adulterous generation ? Let us then follow him, as he followed Jesus Christ, and ere long, where he is, there (hall we be alfo. He is now entered into his reft: yet a little while, and we (hall enter into ours, and that too much fooner than he did. He fojourned here below three hundred years ; but blefled be God, the days of man are now fhortened, and in a few days our work will be over. The Judge is before the door: he that cometh will come, and will not tarry : his reward is with him. And we fhall all (if we are zealous for the Lord of Hofts) ere long {hine as the flars in the firmament, in the kingdom of our heavenly Father, for ever and ever. To Him, the blefTed Jesus, and eternal Spirit, be all honour and glory, now, and to all eternity. Ameny and Amen^

C 3 S E R.

SERMON IIL

Abrahams offering up his Son Ifaac.

Genesis xxii. 12.

And he faid^ Lay not thine Hand upon the Lad^ neither do thou any thing unto him ; for now I know that thou fcarefi God^ feeing thou haft not withheld thy Son^ thine only Son from me,

THE great Apoftle Pi::ul, in one of his cplftlcs, informs us, that " whatfoever was written aforetime was written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the holy fcripture mioht have hope." And as without faith it is impoffible to pleafe God, or be accepted in Jesus, the Son of his love ; we may be affured, that whatever inftances of a more than common faith are recorded in the book of God, they were more immediately defigricd by the holy Spirit for our learning and imitation, upon whom the ends of the world are come. For this reafon, the author of the epiftle to the Hebreivs^ in the xith chapter, mentions fuch a noble catalofiuc of Old Teftament faints and martyrs, " who fub-dued kingdoms, wrought rightcoufnefs, flopped the mouths of Jions, isc. and are gone before us to inherit the promifes." A fufficient confutation, I think, of their error, who lightly efteem the Old Teftament faints, and would not have them mentioned to chriftians, as pcrfons whofe faith and patience we are called upon more immediately to follow. If this was true, the apoftle would never have produced fuch a cloud of witncilcs out of the Old Teftament, to excite the chriftians of the firft, and confequently purefl: age of the church, to continue ftcdfaft and unmioveablc in the profeftion of their faith. Amidft this catalogue of faints, methinks the patriarch Abraham fhines the brightcO', and differs frcm the others, as

ons

[ 39 3

one ftar differeth from another ftar in glory j for he fhonc with fuch diftinguiflied luftrc, that he was called the " friend of God," the " father of the f^iithful ;'* and thofe who bclicv e on Christ, are faid to be " fons and daughters of, and to *' be blefled with, faithful Abraham.'" Many trials of his faith did God fend this great and good man, after he had commanded him to get out from his country, and from his kindred, unto a land which he fhould fhew him j but the laft was the moll fevere of all, I mean, that of ofi-ering up his only fon. This, by the divine aiTiftancc, I propofe to make the fubjecl of your prefent meditation, and, by way of con-clufion, to draw fome practical inferences, as God fhall enable me, from this inftru6tive ftory.

The facred penman begins the narrative thus; verfe i. " And it came to pafs, after thefe things, God did tempt Abraham." After thefe things, that is, after he had underwent many fevere trials before, after he was old, full of days, and might flatter himfelf perhaps that the troubles and toils of life were now finifhed ; " after thefe things, God did tempt Abraham" Chriftians, you know not what trials you may meet with before you die : notwithftanding you may have fufFered, and been tried much already, yet, it may be, a greater meafurc is fllll behind, which you are to nil up. " Be not high-minded, but fear." Our laft trials, in all probability, will be the greateft : and we can never fay our warfare is accomplifhed, or our trials finiflied, till we bow down our heads, and give up the gho{|-. " And it came to pafs, after thefe things, that God did tempt Abraham"

" God did tempt Abraham" But can the fcripture con-iradicSt itfelf ? Does not the apoftle James tell us, " that (jOD tempts no man;" and God does tempt no man to evil, or on purpofe to draw him into fm ; for, when a man is thus tempted, he is drawn away of his own heart's luft, and enticed. But in another fenfe, God may be faid to tempt, I mean, to try his fervants; and in this fenfe we arc to under-fland that paflage of Matiheiu^ where we are told, that, " Jesus was led up by the Spirit (the good Spirit) into the vvildernefs, to be tempted of the devil." And our Lord, in that excellent form of prayer which he has been pleafed to give us, dQCS not require us to pray that we may not abfo-C 4 lutelv

t 40 ] iutely be led into temptation, but delivered from the evil ot it; whente we may plainly infer, that God fees it fit fome-tinies to lead us into temptation, that is, to bring us into fuch circumftances as will try our fjith and other chriftian graces. In this fenfe we arc to underftand the expreffion before us; '* Got) did tempt or try /Ibrohan:,^'

How God was pl^afed to reveal his will at this time to his faithful fervanr, whether by the Shech'inab^ or divine appearance, or by a fmall ftill voice, as he ipolcc to Elijah^ or by a whifper, like that of the Spirit to Philips when he commanded him to go join himfelf to the eunuch's chariot, we are not told, nor is it material to enquire. It is enough that we are informed, God faid unto him, Abrabanr, and that Abraham knew it was the voice of God : for he faid, " Behold, here I am.** O what a holy familiarity (if 1 may fo fpeak) is there between God and thofe holy fouls that are united to him by faith in Christ Jesus ! God fays, Abraham \ zud Abraham faid (it fliould feem without the Icaft furpnze) Behold, here I am. Being reconciled to God by the death and obedience of Christ, which lie rejoiced in, and faw by faith afar ofF; he did not, like guilty ylda?n^ feek the trees of the garden to hide himfelf from, but takes pleaiure in converfing with God, and talketh with him, as a man talketh with his friend, O that CHRiST-lefs finners knew what it is to have fellowfhip with the Father and the Son ! They would envy the happinefs of faints, and count it all joy to be termed enthufialts and fools for Christ's fake.

But what does God fay to Abraham? Verfe 2. ** Take now thy fon, thine only fon Ijfaac^ whom thou loveft, and get thee into the land of Moriah^ and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I fhall tell thee of.?*

Every word deferves our particular obfervation. Whatever he >Yas to do, he mufl do it now, immediately, without conferring with ilefh and blood. But what muft he do ? " Take now thy fon.'- Had GoD faid, take now a firftling, or choiceft lamb or beal of thy fJock, and offer it up for a burnt-offering, it would not have appeared fo ghaftly: but for God to /iiy, " take now thy fon, and offer him up for a burnt-offer-jjig,-' one would have imagined, was enough to fl^gger the

ftrongell

t 4t )

f^rongeft faith. But this is not all : it muft not only be a fon, but *' thine only Ton IfaaCy whom thou loveft." If jt muft: be a fon, and not a beaft, that muft be offered, why will not I/hma£l doy the fon of the bond-woman ? No, it muft be his only fon, the heir of all, his Ifaac^ by interpretation laughter, the fon of his old age, in whom his foul delio^hted ** whom thou lovcfl," fays God, in whofe life his own was wrapped up : and this fon, this only fon, this Ifiac, the fon of his love, muft be taken now, even now, without delav and be offered up by his own father, for a burnt ofterin^^ upon one ef the mountains of the which God would tell him.

Well might the apoftle, fpeaking of this man of God, fay, that " againft hope he believed in hope, and, being ftroncr in faith, gave glory to GoD :" For, had he not l^en bleffed with faith which man never before had, he muft have refufed to comply with this fevere command. For how many aro-u-ments might nature fuggeft, to prove that fuch a command could never come from God, or to excufe himfclf from obev-ing it ? *' What! (might the good man have faid) butcher ^' my own child ! it is contrary to the very law of nature: *' much more to butcher my dear fon Ifaac, in whofe feed ** God himfelf has affured me of a numerous pofterity. But •^' fuppofmg I could give up my own affedions, and be will-*' ing to part with him, though I love him fo dearly, yet, if *' I murder him, what will become of God's promife? Be-." fides, I am now like a city built upon a hill ; I flijne as a *' light in the world, in the midft of a crooked and perverfe *' generation: How then fhall I caufe God's name to be blaf-" phemed, how (hall I become a by-word among the heathen, ** if they hear that I have committed a crime Vv'hich they ab-^' hor! But, above all, what will Sarah my wife fay ? How ^' can I ever return to her again, after I have imbrued my " hands in my dear child's blood? O that Gon would pardon ^' me in this thing, or take my life in tht; place of my fon's!" Thus, I fay, Abraham might have argued, and that too fecm-ingly with great reafon, againft complying with the divine command. But as before by faith he confidered not the dead-iiefs of Sarah's womb, when (he was paft age, but believed on him^ who faid, *' Sarah thy wift (hall bear thee a fon indeed;'* i fo

t A^ ]

fo now, being convinced that the fame God fpoke to and commanJed him to ofl'cr up that fon, and knowing that God was able to raife him from the dead, without delay he obeys the heavenly call.

O that unbelievers would learn of faithful Abraham^ and believe whatever is revealed from God, though they cannot fully comprehend it! Abraham knew God commanded him to offer up his fon, and therefore believed, notwithiVanding carnal reafoninor might fuggeft many objections. We have fufficient teilimony, that GoD has fpoken to us by his fon j why (hould ve not alfo believe, though many things in the New Tefta-n^.ent are above our rcafcn ? For, where reafon ends, faith beoins. And, however iniidels may ftile themfelves reai'mers, of all men they are the moft unreafonable: For, is it not contrary to all re ijbn, to meafure an infinite by a finite under-ilanding, or think to find out the myfleries of godlinefs to perfection ?

But to return to the patriarch Jbrahsrn: We obferved before what plaufible objections he might have made ; but he anfwered not a fingle word : no, without replying againft his Maker, we are told, verfe 3. that " Abraham rofe up early in the morning, and faddled his afs, and took two of his young men with him, and Ff^ac his fon, and clave the wood for the burnt-oficring, and rofe up and went unto the place of which God had told him."

From this verfe we may gather, that God fpoke to Abraham in a dream, or vifion of the night: For it is faid, he rofe up early. Perhaps it v/as near the fourth watch of the night, juft'before break of day, when God faid. Take now thy fon; and Abraham rifes up early to do fo; as I doubt not but he ufed to rife early to offer up his morning-facrificc of praife and thankfgiving. It is often remarked of people in the Old Teftamcnt, that they rofe early in the morning; and particularly of our Lord in the New, that he rofe a great while before day to pray. The morning befriends devotion ; and, if people cannot ufe {o much felf-denial as to rife early to pray, 1 know not how they will be ^ible to die at a {take (if called to it) for Jesus Christ.

I'he humility as well as the piety of the patriarch is obferv-able : he faddKd his own afs (great men Ihuuld be humble;)

and

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and to (hew his fincerity, though he took two of his young men with him, and Ifaac his Ton, yet he keeps his defii^n as a fccret from them all: nay, he docs not fo much as tclJ Sarah his wife: for he knew not but (he might be a fnare unto him in this affair ; and, as Rchehah afterwards, on another occa-fion, advifed ^acoh to flee, fo Sarah alio might perfuade Jfaac to hide him.felf; or the young men, had they known of it, might have forced him away, as in after-ages the foldicrs ref-cucd "Jonathan out of the hands of Saul. ^Mi Abraham fought no fuch evafion, and therefore, like an Ifraeliu indeed, in whom there was no guile, he himfelf rcfolutely " clave the wood for the burnt-offering, rofe up and went unto the place of which God had told him." In the fecond verfc God commanded him to offer up his fon upon one of the mountains which he would tell him of. He commanded him to offer his fon up, but would not then directly tell him the place where : this was to keep him dependent and watching unto prayer: for there is nothing like being kept waiting upon GoD; and, if we do, affuredly GoD will reveal himfelf unto us yet further in his own time. Let us pra6tife what we know, follow providence fo far as we can fee already ; and what we know not, what we fee not as yet, let us only be found in the way of duty, and the Lord will reveal even that unto us. Abraham knew not dire<5tly where he was to offer up his fon j but he rifes up and fets forward, and behold now God fliews him : f' And he went to the place of which God had told him." Let us go and do likewife.

Verfe 4. *' Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and faw the place afar off.'*

So that the place, of which God had told him, was no lefs than three days journey diftant from the place where God firft appeared to him, and commanded him to take his fon. Was not this to try his faith, and to let him fee that what he did, was not mcerly from a fudden pang of devotion, but a matter of choice and deliberation ? But who can tell what the aged patriarch felt during thefe three days ? Strong as he was in faith, I am perfuaded his bowels often yearned over his dear fon Ijaac. Methinks I fee the good old man walking with his dear child in his hand, and now and then looking upon him, loving him, and then turning i'fide to weep. And perhaps,

haps, fometlmes he flays a little behind to pour out his heart before God, for he had no mortal to tell his cafe to. Then, methinks, I fee him join his fon and fervants again, and talking to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, as they walked by the way. At length, ** on the third day, he lifts up his eyes, and faw the place afar off." And, to fhew that he was yet fincerely refolved to do whatfoever the Lord required of him, he even now will not difcover his defign to his fervants, but " i'aid, verfe 5. to his young men," (as we iliould fay to our worldly thoughts, when about to tread the courts of the Lord's houfe) " Abide you here with the afs; and I and the lad will go up yonder and worfliip, and come again to you." This was a fufficient reafon for their flaying behind; and, it being their mafter's cuftom to go frequently to worfhip, they could have no fufpicion of what he was going about. And by Jbraham's faying, that he and the lad would come again, I am apt to think he believed God would raife him from the dead, if fo be he permitted him to offer his child up for a burnt-offering. However that be, he is yet refolved to obey God to the uttermoft; and therefore,

Verfe 6. " Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it ups^n Jfaac his fon; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and they went both of them together." Little did Ifaoc think that he was to be offered on that very wood which he was carrying upon his fhoulders; and therefore Ijaac innocently, and with a holy freedom (for good men ihould not keep their children at too great a diilance) " fpake unto Abraham his father, and faid, My father; and he (with equal affection and holy condefccnfion) faid, Here am I, my fon." And to fliew how careful Ahrahaiv had been (as all chriftian parents ought to be) to inftrudl his Ifaac how to facrifice to God, like a youth trained up in the way wherein he fliould go; Jjaac faid, '* Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering ?" How beautiful is early piety ! how amiable, to hear young people afk quefti-ons about facrificing to God in an acceptable way ! Ifaac knew very well that a lamb was wanting, and that a lamb was neceffary for a proper facrifice : " Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offeringr" Young men and maidens, learn of him.

Hitherto,

Hitherto, it is plain, Ifaac knew nothing of his father's de-{yyn : but I believe, by what his father faid in anfwer to his quertion, that now was the time Abraham revealed it unto him.

Ver. 8. " And Abraham faid, My fon, God will provide himfelf a Lamb for a burnt-ofFering." Some think, that Abraham by faith faw the Lord Jesus afar off, and here fpakc prophetically of that Lamb of God already flain in decree, and hereafter to be a61:ual]y offered up for fmners* This was a lamb of God's providing indeed (we dared not have thought of it) to fatisfy his ownjuftice, and to render him juft in juftifying the ungodly. What is all our fire and wood, the belt preparation and performances we can make or prefent, unlefs God had provided himfelf this Lamb for a burnt-offering ? He could not away with them. The words will well bear this interpretation. But, whatever Abraham might intend, I cannot but think he here made an application, and acquainted his fon, of God's dealing with his foul ; and at length, with tears in his eyes, and the ut-nioft affeciion in his heart, cried out, " Thou art to be the lamb, my Son ;" God has commanded me to provide thee for a burnt-offering, and to offer thee upon the mountain which we are now afcending. And, as it appears from a fubfequent verfe, Ijaac^ convinced that it was the divine will, made no refinance at all : For it is faid, " They went both of them together ," and again, when we are told, that Abraham bound Ifaac^ we do not hear of his complaining, or endeavouring to efcape, which he might have done, being (as fome think) near thirty years of age, and, it is plain, capable of carrying wood enough for a burnt-offering. But he was partaker of the like precious faith with his aged father, and therefore is as willing to be offered, as Abraham is to offer him : And " fo they went both of them together."

Ver. 9. At length '* they came to the place of which God had told Abraham. He built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Ijaac his fon, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.'*

And here let us paufe a while, and by faith take a view of the place,where the father has laid him. I doubt not but the blefl'ed angels hovered round the altar, and fang, *' Glory be to God in the higheft," for giving fuch faith to man.'

Come,

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Comp, all ye tender-hearted parents, who know what It Is to look over a dying child : fancy that you faw the altar ereded before you, and the wood laid in order, and the belove Ifaac bound upon it: fancy that you faw the aged parent (landing by weeping. (For, why may we not fuppofe that Jhraha?n wept, fmce Jesus himfclf wept at the grave of Lazarus ?) O what pious, endearing exprefiions pafled now alternately between the father and the fon ! Jofephus records a pathetic fpeech made by each, whether genuine I jcnow not : but methinks I fee the tears trickle down the Patriarch Abrahain\ checks ; and out of the abundance of the heart, he cries. Adieu, adieu, my fon ; the Lord gave thee to me, and the Lord calls thct away ; bleiled be the name of the Lord : adieu, my Ifaac^ my only fon, whom I love as my ovvn foul ; adieu, adieu. I fee IJaac at the fame time meekly refigning himfelf into his heavenly Father's hands, and praying to the mofl High to ftrengthen his earthly parent to ftrike the {troke. Bat why do I attempt to defcribe what either fon or father felt ? It is i^mpofiible : we may indeed form fome faint idea of, but (hall never fully comprehend it, till we come and fit down with them in the kingdom of heaven, and hear them tell the pleafing ftory over again. Haften, O Lord, that blefled time 1 O let thy kingdom jcome !

And now, the fatal blow is o-oins: to be Q;ivcn. "And Ahraham ftretched forth his hand, and took the knife to flay his fon.*' But do you not think he intended to turn away his head, when he gave the blow ? Nay, why may we not fuppofe he fometimes drew his hand in, after it was flretched out, willing to take another lait farewell of his beloved Ijaac^ 3nd defirous to defer it a little, though refolved at laft to ftrike home ? Be that as it v/ill, his arm is now ftretched out, the knife is in his hand, and he is about to put it to iiis dear fon's throat.

But fing, O heavens I and rejoice, O earth ! Man*s extremity is God's ^opportunity : for behold, jufl as the knife, in all probability, was near his throat, ver. ii. " the angel of the Lord, (or rather the Lord of angels, Jesus Christ, the angel of the everlafting covenant) called unto Jiim, (probably in a very audible manner) from heaven, and faid, Abraha?n^ Abraham, (The vvoid is doubled,

to

to engage his attention ; and perhaps tlie fudJennefs of the call made him draw back his hand, juft as he was o-oin"-to ftrike his fon.) And Abraham laid, Here am I.*'

" And he faid, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, nei:hcr do thou any thing unto him : for now know I that thou feareft God, feeing thou haft not withheld thy fon, thine only fon from me."

Here then it was that Abraham received his fon Ifaac from the dead in a figure. He was in efteft offered upon the altar, and God looked upon him as offered and given unto him. Now it was that Abrahamh faith, being tried, was found more precious than gold purified kszn times in the ^-z. Now as a reward of grace, though not of debt, for this fio-nal a(5l of obedience, by an oath, God gives and confirms the promife, *' that in his feed all the nations of the earth fhould be blefled," ver. 17, 18. With what comfort may we fuppofe the good old man and his fon went down from the mount, and returned unto the young men ! With what joy may we imagine he went home, and related all that had paflcd to Sarah ! And above ail, with what triumph is he now exulting in the paradife of God, and adoring rich, free, diAin-guifliing, clcvSling, everlafting love, which alone made him to difPcr from the reft of mankind, and rendered him worthy of that title which he will have fo long as the fun aiid the moon endure, " The Father of the 'faithful !"

But let us now draw our eyes from the creature, and do whTii Abraham^ if he was prefenr, would dircv^l to ; I mean, fix them on the Creator, God blefled for evermore.

I fee your hearts affeded, I fee vour eyes weep. (And indeed, who can refrain weeping at the relation of fuch a ftory ?) But, behold, I fliew you a myftery, hid under the facrifice o^ Abraham's only fon, which, unlefs your hearts are hardned, muft caufe you to weep tears of love, and that plentifully too. I would willingly hope you even prevent me here, and are leady to fay, *' It is the love of GoD, in giving Jesus «' Christ to die for our fni^." Yes ; that is it. And yet perhaps you find your hearts, at the mentioning of this, not fo much af}e(5^ed. Let this convince you, that we are all fallen creatures, and that we do not love God or Christ as we ought to do ; for, if you 2i^mixQ Abraham offering up

his

C 48 ]

his IfaGc^ how much more ought you to extol, magnify and adore the love of God, who (o loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son Christ Jesus our Lord, *' that whofo-cver believeth on Him (hould not perifli, but have evcrlaff-ing life ?" May we not well cry out, Now know we, O Lord, that thou haft loved us, fince thou haft not withheld thy Son, thine only Son from us ? Abraham was God's creature (and God was Abrahams friend) and therefore under the highcft obligation to furrendcr up his Ijaac. But O ftupendlous love ! whilft we were his enemies, God fent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, tha^ he might become a curfe for us. O the freenefs, as well as the infinity, of the love of God our Father ! It is unfearch-able: I am loft in contemplating it; it is paft finding out. Think, O believers, think of the love of God, in giving Jesus Christ to be a propitiation for our fins. And when you hear how Abraham built an altar, and laid the wood in order, and bound Jfaac his fon, and laid him. on the altar upon the wood; think how your heavenly Father bound Jesus Christ his only Son, and offered him upon the altar of hiis juftice, and laid upon him the iniquities of us a'l. V/heti you read of Abraham's ftretching forth his hand to flay his Son, Think, O think, how God a£tually fuffered his Soil to be flain, that we might live for evermore. Do you read of 7/^^^ carrying the wood upon his (houlders, upon which he was to be oftered ? Let this lead you to mount Calvary (this very mount of Moriah where Ifaac was offered, as fome think) and take a view of the antitype Jesus Christ, the Son of God, bearing and ready to fink under the weight of that crofs, on which he was to hang for us. Do you admire Ifaac fo freely confenting to die, though a creature, and therefore obliged to go when God called? O do not forget to admire infinitely more the dear Lord JesUs, that promifed feed, who willingly faid, *^ Lo, I come," though under no obligation fo to do, <' to do thy will," to obey and die for men, " O God !" Did you weep juft now, when I bid you fancy you faw the altar, and the wood laid in order, and Jfaac laid bound on the altar ? Look by faith, behold the bk-fted Jf.su:^, our all-glorious Emmanuel^ not bound, but j>ailcd on an accurffd tree : fee how he hangs crowned with

t 49 ] .

tfibrr.s, and had in derifion of all that arc round about hiriri: fee how the thorns pierce him, and how the blood in purple ftreams trickle down his ^ac^ed temples ! Kirk how th? Goii of nature groans ! See how he bows his head, and at length humanity gives up the ghoft ! Jjaac is favcd, biit JesUs, the Q/OD o^ Ija ac, dies: A ram is offered up \\\ Ij one's room, but Jesus has no fubftitute; Jesus mult bleed, Jesus muft die; God the Father provided this Lamb for hirafelf from all eternity. He mud be offered in tirtie, or man muft be damned for evermore. And now, where are your tears ? Shall I fay, refrain your voice from weeping ? No i rather let me exhort you to look to him whom you have pierced, and mourn, as a woman mourneth for her firil-borrt : for we have been the betrayers, we have been the rhurderers of this Lord of glory ; and fhall we net bewail thofe fins, v/hich brought the blefled Je;sUs to the accurfed tree ? Having fo much done, fo much fuffered for us, fo much forgiven, fhall we not love rtiuch t O ! let us love Him with all our hearts, and mifids^ and ftrength^ and glorify him in our fouls and bodies, for they are his. Which leads me to a fecond inference I ftiall draw from the foregoing difcourfe.

From hence we may learn the nature of true, juftifying faith. Whoever underftands and preaches the truth, as it is in Jesus, muft acknowledge, that falvatlon is GcD*s free gift, and that we are faved, not by any or all the works of righteoufnefs which we have done or can do: no ; We cari neither wholly nor in part juftify ourfelves in the fight of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is our righteoufnefs ; and if we are accepted with God, it muft be only in and through the perfonal righteoufnefs, the a6live and paffive obedience^ of Jesus Christ his beloved Son. This righteotjfnefs muft be imputed, or counted over to us, and applied by faith to our hearts, or elfe we can in no wife be juftified ift God'^ fight; and that very moment a finner is enabled to lay hold ort Christ's righteoufnefs by faith, he is freely juftified front all his fins, and fhall never enter into condemnation^ not-withftanding he was a fire-brand of hell before. Thus it was? that Abraham was juftified before he did any good vvork : he was enabled to believe on the Lord Christ ; it was ac-«ountedi to him for righteoufnefs ; that is, Christ's rightc-

VoL. V. I> oufneC?

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oufnefs was made over to him, and (o accounted his. This, this is gofpcl ; this is the only way of finding acceptance with God : good works have nothing to do with our juftiiication in his fight. We arejuftified by faith alone, as faith the article of our church •, agreeable to which the apoftle Paul fays, " By grace ye are iaved, through faith ; and that not of yourfelves ; it is the gift of God." Notwithftanding, o-ood works have their proper place: theyjuftify our faith, thouf^h not our perfons; they follow it, and evidence our juftiftcation in the fight of men. Hence it is that the apoftle James ^(ks, was not y^/'r^^^w juftified by works? (alluding jio doubt to the ftcry on which we have been difcourfing) that is, did he not prove he was in a juftified ftate, becaufe his faith was productive of good works ? This declarative juftifi-cation in the fight of men, is what is direClly to be under-ftood in the words of the text j " Nov/ know I, fays God, that thou feareil me, fmce thou haft not withheld thy Son, thine only Son from me." Not but that God knew it before J but this is fpoken in condefcenfion to our weak capacities, and plainly fhews, that his offering up his fon was accepted with God, as an evidence of the fincerity of his faith, and for this, was left on record to future ages. Hence then you may learn, whether you are bleffed with, and are fons and daughters of, faithful Abraham, You fay you believe ; you talk of free gr^ce and free juftification : you do well; the devils alfo believe and tremble. But has the faith, which you pretend to, influenced your hearts, renewed your fouls, and, Wkt Abraham s^ worked by love? Are your affccSlions, like his, fet on things above ? Are you heavenly-minded, and like him, dcryou confefs yourfelves ftrangers and pilgrims on the earth ? In fhort, has your faith enabled you to overcome the world, and ftrengthned you to give up your Ifnacs^ your laughter, your mofl beloved lufts, friends, pUafures, and profits for God ? If fo, take the comfort of it; for juftly may you fay, *' We know affuredly, that we do fear and love *' God, or rather are loved of him." But if you are only talking believers, have only a faith of the head, and never felt the power of it in your hearts, however you may bolfter yourfelves up, and fay, " We have Abraham for our father, *' or Christ is our Saviour j" uniefs you get a faith of the

heart,

heart, a faith working by love, you fiiall never fit with Abraham^ Ifaac^ Jacobs or Jesus Christ, in the kingdom of heaven.

But I muft draw one more inference, and with that I fliill conclude.

Learn, O faints ! from what has been faid, to fit loofe to all your worldly comforts ; and (land ready prepared to part with every thing, when God fliall require it at your hand. Some of you perhaps may have friends, who are to you as your own fouls ; and others may have children, in whofe lives your own lives are bound up : all 1 believe have their Jfaacs, their particular delights of fome kind or other. Labour, tor Christ's fake, labour, ye fons and daughters of Abraham^ to refign them daily in afreclion to God, that, when he (hall require you really to facrifice them, you may not confer with fiefh and blood, any more than the bleficd patri:uch now before us. And as for you that have been in any meakire tried like unto him, let his example encourage and comfort you. Remember, Abraham your father was tried fo before you : think, O think of the happinefs he now enjoys, and how he is incefiantly thanking God for tempting and trying him u'hen here below. Look up often by the eye of faith, and {cq him fitting with his dearly beloved Jfaac in the world of fpirits. Remember, it will be but a little while, and you fhall fit with them alfo, and tell one another what God has done for your fouls. There I hope to fit with you, and hear this ftory of his offering up his Son from his own mouth, and to praif: the Lamb that fitteth upon the throne, for what he hath done for all our fouls, fpr ever and ever:.

D 2 SERMON

SERMON IV,

The great Duty of Family-Religion.

Joshua xxiv. 15. As fcr 'me and my Hcufe^ ivs ijiillferve the Lord,

THESE words contain the holy rcfolution of pious Jofljua^ who having in a molt: moving, afFe6lionate difcourfe recounted to the Ijraelites what great things Gon had done for them, in the verfe immediately preceding the text, comes to draw a proper inference from what he had been delivering ; and acquaints them, in the moft prefTing terms, that fmce God had been fo exceeding gracious unto them, they could do no lefs, than out o\' gratitude for fuch, uncommon favours and mercies, dedicate both themftlvcs and families to his fervice. *' Now therefore, feat the Lord, and ferve him in fmcerity and truth, and put away the GoDs which your fathers ferved on the other fide of the flood." And by the fame engaging motive docs the prophet Samuel afterwards enforce their obedience to the commandments of God, I Sam, xii. 24. " Only fear the Lord, and ferve him in truth, with all your heart; for coniider how great things he hath done for you." But then, that they might not excufe themfelves (as too many might be apt to do) by his giving them a bad example, or think he was laying heavy burdens upon them, whillt he himfelf touched them not with one of his fingers, he tells them in the text, that whatever regard they might pay to the dodrine he had been preaching, yet he (as all miniflers ought to do) was refolved to live up to and pracSlife it himfelf: *' Chufe you therefore, whom you will ferve, whether tne Gods which your fathers forved, or the Gods of the Jmorites, in whofe land ye dwell : but as for me and my houfe, we will ferve the Lord."

A rcfo-

A refolutlon tlii?, worthy o( JoJ/jua., and no lefs becoming, no lefs ncccflliry for every true fon o'ljofoua^ that is intrufted with the care and government of a family in our day : and, if it was ever feafonable for miniders to preach up, or people to put in \iv2.Ci\Q^ fnrnily-religiQn, it was never more fo than in the prefent age ; ilnce it is greatly to be feared, that out of thofe many houftiQlds that call themfelves chriftians, there are but kw that ferve God in their refpeflive families as they ought.

It is true indeed, vifit our churches, and you may perhaps fee fomething of they^rw of godlinefi fiill fubfifting amongft us; but even that is fcarccly to be met with in private houfes. So that were the blefTcd angels to come, as in the patriarchal ae;e, and obfcrve our fpiritual oeconomy at home, would they not be tempted to fay as Abraham to Ahimllcch^ " Surely, the fear of God is not in this place ?" Gen. xx. 11.

How fuch a general neglect of family-religion firft began to overfpread the chriftian world, is difficult to determine. As for the primitive chrifliians, I am pofitive it was not fo with them : No, they had not fo learned Christ, as falfely to imagine religion was to be confined foltly to their aflem-blies for public worfhip ; but, on the contrary, behaved wiih fuch piety and exemplary holinefs in their private families, that St. PW often flyles their houfe a church : " Salute fuch a one, fays he, and the church which is in his houfe." And, I believe, we muft for ever defpair of feeing a primitive fpi-rit of piety revived in the woijd, till we are fo happy as to fee a revival of primitive family religion ; and perfons unanl-moufly refolving with good old Jojlma, in the words of the text, " As for me and my houfe, we will ferve the Lord."

From which words, I fhall beg leave to infift on thefe three things.

I. /^iV/?, That it is the duty of every governor of a family to take care, that not only he himfelf, but alfo that thofe committed to his charge, ^^ ferve the Lord."

IL Secondly., I (hall endeavour to (hew after what manner a governor and his houfhold ought to ferve the Lord. And,

D 3 I"-

III. Thirdly^ I (hall ofFcr fomc motives, in order to excite all governors, with tlvjir refpeclive houflioltls, to ferve the Lord in the manner tliat (hall be recommended.

And FirJ}^ I am to fhevv that it is the duty of every governor of a family to take care, that not only he himfclf, but alio that thofe commitied to his charge, fhould icrve the Lord,

And this will appear, if we confidcr that every governor of a family ought to look upon himfelf as obliged to act in three capacities : as a prophet, to inOrudl ; as a prieft, to pray for and with ; as a king, to govern, direft, and provide for them. It is true indeed, the Litter of thefe, their kingly office, they are not fo frequently deficient in, (nay in this they are generally too folicitous ;) but as for the two former, their prieftly and prophetic office, like Gallio^ they care for no fuch things. But however indifferent fome governors may be about it, they may be aflured, that God will require a due difcharge of thefe offices as their hands. For if, as the apoftle argues, " He that does not provide for his own houfe," in temporal things, " has denied the faith, and is worfe than an infidel;" to what greater degree of apoftafy muft he have arrived, who takes no thought to provide for the fpiritual v/elfare of his family !

But farther, perfons are generally very liberal of their invectives againfi: the clergy, and think they juftly blame the conduct of that miniiler who does not take heed to and watch over the flock, of which the Holy Ghoft has made him over-feer : but may not every governor of a family, be in a lower degree liable to the fame cenfure, who takes no thought for thofe fouls that are committed to his charge ? For every houfe is as it were a little parifli, every governor (as was before obferved) a prieft, every family a flock : and if any of them perifli through the governor's neglect, their blood will God require at their hands.

Was a minifter to difregard teaching his people publicly, and from houfe to houfe, and to excufe himfelf by faying, that he had enough to do to work out his own falvation with fear and trembling, without concerning himfelf with that of others j would you not be apt to think fuch a minifter, to

be

be like the unjuft judge, " One that neither feared God, nor regarded man?*' And yet, odious as fuch a chara(5ler would be, it is no worfe than that governor of a family de-ferves, who thinks himfelf obliged only to fave his own foul, without paying any regard to the fouls of his houfhold. f^or (as was above hinted) every houfe is as it were a parifh, and every mafter is concerned to fecure, as much as in him lies, the fpiritual profperity of every one under his roof, as any mi-nifter whatever is obliged to look to the fpiritual welfare of every individual perfon under his charge.

What precedents men who negle^l their duty in this particular, can plead for fuch omillion, I cannot tell. Doubtlcfs not the example of holy "Joh^ who was fo far from imagining that he had no concern, as governor of a family, with any one*s foul but his own, that the fcripture acquaints us, " When the days of his childrens feafting were gone about, that Job fent and fanclified them, and offered burnt-offerings, according to the number of them all ; for Job faid. It may be that my fons have fmned and curfed God in their hearts : thus did 'Job continually." Nor can they plead the pra6tice of good old Jojhua^ whom, in the text, we find as much concerned for his houfhold's welfare, as his own. Nor laftly, that of Cornelius^ who feared God, not only himfelf, but with all his houfe : and were chriftians but of the fame fpirit of yob^ Jojhua^ and the Gentile centurion, they would adl as Joby "Jojhua^ and Cornelius did.

But alas 1 if this be the cafe, and all governors of families ought not only to ferve the Lord themfelves, but likewife to fee that their refpedlive houfhoL's do fo too j what will then become of thofe who not only ntgk-6l ferving God thcmfelve?, but alfo make it tlieir bufmefs to ridicule and feoff at any of their houfe that do ? Who are not content with " not entering into the kingdom of heaven themfelves ; but thofe alfo that are willing to enter in, they hinder." Surely fuch men are fa£tors for the devil indeed. Surely their damnation flumber-eth not: for although God, in his good providence, may fuffer fuch ftumbling-blocks to be put in his childrens way, and fuffer their greateft enemies to be thofe of their own houfholds, for a trial of their fmcerity, and improvement of their faith j yet we cannot but pronounce a woe againft thofe

D 4 maljers

fOnfters by, whom fuch oflenccs come. For If thofe that onl)^ ^ake cars of their own fouls, can fcarcely be faved, where will fuch monflious profanp and wicked governors appear?

But hoping there arc but fevy of this unhappy flamp, pro-peed we now to the

Second thing propqfcd ; To fhew after what manner a governor and his houfholu ought to ferve the Lord.

I. And the fiiR thing I fhall mention, is, readhig the word (fGcD. This is a duty incumbent oil every private perfon. ^* Search the fcriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal ]ife," is a precept giv^n by our blefild LoRp indifferently to all : but much more fo, ought pvcry governor of a family to think it in a peculiar manner fpoken to himfelf, becaufe (as bath been already proved) he ought to look upon himfelf as a prophet, and therefore, agreeably to fuch a character, bound to inftr;j£t thofe under his charge in the knowledge of the \vord of God.

This we fin^ \v?,s the order God gave to his peculiar people ^^^7; for thus fpeaks his reprefentative Mofes^ Dent, vi, 6, '/. '' Thefe words," that is, the fcripture words, " which I command thee this day, fhall he in thy heart, and thou ihali tfacii them diligently ynto thy children," that is, as it is generally explained, feivants, as well as children, " and ilialt talk of them vvhen thou fitteil in thy houfc." P>om whence we may infer, that the only reafon, why h many negle61: to read the words of fcripture diligently to their children is, be-paufe the words of fcripture are not in their hearts : for if they were, put of the abundance of the heart their mouth would (peak.

Behdes, fervants as well as children, arc, for the generality, yery ignorant, and mere novices in the laws of God : and how fliall they know, unlefs fome one teach them I And what more proper to teach them by, than the lively oracles of God, !' which are able to make them vvifp unto falvation ?" And yvho more proper to inflrucl: them by thefe lively oracles, than parents aid rnafters, wno (as hath been more than once ob-ierved) arc as much concerned to feed them witl) fpifitual, a,s \VUh biodily bread, day by day.

feu4

feut if thefe thirtgs be (o, what a miferahle condition at^e thofe unhappy governors in, who are lb far from ft^cdin,^ thofe committed to their care with the fincere milk of the word, to the intent they may grow thereby, that they neither fcarch the fcriptures themfelves, nor are careful to explain them to others ? Such families mull: be in a happy v/ay indeed to do their Mafter's will, who take fuch prodigious pains to know it ! Would not one imagiae that they had turned converts to the Church of R:me ; that they thought ignorance to be the mother of devotion ; and that thofe were to be condemned as heretics who read their Bibles ? And yet how few families are there amongft us, who do not act after this unfeemly jnanner ! But (hall I praife them in this ? I praife them not: Brethren, this thing ought not fo to be.

2. Pafs we on now to the fecond means whereby every governor and his houHiold ought to ferve the Lord, family^ prayer.

This is a duty, though as much neg]c61ed, yet as abfolutely neceflary as the former. Reading is a good preparative for prayer, as prayer is an excellent means to render reading effectual. And the reafon why every governor of a family (hould join both thefe exercifes together, is plain, becaufe a governor of a family cannot perform his prieftly office (which vve before ©bferved he is in fome degree invefted with) without performing this duty of family prayer.

We find it therefore remarked, when mention is made of Cain and JbeVs offering facrifices, that they brought them. But to whom did they bring them ? Why, in all probability, to their father Adam^ who, as prieft of the family, was to offer faerifice in their names. And fo ought every fpiritual fon of the fecond Adam^ who is entrufted with the care of an houf^ hold, to offer up the fpiritual facrifices of fupplications and thankfgivings, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, in the prefence and name of all who wait upon, or eat meat at Ivs table.

Thus we read ourblelTed Lord behaved, when he tabernacled amongft us : for it is faid often, that he prayed with his twelve difciples, which was then his little family. And he jiimfelf has promifed a particular blcffmg to jo'nt fupplications: \S Whcrefuevcr two or three are gathered together in my

name.

name, there am I in the midft of them." And again, " If two or three are agreed touching any thing they Ihall afk, it fliall be given them." Add to this, that we are commanded by the Apoftle to ^^ pray always, with all manner of fuppli-cation," which doubtlefs includes family prayer. And holy JoJJma^ when he fet up the good rcfolution in the text, that he and his houfhold would ferve the Lord, certainly refolved to pray with his family, which is one of the befl teftimonics they could give of their ferving him.

Befides, there are no families but what have fome common bleffings, of which they have been all partakers, to give thanks for ; fome common crofTes and afili6tions, which they are to pray againft ; fome common fms, which they are all to lam.ent and bewail : but how this can be done, without joining together in one common acSt of humiliation, fupplica-tion, and thankfgiving, is difficult to devife.

From all which confiderations put together, it is evident, that family prayer is a great and necellary duty ; and confe-quently, thofe governors that negledt it, are certainly without excufe. And it is much to be feared, if they live without fa-mily prayer, they live without God in the world.

And yet, fuch an hateful characler as this is, it is to be feared, that was God to fend out an angel to deilroy us, as he did once to deftroy the Egyptian firft-born, and withal give him a commifiion, as then, to fpafe no houfes but where they faw the blood of the lintel, fprinkled on the door-pofi, fo now, to let no families efcape, but thofe that called upon him in morning and evening prayer; few would remain unhurt by his avenging fword. Shall I term fuch families chriftians or heathens ? Doubtlefs they deferve not the name of chriftians; and heathens will rife up in judgment againft fuch profane families of this generation : for they had always their houfliold gods, whom they worfliipped,and whofe afliftance they frequently invoked. And a pretty pafs thofe families furely are arrived at, who muft be fent to fchool to pagans. But will not the Lord be avenged on fuch profane houfholds as thefe ? Will he not pour out his fury upon thofs that call not upon his name ?

3. But it is time for me to haften to the third and laft means I fliall recommend, whereby every governor ought with his houfhold to ferve the Lord, catechizing and injlmf}-

t 59 3

irjg their children and fervants, and bringing them up in the nurture and admonition ot the Lord.

That this, as well as the two lormcr, is a duty incumbent on every governor of an houfe, appears from that famous encomium or commendation God gives o^ Jhraham : *' 1 know that he will command his children and his houfhold after him, to keep the way of the Lord, to do juftice and judgment." And indeed fcaice any thing is more frequt-ntly prcfTed upon us in holy writ, than this duty of catechifing. Thus, fays God in a paflage before cited, " Thou ihalt teach thefc words diligently unto thy children.'* And parents are commanded in the New Tcftament, to "• breed up tneir children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." The holy Pfalmift acquaints us, that one great end vi-hy God did fuch great v/onders for his people, was, '* to the intent that when they grew up, they {hould (hew their children, or fervants, the fame." And in Dcut. vi. at the 20th and following verfes, God ftri£lly commands his people to inftrucl their children in the true nature of the ceremonial worfhip, when they {hould enquire about it, as he fuppofed tney would do, in time to come. And if fervants and children were to be inflruded in the nature of Jewijh rites, much more ought they now to be initiated and grounded in the docStrines and firft principles of the gofpel of Christ : not only, becaufe it is a revelation, which has brought life and immortality to a fuller and clearer light, but alfo, becaufe many feducers are gone abroad into the world, who do their urmoft endeavour to de-ftroy not only the fupcr(lru6ture, but likewife to fap the very foundation of our moft holy religion.

Would then the prefent generation have their pofterity be true lovers and honourers of God s mafters and parents muft take Solof?ions good advice, and train up and catechife their refpedlive houfholds in the way wherein they (hould go.

I am aware but of one objection, that can, with any (hew of reafon, be urged againft what has been advanced ; which is, that fuch a procedure as this will take up too much time, and hinder families too long from their worldly bufmefs. But it is much to be queftioned, whether perfons that ftart fuch ?n objedion, are not of the fame hypocritical fpirit as the traitor Judasy who had indignation againit devout Mary^

for

f 6o ]

for being Co profufe of her ointment, in anointing our bleffed Lord, and afkcd why it might not be fold for two hundred pence, and given to the poor. For has God given us fo much time to woric for ourfelves, and (hall wc not allow fome fmall pittance of it, morning and evening, to be devoted to his more immediate worfhip and fcrvice ? Have not people read, that it is GuD who gives men power to get wealth, and therefore that the heft way to profper in the world, is to fe-cure his favour ? And has not our blefled Lord himfeif pro-mifcd, that if we feek firfl the kingdom of God and his riohteoufncfs, all outward neccflaries fhall be added unto us ?

Abraham^ no doubt, was a man of as great biifinefs as fuch objectors may be j but yet he would find time to command his houfhold to ferve the Lord. Nay, David was a king, and confequently had a great deal of buiinefs upon his hands; yet notwithftanding, he profefies that he would walk in his boufe with a perfect heart. And, to inftance but one more, holy yojhua was a perfon certainly engaged very much in temporal affairs y and yet he folemnly declares before all ijraely that as for him and his houfliold, they would ferve the Lord, And did perfons but redeem their time, 7i'=> Abraham^ Davidy or Jojhua did, they u'ould no longer eromplain, that family duties kept them too long from the bufinefs of the world.

III. But my Third and Laft general head, under which I was to offer feme motives, in order to excite all governors, with their refpei^ive houfholds, to ferve the Lord in the manner before recommended, I hope, will ferve inflead of athou-fand arguments, to prove the weaknefs and folly of any fuch obje£\ion.

I. And the fiift motive I fhall mention is the duty of ^rj//-iude^ which you that are governors of families owe to God. Your lot, every one muft confefs, is cait in a fair ground : providence hath given you a goodly heritage, above many of your fellow-creatures ; and therefore, out of a principle of gratitude, you ought to endeavour, as much as in you lies, to make every perfon of your refpedlive houiholds to call upon him as long as they live : not to mention, that the authority, with which GoD has inverted you as parents and governors of families, is a talent committed to your truftj and which you

C 6i ]

are bound to Improve to your Mailer's honour. In other things we find governors and parents can exercife lordfhip over their children and fervants readily, and frequently enough can fay to one, Go, and he goeth ; and to another. Come, and he cometh ; to a third, Do this, and he doeth it. And (hall this power be (o often employed in your own affair?, and never exerted in the things of God r Be aftonifhed, O heavens, at this I

Thus did not faithful Abraham ; no, God fays, that he knew Abraham would command his fervants and children after him. Thus did not Jojhua: no, he was refolved not only to walk with God himfelf, but to improve his authority in making all about him do fo too : '^ As for me and my houf-hold, we will ferve the Lord." Let us go and do likewife.

2. But Secondly^ If gratitude to God will not, methinks love and pity to your children fliould move you, with your rerpe<Siive families, to ferve the Lord.

Moft people exprefs a great fondnefs for their children : nay fo great, that very often their own lives are wrapped up in thofe of their offspring. " Can a woman forget her fucking child, that (he fhould not have compaffion on the fon of her womb r" fays God by his Prophet Ifaiah. He fpeaks of it as a monftrous thing, and fcarce credible ; but the words immediately following, affirm it to be poffible, " Yea, they may forget:" and experience alfo afTures us they may. Father and mother may both forfake their children : for what greater degree of forgetfulnefs can they exprefs towards them, than to negle<?t the improvement of their better part, and not bring them up in the knowledge and fear of God ?

It is true indeed, parents feldom forget to provide for their childrens bodies, (though, it is to be feared, fome men are (o far funk beneath the hearts that perifh, as to negle(Sl even that) but then how often do they forget, or rather, when do they remember, to fecure the falvation of their immortal fouls ? But is this their way of exprefiing their fondnefs for the fruit of their bodies ? Is this the beft teftimony they can give of their afteclion to the darlino; of their hearts ? Then was Da-lilah fond of Sawfon, when fhe delivered him up into the hands of the Philijnnes : then were thofe rufHans well attested to Daniel^ when they threw him into a den of lions.

3- But Thirdly, If neither gratitude to GcD, nor love and pity to your children, will prevail on you ; yet let a principle of common horipjly znd jujlIce move you to fet up the holy refo-lution in the text.

This is a principle which all men would be thought to aifl upon. But certainly, if any may be truly cenfured for their jnjuftice, none can be more liable to fuch cenfure, than thofe who think themfelves injured if their I'crvants withdraw them-Iclves from their bodily work, and yet they in return take no care of their incflimable fouls. For is it juft that fcrvants Ihould Ipend their time and ftrength in their mafter's fervice, and mafters not at the faftie time give them what is juft and equal for their fervice ?

It is true, fome men may think they have done enough when they give unto their fervants food and raiment, and fay, *' Did not I bargain with thee for fo much a year?'* But if they give them no other reward than this, what do they lefs for their very beads ? But are not fervants better than they ? Doubtlefs they are : and however mafters may put ofF their convidions for the prefent, they will find a time will come, when they fiiall know they ought to have given them fome fpiritual as well as temporal wages ; and the cry of thofe that have mowed down their fields, will enter into the ears of the the Lord of Sabaoth.

4. But Fourthly, If neither gratitude to GoD, pity to children, nor a principle of common juftice to fervants, are fuffi-cient to balance all objedions ; yet let that darling, that pse-vailing motive of felf-intereji turn the fcale, and engage you -with your refpe6live hou(holds to ferve the Lord.

This weighs greatly with you in other matters : be then perfuaded to let it have a due and full influence on you irj this : and if it has, if you have but faith as a grain of muf-tard-feed, how can you avoid believing, that promoting family-religion, will be the beft means to promote your own temporal, as well as eternal welfare? For " Godlinefs has the promifeof the life that now is, as well as that which is to come."

Befides, you all, doubtlefs, wifh for honefl fervants, and pious children : and to have them prove otherwife, would beas great a grief to you, as it was to El'ijka to have a treacherous

Gchaz'i^ or David to be troubled with a rebellious Ahfalovu But how can ic be expected they Ihould learn their duty, except thofe fet over them, take care to teach it to them ? Is it not as reafonable to expert you fhould reap where you had not Town, or gather where you had not ftrawed ?

Did chriftianity, indeed, give any countenance to children and fervants to difregard their parents and mafters according to the ficfli, or reprefcnt their duty to them, as inconfiftent with their entire obedience to their father and mafter who is in heaven, there might then be Tome pretence to negle6t in-ftrucling them in the principles of fuch a religion. But fince the precepts of this pure and undefilcd religion, are all of them holy, juft, and good j and the more they are tauMu their duty to God, the better they will perform their duties to you ; methinks, to negled the improveijient of their fouls, out of a dread of fpending too much time in religious duties, is ailing quite contrary to your own intereft as well as duty.

5. Fifthly and Lajily^ If neither gratitude to God, love to yoj^r children, common juftice to your fervants, nor even that moft prevailing motive felf-intereft, will excite ; yet let a confideration of the terrors of the Lord perfuade you to put in practice the pious refolution in the text. Remember, the time-will come, and that perhaps very fhortly, when we muft all appear before the judgment-feat of Christ ; where we muft give a folemn and ftridl account how we have had our converfation, in our refpectlve families in this world. How will you endure to fee your children and fervants (who ought to be your joy and crown of rejoicing in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ) coming out as fo many fwift witnefles againil you ; cuifmg the father that begor them, the womb that bare them, the paps which they have fucked, and the day they ever entered into your houfes ? Think you not, the damnation which men mufi: endure for their own fms, will be fufficient, that they peed load themfelves with the additional guilt of being acceiTiiry to the damnation of others alfo ? O confider this, all ye that forget to ferve the Lord with your refpedlive houfholds, " left he pluck you away, and there be none to deliver you !"

But God forbid, brethren, that any fuch evil fhould befal

you: no, rather will I hope, that you have been in fome

5 . meafurc

[ 64 3

pieafure convinced by what has been faid of the great impor^ tance oi family-reugion ; and therefore are ready t'.> cry out in the U'ords imnicd.ately following the text, " God forbid that we (liould forlake the Lord ;" and again, ver. 21, " Nay, but we will (with our feveral houlholds) krvt the Lord."

And that there may be always fuch a heart in you^ let me exhort all governors of families, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, often to refledt on the ineftimable worth .of their own fouls, and the infinite ranfom, even the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which has been paid down for thenu Remember, I befeech you to remember, that you are fallen creatures; that you are by nature loft and eftranged frorii God i and that you can never be reffored 10 your primitive happinels, till by being botn again of the Holy Ghoil, you arrive at your primitive {late of purity, have the miage of God reftamped upon your fouls, and are thereby made meet to be partakers of the inheritance with the famts in light. Do, I fay, but ferioufly and frequently refle6t on, and a6t as perions that believe fuch important truths, and you will no more ne-ple6t your family's fpiritual welfare than your own. No, the love of God, which will then be fhed abroad in your iiearts, will conftrain you to do your utmoil to preferve them : and the deep fenfc of God's free grace in Christ Jesus, (which vou will then have) in calling you, will excite you to do \'our utmoft to fave others, efpecially thofe of your own houf-hold. And though, after all your pious endeavours, fome may continue unreformtd ; yet you will have this comfortable refiecfion to make, that you did what you could to make your families religious : and therefore may reft afTured of fitting down in the kingdom of heaven, with Abraham^ JoJIma^ and Cornelius^ and all the godly houfnolders, who in their feveraj oenerations fhone forth as fo many lights in their rcfpedtive houlholds upon earth. Jmen^

SERMON

SERMON V.

Christ the beft Hufband : Or an earneft In-i vitation to Young Women to come and fe^ Christ.

Preached to a Society of Young Women, in

FelieT'Lcne,

P S A L M Xlv. lO, II.

Hearken, O Bazigh^er^ and coifider, 'and incline thine Ear: Forget alfo thine (rxn People, and thy Fathefs Houfe: So Jhall the King greatly defire thy Beatity | for he is thy Lord, and ijvorjhip thou him.

THIS pfalm Is calltd the fong of loves, the mofr pure and fpiritual, the m^ ft dear and delightful loves ; namely^ thole which are between Christ the beloved, and his church, which is his fpoufe; wherein is id foitli, firft, the Lord Jesus Christ in regard of his miijefi'y, power, and divinity, his truth, meeknefs and equity: Arfd then the fpoufe is fet forth, in regard of her ornaments, companions, attendants and pof-terlty; and both in regard of their comelinefs and beauty; After the defcription of Christ, an invitation to his efpou-fals, is given the children of men, called by the name of daughter; and therefore, particularly applicable linto you, my dear fifters, as being the daughters of men, yet not io as cxr tluding the fons of riien.

I fijall now, therefore, confider the words, ^s fpoken to yoU in particular, and containing this dodlrine;

That the Lord Jesus Christ doth invite the daughter$ bf men to be his fpoufe; and is exceeding defirous of their l^eauty; who, forgetting their people and father's houfe, doi

Vol. V. E hearken^

hearken, confider and incline to his invitation, and join tbem-{elves to him in this relation.

I {hall ftiew,

I. How Christ doth efpoufe himfelf unto the children, but, more efpecially, unto the daughters of men.

The Lord Jesus Christ, doth efpoufe himfelf unto the children of men, in this world) but the public folemnization of the marriage, is refcrved until the laft day; when his fpoufe ihall be brought forth to him, in white robes, and a raiment of perfc£l righteoufnefs, more rich and curious, my dear fiflers, than any of your needle-work ; and the marriage feall will be kept in his Father's houfe. In heaven, where they fnall be received into the neareft and clofeft embraces of his love* The marriage knot is tied here, in which are included four things:

F/;y?, Mutual Choice,

Secondly^ Mutual AEr£tion.

nirdly^ Mutual Union.

Fourthly^ Mutual Obligation.

jp/r/?. My dear fillers, there is a mutual choice^ which is not only in Christ, as Mediator, but alfo by Christ as the eternal Son of God, yea, God himfelf j notwithftanding all that the polite Avians and Soc'inians fay to the contrary. The Lord Jesus Christ, my dear fifteis, doth chufe you merely by his free grace ; it is freely of his own mercy, that he brings you into the marriage covenant: You, who have fo grievoufly offended him, yet, the Lord Jesus Christ hath chofen you; you did not, you would not have chofen him; but when once, my dear fitters, he hath chofen you, then, and not till then, you make choice of him for your Lord and Hufband.

The Lord Jesus Christ when he firft comes to you, finds you full of fm and pollution ; you are deformed, defiled, cnflaved, poor, mifcrable and wretched, very defpicable and loathfome, by reafon of fm; and he maketh choice of you, not becaiife of your holinefs, nor of your beauty, nor of your being qualified tor them; no, the Lord Jesus Christ puts thofe qualifications upon you, as may make you meet for his rnjhrace: and vou are drawn to make choice of this Lord Jesvjs Christ becaufe he firft chofe you.

2 Secondly^

SfCjridly, In this efpoufal of your's, my dear fiftcr?, there is a mutual uffctTion ; this dorh accompany the choice. Your heartg are drawn out after Christ ; your fouls pant and Jong for him ; you cannot be at reft until you are engaged to this Jesus : You are ready to cry out continually, none but Christ, none but Christ : this is the language of your hearts, if you are truly fenfible of your need of him. The more acquaintance you have of this Lord Jesus, the more pleafed you are with your choice, and the more your affections are drawn towards him. And where can you place your affe(5lions better than upon that Jesus who fh^d his blood for your fakes ? Surely he deferves both your loves and afTedions: Go on, go on, my dear fillers, that your affedions may grow (Ironger and ftronger.

Thirdly^ There is not oi.ly mutual choice, and mntual affection, hwiWV^w'xit mutual Union: And here doth the marriage lie chiefly, in this union j Christ and fouls are con-traded, and the knot is tied fo faft, that neither men on earthy how great foever they be, nor devils in hell, though they Ihould combine all their wrath and rage together, ftill they cannot diffolve, they cannot untie it^ nOj my dear fifters, it is indiffolvable, for the union is, by the fpirit, on Christ's part, and by faith on your's: By the fpirit, Christ doih lay hold on you j and by faith, you do lay hold on him ; and thus the match is made j Christ becomes your*s, his perfon^ portion, and ail his benehts are your's j and you become Christ's, your perfons, your hearts, and all that you hav^ is refigned up unto him \ and O that they may be fo more and more.

Fourthly^ There is a mutual OhVigc.tion between Ct^RisT and his fpoufe. Chi^ist obliges himfelf to love you herci he will nor, indeed he never will leave you, he will protect you frcm the malice of the Pharijees of this generation, he will provide for you in all difficulties j he will live with you here, and at kift he will take you to himfelf, to live with htm for ever. And you are engaged to him to be loving, loyal, faithful, obedient; and you are to flick clofe to him as long as ymi live j and then you will find yourfelves to be married to the beft advantage, both for foul and body, for lime and fgr eterr.ity.

E 7r II. Chri-T

* f 68 1

11. Christ doth Invite all of you to be his fpoufe;

And it is on this account that he fends forth his miniflerS to preach. It is this, that makes me thus come among you; that you would accept of this invitation, to which, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I do call and intreat you to take him, on his ov/n terms. He calls all of you, my fiijers, whether elder or younger, whether married or unmarried, of higher degree, or of the mcanell quality, the pooreft fervants, yea, the rabble of this world, as the world calls you, who are willing to be efpoufed unto the Lord Jesus Chr-Ist. I fay, the poor are as welcome to be Christ's fpoufe as thofe that are rich. He regardeth not the rich more than the poor: he chofe a mean virgin, efpoufed to a carpenter, to be his mother} and he chufeth and calleth all fuch to be his fpoufe; then be not difcouraged at your being defpifed in the world ; for if you are but loved by Christ, and efpoufed to him, it will be an over-fuiHciency for all the trouble that you have met with here.

IIL Thofe who would be efpoufed unto Christ, muft

hearken, confider, and incline to his invitation, and forget even their father's houfe.

Such as .would be efpoufed unto Christ muil hearken. " Hearken, O daughter." Many amongft you, my fillers, {lop their ears againft the calls of the gofpel ; they {hut their cars like the deaf adder, which will not hearken unto the voice of the charmer, though he charm never fo wifely. Yoti will not hearken unto the invitations of Christ; you can hearken unto the vanities of the world, and be delighted with the efpoufals of the world, but never think, or are delighted with the efpoufals of Christ.

It was by the ear, that the temptation of fm was received by the firft man, when he departed from God ; and by the ear, the invitation to be Christ's fpoufe muft be received, before the heart will be opened to receive Jesus Christ in this conjugal relation.

If you would, my dear fifcers, be efpoufed to Christ, you muft confider Christ's invitation. It is not a ilight or bartf hearing of Christ's invitation, which will be of any fervicc

to

[ % ]

to you, or make up the match between Christ and your fouls; no, you muft receive Christ in the heart; you muft confider the thing itfelf, the advantages Of it, the difference between Christ's invitations and the deviPs temptations, or any of the world's proflers.

Thofe who would be efpoufcd to Christ, mud be inclined to accept of Christ's invitation. *'Hearken, O daughter, cOnfider and incline thine ear." This is to incline vour hearts: You mud: con fen t with you v/ills; there muft be a compliance to the motion of Christ, and you muft: have de-fires after Christ, and then your hearts v/ill fay, ' Lord, let us be thy fpoufe, and be thou our beloved.'

You muft likewife forget your father's houfe. *< Hearken, O daughter, and confider, and forget thy father's houfe." You are not here to caft off all affections unto natural relations ; but you muft forget all relations, fo as to be ready to forego all their favour, when it ftandeth in competition with that of the Lord Jesus Christ ; and do not let your carnal friends and relations hinder you from clofing with, and efpouf-ing the Lord Jesus. I earneftly befeech you to fufFer the lofs of any thing, rather than to lofe his favours; you muft indeed forget your ov/n people, that is, you muft forget all your evil cuftoms which you have learned in your father's houfe, and forfake all your vain converfation, your reading of plays, novels, or romances; and you muft keep from learning to fmg the fongs of the drunkard; for Christ, if you are his fpoufe, hath redeemed you.

Such of you, my dear iifters, as are efpoufed to the Lord Jesus Christ are very beautiful. I do not mean in refpect of your bodies ; you may have lefs of external comelinefs than others, in refpe6l of your bodies, but as to your fouls you will exceed in beauty, not fo much in the eyes of man, as in the eyes of God 5 fuch have the moft beautiful image of God ftamped upon them ; none in the vi^orld, befide them, have the Icaft fpark of fpiritual beauty. Such as are not married to Christ, are unregcnerated, they are not born again, nor brought from fin unto God, which muft be done before you be efpoufed to Christ.

And the Lord Jesus Christ defu*eth to fee this beauty in his fpoufe, for he cries out, " O my dove, thou art in the

E 3 clefts

clefts of the rock, In the fecret places of the flairs, let me fee thy countenance, let me hear thy voice, for fvvcct is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.'* Fie calleth his fpoufe his love, being the dear obje6c of his love; and he admircth her lovelinefs; he repeats it twice in one verfe, " Behold thou art fair, my love, behold thou art fair." Thus you fee he dc-fcribcs their beauty. And then, my fifters, v/e have a v;on-derful exprelTion of Christ to his fpoufe, '' Thou haft ra-vifhed my heart, my fifler, my fpoufe, thou haft ravifhed my heart w^ith one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.'* Thus you fee how pleafed the Lord Jesus Christ is with his fpoufe; and will not you, therefore, be efpoufed unto the Lord Jesus ? I offer Jesus Christ to all of you; if yoa have been never fo notorious for fin, if you have bfeen as great a harlot as ]\dary Magdalen was, when once you arc efpoufed to Christ, you (hall be forgiven. Therefore be notdifcou-raged, at whatever fxights and contempts the world may pafs upon you, but come and join youifelves to the Lord Jesus Christ, and all your fins ihall be wafned away in his blood; and when once you are efpoufed to JesuS, you are disjoined from fin, you are born again. You ate now, as it were, efpoufed unto fin ; fiiv is your hufband, amJ you are too fond of it, but when once you are married fo Christ, when you are born again, then you may be faid to die unto fin ; but till then, fin liveih in your afft<Stion3; therefore, my fifters, give fin its death-w^ound in your hearts j you have been called by the word time after time, and it has had no effect iipon you J but when you are efpoufed unto the Lord Jesus Christ, then you will be brought to him by his Spirit: You will then lay hold on him by faith, his Spirit will draw you unto himfelfj he will make you to be willing in the day of his power J he will give you fi-.ith in him. Faith is the hand of the foul which layeth hold on Christ ; therefore, do not reft contented till you have this grace of faith wrought in you with power; do not be contented till you have received the Lord Jesus Christ.

Embrace Christ in the arms of your deareft love; then you love the Lord Jesus Christ with fmcerity, when you love and eftcem him before faiher, mother, or all the delights and pleafures of thb lifci ^^"^ ^^ you do delight in aiiv thing

that

that this world can produce, more than in the Lord Jfses Christ, you have no true love to him.

If you are efpoufed to Christ, you have acquaintance and converfe with him ; you will endeavour to promote his in-tercft, and advance his name in the world ; when others are going to the polite and fafliionablc diverfions of lire, you will be labouring to bring honour to the Lord Jesus Christ; you will commend your beloved above all other beloveds, and endeavour to bring others into love to him. Can you, my dear fitters, who are now aflembled to worfliip God, (hew fuch evidence of your efpoufals unto the Lord Jesus Christ? O ! how joyful, how comfortable an eftate is this ! Surely this is a marriage worth fceking after; this is the only defirable marriage, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the only lover that is worth feeking after.

Now, my dear fiU.TS, I (hall fpeak a few words to thofe of yon who have not yet efpoufed yourfelves to the Lord Je^us, It is a great fin, and furely you highly affront the Lord that bought you. It is likewife your folly to refufe and negledl the gracious proffers of being the fpoufe of Christ; hereby you forfeit all that love which he would beftow upon you; hereby you chufe rags before robes, drols before gold, pebbles before jewels, guilt before a pardon, wounds before healing, defilement before cleanfing, deformity before comelinefs, trouble before peace, flavery before liberty, the fervice of the devil before the fervice of Christ. Hereby you chufe diflionour before a crown, death before life, hell before heaven, eternal milery and torment before everlafting joy and glory. And need there a farther evidence of your folly and madncfs, in rcfufing and ncgleding Cpirist to be your fpoufe.

My dear fifters, I (hould exceed the limits of your time, fliould I particularize all the advantages which you would obtain by being efpoufed to the Lord Jesus. This is your wifdom ; they are foolifli virgins Vv'ho refufe; but you are the wife virgins who have accepted of the Lord Jesus-Christ, and have difpofcd of yourfelves to him ; you have made the wifeft choice; and however the blind world may deem yoa fools, and defpife you as being methodically mad, yet you are wife in the efleem of God, and will, one day, appear (o in the efteem of them that now defpife you. It is your glory

E 4 that

C 72 1

that you are efpoufed unto the Lord Jesus ; and therefore glory in your erpoufal; glory not in yourfelves, but in the Lord who hath thus freely and gracioufly bellowed thefe favours upon vou. It is your fafcty to be efpoufed unto the Lord Jesus Christ, he will protect and defend you even from fin and fat:in, and eternal ruin ; and therefore thus far y6u are fafc; he hath a regard for you in times of danger from men, and thefe times of darg!=r fccni to be hafiening; it is now arifmg as a black cloud no bigger than a man's hand, and by and by it will overfpread the heavens, and when it is full it will buril i but if you are efpoufed to Christ, you are fafc.

New, my dear fifters, I fliall conclude \ylth an earnefl exhortation to high and low, rich and poor, one with another, to be efpoufed unto Christ.

Let me fpeak unto you, young women, who are not yet efpoufed unto Christ, in an efpecial manner. It may be to fatisfy your curiofity, has brought many of you here; though, perhaps, this may be the time when you fhall be brought home to embrace the Lord Jesus, and be efpoufed to him. And P, that I may perfuade you, by his Spirit, to efpoufe your-fylves unto the Lord of life.

And if you are but brought to clofe with the Lord Jjesus C'HtiisT, I fhall attain my end, and then both you and I Ihall rejoice that I preached this fermon to you.

Come virgins, will you give me leave to be a fuitor unto you, not in my own name, but in the name of the Lord ? O i that I may prevail with you for your afFedlions, and perfuade you tagive them unto Christ ! May I be inftrumental of bringing your fouls to Christ ! May I be inflrumental to join you and Christ together this day !

Be not coy, as fome of you poinbiy are in other loves : modefty and the virgin blufii may very well become you, when propofals of another kind are made unto you; but here coynefs is foliy, and backwardnefs to accept of this motion, is (hame: you have ten thoufand times more reafon to biudi at the refufal pf Christ for your beloved, than at the acceptance; when pthcrwife the devil and fin would ravijh your virgin affections. Never had you a better motion made to you; never was fuch a match proitercd to you as this, of being matched and efpouf*-p] unto the Lord Jesus Chjust.

Con*

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Confider who the Lord Jesus is, wIioitj you sre invited to efpoufe yourfelvcs unto; he is the beft hufuand ; there is none comparable to Jesus Christ.

Do you dcfirc one that is great ? He is of the highcfl djo--nity, he is the glory of heaven, the darling of eternity, admired by angelii, dreaded by devils, and adored by faints. For you to be efpoufcd to fo great a king, what honour will you have by this efpoufal ?

Do you defire one that is rich ? None is comparable to Christ, the fulnefs of the earth belongs to him. If you be eipoufcd to Christ, you fliall fiiare in his unfearchable riches; you (hdll receive of his fulncfs, even grace for grace here, and you fliall hereafter be admitted to glory, and fiiall live with this Jesus to all eternity.

Do you dtfire one that is wife ? There is none comparable to Christ for wifdom. His knowledge is infinite, and his wifdom is correfpondejit thereto. And if you are efpoufed to Christ, he will guide and counfel you, and make you wife unto falvaiion.

Do you defire one that is potent, who may defend you againlt your enemies, and all the infults and reproaches of the Pharifees of this generation ? There is none that can equal Christ in power; for the Lord Jesus Christ hath all power.

Do you defire one that is good ? There is none like unto Christ in this regard ; others may have fome goodnefs, but it is imperfeci:-, Christ's goodnefs is compleat and perfect, he is full of goodnefs, and in him dwelleth no evil.

Do you defire one that is beautiful ? His eyes are mod fpaikling, his looks and glances of love are ravidiing, his (miles are moft delightful and refredilng unto the foul : Christ is the moft lovely perfon of all others in the world.

Do you defire one that can love you ? None can love you like Christ: His love, my dear fifters, is incomprehcnfible; his love paiTeth all other loves: The love of the Lord Jesus is firft, without beginning; his love is free without any motive ; his love is great without any meafure ; his love is con-Jlant without any change, and his Jove is evcrlafting.

It was the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, my dear fiftcr?, which brought him dou'p Irorn heaven > and which

yeileci

veiled his divinity in a human foul and body ; for he is God over .1! bleflcd for ever : It wzs love that made him fubjecl to hunger, thirft and forrow; he was humbled, even unto death for you ; for you who are efpoufed to him, he underwent the painful, (hameful and ignominious death of the crofs : and can you, my fifters, hear this, and not be concerned to think that the bleffed Jesus underwent all this for fuch fmful creatures as you and I arc ? And when out of love he hr.d finifhed the redemption on earth, as to what was needful for fatisfadion ; it was his love that carried him back to heaven, where he was before, that he might make application of what he had purchafed, that there he might make in-terccflion for thofe whom he had redeemed, and prepare a place for them, even glorious manfions with himfelf, in the houfe not made with hands, which is eternal in the heavens. It is out of love that he fendeth fuch tokens to his people from heaven to earth, which he conveyeth through his ordinances, by his Spirit unto them.. Surely then none is fo deferving as the Lord Jesus Christ for you to efpoufe yourfelves unto : if you be efpoufed unto Ci-iRiST he is your's, all that he is, all that he hath ; you iliall have his heart, and Ihare in the choicefl expreffions of his dearcft love.

The Lord Jesus Christ, my dear fifters, doth befeech you to be his fpoufe. We minifters have a commiffion from the Lord Jesus Christ to invite you, in his name, unto this very thing ; and Christ's invitations are real ; general; frequent; earneft ; free.

Christ's invitations of you, to be his fpoufe, are real; and as the thing is real, fo you, my dear fifters, are really invited unto it. The Lord doth not mock and diflemble with you, as fome pretending lov«rs, who diflemble love unto virgins, until they have gained their afte(Slions, and then falfely and bafely relinquifli them, never /eally intending either to efpoufe, or marry them : but the Lord doth really intend the thing, in his invitations of you; he never caft ofF any whofe confent and afFe<Slions he had gained. Again,

Christ's invitations of you, my dear fifters, are general. All of ycu are invited, none of you are excluded ; all forts of Tinners are invited ; the moft vile and abominable finners, the moft notorious tranfgrellors are invited to be Christ's

fpoufe^

[ 75 3

fpoufe, and fliall be as welcome as any unto the embraces of his love.

Christ's invitations of you t^xz frequent: Jesus Christ calls on you frequently ; he hath vi^aited on you time after time, one year after another ; and he doth now invite you, by me this day, to come unto Him. Do not flight this invitation, but receive it with joy and thankfulnefs. Come, I befeech you, to this Jesus, who thus invites you to be his fpoufe. Again,

Christ's invitations to be his fpoufe are earnefi\ he doili call upon you, and not only call, but call carneflly too ; yea, he ufeth many arguments with you : he will prefs you to come unto him ; he is loth to take any denial from you : he knocks, and knocks hard at the door of your hearts for entertainment ; and furely you will not deny the Lord of life and glory who died for you, and gave himfelf for you : O my dear fifters, let this be the evening of your efpoufals to the Lord Jesus Christ.

He invites you freely to be his fpoufe, for all his invitations are free j he doth not expert a portion with you, as worldly lovers do ; He wants nothing of you : nay, you muft have nothing, if you be efpoufed unto the Lord Jesus Christ. If you be poor, miferable, blind, naked, Jesus ChrisT will fupply all thefe dcfe61;s of his own free mercy ; he will fill and fupply you with all things out of his treafury ; he will make you meet for himfelf 3 he will prepare you to live with him for ever.

Confider, if you be once efpoufed unto Christ, if once joined in this relation, you fliall never be feparated from him ; neither men nor devils fliall be able to feparate you : none, none, fliall disjoin you ; and when death doth break all other bonds, it fliall not break the conjugal bond between you and Christ, but bring you unto the moft full and everlafting poflefTion of your beloved.

And what do you now fay, young women ? fliall I have a grant for my mailer, or be fent away with a repulfe and rc-fufal \ no, I cannot carry fiich a mcilage to my mafler \ I hope better thin^^s of you, my fifters, and things which accompany falvation : mcthinks by this time ye fhould begin to have a mind unto Jesus Chrkt 3 you look as if you did

defire 5

f 75 3^

4c{ire ; you hearken as if you would confent. What do you fay ? Shall the match be made up this e\'enin2 between Christ and your fouls ? O that 1 may be inftrumcntal in joining your hands, or rather your hearts together: O that I may be inftrumental to tie that^ knot, which never can be unloofed.

Some marry in hafle, and repent at leifure ; but if you were once efpoufed unto Jesus Christ, you would never repent ; nothing would grieve you, but that you were not joined to him foonerj and you would not be disjoined again for all the world.

Shall this be the day of your efpoufals ? Some of you have i!ay d a long time; and will you defer any longer? If you will not now, perhaps ycu may never have another opportunity ; this may be the laft time of afking ; and therefore it is dangerous to refufe: fome of you are very young, too young for other efpoufals ; but none of you, my dear fiders, are too young to be efpoufed unto the Lord Jesus Christ : in other efpoufals, you muft have the confent of your parents ; but in this you are at your own difpofal; you may give, and ought to match yourfelves to Christ, whether parents do confent or not.

But if any of you {hould afk, what ycu mufl do that you may be efpoufed unto Christ ? You muft be fenfible of your need of being efpoufed to him ; and untill you are fenfible of your need of the Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot be efpoufed to him : You muft have defires after this Jesus, and (cck unto him for an intercft in him; you muft cry nightly unto him to ef^Doufe you to himfelf: put oft' the fikhinefs of ftn and all its defilements ; and then, my fifters, put on the white raiment, and clean garments, which Christ hath provided for you, the robes of his righteoufncfs; in thefe garments you ftiali be beautiful ; and in thefe garments you fhall be accepted : y«u muft have the wedding garment on ; you muft put oft" all your own good work?, for thev will be but a means to keep you from Christ ; no, you muft come as not having your own rlghteoufnefs, which >s of the law, but you muft have the rightcoufnefs of Christ. Therefore, come unto the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will give it to ycu ; he will not fend you away without it. J Receive

Receive him upon his own terms, and he is yours for ever : O devote yourfelves to him, foul and body, and all, to be his for ever ; and Christ will be your*s, and^ then happy, happy you, that ever you were born ! But if any of you die before this cfpoufal unto the Lord Jesus Christ, then woe, woe, unto you, that ever you had a being in life ; but: if you go to Christ you (hall be efpoufcd unto the Lord Jesus : though your fins have been never fo great, yea, the blood of Christ will cleanfe you from them ; the marriage covenant between Christ and your fouls will diflblve all your fins ; you will then be weary of your old ways, for all things will become nev/ in your fouls.

Now, my dear Sifters, 1 fliall conclude by juft fpeaking a word or two to thofe of you, who are already efpoufed unto the Lord Jesus Christ.

0 admire, admire the rich and free grace, which hath brought you to this relation : Is not this an inftance of the greateft of love, that you fhould be the fpoufe of the Lord Jesus Christ ? You that had no beauty, you that had no comelinefs, that was full of fin, that'He fliould embrace fuch as you and I are; that we fhould be taken into the embrace of this Lord Jesus. O infinite condefcending kindnefs ! O amazing love! Reverence, reverence, I befcech you, this Lord Jesus Christ.

He is your Lord, and you muft reverence him, love and be faithful unto him, be fubje(Sl: to him, and careful to pleafe him in every thing ; endeavour to keep up a daily communion with him; look, long and prepare for Christ's fecond appearance, when the nuptials between you ihall be folem-nized, and you live with him in manfions of everlafting joys, where you (hall love and live with this king of glory for ever and ever.

1 know not how to conclude; methinks I could fpeak to you till midnight, if it would brin'g you unto the Lord Jesus Christ, and make you be efpoufed to him, for indeed, that will be the cfpoufal which v/ill turn to the greateft advantage, as you will find by experience, if you will but make the trial ; and chat you may do fo, my prayers and my conftant endeavours fliall be ufed»

I will,

I will, my dear fifters, fpencl and be fpcnt for you, and by the affiftance of God, will perfevere in this that I have begun 5 and as many of you may have opportunity fome evening in the week, without breaking in on the bufmefs of life ; I (hall therefore, my fifters, either be here, or where you fhall be publicly acquainted with : 1 will not mind being reproached or defpircd : the men of this world may ufc what language they pleafe; they may fay I am a Methodift. Indeed, my fifters, I am refolved, by the grace of God, to ufe all methods I can, to pluck you from Satan, that you may be as brands plucked from the burning fire : this fliall be my method, which I hope will be the means of efFeclually faving your precious and immortal fouls.

And if I am the inftrument of this, I (hall rejoice, yea, and I will rejoice in fpight of what men, or devils, can fay or do to the contrary: and may the Lord Jesus Christ direct, and affift me at all times, to a6t what will be moft for his glory, and the welfare of your fouls : and may you all fay a hearty Amen thereto.

*' Now the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God over all> *' bleiTed for ever, affift and watch over you, keep you " from all evil and fm here, and prefcnt you before bis *' Father faultkfs at the great day of account ! To this '* Lord Jesus Christ, the Father, and the bleffed '' Spirit, three pcrfons and but one eternal and invifible *' God, be afcribed all honour, power, glory, might, *' majefty and dominion, now, henceforth, and for ever *' more. Amen, Amen.'*

«' The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of " God, and the fellowfhip of the Holy Ghoft be with " you all, to comfort under, and deliver you from tri-*' bulation ; to preferve you to your refpective places of *' abode ; and when there, to keep you in his fear, that *'you may live to his glc)ry ; that to live may be '* Christ's, and to die be your eternal gain j fo that *' you may live with him through eternal ages, and frng *' Hallelujahs to hnn for eve-r. Amen."

SERMON

SERMON VI.

Britain s Mercies, and Britams Duty.

Preached at Philadelphia^ on Sunday^ Auguft 24, 174^. and occafioned by the Suppreflion of the late unnatural Rebellion.

P s A L M cv. 45.

'That they might ohferve his Statutes and hsep his Laws,

MEN, brethren, and fathers, and all ye to whom I am about to preach the kingdom of God, I fuppofe you need not be informed, that being indirpenii'Dly obliged to be ablent on your late thank-Tgiving-day, I could not ftiew my obedience to the governor's proclamation, as my own inclination \&^ me, or as might juftly be expei^ed from, and demanded of me. But as theoccafion of that day's thankfgiving is yet, and I truft ever will be, freOi in our memory, I cannot think tha: a difcourfe on that fubjecl cafi even now be altogether unfea-fonable. I take it for granted, farther, that you need nor be informed, that among the various motives which are generally urged to enforce obedience to the divine commands, that of love is the moft powerful and cogent. The terrors at the law m.ay affright and awe, but love diiTolves and melts the heart. " The love of Christ," fays the great apoftie of the Gentile]y *' conftraineth us." Nay, love is To abfolute'y neceflary for thofe that name the name of Christ, that with* out it, their obedience cannot truly be ftiled evangelical, or be acceptable in the fjght of God. " Although, (fays the apoftie) I beftow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burnt, and h^ve not charity," (i. e. unlefs unfeigned love to God, and to mankind for his

great

[ So ]

great name's lake, be the principle of fuch acflions, howfo-ever it may benelit others) it prolitcth fne nothing." This is the Gondant language of the lively oracles of God. Andy from them it is equally plain, that nothing has a greater tendency to beget ana excite fuch an obediential love in usj than a ferious and frequent confideration of the manifold mercies we receive time after'time from the hands of our heavenly Father. The royal pfalmift, who had the honour of being lliled, " the man after God's own heart," had an abundant experience of ibis. Hence it is, that whilft he is mufing on the divine goodncfs, the fire of divine love kindles in his foul ; and, out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth fpeakcth fuch grateful and cxtatic language as this. *' What fhall I render unto the Lord for all his mercies ? Blefs the Lord, O my foul, and all that is within me, blefs his holy name." And why ? " who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy difeafes, who redeemeth thy life from deftrudlion, who crowneth thee v/ith loving kindn(?fs and tender mercies." And when the fame holy man of God had a mind to ftir up the people of the ^exvs to fet about a national reformation, as the moft weighty and prevailiiig argument he could make ufe of for that purpofe, he lays beforfc them, as it were, in a draught, many national mercies, and diftinguifhing deliverances, which have been conferred upon and wrought out for them, by the moft high God. The pfalm to which the v^ords of our text belong, is a pregnant proof of this ; it being a kind of epitome or compendium ef the whole 'Jewifo hiftory : at lead it contains an enumeration of many fignal and extraordinary blefHngs the Ifraelites had received from God, and alfo the improvement they were in duty bound to make of them, " Obferve his flatutes and keep his laws."

To run through all the particulars of the pfalm, or-draw a parallel (which might with great eafc and juftice be done) between God's dealings with us and the Ifraelites of old : To enumerate all the national mercies beftowed upon, and remarkable deliverances wrought out for the kingdoms of Great-BrItahi and Ireland^ from the infant fiate of jyHliam the Norman to their prefent manhood, and more than Augujlon maiuiity, under the aufpicious reign of our rightful Sovereign

King

[ Si ]

King George the fecond ; hov.'foever pleafing and proiirabla it might be at any other time, would, at thisjunilure, prove, if not an irkToiiie, yet an unreafonable undertaking.

Theoccafion of the late folemnity, I mean the fuppreflion of a moft horrid and unnatural rebellion, will afford more than fufficient matter for a difcourle of this nature, and fur-riifh us with abundant motives to love and obey that glorious 'Jehovah^ who giveth falvation unto kings, and delivers his people from the hurtful fword.

Need I make an apology, before this auditory, if, in order to fee the greatnefs of our late deliverance, I fhoulu remind you of the many unfpeakable bleffings which we have for a courfc of years enjoyed, during the reign of his prefent Ma-jcfty, and the gentle, mild adminiflration under which we iive? Without juftly incurring the cenfure of giving flattering titles, I believe all who have eyes to fee, and ears to hear, and are but a little acquainted with our public affairs, mud acknowledge, that we have one of the beft of Kings. It is now above nineteen years fmce he began to reign over us. And yet, was he feated on a royal throne, and were all his fubjecSls placed before him, was he to addrefs them as Sa?nucl once addrefled the IfraeliteSy '• Behold here I am, old and grey-headed, witneCs againfl me before the Lord, whofe cjc have I taken ? Or whofe afs have I taken ? Or whom have I defrauded ? Whom have I oppreffed ?" They muft, if they would do him juftice, make the fame anfwer as was given to Samuel, " Thou haft not defrauded us, nor opprefled us." What Teriullus, by way of flattery, faid to Felix, may with the ftrideft juftice be applied to our fovereign, " By thee we enjoy great quietnefs, and very worthy deeds have been done unto our nation by thy providence." He has been indeed Pater Patrla, a father to our country, and though old and grey-headed, has jeoparded his precious life for us in the high places of the field. Nor has he lefs deferved the great and glorious title, which the Lord promifes, that kings ihould fuftain in the latter days, I mean, " a nurflng father of the church." For not only the Church of England, as by law eftablifhed, but all denominations of chriftians wliatfo-ever, have enjoyed their religious as well as civil liberties. As there has been no authorized oppreflion in the ftate, fo there

Vol. V. F ii^s

has been no publicly allovveci periccution in the church. We breathe indeed in free air ? as free (if not freer) both as to temporals and fpirituals, as any nation under heaven. Nor is the profpccl likely to terminate in his majefty's death, which 1 pray God to defer. Our princelles are difpofed of to pro-teftant powers. And we have great reafon to be afTured, that the prefent heir apparent, and his confort, are like minded with their royal father. And I cannot help thinking, that it is a peculiar blelTing vouchfafed us by the King of kings, that his prefent Majefty has been continued fo long among us. For now, his immediate fucccllbr (though his prefent fitua-tion obli^^es him. as it were, to lie dormant) has great and glorious opportunities, which we have reafon to think he daily improves, of obfcrving and weighing the national affairs, con-fiderino- the various fteps and turns of government, and con-fequently of laying in a large fund of experience, to make him a wife and great prince, if ever God fliould call him to fway the Britijh fceptre. Happy art thou, O England! Happy art thou, O America^ who on every fide art thus highly favoured !

But, alas ! how foon would this happy fcene have fhlfted, 2nd a melancholy gloomy profpedl have fucceeded in its room, had the rebels gained their point, and a poplfh abjured pretender been forced upon the Britijlo throne ! For, fuppofmg his birth not to be fpurious, (as we have great reafon to think

' it really was) what could we expe£l from one, defcended from a father, who, when Duke of Tork^ put all Scotland into confufion ; and afterwards, when crowned King o( E?2gla^dj for his arbritrary and tyrannical government, both in church and flate, was judly obliged to abdicate the throne, by the afTertors of Britij?) liberty ? Or, fuppofmg the horrid plot, firft hatched in hell, and afterwards nurfed at Ro7?iey had taken place ; fuppofmg, i fay, the old Pretender fhould have obtained the triple crown, and have transferred his pretended title (a- it is reported he has done) to his eldeft fon, what was all this for, but that, by being advanced to the popedom, he might rule both fon and fubje(Sls with lefs eontpoul, and by their united intereft, keep rhe three kingdoms oUEn^land^ Scot"-

' Idfid, m-)6 Ireland^ in greater vaflallage to the M otRoprjc P^ Ever fince this uhfiatural rebellion broke(>ttt^" I have looked-" • ' wpon

C 83 ]

lipon the young f retcnJer as the phaeton of the prefent a^e. He is ambitioufly and prefumptuoufly aiming to (eat himfelf in the throne of our rightful fovereign King George^ which he is no more capable of keeping, than Phaeton was to guide the chariot of the fun -, and had he fucceeded in his attempt, like him, would only have fet the world on fire. It is true, to do himjufticej he has deferved well of the Church o^ Rofne^ and, in all probability, will hereafter be canonized amongft the noble order of their fidlitious faints. But, with what an iron rod we might expert to have been bruifed, had his troops been vitflorious, may eafily be gathered from thofe cruel orders faid to be found in the pockets of fome of his ofEcers, " Give no quarters to the Elector's troops.*' Add to this, that there was great reafon to fufpect, that, upon th^ firft nev;s of the fuccefs of the rebels, a general maffacre was intended. So that if the Lord had not been on our fide. Great Britain^ not to fay America^ would, in a few weeks or months, have been an Aceldama^ a field of blood.

Befides, was a Pop'ijh Pretender to rule over us, inftead df being reprefented by a free parliament, and governed by laws made by their confcnt, as we now are; v/e (hould fhortly have had only the ihadow of one, and it may be, no parliament at all. This is the native produ£i of a Popijh government, and what the unhappy family, from which this young adventurer pretejids he defcended, has always aimed at. Arbitrary principles he has fucked in with his mother's milk, and if he had been fo honed, inftead of that immature motto upon his ftandard. Tandem triumpham^ only to have put, ^tet pro ratione Voluntcs^ he had given us a (hort, but true portrait of the nature of his intended, but bleiTcd be God, now defeated reign. And why fhould I mention, that the finking of the national debt, or rending away the funded property of the people, and the difTolution of the prefent happy union between the two kingdoms, would have been the immediate confequences of his fuccefs, as he himfelf declares in his fecond manifefto, dated from Holy-rood Houfe ? Thefe are evils, and great ones too ; but then rhey are only evils of a temporary nature. They chiefly concern the body, and mult necefiarily terminate in the grave.

F 2 Butj

But, alas ! what an inundation of fpiritual mifchief?, would foon have overflowed the Church, and what unfpeakable danger (hould we and our pofterity have been reduced to in rerpe<5t to our better parts, our precious and immortal fouls ? How foon would whole fwarms of monks, dominicans and friars, like fo many locufts, have overfpread and plagued the nation ; with what winged fpeed would foreign titular bifliops have ported over, in order to take pofl'eiTion of their lefpciStive fees ? How quickly would our univerfities have been filled with youths who have been fent abroad by their Pop}/}) parents, in order to drink in all the fuperftitions of the church of Ro?ne ? What a fpeedy period would have been put to focieties of all kinds, for promoting chriilian knowledge, and propagating the gofpel in foreign parts ? How foon would our pulpits have every where been filled with thefe old antichriflian dodlrines, free-will, meriting by works, tran-fubftantiation, purgatory, works of fupererogation, paflive-obedicnce, non-refinance, and all the other abominations of the whore of Babylon ? How foon would our protcftant charity fchools In England^ Scotland and Ireland^ have been pulled down, our Bibles forcibly taken from us, and ignorance every where fet up as the mother of devotion ? How foon (hould we have been deprived of that invaluable bleiling, liberty of confcience, and been obliged to commence (what they falfely call) catholicks, or fubnilt to all the tortures which a bigoted zea), guided by the mofl: cruel principles, could pofiibly invent ? How foon would that mother of harlots have made herfelf once more drunk with the blood of the faints ? And the whole tribe even of free-thinkers them-felves, been brought to this dilemma, either to die martyrs for, (although I never yet heard of one that did fo) or, contrary to all their moit avowed principles, renounce their great Diana^ unalTifled, unenbghtened reafon ? But I mufl have done, left while I am fpeaking againft antichrifl, I fhould unawares fall myfelf, and lead my hearers into an antichriflian fpiiit. True and undefiled religion will regulate our zeal, and teach us to treat even the man of fin with no harfher language than that which the angel gave to his grand employer Satan, " The Lord rebuke thee."

Glory

Glory be to God*s great name ! the Lord has rebuked liim ; and that too at a time when we had little reafon to expe<5l fuch a blcffing at God's hands. My dear hearers, neither ihe prefent frame ot my heart, nor the occafion of your late folcmn meeting, lead me to Live you a detail of our public vices. Though, alas ! they are fo many, fo notorious, and withal of fuch a crimfon-dye, that a gofpel minifter would not be altogether inexcufable, was he, even on fuch a joyful occafion, to lift up his voice like a trumpet, to (hew the Britifti nation their tranfgreffion, and the people o^ Jrner'ua their fin. However, though I would not caft a difmal fliadc upon the pleafmg picture the caufc of our late rejoicings fet before us ; yet thus much may, and ought to be faid, that as God has not dealt fo bountifully with any people as with us, fo no nation under heaven has dealt more ungratefully with Him. We have been like Capernaum^ lifted up to heaven in privileges, and for the abufe of them, like her, have defcrved to be thruft down into hell. How well foever it may be with us, in refpe6t to our civil and ecclefiaftical conftitution, yet in regard to our morals, Ifaiah's defcription of the y^^t;//?? polity is too applicable, "The whole head is fick, the whole heart is faint ; from the crown of the head to the fole of our feet, we are full of v/ounds and bruifes, and putrifying fores." We have, Jtjhurun-Wke^ waxed fat and kicked. We have played the harlot againft God, both in regard to principles and pra6i:ices. " Our gold is become dim, and our fine gold changed." We have crucified the Son of God afrefli, and put him to an open fhame. Nay, Christ has been wounded in the houfe of his friends. And every thing long ago feemed to threaten an immediate ftorm. But, O the long-fufFering and goodnefs of God to us-ward ! When all things feemed ripe for deftru6lion, and matters were come to fuch a crifis, that God's praying people began to think, that though Noah^ Daniel and Jab, were living, they would only deliver their own fouls; yet then in the midft of judgment the Mofl High remembered mercy, and when a popifh enemy was breaking in upon us like a flood, the Lord himfelf gracioufly lifted up a flandard.

This to me does not feem to be one of the mofl unfavourable circumftances which have attended this mighty deliver-

F 3 ancc

ance; nor do I think you will look upon if as a circumftance altogether unworthy your obfervation. Had this cockatrice indeed been cruflied in the egg, and the young Pretender driven back upon his firft arrival, it would undoubtedly have been a great blcfling. But not (o great as that for which you lately afiembled to give God thanks : for then his Majefty would not have had fo good an opportunity of knowing his enemies, or trying his friends. The Briiijh fubjecSts would in a manner have lofl the faireft occafion that ever offered to cxprefs their loyalty and gratitude to the rightful fovereign. Frcme would not have been fo greatly humbled ; nor fuch an efFe6lual ftop have been put, as we trufl there now is, to any fuch further Popifi plot, to rob us of all that is near and dear to us. " Out of the eater therefore hath con;c forth meat, and out of the flrong hath come forth fweetnefs." The Pretender's eldeft fon is fufFered not only to land in the North-lVeft Highlands in Scotland^ but in a little while he becomes a great band. This for a time is not believed, but treated as a thing altogether incredible. The friends of the governrpent in thofe parts, not for want of Joy^ilty, but of fufficient authority to take up arms, could not refifl him. He is permitted to pafs on with his terrible banditti, and, like the comet that was lately feen, fpreads his baleful influences all around him. He is likewife permitted to gain a fhort-liv'd triumph by a vidtory over a body of our troops at Prejlon-Pans^ and to take a, temporary pofi'cffion of the metropolis oiScotland, Of this he makes his boaft, and informs the public, that " Providence had hitherto favoured him with wonderful fuc-" cefs, led him in the way to vidtory, and to the capital of the *' antient kingdom, though he came without foreign aid.'* Nay, he is further permitted to prefs into the very heart of England, But now the Almighty interpofes. Hitherto he was to go, and no further. Here were his malicious defigns to be ftaid. His troops of a fudden are driven back. Away t,hey pOiT: to the Highlands, and there they are fufFered not only to incrcafe, but alfo to collcvSt themfelves into a large tody, that having, as it were, what Caligula once wifhed Rome had, but one neck, they might be cut off with one blow.

The

( 8; ]

The time, manner, and inftrument of this vI£lory, deferves our notice. It was on a general faft-day, when the clergy and good people of Scotland were lamenting the difloyalty of their perfidious countrymen, and, like Alofes^ lifting up their hands, that Amalck might not prevail. The vi£lory was total and decifive. Little blood was fpilt on the fide of the Royalifts. And, to crown all, Duke William^ his Majefty's youngefl fon, has the honour of firfl driving back, and then defeating the rebel-army. A prince, who in his infancy and youth, gave early proofs of an uncommon bravery and no-blenefs of mind ; a prince, whofe courage has increafed with his years. Who returned wounded from the battle of Det-^ ihigen^ behaved with furprizing bravery at Fontenoy^ and now, by a conduct and magnanimity becoming the high office he fuftains, like his glorious predecefibr the Prince of Ormige^ has delivered three kingdoms from the dread of popifti cruelty, and arbitrary power. What renders it ftill more remarkable is. The day on which his Highnefs gained this vidory, was the day after his birth-day, when he was entering on the 26th year of his age ; and when Si^IIhan^ one of the Pretender's privy-council, like another AhitopheJ^ advifed the rebels to give our foldiers battle, prefuming they were futfcited and over-charged with their yerterday's rejoicings, and confe-quently unfit to make any great ftand againft them. But, glory be to God, who catches the wife in their own crafti-nefs ! his counfel, like Jhitophel's, proves abortive. Both General and foldiers were prepared to meet them. *' God taught their hands to war, and their fingers to fight," and brought the Duke, after a deferved ilaughter of fome thou-fands of the rebels, with moft of his brave foldiers, vidlorious from the field.

If we then take a di{lin6l view of this notable tranfadion, and trace it in all the particular circumflances that have attended it, I believe we muft with one heart and voice confefs, that if it be a mercy for a ftate to be delivered from a worfe than a Catiline's confpiracy, or a church to be refcued from a hotter than a Dioclejian perfecution ; if it be a mercy to be delivered from a religion that turns plough-faares into fwords, and pruning-hooks into fpears, and makes it meritorious to ^ed proteftant blood ; if it be a mercy to have all our pre-

F 4 A-nt

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Cent invaluable piivlir^;cs, botl) in church nnd ftnte, fccurcd to us more than c\ cr ; IT it be a mercy to have thcle grt\it things done for ns, at a iVafon, when for our cryidg fins, both church and ftate juflly dcfervcd to be overturiK'd ; and it' it be a mercy to have all this brought about for us, under God, by one of the blood-royal, a prince iK^ing with an experience (at above his years ; if anv, or J>11 of thefe are mer-ciej!, then hnvc vcu lacely commemor.ited one of the grcatcft mercies that ever the glorioui> God vouchfafed to the Brltljh nation.

And Hjall we not rejoice and give thanks ? Should we rc-fufe, would not the i^ones cry out againft: us ? Rejoice then we may and cxught: but, O let our rejoicing be in the Lord, and run in a religious channel. This, we i\ni\^ has been the practice of God's people in ail ages. When he was nleafed, with a mighty haiid, and cnit-frretched i-rm, to lead the If-raelitei through the Red-Sta^ as on dry ground, *' Then fang Ahfis and the children of Ifmel ; and Aliriam the prophetefs, the filler of Aar:n^ took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her. And J/ir/V?/;; ariGvered them, Sing ye to the Lord \ for he hath triumphed glorioufly." When God fubdued ^JahiUy the King of Canaan^ before the children of Jj'roel^ " then fang Deborah and Barak on that day, faying, *"' Praife ve the LoiiD for"the avenging of IfrceL''* When the ark was brought back out of the hands of the Ph:!i/ilntS^ Davld^ though a king, danced before it. And, to mention but one inftance more, which may {ti\Q as a general diredlory to us on this and fLich-iike occafions : when the great Head of the church had refcued his people from the general maflacre intended to be executed upon them by a cruel and ambitious Haman^ ^^ Mordeccd fent letters unto all the "Jcivs that were in all the provinces of the King Jhafnerus^ both nigh and far, to eftablifn among them, that they fhouM "keep the fourteenth day of the month Jdar^ and the fifteenth day of the fime yearly, as the days wherein the y£ws refted from their enemies, and the month wi^ich was turned unto tbem from forrovv unto joy, and from mourning into a goe-d day : that they fhould make them days of feafling and joy, and of fending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor/* And why iliould we not go and do bkewife ?

And fhall we not alfo, on fuch an occafion, cxprefs our gratitude to, and make honourable mention of, thole vvr^rrhiei who have fi^tiayiz^rd themfelves, and been riaoy lo (acrifice both lives and fortunes at this critical juncture ?

This would be to act the part of thofe ungrateful Ifraelites^ who are branded in the book of God, for not fliCAing kind-nefs to the houic of " Jerub-Baal-, namely Gideon^ according to all the goodncfs which he Ihcv-td unto Ifracl.'' Kven a Pharaoh could prefer a deferving ^joftph^ Ahafuerui a Mordccai^ and Nebuchadnezzar a Daniel, when made inftruments of hgnal fervicc to thcnifelvcs and people. " My heart, hy^ Dehorah^ is towards (;". e. I have a particular veneration and regard for) the Governors of Ifrael that offered themfelves willingly. And blcfTed above women fhall Joel the wife of Htber the Kenite be ; for fhe put her hand to the nail, and her right-hand to the v/orkman's hammer, and with the hammer fhe fmote Sifera^ fne fmote off his head, v;hen (he had pierced and f^rickcn through his temples." And fhall we not fay, *' Blefied above men let his Royal Highnefs the Duke of Cumberland be ; for through his inftrumentality, the great and glorious Jehovah hath brought mighty things to pafs?" Should not our hearts be towards the worthy Archbifhop of Tork^ the Royal Hunters, and thofe otlier Englijl) heroes who offered themfelves io Vy'illingly ? Let the names o^ Blakeney^ Blandy and Rea, and all thofe who waxed valiant in fight on this important occafion, live for ever in the Briti/h annals. And Itt the name vn that great, that incomparable brave I'ol-dier of the King, and a good foldiet of Jesus Christ, Colonel Gardiner^ (excufe me if I here drop a tear : he was my intimate friend) let his name, I fay, be had in everlafling remembrance.

But, after all, is there not an infinitely greater debt of gratitude and praife due from us, on this occafion, to Him that is higher than the highefl-, even the King of kings and Lord of Lords, the blefTcd and only Potentate ? Is it not his arm, his ftrong and mighty arm, (what inftruments foever may have been made ufe of) that hath brought us this falvation ? And m.ay I not therefore addrefs you, in the exulting language of the beginning of this pfalm, from which v/e have taken our text r '• O give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his nam.e, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto

him ;

him ; fing pfalms unto him ; talk ye of all his wondrous works J glory ye in his holy name; remember his marvellous work which he hath done."

But (hall we put off our good and gracious benefa£lor with i^ere lip-fervice ? God forbid. Your worthy Governor has honoured God in his late excellent proclamation, and God >vill honour him. But fhall our thanks terminate with the day ? No, in no wife. Our text reminds us of a more noble Sacrifice, and points out to us the great end the Almighty Jehovah propofes, in beftowing fuch fignal favours upon a people, '' That they (hould obferve his ftatutes, and keep his laws."

This is the return we are all taught to pray, that we may make to the Moft High God, the Father of mercies, in the daily ofike of our church, " That our hearts may be un-*' feignedly thankful, and that we may (hew forth his praife, " not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our-^' felves to his fervice, and by walking before him in holinefs *' and righteoufnefs all our days." O that thefe words were the real language of all that ufe them ! O that there were in us fuch a mind 1 How foon would our enemies then flee before us ? And God, even our own God, would yet give us more abundant bleilings !

And why (hould not we " cbferve God's ftatutes, and keep his law? r" Dare we fay, that any of his commands are grievous ? Is not Christ's yoke, to a renewed foul, as far as renewed, eafy j and his burden comparatively light ? May 1 not appeal to the moft refined reafoner, whether the religion of Jesus Christ be not a focial religion ? Whether the Moral Law, as explained by the Lord Jesus in the gofpel, has not a natural tendency to promote the prefent good and happinefs of a whole commonwealth, fuppofing they were obedient to them, as well as the happinefs of every individual? From whence come wars and fighting amongft us ? From what fountain do all thole evil?, which the prefent and pa(t ages have groaned under, flow, but from a negle<Sl of the laws and ftatutes of our great and all-wife law-giver Jesus oi Nazareth ? Tell me, ye men ofletters, whether Lycurgus or Solon^ Pythagoras or Plato^ Arijiotle^ Seneca^ Cicero^ or all the antient lawgivers and heathen moralidsj put them all together.

gether, ever publlflied a fyftem of ethics, any way worthy to be compared with the glorious fyftem laid down in that much defpifed book, (to ufe Sir Richard Steeds expreflion) emphatically called, the Scriptures ? Is not the divine image and fuperfcription written upon every precept of the gofpel ? Do they not fhine with a native intrinfic luftre ? And, though many things in them are above, yet, is there any thing contrary to the ftriiilefl: laws of right reafon ? Is not Jesus Christ, in fcripture, ftiled the Word, the Logos, the Reafon ? And is not his feivice a reafonable fervice ? What if there be myfleries in his religion ? Are they not without all controverCy great and glorious ? Are they not myfteries of godlinefs, and worthy of that God who reveals them ? Nay, is it not the greateft myftery, that men, v^ho pretend to reafon, and call themfelves philofophcrs, who fearch into the arcana naiur^j and confequently find a myftery in every blade of grafs, fhould yet be fo irrational as to decry all myfteries in religion ? Where is the fcribe f where is the wife ? where is the difputer againft the chriftian revelation ? Does not every thing without and within us, confpire to prove its divine original ? And would not felf-intercft, if there was no other motive, excite us to obferve God's ftatutes, and keep his laws ?

Befides, confiJered as a proteftant people, do we not lie under the greateft obligations of any nation under heaven, to pay a chearful, unanimous, univerfal, pcrfevering obedience to the divine commands.

The wonderful and furprifing manner of God's bringing about a reformation, in the reign of King Henry the Eighth; his carrying it on in the blefled reign of King Edivard the Sixth; his delivering us out of the bloody hanus of Qi^ieen Mary^-and deftroying the Spanijh invincible armada, under her immediate proteftant fucceftbr Queen Elizjbeth; his difcoveryof the popifti plot under King James \ the glorious revolution by King IViHiam ; and, to come nearer to our own times, his driving away four thoufand five hundred Spaniards^ from a weak (though important) frontier colcuv, when they had, in a manner, adiually taken poflefTion of it j his giving us Loiiifiaura^ one of the ftrcngeft fortrcftes of our eno^ contrary to all human probability, but the other da^ 3

our hands : thcfe, I fay, with the victory which you have Jately been commemorating, are fuch national mercies, not to mention any more, as will render us utterly inexcufable, if they do not produce a national reformation, and incite us all, with one heart, to keep God's itatutes, and obferve his laws.

Need I remind you further, in order to excite in you a greater diligence to comply with the intent of the text, that though the llorm, in a great meafure, is abated by his Royal Highnefb's late fucccfs, yet we dare not fay, it is altogether blown over ?

The clouds may again return after the rain ; and the few furviving rebels (which I pray God avert) may yet be fuf-jered to make head againft us. We are ftill engaged in a bloody, and, in all probability, a tedious war, with two of the moil inveterate enemies to the interefts of Qj-eat-Britaln, And, though I cannot help thinking, that their prefent intentions are fo iniquitous, their conduit fo perfidious, and their fchemes fo diredly derogatory to the honour of the Moft High God, that he will certainly humble them in the end, yet, as all things in this life happen alike to all, they may for a time, be dreadful inftrumcnts of fcourging us. If not, God has o:her arrows in his quiver to fmiie us with, befides the French King, his Catholick Majefty, or an abjured Pretender. Not only the fword, but plague, peftilence, and famine, are under the divine command. V/ho knows but he may fay to them all, " Pafs through thefe lands?" A fatal murrain has la'ely fwept away abundance of cattle at home and abroad. A like epidemical difeafe may have a commiiTion to feize our perfons as well as our beads. Thus God dealt with the Egyptians: who dare fay, he will not deal fo with us ? Has he not already given fome fymptoms of it ? What great numbers upon the continent have been lately taken ofFby the bloody-flux, fmall-pox, and yellow-fever ? Who can tell what further judiiments are yet in ftore ? However, this is certain, the rod is yet hanging over us : and I believe it will be granted on all Tides, that if fuch various difpenfations of mercy and judgment do not teach the inhabitants of any land to learn righteoufnefs, they will only ripen them for a greater ruin. Give me leave, therefore, to difmifs you at this time with that folemn awful warning and exhortation,

.with

with which the venerable Samuel^ on a public occafion, took leave of the people of Ij'rad: " Only fear the Lord, and ferve him in truth, with all yqur heart : for confider how great things he hath done for you. But ifi ye (hall ftill do wickedly, [I will not fay as the Prophet did. You fiiall be confumed ; but] ye know not but you may provoke the Lord Almighty to confume both you and your king." Which God of his infinite mercy prevent, for the fake of Jesus Christ : to whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghoft, three perfons, but one God, be all honour and glory, now and for evermore. Amen^ Amen.

SERMON

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SERMON VJi.

Thankfulnefs for Mercies received^ a neceflary

Duty,

A Farewel Sermon, preached on board the Whitaker^ at Anchor near Savannah^ in Georgiay Sunday^ May 17, 1738.

Psalm, evil, ^o, 31.

7'ben are they glad, hecaufe they are at reft^ and jo he hringeth them unto the haven where they would be.

O that men tvould therefore praife the Lor d for his good-' nefs^ a?jd declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men I

NUMBERLESS maiks does man bear in his foul, that he is fallen and eftranged from- God ; but nothing, gives a greater proof thereof, than that backwardnefs, which every one finds within himfelf, to the duty of praife and thankfgiving.

When God placed the firft man in paradife, his foul no doubt was fo filled with a fenfe of the riches of the divine love, that he was continually employing that breath of life, which the Almighty had not long before breathed into him, in blelTing and magnifying that all-bountiful, all-gracious God, in whom he lived, moved, and had his being.

And the brighteft idea we can form of the angelical hierarchy above, and the fpirits of juft men made perfect, is, that they are continually fhnding round the throne of God, and ceafe not day and night, faying, '' Worthy art thou, O Lamb

that

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that waft flain, to receive power and riches, and wifdoni, and ftrength, and honour, and glory, and blefling." Rev. v. 12.

That then, which v/as man's perftdion when time firft began, and will be his employment when death is fvv^iillowed up in vidory, and time fhall be no more, without controverfy, is part of our perfedion, and ought to be our frequent ex'er^ cife on earth : and I doubt not but thofe blefled fpirits, who are fent forth to minifter to them who (hall be heirs of falnation, often ftand aftonifhed when they encamp around us, to find our hearts fo rarely enlarged, and our mouths fo feldom opened, to (hew forth the loving-kindnefs of the Lord, or to fpeak of all his praife.

Matter for praife and adoration, can never be wantios; to creatures redeemed by the blood of the Son of God ; and who have fuch continual fcenes of his infinite goodnefs pre-fented to their view, that were their fouls duly afFeded with a fenfe of his univerfal love, they could not but be continually calling on heaven and earth, men and angels, to join with them in praifmg and blelTing that " high and lofty one, who inhabiteth eternity, who maketh his fun to ftiine on the evil and on the good," and daily pours down his bleffings on the whole race of mankind.

But few are arrived to fuch a degree of charity or love, as to rejoice with thofe that-do rejoice, and to be as thankful for others mercies, as their own. This part of chrifh'an perfedion, though begun on earth, will be confummated only in heaven ; where our hearts will glow with fuch fervent love towards God and one another, that every frefh de-^ gree of glory communicated to our neighbour, will alfo com-' municate to us a frefh topic of thankfulnefs and joy.

. That which has the greateft tendency to excite the generality of fallen men to praife and thankfgiving, is a^fenfe of God's private mercies, and particular benefits beftovv'cd upon ourfelves. For as thefe come nearer our own hearts, fo they muft be more affe6tin,g ; and as they are peculiar proofb-, whereby we may know, that God does in a more ef[>eciar raanner favour us above others, fo they cannot but fenfiWy-touch us ; and if our hearts are not quite frozen, like coils of^ a. refiner's fire, they mud: melt us down into thankfulnefs and love. It was a confideration of the diftinguiihwa;' favotTrjsi

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God had {hewn to his chofen people Ifrael^ and the frequent and remarkable deliverances wroui^ht by him in behalf of " thofe who go down to the fea in fliips, and occupy their bufinefs in great waterb," that made the holy Pfalmiit break out fo frequently as he does in this pfalm, into this moving, pathetical exclamation, " O that men would therefore praife the Lord for his goodnefs, and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men !"

His expreffing himfelf in fo fervent a manner, implies both the importance and negleft of the duty. As when Mofes on another occafion cried out, " O that they were wife, that they underftood this, that they would pra^iisally confider their latter end !" Dcut. xxxii. 29.

I fay, importance and negle6i: of the duty j for out of thofe many thoufands that receive bleffings from the Lord, how few give thanks in remembrance of his holinefs ? The account given us of the ungrateful lepers, is but too lively a reprefentation of the ingratitude of mankind in general; who like them, when under any humbling providence, can cry, " Jesus, Mafter, have mercy on us!" Luke xvVi. 13. but when healed of their ficknefs, or delivered from their diftrefs, fcarce one in ten can be found '' returning to give thanks to God.'*

And yet as common as this fm of ingratitude is, there is nothing we ought more earneftly to pray againft. For what is more abfolutely condemned in holy fcripture than ingratitude ? Or what mgre peremptorily required than the contrary temper? Thus fays the Apoftle, " Rejoice evermore; in every thing give thanks," i Thcf. v. 16, 18. " Be careful for nothing ; but in every thing by prayer and fupplication, with thankfgiving, let your requefts be made known unto God," Phil. iv. 6.

On the contrary, the Apoftle mentions it as one oi the higheft crimes of the Gentiles^ that they were not thankful. *' Neither were they thankful," Rem. i. 21. as alfo in another place, he numbers the " unthankful," 2 Tim. iii. 2. amongft thofe unholy, prophane perfon^, who are to have their portion in the lake of fire and brimilone.

As for our fms, God puts them behind his back ; but his mercies he will have acknowledged, " There is virtue gone

[ 97 .1

out of me," fays Jesus Christ, Luke viii. //>. and ihe 'vvo-man who was cured of her bloody iflue, muft confefs it. And we generally find, when God fciit any remarkable puniih-iTient upon a particular pcrfon, he reminded him of the favours he had received, as fo many aggravations of his ingratitude. Thus when God was about to vifit Eli\ houfe, he thus ex-podulatcs with him by his prophet: " Did I plainly appear unco the houfe of thy fathers, v/hen they were in E'^yft^ in Pharaoh's houfe ? And did I chafe him out of all the tribes of Ifraely to be my prieft, to offer upon mine altar, to bura incenfe, and to wear an cphod before me ? Wherefore kiclc ye at my facrifice, and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation, and honoured thy fons above me^ to make vourfelves fat with the chiefeft of all the ofFerino-s of Ifrael my people ? Wherefore the Lord God of Ifrael faith, I faid indeed, that thy houfe, and the houfe of thy father, (hould walk before me for ever j but now the LoRO faith, Be it far. from me, for them that honour me will I honour, and they that defpife me fhall be lightly eftecmed." 1 Sam. ii. 27, 28, 29, 30.

It was this and fuch like inftances of God's feverlty againfi; the unthankful, that inclined me to chufe the words of the! texr, as the moil proper fubjedt I could difcourfe on at thif^ time.

Four months, my good friends, we have now been upon the fea in this fliip, and " have occupied our bufinefs in the great waters." At God Almighty's word, we have feen. ••* the ftormy wind arife, which hath lifted up the wavesJ thereof. We have been carried up to the heaven^ and down again to the deep, and fome of our fouls melted away beCaufe of the trouble j but I truft we cryed earncflly unto the Lord^ and he delivered us out of our dilirefs. For he made the ftorm to ceafe ^ fo that the waves thereof were {lili. And BOW we are glad, bccaufe we are at reft, for God hath brought us to the haven where we would be. O that yoii would therefore praife the Lord for his gocdnefs, and declare the wonders that he hath done for ug, the unworthieft of the fons of men."

Thus Mofesy thus Jojhua behaved. For when they were about to take their leaves of the children of Ifrasl, they rc-

VoL. V". G counted

counted to them what great things God had done for them, as the beil: arguments and motives they could urge to engage them to obedience. And how can 1 copy after better examples ? What fitter, what more noble motives, to holinefs and purity of living, can I lay before you, than they did ?

Indeed, 1 cannot fay, that we have feen the " pillar of a cloud by day, or a pillar of fire by night," going vifibly before us to guide our courfe; but this I can lay, that the fame God who v/as in that pillar of a cloud, and pillar of fire, which departed not from the Ifraclites^ and who has made the fun to rule the day, and the moon to rule the night, has, by his good providence, diredcd us in our right way, or eUe the pilot had fleered us in vain.

Neither can I fay, That we hav? een the " fun ftand ftill," as the children of Ifrael did in the days of Jojhua, But furely God, during part of our voyage, has caufed it to withhold fame of that heat, which it ufually fends forth in thefe warmer climates, or elfe it had not faUed, but fome of you muft have perilned in the ficknefs that has been, and does yet continue among us.

We have not feen the waters ftand purpofely on an heap, that we might pafs through, neither have we been purfued by Pharaoh and his hoft, and delivered out of their hands ; but we have been \t6. through the fea as through a wildernefs, and were once remarkably preferved from being run down by another fliip ; which had God permitted, the waters, in all probabilitv, would immediately have overwhelmed us, and like Pharaoh and his hoft, we fliould have funk, as ftones, into the -fea.

We may, indeed, atheift like, afcribe all thefe things to natur?.! caufes, and fay, " Our own fkill and forefight has brought us hither in fafety.'* But as certainly as Jesu? Chk.1^ r, the angel of the covenant, in the days of his fielh, walked upon the water, and faid to his finking difciples, " Be YiCrt afraid, it is I," fo furely has the fame everlafting I AM, " who decketh himfelf with light as with a garment, who fpreadeth out the heavens like a curtain, who clafpeth the winds in his fift, who holdeth the waters in the hollow of his hands," and guided the wife men by a ftar in the eaft ; fo furely, I fay, has he fpaken, a.nd at his command the winds

have

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have blown us where we are now arrived. For his provlvlence ruleib all things ; '•' Wind and ftorms obey his word :" he fairh to it at one time, Go, and it goeth ; at another, Come, and it cometh ; and at a third time, Blow this way, and it blowcth.

It is he, my brethren, and not we ourfclves, that has of ]atc fent us fuch profperous gales, and made us to ride, as it were, on the wings of the wind, into the haven where we would be.

" O that you would therefore pralfe the Lord for his goodnefs," and by your lives declare, that you are truly thankful for the wonders he had fiiewn to us, who are lel^ than the leaft of the Tons cf men.

I fay, declare it by your lives. For to give him thanks^ barely with your lipsj while your hearts are far from him, is but a mock iacrifice, nay, an abomination unto the Lord.

This v/as the end, the royal Pfalmi[t fays, God had in view, when he fliewed fuch wonders, from time to time, to the people of IjrafI, '* That they might keep his (latutes, and obferve his lawsj" Pfalm cv. 44. and this, my good friends, is the end God would have accomplifhcd in us, and the only return he defires us to make him, for all the benefits he hath conferred upcn us.

O thenj let me befeech you, givfc to God your hearts^ your whole hearts ; and fufFer yourfclves to be drawn by the cords of infinite love, to honour and obey him.

Aflure yourfelves you can never ferve a better mafler ; fof his fervice is perfecf freedom; his yoke, v/hen worn a little while, is exceeding eafy, his burden light; and in keeping his comm.andments there is great reward ; love, peace, joy in the Holy Ghod here, and a crown of glory that fadeth not away, hereat'ter.

You may, indeed, let other lords have dominion over you, and Satan may promife to give you all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, if you will fall dov.-n and wor-ihip him ; but he is a liar, and v/as fo from the beginning ; he has n^t To much to give you, as vou may trc^d on with the fole of your foot ; or coulu .ie give you tl)c v/hole world, yet, that could not make you happy without G.D. It is God alone, my brethren, whofe v»e are, in whofe name t G 2 now

^ [ lOO ]

now fpeak, and who has ot" late fhewed us fuch mercies in the deep, that can give iblid lading happinefs to your fouls ; and he for this realbn only cefirei> your hearts, btcaufe without him you mult be mifcrable.

Suffer me not then to go away without my errand ; as it is the laft time 1 fliall fpeak to you, let me not fpeak in vain ; but let a fer^.fe of the divine goodnefs lead you to repentance.

Even Saul^ that abandoned wretch, when David fhewed him his fkirt, which he had cut off, when he might have alfo taken iiis life, was fo melted down with his kindnefs, that he lifted up his voice and wept. And we muft have hearts harder than SauPsy nay, harder than the nether milftone, if a fenfe of God's late loving kindneffes, notwithffaiiding he might fo often have del^royed us, does not even compel us to lay down our arms againft him, and become his faithful fervants and ibldiers unto our lives end.

If they, have not this effedl upon us, we (liall, of all men, be mod miiferable ; for God is juft, as well as merciful ; and the more blelTings we have received h^Te, the greater damnation, if we do not improve them, fliall we incur hereafter.

But God forbid that any of thofe fliould ever, fuffer the vengeance of eternal fire, amongff whom, I have, for thefe four months, been preaching the gofpcl of Christ ; but yet thus mull it be, if you do not improve the divine mercies: and inftead of your being my crown of rejoicing in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, I muft appear as a fwift witnefs againft you.

But, brethren, I am perfuaded better things of yon, and things that accompany falvation, though f thus foeak.

BlelTed be God, fome marks of a partial reformation at leaft, have been vifible amongft all you tiiat are foluiers. And my weak, though fincere endeavours, to build you up in the knowledge and fear of GoD, have jiot been altogether in vain in the Lord.

Swearing, I hope is, in a great meafure, abated with you ; and Gob, I truft, has bleffed his late vifitations, by making, them the means of awakening your confciences, to a more folicitous enquiry about the things which belong to your ever-lafting peace.

Fulfil

Fulfil you tli£n my joy, by continuing thus minded, an4 labour to go on to perfeiSiion, For I fliall have no greater pleafure than to fee, or hear, that you walk in the truth.

Confider, my good friends, you are now, as it were, enter-incr on a new world, v/here you will be (urroundcd with mul-titudes of heathens; and if you tjike not heed to " have yo\ir converfation honed amongft them,*' and to " walk worthy of the holy vocation wherewith you are called," you will a6t the hellifh part oi'Herod's foldiers over again ; and caufe Christ's religion, as they did his perfon, to be had in dcrifion of thofe that are round about you.

Confider further, what peculiar privileges you have enjoyed, above many others that arc entering on the fame land. They have had, as it were, a famine of the word, but you have rather been in danger of being furfeited with your fpiritual manna. And, therefore, as more inftruc^ions have been given vou, fo from you, men will mofc jufily expeiSl the. greater improvement in goodnefs.

Indeed, I cannot fay, I have difcharged my duty towards you as I ought. No, I am fenfible of many faults in my minifterial office, and for which I have not failed, nor, I hope, ever fliall fail, to humble myfelf in fecret before God. However, this I can fay, that except a few days that have been fpent neceflarily on other perfons, whom God immediately called me to write and minider unto, and the two laft weeks wherein 1 have been confined by ficknefsj all the while I have been aboard, I have been either a£lually engaged in, or preparing myfelf for inftiu6ling you. And though you are now to be committed to the care of another (whofe labours I heariily befeech God to blefs amongft you) yet I truft I fhall, at all feafons, if need be,, willingly fpend, and be fpent, for the good of your fouls, though the more abundantly I love you, the lefs I fliould be loved.

As for your military affairs, I have nothing to do with them. Fear God, and you muft honour the King. Nor am I well acquainted with the nature of that land which you are now come over to protect; only this I may venture to affirnx in the general, that you muft neceffarily expert upon your arrival at a new colony, to meet with many difficulties. But your very profeffion teaches you to endure hardship; " be not,

G 3 therefore^

therefor?, faint-hearted, but quit yourfelves like men, and he flrone;,'' Numb, xiv^ Be not like, thofe cowardly perfons, who were affrighted at the report of the falfe fpies, that came and faid, that there were people tall as the Anakims to be grappled with, but be ye like unto Caleb and JoJJ)ua^ all heart; and fay, we will a<Sl valiantly, for we fliall be more than conquerors o\"er all difficulties through Jesus Christ that loved IIS. Above all things, my brethren, take heed, and beware of murmuring, like the perverfe Jfraelitcs, againft thofe that are Kt over you ; and «' learn, whatfoevcr ftate you fliall be in, therewith to be content," Phil. iv. ii.

As I have fpoken to you, I hope your wives alfo will fuffer the v:ord of exhortation.

Your behaviour on niipboard, efpecially the flrft part of the vovas;e, I chufe to throw a cloak over; for to ufe the mildeft terms, it w^as not fuch as became the gofpel of our Lord JEsiTs Christ. However, of late, blefTcd be God, you have taken more heed to your ways, and fome of you hjve walked all the while, as became " women profeffing godlinefs." Let thofe accept my hearty thanks, and permit me to intreat you all in general, as you are all now married, to remember the folcmn vow you made at your e'ntrance into the marriage fiate, ■^n^ fee that you be fubjeft to your own hufbands, in every lawful thing: Beg of God to keep the door of your lips, that you offend not with your tongues; and walk in love, that vour pjavers be not hindered. You that have children, let it be your chief concern to breed them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And live all of you fo holy and ur« biamcable, that you may not fo much as be fufpedled to be unchaftc; and as fome of you have imitated Mary Magdalen in her fm, ftrive to imitate her alfo in her repentance.

As for you, failors, what (hall I fay ? How fhall I addrcfs myfelf to you ? How (hall I do that which I fo much long to do; touch your hearts? Gratitude obliges me to wifh thus well to you. For you have often taught me many inrtruciive Icffons, and reminded me to put up many prayers to God .for vou, that you might receive your fpiritual fight.

When I have feen you preparing f6r a florm, and reefing

3'(>ur fails to guard againft it; how have I wiflicd that you

aiid I v,/ere as Careful to avoid that ftorm of God's wrath,

^ which

which will certainly, without repentance, quickly overtake us? When I have obrerved you catch at every h\r gale, how have I iccretly cried, O that we were as careful to know the things that belong to our peace, before they are for ever hid from our eyes ! And when I have taken notice, how fleadily you eyed your compafs in order to fteer aright, how have I wifhcd, that we as fteadily eyed the word of God, which alone can pre-{^rve us from " making fliipwrcck of faith, and a good con-fciencc?" In fhort, there is fcarce any thing ^ou do, which has not been a leflbn of inftru6lion to me ; and, therefore, it would be ungrateful in me, did I.vnot take this opportunity of exhorting you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be as wife in the things which concern your foul, as I have obferved you to be in the affairs belonging to your Ihip.

I am fenfible, that the fea is reckoned but an ill fchool to learn Christ in : and to fee a devout Tailor, is e.leenied as uncommon a thing, as to fee a Saul amonjifl: the prophets. But whence this wT>ndering ? Whence this looking upon a godly failor, as a man to be wondered at, as a fpeckled bird in the creation ? I am fure, for the little time I have come in and out amongfl you, and as far as I can judge from the little experience I have had of things, I fcarce know uny way of life, that is capable of greater improvements than vours.

The continual danger you are in of being overwhelmed by the great waters ; the many opportunities you have of beholding God's wonders in the deep; the happy retirement you enjoy from worldly temptations; and the daily occafions that are offered you, to endure hardfhips, are fuch noble means of promoting the fpiritual life, that were your hearts bent towards God, you would account it your happincfs, that his providence has called you, to " go down to the fea in fhips, and to occupy your bufinefs in the great waters.'*

The royal Pfalmifl knew this, and, therefore, in the words of the text, calls more efpecially on men of your employ, to " praife the Lord for his goodnefs, and declare the wonders he doth for the children of men."

And O that you would be wife in time, and hearken to his voice to-day, " whilft it is called to-day !" For ye yourfelves

Q 4 know

know how little is to be done on a Tick bed. Gon b^s, in ai^. efpeciai manner, of late, ir.vitcd you to repentance : two of your crew he has taken off by death, and mod of you he has mercifully vifited with a grievous ficknefs. The terrors of the Lord have been upon you, and when burnt with a fcorch-ing fever, fome of you have cried out, '* V/hat fhall we do to be faved ?" Remember then the refolutions you made, when you thought Gon was s^bout to take away your fouls; and fee that according to your promifes, you fhew forth your thankfalnefs, not only with your lips, but in your lives. For though GcD may bear long, he will not forbear always j and if thefe fjgnal mercies and judgments do not lead you to repentance, ^diure yourfelves there will at lad comiC a fiery tempell, from the preftnce of the Lord, which will fweep a\Aay you, and all other advcrfaries of God.

I am pofitive, neither yoii nor the foldiers have wanted, nor vill want any manner of encouragcmerit to piety and holinefs of living, from thcfe two p-crfons w^ho have here the govern-nient over you -, for they have been fuch helps to me in my ininiftry, and h^ve fo readily concurred in every thing for your good, that they may juftly demand a public acknowledgment of thanks both from you and me,

permit me, my honoured friends, in the name of both cl-^lTes of your peoplcj to return you hearty thanks for the care and tcridernefs you have exprelied for the welfare of thei^r better parts.

As for the private favours you have {hewn to my perfon, J hope fo deep a fenfe of them is imprinted on my heart, that I {hall plead them before God in prayer, as long as I live.

But J have dill Wronger obligations to intercede in your behalf. For GoD, ever adored be his free grace in Christ Jesus ! has fet bis feal to my miniftry in your hearts. Some fliitant pangs of t|ie nevv-birth I have obferved to <;ome upon you; and God forbid that I fliould fin againfl the Lord, by ^eafmg to pray, that the good v»?ork bdgun in your fouls, may \)c carried on till the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The time of our departure from each other is now at hand,

and you are going out into a world of tem.ptations. But though

ybfent in body, let us be prefent with each other in fpirit; and

God, .1 truft, will enable you to be fingularly good, to be

I ■ ' . ready

ready to be accounted fools for Christ's fake; nnd then we ilvdW meet never to part again in the kingdom of our Father which is in heaven.

To you, my companions and familiar friends, who came over wiih me to fojourn in a ftrange land, do I in the next place addrcfs myfclf. For you I efpecially fear, as well as for * myfeif J becaufe as we take Ivvect counfel together ofrner than others, and as you are let into a more intimate friendfiiip with me in private life, the eyes of all men will be upon you to note even the minuteft mifcarriagej and, therefore, it hi^^hlv concerns you to " walk circumfpectly towards thofe that are without," I hope, that nothing but a fmgle eye to God*s glory and the falvation of your ovv'n fouls, brought you from your pative countr)'. Remember then the end of your coming hither, and you can never do am.ifs. B.^ patterns of induflry, as well as of piety, to thofe who fhall be around you ; and above all things let us have fuch fervent charity amongft our-felves, that it may be faid of us, as of the primitive chriflians, *' See how the chriftians love one another."

And now I have been fpeaking to others particularly, I have one general requeft to make to all, and that with reference to myfelf.

You have heard, my dear friends, how I have been exhorting every one of you to (liew forth your thankfidnefs for the divine goodnefs, not only with your lips, but in your lives: But " phyfician heal thyfelf," may juflly be retorted on me. For (without any falfe pretences to humility) I find my own heart fo little inclined to this duty of thankfgiving for the benefits I have received, that I had need fear fharing Hezekiah's fate, who becaufe he was lifted up by, and not thankful enough for, the great things God had done for him, was given up a prey to the pride of his own heart.

I need, therefore, and beg your moft importunate petitions at the throne of grace, that no fuch evil may bcfal me; that the more God exalts me, the more f may debafe myfelf j and that after I have preached to others, I myfelf may not be caft away.

And now, brethren, into God's hands I commend your fpirits, whoj I trufl, through his infinite mercies in Christ

Jesus,

Jesus, will preferve you blamclefs, till his fecond coming to judge the woiid.

Excufe my detaining you (o long ; perhaps it is the lafl time I {hall fpeak to you : my heart is full, and out of the abundance of it, 1 could continue my difcourfe until midnight. But I muft away to your new world ; may God give you new hearts, and enable you to put in pradice what you have heard from time to time, to be your duty, and I need not wifli you any thing better. For then God v/ill fo blefs you, that " you will build you cities to dwell in ; then will you fow your lands and plant vineyards, which will yield you fruits of in-creafe/' Pfil. cvii. 36, 37. " Then your oxen (hall be flrong to labour, there fhall be no leading into captivity, and no complaining in your ftreets; then fhall your fons grow up as the young plants, and your daughters be as the polifhed corners of the temple : then fhall your garners be full and plenteous with all manner of (lore, and your flicep bring forth thou-fands, and ten thoufands in your ftreets,'* Pjhl. cxliv. In fhort, then (liall the Lord be your God ; and as furely as he has now brought us to this haven, where we would be, fo fuielv> after we have paft through the ftorms and tempclis of this troublefome world, will he bring us to the haven of eternal red, where we fliall have nothing to do, but to praife him for ever for his goodnefs, and declare, in never-ceafing fongs of praife, the wonders he has done for us, and all the other fons of men,

*' To which blcfTed reft, God of his infinite mercy bring *' us all, through Jesus Christ our Lord ! to whom *' with the Father and Holy Ghofi: be all honour and *' glory, mi^ht, majefty, and dominion^ now, henceforth^ *^ and for evermore. Jmen^ Amen,'*

S E R jM O N

I 107 3 SERMON VIII.

The Neceflity and Benefits of Religious Society.

E c c L E s. iv. 9, 10, II, 12.

Two are letter than One^ hecaufe they have a good Rs-

ivard for their Labour. For if they fall^ the One will lift up his Fellow: But woe

be to him that is alone when he falleth \ for he hath not

another to hdp him up. Again^ if Two lie together^ then they have heat > but how

can One be warm alone? And if One prevail againfl him^ Two fJiall withfiand himi

and a threefold Cord is not quickly broken,

AMONG the many reafons aflignable for the fad decay of true chrijlianity^ perhaps the negleding to aflemble purrjlvcs together, in religious focicties^ may not be one of the leaft. That I may therefore do my endeavour towards promoting To excellent a means of piety, I have feledled a parage of fcripture drawn from the experience of the wifefl of ir;en, which being a little enlarged on and illuftrated, will fully anfwer my prcfent dcfign ; being to (hew, in the beft manner I can, the necefnty and benefits of fociety in genera], and of religious fociety in particular.

*' Two are better than one, &c."

Frcm which words I fiiall take occafion to prove,

Flrfi^ The truth of the wife man's afiertion, " Two are

better than one," and that in reference tc fociety in general,

^ud religious fociety in particular,

^ccondly^

Secondly^ To aflign fome rcafons v;hy two are better than one, efpeclally as to the lad particular, i. Becaufe men can raii'e up one another when they chance to flip : '' For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow." 2. Becaufe they can impart heat to each other: ^\ Again, if two lie together, then they have heat; but how can one be warm alone ?" 3. Becaufe they can fecure each other from thofe that do oppofe them : '- And if one prevail againft him, two fliall withftand him ^ and a threefold cord is not quickly broken." From hence,

Thirdly^ I fliall take occafion to fliew the duty incumbent on evejy member of a religious pciety.

And Fourthly^ I fhall draw an inference or two from what may be faid ; and then conclude with a word or two of exhortation.

F'lrjl^ I am to prove the truth of the wife man's afTertion, that " two are better than one," and that in reference to fociety in f^encral, and religious focieties in particular.

And how can this be done better, than by (hewing that it is abfolutely necclTary for the welfare both of the bodies and fouls of men ? Indeed, if we look upon man as he came out of the hands of his Maker, we imagine him to be perfedl', entire, lacking nothing. But God, whole thoughts are not as our thoughts, fav/ fomething ftill wanting to make Jdam happy. And what was that? Why, an help meet for him. For thus fpeaketh the fcripture : " And the Lord God faid. It is not good that the man (hould be alone, I will make an help meet for him."

Obferve, God faid, " It is not good," thereby implying that the creation would have been imperfctfi:, in fome fort, unlefa an help was found out meet for Adam. And if this was the cafe of man before the fall ; if an help was meet for him in a Hate^of perfection ; furely fince the fall, when we come naked and helplefs' out of our mother's womb, when our wants increafc with our years, and wc can fcarcely fubfift a day without the mutual afTifrance of each other, well may we fay, " It is not good for man to be alone."

Society then, we fee, is abfolutely neceffary in refpeifl: to our bodily and pcrfonal wants. If vye carry our view farther,

and

r 109 J

and confiJer mankind as divided into different cities, countries, and nations, the necefTity of it will appear yet more evident. For iiow can communities be kept up, or commerce carried on, without fociety ? Certainly not at all, fmce providence Teems vvirdy to have afngncd a particular produdl to almoft each particular country, on purpofe, as it were, to oblige us to be focial; and harh fo admirably mineled the parts of the whole body of mankind together, '* that the eye cannt)t hy to the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again, the h:ind to the foot, I have no need of thee."

Many other inftances might be given of the neceility of fociety, in reference to our bodily, perfonal, and national wants. But what are all thefe when weighed in the balance of the fandtuarv, in comparifon of the infinite greater need of it, with refpecl to the foul ? it was chiefly in regard to this better part, no doubt, that God faid, " It is not good for the man to be alone." For, let us fuppcfe JJam to be as happy as may be, placed as the Lord of the creation in the paradife of God, and fpending all his hours in adoring and praifino- the bleiTed Author of his being ; yet as his foul was the very copy of the divine nature, whofe peculiar property it is to be communicative, without the divine all-fufnciency he could not be cornpleatly happy, becaufe he was alone and incommunicative, nor even content in paradife, for want of a partner in his joys. God knew this, and therefore faid, " It is not good that the man (ball be alone, 1 will make a help meet for him." And though this proved a fatal means of his falling; yet that was not cv/ing to any natural confequence of fociety ; but partly to that curfed apoitate, who craftily lies in wait to deceive; partly to Adam\ own folly, in rather chufmg to be miferable vviih one he loved, than truft in God to raife him up another fpoufe.

Jf we reflciTt indeed on that familiar iatercourfe, our firil parent could carry on with heaven, in a fiate of innocence, we ftiall be apt to think he had as little need of fociety, as to his foul, as before we fuppofed him to have, in refpe^t to his body. But yet, as God and the holy angels were fo far abo\e him on the one hand, and the beafts fo far beneath him on the other, there was nothing like having one Ui converfe with, who was " bone of his bone, and xHelh of hiu iieflj."

Man,

[ no ]

Man, then, could not be fully happy, we fee, even in para-dife, without a companion of his own fpecies, much lefs now he is driven out. For, let us view him a little in his natural eftate now, fince the fall, as " having his underltanding darkened, his mind alienated from the life of GoD j" as no more able to fee his way wherein he ftiould go, than a blind man to defcribe the fun : that notwithftanding this, he muft receive his fight ere he can fee God : and that if he never kes him, he never can be happy. Let us view him in this light (or rather this darknefs) and deny the necelTity of fociety if we can. A divine revelation we find is abfolutely neceflary, we being by nature as unable to know, as we are to do our duty. And how Ihall we learn except one teach us ? But was GoD to do this himfelf, how fhould we, but with Mofesy exceedingly quake and fear? Nor would the miniftry of angels in this affair, be without too much terror. It is neceflary, therefore (at leaft God's dealing with us hath {hewed it to be fo) that we fhould be drawn with the cords of a man. And that a divine revelation being granted, we fhould ufe one another's affiftance, under God, to iiiflru^^ each other in the knowledge, and to exhort ojic another to the practice of thofe things which belong to our everlafling peace, l^his is undoubtedly the great end of fociety intended by God fince the fail, and a ftrong argument it is, why *' two are better than one," and v/hy Vv'e fhould '* not forfake the aflembling ourfelves together."

But farther, let us confider ourfelvcs as chriftians, as having this natural veil, in fome meafure, taken oft" from our eyes by the affiflance of God's holy Spirit, and fo enabled to fee what he requires of us. Let us fuppofe ourfelves in fome degree to have tailed the good word of life, and to have felt the powers of the world to come, influencing and moulding our fouis into a religious frame: to be fully and heartily convinced that we are foldiers lifted under the banner of Christ, and to have proclaimed open war at our baptifm, againft the world, the ilefh, and the devil ; and have, perhaps, frequently renewed our obligations fo to do, by partaking of the Lord's fupper : that we are furrounded with millions of foes without, and in-feRed wiih a legion of enemies within : that we are commanded to fhine as lights in the world, in the midft of a

crooked

[ «ll 1

crooked and perverfe generation : that we are travellinrt to a long eternity, and need all imaginable helps to fhew, and encourage us in our way thither. Let us, I fay, reflect on all this, and then how (hall each of us cry out, brethren, what a neceflary thing it is to meet together in religious Societies ?

The primitive chriftians were fully fenfible of this, and therefore we find them continually keeping up communion with each other : for what fays the fcripture ? They continued ftedfaftly in the apoftlc's dodrine and fellowfliip, A^is ii. 42. Peter and John were no fooner difmified by the great council, than they hafte away to their companions. " And being fet at liberty they came to their own, and told them all thefe things which the high prieft had faid unto them," A£li iv. 23. Paiil^ as foon as converted, *' tarried three days with the dif-ciples that were at Darnafcm^^ Acls ix. 19. And Peter afterwards, when releafed from prifon, immediately goes to the houfe of Alary, where there were " great multitudes aflem-bled, praying," Ads xii. 12. And it is reported of the chriftians in after-ages, that they ufed to afiemble together before day-light, to fing a pfalm to Christ as God. So precious was the Communion of Saints in thofe days.

If it be afked, what advantages we (hall reap from fuch a procedure now ? I anfwer, much every way. " Two are better than one, becaufe they have a good reward for their labour : for if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe be to him that is alone when he falieth, for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat; but how can one be warm alone ? And if one prevail againft him, two fliall withftand him ; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

Which diredlly leads me to my Second general head, under which I was to affign fome reafons why " two are better than one," efpecially in Religious Society,

I. As man in his prefc-nt condition cannot always (land upright, but by reafon of the frailty of his nature cannot but fall ; one eminent reafon w'hy two are better than one, or, in other words, one great advantage of religious fociety is, *' That when they fall, the one will life up his fellow.

And

And an excellent rcafon this, indeed ! For alas ! when wc reflect how prone we are to be drawn into error in our judgments, and into vice in our practice; and how unable, at leaft how very unwilling, to efpy or correct our own mif-carriages ;^ when/ve confider how apt the world is to flatter us in our faults, and how few there are fo kind as to tell us the truth ; what an ineftimable privilege mufi: it be to have a fet of true, judicious, hearty friends about us, continually watching ever our fouls, to inform us where we have fallen, and to warn us that we fall not again for the future. Surely it is fuch a privilege, that (to ufe the words of an eminent chrlf-tian) we fliall never know the value thereof, till we come to glory.'

But this is not all ; for fuppofing that we could aUvays Hand upright, yet whofoever refle6i:s on the dilticukies of re-jigion in general, and his own propcnfuy to lukewarmnefs and indifference in particular, v/ill find that he muft be zealous as well as fteady, if ever he expects to enter the kingdom of heaven. Here, then, the wife man points out to us another excellent reafon why two are better than one. '' A^ain, if two lye together, then they have heat; but how-can one be warm alone ?" Which was the next thing to be confidered.

2. A fecond reafon why two are better than one, is becaufc they can impart heat to each other.

It is an obfervation no lefs true than common, that kindled coals, if placed afunder, foon go out, but if heaped together, quicken and enliven each other, and afibrd a lafting hear* The fame will hold good in the cafe now before us. ifchri-flians kindled by the grace of Goo, unite, they will quicken and enliven each other; but if they feparate and keep afunder, no marvel if they foon grow cool or tepid. If two or three meet together in Christ's name, they will have heat: but how can one be warm alone ?

Obferve, *' How can one be warm alone?" The wife man*s exprefling himfelf by w^ay of quellion, implies an im-poflibility, at leaft a very great difficulty, to be warm in religion without company, where it may be had. Behold here, then, another excellent benefit flowing from religious fociety;

il

it will keep us zealous, as well as fleady, in the ways of godliners.

But to illuftrate this a little farther by acomparifon or two. Let us look upon ourfclvcs (as was above hinted) as foldiers lifted under Christ's banner; as going out with '^ ten thoufand, to meet one that cometh agalnft us with twenty thou-fand ;" as perfons that are to " wreftle not only with flcQi and blood, but againft principalities, againft powers, and fpi-titual wickednefFes in high places." And then tell me, all ye that fear God, if it be not an invaluable privilege to have a company of fellow foldiers continually about us, animating and exhorting each other to ll:and our ground, to keepi our ranks, and manfully to follow the captain of our falva-tion, though it be through a fea of blocd ?

Let us confider ourfclves in another view before mentioned^ as perfons travelling to a long eternity j as refcued by the free grace of God, in fome meafure, from our natural Egyp-iian bondage, and marching under the condu6l of our fpiri-tual JoJJma^ through the wildernefs of this world, to the land of our heavenly C<7;7<^<7W. Let us farther refie6l how apt we are to ftartle at every difficulty ; to cry, *' There are lions ! There are lions in the way I There are the fons o^ Jnak** to be grappled with, ere we can poflefs the promifed land 1, How prone we are, with Lois wife, to look wifhfully back on our fpiritual Sodom^ or, with the foolifh Ifraelites, to long again for the fie{h-pots of Egjpt ; and to return to our former natural ftate of bondage and flavery. Confider this^ my brethren, and fee what a blefled privilege it will be to have a fet of 7/r^£'/;V^j indeed about us, always reminding us of the folly of any fuch cowardly defign, and of the intolerable mifery we fhall run into, if we fall in the leaft ihort of the promifed land.

More might be faid on this particular, did not the limits of a difcourfe of this nature oblige me to haften,

3. To give a third reafon, mentioned by the wife man in the texti why two are better than one j becaufe they can fe-cure each other from enemies without. *' And if one prevail againft him, yet two fliall withftand him: and a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

Hitherto we have confidered the advantages of religious focieties, as a great prefervative againft falling (at leaft dan-

VoL. V. H geroufly

44

gcroufly falling) Into fin and lukewarmnefs, and that too frorrt our own corruptions. But what fays the wife Ton oi Slrach ^ " My Ton, when thou gocll to ferve the Lord, prepare thy foul for temptation :" and that not only from inward, but outward foes ; particularly from thofe two grand adverfaries, the world and the devil : for no fooner will thine eye be beut heavenward, but the former will be immediately diverting it another way, telling thee thou needed not be Angular in order to be religious ; that you may be a chriftian without going fo much out of the common road.

Nor will the devil be wanting in his artful infmuations, or impious fuggcdions, to divert or terrify thee from preffing forwards, " that thou mayft lay hold on the crown of life." And if he cannot prevail this way, he will try another; and, in order to make his temptation the more undifcerned, but withal more fuccefsful, he will employ, perhaps, fome of thy nearcft relatives, or mofl powerful friends, (as he fet Peter on our bleffed Mafler) who will always be bidding thee to fpare thyfelf 3 telling thee thou needell not take fo much pains; that it is not fo difficult a matter to get to heaven as fome people would make of it, nor the way fo narrow as others imagine it to be.

But fee here the advantage of religious company ; for fup-pofing thou findeft thyfelf thus furrounded on every fide, and unable to withftand fuch horrid (though feemingly friendly) counfels, haile away to thy companions, and they will teacli thee a truer and better leflbn; they will tell thee, that thou muft be fmgular if thou wilt be religious: and that it is as impoffible for a chriftian, as for a city fet upon a hill, to be hidden : that if thou wilt be an almoil chriftian (and as good be none at all) thou mayeft live in the fame idle, indifferent manner as thou feeft moft other people do : but if thou wilt be not only almoft, but altogether a chriftian, they will infornn thee thou muft go a great deal farther : that thou muft not only faintly feek, but " earneftly ftrive to enter in at the ftrait gate :*'^hat there is but one way now to heaven as formerly, even through the narrov/ paftage of a found converfion : and that in order to bring about this mighty work, thou muft undergo a conftant, but neceflary difcipline of fafting, watching, and prayer. And therefore, the only reafon why thofe

friends

[ '«5 ]

friends give thee fuch aJvlce, is, becaufc they are not willing to tiike To much pains themfclvcs ; or, as our Saviour told Peter on a like occafion, becaufc they " favour not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men."

This th'-H, is another excellent blcfling arifing from religious fociety, that friends can hereby fecure each other from thofe who oppofe them. The devil iii fully fenfibls of this, and therefore he has always done his utmoft to fupprefs, and put a ftop to the communion of faints. This was his grand artifice at the firft planting of the gofpel j to perfecute tl-e profeflbrs of it, in order to fcparate them. Which, though Cod, as he always will, over-ruled for the better; yet, it fhews, what an enmity he has againfl chriftians ailembling themfelves together. Nor has he yet left off his old flrata-gem; it being his ufual way to entice us by ourfelves, \\ order to tempt us j where, by being deftitute of one another's help, he hopes to lead us captive at his will.

But, on the contrary, knowing his own intereft is ftrength-ened by fociety, he would firfl perfuade us to negle6l the communion of faints, and then bid us " ftand in the way *' of Tinners,'* hoping thereby to put us into the feat of the fcornful. Judas and Peisr are melancholy inftances of thi$. The former had no fooner left his company at fupper, but he went out and betrayed his mafter : and the difmal downfal of the latter, when he would venture himfclf amongfl a company of enemies, plainly (liews us what the devil will endea* vour to do, when he gets us by ourfelves. Had Peter kepf: his own company, he might have kept his integrity ; but a fingle cord, alas ! how quickly was it broken ? Our bleffed Saviour knew this full well, and therefore it is very obfervable, that he always fent out his difciplcs " two by two.'*

And now, after fo many advantages to be reaped from religious fociety, may we not very juflly cry out with ths wife man in my text, " Woe be to him that is alone; for when he fallethj he hath not another to lift him up ?" When he is cold, he hath not a friend to warm him ; when he ig affaultedj he hath not a fecund to help him to withftand hi$ enemy.

III. I now come to nfiy third general head, under which

was to be (hewn the feveral duties incumbent on every

. H 2 member

member of a religious fociety, as fuch, which arc three. 1. Mutual reproof J 2. Mutual exhortation; 3. Mutual aflifting and defending each other.

1. Mutual reproof. '* Two are better than one j for when they fall, the one will lift up his fellow."

Now, reproof may be taken either in a more extenfive fenfe, and then it fignifies our raifing a brother by the gentled means, when he falls into fin and error; or in a more • reftrained fignification, as reaching no farther than thofe mifcarriages, which unavoidably happen in the moii holy men living.

T\-\Q v/iie man, in the text, fuppofes all of us fubjedl to both : " For when they fall (thereby implying that each of us may fall) the one will lift up his fellow." From whence we may infer, that " when any brother is overtaken with a fault, he that is fpiritual (that is, regenerate, and knows the corruption and weaknefs of human nature) ought to reflore fuch a one in the fpirit of meeknefs." And why he fliould do fo, the apoftle fubjoins a reafon " confidering thyfelf, left thou alfo be tempted ;" i. e. confidering thy own frailty, left thou alfo fail by the like temptation.

We are all frail unliable creatures; and it is merely owing to the free grace and good providence of God that we run not into the fame excefs of riot with other men. Every ofn fending brother, therefor^, claims our pity rather than our refentment; and each member fliould drive to be the moft forward, as well as moft gentle, in reftoring him to his former ftate.

But fuppofing a perfon not to be overtaken, but to fall wilfully into a crime ; yet who art thou that denieft forgive-nefs to thy offending brother ? " Let him that ftandeth take heed left he fall." Take ye, brethren, the holy apoftles as eminent examples for you to learn by, how you ought to behave in this matter. Confjder how quickly they joined the right hand of fellowfliip with Peter, v/ho had fo wilfully denied his maftcr : for v/e find John and him together but two d;»ys after, John xx. 2. And vcr. J9, we fii^d him affcm-blcd with the reft. So foon did they forgive, fo foon aOb-

ciatc

[ "7 ]

cl?.te with their finfu], yet relenting brother. « Let us <ro and do likewife."

But there is another kind of reproof incumbent on every member of a religious fociety ; namely, a gn7t/e rebuke for fome mifcarriage or other, which though not actually finful, yet may become the occafion of fin. This indeed feems a more eafy, but perhaps will be found a more difficult point than the former: for when a perfon has re^illy finned, he cannot but own his brethrens reproof to be juftj whereas, when it was only for fome little mifconduiSi:, the pride thiu is in our natures will fcaice fuffer us to brook it. But however ungrateful this pill may be to our brother, yet If we have any concern for his welfare, it muft be adminiitcred by fome friendly hand or other. By all means then let it be applied; only, like a fkilful phyfician, gild over the ungrateful pill, and endeavour, if poffible, to deceive thy brother into health and foundnefs. «* Let all birternefs, and wrath, and malice, and evil-fpeaking, be put away" from it. Let the patient know, his recovery is the only thing aimed at, and that thou delighteft not caufelefly to grieve thy brother; then thou canft not want fuccefs.

2. Mutual exhortation is the fecond duty refulting from the words of the text. " Again, if two lye together, then they have heat."

Obferve, the wife man fuppofes it as impoffible for religious perfons to meet together, and not to be the warmer for each other's company, as for two perfons to lye in the fiime bed, and yet freeze with cold. But now, hovv' is it po/Tible to communicate heat to each other, without mutually flirring up the gift of God which is in us, by brotherly exhortation ? Let every member then of a religious fociety write that zealous apoftle's advice on the tables of his he irt; " See that ye exhort, and p'-ovoke one another to love, and to good works ; and fo much the more, as you fee the day of the Lord approaching." Believe me, brethren, we have need of exhortation to roufe up our fleepy fouls, to fet us upon our watch agaihft the temptations of the world, the flefli, and the devil ; to excite us to renounce ourfclvcs, to take up our erodes, and follov/ our blcfied maOcr, and the glorious company of faints and martyrs.. " who through faith have fought

H -i the

the good Sght, and are gone before us to inherit the promifes," A third part, therefore, of the time wherein a religious fo-cicty meets, feems nccelTary to be fpent in this important duty : for what avails it to have our underftandings enlightened by pious reading, unlcfs our wills are at the fame time inclined, and inSamcd by mutual exhortation, to put it in pra£l:'cc ? Add alfo, that this js the belt way both to receive and impart light, ar\d the only means to preferve and increafe that warmth and heat which each perfon firft brought witli him J God fo ordering this, as all other fpiritual gifts, that ■'' to him that hath, i. c. improves and communicates what he hath, fhall be given ; but from him that hath not, or does not improve the heat he hath, fnall be taken away even that which he feemed to have." So needful, fo efientially necef-fary, is exhortation to the good of fociety.

3. Thirdly, I'he text points out another duty incumbent on every member of a religious fociety, to defend each other from thpf:f that do oppofe them. " rvnd if one prevail againfl: him, yet two fliall Vv'ithfland him ; and a threefold cord is |iot quickly broken."

Here the wife man takes it for granted, that offences will come, nay, and that they rnay prevail too. Arid this is no more than our blcflcd mailer has long fince told us. Not, indeed, that there is any thing in chriftianity itfelf that has the Kaft tendency to give rife to, or promote fuch offences : No, on the contrary, it breathes nothing but unity and love.

But fo it is, that ever fmce the fatal fentence pronounced by God, after our firft parents fall, " I v;ill put enmity between thy feed and her kcd j" he that is born after the flefh, the unregerieiate unconverted fmner, has in all ages " per-fccuted him that is born after the fpirit:" an-d fo it always will be. Accordingly we find an early proof given of this in the \i\i\c\ncQ Oi Caiu and JI?eI-, oi Ijhmael and Ifaac \ and of ^acob and Efau. And, indeed, the whole Bible contains little elfe but an hiftory of the great and continued oppofition between the children of this world, and the children of God. The nrft chriftians were remarkable examples of this ; and ^hough thofe troublefome times, bleffe<l be God, are now pver, yet the apoftle has laid it down as a general rule, and all who are fincerc experimentally prove the truth of it; that I " they

^ they that will live godly in Christ ]ES\jSy mu{l (to the: end of the world, in Come degree or other) fufFer pcr{ecution.** That therefore this \:\:.y not make us dtfert our blefied ma* fler's cauTe, every nicmbcr fhould unite their forces, in order to fland againft it. And for the b-tter cflcdiing this, each would do well, from time to time, to communicate his experiences, grievances, and temptations, and beg his companions (firft alking God's airiftaiice, without which all is. nothing) to adminifter reproof, exhortation, or comfort, as his cafe requires : fo that '< if one cannot prevail againft it, yet two fhall withftand it; and a threefold (much lefs a many-fold) cord will not be quickly broken."

IV. But it is time for me to proceed to the fourth general thing propofed, to draw an inference or two from wh4C has been faid.

I. And firft, if " two are better than one," and the advantages of religious fociety are fo many and fo great; then it is the duty of every true chriftian to fet on foot, eftablifh and promote, as much as in him lyes, focieties of this nature. And I believe we may venture to affirm, that if ever a fpirit of true chriftianity is revived in the world, it muft be brought about by fome fuch means as this. Motives, furcly, cannot be wanting, to ftir us up to this commendable and iieceflary undertaking : for, granting all hitherto advanced to be of no force, yet methinks the fmgle confideration, that great part of our happinefs in heaven will confift in the Com^ munion of Saints ; or that the intereft as well as piety of thofe who diff'er from us, is ftrengthened and fupported by nothing more than their frequent meetings ; either of thefe confider-ations, I fay, one v/ould think, fhould induce us to do our utmoft to copy after their good example, and fettle a lafting and pious communion of the faints on earth. Add to this, that we find the kingdom of darknefs eftabliftied daily by fuch like means ; and fliall not the kingdom of Christ be fet in oppofition againft it ? Shall the children of Belial aflemble and ftrengthen each other in wickednefs; and {hall not the children of God unite, and ftrengthen themfelvcs in piety? Shall focieties on focieties be countenanced for midnight re-

H 4 veiliiigs,

C 120 ]

veiling?, and the promoting of vice, and fcarcely one be found intended for the propagation of virtue? Be aftonilhed, O heavens at this !

2. But this leads me to a fecond inference ; namely, to warn perfons of the great danger thofe are in, who cither by their lubfcriptions, prefence, or approb-ation, promote fo-cieties of a quite oppofite nature to religion.

And here I would not be underftood, to mean only thofe public meetings which are defigned manifeftly for nothing elfe but revellings and banquctings, for chambering and wan-tonnefs, and at which a modeft heathen would bluih to be prefent ; but alfo thofe fecmingly innocent entertainments and meetings, which the politer part of the world are fo very fond of, and fpend fo much time in : but which, notwith-ftanding, keep as many perfons from a fenfe of true religion, as doth intemperance, debauchery, or any other crime whatever. Indeed, whilfl; we are in this w-orld, we muft have proper relaxations, to fit us both for the bufinefs of our pro-fefTion, and religion. But then, for 'perfons who call them-felves chriftians, that have folem.nly vowed at their baptifm, to renounce the vanities of this iuirul world j that are com-rnanded in fcripture '' to abfrain from all appearance of evil, and to have their converfation in heaven :'* for fuch perfons as thefe to fupport meetings, which (to fay no worfe of them) ^re vain and trifling, and have a natural tendency to draw off our minds from God, is abfurd, ridiculous, and fu-]ful. Surely tv/o are not belter than one in this cafe : No; it is to be wifbed there was not one to be found concerned in it. The fooner we forfake the afiembling ourfelves together in fuch a manner, the better; and no matter how quickly the cord that holds fuch focieties (was it a thoufand-fold) is broken.

Bul you, brethren, have not fo learned Christ : but, on the contrary, like true difciples of your Lord and Mafter, hav'c by the blefTing of God (as this evening's folemnity abundantly teftifies) happily formed yourfelves i.nto fuch focieties, vv'hich, if duly attended on, and improved, cannot but ftrengthcn you in your chrilVian warfare, and " make you fruitful in every good word and work."

What remains for me, but, as was propofcd, in the laft

in a word or two, by w^y of

of exhortation, and to befeech you, in the nameofour Lord Jesus Christ, to go on in the way you have begun ; and by a conftant confcicntious attendance on your rcfpediive fo-ci^'ties, to difcountcnancc vice, encourage virtue, and build each other up in the knowledge and fear of God.

Only permit me to " ftir up your pure minds, by wav of remembrance," and to exhort you, " if there be any confo-lation in Christ, any fellowfliip of the fpirit,'* again and again to confider, that as all chriftians in general, (b all members of religious focieties in particular, are in an efpecial manner, as houfes built upon an hill; and that therefore it highly concerns you to walk circumfpcdtly towards thofe that are without, and to take heed to yourfelves, that your converfation, in common life, be as becometh fuch an operi and peculiar profeflion of the gofpel of Christ : knowing that the eyes of all men are upon you, narrowly to infpedl every circumftance of your behaviour : and that every notorious wilful mifcarriage of any fmgle member will, in fome me:iiure, redound to the fcandal and difhonour of your whole fraternity.

Labour, therefore, my beloved brethren, to let your practice correfpond to your profelTion : and think not that it will be fufficient for you to plead at the lad day. Lord have we not afFembled ourfelves together in thy name, and enlivened each other, by Tinging pfalms, and hymns, and fpiritual fongs ? For verily, I fay unto you, notwithftanding this, our blefied Lord will bid you depart from him ; nay, you {hall receive a greater damnation, if, in the midil of thefe great pretenfions, you are found to be workers of iniquity.

But God forbid that •any fuch evil fhould befdl you ; that there (hould be ever a Judas^ a traitor, amongft fuch diftin-guifhed followers of our common mafter. No, on the contrary, the excellency of your rules, the regularity of your meetings, and more efpecially your pious zeal in aflembiing in fuch a public and folemn manner fo frequently in the year, pcrfuade me to think, that you are willing, not bnrely to feem, but to be in reality, chrittians ; and h(>[.e to be found at the laft day, what you would be ef^cemed now, holv, fmccre difciplcs of a crucified Redeemer.

Oh,

Oh, may you always continue thus minded ! and make it your daily, conflant endeavour, both by precept and example, to turn all your converfe with, more efpecially thofe of your own focieties, into the fame moft blefl'ed fpirit and temper. Thus will you adorn the gofpel of our Lord Jesus Christ in all things : Thus will you anticipate the happinefs of a future ftate ; and by attending on, and improving the communion of faints on earth, be made mett to join the communi©n and fcllowfliip of the fpirits of juft men m.ade perfe£l, of the holy angels, nay, of the ever-bleliccj and eternal God in heaven.

Which God of his infinite mercy grant through Jesus Christ our Lord ; to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghofl-, three perfons and one God, be afcribed, as is moft due, all honour and praife, might, majefty sind dominion, now and for ever. Amen.

S E R.

[ >23 ]

SERMON IX.

The Folly and Danger of being not righteous enough.

EccLEs. vii. 16.

Be not righteous overmuch^ neither make ihyfelf over-wife: why JJiculdft thou deftroy thyfelf ?

NOTHING is more frequent, than while people are living in a courle of fin, and after the fafnidn and manner of the v/oild, there is no notice taken of them ; neither are their '.^ays difpleafnig to their companions and carnal relations : but if they fet their faces Zion-ward, and becrin to feel the power of God on their hearts ; then they are fur-rounded with temptations from their friends, who thus at]: the devil's part. The enemies, the greateit enemies a young convert meets with, my dear brethren, are thofe of his own houfe. They that will be godly, mud fuul^ perfecution; fo it was in Christ's time, and fo it was in the Apoftles time too; for our Lord came not to fend peace, but a fword. Our relations would not have us fit in the fcorner's chair; they would not have us be prodigals, confuming our fubftance upon harlots ; neither would they have us rakes or libertines, but they v/ouM have us be contented with an almoft chriftianity. To keep up our reputation by going to church, and adhering to the outward forms of religion, laying our prayers, reading the word of God, and taking the facraments; this, they imagine, is all that is necefiary for to be chriftians indeed ; and when we go one flcp farther than this, their / mouths are open againlt us, as Peter s was to Christ : ^* Spare thyfelf, do thyfelf no harm."

And

And of this nature are the words of the text. They arc not the words of Solomon himfelf, but the words of an infidel {■peaking to him, whom he introduces in feveral parts of this book ; for Solomon had been fhewing the misfortunes which attended the truly good, as in the verfe before our text.

Upon this the infidel fays, " Be not righteous over-much, neither be thou over-wife : why (liouldft thou deftroy thyfelf ? " i. e. Why fhouldft thou bring thefe misfortunes upon thyfelf, by being over-ftri6c ? Be not righteous over-much ; eat, drink, and be merry, live as the world lives, and then you will avoid thofe misfortunes which may attend you, by being righteous over-much.

This text has another meaning ; but take it v/hich way you will, my brethren, it was fpoken by an unbeliever; therefore it was no credit for the perfon who lately preached upon this text, to take it for granted, that t,hefe were the words of Solomon : the words of an infidel was not a proper text to a chriftian congregation. But as David came out againft Goliah^ not armed as the champion was, with fword and fpear, but with a fling and {lone, and then cut off" his head with his own fword ; fo I come out againft thefe letter-learned men, in the ftrength of the Lord Jesus Christ ; and, my dear brethren, I truft he will direct: me to ufe my fling, fo that our enemies may not gain fay us ; and by the fword of God's v/ord, cut oiF the heads of our Redeemer's enemies.

But though they are not the words of Solomon, yet we will take them in the fame manner the late writer did 3 and, from the words, fhall,

-F/r/?, Shew you what it is, not to be righteous over-much, that we may not deflroy ourfelves.

Secondly, I fliall let you fee what it is to be righteous overmuch. And then.

Thirdly, Conclude with an exhortation to all of you, high and low, rich and poor, one with another, to come to the Lord Jesus Christ.

FiyJ}, The firft thing propofed, is to {hew you what it is not to be righteous over-much. And here.

It is by no means to be righteous over-much, to affirm we mufl have the Tame Spirit of God as the iirft Apoftlcs had, and mull: feel that Spirit upon our hearts.

By receiving the Spirit of God, is not to be underftood, that we are to be infpired to fliew outward figns and wonders, to raife dead bodies, to cure leprous perfons, or to give fighc to the blind : thefe miracles were only of ufe in the firft ages of the church ; and therefore chriftians (nominal chriftians, for we have little elfe but the name) may have all the gifts of the Spiiit, and yet none of the graces of it: Thou, O man, mayefl be enabled by faith to remove mountains ; thou, by the power of God, mayeft caft out devils; thou, by that power, mayeft fpeak wi^h the tongues of men and angels; yea, thou mayeft, by that power, hold up thy finger and ftop the fun in the firmament; and if all the(e are unfandified by the Spirit of God, they would be of no fervice to thee, but would hurry thee to hell with the greater folemnity. Saui received the fpirit of prophefying, and had another heart, yet Saui was probably a caft-away. We muft receive the Spirit of God in its fandifying graces upon our fouls; for Christ fays, " Unlefs a man be born again, he carmot fee the kingdom of God." We are all by nature born in fin, and at as great a diftance from God, as the devils themfelves. I have told you often, and now tell you again, that you are by nature a motley mixture of the beaft and devil, and we cannot recover ourfelves from the ftate wherein we have fallen, therefore muft be renewed by the Holy Ghoft. By the Holy Ghoft, I mean, the third Perfon of the ever-blefied Trinity, co-equal, co-cfTential, co-eternal, and confubftantial with the Father 2nd the Son ; and therefore, when we are baprized, it is into the nature of the Father, into the nature of the Son, and into the nature of the Holy Ghoft : and we are not true chriftians, till we are fanc^ified by the Spirit of God.

Though our modern preachers do not actually denv the Spiiit of God, yet they fay, " Chriftians muft not feel hiivj;" which is in effect to deny him. When NicodcTnus came to Christ, and the Lord Jesus was inftruding him, concerning the new birth, fays he to our Lord, " How can thefe things be r" Ni:odcnmSy though a mafter of Ifrael^ a6id juft as cur learned Rahbi'a do now. The anfvvcr that Christ

£ave.

gave hiiri fl^iGUlii flop the mouths of our Iciter-Jearned phari-Ices : '' "i he wind b'oweth where it liTicth, and we hear the found thereof, but cannot tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth." Now till the Spirit of Goo is felt on our fouls as the wind on our bodies, indeed, my dear brethren, you have no intereft in him : religion confifts not in external performance, it muft be in the heart, or elfe it is only a name, v/hich cannot profit us, a name to live whiUl: we arc dead.

A late preacher upon this text, fecms to laugh at us, for talkin^'^ of the Spirit in a fenfible manner, and talks to us as the Jews did to Christ : Tiiey faid, " How can this man give us his 9itii\ to eat ?" So he afKs, " What fign or proof do we give of it ?" V/e do not in.^^ine, that God mud appear to us, and give it us: no; hue there may b?, and is, a frequent receiving, when no feeing of it; and it is as plaiidy ^elt in the foul, as any impreilion is, or can be, upon the body. To what a damnable condition (hould we bring poor finners, if they could not be fenfible of the Spirit of God j namely, a reprobate mind and paft feeling ?

" What proof do they give ?" fays the writer. What fign v/ould they have ? Do they expert us to raife the dead, to give fight to the blind, to cure lepers, to make the lame to walk, and the deaf to hear ? If thefe are what they expe6f, I fpeak v^'ith humility, God, by us, hath done greater things than thefe : many, who were dead in fin, are raifed to fcrip-ture-life : thot'e, Vv'ho were leprous by nature, are cleanfed by the Spirit of God ; thofe, who were lame in duty, now run. in God's commands ; thofe, who were deaf, their ears are xinftopped to hear his difcipline, and hearken to his advice ; and the poor have t!ie gofpel preached to them. No wonder people talk at this rate, when they can tell us, " That the Spirit of God, is a good confciencc, conftquent thereupon." My dear brethren, Senrca^ Cicerc^ Plato, or any of the heathen philofophers, would hive given as good a dciinition as this : It means no more, tlian refie(5ling that we have done well* This, this is only Dcifm refined : Deills laugh at us, when we pretend to be jigainft their notions, and yet thefe men ul'e no other rcafon for our differing from them, than what is agreeable to Deifts principles.

This

r 127 ]

Th,. writer tell, us, " It is againft common-fenfe to talk of the feel.ng of the Spirit of God." Commor,-ren/e, ,T,y brethren, W.S never allowed to be a judge ; jea, it is above its con,prehenf.on, neither are, nor can the ways of God be known by common Ibnfe. We ftould never have known the th ngs of God at all by our common fenfes : no ; it is the re-ve afon of God which is to be our judge ; it i's that we ap-P« to, , d „„, ,„ „^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^jl^^ conceptions of th.ngs. Thus we may fee, i, is by no means to be righteous

r;:ar:aV'° tr^ "--^''--^^ ^-'-«--^=

re'2' ^T'^'-' "P°" '^'" *''''' =™= =" P"«i"g ^Mc all the re,-g.ous focefes that are in the kingdom: Ind«d. he fays

«' inhtl' '^^>'°"^P^^y"-^'"<l«hewordofGoD;and.

and as for the Sp,r,t of God upon your fouls, you are to 00k upon ,t as ufelefs and unnece/Taty." If this! my br ^

ow ebb f :;"\"' '''' "°" P^^^'''^^' chriftilnity'is c JESUS Christ. Do you not forbear the frequenting of reli-g.ous aiTemW.es ; for as nothing helps to build up the devil's

Wd be more for pulling of it down, than the people of OOD meetmg to ftrengthen each others hands; and as the

JESUS. Yes, I hope many of you will be of the

in 5 '^ J " ^''" "^^ P"™'"^^ ^hriftians delighted .n J and ftall not we follow (o excellent an example ? My brethren, till chriftian converfation is more agreeable to us!

rrorifi:d""?r''-'° t''''"'''' °' ^"-^'^^ - -^ •>«

glor,|..d. Thus K .s by no means to be righteous over-much, to frequent religious aflemblies. Nor,

th Jdtel!' " l'" ""' "^-^''""^ over-much, to abftain from tilt divethons and entertainments of the aae

.vi^'and'thTrf V° "''""" '""""'^^ 'PP-""- °f *vU, and th.t " whatfoevcr we do, whether we eat or drink,

we

[ »28 ]

WG fliall do all to the glory of God." The writer upon this text tells us, *' That it will be accounted unlawful to fmell to a rofe :" no, my dear brethren, you may fmell to a pink and rofe too if you pleafc, but take care to avoid the appearance of fin. They talk of innocent diverfions and recreations j for my part, I know of no divcrfion, but that of doing good: if you can find any diverfion which is not contrary to your bap-tifmal vow, of renouncing the pomps and vanities of this wicked world ; if you can find any diverfion which tends to the glory of God ; if you can find any diverfion, which you would be willing to be found at by the Lord Jesus Christ, I give you free licence to go to them and welcome; but if, on the contrary, they are found to keep finners from coming ta the Lord Jesus Christ j if they are a means to harden the heart, and fuch as you would not willingly be found in when you come to die, then, my dear brethren, keep from them : ■ for, indeed, the diverfions of this age are contrary to chriftian-ity. Many of you may think I have gone too far, but I '(ball go a great deal farther yet : I will attack the devil in his ftrongeft holds, and bear my teftimony againft our fa-» ihionable and polite entertainments. \Vhat fatisfadion can it be, what pleafure is there in fpending feveral hours at cards P Strange ! that even people who are grown old, can fpend whole nights in this diverfion : perhaps many of you will cry out, " What harm is there in it?" My dear brethren, whatfoever is not of faith, or for the glory of God, is a fin i Now does cards tend to promote this ? Is it not mifpending your precious time, which fnould be employed in working out your falvation with fear and trembling ? Do play-hGufeSy horfe-racing^ halls and njfe77iblie5^ tend to promote the glory of God ? Would you be willing to have your foul demanded af yo.u, while you are at one of thofe places ? Many of thcfe are, (I muft fpeak, I cannot foibear to fpeak againft thefe entertainments ; come what will, I v/ill declare againft them) many, I fay, of thefe are kept up by public authority : the play-houfes are fupported by a public fund, and our newspapers are full of horfe-races all through the kingdom : thefe things are finful; indeed they are exceeding fmful. What good can come from a horfe-race; from abufing GoD Almighty's creatures, and putting them to that ufe he never

defigned'

[ '29 ]

dcfigned for them : the play-houfes, are they not nurferles of dtbauchery in the age ? and the fupporters and patrons of them, are encouragers and promoters of all the evil that is done by them ; they are the bane of the ag^, and will be the deflrudlion of thofe who frequent them. Is it not high time for the true minifters of Jesus Christ, who have been partakers of the heavenly gift, to lift up their voices as a trumpet, and cry aloud againft thefe diverfions of the age ? Are they not earthly, fenfual, devilifh ? Ir you have tafted of the love of God, and have felt his power upon your fouls, you would no more go to a play, than you would run your head into a furnace.

And what occafions thefe places to be fo much frequented, is the clergy's m.aking no fcruple to be at thefe polite places : they frequent play-houfes, they go to horfe races, they go to balls and aflemblies, they frequent taverns, and follow all the entertainments that the age affords ; and yet thefe are the per-fons who fiiould advile their heiiiCrs to refrain from them ; but inftead thereof, they encourage them by their example. Per-fons are too apt to rely upon, and believe their paftors, rather than the fcriprures ; they ihink that there is no crime in going to plays or horfe-races, to bails und afl'emblies; for if there were, they think thofe perfons, who are their minifters, would not frequent them : but, my dear brethren, obferve they always go difguifed, the minifters are afraid of being feeri in their gowns and caftbcks; the reafon thereof is plain, their confciences inform them, that it is not an example fit for the minifters of the gofpel to fet; thus, they are the means of giving that offence to the people of God, which I would not for ten thoufand worlds : they lay a ftumibling-block in the way of their weak brethren, which they will not remove, though it is a ftumbling-block of offence. " Woe unto the world becaufe of offences, but woe unto that man by whom the offence com-^th." The polite gentlemen of the age, fpend their time in following thvfe diverfions, becaufe the love of God is not in their hearts ; they are void of Christ, and deftitute of the Spirit of God ; and not being acquainted with the delight there is in God and his ways, being ftrangers to thefe things, they run to the devil for diverfions, and are pleafed and delighted with the filly ones he (hews them.

Vol. V. I • My

My dear brethren, I fpeak of thefe things, thefe innocent diverfions, as the polite part of the world calls them, by experience ; perhaps none, for my age, hath read or feen more plays than I have : I took delight in, and was pleafed with them. It is true, I went to church frequently, received the facrament, and was diligent in the ufe of the forms of religion, but I was all this while ignorant of the power of God on my heart, and unacquainted with the work of grace ; but when God was pleafed to (bine with power upon my foul, I could ro longer be contented to feed on hufks, or what the fwinc did eat: the Bible then was my food ; there, and there only I took delight: and till you feel this fame power, you will not abttain from the earthly delights of this age, you will take no comfort in God's ways, nor receive any comfort from him j for you are void of the love of GoD, having only the form of godlinefs, while you are denying the power of it; you are nominal chriflians, when you have not the power of chrif-tianity.

The polite gentlemen fay, " Are we to be always upon f' our knees ? Would you have us be always at prayer, and '' reading or hearing the word of GoD ?"

My dear brethren, the fafhionable ones, who take delight jn hunting, are not tired of being continually on horfeback after their hounds ; and when once you are renewed by the Spirit of GoD, it will be a continual pleafure to be walking with, and talking of GoD, and telling what great things Jiisus Christ hath done for your fouls ; and till you cari find as much pleafure in converfing with God, as thefe men do of their hounds, you have no (hare in him ; but when you have tailed how good the Lord is, you will fhew forth his praife ^ out of the abundance of your heart your mouth will (peak.

This brings me to the fecond thing propofcd, which is an ^xtream that very fcldom happens :

Secondly, To fhew what it is to be righteous over-much. And here,

FirJ}^ When we confine the Spirit of God to this or that

particular church ; and are not willing to converfe with any

but thofe of the fame communion -, this is to be righteous

3 over-

[ '31 ]

•ver-much with a witnefs : and To it is, to confine our communion within church-walls, and to think that Jesus could not preach in a field as well as on confccrated-ground ; this IS judaifniy this is bigotry: this is like Peter^ who would not go to preach the gofpel to the Gentiles^ till he had a vifion from God : and when his condu(5i: was blamed by the difciples, he could not fatisfy them till he had acquainted them with the vifion he had feen. And, theret'orc, we may juftly infer, the Spirit of God is the center of unity ; and wherever I fee the image of my Mafter, I never enquire of them their opinions ; I afk them not what they are, {o they love Jesus Christ in fincerity and truth, but embrace them as my brother, my fifter, and my fpoufe : and this is the fpirit of chriitianity. Many pcrfons, who are bigots to this or that opinion, when one of a different way of thinking hath come where they were, have left the room or place on the account : this is the fpirit of the devil ; and if it was poffible that thefe perfons could be admitted into heaven with fuch tempers, that very place would be hell to them. Chriftianity will never flourifh, till v/e are all of one heart and of one miad ; and this would be the only means of feeing the gofpel of Jesus to flourifh, more than ever it will by perfecuting thofe who differ from us.

This may be efteemcd as enthufiafm and madnefs, and as a defign to undermine the eftablifbed church : No ; God is my judge, I (hould rejoice to fee all the world adhere to her articles ; I ftiould rejoice to fee the miniflers of the Church of England^ preach up thofe very articles they have fubfcribed to; but thofe minifters who do preach up the articles, are efleemcd as madmen, enthufiafts, fchifmatics, and uridcrminers of the eftablifbed church : and though they fay thcfe things of me, bleffed be God, they are without foundation. My dear brethren, I am a friend to her articles, I am a friend to her homilies, I am a friend to her liturgy ; and, if they did not thruft me out of their churches, I would read them every day ; but I do not confine the Spirit of God there ; for I fay it again, I love all that'love the Lord Jesus Christ, and efteem him my brother, my friend, my fpoufe ; aye, my very foul is knit to that perfon. The fpirit of perfecution will never, indeed it will never make any to love Jesus Christ. The phari' fees make this to be madnefs, fo much as to mention perfecu-

tion in a chriftian country ; but there is .as much the fpirlt of perfecutlon now in the world, as ever there was; their will is as great, but bleflcd be God, they want the power ; otherwife, how foon would they fend me to prifon, make my feet faft in the flocks, yea, would think they did God fervice in killing me, and would rejoice to take away my life.

This is not the Spirit of Christ, my dear brethren ; I had not come to have thus preached j I had not come into the highways and hedges; I had not expofeu myfelf to the ill treatment of thefe letter-learned men, but for the fake of your fouls: indeed, I had no other reafon, but your falvation ; and for that (I fpeak the truth in Christ, I lie not) 1 would be content to go to prifon ; yea, I would rejoice to die for you, fo I could but be a means to bring fome of you to Jesus : I could not bear to fee fo many in the highway to deftru6lion, and not fhew them their danger : I could not bear, my brethren, to fee you more willing to learn, than the teachers arc to in{lru6l you : and if any of them were to come and preach to you, I fhould not envy them, I fliould not call them en-thufiafts or madmen 5 I fhould rejoice to hear they had tea thoufand times more fuccefs than I have met with ; I would give them the right-hand of fellov.'fhip ; I would advife them to go on ; I would wiih them good luck in the name of the Lord, and fay as Christ did, when the difciples informed him of fome cadi g out devils in his nam'e, and were for rebuking of them, " Forbid them nor, for they that are not againfl: us are for us ;" or as St. Paul fays, " Some preach Christ of envy, and fome of good-will; notwithflanding, fo Christ is but preached, I rejoice ; yea, and will rejoice." The gofpel of Jesus, is a gofpel of peace. Thus you may fee, that to be righteous over-much, is to be uncharitable, cenforious, and to perfecute perfons for differing from us in religion.

Secondly, Perfons are righteous over-much, when they fpend fo much time in religious affemblies, as to negle6t their families. There is no licence given by the bleffed Jesus, for idlenefs ; for in the very infancy of the world, idlenefs was not allowed of. In paradlfe, /Mam and Eve dreffed the gar^ den, Cain was a tiller of the ground, and Jhel vt'as a keeper of iheep ; and there is a proverb amongfl the JcwSy *.' That he 5 " -who

who brings bis Ton up without a bufinefs, brings him up to be a thief:" and therefore our Saviour was a carpenter ; " fs lot this the carpenter's fon," faid the y<fit'j;" and St. PW though brought up at the feet of Gamaliel^ was a tent-mnker. Labour, my brethren, is impofed on all mankind as part of the divine curfe ; and you are called to be ufeful in the fociety to which you belong : take care firft for the kingdom of God, and all things necefTary fliall be added. To labour for the meat that periftieth, is your duty; only take care, that vou do not neglect getting the meat for the foul : that is o^ the greatelt confequence, for this plain reafon, the things of this life are teniporal, but thofe of the next are eternal.- I would have rich men to work as well as poor : it is ovvino- to their jdlenefs, that the devil hurries them to his diverfions ; they can be in their beds all the morning, and fpend the afiernoon and evening in dreffing, vifiting, and at balls, plays, or aflem-blies, when they (hould be working out their falvation with fear and trembling. Such a life as this, occafions a fpiritual numbnefs in the foul ; and if Jesus Christ was not to ftop thofe who thus fpend their time, they would be hurried into eternity, without once thinking of their immortal fouls. But Jesus Christ has compaffion upon many of them, and while they are in their blood, he bids them " live." And though I preach this do6lrine to you, yet I do not bid you be idle ; no, they that do not work fhould not eat. You have two callings, a general one, and a fpecial one: as we are to regard the one In refpe<Si: of our bodies, fo we are to regard the other on account of our fouls. Take heed, my brethren, I befeech you, take heed, left you labour fo for the meat that periftieth, as to forget that meat which endureth for ever. Seek the things of God firft; look well to obtain oil in your lamps, grace in your hearts. I am not perfuading you to take no care about the things of the world, but only not to be encumbered with them, fo as to neglect your duty towards God, and a proper concern for your fouls. It is meet, it is right, it is your bounden duty, to mind the callings wherein God hath placed you ; and you may be faid to be righteous overmuch not to regard them. This brings me,

I 3 Thirdly,

[ '34 ]

Thirdly^ To give you another figu of being righteous overmuch ; and that is, when we faft and ufe corporal aufterities, fo as to unfit us for the fervice of God.

This, my brethren, you may think there is no occafion at 9II to, caution you againft, and indeed there is not a great ne-ceiTity for it; however, many perfons, upon their firft being awakened to a fenfe of their fin, are tempted to ufe aufterities to that excefs which is finful. It is our duty to faft, it is our ^uty to faft often, and it is what we are direded to by Jesus Christ himfelf; but then we are to take care to do it in a proper manner : to bring our bodies uriderYor the fervice of God, Is that which we are commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ.

The late preacher upon this text, runs into great extremes, and charges us vvith faying and acting things, of which we never thought J but I do aot regard what he faid of me : I do not niijad, his bitter ioveelives againft my miniftry ; I do not mind his d-efpifing my youth, and calling me novice and enthufiaft;. I forgive him froro my very heart : but when he refledts on my, Mafter ; when he fpe^ks againft my Redeemer j when Jesi/S; Christ is fpoken againft, I muft fpeak, (I muft fpeak indeed, or I ftiould burft :) when he gives liberty to perfonis to take a chearful gla/sj and alledges Christ for an example, a,s in the marriage-feaft, faying^ " Christ turned water into? *' wine,^ when it is plain there had been more drank than was, *' nepefl^y before j" vyhat is this, but to charge Christ-with encouraging drunkennefs? It is true, the Governor fays, '' Every man in the beginning fets forth good wine, and when men have well drank, that which is worfe ; but thou, haft kept the good wine until now :" but it does not at alL follow, that it was not neceflary, or that there had been ^ fufficient quantity before : I would not fpeak thus flightingly of one of my Maftcr's miracles, for the whole world. And • we may obfcrve, that as Christ chiefly viftted poor people* they might not have wherewithal to buy a fufficient quantity of wine j or having more gucfts than were expe6ied, the wine was expended fooner than they thought; then the Mother of Jesus tells him, " They have no wine ;" he anfwers, «' Woman, what have I to do with thee? My hour is not yet come/' After this he commanded them to fill the water-pots

pots with water, and they filled them to the brim, and this' water he turned into wine : now it does not at all follow, that there was more drank than w?s neccfiary ; neither would the Lord Jesus Christ have continued in the houfe if there Irad. But we have an excellent leffon to learn from this miracle : by the water-pots being emptV, we may underftand, the heart of man being by nature deftitute of his grace, his fpeaking and commanding to fill them, {hews, that when Christ fpeaks, the heart that was empty of grace before, fliall be filled ; and the water-pots being filled to the brim, fliews, that Christ will fill believers hearts brim full of the Holy Ghofl : and from the Governor's obferving, that the laft wine was the beft, learn, that a believer's beft comfoits, fliall be the laft and greateft, for they fhall come with the greateft power upon the foul, and continue longeft there : this, this my dear brethren, is the lefTon we may learn from this miracle.

But one great inconfiftency 1 cannot avoid taking notice of in this late learned preacher. In the beginning of his fermon, he charges us with " laying heavy burthens upon people, '* which they are not able to bear;'* in the letter part he charges us with being Antinomians, whofe tenets are, *' Sd •* you fay you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; you may '"* live the life of devils." Now, he charges us with being too Jiri6i^ and by and by with being too Icofe. Which fide, my brethren, will you take ? Thus you fee, when perfons forfake Christ, they make firange miftakes ; for there cart be no greater oppofition of fentiments than this letter-learned writer has made : as oppofite as light and darknefs, good and evil, fweet and bitter. And, on this account, to find out thefe lettered-learned gentlemens notions of the new-birth, I put a paragraph in my Journal ; and, blefled be God, I have obtained my defires, and have plainly perceived, that the perfons who have lately written concerning the nevv-birth, know" no more of it than a blind man does of colours, nor can they have any more notion of it, (by all their learning, falfely, fo called) than the blind man, who was to give an account what the fun was, and, after a confiderable time allowed for ftudy, he faid, *' It was like the found of a trumpet." And till they are taught of God, they will be ufiacquainted with the new-

I 4 birth ;

birth : therefore, If you have a mind to know what the devil has to fay againft us, read Dr, Trapp's fermons.

It is with grief I fpealc thcfe things, and were not the welfare of your fouls, and my Redeemer's honour at ftake, I would not now open my mouth, yea I would willingly die (God is my judge) for the perfon who wrote fuch bitter things againil me, fo it would be a means of faving his foul. If be had only fpokcn againft me, I would not have anfwered him ; but, on his making my Redeemer a pattern of vice, if J was not to fpeuk, the very ftones would cry out; therefore, the honour of my Redeemer, and love to you, conftrains me to fpeak. It is of neceffity that I fpeak, when the divinity of Jesus Christ is fpoken againft, it is the duty of minifters to cry aloud, and fparenot. I cannot forbear, come what will; for I know not what kind of divinity we have now among us : we muft have a righteoufnefs of our own, and do our bcft endeavours, and then Christ will make up the deficiency ; that is, you muft be your own Saviour, in part. This is not the dodrine of the gofpel; this is not the doctrine of Jesus : no; Christ is all in all; Jesus Christ muft be your whole wifdom ; Jesus Christ muft be your whole righteoufnefs, Jesus Christ muft be your whole fandilication ; or Jesus Christ will never be your eternal redemption and fandifica-tion. Inward holinefs is looked on, by fome, as the efFecSt of enthufiafm and madnefs; and preachers of the neceflity of the new-birth, are efteemed asperfons fit for Bedlam, Our polite and fafhionable dodtrine, is, " That there is a fitnefs in man, '' and that God, feeing you a good creature, beftows upon ♦' you his grace." God forbid, my dear brethren, ycu fliould thus learn Jesus Christ !

This is not the do6trine I preach to. you : I fay, falvation is the free gift of God. It is God's free grace, I preach unto you, not of works, left any one fhould boaft. Jesus Christ juftifies the ungodly; Jesus Christ pafil-d by, and fav/ you polluted with y^^ur blood, and bid you live. It is not of works, it is of faith : we are not juftified for our faith, for faith is the inftrun^.ent, but by your faith, the acStive as well as the palTive obedience of Christ, muft be applied ta you. Jesus Christ hath fulfilled the law, he hath made it honourable; Jesus Christ hath made fatisfat^ion to his

Father's

Fathei's juftice, full fatisfadion ; and it is as compleat as it is full, and God will not demand it ^gain. Jesus C'hrist is the way; Jesus Christ is the truth ; and Jesus Christ' is the life. The righteoufnefs of Jesus Christ, my bre- [ thren, muft be imputed to you, or you can never have any intereft in the blood of Jesus ; your own works are but as filthy rags, for you are juftified before God, without nny rc-fped to your works paft, prefent, or to come. This docirine...i is denycd by the learned* rabbi's ; but if they deny thefc truths of the gofpel,nhey muft not be offended, though.a child dare fpeak to a dodor; and, in vindication of the caufe of Jesus Christ, a child, a boy, by the Spirit of God, can fpcak to the learned clergy of this age.

If I had a voice fo great, and could fpeak To loud, as thit the whole world could hear me, I would cry, " Be not righteous over-much," by-bringing your righteoufnefs to Christ, and by being righteous in your own eyes. Man muft be abafed, that God may be exalted.

The imputed righteoufnefs of Jesus Christ is a comfortable dodrine to all real chriftians; and you fmners, who afk what you muft do to be faved ? how uncomfortable would it be, to tell you by good works, when, perhaps, you have never done one good work in all your life : this would be drivino-you to defpair, indeed : no j " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you ihall be faved :" therefore none of you need go away defpairing. Come to the Lord Jesus by faith, ■ and he fliall receive you. You have no righteoufnefs of your own to depend on. If you are faved, it is by the ri2;hteouf-iiefs of Christ, through his atonement, his rnakino; a facri-fice for fm : his righteoufnefs muft be imputed to you, other-wife you cannot be faved. There is no diiferefice between you, by nature, and the greatcft malefactor that ever was executed at Tyburn: the difference made, is all owing to the free, the rich, the undeferved grace of God ; this has made the difterence. It is true, talking at this rate, will off.nd the pharifces, who do not like this levelling doclrine, (as they call it) ; but if ever you are brought to Jesus Christ by faith, you will experience the truth of it. Come by faith to Jesus Christ ; do not come, pharilee-like, telling God what you have done, how often you have gone to church,

how

how often you have received the facrament, fafted, prayed, of the like : no; come to Christ as poor, lod, undone, damned finncrs j come to him in this manner, and he will accept of you : do not be rich in fpirit, proud and exalted, for there is no bleffing attends fuch ; but be ye poor in fpirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God ; they fliall be made members of his myftical body here, and fhall be fo of the church triumphant hereafter. Acknowledge yourfelves as nothing at all, and when you have done all, fay, " You are unprofitable fervants." There is no falvation but by Jesus Christ j there is no other name given under heaven amongft men, whereby we may be faved, but that of the Lord Jesus. God, out of Christ, is a confuming fire; therefore ftrive for an intereft in his Son the Lord Jesus Christ ; take him on the terms offered to you in the gofpel; accept of him in God's own way, lay hold on him by faith.

Do not think you are chriftians; do not flatter yourfelves with being righteous enough, and good enough, becaufe you lead moral decent lives, do no one any harm, go to church, and attend upon the outward means of grace ; no, my brethren, you may do this, and a great deal more, and yet be very far from having a faving, experimental knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Beg of Christ to ftrike home upon your hearts, that you may feel the power of religion. Indeed, you muft feel the power of God here, or the wrath of God hereafter. Thefe are truths of the utmoft confequence ; therefore, do not ^a contradicting, do not go blafpheming away. Bleffed be God, you are not fuch cowards to run away for a little rain. I hope good things of you ; I hope you have felt the power of God j and if God fhould bring any of you to himfelf through this fooliflinefs of preaching, you will have no rcafon to complain it was done by a youth, by a child : no; if I could be made an inftrument to bring you to God, they may call me novice, enthufiaft, or what they pleafe, I fhould rejoice ; yea, and I would rejoice.

O that fome finner might be brought to Jesus Christ f Do not fay I preach defpair : I defpair of no one, when I confider God had mercy on fuch a wretch as I, who was running in a full career to hell: I was hailing thither, but. Jesu^

Christ

f ^39 ] Christ pafTed by and flopped me ; Jesus Christ pafTed by me while I was in my blooil, when I was polluted with filth; he palled by me^ and bid me live. Thus I am a monument of God's free grace ; and therefore, my brethren, I defpair of none of you, when I confider, I fay, what a wretch I was.. I am not fpeaking now out of a falfe humility, a pretended fanitity, as the pharifees call it : no, the truth in Christ I fpeak, and therefore, men and devils do your worft ; I have a gracious Mafter will protect me; it is his work I am engaged in, and Jesus Christ will carry me above their rage.

Thofe who are come here this night out of curiofity to hear Vv'hat the babbler fays ; thofe who come to fpend an idle hour to find fomething for an evening-converfation at a cofFee-houfe ; or you who have flopped in your coaches as you paired by, remember that you have had Jesus Christ offered to you ; I offer Jesus Christ to every one of you : perhaps you may not regard it becaufe it is in afield.' But Jesus Christ is wherever his people meet in fincerity and truth to worlhip him : he is not confined to church walls : he has met us here ; many, very many of you know he has j and there^ fore you may believe on him with greater confidence.

Can you bear to think of a bleeding, panting, dying Jesus, offering himfeif up for finners, and you will not accept of him ? Do not fay, you are poor, and therefore are afhamed to go to church, for God has fent the gofpel out unto you. Do not harden^ your hearts : oppofe not the will of J^sus.

O that I could fpeak to your hearts, that my words would centre there. My heart is full of love to you. I would fpeak^ till I could fpeak no more, fo I could but bring you to Christ. I may never meet you all, perhaps, any more. The cloud of God's providence ieems to be moving. God calls me by his providence away from you, for a while. GoD knows whether we fhall ever fee each other in the flefh. At the day of judgment we jQiall all meet again. I earnefily dcfire your prayers. Pray that I may not only begin, Jehu-Yik^, in the fpirit, but that I may continue in it. Pray that I may not fall away, that I may not decline fuffering for you, if I fliould be called to it. Be earncft, O be earnefi: with God in my behalf, that while I am preaching to Gther>, I may not be a caft-away. Put up your prayers for me, I bcfccch you. Go

not

not to the throne of grace, without carrying me upon your heart; for you know not what influence your prayers may have. As for you, my dear brethren, God knows my heart, I continually bear you on my mind, when I go in and out before the Lord ; and it is my earneft defire, you may not perifh for lack of knowledge, but that he would fend out more miniftcrs to water what his own right-hand hath planted. May the Antient of Days come forth upon his white horfe, and may all oppofition fall to the ground. As we have begun to bruife the ferpent's head, we muft expe61: he will bruifc our heel. The devil will not let his kingdom fall without raging horribly. Pie will not fuffer the minifters of Christ to go on, without bringing his power to ftop them. But fear not, my dear brethren, Dav'id^ though a {tripling, encountered the great GoUah ; and if we pray, God will give us llrength againft all our fpiritual enemies. Shew your faith by your works. Give the world the lye. Prefs forward. Do not flop, do not linger in your journey, but ftrive for the mark fet before you. Fight the good fight of faith, and God will give you fpiritual mercies. I hope we fhall all meet at the right-hand of God. Strive, flrivc to enter in at the flrait gate, that we may be borne to Abrahanis bofom, where fin and forrow fhall ceafe. No fcoffer will be there, but we fhall fee Jesus, who died for us; and not only fee him, but live with him for ever.

Which God, of his infinite mercy, &c.

SERMON

SERMON X.

A Prefervatlve againfl: unfettled Notions, and want of Principles, in regard to Righteouf-nefs and Chriftian Perfection.

Being a more particular Anfwer to Dodor ^rapf% Four Sermons upon the fame Text.

To all the True Members of Chrifl's Holy Church.

Dear Fellow Chrijlians^

THE great, and indeed the only motive which prompted me to publifh this lermon, was the defire of providing for your fecurity from error, at a time when the deviators from, and falfe pretenders to truth, are fo numerous, that the moft difcerning find it a matter of the greateft difficulty to avoid being led aftray by one or by other into downright falf-hood. There is no running divifions upon truth; like a mathematical point, it will neither admit of fubtra£tion nor addition : And as it is indivifible in its nature, there is no fplitting the difference, where truth is concerned. Irreligion and enthufiafm are diametrical oppofites, and true piety between both, like the center of an infinite line, is at an equal infinite diftance from the one and the other, and therefore can never admit of a coalition with either. The one errin^-by defecSl, the other by cxcefs. But whether we err by defeat, or excefs, is of little importance, if we are equally wide of the mark, as we certainly are in either cafe. For whatever is lefs than truth, cannot be truth; and whatever is more than tiue muft be falfe.

Wherefore,

f 142 ]

Wherefore, as the whole of this great nation feems now more than ever in danger of being hurried into one or the other of thefe equally pernicious extremes, irreligion or fana-ticifm, I thought myfelf more than ordinarily obliged to rouzc your, perhaps, drowfy vigilance, by warning you of the near-nefs of your peril; cautioning you from leaning towards either fide, though but to peep at the flippery precipice; and ftep-ping between you and error, before it comes nigh enough to arapple with you. The happy medium of true chriftian piety, in which it has pleafed the mercy of God to eftablifli you, is built on a firm rock, '^ and the gates of hell fliall never prevail ao^ainft it." While then you ftand fteadily upright in the fulnefs of the faith, falftiood and fm fliall labour in vain to approach you ; whereas, the leaft familiarity with error, will make you giddy, and if once you ftagger in principles, your ruin is almoft inevitable.

But now I have cautioned you of the danger you are in from the enemies who threaten your fubverfion, I hope your own watchfulnefs will be fuflicient to guard you from any furprife. And from their own ailaults you have nothing to fear, fince while you perfift in the firm refolution, through God's grace, to keep them out, irreligion and enthufiafm, fal(hood and vice, impiety and falfe piety, will combine in vain to force an entrance into your hearts.

1'ake then, my dearly beloved fellow-m.embers of Christ's myftical body, take the friendly caution I give you in good part, and endeavour to profit by it: attend wholly to the faving truths I here deliver to you, and be perfuaded, that they arc uttered by one who has your eternal falvation as much at heart as his own.

'' And thou, O Lord Jesus Ckrist, fountain of all truth, '' whence all wifdom flows, open the underftandings of *' thy people to the light of thy true faith, and touch their *' hearts with thy grace, that they may both be able to fee, *' and willing to perform what thou requireft of them. *' Drive away from us every cloud of error and perverfity; «' guard us alike from irreligion and falfe prctenfions to *' pi'ety ; and lead us on perpetually towards that perfec-«' tion to which thou haft taught us to afpire; that keep-" ing us he;e in a conliant imitation of thee, and peace-

'' ful

[ «43 ]

** ful union with each other, thou mayefl at length bring *' us to that everlafting glory, which thou haft promifed *« to all fuch as fhall endeavour to be perfe6l, even as the *« Father who is in heaven is perfect, who with thee and *' the Holy Ghoft lives and reigns one God, world with-*' out end ! Anien^ Amen,

E c c L E s. vii. 16.

Be not righteous over-much^ neither make thyfelf over^ wife: Why JJiouldeft thou defiroy thyfelf?

RIGHTEOUS over-much ! may one fay ; Is there any danger of that? Is it even poffible ? Can we be too good ? If we give any credit to the exprefs word of GoD, we cannot be too good, we cannot be righteous over-much. The injunclion given by God to Abraham is very ftrong : *' Walk: before me, and be thou perfect." The fame he again lays upon ^11 Ijrael^ in the eighteenth of Dcuteroyiomy: ''Thou (halt be perfeft, and without blemifh, with the Lord thy God.'* And left any fhould think to excufe themfelves from this obligation, by faying, it ceafed when the old law was aboliflied, our blefled Saviour ratified and explained it: <« Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfedl." So that until our perfe(?tion furpafTes that of our heavenly Father, we can never be too good nor righteous over-much ; and as it is impoilible we fhould ever furpafs, or even come up to him in the perfection of goodnefs and righ-teoufnefs, it follows in courfe that we never can be good or righteous in excefs. Neverthelefs Do£tor Traf>p has found out that we may be righteous over-much, and has taken no fmall pains, with much agitation of fpirit, to prove that it is a great folly and iveakiicfs^ nay, a great fin. "^ O Lord ! rebuke thou his fpirir, and grant that this falfe doctrine may not be pub-liflicd to his confufion in the day of judgment!"

But if what this hafty, this deluded man advances had been true, could there be any occafion, however, of warning againft it in thefe times, " '^d^tix the danger (as he himfeif to his con-

" fuiion

«< fufion owns) h on the contrary extreme; when all manner *' of vice and wickeilnefs abounds to a degree almoft unheard *' of?'* 1 aniwer for the prefent, that " there mud be here-fies amongft you, that they who arc approved may be made manifefl."

However, this earthly-minded minifler of a new gofpel, has taken a text which feems to favour his naughty purpofe, of weaning the Wi^lldifpofe^i little ones of Christ from that per-fe6l purity of heart and Spirit, which is necefiary to all fuch as mean to live to our Lord Jesus. O Lord, what fhsll become of thy flock, when their (hepherds betray them into the bands of the ravenous wolf! when a minider of thy w--rd perverts it to overthrow tlvy kingdom, and to deftroy fcripiure with fcripture!

Solomon^ in the perf.n of a dejponding, ignorant, indolent liver, lays to the man of righteoufnefs: '' Be not righteous overmuch, neither make thyjelf overwife: Why ihouldeft thou deftroy thyfcli r" But mull my angry, over-fighted brother Trappy therefore, perfoliate a characier fo unbecoming his fundion, merely to overthrow the ex-prefs injund:ion of the Lord to us; which obliges us never to give over purfuing and thifiiing after ihe perfect righteoufnefs of Christ, until we reft in him ? Father, forgive him, for he knows not what he hys !

What advanta:,e might not fatan gain over the ele6l, if the falfe conrtru6tion, put upon this text by that unfeeing teacher, fhould prevail ! Yet though he bluOies not to afTiIf fatan to bruife our heel, I fliall endeavour to bruife the heads of both, by (hewing,

I. Firji^ The genuine fenfe of the text in queftion.

IL The chara<5ler of the perfons, who are to be fuppofed fpeaking here: And

in. The character of the perfons fpoken to.

From whence will naturally refult thefe confequences.

Firft^ That the Do6lor was grofly (Lord grant he was not malicioufly) miftaken in his explanatory fermon on this text, •^i well as in the applicaion of it.

Secondly-^

r t45 ]

Secondly^ That he is a teacher and approver of worldly maxims.

Thirdly, That he is of courfe an enemy to perfc6l rightcouf-nefs in men, through Christ Jesus, and, therefore, no friend to Christ: And, therefore, that no one ought to be deluded by the falfe do6lrine he advances, to beguile the innocent, and deceive, if poflible, even the ele6^.

I. To come at the true fenfe of the text in queftion, it will be neceflary to look back, to the preceding verfe, where the wife man, refleding on the vanities of his youth^ puts on for a moment his former character* " All things, have I i'^^n in the days of my vanity : (and among the reft) there is a juft man that perifheth in his righteoufnefs, and there is a v/icked man who prolongeth his life in his wickednefs." Now it is very plain, that he is not here talking of a man, who is righteous over-much, in the Do(£lor's manner of underftanding the words, that is, " faulty, and criminal by exccfs.'* For on one fide he commends him for being a juft man^ and full of righteoufnefs, and yet on the other tells us, that his righteoufnefs is the fliortening of his life. Whereas, had he looked upon his perifliing in righteoufnefs to be an over-righteoufnefs, he would never have called him a juft man. Neither by a wicked man, can he mean a man given up to the utmoft excefs of wickednefs, fmce he tells usj that he prolongeth his life in (or by) his wickednefs. Who does not know, that the excefs of almoft every kind of vice, is of itfelf a ftiortener of life. So that the whole oppofition and contraft lies between a jj;nod man, and a bad man. A good man whofe goodnefs (hortena his life, a bad man whofe iniquity lengthens his life, or at leaft is not exceflive enough to ihorten the thread of it. Solo^ mon^ abforbed in thefe refledions, fpeaks here by way oipro-fopopeia, not the fenfe o( So/omofj^ the experienced, the learned, the wife ; but of the former Solomon, a vain young fellow, full of felf-love, and the ftrong defires of life. In the quality of fuch a one then, he looks with the fame eye upon the righteous man, who perlfties in his righteoufnefs, as he would on a wicked one, who fhould perilh in his wickednefs. For it is neither the righteoufnefs of the one, nor the wickednefs of the 40ther> that oftends him, but the fupcrlativc degrees of both;

Vol. V, K which

r 146 ]

which tending equally to fhorten life, he looks upon them as equally oppofitc to the fclf-love he fondles within him. And, therefore, he deems an excefs of debauchery as great an enemy to the lafting enjoyment of the pleafures of life, as an extraordinary righteoufnefs would be. Well then might he fay to the lalter, in this charader, "Be not over-much wicked, neither be thou foolifh; why fiiouldft thou die before thy time?" And to the former: " Be not righteous over-much, neither make thyfelf over-wife: Why fliouldft thou deftroy thyfelf?"

What wonder then, that a youth of fprighilinefs and fcnfe, but led away by fclf-love to be fond of the pleafures and enjoyments of life, when attained without hurry, and poflelTed without rifk y what wonder, I fay, that fuch a youth fliould conceive an equal diflike to the fuperlative degrees of virtue and vice, and, therefore, advife fuch of his companions as give into the excefs of debauchery, to refrain from it: as it muft infallibly tend to clog their underftandings, flupify their fenfes, and entail upon their conftitutions a train of infii mities, which cannot but debilitate their natural vigour, and Ihorten their-days? " Be not over-much wicked, neither be thou foolifh: Why fliouldft thou die before thy time ?" What wonder, that the fame felf-love fhould prompt him to diiluade fuch of his friends or acquaintance, as he wifhes to have for companions, and countenancers of his worldly-minded purfuits, from pur-fuing righteoufnefs and wifdom to a degree that muft deftroy ' in them all tafte of earthly pleafures, and may poilibly impair their conftitutions, and forward their end ? " Be not righteous over-much, neither make thyfelf overwife: Why ftiouldft thou deftroy thyfelf?"

This is the fcnfe in which Sohinon (placing himfelf in the ftate of vanity of his youth) fpeaks to the one, and the other: to the righteous, and to the ungodly. This is the true, genuine fenfe of the letter; and every other fenfe put upon it, is falfe and groundlefs, and wrefted rather to pervert than explain the truth of the text. O chriftian fimplicity, whither art thou fled? Why will not the clergy fpcak truth ? And why nmft this falfe prophet fufFer thy people, O Lord, to believe ia lye? they have held the truth in unrighteoufnefs. Raife u[), I befeech thee, O Lokd, fome true paftors, who may acquaint

theiii

[ '47 ]

them with the nature and nccefTuy of perfefl righteoiifnef?, and lead them to that love of chriUian pcrfcciion which the angry-minded, pleafure-taking Dodtor Trappy labours to divert them from, by teaching, that " all chriftians muft have to do '^ with Tome vanities."

Is not the meaning of this text plain to the vveakcft capacity ? I have here given it to you, as 1 have it from the month of the royal preacher himfelF. I have made u(q of no " phi-lofophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, afitf the rudiments of the u'orld, and not after Christ," to impofe a fleflily fenfe upon you, for the fenfe of the word of God. No, I have given you a natural expofition, obvious from the very words themfelves. Hence you may feej my fellow-ftrngglcrs in righteoufnefs, how groily our arigry adverfary is miliaker! in his explanation of this text. Lord ! open his eye?, and touch his heart; and convert him, and all thofe erring minivers, who have feen vain and fooli(h things for thy people, and have not difcovered their iniquity^ to turn away thy captivity. For they have erred through wine, and through ftrong drink are out of the way : The prleft and the prophet have erred through ftrcng drink, they are fwallowed up of wine^ they are out of the way through ftrong drink, they err in ^ vifion, they ftumble in judgment.

It is plain from the vvoids of the text, that the royal Preacher was fpeaking in the perfon of a vain worldling, when he faid,' " Be not righteous over-much ;" whereby he' meant to ex-I hort the truly righteous not to be difmayed, terrified, or dif-t turbed from their conftant purfuit of greater and greater per-fe£lion of righteoufnefs, until they reft in Christ; notwith-ftanding the derifion, fiefhly perfuafion, ill-treatment and per-feeution of worldly men: Who, one day, repenting and groaning for anguifti of fpirit, fhall fay within themfelves, '' Thefe were they whom we had fometime in derifion^ and a proverb of reproach. We fools, accounted their lives madnefs; and their end to be without honour. How are they numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the faints !"

How blind then is the application (not to fay perverfe) which this felf-wife clergyman makes from the text, to fuchi as, following the advice of the apoftle, (6";/-^.' iii. 2.) *' fet

K 2 ** their

*' their affe£tIon on things above, not on things on the earth.'* Mud haftinefs in anger get the better of fenfe and truth ? Muft the people be miflcd becaufe the paftor cannot, or will not fee? Or muft the injunction of Christ, •' Be perfect, even as your Father, who is in heaven, is perfeCl," give place to the maxim of the heathen Tally: The greateft reproach to a phi-lofopher, is to confute his doctrine by his practice ; if this be the cafe, alas, what a deplorable, unfpeakably deplorable condition is that of fome chriftians ! Wherefore, *' thus faiih the Lord concerning the prophets who make his people to err, that bite with their teeth and cry peace ; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war againft him : therefore night (hall be unto you, that ye fhall not have a vifion, and it fliall be dark unto you, that ye fhall not divine, and the fun (hall go down over the prophets, and the day fiaall be dark over them.

But I will leave thefe lovers of darknefs, and turn to you, O beloved, elect of God ! I befeech you, by the bowels of Christ, fuffer not yourfelves to be deceived by their flattering, fm-foothing fpeeches. *' Be not of that rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear the law of the Lord : who fay to the feers, fee not; and to the prophets, prophefy not unto us right things, fpeak unto us fmqoth things, prophefy deceits." Follow not thofe, who flatter you in the vanities they pradtife themfclves. O may you never be of the number of thofe, in the perfon of whom Solo??ion here fays, " Be not righteous over-much :" for their chara£ter is the character of the beaft.

II. The character of the perfons, who are to be fuppofed fpeaking here in the text, is in a word the fame with the character of thofe whom Solomon here perfonates: Vv^ho, as is already (hewn, are a vain fet of men, neither righteous enough to have an habitual defire of improving virtue to its perfection, nor quite fo flagitious as to give into felf-deftroy-ing vices : in a word, they are felf-lovers, the fole end of whofe purfults, whether indifferent, bad, or laudable in them-felves, is felf-enjoyment. Infomuch that they look upon virtue and vice, righteoufnefs and wickednefs, with the fame eye, and their fondnefs or averfion fqr both is alike, as their

diflrercnt

different degrees appear to be the means to enhance and prolong the enjoyment of pleafure, orjto lefTen and fliorten thofe pleafurcs. Thus any virtue, while it is kept within Tuch bounds as may render it fubfervient to the pleafurable degrees of vice, will meet with no oppofition from them; on the contrary, they will even commend it. But the moment it becomes a rertraint to vice in moderation (if I may be allowed to make ufe of terms adequate to their fyftem) from that moment it gives offence, and they put in their caveat, " Be not righteous over-much." In like manner, vice, while confined to certain limits, which rather improve than obftru£l plea-fures, is with them a defirable good ; but no fooner does it launch out into any depth, fufficient to drown and diminifli the relifh of thofe pleafures, than they declare open war againft it J " Be not over-much wicked.'* And the reafon they aflign for their oppofition in both cafes, is the fame: " why fliouldft thou deffrcy thyfelf ? Why fhouldft thou die before thy time ?" Such is the prudence of the world, the flefh, and the devil. Such the maxims of thefe refined libertines, fo much the more dangerous as they are lefs obvious ; fo much the more infmuating, as they are removed from certain extravagancies capable of fliocking every man who has the leaft fenfe and delicacy. O Lord, how true is it, that the fons of darknefs are wifer in their generation than the fons of liaht !

You are not then, beloved in the Lord, to imagine that your greateft oppofition, in ftruggling for perfeft righieoufnefs, is to come from profligates, from men whofe enormous vices create horror even to themfelves: no,.your moft dangerous, moft formidable enemies, are the kind of men I have painted to you, who render vice reliftiable with a mixture of apparent virtue, and cloath wickednefs in the apparel of righteoufnefs : '' Beware of them, for they come to you in the cloathing of fheep, but inwardly are ravenous wolves."

This perverfe generation will enfnare you into ungodlincfs, by feemin^T; oppofitions to vice, and allow you to fwallow the feemings of virtue and righteoufnefs like an emetic, only to puke forth the reality of them. They paint black, white, and the white they convert into black. Not content with feeming what they are not, they laboux to make you, what

K 3 they

[ 1.50 -] they are, Rightcoufi-iers and wickcdnefs they interweave in aji artful tlffue, capable of deceiving the very ele(5r, and difficult for the moll: diicerning among them to unravel ; as almsgiving and avarice, pride and humility, temperance and luxury, are dextrouHy blended together j while as mutual curbs to each other, they combine to ftem the tide of impediments to worldly enjoyment, which miight flow from extraordinary degrees on either fide. Thus " Almfgiving (you are told) is very excellent," and you belieye the propofitiop, without knov/ing the particular fenfe it is fpoken in, which is, that alms-giving is an excellent curb upon avarice, by preferving a rich man from fuch a fuperlative love of money as deprives him of the felf-enjoymcnt of it. And upon the ftrength of this belief, the worldly-minded man, who labours to deceive you, gains credit enough with you to eftablilh this maxim, that all fuperlative degrees qf alms-giving, are greatfim^ and that a man muft never fell all he has and give it to the poor, becaiife fome may have families of their own, and ought tp make fufficient provifion for them, according tp that proverb, '' Charity begins at home ;" when no one, at leaft fcarc? any one, is wife enough to know, when he has a fufHciency. P Lord, which are v/e to believe, thefe worldlings, or thee? If thou dofl deceive us, why doft thou threaten us with pu-nifliments, if we do not lieed thee ? And if the world is de--ceitful, (hall we not flee from it to cleave to thee ?

" Pride is a great fm" even wiih thefe worldlings, inaf-puch as the external excedc^s of it, may obftrudl: the way to m?ny ambitious terminations of viev/, and its internal agitation) arc the defliuiiion of that peace, to which even fclf-lovc afpires ; befides, the frequent extravagancy of its motions may not only be prejudicial to health, but a (liortner of life. And, therefore, no wonder they fliould obje6l againft it, '*' Be not over much wicked : why (houldft thou die before thy time?" For this rcafon, they look upon a little mixture of humility to be not only commendable, but even necefiary to curb the extravagant I'allics of an over-bearing pride. But then a fuperlative degree of humility, that is, humility free from the lealf tindhire of pride or vanity, which is the fame with them, as ^"^ an over-Jlrained humility^ is a fault as well f as folly 3" becaufe, forfooth, it is an expediment to the felf-

enjoyment

enjoyment of the world and its pleafurcs; <« All chrlftfans " muft have to do with Tome vanities, or eife they muQ needs " go out of the world indeed ; for the world irfelf is all over *' vanity." 'Tis nothing, therefore, furprifing, my brethren, to fee a man of this caft of mind making a vain oftentatioii of his little fuperficial acquaintance, with the antient Greeks and Romans. What is this but a6ling conformably to his own principle, that " all chriliians muft have to do with fome vanities ?" And (hall we wonder to hear fuch a one prefer their writings, to thofe of an apoftle ; or be aftonifhed to fee him wound the apoftle with raillery, through your fides, for wifhing to know nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified ? No, with him it is confiftency to laugh and reprove you out of the perfe£lion of righteoufncfs, which, however he may play with terms, is with him the fame as being righteous over-much ; but with you it would be inconfiftency, who ought to know no difference between being righteous, and living in a perpetual, habitual defire of being fuperlativcly fo. It is no more then, than you ought to cxpe(Sl: to hear fuch advocates for the world cry out to you, " Be not righteous Qver-much: why fhould you deftroy yourfclves ?" But, O Lord, furdy this is not the fame voice which tells us, that unlefs we humble ourfclves like unto children, vjt fliall not enter into the kingdom of heaven, and that he is greateft there, who humbles himfelf the moft like a child I But what will not men advance who are drunk with palHon, and intoxicated with felf-love ?

" The vice of intemperance in eating, and drinking, is *' plain to every bodv," they own. And, therefore, they give it up as an excefs which cannot but tend to the impairing of health, and iliortening of life: nay, it drowns the very re-Ijfh of pleafure in a61:ual eating and drinking. Hence will every refined debauchee exclaim againft it with Dr. Trapp : " Ba not over much wicked : why (houldft thou deftroy thyfelf ?" Little fobriety, fay they, is requiHte to give a zeft to luxury and worldly pleafures. Bat too much of it is too much, " to *' eat nothing but bread and herbs, and drink nothing but " water, unlefs there be a particular reafon for it (fuch pcr-*' haps as Doctor Chcyne may afiign) is folly at beft, (that is, '^ even thoiJgh it be dons for Christ's lake) therefore

K 4 " n®

" no virtue;" *' Be not then righteous over-much, why fhouldft thou dertroy thyfelf ?" And if you fhould anfwer thefe carnally-minded men with the words of the apoftle, Rom. viii. *' We are debtors, not to the flefh, to live after the flefli : For if we live after the flefh, we fhall die : but if we, through the fpirit, do mortify the deeds of the flefh, we fhall live." If you anfwer them thus, they will tell you, <' this is teach-'' ins: for dodtrines the commandments of men." And it will be to as little purpofe to anfwer them, with what St. Paul fays elfewhere [Rom. xiv. 17.) " The kingdom of God is not meat and drinlc, but righteoufnefs, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghoft:" They will not blufh to tell you, that '* our bleiTed Saviour came eating and drinking, nay *' worked a miracle to make wine (at an entertainment) when " it is plain there had been more drank than v/as necelTary." To fuch lengths does the love of the world hurry thefe felf-fond, merry-making worldlings ! Tell them of felf-denial, they will not hear you, it is an encroachment upon the plea-fures of life, and may fiiorten it of a few days, which you are never fure of pofl'effing ; it is being " righteous over-much : why fhouldft thou dcftroy thyfelf ?" Jesus, you will fay, tells us [John xii. 25.) '* He that loveth his life fhall lofe it, and he that hateth his life in this world, fliail keep it unto life eternal." But this and the like, they will inform you, " are hyperboiical phraies." Now what fignifies minding Jesus, when he fpeaks hyperbolically, that is, fpeaks more than is flridly true. Yet, O Lord Jesus, grant us to mind thee, whatever thefe worldlings may fay ; remind us, that if any man will come after thee, he muft deny himfclf, and take up his crofs, and follow thee I O how enlarging is it to the foul, to take up the crofs of Christ and follow him !

But you are charged, ye beloved lovers of perfecSl righte-oufnels, with extravagances. You allow of " no fort of " recreation or diverfion ; nothing but an univerfal mortifi-<' cation and felf-denial ; no plcafurc but from religion only :" you teach '^ that the bodily appetites muft not be in the leafl " degree gratified, any farther than is abfolutely neceflary to ^' keep body and foul together, and mankind in being : No ^' allowances are to be made for melancholy misfortune?, or ^^ humau infirmity ; grief muH be cured only by prayer;" (a

houicl

[ Hi ]

horrid grievance this, to fuch as think prayer burdenibmc at beft) " To divert it by worldly amufements is carnal." A heavy charge this: but left it Ibould leem fo only to thofe carnal perfons, who are refolved to give way to their carnal appetites ; what you look upon as advifable only, thefe per-verters of truth infinuate to be looked upon by you as indif-penfable duties. And left prevarication fhould fail, downright falfhoods muft be placed to your account, " fo that to '' j-afte an^ agreeable fruit, or fmell to a rofe, muft be unlaw-'^ ful with you," however you difown it. But O, my beloved chriftians, be not difcouraged from the purfuit of perfect righteoufnefs by thefe or fuch vile mifreprefentations. For " blefTed are ye when men ftiall jevile you, and fhall fay all manner of evil againft you falfcly for the fake of Christ Jesus. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad : For great is your reward in heaven : for fo perfecuted they the prophets who were before you."

Thus far, then, may fuffice to fhew clearly with what dangerous views the worldly-minded men, whom Solomon per-fonates in the text before us, lay fiege to your fouls in fair fpeeches. What I have faid, is enough to convince you, that their character is that of the beaft, whom St, John^ in the Revelations, " faw coming up from the fea (that is, the flagitious world) with feven heads." And v/hat fhall we fay of a man, a clergyman, who teaches, and is an advocate for their perverfe dotSlrines ? May we not, nay, muft we not, for the glory of God, and your good, inform you, that he is a " Teacher and approver of worldly maxims." May I not, nay, muft I not, give you this caution with the royal preacher: ''When he fpeaketh fair, believe him not, for there are feven abominations in his heart ?" But how different is the chara£ler I have given you, from the chara6tcr of the perfons to whom the text under confideration is fpoken : that is, the charader of all fuch, as, like you, are refolved never to reft, 'till they reft in Christ Jesus. To fhew this, I fhall now pafs to my third point.

III. To what fort of perfons does Solomon in the chara61:er of a worldling addrefs himfelf, when he fays, <« Be not righteous over-much, neither make thyfelf over-wife : why fhouldft thou deftroy thyfelf?" Not to the wicked, 'tis plains ^o^ be-

fides

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fides that It would have |been an unnecelT^ry precaution, he turns to thefe in the next verfe with another kind of warning, which however has feme analogy with this. " Be not overmuch wicked, neither be thou foolifti, why (houldft thou die before thy time ?" Was it then to the righteous, in a common way; that is, to fuch as content themfelves with the obfervance of the abfolute eflentials of God's laws ? Surely our adverfaries will not allow this, unlefs they be of opinion, that to be righteous at all, is to be righteous over-much. And yet it cannot poflibly be fuppofed that the perfons fpokea to, are men perfedly righteous j fince, as I proved to you, in the introduction of this difcourfe, till v/e come up to the perfection of our heavenly father, we can never be righteous enough^ much lefs perfe5ily righteous : wherefore, as in this life, men cannot attain to the perfection of their heavenly father, it follov/s in courfe that the perfons here fpoken to, cannot be men perfeClly righteous, there being no fuch men ex-ifting ; for as St. fohn faith, " If we fay that we have no fin, we deceive ourfelves, and the truth is not in us." Alas, O •Lord, when fliali we be delivered from the body of this death ?

It remains, that the perfons fpoken to, in the text, are fuch -only, as perfifting fledfaftly in a firm adherence to all the eiiential laws of God, content not themfelves with the piac-tice of common virtues in a common degree, but live in a perpetual habitude of defires, ftruggles, and yearnings towards an intimate union with Christ, the perfection of righteouf-nefs. They are not of the number of thofe righteous with indifference, who would fain blend the fervice of God and mammon, would fain have Christ and the world for their mafters, and halting between two, like the children o{ Ifrael of old, with-their faces to heaven, and their hearts to the earth, are neither hot nor cold. Alas, would they were cold or hot! But " becaufe they are luke-warm, and neither cold nor hot, the Lord (hall fpew them out of his mouth."

Not fo the perfons fpoken to in my text; not fo you, O birloved in God, who having fliaken off the world and worldly affections, to run the more fwifily after righteoufnefs, hate your own lives for the fake of Christ. Kappy, happy are all you, who put oa our Lord Jesu^j and w;th him the

new

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Rew m^n I " You arc the true clrcumcifion which worfhip God in fpirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flefti."

What wonder then, chriftians ? To you I fpeak, all ye lovers and ftrugglcrs after the perfe6t righteoufners of your divine Mafter Christ ; what wonder is it, that you fhould be charged with enthufiaffn, with folly, with fanaticifm and madnefs ? Were not the apoftles fo before you, when they preached Christ Jesus ? Nay were they not reputed drunk with wine ? Can you be amazed at it in an age, " when all *'manner of vice abounds to a degree almoft unheard of,'* when the land is full of adulterers, and becaufe of fweanng the land mourneth. O how is the faithful city become aa harlot ! my heart within me is broken, becaufe of the clergy, all my bones (hake ? I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome ; becaufe of the Lord, and becaufe of the words of his holinefs, perverted by this deluded clergyman.

When the clergy, whom Christ has appointed to teach bis people " to walk before him and be perfect," become teachers of worldly maxims, what can be exps6led from the laity ? It is notorious, that for the moralizing iniquity of the prieft, the land mourns. Tliey have preached and lived many tincere perfons out of the church of England. They endea-v.our to make you vain : (as the prophets did \\\ the days of yere?mah) they fpeak a vifion out of their own mouth, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. In a word, "• both *' prophet and prieft are prophane, and do wickednefs in the *' very houfe of the Lord." Nay, they fay ttill to them v»ho defnife the Lord, The Loud hath faid, ye lliali have peace ; and they fay to every one who walketh after the imagination of his own heart, I^o evil (liall come upon you.

Such is the language, my beloved lovers of chriftian perfection, which the indolent, earthly-minded, pleafure-taking clergy of the church q\' England^ ufe to ftrengthen the hands of evil-doers, that none may return from his wicke-nefs. Such is the dotStrine of the letter-learned div:nc, who has dipped his pen in gall, to decry perfect righteoufnefs, and to delude you from it, with a falfe application of that text fo ©rofly mifunderftood by him.: *.' Be not righteous over-much, i/. neither

neither be thou over-wife: why fhouldft thou deftroy thy-felf?" But fufFcr not yourfclves, my fellow-chriftians, to be deluded by him. For as I have ah-eady (hewn to you, he is grofiy (Lord grant he was not mallcioufly) miftaken in his manner of explaining this text; and fo far from making a right application of it according to the wife, the experienced Solomons intention, he ads the characier of a vain libertine, full of felf-love, and earthly defires, whom Solomon but perforated, to ridicule. But the dodior by realizing that charader in himfelf, becomes the teacher and approver of worldly maxims, which he applies to you, on purpofe to deftruy in you the yearnings after perfed righteoufnefs in Christ. May I not then, nay, muft I not warn you, my beloved, that this man is an enemy to perfed righteous in men through Christ Jesus, and, therefore, no friend to Christ ? O that my head was an ocean, and my eyes fountains of tears, to weep night and day for this poor creature, this hood-winked member of the clergy.

Pray you, O true chriftians, pray and figh mightily to the Lord ; importune him in the behalf of this erring paftor ; pray that he would vouchfafe to open the eyes, and touch the ftubborn heart of this fcribe, that he may become better in-i^ruded. Otherwife, as the Lord faid by the mouth of his true prophet "Jeremiah^ '• Behold, I will feed him with wormwood, and make him drink the water of gall ; for from him is prophanenefs gone forth into all the land."

This good, however, hath he done by attempting to (hew the folly, fin, and danger of that which he mifcalls being righteous over-much, that is, being fuperlatively righteous, in defire and habitual ftruggles ; he has thereby given me the occafion to {hew you, brethren, in the courfe of this fer-mon, the great and real folly, fin, and danger of not being righteous enough ; which, perhaps, I (liould never have thought of doing, had not his falfe dodrine pointed out to me the neceiTity of doing it. Thus does the all-wife providence of God, make ufe of the very vices of men to draw good out of evil ; and chufe their very errors to confound falfehood and make way for truth. Though this fhould be more than our angry adverfary intended, yet. Lord, reward him according to his works; and fuffer him no longer

t<i

to be hafty in his words, that we may have room to entertain better hopes of him for the future.

BlefTtd be God for fending you better guides ! I am convinced it was his divine will : our dear fellow-creature. Doctor Trappy falling into fuch errors, has given fo great a fhock to the found religion of chr'ifltan perfc^lmty that unlefs I had oppofed him, I verily believe the whole flock who liftened to his dodrine, vi'ould hiive been fcattered abroad like fheep having no fliepherd. *' But woe to ye fcribes and pharifees ! Woe be unto the pallors that deftroy and fcatter the fheep of my pafture, faith the Lord/*

Full well I know that this fermon will not be pleafin^to my poor peevifli adverfary ; but corre^flion is not to pleafure but to profit : few children can be brought willingly to kifs the rod which rebuketh them 5 though, when they become of riper underftanding, they will blefs the hand that guided it. Thus (hall this angry man, I truft, thank me^ one day for reproving him, when his reafon (hall be reftored to him by the light of the holy fpirit. O Lord, grant thou this light unto him, and fufFer him to fee with what bowels of pity and tendernefs I love him in thee, even while I chaften him.

Neither am I infenfible, brethren, how ofFenfive my words will be to worldlings in general, who loving falfehood better than truth, and the flefli before the fpirit, will flill prefer the dodor's fin-foothing dodrines to the plain gofpel verities preached by me. O how my foul pities them. But I have done my duty, I wafh my hands, and am innocent of the blood of all. I have not fought to pleafe my hearers, but have fpoken plain truth though it (hould ofFend. For what things were gain to me, thofe I counted lofs for Christ ; and hope I (hall ever do To. Not th^ I prefume to think myfelf already perfe£l. But *'I prefs forward towards the mark, for the prize of the high-calling of God in Christ Jesus.'*

None of us, as I before told you, can boaft of having attained the fummit of perfedion; though, he is the neareft to it, who is wideft from the appetites of the flefti, and he ftands the higheft, who is the lowlieft in his own efteem : wherefore, as many of us as have made any advances towards

Christ

Christ and his kingdom, " whereto we have already at-" tained, Jet us walk by the fame rule, let us mind the fame " thing."

Walk not then, brethren, according to the ways of the world : but be followers of Christ together with me. And if any, even an angel of light, fhould prefume to teach you any other gofpel than that which I have here taught you, let him be accurfed. " For you will find many walking, like fuch of whom I have told you already, and now tell you weeping, that they are the enemies of the crofs of Christ : whofe end is dcftrutSlion, whofe God is their belly : and whofe glory is in their fhame, for they mind worldly things. But your con-verfation is in heaven, from whence alfo you look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ : who (hall change your vile bodies, that they may be falhioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able to fub-due even all things unto himfelf," even the flubborn heart of our pcrverfe adverfary.

Which God of his infinite mercy grant, &Cr

SERMON

C 159 3

SERMON XI.

The Benefits of an Early Piety.

Preached at Bcw Church, Londony before the Religious Societies.

E c c L E s. xii. I. Remember now, thy Creator in the Beys of thy Touth,

THE amiablenefs of religion in itfelf, and the innumerable advantages that flow from it to fociety in general, as well as to each fincere profeiTor in particular, cannot but recommend it to the choice of every confiderate perfon, and make, even wicked men, as they wifh to die the death, fo in their more fober intervals, to envy the life of the righteous. And, indeed, we muft do the world fo muchjuftice, as to confefs, that the queftion about religion doss not ufu-ally arife from a difpute whether it be necefTary or not (for moft men fee the neceffity of doing fomething for the falva-tion of their fouls ;) but when is the bed time to fet about it* Perfons are convinced by ur.ivcrfal experience, that the firft eiTays or endeavours towards the attainment of religion, are attended with feme difficulty and trouble, and therefore they Would willingly defer the beginning of fuch a feemingly ungrateful work, as long as they can. The wanton prodigal, who is fpending his fubflance in rioLous living, cries, a little more pleafure, a little more fcnfuality, and then I will be fober in earncfl-. The covetous worldling, that employs all his care and pains in " heaping up riches, *' though he cannot tell who fhall gather them," does not • 3 flatter

flatter himfelf that this will do always ; but hopes with the rich fool in the gofpel, to lay up goods for a few more years on earth, and then he will begin to lay up treafures in heaven. And, in fhort, thus it is that moll: people are convinced of the neceflity of being religious fome time or another ; but then, like Felix, they put off the a6ling fuitably to their conv:6lions, ^till, what they imagine, a more convenient feafon : whereas, would we be fo humble as to be guided by the experience and counfel of the wifeft men, we fiiould learn that youth is the fitteft feafon for religion ; " Remember now thy creator, (fays Solomon) in the days of thy youth." By the word remember, we are not to underftand a bare fpeculative remembrance, or calling to mind, (for that, like a dead faith, will profit us nothing,) but fuch a remembrance as will conftrairi us to obedience, and oblige us out of gratitude, to perform all that the Lord our God Ihall require of us. For as the forgetting God in fcripture language, implies a total neglect of our duty, in like manner remembring him fignifies a per-fedl performance of it: fo that, when Solomon fays, '' Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth," '^ is the fame as if he had faid, keep God's commandments ; or, in other words, be religious in the days of thy youth, thereby implying, that youth is the moil proper feafon for it.

I fhall in the following difcourfe,

Firjl, Endeavour to make good the wife man's propofition, implied in the words of the text, and to {hew that youth is the fittell feafon for religion.

Secondly, By way of motive, I fhall confider the many unfpeak-able advantages that will arife from, *' Remembering our Creator in the days of our youth.'* And,

Thirdly, I (hall conclude with a word or two of exhortation to the younger part of this audience.

Firjl, I am to make good the wife man's propofition, implied in the words of the text, and to (liew that youth is the fitteft feafon for religion : " Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth." But to proceed more clearly in this argument, it may not be improper, firft, to explain what I J mean

[ ;C. ]

i mean by the word religion. Uy this terrnj then, I woiild not be undcrftoad to mean a bare outward profeffion or numing the name of Christ J for we are told, that many who have even prophefied in his name, and in his name caft out devils^ lliall notwithllanding be rejected by him at the lafl day : nor would 1 underftand by it, barely b^ing admitted into Christ's church by, baptifm ; for then Simon Afugus, Arius^ and the herefiarchs of old, might pafs for religious pcrfons ; for thefe were baptized : nor jtet the receiving the other feal of ihe covenant, for then Judas himfelf might be canonized for a faint 5 nor indeed do I mean any or all of thefe together, ccnfidered by themfelves; but a thorough, real, inward change of nature, wrought in us by the powerful operations of the Ko'y Ghoft, conveyed to and nourifhed in our hearts, by a con-ftant ufe of all the means of grace, evidenced by a good life, and brino-ing forth the fruits of the fpirit.

The attaining this real, invv'ard religion, is a work of (o great difficulty, that Nicodemus^ a learned dodlor and teacher in Ifrael^ thought it altogether impoflible, and therefore igno-rantly afked our blefTed Lord, " How this thing could be ?'^ And, truly^ to re6tify a difordered nature, to mortify our corrupt pafTions, to turn darknefs to light, to put off the old man, and put on the new, and thereby to have the image of God reinftamped upon the foul, or, in one word, " to be born again," however light fome may make of it, muft, after all our endeavours, be owned by man to be impoffible. It is true, indeed, Christ's yoke is faid to be an eafy or a gracious yoke, and his burthen light -, but then it is to thofe only to vv'hom grace has been given to bear and draw in it. For^ as the wife fon of Sirach obferves, *' At firft wifdom walked *' with her children in crooked ways^ and brings them into " fear; and torments them with her difcipline, and does not *' turn to comfort and rejoice then), 'till (he has tried them "and proved their judgment." No; we muft not flatter ourfelves that v/c fiiall walk in wifdom's pleafant ways, unlefs we firft fubmit to a great many difhculties. The fpiritual birth is attended with its pangs, as well as the natural : for they that have experienced it, (and they only are the proper judges,) can acquaint you, that in all things that arc dear to corrupS

Vol. V. L natuic^

nature, wemuft deny ourfelves, left, after all, vvhen wc come to the birth, wc fhould want ftrength to bring forih.

But if thefe things arc (b ; if there are difficulties and pangs attending our being born again ; if we mufl deny ourfelves, what fcafon more proper than that of youth ? When, if ever, our bodies are robuft and vigorous, and our minds a6tive and couragious ; and, confecjuently, we are then beft qualified to endure hardnefs, as good foldicrs of Jesus Christ.

We find, in fecular matters, people commonly obferve this method, and fend their children abroad among the toils and fatigues of bufmefs, in their younger years, as well knowing they are then fitteft to undergo them. And why do they not a6t with the fame confiftency in the grand affair of religion ? Becaufe, as our Saviour has told us, *' The children of this world are wifer in their generation than the children ©flight."

But, Secondlyy If pure and undefiled religion confifls in the jTenewal of our corrupted natures, then it is not only a work of difficulty, but, the perfection of it, of time.

And if this be the cafe, then it highly concerns every one to fet about it betimes, and to '< work their work while it is day, before the night cometh, v/hen no man can work."

Could we, indeed, live to the age of Aleihufelah^ and had but little bufmefs to employ ourfelves in, we might then be more excufable, if we made no other ufe of this v/orld, than what too many do, take our paflime therein : but fmce our lives are fo very fliort, and we are called to work out our fal-vation with fear and trembling, we have no room left for trifling, left we fhould be fnatched away while our lamps are untrimmed, and we are entirely unprepared to meet the Bridegroom.

Did we know a friend or neighbour, who had a long journey of the utmoft importance to make, and yet fhould Itand all the day idle, neglecting to fet out till the fun was about to go down, we could not but pity and condemn his egregious folly. And yet it is to be feared moft men are juft fueh fools; they have a long journey to take, nay, a journey to eternity, a journey of infinite importance, and which they arc obliged to difpatch before the fun of their natural life be gone

down;

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rfown; and yet they loiter away the time allotted them to per-form the,r journey in, till ficknef. or death furprizes thcl and then ,Hey ery out "What rhal, we do to i^he,': -fe ? Bu leav.ng fuch to the mercies of God in Christ who can call at the eleventh hour, I pafs on to '

The Second general thing propofed. To rtiew thp , 1 .ages that will arife from reml'r.brring'our Crti ^.her: of our youth ; which may ferve as fo many motives to exd ! «nd qu-cken all perfons immediately to fet about it

And thefirft benefit refuhing from thence is that .>„•!( bnng mod honour and glory to Goa Th,s T f' fenous perron will granf, o^ghtt^; th?;^ t Zt^r a^onsfhould centre; for to this end were we born, nd o

ChJs T "'r"^-^'^ 'y '"e precious blood of S^: Christ, that we fhould promote God's eternal glo.y. 'And a .he glory of God is moft advanced by paying obed^nceto h,s precepts, t ey that begin fooneft to walk in!,is w y" aft moft to h,s glory. The common objeft-on a.ainfti edf vme laws m general, and the doa.inesif the go^fpe in part " cular, ,s, that they are not praaicable • that ,C„ ^

nd the pr.de of life, this, this ,s pleaf.ng to God 'h ^ vm ,cates h,s injured honour, this fhews that h^f';ice pe^rfta freedom, " that his yoke is eafy, and his burden

of GoL^r?' m! r.'=^''y P'^'y «''°""<J^- moft to th« honour

.t?Co:: Go-;' ^--tr ^ ^-^r- \:::r

remarked to the praife of OW.A that herv 'beLto

^ ^' himfelf.

r •6+ ]

hinifclf, that at twelve years old he went up to the temple, and fat among the doiftors, both hearing ar.d aiding them quef-tions.

Nor, Thirdly^ will an early piety afFv)rd us lefs comfort thnn honour, not only bCcaufe it renders religion habitual to us, but alfo bccaufe it gives us a well-grounded afTurance of the fin-cerity of our profefiion. Was thtre no other argument againfl: a death-bed repentance, but the unfatisra(5tc)riners and anxiety of fuch a ftate, that (hould be fuiiicient to deter all thuiking pcrfons from deferring the moft imporrant bufmefs of their life to fuch a dreadful period of it. For fuppcfing a man to be fmcere in his profcflion of repentance on a deathbed (which, in moft cafes, is very much to be doubted) yet, he is often afraid ltd his conviclions and remorfe proceed net fiom a true forrow for fin, but a fervile fear of punifhment. Euc one, who is a young faint, need fear no fuch perplexity ; he knows that he loves God for his own fake, and is not driven to him by a dread of impending evil ; he docs not decline the gratifications of fcnfe, becaufe he can no lo'»ger *' hear the voice of finging men and finging women ;" but willingly takes up his crofs, and follows his bleffed Mafter in his youth, and therefore has reafon to cxpe£l greater confidence of his fmcerity towards God. But farther, as an early piety alTures the heart of its fincerity, fo, likewife, it brings its prefent reward with it, as it renders religion and ail its duties habitual and eafy. A young faint, was you to afk him, would joyfully tell you the unfpeakable comfort of beginning to be religious betimes : as for his part, he kno;vs not what men mean by talking of mortification, felf-dcnial, and retirement, as hard and rigorous duties ; for he has fo accuf-tomed himfelf to them,, that, by the grace of God, they are rsow become even natural, and he takes infinitely more plea-fure in pra6iifing the fevered: precepts of the gofpcl, than a luxurious Dives in a bed of date, or an ambitious Haman at a royal banquet. And O how happy muft that youth be, whof& duty is become a fecond nature, and to whom thofe things, which feem terrible to others, are grown both eafy and delightful !

But the greateft advantage of an early piety is {^ill behind, Fourthlyy It lays in the bsft provifion of coa^.fort and fupport

againft

[ r65 ]

agalnfl fuch times as we (liall {land mofl in need thereof, VIZ. all times of our tribulation, and in particular, af^ainft the time of old age, the hour of death, and ihe day of judgment.

This is the argument the wife man makes ufe of in the words immediai-ely following the te\'t : '• Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, wherein thou fhalt fay, I have jio pleafure in them." Obferve, the time of old age, is an evil time, years wherein there is no pleafure : and afk thofe that are grown old, and they will inform you fo. Cordials furely, then, muft be exceeding proper to fupport our drooping fpirits: and O what cordial comparable to the rccolleclion of early piety, depending wholly on the righteoufnefs of Christ.? When the eyes, like //Ws, are grown dim with age; when " the keepers of the houfe, the hands, fliali tremble," as the wife man goes on to defcribe the in-iirmities of old age ; when " the ftrong men bow them-fclves," or the legs grow feeble ; and the '' grinders," the teeth, ftiall ceafe to do their proper office, becaufe they are few ; for a perfon then to hear the precepis of the gofpel read over to him, and to be able to lay his hand on his heart, and to fay fmcerely, notwithftanding a confcioufnefs of number-lefs fhort-comings, " All thefe have I endeavoured, through grace, to keep fiom my youth :" this mui\ give him, through Christ who worketh all, comfort that 1 want v/ords "to exprefs and thoughts to conceive. Bur, fuppofinrr it was pofTible for us to efcape the inconveniences of old a!?e, yet Itill death is a debt, iince the fall, we all muft pay; and, what is worfe, it generally comes attended with fuch dreadful circumftances, that it will make even a Felix to tremble. But as for the godly, that have been enabled to ferve the Lord from their youth, it is not ufually fo with them ; no, they have faith given them to look upon death, not as a king of terrors, but as a welcome mcirenger, that is come to condu6l them to their wifhed-for home. All the days of their appointed time have they waited, and it has been the bufuiefs of their whole lives to fludy to prepare themfelves for the coming of their great change ; and, therefore, they rejoice to hear that they are called to meet the heavenly Bridegroom.

L 3 Thus

[ »66 ]

Thus dies the early pious, whvofe '' path has been as the {hining light, that fniiieih more and more unto the perfect day.'* But follow him beyond the grave, and fee with what an holy triumph he enters into his Maftcr*s joy ; with what an humble boldnefs he ftands fit the dreadful tribunal of Jesus Christ ; and can you then forbear to cry out, " Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my latter end, and future fiate, be like his ?"

Need I then, after having fliewn To many advantages to arife from an early piety, ufe any more arguments to perfuade the younger part of this audience, to v/hom, in the Third and laft place, I addrefs myfelf, to " remember their Creator in the days of their youth ?"

What! will not all the arguments I have mentioned, prevail with them to leave their hufks, and return home to eat of the fatted calf? What ! will they thus requite our Saviour's love ? That be far from them I Did he corne dov.m and fhed his precious blood to deliver them from the power of fm ; and will they fpend their youthful flrength and vigour in the fervice of it, and then think to ferve Christ, when they can follow their lufts no longer ? Is it fit, that many, who are endowed with excellent gifts, and are thereby qualified to be fupports and ornaments of our finking church, fhould, notwithflanding, forget the God who gave them, and employ them in things that will not profit ? O why will they not arife, and, like (o many Phineas'sy be zealous for the Lord of Hofls ? Doubtlefs, when death overtakes them, they will wifli they had : and what hinders them, but that they begin now r Think you that any one yet ever repented that he began to be religious too foon ? But how many, on the contrary, have repented that they began when almoft too late ? May we not well imagine, that young Samuel now rejoices that he waited fo foon at the tabernacle of the Lord ? Or young Timothy, that from a child he knew the holy fcrlptures ? And if you wifh to be partakers of their joy, let rne perfuade you to be partakers of their piety.

I could ftill go on to fill my mouth with arguments ; but the circumftances and piety of thofc amongft whom I am now preaching " the kingdom of God," remind me to change my ftylc ^ and, inilcad of urging any more difluafives from

fin.

_ [ iC; 1 fin, to fill up what is behind of this Jifcourfe, with encouragements to pcrfevere in holinefs.

Blefled, for ever bleficd be the God and the Father oF our Lord Jesus Christ, I am not fpeaking to perfons inflamed with youthful lufts, but to a multitude of young piofcflbrs, who by frequently ailcmbling together, and forming themfelves into religious focieties, are, 1 hope on good ground, in a ready way to be of the number of thofe " young men, who have overcome the wicked-one."

Believe me, it gladdens my very foui, to fee fo many of your faces fet heaven-wards, and the viable happy efFe6ls'of your uniting together, cannot but rejoice the hearts of all fincere chriftians, and oblige them to wifti you good luck ia the name of the Lord. The many fouls who are nourifhed weekly with the fpiritual body and blood of Jesus Christ, by your means ; the weekly and monthly Ie61:ures that are preached by your contributions ; the daily incenfe of thankf-giving and prayer which is publicly fent up to the throne of grace by your fubfcriptions ; the many children which are trained up " in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," by your charities ; and, laftly, the commendable and pious zeal you exert in promoting and encouraging divine pfalmody, are fuch plain and apparent proofs of the benefit of your religious focieties, that they call for a public acknowledgment of praife and thankfgiving to our blefled Mafter, who has not only put into your hearts fuch good defigns, but enabled you alfo to bring the fame to good efFed:.

It is true it has been objeded, '' That young mens form-" ing themfelves into religious focieties, has a tendency to " make them f[3iritually proud, and to ' think more highly of *' themfelves than they ought to think.'* And, perhaps, the inipruJent, imperious behaviour of fome novices in religion, who, '' though they went out from you, were not of you," may have given too much occafion for fuch an aJperfion.

But you, brethren, have not fo learned Christ. Far, far be it from you to look upon yourfelves, as righteous, and de-fpife others, becaufe you often afTemble yourfelves together. No; this, inftead of creating pride, ought to beget an holy fear in your hearts, left your pra(^ice Ihould not correlpond with your profeilion, and that, after you have benefited and edified others, you yourfelves (hould become caft-aways.

L 4 ^^.Vorldly-

Wcrldly-mindednefs, my brethren, is another rock againft which we are in danger of fplitting. For, if other fins have jlain th?ir thoufands of piofeffing chiiftians, this has flain its ten thoufands. I need not appeal to pad ages; your own experience, no doubt, has furnifned you with many unhappy inftanccs of young me!i, who, " after (as one would have imagined) thc^y had efcapcJ the pollutions which are in the world through luft," and " had tailed the good word of life," and tnuured for a fcafon, whilfl: under the tuition and infpec-tion of others : yet, when they have come to be their own maders, through a want of faith, and through too great an farncAners in " labouring for the meat which peri{heth," have call oil' their firil love, been again entangled with the world, and " returned like the dog to his vomit, and like the fov/ that was wafncd, to her wallowing in the mire.'* You would, therefore, do well, my brethren, frequently to remind each other of this dangerous fnare, and to exhort one another to begii^,, purfuc, and end yoiir chriftian warfare, in a thorough renunciation of the world, and worldly tempers ; (o that, when you arc obliged by Providence to provide for •vourfelves, and thofc of your refpt6iive houfholds, you may continue to w^alk by faiih, and llill " feek firfl the kingdom of God, and his righteoufncfs /' not doubting, buc all other ^h!n:^s, upon your honeil inuudry and tndeavours, fhall be added unto you.

And now, what fliall I fay more ? To fpeak unto you, fct'^ers, who have been in Christ (o m.any years before me^ and know the malignity of worldly-mindednefs, and pride in the fpiritual life, would be altogether necdlcfs. To you, therefore, O young men, (for whom I am diftreffed, for whom I fear as well as for myfelf) do I once more addrefs rnyfelf, in the words of the beloved difciple, '' Look to your-felvcs, that we lofe not thofe things which we have wrought, but receive a full reward." Be ever mindful, then, of the words that have been fpoken to us by the apoftles of the Lord and Saviour. " Give diligence to make your calling and clcftion fure. Beware, led ye alfo being led away by the ^^rror of the wicked, fall from your own ftedfadnefs. Let him that thinketh he dandeth, take heed led he fall. Be not ^ligh-m.inded, but fear. But we are perfuaded better things 9/you, and things that accompany falvation, though we thus 4 fpeak.

rpeak. For God Is not unrii^hteous, to forget your works and labours of love. i\vA we dcfire that every one of you do flitw the fame diligence, to the full afiurance of hope unto the end : that ye be not flnthful, but followers of them, who through laith and pitience inherit the prornifes." It is true, we have many dilHcultics to encounter, many powerful enemies to overcome, ere we can get pofTeflion of the promifed Jcind. V/e have an artful devil, an enfnaring world, and above all, tlie treachery of our own hearts, to withftand and ilrive n^ainft. " For flrait is tl-.e e;ate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto eternal life." But wherefore fhouid we fear, fmce he that is with us is far more powerful, than all who are againft us ? Have we not already experienced his almighty power, in enabling us to conquer fome difficuhies which feemed as infurmountable then, as ihofe we druggie with now? And caimot he, who delivered us out of the paws of thofe bears and lions, preferve us alfo from being hurt by the ftrongeft Gol'iah F

" Be ftedfaft therefore, my brethren, be immoveable.** Be not '* afhamed of the gofpel of Christ : for it is the power of God unto falvation.'* Fear not man ; fear not the contempt and revilings which you mult meet with in the way of duty ; for one of you (liall chafe a thoufand ; and two of you put ten thoufand of your enemies to flight. And if you will be contented, through grace, to fuiTer for a ihort ti:ne here; I fpeak the truth in Christ, I lye not; then may ye hope, according to the blelVed word of promife, that ye fliall be exalted to fit down with the Son of Man, when he iliall come in the glory of his Father, with hi.s holy angel-, to judgment hereaficr. May Almighty God give every one of us fuch a meafure of his grace, that we may not be of the number of thufe that draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe and endure unto the end, to the faving of our fouls, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Which God, kc.

SERMON

t •7« ]

SERMON XII,

Christ the Believer's Flufoand.

Isaiah liv. 5. For thy Maker is thy Htifuand.

ALTHOUGH believers by nature, are far from God, and children of wrath, even as others, yet it is amazing to think how nigh they are brought to him again by the blood of Jesus Christ. Eye hath not feen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of any man living, fully to conceive, the nearnefs and dearnefs of that relation, in which they ftand to their common head. He is not albamed to call them brethren. Behold, fays the blefied Jesus in the days of his flefh, " my mother and my brethren." And again after his refurredion, " go tell my brethren." Nav fometimes he is pleafed to term believers his friends, " Henceforth call I you no longer fervants, but friends." " Our friend Lazarus fleepeth." And what is a friend ? Why there is a friend that is nearer than a brother, nay, as near as one's ov/n foul. And ^' thy friend, (fays God in the book of Deuteronowy) which is as thy own foul." Kind and endearing appellations thefe, that undoubtedly befpeak a very near and ineffably intimate union between the Lord Jesus and the true living members of his myftical body ! But, methinks, the words of our text point out to us a relation, which not only comprehends, but in re-fpedl: to nearnefs and dearnefs, exceeds all other relations whatfoever. I mean that of a Hufband. " For thy Maker is thy hufband ; the Lord of Hofts is his name ; and thy Re-ceemer the Holy One of Ijrael^ the God of the whole earth fliall he be called."

Thefe words were originally fpoken to the people of the

"Jewsy confidercd collccStively as a peculiar people, whom our

LoJiD had betrothed and married to hlmfelf; and they feem to be rpnken, when religion was on the decline among their churches J when they had, in a great meafure, loft that life and power, which they once experienced ; and their enemies ben;an to inlalt them with a *' where is now your God r" Such a flate of things muft undoubtedly be very afHiciiug to the true mourners in 7Jon\ and put them upon crying unto the Lord, in this their deep diflreis. He hears their prayer, his bowels yearn towards them ; and in the preceding verfe, he alfures them, that though the enemy had broken in upon them like a flood, yet their extremity (hould be his opportunity to lift up a {tandard againft him. " Fear not, (fays the <rreai Head and King of his church) for thou {halt not be afiiamed (finally or totally); neither be thou confounded, (dif-fipatcd or dejected, giving up all for gone, as though thou never fnouldft fee better days, or anoiher revival of religion) for thou (halt not (emirely) be put to fhame j" though for a w'hilc, for thy hurniiiaiion, and the greater confufion of thy adverfaries, 1 fuiter them to triumph over thee: " For thou ihalt forget the Tname of thy youth, and fhalt not remember the reproach of thy widow-hood any more j" /. e, I will vouchfafe you fuch anoiher glorious gale of my blellcd Spirit, that you (hall quite forget your former troubled widow-ftate, and t;ive your enemies no more occafion to infuit you, on jiccounc of your infant-condition, but rather to envy you, and qnafh their teeth, and melt away at the fight of your un-thou"ht-of glory and proi'perity. And why will the infinitely ^reat and condefcending Jesus deal thus with his people ? Eecaufc the church is his fpoufe; " For, (as in the words juft now read to you) thy Maker is thy hufband ; thy Redeemer, the HoiV One of Ijracl \' and therefore he loves thee too well, to let thy enemies always trample thee under foot. " The Lord of Hofts is his name, the God of the whole earth {hall he be called ;" and therefore he is armed with fufficicnt power to relieve his opprelTed people, and overcome and avenge him-fe!f of all their haughty and infulting foes.

This fetms to be the prime and genuine interpretation of the text and context, efpecially if we add, that they may have a further viev/ to the latter-day glory, and that blelFed ftate of the church, which the people of God have been looking f-r

in

C »73 3

in all ages, and the fpcedy approach of which, we undoubtedly pray for, when we put up that petition of our LqRd^s, *' thy kingdom come."

But, though the words were originally fpoken to the 'Jewi^ vet they are undoubtedly applicable to all believers in all ages, and, when inlarged on in a proper manner, will afford us fuitable matter of difcourfe both for Tinners and for faints; for fuch as know God, as well as for fuch who know him not; and likewife for ihofc, who once walked in the light of his bJeflcd countenance, but are now backflidJen from him, have their harps hung upon the willows, and are afiaid that their beloved is gone, and will return to their fouls no more. Accordingly, without prefacing this diicourfe any farther, as I Tuppofe that a mixed multitude of faints, uiiconverted finners, and backfiiders, are prefent here this day, 1 fliall endeavour fo to fpeak from the words of the text, that each may have a proper portion, and none be fent empty away.

In profecuting this defign, I will,

I. Endeavour to fliew, what mufi: pafs between Jesus Christ and our fouls before we can fay, '' that our Maker is our hufband."

II. The duties of love which they owe to our Lord, who Hand in fo near a relation to him.

III. The miferable condition of fuch as cannot yet fay, " their Maker is their hufband." And

IV. I (hall conclude with a general exhortation to all fuch unhappy fouls, to come and match with the dear Lord Jesus. And O! may that God who blefled Abrahams I'ervant, when he went out to feek a wife for his fon Jjaac^ blefs me, even me alfo, now I am come, I truft, relying on diviae flrength, lo invite poor fmners, and recal backfliders to my Maiter Jesus !

And FirJ}^ I am to (hew, what muft pafs between Jesus Christ and our fouls before we can fay, " Our Maker is bur hufband."

But before I proceed to this, it may not be improper to ob-i^iist^ that if any of you, amongft whom I am now preaching

the

t 174 ]

the kingdom of God, are enemies to inward religion, and explode the dcarine of inward feelings, as enthufia^fm, cant and nonfenfe, I {hall not be furprized, if your hearts rife agiiinft me whilft I am preaching J for I am about to difcourfe'^on true, vital, internal piety; and an infpired apoftle hath told us, '* that the natural man difcerneth not the things of the fpirit, becaufe they arc Ipiritually difcerned." But, however, be noble as the Bcream were s fejrch the Scriptures as they did ; lay afide prejudice; hear like Nathaniel, with a true IJraelitifij earj be willing to do the will of God ; and then you fliall, according to the prcmife of our dcareft Lord, " know of the doc-tnre, whether it be of GaD, or whether I fpeak of myfelf."

I would further obferve, that if any here do exped fine preaching from me this day, they will, in all probability, go away dilappointed. For I came not here to fhoot over people's heads i but, if the Lord ftiall be pleafed to blefs me, to reach their hearts. Accordingly, I fhall endeavour to cloath my ideas m fuch plain language, that the meaneft negro or fei vant, if God is pleafed to give a hearing ear, may underhand me; for I am certain, if the poor and unlearned can comprehend, the learned and rich muft.

This being premifed, proceed we to (hew what mufl paG between Jesus Christ and our fouls, before we c^n fay, " our Maker is our hufhand."

Now, that we may difcourfe more pertinently and intelligi--bly upon this point, it may not be amifs to confider, what is neceffary to be done, before a marriage between two parties amongft ourfelves, can be faid to be valid in the fight of God and man. And that will lead us in a familiar way, to fliew what muft be done, or what mufl pafs between us and Jesus Christ, before we can fay, " our Maker is our hufband."

And Firft, In all lawful marriages, it is abfolutely necefTary, that the parties to be joined together in that holy and honourable eftate.. are adually and legally freed from all pre-engaae-nicnts whatfoever. « A woman is bound to her hufband, (faith the apofile) (o long as her hufband liveth.'* The fame law holds good in refpec^ to the man. And fo likewife, if either party be betrothed and promifcd, though not adually married to another, the marriage is not lawful, till that pre, engagement and promifc be fairJy and mutually difTolved.

Now,

Now, it is juft th'js between us and the Lord Jesus. For^ we are all by nature born under, and wedded to the law, -is a covenant of works. Hence it is that we are fo fond of, and artfully go about, in order to eflablifli a righteoufnefs of our own. It is as natural for us to do this, as it is to breathe. Our firft parents, JJam and Eve^ even after the covenant of grace was revealed to them in that promife, '' the feed of the woman fliall bruife the ferpent's head," reached out their hands, and would again have taken hold of the tree of life, which they had forfeited, had not God drove them out of paradife, and compelled them, as it were, to be faved by grace. And thus all their defcendants naturally run to, and want to be faved, partly at leali-, if not wholly, by their works. And even gracious fouls, who are inwardly renewed, fo far as the old man abides in them, find a ftrong propenfity this way^. Hence it is, that natural men are generally fo fond o^ Jrminian principles. *' Do and Wwt^^ is the native language of a proud, felf-riglitcous heart. But before we can fay, " our Maker is our hufband,'* we muft be divorced from our old hulband the law; we muft renounce our own righteoufnefs, our own doings and performances, in point of dependence, whether in whole or part, as dung and drofs, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord. For thus fpcaks the apoftle Paul to the Romans^ chap. vii. 4. " Ye alfo are become dead to the law (as a covenant of works) by the body of Christ, that ye fhould be married to another, even to him, who is raifed from the dead." As he alfo fpeaketh in another place, " I have efpoufed you, as a chafle virgin to Jesus Christ," This was the apoftle's own cafe. Whilft he depended on his being a Hebrew of the Hebrews^ and thought himfelf fecure, becaufe, as to the outward obfervaiion of the law, he was blamelefs; he was an entire ftranger to the divine life: but when he be* gan to experience the power of Jesus Christ*s refurre6tion, we find him, in his epiftle to the Phitippians^ abfolutely renouncing all his external privileges, and all his pharifaical righteoufnefs ;*'Yea, doubtlefs, and I count all things but lofs, nay but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteoufnefs, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Jesus Christ, the righteoufnefs which is of God by faith.'' And thus it muft be

with

f 176 ]

with us, ere we can fiiy, " our Maker is our huiband." Though v/e may not be wrought upon in that extraordinary way in which the apoftle was, yet we mud be dtad to the law, we , muft be efpoufed as chafte virgins to Jesus Christ, and count all external privileges, and our moil fplcnuid performances (as was before ohferved) only " as dung ar.d drofs, ior the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord."

But further; before a marrrage among us can P.and good ia law, both parties muil: not only be freed fr<tm all pre^engagc-ments, but there mui\ be a mutual confejit on both fides. W'c are not ufed to marry people again(t their wills, llvis is what the j£us called betrothing, or efpouhng, a thing previous to the iolemnity of marriage. Thus we find, the Virgin Al^'^ry is faid to be efpoufed to Jofeph^ before they actually came together. Mat, i. 18. And tiius it is among us. }3oth parties arc previoufly agreed, and, as it were, efpoufed to each oihcr, before we publifii, what we call jhe banns of marriage con-cernino' them. And fo it will be in the fpiritual marriage, between Jesus Christ and our fouls. Before we are actually married or united to him by faith ; or, to keep to the terms of the text, before we alTuredly can fay, that '•' our Maker is our hufband," we muft be made willing people in the day of GoD*s power, we mufl: be fweelly and ef}e«5tually perfu;uk'd by the Holy Spirit of God, that the glorious Emmanuel is wiliing to accept of us, juft as we are, and aifo that we are willing to accept of him upon his own terms, yea, upon any terms. And when once it coKies to this, the fpiritual marriage goes on apace, and there is but one thing lacking to make it compleat. And what is that ? An a6iual union.

This is abfoluttly necefiary in every lawful marriage among men. There muft be a joining of hands before witnefies, ere they can be deemed lawfully joined together. Some men indeed of corrupt minds, are apt to look upon this as a needlefs ceremony, and think it fufHcient to be married, as thej^ ternfi it, in the fioht of God. But whence men get fuch divinity, I know not. I am pofitivc, not from the Bible; for we there read that even at the firft marriage in paradife, there was fome-thing of outward folemnity ; God himfelf (if I may fo fpeak) being there the prieft. For we are told, Getu ii. 22. that,

afte/

after CJoD had made the womnn, " he brought her unto the man." And indeed, to lay nfide all manner of outward ceremony Jn marriaire, would be to lurn the world into a den of brute hearts. Men would then take, or for fake as many wives ♦Es they pleaied, and we fhould foon fink into as bad and brutal a ftate, as thofe nations are, amongft whom fuch pradtces arc allowed of, and who are utterly de{iitute of the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour JeSUs Christ. Whoever has experienced the power of his rcfurredion, I am perfuadcd will never plead for fuch a licentious practice. For the terms made uvz of in Scripture, to reprefent the myftical union between Christ and his church, fuch as, our being '* joined to the Lord," and '^ married to Jesus Christ," are all metaphorical expreHionSj taken from fome analogous practices amongft men. And as perfons when married, though before twain, are now one flefli; fo thofe that are joined to the LoRE>, and can truly fay, " our A4aker is our hufband," are in the apof-tle's language, "one fpirit. This w?s typified in the original marriage of our firft parents. When God brought £i/^ to Adam^ he received her with joy at his hands, and faid, " this is bone of my bone, and flefh of my flefli." They had there, primarily, but one name. For thus fpeaks the facred Hifto-rian. Gen, v. i, 2. " In the day that Ggd created man, he blefied them, and called their name JdamJ" And why ? be-caufe they were one flefti, and were to have but one heart. The felf-fame terms are made ufe of in Scripture, to exprefs the believer*s union with Jesus Christ. We are called Chriftians, after Christ's name, becaufe made partakers of Christ's nature. Out of his fulnefs, believers receive grace for grace. And therefore, the marriage ftate, efpccially by the apoftle Paul^ is frequently made ufe of, to figure out to us the real, vital union, between Jesus Christ and regenerate fouls. This is termed by the apoftle, Eph. v. 32- "A great myftcry." But great as it is, we muft all experience it, before we can fay afluredly, that " our Maker is our hufband.'* For what fays our Lord, in that prayer he put up to his Father before his bitter pallion? " Father, I vv^ill that thofe whom thou haft given me, (liall be where I am, that they may be one with thee; even as thou, O Father, and I are one, I in them, and they in me, that we all may be m.adc perfecl: in one." O - Vol. V. M infinite.

' • 45

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infinite condefccnfion ! O ineffable union ! Hence it is, that believers are faid to be members of his body, of his flefh, and of his bones. Hence it is, that the apoftle fpeaking of him-felf, fays, " I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." What an exprcflion is that ? How much does it comprehend ? And, that we might not think this was fomething peculiar to himfelf, he puts this clofe queftion to the Corinthians ; •' Know ye not, that Christ is in you, unlefs you be reprobates ?" Agreeable to what he fays in his epidle to the Colof-fiansy " Christ in you, the hope of glory." And hence it is, that our church, in the communion-office, direds the minifter to acquaint all thofe who receive the facrament worthily, that they are one with Christ, and Christ with them; that they dwell in Christ, and Christ in them. Words that deferve to be written in letters of gold, and which evidently fhew, what our reformers believed all perfons muft experience, before they could truly and affuredly fay, that " their Maker is their hufband."

From what has been delivered, may not the pooreft and moft illiterate perfon here prefent eafily know whether or not he is really married to Jesus Christ. Some indeed, I am afraid, are fo prefumptuous as to affirm, at leaft to infmuate, that there is no fuch thing as knowing, or being fully aflured, whilft here below, whether we are iri Christ or not. Or at leaft, if there be fuch a thing, it is very rare, or was only the privilege of the primitive believers. Part of this is true, and part of this abfolutely falfe. That this glorious privilege of a full affurance is very rare, is too, too true. And fo it is equally too true, that real chriftians, comparatively fpeaking, are very rare alfo. But that there is no fuch thing, or that this was only the privilege of the firft followers of our bleffed JjORD, is diredly oppoiite to the word of Gop. " Wc know (fays St. John^ fpeaking of believers in general) that we are his, by the fpirit which he hath given us;" and, " He that believeth hath the witnefs in himfelf;" " becaufe you are fons (faith St. Paul) Gcd hath fent forth his Spirit into your hearts, even the fpirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Not that I dare affirm, that there is no real chriftian, but what has this full affurance of faith, and clearly knows, that his Maker is his hufband. In fpeaking thus, I fhould undoubtedly condemn fome of the generation of God*s dear

children,

chlMren, who tliroiigh the prevalence of unbelief, indwelling fin, fpiriti/al floth, or it nr.iy be, for want of being informed of the privileges of believers,may walk in darknefs, and fee no light: therefore, though I dare not affirm, that a full aflurance of faith is abfolutely neceflary for the very being, yet I dare afTert, that it is abfolutely nccefiary, for the well being of a chriRlan. And for my own part, I cannot conceive, how any perfons, that pretend to chriftianity, can reft fa-tisfied^ or contented without it. This is flopping fhort, on this fide Jordan^ w*ith a witnefs. And gives others too much teafon to fufpe6t, that fuch perfons, however high their pro-feffion may be, have, as yet, no true faving grace at all.

Men, whofe hearts are fet on this world's goods, or, io iife our Lord's language, '^ the children of this world," a6l hot fo. I fuppofe there is fcarce a fingle merchant in this great congregation, efpecially in thefe troublous times, that will venture out either his (hip or cargo, without firft infur-ing, both againft the violence of an enemy, or a ftorm. And 1 fuppofe there is fcarce a fingle houfe, of any confiderable Value, in any populous town or city, but the owner has taicen out a poh'cy from the fire-office, to infure it, in cafe of fire. And can I be fo irrational as to think, that there is ftich a thing as fecuring my goods, and my houfe, and that tfiere is no fuch thing as infuring, what is infinitely more valuable, liiy precious and immortal foul ? Or if there be fuch a" thing, as undoubtedly there is, what foolifiinefs of folly muft it needs be in men, that pretend to be men of parts, of good fenfe, and folid reafoning, to be fo anxious to fecure their fhips againft a ftorm, and their houfes againft a fire, and at the fame time, not to be unfpeakably more folicitous, to" take a policy out of the afl^urance-office of heaven ; even t^e feal and witnefs of the biefled Spirit of God, to infure their" f6uls againft that ftorm of divine wrath, and that vengeance of Eternal fire, which will at the laft decifive day come upon Sfll thofe, who know not God, and have not obeyed his gracious gofpel ? To affirm therefore, that there is no fuch thing as knowing, that '' our Maker is our hufband ;" or that it ^as a privilege peculiar to the firft chrifiians, to fpcak in the-niildeft terms, is b )th irrationafand unfcriptural. Not that v^\ who can fay, their Maker is their huft)and, can give the Aim€ clear and diftint^t accotint of the time, maaner a^d means

M 2 •f

of their bciiTg fplritually united and married by faith, to the blefied bridemoom of the church. Some there may be now, as well as formerly, fan£lified from the womb. And others, in their infancy and non-age, as it were filcntly converted.-^ Such perhaps may fay, with a little Scotch maiden, now with God, when I alked her, y^-hether Jesus Christ had taken* away her old heart, and given her a new one ? " Sir, it may *' be, (faid fhe,) I cannot direiStly tell you the time and place, " but this I know, it is done." And indeed it is not fo very material, though no doubt it is very fatibfa£lory, if we 'cannot relate all the minute and particular circumftances, that attended our converfion ; if fo be we are truly converted now, and can fay, the work is done, and that, " our Maker is our hufband." And I queftion, whether there is one fingle adult, believer, now on earth, who lived before converfion, either in a courfe of fecret or open fin, but can, in a good degree, . give an account of the beginning and progrefs of the work of grace in his heart.

What think ye ? Need I tell any married perfons in this congregation, that they muft go to the univerfity, and learn . the languages, before they can tell whether they are married or not ? Or, if their marriage was to be doubted, could they , not, think you, bring their certificates, to certify the time and place of their marriage ; and the minifter that joined them together in that holy ftate ? And if you are adult, and are indeed married to Jesus Cjirist, though you may be un-.. learned, and what the world terms illiterate men, cannot you. tell me the rife and progrefs, and confummaiion of the fpi-ritual marriage, between Jesus Christ and your fouk ? Know you not the time, when you were firft under the drawings of the Father, and Jesus began to w^oo you for him-felf ? Tell me, O man, tell me, O woman, knoweft thou, not the time, or at leaft, knoweft thou not, that there was a timcj when the blefl'ed Spirit of God ftripped thee of the fig-leaves of thy own righteoufnefs, hunted thee out of the treeS; of the garden of thy performances, forced thee from the embraces of thy old hulband the law, and made thee to abhor thy own righteoufnefs, as fo many filthy rags ? Canft thou^ not remember, when, after a long ftruggle with unbelief, , Jesus appeared to thee, as altogethei' lovely, mighty and will-; 5 i^S

ing to n^ve ? And canfl thou nut reflect upon a feafon, when thy own ftubborn heart was made to bend ; and thou waft -made willing to embrace him, as freely offered to thee in the evcrlafting gofpel ? And canft thou not, with plcafure un-fpeakable, reflect on Ibme happy period, fome certain point .of time, in which a facred fomething (perhaps thou couldll not then well tell what) did captivate, and fill thy heart, fo that thou could fay, in a rapture of holy furprize, and extacy of divine love, " My Lord and my God ! my beloved is mine, and I am his; I know that my Redeemer liveth i" or, to keep to the words of our text, " A>]y Maker is my huf-band." Surely, amidft this great and folcmn aflembly, there are many that can anfwer thefe queftions in the affirmative. For thefe are tranfadions, not eafily to be forgotten ; and the day of our efpoufals is, generally, a very remarkable day j a day to be had in everlafting remembrance.

And can any of you indeed, upon good grounds fay, that your Maker is your hufband ? May I not then (as it is cufto-mary to wifli perfons joy who arejuft entered into the marriage ftate) congratulate you upon your happy change, and wifh you joy, with all my heart ? Sure am* I that there was joy in heaven on the day of your efpoufals: and wdiy fhould jiot the blefiea news occafion joy on earth ? May 1 not ad-.drefs you in the language of our Lord to the women that came to vifit his fepulchre, " All hail !'* for ye are highly 'favoured. BlelTed are ye among men, bleflcd are ye among women ! All generations fliall call you blefTcd. What ! " is jour Maker your hufband ? the holy one of IfracJ your Redeemer ?" Sing, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth ! What an amazing floop is this ! What a new thing has God created o'n the earth ! Do not your hearts, O believers, burn within you, when meditating on this unfpeakable condefcenfion of the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity? Whilft you are mufmg, does not the facred fire of divine love kindle in your fouls? And, out of the abundance of your hearts, do you not often fpeak with your tongues, and call upon all that is within you, to laud and magnify your Redeemer's holy name ? Is not that God-exalting, felf-abafing cxpreffion frequently in your mouths, f' Why me. Lord, why me ?'* And are you not ofcen con-brained to break out into that devout exclamation of Solomon^

M 3 whea

when the glory of the Lord filled the temple, " And will God indeed dwell with man ?'* ungrateful, rebellious, ill, and hcll-deferving man 1 O, my brethren, my heart is enlarged towards you ! Tears, while I am fpeaking, are ready to gufti out. But they are tears of love and joy. How (hall I o-ive it vent ? How fiiall I fet forth thy happinefs, O believer, thou bride of God ! And is thy Maker thy hufband ? Is his name " The Lord of hofts ?" Whom then fhouldO: thou fear ? And is thy Pedeemer the holy one oi Jfrael? the God of the whole earth fliould he be called ! of whom then ihouldft thou be afraid ? He that toucheth thee, toucheth the very apple of God's eye. " The very hairs of thy head are all numbered ;" and ^' it is better that a man (hould have a milftone tied round his neck, and be drowned in the fe^. than that he fhould juttly offend thee."

All hail, (I muft again repeat it) thou Lamb's bride ! For thou art all glorious within, and comely, through the corne-linefs thy heavenly bridegroo|n hath put upon thee. Thy garment is indeed of wrought gold ; and, ere long, the King fhall bring thee forth with a raiment of needle-work, and present thee blamelefs before his Father, without fpot, or wrinkle, or any fuch thing. In the mean while, well (hall it be with you,and happy (hall you be, who are married to Jesus Christ : for all that Christ has, is yours. " He is made of God to you, wifdom, righteoufnefs, fanclification, and eternal re-idemption." " Whether Paul^ or Cephas^ or the world, or life, or death, or things prcfent, or things to come ; all are your$." All his attributes are engaged for your prefervation, and all things fliall work together for your good, who love God, and, by being thus married to the Lord Jesus, give an evident proof that you are called according to his purpofe. What fay you ? When you meditate on thefe things, are you not frequently ready to cry out. What fhall we render unto the Lord for all thefe mercies, which, of his free unmerited grace, he hath been pleafed to beftow upon us ? For, though you are dead to the law, as a covenant of works, yet you are .alive to the law as a rule of life, and are in, or under the law (for either exprefTion feems to denote the fame thing) to your glorious hufband, Jesus Christ.

Paft

Pafs we on therefore to the

Second general head, under which I was to (hew, what da-ties of love they owe to Jesus Christ, who are fo happy as to be able to fay, *' My Maker is my hufband.'*

I fay, duties of love. For being now married to Jesus Christ, you work not for life, but from life. The love of God conftrains you, fo that, if there was no written law, or fuppofmg Jesus would fet you at liberty from his yoke, fo far as grace prevails in your hearts, you would fay, we love our blelTed bridegroom, and will not go from him.

And what does the Lord require of you ? That we nwy fpeak on this head as plainly as may be, we {hall purfue the method we begun with ; and, by carrying on the allegory, and examining what is required of truly chriftian wives, under the gofpcl, infer what our Lord may juftly demand of thofe who are united to him by faith, and can therefore fay, *' our Maker is our hufband.'*

And here let us go to the law and to the teftimony. What fays the fcripture ? " Let the wife fee that fhe reverence her *' hufband." It is, no doubr, the duty of married women to think highly of their hufbands. From whom may hufbands juftly command refpedl, if not from their wives ? The apoftIe*s cxpreflion is emphatical. " Let the wife fee that {ho, reverence her hufband ;" thereby implying, that women, fome of them at lead, are too prone to difrefpedl: their hufbands ; as Michal^ Saul's daughter, defpifed David in her heart, when fhe tauntingly faid, 2 Sam, vi. 20. *' How glorious was the king of Ifrael to-day, who uncovered himfelf to-day in the eyes of the handmaids of his fervants, as one of the vain fellows fhamlefly uncovereth himfelf."

This is a fource and fountain, from whence many domeflic evils frequently flow. Women fliould remember the character that hufbands fuflain in fcripture. They are to them, what Christ is to the church. And it is mentioned to the honour oi^ Sarah, that flie called Abraham " Lord." " Shall I have a child who am old, my Lord being old alfo ?" It is remarkable, there are but two good words in that whole fentence, *•' my Lord," (for all the others are the language of unbelief) and yet thofc two words the Holy Ghoft mentions to her M 4 eternal

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eternal honour, and buries, as it were, the reft in oblivien, " Even as Sarah (fays St. Peter) obeyed Abraham^ calling him Lord."' An evident proof how plcafing it is in the fight of God, for women in the married ftate to reverence and re-fpe^t their hufbaids. Nr-t that huToands therefore (hould lord it over their wives, or require too much refped at their hands. This would be unchriftian, as well as ungenerous, indeed. They'ought rather, as God has taken fuch care to keep up their authority, commanding their wives to reverence and refpedl them ; they oight, I fay, to be doubly careful, that thev live fo holy and unblameable, as to lay their v;ives under no temptation to defpife them. But to return from this dia;ie{Tion. Does the apoflle fay, " Let the wife fee that {l:e reverence her buinand ?" May I not pertinently apply this caution to you who are married to Jesus Christ ? See lo it that you reverence s^nd refpeft your hufband. I fay, fee to it. For the devil will be often fuggefting to you hard and mean thoughts agaiiUl your hufband. It was thus he be-fet our mother Eve, even in a ftate of innocence. He would fain perfuade her to entertain hard thoughts of her glorious bcnefadlor. " What, h.as God faid, ye (liali not eat of the trees of the garden ?" Has he been fo cruel to put you here in a beautiful garden only to vex and teize you } This he made, life of as an inlet to all his fucceeding infinuations. And this trade he is ftill purfuing, and will be purfuing to the very' end of time. Befidcs, in the eyes of the wo:Id, Jesus Christ has no form or comielinefs that they fliould defire him ; and therefore, unlefs you. " watch and pray," you will be led into temptation, and not keep up fuch high thoughts of your blcfled Jesus as he juflly deferves. Li this you can never exceed. Women, perhaps, may fometimes think too highly of, and, through excefs of love, idolize their earthly comforts. But it is irnpofiible for you to think too highly of your heavenly hufband, Jesus Christ.

Farther, what fays the apoftle in his epiftlc to the Ephe-ftans ? Speaking of the marriage ftate, he fays, '^ The wife is t\\Q glory of her huft^and ;" as though he had faid, a chriftiaii wife ftiould fo behave, and io walk, as to be a credit to her. hufband. As jibigcil was an honour to Nabal, and by her fweet deportment made up, in feme degree, for her ^uf-

band's

[ '35 ]

band's churUfhnefs. This is to be a help-nncet indeed. Such, a woman will be praifed in the gate; and her hufband get glory, and meet with refpedt on her account. And ought a woman to be the glory of her hufband ? How much more ought you, that are the Lamb's bride, fo to live, and fo to walk, as to bring glory, and gain refpe£l, to the caufe and intereft of your hufb.ind Jesus ? This is what the apoftle every where fuppofes, when he would draw a parallel between a temporal and fpiritual marriage. " The woman, is the glory of her hufband, even as the church is the glory of Christ." Agreeable to this, he tells the Corinthians^ " Whether you eat or drink, or whatfoever you do, do all to the glory of God ;" and as he alfo fpeaks to the TheJJahiianSy I Thejf. ii. II, 12. " As you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you (as a father doth his children) that you would walk'worthy of God who hath called you to his kingdom, and his glory." What an ex-preflion is here ! '« That you v/ould walk worthy of God." O ! how ought this, 'and fuch like texts, to ftir up your pure minds, O believers, fo to have your converfation in this world, that you may be what the apoftle fays fome particular perfons were, even '^ the glory of Christ." You are his glory ; he rejoices over you with Tinging; and you fliould fo walk, that all who know and hear of you, may glorify Christ in you.

Suhje^ion^ is another duty, that is enjoined married women, in the word of God. They are to " be fubjedt to their own hufbands in every thing," every lawful thing : " For, the hufband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church.'' And knowing how unapt fome bafe minds would be to fubmit to the hufband's authority, he takes care to enforce this duty of fubjeclion by many cogent and powerful arguments." " For Adam Vv^as firft made, and not Eve. Neither was the man made for the woman, but the woman for the man." And again, " 7'he man was not firft in the tranfgrefiion, but the woman." Upon which accounts, fubjedlion was impofed on her as part of her punifnment. " Thy defire (fays God) fhall be to thy hufband, and he fhall rule (though not tyrannize) over thee." So that, to ufe the words of pious Mr. Henry, thofe whq attempt to ufurp authority over their huf-s bands,

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bands, not only contradict a divine command, but thwart a divine curfe. And if women are to be fubjecft to their own hufbands in every thing, hov/ much more ought believers, whether men or women, to be rubjeCt to Jesus Christ : for he is the head of the church. He has bought her by his blood. Believers therefore are not their own, but are under the higheft obligations to glorify and obey Jesus Christ, in their bodies and their fouls, which are his. Add to this, that his fervice, as it is admirably cxprefied in one of our col-le«5ls, is perfe6i freedom. His commandments holy, juft, and good. And therefore it is your higheft privilege, O believers, to fubmit to, and obey them. Earthly hufbands may be fo mean as to impofe fome things upon their wives, merely to fhew their authority ; but it is not fo with Jesus Christ, He can and does impofe nothing, but what immediately conduces to our prefent, as well as. future good. In doing, nay, in fufFering for Jesus Christ, there is a prefent unfpeakable reward. And therefore I may fay to believers, as the blefied Virgin faid to the fervants at the marriage in Ca'aa, " What-foever he fays unto you, do it." " For his yoke is eafy, and his burden is light." And I believe it might eafily be proved in a few minutes, that all the diforders which are now in the world, whether in church or ftate, are owing to a want of being univerfally, unanimoufly, chearfully, and perfeveringly conformed to the laws and example of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Again, Faithfulnefs in the marriage ftate, is ftriiSlly enjoined in the fcriptures of truth. " Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled. But whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." Nay, adultery is an iniquity to be puniflied by the earthly judges; it diflolves the marriage relation. *' For the man has not powier over his own body, but the woman ; neither has the woman power over her own body, but the man." The heathens themfelves have been taught this by the light of nature j and adultery, among fome of them, is punifhed with immediate death. And ought married perfons to be thus careful to keep the marriage-bed undefiled, how carefully then ought believers to keep their fouls chafte, pure, and undefiled, now they are efpoufcd to Jesus Chrijt ? For there is fuch a thing as fpiritual adultery;

«'0

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« O ye adulterers and adulterefles," faith St. 'James, And God frequently complains of his people's playing the harlot. Hence it is, that St. Jchny in the moft endearing manner, exhorts believers to " keep themfelves from idols.'* P'or the luft of the eye, the lull of the flefli, and pride of life, are always ready to ftcal away our hearts from Jesus Christ, And every time we plape our afFedlions upon any thing more than Christ, we do undoubtedly commit fpiritual adultery. For we admit a creature to rival the Creator, who is Gor» over all, blefled for evermore. " Little children, therefore, keep yourfclves from idols."

But it is lime for me to draw towards the clofe of this head, Fruitfukefs was a bleffing promifed by God to the iirft happy pair; " Increafe and multiply, and replenifti the earrh." ** Lo, children, and the fruit of the womb, (fays the Pfalmift) are a gift and heritage, which cometh of the Lord." And fo, if we are married to Jesus Chr.ist, we muft be fruitful. In what ? In every good word and work : for thus fpeaks the Apoftle, in his epiftle to the Romans: " Wherefore, my brethren, ye alfo are become dead to the law, by the body of Christ, that ye fliould be marritd to another, even to him who is raifed fron; the dead." What follov^s ? *' That we fliould bring forth fruit unto God." Glorious words, and proper to be confidcred in a peculiar manner, by fuch who would explode the doctrine of free jufrificatlon, as an AntlnO". vi'ian do6trine, and as though it defl:royt;d good works. No ; it eftablifhes, and lays a folid foundation, whereon to build the fuperftru61:ure of good works. Tlius is therefore commanded to " exhort believers to be careful to maintain good v^orks." And " herein (fays our Lord) is my Father glorified, that ye bring forth much fruit. Let your light {o fliine before men, that they may fee your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven j," with a multitude ot paflages to the fame purpofe.

Moreover, it is required of wives, that they not only love and reverence their hufbands, but that they alfo love and re-fpect their hufoand^s friends. And if we are married to Jesus Christ, we fhall not only reverence the bridegroom, bui wc fliall alfo love and honour the bridegroom's friends. '' By this, fhall all men know that ye are my difciples, if ye love

one another," '' I>y this we know, (fays the beloved dlfcl-ple) that v.e have pafTed from death to life, becaufe we love the brethren." Obferve, the brethren^ indefinitely, of whatever denomination. And this love muft be " without dilli-mulation, and with a pure heart fervently." This was the cafe of the primitive chriftians. They were all of one heart, and of one mind. It was faid of them (O that it could be faid of us !) " See how thefe chriftians love one another !'* They were of the fame fpirit as a good woman of Scotland was, who, when ilie faw a great multitude, as is cuftomary in that country, coming from various parts to receive the blefied facrament, faluted them with a " Come in, ye bleficd of the " LoR-D, 1 have an houfe that will hold an hundred of you, " and a heart that will hold ten thoufand.'* Let us go and do likewife.

Once more. Perfons that are married, take one another for better or for worfe, for richer or tor poorer, to love and to cheiiili each other in ficknefs and in health. And if we are married to Jesus Christ, we fhall be willing to bear his crofs^ as v/ell as to wear his crown. " If any man will come after me, let him deny himfclf, take up his crofs, and follow me." K^^ither will they be compelled to do this, as Simon of Cyrene\N2iS^ but they will be volunteers in his fervice; they will cr<^ out. Crown hiQi, crown him, when others are crying out, ^^ Crucify him, crucify him," 7^hey will never leave or for-fake him, but willingly foilov^ the Captain of their falvation, thouf^h it be throusfh a f'^a of blood.

I might run the parallel itill further, and alfo enlarge upon^ the hints already given ; but I fear I have faid enough already to reproach moft believers ; I am fure I have faid more than enough to abafh and upbraid myfelf. For alas ! how vilely, treacheroufly, and ungratefully have we behaved towards our fpiritual hufband, the dear Lord Jesus, ever fince the day of our efpouf. Is ? Had our friends, or even the wives of our own bofon^s, behaved to us as we have behaved to our great and bed friend, our glorious hufband, we (hould have broken off our frieiidfliip, and fued for a bill of divorcement long ago. Under our firft love, what promifes did we make to him? But how frowardiy have v/e behaved ourfelves in this cover nant ? How little have we reverenced him ? Hov/ often has

our

our Beloved been no more to us than another bc'loved ? Ho\V iittlc have we lived to his glory ? Have we not been a fhamc and reproach to his gofpcl ? Have we not crucified him afre(h, and has he not been forely wounded in the houfe of his friends ? Nay, has not his holy name been blafphemed through our means ? For alas! how little have we obeyed him ? How carelefs and indifferent have we been, whether we pleafed him or not ? We have often laid, indeed, when commanded by him to go work, in his vineyard, We go. Lord ; but alas ! we w'cnt not. Or if we did go, with what reluiSlance has it been ? . How unwillmg to watch with our dear Lord and Mafter, only one hour ? And of his fabbaihs, how often have we faid. What a wearinefs is this ? As for our adulteries, and fpiritual fornications, how frequent, hov/ aggravated have they been ? . Have not idols of all forts, been fuffered to fill up the room of the ever-blefled Jesus in our hearts ? You that love him in fmcerity, will not be offended if I tell you, that the :<vith chapter of ^zri/J gives, in my opinion,, a lively defcription of our behaviour towards our Lord. We were, like bafe-born children, caft out in the field to the loathing-of our perfons: no eye pitied or had com-pafHon on us. Jesus, paffed by, faw us-pojluted in our owa blood, and faid unto us, *^' Live," /. e. prelerved us, even in our natural Itate, from death. And when hisi time of love wa,s come, he fpread the (kirt of his imputed righteoufnefs over us, and covered the nakednefs of our fouls, entered into covenant with us, and we became his. He wafhed us alfo with water, even in the laver of regeneration, and thoroughly wafhed us bv his precious blood, from the guile of all our fins. He cloathed us alfo with broidered work, and decked us with ornaments, even with righteoufnefs, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghoil:. We did cat fine flour and honey at his ordinances, and we fed on Jesus Christ in our hearts by faith, with thankfgiving. In fnort, we were made exceeding beautiful, and the kingdom of God yvas erected in our hearts. We were rcnovv'ned amonor our nei^rhbours for our love to God, and all that knew us took knowledge of us, that we had been with Jesus. But alas! how have we fallen, who were once fons of the morning ! How have we trufted 'm our own beauty, have grown fpiritually proud, and provoked

c 190 i

Vokcd our patient and unfpeakably long-fufTerlng Lord tcs anger ? Where is that ardent love we fpake of, when we told him, that, though we fhould die for him, we would not deny him in any wife ? How defperately wicked, and deceitful above all things, have we proved our hearts to be, fmce we have done all thefe things, even the work of an imperious Ionian ? Thefe are great and numerous charges ; but great and numerous as they are, there is not a fingle believer here prefent, but, if he knows his own heart, may plead guilty to fome, or all of them. But this is a tender point : I fee yoii Concerned : your tears, O believers, are a proof of the anguifil of your fouls. And can any of us give any reafon, why Jesus Christ fliould not give us a bill of divorcement, and put us away ? May he not juflly fpeak to us as he did to his adul-trefs Ifrael^ in the forementioned xvith of Ezekiely " Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord ; I will judge thee as women that break wedlock, and fhed blood, are judged. I will give thee blood in fury and jealoufy, becaufe thou haft not remembered the days of thy youth, but haft fretted me irt all thefe things. Behold, therefore, I alfo will recompence thy way upon thy head. I will even deal with thee as thoU haft done, who haft defpifed the oath, in breaking the covenant, the marriage contrail that was between us." This, t am perfuaded, you will confefs to be the treatment which^^fe all moft juftly deferve. But be not overwhelmed wich overmuch forrow : for though the Lord our God is a jealous: God, and will certainly vfit our offences with a rod, and our backflidings with a fpiritual fcourge, yet his loving-kindnefi will he not utterly take from us, nof fufFer his truth to fail. Though we have changed, yet he changeth not: He abideth faithful : his loving-kindnefs abideth for evermore. Hark f how fweetly he fpeaks to his backfliding people of old; " O Jfrad^ thou haft deftroyed thyfelf, but in me is thy help, t will heal their backfliding, and love them freely." And in; the verfes immediately following the words of the te3*t, how comfortably does he addrefs his efpoufed people ! " In a little wrath, I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with cverlafting kindnefs will I have mercy on thee, faith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me : for as I have fworn, that the waters of Nsah fhould no more

go

go over the earth ; To have I fworn, that I vi^ould not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains (hall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindnefs fhall not depart from thee, neither (liall the covenant of my peace be removed, faith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.'* O that this i^ood-nefs may lead us to repentance ! O that this unparalleled, infinite, unchangeable love, may conftrain us to an univerfal, uniform, chearful, unanimous, perfevering obedience to all the commands of God !

Brethren, my heart is enlarged towards you, and I could dwell a long while upon the many great and precious invitations that are made to backfliders, to return to their firft love, and do their firft works: but it is high time for me, if, as was propofed,

III. I give to every one their proper portion ; to fpeak to thofe poor fouls, who know nothing of this blefied Bridegroom of the church, and confcquently cannot yet fay, " My Maker is my hufband.'*

Ah ! I pity you from my inmoft foul ; I could weep ov^er, and for you, though perhaps you will not weep for yourfelves. But furely you would weep, and howl too, did you know the miferable condition thofe are in, who are not married to Jesus Christ. Will you give me leave (I think I fpeak it in much love) to inform you, that if you are not married to Jesus Christ, you are married to the law, the world, the flefh, and the devil, neither of which can make you happy ; but all, on the contrary, concur to make you miferable. Hear ye not, ye that are married to the lav/, and feek to be juftified in the fight of God, partly, at leaft, if not wholly, by your own works, what the law faith to thofe that are under it, as a covenant of works ? *' Curfed is every one that con-tinueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them." Every word breathes thieatening and {laughter to poor fallen creatures. Curfed, both here and hereafter, be this man, and every one, naturally engendered -of the offspring of Adam^ without exception, that continueth not, even to the very end of life, in all things ; not only in fome, or many, but in all things, that are written in the book ^f the law, to do them^ in the utmoft perfection ; for '' he 3 that

that offendeth in one point, is guilty of all." So that, sc* cording to the tenor of the covenant of works, whofoever is guilty of one v/icked thought, word, or asftion, is under the curfe of an angry fin-avenging God. " For as many as are under the lav/, are under the curfe." And do you know what it is to be under the curfe of God, and to have the Wrath of God abide upon you? If you did, I believe you would not be fo unwilling to be divorced from the law, and be efpoufed, as chafte virgins, to Jesus Christ. 0 And why are ye fo wedded to the world ? Did it ever prove faithful or fatisfadtory to any of its votaries ? Has not Solomon reckoned up the fum total of worldly hanpinefs ? And what does it amount to ? " Vanity, vanity, faith the preacher, all is vanity," nay he adds, " and vexation of fpirit." And has not a greater than Solomon informed us, that a man's life, the happinefs of a man's life, doth not confift in the things which he polTefTeth ? Befides, " know ye not that the friendihip of this world is enmity with God ; fo that whofoever will be a friend to the world, (to the corrupt cuftoms and vices of it) is an enemy to God?" And what better reafons can you give for being wedded to your lufts ? Might not the poor flaves in the gallies, as reafonably be wedded to their chains ? For do not your lufts fetter down your fouls from God ? Do they not lord it, and have they not dominion over you ? Do not they fay. Come, and ye come ; Go, and ye go ; Do this, and ye do it ? And is not he or {he that liveth in pleafare, dead, whilft he liveth ? And above all, how can ye bear the thoughts of being wedded to the devil, as every natural man is : for thus fpeaks the fcripture, *' He now ruleth in the children of difobedience." And how can ye bear to be ruled by one, who is fuch a profefled open enemy to the moft: high and holy God ? Who will make a drudc!;e of you, whilft you live, and be your companion in endlefs and extreme torment, after you are dead ? For thus will our Lord fay to thofe on the left hand, " Depart from me, ye curfed, into everlafting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." But,

IV. Will you permit me, O finner?, that I may draw towards a clofe of this difcourfe, to propofe a better match to

your

your fouls. "This Is a part of the difcourfe whi^h I long tq? come to, it being my htait's defire, and earned prayer to God, that your fouls may be faved. " And nov/, O LoRi^ God Almighty, thou Father of mercies^ and God of all confolations, thou GoD and Father of our Loko Jesus Christ, who haft promifed to give thy Son the heathen for his inheritance, and the utternioft parts of the earth for his pofTefnon, fend me good fpeed this day, O Lord, fend mc new profperity. Behold, I fland htrt: without the camp, bearing a little of thy dear Son's facr.d reproach f Hear me, O Lord, hear me, and accordinir to thy word, let ihy dcar^ thine only begotten Son, fee of rhe travel of his fouj, and be fatisficd ! O help me fo to fpcak, that many may believe on, and cleave unto thy blefljd, thine holy child Jesus I "

But who am I, that I fliould undettake to recommend the bleffed Jesus to others, who am myfelf altogether unworthy to take his facred name into my polluted lips ? Indeed, my brethren, I do not count myfelf worthy of fuch an! honour ; but ftnce it has plealed him, in whom all fulnefs dwells, to count me worthy, and put me into the miniftry,^ the very (lones would cry out againd: me, did I not attempt^ at lead, to lifp out his praifcj^ and earnedly recommend the ever-blefled Jesus to the choice of all.

Thus Ahtahani^ faithful fervant behaved, when fent out to fetch a wife for his mader Ifaac. He fpake of the riches and honours, which God had conferred on hrm ; but what infinitely greater honours and riches, has the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, confefred on his only Son, to whom I now invite every chridlefs finner ! To you,- therefore, I call, O' ^e fons of men, afTuring you, there is every thing in Jesu* that your hearts can defire, or huriger alnd third after. Do' people in difpofrng of ihemfclves or their children in marriage* generally covet to be matched v/ith per fons of great names f Let this confideration ferve as a motive to dir you up to match ' wiib Jesus. For Got) the Father has given him a name above every name ; he has upon his vefture, and upon his thigh, a name written, " The King of kings, and the Lord of lords i" and here in the text we are told, " The Lord of Hods is his name." Nor has he an empty title, but power equivalent 5 for he is a prince, as well as a" favlour. *' Alt Vol. V, N power

46

[ 194 pcwcr is given unto him, both in heaven and on earth :" *• The God of the whole earth, (fays our text) he fl^kall be called." The government of men, of the church, and of devils, is put upon his fhoulders : *' Thrones, principalities and powers, are made fubjed unto him j by him kings reign, and princes decree juftice ; he fctteth up one, and putteth down another : and of his kingdom there fhall be no end.'* Will riches be an inducement unto you to come and match with Jesus r Why then, I can tell you, the riches of Jesus are infinite : for unto me, who am lefs than the leaft of all faints, is this grace given, that I (hould preach to poor fmners, the unfearchable riches of Jesus Christ. I appeal to you that are his faints, whether you have not found this true, by happy experience ;• and though fome of you, may have been acquainted with him thirty, forty, fifty years ago, do you not find his riches are yet unfearchable, and as much paft finding- out, as they were the very firft moment in which you gave him your hearts !

Would you match with a zvife hufband? Hafte then, fin-ners, come away to Jesus : He is the fountain of wifdora, and makes all that come unto him, wife unto falvation ; " He is the wifdom of the Father: the Lord pofTelTed him in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. When he prepared the heavens, he was there ; when he appointed the foundations of the earth, then was he with him, as one brought up with him ; he was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.'* As he is wife, fo is he holy \ and therefore, in the words of our text, he is ftiled, " The Redeemer, the Holy One of IJrael:''' and by the angel Gabriel^ " That holy Thing." The apoftles, addrefnng God the Father, ftile him his '' holy child Jesus :" and the fpirits of juft men made - perfed, and the angels in heaven, ceafe not day or night, faying, " Holy, holy, holy/' Nor is his beauty inferior to his wifdom or hollnefs ; the feraphs veil their faces, when they appear before him : " He is the chiefeft among ten thoufand, nay, he is altogether lovely." And, as he is altogether lovely, fo is he altogether loving: his name and his nature is Love, God, God in Christ is love : love in the abflradl. And in this has he manifefted his love, in that, whilft v/e were yet fmners, nay open enemies, Jesus, in his

[ '95 1

own due time; died for the ungodly. He loved us (o as to give himlelr for us. O what manner of love is this ! What was JiiCjif's love to RachA^ in comp«riTon of the love which Jesus bore to a pciifhing world ! Jrie became a curfe for us. For it is written, " Curfed is every man that hangcth upon a tree " What Zippcrah faid to her hufband ij7.properly, Jesus may fay properly to his fpoufe the church, '' A bloody wife haii thou been to me, becaufc of the crucifixion." p'or he has purchafed her with his own blood, And having once loved his peop'e, he loves them unto the end. His love, like hirofelf, is from everlafting to everlafting. fie hates putting away ; though we change^ yet he change!h not : he abideth faithful; When we are married here, there comes in that fliocking claufe, to ufe the words of holy }^ir. B.jl.n^ '* Till death us doth part i" but death itfelf fiiall not feparate a true believer trom the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus his Lord : for he will never ceafe loving his Bride, till he has loved her to heaven, and prcfcnted her before his Father^ without fpot or wrinkle, or any fuch thing. Nay, his love will, as it were, but be beginning, through the endlefs ages of eternity.

And now, Sirs, what fay you ? Shall I put that queftion to you, whirh Rebecca s relations, upon a propofal of marriage, put to her ? " Will ye go with the man f" With the God-man, this infinitely great, this infinitely powerful, this all-wife, all-holy, altogether lovely, ever-loving Jesus ? What obje£lion have you to make againft fuch a graciqus offer ? One would imagine, you had not a fingle one ; but it is to be feared, through the prevalency of unbelief, and the corruption of your defperately wicked deceitful hearts, you are ready to urge feveral. Methinks I hear fome of you fay within yourfelves, *' We like the propofal, but alas ! we *' are poor." Are you fo ? It that be all, you may, not-withftanding, be welcome to Jesus : " For has not God chofen the poor of this world, to make them rich in faith, and heirs of his everlafting kingdom ?" And what fays that Saviour, to whom I am now inviting you ? " BlefTed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And what fays his Apoftls concerning him ? " Though he was rich, yet for cur fakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. But fay you, " We are not

[ uy6 ]

only poor, but wc are in debt; we owe God ten thaufanJ talents, and hav6 nothing to pay j" but that need not keep you back : for God the Father, from the Lord Jesus, bis dearly beloved Son, has received double for all believers fins ; the blood of Jesus cleanfeth from them all. But you are blind, and miferable, and naked ; to whom then fhould you fly for fuccour, but to Jesus, who came to open the eyes of the blind, to feek and fave the miferaWe and loit, and cloath the naked with his perfect and fpotlefs righteoufnefs. And now, what can hinder your efpoufals with the dear and ever-blefTcd Lamb of God ? I know but of one thing, that dreadful fin of unbelief. But this is my comfort, Jesus died for unbelief, as well as for other fms, and has promifed to fend down the Holy Spirit to convince the world of this fim in particular: " If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I go away, I will fend the Comforter, and he will convince the world of fin." What fm ? of unbelief; " becaufe they believe not on me.*^ O that this pro-mife may be fo fulfilled in your K-arts, and JesUs may fo become the author of divine faith in your fouls, that you may be able to fend me the fame meflage as a good woman in Scotlandy on her dying bed, fent me by a friend : " Tell him, (fays ihe) for his comfort, that at fuch a time he married me to the Lord Jesus." This would be comfort indeed. Nor that we can marry you to Christ : No ; the Holy Ghoft muft tie the marriage knot. But fuch honour have all God^s minifters j under him they efpoufe poor finners to Jesu^ Christ. '* I have efpoufed you (fays St. Paul) as a chafte virgin to Je&us Christ." O that you may fay. We will go with the man ; then will I bow my hesid, as Abraharn-^ fervantdid, and go with joy and tell my Mafter, that he has not left hi« poor fervant deftitute this day*, then fliall I rejoice in your felicity. For I know, my Mafter will take you into the banqueting-houfe of his ordinances, and his banner over you Ihall be love. That this may be the happy cafe of you all, may the glorious God grant, for the fake of Jesus his dearly beloved Son, the glorious bridegroom of his church j-to whom, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory, now and for evermore. Amerij and Amen,

SERMON

t '97 3

I SERMON XIII.

The Potter and the Clay.

Jer. xviii. I—6.

^he word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord^ f^y^^'Z-^ Arife^ and go down to the potter''s houfe^ and there I will caufe thee to hear my words, 'Then I went down to the potter's houfe^ and behold^ he wrought a work en the wheels. And the veffel that he made of clay was raarred in the hands of the potter^ fo he ynade it again another vejfel^ as feemed good to the potter to -make it. ^hen the word of the Lord came to me, faying, O houfe of Ifrael, cannot I do with you as this potter? faith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, fo are ye in mine handy 0 houfe of IfraeL

AT fundry times, and in divers manners, God was pleafed to fpeak to our fathers by the prophets, before he fpoke to us in thefe laft days by his Son. To Elijah, he revealed himfelf by a fmall ftill voice. To Jacob, by a dream. To Mofes, he fpake face to face. Sometimes he was plcafed to fend a favourite prophet on fome efpecial errand ; and whilft he was thus employed, vouchfafcd to give him a particular meffage, which he was ordered to deliver without referve to all the inhabitants of the land. A very inftru£^ive inftance of this kind we have recorded in the paflage now read to you. The firft verfe informs us that it was a word, or mefTage, which came immediately from the Lord to the prophet Jere^ miah. At what time, or how the prophet was employed

N 3 when

when it came, we arc not told. Perhaps, whilfl he was praying for thofe who would not pray for themfclves : Perhaps, near the morning, when he wa&Jlambering or mu-fir^g pn hi? bed. For the word came to him, faying, " Arife.'* And what muft he do when rifen ? He mufl " go down to the potter's houfe'* (the prophet knew where to find it) " and there (fays the great Jehovah) I will caufe thee to hear my words." Jcre?rjah does not confer with ficfl:i and blood, he docs not objeil: that it was dark or cold, or defire that he plight have his mefiage giyen hini there, but without the leaft hefitation is immediately obedient to the heavenly vifion. " Then (fays lie) I went down to the potter's houfe, and behold he wrought a work upon the wheels." Juft as he was entering into the houfe or workfliop, the potter, it fecms, ha4 a velTcl upon his wheel. And was there any thing fo extraordinary in this, that it fliould be uflieied in with the word Behold ? What a dreaming vifionary, or fupcifcitious enthufiaft, would this Jeremiah be accounted, even by many who read his prophecies with feeming refpeiSt, was he alive now ? But this was not the firft Umtjeremiah had heard from heaven in this manner. He therefore willingly obeyed ; and Jiad you or I accompanied him to the potter's houfe, 1 believe we fhould have feen him filcntly, but intenfely waiting ypon his great and all-wife Commander, to know wherefore he fent him thither. Methinks I fee him all attention. He takes notice, that " the vefie! was of clay j" but as he held it in his hand, and turned round the wheel, in order to work it into fpme p^rticuhir form, '' it was marred in the hands of the potter,'* and confequently unfit for the ufe he before intended to put it to. And what becomes of this marred vefu 1 ? Being thus marred, I fuppofe, (he potter, without the Icaft imputation of injuftice, might have thrown it afide, and taken up another piece of clay in its room. But he did not. " He made it again another vell'el." And does the potter call a council of his dopaeftics, to enquire of them what kind of yeilcl they would advife him to make of it ? No, in no wife. ^' He made it again another veiTel, as feemed good to the pot-|:er to make it."

" Then," adds 'Jeremiah^ whilft he was in the way of duty

•^then-r-whllft he was nientally crying, Lc^d what woulJit

3 thou

thou have mc to do ? '^ Then the Word of the Lord came unto me , faying, O houfe of fjrael, cannot I do with you as this potter ? faith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the hands of the potter (marred, and unfit for the firft defigncd purpofe) fo are ye in mine hand, C houfe of IJra " At length, then, Jeremiah hath his fermon given to him : fliort, but popular. It was to be delivered to the whole houfe of Jfrael^ princes, priefts, and people : (hort, but pungent, even {harp< r than a two-edged fword. What ! fays the fovereign Lord of heaven and earth, muft I be denied the privilege of a common potter ? May I not do what I will with my own ? " Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hands, fo arc ye in mine hand?, O houfe of Ij'rael. I made and formed you into a people, and blefled ycu above any other nation under heaven : but, O IjraeU thou by thy backfiidings haft deftroyed thyfelf. As the potter therefore might juftly have thrown afide his marred clay, fo may I juftly unchurch and unpeople you. But what if I ftiould come over the mountains of your guilt, heal your backfiidings, revive my work in the midft of the years, and caufe your latter end greatly to increa/e ? Behold, as the clay is in the hands of the potter, lying at his difpofal, either to be deftroyed or formed into another veftel, fo are ye in my hands, O houfe of Ifrael: I may either re^ J£<St, and thereby ruin you, or I may revifit and revive you according to my own fovereign good will and pleafure, and who fhall fay unto me, what doft thou?'*

This feems to be the genuine interpretation, and primary intention of this beautiful part of holy writ. But waving all further enquiries about its primary defign or meaning, 1 Ihall now proceed to ftiew, that what the glorious Jehovah here fays of the houfe of Ifrael in general, is applicable to every individual of mankind in particular. And as I prefume this may be done,- without either wire-drawing fcripture on the one hand, or wrefting it from its original meaning on the other, not to detain you any longer, 1 fliall, from the pafTage thus explained and paraphrafed, deduce, and endeavour to enlarge on thefe two general heads.

FirJ}^ I (hall undertake to prove, that every man naturally engendered of the oftspring of Adam^ is in the fight of the all-feeing, heart-fcarching God, only as a " piece of marred clay." N 4 Secondly^

f zoo ] Escondly^ That bping thus marred, he mufl necefiarily btt renewed : and under this head, we fiiall likcwife point out by whole agency this mighty change is to be brought about.

Thtfe particuhlrs being difcuiTed, way will naturally be made for a fhort word of application.

/Vr//, 1^0 prove that every man naturally engendered of the pfispring of Jdam^ is in the fight of an all-f;:eing, heart-fcarching God, only as a piece of marred clay.

Be pleafed to obferve, that v;e fay every man naturally engendered of the offspring of Adaip^ or every man fmce the fall : for if we confider man as he firft came out of the hands pf his Maker, he was far from being in fuch melancholy cir-cumftances. No : he was originally made upright j or as MofcSy that facred penman, declares, " God made him after his own iiTiage.'' Surely never was fo much expreffed in fo few words ; which hath often made me v/onder how that great critic Longinus-, who fo juftly admires the dignity and grandeur o^ MoJes*h account of the creation, and ^' Gop faid, JLet there be light, and there was light •,'* I fay I have often wondered why he did not read a little further, and beftow as juli an encomium upon this fhort, but withal inexprefiibly auguft and comprehenfive del'cription of the formation of man, ** (o Got) created m.m in Ij is own image.-' Struck with a fieep fenfe of. fuch amazing goodnefs, and that he might im-prefs yet a deeper fenfe of it upon our minds too, he immediately adds, " in the image of GoD made he him." A council of the moft adorable Trinity was called on this important occafion : God did not fay, Let there be a man, and there was a man, but God faid, " Let us make man in our image, after our likenefs." This is the account which the lively oracles of God do give ug of man in his firft eftate : but it is yery remarkable, that the tranfition from the account of his creation to that of his mifery, is very quick, and why I For a very good reafon, becaufc he foon fell from his primeval dignity i and by that fall, the divine image is fo defaced, that he is now to be valued only as antiquarians value an ancient medal, merely for the fake of the image and fu-perfcription once ftamped upon it; or of a fecond divine im-prfefs, which, through grace^ it may yet receive.

i ^ " Let

[ 2or ]

Let us take a more particular furvey of him, and fee whether thefe things are fo or not: and firft, as to his under-/iatiding. As man was created originally " after God in knowledge," as well as righteoufnefs and true holincfs, wc may rationally infer, that his underftanding, in refpecl: to things natural^ as well as divine, was of a prodigious extent: for he was made but a little lower than the angels, and con-fequently being like them, excellent in his undcrftanding, he Knew much of God, of himfclf, and all about him ; and in this as well as every other rcfpecSl, was, as Mr. Collier ex-prefTes it in one of his efTays, a perfect major: but this is far from being our cafe now. For in refpect to natural thirgs^ our underftandii^.gs are evidently darkened, it is but little chat we can know, and even that little knov/Iedge which we can acquire, is with much wearinefs of the flefh, and we are doomed to gain it as we do our diiily bread, I mean by the IVeat of our brov/s.

Men of low and narrow minds foon commence wife in theif own conceits : and having acquired a little (mattering of the Jearned languages, and made fonie fmall proficiency in the dry fcienres, are eafily tempted to look upon themfelves as a head taller than their fellow mortals, and accordingly too, too cfren put forth g*-eat fwelling words of vanity. But perfons of a more exalted, and extenfive reach of thought, dare not boalf. N J : they know that the grcateft fcholars are in the dark, in rcfpcdt to many even of the minuted things in life : and after all their painful refearches into the Arcarut Nature^ they find fuch an immenfe void, fuch an unmeafurable ex-panfe yet to be travelled over, that they are obliged at laft to conclude, almoft with refpe6t to every thing, *' that they |cnow nothing yet as they ought to know." This confidera-tion, no doubt, led Socrates^ when he was afked by one of his fcholars, why the oracle pronounced him the wifeft man on earth, to give him this judicious anfwcr, " Perhaps it is, «' becaufe I am moll fenfible of my own ignorance." Would to God, that all who call themfelves chriftians, had learnt fo much as this heathen ! We fhould then no longer hear fo many learned men, falfely fo called, betray their ignorance by boafting of the extent of their fnallow underftanding, nor by profelling themfelves- io wile, prove themfelves fuch arrant pejdantjc fools. If

[ 202 ] If wc view our undcrftandings in rcfpcc^ to fpiritual things^ we {hall find that they are not only darkened, but become darknefs itCeU", even "• darknefs that may be felt" by all who are not paft feeling. And how fliould it be otherwife, fince the infallible word of God aflures us, that they are alienated from the light and life of God, and thereby naturally as incapable to judge of divine and fpiritual things, comparatively jpeaking, as ^ man born blind is incapacitated to diilinguifli the various colours of the rainbow. '* The natural man, (fays an infpired apoflle) difcerneth not the things of the Spirit of God ;" fo far from it, "they arc foolifhnefs unto him ;" and why ? Becaufe they are only to be " fpiritually difcerned." Hence it was, that NicodetJius^ who was blelled with an outward and divine revelation, who was a ruler of the Jnusy nay a mafter of Ifrael^ when our Lord told him, " he inuft be born again j" appeajcd to be quite grappled. " How (fays he) can a man be born when he is old ? can he enter a lecond time into his mother's womb and be born ? how can thefe things be?" Were three more ablurd queftions ever pro-pofed by the moft ignorant man alive ? or can there be a clearer proof of the blindnefs of man's underllanding, in re-Ipccl to divine, as well as natural things ? Is not man then a piece of marred clay ?

This will appear yet more evident, if we confider the per-verfe befit of his zvill. Being made in the very image of God; undoubtedly befo:e the fall, man had no other will but his Maker's. God's will, and Adarns^ were then like unifons in rnufic. There was not the leaft difunion, or difcord between them. But now he hath a will, as direclly contrary to the will of God, as light is contrary to darknefs, or heaven to hell. We all bring into the world with us a carnal mind, which is not onlyan enemy to God, but ^' enmity itfelf, and which is therefore not fubjeft unto the law of God, neither indeed can it be." A great many fliew much zeal in talking aeainft the man of fin, and loudly (and indeed very juftly) exclaim againft the Pcpe for fitting in the temple, I mean the church of Christ, and *' exalting himfelf above all that is called God." But fay not within thyfelf, who fhall go to Rohie^ to pull down this fpiritual antichrift ? as though there >vas no antichrifi but wha; is without us. For know, O

man.

[ 2P3 ] '

man, whoever thou art, an infinitely more dangerous anti-chrif}, becaufe lefs difcerncd, even fclf-will^ fits daily in th« temple of thy heart, exalting itfell above all that is called God, and obliging all its votaries to fay of Christ himfelf,, that Prince of peace, *' we will not have this man to rei^n over us." God's people, whofe fpiritual fenfes are cxcrcifed about fpiritual things, and whpfe eyes are opened to fee the abominations that are in their hearts, frequently feel this to their forrow. Whether they will or not, this enmity from time to time bubbles up, and in fpight of all their watchful-nefs and care, when they arc under the preflure of fome fliarp affli^ion, a long defcrtion, or tedious night of temptation, they often find fomething withiq rifing in rebellion againft the all-wife difpofals of divine Providence, and faying unto God their heavenly Father, *' what doft thou T' This makes them to cry (and no wonder, fince it conftrained one of the greatelt faints and apoftles firft to introduce the expreilion) " C) wretched man that I am, who fliall deliver me from the body of this death ?" The fpiritual and renewed foul groans thus, being burdened ; but as for the natural and unawakened man, it is not fo with him ; felf-will, as well as every other evil, either in a more jatcnt or difcernable manner, reigns in his unrenewed foul, and proves him, even to a dcrnonflration to others, whether he knows, or will confefs it hjn-ifelf or not, that in refpecl to the diforders of his will, as well as his un-derftanding, man is only a piece of marred clay.

A tranfient view of fallen man's affc^ions vixW yet more firmly corroborate this melancholy truth. Thefe, at his being firft placed in the paradife of God, were always kept within proper bounds, fixed upon their proper objeds, and, like io many gentle rivers, fweetly, fpontancoufly and habitually glided into their ocean, God. But now the fcene is changed. For we are now naturally full of vile afi-\^dtions, which like a mighty and impetuous torrent carry all before them. We love what we fhould hate, and hate v/hat we (hould love ; we fear what we (hould hope for, and hope for what we fhould fear; nay, to fach an ungovernable height do our afifections (ometimes rife, that though our judgnients are convinced to the contrary, yet we will gratify our pafiions though it be at the cxpcace of our prefenl and eternal welfare.

We

[ 2e4 1

Wc feel a war of our affcilbns, warring agamft the law of our minds, and bringing us into captivity to the law of fin and death. So that video nuliora prchoque^ deteriora fequor^ I approve of better things but follow worfe, is too, too often the pra£iice of us all.

I am fenfible, that many are offended, when mankind arc compared to beafts and devils. And they might have fome ihadow of reafon for being fo, if we aflertcd in a phyfical fenfe, that they were really beafts and really devils. For then» as I once heard a very learned prelate, who was obje^ling agalnft this comparifon, obferve, " a man being.a beaft wo-jld be incapable, and being a devi!, would be under an impoffi-bility of being faved." But when we make ufe of fuch y?;^?^/-ing comparifons^ as he was pleafed to term them, v/e would be underftood only in a moral fenie; and in fo doing, we affert no more than fome of the moft holy men of God have faid of themfelves, and others, in the lively oracks many ages ago. Holy David, the man after God*s own heart, fpeaking of himfelf, fays, " fo foolifh was I, and as a beaft before thee." And holy Jcb^ fpeaking of man in general, fays, that " he is born as a wild afs's colt," cr take away the expletive, which as fome think ought to be done, and then he pofitivcly alFcrts, that man is a wild afs's colt. And what fays our Lord, " Ye are of your father the devil ;" and " the whole world is faid to lie in him, the wicked one, who now rules in the children of difobedience," that is, in all unrenewed fouls. Our ftupi-dity, pronenefs to fix our aff'ecfcions on the things of the earth, and our eagcrnefs to make proviiion for the flefh, to fulhl the lufts thereof, evidence us to be earthly and brutal ; and our mental paffions, anger, hatred, malice, envy, and fuch like, prove v;ith equal ftrength, that wc are alfo devilifh. Both together confpire to evince, that in refpe£l to his affe6)ions, as well as his underftanding and will, man defervcdly may be termed a piece of marred clay.

The prefent blindnefs of natural coyifcience makes this appear in a yet more glaring light; in the foul of the firft man Adam^ confciencc was no doubt the candle of the Lord, and enabled him rightly and inft:antaneoufly to difcern between good and evil, right end wrong. And, bleftcd be God ! fome remains of this are yet left; but alas, how dimly does it burn, and

h(^

how eafily and quickly is it covered, or put out and extin-guifhed. I need not fend you to the heathen world, to learn the truth of this ; you all know it by experience. Was there no other evidence, your own confciences are inltead of a thoufand witncfies, that man, as to his natural confcience, as well as underftanding) will and afFedions, is much marred clay.

Nor does that great and bcsfted Diatia^ I mean unafTifted unenlightened reafon^ lefs dcmonftrate the judnefs of fuch an aflertion. Far be it from me to decry or exclaim againft human reafon. Christ himfelf is called the " Logos, the Rea-fon ;'* and I believe it would not require much learning, or take up much time to prove, that fo far and no farther than as we a<£l agreeably to the laws of Christ Jesu?, ore wC any way conformable to the laws of right reafon. His fervice is therefore called '* a reafonable fervice." And however his fervants and followers may now be looked upon as fools and madmen ; yet there will come a time, when thofe who defj5ifc and fet themfelves to oppofe divine revelation, will find, that what they now call reafon, is only reafm depraved^ and as utterly incapable, of itfelf, to guide us into the way of peace, or (hew the way of falvation, as the men of Sodom were tO' find Lot's door after they were ftrack with blindnefs by tht angels, who came to lead him out of the city. The hdrrid and dreadful millakes, which the moft refined reafoners in the heathen world ran into, both as to the object-, as well a.? manner of divine worfbip, have fufiiciently demonftrated the weaknefs and depravity of human reafon : nor do our qioderri boafters afford us any better proofs of the greatnefs of its ftrength, fince the bed improvement they generally make of it, is only to reafon themfelves into downright wilful infidelity, and thereby reafon themfelves out of eternal falvation. Need we now any further witncfs, that man, fallen man, is altogether a piece of marred clay ?

But this is not all. We have yet more evidence to call; for Jo the biindnefs of our underftandings, the perverfenefs of our will, the rebellion of our affedlions, the corruption of our confciences, the depravity of our reafon prove this charge^ and does noc the prefent d'lfordered frame and cnnjlitution of our 'hodies confirm the fame alfo ? Dcubtlefs in this refpedl, man,

in

t '06 ]

In the mofi: literal fenfe of the word, is a piece'df marred claf. For God originally made him of the '^ duft df the earth." So that notwithftanding our boafting of our high pedigrees, and different defcent, we were all originally upon a level, and a little red earth was the common fubftratum out of which we were all formed. Clay indeed it was, but clay wonderfully modified, even by the immediate hands of the Creator of heaven and earth. One therefore hath obferved^ that it is faid *' God built the man;" he did not form him raftily or haftily, but built and finiftied him according to the plan before laid down in his own eternal mind. And though, as the great God is without body, parts, or pallions, we cannot fuppofc when it is faid " God made man after his own image," that it has any reference to his body, yet 1 cannot help thinking (with Doci:or South) that as the eternal Logos was hereafter to appear, God manifeft in the flefti, infinite wifdom was undoubtedly exerted in forming a cafket into which fo invaluable a pearl was in the fulnei's of time to be depofited. Some of the ancients are faid to have afierted, that man at the firft^ had what we call a glory fhining round him; but without attempting to be wife above what is written, we may venture to afiirm, that he had a glorious body, which knowing no fin, knew neither fieknefs nor pain. But now on this, as well as other accounts, he may juftly be called Ickabod; for its primitive ftrength and glory are fadly departed from it, and like the ruins of fome ancient and ftately fabric, only fo much left as to give us fome faint idea of what it was when it firft appeared in it$ original and perfe6l beauty. The apoftle Paul^ therefore, who knew how to call things by their proper names, as well as any man living, does not fcruple to term the human body, though in its original conftitution fearfully and wonderfully made, a " vile body ;" vile indeed ! fince it is fubject to fuch vile difeafes, put to fuch vile, yea very vile ufes, and at length is .to come to fo vile an end. '' For duft we are, and to duft we muft return." This among other confidcrations, we may well fuppofe, caufed the bleflcd Jesus to weep at the grave of Lazarus. He wept, not only bccaufe his friend Lazarus was dead, but he wept to fte human nature, through man's own default, thus laid in ruins, by being fubjed unto fuch a diflblution, made like unto th-e beafts that

perifti,

t 207 ]

Let us here paufe a while, and with our fympathizing Lord, Tee if we cannot flied a few lilent tears at leaft, upon the fame forrowful occafion. Who, who is there amongft us^ that upon fuch a melancholy review of man's prefcnr, real, and moft deplorable depravity both in body and foul, can refrain from weeping over fuch a piece of marred clay ? Who, who can help adopting holy David's lamentation over S^ul and Jonathan F " How are the mighty fallen I How are they flain in their high places!" Originally it was not fo.■ No, " God made man after his own image : in the image of God made he man." Never was there fo much exprefled in fo few words. He was created after God in righteoufnefs and true holinefs.

This is the account, which the facred volume gives us of this interefling point. This, this is that blefTed book, that book of books, from whence^ together with an appeal to the experience of our own hearts, and the teftimonies of all paft ages, we have thought proper to fetch our proofs. For, after all, we muft be obliged to divine revelation, to know what we were, what we arc, and what we are to be. In ihefe, as in a true glafs, we may fee our real and proper like-nefs. And from thefe only can we trace the fource and fountain of all thofe innumerable evils, which like a deluge have overflowed the natural and moral world. If any fhould ob-je6l againft the authenticity of this revelation, and confe-quently againft the doctrine this day drawn from thence, they do in my opinion thereby very much confirm it. For unlefs a man was very much difordered indeed, as to his underftand-ing, will, afFecSlions, natural confcience, and his power of reafoning, he could never poHibly deny fuch a revelation, which is founded on a multiplicity of infallible external evidence?, hath fo many internal evidences of a divine ftamp in every page, is fo fuited to the common exigencies of all mankind, fo .agreeable to the experience of all men, and which hath been fo wonderfully handed arKi preferved to us, hath been fo inflrumental to the convicting, converting, and comforting fo many millions of fouls, and hath flood the left of the moft fevere fcrutinies, and exa£l cri-ticifms of the moft fubtle and refined, as well as of the moft malicious and perfecuting enemies, that ever lived, even from the beginning of time to this very day. Perfons of fuch a

turn

f 2<58 1 turn of mind, I think, are rather to be prayed for, than dif-puted with, if i'o be this perverfe wickcdnefs of their hearts may be forgiven them : *' They are in the very gall of bitt^r-nefs, and miift have ''• their confciences feared as it were with a red-hot iron,*' and muft have their eyes *' blii-dcd by tie God of this world/* otherwife they could not but fee, and feeU and aflent to the truth of this doctrine, of man's being urv-verlaily depraved ; which not only in one or two, but in one or two thoufands, in every page, I could almoft hy, is written, in fuch legible chara6lers, that he that runs may r^:\^. Indeed, revelation itfelf is founded upon the dodtrine of the fall. Had we kept our original integrity, the law of God would have yet been written in our hearts^ and thereby the want of a divine revelation, at leaft fuch as ours, would have been fuperfeded ; but being fallen, inftead of rifing in rebellion againft God, we ought to be filled with unrpeakable thankfulnefs to our all bountiful Creator^ who by a few lines in his own books hath difcovered more to us, than all the pliiloftiphers and mod: learn^fd men in the world could, or would, have difcovered, though they bad ftudied to al! eternity.

I am well aware^ that fome who pretend to own the validity of divine revelation, are norwithftanding enemies to thd do61rine that hath this day been delivered j and would fa'.ri elude the force of the proofs generally urged in defence of it, by faying^ they only befpeak the corpuption of particular per-fons, or have reference only to the heathen world : but i\ic\i perfciis err, not knowing their own hearts, or the power of Jesus Christ : for by nature there is no difference between yew or Gentile^ Greek or Barbarian^ bond or free. We are altogether equally become abominable in God's fight, all equally falkn (hort of the glory of GcD, and confequentiy all alike fo many pieces of marred claly.

How GcD came to fuffer man to fall ? hove^ long man ftood before he fell ? and how the corruption contra-dted by the fdllj is propagated to every individtial of his fpecies ? are qucliions of fuch an abftrufe and critical nature, that fhoulgl ] undertake lo anfwer them, would be only gratifying a fin-ful curiofity, and tempting you, as Satan tempted our firfb pcircHts^ to eat forbidden fru^t. It will much better anfwer

[ 209 ] t^e defign of this prcfent difcourfe, which is pradical, to pafs oa

II. To the next thing propofed, and point,out to you the abfolute nccciTity there is of this fallen nature*s beino- re-cewed.

This I have had all along in my eye, and on account of this, have purpofely been fo explicit on the firft general head : for has Archhncdes once faid, " Give me a place where I may '* fix my foot, and I will move the world \* fo without the lead imputation of arrogance, with which, perhaps, he was juftly chargeable, we may venture to fay, grant the foregoing do6lrine to be true, and then deny the ncceinty of man's being renewed who can.

I fuppofe, I may take it for granted, that all of you amongft whom I am now preaching the kingdom of God, hope after death to go to a place which we call Heaven. And my heart's defire and prayer to God for you is, that you all may have manfions prepared for you there. But give me leave to tell you, was you now to fee thefe heavens opened, and the angel (to ufe the words of theferaphic Hervey) cloathed with all his heavenly drapery, with one foot upon the earth, and another upon the fea ; nay, were you to fee and hear the an^el of the everlafling covenant, Jesus Christ himfclf, proclaiming " time fliali be no more," and giving you all an invitation immediately to come to heaven j heaven would be no heaven to you, nay it would be a hell to your fouls, un-lefs you were firft prepared for a proper enjoyment of it here on earth. ^* For what communion hath light with darknefs ?'* Or what fellowfhip could unrenewed fons of Belial pofiibly keep up with the pure and immaculate Jesus ?

The generality of people form flrange ideas of heaven. And becaufe the fcriptures, in condefcenfion to the weaknefs of our capacities, defcribe it by images taken from earthly delights and human grandeur, therefore they are apt to carry their thoughts no higher, and at the heft only form to them-felves a kind of Mahometan paradife. But permit me to tell you, and God grant it may fink deep into your hearts ! Heaven is rather a (hte than a place 5 and confequerftly, unl?fs

Vcj.. V. O you

you are previoufiy difpofed by a Tuitablc ftate of mind, yoii could not be happy even in heaven itfelt For what is grace but glory militant ? What is glory but grace triumphant ? This confidcraticn made a pious author fay, that ^' holinefs, " happinefs, and heaven, were only three different words for one «' and the felf-fame thing." And this made the great Prejhn^ when he wai about to die, turn to his friends, faying, " I am *« changing my place, but not my company." He had con-verfed wiih God and good men on earth; he was going to keep up the fame, and infinitely more refined communion with God, his holy angels, and the fpirits ofjuft men made perfect, in heaven.

To make us m.eet to be blifsful partakers of fuch heavenly company, this " marred clay," I mean, thefe depraved natures of ours, muH: necelBrily undergo an univerfal moral change : our underftandings muO: be enlightened \ our wills, reafon, and confciences, muft be renewed; our affedlions mufl be drawn toward, and fixed upon things above j and becaufe flefh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven, this corruptible muil: put on incorruption, this mortal mult put on immortality. And thus old things muft literally pafs away, and behold all things, ev«en the body as well as the faculties of the foul, mull become new.!

This moral change is what fome call, repentance, fome, converfion, fome, regeneration ; choofe what name you pleafe, I only pray God, that wc all may have the thing. The fcriptures call it holinefs, fanclincation, the new creature, and cur Lord calls it a *' New biith, or being born agaisi, or born from above." Thcfe are not barely figurative expref-fions, or the flights of eaftern language, nor do they barely denote a relative change of ftate conferred on all thofe who are admitted into Christ's church by baptifm j but thty denote a real, moral change of heart and life, a real participation of the divine life in the foul of man. Some indeed content themfelves with a figurative interpretation j but unlefs they are made to experience the power and eiticacy thereof, by a folid living experience in their own fouls, all their learning, all their laboured criticifms, will not exempt them from a real damnation. 'Christ hath faid sr, and Christ will Hand, *' Unlefs a man/' learned or unlearned, hi^h or "low, though

he

he be a maflcr of Ifriiel as Nicodemus was, unlefs lie " be borzi again, he cannot IcC, he cannot enter into the kingdom oi God."

If it be enquired, who Is to be the potter ? and by whofc agency this miirred clay is to be formed into another veflel ? Or in other words, if it be afked, how thi.s great and mighty change is to be effed^ed ? I anfwer, not by the mere dint and force of moral fuafion. This is good in its place. And I am fo far from thinking, that chrillian preachers fliould not make ufe of rational arguments and motives in their fer-mons, that I cannot think they are fit to preach at all, who either cannot, or will not ufe them. We have the example of the great God himfclf for fuch a practice ; " Come (fays he) and let us rcafon together." And St. Paul, that prince of preachers, " reafoned of temperance, and righteoufnefs, and a judgment to come." And it is remarkable, "that whiHl he was reafoning of thefe things, Felix trembled." Nor arc the mofl perfuafive drains of holy rhetoric Icfs needful for a Icribc ready inflruiled to the kingdom of God. The fcrip-tures both of the Old and New Teftament, CMcry where abound with them. And when can they be more properly employed, and brought forth, than when we are ailing as ambafladors of heaven, and befeeching poor fmners, as in Christ's ftead, to be reconciled unto God. All this we readily grant. But at the fame time, I would as foon go to yonder church-yard, and attempt to raife the dead carcafes, with a " come forth," as to preach to dead fouls, did I not hope for fome fuperior power to make the word eft'eitual to the defigned end. I fhould only be like a founding brafs for any favino-purpofes, or as a tinkling cymbal. Neither is this change to be wrought by the power of our own free-will. This is an idol every where fet up, but we dare not fall down and worship it. " No man (fays Christ) can come to me, unlefs the Father draw him." Our own free-will, if improved, may reftrain us from the commifTion of many evils, and put us in tlie way of converfion ; but, after exerting our utmoft efforts (and we are bound in duty to exert them) we fhall find the words of our own church article to be true, that " man fince " the fall hath no power to turn to God." No, we might as foon attempt to fiop the ebbing and flowing of the tide,

O z and

apd calm the mofl: tempeftuoiis fea, as to imagine that we can fiibdue, or bring under proper regulations, our qwn unruly wills and afFc6tions by any flrength inherent in ourselves.

. An4 therefore, that I may keep ypu no longer in fufpence, I inform you, that this heavenly potter, this ble(Rd agent, is the Almighty Spirit of God, the Holy Ghoft, the third perfon in the moil: adorable Trinity, coefiential with the Father and the Son. This is that Spirit, which at the begin-iiin<'- of time moved on the face of the waters, when nature lay in one univerfal chaos. This was the Spirit that over-{hadov/ed the Holy Virgin, before that holy thing was born of her : and this fame Spirit rnufl come, and move upon the chaos of <5ur fouls, before we can properly be called the fons of God. This is what John the baptift calls " being baptised with the Holy Gholt," v/ithout vv^hich, his and all other baptifms, whether iiifant or adult, avail nothing. This is that fire, which cur Lord came to fend into our earthly hearts, and which I pray the Lord of all lords to kindle in pvery unrcnevvcd one this day.

As for the extraordinary operations of the Holy Ghoft, fuch as working of miracles, or fpeaking with divers kinds of tongues, they are long fince ceafed. But as for this miracle of miracles, turning the foul to God by the niore ordinary operations of the Holy Ghoft, this abides yet, and will abide till time itfelf fliall be no more. For it is he that fan^^ifjeth us, and all th,e tied people of God. On this account, true believers are faid to be " born from above, to be born not of blood, nor of the will of the flefh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Their fecond, as well as their flrft creation, is truly and purely divine. It is, therefore, called " a creation ;" but put ye on (fays the apoftle) the new man which is created"—And hovv ? Even as the fiifl m,an was, " after God in righteoufnefs ai>d true holinefs."

Thefe, thefe are the precious truths, which a fcoffing world would fain rally or ridiciile us out of. To produce this glorious change, this new creation, the glorious JesUS Jeft his Father's bofom. For this he led a perfecutcd life; for this he died an ignominious and accurfed death ; for this he rofe again j and for this he now luteth at the right han^

of

ofhis Father. All the precepts of his gofpel, all his ordinances, all his providences, whether of an affli£tiv'e or prorpcrous nature, all divine revelation from the beginning to ihe end, all center in thefe two points, to lliew us how we are fiillen, and to begin, carry on, and compleat a glorious and blcflcd chaii?-e in our fouls. This is an erid worthy of the coming; oF fo divine a perfonage. To deliver a multitude of foiils of every nation, language and tongue, from fo many moral evils, and to reinfrate them in an ircomparably more excellent condition than that from whence they are fallen, is an end worthy the fhedding of fuch precious blood. What fyftem of religion is there now, or was there ever exhibited to the world, rny way to be compared to this? Can the deiftical fcheme prcie/id in any degree to come up to it ? Is it not noble, rn:ional, and truly divine ? And why then will not all that hitherto are ftrangers to this blefied reftoration of their fallen natures, (for my heart is too full to abdain any longer from an application) why will you any longer difpute or ftand out ajrainft it ? Why will you not rather bring your clay to this heavenly Potter, and fay from your inmoft fouls, " Turn us, O good Lord, and fo (hall we be turned ?'^ This, you may and can do: and if you go thus far, who knows but that this very day, yea this very hour, the heavenly Potter may take you in hand, and make you vefTels of honour fit for the Redeemer's ufe ? Others that were once as far from the kingdom of God as you are, have been partakers of this bleflednefs. What a ^vrctched creature was Alary A'lagdalene f And yet out of her Jesus Christ caft feven devils. Nay, he appeared to her iirft, after he rofe from the dead, and ihe became as it were an apoftle to the very apoftles. What a covetous creature was Zaccheus ? He was a griping cheating publican ; and yet, perhaps, in one quarter of an hour's time, his heart is enlarged, and he made quite willing to give half of his goods to feed the poor. And to mention no more, what a cruel perfon was Paul. He was a perfecutor, a blafphemer, injurious ; one that breathed out threatnings againfl: the difciples of the Lord, and made havoc of the church of Christ. And yet what a wonderful turn did he meet with, as he was journeying to Damafcus F from a perfecutor, he became a preacher ; was afterwards made a fpiritual father to thoufands^ and now pro-

O 3 bably

ba'aly fits ncarefl the Lord Jesus Christ in glory. An(5 why all this ? That he might be made an example to them that (hould hereafter believe. O then believe, repent j I be-feech you, believe the gofpel. Indeed, it is glad tidings, even tidings of great joy. You will then no loi.ger have any thing to fay againii the do6^rine of Original 8in\ or charge the Almighty foolifhly, for fuffering our firft: parents to be prevailed on to cat fuch four grapes, and permitting thereby their children's teeth to be fet on edge. You will then no longer cry out againft the do<5trine of the New Birib, as enthufiafm, or brand the aflertors of fuch bicfled truths with the opprobrious names of fools and madmen. Having felt, you will thca believe ; having believed, you will therefore fpcak.; and inftead of being veflels of wrath, and growing harder and harder in hell' fire, like vefiels in a potter's oven, you will be made vclVt.ls of honour, and be prefented at the great day by Jesus, to his heavenly Father, and be tranilated to live with him as monuments of rich, free> dillinguiihing and fovereign grace, for ever and ever.

You, that have in fomc degree experienced the quIckening^ influence (for 1 muft not conclude without dropping a word or two to God's children) you know how to pity, and therefore, I befeech you alfo to pray for thofe, to whofe circumstances this difcourfe is peculiarly adapted. But will you be content in praying for them ? Will you not fee reafon to pray for yourfelves alfo ? Yes, doubtlefs, for yonrfelves alfo. For you, and you only know, how much there is yet lacking in your faith, and how far you are from being partakers in that degree, which you defire to be, of the whole mind that was in Christ Jesus. You know what a body of fin and death you carry about with you, and that you mufl neceflarily ex-pe6l m.any turns of God's providence and grace, before you will be wholly delivered from it. But thanks be to God, we are in fare hands. He that has been the autho/, will alfo be the finifher of our faith. Yet a little while, and we like him fliali fay *' It is finifhed j" we fhall bow down our heads and give up the ghofl. Till then, (for to thee, O Lord, will we now direct our prayer) help us, O Almighty Father^ in patience to pofTefs our fouls. Behold, we are the clay, and thou art the Potter. Let not the thing formed fay to him that

formed

formed it, whatever the difpenr^jions of tby future Will cojl-cerning us may be. Why doft thou deal with us thus ? Behold, we put ourfelves as blanks in thi;:c hands, deal with us as feemeth good in thy fight, only let every crofs, every afiiiclion, every temptation, be overruled to the ftamping thy blefled image in more lively chara6ters on our hearts ; that (o pafling from glory to glory, by the powerful operations of thy blefled Spirit, we may be made thereby more and more meet for, and at laft be tranflatcd to a full, perfe6^, cndlefs, and uninterrupted enjoyment of glory hereafter, with thee O Father, thee O Son, and thee O blefll*d Spirit; to whom, three perfons but one God, be afcribed, as is mofi: due, all honour, power, might, majefly and dominion, now and to all eternity, Amen and Amen,

O4 SERMON

SERMON XIV,

The Lord our Righteoufnefs.

Jeremiah xxiii. 6. ne Lord cur Righteoufnefs.

WHOEVER is acquainted with the nature of mankind in general, or the propenfity of his own heart in particular, muft acknowledge, that felf-righieoufnef is the laft idol that is rooted out of the heart : being once born under a covenant of works, it is natural for us all to have re-courfe to a covenant of works, for our everlafling falvation. And we have contracted fuch a devilifh pride, by our fall from God, that we would, if not wholly, yet in part at leaft, glory in being the caufe of our own falvation. We cry out againft popery, and that veryjuflly; but we are all Papifts, at leall, I am fure, we are all Arminians by nature ; and therefore no wonder fo many natural men embrace that fcheme. It is true, we difclaim the dodlrine of merit, are afhamed diredlly to fay wc deferve any good at the hands of God ; therefore, as the Apoftle excellently well obferves, *' we go about," we fetch a circuit, " to eftablifh a righteoufnefs of our own, and," like the Pharifees of old, " will not wholly fubmit to that righteoufnefs which is of God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

This is the foreft, though, alas ! the mofl common evil that was ever yet feen under the fun. An evil, that in any age, efpecially In thcfe dregs of time wherein we live, cannot fufficiently be inveighed againft. For as It is with the people, fo it is with the priefts ; and it is to be feared, even in thofe places, where once the truth as it is in Jesus was eminently 3 preached.

f 217 1

|)reachcd, many mlnlfters are fo flKlly degenerated frorri their picu? anctilors, that the dodlrines of grace, efptcially the perfonal, all-jufficient righlcoufnffs ^-Jesus, is but too (el-dom, too (lightly mentioned. Hence the love of ir.nny waxeth cold ; and I have often thought, was it podiblc, that this Tingle confideration would be fufficient to raife our ve-n-"rable forefathers again from their graves j who would thunder in their cars their fatal error.

The righteoufncfs of Jesus Christ is one of thofe great myfteries, which the angels defirc to look into, and fcems to be one of the firft lellbns that God taught men after the fall. For, what were the coats that God made to put on our firft parents, but types of the application of the merits or righre-ouOnefs of Jesus Christ to believers hearts \ We arc told, that thofe coats were made of fkins of beads ; and, as hearts were not then food for men, we may fairly infer, that thofe beafts were flain in facrifice, in commemoration ^i the great facrifice, Jesus Christ, thereafter to be offered. And the fkins of the beafts thus flain, being put on Adam and Eve^ they were hereby taught how their nakednefs was to be covered with the righteoufnefs of the Lamb of God.

This is it which is meant, when we are told, " Ahrahatn believed on the Lord, and it was accounted to him for righteoufnefs." In fhort, this is it of which both the law and the prophets have fpoken, efpecially ^jeremiah in the words of the text, " The Lord our righteoufnefs.'*

I propofe, through divine grace,

L To confider who we are to underftand by the word Lord.

IL How the Lord is man's righteoufnefs.

IIL I will confider fome of the chief objections that arc generally urged againft this do<flrine.

IV. I fhall fliew fome very ill confcqucnces that flow naturally from denying this doctrine.

V. Shall conclude with an exhortation to all to come to Christ by faith, that they may be enabled to fiy with the Prophet in the text, " The Lord our righteoufnefs."

; ^ I. I am

t 2i8 3

I. I am to confidcr who we arc to unJerftanJ by the worJ Lord. The Lord our righteoufncG.

If any Arians or Socinians are drawn by curiofity to hear what the babler has to Tay, let them be afljamcd oi denying the divinity of that Lord, who has bought poor finncrs with his precious blood. For the pcrfon mentioned in the text, under the charader of the Lord, is Jesus Christ. Vcr. 5. " Behold, the days come, laith the Lord, that I will raifc unto Z)/2^'/i a righteous branch, a king fliall reign and profper, and (hall execute judgmeni: and juftice in the earth. In his days (ver. 6.) Judah fliall be faved, and Ijrael fhall dwell fafely; and this is his name whereby he fnall be -called, The Lord our righteoufnefs." By the righteous branchy all agree, that we are to underftand Jesus Christ. He it is that is called the Lord in our text. If fo, if there were no other text in the Bible to prove the divinity of Christ, this is fufEcient: for if the word Lord may properly belong to Jesus Christ, he muft be God. And, as you have it in the margin of your Bibles, the word Lord is in the original "JeJwvah^ which is the efTential title of God himfelf. Come then, ye Arians, kifs the Son of God, bow down before him, and honour him, even as ye honour the Father. Learn of the angels, thofe morning-ftars, and wor-fhip him as truly God : for otherwife you are as much idola-tors, as thofe that worfhip the Virgin Mary, And as for you Socinians, who fay Christ was a mere man, and yet pro-fefs that he was your Saviour, according to your own principles you are accurfed : for, if Christ be a mere man, then he is only an arm of flefh : and it is written, *' Curfed is he that trufteth on an arm of flefti." But I would hope, there are no fuch monfters here ; at leafl, that, after thefe confi-derations, they would be afhamed of broaching fuch mon-ilrous abfurdities any more. For it is plain, that, by the word Lord^ we are to underftand the Lord Jesus Christ, who here takes to himfelf the title of Jehovah, and therefore muft be very God of very God ; or, as the Apoftle devoutly cxprefles it, '' God blefTed for evermore."

II. How the Lord is to be man's rightcoufnefs, comes next to be confidered.

I And

And that is, in one word, by imputation. For it pleafed God, after he had made all things by the word of his power, to create man after his own image. And fo infinite was the condcfcenfion of the high and lofty One, who inhabitcth eternity, that, although he might have infifted on the ever-lafting obedience of him and his poflerity ; yet he was picafed to oblige himfelf, by a covenant or agreement made with his own creatures, upon condition of an unfmning obedience, to give them immortality and eternal life. For when it is faid, " The day thou eateft thereof, thou (halt furely die ;" we may fairly infer, fo long as he continued obedient, and did not eat thereof, he fhould furely live. The 3d of Gmefts gives us a full, but mournful account, how our firft parents broke this covenant, and thereby f^ocd in need of a better righteoufnefs rhan their own, in order to procure their luture acceptance with God. For what muft they do ? They were as much under a covenant of works as ever. And thout^h, after their difobedience, they were without ftrength ; yet they were obliged not only to do, but continue to do all things, and that too in the moft perfect manner, which the Lord had required of them : and not only fo, but to make fatisfac-tion to God's infinitely offended jufiice, for the breach they had already been guilty of. Here then opens the amazing fcene of divine philanthrofy\ I mean, God's love to man: For behold, what man could not do, Jesus Christ, the fon of his Father's love, undertakes to do for him. And that God might be juft in juftifying the ungodly, though " he was in the form of God, and therefore thought it no robbery to be equal with God ; yet he took upon him the form of a fervanr," even human nature. In that nature he obeyed, and thereby fulfi.lled the whole moral law in our flead ; and alfo died a painful death upon the crofs, and thereby became a curfe for, or inftead of, thofe whom the Father had given to him. As God, he fatisfied, at the fame time that he obcye.1 and fufFered as man ; and, being God and man in one per-fan, he wrought out a full, perfect, and fufiicient righteoufnefs for all to whom it was to be imputed.

Here then we fee the meaning of the word righteoufnefs. It implies the a£live as well as paflive obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ. We generally, v/hen talking of the merits

of

of Christ, t)nly tncntion the latter,—his death ; wliereas, the former,—his life and adive obedience, is equally neceflary. Christ is not fuch a faviour as btcomes us, unlefs we join both together. Christ not only died, but lived ; not only fuffered, but obeyed for, or inftead of, poor finncrs. And both thefe jointly make up that compleat righteoufnefs, which is to be imputed to us, as the difobedience of our firft parents was made ours by imputation. In this fenfe, and no other, are we to undcrftand that parallel which the apoflle Paul draws, in the vth of the Ramans, between the firft and fecond jidam. This is what he eliewhere terms, " our being made the righteoufnefs of God in him." This is the fenfe wherein the Prophet would have us to underftand the words of the text; therefore, Jer. xxxiii. 16. " She [i. e. the church it-felf) (hall be called, (having this righteoufnefs imputed to her) The Lord our righteoufnefs." A pafiage, I think, worthy of the profoundeft meditation of all the fons and daughters of Abraham.

Many are the obje6lions which the proud hearts of fallen men are continually urging againft this wholefome, this divinej this foul-faving dodirine. I come now,

III. To anfwer fome i^m of thofe which I think the mofl confiderable.

And, F'lrft^ they fay, becaufe they would appear friends to morality, " That the doctrine of an imputed righteoufnefs is *' deftrucfiive of good works, and leads to licentioufnefs."

And who, pray, arc the perfons that generally urge this objection ? Are they men full of faith, and men really concerned for good works ? No ; whatever few exceptions there may be, if there be any at all, it is notorious, they are generally men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. The bell title I can give them is, that of profane inoralijis^ ©r moraliffs falfcly fo called. For I appeal to the experience of the prefent as well as paft ages, if iniquity did and does not moft abound, where the dodrine of Christ's whole perfonal righteoufnefs is moft cried down, and moft feldoni mentioned : Arminian being antichriftian principles, always did, and always v/ill lead to antichriflian practices. An^f never was there a reformation brought sibout in the church-^

but

b:jt by the preaching the do6trine of an Imputed rlghteoufnefs. This, as that man of God, Lttther^ calls it, is " Articulus ilant'n ant cadeniis EccUfics" ihc article by which the Church fl^nds or falls. And though the preachers of this docSlrine are generally branded by thofe on the other fide, with the oppro* brious names of Antinomians, deceivers, and what not ; yet, I believe, if the truth of the doctrine on both fides was to be judged of by the lives of the preachers and profefibrs of it, on our fide the qu^ftion would have the advantage every way.

It is true, this, as well as every other doctrine of grace, may be abufcd. And perhaps the unchriftian walk of fome, who have talked of Christ's imputed rightcoulnels, judifica-^ tion by faith, and the like, and yet never felt it imputed to their own fculs, has given the enemies of the Lord thus caufe to blaipheme. But this is a very unfafe, as well as a Vjcry unfair way of arguing. The only queftion fhould be. Whether or not this do^^^rine of an imputed righteoufnefs, does in itfclf cut off the occafion of good works, or lead to li-centoufnefs r To this we may br;iJIy anfwer. In no wife. It excludes works, indeed, from being any caufe of our juftifi-cation in the fight of God ; but it requires good works as a proof of our having this righteoufnefs imputed to us, and as a declarative evidence of our juftification in the fight of men. And then, how can the dodtrine of an imputed lighteoufnefs be a do6irine lead)n.7: to licentioufneis ?

o

It is all calumny. The apoftle Paul introduceth an infidel making tins objedtion, in his epiftlc to the Romans; and none but infidels, that never felt the power of Christ's refurrec-tion upon their fouls, will urge it over again. And therefore, notwithfranding this objecStion, with the Prophet in the text, we may boldly fay, " 1 he Lord is our righteoufnefs.*'

But Satan (and no wonder that his fervants imicate him) often transforms himfelf into an angel of liglit : and therefore, (fuch perverfe things will infidelity and Arminianifm tnake men fpeak) in order to drefs their objeilions in the beft colours, fome urge, *' That our Saviour preached no fuch " docliine; that in his fermon on the mount, he mentions ♦* only morality :" and confequen-Iy the doctrine of an impaled ri^hteoufaefs fails wholly to the ground.

But

But furely the men, who urge this obje£lIcn, cither never read, or never underftood, our Lord's blefled difcourfe, wherein the do6lrine of an imputed righteoufnefs is (o plait^ly taught, that he who runs, if he has eyes that fee, may read.

Indeed our Lord does recommend morality and good works, (as all faithful minifters will do) and clears the moral law from many corrupt glofies put upon it by the letter-learned Pharifees. But then, before he comes to this, 'tis remarkable, he talks of inward piety, fuch as poverty of fpirit, mecknefs, holy rfiourning, purity of heart, efpecially hun-gring and thirfling after righteoufnefs ; and then recommends good works, as an evidence of our having his righteoufnefs imputed to us, and thefe graces and divine tempers wrought in our hearts. " Let your light (that is, the divine light I before have been mentioning) fnine before men, in a holy life ; that they, feeing your good v»'orks, may glorify your father which is in heaven." And then he immediately adds., *' Think not that I am come to deftroy the moral law : I came not to deilroy, (to take away the force of it as a rule of life) but to fulfil, (to obey it in its whole latitude, and give the com pleat fenfe of it.") And then he goes on to fhew how exceeding broad the moial law is. So that our Lord, inflead of fetting afide an imputed righteoufnefs in his fermon upon the mount, not only confirms it, but alfo anfwers the foregoing objeclion urged againd it, by making good works a proof and evidence of its being imputed to our fouls. He, therefore, that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Prophet fays in the woids'of the t^xt, ** The Lord our righte-oufnefs."

But as Satan not only quorcd fcripture, but backed one temptation after another with it, when he attacked Christ }i\ the wildernefs ; fo his children generally ti^ke the fame method in treating his do£irine. And, therefore, they urge another objection againil: the doclrine of an imputed righte-cufnefs-, from the example of the young' man in the gofpel.

We may Hate it thus : *' The Evangeliil AJarky fay they, <* chap. X. mentions a young man that came to Christ, ** running, and afking him what he (hould do to inherit etei-<* nal life ? Christ referred him to the commandments, to

"•' kiiov^

<* know what he muft do to inlicrit eternal hfc. It is plain, *' therefore, works were to he, partly at leafl:, the cauCc of '' his juftificaiion : and confequcntly the dodrine of an ini-*' puted righteoufneftj is unfcriptural." This is the ohjediori in its full ihength : and little ftrength in all its fulnefs. For, was I to prove the ncceffity of an imputed rightcoufners, I fcarcc know how 1 could bring a better inftance to make it

good.

Ivet us take a nearer view of this young man, and of our Lord's behaviour towards him, Mark x. 17. the Evangelilt tells us, " That when Christ was gone forth into the way, there came one running (it (hould feem it vyas fome nobleman ; a rarity indeed to Tee fuch a one running to Christ !) and not only fo, but he kneeled to him, (perhaps many of his rank now, Icarce knew the time wdien they kneeled to Christ) and afked him, faying. Good Mafter, what (hall I i^.o that I may inherit eternal life ?" Then Jesus, to fee whether or not he believed him to be what he really was, truly and properly God, foid^irato him, '' Why callefl: thou me good ? There is none good but one, that is God." And, that he might diredly anfv^er big qucftion, fays he, " Thou knoweft the commandments : do not commit adultery, do not bear falfe witnefs, defraud not, honour thy father and thy mother." This was a direct anfwer to his queilion ; namely. That eternal life was not to be attained by his doings. For our Lord, by referring him to the commandments, did not (as the objectors infmuate) in the lead hint, that his morality would recommend him to the favour and mercy of God : but he intended thereby, to make the law his ichoolmader to bring him to himfcU ; that the young man, feeing how he had broken every one of thefe commandments, might thereby be convinced of the infufficiency of his own, and confequcntly of the abfolute neceiTity of looking out for a better rigtiteouf-nefs, whereon he might depend for eternal life.

This was what our Lord dcilgned. The young man being felf-righteous, and willing to juRify himfelf, faid, '• All thefe have I obferved from my youth :" but had he known himfelf, he would have confeiled, all thefe have I broken from my youth. For, fuppoling he had not adlually committed adultery, had he never lufted after a woman in his heart .^ What,

if

n he had not.really killed another, had he never been angry without a caufe, or Ipoken unadvifedly with his lips ? If (o^ by breaking one of the leaft coaimandments in the leaft degree, he became liable to the curfe of God : for " curfed is he (faith the lav^) that continueth not to do all things that are written in this book." And therefore, as obferved before, our Lord v/as fo far from fpeaking againft, that he treated the young rnan in that manner, on purpole to convince him of the necefiity of an imputed righteoufnefs.

But perhaps they will reply, it is faid, " Jesus beholding him, loved him." And what then ? This he might do with a human love, and at the fame time this young man have no intereft in his blood. Thus Christ is faid to wonder, to weep ovtx Jerufahm^ and fay, " O that thou hadfl known, &c." But fuch-likc paffages are to be referred only to his human nature. And there is a great deal of difference between the love wherewith Christ loved this young man, and that wherewith he loved Mary^ Lazarus^ and their fiftcr Martha, To illuftratc this by a comparifon : A minifter of the Lord Jesus Christ feeing many amiable difpofitions, fuch as a readinefs to hear the word, a decent behaviour at public wor-fhip, and a life outwardly fpotlefs in many, cannot but fo far love them ; but then there is much difference betwixt the love which a minifter feels for fuch, and that divine love, that union and fympathy of foul, which he feels for thofe that he is fatisfied are really born agam of God. Apply this to our Lord's cafe, as a faint illultration of it. Confider what has been faid upon^the young man's cafe in general, and then, if before you were fond of this objection, inftead of triumphing, like him you will go forrowful away. Our Saviour's reply to him more and more convinces us of the truth of the prophet's afi'ertion in the text, that " the Lord is our righteoufnefs."

But there is a fourth, and a grand obje6lion yet behind, which is taken from the 25th chapter of Alaiihew^ " where " our Lord is defcribed as rewarding people with eternal " life, becaufe they fed they hungry, cloathed the naked, and " fuch-like. llieir works therefore were a caufe of their *' juftification, confcquently the dodlrine of imputed righte^ " oufnefs is not agreeable to fcripture."

. This,

This, I confe/s, is the mofl: pjaufible obje6\Ion tliaf is brouo-ht aciainft the doctrine infiftcd on from the text: arid that we may anfvver it in as clear and brief a manner as may be, wc confefs, with the Article of the Church of England^ " That albeit good works do not juftify us, yet thi-y will " follow after jufti.'ication, as fruirs of it ; and though they " can claim no reward in therrlfelvcs, yet forafmuch as they " fpring; fiom faith in Chris'I', and a renewed foul, they fliall " receive a reward of grace, though not of debt; and confe-*' quently the more wc abound in fuch good words, the greater " will be our reward when Jesus CiiRiST ftiall com.e tcj " judgment."

Take thcfe confiderations along with us, and they will he!p< us much to anfwer theobjeiSlion now before us. For thus faith Matthew, " Then fliall theKing fay to them on his right hand," Come, ye blefTed children of my Father, inherit the kingdofix prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me riieat; I was thirfly, and ye gave me drink ; I was a ftranger, and ye took me in ; naked, and ye tloathed me j I was fick, and ye vifited me ; I was in prifon', and ye cam'e unto rtie. I will therefore rewaxd J^ou, becaufe yoii have- done thefe things out of love to me, arid hereby have evidenced yourfelves to be my true difciples." And that the people did not depend on thefe good adions for their jui'litica-tion in the fight of God, is evident. " For when faw we thee ^' an hungred, fay they, ancf fed thee .^ or thirfty, and gave *' thee drink ? When faw we thee a ftranger, and took thee in, *' or nalced, afid cloathed thee ? Of when faw 'ie thee Tick, " of in prifon, and came unto thee ?" Language, and quef-tions, quite improper for perfohs relying on their own righte-oufntfs, for acceptance and acquittance in the fight of Goj^.

But then they reply againft this : " In the latter part of the " chapter, it is plain that Jesus Christ rejects and damns *' the others for not doing thcfe things. And therefore, rf *' he damns thefe for not doing, he faves thofe for doing 5 ^' and confequently the dodrine of ah imputed righteoufnef^ ^' is good for nothing.'"

But that is no confequence at all; for GoD may juftly

danm any man for omitting the lead duty of the moral law,

and yet in himfclf is not obliged to give to any one any re-

Vol. V. > ^ ward^

46

warJ, fuppofing he has done all that be can. We are unprc- , fitable fervants ; we have not done near lo much as it was our duty to do, muft be the language of the moft holy fouls liv-inc;; and therefore, from or in ourfelvcs, cannot be juflificd in the fight of God. This was the frame af the devout fouls jull now referred to. Senfible of this, they were fo far from depending on their works for juffcification in the fight of God, that they were filled, as it were, with a holy blufhing, to thir.lc our Lord fhould condefcend to mention, much more to reward them for, their poor works of faith and labours of love. I am perfuaded their hearts would rife with a holy in-dio^nation againft thofe who urge this palFage, as an obje£lion to the aflertion of the prophet, that " the Lord is our righte-oufnefs."

Thu?, } think, we have fairly anfwered thefe grand ob-je£lions, which are generally urged againft the docStrine of an tfnputcd righteoufnefs. Was I to ftop here, I think I may fay, ** We are made more than conquerors through him that loved us." But there is a way of arguing which I have always ad-miied, becaufc I have thought it always very convincing, by ihevviug the abfurdities that will follow from denying any particular propofition in dilpute,

IV. This is the next thing that was propofed. And never did areater or more abfurdities flow from the denvino; any doctrine, than will flow from denying the do<5trine of Christ's imputed righteuufnefs.

And fi*Jfy if we deny this doctrine, we turn the truth, I mean the word of God, as much as we can, into a lie, and .utterly fubvert all thofe places of fcripture which fay that we are faved by grace ; that it is not of works, left any man {hould boaft; that falvation Is God's free gift; and that he who gloricth, muft glory only in the Lord. For, if the whole perfonal righteoufnefs of Jesus Christ be not the folexaufe of my acceptance with God, if any work done by or forcfecn in me, was in the leaft to be joined with it, or looked ui)on by God as an inducing, impulfivc caufe of acquitting my foul from guilt, then 1 have fomewhat whereof I may gloiy in myfelf. Now boafting is excluded in the great •work of our redemption ; but that cannot be, if v/e are ene-3 mies

mies to the doctrine of an imputed righteoufnefs. It v/ouM be endlefs to enumerate how many texts of fcripture muft be falfe, if this do6l:ine be not true. Let it fuffice to affirm in the general, that if we deny an imputed righteoufnefs, wc may as well deny a divine revelation all at once : for it is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end of the book of God. V/e muft either difbelieve that, or believe what the pFophet hath fpokcn in the text, " that the Lord is our fighteoufnefs.'*

But farther: I obferved at the beginning of this dif-courfc, that we are all ulrminians and Papi/is hy nature : for as one faySj " Jrm'uiianifm is the back way to popery.''* And here I venture further to affirm, that if wc deny the do6lrine of an imputed righteouHiefs, whatever we may (lile ourfelves, we are really Papijh in our hearts, and deferve no other title from men.

Sirs, what think you ? Suppofe I was to come and tell you, that you muft intercede with faints, for them to intercede with GcD for you ; would you not then fay, I was juftly reputed a popjjh miffionary by fome, and defervedly thruft out of the fynagogues by others ? I fuppofc you v/ould. And why ? Becaufe, you would fay, the intercefiion of Jesus Christ was fuffieient of itfelf, without the interceiTion of faints ; and that it was blafphemous to join theirs with his, as though it was not fufHcient.

Suppofe I v;ent a little more round aboutj and told you that the death of Christ was not fufHcient, without our death being added to it; that you muft die as well as Christ, join your death with his, and then it would be fuffieient. Might you not then, with a holy indignation, throw duft in the air, and juftly call me a ^' fetter forth of ftrange doctrines ?'* And now then, if it be not only abfurd, but blafphemous, to join the interccfTion of faints with the intercef-fion of Christ, as though his interceffion was not fuffieient; or our death with the death of Christ, as though his death Y7ZS not fuffieient : judge ye, if it be not equally abfurd, equally blafphemous,#to join our obedience, either wholly or in part, with the obedience of Christ, as if that was not fuffieient. And if fo, what abfurdities will follow the deny-

P 2 ing

ing that the Lord, both as to his aclive and namve obedi* cnce, is our righteoufnefs ? ' One more abfurdity I {hall mention, as following the denying this dochiiie, and I have done.

I remember a flory of a certain prelate, who, after many arguments in vain urged to convince the Earl of Rochejler of the invifible realities of another world, took: his leave of hi^ lordfliip with fome fuch words as thcfc : " Well, my lord, *' if there be no hell, I am fafe ; but if there ftiould be fuch •* a thing as hell, what will become of you r" 1 apply this to thofe that oppofe the doctrine now infifted on. If ther^ be no fuch thing as the docSlrine of an imputed righteoufnefs, thofe v/ho hold it, and bring forth fruit unto holinefs, are lafe ; but if there be fuch a thing (as there certainly is) what V^/ill become of you that deny it ? It is no difficult matter to determine. Your portion muft be in the lake of fire and brim.flone for ever and ever. Since yoii will rely upon your ivork?, by your works you (hall be judged. They fhall be v/eighed in the balance of the fandiuary; and they will be found wanting. By your works therefore fhall you be condemned J and you, being out of Christ, (hall find God, to your poor v/retched fouls, a con fuming fire.

The great Stoddard of Northamtton \\\ Neiu-England^ has therefore well intitled a book which he wrote (and which I would take this opportunity to recommend) *' The Safety of Appearing in the Righteoufnefs of Christ.'* For why fhould 1 lean upon a broken reed, when I can have the rock of ages to (land upon, that never can be moved i*

And now, before I come to a more particular application, give me leave, in the apoftle's language, triumphantly to cry out, " Where is the fcribe, where the difputer ?" Where is the reafoning infidel of this generation ? Can any thing appear more reafonable, even according to your own way of arguing, than the do(5lrine here laid down ? Have you not felt a convincing power go along with the word ? Why theri will you not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that fo ho may become the Lord your righteoufnefs ?

But it is time for me to come a little clofer to your cori-fcicncej.

Brs-

[ 229 ] Brethren, though fome may be offended at this do£^rine, and may account it fooliflmers; yet, to many of you, I doubt not but it is precious, it btiiicf agreeable to the form of found words, which from your infijincy has been delivered to you ; and, coming from a quarter^ you would leaft have expe(5led, may be received with more pleafure and fatibfadion. But give me leave to afL you one qucllioni Can you lay, the Lord our righteoufnefs? I fay, the'LpRD cur righteoufncfs. For entertaining this do£lrine in your heads, without receiving the J^ORD Jesus Christ favingly by a lively faith into your hearts, will but increafe your damnation. As I have often told you, fo I tell you again, an unapplied Christ is no Christ at all. Can you then, with believing Thomas^ cry out, " My Lord and my God ?" Is Christ your fanclifi-cation, as well as your outward righteoufnefs ? For the word righteoufnefs, in the text, not only implies Christ's perfonal righteoufnefs imputed to us, but alfo holinefs wrought in us. Thefe two, God has joined together. He never did, he never does, he never will put them afunder. If you are juflified by the blood, you are alfo fanclified by the Spirit of our Lord. Can you then in this fenfe fay. The Lord our righteoufnefs ? Were you ever made to abhor yourfelves for your adiual and original fms, and to lothe your own righteoufnefs ; for, as the prophet beautifully expreiles it, *' your righteoufnefs is as filthy rags? Were you ever made to fee and admire the all-fuffi-ciency of Christ's righteoufnefs, apd excited by the Spirit of God to hunger and rhirft after it P Could you ever fay, my foul is athirft f©r Christ, yea, even for the righteoufnefs of Christ ? O when (hall I come to appear before the prefence of my God in the righteoufnefs of Christ ! nothing but Christ ! nothing but Christ! Give me Chri^p, O God, and I am fatisfied ! my foul Ihall praife thee for ever.

Was this ever the language of your hearts? and, after the(e inward confli6ls, were you ever enabled to reach out the arm of faith, and embrace the blefled Jesus in your fouls, fo that you could fay, *^ my beloved is mine, and I am his ?" If fo, fear not, whoever you are. Plail, all hail, you happy fouls ! The Lord, the Lord Christ, the everlafting God, is your righteoufnefs. Christ has iuftifieil you, who is he that con-demneth you? Christ has died for you, nay rather is rifen

? 3 i>gain^

C 230 1

ajain, and ever liveth to make interceflion for you. Being now juftified by his grace, you have peace with God, and finall, ere long, be with Jesus in glory, reaping evcrlafting and unfpeakable fruits both in body and foul. For there is no condemnation to thofe that are really in Christ Jesus. " Whether Paul or Apollos, or life or death, all is yours if you are Christ's, for Christ is GcD*s. My brethren, my heart is enlarged towards you! O think of the love of Christ in dying for you ! If the Lord be your righteoufnefs, let the righteoufnefs of your Lord be continually in your mouth. Talk of, O talk of, and recommend the righteoufnefs of Christ, when you lye down, and when you rife up, at your going out and coming in ! Think of the greatnefs of the gift, ns well as of the giver ! Shew to all the world, in whom you bave believed ! Let all by your fruits know, that the Lorq is your righteoufnefs, and that you are waiting for your Lord from heaven ! O ftudy to be holy, even as he who has called vou, and wafhed you in nis own blood, is holy ! Let not the fighteoufnefs of the Lord be evil fpoken of through you. Let ^ot Jesus be wounded in the houfeof his friends ; but grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviouf Jesus Christ, day by day. O think of his dying love! Let that love conftrain you tso obedience ! having much forgiven, loye much. Be always afliing. What f^all I do, to ex-prefs my gratitude to the Lord, for giving me his righteouf-* nefs.^ L'-^t that felf-abafmg, GoD-exalting queftion be always in your mouths; " Why me. Lord } why me?" why am I i^aken, and others left ? why is the LoRt> my righteoufnefs I why is he become my falvation, who have fo often deferved damnation at his hands.?

My friends, I truft I feel fomewhat of a fenfe of God's diftingui{hing love upon my heart; therefore I mufi: divert a litile from congratulating you, to invite poor chriftlefs fmners to come to him, and accept of his righteoufnefs, that they may have life.

Ala?, my heart almoR bleeds ! What a multitude of precious fouls are now before me ! , how fbortly muft all be ufliered into eternity ! and yet, O cutting thought! was God now to require all your fouls, how few, comparatively fpeak-ing, could really fay, the Lord our righteoufnefs]

' ' And

f 231 ]

And think you, O/inners^ that you will be at)1e to fland in the day of judgment, if Christ be not your righteoufnefs ! No, that alone is the wedding-garment in which you mult appear. O chriftlefs fmners, 1 am diftreffed for you! ihe de-fircs of my foul are enlarged. O that this may be an accepted time! that the Lord may be your righteoufnefs! For whither would you flee, if death (hould find you naked ? Indeed there is no hiding yourfelves from his prefence. The pitiful fig-leaves of your own righteoufnefs will not cover your naked-nefs, when God (hall call you to fland before him. Jdarri found them ineiteiiual, and fo will you. O think of death ! O think of judgment I Yet a little while, and time fhall be no more; and then what will become of you, if the L0R.D be not your righteoufnefs? Think you that Christ will fpare you ? No, he that formed you, will have no mercy on you. If you are not of Christ, if Christ be not your righteoufnefs, Christ himfelf fhall pronounce you damned. And can you bear to think of being damned by Christ ? Can you bear to hear the Lord Jesus fay to you, " Depart from me, ye curfed, into everlafting fire, prepared for.the devil and his angels." Can you live, think you, in everlafting burnings? Is your fleih brafs, and your bones iron ? what if they are ? hell-fire, that fire prepared for the devil and his angels, will heat them through and through. And can you bear to depart from Christ? O that heart-piercing thought! Afic tbofe holy fouls, who are at any time bewailing an abfent God, who walk in darknefs, and fee no light, though but a few days or hours; a(k them, what it is to lofe a fight and prefence of Christ? See how they feek him forrowing, and go mourning after him all the day long ! And, if it is fo dreadful to lofe the fenfible prefence of Christ only for a day, what muft it be to be baniflied from him to all eternity ?

But thus it muR; be, if Christ be not your righteoufnefs?. For God's juftice muft be fatisfied ; and, unlefs Christ's righteoufnefs is imputed and applied to you here, you muft hereafter be fatisfying the divine juftice in hell-torments eternally, nay, Christ himfelf (hall conaemn you to that place of torment. And how cutting is that thought ! Methinks I fee poor, trembling, chriftlcfs wretches, ftanding before the bar of God, crying out. Lord, if we muft bv; damned, let

P 4 fomc

[ 23^ ] fotne angt^ or feme archangel, pronounce the damnatory fen-tencc : but all in vain. Christ himfelf {hall pronounce the irrevocable fcntence. Knov/uig therefore the terrors of the Lord, let mc perfaade you to clofe u'ith Christ, and never reft till you can fay, ••' the Lord our righteoulnefs." Who knows but the Lord may have meicy on, nay, abundantly pardon you? Beg of God to give you faith; and, if the Lord gives you thar, you will by it receive Christ, with his righ-teoufnefs, and his AH. You need not fear the greatnefs or riumber of vour fins. For are you finners ? fo am L .Arq you the chief of finners ? fo 3m I. Are you backfliding fm-pers ? fo am L And yet the Lord (for ever adored be his rich^ free and fovcreign grace) the Lord is my rightcoufnefs. Come then, O young men^ who (as I adled once myfelt) are playing the prodigal, and wandering away afar off from youf heavenly Father's houfe, come home, come home, and leave your fvv'ines trough. Feed no longer on the huil^s of fenfual delighcs : for Christ's fake arifc, and come homp ! your fieavenly Father now calls you. See yonder the bed robe, even the righteoufncfs of his dear Son, awaits you. See it, view it again and again. Confider at how dear a rate it wa? purchafed, even by the blood of God. Confider what great need you have of it. You are loil, undoi^.c, damned for ever, w thout it. Com.e then, poor, guilty prodigals, come home: indeed, 1 will not, like the elder brother in the gofpel, be angry j no, I will rejoice with the angels in heaven. And P that God >vould now bow the heavens, and come down ! Defcend, O Son of God, defcepd ; and, as thou haft fliewn in me fuch m.ercy, O let thy blefied Spirit apply thy righteoufncfs to fome young prodigals now before thee, and clothe their naked fouls with thy beft robe !

But I mull fpeak a word to you, young maidens^ as well as young men. I fee many of you adorned, as to your bodies: ^ut are not your fouls naked ^. Which of you- can fay, th^e Lord is my righteoufncfs.^ which of you was ever folicitous to be dreflcd in this robe of invaluable price, and without which you are no better than whired fepujchres in the iight of God .? Let not then fo many of you, young ma'dens, any Jonger forget your chief and only ornament. O feek for the Lord to be your righteoufuefs, or otherwife burning will focii be ppon you, inftcad of beauty ! \ ' ^ ' And

AnU whatfhal! I fay to you of a middle nge, you hujy n?crchiWts^ yui cumbered Martha s^ who, with all your gettings, have not yet gotten the Lord to be your righteoufnel^? Alas! vyhat profit will there be of all your labour under the iun, if you do not fecure this pearl of invaluable price ? this one thing, fo abfotytely needful, that it only can ftand you in tiead, when all other things fhiill be taken from you. Labour therefore no longer fo anxiouHy for the meat v/hich perifheth, but henceforward feek for the Lord to be your rl'2;htcoufnefs, S riohteoufnels that will entitle vou to life everliiftine. I fee alfo many ]}Gary heach here, and perhaps the mofl of them cannot fay, the Lord is my righteoufnefs. O gray-headed lln-ner-, I could weep over you 1 your gray hairs, which ouoht to be your crown, and in which perhaps you glory, arc now your fhame. You know not that the Lord is your righteoufnefs : O hafte then, haile ye, aged linner^ and feek an intereft in redeeming love ! Alas, you have one foot already in the grave, your glafs is j-uft run out, your fun is juft going VJown, and it will fet and leave you in an eternal darknefs, unlefs the Lord be your righteoufnefs ! Flee then, O flee for your lives ! be not afraid. All things are pofTible with God. If you come, though it be at the eleventh hour, CHi>isT Jesus will in no wife caft yo^ out. Seek then for the Lord to be your righteoufnefs, and befeech him to let you know^ how it is that a man may be born again when he is old ( But I muft not forget the lai7ibs of the flock. To feed them was one of my Lord's lad: commands. 1 know he will be angry with me, if I do not tell them, that the Lord may be their righteoufnefs; and that of fuch is the kingdom of heaven. Come then, ye little children, come to Christ; the Lord Christ (Ijall hQ your righteoufnefs. Do not think, that you are too young to be converted. Perhaps many of you may be nine or ten years old, and yet cannot fay, the Lord is our righteoufnefs ; which many have faid, though younger than you. Come then, while you are young. Perhaps you may not live to be old. Do not ftay for other people. If your fathers and mothers will not come to Christ, do you come without them. Let children lead them, and fliew them how the Lord may be their righteoufnclb. Our Lord Jfsus loved [ittle children. You are his iambs, he bids me feed you. I

pray

[ 2^4 1 pray God make you willing betimes to take the Lord for your rightetoufners.

Here then I could conclude; but I muft not forget the poor negroes'y no, I muft not. Jesus Christ has died for them, as well as for others. Nor do I mention you laft, becaufe I defpife your fouls, but becaufe I would have what I fhall fay, make the deeper imprelTion upon your hearts. O that you would feek the Lord to be your righteoufnefs ! Who knows but he may be found of you ? For in Jesus Christ there is neither male nor female, bond nor free; even you may be the children of God, if you believe in Jesus. Did you never read of the eunuch belonging to the queen of Candace? a negro like yourfelves. He believed. The Lord was his righteoufnefs. He was baptized. Do you alfo believe, and you fhall be faved. Christ Jesus is the fame now as he was yefterday, and will wafn you in his own blood. Go home then, turn the words of the text into a prayer, and intreat the Lord to be your righteoufnefs. Even fo, come Lord Jesus, come quickly^ into all our fouls! Jmen^ Lord Jesus, Jmsn and Amen!

SERMON

SERMON XV.

The Righteoufnefs of Christ, an ererlafting Righteoufnefs.

D A N I K L ix. 24.

And to hrin^ in everlafiing Rightecnfnefs.

ON reading thefe words, I cannot help addreiling you in the language of the angels to the poor fhepherds, who kept watch over their flocks by night, " Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy," fuch tidings, that if v/e have ears to hear, if we have eyes to fee, and if our hearts have indeed experienced the grace of God, muft caufe us to cry out with the Virgin M(^'y^ " My foul doth magnify the Lord, and my fpirit doth rejoice in God my Saviour." The words which I have read to you, are part of one of the moft explicit revelations that was given of Jesus Christ, before he made his public entrance into this our world. It has been obferved by fome, and very properly too, that it is one mark of the divine goodnefs to his creatures, that he is pleafed to let licrht come in gradually upon the natural world. If the fun from midnight darknefs, was immediately to fhine forth in his full meridian blaze, his great fplendor woul,d be apt to dazzle our eyes, and Itrike us blind again : but God is pleafed to make light come gradually in, and by that means we are prepared to receive it. And as God is pleafed to deal with the natural, fo he has dealt with the moral, with the fpiritual world. The Lord Jesus Christ did not appear in his full glory all at once, but as the fun rifes gradually, fo did the Lord Jesus, the Sun of righteoufnefs, rife gradually upon men, with healing under his wings. Hence it was, that our iirft parents had nothing to fix their faiih upon,'but that firft

promife.

jyromlfc^ " The (bed of the v/oman fhall bruife the ferpent's head.'* And in future ages, af fundry times, and afrer divers manners, God was pleafed to fpeak to our fathers by the prophets, before he fpake to us in thefe laft days by his fon; and'the prophets that were more peculiarly dear to God, it fliould feem had more peculiar and extraordinary revelations vouchfafed to them, concerning Jesus Christ.

It is plain from the accounts we have in Scripture, that the Prophet Daniel was one of thefe; he is ftiled by the angel, not only a " man that was beloved,'* but a " man that w^s greatly beloved," or as it is in the margin of your bibles, " he was a man of defires," of large ^nd extenfive defires to promote the ^'^.lory of God ; he was a defirable map, a man that did much goodjn his generation, and therefore his life w^s much to be defired by thofe who .loved God. The words which I have choCen for the fubje£l of our prefent meditation, contain part of a revelation made to this man. If you look: back, to the beginning of this chapter, you will find how the good man was employed, when God was pleafed to give him this revelation ; verfe 2. " In the firft year of Dartus's reign, I Daniel underftood by hooks the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplidi fcvcnty years in the defolations of Jeru-falern," Darnel was a great man, and withal a good man; great as he was, it feems he wa"^ not above reading his Bible; he made the Bible his conftant (ludy; (or it is the Bible we are to underftand by what is here termed books, and elfe-where, the fcriptures of trurh. He found, that the time for God's people being delivered from the capcivity, was now at hand. Well, one would have thought, that therefore Da?iiel needed not to pray; but this, inftead of retarding, quickened bim in his prayers: and therefore we are told in the third verfe, " I fet my face unto the Lord God, to feek by prayer and fupplications, with fafting and fackcloth, and afhes." It is beautifully exprelfed: ** he fet his face," as though he was refolved never to let his eye go off God, tdl GoD was pleafed to give him an anfwer; he was refolved, Jaiob-Wkc, to wreftle with the Lord God, until God (hould be pleafed to give him the defired bleiTing. We are told in the fourth verfe, that " he prayed unto the Lord, and made confciTion^" nat

onl^r

t 237 1

dnly of his own fins, but the fins of his people. And wheii ye retire home to your houCes, before ye go to bed, I would recommend to you the reading of this prayer ; every word of it befpeaks his exceeding concern for the public good. It would take me up too much time, was I to make fuch ob-fdrvations as indeed the prayer deferves; to bring you fooner to the words of the text, let us go forward to the twentieth verfe, and there you will find the fuccefs that Daniel met \vith, when praying. Says he, " while I w^as praying and confeffing my fin, and the fin of my people Ifrael^ and prc-i fenting my fupplicarion before the Lord my God, for the^ holy mountain of my God 5 yea, while I was (peaking irt prayer, even the man Gabriel^ whom I had feen in the vifion at the beginning, being caufed to fly fwiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation." The manner in which Daniel exprefles himfelf, is very emphatical : *' While I was Jpeaking in prayer \* implying, that God fuffers us, when wc draw near to him by faith in prayer, to lay all our complaints before him ; he fuffcrs us to fpeak unto, and talk with him, as a man talketh with his friend. Daniel at this time too was making conpjjlon one part of his prayer; for we are never, never in a better frame to receive anfwers from above, than V/hen we are humbling ourfelves before the LoRD. He was-not only confefTing his own fins, but he was confefTing tht i\ns of his people; he was praying for thofe, who perhaps feldom prayed for themfelvcs; *'while I was fpeaking in prayer, the man Gabriel:'' v/hich word, by interpretation, fig-nifies the Jlrength of God ; a very proper name, fays Bifhop Hall^ for that angel who was to come and 'iring the news tJ the world, of the God Of Rrength, the Lord Jesus Christ* This sngcl is here rcprefented as flying, and as flying fwiftly; to fhoW us how willing, hoW unfpeakably willing thofe blelfed fpirits are, to bring good news to men. And it is upon this account, I fuppofe, that we are taught by our Lord to pray, '' that God's will may be done by us on earth, as it is done in heaven," that we may imitate a little of that alacrity and vigour, which angels employ. When they are fent on errands for God.

Well, here is riot only mention maJe of the angel's flying

fwiftlyj but there is mention made of ths ti.me that he came;

** He came and touched me, about the time of the evening ob^atio^," that i?, about three o'clock in the afternoon ; at this time there was a facrifice made to God, and this facrifice was in a peculiar manner a type of the Lord Jesus, who in the evening of the world was to become a facrifice for fm-ners. We are told in the 22d verfe, what meflage this angel delivered, " He informed me, and talked with me, and faid^ O Daniel^ I am now come forth to give thee (kill and under-ftandino^; at the beginning of thy fupplication, the commandment came forth, and I am come to fhow thee, for thou art greatly beloved, therefore underfland the matter, and confider the vifion.'* This paflage, with fuch-like pafTages of fcrip-turc, hath often comforted my foul, and may comfort the hearts of all God's people. There are a great many of you, perhaps, have prayed, and prayed again to God, and probably vou do not find any anfv/er given you : you pray for an enlarged heart, you pray for comfort, you pray for deliverance ; GcD is pleafed to withhold it for a while; then the devil ftrikes in, and fays, God has fliut out your prayers, God will never hear, God will never regard you, therefore pray no more. But, my dear friends, this is a miftake; a thoufand years arc with God as one day ; and the Lord Jesus has bid us, " to pray always, and not faint.'* You may have had your prayers heard, the very moment they wen-t out of your lips, though it may not pleafe your God, (and it may not be proper for you) to let you know that they are heard. *' At the beginning of thy fupplication, the commandment went forth j" and this very angel fome hundred years after, told Zacharlas, that his prayer was heard ;" a prayer for what ? a prayer for a child : it could not be fuppofed that at the very time Zacharias was praying for a child 5 but his? prayer he had put up forty years before, God was pleafid to anfwer fo long afterwards.

But to proceed with Gabriel's declaration, vcr. 24. '* Seventy years are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy citv, to finifli tranfgreirion, to make an end of itns, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlaft-ing righteoufneis," I do not intend to trouble you about the critical cxpc)ritron of thefe feventy weeks ; commentators are divided exceedingly upon this fubjcd j fome of them explain

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them one way, and feme another, and perhaps we (liall rever know till the day of judgment, till the glorious (Liy fpoken of in the New Teftamenr, which are right. My m-tention is to dwell upon this particular part of the ano-el's meffage, that fome one perfon was to do fomething unfpeak-able for God's people, even '' to bring in an everlafting righte-oufnefs."

If you want to know who was the perfon that was to do this, look to the 26th verfe, and you will find the perfon mentioned, the Lord Jesus Christ : " after threefcore and two weeks fhall the MeJTiab be cut ofF, but not for himfelf:" he is the perfon fpoken of, he was " to put an end to fin, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlafting righteoufnefs."

From thefe important words, I fhall endeavour,

Fir/ly To {hew you what we are to under/land by the word, " Righteoufnefs."

Secondly^ I fhall endeavour to fhew you, upon what account it is, that the righteoufnefs mentioned in the text, is called an " everlafting righteoufnefs."

Thirdly^ I fnall fhew, what we are to underftand by '* bringing it in." And,

Then fpeak a word to faints and finners. And while I am rpcakirg to your ears, may God, for the Lord Jesus Christ's fake, fpeak to your hearts !

FirJ}, To explain what wc are to underftand by the word, *' righteoufnefs." If I was to afk fome people what we are to underffand by the word, righteoufnefs 3 if the perfon was ^n Arminian^ or an enemy to the doctrine of free grace, he would anfwer me, it fignifies what we commonly call r/ioral honejiy^ or doing juftice between man and man. And, indeed, in various paflages of fcripture, the word righteoufnefs has no other meaning, at leaft, it bears that meaning. I fuppofe, we are to underftand it in this fenfc, when we arc told, that Paul, preaching before Felix^ " reafoned of temperance, of righteoufnefs, and of a judgment to come.'' Felix had been a very unrighteous and unjud mun, and therefore.

[ c4b ]

fore, to convince him of his wickedncfs, to alarm Ms confa-ence, to put him upon fecking help in the Lord Jesus,-P.'<z//preached not only of temperance, {for Fi'Iix Udd been a very intemperate man) but he preached to him of righteouf-liefs, of the neceiTity of doing judice, becaufe he had been an unjuft man j and he puts before him thejudgment to come, in order to make him fly to Jesus Christ for deliverance from the bad confequenccs 6f that judgment; ahd there are other places of foipture, where the word righteoufhefs may be underftood in this fenfe.

It likewife fignifies inward hollnefs^ wrought in lis by the blefTed Spirit of God. But, I believe, the word righteouf-iiefs in my text fignifies, what, I trufl mod, I ihould be glad if-I could fay, ail who attend this night, will be glad to hear of: What is that r It is what all reformed divines, that have clear heads and cleail hearts, call an imputed rightcoufnefsy or the righteoufnefs of the Lord Jesus Christ to be irh-puted to poor fmners upon their believing: and, if you Jifk me, what I mean by an imputed righieoufnefs ; not to flioon over your heads, but rather, if God Ihall be picaled to make mc, to reach your hearts, I will tell you, by thfe word *' righteoufnefs," I underftand all that Christ hath done, and nil that Christ hath fufFered : or. to nvake ufe of the term generally made ufe of by found divines, '* CiiRIst's active, and Christ's paflive obedience ^'^ put thefe two together, and they make up the righteoufnefs of the Lord Jesus Christ. My dear friends, thus Trood the cafe between God and man : at h\'i\ God made man upright. Aiofcs pives us a (hcrt, but never was fo full a delciiption of the origin and nature of man given by any other but himfelf, " In the image of God made he man, fays that facrcd hiUo-rian, being infpired by the Spirit of God. God faidj and -ii was done > God commanded, and the world arofe before him j " Let there be light," and indantaneoufly behold light appeared : but when that lovely, that divine, that blefied creature Man, the Lord of the creation, God's vicegerent, w<\s to be made, God calls a council, and fays, *' Let us m.ake man after our own image." Nov/, this image is to be un-derftood, no df.ubu, in refpeiSt of man's fouhj for GoD being jio corporeal fubftancfj man couJd not be made after his image

that

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that way. Well, In this condition God made man. Adani flood as our reprcfentative. Jdam and Eve had but one njnie originally, *' God made man, and called theil- name Jdam. God left Adam to His own fre^ will ; he was pleafed to enter into a covenant with him, Which, indeed, is an amazintj- in-ftance of Goti's condefcenfion. God might have ordered man to do fo and fo, and not mide hini any promife of a reward : but the great Creator was pteafed to promife him, that if he perforrned an unfinning obedience, if he abftained from eating a particular tree, that he and his pofterity (hould Jive for ever ; bvit if he broke that command, in the day that he ate thereof, he and all his poflerity were to die. Now I verily believe, had yoa and 1 been there prefent, however fortle people may objecSb againft God's feverity, in imputin?>* Jdnrns fm to us; yet I believe, if you and f^ and all the world had been prefent, we (hould ha^/e heartily come into this agreement. Suppofing Gob had called the whole creation together.^ and had faid, *' Ye, my creatures, I have made here a man after tliy own image, I h^ve breathed into him the breath of life, I ha^e caufed him to become a living- foul I have filled him with righteoufnefs and true holinefs • he has not theleaft propenfity to fin, only heisa fallible and mutable creature ; all that I defire of this man is, that he abftain frorr?. yonder tree : I have given to him all the trees of the garden^ I have made h m^ and planted for him a garden with mine owri right handj I defire he may abft-aih from plucking yonder fruit: Will ye ftand or fall by this man, will ye let him" be your re-prefentative, will ye be content that his obedience or difo-bedience be imputed to you ?" If we had been all there,' every one of us would have faid, " Lord God, we will let *' him be our reprefentative )'* the terms were fo eafy, the improbability of his falling was fo exceeding great, that I believe every one of us (hould have all put our hand to the covenant. And fuppofing Us alive, and th?!t v/e had agreed to that covenant, who is that man or woman that could find fault with God's irhputih'g Jdam's fin to us; Well, my friends. Gob made m-^n in this condition j the devil envicfi his happinefs; it is fuppofed by fome, that man was made to fupply the places of the fallen angels. But the devil envied mart, and had leave to tempt him ; Eve foon tciched Vol. V. <> Qiu*-

[ 242 ^ out her band and plucked of the forbidden fruit, and afterwards Adam tranfgreflld alfo ; and from that very moment, to make ufe of Mr. Bojions words, *' Man's name was hha-hod^'' the glory of the Lord departed from him. Adam and Eve then fell : you, and I, and all their pofterity (whom they reprefented) fell in them. Mankind had but one neck; and God might have fc-rved mankind, as Caligula would have ferved Rome^ according to his own words, " 1 wifh it had but »* one neck, and 1 would cut it off with one blow." GoDj-if he pleafed, njight have fent us all to hell. Here Cahin reprefents God's attributes as ftruggling one with another 5 Juftice faying to God, feeing Jullice had framed the fanction^ *^ Is the law broken, damn the offender, and fend him to hell." The mercy of God, his darling attribute, cries out, *' Spare him, fparc him." The wifdom ol God contrives a way, that judice might be fatislicd, and yet mercy be trium^ phant ftill. How was that r The Lord Jesus interpofes,-the days-man, the dear Redeemer 1 he faw God wielding his flaming fword, and his hand taking hold of vengeance; the Lord Jesus Christ faw the fWord ready to be fheathed in the blood of the offender ; Vv'hen no eye could pity, when no angel or archangel could refcue, juft as God was, as it v/ere^ about to give the fatal blow, juft as the knife was put to the throat of the offender, the Son of God, the e.ernal Logos, fays^ '' Father, fpare the finner ; let him nut die ; Father, Father^ O hold thy hand, withdraw thy fword, for I come to doi thy will 5 man has broken thy law^ and violated thy covenant : I do not deny but man defervcs to be damned for ever j but. Father, v^Wdt Ada?n could not (iu, if thou wilt prepare me a body^ I in the fulnefs of time will go, and die for him 5 be has broken thy law, but I will go and keep it, that thy law may be honoured ; I will give a perlccl unfinning obedience to all thy commandments ; and that thou mayiijuftify ungodly creatures, I will not only go down and obey thy law, but I will jro down and bleed ; I will c;o down and die : here I am ; I will will ftep in between thee and finncrs, and be glad to have thy fword (heathed in my heart's blood for them."

In the fulnefs of time defcends the eternal Logos, " In the fulnefs of time God fefit fo/ih his Son. made of a woman,-

made

[ 243 3 made under the law, to redeem them that are tindej the laiv from the curfe of it, being made a curfe for us." The Lord Jesus Christ being cloathed in human nature, falhllod all righteoufnefs j he fubmitted to every inftitution of Gob, and was pleafed to obey the whole moral law ; and afterwards, Q' can wc think, of it, O can you hear of it, without a heart leaping with joy, at lad the Lord Jesus bled and died ! and when he was juft expiring, juft as he was about to boW down his head, and give up the ghofl, what do ye thin'^. he faid ? fid faid, " It is finifhed !'* As much as to fav, " Now the arduous work, the diffictllt tafk I had undertaken, bklTed be God, is now completely over ; all the demands of the lav/ a e fini(h-ed ; now God's juflice is fatisfied j now a new and living way is opened by my blood to the holicft of all for poor fmners."

So that when Christ's righteoufnefs is here fpoken oQ we are to underftand '* Christ's obedience and death," all that Christ has done, and all thnt ChRist has fufPercd For an ele£l world, for all that will iDelieve on'him. A::d blelTed be Gob for this righteoufnefs 1 bleifed be God for the epithet which in the text is put to this righteoufnefs 5 it might be called a blejjed righteoufrieG-, it might be calted a ^loricus rifihteoufnefsj it m??ht be called an invaluable riohreoufnefs 5 but the angel calls it an everlajllhg righteoufnefs ; Got) give you to take the comfort of it!

Secondly^ I Jim now to (hew, on what account, this rlghte-ouincfs is here called an everlajfing righteoufnefs^ and pray^ why do yoii think is Christ's righteoufnefs called ah cver-f lading righteoufnefs ?

I fuppofe it is called an everlaftlng righteoufnefs,, I^irfi^ Be'caufe Christ's righteoufnefs was intended by the' great God to extend to mankind even from eternity. All of you know, that old Jove is the beft love. When we have an old acquaintance, a friend^ that has loved us for many years, indeed that love is fweet : though we may love new friends, yet when an old friend and a new friend nneet together, we may fay, that the old is better. Now this ihould endear GoD to us, to think that from all the ages of eternity God had thoughts of you ; God intended the Lord JesUs Christ to fave your fouls and mine : hence it is, that Cjod, to endear Jere?niah to him, tells him, I have loved thee

Q^ 2 mxh

W\ih an everlaflino' love. Hence it i^-, that the LcRD Jf.su?, when he calls his elcd people up to l^.enven, fays, *' Come, "yc bk^iTcd of my F'athcr ;" what follows f '' receive the king-ilom prepared tor you j" how long? " fiom the foundation of the world." All that we receive in tifr.e; all the ftreams thaf coniC to our fouls, are but fo many (breams flowing from that inexhauftiblc fountain, God's eledVmg, God's fovereign, God's diflinguifhing, God's everlafting love ; and, therefore, the righteoufnefs of Jesus Christ may properly be called an (verlafting righteoufnefs, becaufe God intended it from ever-jafling.

Secondly^ It is called an everlafting righteoufnefs, becaufe the cfncacy of Christ's death took place immediately upon jidains fal-l. Chriftianity, in one fenfe, is as old as the creation. Great Piofeflbr Franck^ of Germany^ fays, " That "•' Christ is the fum and fubftance of all righteoufnefs." Mr. Henry obftrves, " That the Lord Jfsus Christ is the " treafure hid in the field of the Old Teftamenr, under the ''• types and ihadows of the Mofn'ic difpenfation." We have the Sun of Righteoufnefs {l:iining in his full meridian ir\ the New Teftamcnt difpenfation. Now the righteoufnefs of Jtsus Christ, may be called an cverlaRing righteoufnefs, becaufe all the faints that have been faved, or that ever will be faved, are all faved by the righicoufnefs of Christ. A great many cenforious people are mighty inquifitivc to know, what will become of the heathens, that never heard of Jesus Christ. I would lay to fuch perfon?, as the Lord Jesus Christ did to another curious enquirer, " What is that to thee ? follow thou me." Pray, for what (liould you and I trouble ourfelves about the heathens ? Are not we heathens ? Jt is too true, that we have too mych of the heathens temper and pra<^ice with us. But why fliould we lofe our time in enquiring about what will become of the heathen, and not tather enquire what will become of our own fouls ? We may be fure God will deal with heathens according to their light: if he has given them no revelation, they vviU not be judged by a revelation ; if ihcy have not had a law, they will be judged without law. But as for the ^jewi and GtntlleSy who have the gofpel revealed to them, however Delfts may argue contrary to it i however they may fee ap reafon in oppofition to

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divine revelation ; we niay be fure none were ever faved, or will be faveJ, but by the righteoufnefs of Christ. It was through faith in him, that Jbel was faved ; it was through the facrifice of Jesus Christ, that Abraham was accepted, and that all the prophets of old were accepted ; and there is none other name given under heaven, whereby we can be faved, but that of Christ. And therefore, fince perfons under the law, and under the gofpi^l, are to be faved only through Christ ; therefore, Christ's righteoufnefs may properly be called an everlaftino; rio-hteoufnefs. But this is not all.

Thirdly^ The righteoufnefs of Jksus Christ, is not only to be called an everlnfling righter.ufncfs, becaufc that all perfons under the law, and all perfons under the gofpcl, are fav°d by it; but becaufe the efficacy thereof, blefied be Gou for it! is to continue till time {hall be no more. Blefied be God for Jesus Christ ! the eiKcacy of whofe blood, death, and atonement, is as great and as effectual now to the falvation of poor fmners, as when he bowed his blefTed head, and gave up the ghoft : " Jesus Christ is the fime yefterday, to-day, and forever;" and whofoever believes on him now, whofo-ever comes to, and accepts of him, fliall now fee his power, {hall tade of his grace, and fliall be adiually faved by him, the fame as if he had been in company with thofe who faw him expiring.

Fourthly^ Christ's righteoufnefs may be called an ever-lafting righteoufnefs, becaufe the benefit of it is to endure to everlafting life. Indeed, fome people tell us, that a perfon may be in Christ to-day, and go to the devil to morrow : but, bleiTed be God, ye have not fo learned Christ ! No, my dear friends, thanks be to God for that divine text, '•' There is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.'* Though God's people may fall foully; and though many are full of doubts and fears, and fay, " Ont'. day I fhall fall by the hands of Saul\^ however ye may fay in your hafte, " All men are liars ;" however your poor fouls may be harafled, yet no v/icked devil, nor your own depraved heart, ftiall be able to feparate you from the love of God : God has loved you, God has fixed his heart upon you, and having loved his own, he loves them unto the end. 1 he Lord of life and of glorvj the blefied Jesus, will never ceal«

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joving you, till he hath loved and brought you to heaven ; vvhen he will rejoice, and fay, " Behold me, O my Father, and the dear chjjdren that thou haft given me ; thou gaveft them me; thine tney were, I have bought them with my blood, I have won them with my fword and with my bow, and I now will wear them as fo many jewels of my crown." Therefore, Jesus Christ's righteoufners may be called an everlafting ri'^hteouCnef^, bccaufe thofe who once take hold of, and arc interePicd in it, fhall be favcd everlaftingly by Christ : " It is God that jiJilifics us, (fays St. Paul) who is he that con-demneth "i It is Christ that died, yea rather that is rifen again." He gives devils the challenge, " O (leath, where iij thy fting, O grave, where is thy vidory ? Who fhail (eparate us from the love of God ? I am perfuaded that neither death nor life, neither principalities nor powers, nor any other creature, (hall ever be able to fepcrate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Thofe whom God jufiiiics, he alio glorifies. And becaufe Christ lives, bleiTed lie Gop, we fliall live alfo. I know not what you mpy fay ; but though I trail I have felt the grace of Christ, yet I find that I have as much need to come to Christ every day for frcfli ftrength-, as if I had never believed before : and if I wa? to depend upon my own faithfulnefs, and not the faiihfulnefs pf the Son of Gop, I am fure I lliould foon defert the Lord Jesus Christ. But glory be to God, he is faithful that hath promifed ! Glory be to God, our falvation depends not upon our own u^^c will, but upon God's free grace ! Here is a fare bottom , the believer mav build upon it; let the {lornis blow as long and as high as they pleafe, they may make the poor creature tremble, but bleiTed be God, they r.ever fliall be able to take him off the foundation \ though they may Ouke him, they (hall only (bake off" his corruption: '<\nd I believe all that fear GoD, will be glad to part with it. On all the(e accounts, Christ's righteoqfnefs may be called 2,n everlafting righteoufnefs.

lIL It is faid, in my it\t, that Jesus was to bring it in. What arc we to undcrftand by his bringing it in ? Our Lord's promulgating and proclaiming it to the world. Indeed, it was bioughi in under the !aWj but then it was

brought

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brought in under types and fhadows, and moft of the y^'w^ looked no further. But Jesus Christ brought life and im-irtortallty to light by the gofpel. The light of Mofes was only twilight; the light of the gofpel, is like the fun at noon-day, fliining in his full meridian. Therefore, Jesus Christ may be faid to bring in this everlafting righteoufnefs, becaulc he proclaimed it to the world, and commanded it to be preached, that God fent his Son into the world, that the world through him might be faved.

Again, The Lord Jesus Christ brought in this righteoufnefs, as he wrought it out for fmners upon the crofs. Some Antinomians, for want of a proper diftintStion, run into a grievous error, telling us, Becaufe God intended to juftify by the righteoufnefs of Jesus Christ, therefore man is juf-tified from all eternity : which is abfurd : a perfon cannot be juftified, till he is actually exifting ; therefore, though man is juftificd, as it lies in God's mind from all eternity, yet it was not adtuallv brought in till the Lord Jesus Christ pronounced thofe biefled words, " It is finiftied;" the grand con-fummation ! then Jesus brought it in. A new and a living way was to be opened to the Holy of Holies, for poor fmner-s, by the blood of Christ. But I do not think that the ex«-preflion, brought /V, is to be limited to this fenfe, though I fuppofe it is the primary one; it implies not only Christ's bringing it into the world, as promulgating, and having it written in the word of God, and as having wrought it out for finners in his life, and on the crofs ; but he brings it in, in a manner, which, I pray God may take place this night ; I mean, bringing it, by his bleflcd Spirit, into poor believers hearts. All that Christ hath done, all that Christ hath fuffered, all Christ's active obedience, all Christ's palfive obedience, will do us no good, unlefs by the Spirit of God, it is brought into our fouls. As one ex-prefles it, " An unapplied Christ is no Christ at all." To hear of a Christ dying for fmners, will only increafe your damnation, will Oidy fink you deeper into hell, unlels we have ground to fay, by a work of grace wrought in our hearts, that the Lord Jesus hath brought this home to us. Hence it is, that the Apoflle, fpeaking of Christ, fays, '-' 'Who loved m^, and gave himfelf for mc." O that dear,

C) A that

^haf great, that liule, but important word, me, Happy the)", V/ho can adopt the Apoftlc's language ! Happy they that can apply it to their own heart; asd when they hear that Christ l^as brought in an everlafting righteouTnefs, can fay, BlelTed be God, it is brought in by the blefl'ed Spirit to my foul !

Are there any here that can go along with me on this doctrine ? But why do I afk this qucftion, when preaching X.Q( numbers, who, I hope, have taftid of the grace of GoD long ago ? I do not know,' I cannot diftinguifh you ; you are juft jike other people, as to your looks and habits ; hut if I do not, and if your neighbours cannot know you, that great God, in whofe prefence you are, knows you \ He, before whofe tribunal wc are fhortly to apppar, knows you. If Christ Jesus hath |:>rought his everlafting righteoufiiefs into your heart ; if it is applied by the Spirit of God to your foul, what fhall I fay to you ? I will fay as the Angtl to "John^ " Come up hither,'* ^hou child of God ! Come up hither, thou fon, thou daughter of Abraham I Come and join with me, in calling upon angels and archangels, in calling upon the fpirits of jufl: men made perfect, to help thee to praife that loving Redeemer, that has brought in an everlafting righteotifnefs. O was ever Jove like this ! When Ahrahavi was about to offer up his ion, God faid, '^ Now I know that thou loveft: me, iince thou hall: not v/ithheld thy fon, thine only Ton from me.'* Now may each child of God fay, '' Now, O God, I know that thou haft loved me, fince thou haft not withheld thy Son, thy dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, from dying for me.'* If thou haft got GHB.IST brought into thy foul by faith, O Jook forward, look towards a happy eternity ; O look towards th"ofe everlafting manftons, into which God will bring thee after death. My dear friends, I could fay much from this text to cornfort God's people : But

I muft addrefs myfelf to you, poor fouls, who cannot fay, that this righteoufnefs has been brought home to your fouls ; but if it was never brought home before, may God, for the JLoRD Jesus Christ's fake, bring it home now ! Are any of you depending upon a righteoufnefs of your own ? Do apy of you here, think to fave yourfelves by your own doings?-I fay to you, as the Apoftle faid to one that offered money for a pov/er to confer the gift pf the Holy Ghoftj your righteouf-

nc'fs

nefs fliall perlfl:! with you. Poor mii'erable creatures! What is there in your tears ? what in your prayers ? what in your performances, to appeafe the wrath of an angry God ? Away fiom thf trees of the garden ; come, ye guihy wretches, come as poor, loft, undone, and wretched creatures, and accept of a better rig'iicoufnefs than your own. As I faid before fo I tL^ll you ygain, the righteoufnels of Jesus Christ is an ever-Jai'lir.-- righieoufnefs : it is wrought out for the very chief of finntrs. lio^ every one that thirlfeth, let him come and drink cf 'vhis water of life freely. Are any of you wounded by fin ? Do any of you feel you have no righteoufnefs of your own ? Are any of you perifhing for hunger ? Are any of you afraid ye will perifh for ever ? Come, dear fouls, in all your raors • come, thou poor man ; come, thou poor, diftreiTed woman ; you, who think God will never forgive you, and that your fins are too great to be forgiven ; come, thou doubting creature, who art afraid thou wilt never get comfort; ariff, take comfort, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Jife^ the Lord of glory, calls for thee : through his righteoufnefs there is hope for the chief of Tinners, for the worft of creatures. Vv^iat if thou hadft committed all the fins in the world ? What if thou hadft committed the fms of a thoufand, what if thou hadft committed the fms of a million of worlds ? Christ's righteoufnefs will cover, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ will cleanfe, thee from the guilt of them all. O let not one poor foul ftand at a diftance from the Saviour. My dear friends, could my voice hold out, was my ftrength equal to my will, I would wrefrle with you ; I would drive with arguments, till you came and waflied in this blood of the Lamb; till you came and accepted of this everlafiing righteoufnefs. O come, come! Now, fince it is brought into the world by Christ, fo in the name, in the flicngth, and by the aliiftance of the great God, I bring it now to the pulpit ; I now offer this righteoufnefs, this free, this imputed, this everlafting righteoufnefs to all poor fmners that will accept of it. For God's fake accept it this night: you do not know but ye may die before to-morrow. How do ye know, but while I am fpeaking, a fit of the apoplexy may feize, and death arrefl you: O my dear friends, where can yc go? ^vhere will ye appear ? How will yc ftand ^jcfore an angry

Goo,

God, without the righteoufnefs of the Lord Jesus Christ put upon your fouls ? Can ye ftand in your own rags ? Will ye dare to appear before a heart-fearching God, without the apparel of your elder brother ? If ye do, I know your doom : Christ will frown you into hell : " Depart, depart, ys curfed, into everlafting fire," fliall be your portion. Think, I pray you, therefore, on thefe things ; go home, go home, go home, pray over the text, and fay, " Lord God, thou haft brought an everlafting righteoufnefs into the world by the Lord Jesus Christ ; by the blefled Spirit bring it into my heart!" then, die when ye will, ye are fafe ; if it be to-morrow» ye fhall be immediately tranflatcd into the pre-ience of the everlafting God : that will be fweet ! Happy they who have got this robe on ; happy they that can fay, *' Mv God hath loved me, and I ftiall be loved by him with an everlafting love I" That every one of you may be able to lay fo, may God grant, for the fake of Jesus Christ, the dear Redeemer; to whom be glory for ever. Amen,

SERMON

r 25« ]

SERMON XVI.

The Obfervation of the Birth of Christ, the Duty of all Chriftians ; or the true Way of keeping Chriftmas,

Matthew i. 21.

And flie Jliall bring forth a Son^ avd thou JJialt call his Name Jefiis : For he JJiall favc his People from theif Sins,

TH E celebration of the birth of Christ hath been ef-teemed a duty by moft who profefs chriftianity. Whciv we confider the condefcenfion and love of the Lord Jesus Christ, in fubmitting to be bom of a virgin, a poor finful creature ; and efpecially as he knew how he was to be treated in this world ; that he was to be defpifed, fcofFed at, and at laft to die a painful, fhameful, and ignominious death ; that he fliould be treated as though he was the oiF-fcouring of all mankind ; ufed, not like the fon of a man, and, therefore, not at all like the Son of God ; the confideration of thefe things fliould make us to admire the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, who was fo willing to offer himfelf as a ranfom for the fins of the people, that when the fulnefs of time was come, Christ came, made of a woman, made under the law : he came according to the eternal counfel of the P^ather ; he came, not in glory or in fplcndor, not like him who brought all fal-yation v/ith him : no, he was born in a ftable, and laid in a manger; oxen were his companions. O amazing condefcenfion of ths Lord Jesus Christ, to ftoop to fuch low and

poor

poor things for our fake. What love is thi^, what great and wonderful love was here, that the ^Son of God fhould come into our world in fo moan a condition, to deliver us from the fin and mifcry in which we were involved by our fall in our firft parents ! And as all that proceeded from the fprings muft be muddy, becaufe the fountain was fo, the Lord Jesus Christ came to take our natures upon him, to die a fhame-ful, a painful, arid an accurftd death for our fakes; he died for our fin^, and to bring us to God ; he cleanfed us by his blood from the guilt of fm, he fatished for our impcrfe£lions ; and now, my brethren, we have accefs unto him with bold-nefs ; he is a mediator between us and his ofti-nded Father.

Therefore, if we do but confider into what ftate, and at how great a diftance from God we are fallen ; how vile our natures were ; what a depravity, and how incapable to reftore that image of God to our fouls, which we lofl: in our firft parents : when I confider thefe things, my brethren, and that the Lord Jesus Christ came to reftore us to that favour with God which we had lofl:, and that Christ not only came down with an intent to do it, but actually accomplifh-cd all that was in his heart towards us ; that he raifed and brought us into favour with God, that we might find kind-nefs and mercy in his fight; furely this calls for fome return of thanks on our part to our dear Redeemer, for this love and kindnefs to our fouls. How juft would it have been of him, to have left us in that deplorable ftate wherein we, by our guilt, had involved ourfelves? For God could not, nor cah receive any additional good by our falvation ; but it was love, mere lovej it was free Jove that brought the Lord Jesus Christ into our world -about 1700 years ago. What, fhall we not remember the birth of our Jesus r Sha(l we yearly celebrate the birth of our temporal king, and (hall that of the King of kings be quite forgotten ? Shall that only, v;hich ought to be had chiefly in remembrance, be quite forgotten ? God forbid! No, my dear brethren, let us celebrate and keep this fcfiival of our church, with joy in our hearts : let the birth of a Redeemer, v/hich redeemed us from fin, from wrath, from death, from hell, be always remembered ; may this Saviour's love never be forgotten ! but may we fing forth all his JoTc and glory as long ^s life (haU lafi |icre, and through au

er.dlefa

C 253 ]

endlefs eternity in the world above ! may we chaunt forth the wonders of redeeming love, and the riches of free grace, amidft angels and archangels, cherubim and feraphim, without intcrmiffion, for ever and ever ! And as, my brethren, the time for keeping this feftival is approaching, let us con-fidcr our duty in the true oblervation thereof, or the ri^^ht way for the glory of God, and the good of immortal fouls, to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ; an event which ought ^o be had in eternal remembrance.

It is my dcfign to lay down rules for the true keeping of that time of Chrijlmas^ which is now approaching.

I. I ftiall (hew you when you may be faid, not to obferve this feftival aright.

II. I ihall fnew you, when your obfervation and celebrating of this feftival is done according to the glory of God, and to the true manner of keeping of it.

III. Shall conclude with an exhortation to all of you, hn^h and low, rich and poor, one with another, to have a regard to your behaviour at all times, but more crpecially, my dear brethren, on this folemn occafton.

I. My brethren, I am to fiiew when your celebration of this feftival is not of the right kind.

And F/r/?, you do not celebrate this aright, when you fpend moft of your time in cards, dice, or gaming of any fort.

This is a feafon, for which there is no more allowance for wafting of your precious time in thofe unlawful entertainments, than any other. Perfons are apt to flatter themfelves that they are free and at liberty to fpend whole evenitigs now at cards, at dice, or any diverfioa whatlbever, to pafs awav, as they call it, a tedious evening. They can do any thing now to pafs away that, which is haftening as faft as thout^ht : time Is always upon the wing ; it is no <boner prefent but it is paft, and no (ooiier come but it is gohe. And have we fo much to do, and fo little time to do it in, and yet complain of time lying heavy upon our hands ? Have we not the devil and the beaft to get cut of our fouls r Are not our natures to ht changed, our corruptions to be fubdued, our wills to be

brou2:ht

r ^54 ]

brought over to God, our hard hearts to he foften^J, all old things to be done away, and all things to become new in oiir fouls ? Is there not ail this to be done ? And yet we have too much time upon our hands ! It Is well, that inftead of having too much time, it be not found that we have got too little, when we come to die : then we (hall wifh, my brethren, that we had made more account of our time^ that wo had improved it for the glory of God, and the welfare of Our immortal fouls.

Good God ! how amazing is the confideratlon^ that many can go to church in the mornings and take the Sacrafncnt, and come home and fpend the afternoon and evening in cards: Is this, my brethren, difcerning the LoP.d's body r Is this taking the facfament according to its inftitution ? Is not this a pollution thereof, and making the blood of the covenant an unholy thing.

Therefore, thofe of you who have made this your pra£l'ice in times paft, let m^e befeech you, in the bowels of mercy, hot to do fo any more ; .for, indeed, it is earthly, it iS fen-fual, it is devilifh. Confider vvhat is faid of thofe who eaC and drink at the Lord's table unworthily, that ihey eat and drink their own damnation : And can they, my brethren, be faid to eat and drink any otherwife, who no fooner go from the table of the LorD, but run to the diverfions of the devil ? Indeed this is exceeding fmful, and difpleafing unto the Lord ; then forbear thofe diverfions which a;e fo evil in themfelves : O be jiot found in thofe excrcifes, and in that pleafure, which you vVould not be found in when you come to die. Thus, my brethren^ you fee it is not a right celebration of the birth of the Lord Jesus, to fpend it in card"^, dice, or any other diverfions, which proceed fo dire(5lly fronrs the devil, and are deftrudive to all true goodnefs.

Secondly^ They cannot be faid truly to cclebrak this time^ who fpend their time in eating and drinking to excefs.

Thi-s ks a feafon when perfons are apt to indulge themfelves in all rtianncr of luxury : iniquity now abounds apace ; nothing is fcarcely to be feen but things of the greateft extrava-^ gance imaginable ; not only for the neceiTities of the body, but to pamper it in luft, to feed its vices, to make us go on in fin, to be a means for gratifying our carnal appetite , and

this is a means to make us forget the Lord of glory. Thii makes us only fit to d5 fuch drudgery, as the dt-vil fhall fet us about J this is only preparing ro run wherefoevcr the devil fends: this^ LnfteLid of denying ouriclves, is indulginj^ our-felves J this is aot, nor cannot be called, a celebration of tho birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we are making om-felves worfe than the hearts that pcrifh.

I am not fpeaking ?gainft eating and drinking of the good thing*^ of life, but agais^ft the eating and drinking of them to excefs, becaufc, thus they unqualify us for the fervice of God ; and to our fellow-creatures they make us unfociable, and may occafion us to be guilty of faying and acting thofe things, which we ihould be aftiamed to think of, if we had only eat or drank with moderation.

Therefore, my dear brethren, let mc bcfeech yo'i to fet a watch over yourlelves ; be careful that you do not run into that company wnich may tempt you to evil; for would a man run himfelf into danger on purpofe ? Would a maa enter himfelf into that company, where, before he goes, he" knows he fnall be expofed to great temptations j and therefore^ if you have any reafon to thmk that the company you are going into will be a temptation, I befeech you, by the mercies of God in Christ Jesus, that yoii would not run into it.

How can you Ciy, " Lead us not into temptation," wheri you are refolved to lead yourfelves into it, by running- into the occafions of fins. You are comma»ided to keep from thd appearance of evil 5 and do you do that, by running into the place and company where it is like to be committed ? No-j this is fo far from avoiding, and ftiunning it, tliat it is a plain proof to the contrary ; therefore, if you are for obferving this time, this fellival of our church, let it not be done by running to excels -, for you plainly fee, that thofe who ar« guilty thereof, cannot be faid properly to celebrate it.

Thirdly^ Kor can they, my brethren, be faid to keep, or rightly obferve the commemoration of the birth of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, who neglect their worldly callings to follow pleafures and diverfions.

Alas 1 many, in^ead of keeping this time as it ought to be, t\xn into fin with gr^edinefs; inflcad of devoting their time

I t«

t 25G j

fo the Lord, it is only devoted to the devil and their owti \ui\s. How many who thus mifpen^d their time, at this fl^afoHj lay by the work of their callings for a confiderable time, with no other view, but to follow earthly, fenfual, and de-vililh pleafures. If they fliould go to hear a fermon, or to a fociety, my brethren, the mouths oi' all the Plarifees at once are open againft them, that they are not only a going to be ruined themfelves, but are going to ruin their faniilies too ; they think it needkTs to make fo much ado ; this is being righteous over-much; but you may be as wicked as you pleafe^ and they will not cry out; however, when you are vjicked over-muchy by ferving the devil and your own pleafures for a week or a month together, then, my brethren, with thim you are only taking a little recreation, fpendlng your time in innocent diverfions ; no one cries out againft you, there is no outcry that you are going to be ruined. Again, if you give never To fmall a miatter among the poor people of God, for their relief, then you are robbing your families, then you ar(i going to turn madmen, and in a few days w:ll be io nv^tho-diftically mad, that you are not fit for a polite gentlemRn*5 converfatlon ; but if you fpend one hundred times the money in playhoufes, &c. on your lufts and pleafures, then you are lik£d and efteemed as a good friend and companion ; but, my dear brethren, thefe good companions in the world's account, are never lb in the Lord Jesus Christ's. You cannot ferve God and mammon ; you mud either lofe your luftsj your pleafures, and your delights, or you cannot expctSl to jBnd favour with God ; for indeed, and indeed, the ways; that too many follow at this time, are fniful, yea-, they are exceeding fmful. You fee they cannot be fiid to celebrate this holy time, who thus mifpend their precious time to the negle£l; of their families j fuch are deftroying ihemfelves with a witnefs.

Thus, my dear brethren, I have fnewn you who they are who do not rightly obferve this holy feftivah

IL I come now, in the fecond place^ to fhew you, wka they are who do rightly obferve, and truly celebrate the birth of our Redeemer.

And I fhall fhew you who they are in two particulars, ckb-redtly oppoHte to the others ; and then^ my brethren, taka

your choice : you mud ehoofe the one or the other, there 19 no medium, you muft either ferve the Lord or Baal ; and, therefore, my dear brethren, let me beg of you to con-fider,

Fltft^ That thofc fpend their time nrighr, and truly obferve this feftival, who Ipend their hours in reading, praying, and

religious converfation.

What can we do to employ our time to a more noble put-pore, than reading of what our dear Redeemer has done and fufFered ; to read, that the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, came from his throne and took upon him the form of the meaneft of his fervants ; and what great thnigs he underwent. This, this is an hiilory worth reading, this is worth employing our time about: and furely, when we read of the fufFerings of our Saviour, it (hould excite us to prayer, that we might have an intercft in the Lord Jesus Christ ; that the blood which he fpilt upon mount Calvary^ and his death and crucifixion, miglu make an atonement for our fins, that we might be made holy ; that we might be enabled to put otr the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man, even the Lord Jesus Christ; that we may throw away the heavy yoke of fin, and put on the yoke of the Lord Jesu3 Christ. Indeed, my brethren, thefe things call for prayer^ and for earneft prayer too ; and O do be earneli with God, that you may have an intereft in this Redeemer, and that you may put on his righteoufnefs. To that you may not come before him in your filthy rags, nor be found not having on the wedding garment. O do not, I befeech you, trull unto yourfelves for juftincation i you cannot, indeed, you cannot bejuftified by the works of the law. I irrtreat that your time may be thus fpent; and ifyouarein companyj let your time be fpent in that converfation which profiteth : let it not be about your drcffing, your plays, your profits, or your worldly concerns, but let it be the wonders of redeeming love : O tell, tell to each other, what great things the Lord has done for your fouls ; declare unto one another, how you were delivered from the hands of your common enemy, Satan, and how the Lord has brought your feet from the clay, and has fet them upon the rock of ages, the Lord Jesus Christ; there, pny brethren, is no flipping; other con-

VoL. V. R verfation,

47

vciTation, by often repeating, you become fully acquainted with, but of Christ there is always fomething new to raife your thoughts; you can never want matter when the love of the Lord Jesus Christ is the fubje^l : then let Jesus be the fubje^l, my brethren, of all your converfation.

Let your time be fpent on him : O this, this is an employ, which if you belong to Jesus, will laft you to all eternity. Let others enjoy their cards, their dice, and gaming hours ; do you, my brethren, let your time be fpent in reading, praying, and religious converfation. Which will fland the trial beft at the lalt day ? which (]o you think will bring moft comfort, moft peace, in a dying hour ? O live and fpend your time now, as you will wi(h to have done, when you come to die.

Seco72dIy, Let the good things of life, you enjoy, be ufed with moderation.

1 am not, as the fcoffers of this day tell you, againft eating and drinking the good things of life ; no, my brethren, I am only againtl their being ufed to an excefs; therefore, let me befeech you to avoid thofe great indifcretions, thofe finful actions, which will give the enemies of God room to blaf-pheme. Let me befeech you, to have a regard, a particular regard to your behaviour, at this time; for indeed the eyes of all are upon you, and they would rejoice much to find any reafon to complain of you. They can fay things againft us without a caufe J and how would they rejoice if there was wherewith they might blame us ? Then they would triumph and rejoice indeed ; and all your little flips, my dear brethren, are, and would be charged upon me. O at this time, when the eyes of fo many are upon you, be upon your guard j and if you ufe the good things of this life with moderation, you do then celebrate this fcftival in the manner which the inftitution calls for.

And inftcad of running into excefs, let that money, which you might expend to pamper your own bodies, be given to feed the poor; now, my brethren, is the feafon, in which they commonly require relief; and fure you cannot a6l more agreeable, either to the feafon, to the time, or for the glory of God, than in relieving his poor diftrefled fervants. Therefore,

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forej If any of you have poor friends, or acquaintance, who are in diftrefs, I befeech you to affift them ; and not or.ly thofe of your acquain'.ance, but the poor in general. O my dear brethren, that will turn to a better account anoihcf day, than all you have expended to pleafe the iufl of the fle(h, the luft of the eye, or the pride of life. Confider, Christ was always willing to relieve the diftrefled ; it is his command alfo; and can you better commemorate the birth of your king, your Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, than in obeying one of his commands ?

Do not, my dear brethren, be forgetful of the poor of this world; confider, if providence has fmiled upon you, and bleiled you with abundance of the things of this life, God calls for fome returns of gratitude from you : be ye mindful of the poor, and when you are fo, then you may be faid to have a true regard for that time which is now approaching ; if you would truly obferve this fcftival, let it be done with moderation, and a regard to the poor of this World.

Thirdly^ Let me beg of you not to alienate too much of your time from the worldly bufinefs of this life, but have a proper regard thereunto, and then you may be faid rightly to obferve this feftival.

God allows none to be idle : in all ages buGnefs was commended ; and therefore do not think that any feafon will excufe us in our callings : we are not^ my brethren, to la-hour for the things of this life inordinately, but we are to labour for them with all moderation : we are not to negle(5l our callings ; no^ we are to regard thofe places and ftations of lifcj which God in his providence has thought convenient for us ; and therefore, when you negled your bufmefs to the hurt of your families, whatever pretence you thereby make for fo doing, you are guilty of fm; you are not ading according to the do6lrine of the gofpel, but are breaking the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ, both according to his word, and to his own pra6tice.

At this feftival, perfons are apt to take a little more liberty than ufual j and if that time from our vocations is not prejudicial to ourfelves or families, and is fpent in the fervicc of God, and the good of immortal fouls, then I do not

R 2 think

think it fir.ful j but there is too much reafon to fear, that thtf

time is fpent upon our own lufts, and then it is exceeding

finful, it is againft our own fouls, and it is againfl the good

of our families, and inftead of commemorating the birth of

our dear Redeemer, we are diflvonouring him in the greateft

degree poflibly we can.

Therefore, enquire fti idly into your end and defign in fpend-

jnf your time; fee, my brethren, whether it proceeds from a

true love to your Redeemer, or whether there is not fome

worldly pleafure or advantage at the bottom : if there is, our

end is not right; but if it proceed intirely from love to him

that died, and gave himfclf for us, our a£lions will be a

proof thereof; then our time will be fpent, not in the polite

pleafures of life, but according to the doctrines and commands

of the bleffcd Jesus ; then our converfation will be in heaven :

and O that this might be found to be the end of each of you,

who now hear me; then we (hould truly obferve this feftival^

and have a true regard to the occafion thereof, that of

Christ's coming to redeem the fouls of thofe which were

lofK

Let me now conclude, my dear brethren, with a few

worJs of exhortation, befeeching you to think of the love of

the Lord Jesus Christ. Did Jesus come into the world

to fave us from death, and fhall we fpend no part of our

time in converfmg about our dear Jesus ; fhall we pay no

regard to the birth of him, who came to redeem us from the

vvcrfl of flavery, from that of fin, and the devil ; and fliall

this Jesus not only be born on our account, but likewife

die in our ftead, and yet ihall we be unmindful of him ?

Shall we fpend our time in thofe things which are ofFenfive

to him ? Shall we not rather do all we can to promote his

glory, and zd: according to his commands ? O my dear

brethren, be found in the ways of God ; let us not difturb

our dear Redeemer by any irregular proceedings ; and let me

befeech you to firive to love, fear, honour and obey him,

more than ever you have done yet; let not the devil engrofs

your time, and that dear Saviour who came into the wor}d

on your accounts, have fo little. O be not fo ungrateful

to him vvho has been fo kind to you ; What could the Lord

Jesus

[ 26l ] Jesus Christ have done for you more than he has ? Then do not abufe his mercy, but let your time be fpcnt in thinking and talking of the love of Jesus, who was incarnate for us, who was born of a woman, and made under the law, to redeem us from the wrath to come.

Now to God the Father, God the Son, 5cc,

R 3 SERMON

S E R M O N XVII.

The Temptation of Christ.

Matthew iv. i—ii.

'il'hen was Jesus Jed up of the fpirit into the vj'ddcrnefsy to be tempted of the deviL And tvhen he had fajled forty days, and forty nights^ he zvas ajterivards an hungered. And when the iempter came to h'lm^ he faid. If thou be the Son of God, command that thffe JJones may be made bread. But he anfwered and faid. It is written, Man Jhall not live by bread alone, hut by every word that proceedeth out of the ?nouth of (jOD. Then the devil taksth him up iJito the holy city, and fetteih him on a pinnacle of the te?nple, and faith unto him. If thou be the Son cf God ^ caft thyfelf down : for it is written. He Jhall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they jhall hear thee up, lefi at any time thou dajh thy foot againjl ajlone. Jesus fa id unto him. It is written again. Thou Jl^alt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and ftjeweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glcry of them : and faith unto him. All thefe things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worfinp me. Then faith ]es\js unto him. Get thee hence, Satan : for it is written^ Thou fhalt worfhip the Lord thy GoD, and him only fhalt thou ferve. Then the devil leavcih him, and behold, angels came and min'ifered unto him.

DEAR LY beloved, to-day you are Invlred to take a walk into the wildernefs, to behold, fympathize with, and get inflruction and comfort from a Saviour tempted. In the conflict-, he approves himfelf to be God's beloved Son ; and the Fa-her gives dtrmonftrabie evidence, that with, and in him, he is indeed v/eil pleafcd. Let us Vvilh fcrious attention confider,

when.

when, where, and how, our great ATichacl fought with and overcame the dragon. The Kvaiigcliit Alatlhsiv is very particular in relating the preparations for, the beginning, procefs, and iflue of this glorious and important combat.

" Then was Jesus led up of the fpirit into the wilder-i\t{s^ to be tempted of jhe devil." In the clofe of the foregoing chapter we arc told, that the blcfTed Jesus had been publicly baptized, and was alfo folemnly inaugurated to his mediatorial office, by the opening of the heavens, by the Spirit of God defcending on him like a dove, and by a voice from heaven, faying, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-plcafed ;" and then it'was, when he came from the folemn ordinance of baptifm ; when he was about to fliew himfelf openly unto 7/rW; when he was full of the Holy Ghoft [Luke iv. i.) ; even then was he led, with a holy un-conftrained violence, as a champion into the field, to engage an enemy, whom he was fare to conquer. But whither is this conqueror led ? Into a lonefome, wide, howling wilder-ncfs : probably, fays Mr. Henry^ into the great wildernefs of Sinai > a wildernefs, not only lonefome, but inhabited by wild beafts. Adark i. 13. Hither was our Lord led, not only that he might prepare himfelf by retirement and prayer, but alfo that he might be alone, and thereby give Satan all the advantages he could defire. In this combat, as well as that of his lail agony, " of the people, there was to be none with him." Neither does he content himfelf with praying, but he fafts alfo, and that " forty days and forty nights," (ver. 2.): as Mofes and EUas had done, many years before, it may be, in the very fame place. All thefe fafts were miraculous J and therefore, though we are taught hereby, that fafting is a chriflian duty, yet, to pretend, in an ordinary way, to imitate them, by fafting for fo long a term together, is no doubt fupcrftitiou?, prcfumptuous, and fmful : but few people, I believe, need fuch a caution.

During thefe forty days, we may fuppofe, our Lord felt no hunger : converfe with heaven, to him was in^ead of meat and drink: ; but " afterwards he was an hungered ;" exceedingly fo, no doubt. And now, the imp')rtant fight begins. For, then " the tempter," emphatic dly fo called, be-caufe he firft tempted our firfl parents to fin, and hath ever

R 4 uucc

fmce been unwearied in tempting their dcfccndants; then the tempter, who in an invifible manner had been attacking our biefTed Lord all the whole forty days, when he faw him hungering, and in fuch diftreiling circumflances, came to him, 2s it fliould feem, in a vifible Ihape, and probably transformed into the appcrarance of an angel of light. And what does he tempt him to ? To nothing lefs, than to doubt of his being the Son of God.'' '' If thou be the Son of God." What! put an//* to this, Satan, after the glorious Jesus had been proved to be God's fon, and repeatedly too in fuch a glorious manner ? Surely, thou thyfelf couldfl not but fee the heavens opened, and the Spirit defcending ; furely, thou didft hear the voice that came to him from heaven, immediately after his baptifm, faying, *' This is my beloved Son :" And doll thou now fay unto him, " If thou be the Son of (jOD." Yes; but Satan knew, and believed he was full well ; but he wanted to make our Lord to doubt of it. And why ? Bccaufc he was in fuch a melancholy fituation. As though he had faid, " If God was thy father, he would never iuffer tiiee to ftarve to death in a howling wildernefs, among wild brads. Surely, the voice thou lately didft hear, was only a delufion. If thou waft the Son of God, efpecially his beloved Son, in whom he was fo pleafed, thou wouldil be taken more care of by him." Thus he attacked our firft parents, by fuggefting to them hard thoughts of their all-bountiful Creator : " Yea, hath God faid. Ye (liall not eat of every tree in the garden ?" '• Hath he pli;ced you amidft fuch a variety of delicious fruits, only to teaze and make you miferable ?" And how artfully now does he labour to infmuate himfclf into our Lord's affeel:ions, as he tiK'n did to ingratiate himfelf with our firfc parents. '« If thou bfc the Son of God, fays he, come, prove it, by com-inanciing thefe ftones (a heap of which, probably, lay very near) to be made bread : this will demondrate thy divinity, and reli-ve thy preiTmg neceiTity at the fame time." Thus, as in all his other temptations, Satan would fain appear to be his very kind friend ; but the ho'y Jesus faw through the difguifed enmity of his antagonift ; and fcorning either to diftruil his righteous Facher on the one hand, or to work a miracle to plcale and gratify the devil on the other, although he had^he Spirit of God without meafure, and might have made ufe of a

thouraii^

thoufand other ways, yet anfwers him with a text of fcripture: " It is written, that ir/an (hall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proccedeth out of the mouth of God." This is a quotation from Deuteronomy viii. 3, and contains a reafon given by the great God, why he chofc to feed the Ifraelites with manna ; that they might learn thereby, man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. This our blefled Lord here applies to him-felf; and his being in the wildernefs, made the application of it ftill more pertinent. Ifrael was God's fon : out of Egvpt was he called to fojourn in the wildernefs, where he was miracu-loufly fupported. And therefore our Lord, knowing that he was typified by this Ifrael^ and that, like them, he was now in .1 wildernefs, quotes this fcripture as a reafon why he fiiould not, at Satan's fuggeftion, either d fpair of receiving help from his Father in his prefent circumflances, or difbuft the validity of his late manifeftanoiib, or make ufc of any unwarrantable means for his prefent relief. For a<J God was his father, he would, therefore, either in an ordinary way fpread a table for him in the wildernefs, or fupport and fudain him, as he did his Iff ad of old, in fome extraordinary way or other without it : " For man ihall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

Thus is the tempter foiled in the hrft onfet ; but he hath other arrows in his quiver, with which he will farther ftrive to wound the immaculate Lamb of God. Since he cannot draw him. in either to diftruft, or defpair, he will now try if he cannot prevail on him to prefume. In order to erTeil this, ^' He taketh the bleffed Jesus up into the Holy City," or ^erufulemy called by our Saviour, the city of the Great King, and here called holy, becaufe the holy temple was in it, and, we would hope, many holy people. This was a populous place, and therefore, would greatly befriend the devil's defign. And not only fo, but " he fetteth him on a pinnacle," a battlement or wing, " of the remp'c," the top o» which was fo very high, that, as Jofephus obftrves, it would make a man's head run giddy to look down from it. And fomc think this was done at the time of public worfhip. How the holy Jesus fufFered himftlf to be taken hiiheri whether he was traniported through the air, or whttber he followed Satan

on

uncertain ; but certainly it was an inilance of amazinj; condefcenlion in our Lord, that he flioulc] permit (o I'oul a fiend, to carry or lead his holy body about in this manner. Well ! Satan hath now gotten him upon the pinnacle of the temple, and ftill harping upon his old firing, " If thou be the Son of God, (fays he) caft thyfclf down," and thereby fl:ievv to this large worfhipping afiembly, (who will affuredly then believe) that thou art God's beloved Son, under the fpccial protection of heaven, and art that Meffiah, ^^ who wiis to come into the world." This was artful, very artful. But lie feems to improve in cunning : for he brings his Bible with him, and backs his temptation with a text of Icripture; " For it is written, (fays he) he (hall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they (hall bear thee up, left at any time thou dafli thy foot againft a Hone." But is Saul alfo among the prophets ? Does the devil quote fcripture, yea, and feemingly fuch a very appo-fite one too ? I fufpeCt fome defign, without doubt: for herein, he would mimic our Lord, who, he perceived, intended to fight him with this weapon j and not liking the fharp edge of it, he thought that if he quoted fcripture, the Lord Jesus would not employ it againft him any more. *' It is written, (therefore faid he) he fhall give his angels cbaro^e concerning thee, and in their hands they fliall bear thee up, left at any time thou dafh thy foot againft a ftone : and therefore, fmce thou art fure of fuch protection, thou needft not fear to caft thyfelf down." This was plaufible, and by the length of it, one would be apt to imagine, it was a fair quotation ; but Satan takes care, not only to m/ifapply, but alfo to maim it, purpofely omitting thefe important words, " in all thy ways." It is true, God had given charge to his angels, concerning his children in general, and his beloved Son in particular, that they fhould keep him in all his ways; but, if our Lord had at this time, at the devil's requeft, and to gratify pride, thrown himfelf down from the pinnacle, and thereby unnecefiarily prefumed on his Father's protection, he would not have been in God's way, and therefore, would have had no right to the promifed protection at a'.l. Satan was aware of this, and therefore flily left out what he knew purpofe. But is fcripture the worfe, for

being

[ 26? ]

being abufcd or perverted by the devil, or bis emilTarics ? No, in no vi^ife. Our Lord, therefore, lets him know, that he fhould not throw afide this important weapon upon this account, but puts by this home thrufl, with another fcripture : " It is written aga'ui^ Thou flialt not tempt the Lord thy God." Still our Lord quotes fomething out of the book of Deuteronomy^ and hath his eye upon Jfracl in his wildernefs ftate. Originally thefe words were dirccled to the Ifraclites in general, and accordingly are in the plural number j but here our Lord, as before, makes a particular application of them to himfelf: Satan bids him caft himielf down, aflurino- him, God had promifed in his word, to order his angels to take care of him : Now, fays our Lord, " It is written in another part of his word, that the Ifraclites fhould not tempt the Lord their God, by diftrufting his goodnefs on the one hand, or prefuming on his protecrion on the other : And, therefore, as I would not command the ftones to be made bread, neediefsly and diftiuftfuUy fet up to provide for myfelf; reither will I now prefume unnecefTarily upon God's power, by cafting myfelf down, though placed by thee in fuch a dangerous fituation."

Thus our great Afichaei ccTfics off conqueror in the fecond aflault. And doth not the ferpent feel his hrad b.-'uifed enough yet ? Not at all : on the contrary, being more and more enraged at fuch unufual oppofition, a:id want of fuccefs, " He again taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, (what moufitain is not very material; and fheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the priory of them," St. Luke adds, " in a moment oi time :" \vi ir'- confirms the common conjecture, that Satan did not fhevv' our Lord really the kingdoms of the world, (for that muft have taken up more time) but only took him r.p into an exceeding high mountain to humour the thing, and by exerting his utmoft art, imprefled on our Lord's imagination all at once^ a very flrong, and to any but innocence itfelf, a very flriking profpe6l of the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them ; not the cares ; that would not ferve Satan's turn. He (hewed our Saviour crowns, but never told hrm, thofe crowns were gilded with thorns; " He (hewed him, (fays Mr. Henry^ my favourite '* commentator) as in a landfcape, or airy reprefenta-ion in a

" cloud.

<« cloud, fuch as that great deceiver could eafily frame and *' put together, the glorious and fplendid anpearance of *' princes, their robes and retinue, their equipage and life-guards ; the pomps of thrones and courts, and ftately pa-*' laces ; the fumptuous buildings in cities; the gardens and *' fields about the country feats, with the various inilances of <' their wealth, pleafure, and gaiety ; fo as might be moft " likely to ftrike the fancy, and excite the admiration and <« afFedion. Such was this fhew." Our Saviour very well knew it, only lets Satan go to the full length of his tiring, that his vidlory over him might be the more illuftrious. And jiow, fays the devil, " All thefe things (a mighty all indeed ; a mere imaginary bubble I) will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worfhip me. He would fain have it taken for granted, that he had fucceeded in the two preceding temptations : " Come, thou feeft thou art not the Son of God, or if thou art, thou feeft what an unkind Father he is j thou art here in a ftarving condition, therefore take my advice, difown thy relation to him, fet up for ihyfelf, call me father, afk of me bleilings, and all thefe will I give thee ; while all that I defire in return, is but a bow, only fall down and wor-fliip me." Here Satan difcovers himfelf with a witnefs : this was a dcfperate parting ftroke, indeed. It is now high time for thee, O thou enemy of fouls, to be commanded to depart ! Filled with a holy refentment at fuch hellifli treatment, and impatient of the very thought of fetting up for himfelf, or alienating the leaft part of his heart and affcdlions from his Father, or dividing them betv/een his God and the world ; <' Then faid Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan, (I know thee who thou art, under all thy difguifes) get thee hence, thou grand adverfary : for it is written. Thou fhalt worfhip the Lord thy God, and him only Ihalt thou ferve : this is the great commandment of the law ; this is the commandment my Father gave unto his Jfrael o( old, and wouldft thou have me, who came to fulfil the law and the prophets, thus fhamefully be a tranfgrelTor of it ? Get thee hence, I will bear thy infolence no longer : thy other temptations were hellifli, like thyfelf, but this intolerably fo : get thee therefore hence, Satan : my heavenly Father is the Lord my God, and him only will I ferve."

And

[ 2% 1

And now the battle is over: the important combat Is cndeJ: Jesus hath won the fit Id : Satan is routed and totally put to flight. " Then," when the devil found that Jesus couIJ> withftand even the golden bait, the luft of the eye and pride of life, in the two laft, as well as the luft of the fle(h in the firft temptation, defpairing of the leaft fuccefs, and quite ftunned with that all-powerful Get thee henccy Satan^ " he leaveth him."

Hell, we may well fuppofe, like the Philiftines of old, was confounded, and gave a horrible groan, when they faw thuHr great GcUah^ in whom they had fo long trufted, thus (hamc-fuUy and totally defeated in no lefs than three pitched battles. The firft Adam was attacked but once, and was conquered ; but the fecond Adam^ though thus repeatedly afTaulted, comes off without the leaft fin, not only conqueror, but more than conqueror. Think you not, that there was joy, joy unfpeak-able in heaven, upon this glorious occafion ? Think you not that the angels, thofe fons of God, and the multitude of the heaveoly hoft, who fl:iouted fo loud at our Lord's birth, did not repeat, if pofiible, with yet greater extafy, that heavenly anthem, " Glory be to God in the higheft." For a while they were only fpe6lators, orders, we may fuppofe, being ilFijed out, that they fhould only wait around, but not relieve their praying, fafting, tempted Lord ; but now the reftraint is removed : Satan departs, and " behold, angels came and mi-niftered unto him ;" they came to adminifter to his bodily ne-ceffities, and to congratulate him upon the glorious and com-pleat victory which he had gained : fome of them, it may be, had done this kind office for Elijah long ago; and with un-fpeakably greater joy, they repeat it to the Lord oi Elijah now. His Father fends him bread from heaven; and by this lets him know, that notwithftanding the horrid temptations with which he had been attacked, he is his own beloved foo, in and with whom he was v/ell pleafed.

And was there joy in heaven on this happy occafion ? What equal, and if poflTible, what infinitely greater joy ought th<rre to be among the children of God here on earth ? For we (hould do well to remember, that our blefitd Lord in this great fight with, and conqueft over the dragon, a6led as a public perfon, as a falderal head of his myftical body the

church,

church, even the CQmmon reprefentative of all believers. We may therefore from this blcfled paflage gather ftrong confola-tions; fince by our Lord's conqueft over Satan, we are thereby allured of our own, and in the mean while can apply to him as a compafifionate High-Prieft, who was in all things tempted as we are, that he might experimentally be enabled to fuccour us when we are tempted.

Who, who after hearing of or reading this, can think them-felves hardly ufed, or utterly caft ofF by God^ becaufe they are tempted to felf-murder, blafphemy, or any other horrid and fhocking crimes ? Who can wonder at wave being permitted to come upon wave, and one trial to follow upon the back of another? Who can admire, that Satan follows them to holy ordinances, and tempts them to doubt of the reality of ail their manifeflations, and of their being God's children, even after they have enjoyed the moft intimate and delightful communion with their heavenly Father? Was not our Lord treated thus ? And " (hall the fcrvant be above his Lord, or the difciple above his Mafter ?" No, it is fufHcient that the fervant be as his Lord, and the difciple as his Mafier.

But not to dwell on a general improvement, let us fee what particular icfTons may be learned from this affe£ling portion of holy writ.

And F'lrfi^ was our Lord thus violently befet in the wUder-.ufs ? then we may learn, that however profitable folitude and retirement may be, when ufed in due feafon, yet when carried to an extreme is hurtful, and rather befriends than prevents temptation. Woe be to him that is thus always alone; for he hath not another to lift him up when he falleth, or to advife with when he is tempted. As a hermit in America once told me, when I afked him whether he found that way of life leffencd his temptations; " Doft not thou know, friend, " (faid he) that a tree v/hich grows by itfelf, is more expofed <' to winds and ftorms than another that flands furrounded *' with other trees in the woods ?" Our Lord knew this, and therefore he was led by the Spirit into the wildernefs to be tempted of the devil. Lord, keep us from leading our-felves into this temptation, and fuccour and fupport us whenever led by thy providence into it! Then, and then only, fliall we be fafe amidft the fiery darts of the grand enemy of our

fouls.

SecondJvy

'Secondly^ DiJ our Lord by prayer, fading, and temptation, prepare himfelf for his public miniftry ? Surely then, all thoCe who profefs to be inwardly moved by the Holy Ghoft to take upon them the office and adminiftration of the church, (hould be prepared in the fame manner. For though the knowledae of books and men, are good in their places, yet without a knowledge of Satan's devices be fupcradded, a miniffer will be only like a phyfician, that undertakes to prefcribe to fick people, without having ftudied the nature of herbs. And hence, it is to be feared, many heavy laden and afilicted fouls have been fent by certain miniflers, to furgeons, to be blooded in the arm, inftead of being direded to apply to the blood of Christ to cleanfe their hearts. Hence, convidtion is looked upon as a delirium, and violent temptations cenfured as dov/n-right madnefs. Hence, fouls that are truly and earncflly repenting of their fins, and as earneftly feeking after reft in Christ, have been direded to plays, novels, romances, and merry company, to divert them from beino- righteous overmuch. Miferable comforters are fuch blind guides ! Surely, they deferve no better titles than that of murderers of fouls / They go not into the kingdom of heaven themfelves, and thofe who are entering in they would by this means hinder. Go not after them, all ye young men who would be able mi-nifters of the New Teftament; but on the contrary, if y6u would be ufeful in binding up the broken hearted, and pouring the oil of confolation into wounded fouls, prepare your-felves for manifold temptations. For as Luther fay^, " prayer *' and medication, reading and temptation, make a minifter." If now exercifed with fpiritual conflidfs, be not difheartened, it is a good fign that our Lord intends to make ufe of you. Being thus tempted like unto your brethren, you will be the better enabled to fuccour and advife thofe who fhali apply to you under their temptations. What fays the apoftle Paulf " If we are affiided, it is for your fake." And if you are afflicted, it is only that you may fave your own fouls, and help to fave the fouls of thofe who fhall be committed to your charge. Be flrong therefore in the grace which is in Christ Jesusj and learn to endure hardnefs, like good foldiers, that are hereafter to inftru(5f others how they mult fight the good fight of faith.

7'/:lrdIy,

Thirdly^ Did the tempter come to Christ when he faw him an hungered ? Let thofe of you that are reduced to a low eftate, from hence learn, that an hour of poverty is an hour of temptation, not only to murmuring and doubting of our fonfhip ar.d the divine favour, but alfo to help ourfelves by unlawful means. " If thou be the Son of God^ faid Satan, command that thefe flones may be made bread." This is what Jgur dreaded, " left I be poor and fteal." Learn, ye <yodly poor, to be upon your guard, and remember that poverty and temptations are no marks of your being caft ofF by God. Your Lord was an hungered ; your Lord was tempted on this account to doubt his fonfhip, before you. Learn of him not to diftruft, but rather to truft in your heavenly Father. Angels came and miniftered unto Christ ; and he who is Lord of the angels, will fend fome kind meil'enger or another to relieve your wants. Your extremity Ihall be the Redeemer's opportunity to help you. Make your wants known unto him, he careth for you. Though in a defart, though no vifible means appear at prefent, yet you fhall in God's due time find a table fpread for you and yours; *' For man doth not live by bread alone, but by every v/ord that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

And may not fuch among you, who are exalted, as well as thofe who arc brought low, from Satan's taking the Lord Jesus, and placing him upon a pinnacle of the temple, learn alfo a leflbn of holy watchfulnefs and caution. High places are flippery places, and are apt to make even the {^rongeft heads and moft devout hearts to turn giddy. How neceilary therefore is that excellent petition in our Litany, '* in all time of our wealth, (as well as in all time of our tribulation) (rood Lord deliver us !" Agreeably to this, Jgur prays as much againft riches as poverty; if he was poor, he feared he fhould be tempted to fteal, if rich, that he fhould truft in uncertain riche.-, and fay, who is the Lord?

1 charge, therefore, all of you, who are rich and high in this-world, to watch and pray, left ye fall by Satan's temptation. Thofe efpeciaily of you, that are placed as on the pinnacle of the temple, exalted above your fellows in the church of God, take heed in an efpecial manner unto yourfelves, left by fpiri-tuai pride, vanity, or any other fin that doth moft eafily befes o perfons

( 273 ] perfons in fuch eminent ftations, ye caft yourfclvcs down. This is what Satan aims at. He {{rives to make us iJeftroyers of ourfelves. And he hath a paiticular enmity agaiuft luch as you; he knows, that your name is Legion; and that it you caft yourfclves down, he fliall gain a great adv.iniapc over n^.any others j you cannot i;iil alone. O that it may be laid of us, as tl)c papifts ufed to lay of Luther^ " 'i'hat Gerwan *' beaft dolh not !ove gold." May the fire of divine love burn up all the love of this prefcnt evil world, and pride of life,' out of your hearts! This, Sntan refcrved for his laft, as Lhiiik-ing it was the nioft powerful and prevailing temptation, " He took our Lord up into an exceeding high mountain, ar»d fhewed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them." He cares not how high he exalts us, or how high he is obliged to bid, fo he can but get our hearts divided between God and the world. All this will he oif.r to give us, if we will only fall down and woriliip him. Arm us, dear Lord Jesus, with thy Spirit, and help us under all fuch cir-cumftances, to learn of thee, and fay unto the tempter, " Get thee hence, Satan ; for it is written, thou flialt worfliip the Lord thy God, and him only (halt thou ferve."

Fourthly^ Whether befet with this or any other temptation^ let all of us learn of our Lord to fight the devil with the fword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Though he had the Spirit v^ithout meafure, yet he always made ufe of this. \Ve may fay of it, as David did of GoUah's fword,' *' none like this," none like this. And fuppofing Satan fl:ioulc( be permitted to transform himfelf into an angel of light, anfl by falfe impreflions, and Jelufive applications of mifquoted texts, attempt to turn this weapon upon us againfl ourRIves 5' let us not therefore be prevailed on to let go, but by comparing fpiritual things with fpiritual, as our Lord did, fnid out God's mind and our duty. Had Christ's children ajid mi-nifters only obferved this one lefTon, how much flrange fire would quickly have h^tw extinguifhed ? how much real en-thufiafm been eafily flopped? how many imaginary revelations Jiave been deteiled r how many triumphs of Satan and his emiflaries been prevented ? and how much more would the comforts of Christ's people and minifters been continued and increafed, not only in this prefci.tj but al;b in Qytiy ag^

Vol. V. . S «f

[ 274 ] of the chriftlan church ? But let us not be difcouraged or think worfe of Christ, his caufe, or his word, becaufe through Satan's fubtlety, any of us, or others, may have been drawn in to make forne wrong applications of it; others have been thus tempted and miftaken before us. However, let us be humbled before God and man, and be excited by our paft ignorance of Satan's devices, to adhere more clofely to the written word, and to pray more earneflly for God's holy Spirit to give us dire6lion by it. " Then will it ftill be a Ian-thorn unto our feet, and a light unto our paths;" we fhall yet be enabled to behave more fkilfully under all our future trials. Many we muft yet exped ; nay, perhaps our fevereft temptations are yet to come; Satan left our Lord, after his attacking him in the wildernefs, " only for a feafon," as St. Luke has it, until the feafon of his death and paffion. And thus he may be permitted to deal with us. We are not yet come to our compleat reft ; the King of terrors is yet to be grappled with, and the valley of the fhadow of death to be pafTed through; long before that, we may be called to endure many a fiery trial, and be befet with manifold temptations, under which we may be as ignorant how to behave, as under thofe with which we have already been vifited. Alas 1 we know not what remaining corruptions are in our hearts, which time and temptation may draw out and difcover. Perhaps Satan hath not yet attacked us on our weakeft fide; when he does, if left to ourfelves, how weak (hall we be ? It is faid of Achilles^ that he was invulnerable, except in the heel, and by a wound in that, at laft he died. Let not him, therefore, that putteth on the harnefs, boaft as though he had put it off." Neither, on the other hand, let us be fainthearted or difmayed. Satan may tempt, but cannot force; he may fift, but Christ will pray. He who hath helped us already, will help us to the end. He who conquered for us in the wildernefs, will ere long make us alfo more than conquerors over all trials and temptations, inward and outward, and over death and hell itfelf, through his almighty, everlaft-ing, and never-failing love. We now fow in tears; in a very little time^ and we fhall reap with joy : we may now go on our way weeping, by rcafon of the enemy opprefTing us; buty ere long, angels (hall, be fent, not to miaifter to us in this

wildernefs.

wlldernefs, but to carry us to an heavenly Canaan^ even io Abrahams bofom. Then (hall we fee this accuier and tempter of our Lord, of our brethren, and of oiirfelves, caft out: this wicked one, as well as the wicked world, and wicked heart, will no more be permitted to vex, diilurb or annoy us.

" But woe unto you that laugh now ; for you fnall then lament and weep.'* Woe unto you, who either believe there is no devil, or never felt any of his teniptations. Woe unto you that are at eafe in Z/(?^, and inlKad of flaying to be tempted by the devil, by idlenefs, felf-indulgence, and making continual provifion for the flefh, even tempt the devil to tempt you. Woe unto you, who not content with finning your-felves, turn factors for hell, and make a trade of tempting others to fin. Woe unto you, who either deny divine revelation, or never make ufe of it but to ferve a bad turn. Woe unto you who fell your confciences, and pawn your fouls for a little worldly wealth or honour. Woe unto you v/ho climb tip to high places, when in church or flate, by corruption, bribery, extortion, cringing, flattery, of bowing down to, and foothing the vices of thofe by whom you exped to rife. Woe -unto you ! for whether you will own the relation or not, furely you are of your father the devil; for the works of your father you will do; I tremble for you. How can you efcape the damnation of hell.

But I have not time to follow fuch as you any farther. This difcourfe, and the prefent frame of my mind, lead me rather to fpeak to thofe, who by feeling Satan's fiery darts^ know afiuredly that there is a devil. Comfort thou, comf)rt thou, thefe afHiaed ones, O Lord. O thou all-merciful and all-bountiful God, and thou compaifionate High-Prieli, thou once tempted, but now triumphant Saviour, as thou once didll not difdain to be miniftered unto by angels, blefs we pray thee this difcourfe, to the fupport and ftrengthening of thy tempted people, though delivered by the meaneft tneflenger thou didft ever yet employ in thy church !

I add no more. The Lord blcfs you and keep you ! The Lord lift up the light of his countenance, ftablifh, ftreng-then, and fettle you, and bring you to his eternal kingdom I

S 2 SERMON

[ '.76 J

SERMON XVIII.

The Heinous Sin of Profane Gurfmg and Swearingi

Matthew v. 34. But I fay unto you^ Swear 7iot at all,

AMONG the many heinous fins for which this nation is grown infamous, perhaps there is no one more crying, "but withal more common, than the abominable cuftom of profane fwearing and cutTing. Our ftreets abound with perfons of all degrees and qualities, who are continually provoking the holy one oi Ifrael to anger, by their deteftable oaths and blafphemies : and our Very children, '* out of whofe mouths," the pfalmift obferves in his days, " was perfeiSted praife," are now grown remarkable for the quite oppofite ill quality of curfing and fwearing. This cannot but be a melancholy profpe(Si, for every Tmcere and honeft minifter of Jesus Christ, to view his fellow-creatures in ; and fuch as will put him on contriving fome means to prevent the fpreading at leaft of fo growing an evil j knowing that the Lord (without repentance) will alTuredly vifit for thcfe things. But alas f what can he do ? Public animadverfions are fo neglected amongft us, that we feldom find a common fwearer punifhcd as the laws dire£t. And as for private admonition, men are now fo hardened through the deceitfulnefs of fm, that to give them fober and pious advice, and to fhew them the evil of their doings, is but like " cafting pearls before fwine; they only turn again and rend you." Since matters then are come to this pafs, all that v/e can do is, that as we are appointed

watchmen

watchmen and ambafiadors of the Lord, It is our du'y from time to tiqie to (hew the people their tranCgre/Tion, and warn them of their fin ; (o that whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, we however may deliver our own fouls, That I therefore may difcharge my duty in this particular, give me leave, in the name of God, humbly to ofFer to your moft ferious confidcration, fomc tew obfervations on the words of the text, in order to fhew the hcinoufncfs of profane curfing and fwcarine.

But, before I proceed dire611y to the profecution of this point, it will be proper to clear this precept of our Lord from a mifreprefentation that has been put on it by fome, who infer from hence, that our Saviour prohibits fwcaring before a magiftrate, when required 'on a folemn and proper occafion. But that all fwearing is not abfolutely unlawful for a chriflian, is evident from the writings of St. P^«/, whom we often find upon fome folemn occafions ufing feveral forms of imprecation, as, " I call God to witnefs ;" '* God is my judge;" " By your rejoicing in Christ Jesus," and fuch like. And that our Saviour does by no means forbid fwearing before a magiftrate, in the woidi* now before us, is plain, if we confider the fcope and defign he had in view, when he gave his difciples this command. Permit me to ob-ferve to you then, that our blefled mafter had fee himfelf, from the 27th verfe of the chapter, out of which the text is taken, to vindicate and clear the moral law from the corrupt glcil^:« and mifconftru6tion of the Pharifees, who then fat in Mofcs's chair, but were notorioufly faulty in adhering too clofcly to the literal expreflion of the law, without ever confidering the due extent and fpiritual meaning of it. Accordingly they imagined, that becaufe God had faid, '* Thou fhalt not commit adultery," that therefore, fuppofing a pcrfon was not guilty of the very a6l of adultery, he was not chargeable with the breach of the fevcnth commandment. And likewife in the matter of fwearing, becaufe God had forbidden his people, in the books o^ Exodus and Deuteronomy^ " to take his name )n vain," or to fv/car falfely by his name ; they therefore judged it lawful to fwear by any creature in common difcourfe, fuppofing they did not diredtly mention the name of God. Our blelled Saviour therefore, in the words ny\v before us, S 3 reaifict

le^Ifies this their miftake about fwearlng, ^s he had clone ir^ the verfes immediately foregoing, concerning adulttry, an4 tells the people, that whatever allowances the Pharifees might give to fwear by any creature, yet he pronounced it abfolutely unlav-ful for any of his followers to do fo. *' You have heard, th:^it it has been faid by them of old time," (namely, by the P/^^r//"^^i and teachers of the Jewifl) law) "Thou fhalt not forfwear thyfelr, but perform, unto the Lord thine oaths : but I fay unto you," (I v/ho am appointed by the Father to be the great prophet and true law-giver of his church) " Swear not at ail, (in your common converfation) neither by heaven for it is God's throne j (and therefore to fwear by that, is to fwear by Him that fits thereon) neither by the earth, for it is his foot-ftool ; nor by Jcrufalem, for it is the city of the great King ; neither fnalt thou fwear by thy head, bccaufe thou canil: not make one hair white or black : bu: let your communications (which plainly fhews that Christ is here fpeaking of fwearing, not before a magiflrate, but in common converfation) let your communication be yea, yea; nay, nay, (a ftrong afMrmation or neo;ation at the moft) ; for "whatfocver is m.ore than this, cometh of evil;" that is, com.eth from an evil principle, from the evil one, the devil, the author of all evil.

Which by the way, raethinks, fhould be a caution to all fuch perfons, who, tho:)gh not guilty of fwearing in the grofs fcnfe of the word, yet atteft the truth of what they are fpeaking of, though ever fo trifling, by faying, Upon my life_,—as 1 live,-r—by my faith,—by the heavens, and fuch like : which expreiiions, however harmlefs and innocent they may be edeemed by fome forts of people, yet are the very oaths which our blefTed Lord condemns in the words immediately following the text; and perfons vj\\o ufe fuch unwarrantable forms of fpeaking, muft expert to be conviclcd and condemned as fwearers, at our Saviour's fecond coming to judge the world.

But to return : It appears then frona the whole tenor of our Saviour's difcourfe, that in the words of the text he does by no means difannul or forbid fvvearing before a magiftrate (which, as might eafily be fliewn, is both lawful and neceft fary) but only profane fvvearing in ccnia.on converfation ;

the

[ 279 ] the heinoufnefs and finfulnefs of which I come now, more immediately to lay before you.

And here, not to mention that it is a dlrccSl breach of our blefled mailer's and great law-giver's command in the words of the text, as likewife of the third commandment, wherein God pofitively declares, " he will not hold him guiltlefs (that is, will afTuredly punifti him) that taketh his name in vain :" not to mention that it is the greateft abufe of that noble faculty of fpeech, whereby we are dirtinguifhed from the brute creation ; or the great hazard the common fwearer runs, of being perjured fome timc'or other: not to mention thofe rcafons againft it, which of themfelves would abundantly prove the folly and finfulnefs of fwearing : I fhall at this time content myfelf with inflancing four particulars, which highly aggravate the crime of profane fwearing, and thofe are fuch as follow:

I. Firjl^ Becaufe there is no temptation in nature to this fin, nor does the commiffion of it afford the offender the leafl pleafure or fatisfadlion.

II. Secondly^ Becaufe it is a fin which may be fo often repeated.

III. Thirdly^ Becaufe it hardens infidels againft the chrif-tian religion, and muft give great offence, and occafion much forrow and concern to every true difciple of Jesus Christ.

IV. Fourthly^ Becaufe it is an extremity of fin, which can only be matched in hell.

I. The firft reafon then, why fwearing in common con-verfation is fo heinous in God's fight, and why we fliould not fwear at all, is, becaufe it has no temptation in nature, nor does the commillion of it, unlefs a man be a devjl incarnate, afford the offender the leaft pleafure or fatis-faclion.

Now here, I prefume, we may lay it down as a maxim

univerfally agreed on, that the guilt of any crime is incrcafeJ

or leffened in proportion to the weaknefs or ftrength of the

temptation, by which a pcrfon is carried to the commiffion of

It. It ^-as ibis confideration that extenuated and diminiftied the

guilt of SauFs taking upon him to offer facrifice before the Prophet Samuel came ; and of Uzza's touching the ark, becaufe it was in danger of falling : as, pn the contrary, what fo highly aggravated the difobedience of our fii ft parents, apd of Lot's wife, was, becaufe the former had fo little reafon to eat the forbidden fruit, and the latter fo fniall a temptation to look tack on Sodonu

And now if this be granted, furcly the common fwearer mull of all finners be the moft without excufe, fince there is po manner of temptation in nature to the commiilion of his crime. In mod of the other commands, perfons, perhaps, may plead the force of natural inclination in excufe for the breach of them : one, for inftance, may ailedge his flrong propenfity to anger, to excufe his breaking of the fixth : another, his pronenefs to luft, for his violation of the feventh. But furely the co-nmon fwearer has nothing of this kind to urge in his behalf: t'"or though he may have a natural inclination to this or that crime, yet no man, it is to be prefumed, can fay, he is l>orn with a fvvearing confl:ltution.

But farther, As there is no temptation to it, fo there is no

pleafure or profit to be reaped from the commiiTion of it. Afk

the drunkard why he rifes up early to follow flrong drink, and

he will tell you, becaufe it affords his fenfual appetite fome

kind of pleafore and gratification, though it be no higher than

that of a brute. Enquire of the covetous worldling, why he

defrauds and over-reaches his neighbour, and he has an an-

fwer ready J to enrich himfelf, and lay up goods for many years.

But it muft certainly puzzle the profane fwearer himfelf, to

inform you what pleafure he reaps from fwearing : for alas !

it is a fruitlefs taftelefs thing that he fells his foul for. But

indeed he does not fell it at all : in this cafe he prodigally

gives it away (without repentance) to the devil j and parts

with a blcfjed eternity, and runs into everlafling torment,

rncrely for nothing.

TI. But Secofidly^ what incrcsfes the heinoufnefs of profane fwearing, is, that it is a fin which may io often be repeated.

This is another confideration which always ferves to lefTen

or increafc the guilt and rnalignity of any fm. It was fome

I excufe

C 281 ]

fxcufe for the drunkennefs of Noah^ and the adultery of DavU that they committed thefe crimes but once : as, on rhe contrary, of the patriarch Abrahams diftruft of God, that he repeated the difiembllng of ^arah to be his wife, two feveral times. And if this be admitted as an aggravation of other perfons crimes, furely much more fo of the guilt of common fwearing, bccaufe it is a fm which may be, and is for the generality often repeated. In many other grofs fins it cannot be fo : if a man be overcome in drinlc, there muft be a confiderable time ere be can recover his debauch, and return to his cups again : or if he be accuftomed to profane the fab-bath, he cannot do it every day, but only one in {^Mzn. But alas I the profane fwearer is ready for another oath, almofl: before the found of the firft is out of our ears ; yea, fome double and treble them in one fentence, even fo as to confound the fenfe of what they fay, by an horrid din of blaf'phemy ! Now if the great and terrible Jehovah has exprefly declared that he will not hold him guiltlefs, that is, will affuredly punifh him, jhat taketh his name but once in vain : what a vaft heap of thefe heinous fms lies at every common fwearer's door ! \t would be apt to fink him Into an intolerable defpair, did he but fee the whole fum of them. And O what a feared con-fcience muft that wretch have, that does not {tt\ this prodigious weight !

in. But'ThircIIy, what rnakes the fin of profane fweariiio; appear yet more exceeding finful, is, tliat it hardens infidels againft the chriftian religion.

It is the Apoftle Peierh advice to the married perfons of his time, that they fiiould walk as became the gofpel of Christ, that thofe who were without, might be won to embrace the chriftian religion, by feeing and obferving their pious conver-fation coupled together with fear. And what the Apoftle prclles on married perfons, we find elfewhere enjoined on each particular member of the church. Accordingly we are commanded by our bleflld Lord, to *' let our light foftiine before men, that they may fee our good works, and glorify our Father which is in heaven :" And the Apoftle Paul bids us *' walk circumfpedly towards them that are without, redeeming the firne j" thnt js, embracing all opportunities to do them good,

'' bccaufe

'' becaufe the days are evil.'* But alas ! in what a direct contradi6tion does the profane fwearer live to this and fuch-like precepts, who, inrtcad of gaining profclytes to Christ from the unbelieving part of the world, does all he can to op-pofe it! For how can it be expected, that infidels fhould honour our God, when chriftlans thenifelves defpife him; or that any fhould embrace our religion, when profeflbrs of h themfelves make fo light of one of its ftrid^efl commands ? No ; to our grief and fhame be it fpoken, it is by reafon of fuch impieties as thefe, that our holy religion (the beft and pureft in iti'elf) is become a by-word among the heathen; that the facred authority of the holy Jesus and his doctrine is defpifed ; and " God's name (as it is written) blafphemed among the GentUes.''

Thefe cannot but be fad ftumbling-blocks and ofFences in the way of our brethren's converfion : " But woe be to thofe men by whom fuch offences come.'* We may fay of them, as our blefled Lord did of Judas, " It had been belter for fuch men, that they had never been born :** Or, as he threatens i» another place, " It fhall be more tolerable for Sodom and G(7-tnorrah in the day of judgment, than for fuch fmners."

But this is not all j As profane fwearing muft undoubtedly harden thofe in their infidelity, that are without, fo muft it no lefs grieve and give great offence to thofe honeft and Uncere perfons that are within the church. We hear of David's complaining and crying out, " Woe is me, that I am con-ftrained to dwell with Mejech^ and to have my habitation amongft the tents o^ Kedar-,'' that is, that he was obliged to live and converfe with a people exceedingly wicked and profane. And St. Peter tells us, that " Lot's righteous foul was grieved day by day, whilft he faw and obferved the ungodly converfation of the wicked." And no doubt it was one great part of our bkffcd Mailer's fufferings whilft on earth, that he v/as compelled to coiiverfe with a wicked and perverfe generation, and to hear his heavenly Father's facred name profaned and fcoffed at by unrighteous and wicked men. And furely it cannot but pierce the heart of every true and fincere chriftian, of every one that does in any meafure partake of the fpirit of his MaOer, to hear the multitude of oaths and curfes which proceed daily and hourly out of the mouths of many people, and

thofe

thofe too, whofe liberal education, and Teeming regard for the welfare of religion, one would think, {hould teach them (i more becoming behaviour. To hear the great and terrible name of God polluted by men, which is adored by angels ; and to confider how often that facred name is profaned in common difcourfc, which we are not woithy to mention in our prayers : this, I fay, cannot but make each of them cry out with holy David^ " Woe is me, that I am conftralned to dwell with Mefech^ and to have my habitation amongft the tents of Kedary And though the blafphemous and profane difcourfes of others, will not be imputed to fincere perfons for fm, fo long as they " have no fcllowfliip with fuch hellifii fruits of darknefs, but rather reprove them j" yet it will greatly enhance the prefent guilt, and fadly increafe the future puniiliment of every profane fwearer, by whom fuch offences <:ome. For if, as our Saviour tells us, *^ it had been better for a man to have a mill-ftone tied about his neck, than that he fliould offend one of his little ones, (that is, the weakeft of his difciples) how much forer punifnment will they be thought worthy of," who not only caufe God's name uo be blafphcmed among the Gentiles^ and the religion of our dear Kedeemer to be abhorred ; but who make his faints to weep and mourn, and vex their righteous fouls from day to day, by their ungodly, profane, and blafphemous converfation ? Surely, as Gor) will put the tears of the one into his bottle, fo it will be juft in him to punifh the other with eternal forrow, for all their ungodly and hard fpeeches, and caft them into a lake of fire and brimftone, where they fliall be glad of a drop of water to cool thofe tongues, with which they have fo often blafphemed the Lord of Hofts, and grieved the people of pur God.

IV. But it is time for me to proceed to give my Fourth and laft rcafon, why common fwearing is fo exceeding fmful; and that is, Becaufe it is fuch an extremity of fin, that can only be matched in hell, where all are defperate, and without hope of mercy.

The damned devils, and damned fouls of men in hell, may

be fuppofcd to rave and bbfpheme in their torments, becaufe

they know that the chains wherein ihey are held, can never be

5 knocked

r 284 1

knoclcetl ofF: but for men that fwim in the river of God's ^roodnefs, whofc mercies are renewed to them every morning, and who are vifitcd with fiefh tokens of his infinite unmerited loving-kindnefs every moment : for thefe favourite creatures to fet their mouths againft heaven, and to blafpheme a gracious, patient, all-bountiful GoD ; is a height of fin which exceeds the blacknefs and impiety of devils and hell itfclf.

And now, after what has been here offered, to fhew the hei-noufnefs of profane curfing and fwearing in common conver-fation, may I not very juflly addrefs myfelf to you in the words of the text, " Therefore I fay unto you, Swear not at all j" fince it is a fin that has no temptation in nature, nor brings any pleafure or profit to the committer of it; fince it hardens infidels in their infidelity, and affords fad caufes of grief and lamentation to every honeft chriftian ; fince it is a fin that generally grows into a habit i and laftly, fuch a fia that can only be matched in hell.

I. And firfl then, if thefe things be fo, and the fin of profane fwearing, as h^th been in fome meafure (hewn, is fo exceeding finful, what fhall we fay to fuch unhappy men, who think it not only allowable, but fafhionable and polite, to *' take the name of God in vain ;" who imagine that fwear-iwy makes them look big among their companions, and really thir.k it a piece of honour to abound in it ? But alas ! little do they think that fuch a behaviour argues the greateft degeneracy of mind and fool-hardinefs, that can pollibly be thought of. For what can be more bafe, than one hour to pretend to adore God in public worfhip, and the very next moment to blafpheme his name : indeed, fuch a behaviour, from perfons who deny the being of a God, (if any fuch fools there be) is not altogether fo much to be wondered at ; but for men, who not only fubfcribe to the belief of a Deity, but likewife acknowledge him to be a God of infinite majefty and power j for fuch men to blafpheme his holy name, by profane curfing and fwearing, and at the fame time confefs, that this very God has exprefsly declared, he will not hold him guiltlefs, but will certainly and eternally punifh (without repentance) him that takcth his name in vain ; is fuch an inf^ance of fool-hardinefs, as well as bafcnefs, that can fcarcely be paralleled. Xhis is what they prefume not to do in other cafes of hC$

danger \

danger : they dare not revile a general at the head of his army, nor rouze a fleeping lion when within reach of his paw. And is the Almighty God, the great Jehovah, the cvcrlailing King, who can confume thcin by the breath of his noiuils'^ and frown them to hell in an inltant; is he the only contemptible being in their account, that may be provoked without fear, and offended without punifliment? No; though God bear long, he will not bear always: the time will come, and that too, perhaps, much fooner than fuch perfons may exped, when God will vindicate his injured honour, when he will lay bare his almighty arm, and make tbofe wretches feel the eternal fmart of his juftice, whole power and name they have fo often vilified and blafphemed. Alas ! v/hat will become of all their bravery then ? Will they then wantonlv jport with the name of their Maker, and call upon the King of all the earth to damn them any more in jcft ? No ; their note will then be changed : indeed, they (hall call, but it will be for " the rocks to fall on them, and the hills to cover them from the wrath of him that fitteth upon the throne, and from the Lamb for ever." It is true, time was when they prayed, though v/ithout thought, perhaps, for damnation both for themfelves and others : and now they will find their prayers anfwered. " They delighted in curfmg, therefore ihall it happen unto them ; thcfy loved not blefling, therefore {hall ic be far from them j they cloathed themfelves with cur-fing like as with a garment, and it fliall come into their bowels like water, and like oil into their bones.'*

2. But farther, if the Cin of fweaiing is (o exceeding heinous, and withal fo common, then it is every particular person's duty, efpecially thofe that are in authority, to do their utmoft towards difcountenancing and fupprcffing fo mali'^-nant a crime. The duty we owe both to God and our neighbour, requires this at our hands: by the one we are obliged to afTert our iVJaker's honour ; by the other to prevent our neighbour's ruin : and it is but doing as we would be done by, and as wc ourfelves a£l in cafes of Icfl'er confequence. \Vere we to hear either our own or our friend's good name vilified and traduced, we fliould think it our bounden duty to vindicate the wronged reputation of each : and fhall the great, terrible, and holy name of qui beft and only fiicnd, our king,

our

our father, nay our God : (hall this be daily, nay every moment, defied and blafphemed ; and will no one dare to ftand up in defence of his honour and holinefs ? Be aftoniOied, O heavens, at this ! No; let us fcorn all fuch bafe and treacherous treatment: let us refolve to fupport the caufe of religion, and with a becominp- prudent couraf^e manifeft our zeal for the

or ^

honour of the Lord of Hofts. Men in authority have dou-b'e the advantages of ordinary chriftians : their very office flicvvs they are intended for the punifhment of evil doers. And fuch is the degeneracy of mankind, that the generality of them will be more influenced by the power of perfons in authority, than by the moft laboured exhortations from the pulpit. To fuch, therefore, if there are any here prefent, I humbly addrefs myfelf, befeeching them, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to do their utmoft to put a flop to, and reftrain profane curfmg and fwearing. And though it mufl: be confeffcd, that this is a work which requires a great deal of courage and pains, yet they would do well to confider, it is for God they undertake it, who certainly will fupport and bear them out in a due execution of their office heife^ and reward them with an exceeding and eternal weight of glory hereafter. But it is time to draw towards a conclufion.

3. Let me, therefore, once more addrefs myfelf to every perfon here prefent, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ 5 and if any amongft them have been any way guilty of this notorious fin of fwearing, let mc entreat them by all that is near and dear to them, that they would neither give the magiftrate the trouble to punifh, nor their friends any reafon for the future to warn them againft committing the crime ; but keep a conftant and careful watch over the door of their IIp^, and withal implore the divine affiftance (without which all is nothing) that they offend no more fo fcandaloufly v.'ith their tongues. Let them ferioufly lay to heart, what with great plainnefs and fimplicity has here been delivered: and if they have any regard for themfelves a§ men, or their reputation as chriftians ; if they Would not be a public fcandal to their pro-feflion, or a grief to all that know or converfe with them : in fhort, if they would not be devils incarnate here, and provoke God to punifli them eternally hereafter; I fay unto them in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, " Swear not at all.'*

SERMON

C 2S7 3

SERMON XIX

Christ the Support of the Tempted.

M ATTH EW vi. I 3.

Lead us not into temptation,

THE great and important duty which is incumbent on chrifiians, is to guard againft all appearance of evil; to watch againft the firft rifings in the heart to evil; and to have a guard upon our a6i:ions, that they may not be finful, or fo much as feem to be fo. It is true, the devil is tempting us continually, and our own evil hearts are ready to join with the tempter, to make us fall into fins, that he thereby may obtain a victory over us, and that we, my brethren, may be his fubjecls, his fervants, his flaves ; and then by-and-by he will pay us our wages, which will be death temporal, and death eternal. Our Lord Jesus Christ faw how his people would be tempted ; and that the great enemy of their fouls would lay hold of every opportunity, fo he could but be a means of keeping poor finners from coming to the Lord Jesus Christ; hurrying you with temptation, to drive you to fome great fins ; and then if he cannot gain you over, fall it to a fmaller, and fait his temptations time after time ; and when he finds none of thefe things will do, often tranf-form himfelf into an aneel of li^hr, and by that means make the foul fall into fin, to the difhonour of God, and the wounding of itfelf: the Lord Jesu:?, I fay, feeing how liable his difciples, and all others, would be to be overcome by temptation, therefore advifes them, when they pray, to beg that they might not be led into temptation. It is fo dangerous to en2;age fo fubtle and powerful an enemy as Satan is, that we fhall be overcome as often as we ^\^'pg^'i unlcfs the

Lord

Lord is on our f^dc. My brechien, if you were left to ycur-felves, you would be overcome by every temptation with which you are befet.

Theie words are part of the prayer which Christ taught his difciples; and I fliall, therefore, make no doubt, but that you all believe them to he true, fince they are fpuken by one who cannot lie. I Tnail,

I. Shew you who it is that tempts 5'ou.

II. Shall (hew, my brethren, why he tempts you.

III. Mention fonre of the ways and means he makes ufe of^ to draw you over to his temptations.

IV. Let you fee how earneft you ought to be to the Lordj that he may preferve you from being led into temptation.

V. I fl^all make fom.e application by way of entreaty unto vou, to come unto Christ, that he^ my brethren, may deliver you from being tempted^

I. Firft^ We are to con fid er who it is that tempts yc.

And the Tempter is Satan, the prince of the power of the air, he that now ruleth in the children of difobedience j he is an enemy to God and goodnef?, he is a hater of all truth : Why elfe did he flander GoD in paradife ? Why did he tell Eve, " You fhall not furely die ?" He is full of maiice^ envy, and revenge ■ for what reafons elfe could induce him to moleft innocent man in paradife ? The pi-rfon that tempts ye, my brethren, is remarkable for his fubtilty : for having not power given him from above, he is obliged to wait for opportunities to betray us, and to catch us by guile : he, therefore, made ufe of ths ferpcnt to tempt our firft parents : and to lie in wait to deceive, is another part of his character. And though this charader is given of the devil, if we were to examine our own hearts^ we flioulJ find many of the tempter's characters legible in us.

Do not many of you love to make a lie ? And if it is done in your trade, you therefore look on it as excufable; but whether you believe it or not, it is finful, it is exceedingly finful. Thougli you may value yourfelves as fine rational

creatures,

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eteatures, and that you are noble beings 5 and you were Co as you firll came out of God's hands; but now you are fjlJcn there is nothlni^ lovely, nothing dcfirable in man ; his heart is a ilnk of pollution, full of fni and unclcannefs : Yet though a man's own heart is (o dcfpcrately wicked, he is told by our modern polite preachers, that there is a fitnefs in men and that God feeing you a good creature, gives you his grace ; but this, though it is a modern, polite, and fafhion.ible way of talking, is very unfcriptural ; it is very contrary to the dodrines of the Reformation, and to our own Articles. But however contrary to the do£lrines of the Church of Englandj yet our pulpits ring of nothing more, than doing no one any harm, living honeftly, loving your neighbour as yourfelves^ and do v/hat you can, and then Christ is to make up the deficiency : this is making Christ to be half a faviour, and man the other part; but I fay, Christ will be your whole righteoufnefs, your whole wifdom, your whole fandificationj or elfe he will never be your whole redemption. How amazing is it, that the minifk-rs of the church of England fhould fpeak quite contrary to what they have fubfcnbed ! Good GcD ! if thefe are the guides of the ignorant, and efleemed to be the true minifters of Jesus, becaufe they have a great {hare of letter-learning ; when at the fame time they are only the blind leaders of the blind j and without a fpecial Providence, they both v.'ill fall into the ditch.

No wonder at people's talking of the fttnefs and unfitncfs of I* 'ngs, when they can tell us, that the Spirit of God, is a good confcience, and the comforts of the Holy Ghoft are con-fequent thereupon. But this is wrong ; for it fhould be faid, the Spirit of GoD, are the comforts of the H^ly Ghofl, and a good confcience confequent thereupon. Seneca^ Cicero, TlatOy or any of the heathen philofophers, would have given as good a definition as this j it means no more than rcflcding we have done well.

But let thefe modern, polite gentlemen, and let my letter-learned brethren, pajnt man in as lovely colours as they pleafe, I will not do it: 1 dare not make him better than the word of God does. If I was to paint man in hia proper colours, I mufi: go to the kingdom of hell for a copy : for maa is by nature full of pride, fuhtilty, malice, envy, revenge.

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[ 290 1 and all uncharitablenefs; and what are thefe but the tempers of the devil ? and luft, fenfuality, plcafurc, thefe are the tempers of the beaft. Thus, my brethren, man is halfabeaft, and half a'devil, a motley mixture of the beaft and devil. And this is the creature, who has made himfelf fo obnoxious to the wrath of God, and open to his indignation, that is told, that he muft be part his own faviour, by doing good works, and what he cannot do Christ will do for him.

This is giving the tempter great room to come in with his temptation ; he may prefs a foul to follow moral duties, to go to church, take the facramcnt, read, pray, meditate; the devil is well content you fliould do all thefe; but if they are done in your own ftrength, or if you go no farther than here, you are only going a fmoother way to hell.

Thus, my brethren, you may fee who it is that tempts us. But

II. Why he tempts you, is the fecond thing I am to fhew you.

It is out of envy to you, and to the Lord Jesus Christ, he endeavours to keep you from clcfing with Jesus; and if he can but keep you from laying hold by faith on CHRrsT, he knows he has you fafe enough ; and the more temptations you are under, and according to their nature and greatnefs, you are more hurried in your minds; and the more unfettled yo^ir thoughts and affeclions are, the mora apt you are to conclude, that if you were to go to Christ, at prefent, in all that hurry of mind, he would not receive you ; but this is the policy of the tempter, to make you have low and difhonourable thoughts of the blefTed Jesus ; and fo by degrees he works upon your minds, that you are carelefs and indifferent about Christ. This, this, my brethren, is the defign of the tempter. Nothing will pleafe him more, than to fee you ruined and loft for ever. He tempts you for that end, that you may lofe your intereft in Jesus Christ, and that you may dwell with him and apoftate fpirics to all eternity. He knows that Jesus Christ died for fmners, yet he would fain keep fouls from feeking to this city of refuge for fhelter, and from going to Gikad for the true balm.

It is he that rules In thy heart, O fcofFer, O Pharipe ; the devil reigns there, and endeavours to blind your eyes, that you fhall not fee what danger you are in, and how much evil there is in thofe hearts of yours ; and as long as he can keep you eafy and unconcerned about having your hearts changed, he will be eafy; though if he can, he will tempt you to fm againft him, until you are hardened in your iniquity. O, my brethren, do not give the devil a handle wherewith he may lay hold on you : alas ! it is no wonder that the devil tempts you, when he finds you at a play, a ball, or mafquerade ; if you are doing the devil's work, it is no wonder if he prcfTes you in the continuation thereof; and how can any fay, " Lead us not into temptation," in the morning, when they are refolved to run into it at night ? Good God ! Are thefe perfons members of the church of England? Alas, when you have gone to church, and read over the prayers, it is offering no more than the facrifice of fools ; you fay Amen to them with your lip% when in your hearts you are either unconcerned at what you are about, or elle you thirk that the bare faying oV yout prayers is fufficient, and that then God and you have balanced accounts.

But, my dear brethren, do not deceive yourfelves, God is not to be mocked. You are only ruining yourfelves for time and eternity. You pray, " lead us not into temptation," when you are tempting the devil to come and tempt you,

Iir. I (hall now point out feme of the ways and means, he makes ufe of to draw you to himfelf.

But this is a field fo large, and I have but juPl begun to be a foldier of Jesus Christ, that I cannot name many unto you. I (hall therefore be very (hort on this head.

I. He endeavours to make you think fm is not fo rrcat as it is; that there is no occafion of being fo over-flricl, and that you are righteous over-much ; that you are oftentatious, and will do yourfelf harm by it; and that you will deftroy yourfelves. He {hows you, my brethren, the hair, but he hides the hook; he (hows you the pleafure, profits and advantages, that attend abundance of this world's goods; but he does not fhow you the crufTe?, lofTes and vexations that you

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[ '292 ] inay have while you are in the enjoyment of the blelTings of this world.

2. When he finds he cannot allure you by flattery, he will try you by frowns, and the terrors of this world ; he will flir up people to point at you, and cry, " Here comes another «* troop of his followers:" He will iHr them up to jeer, fcofF, backbite, and hate you; but if he flill finds this will not do, then he throws doubts, my brethren, and difcouragements in your mind, whether the way you are in is the true way or not; or elfe he will fugged:, What! do you expe£l to be faved by Christ ? Alfo, He did not die for you; you have been too great a finner; you have lived in fin fo long, and committed fuch fins againft Christ, which he will not forgive. Thus he hurries poor finners almoft into defpair.

And very often, when the people of GoD are met to wor-(hip him, he fends his agents, the fcoffers, to difturb them. We faw an inftance of their rage juft now; they would fain have difturbed us ; but the Lord was on our fide, and fo pre-ventecf all the attempts of wicked and defigning men, to difturb and difquiet us. Lord Jesus, forgive them who are thus perfccuting thy truth ! Jesus, fhcw them that they arc fighting againft thee, and that it is hard for them to kick againft the pricks! Thefe, my brethren, are fome of the ways Satan takes, in his temptations, to bring you from Christ : Many more might be named ; but thefe are fufRcient, I hope, to keep you on your guard, againft all that the enemy can do to hinder you from coming to Christ.

IV. 1 come to (hew you, how earneft you ought to be with Jesus Christ, either not to fufter you to be led into temptations, or to preferve you under them.

And here, my dear brethren, let me befeech you to go to Jesus Christ ; tell him, how you are aflaulted by the evil one, who lies in wait for your fouls; tell him, you are not able to matter him, in your own ftrength ; beg his affiftance, and you ftiall find him ready to help you; ready to affift you, and to be your Guide, your Comforter, your Saviour, your All: He v/ill give you ftrength to refift the fiery darts of the devil; and, therefore, you can no where find one fo proper to relieve you, as Jesus Christ j he knows what it is to be 3 * tempted j

tempted ; he was tempted by Satan in the wildcrnefs, and he will give you the afTiilance of his Spirit, to rcfift the evil one, and then he will fly from you. In Christ Jesus you (hall have the flrcngth you ftand in need of, the devil {hall have no power 5 therefore fear not, for in the name of the Lord we fliall overcome all our fpiritual Amalekiies: Let the devil and his agents rage, let them breathe out thrcatnings, yea. Jet them breathe out flaughters, yet we can rejoice in this, that Jesus Christ hath them in his power, they {hall go no farther than he permits them; they may rage, they may rage horribly, but they can go no farther, until they have got more power from on high.

If they could do us what mifchief they would, very few of us fhould be permitted to fee our habitations any more; but, bleiled be God, we can commit ourfelves to his proteclioa ; he has been our proteclor hitherto, he will be fo {lill. Then earne{ily intreat of the Lord to fupport you under thofc temptations, which the devil may afTault you with ; he is a powerful adverfary, he is a cunning one too ; he would be too hard for us, unlefs we have the ftrength of Christ ro be with us. But let us be lucking up unto Jesus, that he would fend his Spirit into our hearts, and keep us from falling. O my dear brethren in Christ Jesus, how {lands it now between God and your fouls ? Is Jesus altogether lovely to your fouls ? is he precious unto you ? I am fure, if you have not gone back from Christ, he will not from you; he will root out the accurfed things of this world, and dwell in your hearts. You are candidates for heaven 3 and will you mind earth ? What are all the pleafures of earth, without an in-tereft in the Lord Jesus Christ ? And one fmile from him is more to be defired than rubies, yea more than the whole world.

O you who have found Jesus Christ affifting you, and fupporting you under all the temptations of this life, will you forfake him ? have you not found him a gracious maiter ? is he not the chiefeft of ten thoufand, and altogether lovely? Now you fee a form and comelinefs in Christ, which you never faw before. O! how do you and I wifli we had known Jesus fooner, and that we had more of his love; it is con-dpfcei;ding love, it is amazing, it is forgiving love, it is dying

T 3 I'^ve,

lovp, it is exalted and interceding love, and it is glorified love. Methinlcs when I am talking of the love of Jesus Christ, v/ho loved me before i loved him ; iie faw me polluted in blood, full of fores, a ilave to fin, to death and h^^ll, running to dcftruiSHon, then he paOtd by me, and faid unto my foul, '' Livej" he fnatched me as a brand plucked from the burning. It was love that fiVcd me, it was all of the free grace of GoD, and that only. The littk experience I have had of this love, makes me amazed at the condefcenfion, the love, and merciful-nefs of the blcfied Jesus, that he Ihould have mercy upon fuch a wretch. O, my brethren, the kingdom of God is within me, aid this fills me fo full of love, that I would not be in my natural (late again, not for millions of millions of worlds; I long to be with Jesus, to live with the Lord that bought m.', to live forever with the Lamb that was {lain, and to fing Hallelujah's unto him. Eternity itfelf will be too fhort to fet forth the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 cannot, indeed I cannot forbear fpeaking again, and again, and again, of the Lord Jesus.

And if there are any here who are fl:rangers to this love of the L:)RD Jesus Christ, do not defpair; come, come unto Christ, and he v/ill have mercy upon you, he will pardon all your fins, he will heal all your backllidings, he will love you freely, and take you to be v/ith hjmfelf. Come therefore, O my guilty brethren, unto Jesus, and you fhall find reft for your fouls. You need not fear, you need not defpair, when God has had mercy upon fuch a v^^rctch as I ; and he will fave you alfo, if you will come unto him^ by faith.

Why do ye delay? What ! do you fay, you are poor, and therefore afhamed to come? It ib not your poverty that Christ mindeth ; come in all your rags, in ail your pollution, and he will fave you. Do not depend upnn any thing but rhe blood of Jesus Christ ; do not iiand out an hour longer, but give your hearts to Christ, give him the nifilings of the flock; come unto him nov/, left he fliould cut you ofi-^ before you are prepared, and your foul be feiit to that pit from whence there is no redemption.

Do not waver, but give him that which he defires, your hearts; it is the heart the Lord Jesus Christ wanteth j and when you have an inward principle wiought in your hearts

5 ty

by this fame Jesus, then you will feel the fweetncfs and plca-fure of communion with God. O confider, my brethren, the love of the Lord Je^us Christ, in dying for you ; and are you refolved to l];ght his dying love ? Your 1ms brought Christ from heaven, and 1 humbly pray to the Lord that they may not be a means of fendmg you to hell. What language will make you leave your fms and come to Christ ? O that I did but know 1 and that it lay in my power to give you this grace; not one of you, not the greatell: fcoftcr here fhould go hence before he was changed from a natu-^al to a fpiritual life; then, then we would rejoice and take fwect council together; but all this is not in my power : but I tell you where you may have it, even of the Lord Jesus; he will give it to you, if you afk it of him, for he has told us, *' AfK, and you fhall receive;" therefore afk of him, and if you are repulfed again and again, intreat him more, and he will be unto you as he was to the poor Syrophcenician woman, who came to Christ on account of her daughter; and if {he was fo importunate to him for a body, how much more fliouM we be folicitous for our fouls? If you feek to him in faith, his anfwer will be to you as it was to her, " Thy faith hath faved thee, be it as thou wouldefl: have it."

O, do not forfake the feekmg of the Lord ; do not, I befeech you, negledt the opportunities v^/nich may be <^f}'ered to you, for the falvation of your fouls; forfake not the afllm-bling of yourfelves together, to build up and confirm and flrengthen thofe who are weak in faith ; to convince finners, that they may feel the power of God pricking ihem in their hearts, and make them cry out, " What muft we do to be faved ?"

The devil and his agents have their clubs of revelling, and their focieties of drunkennefs; they are not afhamed to be ken and heard doing the devil their master's works; they are not afhamtd to proclaim him ; and fure you are not aftiamcd of the Lord Jesus Christ ; you dare proclnim that Jesus, who died that you might live, and who will own you before his Father and all the holy angels: Therefore, dare to be fingularly good ; be not afraid of the face of man ; let not all the threats of the men of this world move you : what is the lofs of all the grandeur, or pleafure, or reputaaon of this

T 4 life.

life, compared to the lofs of heaven, of Christ snd of \'oiir fouls? and as for the reproaches of the world, do not mind them ; when they revile you, never, never revile again ; do not anfwer r::iling with railing; but let iove, kinJ'v;M"s, m.eck-nefs, patience, long-fuffering, be found in you, a-^^ they were in the blciled Jesus ; therefore, I befeech you, do not negie(Sl: the frequent coming together, and tellit^g each otlier, what great things Jesus Christ hath done for your fouls,

1 do not now, as the Phariiees fay I do, encourage you to leave your lawful callings, and your bufinefs, in which God, by his providence, hath placed you ; fur you have two callings, the one a general, and the other a I'pecial one; it is your duty to regard your familes, and if you negleft them out of any pretence whatfoever, as going to church or to focieties, you are out of the way of your duty, and offering that to God which he commanded you not. But then, my brethren, you are to take care that the things of this life do not hinder the preparing for that which is to come; let not the bufinefs of the world make you unmindful of your fouls; but in all your moral actions, in the bufinefs of life, let all be done with a view to the glory of God, and the falvation of your fouls.

The night draws on, and obliges me to haften to a conclu-fion ; though, methinks, I could fpeak until my tongue clave to the roof of my mouth, yea, until I could fpeak no more, if it was to fave your fouls from the paws of him who feekeih to devour them.

Therefore let me befeech you, in all love and compaiTion : Confider, you, who are Pharifees; you, who will not come to Christ, but are trufting to yourfejvcs for righteoufnefs; who think, bccaufe you lead civil, honeft, decent lives, all will go well at lad; but let me tell you, O ye Pharifees, that harlots, murderers, and thieves, fliail enter the kingdom of God before you. Do not flatter yourfelves of being in the way to heaven, when you are in the broad way to hell; but if you will throw away your righteoufnefs and come to Christ, and be contented to let Jesus Christ do all for you, and in you, then Christ is willing to be your Saviour; but if you bring your good works with you, and think to be juflifitd on the account of them, you may feek to be juftified by them for ever, :ind never feejuilified; no, it is only the blood of Jesus that

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eleanfeth us from the filth and pollution of all our.fins; and you muft be fandified before you are juftified. As for good ivorks, we are juftified before God without any refpcdl to them, either paft, prcTcnt, or to come : when we are jufiifieJ, good works will follow our juftification, for we can do no good works, until we are cleanfed of our pollution, by the faniStification of the Spirit of God.

0 ye fcofFcrs, come and fee this Jesus, this Lord of glory whom you have defpifed ; and if you will but come to Christ, he will be willing to receive you, notwithftandino-all the perfecution you have ufed towards his members: However, if you are refolved to perfift in your obftinacy, remember, falvation was offered to you, that Christ and free 'yracc v/cre propofed ; but you refufed to accept of either, and therefore your blood will be required at your own hands.

1 fiiall only fay this unto you, that hov/ever you may defpife either me or my miniilry, I fliall not regard it, but fliall frequently fhew you your danger, and propofe to you the remedy; and (hall earneftly pity and pray for you, that God would fliew you your error, and bring you home into his {heepfold, that you, from ravenous lions, may become peaceful lambs.

And as for you, O my brethren, who defire to chufe Christ for your Lord, and to experience his power upon your fouls, and as yet do not iind your defires and prayers anfvvered; goon, and Christ will manifeft himfelf unto you, as he does not unto the world ; you fhall be made to fee and feel this love of Jesus upon your fouls ; you fhall have a wit-nefs in your own breaft, that you are the Lord's ; therefore, do not fear, the Lord Jesus Christ will gather you with his ele6l, when he comes at that great day of accounts, to judge every one according to the deeds done in the body, whether they be good, or whether they be evil: and, O that the thought of anfwering to God for all our a£lions, would make us more mindful about the confequences that will attend it.

And now let me addrefs all of you, high and low, rich and poor, one with another, to accept of mercy and grace while it is offcre-.: to you : Now is the accepted time, now is the day of falvation; and will you not accept it, now it is oiTcrcd unio you? do not fland out one moment longer; but come

ai)ti

and accept of Jesus Christ in his own way, and then you fliall be taken up at the laft day, and be with him for ever and ever: and fure this fhould make you defirous of being with that Jesus who has done fo much for you, and is now interceding for you, and preparing manfions for youj where may we all arrive and fit down with Jesus to all eternity !

Which God of his infinite mercy grant,, &c.

SERMON

SERMON XX.

Worldly bufinefs no Plea for the Negledl of Religion.

Matthew viii. 22. Let the dead bury their dead.

ST. PW preaching at Athens^ tells them, that as he pafTcd by and beheld their devotions, he perceived they were in all things too fnper/iitious. But was this apoftle to rife, and C'jms publiining the glad t.dings of falvation in any of our populous cities, he would fee no reafon why he fhould charge the inhabitants with this ; but rather as he pafTed by and obferved the tenor of their life, fay, I perceive in all things ye are too vjorldly-minded; ye are too eagerly bent on purfuing your lawful bufinefs ; fo eagerly, as either wholly to negle6^, or at lead too heedlefly to attend on the one thing needful.

There cannot then be a greater charity fliewn to the chrif-tian world, than to found an alarm in their ears, and to warn them of the inexpreflible danger, of continually grafping after the things of this life, without being equally, nay a thou^ fand times more concerned for their well-being in a future ilate.

And there is ftill the more occafion for fuch r.n alarm, be-caufe worldly-mindednefs fo eafily and craftily belcts the hearts of men. For out of a fpecious pretence of ferving GoD in labouring for the meat which perifheth, they are infcnfibly lulled into fuch a fpiritual llumber, as fcarce to perceive their neglect to fecare that which endureth to everlafting life.

The

[ Soo ]

The words of the text, if not at firft view, yet when examined and explained, will be found applicable to this calc, as containing an admirable caucioa not to purfue the affairs of this world, at the expence of our happinefs in the next.

They are the words of Jesus Christ himfclf: the occa-fion of their being ipoken was this; As ne was convcrfmg with thofe that were gathered round about him, he gave one of them an immediate fummons to follow him : but he, eiiher afraid to go afrer fuch a perfecuted mailer, or rather loving this prefent world, fays, " Suffer me hrft to go home and bury my father," or, as moft explain it, let me lirft go and difpatch fome niiportant bufmcfs 1 have now in hand. But Jesus faid unto him, " Let the dead bury their dead •," leave worldly bufmefs to worldly men, let thy fecular buhnefs be left undone, rather than thou fhouldii neglecl to follow me.

Whether this perfon did as he was commanded, I know not; but this i know, that what Christ faid here in perfon, he has often whifpered with the fmall ftill voice of his holy Spirit, and faid to many here prefent, that rife up early and late take reft, and eat the bread of carefulnefs, Come draw off your aP/tdions from the things of this life; take up your crofs and follow me. But they, willing tojuftify themfelves, make anfwer. Lord, fuffer us hril to bury our fathers, or difpatch our fecular affairs. I fay unto all fuch, " Let the dead bury their dead," let your worldly bufmefs be left undone, rather than you {l:ould neglect to follow him.

From the words thus explained, naturally arifes this propofi-tion, that no bufmefs, though ever io important, can juftify a negledt of true religion.

The truth of which i fhall firft fhevv, and then make aa application of it.

L Fi};/i then, I am to prot^e, that no temporal bufmefs, though ever fo important, canjuftify a neglect of true religion.

By the word religion^ I do not mean any fct of m.oral virtues, any partial amendment of ourfelves, or formal attendance on any outward duties whatfoever : but an application of Christ's whole and perfonal righteotifnefs, made by faith

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to our hearts ; a thorough real change of nature wrought iii us by the invifible, yet powerful operation of the Holy GhoR, preferved and nourifhed in our fouls by a conftant ufe of all the means of grace, evidenced by a good life, and bringin<r forth the fruits of the Spirit.

This is true and undefiled religion, and for the perfecting this good work in our hearts, the eternal Son of God came down and Ihed his precious blood ; for this end were we made, and fent into the world, and by this alone can we become the Tons of God. Were we indeed to judge by the common practice of the world, we might think: we were fent into it for no other purpofe, than to care and toil for the uncertain riches of this life : but if we confult the lively oracles, they will inform us, that we were born for nobler ends, even to be born again from above, to be reftored to the divine like-nefs by Jesus Christ, ouf fccond Adam^ and thereby be made meet to inherit the kingdom of heaven ; and confe-quently, there is aji obligation laid upon all, even the moft bufy people, to fecure this end ; it being an undeniable truth, that all creatures ought to anfwer the end for which they were created.

Some indeed are for confiuing religion to the clergy, and think it only belongs to thofe who ferve at the altar : but what a fatal miftake is this, feeing all perfons are indifferently called by God to the fame ftate of inward holinefs. As wc are all corrupt in our nature, fo muft we all be renewed and fandiiied. And though it muft be granted, that the clergy lie under double obligations to be examples to believers, in faith, zeal, charity, and whatever elfe is commendable and ©f good report, as being more immediately dedicated to the fervice of God ; yet as we have been all baptized with one baptifm into the death of Christ, wc are all under the ne-ceflity of performing our baptifmal covenant, and perfcding holinefs in the fear of God : for the holy fcripturcs point out to us but one way of admiffion into the kingdom of Christ, through the narrow gate of a found converfion : and he that does not enter into the fheepfuld, whether clergy or lay-man, by this door, will find, to his everlafting confufion, there is no climbing up another way.

Bcfides,

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Belides, what a grofs ignorance of the nature of true religion, as well as of our own happinefs, does fuch a diftinclioa difcover ? For what does our Saviour, by willing us to be religious, require of us ? but to fubdue our corrupt paffions, to root out ill habits, to engraft the heavenly graces of God's moft holy Spirit in their room ; and, in one word, to fill us with all the fulnefs of God.

And will men be fo much their own enemies, as to affirm this belongs only to thofe who minifter in holy things ? Does it not equally concern the m®fl: active man living ? Is it the end of religion to make men happy, and is it not every one's privilege to be as happy as he can ? Do perfons in bufinefs find the corruptions of their rtature, and diforder of their pafllons, fo pleafing, that they care not whether they ever regulate or root them out ? Or will they confent that minif-ters fhall be alone partakers of the inheritance of the faints in light ? If not, as they defire the fame end, why will they not make ufe of the fame means ? Do they think that God will create a new thing upon the earth, and, contrary to the purity of his nature, and immutability of his counfel, admit them into heaven in their natural ftate, becaufe they have been encumbred about many worldly things ? Search the fcriptures, and fee if they give any room for fuch a ground-lefs hope.

But farther, one would imagine there was fomething of the highefl concern and utmoil importance in our temporal affairs, that they (hould divert fo many from purifying their hearts by faith which is in Christ Jesus.

A covetous mifcr, who ncglc6ts religion by being continually intent on feeking great things for himfelf and thofe of his own houfhold, flatters himfelf he herein a£ts moft wifely ; and at the fame time will cenfure and condemn a young prodigal, who has no time to be devout, becaufe he is fo perpetually engaged in wafting his fubftance by riotous living and following of harlots. But yet a little while, and men will be convinced, that they are as much without excufe who lofe their fouls by hunting after riches, as thofe who lofe them by hunting after fcnfual pleafures. For though bufinefs may aftume an air of importance, when compared with other trifling amufements, yet when put in the balance

witU

with the lofs of our precious and immortal fouls, it is equally frivolous, according to that of our Saviour, '« What flia!] it' profit a man, it he fiiall gain the whole world, and lofe his own foul j or what iliall a man give in exchange for his foul ?"

And now what need we any further proof? We have heard the decifion out of Christ's own mouth. But bccaufe it is fo difficult to convince fuch of this important truth, whofe hearts arc blinded by the deceitfulnefs of riches, that we had need cry out to them in the language of the prophet, ^' O earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord," I fliall lay before you one paiTiige of fcripture more, which I could wifh were written on the tables of all our hearts. In the xivth of St. Luke, the i8th and following verfes, our bleffed Lord puts forth this parable, " A certain man made a great fupper, and bade many, and fcnt his fcrvant at fuppcr-time, to call them that were bidden : but they all, with one confent, began to make excufe. The one faid, I have bought a piece of ground, and I muft needs go and fee it, I pray thee have me excufed. And another faid, I have boj&ht a yoke of oxen, and I muft needs go and prove them, I pray thee therefore have me excufed. So the fervant returned, and ihewed his mafter all thefe things." And what follows? Did the mafter accept of their excufes ? No, the text tells us the good man was angry, and faid, " that none of thofc which were bidden, (hould tafte ©f his fupper.'* And what does this parable teach, but that the moft lawful callings cannot juftify our negledl j nay, that they are no lono-er lawful when they in any wifs interfere with the great concerns of religion ? For the marriage fupper here fpoken of, means the gofpel ; the mafter of the houfe is Christ ; the fervants fent out, are his minifters, whofe duty it is, from time to time, to call the people to this marriage-feaft, or, in other words, to be religious. Now we find thofe that were bidden, were very well and honeftly employed. There was no harm in buying or feeing a piece of ground, or in going to prove a yoke of oxen ; but here lay their fault, they were doing thefe things, when they were invited to come to the marriage feaft.

Without

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Without doubt, perfons may very honeflly and Coifimen-s dably be employed in following their refpeilive callings.j but yet, if they are engaged fo deeply in thefe, as to hinder their working out their falvation with fear and trembling, they muil expert the fame fentence wi:h their predecefFors irr the parable, that none of them (hall tafte of Christ's fupper : for our particular calling, as of this or that profeffion, muft never interfere with our general and precious calling, as chiif-tians. Not that chriftianity calls us entirely out of the world, the holy fcriptures warrant no fuch docSlrine.

It is very remarkable, that in the book of life, we find fome almoft of all kinds of occupations, who notwithttanding ferved God in their refpeclive generations, and (hone as fo many lights in the world. Thus we hear of a good centurion in the evangelifts, and a devout Cornelius in ihtJofs, a pious lawyer ; and fome that walked with God, even of Nerc's houfliolt], in the epifrles j and our divine mafter himfelf, in his check to Martha^ does not condemn her for minding, but for being cumbered or perplexed about many things.

No, you may, nay, you muft labou-, out of obedience to God, even for the meat which periflieth.

But I come, in the Second place, to apply what has been faid.

I befeech you, by the mercies of God in Christ Jesus, let not your concern for the meat which periflieth be at the cxpence of that which endureth to everlaftiug life; for, to repeat our bleiled Saviour's words, *' What fhall it profit a man, if he (hall gain the whole world, and lofe his own foul j or, what fhall a man give in exchange for his foul ?"

Were we always to live in the world, then worldly wifdom would be our higheft wifdom : but forafmuch as we have here no continuing city, and were only fent into this world to have our natures changed, and to fit ourfelves for that which is to come ; then to negledl this important work for a little worldly gain, what is it but, with profane EfaUy to fell our birth-right for a mefs of pottage.

Alas 1 how unlike are chriftians to chriftianity ! they arc commanded to *' feek firft the kingdom of God and bis rio^hteoufnefs," and all other real neceflaries fliall be added unto them ; but they are fearful (O men of little faith !) that if they Ihould do fo, all other neceffaries would be taken from

* them;

them : ihcy are ftridly forbidden to be careful for the morr5w and yet they reft not night or day, but are continually heaping up riches for many years, ihough they know not who Ihall gather them. Is this ading like perfons that are ftran-gers and pilgrims upon earth ? Is this keeping their baptifmal vow ? Or rather^ is it not diretSlly apoftatizing from it, and deferting the fcrvice of Jesus Christ, to lift themfelves ui>-der the bajmer of mammon ?

But what will be the hope of fuch worldlings, when God fhall take away their fouls ? What if the almighty (hould fay to each of them, as he did to the rich fool in the gofpc!^ " this night fliall thy foul be required of thee /* O then, what would all thofe things profit them, which they are now fo bufy in providing ?

Was eternal life, that free gift of God in Christ Jesus, to be purchafcd with money ; or could men carry their ftocks beyond the grave, to buy oil for their lamps, i. e. grace for their hearts, when they fhould be called to meet the bridegroom, there might be fome reafon why God might well bear with them : but fmce their money is to perilh with them ; fmce it is certain, as they brought nothing into the world, {o they can carry nothing out; or fuppofmg they could, fince there is nb oil to be bought, no grace to be purchafed when Once the lamp of their natural life is gohe out; vvould it not be much more prudent to fpend the fliort time they have here allotted them, in buying oil while it may be had, and not for fear of having a little lefs of that which will quickly be another man's^ eternally Idfe the true riches ?

What think you ? Is it to be fuppofed, it grieved that covetous worldling before mentioned, when his foul fprung into the world of fpirits, that he could not ftay here till he had pulled dov/n his barns and built greater ? Or think you not that all things here below Teemed equally little to him then, and he only repented that he had not employed more t4n;e in pulling down every high thought that exalted itlelf againft the Almighty, and building up his foul in the knowledge and fear of God ?

And thus it will be with all unhappy men^ who like him are difquieting themfelves in a vain purfuit after worldly riches, and at the fame time are not rich towards God.

Vol. V, U They

48

They may, for a feafon, feem excellently well employed In being folicitoufly careful about the important concerns of this life; but when once their eyes are opened by death, and their fouls launched into eternity, they will then fee the littlencfs of all fublunary cares, and wonder they fhould be fo befotted to the things of another life, while they were, it may be, applauded for their great wifdom and profound fagacity in the affairs of this world.

Alas ! how will they bemoan themfelves for afling like the unjuft fteward, fo very wifely in their temporal concerns, in calling their refpeftive debtors fo carefully, and afking how much every one owes to them, and yet never remembring to call themfelves to an account, or enquire how much they owed to their own great Lord and mafter ?

And now w^hat {hall I fay more ? The God of this world, and the inordinate defire of other things, muft have wholly ftifled the confcience of that man, who does not fee the force of thefe plain reafonings.

Permit me only to add a word or two to the rich, and to perfons that are freed from the bufmefs of this life.

But here I muft paufe a while, for I am fenfible that it is but an ungrateful, and as fome may imagine, an afluming thing, for fuch a novice in religion to take upon him to in-fl:ru(£t men in high flations, aiid who perhaps would difdain to fet me with the dogs of their flock.

But however,, fmce St. Paul^ who knew what beft became a young preacher, commanded Timothy^ young as he was, to exhort and charge the rich with all authority; I hope none here tbat are fo, will be offended, if with humility I beg leave to remind them, though they once knew this, that if perfons in the moft bufy employs are indifpenfibly obliged to " work out their falvation with fear and trembling," much more ought they to do fo, who are free from the toils and incumbrance of a lower way of life, and confequenily have greater opportunities and leifure to prepare themfelves for a future ftate.

But is this really the cafe ? or do we not find, by fatal experience, that too many of thofe whom GoD has exalted above their brethren, who are " cloathed in purple and fine linncn, and fare fumptuoufly every day," by a fad abufe of 5 God's

God's great bounty towards them, think that their Nations (ei them above religion, and (o let the poor, who live by thC fweat of their brows, attend more conftaatly on the means of grace than do they ?

But woe unto fuch rich men ! for they have received their confolation. Happy had it been if they had never been born : for if the carelefs irreligious tradefman cannot be faved, where will luxurious and wicked gentlemen appear ?

Let me therefore, by way of conclufion, exhort all perfons^ high and low, rich and poor, one with another, to make the renewal of their fallen nature, the one bufinefs of their lives ; and to let no worldly profit, no worldly pleafure^ divert them from the thoughts of it. Let this cry^ '' Behold the bridegroom Cometh," be ever founding in our ears; and let us live as creatures that are every moment liable to be hurried awav by death to judgment : let us rememberj that this life is a ftate of infinite importance, a point between two eternities^ end that after thefe few days are endedj there will remain nd more facrifice for fm ; let us be often afking ourfelves, how we (hall wifh we had lived when v/e leave the world ? And then we fhall always live in fuch a ftate, as we {hall never fear to die in. Whether we live, we ftlall live unto the Lord ; or whether we die, we fhall die unto the Lord ; fo that living or dying we may be the Lord's.

To which end, let us befeech God, the prote61:or of a't them that put their truft in him^ without whom nothing is ftrong, nothing is holy, to increafe and multiply upon us his mercy, that he being our ruler and guide, we may Co pafs through things temporal, that we finally lofe not the things eternal) through Jesvs Christ our Lord.

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SERMON XXL

Christ the only Reft for the Weary and Heavy-Laden.

Matthew xi. 2S(.

Ccjne unto ;;.v, all ye that are weary and heavy laden y and I will give you rejl,

NOTHING is more generally known than the duties which belong to chriftianity ; and yet, how amazing is it, nothing is lefs practifed ? There is much of it in name and (hew, but little of it in the heart and convcrfation ; indeed, if going to church, and to the facrament, or, if our being called after the name of Chr.ist, and being baptized into that name ; if that will make us chriftians, I believe all of us would have a claim thereto : but if it confifts in the heart, that there muft be an inward principle wrought in us by faith ; that there muft be a change of the whole nature, a putting oft the old man with his deeds, a turning from fin ■unto God, a cleaving only unto the Son of Righteoufnefs ; and that there muft be a new birth, and we experience the pangs thereof; and that you muft feel yourfelves weary and heavy laden with your fms, before you will feek for dclivcr-an£e from them j if this is to be the cafe, if there is fo much in being children of God, alas ! how many who pleafe ihem-felves with an outfide fhew, a name to live whilft they arc dead ; and how few that have any (hare in this fpiritual ftate, in this true and living name ? How few are they who are weary and heavy laden with their fms, and feek to Christ for reft ? They fay, in a formal cuftomary manner, we are finners, and there is no heulih in us j but how few feel thcm-

felves

fclves finners, and are fo oppreft in their own fpirits, that they have no quiet nor reft in them, becaufe of the burden of their fins, and the weight that is fallen and lays on their minds ?

Under thefe burdens, thefe heavy burden?, they arc at a lofs what to do whereby they may obtain relt ; they fly to their works, they go to a minifter, and he tells them ti read, to pray, and meditate, and take the facrament: thuj they go away, and read, and pray, and meditate almoft with out ceafing, and never neglect the facrament whenever there is an opportunity for the taking of it. Well, when the poor foul has done all this, it ftill finds no eafe, there is yet no relief: Well, what muft you do then ? To lie ftill under the burden they cannot, and to get rid of it they cannot: O what muft the burdened foul do ! Why, goes to the clergyman again, and tells him the cafe, and what it has done, and that it is no better. Well, he afks, have you given alms to the poor ? Why no. Then go and do that, and you will find reft. Thus the poor finner is hurried from duty to duty, and ftill finds no reft : all things are uneafy and difquiet within, and there remains no reft in the foul. And if it was to jro through all the duties of religion, and read over a thoufand manuals of prayers, none would ever give the foul any reft; nothing uill, until it goes to the Lord Jesus Christ, for there is the only true reft ; that is the reft which abideth, and will continue for ever. It is not in your own works, nor in your endeavours : no ; when Christ comes into your fouls, he pardons you, without any refpect to your works, either paft, prefent, or to come.

From the worJs, my brethren^ I have now read, I Ihall

I. Shew you who are the weary and heavy laden.

II. Inquire what is meant by coming to Christ. And,

in. Conclude with exhorting you to accept of the invitation which the Lord Jf.sus Christ gives unto you to come unto him, with the afturance of finding ruft.

F'lrJ}^ I am to (hew you, who are the weary and heavy-laden.

y 3 And

And here it will be neceflary to confider who are not; and then, to confider who they are that are really fo.

I. Thofe who think thenifelves good enough, and are pleafed that they are not fo bad as others, thefe are not weary or heavy laden.

No, thefe Pharifees are not thus troubled ; they laugh and jeft at thofe wlio talk of feeling their fins, and think there is IK) occafion to make fo much ado about religion : it is to be righteous over-much, and the means to deflroy yourfelves. They think if they do but mean well, and fay their prayers, as they call them, it is fufficient: though they may fay a prayer, yea, thoufands of prayers, and all the while be only oftering up the facrifice of fools. They may call God, Father, every day, when it is only mocking of God, and offering up falfe fire unto him ; and it would be juft for him to ferve them, as he did Nahab and Ah'ihu^ deftroy them, cut them off from the face of the earth : but he is waiting to be gracious, and willing to try a little longer, whether you will bring forth any thing more than the leaves of an outward piofeffi )n, v;hich is not all that the Lord requires : no, he wants the heart \ and unlcfs you honour him with that, he does not regard your mouths, when the other is far from him. You may fay over your prayers all your lives, and yet you may never pray over one : therefore, while you flatter yourfelves you are good enough, and that you are in a ftate of falvation, you are only deceiving your own fouls, and haflening on your own defirudion. Come unto him, not as being good enough, but as vile finners, as poor, and blind, and paked, and miferable, and then Jesus v/ill have compafHon.

O ye Pharifees, what fruits do ye bring forth ? Why, you are moral, polite creatures ; you do your endeavours, you do what you can, and fo Jesus is to make up the reft. You cfteem yourfelves fine,' rational, and polite beings, and think it is too unfafhionable to pray j it is not polite enough : perhaps you have read fome prayers, but knew not how to pray from your hearts j no, by no means : that was being righteous over-much indeed.

But when once you are fenfible of your being loft, damned creatures, and fe hcU gaping ready to receive you ; if God was but to cut the thread of life, O then, then you would cry

^arneilly

[ 3" 1

earneflly unto the Lord to receive you, to open the door of mercy unto you ; your tones would then be chanecd, you would no more flatter yourfclvcs with your abilities and good wiflies : no, you would fee how unable you were, how incapable to fave yourfdves; that there is no fitnefs, no free will in you : no fitnefs, but for eternal damnation, no free will but that of doing evil ; and that when you would do o^ood, evil is prefent with you, and the thing that ye would not, that do ye. He knows the fecret intent of every heart ; and this is a pleafure to you, my dear brethren, who come on purpofe to meet with him, though it be in a field. And, however fome may efteem me a mountebank, and an enthu-fiaft, one that is only going to make you methodically mad ; they may breathe out their invectives againft me, yet Christ knows all ; he takes notice of it, and 1 fhall leave it to him to plead my caufe, for he is a gracious Mafter : I have already found him fo, and am fure he will continue fo. Vengeance is his, and he will repay it. Let them revile me ; let them caft me out of their fynagogues, and have my name in reproach, I (hall not anfwer them by reviling again, or in fpeaking evil againft them : no, that is not the Spirit of Christ, but meeknefs, patience, long-fufFering, kind-nefs, &:c.

Ye pharifees, who are going about to eftablifli your own righteoufnefs ; you, who are too polite to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in fincerity and truth ; you, who are all for a little fhew, a little outfide work j who lead moral, civil, decent lives, Christ will not know you at the great day, but will fay unto you, O ye Pharifees, was there any place for me in your love ? Alas ! you are full of anger and malice, and felf-will; yet you pretended to love and ferve me, and to be my people : but, however, I defpife you ; I, who am God, and knoweth the fecret of all hearts ; I, who am truth itfelf, the faithful and true witnefs, fay unto you, " Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity, into that place of torment, prepared for the devil and his angels." Good God ! and muft thefe difcreet polite creatures, who never did any one harm, but led fuch civil, decent lives, muft they fuffer the veno^cance of eternal fire ? Cannot their righteous fouls be faved ? Where then muft the finner and the ungodly appear ? Where wilt thou, O fabbath-breakcr, appear, thou, who canft take thy

U 4 pleafure.

pleafure, thy recreation, on the Lord's-day, ivho rcfufcfl: to hear the word of God, who wilt not come to church to be jnftrucled in the ways of the Lord ? Where will you, O ye adulterers, fornicators, and fuch-like of this generation appear ? Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge, and them he will condemn. Then you will not call thefe tricks of youth : no, but you will call on the rocks and the mountains to fall on you, to hide you from the fury and anger of the Lord. Where wilt thou, O man, appear, that takes pleafure in making a mock of fin, who defpifeft all reproof, who throws about thy jefts as a madman does fire, and afks whether thou art not in fport ? Where wilt thou, O man, appear, that makes it thy bufinefs to preach againft the children of the Mod High ; thou, who art inventing methods in order to (lop the progrefs of the gofpel, and ufing thy utmoft power to quafh the preaching thereof; who art raifing of evil reports againfl the difciples of Christ, and efleemeft thetn rnadmcn, fools, fchifmatics, and a parcel of rabble ? Thou, O man, with all thy letter-learning, wilt furely fee the judgment-feat of Christ, though, perhaps, forely againft your will ; to be cafi by him into eternal fire, a place prepared for the devil and his angels. There is a burning tophet kindled by the fury of an avenging God, which will never, never be quenched. The devil longs to embrace you in his helbfh arms, whenever the fentence is paft, where you muft for ever bear the weight of your fin : there is no redemption then ; the day of grace is paft ; the door of hope is fhut; mercy will be no more ofi-ercd, but you mud be fhut out from God for ever. O who can dwell with everlafling burnino;s I

However you may think of hell, indeed it is not a painted fire ; it is not an imagination to keep people in awe: then, then you will feel the power of the almighty srm. If you will not lay hold on his golden fceptre, he will break you with his iron rod. O ye Pharifees, who are now To good, (a much better than others, how will ye ftand before Christ, when dreft in his glory as judge? You Arians, may now defpife his divmity; then you Ihall have a proof of it; he will (hew, that he has all power, and that he was no fubor-dinate Godj he will (hew you that he has all power in heaven

antl

and earth; that he was King of kings, nnd Lord of lords; that he was the mighty God, the everlaft.ng Father; and this power that he has, he will exercife in prefcrving you to no other end, but to punifh you for ever, llius you, who pleafe yourfelves with being good enough now, who are net weary and heavy laden with a fenfe of your fins here, will be weary and heavy laden with a fcnfe of your punifhnient hereafter.

2. Thofe, my brethren, arc not weary and heavy laden with a fenfe of their fins, who can delight thcmfelves in the police entertainments of the age, and follow the llnful diver-fions of life.

Now they can go to balls and afTemblies, play-houfes and horfe-racing ; they have no thought of their fms; they know not what it is to weep for fm, or humble themfe'ves under the mighty hand of God ; they can laugh away their for-rows, and Ting away their cares, and drive away thefe melancholy thoughts ; they are too polite to entertain any fad thoughts; the talk of death and judgment is iricfome to them, becaufe it damps their mirth ; they could not endure to think of their fm and danger; they could not go to a play, and think of hell; they could not go quietly to a mafquerade, ?.nd think of their danger ; they could not go to a ball or an allembly in peace, if they thought of their fms.

And fo it is proved, even to a demonftration, that thcfe are not weary and heavy laden : for if they are not thoughtful about their fms, they will never be weary and heavy laden of them. But at the day of judgment all will be over : they fhall lofe all their carnal mirth, all their pleafurc, all their delight will be gone for ever.

They will fay then of their laughter, it is mad ; and of mirth. What doft thou ? Their merry conceits, and witty jefts againfl: the poor dcfpifed pco})le of God, arc then over. Their mirth was but as the crackling of thorns up.der a pot; it made a great blaze and unfeemly noife for a while, but it was prefently gone, and will return no more.

They think now, that if they were to fid or to pray, and meditate and mourn, they (hould be righteous over much, and deilroy themfelves ; their lives would be a continual trouble, and it would make them run mad. Alas, my brethren, what mifcry muil that life be, where tlicre is no mure i-neafant days,

no

Dd more balls or plays, no cards or dice, thofe wafters of precious time, no horfc-racing and cock-fighting, from whence no good ever came, unlcfs abufing God Almight3*s creatures, and puuing them to that ui"^ which he never de-figned them, can be called fo. How miferable will your life be, when all your joys are over, when your pleafures are all paft, and no more mirth or paftime ? Do you ihi/ik. there is one merry heart in hell ? one pleafing countenance ? or jetting, fcoffing, fwearing tongue ? A fermon now is irkfome : the offer of i'alvation, by the blood of Jesus Christ, is now termed enthufiafm ; but then you would give thouiands of worlds, if in your power, for one tender of mercy, for one offer of grace, which now you fo much defpife.

Now, you are not weary of your diverfions, nor are you heavy laden with the fins, with which they are accompanied; but then you will be weary of your puniOiment, and the aggravation which attends it. Your cards and dice, your hawks and hounds, and bowls, and your pleafant fports, will then be over. What nurth wilj you have in remembering your fports and diverfions ? I u^ould not have you miftake me, and fay, I am only preaching death and damnation to you ; I am only fhewing you what will be the confequence of continuing in thefe fmful pleafures ; and if the devil does not hurry you away with half a fermon, I fiiall {hew you how to avoid thefe dangers, which I now preach up as the effed of fin unrepented of. I mention ,this, left you fhould be hurried away by the devil : but be not offended, if I point out unto you more of the terrors which will attend your following ihefe polite and fafhionable entertainments of the prefent age, and of not being weary and heavy laden with a fenfe of your fins.

They who delight in drinking wine to excefs, and who are drunkards, what bitter draughts will they have inftead of wine and ale ? The heat of luft will be then alfo abated ; they will no more fmg the fong of the drunkard j no more fpend their time in courting their miftrcffes, in lafcivious dif-courfe, in amorous fongs, in wanton dalliances, in brutifh defilements: no, thefe are all over j and it will but prick each other to the heart to look one another in the face. Then they will wifh, that inftead of finnijig together, they had

praytd

prayed together; had frequented religious fccletlcs • had ftirred up each other to love and holincfs, and endeavoured 'to convince each other of the evil of fin, and how obnoxious they are to the wrath of God ; and the neceflity of bcin? weary and heavy laden with a fenfe thereof; that they miaht have efcaped the puniftiment which they fufler, by their following the fmful and polite diverfions of the age they fell into. But as it was againft God himfelf they had finned, fo no lefs than God will punilh them for their offences : he hath prepared thefe torments for his enemies ; his continual anger will ftill be devouring of them ; his breath of inJio-na-tion will kindle the flame; his wrath will be a continual burden to their fouls. Woe be to him who falls under the ftrokc of the Almighty !

Thus they are not weary and heavy laden with their fins, who can follow the polite and falhionable entertainments of the age. But,

Seccndly^ I am to (hew you what it is to be weary and heavy laden with fins. And

1. You may be faid, my brethren, to be weary and heavy laden, when your fins are grievous unto you, and it is with grief and trouble you commit them.

You, who are awakened unto a fenfe of your fins, who fee how hateful they are to God, and how they lay you open to his wrath and indignation, and would willingly avoid them -who hate yourfelves for committing them ; when you are thus convinced of fin, when you fee the terrors of the law, and are arraid of his judgments; then you may be faid to be weary of your fins. And O how terrible do they appear when you are firft awakened to a fenfe of them; when you fee nothing but the wrath of God ready to fall upon you, and you are afraid of his judgments 1 O how heavy is your fin to you then I Then you feel the vveight thereof, and that it is prievous to be borne.

o

2. When you are obliged to cry out under the burden of your fins, and know not what to do for relief; when this is your cafe, you are weary of your fins. It docs not confifl: in a wearinefs all of a fudden : no, it is the continual burden of your foul, it is your grief and concern that you cannot live y/ithout offending GoD, and finning againft him ; and thefe

fins

[ 3>6 ]

fins are fo many and fo great, that you fear they will not be forgiven.

I come, Secondly-^ to fhew you what is meant by coming to Christ.

It is not, my brethren, coming with your own works : no, you muft come in full dependance upon the Lord Jesus Christ, looking on him as the Lord who died to fave fm-ners : Go to him, tell him you are loft, undone, miferabJe fmners, and that you deferve nothing but hell ; and when you thus go to the Lord Jesus Christ out of yourfelf, in full dependance on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will find him an able and a willing faviour : he is pleafed to lee finners coming to him in a fenfe of their own unworthinefs; and when their cafe feems to be moft dangerous, moft diftrefled, then the Lord in his mercy ftcps in and gives you his grace; he puts his Spirit within you, takes away your heart of ftone, ^nd gives you a heart of fle(h. Stand not out then againft this Lord, but go unto him, not in your own ftrength, but in the ftrength of Jesus Christ.

And this brings mc. Thirdly^ to confider the exhortation Christ gives unto all of you, high and low, rich and poor, one with another, to come unto him that you may have reft. And if Jesus Christ gives you reft, you may be fure it will be a reft indeed; it will be fuch a reft as your foul wants ; it will be a reft which the world can neither give nor take away. O come all of ye this night, and you fliall find reft : Jesus Christ hath promifed it. Here is a gracious invitation, and do not let a little rain hurry you away from the hearing cf it; do but confider what the devil and damned fpirits would give to have the offer of mercy, and to accept of Christ, that they may be delivered from the torments they labour under, and muft do fo for ever ; or, how pleafin^ would this rain be to them to cool their parched tongues ; but they are denied both, while you have mercy offered to you J free and rich mercy to come to Christ : here is food for your fouls, and the rain is to bring forth the fruits of the earth, as food for your bodies. Here is mercy upon mercy.

Let

Let me befecch you to come unto Christ, and he will give you reft : you fliall find reft unto your fouls. Q you my weary, burthencd brethren, do but go to Christ Id this manner, and though you go to him weary, you fhall find reft before you come from him : let not any thing fhort of the Lord Jesus Christ be your reft; for wherever you fcek you will be difappointed ; but if you do but feelc unto the Lord Jesus Christ, there you wUl find a fulnefs of every thing which your weary foul wants. Go to him this night; here is an invitation to all you who are weary fouls. He does not call you, O Pharifees ; no, it is only you weary finners 5 and fure you will not ftay from him, but accept of his invitation ; do not delay ; one moment may be dangerous : death may take you off fuddenly. You know not but that a fit of the apoplexy may hurry you from time into eternity : therefore, be not for flaying till you have fome-thing to bring ; come in all your rags, in all your filthincf^j in ail your diftrelFes, and you will foon find Jesus Christ ready to help, and to relieve you : he loves you as well in your rags, as in your beft garments ; he regards not your drefs ; no, do but come unto him, and you Ihall foon find reft for your fouls.

What fay you ? Shall I tell my Mafter you will come unto him, and that you will accept him on his own .terms. Let me, my brethren, befeech you to take Jesus without any thing of your own righteoufnefs: for if you expert to mix any thing of yourfelf with Christ, you build upon a fandy foundation ; but if you take Christ for your reft, he will be that unto you. Let me befeech you to build upon this rock of ages. O my brethren, think of the gracious inrita-tion, " Come unto me," to Jesus Christ: it is he that calls you : And will you not go f

Come, come unto him. If your fouls were not immortal, and }»ju in danger of lofing them, I would not thus fpeak unto you 3 but the love of your fouls conftrains me to fpeak : methinks this would conftrain me to fpeak unto you for ever. Come then by faith, and lay hold of the Lord Jesus : though he be in heaven, he now calleth thee. Come, all ye d;-unkards, fwearcrs, fabbath-breaki\''s, adulterers, fornicators; Gome, all ye feoffors, harlots, thieves, and murderers, and

3,' J^s^'^

( 3i8 ]

Jesus Christ will fave you; he will give you reft, if yoy are weary of your fins. O come lay hold upon him. Had I lefs love for your fouls, I might fpeak lefs ; but that love qf God, which is fhed abroad in my heart, will not permit me to leave you, till I fee whether you will come to Christ or no, O for your life receive him, for fear he may never call you any more. Behold, the Bridegroom cometh ; it may be this night the cry may be made. How would you bear thisy if you vere fure to die before the morning light ? God grant you may begin to live, that when the king of terrors fhall come, you may have nothing to do but to commit your fouls into the hands of a faithful Redeemer.

Now to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghoft, be all honour, praifes, dominion, and power, henceforth and for evermore, Jmen^ Amen,

SERMOM

[ 3'9 ]

SERMON XXII.

The Folly and Danger of parting with Christ for the Pleafures and Profits of Life.

Matthew vili. 2j, to the End.

And when he was entered into a JJ)ip^ his d'lfcipks followed him. And hehoUU there arofe a great tempeji in the fca^ infomuch that the JJjip was covered with the waves : But he zvas afeep. And his difciples came to him^ and awoke him, faying^ Lord^ fave us^ tve periJJj. And he faith unto them ^ Why are ye fearful^ O ve cf little faith? Then he arofe and rebuked the zvlnds and the Jea^ and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled^ f^y^^St What manner of man is this^ that even the winds and the jea obey him ! And ivhen he was come to the other fide into the coun* try of the Gergefenes, there met him tivo pofjcffed with devils^ coming cut of the tombs^ exceeding fierce^ fo that no man might pafs by that way. And behold^ they cried out^ faying^ What hav£ %ue to do with thee, Jefus, thou Son rf GodF Art thou come hither to torment us before the time ? And there was^ a good way off from them, an herd of many fwine, feeding. So the devils befought him, faying. If thou caji us out, fuffer us to g» away into the herd offwine. And he [aid unto them. Go : And zvhen they were cofne cut, they went into the herd of fwine; and behold, the whole herd offivine ran violently down a Jieep •place into the fea, and perijhed in the waters* And they that kept them, fed and went their ways into the city, and told every thing ; and what was befallen to the pofjeffed of the devils. And beheld, the whole city came out to meet Jefus, and zvhen they faw him, they befought him thai he would depart out of their coajls,

IF we were but fenfible of the great neceflity there is, in this our day, of being real chriftians, fure we fhould not be contented with being nominal ones; but we arc funk into I know not what; we are no better than baptifcd heathens:

And

[ 320 3

And how amazing is it, that we fhould profefs the name of Christ, and yet fo little converfe about him ; furely, this name whereby we are called, fliould he the theme of our dif-courfe here, and of 6ur eternal Hallelujahs in a vvorW to ccr?i£. But is it not more amazing, tdconfider, that inftead of the name of Jesus, whereby we are to have falvation, v/e are taught to look for it in ourfelves, and that there muft be a fitnefs in us before God beftows his grace and favour upon us. But what doiSlrine is this? Not the dodrine of the fcripture, not the doiilrine of Jesus, not that of the primitive chrilHaas, not that of the reformation, nor that of the articles of the church of England: No, it is the dodrine of the devil: this is makii^g Christ but half a Saviour, and driving man into an error of the greateft confequence, in making him go to Jesus in his own ftrength, and not in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ : But, my brethren, unlefs you go in the ftrength of Jesus Christ; unlefs you depend only upon him for falvation; unlefs he is your wifdomj righteoufnefs and fan£lifica-tion, he will never be your redemption. Our falvation is the free sift of God : it is owinir to his free love, and the free grace of Jesus Christ, that ever you are faved.

Do not flatter yourfelves of being good enough, becaufe you are morally fo ; becaufe you go to church, fay the prayers, and take the facrament, therefore you think no more is required : alaSj you are deceiving your own fouls ; and if God, in his free grace and mercy, does not fliew you your error, it will only be leading you a fofter way to your eternal ruin j but God forbid that any of you, to whom 1 am now fpeak-in^, fliould imagine this ; no^ you muft be abafed, and GoD' muft be exalted, or you will never begin at the right end, you will never fee Jesus with cornfort or fatisfadion, unlefs you oo to him only on the account of what he has done and luffered.

Is it not plain to a demonftration, that we are ading the part of the GergcfeneSy who came and defired Jesus to depart from them : Let us confider the words, and then we fliali ftc how exa^ly we are performing the part oi thefe men ovzt again.

And when he was entered into a Jlnp hh dljciples folkivcd him*

Christ

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Christ had been working of many miracles, as we may read a few verfcs before; and as he continually went about doing good, fo now he was going to the country of the Ger~ gefenes to difpoffefs two, who were pofTefTed with devils; and his difciples followed him : No doubt they were reproached and pointed at, for following fuch a babbler, as the Scri'nes and Pharifees efteemed the Lord Jesus Christ : Doubtlefs they were pointed at, jeered, fcofFed, and efteemed madmen^ cnthufiails, and a parcel of rabble; but dill they followed the Lord Jesus Christ, they did not mind a little reproach ; no, they loved their Mafter too well to forbear following him for the fake of a little perfecution. And if you do but love the Lord Jesus Christ, love him above all, you will follow him in fpight of the malice of all the Scribes and Pharifees of this generation.

And behold there arofe a great tempejl en the Jea.

The prefence of Christ in the fliip, did not preferve the difciples from fears and troubles; they were filled with uneafi-nefs, although Christ was with them : this was only for a trial of their faith, to fee if they would (land fad for the Lord in a perfecuting time. My dear brethren, if the Lord is trying of you, do not give out; no, {land faft in all that the Lord may call you to fufFer : It is eafy to follow Christ when all things are fafe : but your love to Jesus Christ would be feen more, if you muft lofe your lives, or deny your Jesus ; it would be a trial of your love, when fire and faggot was before you, if you would rufh into that, rather than flie from the truth as it is in Jesus. Though all things are calm now, the ftorm is gathering, and by and by it will break; it is at prc-fent no bigger than a man's hand ; but when it is full it will break, and then you will fee whether you are found chiifiians or not. Perfecution would fcattcr th.e hypocrites, and make nominal chriftians afraid to worfhip God ; they would then foon turn unto the world and the things of it.

And his difciples came to him^ and awoke hi?n^ fi)"''-Si Lord, fave us^ we periJh, And he faith unto them^ JVhy arc ye fcarjuly O ye of little faith ? Then he arofe and rebuked the zvinds and the fea, and there %vas a great culm. But the men niarvcllcd, faying^

Vol. V. X ii%,t

U'hat manner of man is thi$^ that even the winds and ihe fea obey him /

Here we may fee the great compaflion of the Lord Jesus Christ; no fooner had the difciples awakened him, and he jaw their danger, but he rebuked the winds and feas, and all things were calm : Thus it was in a natural way, and will be fo in a fpiritual one; for no fooner does Jesus Christ fpeak peace to a troubled foul, but all is calm and quiet: Now none but God could have performed this great miracle, and therefore it is no wonder that his difciples and the men of the (hip were amazed to fee the wonders he performed ; and they could not forbear to exprefs their fenfe thereof, by inquiring, *' What manner of man is this !"

And when the Lord has brought you out of trouble, you will be amazed at the gracious dealings of the Lord with you, and wonder that he would fo eafily remove your troubles from you, when you have deferved nothing but wrath and deftru6lion, and to be puniftied to all eternity.

And ivhsn he zvas come to the other fide into the country of the Gergefenes, there met him two pcjfejpd with devils^ coming out of ihe tombs^ exceeding fierce^ fo that no man might pafs by that way. And behold^ they cried out^ f^yi^gt What have we to da with thee^ Jesus, thou Son of God ^ Art thou come hither to torment us before ihe time f

Two men, who were pofTefTed bodily with that evil one who is going about feeking whom he may devour, met Jesus ; as foon as they faw him they were afraid, and creid out: though they made every one afraid of them, yet they no fooner faw Christ, but their power left them, and they cried out, ** What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God ?" We know that thou art God ; we do not want thee, we have no power over thee, but thou haft over us, and we fear thou art come to torment us before our time; we know that we are to be brought to judgment, arKi therefore we would not be tormented until that time come.

And there was, a good way offfro?n them^ a herd of many fwim feeding. So the devils hefought him^ f^yii^-g-x Jf ihou cajl us outy fttjfer us to ^0 into ihe herd offivi?:e.

The

The evil fplrlts were fenfible that Christ was come to difpoflcfs them, and that their time was now come, when they hi lift leave the bodies of thcfc two men j for when Christ comes, who is ftronger than the ftrong man armed, all muft fall before him ; they could not ftand againft the power of Christ : And here we may obferve, that though the devil is an enemy, yet he is a chained one; he cannot hurt a poor fwine until he has power given him from above: and we may likewife fee the malice of the devil, that he would hurt a poor fwine rather than do no mifchief; and the devil wouid, if in his power, deftroy each of your fouls, but Christ, by his mighty power, prevents him.

And he [aid unto thcm^ Go : And when they were come out^ they went into the herd of fwine ; a7id behrJd^ th-e whole herd of fwv.e ran violently down a Jleep place into the fea^ and perifjcd in the waters. And tlify that kept the?n fled^ and went their ways into the tlty^ and told every things and what was befallen to the poffcjfed of the devils* And behold^ the vjhole city came out to ?neet Jesus, and when they faw him^ they befought him that he would depart out of their coajls.

Here obferve, that no foonex had Christ given the devils permiflion to enter the fwine, but they did, and their malice Was fo great, that the fwine ran violently down a fteep place into the fea, and were drowned.

What poor fpite was here, that the devil {hould difturb poor fwine ! And the city, therefore, was fo grieved for the lofs of a little wealth, that they came and befought GnnisT to depart; they did not want his company; they preferred a fevvr poor fwine before the company of Christ; a {Q.\f^ worldly goods, a little pleafure, or any thing rather than Christ, part with Christ before any thing; but one, who is fenfible of the love of Christ, will part with all, rather than with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus far the letter of the ftory goes; perhaps you think there is nothing to be learned herefrom, and that this is all you are to underftand by it; but if {o^ my brethren, you are much miftaken ; for here is an ejccellent leflbn to be learned, and that you will fee, by confidering the words again, in a fpiritual lenfe.

X 2 And

And behold^ there arofe a great tempeji In the fea^ infomuch thai the Jh'ip was covered with the waves: but he ivas ajleep.

And do not you frequently experience great tempefts in this world ? does not the fea of temptation beat over your fouls ? you are afraid left you (hould be overcome by them ; you cart lee no way to efcape, for your fouls are covered with waves, and you expect: to be fvi^allowed up in the tempeft; you arc afraid left you fhould fall into the hands of the evil one. O do not fear, for Jesus Christ, though he may be afleep to your thinking, yet will keep you, he will preferve you from the raging of the men, of the Pharifees of this world; they may rage and fpit forth all their venom againft you, ftiil Christ will deliver,.preferve and protect you; if you but feek unto him in a fenfe of your own helplefsnefs and unvi'or-thinefs, you will foon find he is a God ready to pardon and forgive. O that all that hear me would be perfuaded to bow their knee, and their hearts, as foon as they.go home; but alas, how many of our chriftians go to God, day by day, and call him. Father, which is but mocking of God, when the devil is their father : None have a right to call him father, but thofe who have received the fpirit of adoption, whereby they have a right to call him, " Abba, Father." Could the brute beafts fpeak, they might call God father as well as fome of vou ; for he is their Creator to whom they owe their being; but this will not entitle you to call God father, in a fpiritual fenfe ; no, you muft be born again of GoD; however you may flatter yourfelves, you muft have an inward principle wrought in your hearts by faith. This you muft experience, this, this you muft feel before you are chriftians indeed.

The Lord Jesus Christ takes notice of each of you: you may think the Lord does not take notice of us, becaufe we are in a field, and out of church walls; but he does ob-ferve with what viev^^ you came this evening to hear his word ; he knows whether it was to fatisfy your curiofity, or to find out wherewith you might ridicule the preacher. The thoughts and intentions of all your hearts are not hidden from Jesus Christ ; though he may feem to be afleep, becaufe you are, at prefent, infenfible of his workings upon your heart, and he may not feem to take notice of you, and regard you, no more than he did the Syrophcenician woman; yet he will turn to

you

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you and behold you with love; the Lord will be mindful of you in due time, and fpeak peace to your troubled foul, though the fea of troubles is beating over you, though the Pharifecs of this day are fcoffing at you, yet, when Christ rebukes, then they Ihall ceafe.

Do not depend on yourfelf: fay unto him, " Save us, Lord, or we periOi :" befeech him to be your guide, and your fal-vation : I befeech you, by the tender mercies of God, which are in Christ Jesus, that you prefcnt yourfelves to him, as your reafonable fervice.

Awake, you that deep, and arife from the dead, from the death of fin, and Christ then will give you the light of his righteoufnefs. Come to Christ and you (hall be welcome ; O come unto this bleficd Jesus, come notwithftanding your vilenefs ; for if you come not you will perifh : If Christ does not fave you, your own good meaning, your own good intentions cannot; no, as you are in your blood, fo you muft perifh in your blood ; but if you come to Christ you will find mercy, you fhall not perifh. You cannot find falvation in any other but in Christ ; if the difciples could have faved themfelves, they would not have awoken Jesus Christ ; but they were fenfible that no one could fave them but him ; and therefore they cried out unto him ; and fo you, who are under the fenfe of fin, who are in fear of hell, if you feelc unto your own works, you only feek your own death ; for there is no fitnefs in you. I fpeak the truth in Christ Jesus, I lie not, there is no fitnefs in you, but a fitnefs for eternal damnation ; for what are you by nature, but children of wrath, and your hearts are Satan's garrifon. Becaufe you have gone to church, faid the prayers, gone to the facra-ment, and done no one any harm, you fpeak peace to your fouls ; and all is in peace you think, and your cafe is good enough ; but indeed, all is a falfe peace, and if you have no other peace than this, you miAl: fhortly lie down in everlafting flames J this is an ungrounded, felf created peace, and if you truft to this peace you will perifh.

But do as the difciples did when they were in diftrefs ; they go to Christ and fay to him, " Lord, fave us, we perifh." I ofl^er you falvation this day ; the door of mercy is not yet {hut, there does yet remain a facrificc for fin, for all

X 3 that

that v;ill accept of the Lord Jesus Christ ; he only knows the inmoft thoughts of thy heart, he will embrace you in the arms of his love ; he fees the flrft rifings of grace in you, and would willingly encourage it : the angels long for your being in the love and favour of God j they will rejoice to fee you turn from fm unto him. All the minifters of the blefled Jesus would be glad to be inftruments to turn you from dark^jcfs to light, and from the power of Satan unto God.

Jnd he faith to them^ why are ye fearful^ Q ye of little falih ? And fo, my brethren, I may fay to you ; why are yoij fearful to leave your fins and turn to God ? Q turn to him, turn in a fenfe of your own unworthinefs ; tell him how polluted you are, how vile^ and be not faithlefs, but believe ; do not go in your own firength, and then you need not fear-Why fear ye that the Lord Jesus Christ will not accept of you ? your fms will be no hindrance, your unworthinefs vill be no hindrance 3 if your own corrupt hearts do not keep you back, or if your own good works do not hinder you from coming, nothing will hinder Christ from receiving of you : he loves to fee poor fmners coming to him, he is pleafed to fee them lie at his feet pleading his promifes : and if you thus come to Chuist, he will not fend you away without his Spirit; no, but will receive and blefs you.

O do not put a flight on infinite love: what would you have Christ do more ? Is it not enough for him to come on purpofe to fave ? Will you not ferve God in your fouls, as well as with your bodies I If not, you are only deceiving yourfelves, and mocking of God j he muft have the heart. O ye of little faith, why are ye fearful led he {hould not accept of you? If you will not believe me, fure you will believe the Lord Jesus Christ ; he has told thee that he will receive you : then why tarry ye, and do not go to him dire<5ijy ? Docs he d«:;fire impoHibilities ? It is only, '' Give nie thy^ heart :" or, does he want your heart only for the fame end as the devil does, to make you miferable ? no, he only wants you to believe on him, that you might be faved, Thjs, thiii, is all the dear Saviour defires, to make you happy, that you may leave your fms, to fit down eternally with him, ai the marriage fupper of the Lamb.

0 * Then

Then he arofe and rebuked the winds and the fea^ and there ivas a great calm.

Thus, you fee, it was only in the power of Christ to flop the raging of the fea ; he rebuked it : the difciples might have fpoken for ever, and it would not have ceafcd : To ic is with the word preached ; I may preach to you while I live; I may fpcak till I can fpeak no more ; but the do6lrincs of Christ will never do you good, unlefs he imprefs them upon your hearts : O then, in all thy troubles look up to Christ, that he may rebuke them ; and if he fpeaks the word, then they fhall ceafe. If the Pharifees of this generation fcofF and jeer you, if they fay all manner of evil againft you, do not anfwer them ; leave it unto Christ to rebuke them ; for all you can fay will be of no more fignification, than the difciples fpeaking to the fea ; but when Christ fpeaks the word, then they fhall ceafe ; let it not difcourage you, for if you will live godly in Christ Jesus, you muft fufFer pcr-fecution.

It is true, that thofe who are fmcerely good, are fet w.p for marks for every one to fhoot at. There is a continual enmity between the feed of the woman and the feed of the fcr-pent J if you were of the world, the world would love its own ; but becaufe Christ hath chofen you out of ihc world, therefore it hateth you.

Do not think of following Christ into glory, unlefs you go through the prefs here. Look forward, my brethren, into eternity, and behold Christ coming, and his reward with him, to give a kind recompence for all the temptations and difficulties of this prefent life.

But the men marvelled^ fay'^^gt J^hat manner of man is thh^ that even the winds and the feas obey him !

The men of the (hip were amazed to fee the miracle that Jesus Christ wrought only by his v/ord ; they thought he was fomething more than a man. And have not we as much reafon to admire, that when we are overwhelmed with troubles, from within and without, that Jf.sus Christ, only by the word of his power, fliouki Ip ^ik peace, and then there is pence indeed. When (lOD firll a>A'akens us with a fen'x- of iin, and Cct^ lii^ terror?; in array Dgninll u^, then there 7.:2 iroubles and teinp'rflsj for S^tan havifig got pofi'^-di'^n,

X 4 bwfore

[ 3*8] before he will give place, he will fight and drive hard to keep the foul from clofing with Jesus : But when Christ comes, he ftorms the heart, he breaks the peace, he giveth it moft terrible alarms of judgment and hell, he fets all in a com-buftion of fear and forrow, 'till he hath forced it to yield to his mere mercy, and take him for its governor j then Satan is caft out; then the ftorm is rebuked, and he eftabliflies a firm and lafting peace.

Can the fea be ftill while the wind is raging ? no, it is im-poffible : fo it is that there can be no peace in the foul, while it is at enmity with Christ j indeed, it may flatter itfelf and fpeak peace, but there can be no true peace: tho* thou, O Pnarifee, may harden and fortify thy heart againft fear, grief, and trouble, yet, as fure as God is true, they will batter down thy proud and fortified fpirit, and feize upon it, and drive thee to amazement. This will be done here, or hereafter; here in mercy, or hereafter in v/rath and judgment.

O my brethren, confider what Christ hath done, and you will be aftonifhed that he has done fo much for fuch wicked wretches as you and I are. If you are eafy under the florm and tempeft of fin, and do not cry to Christ for falvation, thou art in a dangerous condition : and it is a wonder to confider, how a man that is not fure of having made his peace with God, can eat, or drink, or live in peace; that thou art not afraid, when thou lieft down, that thou (hoLild'il awake in hell : but if Christ fpeak peace unto thy foul, who can then fpeak trouble ? None ; no, not men or devils : Therefore, lie down at the feet of Christ whom you have refifted, and fay. Lord, what wouldft thou have |Tie to do ? and he will rebuke the winds and feas of thy troubled mind, and all things will be calm.

Jnd ivhen he was come to the other fide into the country of the Gergefenes, there met him two pofi'tfied with devils^ coining out of the tombs^ exceeding fierce^ fo that no man might pafs by that tvay.

The Lord Jesus Christ, who went about doing good continually, veiy .veil knew, 'hat he fliould meet two poor fiicn in this country of the Gergefenes^ who were poflefled with

devils ; and Jesus Christ went on purpofe that way, that he might relieve them. The devil, where he has the power, never wants will : but as I faid before, To I fay aoaln, though the devil is an enemy, yet he is a chained one; he could not deftroy thefe two poor men, he could not hurt the people that pafTed that way, he could only terrify them : and thus it is with you ; the devil tries his utmoft (kill and power to frighten you from coming to the Lord Jesus Christ ; he ufes the utmoft of his endeavours to keep poor ficlc and weary fmners from coming to Jesus ; if he can but make you lofe your fouls, it is the end he aims at.

And how many fouls does he keep from Christ, for fear of reproach? Many thoufands would willingly fee Christ in his glory, in the world to come, and would be happy with him there, but they are afraid of being now laughed at, and of hearing the pharifees fay, here is another of his followers: they are afraid of lofing their worldly bufmefs, or of being counted methodiftically mad and fit for bedlam. I doubt not but many are kept from Jesus Christ, for fear of a little hurt or inconveniency.

What will fuch fay, when the Lord Jesus Christ fliall appear in his glory ? Would you be glad to be confefled by him then, you muft now not be afhamed of confefling him before men : let not the fiercenefs of the devil keep yoii back from Christ, for fear of being counted fools; for the time will come, when it will be found who are truly wife, and who are truly mad.

Are you afraid to ftand up for the caufe of Christ in the world ? Dare not you be fingularly good ? Are you afraid of being members of Jesus Christ? I tell you, fuch per-fons would crucify him afrefh were he in the world. But do not you, my brethren, fo learn Christ ; let not the temptations of the devil keep you from oming to the Lord Jesus Christ ; he may be fierce, he may hurry you from place to place, but ftrive with him, fo thar he may not drive you from Christ ; and if you feek unto Christ, he will fo help you that you (hall refift the devil, and then he will fly from you ; Christ wii) dii[.vjfrefs him, be not afraid therefore to meet Jesus Christ 3 tell him all that your fouls want,

and

and he will give it to you ; and you (hall not be any longer troubled with the fierce outrages of the devil.

And they cried outy faying^ what have we to do with thee^ Jesus, thou, Son of God I Art thou come to torTueut us before th: time ?

As foon as the devils obferved J^sus coniing near, then they were afraid, left he was come to punifti them before that day of accounts, when all muft be brought to judgment.

The devils themfelves are enough to convince all our polite Arians and Socinians. They here own the Lord Jesus Christ to be God blefTed for ever; they feel his power, and are afTured of his being the God who muft condemn them at the great day of accounts; and they were afraid left the Lord Jesus Christ was come to punifti them now. But though the devils believe the divinity of Christ, yet the world fwarms with Arians and Socinians.

The Arians make Christ no more than a titular God, a fubordinate deity, one who was more than man, and yet lefs than God ; that he was a prophet fent from God they own, but deny him to be equal with the Father. But I hope, my brethren, he is to you, what our creed makes him, God of GoD, very God of very God, co-eternal and confubftantial with the Father ; that as there was not a moment of time in which God the Father was not, fo there is not a moment of time in which God the Son was not. For he fays himfelf, " All things were made by him ;" and if they u^ere made by him, he muft be God ; and w^hoever reads but the word of God, will find divine homage is paid to him, '* and th2.t he thought it no robbery to be equal with God ;" he is " the Alpha and Omega.'* Thefe and a great many more places mieht be brought to prove the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ ; he could never have made fatisfa6lion for our fins if he had not been Gop as well as Man. As Man he fuffered ; as God he fatisfied \ fo was God and man in one perfon ; he took our nature upon him, and was offered upon the crofs for the fins of all thofe who come unto him, which if he had not been God he could never have fatisfied for. It may be proved, even to a demonftration, that the Lord Jesus Christ is God, and that he is equal with the Father.

The

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The Socinians do not go fo far as the others; they look 05 Christ to be no more than a good man, who told the people their duty, and died in defence of the do6lrincs which he delivered unto them.

But I hope there are none fuch here, that have fo low and diflionourable thoughts of the blefled Jesus, and that thus defpife the divinity of the Lord who bought theai. No, 1 hope better things of you, and things that accompany falvation. Think you, that any one who denies the deity of Christ can ever be faved by him, living and dying in that ftate ? Surely, the time will come, when they who have denied his Deity, fhall feel the power of it hereafter; they fliall feel that he is God as well as man ; then he will be owned as God by all thofc who now dare to deny his truths; but Gqd forbid it ihould go undetermined till then ! Woe unto the polite infidels of this generation, for the devils will rife up in judgment againft them.

If any fuch are here, confider what you arc doing of, before it is too late ; return, return ye unto the Lord, and he will hare mercy upon you, and to Jesus Christ, and he will abundantly pardon. O my friends, let me befeech you to confider what you are abqut, left you fall into hell, and there be none to deliver you.

And the devih hcfought him^ faying^ If thou taj} ui oiit^ fiffcr us to go away into the herd offiuine. And he [aid unto them^ Go : And when they were come out^ they went into the herd of jiuine ; and beholdy the vjhole herd of fwine ran violently down a Jisep place into the fee, ^ and perifoed in the luaters.

Here we may fee, that no fooner had the devil power, but he puts it into execution ; thus, if the devil has but power to tempt, or to hurry a foul, O how grievous a tyrant he is, hurrying from one temptation to another, from one fm unto another, and would, if it were poffible, hurry you all into hell with as much violence, as he did the poor fwine into the fea; but Chrjst by his grace prevents it. Jesus Christ died for fouls, and therefore the devil cannot do with them as he will ; he may have the will, but he cannot get the power. It is plain, that when the devil himfdf, or periecuting men, get the power, they will harrafs the poor chriltians ; every

thiri'^

thing is too good for them, and they are not worthy to be fet with the dogs of the flock. My brethren, how joyful would many be, if the laws of our land would permit them to de-ilroy us; how would the Pharifees hurry us to prifon and to death ; but, blefled be God, he does not fay to them, as to the devil, " Go :" No, he bids them flay, he hedges their way up with thorns that they cannot flir to hurt us; they would fain, but they dare not deftroy us ; nothing with« holds them but the power of the blefied Jesus. And therefore, be not afraid of their wrath though it is cruel, and of their angtr though it be fierce: let them {hoot their arrows, even bitter word.s, ^gainft us, blefied be God, the fhield of faith will be a prcfervative againft them all.

And when you are thus preferved, it will be the occafion of joy in the Holy Ghoft ; though many look on the joy of the Holy Ghoft as enthufiafm and madnefs, and fay that there is no fuch thing ; but well do I know there is, it carries its own evidence along with i.. Plead therefore with God, in the name of Jesus Christ ; continue to wreftle with him, until he beftows the blefling upon you, and gives you a feeling of that joy which the world intermeddles not with, and which they are ftrangers to : indeed the devil may ilir up his agents to hurry us from one trouble to another; but It will not fignify, for the Lord Jesus Christ will not fufFer him to hurry us into hell; no, but will give us his Spirit, which will be a prcfervative againft all the af-faults of the devil. Now fee what followed this miracle, which Jesus had wrought, by permitting the devil to ente^ into the herd of fwine.

And they that kept them jiedy and went their ways into the city^ mid told every thing ; and what was befallen to the pojfejfed of the devils.

The people were fo amazed to fee the power that Christ had, and the malice with which the devil was pofTeiTed, that they were afraid, and told all that had befallen the poffefTed of the devils : and fo, when the fpirit of God has been at wotk on your fouls, and you are brought to feel the power of God upon your hearts, you will be fo overjoyed that you will tell to every one what great things God has done for 5 your

C 333 ]

your fouls; you will be (o full of joy, that you will declare the whole working of God on your hearts, and you will declare how you have been enabled to overcome Satan and how you were affected at fuch a fcrmon, in fuch a place and at fuch a time.

You will then love to talk of Jesus ; no converfation will be fo pleafing as that of the Lord Jesus Christ ; no, he will be altogether lovely unto you, when you have once tailed of his love, and felt the power of his grace upon your hearts.

j^nd behold, the whole city came cut to meet ]?.s\JS, and when they faw him, they he/ought him that he would depart out of their coojis.

The whole city came to meet Jesus, not to worfhip, nor to thank him for the releafmg of the two poor men who were poflefled ; no, but to befeech him to go from them ; they valued their fwine more_:han the Lord Jesus Christ, and had rather part from /nm, than them : and have we not among us, thoufands who call themfelves chriflians, who had rather part with Christ than their pleafures ? A play, a ball, or an aflembly is far more agreeable to them than the company and prefence of the Lord Jesus Christ : if they can but indulge their fenfual appetite, pleafe and pamper their bellies, fatisfy the luft of the eye, the lufb of the flefli, and the pride of life, they regard no more, but reft contented, as if they were to live here always. O my dear brethren, I hope none of you can reft contented with fuch proceedings as thefe, but that you like the company of the Lord Jesus too well to part with him for a few delights of this life : and are there not many, who part with Christ for their own good works, and thlftk they can go to heaven, if they do but go to church and fay their prayers and take the facrament ? but alas ! they will be much deceived, for if they reft in any thing fhort of the Lf-RD Jesus, if they do not make him the chief corner-ftone, they will fall infinitely fliort of what they flattered themfelves to attain unto.

I would fpeak a few words to you before I part from you this evening, by v/a/ of application. Let me befeech you to come to Jesus Christ \ I invite you all to come to him

and

and receive him as your Lord and Saviour; he Is ready to receive you : if you arc afraid to go becaufe you are in a loft condition, he came to fave fuch ; and to fuch as were weary and heavy laden, fuch as feel the weight and burden of their fins, he has promifed he will give reft : fuch as feel the weight and burden of their iins on their fouls, a burden too heavy for them to bear, are weary of it, and know not how to obtain deliverance of it, in the name of my Lord and mafter, I invite you to come to him, that you may find reft for your fouls.

If you will but come unto him he will not reproach you, as juftly he might; he will not refledl upon you for not corning fooner unto him ; no, my dear brethren, he will rejoice and be glad, and will fay unto you, " Son, daughter, be of good cheer, your fins are forgiven you :*' thefe words he faid to others ; and if you will but come unto him, by faith in Kis blood, he is ready to fay the fame unto you now, as he did to them formerly, for " he is the Js.'ne to-day, yefterday and for ever:" thoucrh he fufFered on the crofs feventeen hundred

o

years ago, yet he is the fame in goodnefs and power as ever he was.

He calls you, by his minifters; O come unto him, beg of him to break your ftubborn hearts, that you may be willing to be brought to him in his own way, to be made poor in fpirit, and entitled to an inheritance among them that are fanctified,

O come and drink of the water of life ; you may buy without money and without price; he is labouring to bring you back from fin, and from Satan unto himfelf: open the door of your hearts, and the King of glory fhall enter in.

But if you are ftrangers to this dodrine, and account it foolifhnefs; or, if you think you have enough of your own to recommend you to the favour of God, however you may go to church, or receive the facrament, you have no true love to the Lord Jesus Christ ; you are ftrangers to the truth of grace in your hearts, and are unacquainted with the new-birth ; you do not know what it is to have your natures changed ; and 'till you do experience thefe things, you never can enter into the kingdom of God.

What

What (liall I fay, my brethren, unto you ? My heart Is full, it is quite full, and I muft fpeak, or I fhall burft. What, do you think your fouls of no value ? do you efteem theni as not worth faving ? Are your plcafures worth more than your fouls ? Had you rather regard the divcrfions of this life, than the falvation of your fouls ? If fo, you will never be partakers with him in glory ; but if you come unto him, he will give you a new nature, fupply you with his grace here, and bring you to glory hereafter ; and there you may fing praifes and hallelujahs to the Lamb for ever.

And may this be the happy end of all who hear me ! may the Lord guide you by his counfel, until he comes to fetch you to heaven, and make you partakers of his glory !

May he direft you in his ways, and lead you in thofe paths which lead to everlafting life ! May you be holy here, and happy hereafter : may your lives anfwer the profeiTion you make, that we may all be found at the right hand of the Lord Jesus Christ^ vhen he fhall come to judge the world according to our works, whether they be good or evil ! and that we then may be prefented faultlcfs before the prefence of his glory with exceeding joy, God oi his infinite mercy grant, ^q.

SERMON

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SERMON XXIII

Marks of a true Convcrfion*

Matthew xviii. 3.

Verily^ I fay unto you^ except ye be converted^ and become as little children^ ye Jliall not enter into the kingdom cf heaven,

ISuppofe I may take it for granted, that all of you, among whom I am now about to preac^^v^the kingdom of God, are fully convinced, that it is appointed for all men once to die, and that ye all really believe that after death comes the judgment, and that the confequence of that judgment will be^ that ye muft be doomed to dwell in the blacknefs of darknefs, or afcend to dwell with the blefled God, for ever and ever. I may take it for granted alfo, that whatever your pradtice in common life may be, there is not one, though ever fo profligate and abandoned, but hopes to go to that place, which the fcriptures call Heaven, when he dies. And, I think, if I know any thing of mine own heart, my heart's defirc, as well as my prayer to God, for )ou all, is, that I may fee you fitting down in the kingdom of our heavenly Father. But then, though we all hope to go to heaven when we die, yet, if we may judge by people's lives, and our Lord fays, *' that by their fruits we may know them," I am afraid it v/ill be found, that thoufands, and ten thoufands, who hope to go to this bleiTed place after death, are not now in the way to it while they live. Though we call ourfelves chriftians, and would confider it as an affront put upon us, for any one to doubt whether we were chriflians or not; yet there are a great many, who bear the name of Christ, that yet do not fo much as know what real chrif-tianity is. Hence it is, that if you a(k a great many, upon

what

C 2Z1 ]

what their hopes of heaven are founded, they will tell you, that they belong to this, or that, or the othjr denomination, and part of chriflians, into which Chri/iendom is now unhappily divided. If you afk others, upon what foundation they have built their hope of heaven, they will tell you, that they have been baptized, that their fathers and mothers prcfented them to the Lord Jesus Christ in their infancy; and though^ inftead of fighting under Christ's banner^ they have been lighting againft him, almoft ever fmce they were baptifcd, yet becaufe they have been admitted to church, and their names are in the Regifter-book of the parifli, therefore they will make us believe, that their names are alfo written in the book of life. But a great many, who will not build their hopes of falvation upon fuch a forry rotten foundation as this, yet if they are, what we generally call, negatively good people j if they live fo as their neighbours cannot fay that they do any body harm, they do not doubt but they fhall be happy wheri they die ; nay, I have found many fuch die, as the fcripturci fpeaks, " without any bands in their death." And if a perfon is what the world calls an honeft moral man, if he does juftly, and, what the world calls, loves a little mercy, is now and then good-natured, reacheth out his hand to the poor, receives the facrament once or twice a year, and is outwardly fober and honell; the world looks upon fuch an one as a chrillian indeed, and doubtlefs we are to judge charitably of every fuch perfon. There are many likewife, who go on in a round of duties, a model of performances, that think they fliall go to heaven; but if you examine them, though they have a Chris t* in their heads, they have no Christ in their hearts.

The Lord Jesus Christ knew this full v/cll; he knew how defperately wicked and deceitful mens hearts were; he knew very well how many would go to hell even by the very gates of heaven, how many would clin^.b up even to the door, and go fo near as to knock at it, and yet after all be difmified v?ith a «' verily I know you not." The Lord, therefore, plainly tells us, what great change muft be wrought in us, and what muft be done for us, before we can have any well grounded hopes of entering into the kingdom of heaven. Henct, he tells Nicode?nus, ** that unlcfs a man be born again, and from above, and unlefs a man be born of water and of the Spirit,

Vol. V, Y ^^

he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." And of all xhc folemn declarations of our Lord, 1 mean with refpe(f^ to th's, perhaps the words of the text are one of the moft folemn, " except, (fays Christ) ye be converted, and become as little children, ye fhall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." The words, if you look back to the context, are plainly dire6led to the difciples ; for we are told, " that at the fame time came the difciples unto Jesus." And I think it is plain from many parts of Scripture, that thefe difciples, to whc^m our Lord addrefled himfelf at this time, were in fome degree converted before. If we take the words Mriclly, they are applicable only to thofe, that have already gotten fome, though but weak, faith in Christ. Our Lord means, that though they had already tatted the grace of God, yet there was fo much of the old man, fo much indwelling Tin, and corruption, yet remaining in their heart?, that unlefs they were more converted than they were, unlefs a greater change paft upon their fouls, and fandification was ftill carried on, they could give but very little evidence of their belonging to his kingdom, which was not to be fct up in outward grandeur, as they fuppcfed, but was to be a fpiritual kingdom, begun here, but com-pleated in the kingdom of God hereafter. But though the words had a peculiar reference to our Lord's difciples; yet as our Lord makes fuch a declaration as this in other places of Scripture, efpecially in that difcourfe to Nicodc?nuSy I believe the words may be juftly applied to faints and fmncrs; and a^ I fuppofe there are two forts of people here, fome who know Christ, and fome of you that do not know him ; fome that are converted, and fome that are ftrangers to converfion, I ihall endeavour fo to fpeak, that if God (hall be plcafcd to affift me^ and to give you an hearing ear and an obedient hearfj both faints and finners may have their portion.

ivr/?, I fhall endeavour to fliow you in what refpe6ls we are to underftand this aflcrtion of our Lord*s, *' that wc muft be converted and become like little children." I fliall then.

Secondly^ Speak to thofe who profefs a little of this child-like temper.

And Lojlly^ fhall fpeak to you, who hare no reafon to thi«k Hhat this change has ever paft upon your fouls-. And

[ 339 )

Plr/?f i fliall endeavour to fhow you, what wc are to under-ftand by our Lord's faying, " Except ye be converted and-become as little children." But I think, before I fpeak to thi^ point, it may be proper to premife one or two particulars.

I. I think, that the v/ords plainly imply, that before you or I can have any well-grounded, fcriptural hope, of being happy in a future ftate, there muft be fome great, fome notable, and amazing change pafs upon our fouls. I believe, there is not one adult perfon in the congregation, but will readily confefs, that a great change hath palt upon their bodies, fince they came firft into the world, and vvere infants dandled upori their mothers knees. It is true, ye have no more members than ye had then; but how are the'e altered I Tho* you are iri one refped the fame ye were, for the number of your limbs, and as to the (hape of your body, yet if a perfon that knevO you when ye were in your cradle, had been abfent from you for fome years, and faw you when grown up, ten thoufand to one if he would know you at all, ye are fo altered, fo different from what ye were, when ye were little ones. And as the words plainly imply^ that there has a great change paft upon our bodies fmce we were children, fo before we can go to heaven, there muft as great a change pafs upon our fouls ; Qur fouls confidered in a phyfical fenfe are ftill the fame, there is to be no philofophical change wrought on them: But then, as for our temper, habit and condu6^, we muft be foi changed and altered, that thofe who knew tis the other day, when in a ftate of fin^ and before we knew Christ, and are acquainted with us now, muft fee fuch an alteration, that they may ftand as much amazed at it, as a perfon at the alteration wrought on any perfon he has not feen fof twenty years from his infancy.

i. But I think it proper to premife fornething farther, be-caufe this text is the grand ftrong-hold of Jtminians, and Others. They learn of the devil to bring texts to propagate bad principles : when the devil had a mind to tempt Jesu;?' Christ, becaufe Christ quoted fcripture, therefore Satan did fo too. And fach perfons, that thcrr doilrine and bad principles may go dovvn the better, would fain perfuade unwary and unftable fouls, that they ate founded upon the word of GuD, Though the docfrine of original fin, is a doctriric

Y 2 writl€ii

[ 340 ] written in fuch legible chara£lers in the word of God, that he who runs may read it; and though, I think, every thing without us, and every thing within us, plainly proclaims that we are fallen creatures; though the very heathens, who had no other light, but the dim light of unaffifted reafon, complained of this, for they felt the wound, and difcovered the difeafe, but were ignorant of the caufe of it; yet there are too many perfons of thofe v.'ho have been baptized in the name of Christ, that dare to fpeak againft the do(Slrine of original fin, and are angry with thofe ill-natured minifters, who paint man in fuch black colours. Say they, " It cannot be that " children come into the world with the guilt of Adam's lin *'lying upon them." Why? Defire them to prove it from Scripture, and they will urge this very text, our Lord tells xxs^ " Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye fhall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Now their argument runs thus, " It is implied in the words of the text, " that little children are innocent, and that they come into the *' world like a mere blank piece of white paper, otherwife our '' Lord muft argue abfurdly, for he could never pretend to *' fay, that we muft be converted, and be made like wicked ** creatures ; that would be no converfion." But, my dear friends, this is to make Jesus Christ fpeak what he never intended, and what cannot be deduced from his words. That little children are guilty, I mean, that they are conceived and born in fm, is plain from the whole tenor of the book of God. David was a man after God's ov^n heart, yet, fays he, '' I was conceived in fm." Jeremiah fpeaking of every one's heart, fays, *' the heart of man is deceitful and defpe-rately wicked above all things." God's fervants unanimoufly declare, (and Paul cites it from one of them) " that we are altogether now become abominable, altogether gone out of the way of original righteoufnefs, there is not one of us that doth good (by nature), no not one." And 1 appeal to any of you that are mothers and fathers, if ye do not difcern original fin or corruption in your children, as foon as they come into the world ; and as they grow up, if ye do not difcovcr felf-will, and an averfion to goodnefs. What is the reafon your children are fo averfe to inflrudlion, but becaufe they bring enmity into the wprld with them, againft a good and gracious

God ?

God ? So then, It is plain from fciipture and h&, that children are born in fin, and confequently that they are children of wrath. And for my part, 1 think, that the death of every child is a plain proof of original fin ; fickncfs and death came into the world by fin, and it feems not confident with God's goodnefs and juftice, to let a little child be fick or die, unlcfs j^Jam's firfl fin was imputed to him. If any charge God with injuftice for imputing Jdams fin to a little child, behold we have gotten a fecond Adam, to bring our children to him. Therefore, when our Lord fays, '' unlefs ye arc converted, and become as little children," we are not to undcrftand, as though our Lord would infinuate, that little children arc perfedly innocent; but in a comparative, and as 1 {hall fliew you by and by, in a rational fenfe. Little children are innocent, compare them with grown people ; but take them as they are, and as they come into the world, they have liearts that are fenfual, and minds which are carnal. And I mention this with the grcateft concern, becaufc I verily believe, unlefs parents are convinced of this, they will never take proper care of their children's education. If parents were convinced, that children's hearts were fo bad as they are, you would never be fond of letting them go to balls, aflemblies, and plays, the natural tendency of which is to debauch their minds, and make them the children of the devil. If parents were convinced of this, I believe they would pray more, when they bring their children to be baptized, and would not make it a mere matter of form. And I believe, if they really were convinced, that their children were conceived in fin, they would always pwt up that petition, before their children came into the world, which I have heard that a good woman always did put up, " Lord Jesus, let me never bear a child for hell " or the devil." O ! is it not to be feared, that thoufands of children will appear, at the great day, before God, and in prefence of angels and men will fay. Father and mother, next to the wickednefs of mine own heart, I owe my damnation to your bad education of me.

Having premifcd thefe two particulars, I n'nv proceed to fliew in what fenfe we are really to underftand the words, that wc muft be converted and become like little children. The Evangf'lift tells us, ** that the difciples at this time came

y 3 unto

unto Jesus, faying, Who is the greateft in the kingdom of heaven ?'* Thefe difciples had inabibed the common prevailing notion, that the Lord Jesus Christ was to be a temporal prince ; they dreamed of nothing but being minlfters of ftatc, of fitting on Christ's right-hand in his kingdom, and lording it over God's people ; they thought thcmfelves qualified for ftate offices, as generally ignorant people are apt to conceive of themfelves. Well, fay they, '' Who is the greateft in the kingdom of heaven r" Which of us (hall have the chief management of public affairs ? A pretty queftion for a few poor fiftiermen, who fcarcely knew how to drag their nets to ihore, much lefs how to govern a kingdom. Our Lord, therefore, in the 2d verfe, to mortify them, calls a little child, and fets him in the midft of them. This a6lion was as much as if our Lord had faid, *' Poor creatures ? your imaginations are very towering; you difpute who (hall be greateft in the kingdom of heaven ; I will make this little child preach to you, or I will preach to you by him : Verily I fay unto you, (I who am truth itfclf, I who know in what manner my fubjeds are to enter into my kingdom 5 I fay unto you, ye are fo far from being in a right temper for my kingdom, that) except ye be converted, and become as this little child, ye fhall not enter into the kingdom of heaven, (unlefs ye are, cornparatively fpcakjng, as loofe to the world, as loof;: to crowns, fcepters, and kingdoms, and earthly things, as this poor little child I have in my hand) ye (hall not enter into my kingdom/* So that what our Lord is fpeaking of, is not the innocency of little children, if you confider the relation they ftand in to God, and as they are in themfelves, when brought into the wocld ; but what our Lord means is, that as to ambition and lui^ after the world, we muft in this fenfe become as little childrcii. Is there never a little boy or girl in this congregation ? Afk a poor little child, that can juft fpeak, about a crown, fcepter, or kingdom, the poor creature has no notion about it : give a little boy or girl a fmall thing to play with, it will leave the world to other people. Now in this fenfe we muft be converted, and become as little children ; that is, we muft be as loofe to the world, comparatively fpeaking, as a little child.

Do

t 34J ]

Do not miftakc me, I am not going to perfuade you to Cluit up your fhops, or leave your bufinefs; J am not going to perfuade you, that if ye will be chriUians, yc mull turn hermits, and retire out of the world : ye cannot leave your wicked hearts behind you, when you leave the world j for I find when I am alone, my wicked heart has followed me, go where I will. No, the religion of Jesus is a focial religion. But though Jesus Christ does not call us to go out of the world, (hut up our (hops, and leave our children to be provided for by miracles ; yet this muft be faid to the honour of chriilianity, if we are really converted, we (hall be loofe from the world. Though we are engaged in it, and are obliged to work for our children ; though we are obliged to follow trades and merchandize, and to be ferviceable to the commonwealth ; yet if wc are real chriftians, we fliall be loofe to the world ; though I will not pretend to fay that all real chriftians have attained to the fame degree of fpiritual-mindcd-nefs. This is the primary meaning of thefe words, that we muft be converted and become as little children ; neverthelefs, I fuppofe the words are to be underffood in other fenfes.

When our Lord fays, we mu(t be converted and become as little children, I fuppofe he means alfo, that we muffc be fenfible of our weaknefs, comparatively fpeaking, as a little child. Every one looks upon a little child, as a poor weak creature; as one that ought to go to fchool and learn fome new lefTon every day ; and as fimple and artlefs : one without guile, having not learned the abominable art, called diilimu-lation. Now in all thefe fenfes, I believe we are to under-

ftand the words of the text. Are little children fenfible of

their weaknefs ? Muft they be led by the hand ? Muft we take hold of them or they will fall ? So, if we are converted, if the grace of God be really in our hearts, my dear friends, however we may have thought of ourfelves once, whatever were our former high exalted imaginations ; yet we (hall now be fenfible of our weaknefs ; we fliall no more fay, " We are rich and increafed with goods, and lack nothing j" we (hall be inwardly poor : we (hall feel " that we are poor, miferable, blind, and naked." And as a little child gives up its hand to be guided by a parent or a nurfe. fo thofe v/ho are truly convened, and are real chriftians, will give up the heart, their

Y 4. under-

underClandlngs, their wills, their affedions, to be guided by the word, providence, and the Spirit of the Lord. Hence it is, that the Apoille, fpeaking of the fons of God, fays, '' As many as are led by the Spirit of Gop, they are (and to be fure hp means they only are) the fons of God."

And as liiile children look upon themfelves to be ignorant creatures, To thofe that are converted, do look upon themfelves as ignorant too. Hence it is, that 'Johiy fpeaking to chriftians, calls them little children ; " I have written unto you, litile children." And Christ's flock is called a little flock, not only becaufe little in number, but alfo bccaufe thofe who are members of his flock, are indeed little in their own eyes. Hence that great man, that great apoftle of the Gentiles^ that fjjiritual father of fo many thoufands of fouls, that man, who in the opinion of Dr. Gocdwin^ " fits neareft the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, in glory," that chofen vefTel, the Apoftle Paul^ when he fpeaks of himfelf, fays, *' Unto me, who am Itfs than the lead: of all faints, is this grace given, that I fliould preach among the Gentiles the unfearchable riches of Christ.'* Perhaps fome of you, when you read thefe words, will be apt to think that Paul did not fpeak true, that he did not really feel what he faid ; becaufe you judge Paul's heart by your own proud hearts : but the more ye get of the grace of God, and the more ye are partakers of the divine life, the more will ye fee your own meannefs and vilenefs, and be lefs in your own eyes. Hence it is, that Mr. Flauel^ in his book called, Hufbandry Spiritualized, compares young chriftians to green corn ; vi-hich before it is ripe, flioots up very high, but there is little folidity in it : whereas, an old chriftian is like ripe corn ; it doth not lift up its head fo much, but thcri it is more weighty, and fit to be cut down, and put into the farmer^s barn. Young chriftians are aUo like little rivulets ; ye know rivulets are (hallow, yet make great noife; but an pid chriftian, he makes not much noife, he goes on fweetly, like a deep river (liding into the ocean.

And as a little child is looked upon as an harmlefs creature, and generally fpeaks true; fo, if we are converted, and become as Utile children, we flial! be guilelefs as well as harm-Jcfs. What faid the dear Redeemer when he (aw Nathaniel P A3 though it was a rare fight he gazed upon, and would

have

have others gaze upon it; " Behold an IfraeUte indeed:" Why fo ? " In whom is no guile." Do not miftake me; I am not fayinp;, that chriftians ought not to be prudent; they ought exceedingly to pray to God for prudence, othcrwife they may follow the delufions of the devil, and by their imprudence give wrong touches to the ark of God. It was the lamentation of a great man, '* God has given me many *' gifts, but God has not given me prudence." Therefore when I fay, a chriftian muft be guilelcfs, I do not mean he (hould expofe himfelf, and lie open to every one's aflault: we (hould pray for the wifdom of the ferpent, thourrh we fhall generally learn this wifdom by our blunders and imprudence: and we muft make fome advance in chriftianity, before wc know our imprudence. A perfon really converted, can fay as it is reported of a philofopher, " I wifh there was a win-" dow in my breaft, that every one may fee the upriohtnefs *' of my heart and intentions :" And though there is too much of the old man in us, yet, if we are really converted there will be in us no allowed guile, we fhall be harmlefs. And that is the reafon why the poor chriftian is too often impofed upon ; he judgeth other people by himfelf; havino-an honeft heart, he thinks every one as honeft as himfelf, and therefore is a prey to every one. I might enlarge upon each' of thefc points, it is a copious and important truth ; but I do not intend to multiply many marks and heads.

And therefore, as I have fomething to fay by way of per-fonal application, give me leave therefore, with the ucmoft tendernefs, and at the fame time with faithfulnefs, to call upon you, my dear friends. My text is introduced in an awful manner, " Verily I fay unto you ;*' and what Jesus faid then, he fays now to you, to me, and to as many as fit under a preached gofpel, and to as many as the Lord our God fhall call. Let me exhort you to fee whether ye are converted ; v^hether fuch a great and almighty change has pafTed upon any of your fouls. As I told you before, fo I tell you again, ye all hope to go to heaven, and I pray God Almighty ye may be all there : when I fee fuch a congregation as this, if my heart is in a proper frame, 1 feel myfelf ready to lay down my life, to be ?nftrumental only to fave one foul. It makes my heart bleed within me, it makes me

fonietimcs

fomeutties mofl iinvviDirg to preacn, left that word that I hope will do good, may incrcafe the damnation of any, and perhaps of a great part of-" the auditory, through their own unbelief. Give me leave to deal faithfully with your fouls, I have your dead warrant in my hand : Christ has faid it, Jesus will ftand to it, it is like the laws of the ALdcs and PerfianSy it altereth not. Hark, O man ! hark, O woman ! he that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Lord Jesus Christ fays, *' Verily I fay unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye (hall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Though this is Saturday night, and ye are now preparing for the fabbath, for what you know, you may y€t never live to fee the fabbath. You have had awful proofs of this lately ; a woman died but yeilerday, a man died tne day before, another v/as killed by fomething that fell from a houfe, and it may be in twenty-four hours more, many of you may be carried into an unalterable ftate. Now then, for God's fake, for your own fouls fake, if ye have a mind to dwell with God, and cannot bear the thought of dwelling in everlafling burning, before I go any further, filently put up one prayer, or fay Jmen to the prayer I would put in your mouths; " Lord, fearch me and try me; Lord, examine my heart, and let my confcience fpeak ; O let me knvow whether I am converted or not !" What fay ye, my clear hearers ? what fay ye, my fellow-fmners ? what fay ye, my guilty brethren ? Has God by his bleiled Spirit wrought fuch a change in your hearts ? I do not afk you, whether God has made you an'j;els ? That I know will never be5 I only «llc you. Whether ye have any well-grounded hope to think that God has made you new creatures in Christ Jesus ? So renewed and changed your natures, that you can fay, I humbly hope, that as to the habitual temper and tendency of my mind, that my heart is free from wickednefs ; I have a hufband, I have a wife, I have alfo children, 1 keep a fhop, I mind my buhnefs; but I love thefe creatures for God's fake, and do every thing for Christ : and if God was now to call hie away, according to the habitual temper of my mind, I can fay. Lord, I am ready ; and however 1 love the crea-t'jres, I hope I can fay. Whom have I in heaven but thee .? Whom have I in heaven,.0 my God and my dear Redeemer^

that

that I dcfirc in comparifon of thee ? Can you thank Goo for the creatures, and fay at the fame time, thcfe are not my Christ ? 1 fpeak in plain language, you know my way of preaching: I do not want to play the orator, I do not want to be counted a feholar ; I want to fpeak fo as I may reach poor people's hearts. What fay ye, my dear hearers ? Are ye fenfible of your weakncfs ? Do yc kel that ye are poor, miferable, blind, and naked by nature ? Do ye give up your hearts, your affe£lions, your wills, your underftanding to be guided by the Spirit of God, as a little child gives up its hand to be guided by its parent ? Are ye little in your own eyes ? Do ye think meanly of yourfclves ? And do you want to learn fomeiliing new every day ? 1 mention thefe marks, becaufe I am apt to believe they arc more adapted to a great many of your capacities. A great manv of you have not that flowing ot" affection ye fometimes had, therefore ye are for giving up all your evidences, and making way for the devil's coming into your heart. You are not brouc^ht up to the mount as ye ufed to be, therefore ye coacluce ye have no grace at all. But if the Lord Jesus Christ has emptied thee, and humbled thee, if he is giving thee to fee and know that thou art nothing ; though thou art not growing upward^ thou art growing downward ; and though thou hall not fo much joy, yet thy heart is emptying to be more abundantly replenifhed by and by. Can any of you follow me? Then, give God thanks, and take the comfort of it.

If thou art thus converted, and become a little child, 1 welcome thee, in the name of the Lord Jesus, into God*» dear family ; I welcome thee, in the name of the dear Redeemer, into the company of God's children. O ye dear fouls, though the world fees nothing in you, though there bt-no outward difference between you and others, yet I look upon you in another light, even as fo many kings fons and daughters: all hail ! in the name of God, I wifti every one of you joy from my foul, ye fons and daughters of the Kinf; of kings. Will not you henceforth exercife a child-like temper? Will not fuch a thought melt down your hearts, when 1 tell you, that the great God, who might have frowned you to hell for your fccret fins, that nobody knew of but God Slid your own fouls, and who might have damned you times I without

C 348 ]

without number, hath caft the marule of his love over you ; bis voice hath been. Let that man, that woman live, for I have found a ranfom. O will ye not cry out. Why me. Lord ? VVas King George to fend for any of your children, and were you to hear they were to be his adopted fons, how iiighly honoured would you think your children to be ? What great condefcenfion was it for Pharaoh's daughter to take up Mofes^ a poor child expofed in an ark of bulrufties, and breed him up for her child ? But what is that happinefs in coni-parifon of thine, who was the other day a child of the devil, but now by converting grace art become a child of God \ Are ye converted ? Are ye become like little children ? Then what muft ye do ? My dear hearers, be obedient to God, remember God is your father j and as every one of you muft know what a dreadful crofs it is to have a wicked, difobedient child J if ye do not want your children to be difobedient to you, for Christ's fake be not difobedient to your heavenly parent. If God be your father, obey him : if God be your father, ferve him ; love him with all your heart, love him with all your might, with all your foul, ard with all your flrength. If God be your father, fly from every thing that may difpleafe him ; and walk worthy of that God, who has called you to his kingdom and glory. If ye are converted and become like little children, then behave as little children : they long for the breaft, and with it will be contented. Are ye new-born babes ? then defire the fmcere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. I do not want that Arminian hufks fhould go down with you j ye are kings fons and daughters, and have a more refined tafte; you muft have the doctrines of grace j and blefled be God that you dwell in a country, v/here the fmcere word is fo plainly preached. Are ye children ? then grow in grace, and in the knowledge of your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Have any of you children that do not grow ? do not ye lament thefe children, and cry over them ; do not ye fay, my child will never be fit for any thing in the world ? Well, doth it grieve you to fee a child that will not grow \ how much muft it grieve the heart of Christ to fee ycu grow fo little ? Will yc be always children ? Will ye be always learning the firft principles of chriftianity, and never prefs forward tov/aixl the mark, for the

prize

prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus ? God forbid. Let the language of your heart be, '' Lord Jesus " help me to grow, help me to learn more, learn me to live *' fo as my progrefs may be known to all !'*

Are ye God's children ? Are ye converted, and become like little children ? Then deal with God as your little children do with you; as foon as ever they want any thin<T, or if any body hurt them, I appeal to yourfelves if they do not directly run to their parent. Well, are ye God's children ? Doth the devil trouble you ? Doth the world trouble you ? Go tell your father of it, go directly and complain to God. Perhaps you may fay, I cannot utter fine words : but do any of you expett fine words from your children ? If they come crying, and can fpeak but half words, do not your hearts yearn over them ? And has not God un-rpeakably more pity to you f If ye can only make figns to him ; *' As a father pitieth his children, fo will the Lord pity them that fear him.'* I pray you therefore be bold with your Father, faying, " Abba, Father," Satan troubles me, the world troubles me, my own mother's children are angry with me j heavenly Father, plead my caufe ! the Lord will then fpeak for you fome way or other.

Are ye converted, and become as little children, have ye entered into God's family ? Then alTure yourfelves, that your heavenly father will chaften you now and then ; " for what fon is there whom the father chaftneth not: if ye are without chaftifement, of which all are partakers, then are ye baftards and not fons." It is recorded of bifhop Latimer^ that in the houfe where he came to lodge, he overheard the mailer of the houfe fay, I thank God I never had a crofs in my life: O faid he, then I will not flay here. I believe there is not a child of God, when in a good frame, but has prayed for great humility ; they have prayed for great faith, they have prayed fur great love, they have prayed for all the graces of the Spirit: Do ye know, when ye put up thcfe prayers, that ye did alfo fay, Lord fend us great trials : for how is ic polTible to know ye have great faith, humility and love, un-lefs God put you into great trials, that ye may know whether je have them or not. I mention this, becaufe a great many of the children of God (I am fare i: bus bscn a temptation 3 "^

[ ,^50 ] to me many times, when I have been under God*s fmarting rod) when they have great trials, think God is giving them over. If therefore ye are God's children; if ye are converted and become as little children ; do not expe6l that God will be like a foolifli parent; no, he is a jealous God, he loves his child too v/ell to fparc his rod. How did he cor-TtSi Miriam F How did he coxxeSt Mofes ? How hath God in all ages corre<9:ed his deareft children ? Therefore if ye are converted, and become as little children, if God hath taken away a child, or your fubftance, if God fuftcrs friends to forfake you, and if you are forfaken as it were both by God and man, fay, Lord I thank thee ! I am a perverfe child, or God would not ftrike me fo often and fo hard. Do not blame your heavenly Father, but blame yourfeives ; he is a loving God, and a tender Father, " he is affli£led in all our afHidions :" therefore when God fpake to A^ojes, he fpake out of the bufh, as niuch as to fay, " Mofes^ this bufli reprefents my people ; as this bufh is burning with fire, fo are my children to burn with aiHiilion'; but I am in the bufh ; if the bufh burns, I will burn with it, I will be with them in the furnace, I will be vv^ith them in the water, and though the water come over them^ it fhall not overflow th<:im."

Are ye God*s children ? Are ye converted and become as Httle children ? Then will ye not long to go home and fee your Father ? O happy they that have gotten home before you ; happy they that are up yonder, happy they who have afcended above this field of coiifli<51:. I know nor v/hat you may think of it, but fmce 1 heard that fome, whofe hearts God was pleafed to work upon, are gone to glory, 1 am fometimes filled with grief, that God ib not pleafed to let me go home too. How can you fee fo much coldnef^i among God's people I How can ye fee God's people like the moon, waxing and waning ? Who can but defire to be forever with the Lord ? Thanks be to God, the time is foon coming j thanks be to God, he will come and will not tarry. Do not be impatient, God in his own time will fetch you home. And though ye may be brought to fhort allowance novf, though fome of you may be narrow in your circumflancesr, yet do not repine ; a God, and the gofpel of Christ^ with brown bread, are great riches. In thy Father's houfe thefe

is bread enough and to fpare ; though thou art now tormented, yet by and by thou flialt be comforted ; the angels wiil look upon it as an honour to convey thee to Ahroharns bolom, though thou art but a Lazarus here. By the frame of my heart, I am much inclined to fpeak comfortably to God's people.

But I only mention one thing more, and that Is, if ye are converted, and become as little children, then for God's fake take care of doing what children often do ; they are too apt to quarrel one with another. O love one another; " he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him." Jo-//>^ knew.that his brethren were in danger of falling out, therefore when he left them, fays he, " fall not out by the way." Ye are all children of the fame Father, ye are all going to the fame place ; why (hould ye difFer ? The world has enough againft us, the devil has enough againft us, without our quarelling with each other ; O walk in love. If I could preach no more, if I was not able to hold out to the end of my fermon, I would fay as John did, when he was grown old and could not preach, " Little children, love one another:" if ye are God's children, then love one another. There is nothing grieves me more, than the differences amongft God's people. O haften that time, when we fhall either go to heaven, or never quarrel any more !

Would to God I could fpeak tt) all of you in this comfortable language ; but my mafter tells me, I mult " not give that which is holy to dogs, I muft not caft pearls before fwinci" therefore, though I have been fpeaking comfortably, yet what I have been faying, efpeclally in this latter part of the dif-courfe, belongs to children ; it is children's bread, it belongs to God's people. If any of you are gracelefs, chriftlefs, unconverted creatures, I charge you not to touch it, I fence it m the name of God ; here is a flaming fword turning every way to keep you from this bread of life, till ye are turned to Jpsus Christ. And therefore, as I fuppofe many of you are unconverted, and gracelefs, go home, and away to your clofcts, and down with your flubborn hearts before God ; if ye ha^e not done it before, let this be the night : Or, do not flay till ye go home; begin now, whilt: ftanding here ; pray to God, and let the language of thy heart be, Loiui i:o:ivert mc !

I.08.»

Lord make mc a little child. Lord Jesus let me not befca-nifhed from thy kingdom ! My dear friends, there is a great deal more implied in the words, than is exprelled : when Christ fays, *' Ye (liall not enter into the kingdom of heaven," it is as much as to fay, " ye fhall certainly go to hell, ye fliall certainly be damned, and dwell in the blacknefs of darknefs for ever, ye fhali go where the worm dies not, and where the fire is not quenched." The Lord God imprefs it upon your fouls ! Mayan arrow (as one lately wrote me in a letter) dipped in the blood of Christ, reach every unconverted fmner's heart! May God fulfil the text to every one of your fouls ! It is he alone that can do it. If ye confefs your fins, and leave them, and lay hold on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God (hall be given you ; if you u'il! go and fay, turn me, O my God ! thou knoweft not, O man, what the return of God may be to thee. Did I think that preaching would be to the purpofe, did I think that arguments would induce you to come, I would continue my difcourfd till midnight. And however fome of you may hate me without a caufe, would to God every one in this congregation was as much concerned for himfelf, as at pre-fent (blefled be God) I feel myfelf concerned for him. O that my head were waters, O that mine eyes were a fountain of tears, that I might weep over an unconverted, gracclefs:, wicked, and adulterous generation. Precious fouls, for God's fake think what will become of you when ye die, if you die without being converted ; if ye go hence without the wedding garment, God will ftrike you fpeechlefs, and ye fliall be bauifned from his prefence for ever and ever. 1 know ye cannot dwell with everlafting burnings; behold then I (hew you a way of efcape ; Jesus is the way, Jesus is the truth, the Lord Jesus Christ is the refurreclion and the life. It is his Spirit mufl convert you, come to Christ, and ye fhall have it; and may God for Christ's fake give it to you all, and convert you, that we may all meet, never to part again, in his heavenly kingdom j even fo Lord Jesusj Amen and Amen.

SERM 01|

C 353 1

SERMON XXIV.

What think ye of Christ ?

Matthew xxii. 4I. pP^Ipai think ye of Christ?

WHEN it pleafed the eternal Son of God to tabernacle among us, and preach the glad tidings of falvation to a fallen world, different opinions were entertained by different parties concerning him. As to his perfon, fome faid he was Mofes ; others that he was EiiaSy Jeremias, or one of the ancient prophets; few acknowledged him to be what he really was, God bleffed for evermore. And as to his do6lrine^ though the common people, being free from prejudice^ were perfuaded of the heavenly tendency of his going about to do good, and for the generality, heard him gladly, and fiid he was a good man 5 yet the envious, worldly-minded, felf-righteous governors and teachers of the JewiJ}) church, being grieved at his fuccefs on the one hand, and unable (having never been taught of God) to understand the purity of his doctrine, on the other ; notwithftanding our Lord fpakc as never man fpake, and did fuch miracles which no man could pofTibly do, uniefs God was with him ; yet they not only were fo infatuated, as to fay, that he deceived the people, but alfo were fo blafphemous as to affirm, that he was in league with the devil himfelf, and caft out devils by Beelztbub the prince of devils. Nay, our Lord's own brethren and kinfmen, according to the flcfh, were io blinded by prejudice and unbelief, that on a certain day, when he went out to teach the multitudes in the fieldsj they fent to t^kc hold oa Vol. V. Z hira,

I .354 ] him, urging this as a reafon for their condu£l, " That he was befides himfelf."

Thus was the King and the Lord of glory judged by man's judgment, whtn manifcft in flefh : far be it from any of his minifters to expe6l better treatment. No, if we come in the fpirit and power of our Mafter, in this, as in every other part of his fufFerings, we muft follow his fteps. The lilcc reproaches which were caft on him, will be thrown on us alio. Thofe that received our Lord and his do6lrine, will receive and hear us for his name's fake. The poor, blefied '-be God, as our prefent meeting abundantly teftiiies, receive the gofpel, and the common people hear us gladly; whilft thofe who are fitting in Mofes' chair, and love to wear long robes, being ignorant of the righteoufnefs which is of God by faith in Christ Jesus, and having never felt the power of God upon their hearts, will be continually crying out againft us, as madmen, deceivers of the people, and as adting under the influence of evil fpirits.

But he is unworthy the name of a minifler of the gofpel of peace, who is unwilling, not only to have his name caft out as evil, but alfo to die for the truths of the Lord Jesus. It is the charadler of hirelings and falfe prophets^ who care not for the fheep, to have all men fpealc well of them, " Bleiled are you, (fays our Lord to his firft apoftles, and inthem to all fucceeding minifters) when men fpeak all manner of evil againil: you falfely for my name's fake.'* And indeed it is impolTible but fuch ofFenccs muft come: for raen .will always judge of others, according to the principles from which they a6l themfelves. And if they care not to yield obedience to the doctrines which we deliver, thev muft ne-ceflarily, in felf-defence, fpeak againft the preachers, left they ftiould be afked that queftion, which the Pharifees of old feared to have retorted on them, if they confefled that John was a prophet, " Why then did you not believe on him?" In all fuch cafes, we have nothing to do but to fearch our own hearts, and if we can afiTure our confciences, before God, that we a(Sl with a fingle eye to his glory, we are chearfully to go on in our work, and not in' the leaft (o re-. gard what men or devils can fav againft, or do unto us.

But

But to return. You have heard what various thou<^Vits there were concerning Jesus Christ, vvhilft here on earth*, nor is he other wife treated, even now he is exalted to fit down at the right hand of his Father in heaven. A ftrangcr to chriftianity, was he to hear, that we all profefs to hold one Lord, would naturally infer, that we all thought and fpoke one and the fame thing about hini. But alas ! to our fliame be it mentioned, though Christ be not divided in himfelf, yet profefTors are fadly divided in their thoughts about him ; and that not only as to the circumftances of his religion, but alfo of thofe eflential truths which muft necef' farily be believed and received by us, if ever we hope to be heirs of eternal falvation.

Some, and I fear a multitude whicli no man can eafily number, there are amongfl: us, who call themfelvcs chriftians, and yet fcldom or never ferioufly think of Jesus Christ a»: all. They can think of their {hops and their farms, their plays, their balls, their aflemblies, and horfe-raccs (entertainments which dire£lly tend to exclude religion out of the world) ; but as for Christ, the author and finiflicr of faith, the Lord who has bought poor finners with his precious blood, and who is the only thing worth thinking of, alas ! he is not in all, or at moft in very few of their thought-,. But believe me, O ye eafthly, fenfual, carnally-minded pro-feflbrs, however little you may think of Christ now, or however induftrioufly you may drive to keep him out of your thoughts, by purfuing the luft of the eye, the luft of the flefb, and the pride of life, yet there is a time coming, when you will wifh you had thought of Christ more, and of your profits and pleafures lefs. For the gay, the polite, the rich alfo muft die as well as others, and leave their pomps and vanities, and all their wealth behind them. And O ! what thoughts will you entertain concerning Jesus Christ, in that hour ?

But I muft not purfue thefe refleaions : they would carry me too far from the main dcfign of this difcourfe, which is to (hew, what thofe who are truly defirous to know how to worfhip God in fpirit and in truth, ought to think concerning Jesus Christ, whom God hath lent to be the end of the law for righteoufnefs to all them that fhall believe.

2 2 I :ruft.

t truft, my hrethren^ you are more noble than to think me too ftri6l or fcrupulous, in thus attempting to regulate your thoughts about Jesus Christ : for by our thoughts, as well as our words and adions, are we to be judged at the great day. And in vain do we hope to believe in, or worfhip Christ aright, unlefs our principles, on which our faith and pradiceare founded, are agreeable to the form of found words delivered to us in the fcriptures of truth.

^ Befides, many d'^ceivers arc gone abroad into the world. Mere heathen morality, and not Jesus Christ, is preached in moftof our churches. And how fhould people think rightly of Christ, of whom they have fcarcely heard? Bear with me a little then, whilft, to inform your confciences, I afk you a few qucftions concerning Jesus Christ : For there is no other name given under heaven, whereby we can be faved, but his.

FlrJ}^ What think you about the perfon of Christ ? *' Whofe Son is he /" This is the queftion our Lord pur to the Pharifees in the words following the text; and never was it more neceflary to repeat this queftion than in thefe laft days. For numbers that are called after the name of Christ, and I fear, many that pretend to preach him, are fo far advanced in the blafphemous chair, as openly to deny his being really, truly, and properly God, But no one that ever was partaker of his Spirit, will fpeak thus lightly of him. No, if they are aflied, as Peter and his brethren were, " But whom fay ye that I am ?'* they will reply without hefitation, *' Thou art Christ the Son of the ever-living God." For the confeflion of our Lord's divinity, is the rock upon which fee builds his church. Was it poflible to take this away, the

, gates of hell would quickly prevail againft it. My brethren,

i if Jesus Christ be not very God of very God, I wou-lcl never preach the gofpel of Christ again. For it wotild not be gofpel; it would be only a fyftem of moral ethics : Seneca^ CicerOy or any of the Gentile philofophers, would be as good a Saviour as Jesus of Nazareth. It is the divinity of our Lord that gives a fan£i:ion to his death, and makes him fuch a high-prieft as became us, one who by the infinite merits of

■ his fuflTering could make a full, perfe£l, fufficient facrrficCj ,fatisfa£tion and obhtion to infinitely offended jitftice. And

w hat foe ver

[ ZSl ]

whatfoever minliler of the church o{ England, makes ufe of her forms, and eats of her bread, and yet holds not this doctrine (as I fear too many fuch are crept in amongft us) fuch a one belongs only to the fynagogue of Satan. He is not a child or miniller of God : no ; he is a wolf in fheep's cloath-ing; he is a child and miniller of that wiclccd one th<j devil.

Many will think thefe hard fayings : But I think it no breach of charity to afHrm, that an Jrian or Sjcinian cannot be a chriiVian. The one would make us believe [esus Christ is only a created God, which is a felf-contradicSlion : and the other would have us look on him only as a good man ; and inflead of owning his death to be an atonement for the fins of the world, would perfuade us, that Christ died only to feal the truth of his doctrine with his blood. But if Jesus Christ be no more than a mere man, if he b;: not truly God, he was the vileft Tinner that ever appeared in the world. For he accepted of divine adoration from the man who had been born blind, as we read "John ix. 38. *' And he faid, Lord I believe, and worfliipped him." Befides, if Christ be not properly God, our faith is vain, we are yet in our fms : for no created being, though of the higheft order, coujd pofTibly merit any thing at God's hands : it was our Lord's divinity, that alone qualified him to take away the fins of the world ; and therefore we hear St. John pronouncing fo pofitively, that *' the Word (Jesus Christ) was not only with God, but was God." For the like reafon, St. Paul fays, *' that he was in the form of God : That in him dwelt all the fulnefs of the godhead bodily." Nay, Jesus Christ afliimcd the the title which God gave to himfelf, when he fent Mofes to deliver his people IJrael. " Before Abraham was, I am.'* And again, " I and my father are one." Which laft words, though our modern infidels would evade and wreft, as they do other fcriptures, to their own damnation, yet it is evident that the Jewi underftood our Lord, when he fpake thus, as making himfelf equal with God; otherwife, why did they ftone him as a blafphemer .? And now, why fliould it be thought a breach of charity, to affirm, that thofe who deny the divinity of Jesus Christ, in the ftri£teft fenfe of the word, cannot be chriltians ? For they arc greater infidels thaa

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(he devils themfclvcs, who confefleJ that they knew who he was, " even the holy^one ot God." They not only believe, bur, which is more than the unbelievers of this generation do, th'jy tremble. And was it poiiible for arch-hereticks, to be releafed from their chains of darknefs, under which (unlefs they altered their principles before tlicy died) they arc now refcrvcd to the judgment of the great day, I am perfuaded ihey would inform us, how hell had convinced them of the divinity of Jesus Christ, and that they would advife their followers to abhor their principles, lell they fhould come into the fame place, and thereby incrcafe each others tor^ ments.

But, Secondly^ What think you of the manhood or incarnation of Jesus Christ ? For Christ was not only God, but he was God and man in one perfon. Thus runs the text and context, '' When the Pharifees were gathered together, Jesus afked them, faying, What think ye of Christ ? Whofe Son is he? They fay unto him, The Son oi David, How then, fays our divine mafter, does David in fpirit call him Lord ?" From which palTage it is evident, that we do not think rightly of the perfon of Jesus Christ, unlefs we believe him to be perfect God and perfe6l man, of a reafona-ble foul and human flefli fubfifting.

For it is on this account that he is called Christ, or the anointed one^ who through his own voluntary offer was fet spart by the father, and ftrengthened and qualified by the anointing or communication of the Holy Ghoft, to be a mediator between Him and offending man.

The reafon why th-^. Son of God took upon him our nature, was, the fall of our firft parents. I hope there is no one prefcnt fo atheiftical, as to think, that man made himfelf: no, it was God that made us, and not we ourfelves. And I would willingly think, that no one is fo blafphemous as to fuppofe, that if God did make us, he made us fach creatures as we now find ourfelves to be. For this would be giving God's word the lie, which tells us, that " in the image of God (not in the image which we now bear on our fouls) n>ade he man." As God made man, fo God made him perfect. He placed him in the garden of Eden^ and condescended to enter into a covenant with him, promifing him

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eternal life, upon condition of unfinning obedience; and threatening eternal death, it" he broke his law, and did eat the forbidden fruit.

Man did cat; and herein a£ling as our reprefentativc, thereby involved both himfelf and us in that curfe, which God, the righteous judge, had faid fliould be the confcquence of his difobedience. But here begins that myftery of godli-iiefs, God manifefted in the flcfh. For (fmg, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth !) the eternal Father, forcfeeing how Satan would bruife the heel of man, had in his eternal coun-fel provided a means whereby he might bruife that accurfed Serpent's head. Man is permitted to fall, and become fub-jed to death ; but Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, Light of light, very God of very God, offers to die to make an atonement for his tranfgreiTion, and to fulfil all righteoufnefs in his ftead. And becaufe it was impoflible for him to do this as he was God, and yet fince man had offended, it was necelfary it fhould be done in the pcrfon of man ; rather than we fhould pcrifh, this everlafting God, this Prince of Peace, this Antient of Days, in the fulnefs of time, had a body prepared for him by the Holy Ghofl, and became an infant. In this body he performed a compleat obedience to the law of God j whereby he, in our ftead, fulfilled the covenant of works, and at lafl became fubje£t to death, even death upon the crofs ; that as God he mi'ght fatisfy, as man he might obey and fuffer; and being God and man in one perfon, might once more procure a union between God and our fouls.

And now. What think you of this love of Christ ? Do not you think it was wondrous great ? Efpecially when you confider, that we were Christ's bitter enemies, and that he would have been infinitely happy in himfelf, not\A ithftanding we had perifned for ever. Whatever you may think of it, I know the bleffeci angels, who are not fo much concerned in this myftery of godlinefs as we, think moft highly of it. They do, they will defire to look into, and admire it, through all eternity. Why, why O ye finners, will you not think of this love of Christ ? Surely it muft melt down the moft hardened heart. Whilft I am fpeaking, the thought of this infinite and condefcending love fires and warms my foul. I

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couW dwell on it for ever. ' But it Is expedient for you, that I ihould a(k you another queflion concerning Jesus Christ.

Thirdly^ What think you about being juftified by Christ ? I believe I can an Twer for fome of you : for many, I fear, think to be jufiified or looked upon as righteous in God's fight, without Jesus Christ. But fuch will find themfelves dreadfully miflaken : for out of Christ, " God is a con-fuming fire." Others fatisfy themfelves, vi^ith believing that Christ was God and man, and that he came into the world to fave finners in general ; whereas, their chief coiicern ought to be, how they may be afilired that Jesus Christ came into the world to fave them in particular. '' The life that I now live in the flefh, (fays the Apoftle) is by faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himfelf for me." Ob-ferve, for me: it is this immediate application of Jesus Christ to our own hearts, that renders his merits efFeclual to our eternal falvation. An unapplied Christ will do us no Icrvice at all. Others there are who go ftill farther : for they think that Jesus Christ is God-man ; that he is to be applied to their hearts; and that they can bejuftified in God's fight, only in or through him : but then they make him only in part a faviour : They are for doing what they can themfelves, and then Jesus Christ is to make up the deficiencies of their righteoulhefs. This is the fum and fubftance of our modern divinity. And was it poflible for me to know the thoughts of moft that hear me this day, I believe they would tell me, this was the fcheme they had laid, and perhaps depended on for fome years, for their eternal falvation. Is it wot then high time, my brethren, for you to entertain quite different thoughts concerning juftiiication by Jesus Christ I For if yoy think thus, you are in the cafe of thofe unhappy "Jeivs^ who went about to eilablifh their own righteoufnefs, and Vvould not fubmit to, and confequently miffed of that righteoufnefs which is of God by faith in Christ Jesus our LoRp. What think you then, if I tell you, that you are to be jufiified freely throiigh faith in Jesus Christ, without any regard to any work or fitnefs forefeen in us at all ? For falvation is the free gift of God. I know no fitnefs in man, but a fitnefs to be caft into the lake of fire and brimflone for ^vef. pur rightepufneffes, in God's fight, are but as filthy ' rags;

rags: he cannot away with ihem. Our holinefs, if wc have anv, is not the canfe, but the efFe6t of our juftificaticn in i God's fi[;ht, " We love God, becai^fe he firfl loved us."' Wc mufi: not come to God as the proud Pharifee did, brin'^-ing ill as it were a reckoning of our fervices ; v/e muft come ill che temper and language of the poor Publican, fmiting lipon cur breafts, and faying, *' God be merciful to me a finner :" for Jesus Ckrist juftifies us whilfl we are ungodly. He came not to call the righteous, but Imners to repentance. The poor in fpirit only, they Vv'ho are willing to go out of themfelves, and rely wholly on the righteoufnefs' of another, are fo blelled as to be members of his kingdom. The righteoufnefs, the whole righteoufnefs of Jesus Christ, is to be imputtd to us, inflead of our own : '^ For we aie net under the law, but under grace: and to as many as walk, after this rule, peace be on them :" for they, and they only are the true Ifrael of God. In the great work of man's re-dempLion, boafting is entirely excluded : which could not be, if only one of our v.?orks was to be joined with the merits of pHRiST. Our falvation is all of God, from the beginning to the end : it is not of works, left any man (hould boaft : man has no hand in it: it is Christ who is to be made to us ' of God the father, wifdom, righteoufnefs, fan6fification, and eternal redemption. His a£tive as well as his paffive obedience, is to be applied to poor fmners. He has fulfilled all righteoufnefs in our ftead, that we might become the righteoufnefs of God in him. All we have to do, is to lay hold on this riglneoulnefs by faith : and the very moment we do apprehend it by a lively faith, that very moment we may be af-furcd, that the blood of Jesus Christ has cleanfcd us from all fin : '* For the promife is to us and to our cliildren, and to as many as the Lord our God (hail call." U we and cur whok' houfes believe, we fhall be faved as well as the jaylor and his houfe : for the righteoufnefs of Jesus Christ is an everlafting, as well as a perfect righteoufnefs. It is as efFe£tual to all who believe in him now, as formerly; and fo it will be, till time (hall be no more. Search the fcriptures, as the Bereans did, and fee whether thefe things are not (o. Search St. Paulas epiftles to the Romans and Galations^ and ihcre you will find this do6t;ine fo plainly taught you, that,

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enlefs you have eyes and fee not, he that runs may rrad. Search the Eleventh Article of our Church : " We are ac-*' counted righteous before God, only for the merits of our *' Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith, and not for our " ov/n works or defervings."

This do6lrine of our free juftification by faith in Christ Jesus, however cenfured and evil fpoken of by our prefent Mailers of Ifraely was highly efteemed by our wife fore-fathers : for in the fubfequent words of the forementioned article, it is called a moft wholefome doSlrine^ and very full of comfort: and fo it is to all that are weary and heavy laden, and are truly willing to find reft in Jesus Christ.

This is gofpel, this is glad tidings of great joy to all that feel themfelves poor, loft, undone, damned finners. " Ho, every one that thirftcth, come unto the waters of life, and drink freely ; come and buy without money and without price." Behold a fountain opened in your Saviour*s fide, for fin and for all uncleannefs. " Look unto him whom you have pierced :" look unto him by faith, and verily you fhall be faved, though you came here only to ridicule and blaf-pheme, and never thought of God or of Christ before.

Not that you muft think God will fave you becaufe, or on account of your faith ; for faith is a work, and then you would be juftified for your works : but when I tell you, we are to be juftified by faith, I mean that faith is the inftru-ment whereby the finner applies or brings home the redemption of Jesus Christ to his heart. And to whomfoever God gives fuch a faith, (for it is the free gift of God) he may lift up his head with boldnefs, he need not fear j he is a (pi-ritual fon of our fpiritual David ; he is pafled from death to life, he fhall never come into condemnation. This is the gofpel which we preach. If any man or angel preach any other gofpel, than this of our being freely juftified through faith in Christ Jesus, we have the aulhority of the greateft: Apoftle, to pronounce him accurfed.

And now, my brethren, what think you of this foollfbnefs of preaching ? To you that have tafted the good word of life, who have been enlightened to fee the riches of God*s free grace in Christ Jesus, I am periuaded it is precious, and has diftilled like the dew into your fouls. And O that

all

all were like-minded ! But I am afraid, numbers are ready to go away contradi<5ling and blafphcming. Tell me are there not many of you faying within yourfelve?, '< This is a " licentious do£lrinc ; this preacher is opening a door for en-" couragement in fin." But this does not furprize me at all it is a ftale, antiquated objection, as old as the do£lrine of juftification itfelf j and (which by the way is not much to the credit of thofe who urge it now) it was made by an infidel. St. Paul^ in his epiftic to the Romans, after he had, in the firft five chapters, demonftrably proved the dodrine of juftification by faith alone; in the fixth, brings in an unbeliever fay^ ing, " Shall we continue in fin then, that grace may abound ?" But as he rcjeded fuch an inference with a " God forbid !" fo do I : for the faith which we preach, is not a dead fpecu-lative faith, an aflenting to things credible, as credible, as it is commonly defined : it is not a faith of the head only, but a faith of the heart. It is a living principle wrought in the; foul, by the Spirit of the ever-living God, convincing the finner of his loft:, undone condition by nature ; enabling him to apply and lay hold on the perfedt righteoufnefs of Jesus Christ, freely offered him in the gofpel, and continually exciting him, out of a principle of love and gratitude, to fhew forth that faith, by abounding in every good word and work. This is the fum and fubftance of the dodi ine that has been delivered. And if this be a licentious dodrine, judge ye. No, my brethren, this is not deflroying, but teaching you how to do good works, from a proper principle. For to ufe the words of our Church in another of her Articles, " Works ** done before the grace of Christ, and the infpiration of " the Spirit, are not plcafant to God, forafmuch as they " fpring not of faiih in Jesus Christ ; rather, for that they *' are not done as God has willed and commanded them to " be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of fin." So that they who bid you do, and then live, are juft as wife as thofe who would perfuade you to build a beautiful magnificent houfe, without laying a foundation.

It is true, the dodrine of our free juftification by faith in Christ Jesus, like other gofpel truths, may and will be abufed by men of corrupt minds, reprobates concerning the faith; but they v/ho receive the truth of God in the love of

It,

ir, will always be fliewing their faith by their works. For this reafon, Sc. Pauly after he had told the Ephefians^ " By grace they were faved through faith, not of works, left any man (hould boaft," immediately adds, '' For we are his workmanfiiip, created in Christ Jesus unto good works." And in his epjftle to T//«i, having given him directions to tell the people they were juftiiied by grace, diredly fubjoins, chap. iii. ver. 8. " I will that you affirm conftantly, that they who have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works." Agreeable to this, we are told in our Twelfth Article, " That albeit good works, which are the fruits of *' faith, and follow after juftification, cannot put away our *' fins, and endure the feverity of God's judgment ; yet are *' they pleafmg and acceptable to God in Christ ; and do *' fpring iiecedarily out of a true and lively faith, infomuch, •' that a lively faith jnay be as evidently known by them, as *' a tree difcerned by the fruit."

What would I give, that this Article was duly underftood and preached by all that have fubfcribed to it ! The ark of the Lord would not then be driven into the wilderncfs, nor would fo many perfons difTent from the Church o{ England, For I am fully perfuadcd, that it is not fo much on account «f rites and ceremonies, as our not preaching the truth as it is in Jesus, that fo many have been obliged to go and feek for food elfewhere. Did not we fall from our eftablifhed doctrines, few, comparatively fpeaking, would fall from the Eftabliihed Ci^urch. Where Christ is preached, though it fee in a church or on a common, diflenters of all denominations have, and do moft freely come. But if our clergy will preach only the law, and not fliew the way of falvation by faith in Christ Jesus, the charge of fchifm at the day of judgment, 1 lear, will chiefly lye at their door. The true iheep of Christ know the voice of Christ's true fliepherds, and ftrangers they will not hear.

Obferve, my dear brethren, the words of the Article, " Good v/orks are the fruits of faith, and follow after jufHfi-cation." How then can they precede, or be any way the caufe of it ? Our perfons muft be juftined, before our performances can be accepted. God had refpecl to Abel before he had refped to his oiFering.: and therefore the rightGoufnef&

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of Jesus Christ muft be freely imputed to, and apprehended by us through faith, before we can offer an acceptable fcicriiice to God : for out of Christ, as I hinted before, God is a confuming fire : and whatfoevcr is not of faith in Christ, is fin.

That people miftake the do6lrine of free jufllfication, I believe, is partly owing to their not rightly confidering the different perfons to whom St. Paul and St. JiWies wrote in their epiftles; as alfo the different kind of juflification each of them writes about. The former aflerts in line upon line, argument upon argument, " 7"hat we are juftified by faith alone:" The latter put this queftion, " Was not Abraham juftified by works ?" From whence many, not confidering the different views of thefe holy men, and the different perfons they wrote to, have blended and joined faith and works, in order to juftify vis in the fight of God. But this is a capital miftake; for St. Paul was writing to the Jewijh profe-lytes, who fought righteoufnefs by the work;^, not of the ceremonial only, but of the moral law. In contradiftiniSlion ro that, he tells them, they were to look for juflification in God's fight, only by the perfect righteoufnefs of Jesus Christ apprehended by faith. St. Jaines had a different fet of people to deal with ; fuch who abufed the doctrines of free juftification, and thought they ftiouIJ be faved (as numbers among us do now) upon their barely profefHng to believe on Jesus Christ. Thefe the holy Apoftle endeavours wifely to convince, that fuch a faith was only a dead and falfe faith ; and therefore, it behoved ail v/ho would be bleffcd with faithful Abraham, to fhew forth their faith by their works, as he did : " For was not Abraham]\i^\^t^ by works ? " Did he not prove that his faith was a true juftifying faith, by its being produ(f^ive of good works ? From whence it is piain^ that St. James is talking of a declarative juftification before men ; fliew me, dcmonftrate, evidence to me, that thou haft a true faith, by thy works : Whereas, St. Paul is talking only of our being juftified in the fight of God ; and thus he proves, that Abraham^ as we alfo are to be, was juftified be-' fore ever the moral or ceremonial law was given to the Jews: for it is written^ " Abraham believed in the Lord, and it v/as

accounted to him for ri^bteoufnefs.'

Take

Take the fubftance of what has been faid on this head, in the few following words. Every man that is faved, is jufti-fied three ways : Flrji^ meriiorioujly^ by the death of Jesus Christ : " It is the blood of Jesus Christ alone that cleanfes us from all fin.'* Secondly^ injlrumentally^ by faith : faith is the means or inflrument whereby the merits of Jesus Christ are applied to the finner's heart: *' Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." Thirdly^ we iire juftified declaraivvely \ namely, by good works : good works declare and prove to the world, that our faith is a true faving faith. " Was not v^/^rj^^wjuftified by works ?'* And again, *' Shew me thy faith by thy works."

It may not be improper to illuftrate this do£lrine by an example or two. I fuppofe no one will pretend to fay, that there was any fitnefs for falvation in Zaccheus the publican, "when he came to fee Jesus out of no better principle,nhan that whereby perhaps thoufands are led to hear me preach ; I mean, curiofity : but Jesus Christ prevented and called him by his free grace, and fweetly, but irrefiflibly inclined him to obey that call ; as, I pray God, he may influence all you that come only to fee w^ho the preacher is. Zaccheus received eur Lord joyfully into his houfe, and at the fame time by faith received him into his heart: Zaccheus was then .freely juftified in the fight of God. But behold the immediate fruits of that juftiiication ! He ftands forth in the midft-, and as before he had believed in his heart, he now makes confeflion with his mouth to falvation : " Behold, Lord, the h;^lf of my goods I give unto the poor ; and if i have taken any thing from any man by falfe accufation, I reftore him four-fold." And thus it will be with thee, O believer, as foon as ever God's dear Son is revealed in thee'by a living faith •, thou wilt have no reft in thy fpirit, till out of love and gratitude for what (jod has done for thy foul, thou (heweft forth thy faith by thy works.

Again, I fuppofe every body will grant there was no fitnefs for falvation in the perfecutor Saul \ no more than there is in thofe perfecuting zealots of thefe laft days, who are already breathing out thrcatenings, and, if in their power, would breathe out Slaughter alfo, againft the difciples of the Lord.

Now

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Now our Lord, we know, freely prevented him by tiis grace, (and O that he would thus eflcvllually call the perfe-cutors of this generation) and by a light from heaven flruck him to the ground. At the fame time, by his Spirit, he pricked him to the heart, convinced him of fin, and caufcd him to cry out, " Who art thou. Lord ?" Christ replies, " I am Jesus whom thou perfecutcrt." Faith then was in-ftantaneoufiy given to him, and behold, immediately Saul cries out, " Lord, what wonldit thou have me to do r" And fo will every poor foul that believes on the Lord Jesus with his whole heart. He will be always afking. Lord, what fhall I do for thee ? Lord, what wouldft thou have me to do ? Not to juftify himfelf, but only to evidence the fincerity of his love and thankfulnefs to his all-merciful High-prieft, for plucking him as a firebrand out of the fire.

Perhaps many felf-righteous perfons amongft you, may-flatter yourfelves, that you are not fo wicked as either Zac chcus or Saul was, and confequently there is a greater fitnefs for falvation in you than in them. But if you think thus, indeed you think more highly of yourfelves than you ought to think : for by nature we are all alike, ail equally fallen fhort of the glory of God, all equally dead in trefpaflbs and fins, and there needs the fame almighty power to be exerted in converting any one of the moft fober, good-natured, moral perfons here prefcnt, as there was in converting the publican Zaccheus,, or that notorious perfecutor Saul. And was it poffi-ble for you to afcend into the higheft heaven, and to enquire of the fpirits of juft men made perfetSt, I am perfuadcd they would tell you this do<5lrine is from God. But we have a more fure word of prophecy, to which we do well to give heed, as unto a light fhining in a dark pl.'.ce. My brethren, the word is nigh you ; fearch the fcriptures; beg of GoD to make you willing to be faved in this day of his power : for it is not flefh and blood, but the Spirit of Jesus Christ, that alone can reveal thefe things unto you.

Fourthly and Ltf/?//, What think you of Jesvs Christ being formed within you ? For whom Christ juftifics, them he alfo fandifies. Although he finds, yet he docs not leave us unholy. A true chriuian may not (o properly be faid to live, as Jesus Christ to live in him. For they only c * that

that are led by the Spirit of Christ, are the true Tons of God.

As I obferved before, To I tell you again, the faith which we preach is not a dead, but a lively a£tive faith wrought in the foul, working a thorough change, by the power of the Holy Ghoft, in the whole man : and unlefs Christ he thus in you, notwithftanding you may be orthodox as to the foregoing principles, notwithftanding you may have good defires, and attend conflantly on the means of grace ; yet, in St. PWs opinion, you are out of a ftate of falvation. " Know you not, (fays that Apoflle to the Corinthians^ a church famous for its gifts above any church under heaven) that Christ is in you, (by his Spirit) unlefs you are reprobates ?'*

For Christ came not only to fave us from the guilt, but from the power of our fins : till he has done this, however he may be a Saviour to others, we can have no afiurance or well-grounded hope, that he has faved us : for it is by receiving his blciled Spirit into our hearts, and feeling him witnef-fing with our fpirits, that we are the fons of God, that we can he certified of our being fealed to the day of redemption.

This is a great myflery; but I fpeak of Christ and the new-birth. Marvel not at my af^ing you, what you thmk: about Christ being formed within you ? For either God muft change his nature, or we ours. For as in Jdatn we ail have fpiritually died, fo all that are efte^lually laved by Christ, mufl in Christ be fpiritually made ative. His onlv end in dying and rifing again, and interceding for ns now in heaven, is to redeem us from the mifery of our fallen nature, and, by the operation of his bleilcd Spirit, to make us meet to be partakers of the heavenly inheritance with the faints in light. None but thofe that thus are changed by his grace here, fliall appear with him in glory hereafter.

Examine yourfelves, therefore, my brethren, whether you are in the faith ; prove yourfelves; and think it not fufHcient to fay in your creed, I believe in Jesus Christ : many fay fo, who do not believe, who are reprobates, and yet in a llatc of death. You takeGoD*s name in vain, when you call him Father, and your prayers arc turned into fm, unlefs you believe in Christ, fo as to have your life hid with him in I Ggd,

God, and to receive life and nourifhmcnt from him, as branches do from the vine.

I know, indeed, the men of this generation deny there is any fuch thing as feeling Christ within them j but alas ! to what a dreadful condition would fuch reduce us, even to the (late of the abandoned heathen, who, St. Paul tells us, " were paft feeling." The Apoftle prays, that the Ephcfiam may abound in all knowledge and fpiritual undcrftanding, or as it might be rendered, fpiritual fenfation. And in the oliice for the vifitation of the fick, the minifter prays, that the Lord may make the fick perfon know and feel, that there is no other name under heaven given unto men, in whom and through whom they may receive health and falvation, but only the name of our Lord Jesus. For there is a fpiritual, as well as a corporeal feeling ; and though this is not communicated to us in a fenfible manner, as outward objeds af-fe«Sl our fcnfes, yet it is as real as any fenfible or vidbie fenfation, and may be as truly felt and difcerned by the foul, as any impreffion from without can be felt by the body. All -who are born again of God, know that I lie not.

What think you. Sirs, did Naaman feel, when he was cured of his leprofy ? Did the woman feel virtue coming out of Jesus Christ, when flie touched the Hem of his garment, ^nd was cured of her bloody ifllie ? So furely mayft thou feel,

0 believer, when Jesus Christ dwelleth in thy heart. I pray God to make you all know and feel this, ere you depart hence.

O my brethren, my heart is enlarged towards you. I trufl

1 feel fomething of that hidden, but powerful prefcnce of Christ, whilft I am preaching to you. Indeed it is fwcef, it is exceedingly comfortable. All the harm I wilh you, who without caufe are my enemies, is, that you felt the like. Believe me, though it would be hell to my foul, to return to a natural ftate again, yet I would willingly change ftates with you for a little wliile, that you might know what it is to have Christ dwelling in your hearts by faith. Do not turn your backs ; do not let the devil hurry you away : be not afraid of convictions j do not think worfc Q'i the docTirine, becnule preached without the church walls. Our Lord, in the Jays of his flefti, preached on a mount, in a thip, vind a field ; and

Vol. V. A a 1 ^m

49

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T am perfuaded, many have felt his gracious presence herf. Inelced we fpcak what we know. Do not reject the kingdom oi'GoD againft youiTelves : be fo wife as to receive our wir-•iicfs. I cannot, I will not let you go j ftay a little, let ?iS reafon together. However lightly you may efieem your fouls, i know our Lord has fet an unfpeakabie value on them. He thought them worthy of his moft precious bloo<l. I befecci^ you, therefore, O fmners, be ye reconciled to QoD.' \ hope you do not fear being accepted in the beloved. Behold, he calleth you \ behold, he prevents and follows you with his mcrcy^ and hath fent forth his fervants into the highways and hedges, to compel you to come in. Remember then, that at fuch an hour of fuch a day, in fuch a year, in this place, you were all told what you ought to think concerning Jesus Christ. If you now pcrifh, it will not be for lack of knowledge : I am free from the blood of you all. You cannot fay I have been preaching damnation to you ; you cannot fay I have, like legal preachers, been requiring you to make brick without Itraw. I have not bidden you to make yourfelves faints, and then come to God j but 1 have offered you falva-tion on as cheap terms as you can defire. I have offered you Christ's whole wifdom^ Christ's whole righteoufnefs, Christ's whole fan6lification and eternal redemption, if you will but believe on him. If you fay, you cannot believe, you fay right; for faith, as well as every other bleffing, is the gift of God : but then wait upon God, and who knows but he may have mercy on thee ? Why do we not entertain more Moving thoughts of Christ } Or do you think he will have mercy on others, and not on you .? But are you not fmners ? And did not Jesus Christ come into the world to fave fmners ? If you fay you are the chief of fmners; I anfwer, that will be no hindrance to your falvation, indeed it will not, if you lay hold on him by faith. Read the Evangelifts, and fee how kindly he behaved to his difciples who fled from and denied him : '* Go tell my brethren," fays he. He did not fay. Go tell thofe traitors; but, " Go tell my brethren, and Pder ;" as though he had faid. Go tell my brethren in general, and poor Peter in particular, *' that I am rifen ;'* O comfort his poor drooping heart, tell him I am reconciled to him; b;d him weep no,more fo bitterly : for though with

C 37t 1

oaths aiid curfes he thrice denied mc, yet I have died for h\!i llns, I am rifen again for his juftification : I freely forgive hiiii all. Thus flow to angCr, ar\d of great kiudiiefs, was our nll-merriful High-prieft. And do you thiiil: he has chaiv.!;cd his nature, and forgets poor Tinners, now he is cxnhcd to the right-hand of GoD ? No, he is the fame ycftcrday, to-day, and for ever, and fittcth there only to make interccinon f.»r us. Coitie then, ye harlots, come ye publicans come ye nK^ft abandoned of finners, come and believe on JesUs Christ. Though the whole world defpife you and cart you our, yet he will not difdairi to take you up. O amazing, O infinitely con-defcending love ! even you, he will not be afhamed to call his brethren. How will you efcape if you negle6l fuch a glorious offer of falvation ? What would the ddmned fpirits, now in the prifon of hell, give, if ChiIist was fo freely offered to their Touls ? And why are riot we lifting up our eyes in torments ? Does any one out of this great multitude dare fay, he does not deferve damnation ? If not, why are we left, and others takeni away by death ? What is this but an inftance of God's free gracfe, and a fign of his good will towards us ? Let God's goodnefs lead us tq.repentance ! Olct there be joy in heaven over fome of you repenting I Though we are in a field, I am perfuaded the bieffed angels are hovering now around us, and do long, " as the hart panteth afcer the water-brooks," to flng an anthem at your converfion. Bleffed be God, I hope their joy will be fulfilled. An awful filence appears amongft-us. I have good hope that the words which the Lord ha$ enabled me to fpeak in your ears this day, have not altogether fallen to the ground. Your tears and deep attention, are an evidence, that the Lord God is amongft us of a truth. Come, ye Pharifecs, come and fee, in fpite of youf fatanical rage and fury, the Lord Jesus is getting himfelf the victory. And brethren, I fpeak the truth in Christ, I lie not, if one foul of you, by the bleffing of God, be brought to think fav-ingly of Jesus Christ this day, I care not if my enemies were permitted to carry me to prifon, and put my feet faft in the flocks, as foon as 1 have delivered this fcrmon. Brethren, my heart's defire and prayer to God is, that you may be favcd. For this caufe I follow my Marter with^>ut the camp. I rare not how much of his facrcd reproach I bear, (o fhut

A a ?. ^^'^^

t Zl'^ ] Tome of you be concerted from the errors of yotir ways. 1 rejoice, yea and I will rejoice. Ye men, ye devils, do your worft : the Lord who fent, will fupport me. And when Christ, who is our life, and whom I have now been preaching, (hall appear, I alfo, together with his de-fpifed little ones, fhall appear with him in glory. And then, v/hat will you think of Christ ? I know what you will think of him. You will then think him to be the fairefl among ten thoufand : You will then think and feel him to be a juft and fin-avenging judge. Be ye then perfuaded to kifs him left he be angry, and fo you be baniftied for ever from the prefence of the Lord. Behold, I come to you as the angel did to LQt^ Flee, flee, for your lives; hafte, linger no longer in your fpiritual Sodcm-, for otherwifeyou will be eternally de-ftroyed. Numbers, no doubt, there are amongft you, that may regard me no more than Lot's fons-in-law regarded him, I am perfuaded I feem to fome of you as one that mockcth ^ but I fpeak the truth in Christ, I lie not; as fure as fire and brimftone was rained from the Lord out of heaven, to de-ftroy Sodofu and Gomorrah^ fo furely, at the great day, (hall the vials of God's wrath be poured on you, if you do not think ferioufly of, and a61: agreeable to the goTpel of the Lord's Christ. Behold, I have told you before ; and I pray God, all you that forget htm may ferioufly think oP what has been faid, before he pluck gou away, and there be none to deliver you.

Now to God the Father, 5cc.

SERMON

SERMON XXV,

The wife and foolifli Virgins.

Matthew xxv. 13.

Watch therefore^ for ye know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of man cometh,

THE apoftle Paul, in his cpiftle to the Hebrews, informs us, ** That it is appointed for all men once to die; after that is the judgment." And I think, if any confideration be fufRcient to awaken a fleeping drowfy world, it muft be this, That there will be a day wherein thefe heavens (hall be wrapt up like a fcroll, this element melt with fervent heat, the earth and all things therein be burnt up, and every foul, of every nation and language, fummoned to appear before the dreadful tribunal of the righteous Judge of quick and dead, to receive rewards and puniflimenrs, according to the deeds done in their bodies. The great apoftle juft mentioned, when brought before Felix, could think of no better means to convert that finful man, than to reafon of temperance, righ-teoufnefs, and more efpecially of a judgment to come. The firft might in fome meafure affecSl:, but, I am perfuaded, it was the laft confideration, a judgment to come, that made him to tremble: and fo bad as the world is now grown, yet there are few have their confciences fo far feared, as to deny that there will be a reckoning hereafter. The promifcuous difpenfations of providence in this life, wherein we fee good men affliiSled, deftitute, tormented, and the wicked permitted triumphantly to ride over their heads, has been always looked upon as an indifputable argument, by the generality of men, that there will be a day in which God will judge the world in righte-©ufnefs, and adminiftej- equity unto his people. Some indeed

A a 3 *rc

[ .^74 ]

are (b bold as to deny it, while they are engaged in the purfuit of the lull of the eye, and the pride of life. But follow them to their deaih-bcds, afk them, when their fouls are ready to launch into eternity, what they then think of a judgment tp come ? and they will tell you, they dare not give their con-fciences the lie any longer. They feel a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation in their hearts. Since then thefe things are fo, does it not highly concern each of us, my brethren, before we come on a bed of ficknefs, ferioufly to examine how the account (lands between God and our fouls, and how it will fare Vv'ith 14s in that day ? As for the openly prophane, the drunkard, the whoremonger, the adulterer, and fuch-like, there is no doubt of what will become of them; without repentance they fhall never enter into the kingdom of God and his Christ; no ; their damnation flumbereth not; ^ burning fiery Tiphet, kindled by the fury of God's eternal y.'rath, is prepared for their reception, wherein they muft fufper the vengeance of eternal fire. Nor is there the leaft doubt of the ftate of true believers. For though they are dc-fpifed and reje<Sied of natural men, yet being born again of God, they are heirs of Gop, and joint heirs with Christ. They have the earned of the promifed inheritance in their hearts, and are afTured, that a new and jiving way is made open for them, into the holy of holies, by the blood of Jesus Christ, into which an abundant entrance (hall be adminif-tered to them at the great day of account. The only qycf-tion is, what will become of the ahno,^ Chrijliariy one that is content to go, as he thinks, in a middle way to heaven, without being prophane on the one hand, or, as he fallly imagines, righteous over-much on the other? Many there are in every congregation, and confequently fome here prefent, of this llamp. And what is woril of all, it is more eafy to convincp the moll: notorious publicans and finners of their being out of a flate of falvation, than any of thefe. Notwithftanding, if Jksus Christ may be our judge, they (hall as certainly be rejecled and difowned by him at the laft day, as though they lived in open defiance of all his laws. For wh^t fays our Lord in the parable of which the words of the text are a conclufion, and which I intend to make the fubjecl of my prefent difcourfe. ** Then," at the day of jtidgment, which

■ • ■ ' ■ he

" he had been difcourfing of in the foregoing, and profeciites fri this chapter, " (hall the kingdom of heaven, (the ftatc of pro-feiTors in the gofpel church) be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom." In which words, is a manifeft allufion to a cuOom prevailing in our Lord's time among the Jeivs^ at marriage folemnides, which were generally at night, and at which it was cuftomary for the perfons of the bride-chamber to go out in proccfHon, with many lights, to meet the bridegroom. By the bridegroom^ you are here to underftand Jesus Christ. The church, i. e. true believers, are hxsfpoufe; he is united to them by one fpi-rit, even in this life; but the folemnizing of thefe facred nuptials, is referved till the day of judgment, when he (hall rome to take them home to himfelf, and prefent them before nien and angels, as his purchafc, to his Father, without fpot or wrinkle, or any fuch thing. By the ten virgins wc are to underftand, the profeflbrs of chriftianity in general. All are called virgins, becaufe all are called to be faints. Whofocvcr names the name of Christ, is obliged by that very profcfTion to depart from all iniquity. But the pure and chafte \n heart, are the only perfons that will be fo bleflcd as to fee God. As Christ was born of a virgin, fo he can dwell in none but virgin fouls, made pure and holy by the cohabitation of his holy Spirit. What fays the apoflle ? " All are not Ifraelites that are o^ Ifrael" all are not chrjftians that are called after the name of Christ : No, fays our Lord, in the 2d verfc, *' Five of thofe virgins were wife," true believers, " and five were foolifli," formal hypocrites. But why are five faid to be wife, and the other five foolifli ? Hear what our Lord fays in the following verfes; *' They that were foolifh took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wife took oil in their vcf-fels with their lamps." They that were foolifli took their lamps of an outward profeffion. They would go to church, fay over feveral manuals of prayers, come perhaps into a field to hear a fermon, give at a collection, and receive the facra-ment conftantly, nay, oftner than once a month. But then here lay the miftake; they had no oil in their lamps, no principle of grace, no living faith in their hearts, without which, though we fhould give all our goods to feed the poor, and our bodies to be burnt, it would profit us nothing. In fhort, they A a 4 were

were exaiSf, nay, perhaps fuperftitious bigots as to the form, but all the while they were ftrangers to, and, in cfFeiS^, denied the power of godlinefs in their hearts. They would go to church, but at the fame time, think it no harm to go to a ball or an afTembly, notwithftanding they promifed at their baptifm, to renounce the pomps and vanities of this wicked world. They were fo exceedingly fearful of being righteous over-much, that they would even perfecute thofe that were truly devout, if they attempted to go a ftep farther than them-fclvcs. In one word, they never effedually felt the power of the world to come. They thought they might be chriftians without To much inward feeling, and therefore, notwithftand-ing their high pretenfions, had only a name to live.

And now. Sirs, let me paufe a while, and in the name of God, whom I endeavour to ferve in the gofpel of his dear Son, give me leave to afk one queftion. Whilft I have beea drawing, though in miniature, the character of thefe foolifh virgins, have not many of your confciences made the application, and vAth a fmall, ftill, though articulate voice, faid. Thou man, thou woman, art one of thofe foolifh virgins, for thy fentiments and pra6^ice agree thereto ? Stifle not, but rather encourage thefe convicSlions; and who knows, but that Lord who is rich in mercy to all that call upon him faithfully, may fo work upon you even by this foollfl-jnefs of preaching, as to make you wife virgins before you return home ?

What they were you fliall know immediately : " But the

ivife took oil in their veflels with their lamps." Obferve, the

wife, the true believers, had their lamps as well as the foolifh

virgins; for chriftianity docs not require us to cafl ofFall out-

v;ard forms; we may ufe forms, and yet not be formal: for

jnflance, it is poffible to worfhip God in a fet form of prayer,

and yet worfhip him in fpirit and in truth. And therefore,

brethren, let us not judge one another. The wife virgins had

their lamps; herein did not lie the difference between them

and the foolifh, that one worfhipped God with a form, and

the other did not: No: as the Pharifee and Publican went up

to the temple to pray, fo thefe wife and foolifli virgins might

go to the fame place of worfhip, and fit under the fame mi-

niflry; but then the wife took oil in their veffels with iheir

lamps; they kept up the form, but did not reft in it; their

5 word*

words in prayer were the language of their hearts, and they were no ftrangers to inward feelings; they were not afraid of* fearching doctrines, nor affronted when minifters told them they deferved to be damned ; they were not felf-righteous, but were willing that Jesus Christ fliould have all the glory of their falvation ; they were convinced that the merits of Jesus Christ were to be apprehended only by faith ; but yet were they as careful to maintain good works, as though they were to be juftified by them : in (hort, their obedience flowed from love and gratitude, and was chearful, conftant, uniform, uni-verfal, like that obedience which the holy angels pay our Father in heaven.

Here then let me exhort you to paufe again; and if any of you can faithfully apply thefe charadters to your hearts, give God the glory, and take the comfort to your own fouls ; you are not falfe but true believers. Jesus Christ has been made of God to you wifdom, even that wifdom, whereby you (hall be made wife unto falvation. God fees a difference between you and fooiifh virgins, if natural men will not. You need not be uneafy, though one chance and fate in this life may happen to you both. I fay, one chance and fate; for, ver. 5. *' while the bridegroom tarried," in the fpace of time which pafTed between our Lord's afcenfion and his coming again to judgment, " they all flumbered and fit pt." The wife as well as fooiifh died, for duft we are, and to duft we muft return. It is no reflection at all upon the divine goodnefs, that believers, as well as hypocrites, muil pafs through the valley of the ftiadow of death -, for Christ has taken away the fting of death, fo that we need fear no evil. It is to them a paflyge to everlafting life: death is only terrible to thofe who have no hope, becaufe they live without faith in the world. Who-foever there are amongft you, that have received the firfl-fruits of the fpirit, I am perfuaded you are ready to cry out, we would not live here always, we long to be difTolved, that we may be with Jesus Christ; and though worms muft deflroy our bodies as well as others, yet we are content, being allured that our Redeemer liveth, that he will ftand at the latter days upon the earth, and that in our flefh we (hall fee God.

But it is not fo with hypocrites and unbelievers beyond the graves for what fays our Lord? »'And at midnight :"^

obferve,

t 378 ]

ol^rerve, at midnight, when all was hufhcd and quiet, and no one dreaming of any fuch thing, ''a cry was made;" the voice of the arch-angel and the trump of God was heard founding this p-eneral alarm ; to things in heaven, to things in earth, and to things in the waters under the earth, " Behold !" mark how this awful fummons is uftiered in with the word behold^ to engage our attention ? " Behold the bridegroom cometh !" even Jesus Christ, the defire of nations, the bridegroom of his fpoufe the church : Becaufe he tarried for a while to exercife the faith of faints, and give Tinners fpace to repent, fcofFers were apt to cry out, " Where is the promife of his coming ? But the Lord is not flack concerning his promife, as thefe men account flacknefs." For behold, he that was to come, now cometh, and will not tarry any longer : he cometh to be glorified in his faints, and to take vengeance on them that know not God, and have not obeyed his gofpel ; he cometh not as a poor defpifcd Galilean ; not to be laid in a ftinking manger; not to be dcfpifed and rejc£led of men ; not to be blindfolded, fpit upon, and buffeted; not to be nailed to an accurfed tree ; he cometh not as the Son of man, but as he really was, the eternal Son of the eternal God : He cometh riding on the wings of the wind, in the glory of the Father and his holy angels, and to be had in ever-lafling reverence of all that fliall be round about him. '' Go ye forth to meet him ;" arife, ye dead, ye foolifh, as well as wife virgin, arife and come to judgment. Multitudes, no doubt, that hear this awakening cry, would rejoice if the rocks mi2;ht fall on, and the hiils cover them from the pre-fencc of the Lamb : what would they give, if as they lived as beafts, they might now die like the beads that perifh ? How would they rejoice, if thofe fame excufes which they made on this fide eternity for not attending on holy ordinances, would ferve to keep them from appearing before the heavenly bridegroom I But as Adam^ notwithftanding his fig-leaves, and the trees of the garden, could not hide himfelf from God, when arretted with an <' Jdam^ where art thou ?'* So now the decree is gone forth, and the trump of God has given its laft found ; all tongues, people, nations, and languages, both wife and foolilli virgins, muft come into his prefence, and bow beneath his footflool ; even Poniius PilaU, Jnnas and

Caiaphas ;

t 379 1

Cuiciphas \ even the proud pcrfccutin^ high-prlefts and Pha-riCees of this generation, mull appear before him : for fays our Lord, " then, (when the cry was made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh !) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the graves were opened, the fea gave up its dead, and '* all thofe virgins, both wife and foolifh, arofe and trimmed their lamps," or endeavoured to put themfclvcs in a proper pofturc to meet the bridegroom.

But how may we imagine the foolifh virgins were furprized, when, notvvithfianding their high thoughts and proud imaginations of their fecurity, they now Hnd themftdves wholly naked, and void of that inward holinefs and purity of heart, without which no man living at that day fliall comfortably meet the Lord ! I doubt not, but many of thefe foolifh virgins, whilft in this world, were cloathed in purple and fine linnen, fared fumptuoufly every day, and difdained to fet the wife virgins, fome of whom might be as poor as Lazarus^ even with the dogs or their flock. Thefe v/ere looked upon by them asenthufiafts and madmen, as perfons that were righteous over-much, and who intended to turn the world upfide down : but now death hath opened their eyes, and convinced them, to their eternal forrow, that he is not a true chriftian, who is only one outwardly. Now they find (though, alas ! too late) they, and not the wife virgins, had been behde themfclvcs. Now their proud hearts are made to floop, their lofty looks are brought low ; and as Dives entreated that Lazarus might dip the tip of his finger in water, and be fent to cool his tongue, fo thefe foolifii virgins, thefe formal hypocrites, are obliged to turn beggars to thofe whom they once defpifed : " Give us of your oil j" O ! impart to us a little of thaj grace and holy fpirit, for the infifting on which we fools accounted your lives madncfs; for alas I " our lamps are gone out;" we had only the form of godlinefs; we were whited fepulchres ; we v/ere heart-hypocrites ; we contented our-felves with defiring to be good ; and though confident of fal-vation whilft we lived, yet our hope is entirely gone, now God has taken away our fouls : Give us therctore, O ! give us, though we once defpifed you, give us of your oil, for our lamps of an outward profefiion, and tranfient convictions, are quite gone out. " Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, faith

the

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the Lord." My brethren in Christ, hear what the fooViih lay to the wile virgins, and learn in patience to pofTefs your fouls. If you are true followers of the lowly Jesus, I am perfuaded you have your names caft out, and all manner of evil fpokcn falfly againft you, for his name's fake; for no one ever did or will live godly in Christ Jesus, without fufFer-ing pcrfecution ; Jiay, I doubt not but your chief foes are thofe of your ov/n houfhold : tell me, do nor your carnal relations and friends vex your tender fouls d?y by day, in bidding you fpare yourfelves, and take heed kit )ou go too far : And as you pafied along to come and hear the word of God, have you not heard many a Pharifee cry out. Here comes another troop of his followers ! Brethren, be not furprized, Christ's fervants were always the world's fools ; you know it hated him before it hated you. Rejoice and be exceeding glad. Yet a little while, and behold the bridegroom cometh, and then (hall you hear thefe formal fcoffing Pharifees faying unto you, " Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out." When you are reviled, revile not again : when you fufFer, threaten not; commit your fouls into the hands of him that judgeth righteoufly : for behold the day cometh, when the children of God fliall fpeak for themfelves.

The wife virgins, in the parable, no doubt endured the fame cruel mockings as you may do ; but as the lamb before the (liearers is dumb, fo in this life opened they not their mouths ', but now we find they can give their enemies an. anfwer : " Not fo, left there be not enough for us and you ; but go ye rather to them that fell, and buy for yourfelves." Thefe words are not to be underftood as though they were fpoken in an inCulting manner; for true charity teaches us to ufe the worft of finners, and our moft bitter enemies, with the meekoefs and gentlenefs of Christ : Though Dives was in hell, yet Abraham does not fay. Thou villain, but only, '' Son, remember :" and I am perfuaded, had it been in the power of thefe wife virgins, they would have dealt with the foolifh virgins, as, God knows, I would willingly deal with my moft inveterate enemies, not only give them of their oil, but alfo exalt them to the right hand of God. It was not then for want of love, but the fear of wanting a fufficiency for themfelves, tha: made them return this anfwer, " Not

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fo, left there be not enough for us and you :" For thev that have moft grace, have none to fparc; none but fclf-ri^^hteous, foolifti virgins think they arc good enough, or have already attained. Thofe who arc truly vi^ife are always moft diftruft-ful of thcmfelves, prefTing forwards to the things that are before, and think it well if after they have done all, they can make their calling and ele«Slion fure. '' Not fo, left there be not enough for us and you ; but go ye racher to them that fell, and buy for yourfelves." Thefe words indeed fcem to be fpoken in a triumphant, but certainly they were uttered in the moft compaffionate manner ; " go ye to them that fell, and buy for yourfelves ;" unhappy virgins ! you accounted our lives folly; whilft with you in the body, how often have you condemned us for our zeal in running to hear the word of God, and looked upon us as enthufiafts, for talking and affirming, that we muft be led by the fpirit, and walk by the fpirit, and feel the fpirit of God witnefling with our fpirits, that we are his children ? But now you would be glad to be partakers of this privilege, but it is not ours to give. You contented yourfelves with fceking, when you fhould have been ftriving to enter in at the ftrait gate. And now go to them that fell, if you can, and buy for yourfelves.

And what fay you to this, ye foolifti formal profeflbrs ? For I doubt not but curiofity and novelty hath brought many fuch, even to this defpifed place, to hear a fermon. Can you hear this reply to the foolifti virgins, and yet not tremble ? Why, yet a little while, and thus it fliall be done to you. Rejoice and bolfter yourfelves up in your duties and forms; endeavour to cover your nakednefs with the fig-leaves of an outward profeflion and a legal righteoufnefs, and defpife the true fervants of Christ as much as you pleafe, yet know, that all your hopes will fail you when God brings you into judgment. For not he who commendeth himfelf is juftified, but he whom the Lord commendeth.

But to return j we do not hear of any reply the foolifti virgins make : No, their confciences condemned them ; like the perfon without a wedding-garment, they are ftruck dumb, and are now filled with anxious thoughts how they ftiall buy oil, that they may lift up their heads before the bridegroom. « But vrhilft they went to buy," ver. 10, whilft they were

thinking

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thinking whnt they fliould do, the bridegroom, the Lord Jesus, the king, the hufband of his fpoufe the church,cometh, attended with thoufands and twenty times ten thoufands of faints and angels, publicly to count up his jewels ; " and they thiit were ready," the wife virgins who had oil in their lamps, and were feaied by his fpirit to the day of redemption, thefi having on the wedding garment of an imputed righteoufnefs, and a new nature, " went in with him to the marri?.ge.*'

But who can exprefs the tranfports that thefe wife virgins felt, when they were thus admitted, in holy triumph, into the prefence and full enj-oyment of him, whom their fouls hungred and thirfled after ! No doubt they had tafted of his love, and by faith had often fed en him in their hearts, when fitting down to commemorate his laft fupper here on earth • but how full may we think their hearts and tongues were of his praifes, when they fee themfelves featcd together to eat bread in his heavenly kingdom. And what was beft of allj *' the door was fhut," and fhut them in, to enjoy the evet blefTed GcD, and the company of angels and the fpirits of jufl men iiiade perfec>, without interruption for evermore. I fay, without interruption ; for in this life, their eyes often gufhed out with water, becaufe mCn kept not God's law; and they could never come to appear before the Lord, or to hear hii wordj but Satan and his cmifiaries would come alfo to difturb them 5 but now " the door is fhut," now there is a perfect communion of faint?, which they in t'ain longed for in thi^l lower world ; now tares no longer grow up with the wheat; not one fingle hypocrite or unbeliever can fcrecn himfelt amongft them. " Now the wicked ceafe from troubling, and now their weary fouls enjoy an everlafling reft."

Once more, O believers, let me exhort you in patience to pofiefs 5'our fouls. God, if he has frei^ly juftified you by faith in his fon, and given you his fpirir, has feaied you to be his ; and has fecured you, as furely as he fecured AW;, when he locked him in the ark. But though heirs of God^ and joint heirs with Christ, and neither men nor deviL can* pluck you out of your heavenly Father's hands, yet you muft be tofled about with manifold temptations ; however, lift up your heads, the day of your perfe^l, compleat redemption draweth nigh, Behold the bridegroom cometh to take yoti • I " to

[ 3R3 ]

to bimfelf, the door (hall be (hut, and you (hall be fur ever wiih the Lord.

But 1 even tremble to tell you, O nominal chriflians, that ihe door will be (hut, I mean the door of mercy, never, never to be opened to give you admifTion, though you (hould continue knocking to all eternity. For thus (peaks our Lord, v. ii. "Afterwards," after thofe that were ready went in, and the door was (hut; after they had, to their for-row, found that no oil was to be bought, no grace to be procured, "came alfo the other virgins;" and zs Efau^ after yacob had gotten the blefling, cried with an exceedin^r bitter cry, " Blefs me, even me alfo, O my father j" fo they came faying, " Lord, Lord, open to us." Obferve the importunity of thefe foolifli virgins, implied in the words, " Lord, I^ORD." Whilft in the body, I fuppofe they only read, did not pray over their prayers. If you now tell them, they fhould " pray without ceallng," they fhould pray from their hearts, and feel the want of what they prayed for ; they would an-Iwer, they could not tell what you mean by inward feelings ; that God did not require us to be always on our knees, but if a man did juflly, and loved mercy, and did as the church forms required him, it was as much as the Lord required at his hands.

I fear, firs, too many among us are of this mind : nay, I fear there are many fo polite, fo void of the love of God, as to think it too great a piece of felf-denial, to rife early to offer up a facrifice of praife and thankfgiving acceptable to (joD through Jesus Christ. If any fuch, by the good providence of God, are brought hither this morning, I befcech you to confider your ways, and remember, if you are not awakened out of your fpiritual lethargy, and live a life of prayer here, you (hall but in vain cry out with the foolifli virgins, " Lord, Lord, open unto us," hereafter. Obferve farther, the impudence, as well as importunity of thefc other virgins ; "Lord, Lord," f?.y they, as thoMgh they were intimately acquainted with the holy Jesus. Like numbers among uf, who bccaufe they go to church, rt.peat their creeds, and receive the blcfled facrciment, think thry have a right to call Jesus their Saviour, and dare call Gon their Father, when they ^wi \]d the Lord's prayer. But J 1:5us ig

not

not your Saviour. The devi), not GoD, is your father, un« lefs your hearty are purified by faith, and you are born agairj from above. It is not merely being baptized by water, but "being born again of the Holy Ghoft that muft qualify you for falvation ; and it will do you no fervice at the great day, to fay unto Christ, Lord, my name is in the regifter of fuch and fuch a parifh. I am perfuaded, the foolifli virgins could fay this and more j but what anfwer did Jesus make ? He anfwered and faid, ver. 12. " Verily, I fay unto you:" He puts the word Verily, to afiure them he was in earneft, *' I fay unto you,'* I who am truth itfelf, I whom you have owned in words, but in works denied, " verily, I fay unto you, I know you not." Thefe words muft not be underftood ]iterally ; for whatever Arians and Socinians may fay to the contrary, yet we affirm, that Jesus Christ is God, God blefled for ever, and therefore knoweth all things. He faw Nathanlely when under the fig-tree : he fees, and is now looking down from heaven, his dwelling-place, upon us, to fee how we behave in thefe fields. Brethren, I know nothing of the thoughts and intents of your hearts, in coming hither; but Jesus Christ knows who come like new-born babes, defirous to be fed with the fmcere milk of the word ; and he knows who came to hear what the babler fays, and to run away with part of a broken fentence, that they may have whereof to accufe him. This expreffion then, " I know you not," muft not be underftood literally ; no, it implies a know^-ledge of approbation, as though Christ had faid, " You call me. Lord, Lord, but you have not done the things that I have faid ; you defire me to open the door, but how can you come in hither not having on a wedding garment ? Alas, you are naked 1 Where is my outward righteoufnefs imputed to you ? Where is my inherent righteoufnefs wrought in you ? Where is my divine image ftamped upon your fouls ? How dare you call me Lord, Lord, when you have not received the Holy Ghoft, whereby I feal all that are truly mine ? *' Verily, I know you not ; depart from me, ye curfed, into cverlafting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

And now, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear what manner of perfons thefe were, whom Jesus Christ difmifled with this anfwer. Remember, I entreat you, remember they

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?.rc not fe'nt, away for being fornicators, fwcarcrs. fabbith-breakers, or prodigals. No, in all probability, as I ubfcrved before, they were, touching the outward obfcrvances of the moral law, blamelefs; they were conftant as to the form of religion ; and if they did no good, yet no one could fay, they <lid any one any harm. The only thing for which they were condemned, and eternally baniflied from the piefcncc of the Lord, (for fo much is implied in " I,know you not") was this, they had no oil m their lamps, no principle of a true Jiving faith and holinefs in their hearts. And if perfons may go to church, receive the facrament, lead honcft moral lives, and yet be fent to hell at the laft day, as they certainly will be if they advance no farther. Where wilt thou, O drunkard ? Where wilt thou, O fwearcr i* Where wilt thou, O fabbath-breaker ? Where wilt thou that denicfl divine revelation, atul even the form of godlinefs ? Where will you, and fuch-like finners appear ? I know very well. You muft appear before the dreadful tribunal of Jesus Christ: however you may, like Fe/ixy put ofF the profecution of your convitSlions, yet you, as well as others, muft arife after death, and appear in judgment; you will then find, to your eternal forrow, what I juft hinted at in the beginning of this difcouiR-, that your damnation flumbereth not: fm has blinded your hearts, and hardened your foreheads now, but yet a little while, and our Lord will eafe him of his adverfaries. Methinks, by faith, 1 fee the heavens opened, and the holy Jesus coming, with his face brighter than ten thoufand funs, darting fury upon you from his eyes ! Methinks I fee you rifing from your graves, trembling and aftonifhed, and crying out, who can abide this day of bis coming !

And now what inference (hall I draw from what has been delivered? Our Lord, in the words of the text, has drawn one for me; " Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man comcth."

^^ IFatcb •" that i<, be upon your guard, and keep your graces in continual exercife : For as when we are commanded to watch unto prayer, it fignifies that we ihould continue in-ftant in that duty ; fo when we are required to watch in general, it means that we (hould put on the whole armour o( God, and live every day as though it was our laft. And O !

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that the LoTiD may now enable me to lift up my voice like a trumpet ! For had I a thoufand tongues, or could I jpeak To loud that the whole world might hear me, I could not found a more ufeful alarm than that which is contained in the text. Watch therefore, my brethren, I befeech you by the mercies of God in Christ Jesus, watch ; be upon your guard ; awake, ye that fleep in the duft : for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. Perhaps today, perhaps this midnight, the cry may be made : *' for in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the trump is to found." However, fuppofnig the final day of judgment m/ay yet be a great way ofF, the day of death is certainly near at hand : for what is our life ? " It ig^but a vapour," but a fpan long, foon paiTeth it away, and we are gone. Blefled be God, we are all here well; but who, out of this great multitude, dares fay, I fliall go home to my houfe in fafety ? Who knows, but whilft I am fpeaking, God may commif-fion his miniftring fpirits immediately to call fome of you . away by a fudden ftroke, to give an account with what attention you have heard this fermon. You know, my brethren, fome fuch inftances we have lately had. And what angel or fpirit hath afTured us, that fome of you fhall not be the next ? *' Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man will come:" And it is chiefly for this reafon, that God has hidden the day of our deaths from us. For fmce I know not but I may die tomorrow,' why, O my foul, may each of us fay, wilt thou not watch to day ? Since I know not but I may die the next moment, why wilt thou not prepare for dying this ? Many fuch re-fle£lions as thefe, my brethren, croud in upon my mind. At* prefent, blelTed be the Lord, who delights to magnify his ilrength in a poor worm's weaknefs, I am at a ftand, not fo much about what I (hall fay, as what I fhall leave unfaid. My belly, like Elihus^ is, as it were, full of new wines 5 " out of the abundance of my heart my mouth fpeaketh." The feeing fo great a multitude ftanding before me ; a fenfe of the infinite majefty of that God in whofe name I preach, and before whom I as Well as you muft appear, to give an account; and the uncertainty there is whether I fhall live another day, to fpeak to you any more: thefe confiderations, efpecially

the prefence of God, which I nov/feci upon my foul, fur-nifhes me with fo much miUter, that 1 fcarce know where to begin, or where to end my application. However, for mc-thoJ-fake, by the divine afliftance, I v/ill branch it into three particulars.

And fir/f, I would remind you that arc riotorloufly ungodly, of what our Lord fays in the text: For though I have faid that your damnation flumbereth not, vvhilft you continue in an impenitent (late; yet that v/as only to fct you upon your watch, to convince you of your danger, and excite you to cry out, " What fliall we do to be faved ?" I appeal to all that hear me, whether I have faid, the door of mercy flioulJ be fliut againft you, if you believe on Jesus Christ : No, if you are the chief of Tinners ; if you are murderers of fathers, and murderers of mothers ; if you are emphatically the dung nnd ofpscouring of all things; yet if you believe on Jesus Christ, and cry unto him with the fame faith as the expiring thief, " Lord, remember me, now thou art in thy kingdom 5" I will pawn my eternal falvation upon it, if he dues not fhortly tranflate you to his heavenly paradife. "W^ondcr not at my fpeaking with fo much aflurance : For I know " it is a faithful and true faying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to fave (all truly affected and believing) Tinners : Nay, fo gre^t is his love, that I am perfuaded, was it neccjffary, he would come again into the world, and die a fecond time for them on the crofs. But, blefled be God, wijen our Lord bowed down his her.d, and gave up the ghoft, our redemption w^as finifhed. It is not our fins, but our want of a lively faith in his blood, that will prove our condemnation : if you draw near to hira by faith, though ye are the word of finners, yet he will not fay unto you, " Verily I know you not." No, a door of mercy (hall be opened to you. Look then, look then, by an eye of faith, to that God -man whom ye have pierced. Behold him blced-ino", panting, dving upon the crofs, with arms ftretched out ready to embrace you all. Hark 1 how he groans ! See how all nature is in an agony ! The rocks rend, the graves open ; the fun withdraws its light, afliamcd as it were to fee the G jd of nature fufFer ; and all this to uflicr in man's great redemption. Nay, the iloly Jfsus, in the very agonies and pangs ' B b 2 of

of death, prays for his very murderers ; " Father, forgive them, for they knov^' not vi^hat they do/* If then you have crucified the Son of God afrcfh, and put him to an open fhame, yet do not defpalr, only believe, and even this {hall be forgiven. You have read, at leaft you have heard, no doubt, howr three thoufand were converted at St. Peter*s preaching one fingle fermon, after our Lord's afcenfion into heaven; and many of the crucifiers of the Lord of glory undoubtedly were amongft them ; and why fhould you defpair ? For " Jesus Christ is the fame yefterday, to-day, and for ever." The Holy Ghoft (hall be fent down on you, as well as on them, if you do but believe ; for Christ afccnded up on high to receive this gift even for the vileft of men. Come then, all ye that are weary and heavy laden with the fenfe of your fins, lay hold on Christ by faith, and he will give you reft ; for falvation is the free gift of God to all them that believe. And though you may think this too good news to be true, yet I fpeak the truth in Christ, I lie not, this is the gofpel, this is the glad tidings which we are commiilioned to preach to every creature. Be not faithlcfs then, but believing. Let not the devil lead you captive at his will any longer; for all the wages he gives his fervants is death, death often in this life,-death everlafting in the next : But the free gift of God, is eternal life to all that believe in Jesus Christ. Pharifees are and will be offended at my coming here, and offering you falvation on fuch cheap terms ; but the more they bid me hold my peace, the more will I cry out and proclaim to convided finners, that Jesus, David's Son according to the flefti, but David\ Lord as he was God, will have mercy upon all that by a living faith truly turn to him. If this is to be vile, I pray God, I may be more vile. If they v;ill not let rQ.e preach Christ crucified, and offer falvation to poor finners in a church, I will preach him in the lanes, ftreets, highways and hedges; and nothing pleafes me better, than to think I am now in one of the devils ftrongeft holds. Surely, the Lord has not fent me and all you hither for nothing ; no, blefled be God, the fields are white ready unto harveft, and many fouls I hope will be gathered into his heavenly garner. It is true, it is the midnight of the church, efpecially the poor church ofEngLmd', but God has lately fent forth his fervants

to

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to cry, "Behold the bridegroom cometh :" I befeech you, O finners, hearken unto the voice ! Let me efpoufe you by faith to my dear marter ; and henceforward " watch and pray," that you may be ready to go forth to meet him.

Secondly^ I would apply myfclf to thofe amongft you, that are not openly profane, but by depending on a formal round of duties, deceive your own fouls, and are only foolidi virf^ins. But I muft fpeak to your convi(5lion, rather than your comfort. My dear brethren, do not deceive your own fouls. You have heard how far the foolifli virgins went, and yet were anfwered with *' Verily I know you not :'* The rcafon i?, becaufe none but fuch who have a living faith in Jesus Christ, and are truly born again, can poffibly enter into the kingdom of heaven. You may, perhaps, live honeft and outwardly moral lives, but if you depend on that moraliry, or join your works with your faith, in order to juftify you before God, you have no lot or (hare in Christ's redemption : For what is this but to deny the Lord that has bought you ? What is this but making yourfelvcs your own Saviours? taking the crown from Jesus Christ, and putring it on your own heads ? The crime of the devil, lome have fuppofed, confifted in this, that he would not bow to Jesus Christ, when the Father commanded all the angels to v/or-fhip him; and wnat do you lefs ? You will not own and fubmit to his righteoufnefs ; and though you pretend to wor-fhip him with your lips, yet your hearts are far fi'im him; befides you, in effe£l, deny the operations of his bleficd fpi-rit, you miftake common for effectual grace ; y>u hope to befaved, becaufe you have good defires, and a few lliort convictions ; and what is this, but to give God, his word, and all his faints, the lie ? A Jew, a Tur^, has equally as good grounds whereon to build his hopes of lalvation. Need I not then to cry out to you, ye foolKh virgins, watch. Beg of God to convince y(;u of your fclf-righteoufncfs, and tiie fe-cret unbelief of your hearts; or otherwifc, whcnfocvcr the cry (hall be made, " Behold the bridegroom comcih," you will find yourfelves utterly unprepared to go forth to nieet him: You may cry "Lord, Lord i" but the anfwcr will be, " Verily, I know you not."

B b 3 Tbirdi)'^

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nirdl)\ I would fpeak a word or two by way ot cxhorta* tjoii to thofe v/ho are wife virgins, and are aflured that they have on a wedding-garment. That there are many fuch amongfl you, who by grace have renounced your own righte-oufnefs, and know that the righteoufnefs of the Lord Jesus is imputed to you, 1 make no doubt. God has his fecret ones in the wo: ft of times ; and I am perfuaded he has not let {o loud a gofpel cry to be made amongft his people, as of late lias been heard, for nothing. No, I am confident, the Holy Gholl has been given to many at the prenching of faith, and has powerfully fallen upon many, whilft they have been hearing the word. You are now then no longer foolifli, but wife virgins; notwithftanding, 1 befecch you alfo to fuffer the word of exhoitation ; for wife virgins are too apt, whilft the bridegroom tarries, to Dumber and fieep. Watch therefore, my dear brethren, watch and pray, at this time efpecially j for perhaps a time of fuftering is at hand. The ark of the Lord begins already to be driven into the vvildernefs. Be ye therefore upon your v/atch, and ftill perfevere in following your Lord, even without the camp, bearing his reproach : the crv that has been lately made, has awakened the devil and his fervants j they begin to rage horribly ; and well they may ; for I hope their kingdom is in danger. Watch therefore, for if we are not always upon our guard, a time of trial may overtake us unawares; and, inftead of ov/ning, like Peter we may be tempted to deny our mafler. Set death and eternity often before you. Look unto Jesus, the author and finiiher of your faith, and confider how little a while it will be, ere he comes to judgment 5 and then our reproach fnall be wiped away ; the accufers of us and our brethren fliall be caft down, and we all (liall be lodged in heaven for ever, v/ith our dear IjORD Jesus.

Lajlly ; what I fay unto you, I fay unto all, watch ; high and low, rich and poor, young and old, one with another, I befeech you, by the mercies of Jesus, to be upon your guard : fly, fly to Jesus Christ, that heavenly bridegroom : behold he defires to take you to himfelf, miferable, poor, blind and naked as you are ; he is willing to cloath you with his everlafting righteoufnefs, and make you partakers of that glory, which he enjoyed u'ith the Father before the world

|3Cgan.

began. Do not turn a deaf ear to me ; do not rejt^iEl the mef-fage on account of the meanncfs of the meffenger. I am a child ; but the Lord has chofen me, that the glory mi ^ht be all tis own. Had he fent to invite you by a learned rabbi, you might have been tempted to think the man had done Ibmething; but now God iias fent a child, that the excellency of the powder may be feen not to be of man, but of God. Let the learned Pharifccs then defpife my youth : I care not hovv^ vile I appear in the fjght of fuch men 3 I glory in it. And I am perfuaded, if any of you fliould be married to Christ by this preaching, you will have no reafon to repent, when you come to heaven, that God fent a child to cry, ''Behold the bridegroom cometh 1" O! my brethren, the thought of being inftrumental in bringing one'of you to glory, fills me with frefii zeal. Once more I entreat you, " Watch, watch and pray :" For the Lord Jesus will receive all that call upon him faithfully. Let that cry, " Behold the bridegroom cometh," be continually founding in your ears; and begin now to live, as though you were afTured, this night you were to " go forth to meet him.'* I could fay more, but the other bufmefs and duties of the day oblige me to flop. May the Lord give you all an hearing ear, and obedient heart, and fo clofely unite you to himfelfbyone fpirit, that when he fliall come in terrible majefty, to judge mankind, you may be found having on a wedding garment, and ready to go in with him to the marriage.

Grant this, O Lord, for thy dear Son's fake !

8b4 SERMON

C 392 ]

SERMON XXVI

The Eternity of Hell-Torments.

To the INHABITANTS of Savannah in Georgia.

Aly dear Friends^

THOUGH the following fermon has been preached elfewhere, yet as the occafion of my preaching it among you was particular, as you feemed to give an uncommon attention to it in public, and afterwards exprefled your fatisfa£lion in it to me, when I came to vifit you in your own houfes, I thought proper to offer it to you.

And here I cannot but blefs God for the general diflike of heretical principles that 1 have found among you ; as alfo for your zeal and approbation of my condudl, when the glory of God and your welfare, have obliged me to refent and publicly declare againfl the antichriftian tenets of fome lately under my charge.

I need only exhort you to beg of God to give you a true faith, and to add to your faith virtue, that you may adorn the gofpel of our Lord Jesus Christ in all things.

Your conflant daily attendance upon public worfhip, the gladnefs wherewith you have received me into your houfes, the mildnefs wherewith you have fubmitted to my reproofi;, more efpecially the great (though unmerited) concern you Ihewed at my departure, induce me to hope this will be your endeavour.

How long God of his good providence will keep me from you, I know not. However, you may allure yourfelves I will return according to my promife, as foon as I have received

[ 393 ] celveii Impofitlon of hands, and compleated the other bufinefs that called me hither.

In the mean while, accept of this, as a pledge of the un-difiembled love of

London,

Your afFe«£lionate though unworthy paftor, George White field.

Matthew xxv. 45. 'Thefe JJiall go away into everlafling piiniJJiment.

THE excellency of the gofpel difpenfatlon. Is greatly evidenced by thofe fan£lions of rewards and punifhments, which it offers to the choice of all its hearers, in order to engage them to be obedient to its precepts. For it promifes no lefs than eternal happinefs to the good, and denounces no ilighter a punifhment than everlafling mifcry againft the wicked : On the one hand, " It is a favour of life unto life," on the other, " A favour of death unto death." And though one would imagine, the bare mentioning of the former would be fufficient to draw men to their duty, yet minifters in all ages have found it ncceflary, frequently to remind their people of the latter, and to fet before them the terrors of the Lord, as fo many powerful difTuafives from fm.

But whence is it that men are fo difingenuous ? The rea-fon feems to be this : The promife of eternal happinefs is fo agreeable to the inclinations and wifhes of mankind, that all who call themfelves chriftians, univerfally and willingly fub-fcribe to the belief of it: but then there is fomething fo (hocking in the confideration of eternal torments, and fcemingly fuch an infinite difproportion between an endlcfs duration cf pain, and a fliort life fpent in pleafurc, that men (fome at leafl of them) can fcarcely be brought to confefs it as an article of their faith, that an eternity of mifery awaits the wicked in a future ftate.

I (hall

[ S94 ]

I fhall therefore at this time, beg leave to infift on the proof of this part of one of the Articles of our Creed 5 and endeavour to make good what our bleffed Lord has here threatened in the words of the text, " Thefe (that is, the v/icked) (hall go away into everlafting puniiliment."

Accordingly, without confidering the words as they ftand in relation to the context, I fhall refolve all I have to fay, into this one general propofition, " That the torments re-ferved for the wicked hereafter, are eternal."

But before I proceed to make good this, I muft inform you that I take it for granted.

All prefent do ftedfaftly believe, They have fomething within them, which we call a foul, and which is capable of furviving the diflblution of the body, and of being miferable or happy to all eternity.

I take it for granted farther. That you believe a divine revelation ; that thofe books, emphatically called the Scriptures, were written by the infpiration of God, and that the U^5> things therein contained, arc founded upon eternal truth.

I take it for granted, That you believe, that the Son of God came down to die for fmners j and that there is but one Mediator between God and man, even the man Christ Jesus.

Thefe things being granted, (and they were necefTary to be premifed) proceed we now to make good the one general propofition afTerted in the text. That the torments referved for the wicked hereafter are eternal. " Thefe (hall go away vjnto everlafting punifliment." The

'F'lrji argument I fhall advance to prove that the torments referved for the wicked hereafter, are eternal, is. That the v/ord of God himfelf afTures us, in line upon line, that it will be fo.

To quote all the texts that might be produced in proof of this, would be endlefs. Let it fufHce to inflance only in 4 |ew. Li the Old Teflament, in the book q{ Daniel^ chap. xii. ver. 2. we are told, that " fome fhall awake to everlafting life, and others to everlafting contempt." In the book oC Ijaiah^ it is faid, that " the worm of thofe that have tranf-grefled God's law, and die impenitently, fhall not die, nor their fire be quenched." And in another place, the holy

Prophet^

[ 29S ]

prophet, {Iruck, no doubt, with aftonKhment and horror at the profpcdl of the continuance of the torments of the damned, breaks out into this moving expoftulation, *• Who can dwell vviih everlaltin<2; burnino;s ?"

The New Tcil-Ament is flill fuller as to this point, it beino-a revelation which brought this and fuch-Iike particulars to a clear light. The Apoftle Judc tells us of the profane dc-fpilers of dignities in his days, that " for them was refervcd the blacknefs of darkucfs for ever.'* And in the book of the Reveliitions^ it is written, that " the fmoke of the torments cf the wicked afcendeth for ever and ever." And if we believe the witnefs of mcii infpired, the v/itnefs of the Son of God, who had the Spirit given him, as Mediator, without nieafure, is flill far greater : and in St. AIurKS gofpel. He repeats this folemn declaration three feveral times, *« It is better for thee to enter into life maimed ;" that is, it is better to forego the gratification of thy luft, or incur the difplcafurc of a friend, which may be as dear to thee as a hand, or as uleful as a foot, " than having two hands and feet, (that is, for indulging the one, or difobeying God to oblige the other) to be'caft into hell, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."

And here again, in the words of the text, '' Thefc (the wicked) fliall go away into everlalling puniflnnent."

I know it has been objeded by fome who have denied the eternity of hell-torments. That the words rjcrlajVing and ever ' (ind e\jcr^ are often ufed in the Holy Scriptures, (efpecially in the Old Teftament) when they fignify not an endlefs duration, but a limited term of time.

And this we readily grant : but then we reply. That when the v/ords are ufed with this limitation, they either manifeftly appear to be ufed fo from the context; or are put in oppofi-tion to occafional types Vv'hich God gave his people on fome fpecial occafions, as when it is faid, " It {hall be a perpetual or everlafling ftatute," or, '' a ftatute for ever ;" that is, a ftanding type, and not merely tranfient or occafional, as was the pillar of cloud, the manna, and fuch-like. Or, laftly, they have a relation to that covenant, God made with his fpiritually ^77^/; which, if undcrftood in a fpiritual fenfe.

C 395 ]

will be everlafting, though the ceremonial difpenfation be abolifhcd.

Beficles, it ought to be obfervcd, that feme of the pafTages juft now referred to, have neither of thefe words fo much as mentioned in them, and cannot poflibly be interpreted, fo as to denote only a limited term of years.

But let that be as it will, it is evident even to a demonftra-tion, that the words of the text will not admit of fuch a re-flrained fignification, as appears from their beitig dire£^ly op-pofed to the words immediately following, " That the righteous fliall go into life eternal." From which words, all are ready to grant, that the life promifed to the righteous will be eternal. And why the punifhmcnt threatened to the wicked ihould not be underftood to be eternal likcwiTe, when the very fame word in the original, is ufed to exprefs the duration of each, no fliadow of a reafon can be given.

But, Secondlyj There cannot be one argument urged, why God fhould reward his faints with everlafting happinefs, which will not equally prove that he ought to punifh finners with eternal mifery.

For, fince we know nothing (at leaft for a certainty) how he will deal with either, but by a Divine Revelation ; and fince, as was proved by the foregoing argument, he hath as pofitively threatened eternally to puniih the wicked, as to reward the good ; it follows, that his truth will be as much impeached and called in queftion, did he not inflict his punifh-ments, as it v.?ould be, if he did not confer his rewards.

To this alfo it has been objedled, That though God is obliged by promife to give his rewards, yet his veracity could not be called in queftion, fuppofing he fhould not execute his threatenings, as he actually did not in the cafe o{ Nineveh ; which God exprefsly declared by his Prophet Jonah^ " fhould be deftroyed in forty days :" notwithftanding the fequel of the ftory informs us, that Nineveh was fpared.

But in anfwer to this obje6tion we affirm, that God*s threatenings, as well as promifes, are without repentance; and for tliis reafon, becaufe they are both founded on the eternal laws of right reafon. Accordingly we always find, that where the conditions were not performed, on the nonperformance of which the threatenings were denounced, God

always

[ w ]

always executed the punifhmcnt threatcncil. The diiviiiir Adam out of Eden^ the deftru6tion of the old world by a deluge of water, and the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah^ arc and will be always fo many (landing monuments of (iOD*ij executing his threatenings when denounced, thouf^h to our weak apprehenfions, the punifliment may (ecm far to exceed the crime.

It is true, God did fpare Nineveh, and that bccaufe the inhabitants did a£lually repent, and therefore performed the conditions upon which it was fuppofed, by the Prophet's being fent to warn them, the threatened punifliment fliould be withheld.

And fo in refpetSt to gofpel threatenings. If men will fo far confult their own welfare, as to comply with the gofpel, God certainly will not punifli them, but on the contrarv, confer upon them his rewards. But to affirm that he will not punifh, and that eternally to, impenitent, obftinatc Tinners, according as he hath threatened ; what is it, in efFeui, but to make God like a man, that he (hould lie, or the fon of man, that he fhould rcpen: ?

But the abfurdity of fuch an opinion will appear ftill more evident from

The Third argument I (hall ofFer to prove, that the torments referved for the wicked hereafter are eternal, From the nature of the chriftian covenant.

And here I muft again obferve, that it was taken for granted at the beginning of this difcourfc, that you believe the Son of God came down to fave Tinners ; and that there is but one Mediator between God and man, even the man Christ Jesus.

And here I take it for granted farther, (unlefs you believe the abfurd and unwarrantable doctrine of purgatory) that you are fully perfuaded, this life is the only time allotted by Almighty God for working out our falvation, and that after a few years are pafFed over, there will remain no mere facrificc for Tm.

And if this be granted (and who dares deny it ?) it follow;,

that if a wicked man dieth in his wickedncfs, and under the

wrath of God, he muft continue in ihat ftatc to all eternity.

For, fince there is no pofBbility of their being delivered out'of fuch a condition, but by and through Christ ; and fince, at the hour of death, the time of Christ's mediation and in-terceflion for him is irrecoverably gone ; the fame reafon that may be given, why God fhould punifh a fmner that dicth under the guilt of his fins for a fingle day, will equally hold good, why he diould continue to puniili him for a year, an age, nay to all eternity.

But I haften to the Fourth and lafl: argument, to prove, That the torments refervcd for the wicked hereafter are eternal, Becaufe the devil's punifliment is to be fo.

That there is fuch a being whom we call the devil 5 that he was once an angel of light, but for his pride and rebellion' againft God, was cafl down from heaven, and is now permitted, with the reft of the fpiritual wickedneffe?, to walk to and fro, feeking whom they may devour; that there is a place of torment referved for them, or, to ufe the Apoftle's words, *'' That they are refervcd in everlafting chains under darknefs unto the judgment of the great day ;" are truths all here pre-fent were fuppofed to be convinced of, at the beginning of this difcourfe, you believing ihe Holy Scriptures to be written by the infpiration of God, wherein thefe truthi; are delivered.

But then if we allow all this, and think it no irjudice in God to punifh thcfe once glorious fpirits fur their rebellion ; how can we think it unjull in him, to punifii wicked men for their impenitency to all eternity ?

You will fay, perhaps, that they have fmned againft greater light, and therefore deferve a greater punifhment. And {o we grant that the puniihment of the fallen angels may,be greater as to degrecj than that of wicked men ; but then we affirm^ it will be equal as to the eternal duration of it: for in that day, as the lively oracles of God inform us, (hall the Son of Man fay to them on his left hand, *' Depart from me, ye curfed, into everlafting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Where we find that impenitent fmners are to be caft into the fame everlafting iire, with the devil and his angels ; and that too very juftly. For though they may have fmned againft greater light, yet chriftians fm againft greater mercy. Since Christ Look not hold of, did not die for, the I fallen

fallen angels, but for men and for our falvation. So that If God fpared not thofe excellent beings, afTure thyfelf, O ob-ftinate finner, whoever thou art, he will by no means fpare thee.

From what then has been faid it plainly appears, that verily the torments referved for the wicked hereafter, are eternal. And If fo, brethren, how ought we to fly to Jesus Christ for refuge ; how holy ought we to be in all manner of convcrfation and godlinefs, that we may be accounted worthy to efcape this wrath to come !

But before I proceed to a pradtical exhortation, permit me to draw an inference or two from what has been faid.

And Fifji, If the torments referved for the wicked hereafter are eternal, what fhall we fay to thofe, v^ho make an open profelTion in their creed to believe a life everlafting, a life of mifery as well as happinefs, and vet dare to live in the actual commifiion of thofe fins which will unavoidably, without repentance, bring them into that place of torment ? Thou be-lieveft that the punifliments of the impenitently wicked in another life, are eternal : '' Thou dofl well, the devils aho believe and tremble." But know, O vain man, unlefs this belief doth influence thy praciice, and makes thee bid adieu to fhv fins, every time thou repeateft thy creed, thou doeft in effect lay, I believe I (hall be undone for ever.

But, Secondly, If the torments referved for the wicked hereafter are eternal, then let this fcrve as a caution to fuch per-fons, (and it is to be feared there are fome fuch) who go about to difluade others from the belief of fuch an important truth : There being no furer way, in all probability, to encourage and promote infidelity and prophanenefs, than the broaching or maintaining fo unwarrantable a doctrine. For if the po-fitive threats of God concerning the eternity of hell-torments, are already found infufHcient to deter men from fin, what a higher pitch of wickcdncfs may we imagine they will quickly arrive at, when they arc taught to entertain any hopes of a future recovery out of them ; or, what is (lill vvorfe, that their fouls are hereafter to be annihilated, and become like the beafts that perifh ? But wo unto fuch blind leaders of the blind. No wonder if they both fall'into the ditch. And let

fuch

[ 400 ] fuch corrupters of God's word know, that I teflify unto every man that heareth me this day, " That if any one {hall add unto, or take away from the words that are written in the book of God, God (hall take his part out of the book of life, and fhall add unto him all the plagues that are in that book."

Thirdly and Lajlly^ If the torments referved for the wicked hereafter are eternal, then this may ferve as a reproof for thofe who quarrel with God, and fay it is inconfiftent with his juftice, to punifh a perfon to all eternity, only for enjoying the pleafures of fm for a feafon. But fuch perfons muft be told, that it is not their thinking or calling God unjuft, will make him fo, no more than a condemned prifoncr's faying the law or judge is unjuft, will render either duly chargeable with fuch an imputation. But knowcft thou, O worm, whatblafphemy thou art guilty of, in charging GoD with in-juftice ? " Shall the thing formed fay to him that formed it, why haft thou made me thus?" Wilt thou prefume to arraign the Almighty at the bar of thy {hallow reafoning ? and call him unjuft, for puni{hing thee eternally, only becaufc thou wi{lie{l it may not be fo ? But hath God faid it, and (hall he not do it ? He hath faid it: and let God be true, though every man be a liar. " Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" AfTuredly he will. And if fmners will not own his juflice in his threatenings here, they will be compelled ere long to own and feel them, when tormented by him hereafter.

But to come to a more pradical application of what has been delivered.

You have heard, brethren, the eternity of hell-torments plainly proved, from the exprefs declarations of holy fcrip-tures, and confequences naturally drawn from them. And row there feems to need no great art of rhetoric to perfuade any underftanding perfon to avoid and abhor thofe fins, which without repentance will certainly plunge him into this eternal gulph. The difproportion between the pleafure and the pain (if there be any pleafure in fin) is fo infinitely great, that luppofing it was only pofTible, though not certain, that the wicked would be everla{lingly punifhed, no one that has the reafon of a man, for the enjoying a little momeiUary pleafure,

would.

would, one might imagine, run the hazard ofendurlr.o- etcr* nal pain. But fince the torments of the damned are not only pofTible, but certain, (ftnce God himfelf, who cannot lie, has told us fo) for men, notwithftanding, to pcrfift in their difobedience, and then flatter themfelves, that God will not make good his threatenlngs, is a mcft egregious inflancc of folly and prefumption.

Dives himfelf fuppofed, that if one rofe from the dead, his brethren would amend their lives j but Chriftians, it fcems, will not repent, though the Son of God died and rofe again, and told them what they muft expe6l, if they continue obfti-nate in evil-doing.

Would wc now and then draw ofF our thoughts from fcn-fible objedls, and by faith meditate a while on the miferies of the damned, I doubt not but we (hould, as it were, hear many an unhappy foul venting his fruitlefs forrows, in feme fuch piteous moans as thefe.

'* O wretched man that I am, who fhall deliver me from this body of death !" O foolifh mortal that I was, thus to bring myfelf into thefe never-Ceafing tortures, for the tranfi-tory enjoyment of a few fliort-lived pleafures, which fcarcely afforded me any fatibfadlion, even when I moft indulged myfelf in them. Alas ! are thefe the wages, thefe the cfFe£ls of fin ? Are all the grand deceiver's inviting promifes come to this ? O damned apoftatc ! Firft to delude me with pretended promifes of happinef?, and after feveral years drudgery in his fcrvice, thus to involve me in eternal woe. O that I had never hearkened to his beguiling infmuations ! O that I had rejedled his very firft fuggeftions with the utmoft detefta-tion and abhorrence ! O that 1 had taken up my crofs and followed Christ ! O that I had never ridiculed ferious god-iinefs j and out of a falfe politenefs, condemned the truly pious as too fevere, enthufiaftic, or fuperftitious ! For I then ))ad been happy indeed, happy beyond expreffion, happy to all eternity, yonder in thofe blefTed regions where they fit, cloathed with unfpeakable glory, and chanting forth their (e-raphic hallelujahs to the Lamb that fitteth upon the throne for ever. But, alas ! thefe reflections come now too late : thefe wifhes now are vain and fruitlefs. I have not fufFered, and therefore muft not reigu with them, I have in effed denied

Vol. V. C c ihc

5»

the Lord that bought me, and therefore juftly am I now denied by him. Bat muft I live for ever tormented in thefe flames ? Muft this body of mine, which not long fmce lay in ftate, was cloathed in purple and fine linen, and fared fumptuoufly every day, muft it be here eternally confined, and made the mockery of infuking devils ? O eternity ! that thought fills me with defpair : I muft be miferable tor ever."

Come then, all ye felf-deluding, felf-deluded ftnners, and imagine yourfelves for once in the place of that truly wretched man I have been here defcribing. Think, I befeech you by the mercies of God in Christ Jesus, think wiih yourfelves, how racking, how unfupportable the never-dying worm of a fclf-condemning confcience will hereafter be to you. Think how impofTible it will be for you to dwell with everlafting burnings.

Come, all ye chriftians of a lukewarm, Laodicea7i fpirit, ye Gallio's in jeligion, who care a little, but not enough for the things of God ; O think, think with yourfelves, how deplorable it will be to lofe the enjoyment of heaven, and run into endlcfs torments, merely becaufe you will be content to be almoft, and will not ftnve to be altogether chriftians. Con-iider, I befeech you confider, how you will rave and curfe that fatal ftupidity which made you believe any thing lefs than true faith in Jesus, productive of a life of ftridl piety, feif-dcnial, and m.ortiiication, can keep you from thofe torments, tiie eternity of which i have been endeavouring to prove.

But I can no more. Thefe thoughts are too melancholy for me to dwell on, as well as for you to hear; and God knows, as punifhing is his ftrange work, fo denouncing his threatenings is mine. But if the bare mentioning the torments of the damned is fo (hocking, how terrible mult the enduring of them be !

And now, are not fome of you ready to cry out, " Thefe are hard fayings, who can bear them ?"

But let not fincere chriftians be in the leaft terrified at what has been delivered : No, for you is relerved a crown, a kingdom, an eternal and exceeding weight of glory. Christ never faid that the righteous, the believing, the upright, the fiucere, but the wicked^ mercilefs, negatively good profefTors

before

before defcribed, fhall go into everlafting puniflinient. For you, who love him in fincerity, a new and livin<^ wjy is laid open into the Holy of Holies by the blood of jEiiUo Christ : and an abundant entrance will be adniiniflered un:6 you at the great day of account, into eternal life. Take heed, therefore, and beware that there be not in any of you a root of bitternefs fpringing up of unbelief: but on the contrary, ftcd-faftly and heartily rely on the many precious promifcs reached out to you in the gofpel, knowing that he who hath promifed is faithful, and therefore will perform.

But let no obftinately wicked profefTors dare to apply any of the divine promifes to themfelves : '' For it is not meet to take the childrens meat and give it unto dogs :" No, to fuch the terrors of the Lord only belong. And as certainly as Christ will fay to his true followers, " Come, ye blelTcd children of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world ;" fo he will unalterably pro-iiounce this dreadful fentence againft all that die in their fins, '' Depart from me, ye curfed, into everlafting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

From which unhappy (late, may God of his infinite mercy deliver us all through Jesus ChrIst ; to whom, with thee O Father, and thee O Holy Ghoft, three Perfons and one eternal God, be afcribed, as is moft due, all honour, powcr^ stjight, majefty, and dominion, now and for evermore.

C c 2 S E R-

[404] SERMON XXVII.

Blind Bartimeus,

M A R K X. 52. And JiE.svsfaid unto him^ Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his fight^ md followed Jesus in the way,

WHEN the apoftle Peter was recommending J^sus of Nazareth^ in one of his fermons to the Jews^. he gave him a (hort, but withal a glorious and exalted chara6^er, *' That he went about doing good." He went about, he fought occafions of doing good j it was his meat and drink to do the works of him that fent him, whilft the day of his public ad-miniftration lafked. Juftly was he filled by the prophet, the fun of righteoufnefs. For, as the fun in the natur:\l firnoament difFufes his quickening and reviving beams through the uni-verfe, fo, wherever this fun of righteoufnefs, the blefTed Jesus arofe, he arofe with healing under his wings. He was indeed a prophet like unto Mofes^ and proved that he was the MeHiah. which was to come into the world, by the miracles which he "wrought; though with this material difference, the miracles of Mofes^ agreeable to the Old Teftament difpenfation, were miracles of judgment; the miracles of Jesus, who came to bear our ficknefTes and heal our infirmities, were miracles of mercy, and were wrought, not only for the cure of people's bodies, but alfo for the convcrfion of their precious and immortal fouls. Sometimes, one and the fame perfon was the fubjedl of both thefe mercies. A glorious proof of this, we have in the miraculous cure wrought upon a poor blind bfggar, named Bar^ ii?mui, who Is to be the fubjedt of the following difcourfe, and to whom the words of the text refer. *' Jesus faid unto him.

Go thy way, thy fiaith hath made thee whole, AnJ Immediately he received his fight, and followed Jesus in the way."

My dcfign is, /Vr/?, to make fome obfervations on the matter of fadt, as recorded by the evangelids. And then,

SecGtidlyy To point out the improvement that may be made thereof. May Jesus fo blefs this following difcourfe, that every fpiritualiy blind hearer may receive his fight, and, after the example of Bartimeus, " follow Jesus in the way !"

If we would take a view of the whole ftory, wc mud go back to the 46th verfe of this chapter. " And they (our Lord and his difciples, who, we find by the context, had been converfing together) came to Jericho^" a place devoted by Jc/hua to the curfe of God ; and yet, even this place yields converts to Jesus ; Xaccheus had been called there formerly; and Bartimeus, as we {hall hear by-and-by, in all probabilitv, was called now. For fome good may come even out of A^^^-zareih. Christ himfelf was born there, and his fovereicrn grace can reach and overcome the worft of people, in the very worfl of places. Jesus came to Jericho. Let not his minif-ters, if providence points out their way, fhun going to feem-ingly the mod unlikely places to do good, fome chofen vefTels may be therein, Jesus and his difciples came to Jericho, They were itinerajits ; and, as I have frequently obferved, .feldom ftayed long in a place; not that this is any argument againft the flated fettlement of particular paftors over particular parifhes. But however, our Lord's praiSlice, in this rc-fpedt, gives a kind of a fandlion to itinerant preaching, when perfons are properly called to, and qualified for, fuch an employ. And I believe we may venture to affirm (though we would by no means prefcribe or dictate to the Holy Ons of Ifrael) that, whenever there fhall be a general revival of religion in any country, itinerant preaching will be more in vogue. And it is to be feared, that thofe who condemn it now, merely on account of the meanncfs of its appearances, would have joined with the felf-righttous Scribes and Phari-fees, in condemning even the Son of God himfelf, for fuch a pra^ice.

C c 3 *' X0

*' And as he went out of Jericho with his dlfcipjes, and a great number of people^;" Cyh^Dietv'^ a great number of inob, or rabble, as the High-priefts of that generation termed them : for tiiefe were the conftant followers of Jesus o^ Nazareth-, it was the poor that received his gofpel, the common people heard him gladly, and followed him from place to place. Not that all who followed him, were his true difciples. No, fome followed him only for his loaves, others out of curiofity; thouo-h fome undoubtedly followed to hear, and be edified by the crracious words that proceeded out of his mouth. Jesus knew this, and was alfo fenfible how difpleafing this crowding after him was to fome of the rulers of the Jcwijh church, >\'ho, upon every occafion, were ready to fay, " Have any of the Scribes and Pharifees believed on him r" But, notwith-ftandino;, I do not hear of our blefled Lord':s fending them home but once; and that was, after they had been with him three days, and had nothing left to eat, he faw they were as fheep having no fhepherd, and therefore had compainon on them, and taught them. A fufficient warrant this for gofpel-minifters to preach to poor fouls that follow to hear the word, whatever principle their coming may proceed from. At the fame time, they fhould caution people againft thinking them-felves chriflians, becaufe they follow Christ's minifters. This our Lord frequently did. For there are many that followed Jesus, and now follow bis minifters, and hear them gladly; nay, perhaps ^o many things, as Herod di\^, who, it is to be feared, will never follow them into the kingdom of heaven. Much people followed Jesus out of Jericho^ but how many pf them were offended in him ; and afterwards, it may be, cried out, " Crucify him, crucify him." Who would depend on popularity ? It is like the morning cloud, or early dew, that palleth away. But what a prefs, and feemingly continued hurry of bufmefs did the blefTed Jesus live in ! he could not be hid; go where he would, much people followed him. He had fcarce time to eat bread. Happy is it for fuch who are called to a£l: in a public ftation in the church, and to be more abundant in labours, that their Jesus has trodden in this dangerous path before them. Popularity is a fiery furnace, and no one, but he who kept the three children amidft Nebuchadnezzar's ilames; can prefcrve popular minifters from being hurt ^ ' by

hy it. But we can do all things through Christ drencythcn-ing us. And I have often thought, that there is one confi-deration ("ufficient to extinguiHi, or moderate at Icaft, any excefs of joy and felf-complacencc, which the mod popular preacher may feel, when followed even hy the rrreateft multitudes ; and that is this, '' How many of thefe hearers will go *' away, without receiving any faving benefit by my preach-" ing; nay, how many, it may be, will only have their dam-*' nation increafed by it !'* As we find many will fay at the great day, " haft thou not taught in our ftreets;" to whom Jesus fhall anfwer, '' Verily, I know you not."

But to proceed, " As our Lord went out of Jericho with his difciples, and a great number of people, blind Burtlmeusj (the Ton of Thneus) fat by the highway-fide begging." It Ihould feem that he was a noted, though by no means what we commonly call, a flurdy beggar; having no ether wav, as he had loft his fight, to get his bread ; his cafe was ftill the more pitiable, if he was, as fome think the name imports, the blind fon of a blind father. It may be, he begged for his father ar.d himfelf too; and if fo, then this may give us light into that pafTage of Mattheiv xx. 22. where we are told, that " two men fpake to Jesus." It might be father and fon, though only one is mentioned here, becaufe he only followed Jesus in the way. Thus that holy, judicious, and praifliral expofitor of holy writ, Mr. Henry. But however this be, he is not blamed for begging, neither fhould we difcommend others for fo doing, when providence calls to it. It was the unjuft fteward that faid, " To beg I am afhamed." It is our pride that often makes us unwilling to be beholden; Jesus was not thus minded, he lived, as it were, upon alms; the women that followed him, miniftred to him of their fubftance. Bar-iimeusy not being able to dig, begs for his living; and, in order to make a better trade of it, fat by the highway-fide, in all probability, without, or near the gate of the city, where people muft neceflarily pafs in and out. But though he had loft his fight, he had his hearing pcrfe^l; and it fhould comfort us, if we have loft one fenfe, that we have the u("e of another, and that we are not deprived of the benefit of all. Happy was it for Bartimeus that he C(^-uld h<^ar, though not fee. For in all probability, upon hearing the noifc and cla-C c 4. inour

mour of the much people that followed after our Lord, his

curiofity fet him upon enquiring into the caufe of it, and fome one or another told him, " that Jesus o^ Nazareth was pafling byj" Jesus of Nazareth^ called fo, becaufe he was bred there, or out of contempt; Nazareth being either a very mean, or very wicked place, or both, which made guilelefs Nathaniel fay, ^' Can any good come out of Nazareth f And what does Bartimeus do when he hears of Jesus? We are told, ver. 47; " And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareihy he began to cry out." This plainly denotes, that though the eyes of his body were (hut, yet the eyes of his mind were, in fome degree, opened, fo that he faw, perhaps, ' more than moft of the multitude that followed after Jesus; for, as foon as he heard of him, he began to cry out; which he would not have done, had he not heard of him before, and believed alfo, that he was both able a.od v^illing to redorc fight to the blind. *' He began to cry out.'* I'his implies, that he had a deep fenfe of his own mifery, and the need which he had of a cure; his prayers did not freeze as they went out of his lips; he began to cry out, that Jesus might hear him, notwithftanding the noife of the throng; and he began to cry out, as foon as he heard he was palling by, not knowing whether he might ever enjoy fuch an opportunity any more. <^' He began to cry out, Jesus, thou Son oi Davidy have mercy upon me." I'he people called him Jesus of Nazareth. Bartimeus ftiles him, '^ Jesus, thou Son o^David,''* Thereby evidencing, that he believed him to be the Mefliah who was to come into the world, unto whom the Lord God \^'as to give the throne of his father Davia\ and of whofe kingdotn there was to be no end. " Jesus, thou Son of Davidi'* or, as it is in the parallel place of St« Matthew xx, 30. '' O Lord, thou fon of David-y'^ of whom it had been long foretold, Ifiiah xxxv. that when he fliould come, " the eyes of the blind fhould be opened." " Have mercy upon me," the natural language of a foul brought to lie down at the feet of a fovercign God. Here is no laying claim to a cure by way of merit; no proud, felf-righteous, God I thank thee that I am not as other men are: no brin^ino; in a reckon-ing of performances, nor any doubting of Jesus's power or willingnefs to heal him, but out of the abundance of the

heart.

[ 409 ] heart, his mouth fpeaketh, and, in the language of the poor, broken-hearted publican, he cries out, " Jesus, thou Son of Davids have mercy on me." Jesus, thou friend of Tinners, thou Siu'iour, wiio, though thou be the true God, waft plci^fcd to hfcomc the Son of Davidy and to be made man, that thou mighteft feek and fave thofe that were loft, have mercy upon me; k-L thy bowels yearn towards a poor, mifcrablc, blind bego;ar !

One would have thought that fuch a moving petition as this %^'ould have melted the whole multitude, that heard his pitcoui cry, into companion, and induced fome at Icaft to turn fuitors in his behalf, or help to carry him to the bicfled Jesus. But inftead of that, we are told, ver. 48, that '« many char^'ed him." The word in the original fecms to imply a charge, attended with threatning, and fpoken in an angry manner. They charged him '* to hold his peace;" and it may be, threatned to beat him if he did not. They looked upon him beneath the notice of Jesus of Nazareth, and were ready enough to afl<:, whether he thought Jesus Christ had nothing elfe to do but to wait upon him. This was, no doubt, very difcouraging to blind Bartimeus. For oppofition comes clofcft when it proceeds from thofe who are cfteemed followers of the Lamb. The fpoufe complains as of fomething peculiarly afflitSling, that her own mother's children were angry with her. But oppofition only ferves to whet the edge of true devotion, and therefore Bartimeus, inftead of being filenccd by their charges and threatnings, '' cried out the more a great deal, thou Son o^ Dcjvid, have m.ercy on me." Still he breaks out into the fame humble language, and, if Jesvs, the Son of Davidy will have mercy on him, he cares not much what fome of his peevifti followers faid of, or did unto him. This w;is not a vain repetition, but a devout reiteration of his rcqueft. We may fomctimes repeat the fame words, and yet net be guilty of that L±TTo\oyia, or vain fpcaking, which our Lord condemns. For our Lord himfelf prayed in his agony, and faid twice the fame words; " Father, if it be poftible, let this cjp pafs from me." Thus Bartimeus, *' Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy upon me." And how does the Son of David treat him ? does he join iftue with the multitude, and charge him to hold his peace ? or does he go on, thinking him i beneath

beneath his notice ? no; for, fays St. Mar^, ver. 49. "And Jesus ftood flill," though he was on a journey, and it may be in hafte (for it is not lofmg time to ftop now and then on a journey to do a good office by the way) " and commanded him to be called :" why fo ? to teach us to be condefcending and kind even to poor, if real beggars, and tacitly to reprove the blind, mifguided zeal cf thofe who had charged him to hold his peace. By this alfo our Lord prepares the multitude the better to take the more notice of the blind man's faith, and of his own mercy and power exerted in the healing of him. For there are times and feafons wlien we are called ,to perform a6fs of charity in the mod public manner, and that too very confiftently with the injun6lion of our Saviour, " not to let our right hand know what our left hand doth.'* For there is a great deal of diflerence between giving alms, and exercifmg ails of charity, that are feen of men, and doing them, that they may be feen ; the one is always fmfiil, the other often becomes our duty. Jesus comm.anded Bartimeus to be called, " and they called him." Who called him.^ it may be, thofe who a little before charged him to hold his peace. For it often happens, that our cppofers and difcourager?, afterwards become our friends. " When a man's ways pleafe the Lord, he makes his enemies be at peace with him." And it is to be wifhed, that all who have charged poor fouls, that are crying after Jesus, to hold their peace, and to fpare them-feU'Cs, and not be righteous over-much, would imitate the people here, and eneourage thofe they once perfecuted and maligned. " They call the blind man, faying unto him. Be of 2:ood comfort, rife, he callcth thee." The words, and manner of fpcaking them, implies hafte, and a kind of folicitude for the blind man's relief. O! that we might hereby learn to be patient, and long-fuffering, towards oppofers. P'or it may be, that many may oppofe awakened fouls, not out of enmity, but through prejudice and rnifinformation, through ignorance and unbelief, and a real, though perhaps falfe, pcrfur.fion, that their relations are going in a wrong way. By and by they nu^.y be convinced, that Christ is indeed calhiig them, and then they may become real and open friends to the caufe and work of God ; if not, it is our duty to behave with meeknefs towards all, and not tojcnder railing for railing, but contrary-

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ivife blelTing, knowing that we are thereunto callotl, that wc may inherit a blefling ; Jf.sus did not break (>ut into harfh language againft thcfe oppoicrs, neither did Bartimeus. «^ Our Lord ftood ftill, and commanded him to be called ; and they call the blind man, faying unto him. Be of good comfort, rife, he calleth thee ; and he, carting away his garment, rofe and came to Jesus." Had Bartimcus not been in carntft when he cried, '^ Jesus, thou Son of DaviJ^ have mercy upon me," he might have fa;d, why do you mock me ? why bid ye mc arife ; rife indeed I can, but after I am rifcn, how can I, being blind, find my way unto him ? If he will come to me, it i- Aell; if not, all your calling availeth nothing, it being impolTible for me to find my way. l^hus thoufands now-a-days obje6l to evangelical preachers, faying, Why do you bid us come to, and believe on Jesus Christ, when you tell us it is impciTible of ourfelves to turn to God, or to do good works; and that no one can come unto him, unleis the Father draw him. Is not this like tne people's calling upon Baril-mcus^ to arife and come to Jesus, \vhcn he could not polTibly fee his way before him ? true, it is fo; cmd v/ouM to God that all wiio make this cbjeclion, would imitate Bartimcus^ and put forth the flrength they have ! What if wc do call you to come, and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that you may be faved? does this imply, that you have a power in your-felves to do fo ? no, in no wife, no more than Jesus faying unto Laxann's dead and (linking carcafe, '' Come forth," implied, that Lazarus had a power to raife himfelF from the grave. We call to you, being commanded to preach the gof-pel to every creature, hoping and praying, that Christ's power may accompany the word, and make it eftcclual to the quickenins; and raifmg of your dead fouls. Wc alfo call to you to believe, upon the fame account as Jesus faid unto the lawyer, " do this, and thou flialt live ;" that you feeing your utter inability to come, might thereby be convinced of your unbelief, and be led to afk for faith of him, whofe gift it is, and who is therefore in fcripture emphatically ililed the Author^ as well as FiniJJjer^ of our faith. Add to this, that it is your duty to wait at the pool, or to make ufe of the ftrength you have, in the carneft and Oeady pcrfv^rmance of all commanded duty. For though you cannot do what is.-fpiritually

good,

^ood, becaufe you want fpiritual principles of allien, yet ye may do what is morally and materially good, inafmuch as ye are reafonable creatures; and though doing your duty as you can, no ways deferves mercy, or entitles you to it, yet it is the way in which you are required to walk, and the way in which God is ufLially found. While you are attempting to ftretch out your withered arm, peradventure it may be re-flored ; and who knows but Jesus may work faith in ycu, by his almiL!,hty power?

Bartimeus has fet before fuch obje£lors an example; O that they would once fubmit to be taught by a poor blind beggar ! For he, cafting away his garment, rofe, and blind as he was, came to Jesus; ''calling away his garment." This fecms to be a large coat or cloak, that he wore to fcreen himfelf from the rain and cold ; undoubtedly, it was the moft necef-fary and valuable veftment he had, and one would have thought, that he fhould have taken this along with him ; but he knew very well, that if he did fo, it might hang about his heels, and thereby his reaching Jesus be retarded at leaft, if not prevented entirely. Valuable therefore as it was to him, he caft it away. The word implies, that he threw it from ofF his fhoulders, with great precipitancy and refolution^ knowing that if he got a cure, which he now hoped for, by Christ's calling him, he (liould never want his garment again. And thus will all do that are in earneft about coniing-to Jesus here, or feeing and enjoying him in his kingdom eternally hereafter. They will cut off a right-hand, they will pluck out a right-eye, they will leave father and mother, huf-band and wife, yea, and their own lives alfo, rather than not be hi.s difciplcs. The apoftle Pauly therefore, exhorts chrifti-ans, to " lay afide every weight, and the fin that doth moft cafily befet them,'* or hang about their heels, as the word in the original imports; alluding to the cuftom of the Romansy who wore long garments. Such a one was this, which Bar^ iimeus had wrapped round him. But he, to fliew that he fm-cercly defired to recover his fight, cafting it away, arofe and came to Jesus. And what treatment did Jesus give him ? rlid he fay, come not nigh me, thou impudent noify beggar? No, '' he anlvvered and faid unto him. What wilt thou, that I (bould da uuto thee ?" aa odd ^ueftioa this, fecmingly. For

di<!

did not our Lord know what he wanted ? yes, he did ; but the Lord Jesus dealt with him, as he deals with us. He will make us acknowledge our wants ourfelves, that we thereby may confefs our dependance upon him, and be made more fenfible of the need we ftand in, of his divine affiftance. The blind man immediately replies, " Lord, (thereby intimating his belief of Christ's divinity) that I might receive my fight." Methinks, I fee the poor creature liftening to the voice of our Saviour, and with looks and geftures bei'peaking the inward earneftnefs of his foul, he cries out, " Lord, that I may receive my light." As though he had faid, 1 believe thou art that Mt^fTiah who was to come into the world. I have heard of thy fame, O Jesus! and hearing the long-wiflied-for glad-tidings of thy coming this way, I cry unto thee, afkino- not for filver and gold, but what thou, thou alone canft give me. Lord, that i might receive my fight. No fooner does he a{k, but he receives. For, verfe 52, " Jesus faid unto him. Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole j and immediately h,Q received his fight." With the word there went a power J and he that fpake light out of darkncfs, faying, *' Let there be light, and there was light," commanded light into this poor blind beggar's eyes, and behold there was light. The miracle was inftantaneous ; immediately he received his fight. And next to a miracle it was, that by breaking into open light all at once, he was not ftruck blind again : but he that gave the fight, preferved it when given. O! happy Bartimeus! thy eyes are now opened, and the very hrft obje£t thou doft behold, is the ever-loving, altogether-lovely Jesus. Methinks I fee thee tranfported with wonder and admiration, and all the difciplcs, and the multitude, gazing around thee ! And now, having received thy fight, why doft thou not obey the Lord*s command, and go thy way ? why doft thou not hafte to fetch thy garment, that thou juft now in a hurry didft caft away ? No, no ! with his bodily eyes, I believe he received alfo a frefti addition of fpiritual fight, and though others faw no form or comelincfs in the bleffed Jesus, that they fhould defire him i yet he by an eye of faith difcovered fuch tranfccndent excellencies in his royal perfon, and felt at the fame time fuch a divine attraction towards his all-bountiful benefactor, that iiiftead of going his way to fetch his garment, *'' fee followed

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Jesus in the way;" and by his adlion?, fays with faithful, honcfl-hearted Ruth^ '' entreat me not to leave thee; for whither thou goeft, I will go^ where thou lodgcft, I will lodge; thy people fhall be my people; and thy God, my God.*' He followed Jesus in the way; the narrow way, the way of the crofs ; and I doubt not but long fmce he has followed him to his crown, and is at this time fitting with him at the right hand of his Father.

And now, my dear hearers, how find you your hearts af-fecSkd at the relation of this notable miracle which Jesus wrought ? are you not ready to break out into the language of the fong of Mofes^ and to fay, " Who is like unto thee, O Lord, glorious in holincfs, fearful in praifes, continually doing wonders!" Marvellous are thy works, O Jesus, and that our fouls know right well ! But we muft not flop here, in admiring what the Lord did for Bartiineus\ this, no doubt, as well as othcT parts of Scripture, was written for our learning, upon v^'hom the ends of the world are come; confequently, as was propofed in the

Second place, we fliould fee what fpiritual improvement can be made of this hiftory, upon which we have already been making fome remarks.

A natural man, indeed, goes no further than the outward court of the Scripture, and reads this, and the other miracles of our bicifcd Saviour, juli in the fame manner as he reads Homer ^ battles, or the exploits o{ Alexander. But God forbid, that we fliould rell in only hearing this matter of fa£f. For I tell thee, O man, I tell thee, O woman, whoever thou art, that fitted this day under a preached gofpel, that if thou art in a natural ftate, thou art as blind in thy foul, as Barti-mens was in his body; a blind child of a blind father, even of thy father Adam^ who loft his fight when he loft his innocence, and entailed his blindnefs, juftly inflicSled, upon thee, and me, and his whole pofterity. Some think indeed, that they fee ; but ahis ! fuch talk only like men in their fleep, like peifons befide thcmfelvcs; the fcripturcs every where repre-fent fallen man, not only as fpiritually blind, but dead alfo; and we no more knov/, by nature, favingly the way of falva-tion by Jesus Christ, than Bariimeits^ when he was blind, knew the colours of the rainbow. This, I truft, fome o-f yau

begin

begin to feel, I fee you concerned, I fee you weeping, and, was I to afk Tome of you, what you want to have done unto you ? I know your anfwer would be, that we may receive our ri<iht. And God forbid, that I fliould charge you to hold your peace, as though Jesus would not regard you! no, your being made fenfible of your natural blindnefs, and crying thus earneftly after Jesus, is a fign at leaft, that you are awakened by his holy Spirit (though it is poiTible, that you may cry with an exceeding bitter cry, as Efau did, and be loft at laft); however, chriftian charity induces me to believe and hope the beft ; I will therefore, in the language of thofe who afterwards encouraged Bartimeus^ fay unto you, Arife, take conifort; for, 1 truft, Jesus is calling you; follow therefore the example of BartiTncus^ caft away your garment; lay afide every weight, and the fin which doth moft eafily befct you, arife, and come to Jesus. He commands me, by his written word, to call to you, and fay, *' Come unto him, all ye that are weary, and heavy Jaden, and he will refrefli you, he will give you refl:.'* Be not afraid, ye feek Jesus o^ Nazareth; behold, he comes, forth to meet you ; ye are now on the highway fide, and Jesus, I truft, is pafTing by ; I feel his prefcnce, I hope many of you feel it too; O then, cry mightily to him, who is mighty and willing to fave you ; lay yourfelvcs at the feet of fovereign grace, fay unto him, "Jesus, thou Son oi David^ have mercy on me," in the fame frame as Barthneus did, and Jesus will anfwer you, he will not caft out your prayer; according to your faith, fo (hall it be done unto you. Blind as you art-, you fliall, notwithftanding, receive your fight; Satan, indeed, and unbelief, will fuggeft many objections to you, your carnal relations will alfo join iflue with them, and charge you to hold your peace; one will tell you, that your blindnefs is too inveterate to be cured ; another, that it is too late: a third, that though Jesus can, yet he will not have mercy upon Inch poor, blind, defpicable beggars, as ye are; but, the more they charge you to hold your peace, do vou erv out fo much the more a great deal, *' Jesus, thou Son of Da-Old^ have mercy on us." Jesus, thou Saviour, thou friend Of finners, thou Son of David^ and thercfine a Son of man ! 'gracious words ! endearing appellations ! be encouraged by them, to diaw niiih unto him. Thout'h Duvid\ Lord, v^*t K he

he is become David's Son, after the flefh, that yc through him may be made the Tons of God : no matter what thou art, O woman, what thou art, O man ; though thou art literally a poor beggar, think not thy condition too mean for Jesus to take notice of j he came into the highways and hedges, to call fuch poor beggars in ; or, if you are rich, think not your-lelves too high to ftoop to Jesus j for he is the King of kings; and you never will be truly rich, until you are made rich in Jesus ; fear not being defpifed, or lofing a little worldly honour : one fight of Jesus will make amends for all: you will find fomething fo inviting, fo attra6ling, fo fatisfying, in the altogether-lovely Lamb of God, that every fublunary enjoyment will ficken, and die, and vanifh before you j and you will no more defire your former vain and trifling amufemcnts, than Bartimeus^ after he had received his fight, defircd to go back again and fetch his garment. O that there may be many fuch blind beggars among you this day !

Here is a great multitude of people following me, a poor worm, this day. I rejoice to fee the fields thus white, ready unto harveft, and to fpread the gofpel-net amidft fo many j but alas ! I (hall return home with a heavy heart, unlefs fome of you will arife and come to my Jesus ; I define to preach Him, and not myfelf; reft not in hearing and following nje. Behold, believe on, and follow the Lamb of God, who came to take away the fms of the world. Indeed, I do not defpair of any of you, neither am I difcouraged, on account of my preaching in the highways and hedges; Jesus called Zaccheur^ Jesus called Bartijmus^ as he paflvd through 'Jericho \ that curfed, that devoted place ; and why may he not call fome of you, out of ihefe defpifed fields? is his arm {hortcned, that he cannot fayc ? is he not as mighty now, and as willing to fave, evep to the uttermof^, all that come to the Father through him, as he was feventeen hundred years ago? alluiedly he is j he hath faid, and he alfo will do it, " Whofoever cometh to me, I will in no wife caft out." In no wife, or by no means, O encouraging words ! fmners, believe ye this ? arife then, be of good comfort, for Jesus is indeed calling you. Some of you, I tfuft, have obeyed this invitation, and have had a iight of him long ago; I know then, you will blefs and love him \ and if he ftiould fay uiuo you, as he did unto- Barw.'iius, go

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you your way; your anfwer would be, we love our maftcr, and will not go from him. But fufFer ye the word of exhortation :

Suffer me to ftir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, fhew that you have indeed feen him, and that you do indeed love him, by following him in the way; I mean, in the way of the crofs, the way of his ordinances, and in the way of his holy commandments; for alas ! the love of many waxeth cold, and few there are that follow Jesus rightly in the way; few there are that caft away their garments fo heartily as they fiiould; fome idol or another hangs about us, and hinders us in running the race that is fet before us. Awake therefore, ye fleepy, though, it may be, wife virgins. Awake, awake, put on ftrength; fliake yourfelves from the duft; arife and follow Jesus more clofcly in the way, than ever you did yet. Lift up the hands that hang down, and Itrengthen the feeble knees. Provide right paths for your feet, left that which is lame be turned out of the way, but rather be ye healed. For though the way be narrow, yet it is not long; " though the gate be ftraight, (to ufe the words of pious *' bifhop Beveridge) yet it opens into everlafting life." O that ye may get a frefh fight of him again this day I That would be like oil to the wheels of your graces, and make your fouls like the chariots of Aintnadab, It is only owing to your lofing fight of hi«i, that you go fo heavily from day to day. A fight of Jesus, like the fun rifing in the morning, difpels the dark-nefs and gloominefs that lies upon the foul. Take therefore a frefh view of him, O believers, and never reft until you are tranflated to fee him as he is, and to live with him for evermore, in the kingdom of heaven. Even fo, Lord Jesus, Amen and Amen I

Vol. V. Da SERMON

t 418 ]

SERMON XXVIII.

Direftions how to hear Sermons.

Luke viii. 18. J'ake heed^ therefore, how yt hear,

THE occafion of our Lord's giving this caution, was this: Perceiving that much people were gathered together to hear him out of every city, and knowing (for he is God, and knoweth all things) that many, if not moft of them, would be hearers only, and not doers of the word ; he fpake to them by a parable, wherein, under the fimilitude of a fower that went out to fow his feed, he plainly intimated, how few there were amongft them, who would receive any faving benefit from his dodrine, or bring forth fruit unto perfecSlion.

The application one would imagine ftiould have been plain and obvious ; but the difciples, as yet unenlightened in any great degree by the Holy Spirit, and therefore unable to fee into the hidden myfteries of the kingdom of God, dealt with our Saviour, as people ought to deal with their minifters ; they difcourfed with him privately about the meaning of what he had taught them in public; and with a fmcere defire of doing their duty, afked for an interpretation of the parable.

Our blellcd Lord, as he always was willing to iftflrutSt thofe that were teachable, (herein fetting his minifters an example to be courteous and eafy of accefs) freely told them the figniHcation. And withal, to make them more cautious and more attentive to his doctrine for the future, he tells them, that they were in an efpecial manner to be the light of the world, and were to proclaim on the houfe-top whatfoever

he told them in fecret; and a^ their improving the knowledge

already

already imparted, was the only condition upon which more was to be given them, it therefore highly concerned them to *' take heed how they heard."

From the context then it appears, that the words were primarily fpokcn to the Apoftles themfelves. But as it is to be feared, out of thofe many thoufands that flock to hear fermons, but few, comparatively fpeaking, are effe6lually influenced by them, I cannot but think it very neceflary to remind you of the caution given by our Lord to his difciples, and to exhort you with the utmoft earneftnefs, to *' take heed hov/ you hear."

In profecution of which defign I fhall,

Fhjly Prove that every one ought to take all opportunities of hearing fermons. And,

Secondly, 1 fhall lay down fome cautions and dirccTliions, in order to your hearing with profit and advantage.

F'lrji, I am to prove, that every one ought to take all opportunities of hearing fermons.

That there have always been particular perfons fet apart by God, to inftru61: and exhort his people to pradlife what he fhould require of them, is evident from many paflages of fcripture. St. Jude tells us, that " Enoch, the feventh from Adam, prophefied (or preached) concerning the Lord's coming with ten thoufand of his faints to judgment.'* And Noahy who lived not long after, is ftiled by St. Peter^ " a preacher of righteoufnefs." And though in all the intermediate fpace between the flood and giving of the law, we hear but of few preachers, yet we may reafonably conclude, that God never left himfelf without witnefsj but at fundry times, and after divers manners, fpoke to our fathers by the patriarchs and prophets.

But however it was before, we are affured that after the delivery of the law, God conftantly feparated to himfelf a certain order of men to preach to, as well as pray for his people; and commanded them to enquire their duty at the pricfts mouths. And thqugh the Jews were frequently led into D d 2 captivity.

captivity, and for their fins fcattered abroad on the face of the earth, yet he never utterly forfook: his church, but ftill kept up a remnant of prophets and preachers, as Ezekiel^ Jeremiah^ Daniel, and others, to reprove, inftru6l, and call them to repentance.

Thus was it under the law. Nor has the church been vvorfe, but infinitely better provided for under the gofpel. For when Jesus Christ, that great High-prieft, had through the eternal Spirit offered himfelf, as a full, perfed, fufficient facrifice and fatisfa£lion for the fins of the whole world, and after his refurredtion had all power committed to him, both in heaven and earth, he gave commiiTion to his Apoftles, and in them to all fucceeding minifters, to " go and preach his gofpel to every creature ;" promifing to " to be with them, to guide, alTift, ftrengthen, and comfort them always, even to the end of the world.**

But if it be the duty of miniflcrs to preach, (and woe be to them if they do not preach the gofpel, for a neccffity is laid upon them) no doubt, the people are obliged to attend to them ; for othcrwife, wherefore are minifters fent ?

And how can we here avoid admiring: the love and tender care which our dear Redeemer has exprefled for his fpoufe the church ? Who, becaufe he could not be always with us in perfon, on account it was expedient he fliould go away, and as our forerunner take pofTeiTion of that glory he had pur-chafed by his precious blood, yet would not leave us comfort-lefs, but firfl: fettled a fufficient number of paft:ors and teachers; and afterwards, according to his promife, actually did and will continue to fend down the Holy Ghoft^^ to furnifh them and their fucceflbrs with proper gifts and graces *' for the work of the minift:ry, for the perfed:ing of the faints, for the edifying of his body in love, till v/e all come in the unity of the fpirit, to the fulnefs of the mcafure of the flature of Christ."

O ho7/ infenfible are thofe perfons of this unfpeakable gift, who do defpite to the Spirit of grace, who crucify the Sen of God afrefh, and put him to an open fhame, by wilfully rcfufing to attend on fo great a means of their falvation ? How dreadful will the end of fuch men be ? How aggravating, that light ihould come into the world, that the glad

tidii^irs

tidings of falvation fhould be fo very frequently proclaimed in this populous city, and that fo many fliould loath this fpiri-tual manna, this angels food, and call it light bread ? How much more tolerable will it be for Tyre and Sidon^ for Sodom and Gomorrahy than for fuch Tinners ? Better, that men had never heard of a Saviour being born, than after they have heard, not to give heed to the miniftry of thofc, who are employed as his ambafladors, to tranfadl affairs between God and their fouls.

We may, though at a dlftance, without a fpirit of prophefy, foretel the deplorable condition of fuch men j behold them caft into hell, lifting up their eyes, being in torment, and crying out. How often would our minifters have gathered us, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings? But we

to o

would not. O that we had known in that our day, the things that belonged to our everlafting peace ! But now they are for ever hid from our eyes.

Thus wretched, thus inconceiveably miferable, will fuch be as flight and make a mock at the public preaching of the gofpel. But taking it for granted, there are but few, if any, of this unhappy ftamp, who think it worth their while to tread the courts of the Lord's houfe, I pafs on now to the

Second gtntT2\ thing propofed, to lay down fome cautionV^ and dire(Slions, in order to your hearing fermons with profit and advantage.

And here, if we reflect on what has been already delivered, and confider that preaching is an ordinance of Gqp, a means appointed by Jesus Christ himfelf for promoting his kingdom amongft men, you cannot reafonably be offended, if, iji order that you may hear fermons with profit and advantage, I

I. Diredl or entreat you to come to hear them, not out of curiofity, but from a fincere defire to know and do your duty.

Formality and hypocrify in any religious cxcrcife, is an abomination unto the Lord. And to enter his houfe merely to have our ears entertained, and not our hearts reformed, muft certainly be highly difpleafing to the Moft High Gop, as well as unprofitable to ourfelves.

D d 2 Hence

Hence it is, that fo many remain unconvcrtC(}, yea, un-afFeded with the moft evangelical preaching ; fo that like St. Paul's companions, before his converfion, they only hear the preacher's voice with their outward ears, but dp not experience the power of it inwardly in their hearts: Or, like the ground near GideoJi's fleece, they remain untouched ; whilft others, who came to be fed with the fmcere milk of the word, like the fleece itfelf, are watered by the dew of God's heavenly bleffing, and grow thereby.

Flee therefore, my brethren, flee curiofity, and prepare your hearts by a humble difpofition, to receive with meeknefs the engrafted word, and then it will be a means, under God, to quicken, build up, purify, and fave your fouls.

2. A fecond dire6lion I fhall lay down for the fame purpofe^ is, not only to prepare your hearts before you hear, but alfo to give diligent heed to the things that are fpoken from the word of God.

If an earthly king was to iffue out a royal proclamation, on performing or not performing the conditions therein contained, the life or death of his fubjefls entirely depended, how folici-tous would they be to hear what tbofe conditions were ? And (hall not we pay the fam.e refpef£t to the King of kings, and Lord of lords, and lend an attemive ear to his minifters, when they are declaring, in his name, how our pardon, peace, and happinefs may be fecured ?

When God defcended on mount Sinai in terrible majefty, to give unto his people the law, how attentive were they to his fervant Mofes f And if they were fo earneft to hear the thunderings or threatenings of the law, fhall not we be as felicitous to hear from the minifters of Christ, the glad tidings of the gofpcl ?

Whilft Christ was himfelf on earth, it is faid, that the people hung upon him to hear the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth. And if we looked on minifters as we ought, as the fent of Jesus Christ, wc fhould hang upon them to hear their words alfo.

Befides, the facred truths that gofpel minifters deliver, are

., not dry infipid le6lu:es on moral philofophy, intended only to

amufe us for a while ; but the great myfteries of godlinefs,

whichj therefore, we are bound ftudioufly to liften to, left:

through

through our negligence we (hould either not underftand them, or by any other means let them flip.

But how regardlefs are thofe of this direction, who, inftead of hanging on the preacher to hear him, doze or fleep whilft he is fpeaking to them from God ? Unhappy men ! Can they not watch with our blefled Lord one hour ? What ! have they never read how Eutychus fell down as he was fleep-ing, when St. Paul continued his difcourfe till midnight, and was taken up dead ?

But to return. Though you may prepare your hearts, as you may think, by a teachable difpofition, and be attentive whilft difcourfes are delivering, yet this will profit you little, unlefs you obferve a

3. A third direcStion, Not to entertain any the leaft prejudice againft the minifter.

For could a preacher fpeak with the tongue of men and angels, if his audience was prejudiced againft him, he would be but as founding brafs, or tinkling cymbal.

That was the reafon why Jesus Christ himfelf, the Eternal Word, could not do many mighty works, nor preach to any great efFe61: among thofe of his own country; for they were oftended at him : And was this fame Jesus, this God incarnate, again to bow the heavens, and to come down fpeak^ ing as never man fpake, yet, if we were prejudiced againft him, as the Jews were, we (hould harden our hearts as the Jews did theirs.

Take heed therefore, my brethren, and beware of entertaining any diflike againft thofe whom the Holy Ghoft has made overfeers over you. Confider that the clergy are men of like paflions with yourfelves : and though we fliould even hear a perfon teaching others to do, what he has not learned himfelf; yet, that is no fufficient reafon for rejedling his do61:rine: for minifters fpeak not in their own, but Christ's name. And we know who commanded the people to do whatfoever the Scribes and Pharifees fhould fay unto them, though they faid but did not. But

4. Fourthly^ As you ought not to be prejudiced againft, fo you fliould be careful not to depend too much on a preacher, , or think more highly of him than you ought to think. For though this be an extream that people feldom run into, yet

P d 4 preferring

preferring one teacher in oppofition to another, has often been of ill confequence to the church of God. It was a fault which the great Apoflle of the Gentiles condemned in the Co-rinibiaris: For whereas one faid, " I am o^ Paul; another, I am of Jpollos: are ye not carnal,'* fays he? " For who is Paul^ and who is ApcUoSy but inftruments in God's hands by whom you believed ?" And are not all minifters fent forth to be miniftring ambafladors to thofe who fhall be heirs of falvation ? And are they not all therefore greatly to be efleemed for their work's fake.

The Apoftle, it is true, commands us to pay double honour to thofe who labour in the word and doctrine : but then to prefer one minifter at the expence of another, (perhaps, to fuch a degree, as when you have actually entered a church, to come out again becaufe he does not preach) is earthly, fenfual, devilifh.

Not to mention that popularity and applaufe cannot but be exceedingly dangerous, even to a rightly informed mind; and muii; necefiarily fill any thinking man with a holy jea-loufy, left he fhould take that honour to himfelf, which is due only to God, who alone qualifies him for his minifterial labours, and from whom alone every good and perfe6l gift Cometh,

5. A Fifth dire£tion I would recommend is, to make a particular application of every thing that is delivered to your own hearts.

When our Saviour was difcourfing at the laft fupper with his beloved difciples, and foretold that one of them fliould betray him, each of them immediately applied it to his own heart, and faid, *' Lord, is it I ?'* And would perfons, in like manner, when preachers are difTuading from any fin, or perfuading to any duty, inftead of crying, this was defigned againft fuch and fuch a one, turn their thoughts inwardly, and fay. Lord, is it I ? how far more beneficial fhould we find difcourfes to be, than nov/ they generally are ?

But we are apt to wander too much abroad ; always looking at the mote which is in our neighbour's eye, rather than at the beam which is in our own. Hafte we now to the

6. Sixth and laft direction : If you would receive a bleiling iiom the Lord, when you hear his word preached, pray to

him J

[ 425 ] him, both before, in, and after every fermon, to endue the minifter with power to fpeak, and to grant you a will and ability to put in practice, what he (hall fhew from the book of God to be your duty.

This would be an excellent means to render the word preached effe£iual to the enlightening and cnflaming your hearts; and without this, all the other means before pre-fcribed will be in vain.

No doubt it was this confideration that made St. Paul fo earneflly entreat his beloved Ephefians to intercede with God for him : " Praying always, with all manner of prayer and fupplication in the fpirit, and for me alfo, that I may open my mouth with boldnefs, to make known the myfteries of the gofpel." And if fo great an Apoftle as St. Paul^ needed the prayers of his people, much more do thofe miniflers, who have only the ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Bef;des, this would be a good proof that you fincerely de-fired to do, as well as to know the will of God. And it muft highly profit both minifters and people ; becaufe God, through your prayers, will give them a double portion of his Holy Spirit, whereby they will be enabled to inflruift you more fully in the things which pertain to the kingdom of Gop.

And O that all who hear rne this day, would ferioufly apply their hearts to pra(£lifc what has now been told them ! How would miniflers fee Satan, like lightning, fall from heaven, and people find the word preached fliarper than a two-edged fword, and mighty, through God, to the pulling down of the devil's ftrong holds !

The Holy Ghoft would then fall on all them that hear the word, as when St. Peter preached ; the gofpel of Christ would have free courfc, run very fwiftly, and thousands again be converted by a fermon.

For " Jesus Christ is the fame yefterday, to-day, and for ever.'* He has pomifed to be with his minifters always, even unto the end of the world. And the reafon why we do not receive larger efiufions of the blefled Spirit of God, is not becaufe our all-powerful Redeemer's hand is fliortcncd, but becaufe we do not expert them, and confine them to the primitive times.

It does indeed fometimes happen, that God, to magnify his free grace in Christ Jesus, is found of them that fought him not ; a notorious fmner is forcibly worked upon by a public fermon, and plucked as a firebrand out of the fire. But this is not God's ordinary way of afting : No, for the generality, he only vifits thofe with the power of his word, who humbly wait to know what he would have them to do ; and fends unqualified hearers not only empty, but hardened away.

Take heed, therefore, ye carclefs, curious profefibrs, if any fuch be here prefent, how you hear. Remember, that whether we think of it or not, ^' we muft all appear before the judgment-feat of Christ ;'* where minifters muft give a ftridt account of the do6trine they have delivered, and you as ftridl ^ one, how you have improved under it. And, good God ! how will you be able to (land at the bar of an angry, fin-avenging judge, and fee fo many difcourfes you have defpifed, 10 many minifters, who once longed and laboured for the falvation of your precious and immortal fouls, brought out as fo many fwift witneffes againft you ? Will it be fufficient then, think you, to alledge, that you went to hear them only out of curiofity, to pafs away an idle hour, to admire the oratory, or ridicule the fimplicity of the preacher? No; God will then let you know, that you ought to have come out of better principles ; that every fermon has been put down to your account, and that you muft then be juftly pu-riifhcd for not improving by them.

But fear not, you little flock, who with mecknefs receive the inorafted word, and bring forth the peaceable fruits of righteoufnefs ; for it fhall not be fo with you. No, you will be your minifter's joy, and their crown of rejoicing in the day of our Lord Jesus : And they will prefent you in a holv triumph, faultlefs and unblameable, to our common Redeemer, faying, " Behold us, O Lord, and the children which thou haft given us.'*

But ftill take heed how you hear : for upon your improving the grace you have, more fliali be given, and you fhall have abundance. '' He is faithful that has promifcd, who alfo will do it.'* Nay, God from out of Sian, (hall fo blefs you, that every ferir^on you hear (hall communicate to you a -? frefU

frefti fupply of fpiritual knowledge. The word of God fliall dwell in you richly; you fhall go on from ftrength to ftrength, from one degree of grace unto another, till being; trrown up to be perfect men in Christ Jesus, and filled with all the fulnefs of God, you fhall be tranflated by death to fee him as he is, and to fmg praifes before his throne with angels and archangels, cherubim and feraphim, and the general aflembly of the firft-born, whofe names are written in heaven, for ever and ever.

Which GoDj kc.

S E R M O N

[ 4?8 ]

SERMON XXIX.

The Extent and Reafonablenefs of Self-Denial,

Luke ix. 23.

Jnd he f aid unto them all^ If any man will come after me,

let him deny himfdf.

WHOEVER reads the gofpel with a fingle eye, and fincere intention, will find, that our blefled Lord took all opportunities of reminding his difciples that his kingdom was not of this world ; that his dodtrine was a do£lrinc of the crofs; and that their profeffing thcmfelves to be his followers, would call them to a conllant ftate of voluntary fufFering and felf-denial.

The words of the text afford us one inftance, among many, of our Saviour's behaviour in this matter : for having in the preceding verfes revealed himfelf to Petery and the other apof-tles, to be " The Christ of God 5" left they fhould be too much elated with fuch a peculiar difcovery of his deity, or think that their relation to fo great a perfonage would be attended with nothing but pomp and grandeur, he tells them, in the 22d verfe, that " the fon of man was to fufFer many things," in this world, though he was to be crowned with eternal glory and honour in the next: and that if any of them or their pofterity would fhare in the fame honour, they muft bear a part with him in his felf-denial and fuiferings. For " He faid unto them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himfelf."

Erom which words I fliall confider thefe three things:

I. Firfty The nature of the felf-denial recommended in the text; and in how many refpetSls we muft deny ourfelves, in order to come after Jesus Christ.

f 429 ]

II. Secondly^ I (hall endeavour to prove the unlverfality and reafonablenefs of this duty of felf-denial.

III. Thirdly^ I (hall ofFer fome confiderations, v/hich may ferve as fo many motives to reconcile us to, and quicken us in, the pradice of this felf-denial.

I» /Vr/?, I am to fhew you the nature of the felf-denial recommended in the text; or in hov;^ many refpe^ls we muft deny ourfelves in order to follow Jesus Christ.

Now as the faculties of the foul are diftinguilhed by the un-derftanding, will and afFedtions; fo in all thefe muft each of us deny himfelf. We muft not lean to our own undcrftanding, being wife in our own eyes, and prudent in our own fight; but we muft fubmit our fhort-fighted reafon to the light of divine revelation. There arc myfteries in religion, which are above, though not contrary to our natural reafon : and therefore we (hall never become chriftians unlefs we caft down imaginations, " and every high thing that exalteth itfcif againft the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." It is in this reipecl:, as well as others, that we muft become fools for Christ's fake, and acknowledge we know nothing without revelation, as we ought to know. We muft, with all humility and reverence, embrace the truths revealed to us in the holy fcriptures ; for thus only can we become truly wife, even " Wife unto fal-vation." It was matter of our blefled Lord's thankfgiving to his heavenly father, that he had *' hidden thefe things from the wife and prudent, and had revealed them unto babes." And in this refpedt alfo we muft " be converted and become as little children," teachable, and willing to follow the Lamb into whatfoever myfteries he (hall be plcafed to lead us; and believe and praclife all divine truths, not becaufe we can demonftrate them, but becaufe God, *' who cannot lye," has revealed them to us.

Hence then we may trace infidelity to its fountain head : for it is nothing elfe, but a pride of the underftanding, an unwiUingnefs to fubmit to the truths of God, that makes fo many, profefting themfelves wife, to become fuch fools as to deny the Lord, who has fo dearly bought them ; and dif-pute the divinity of that eternal Word, '' in whoni ihey live, *' and move, and have their being:" VV^hereby it isjuftly to

be

be feared, they will bring upon themfelves fure, if not fwift deftru6lion.

But, as we muft deny ourfelves in our underftandings, (o muft we deny, or, as it might be more properly rendered, re^ nounce our wills : that is, we muft make our own wills no principle of a6lion, but " whether we eat or drink, or what-ibever we do, we muft do all, (not merely to pleafe ourfelves, but) to the glory of God." Not that we are therefore to imagine we are to have no pleafure in any thing we do : " Wif-dom's ways are ways of pleafantnefs 3'* but pleafmg ourfelves muft not be the principal, but only the fubordinate end of our actions.

And I cannot but particularly prefs this do£i:rine upon you^ becaufe it is the grand fecret of our holy religion. It is this, my brethren, that diftinguiOies the true chriftian from the mere moralift and formal profeflbr ; and without which none of our adlions are acceptable in God's fight: For " if thine eye be fingle," fays our blefled Lord, Maith, vi. 22. that is, if thou aimeft fimply to pleafe God, without any regard to thy own will, " thy whole body, (or all thy anions) will be full of light i" agreeable to the gofpel, which is called light: *' But if thine eye be evil, (if thine intention be diverted any other way) thy w^hole body, (all thy a£tions) will be full of darknefs," finful and unprofitable, we muft not only do the will of God, but do it becaufe it is his will ; fittce we pray that " God's will may be done on earth as it is in heaven.'* And no doubt, the blelTed angels not only do every thing thaS God willeth, but do it chearfully, out of this principle, becaufe God willeth it: And if we would live as we pray, we muft go and do likewife.

But farther; as we muft renounce our wills in doing, fo likewife muft we renounce them in fufl'ering the will of God. Whatfoever befals us, we muft fay with good old £//, " It is the Lord, let him do v/nat feemeth him good ;" or with one that was infinitely greater than £//, '' Father, not my will, but thine be done." O Jesus, thine was an innocent will, and yet thou renouncedft it: Teach us, even us alfo, O our Saviour I to fubmit our wills to thine, in all the evils which fhall be brought upon us ; and in every thing enable us to give thanks, fince it is thy blefled will concerning us 1

Thirdly^

Thirdly^ we muft deny ourfelves, as in our underftandij}gs and wills, fo likcwife in our afte£tions. More particulaily, we muft deny ourfelves the plealurable indulgence and felf-enjoyment of riches : " If any man will come after me, he muft forfake all and follow me.'* And again (to (hew the utter inconfiftency of the love of the things of this world with the love of the Father) he tells us, " unlefs a man fur-fake all that he hath, he cannot be my difciple."

Far be it from me to think that thefe texts are to be taken in a literal fenfe; as though they obliged rich perfons to go fell all that they have and give to the poor, (for that would put it out of their power to be ferviceable to the poor for the future) but however, they certainly imply thus much, that we are to fit loofe to, fell and forfake all in affection, and be willing to part with every thing, when God (hall require it at our hands : that is, as the apoftle obferves, we muft " ufe the world as though we ufed it not ;" and though we are in the world, we muft not be of it. We muft look upon ourfelves as ftewards, and not proprietors, of the manifold gifts of God ; provide firft what is neceftary for ourfelves and for our houfliolds, and expend the reft, not in indulgencies and fuperfluous ornaments, forbidden by the apoftle, but in cloathing, feeding, and relieving the naked, hungry, dif-trefled difciples of Jesus Christ. This is what our blefled Lord would have us underftand by forfaking all, and in this fenfe muft each of us deny himfelf.

I am fenfible that this will feem an hard faying to many, who will be offended becaufe they are covetous, and '' lovers of pleafure more than lovers of God :" but if I yet pleafed fuch men, I fhould not be the fervant of Christ. No, we muft not, like Ahab's falfe prophets, have a lying fpirit in our mouths, but declare faithfully the whole will of God ; and like honeft Micajah, out of pity and compaifion, tell men the truth, though they may falfely think we prophecy not good but evil concerning them.

But to proceed : As we muft renounce our affc6\ion for

riches, Co likewife our aftcclions for relations, when they

Hand in oppofition to our love of, nnd duty to God : For

thus faith the Saviour of the world : <' If any man will

come after me. and hateth not his father and mother,

his

his children, and brethr«n, and fiftersj yea and his own life alfo, he cannot be my difciplci" Strange doctrine this! What, hate our own flefh! What, hate the father that begat us, the mother that bare us 1 How can thefe things be? Can God contradid himfelf ? Has he not bid us to honour our father and mother ? and yet we are here commanded to hate them. How can thefe truths be reconciled ? By interpreting the word hate, not in a rigorous and abfolute fenfe^ but comparatively : not as implying a total alienation, but a lefs degree of afFe6lion. For thus our blefled Saviour him^ felf (the beft and fureft expofitor of his own meaning) explains it in a parallel text, Matth. x. 37." He that Joveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me: He that loveth fon or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me." So that when the perfuafions of our friends (as for our trial they may be permitted to be) are contrary to the will of Gt)D, we muft fay with Levi, " we have not known them;" or, agreeably to our bleiled Lord's rebuke to P^/^r,/'Get. you behind me, my adverfaries ; for you favour not the things that be of God, but the things that be of man."

Farther, we muft deny ourfelves in things indifferent: for it might eafily be (hewn, that as many, if not more, pcrifh by an immoderate ufe of things in themfelves indifferent, as by any grofs fm whatever. A prudent chriftian therefore, will confider not only what is lawful, but what is expedient alfo : not fo much what degrees of felf-deniai beft fuit his inclinations here, as what will moft efFe£lually break his will, and fit him for greater degrees of glory hereafter.

Lajlly, To conclude this head, we muft renounce our own righteoufnefs : For, though we fhouid give all our goods to feed the poor, and our bodies to be burned, yet, if we in the leaft depend on that, and do not wholly rely on the perfect all-fufficient righteoufnefs of Jesus Christ, it will profit us nothing. '* Christ is the end of the law for righteoufnefs to every one that believeth." We are compleat in him, and him only. Our own righteoufnefTes arc but as filthy rags. We muft count all things but dung and drofs, fo that we may be found in him, not having our own righteoufnefs, but the righteoufrtefs which is of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

And

C 433 ]

And Is this the dofliine of chiiftianity ? is not the chrif-* tian world then afleep ? If not, whence fo much felf-ri'^lue-cufnefs, whence the fdf-indulgence, whence the reigning love of riches which we every where rheet with ? Ahovc all whence that predominant grcedincfs after fcnfual plcafure^ that has (o over-run this finful nation, that was a pious Hran-ger to come amongil us, he would be ter-pted ro think fome hc:ithen Venus was worfliippcd here, and that temples were dedicated to her fervice. But we have th*^ authority of aa infpircd apoftlc to affirm, that they who live in a round of pleafure, ^' are dead while they live/' Wherefore, as the Holy Ghoft faith, '* Awake thou that flcepefi:, and arife froni the dead, and Christ fhall ^ive thee light." But the power of raifing the fpiritually dead belongeth only unto GoD. Dd thou therefore, O Holy jEsiis, who by thy almighty word commandeft Lazarus to come forth, though he had lain in the grave fome days, fpeak alfo as efFedlually to thefe fpiritually dead fouls, whom Satan fof many years ha:h fo fafl bound by fenfual pleafures, that they are not fo much as able to lift up their eyes or hearts to heaven.

II. But I pafs on to the fccond general thing propofed, to confider the univerfal obligation and reafonablenefs of this dc<Strine of feif-denial.

When ourblefTcd mafter had been difcourfing publicly concerning the watchfulnefs of the faithful and wife fteward, his difciples afked him, *' Speakefl thou this parable to all, or only to us ?'* The fame queftion I am aware has been, and will be put concerning the foregoing dodrine : for too many,-unwilling to take Christ's eafy yoke upon them, in order to evade the force of the gofpel precepts, would pretend that all thofe commands concerning felf-denial, and renouncing ou[?-(elves and the v/orld, belonged to our Lord's fird and immediate followers, and not to us or to our children. But fuch perfons greatly err, not knowing the fcriptures, nor the power of godlinefs in their hearts. For the do6irinc of Jesus ClfiRlST, like his blefled felf, is " the fame yeficrday, to-day, and for ever." What he faid unto one, he faid unto all, even unto the ends of the world ; *' If any man will come after me, let him deny himfelf:" and in th^ tc^it it is pirti-

VoL. V. E e culafl/

[ 434- ] cularly mcntioncJ that he faid it unto them all. And left we fhould ftill abfurdly imagiiie that this word all was to be confined to his apoftles, with whom he was then difcouriing, it is faid in another place, that Jesus turned unto the multitude and faid, " If any man will come after me, and hateth not his father and mother, yea and his own life alfo, he cannot be my difciple." When our blelTed Lord had fpoken a certain parable, it is faid, " the fcribes and Pharifees were offended, for they knew the parable was fpoken againft them :** And if chriftians can now read thefe plain and pofuive texts of fcripture, and at the fame time not think they are fpoken of them, they are more hardened than Jews, and more in-fmcere than Pharifees *.

In the former part of this difcourfe I obferved, that the precepts concerning forfaking and felling all, did not oblige us in a literal fenfe, becaufe the ftate of the church does not demand it of us, as it did of the primitive chriftians ; but ftill the fame deadnefs to the world, the fame abftemious ufe of, and rea-dinefs to part with our goods for Christ's fake, is as abfo-lutely necelTary for, and as obligatory on us, as it was on them. For though the church may differ as to the outward l^ate of it, in different ages, yet as to the purity of its inward ffate, it was, is, and always will be invariably the fame. And all the commands v/hich we meet with in the epiftles, about '^ mortifying our members which are upon the earth, of fetting our affections on things above, and of not being conformed to this world j" are but fo many inconteflible proofs that the fame holinefs, heavenly-mindednefs, and deadnefs to the world, is as neceffary for us, as for our Lord's immediate followers.

But farther, as fuch an objeclion argues an ignorance of the fcriptures, fo it is a manifeft proof, that fuch as make it are ftrangers to the power of godlinefs in their hearts. For iince the fum and fubflance of religion confifts in recovery from our fallen eilate in Adam, by a new-birth in Christ Jesus, there is an abfolute neceility for us to embrace and praiSiife the felf-dcnial before fpoken of. If w£ are alive unto God, we (hall be dead to ourfclves and the world. If all things belonging to the fpirit live and grow in us, all things belongino; to the old man muff die in us. We muft mourn • Law's Cbnftian TirJ'e^mn,

be-

[ 435 ] before we are comforted, and receive the fplrit of bondage before we are blefled with the unfpeakable privilege of the fpi-rit of adoption, and with a full aflurance of faith can fay, « Abba, Father."

Were we indeed in a ftate of innocence, and had we, like AJaTTi before his fall, the divine image fully {lamped upon our fouls, we then fhould have no need of felf-denial ; but fmce we are fallen, fickly, difordered, felf-righteous creatures, we muft neceflarily deny ourfelves (and count it our privilege to do fo) ere we can follow Jesus Christ to glory. To reject fuch a falutary pradtice on account of the difficulty attending it at firft, is but too like the obftinacy of a pcrverfe fick child, who naufeates and refufes the potion reached out to it by a fkilful phyfician or a tender parent, becaufe it is a little ungrateful to the tafte-

Had any of us feen Lazarus when he lay full of fores at the rich man*s gate ; or Job when he was fniittcn with ulcers, from the crown of his head to the fole of his foot : And had we at the fame time prefcribed to them fome healing medicines, which, becaufe they might put them to pain, they would noi: apply to their wounds, fhould we not moft juftly think, that they were either fond of a diftempered body, or were not fen-fible of their diftempers ? But our fouls, by nature, are in an^ infinitely more deplorable condition than the bodies o^ Job or Lazarus^ when full of ulcers and boils : for, alas ! " our whole head is fick, and our whole heart faint, fiom the crown of the head to the fole of the foot, we are full of wounds and bruifes and putrifying fores, and there is no health in us." And if we are unwilling to deny ourfelves, and come after Jesus Christ in order to be cured, it is a fign we are not fenfible of the wretchednefs of our flate, and that we are not truly made whole.

Even Naamans fervants could fay, when he refufed (pur-fuant to Elijha\ orders) to wa(h in the river Jordan^ that he might cure his leprofy, " Father, if the prophet had bid thee do fome great thing, wouldft thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he faith to thee, wafh and be clean ?'* And may not I very properly addrefs myfclf to you in the fame manner, my brethren ? If Jesus Christ, our great prophet, had bid you to ck) fome far more difHcuic thing, would you E e 2 not

[ 43(5 ] not have done it ? Much more then fhould you do it, when he only bids you deny yourfclves what would certainly hurt you if indulged in, and he will give you a crown of life.

But to illuftrate this by another comparifon : In the 12th chapter of the A6U^ we read, that " St. Peter was kept in prifon, and was fleeping between two foldiers, bound with two chains : And behold an angel of the Lord came upon him, and fmote Peter on the fide, faying, arife up quickly : And his chains fell off from his hands." But had this great apoftle, inftead of rifmg up quickly, and doing as the blefTed angel commanded him, hugged his chains and begged that they might not be let fall from his hands, would not any one think that he was in love with flavery, and deferved to be executed next morning ? And does not the perfon who refufes to deny himfelf, a6t as inconfiftently, as this apoftle would have done if he had negle£led the means of his deliverance ? For our fouls, by nature, are in a fpiritual dungeon, fleeping and faft bound between the world, the flefh, and the devil, not with two but ten thoufand chains of lufts and corruptions, l^ow Jesus Christ, like St. Peter's good angel, by the power of his gofpel comes and opens the prifon door, and bids us " deny ourfelves and follow him.*' But if we do not arife, gird up the loins of our mind and follow him, are we not in love with bondage, and do we not deferve never to be delivered from it ?

Indeed, I will not affirm that this do6lrine of felf-denial appears in this juft light to every one. No, I am fenfible that to the natural man it is foolifhnefs, and to the young convert an hard faying. But what fays our Saviour ? " If any man will do my will, he fhall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I fpeak of myfelf." This, my dear friends, is the beft, the only way of convidlion : Let us up and be doing; let us arife quickly, and deny ourfelves, and the Lord Jesus will remove thofe fcales from the eyes of our minds, v/hich now, like fo many veils, hinder us from feeing clearly the reafonablenefs, neceflity, and inexpref-fible advantage of the dodrine that has been delivered. Let us but once thus fhev^ ourfelves men, and then the fpirit of God will move on the face of our fouls, as he did once upon the face of the great deep i and caufe them to emerge out of

that

that confufed chaos, in which they are mofl: certainly now involved, if we arc ftrangers and enemies to felf-denial and the crofs of Christ.

III. Proceed we therefore now to the third and lad general thing propofed, to offer fome confiderations, which may feivc; as fo many motives to reconcile us to, and quicken us in, the pradlife of this duty of felf-denial.

I. And the firft means I fhall recommend to you, in order to reconcile you to this doctrine, is, to meditate frequently on the life of our blelled Lord and Mafter Jesus Christ. Follow him from his cradle to the crofs, and fee what a fclf-denying life he led ! And (hall not we drinlc of the cup that he drank of, and be baptized with the baptifm that he was baptized with ? Or think we, that Jesus Christ did and fuffered every thing in order to have us excufed and exempted from fufFerings ? No, far be it from any fmcere chriftian to judge after this manner : for St. Peter tells us, " He fuffered for us, leaving us an example that we (hould follow his fteps." Had Christ, indeed, like thofe that* fat in A^of^s* chair, laid heavy l)urthens of felf-denial upon us, (fuppofing they were heavy, which they are f\ot) and refufed to touch them himfelf with one of his fingers ; we might have had fome pretence to complain : But fince he has enjoined us nothing, but what he firft put in pra6\ife himfelf, thou art inexcufable, O difciple, whoever thou art, who wouldft be above thy perfecuted felf-denying mafter: And thou art no good and faithful fervant, who art unwilling to fufFer and fympathize with thy mortified, heavenly-minded Lord.

2. Next to the pattern of our blefTed mafter, think often on the lives of the glorious company of the apoftles, the goodly fellowftiip of the prophets, and the noble army of martyrs ; who by a conftant looking to the author and finifher of our faith, have fought the good fight, and are gone before us to inherit the promifes. View again and again, how holily, how felf-dcnyingly, how unblameably they lived : And if felf-denial was neceflary for them, why not for us alfo ? Are we not men of like paflions with them ? Do we not live in the fame v.?icked world as they did ? Have we not the fame fpirit to ailift, fupport, and purify us, as they had ? E e 3 And

and is not the fame eternal Inheritance reached out to us, as was to them ? And if we have the fame nature to change, the fame wicked world to withftand, the fame good fpirit to help, and the fame eternal crown at the end j why fliould not wc lead the fame lives as they did ? Do we think, they did works of fupererogation ? if not, why do not we do as they did ? or why does your own church fet apart feftivals to commemorate the deaths and fufFerings of the faints, but in order to excite you to follow them as they did Christ.

3. Thirdly, Think often on the pains of hell; confider, whether it is not better to cut off a right-hand or foot, and pull out a right-eye, if they offend us (or caufe us to fm) " rather than to be caft into hell, where the worm dieth not, and the iire is not quenched." Think how many thoufands there are now referved with damned fpirits in chains of darknefs unto the judgment of the great day. And think withal, that this, this muff be our cafe fhortly, unlefs we are wife in time, deny ourfelves, and follow Jesus Christ. Think you, they now imagine Jesus Christ to be an hard mafter; or rather think you not, they would give ten thoufand times ten thoufand worlds, could they but return to life again, and take Christ's cafy yoke upon them ? And can we dwell with everlafting burnings more than they? No, if we cannot bear this precept, deny yourfclves, take up your croffes ; how fliall we bear the irrevocable fentence, " Depart from me, ye curfed, into everlafting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels?" But I hope thofe, amongft whom I am now preaching the kingdom of God, are not fo difmgenuous as to need to be driven to their duty by the terrors of the Lord, but rather defire to be drawn by the cords of love.

LajUy^ Therefore, often meditate on the joys of heaven : think, think with what unfpeakable glory thofe happy fouls are now incircled, who when on earth were called to deny tl.emfelves as well as wc, and were not difobedient to that call ; Lift up your hearts frequently towards the manfions of eternal blifs, and with an eye of faith, like Stephen, fee the heavens opened, and the Son of man with his glorious retinue of departed faints, fitting and folacing themfelves in eternal joys. Hark! methinks I hear them chanting forth their ever-laitiiig HalUhijah^y and echoing triumphant fongs of joy. And

do

C 439 )

do you not long, my brethren, to join this heavenly choir ? do not your hearts burn within you? As the hart panteth after the water brooks, do not your fouls fo long after the blefled company of thcfe fons of God? Behold then a heavenly ladder reached down to you, by which you may climb to this holy hill. Let us believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and deny ourfelves I By this alone, every faint that ever lived afcendcd into the joy of their Lord : And then, we, even we alfo fliall ere long be lifted up into the fame moft blifsful regions, there to enjoy an eternal reft with the people of God, and join with them in finging doxologies and fongs of praife, to the everlaft-ing, blefled, all-glorious, moft adorab^Je Trinity, for ever and ever.

Which God of his infinite mercy grant, ^c.

[ 44<5 ]

SERMON XXX.

Chris t*s Transfiguration.

Luke ix. 28— j6.

And it came to pafs about an eight days after thefefo.yings^ he took Pf ter and John and James, and "joent up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed^ the fofliion of his countenance zvas altered, and his rayme?it ivas while {ind gJiftering. And behold, there talked with him two wen, which were Mofes ai^^d Elias : z^ho appeared in glory, and fpake of his defeafe, which he fJiould accom-plifli at Jerufalem. But Peter and they that were with him^ were heavy with fieep : and when they were awake^ they fdw his glory, and the two men that flood with him. And it came to fafs, as they departed from him, Vtx.^x faid unto Jesus, Mafler^ it is good for us to be here \ and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee^ and one for Mofes, and one for Elias: not knowing what he faid. While he thus fpake, there came a clcud end ovcrjliadcived them, and they feared as they entered into the clcud. And there came a voice out of the clcud, fayingy 7'his is my beloved Son, hear him. And when the vcice was pafi, Jesus was found alone; and they kept it clofe, and told no man in thofe days any of thofe things which they had feen.

WHEN the angel was fent to the P.edeemcr's beloved difciple fohn, we are told that the angel laid unto him, " Ccnne up hither :" He was to be exalted, to be {wrought nearer heaven, that his mind might be better prepared for thofe great manifeftations, which an infinitely great X and

t 441 ]

and cpndefccnding God intended to vouchfafe him. And oit reading the verfcs that you have jiift now heard, when I alfo fee fuch a great and ferious aflcmbly convened in tlic prcCencc of God, I think I muR addrcls you, as the angel addrefTed, 'John^ and (ay unto you, " Come up hither;" leave your worldly thoughts, for a time forget the earth. And as it is the Lord's-day, a time in which we ought more paiticularly to think of heaven, I muft defiie you to pray to God, that yc may get up on Pifgah^ moinu, and take a view of the promifed land. It is true, indeed, eye haih not Teen, ear hath not heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of any man to conceive the great and good things, which God hath prepared for his people here ; much U{s^ thofe infinitely greater and more glorious things, that he hath laid up for them that fear him, in the eternal world : but, blefled be God ! though we are not yet in heaven, unlefs to be in Christ may properly be termed heaven, and thpn all real chriftians are there already; yet, the blelfcd Jesus has been pleafed to leave upon record fome account of himfelf, of what happened to him in the days of his flefti, and of fome manifeftations he was pleafed to grant to a few of his difciples j that from what happened to them here belov/, we may form fome faint, thouch but a faint idea of that happincfs that awaits his people in his kin t-dom above. If any of you enquire, in what part of our Lord's life thofe inftances are recorded, I have an anf^er ready : One of thefe inftances, and that a very remarkable one, is recorded in the verfes that I have now choien for the fubje£t of your meditation.

The verfes give us an account of what is generally called OMX YjO'^iiS Transfiguration \ his being wonderfully chan^^ed, and his being wonderfully owned by his Father upon the mount. Some think that this was done upon a fabl>:ith-day ; and the particular occafion of our blelTed Lord's cor.defcend-ing to let hi'^ fervants have fuch a fight as this, we may ea-ther from the 27th verfe. It fcems our blefled Lord had been promifmg a great reward to thofe who fhould not be afhamed of him : " Vv^hofoever fhali be aOiamed of me and of my words, of him fliall the Son of Man be afliamed, when he (hall com.e in his own glory, and of his Father, and of the |[ic]y apgeh.''* In this thrcutening is implied, a xcv/ard to thofe

who

I! 442 ]

who {hould not be afhamed of him : " But, (adds he) I tell you of a truth, there be feme Itanding here, who {hall not tafte of death, till they fee the kingdom of God :'* As much as to fay, There will be a day, when I will come in the glory of my Father and of his holy angels ; but I tell you there arc fome of my favonriics ; 1 tell )oa of a truth, though you may think it too good news, there are fome of you that fhall not tafte of dca'hj till ye fhall fee the kingdom of God. Some divines think, that this promife has reference to our Lord's ere<5ling a gofpel church ; and if we take it in this fenfe, it means that the Apoftles, who were then prefent, ibme of tliem at Icaft, fhould not die, till they faw Satan's kingdom in a great meafure pulled down, and the Redeemer's gofpel-kingdom ere6led. Sonic think it has a peculiar reference to ^ohn^ who it feems furvived all the other Apoftles, and lived till Christ came j that is, till he came to deftroy Jerufakm. But it is the opinion of Mr. Hcnry^ of Bifliop Hall^ of Burkity and others, who have written upon this pafl'age, that our blefled Lord has a peculiar reference to the transfiguration upon the mount: '' There be fome of you here, that ftiall not tafte of death, till ye fee my transfiguration upon the mount; till ye fee fome glorified faint come down from heaven and pay me a vifit, and confequently fee a little of that kingdom of God, which ye fl^all have a full fight of, when ye come to glory." This feems to be the right interpretation. If you will look to the margin of your Bibles, you will fee the parallel place in Maitbew^ where the account of our Lord's transfiguration is given, and there you will find it immediately follows upon this promife of our Lord.

Well, as Christ had told them, that they fhould not tafte of death, till they had feen the kingdom of God, why the Evangeiift, at the 28th verfe, tells us, " It came to pafs about an eight days after thefe fayings, he took Peter^ and Jolm^ and Ja7ncs^ and went up into a mountain to pray." About an eight days ; that is, as Biftiop Hall thinks, upon the fabbath-day ; or, according to fome, the firft day of the week, which was hereafter to be the chriftian fabbath ; our blefled Lord takes Peter^ Johiy and James: Why did not the Lord Jesus Christ take more of his difciples ? Why three, r and

[ 443 ] and thefe three ? And why three only ? Our blefled Lord was pleafed to take three and no more, to (how us that he is a fovereign agent; to fliow us, that though he loved all his difciples, yet there are fome to whom he is pleafed to allow peculiar vifits. He loved Pettr^ and all the other difciples ; yet John was the difciple that he peculiarly loved. And he took three rather than one, becaufe three were fuflicient to teftify the truth of his being transfigured : " Out of the mouth of two or three witneflcs every word fhali be efta-bliflied." And he took no more thaii three, becaufe thefe three were enough. And he took thefe three, Petcr^ John^ and James^ in particular, becaufe thefe very perfons that were now to fee Christ transfigured, were hereafter to fee him agonizing in the garden, fweating great drops of blood falling-unto the ground. And had not thefe three difciples feeii Christ upon the mount, the feeing him afterwards in the garden, might have ftaggered them exceedingly : they mi^ht have doubted whether it was poflible for the Son of God to be in fuch doleful circumftances. Well, our Lord takes thefe three " up into a mountain." Why fo ? Becatfe Christ Jesus was to be like Mofcs^ who was taken up into 9 mountain, when GoD intended to deliver unto him the moral law : And our blefTed Lord went up into a mountain, becaufe a mountain befriended devotion. When he had a mind to retire to pray to his Father, he went to fuch places where he could be moft fecret, and give the greateft vent to his heart. Thus we arc told, that once when Feter prayed, it was upon the houfe-top. And if we have a mind to be near God, we fhould choofe fuch places as are freeft from oftentation, and that moft befriend our communion with God. Aud what doth Christ, when he got up into a mountain ? We are told, he went up into a mountain " to pray." Christ had no corruption to confcfs, and he had but few wants of his own to be relieved \ yet we hear of Christ being much in prayer ; we hear of his going up to a mountain to pray ; of his rifing up a great v/hile before it was day to pray ; and of his fpending a whole night in prayer to God.

In the 29th verfe, you have an account of the ^edl of our X«g?.D's praying ; '* As he prayed, the fafhion of his countenance

nance was altered, and his raiment was white and gllfterlng.** I would have you take notice, that our Lord was not changed in refped^ of his body, while he was going up to the mount, but when he got upon the mount, and while engaged in prayer. It is fufficient that way for our fouls to be transformed : the time we are more particularly to expe£l: the influences of God's Spirit, is, when we are engaged in prayer. There feems to be a very great propriety in our Lord's being transfigured or changed upon the m,ount. 1 hope I need inform none of you, that when Mofes went up to the mount of God, God was pleafed to fpeak to him face to face; and when he came down from the mount, the people of Ifrael obferved that Mofes's face (hone fo, that he was obliged to have a veil put upon his face. Now the fhining of i^^y^j's face, was a proof to the people, that Adofes had been con-verfing with God. And Mofes told the people, *' That the Lord would r^iie up unto them a prophet like unto him, whom the people were to hear." God the Father, in order to give his Son (confid^-ring him as man) a teftimony that he was a prophet, was pleafed not only to let his face glitter or fl^ine ; but to ftiow that he was a prophet far fuperior to J['Iofes^ be was pleafed to let his gaiment be white and glifter-in2;i and '' his countenance (iis we are told by another Evao-g.elii}) did (hinc as the fun." What a change was here ! What a fight ! Methinks I fee Peter^ James^ and John fur-prized : and, indeed, well might the Evangelifl, confidering what happened, ufner in the following part of the ilory wiih the word Behold \ '' Behold, there talked with him two ^en, Mo[es and FJias: And in the 31ft verfe, you have an account of their ^to.^^^ '* I'hey appeared in glory ;" and of their difcourfe, '*• They fpake of his deceafe which he fhould accomplifli at Jcrufalem.''^

'* Behold, two men, which were Mofes and EH.is;" thefe were two very proper perfons to come upon this embafly to the Son of God. Mofes was the great lawgiver, Ellas was the great reflorer of the law i The body of Mofes was hidden and never found, Elias's body was tranflated immediately, and carried up in a fiery chariot to heaven : And it may be that this v/as done particularly, becaufe thefe two were hereafter to have the honour of waiting gpon the Son of Goi>,

"They

^* They appeared la glory ;'" thvit is, their bodies were now m that glorious habir, in which the bodies of believers are to be at the morning of the refurreclion. Christ was, as it were, now fitting in his royal robes ; and as it is ufual for ambafladors, when they are to be admitted into the king's prefence, on bringing a mefTage from one king to another, ta appear in all their grandeur, to make the meflage more folemn ; fo here, thefe heavenly mefiengers being to wait upon the Lord Jesus Christ, are inverted as with royal dignity, they appeared in glory, and " they fpake of his deceafe which he ihould accomplifli at Jcrujakm^^ they came to tell the Redeemer of his fuffcrings, and of the place of his fuffl^rings, and to acquaint him, that his fufFerings, however great, however bitter, v/ere to be accc??7pIiJJ)ed-y that there was to be an end put to them, as our Lord himfelf fpeaks, " The things concerning me are to have an end.'* What other particulars they fpoke to our Lord, we are not told. But what efFeiSt this had upon the dilciples, you may learn from the 32d verfe, *' Petery and they that were with him, were heavy with fleep."

We are not to fuppofe, that Fdev^ James and yohn^ were now afleep in a literal fcnfe; no, if we compare this, with another pafTage of holy writ, I mean the account given us of Daniers being imprcfl'ed and overcome, when he faw the angel of the Lord, \ou wiil find that this fleep implies what we call a fvi'oon. They were overcome with the fight of the glory of Christ's garments, the gliilering of his body, and the glory in Alofes and Elias appeared: thefe quite overcame them, funk them down, and, like the Queen of Sheha, when (lie faw SdQmoris glory, they had no life in them. But they recovered themfelves: " when they were awake," that is, when they had recovered their ftrength, when God had put flrength into them, as the angel put (rrer.gth into Daniel^ *' they fav/ his glory, and the two men that Hood v/i:h him." And how do you think they gazed upon Christ? how may we fuppofe they fixed their eyes upon A'hfcs and Elias P Peter, who was always the firft fpeakcr, out of the abundance of his heart, fpoke upon this occafion. Verfe 33. ••' And it came to pafs as they departed from him, Peter faid unto JesUs, Maftcr, it is good for us to be here^ and let us make three tubcrnacks, one

for

for thee, and one for Mofes^ and one for Elias^ not knowing what he laid.'* Peter^ when he had drank a little of Christ's new wine, fpeaks like a perfon intoxicated ; he was overpowered with the brightnefs of the manifeftation. '* Let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Mofes^ and one for Elias,'' It is well added, " not knowing what he faid." That fhe fhould cry out, '* Mafter, it is good for us to be here," in fuch good company, and in fo glorious a condition, is no wonder; which of us all would not have been apt to have done the fame ? But to talk of building tabernacles, and one for Christ, and one for Mofes^ and one for Eltas^ was faying fomething for which Peter himfelf muft fland reproved. Surely, Peter^ thou waft not quite awake ! thou talkeft like one in a dream: If thy Lord had taken thee at thy word, what a poor tabernacle wouldft thou have had, in comparifon of that houfe not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, in which thou haft long fmce dwelt, now the earthly houfe of the tabernacle of thy body is dilTolved ? What! build tabernacles below, and have the crown, before thou haft borne the crofs ? O Peter^ Peter! " Mafter, fpare thyfelf," fticks too too clofely to thee: And why fo felfiOi, Peter P Careft thou not for thy fellow difciples that are below, who came not up with thee to the mount ? careft thou not for the precious fouis, that are as fheep having no fhepherd, and muft perifti for ever, unlefs thy Mafter defcends from the mount to teach, and to die for them ? wouldft thou thus eat thy fpi-ritual morfels alone ? Befides, if thou art for building tabernacles, why muft there be three of them, one for Christ, and one for Mofes^ and one for Elias? are Christ and the prophets divided ? do they not fweetly harmonize and agree \ti one ? did they not prophefy concerning the fuff^erings of thy Lord, as well as of the glory that fhould follow ? Alas, how unlike is their converfation to thine .? Mofes and Elias came down to talk of fufFering, and thou art dreaming of building I know not what tabernacles. Surely, Peter, thou art fo high upon the mount, that thy head runs giddy.

However, in the midft of thefe infirmities, there was fomething that bcfpokc the honefty and integrity of his heart. Though he knew not very well what he faid, yet he was not io ftupjd as his pretended fucceflbr at Rome* He does not fall

down

t 447 ] ilown and worfliip thefe two departed faints, neither do I hear him fay to either, Ora pro nobis\ he had not lb learnt Christ; no, he' applies himfelf diredlly to the head, '* he faid unto Jesus, Mafter, it is good for us to be here." And though he was for building, yet he would not build without his Maf-ter*s leave. *' Mafter, let us build," or, as St. A'lark words it, " wilt thou that we build three tabernacle?, one for thee, and one for Mefes^ and one for Ellas?'' I do not hear him add, and one for Jamcs^ and one for John^ and one for Peter. No, he would willingly ftay out with them upon the mount, though it was in the cold and dark night, fo that Christ and his heavenly attendants were taken care of. The fweetnefs of fuch a heavenly vifion, would more than compenfate for any bodily fufFering that might be the confequence of their longer abode there: nay farther, he does not defire that cither Christ, or Mofes^ or Elias^ fhould have any trouble in building-, neither does he fay, let my curates, James and Johii^ build, whilft I fit idle and lord it over my brethren j but he fays, *' let us build ;'* he will work as hard, if not harder than either of ihem, and defire to be diftinguifhed only by his adivity, enduring hard-nefs, and his zeal to promote the welfare of their common Lord and Mafter.

Doubtlefs, Peter had read how the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle, and the temple of old ; and now Jesus is tranf-figured, and Mofes and Elias appear in glory, he thinks it right that new tabernacles fhall be creded for them. Such a mixture of nature and grace, of fliort-fightednefs and infirmity, is there in the moft ardent and well-meant zeal of the very beftof men, when neareft the throne of grace, or even upon the mount with God. Perfedion in any grace muft be looked for, or expe£ted, only among the fpirits of juft men made perfect in heaven. Thofe who talk of any fuch thing on earth, like Peter^ they know not what they fay.

But how came .Peter fo readily to diftinguifh which was Mofes^ and which was Elias? He feems to fpeak without the leaft hefitation, " Let us build three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for MofeSy and one for Elias " as though he was very well acquainted with them, vi'hereas they had both been dead, long, long before Peier was born. Was there, do you imagine, any thing diftinguiftiing in their apparel? or any thing in their

converfation

t 448 ]

converfation that difcovered them? or rather, did he not know them here on the mount, as we may from hence infer, that departed faints do, and will know each other in heaven, evea by intuition and immediate revelation ? But alas ! how iran-fient are our views of heaven, during our fojourning here on earth: Vcrfe 34. " Whilft he thus fpake," whilfl Peter was talking of building tabernacles, whilft he was faying, " it is good for us to be here," whilfl: he was dreaming that his mountain was fo (Irong that it never could be moved, " there came a cloud and overfhadowed them." St. Adatihew ob-fcrves, it was a bright cloud, not dark like that on mount Sinai^ but bright, becaufe the gofpel opens to us a far more bright difpenfation than that of the law. This overfliadowed, and thereby not only filled them with an holy awe, but alfo fcreened them, in fome meafure, from the brightnefs of that glory with which they were now furroundcd, and Vv'hich other-wife would have been infupportable. This cloud was like the veil thrown on the face of Mojes^ and prepared them for the voice which they were foon to hear com.ing out of it. I am not much furprized at being informed by St. Matthcii\ that ♦' they feared as they entered into the cloud, or by St. Mark^ that " they were fore afraid." For fince the fall, there is fuch a confcioufnefs in us all of deferved wrath, that we cannot help fearing when we enter into a cloud, even though Jesus Christ himfelf be in the midft of it. Ah Peter^ where is thy talk of building tabernacles novi^ ? is thy flrong mountain fo quickly removed ? what, come down fo foon ? why do we not now hear thee faying, " It is good for us to be here ?" Alas! he and his fellow difciples arc quite ftruck dumb ; fee how they tremble, and, like Mojes upon another occafion, exceedingly quake and fear. But how quickly ate thofe fears difpelled, how foon is the tumult of ,their minds huihcd and calmed, with that foul-reviving voice that came from the excellent glory, verfe 35, *' This is my beloved Son, hear him."

St. Mark and St. Matthew add '' in whom I am wr!! pleafed." The fame teftimony tiiat God the Father gave to the blefled Jrsus at his baptifm, before he entered upon his temptation, is now repeated, in order to flrengthen and prepare him for his im.pcnding agony \^\ the garden. Probably, it was a fmali (till thoiigh arti/culaic vcice^ attended nei-

f 449 ]

ther \Vith ttiunder rior lightning, nor the found of a trumpet, but, Agreeable to the blcfied news which it contained, ufhcred in with tokens of unfpcakable complacency and love. God the Father, hereby gives Mofes and Ellas a folemn difcharge, as though they were fent from heaven on purpofe to give up their commiiTion to their rightful Lord, and like the morning ftar, difappear when the Sun of Righteoufnefs himfelf arifes to bring in a gofpel ^xy. '« This is my beloved Son, hear Him." But the cmphafis upon the word this j this Soh of Man, this Jesus, whom you are (hortly to fee in a bloody fweat, blindfolded, i'pit upon, buffeted, fcourged, and at len(;th hanging upon a tree, I arii not afiiamed to own to be my Sonj my only begotten Son, who was with me before the heavens were made, or the foundations of the earth were laid } my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleafcd, in whom my foul delighteth, ar.d whom I do by thefe prefents, publicl/ cojiftitiite and appoint to be the king, pried-, and prophet of the church. " Hear ye Him." No longer look to jMofes or Elias^ no longer expe6l to be faved by the works of the law ; but by the preaching and application of the ever-blefledi gofpel. Hear ye himj fo as to believe on, love, ferve, obey, nnd, if needs be, to die and lay down your very lives for him. *' Hear him i*' hear what he hath to fay, for he comes with a commifTion from above; Hear his dod^rine; hear him, fo as to obey him ; hear him^ fo as to put in pra6lice his precepts^ and copy after his good example.

In the 36th verfe, we have the clofc of this heavenly feafl:; *' When the voice was pafi, Jesus was found alone; and they kept it clofc, and told no man in thofe days, any of thofe things which they had kta.'* If we compare this, with the account which the other Evangelifts give of our bleflcd Lord's transfiguration, you will find this was done by Christ's order ; Peter ^ James, and yohn, would other wife have gone down and told the whole world, that they had kea the Lord Christ upon the mount of transfiguration ; but our Lord ordered them to keep it filent. Why fo ? If they had gone down from the mount, and told it to the other dif-ciples, it might have raifed ill blood in the others; they might have faid, Why did our iVIafter fingle out Peter, James^ and John f Why might not we have had ths privilege of

Vol. V, F f go^"€

going up to the mount as well as they ? Had they faid, that their Lord was transfigured, people would not have believed them ; they would have thought, that Peier^ Jarjies^ and John were only enthufiafts; but if they kept it till after his refur-recSlion, and he had broken the gates of death, for them then to fay, that they faw him upon the mount transfigured, would corroborate the evidence.

I have thus paraphrafed the words for your better under-ftanding the account the Evangelift gives of our blefTed Lord's transfiguration ; but I have not yet done ; I have been fpeaking to your heads; the practical part is yet to come. O that God may reach your hearts ! And though, according to order, I ought to begin with the practical inferences that might be drawn from the firft part; yet, I think it beft to fhow you, who are the people of God, efpecially you young converts, that have hontfly, but not much prudence, what inftru6lions our Lord would here have you to learn.

" When the voice was pad, Jesus was found alone, and they kept it clofe, and told no man in thofe days any of thofe things which they had feen." There is nothing more common, when God vouchfafes communications to a poor foul, than for the perfon that enjoys them, to go and tell all that he has feen and felt, and often at improper fcafons and to improper perfons. I remember that Mr. Hemy obfcrves, " Jo-feph had more honefty than he had policy, or elfe he would never have told his brethren of his dreams." Young chrif-tians are too apt to blunder thus : I am fure it is a fault of which I have been exceedingly guilty, fpcaking of things which, perhaps, had better been concealed ; which is a fault God's people are too apt to fall into. Though it is good for thofe that have feen Christ, and that have felt his love, to tell others what God hath done for their fouls ; yet, however you may think of it now, v;hen you come down from the mount, and know yourfelves a little, ye will find reafon often to hold your tongue. Young chriftians are like children, to whom if you give a little money in their pocket, they cannot be quiet till they have fpent it upon fomething or other : young chriftians, when they get a little of God, are ready to talk too much of it. They fhould therefore beware, and know when tQ fpeak, and yi\\^Xi to be filcnt.

But

But, my dear friends, did our Lord Jesus Christ tAe Peter, "Jamrs, and "jGhi into a mountain to pray ? Are any of you fathers, mothers, mafters and miftrcfles of families? Learn then from hence to take your children, your fervants, and thofe that belong to you, from the world, at certain times, and not only pray for them, but pray v.ith them. If Christ did thus, who had fev; v/ants of his o\"n to be {{ip-plied, and nothing to confefs and lament over ; if Christ was fuch a lover of prayer, furely, you and I, v/ho have fo many wants to be fupplied, fo many corruptions to mourn over -, you and I Ihould fpend much time in prayer. I do not faj that you are to lock yourfelves up in your clofets, and not mind your fhops or farms, or worldly bufinefs ; I cr.Iy {^y, that you ftiould take care to hufband all your time : and if you are God's children, you will frequently retire from the world, and fcek a vifit from your God.

Was the Lord Jesus transformed or transfigured, while he was praying ? Learn hence, to be much in fpiritual prayer. The way to have the foul transformed, changed into, ?.nd made like unto God, is frequently to converfe with God. We fiiy, a man is as his company. Perfons by cot.verfing together, frequently catch each others tempers: and if you have a mind to im.bibe the divine temper, pray much. And as Christ's garments became white and glifiering, fo fliall your fouls get a little of God's light to fhine upon them.

Did Mcfes ar.d E/ias appear in glory ? Are there any old faints here ? I doubt not but there are a confiderable number. And are any of you afraid of death ? Do any of you carry about with you a body that v/eighs down your immortal foul ? I am fure a poor creature is preaching to you, that every day drags a crazy load along. But come, believers, come, ye children of God, come, ye aged decrepid faints, come and trample upon that monfter death. As thou goeft over yonder church-yard, do as I know an old excellent chriftian in Maryland did ; go, fit upon the grave, and meditate on thine own diflblution. Thou mayeft, perhaps, have a natural fear of dying : the body and the foul do not care to part without a little fympathy and a groan ; but O look yonder, look up to heaven, fee there thy Jesus, thy Redeemer, and karn, that thy body is to be falhioned here-

F f 2 after

t 452 ]

after like unto Christ's mod glorious body; that poor body which is now fubjecl to gout and gravel, and that thou canft fcarce drag along ; that poor body, which hinders thee (o much in the fpiritual life, will ere lopg hinder thee no more: it (hall be put into the grave ; but though it be Town in corruption, it fliall be railed in incorruption j though it is fown in diftionour, it (hall be raifed again in glory. This confider-ation made blefled PcjkI to cry out, " O death, where is thy iling ! O grave, where is thy vicSlory! " Thy foul and body fhall be united together again, and thou fhalt be " for ever with the Lord." Thofe knees of thine, which perhaps are hard by kneeling in prayer; that tongne of thine, which hath fung hymns to Christ ; thofe hands of thine, which have wrought for God ; thofe feet, which have ran to Christ's ordinances; fhall all, in the twinkling of an eye, be changed; and thou fhalt be able to ftand under an exceeding: and an eternal weight of glory. Come then, ye believers in Christ, look beyond the grave ; come, ye dear children of God, and however weak and fickly ye are now, fay, Blefled be God, 1 fliall foon have a body ftrong, full of vigour and of glory.

But as this fpeaks comfort to faints, it fpeaks terror to fmners, to all perfons that live and die out of Christ. It is the opinion of Archbifiiop UJherj that as the bodies of the faints (liall be glorified, fo the bodies of the damned (hall be deformed. And if this be true, alas ! what a poor figure will the fine ladies cut, who die without a Christ ! What a poor figure will the fine gentleman cut in the morning of the refurrecStion, that now drtfies up his body, and at the fame time negleds to fecure an intereft in Christ and eternal happinefs ! It is the opinion, likewife, of Archbifhop Ufier^ that damned fouls will lofe all the good tempers they had here; fo that though God gave unregenerate people a conftitutional meeknefs, good nature, and courage, for the benefit of the commonwealth ; yet, the ufe of thefe things being over, and they having died without Christ, and it being impoffible there will be an appearance of good in hell, their good tempers will be for ever loft. If this be fo, it is an awful confider-ation ; and I think perfpns who love their bodies, fhould alfo kcncc take care to fecure the welfare of their fouls.

Did

t 453 ]

Did Peter know which was Mofcs and which Elins ? Then I think, and God be praifed for it, it is plain from this and other paiTages of fcripture, that we (hall know one another when we come to heaven. Dives knew Lazarus: " Facher Jbraham^ fend Lazarus ;" And we are told, " he { aw Lazarus fitting in Jbrahanis bofom." Adam knew his wife Eve \ though caft into a deep fleep when God made her out of his rib, yet, by a kind of intuition, he fays, '' This is bone of my bone, and flefti of my flefh." And it is on this account, that the Apoflle, fpeaking to the Philippians^ fays, " Yc are my joy and crown of rejoicing, in the day of the Lord." What comfort will this be to a fpiritujl faiher ! S<*ys one. Here is the man, O Lord Jesus, that brought my foul to tafte of thy love ; fays another. This is the man, that at fuch a time, and with fuch words, ftruck my heart : thou, O Lord, knoweft it. Then the fpiritual father will rejoice over his children. You that have met and have prayed together, fighed and fympathized together, and told your temptations to one another, fliall be for ever with the Lord and with each other. There we (hall fee Abraham^ Ifaac^ and ^acoh fitting, with all the redeemed company ; and we fliall know the names of every one mentioned in the book cf God. O blefled profpecSl ! O blefied time ! Who that thinks of this, of feeing the Lamb fitting upon the throne, with all God's people about him, but muft defire to go to heaven, and be for ever, for ever with the Lord. And if there is fuch comfort for believers to know one another in heaven, .. with what comfort may any of you, that have loft fathers, mothers, or friends, think of them : we are parted for a little while, but we (hall fee them again. Aiy father died in Christ, my mother died in the Lord, my hufband, my wife, was a follower of Jesus ; I fliall fee them, though not now ; I fliall go to them, but they fliall not return to me ! This may keep you from forrowing as perfons without hope; and keep you from being fo cruel, as to wifli them to come down to this evil world.

But O what a dreadful confideration is this for damned fouls I I believe, that as glorified fpirits will know one another, fo will damned fouls know one another too. And as the company of the bleffed increafes the happinefs of heaven, fo

F f 3 * tho

the company of the damned will increafe their torments. What made Dives to put up that pccition ? " I have five brethren ; ieud fomebody to my father's lioufe to tcftify unto them, left they alfo come into this place of torment." One would imagine at firft reading, that hell had mude Dives charitable, raid that though he was ill natured on earth, yet he had acquired fome good nature in hell. No, no, there is not a fpark of good nature in the place of torment. But Dives knew, if his five brethren came there, they might fay. We may thank you, next to an evil heart, for coming hither; you made us drink healths, till we were drunk ; you taught us to game, to curfe, to fwcar, &c. He knew very well, that his five brethren being brought to hell by his example, hell would be heated five times hotter to torment his foul. One will cry out, Curfed be the day that ever I was companion with fuch an one in fin ; curfed be the day that ever we hearkened to one another's advice, and vjqvq. allured by each others example to fin againfl: God.

But did a cloud overfhadovv Peter^ yaiiies^ and 'John? were heavenly and divine vifits here but fhort ? Then wonder not, ye people of God, if ye are upon the mount one hour, and down in the valley of the fhadow of death the next. There is nothing in the world more common, after you have been in a good frame, than for a cloud to overfhadow you. We generally fay, " It is good to be here," and often make a Christ of our graces ; and therefore the Lord fends a cloud to overfhadow us. But never fear ; God fiiall fpeak to you out of the cloud ; God will reveal himfelf to you j this cloud fliall foon be gone ; ere long we (hall be in heaven, and in that glory where no cloud can pofHbly reach us.

I can now only mention one thing more, and that is, Did the Father fay, '' This is my beloved Son, hear him ?" then let every one of our hearts echo to this teliimony given of Christ, *' This is my beloved Saviour." Did God fo love the world, as to fend his only begotten Son, his well beloved Son to preach to us ? then, my dear friends, hear Him. What God fald feventeen hundred years ago, immediately by a voice from heaven, concerning his Son upon the mount, that fame thing God fays,to you immediately by his word, ** Hear him." if ye never heard him before, hear him novv«

Hear

Hear him (o as to take him to be your prophet, priefl:, and your king ; hear him, (o as to take him to be your God and your all. Hear him to-day, ye yuuth, while it is called today J hear him now, left God (hould cut you off before you have another invitation to hear him ; hear him while he cries, " Come unto me ;" hear him while he opens his hand and his heart; hear him while he knocks at the door of your fouls, left you fhould hear him faying, '' Depart, depart, ye curfed, into everlafting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Hear him, ye old and grey-headed, hear him, ye that have one foot in the grave ; hear him, I fay ; and if ye are dull of hearing, beg of God to open the ears of your hearts, and your blind eyes ; beg of God that you may have an enlarged and a believing heart, and that ye may know what the Lord God faith concerning you. God will refent it, he will avenge himfelf on his adverfaries, if you do not hear a blefled Saviour. He is God's fon, he is God's beloved fon ; he came upon a great errand, even to fhed his precious blood for finners ; he came to cleanfe you from all fin, and to fave you with an everlafting falvation. Ye who have heard him, hear him again ; ftill go on, believe in and obey him, and by-and-by you (hall hear him faying, " Come, ye blefled of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." May God grant it to you all, for the Lord Jesus Christ's fake. Jmen, and

F f 4 S E R M O R

SERMON XXXr.

The Care of the Soul urged as the one thing needful.

Luke x. 42. But one thing is needful

IT was the amiable chara£lcr of our blefled Redeemer, that " he \yent about doing good," this great motive, which animated all his adtions^ brought him to the houfe of hiq friend Lazarus^ at Bethany^ and directed his behaviour there. Though it was a feafon of recefs from public labour, our Lord brought the fentiments and the pious cares of a preacher of righteoufnefs into the parlour of a friend; and there his do£\rine dropped as the rain, and diftjlled as the dew, on the little happy circle that were then furrounding him. Mary^ the fifter of X^z^rwi, with great delight made one amongft them 5 {he feated herfelf at the feet of Jesus, in the pofture of an humble difciple ; and we have a great deal of reafon to believe, that Martha^ his other fifter, would gladly have been with her there; but domeftic cares preiTed hard upon her, and " ^Vi was cumbered with much ferving," being, perhaps, too folicitous to prepare a fumpt-uous entertainment for her heavenly mafter and the train that attended him. Happy-are they, who in a crowd of bufmefs do not lofe fomething t>r the fi)irituality of their minds, and of the compofurc and hvcetncfs of their tempers. This good woman comes to our Lord with too impatient a complaint; infinuating fome little refleclion, not only on Mary^ but on himfelf too. " Lord, doll thou not care that my fifter hath left me to ferve alone ? Bid her, therefore, that fhs help me." Our Lord, willing to t^ke^aU opportunities of fuggefiing ufeful thoughts, an-

fwers

fwers her in thefe v^ords, of which the text is a part, *' Alar-iba^ Moriha^ thou art careful and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful ; and Mary has chofcn that good part, Avhich (hall not be taken away from her.'* Alas, Martha I the concerns of the foul are of fo much greater importance than thofe of the body, that I cannot blame your fifter on this occafion : I rather rcconirpend her to your imitation, and caution you, and all my other friends, to be much on your guard, that in the midft of your worldly cares, you do not Ipfe ilght of what much better defervcs your attention.

I fhall confider thefe words, " One thing is needful," as a kind of aphorifm, or wife and weighty fentence, which ic^roppcd from the mouth of oqr blefled Redeemer, and is evi-i(}ently worthy of pur moft ferious regard. I (hall,

I. Confider what we are to underftand by " The one thing" here fpoken of.

JI. Shew you what Is intended, when it Is faid to be the one thing ncedfuL

JII. I will (hew how juftly it may be fo reprefented, or prove that it is, indeed, the one thing needful. And then conclude with fome reflcdions.

My friends, the words which are now before us, are to this day, as true, as they were feventeen hundred years ago, 3et your hearts to attend to them. O that you may, by divine grace, be awakened to hear them with a due regard, and be fo imprefied with the plain and ferious things which are now to be fpoken, as you probably would, if I were fpe^k-ing by your dying beds, and you had the near and lively view of eternity !

FirJ}^ I am to confider, what we are to underftand by the " one thing needful."

Now in a few words, it is the " Care of the foul^' oppofcd, as you fee in the text, to the care, the exceilive care of the body ; to which Martha was gently admonifhed by our Lord. This is a general anfwer, and it comprehends a variety of important particulars, which is the bufmcfs of our miniflry often to open to you at large : The care gf the foul, implies a 2 rtadinefs

readir.efs to hear the words of Christ, to feat ourfelves with Mary at his feet, and to receive both the law and the gofpel from his niouth. It fuppofes, that we learn from this divine teacher the worth of our fouls, their danger, and their remedy; and that we become above all things folicitous about their eternal falvation. Thar, heartily repenting of all our fins, and cordially believing the everlafting gofpel, we receive the Lord Jesus Christ for righteoufnefs and life, refting our fouls on the value of his atonement, and the efficacy of his grace. It imports, the fincere dedication of ourfelves to the fervice of God, and a faithful adherence to it, notwith-ftandina; all oppofitions aiifing from inward corruptions, or outward temptaticnr.; and a rcfolute perfeverance in the way of gofpel dependance, 'till we receive the end of our faith in our compleat falvation. This is the '' one thing needful," reprefented indeed in various fcriptures by various names. Sometimes it is called " Regeneration," or " the new creature," becaufe it is the blefled work of God's efficacious grace. Sometimes the " Fear of God," and fometimes " his love, and the keeping his commandments;" and very frequently in the new teftament it is called " faith," or " receiving Christ, and believing on him," which therefore is reprefented as the " great work of God," ^ohn vi. 29. the great thing which God in his glorious gofpel requires, as well as by his fpirit produces in us : each of thefe, if rightly un-derftood and explained, comprehends all that I have faid on this head. On the whole, we may fay, that, as the body is one, though it has many members, and the foul is one, though it has many faculties, fo in the prefent cafe, this real vital religion is " one thing," one facred principle of divine life, bringing us to attend to the care of our fouls, as of our greateft treafure. It is one thing, notwithftanding all the variety of views in which it may be confidered, and of cha-ra£lers under which it may be defcribed. I proceed,

Secondly^ To confider vvhat may be intended in the repre-fentatlon which is here made of it, as the '' one thing need' fuir

Now I think it naturally includes thefe three particulars : it is a matter of univerfal concern ; of the highefl importance ;

and

and of (o comprchcnfive a naaiie, that every thing which is truly worthy of our regard, may be confidered as included in, or fubfcrvient to it. Let me a lutle illuftratc each of thefe

particulars.

I. The care of the foul may be called the "one thing needful," as it is matter of univcrfal concern.

Our Lord, you fee, fpeaks of it as needful in the general. He fays nor, for this or that particular perfon ; or for thofe of fuch an age, ftation, or circumftance in life, but needful for all. A^id indeed, when difcourfrng on fuch a fubjedf, one might properly introduce it with thofe folemn words of the pfalmiO, " Give ear, all ye people, hear, all ye inhabitants of the earth, both high and low, rich and poor, tog?, ther," Pjhlm xlix. i, 2. For it is the concern of all, from th^ king that fits upon the throne, to the fervant that grind-eth at ^the mill, or the beggar that lieth upon the dunghill. It is needful for us that are winifun, for our own lalvation is concerned : and woe, infupporcabic woe will be to our fouls, if we think it enough to recommend it to others, and to talk of it in a warm, or an awful manner, in public alTemblies, or in our private converfe, while it does not penetrate our hearts, as our own grcateft care. Our cafe will then be like that of the Jfraelitijh lord in Samaria, l Kings vii. 2. who was employed to diftribute the corn when the fiege was raifed ; though we fee it with cur eyes, and difpenfe it with our hands, we (hall ourfelves die miferably, without tatting the blelTings we impart It i5 needful to all you that are our hearers, without the exception of one fmgle perfon. It is needful to you that are rkh though it may on fome accounts be peculiarly difHcult for you ; even as difficult, comparatively ipeaking, as for a " Camel to go through the eye of a needle," Mat, xix. 24. .-et if it be nededed, you are poor in the midft of all your wealth and mlferable in all your abundance; a wretch flarv-incr for hunger, in a magnificent palace and a rich drefs, would be lefs the objea of compaffion than you. It is needful for you that are/>..r; though you are d.ftrcfTed with fo many anxious cares, " what you (liall eat, and what you (hall drink and wherewithal you (hall be cloathed," Mat, vi. 3r. The nature that makes you capable of fuch anxieties as thele, arcucs your much greater concern in the ^^ bread wh.ch en-

dures to eternal life," ^ohn vi. 27. than in that by which this mortal body muft be fupported. It is needful for you that are advanced in yean ; though your ftrength be impaired fo that the " graftiopper is a burthen," Eccl. xii. 5. and though you have by your long continuance in fin rendered this great work fo hard, that were it lefs important, one would in pity let you alone without reminding you of it: yet, late as it is, it muft be done, or your hoary heads will be brought down to the grave with wrath, and fink under a curfe aggravated by every year and by every day of your lives. It is needful to you that 2ix^youngs though folicited by fo many gay vanities, to negle6l it, though it may be reprefented as an unfeafonable care at prefent, yet I repeat it, it is needful to you ; immediately needful, unlefs you who walk fo frc-^ently over the duft of your brethren and companions., that died in the bloom and vigour of their "days, have made fomc fecret covenant with the grave for yourfelves, and found out fome wonderful method, hitherto unknown, offecuring this precarious life, and of anfwering for days and months to come, while others cannot anfwer for one Tingle moment.

2. The care of the foul is " a matter of the higheft importance •" beyond any thing which can be brought into compa-rifon with it.

As Solomcn fays of wifdom, that *' it is more precious than rubies, and that all things which can be defired are not to be compared with her," Prov, iii. 15. So I may properly fay of this great and moft important branch of wifdom j whatever can be laid in the balance with it, will be found altogether lighter than vanity. This is ftrongly implied when it is faid in the text, " one thing is needful ;" one thing, and one thing alone is fo. Juft as the bleiTed God is faid to be *' only wife," I Tim. i. 17. and " only holy," Rev. xv. 4. be-caufe the wifdom and hulinefs of angels and men is as nothing, when compared with his. What feems moft great and moft important in life, what kings and fenates, what the wifeft and greateft of this world are employing their time, their councils, their pens, their labours upon, are trifles, when compared with this one thing. A man ^may fub-liil:, he may in fome confiderable meafure be happy, without Icarnijig, without richer-, without titles, without healthy

without

without liberty, without friends, nay, though '* the life be more than meat, and ihe body than raiment," Matth. vi. 25. yet may he be happy, unrpeakably happy, without the body itfelf. But he cannot be {o^ in the neglect of the one thing needful. I muft therefore befpealc your regard to it in the words of Mofcs^ *' it is not a light thing, but it is your life,'* Deut. xxxii. 47.

3. The care of the foul is of fo comprehenfive a nature, that " every thing truly worthy of our regard may be confv-dered as included in it, or fubfcrvicnt to it.

As Z)f2^;/Vobrerves, that ** the commandment of God 13 exceeding broad," Fjalm cxix. 96. fo we may fay of this one thing needful; or as Solomon very juftly and emphatically ex-preiies it, " to fear God and to keep his commandments is the whole duty of man," Eccl. x\\. 13. his whole duty, and his whole intereft J and every thing which is wife and rational does in its proper place and connection make a part of it. We (hould judge very ill concerning the nature of this care if we imagined, that it confiftcd merely in ads of devotion, or religious contemplation ; it comprehends all the lovely and harmonious band of focial and humane virtues. It requires a care of fociety, a care of our bodies, and of our temporal concerns ; but then all is to be regulated, direded, and animated by proper regards to God, Christ, and immortality. Our food and our reft, our trades and our labours, are to be attended to, and all the offices of humanity performed in obedience to the will of God, for the g'ory of Christ, and in a view to improving the mind in a growing meetncfs for a ftate of compleat perfection. Name any thing which has no reference at all to this, and you name a worthlefs trifle, however it may be gilded to allure the eye, or however it may be fweetened to gratify the tafte. Name a thing, which, inftead of thus improving the foul, has a tendency to dcbafe and pollute, to enflave and endanger it, and you name what is mofl unprofitable and mifchievous, be the wages of iniquity ever fo great; moft foul and deformed, be it in rhc eves of men ever fo honourable, or in their cudoms ever fo fafhio-nable. Thus I have endeavoured to fhew you wha^t we may fuppofe Implied in this expreiTion of *^ one thinig being needful." 1 am now,

[ 4*52 ]

Th'irdly'y To fhew you with how much propriety the care ot the foul may be reprcfentcd under this chara(Sler, as the one thing needful, or as a maiter of univcrfal and moft ferious concern, to which every thing elfe is to be confidered as fub-I'ervient, if at all worthy cf our care and purfuit.

There let me appeal to the fentimcnts of thofe who muft be allowed moft capable of judging, and to the evident reafon of the cafe itfelf, as it rnuft appear to every unprejudiced mind.

I. Let me argue " from the opinions of thofe who muft be allowed moft capable of judging in fuch an affair," and we fhall quickly fee that the care of the ibul api:ears to them, the one thing needful.

Is the judgment of the blcfTed God " according to truth,'* how evidently and how folemnly is that judgment declared ? I will not fay merely in this or the other particular paflage of his wcrd, but in the whole feries of his revelations to the children of men, and the whole tenor of his addrefles to them. Is not this the language of all, from the early days of Job and Mojcs to the conclufion of the canon of fcripture. "Joh xxviii. 21, 23, 28. " If wifdom be hid from the eyes of all the living, furely God underftandeth the way thereof, he knoweth the place thereof;" and if he does, it is plainly pointed out, for " unto man he ftiil faith, behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wifdom, and to depart from evil, that is underftanding." By Mofes he declared to the Ifrnclitesy that " to do the commandments of the Lord would be their wifdom and their undcrflanding in the f.ght of the nations, who fliould hear his ftatutes, and fay, furely this is a wife and an underftnnding people," Dcut. iv. 6. When he had raifed up one man on the throne o\ Ifrac!^ with the character of the wifeft that ever lived upon the face of the earth, he chofe to make him eminently a teacher of this great truth. And though now all that he fpolie on the curious and lefs concerning fubjeds of natural philofophy is loft, " though he fpoke of trees from the cedar to the hyiTop, and cf beafts, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fjihes," i Kings jy. 33. that faying is preferved in which he teftifies, that " the fear of the Lord is the beginning of w-ifdom," Prov. i, 7, 9, 10. and thofe Proverbs-^ in almoft every line of

which.

whTch, they who neglciSl: God and their own foul?, are fpoken of as fools, as if that were the moft projier fimiifi-cation of the word, while the religious alone are honoured with the title of wife. But in this refpccl, as attcftniL^ this truth in the name of God and in his own, *' a greater than Solomon is here."

For if we inquire what it was that cur Lord Jesus Christ judged to be the one thing needful, the words of the text contain as full an anfvver as can be imagined ; and the fenfe of them is repeated in a very lively and cmphatical manner, in that remarkable pafTage wherein our Lord net only declares his own judgm.ent, but fecms to appeal to the confciences of all, as obliged by their own fecret convi£iions to fubCcribe to the truth of it. *' What is a man profiled, if he gain the whole world, and lofc his own foul; or what fhall a man give in exchange for his foul r" Alatth, xvi. 26. If it were once loft, what would he not be willi(^.g to give to redeem it? But it depends not on the v/ords of Christ alone. Let his adions, his fufFcrings, his blood, his death, fpealc what a value he fet on the fouls of men. Is it to be imagined, that he would have reiinquifhed heaven, have dwelt upon earth, have laboured by night and by day, and at laft have expired on the crcfs, for a matter of light importance ? Or can we think that he, in whom " dwell all the treafures of wifdom and knowledge, and all the fulnefs of the Godhead bodily," C^lojf. ii. 3, 9. was mJftaken in judgment fo deliberately formed, and fo folemnly declared ?

If after this, there were room to mention human judgment and teftimonies, how eafy would it be to produce a cloud of witncfies in fuch a caufe, and to fhew that the wilcll: and bcft of men in all ages of the u-orld have agreed in this poinr, that amidft all the diverfities of opinion and profciHon, which fucceeding generations have produced, this has been the una-nigious judgment, this the comm.on and mofl f.licitous care of thofe whofe characters are moft truly valuable, to fecure the falvation of their own fouls, and to promote the faivatioa of others.

And let me befeech you ferioufly to reflccl:, what are the

characters of thofe who have taken the liberty, moft bo'.diy

and freely to declare their judgment on the contr..ry f;u.r \

5 'liic

The number of fucH is comparatively few ; and when yotf compare what you have obferved of their temper and condu6i:,-I will not fay with what you read of holy men of old, but with what you have yourfclves feen in the faithful, a6^ive^ and zealous fervants of Christ, in thefe latter ages, with whom you have converfed ; do you on the whole find, that the rejc(Slcrs and deriders of the gofpel, are in other refpeits fo much more prudent and judicious, fo much wifer for them-felves, and for others, that are influenced by them, ais that you can be in reafon obliged to pay any great deference to the authority of a few fuch names as thefe, in oppofition to thofe to whom they are here oppofed ?

But you v/ill fay, and you will fay it too truly. Though but a few may venture in words to declare for the negle<St of the foul and its eternal ijitereft, that the greater part of mainkind do it in their anions. But are the greater part of mankind fo wife, and fo good, as implicitly to be followed in matters of the higheft importance ? And do not multitudes of thefe, declare themfelves on the other fide, in their moft fcrious moments ? When the intoxications of worldly bufmefs and pleafures are over, and fome languifhing ficknefs forces meri to folitude and retirement; what have you generally obferved to be the effect of fuch a circumftance ? Have they not then declared themfelves convinced of the truth we are now labouring to eftablifli ? Nay, do we not fometimes fee, that a diftemper which feizcs the mind with violence, yet does not utterly deflroy its reafoning faculties, fixes this conviction on the foul in a few hours, nay, fometimes in a few moments ? Have you never feen a gay, thoughtlefs creattire, furprizcd in the giddy round of pleafures and amufcments^ and prefently brought not only to ferioufnefs, but terror ani trembling, by the near views of death ? Have you never feen' the man of bufinefs and care interrupted, like the rich fool in the parable, in the midft of his fchemes for the prcfent wot Id ? And have you not heard one and the Other of then* ownSng the vanity of thofe pleafures and cares, which but a few days ago were every thing to them ? Confeffing that fe-lision v/as the one thing needful, and recommending it to otbers with an earneftnefs, as if they hoped thereby to aton« for their ov/n former negkd ? We that are minifters, frequently

t 4^5 ]

quently are wltnelTcs to fuch things as thefe, and I bLiieve few of our hearers arc intire flranfjeis to them.

Once more, what if to the teftimony of the dying, we could add that of the dead? What if God were to turn afidc the vail between us and the invifible world, and permit the \ inoft carelefs finner in the aflcmbly to converfe for a few mo- t ments with the inhabitants of it ? If you were to apply your-felf to a happy Spirit, that trod the moft thorny road tJ paradife, or palTed through the moft fiery trial, and to afk him, " was it worth your while to labour fo much, and to endure fo much for what you now pofTefs ?'* Surely if the blefied in heaven were capable of indignation, it would move them to hear that it fhould be made a queftion. And, on thcJ other hand, if you could inquire of one tormented in that flame below, though he might once be *' clothed in purple and fine linen, and fare fumptuoufly every day," Luke xvi. iq. if you could afk him, " whether his former enjoyments were an equivalent for his prefent fufFerings and defpair ?" What anfwer do you fuppofe he would return ? Perhaps an anfwer cf fo much horror and rage, as you would not be able fcj much as to indure. Or if the malignity of his nature fhould prevent him from returning any anfwer at all, furely there would be a language even in that filence, a language in the darknefs, and flames, and groans of that infernal prifon^ which would fpealc to your very foul what the word of Goa is with equal certainty, though lefs forcible convi6^ion, fpeak-ing to your ear, that " one thing is needful." You fee it is fo in the judgment of Got) the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, of the wifeft and beft of men, of many, who feemcd to judge moft diflcrently of it, vA\tn they come to more deliberate and ferious thought, and not only of the dying, but of the dead too, of thofe who have experimentally known both worlds, and moft furely know V.'hat is to be preferred. But I will not reft the whole argument herej therefore,

2. I appeal to the evident reafon of the cafe itfelf, as it muft appear to every unprejudiced mind, that the care of the foul is indeed the one thing needful.

I fiill confider myftlf as fpeaking not to athcifts, or to deifts, but to thofc who not only believe the exigence and

Vol. V. G g pro-

t 466 ]

providence of God, and a future ftate of happlnefs and mi-fery, but likewife who credit the truth of the chriftian revelation, as many undoubtedly do, who live in a fatal negledl of God, and their own fouls. Now on thefe principles, a little rt'flcciion may be fuiHcient to convince you, that it is needful to the prcfent repofe of your own mind ; needful, if ever you would i'ecure eternal happinefs, and avoid eternal ifiifery, which will be aggravated, rather than alleviated by all your prefent enjoyments.

I. I'hc care of the foul is the one thing needful, becaufc, *' without it you cannot fecure the peace of your own mind, nor avoid the upbraidings of your confcience."

That noble faculty is indeed the vicegerent of GoD in the foul. It is fenfible of the dignity and worth of an immortal fpirit, and will fometimcs cry out of the violence that is offered to it, and cry fo loud, as to compel the finner to hear, whether he will or not. Do you not fometimes find it your-felves ? when you labour moll to forget the concerns of your foul, do they not fometimes force themfelves on your remembrance ? You are afraid of the reflections of your own mind, but with all your artihce and all your refolution can you in-tirely avoid them ? Does not confcience follow you to your beds, even if denied the opportunity of meeting you in your clofets, and, though with an unwelcome voice, there warn you, " that your foul is negleded, and will quickly be loft:'* Does it not follow you to your fliops and your fields, when you are bufiefl there? Nay, I will add, does it not fometimes follow you to the feafi, to the club, to the ^dance, and perhaps, amidft all refiftancc, to the theatre too? Does, it not fometimes mingle your {weetcii draughts with wormwood, and your gayefb fcenes with horror ? So that you are like a tradefman, who, fufpec^ing his affairs to be in a bad poffure, lays by his books and his papers, yet fometimes they will come accidentally in his way. He hardly dares to look abroad for fear of meeting a creditor or an arreft : and if he labours to forget his cares and his dangers, in a courfe of luxury at home, the remembrance is fometimes awakened, and the alarm increafed, by thofe very extravagancies in which he is attempting to iofe it. Such probably is the cafe of your minds, and it is a very painful ftate ; and while things arc thus wilhLn, external circumftances car. no more make you

hapj'v.

t 467 3

h3ppy, than a fine drefs could relieve you under a v\o]ettt iit of the ftone. Whereas, if this great affair were fecureJ, you might delight in refledlion, as much as you now dread it; and confcience, of your bitterefl enemy, would become a delightful friend, and the teflimony of it your greateft rejoicing.

2. The care of the foul is the one thing needful, '* becaufe " without this your eternal happinefs will be loft."

A crown of evcrlafting glory is not furely fu h a trifle as to be thrown away on a carelefs creature, that will not in good earneft purfue it. God doth not ordinarily deal thus, ever! with the bounties of his common providence, which are comparatively of little Value. As to thcfe, the hand of the diligent generally makes rich, and he would be thought dif-traded, rather than prudenr, who fliould expecft to get ati eftate merely by wiQiing for it, cr without fome refolute and continued application to a proper courfe of acSlioti for that purpofe. Now, that we may not foolifnly dream of obtaining heaven, in the midft of a courfe of indolence and floth, we are exprefly told in the word of God, that '' the kingdom of heaven fuffers violence, and the violent take it by force," Matth. xi. 12. and are therefore exhorted to " flrive,'^ with the greateft intenfenefs, and eagernefs of mind, as the word properly fignifies, " to enter in at the ftr;iit gate," for this great and important reafon, '^ becaufe many {hall another day feek to enter in, and fhall not be able,'* Luke \\'\\, 24. Nay, when our Lord makes the moft gracious pro-mifes to the hiimble petitioner, he does it in fuch a manner as to exclude the hopes of thofe who are carelefs and indifferent. " Afk, and it fliall be given you; feek, and vou [ha!l find j knock, and it ftiall be opened unto you, Matib, vii. 7, If, therefore, you do not afl^, feek, and knock, the door of mercy will not be opened, and eternal happinefs will be lof^. Not that heaven is to be obtained by our own good works : no, no; for having done all, we muft account ourfelves unprofitable fervants.

And furely if I could fay no more as to the fatal confequen-ces of your neglect, than this, that eternal happinefs will be loft, I (hould fay enough to imprcfs every mind, that confiders >vhat ETERNITY means. To fall into a ftate of evcrlafting forgetfulnefs, mi^ht indeed appear a fefuge to a mind filled

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Vvlth the apprehenfion of future mifery. t^ut O how dreadful a refuge is It ! Surely it is fuch a refuge, as a vad precipice, (from which a man falling would be da/lieJ to pieces in a iiioment) might appear to a perfon, purfucd by the officers of juftice, that he might be brought out to a painful and lingering execution. If an extravagant youth^would have reafon to look round with angui{h, on fome fair and ample paternal inheritance, which he had fold or forfeited merely for the riot of a few days: how much more melancholy would it be for a rational mind to think that its eternal happinefs is loil for any earthly confideration whatever? Tormenting thought! " Had I attended to that one thing which I have negleded, I might have beeic, through the grace of God in Christ Jesus, great and happy beyond ejcpreffion, beyond conception : not nierely for the little fpan of ten thoufand thou-fand ages^ but for ever. A line reaching even to the re-moteft ftar would not have been able to contain the number of ages, nor would millions of years have been fufficient to figure them down ; this is eternity, but I have lofl it, and am now on the verge of being. This lamp, which might have cut-lafled thofe of the firmament, will prefently be extinguifhedj and I blotted out from amongft the works of God, and cut off from all the bounties of his hand." Would not this be a very miferable cafe, if this were all ? And would It not hie fuf-Hcient to prove this to be the better part, which, as our Lord obferves, can **^ never be taken aU'ay ?" But Got) forbid that we {hould be fo unfaithful to him, and to the fouk of men, as to reft in flich a reprefentatlon alone. I therefor? '^dd once more,

3. The care of the foul is the one thing needful, becaufe '** without it, you cannot avoid a ftate of eternal mifery, ^^ v/hich will be aggravated, rather than alleviated by all your *' prefent enjoyments.'*

Nothing can be more evident from the word of the GoiJ bf truth. It there plainly appears to be a determined cafe^ "which leaves no room for a more favourable conjecture or iiope. " The wicked (hall be turned into hell,, even all the liations that forget God," Pfalmix. 17. " They (hall go away intoeverlafting punishment, Matth. xxv. 46. into a ftate '^here they fhall in vain feek death, and death fhall flee from them. Oh ! brethren, it is a certain, bul an awful truth,

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that your fouls will be thinking and immortal beings, evea in fpiie of ihtir.klves. They may indeed torment, but ihey cannot deftroy themrelves. They can no more fufpend their power of thought nnd perception, than a mirror its property of refleaing rays that fall on its furface. Do you fufpca the contrary ? Make the trial immediately. Command your minds to ceaie from thinking but for one quurter ol an hour, or for half that time, and exclude every idea and every refleaion. Can you fucceed in that attempt ? Or rather, does not thought prefs in with a more fenfible violence on that refiftance ; as an anxious dcnre to ileep^ makes us fo much the more wakeful. Thus will thought follow you beyond the grave, thus will it, as an unwelcome gucft, force icfeif upon^'you, when it can fcrve only to perplex and diftrefs the mind. It will for ever upbraid you, that notwithftanding all the kind expoftulations of God and man, notwithftanding all the keen remonftrances of confcience, and the pjead/ings of the blood of Christ, you have gone on in your folly, till heaven is loft, and damnation incurred; and all, for what? for a (Ivadow and a dream.

Oh think not, fmners, that the remembrance of your paft ple-^fures and of your fuccefs in your other cares, whilft that of the one thing needful was forgotten, think not that this will eafe your minds. It will ,rather torment them the more. «' Sen, remem.ber that thou in thy life-time receivedft thy r-ood thing'^." Bitter remembrance! Well might the heai.hea poets reprefent the unhappy fpirits in the fliades below, as eaaerly catching at the water of forgetfulnefs, yet unable to reach it Your prefent comforts will only ferve to give you a livelier fenfe of your mifcry, as having tailed fuch degrees of enjoyment ; and to inflame the reckoning, as you have mifimproved thofe talents lodged in your hands for better pur-pofes. Surely, if thefe things were believed, and ferioufly confidered, the finner would have no more heart to rejoice in his prefent profperity, than a man would have to amufe him-felf with the curiofities of a fine garden, through which he was led to be broken upon the rack.

But I will enlarge no farther on thefe things. Would to God that the unaccountable ftupidity of mens minds, and their fatal attachment to the pleafures and cares ot the prejept

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life, did not make it neceJary to infill on them h frequently aiid fo copioufly !

I now proceed to the reflexions which naturally arife from hence, and flial] only mention two.

I. How much rcafon have we to lament the folly of mankind in negleXicg the one thing needful.

If religion be indeed the trueft wifdom, then furely we have the jufteft reafon to fay with S^^Iomon, '' that folly and madnefs is in mens hearts," Ecc/ef, ix. 3. Is it the one thing needful ? Look on the condu6l of the generality of mankindt and you would imagine they thought it the one thing need-Icfs: the vaineft dream, and the idleft amufement of the mind. God is admoniftjing them by ordinances, and providences,^ fometimes by fuch as are moft awful, to lay it to heart;" he fpeaks once, yea twice, (yea a multitude of times) but man regards not. Job xxxiii. 14. They profefs perhaps to believe all that 1 have been faying, but aft as if the contrary were felf-evident; they wilfrifk their fouls and eternity for a thing of nought, for that, for the fake of which thv^y would not rifk fo much as a hand, or a finger, or a joint, no, nor perh^^ps a toy that adorns it. Surely this is the Vv^onder of angels, and perhaps of devils too, unlefs the obfervation ot fo many ages may have rendered it familiar to both. And can we, my chriftian brethren, behold fuch a fcene with indifference? If fome epidemical madnefs had feized our country, or the places where we live, fo that as we went from one place to another, we every where met with lunaticks, and faw amongft the reft, fome perhaps of the fineft genius, in the moft eminent ftations in life, amufmg themfelves with flraws and bubbles, or wounding themfelves and others; furely were we ever fo fecure from the danger of infeXion or aliault, the fight would cut us to the heart. A good-natured man would hardly be able to go abroad, or even be defirous to live, if it muft be amongft fo many fad fpeaacles. Yet thefe poor creatures might, notwithft-anding this, be the children of God, and the higher their frenzy rofc, the nearer might their complete happinefs be. But"alas! the greater part of mankind are flized with a worfe kind of madnefs, in which they are ruining their fouls: and can we behold it

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with indifiference ? The Lord awaken our companion, our prayers, and our endeavours, in dependence on divine frrace that we may be inftrumental in bringing them to their mind and making them wife indeed, that is, wife to falvation !

2. How neceflary is it that we fiiould ferioufly enquire, how this ©ne thing needful is regarded by us !

Let me entreat you to remember your own concern in it, and enquire—Have I thought ferioufly of it ? Have I feeri the importance of it ? Has it lain with a due and abiding weight on my mind ? Flas it brought me to Christ, that I might lay the ftrcfs of thefe great eternal interells on him ? And am I ailing in the main of my life, as one that has thefe conviif^ions ? Am I willing, in facSl, to give up other things, my interefts, my pleafures, my pafiions to this ? Am I converfing with God and with man, as one that believes thefe things ; as one that has deliberately chofen the better part, and is determined to abide by that choice ?

Obferve the anfwer which confcience returns to thefe enquiries, and you will know your own part in that more particular application, with vvhich I fhall conclude.

I. Let me addrefs thofe that are entirely unconcerned about the one thing needful.

Brethren, I have been ftating the cafe at large, and now I appeal to your confciences, are thefe things fo, or are they not ? God and your own hearts beft knovi^ for what the care of your foul is negle£led ; but be it what it will, the difference between one grain of fand and another, is not great, when it comes to be weighed againft a talent of gold. Whatever it is, you had need to examine it carefully. You had need to view that commodity on all fides, of which you do in effc<£t fay, For this will 1 fell my foul ; for this will I give up heaven, and venture hell, be heaven and hell whatever they may. In the name of God, brethren, is this the part of a man, of a rational creature ? To go on with your eyes open towards a pit of eternal ruin, becaufe there are a few gay flowers in the way : or what if you fhut your eyes, will that prevent your fall ? It fignifies little to fay, I will not think of thefe things, I will not confider them : God has faid, " In the laii: days they fhall confider it perfedily," Jcr. xxiii. 20. The fcvels of a drunken malefaclor v/ill not prevent nor rcfpite his 3 execution.

execution. Pardon my plainiiefs ; if it were a fable or 3 tale, I would endeavour to amufe you with v»^ords, but I cannot do it where your fouls are at ftalce.

2. I would apply to thofe who are, in fome fenfe, convinced of the importance of their fouls, and yet are inclined to defer that care of them a liuie longer, which, in the general, they fee to be r.eceiTary.

I know you that are young, are under peculiar temptations to do this ; though it is ftrange that the death of fo many of your companions, fliould not be an anfwer to fome of the moil Ipccious and dangerous of thofe temptations. Meihinks, if there were the leaft degree of uncertainty, the importance is too wei'.;hty to put matters to the venture. But here the uncertainty is great and apparent. You muft furely know, that there are critical feafons of life for managing the concerns of it, which are of fuch a nature, that if once loft, they may never return : here is a critical feafon : " Now is the accepted time, now is the day of falvation,'' 2 Cor. vi. 2. " To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts,'* Heh. iii. 7, 8. This language may not be fpoken to-monovv. Talk not of a more convenient feafon ; nojie can be more convenient; and that to which you would probably refer it, is leaft of all fo, a dyini; time. You would not ch'ufe then to have arty important bufmefs in hand ; and Vv'il! you of choice refer the greateft bufinefs of all to that languilhing, hurrying, an^azing hour ? If a friend were then to come to you with the balance of am intricate account, or a view of a title to an eftate, you would {liake your fainting head, and lift up your pale trembling band, and fay, perhaps, with a feeble voice, " A)c.s, is this a lime for thefe things ?" And is it a time for fo much greater things than thefe ? I wifh you knew, and would confider, into what a (Irait, we that are miniftcrs are fometimes brought, when we are called to the dying beds of thofe who have fpent their lives in the neglc6i: of the one thing needful. On the one hand, wc fear, leit if we palliate matters, and fpeak fmooih thinf^s, we fliall betray and ruin their fouls : and on the other, that if we ufe a becoming plainnefs and feriouinefs, in warning them of their danger, we fiaa!! quite overwhelm them, and haften the dying moment, which is advancing by fuch fwiit fteps. O let me entreat you for our fakes, and

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much more for your own, that you do not drive us to A.ch (ad extremities '^ but if you are convinced, as I hope Tome of you may now be, that the care of the foul is that netdlul thing we have reprefented, let the conviaion work, let it drive you'immediately to the throne of grace; from ihence you may derive that wifdom and ibength, which will dired you in all the intricacies which entangle you, and animate you in the midft of difficulty and difcouragement.

3. 1 would in the laft place addrefs myfelf to thofe happy fouls, who have in good earneft attended to the one thing

I hope, that when you fee how commonly it is neglected, jieglec^ed indeed, bv many, whofe natural capacities, improve-me^nts, and circumftances in life, appear to you luperior to your own ; you will humbly acknowledge, that it was diftm-auifhincr grace which brought you into this happy ftate, and formed ""you to this moft neceflary care. Blcfs the Lord, Therefore, who hath given you that counfel, in virtue of which you can fay, " He is your portion." Kejoice m the thoucrht, that the great concern is fecured : as it is natural for u's to cIo, when feme important affair is difpatched, which has lono- lain before us, and which we have been inclined to put offTfom one day to another, but have at length llrenuoudy ar^d fuccefsfuHy attended. Remember flill to endeavour to continue aaing on thefe great principles, which at hrll determined your choice ; and ferioufly confider, that thofe who defirc their life may at laft be eiven ihem for a prey, muft continue on their •guard, in all ftages of their journey through a wildernefs, where daily dangers are ftili furrounding them. Being enabled to fecure the great concern, make yourfelves eafy as to others Of fmaller importance : You have chofen the kingdom ot God, and his rightcoufnefs; other things, therefore, {ball ba added unto you : and if any which you defire ihould, not be added, comfort yourfelves with this thought, that you Jiave the good part, which can never be taken away. And, not to enlarge on thefe obvious hints, which muft (o often occur, be very folicitous that others may be brought to a care about the t)ne thina needful. If it be needful ior you, it is fo for your children, your friends, your fervants. Let them, theretore, fee your concern in this lefpcct fur them, as well as for your-

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felves. Let parents efpecially attend to this exhortatloit^ whofe care for their offspring often exceeds in other refpeds^ and fails in this. Remember that your children may never live to enjoy the effeds of your labour and concern to get them eftates and portions : the charges of their funerals may, perhaps, be all their (hare of what you are fo anxiouHy careful to lay up for them. And O think w^hat a fword would pierce through your very heart, if you fhould ftand by the corpfe of a beloved child with this refledion : " This poor creature has done with life, before it learnt its great bufinefs in it; and is gone to eternity, which I have feldom been warning it to prepare for, and which, perhaps, it learned of me to forget."

On the whole, may this grand care be awakened in thofe by w^hom it has been hitherto negle6led : may it be revived in each of our minds. And that you may be encouraged to purfue it with gteater chearfulnefs, let me conclude with this comfortable thought, that in proportion to the neceffity of the cafe, through the merits of Christ Jesus, is the provifion which divine grace has made for our afliftance. If you arc difpofed to fit down at Christ's feet, he will teach you by his word and Spirit. If you commit this precious jewel^-whieh is your eternal all, into his hand, he will preferve it unto that day, and wmH then produce it richly adorned, and gloriouPiy improved to his own honour, and to your cverlaftin:^' joy.

Which God of his infmite mercy grant, P.c,

E N D of the F i f t h V o n; m k.