{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_77034/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_77034","id":"gutenberg_77034","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/77034","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Presbyterian Church -- Clergy -- Early works to 1800","Presbyterian Church -- Sermons -- Early works to 1800","Sermons, English -- 18th century","Whitefield, George, 1714-1770 -- Early works to 1800"],"text":"The Works of the Reverend\n George Whitefield, M.A.\n\n\n\n\n \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Transcriber\u2019s Notes \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Punctuation has been standardized. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Most of the abbreviations used to save space in printing have \u2502\n \u2502 been expanded to the non-abbreviated form for easier reading. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The text is inconsistent in its usage of quotation marks. \u2502\n \u2502 The transcriber has attempted to make their use consistent \u2502\n \u2502 throughout this work for improved readability. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Non-printable characteristics have been given the following \u2502\n \u2502 Italic text: --> _text_ \u2502\n \u2502 emphasized text within \u2502\n \u2502 italics --> |text| \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 This book was written in a period when many words had \u2502\n \u2502 not become standardized in their spelling. Words may have \u2502\n \u2502 multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in \u2502\n \u2502 the text. These have been left unchanged unless indicated \u2502\n \u2502 with a Transcriber\u2019s Note. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Footnotes are identified in the text with a superscript \u2502\n \u2502 number and are shown immediately below the paragraph in which \u2502\n \u2502 they appear. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Transcriber\u2019s Notes are used when making corrections to the \u2502\n \u2502 text or to provide additional information for the modern \u2502\n \u2502 reader. These notes are identified by \u2666\u2660\u2665\u2663 symbols in the \u2502\n \u2502 text and are shown immediately below the paragraph in which \u2502\n \u2502 they appear. \u2502\n \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\n\n\n\n\n THE WORKS OF THE\n REVEREND GEORGE WHITEFIELD, M.A.\n\n Late of PEMBROKE-COLLEGE, OXFORD,\n\n And Chaplain to the Right Honourable,\n the Countess of HUNTINGDON.\n\n\n CONTAINING\n\n\n All his SERMONS and TRACTS\n Which have been already published:\n\n WITH\n\n A SELECT COLLECTION of LETTERS,\n Written to his most intimate Friends, and Persons of\n Distinction, in _England_, _Scotland_, _Ireland_, and\n _America_, from the Year 1734, to 1770, including the\n whole Period of his Ministry.\n\n ALSO\n\n Some other PIECES on IMPORTANT SUBJECTS,\n never before printed; prepared by Himself for the Press.\n\n To which is prefixed,\n\n An ACCOUNT of his LIFE,\n Compiled from his Original PAPERS and LETTERS.\n\n\n VOLUME V.\n\n\n LONDON:\n\n Printed for EDWARD and CHARLES DILLY, in the Poultry;\n and Messrs. KINCAID and CREECH, at Edinburgh.\n\n MDCCLXXII.\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS\u00b9.\n\n \u00b9 The \u2666Sermons marked with a *, are now first published from\n the Author\u2019s own Manuscripts.\n\n \u2666 \u201cSeamons\u201d replaced with \u201cSermons\u201d\n\n \u2b58 SERMON I. The Seed of the Woman, and the Seed of the Serpent.\n\n GENESIS iii. 5. _And I will put enmity between thee and the\n woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise\n thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON II. Walking with God.\n\n GENESIS v. 24. _And Enoch walked with God, and he was not,\n for God took him._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON III. Abraham\u2019s offering up his Son Isaac.\n\n GENESIS xxii. 12. _And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the\n lad, neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know\n that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy\n son, thine only son from me._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON IV. The great Duty of Family-Religion.\n\n JOSHUA xxiv. 15. _As for me and my house, we will serve the\n Lord._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON V. Christ the best Husband: or, an earnest Invitation\n to Young Women to come and see Christ. Preached to a Society\n of Young Women, in Fetter-Lane.\n\n PSALM xlv. 10, 11. _Hearken, O daughter, and consider,\n and incline thine ear: forget also thine own people, and\n thy father\u2019s house: so shall the King greatly desire thy\n beauty; for he is thy Lord, and worship thou him._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON VI. Britain\u2019s Mercies, and Britain\u2019s Duty. Preached at\n Philadelphia, on Sunday, August 24, 1746, and occasioned by\n the Suppression of the late unnatural Rebellion.\n\n PSALM cv. 45. _That they might observe his statutes and keep\n his laws._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON VII. Thankfulness for Mercies received, a necessary\n Duty. A Farewel Sermon, preached on board the Whitaker, at\n Anchor near Savannah, in Georgia, Sunday, May 17, 1738.\n\n PSALM cvii. 30, 31. _Then are they glad, because they are\n at rest, and so he bringeth them unto the haven where they\n would be. O that men would therefore praise the Lord for\n his goodness, and declare the wonders that he doeth for\n the children of men!_\n\n \u2b58 SERMON VIII. The Necessity and Benefits of Religious Society.\n\n ECCLESIASTES iv. 9, 10, 11, 12. _Two are better than one,\n because they have a good reward for their labour. For if\n they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe be to\n him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another\n to help him up. Again if two lie together, then they have\n heat; but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail\n against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord\n is not quickly broken._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON IX. The Folly and Danger of not being righteous enough.\n\n ECCLESIASTES vii. 16. _Be not righteous over-much, neither\n make thyself over-wise: why shouldst thou destroy thyself?_\n\n \u2b58 SERMON X. A Preservative against unsettled Notions, and want\n of Principles, in regard to Righteousness and Christian\n Perfection. Being a more particular Answer to Doctor Trapp\u2019s\n four Sermons upon the same Text.\n\n ECCLESIASTES vii. 16. _Be not righteous over-much, neither\n make thyself over-wise: why shouldst thou destroy thyself?_\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XI. The Benefits of an early Piety. Preached at Bow\n Church, London, before the Religious Societies.\n\n ECCLESIASTES xii. 1. _Remember now thy Creator in the days\n of thy youth._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XII. Christ the Believer\u2019s Husband.\n\n ISAIAH liv. 5. _For thy Maker is thy husband._\n\n \u2b58 *SERMON XIII. The Potter and the Clay.\n\n JEREMIAH xviii. 1\u20126. _The word which came to Jeremiah from\n the Lord, saying, Arise and go down to the potter\u2019s house,\n and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went\n down to the potter\u2019s house, and behold, he wrought a work\n on the wheels. \u200fAnd the vessel that he made of clay was\n marred in the hands of the potter, so he made it again\n another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.\n Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of\n Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the\n Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter\u2019s hand, so are\n ye in mine hand, O house of Israel._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XIV. The Lord our Righteousness.\n\n JEREMIAH xxiii. 6. _The Lord our righteousness._\n\n \u2b58 *SERMON XV. The Righteousness of Christ an everlasting\n Righteousness.\n\n DANIEL ix. 24. _And to bring in everlasting righteousness._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XVI. The Observation of the Birth of Christ, the Duty\n of all Christians; or the true Way of keeping Christmas.\n\n MATTHEW i. 21. _And she shall bring forth a son, and thou\n shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people\n from their sins._\n\n \u2b58 *SERMON XVII. The Temptation of Christ.\n\n MATTHEW iv. 1\u201211. _Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into\n the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil, &c._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XVIII. The Heinous Sin of profane Cursing and Swearing.\n\n MATTHEW v. 34. _But I say unto you, Swear not at all._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XIX. Christ the Support of the Tempted.\n\n MATTHEW vi. 13. _Lead us not into temptation._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XX. Worldly Business no Plea for the Neglect of Religion.\n\n MATTHEW viii. 22. _Let the dead bury their dead._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XXI. Christ the only Rest for the Weary and Heavy Laden.\n\n MATTHEW xi. 28. _Come unto me, all ye that are weary and\n heavy laden, and I will give you rest._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XXII. The Folly and Danger of parting with Christ for\n the Pleasures and Profits of Life.\n\n MATTHEW viii. 23, to the End. _And when he was entered into\n a ship, his disciples followed him, &c._\n\n \u2b58 *SERMON XXIII. Marks of a True Conversion.\n\n MATTHEW xviii. 3. _Verily, I say unto you, except ye be\n converted, and become as little children, ye shall not\n enter into the kingdom of heaven._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XXIV. What think ye of Christ?\n\n MATTHEW xxii. 42. _What think ye of Christ?_\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XXV. The wise and foolish Virgins.\n\n MATTHEW xxv. 13. _Watch therefore, for ye know neither the\n day nor the hour in which the Son of man cometh._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XXVI. The Eternity of Hell-Torments.\n\n MATTHEW xxv. 46. _These shall go away into everlasting\n punishment._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XXVII. Blind Bartimeus.\n\n MARK x. 52. _And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith\n hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his\n sight, and followed Jesus in the way._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XXVIII. Directions how to hear Sermons.\n\n LUKE viii. 18. _Take heed, therefore, how ye hear._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XXIX. The Extent and Reasonableness of Self-Denial.\n\n LUKE ix. 23. _And he said unto them all, If any man will\n come after me, let him deny himself._\n\n \u2b58 *SERMON XXX. Christ\u2019s Transfiguration.\n\n LUKE ix. 28\u201236. _And it came to pass about an eight days\n after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James,\n and went up into a mountain to pray, &c._\n\n \u2b58 SERMON XXXI. The Care of the Soul urged as the one thing\n needful.\n\n LUKE x. 42. _But one thing is needful._\n\n\n\n\n SERMON I.\n\n The Seed of the Woman, and the Seed of the Serpent.\n\n\n GENESIS iii. 15.\n\n _And I will put Enmity between thee and the Woman, and between\n thy Seed and her Seed; it shall bruise thy Head, and thou\n shalt bruise his Heel._\n\nON reading to you these words, I may address you in the language of the\nholy angels to the shepherds, that were watching their flocks by night;\n\u201cBehold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy.\u201d For this is the first\npromise that was made of a Saviour to the apostate race of _Adam_. We\ngenerally look for CHRIST only in the New Testament; but christianity,\nin one sense, is very near as old as the creation. It is wonderful\nto observe how gradually GOD revealed his Son to mankind. He began\nwith the promise in the text, and this the elect lived upon, till the\ntime of _Abraham_. To him, GOD made further discoveries of his eternal\ncouncil concerning man\u2019s redemption. Afterwards, at sundry times, and\nin divers manners, GOD spoke to the fathers by the prophets, till at\nlength the LORD JESUS himself was manifested in flesh, and came and\ntabernacled amongst us.\n\nThis first promise must certainly be but dark to our first parents, in\ncomparison of that great light which we enjoy: And yet, dark as it was,\nwe may assure ourselves they built upon it their hopes of everlasting\nsalvation, and by that faith were saved.\n\nHow they came to stand in need of this promise, and what is the extent\nand meaning of it, I intend, GOD willing, to make the subject-matter of\nyour present meditation.\n\nThe fall of man is written in too legible characters not to be\nunderstood: Those that deny it, by their denying, prove it. The very\nheathens confessed, and bewailed it: They could see the streams of\ncorruption running through the whole race of mankind, but could not\ntrace them to the fountain-head. Before GOD gave a revelation of his\nSon, man was a riddle to himself. And _Moses_ unfolds more, in this one\nchapter (out of which the text is taken) than all mankind could have\nbeen capable of finding out of themselves, though they had studied to\nall eternity.\n\nIn the preceding chapter he had given us a full account, how GOD spoke\nthe world into being; and especially how he formed man of the dust of\nthe earth, and breathed into him the breath of life, so that he became\na living soul. A council of the Trinity was called concerning the\nformation of this lovely creature. The result of that council was, \u201cLet\nus make man in our image, after our likeness. So GOD created man in\nhis own image, in the image of GOD created he him.\u201d _Moses_ remarkably\nrepeats these words, that we might take particular notice of our divine\nOriginal. Never was so much expressed in so few words: None but a man\ninspired could have done so. But it is remarkable, that though _Moses_\nmentions our being made in the image of GOD, yet he mentions it but\ntwice, and that in a transient manner; as though he would have said,\n\u201cman was made in honour, GOD made him upright, \u2018in the image of GOD,\nmale and female created he them.\u2019 But man so soon fell, and became like\nthe beasts that perish, nay, like the devil himself, that it is scarce\nworth mentioning.\u201d\n\nHow soon man fell after he was created, is not told us; and therefore,\nto fix any time, is to be wise above what is written. And, I think,\nthey who suppose that man fell the same day in which he was made,\nhave no sufficient ground for their opinion. The many things which\nare crouded together in the former chapter, such as the formation\nof _Adam_\u2019s wife, his giving names to the beasts, and his being put\ninto the garden which GOD had planted, I think require a longer space\nof time than a day to be transacted in. However, all agree in this,\n\u201cman stood not long.\u201d How long, or how short a while, I will not take\nupon me to determine. It more concerns us to enquire, how he came\nto fall from his stedfastness, and what was the rise and progress of\nthe temptation which prevailed over him. The account given us in this\nchapter concerning it, is very full; and it may do us much service,\nunder GOD, to make some remarks upon it.\n\n\u201cNow the serpent (says the sacred historian) was more subtile than\nany beast of the field which the LORD GOD had made; and he said unto\nthe woman, Yea, hath GOD said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the\ngarden?\u201d\n\nThough this was a real serpent, yet he that spoke was no other than\nthe devil; from hence, perhaps, called the old serpent, because he took\npossession of the serpent when he came to beguile our first parents.\nThe devil envied the happiness of man, who was made, as some think, to\nsupply the place of the fallen angels. GOD made man upright, and with\nfull power to stand if he would: He was just, therefore, in suffering\nhim to be tempted. If he fell, he had no one to blame except himself.\nBut how must satan effect his fall? He cannot do it by his power, he\nattempts it therefore by policy: he takes possession of a serpent,\nwhich was more subtile than all the beasts of the field, which the LORD\nGOD had made; so that men who are full of subtilty, but have no piety,\nare only machines for the devil to work upon, just as he pleases.\n\n\u201cAnd he said unto the woman.\u201d Here is an instance of his subtilty. He\nsays unto the woman, the weaker vessel, and when she was alone from her\nhusband, and therefore was more liable to be overcome; \u201cYea, hath GOD\nsaid, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?\u201d These words are\ncertainly spoken in answer to something which the devil either saw or\nheard. In all probability, the woman was now near the tree of knowledge\nof good and evil; (for we shall find her, by and by, plucking an apple\nfrom it) perhaps she might be looking at, and wondering what there was\nin that tree more than the others, that she and her husband should be\nforbidden to taste of it. Satan seeing this, and coveting to draw her\ninto a parley with him, (for if the devil can persuade us not to resist,\nbut to commune with him, he hath gained a great point) he says, \u201cYea,\nhath GOD said, ye shall not eat of every tree in the garden?\u201d The\nfirst thing he does is to persuade her, if possible, to entertain hard\nthoughts of GOD; this is his general way of dealing with GOD\u2019s children:\n\u201cYea, hath GOD said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?\nWhat! hath GOD planted a garden, and placed you in the midst of it,\nonly to teaze and perplex you? hath he planted a garden, and yet forbid\nyou making use of any of the fruits of it at all?\u201d It was impossible\nfor him to ask a more insnaring question, in order to gain his end:\nfor _Eve_ was here seemingly obliged to answer, and vindicate GOD\u2019s\ngoodness. And therefore,\u2015\u2015\n\nVerse 2, 3. The woman said unto the serpent, \u201cWe may eat of the fruit\nof the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in\nthe midst of the garden, GOD hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither\nshall ye touch it, lest ye die.\u201d\n\nThe former part of the answer was good, \u201cWe may eat of the fruit of the\ntrees of the garden, GOD has not forbid us eating of every tree of the\ngarden. No; we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden (and,\nit should seem, even of the tree of life, which was as a sacrament to\nman in a state of innocence) there is only one tree in the midst of the\ngarden, of which GOD hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall\nye touch it, lest ye die.\u201d Here she begins to warp, and sin begins to\nconceive in her heart. Already she has contracted some of the serpent\u2019s\npoison, by talking with him, which she ought not to have done at all.\nFor she might easily suppose, that it could be no good being, that\ncould put such a question unto her, and insinuate such dishonourable\nthoughts of GOD. She should therefore have fled from him, and not stood\nto have parleyed with him at all. Immediately the ill effects of it\nappear, she begins to soften the divine threatning. GOD had said, \u201cthe\nday thou eatest thereof, _thou shalt surely die_;\u201d or, dying thou shalt\ndie. But _Eve_ says, \u201cYe shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it,\n_lest ye die_.\u201d We may be assured we are fallen into, and begin to fall\nby temptation, when we begin to think GOD will not be as good as his\nword, in respect to the execution of his threatnings denounced against\nsin. Satan knew this, and therefore artfully\n\n\u201cSaid unto the woman, (verse 4.) Ye shall not surely die,\u201d in an\ninsinuating manner, \u201cYe shall not surely die. Surely, GOD will not be\nso cruel as to damn you only for eating an apple, it cannot be.\u201d Alas!\nhow many does Satan lead captive at his will, by flattering them, that\nthey shall not surely die; that hell-torments will not be eternal; that\nGOD is all mercy; that he therefore will not punish a few years sin\nwith an eternity of misery? But _Eve_ found GOD as good as his word;\nand so will all they who go on in sin, under a false hope that they\nshall not surely die.\n\nWe may also understand the words spoken positively, and this is\nagreeable to what follows; You shall not surely die; \u201cIt is all a\ndelusion, a mere bugbear, to keep you in a servile subjection.\u201d\n\nFor (verse 5.) \u201cGOD doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, then\nshall your eyes be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and\nevil.\u201d\n\nWhat child of GOD can expect to escape slander, when GOD himself was\nthus slandered even in paradise? Surely the understanding of _Eve_ must\nhave been, in some measure, blinded, or she would not have suffered the\ntempter to speak such perverse things. In what odious colours is GOD\nhere represented! \u201cGOD doth know, that in the day ye eat thereof, ye\nshall be as gods,\u201d (equal with GOD.) So that the grand temptation was,\nthat they should be hereafter under no controul, equal, if not superior,\nto GOD that made them, knowing good and evil. _Eve_ could not tell what\nSatan meant by this; but, to be sure, she understood it of some great\nprivilege which they were to enjoy. And thus Satan now points out a way\nwhich seems right to sinners, but does not tell them the end of that\nway is death.\n\nTo give strength and force to this temptation, in all probability,\nSatan, or the serpent, at this time plucked an apple from the tree,\nand ate it before _Eve_; by which _Eve_ might be induced to think,\nthat the sagacity and power of speech, which the serpent had above the\nother beasts, must be owing, in a great measure, to his eating that\nfruit; and, therefore, if he received so much improvement, she might\nalso expect a like benefit from it. All this, I think, is clear; for,\notherwise, I do not see with what propriety it could be said, \u201cWhen the\nwoman saw that it was good for food.\u201d How could she know it was good\nfor food, unless she had seen the serpent feed upon it?\n\nSatan now begins to get ground apace. Lust had conceived in _Eve_\u2019s\nheart; shortly it will bring forth sin. Sin being conceived, brings\nforth death. Verse 6. \u201cAnd when the woman saw that the tree was good\nfor food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be\ndesired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat,\nand gave also unto her husband, and he did eat.\u201d\n\nOur senses are the landing ports of our spiritual enemies. How needful\nis that resolution of holy _Job_, \u201cI have made a covenant with mine\neyes!\u201d When _Eve_ began to gaze on the forbidden fruit with her eyes,\nshe soon began to long after it with her heart. When she saw that it\nwas good for food, and pleasant to the eyes, (here was the lust of the\nflesh, and lust of the eye) but, above all, a tree to be desired to\nmake one wise, wiser than GOD would have her be, nay, as wise as GOD\nhimself; she took of the fruit thereof, and gave also unto her husband\nwith her, and he did eat. As soon as ever she sinned herself, she\nturned tempter to her husband. It is dreadful, when those, who should\nbe help-meets for each other in the great work of their salvation,\nare only promoters of each other\u2019s damnation: but thus it is. If we\nourselves are good, we shall excite others to goodness; if we do evil,\nwe shall entice others to do evil also. There is a close connection\nbetween doing and teaching. How needful then is it for us all to\ntake heed that we do not sin any way ourselves, lest we should become\nfactors for the devil, and insnare, perhaps, our nearest and dearest\nrelatives? \u201cshe gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.\u201d\n\nAlas! what a complication of crimes was there in this one single act\nof sin! Here is an utter disbelief of GOD\u2019s threatning; the utmost\ningratitude to their Maker, who had so lately planted this garden,\nand placed them in it, with such a glorious and comprehensive charter.\nAnd, the utmost neglect of their posterity, who they knew were to stand\nor fall with them. Here was the utmost pride of heart: they wanted to\nbe equal with GOD. Here\u2019s the utmost contempt put upon his threatning\nand his law: the devil is credited and obeyed before him, and all this\nonly to satisfy their sensual appetite. Never was a crime of such a\ncomplicated nature committed by any here below: Nothing but the devil\u2019s\napostasy and rebellion could equal it.\n\nAnd what are the consequences of their disobedience? Are their eyes\nopened? Yes, their eyes are opened; but, alas! it is only to see their\nown nakedness. For we are told (verse 7.) \u201cThat the eyes of them both\nwere opened, and they knew that they were naked.\u201d Naked of GOD, naked\nof every thing that was holy and good, and destitute of the divine\nimage, which they before enjoyed. They might rightly now be termed\n_Ichabod_; for the glory of the LORD departed from them. O how low did\nthese sons of the morning then fall! out of GOD, into themselves; from\nbeing partakers of the divine nature, into the nature of the devil and\nthe beast. Well, therefore, might they know that they were naked, not\nonly in body, but in soul.\n\nAnd how do they behave now they are naked? Do they flee to GOD for\npardon? Do they seek to GOD for a robe to cover their nakedness? No,\nthey were now dead to GOD, and became earthly, sensual, devilish:\ntherefore, instead of applying to GOD for mercy, \u201cthey sewed or platted\nfig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons,\u201d or things to gird\nabout them. This is a lively representation of all natural men: we see\nthat we are naked: we, in some measure, confess it; but, instead of\nlooking up to GOD for succour, we patch up a righteousness of our own\n(as our first-parents platted fig-leaves together) hoping to cover our\nnakedness by that. But our righteousness will not stand the severity of\nGOD\u2019s judgment: it will do us no more service than the fig-leaves did\n_Adam_ and _Eve_, that is, none at all.\n\nFor (verse 8.) \u201cThey heard the voice of the LORD GOD walking in the\ntrees of the garden, in the cool of the day; and _Adam_ and his wife\n(notwithstanding their fig-leaves) hid themselves from the presence of\nthe LORD GOD, among the trees of the garden.\u201d\n\nThey heard the voice of the LORD GOD, or the Word of the LORD GOD, even\nthe LORD JESUS CHRIST, who is \u201cthe word that was with GOD, and the word\nthat was GOD.\u201d They heard him walking in the trees of the garden, in\nthe cool of the day. A season, perhaps, when _Adam_ and _Eve_ used to\ngo, in an especial manner, and offer up an evening-sacrifice of praise\nand thanksgiving. The cool of the day. Perhaps the sin was committed\nearly in the morning, or at noon; but GOD would not come upon them\nimmediately, he staid till the cool of the day. And if we would\neffectually reprove others, we should not do it when they are warmed\nwith passion, but wait till the cool of the day.\n\nBut what an alteration is here! Instead of rejoicing at the voice\nof their beloved, instead of meeting him with open arms and inlarged\nhearts, as before, they now hide themselves in the trees of the garden.\nAlas, what a foolish attempt was this? Surely they must be naked,\notherwise how could they think of hiding themselves from GOD? Whither\ncould they flee from his presence? But, by their fall, they had\ncontracted an enmity against GOD: they now hated, and were afraid to\nconverse with GOD their Maker. And is not this our case by nature?\nAssuredly it is. We labour to cover our nakedness with the fig-leaves\nof our own righteousness: We hide ourselves from GOD as long as we can,\nand will not come, and never should come, did not the Father prevent,\ndraw, and sweetly constrain us by his grace, as he here prevented\n_Adam_.\n\nVerse 9. \u201cAnd the LORD GOD called unto _Adam_, and said unto him,\n_Adam_, where art thou?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe LORD GOD called unto _Adam_,\u201d (for otherwise _Adam_ would never\nhave called unto the LORD GOD) and said, \u201c_Adam_, where art thou? How\nis it that thou comest not to pay thy devotions as usual?\u201d Christians,\nremember the LORD keeps an account when you fail coming to worship.\nWhenever therefore you are tempted to withhold your attendance, let\neach of you fancy you heard the LORD GOD calling unto you, and saying,\n\u201cO man, O woman, where art thou?\u201d It may be understood in another and\nbetter sense; \u201c_Adam_, where art thou?\u201d What a condition is thy poor\nsoul in? This is the first thing the LORD asks and convinces a sinner\nof; when he prevents and calls him effectually by his grace; he also\ncalls him by name; for unless GOD speaks to us in particular, and we\nknow where we are, how poor, how miserable, how blind, how naked, we\nshall never value the redemption wrought out for us by the death and\nobedience of the dear LORD JESUS. \u201c_Adam_, where art thou?\u201d\n\nVerse 10. \u201cAnd he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was\nafraid.\u201d See what cowards sin makes us. If we knew no sin, we should\nknow no fear. \u201cBecause I was naked, and I hid myself.\u201d Verse 11. \u201cAnd\nhe said, who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the\ntree, whereof I (thy Maker and Law-giver) commanded thee, that thou\nshouldst not eat?\u201d\n\nGOD knew very well that _Adam_ was naked, and that he had eaten of\nthe forbidden fruit. But GOD would know it from _Adam_\u2019s own mouth.\nThus GOD knows all our necessities before we ask, but yet insists upon\nour asking for his grace, and confessing our sins. For, by such acts,\nwe acknowledge our dependence upon GOD, take shame to ourselves, and\nthereby give glory to his great name.\n\nVerse 12. \u201cAnd the man said, the woman which thou gavest to be with me,\nshe gave me of the tree, and I did eat.\u201d\n\nNever was nature more lively delineated. See what pride _Adam_\ncontracted by the fall! How unwilling he is to lay the blame upon, or\ntake shame to himself. This answer is full of insolence towards GOD,\nenmity against his wife, and disingenuity in respect to himself. For\nherein he tacitly reflects upon GOD. \u201cThe woman that _thou_ gavest\nto be with me.\u201d As much as to say, if _thou_ hadst not given me _that\nwoman_, I had not eaten the forbidden fruit. Thus, when men sin, they\nlay the fault upon their passions; then blame and reflect upon GOD for\ngiving them those passions. Their language is, \u201cthe appetites that thou\ngavest us, they deceived us; and therefore we sinned against thee.\u201d\nBut, as GOD, notwithstanding, punished _Adam_ for hearkning to the\nvoice of his wife, so he will punish those who hearken to the dictates\nof their corrupt inclinations: For GOD compels no man to sin. _Adam_\nmight have withstood the solicitations of his wife, if he would. And\nso, if we look up to GOD, we should find grace to help in the time\nof need. The devil and our own hearts tempt, but they cannot force\nus to consent, without the concurrence of our own wills. So that our\ndamnation is of ourselves, as it will evidently appear at the great\nday, notwithstanding all mens present impudent replies against GOD. As\n_Adam_ speaks insolently in respect to GOD, so he speaks with enmity\nagainst his wife; the woman, or this woman, she gave me. He lays all\nthe fault upon her, and speaks of her with much contempt. He does not\nsay, my wife, my dear wife; but, _this woman_. Sin disunites the most\nunited hearts: it is the bane of holy fellowship. Those who have been\ncompanions in sin here, if they die without repentance, will both hate\nand condemn one another hereafter. All damned souls are accusers of\ntheir brethren. Thus it is, in some degree, on this side the grave.\n\u201cThe woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree,\nand I did eat.\u201d What a disingenuous speech was here! He makes use of no\nless than fifteen words to excuse himself, and but one or two (in the\noriginal) to confess his fault, if it may be called a confession at all.\n\u201cThe woman which thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree;\u201d\nhere are fifteen words; \u201cAnd I did eat.\u201d With what reluctance do these\nlast words come out? How soon are they uttered? \u201cAnd I did eat.\u201d But\nthus it is with an unhumbled, unregenerate heart: It will be laying\nthe fault upon the dearest friend in the world, nay, upon GOD himself,\nrather than take shame to itself. This pride we are all subject to\nby the fall; and, till our hearts are broken, and made contrite by\nthe spirit of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, we shall be always charging GOD\nfoolishly. \u201cAgainst thee, and thee only, have I sinned, that thou\nmightest be justified in thy saying, and clear when thou art judged,\u201d\nis the language of none but those, who, like _David_, are willing to\nconfess their faults, and are truly sorry for their sins. This was not\nthe case of _Adam_: his heart was not broken; and therefore he lays the\nfault of his disobedience upon his wife and GOD, and not upon himself;\n\u201cThe woman which thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree,\nand I did eat.\u201d\n\nVerse 13. \u201cAnd the LORD GOD said, What is this that thou hast done?\u201d\nWhat a wonderful concern does GOD express in this expostulation! \u201cWhat\na deluge of misery hast thou brought upon thyself, thy husband, and\nthy posterity? What is this that thou hast done? Disobeyed thy GOD,\nobeyed the devil, and ruined thy husband, for whom I made thee to be an\nhelp-meet! What is this that thou hast done?\u201d GOD would here awaken her\nto a sense of her crime and danger, and therefore, as it were, thunders\nin her ears: for the law must be preached to self-righteous sinners. We\nmust take care of healing before we see sinners wounded, lest we should\nsay, Peace, peace, where there is no peace. Secure sinners must hear\nthe thunderings of mount _Sinai_, before we bring them to mount _Sion_.\nThey who never preach up the law, it is to be feared, are unskilful\nin delivering the glad tidings of the gospel. Every minister should\nbe a _Boanerges_, a son of thunder, as well as a _Barnabas_, a son\nof consolation. There was an earthquake and a whirlwind, before the\nsmall still voice came to _Elijah_: We must first shew people they are\ncondemned, and then shew them how they must be saved. But how and when\nto preach the law, and when to apply the promises of the gospel, wisdom\nis profitable to direct. \u201cAnd the LORD GOD said unto the woman, What is\nthis that thou hast done?\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.\u201d She does\nnot make use of so many words to excuse herself, as her husband; but\nher heart is as unhumbled as his. What is this, says GOD, that thou\nhast done? GOD here charges her with doing it. She dares not deny the\nfact, or say, I have not done it; but she takes all the blame off\nherself, and lays it upon the serpent; \u201cThe serpent beguiled me, and I\ndid eat.\u201d She does not say, \u201cLORD, I was to blame for talking with the\nserpent; LORD, I did wrong, in not hastening to my husband, when he\nput the first question to me; LORD, I plead guilty, I only am to blame,\nO let not my poor husband suffer for my wickedness!\u201d This would have\nbeen the language of her heart, had she now been a true penitent. But\nboth were now alike proud; therefore neither will lay the blame upon\nthemselves: \u201cThe serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. The woman which\nthou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.\u201d\n\nI have been the more particular in remarking this part of their\nbehaviour, because it tends so much to the magnifying of Free-grace,\nand plainly shews us, that salvation cometh only from the LORD. Let\nus take a short view of the miserable circumstances our first parents\nwere now in: They were legally and spiritually dead, children of\nwrath, and heirs of hell. They had eaten the fruit, of which GOD had\ncommanded them, that they should not eat; and when arraigned before\nGOD, notwithstanding their crime was so complicated, they could not be\nbrought to confess it. What reason can be given, why sentence of death\nshould not be pronounced against the prisoners at the bar? All must own\nthey are worthy to die. Nay, how can GOD, consistently with his justice,\npossibly forgive them? He had threatened, that the day wherein they\neat of the forbidden fruit, they should \u201csurely die;\u201d and, if he did\nnot execute this threatening, the devil might then slander the Almighty\nindeed. And yet mercy cries, spare these sinners, spare the work of\nthine own hands. Behold, then, wisdom contrives a scheme how GOD may be\njust, and yet be merciful; be faithful to his threatening, punish the\noffence, and at the same time spare the offender. An amazing scene of\ndivine love here opens to our view, which had been from all eternity\nhid in the heart of GOD! Notwithstanding _Adam_ and _Eve_ were thus\nunhumbled, and did not so much as put up one single petition for pardon,\nGOD immediately passes sentence upon the serpent, and reveals to them a\nSaviour.\n\nVerse 14. \u201cAnd the LORD GOD said unto the serpent, because thou hast\ndone this, thou art accursed above all cattle, and above every beast\nof the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat\nall the days of thy life;\u201d _i.\u00a0e._ he should be in subjection, and his\npower should always be limited and restrained. \u201cHis enemies shall lick\nthe very dust,\u201d says the Psalmist. (Verse 15.) \u201cAnd I will put enmity\nbetween thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall\nbruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.\u201d\n\nBefore I proceed to the explanation of this verse, I cannot but take\nnotice of one great mistake which the author of the _Whole Duty of Man_\nis guilty of, in making this verse contain a covenant between GOD and\n_Adam_, as though GOD now personally treated with _Adam_, as before the\nfall. For, talking of the second covenant in his preface, concerning\ncaring for the soul, says he, \u201cThis second covenant was made with\n_Adam_, and us in him, presently after the fall, and is briefly\ncontained in these words, _Genesis_ iii. 15. where GOD declares, \u2018The\nseed of the woman shall break the serpent\u2019s head;\u2019 and this was made\nup, as the first was, of some mercies to be afforded by GOD, and some\nduties to be performed by us.\u201d This is exceeding false divinity: for\nthese words are not spoken to _Adam_; they are directed only to the\nserpent. _Adam_ and _Eve_ stood by as criminals, and GOD could not\ntreat with them, because they had broken his covenant. And it is so far\nfrom being a covenant wherein \u201csome mercies are to be afforded by GOD,\nand some duties to be performed by us,\u201d that here is not a word looking\nthat way; it is only a declaration of a free gift of salvation through\nJESUS CHRIST our LORD. GOD the Father and GOD the Son had entered into\na covenant concerning the salvation of the elect from all eternity,\nwherein GOD the Father promised, That, if the Son would offer his soul\na sacrifice for sin, he should see his seed. Now this is an open\nrevelation of this secret covenant, and therefore GOD speaks in the\nmost positive terms, \u201cIt shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise\nhis heel.\u201d The first _Adam_, GOD had treated with before; he proved\nfalse: GOD therefore, to secure the second covenant from being broken,\nputs it into the hands of the second _Adam_, the LORD from heaven.\n_Adam_, after the fall, stood no longer as our representative; he\nand _Eve_ were only private persons, as we are, and were only to lay\nhold on the declaration of mercy contained in this promise by faith,\n(as they really did) and by that they were saved. I do not say but\nwe are to believe and obey, if we are everlastingly saved. Faith and\nobedience are conditions, if we only mean that they in order go before\nour salvation; but I deny that these are proposed by GOD to _Adam_,\nor that GOD treats with him in this promise, as he did before the fall\nunder the covenant of works. For how could that be, when _Adam_ and\n_Eve_ were now prisoners at the bar, without strength to perform any\nconditions at all? The truth is this: GOD, as a reward of CHRIST\u2019s\nsufferings, promised to give the elect faith and repentance, in order\nto bring them to eternal life: and both these, and every thing else\nnecessary for their everlasting happiness, are infallibly secured to\nthem in this promise; as Mr. _Boston_, an excellent _Scots_ divine,\nclearly shews, in a book entitled, \u201cA view of the covenant of grace.\u201d\n\nThis is by no means an unnecessary distinction; it is a matter of great\nimportance: for want of knowing this, people have been so long misled.\nThey have been taught that they must do so and so, as though they were\nunder a covenant of works, and then for DOING this, they should be\nsaved. Whereas, on the contrary, people should be taught, That the LORD\nJESUS was the second _Adam_, with whom the Father entered into covenant\nfor fallen man; That they can now do nothing of or for themselves, and\nshould therefore come to GOD, beseeching him to give them faith, by\nwhich they shall be enabled to lay hold on the righteousness of CHRIST;\nand that faith they will then shew forth by their works, out of love\nand gratitude to the ever-blessed JESUS, their most glorious Redeemer,\nfor what he has done for their souls. This is a consistent scriptural\nscheme: without holding this, we must run into one of those two bad\nextremes; I mean, _Antinomianism_ on the one hand, or _Arminianism_ on\nthe other: from both which may the good LORD deliver us!\n\nBut to proceed: By the seed of the woman, we are here to understand the\nLORD JESUS CHRIST, who, though very GOD of very GOD, was, for us men\nand our salvation, to have \u2666a body prepared for him by the Holy Ghost,\nand to be born of a woman who never knew man, and by his obedience\nand death make an atonement for man\u2019s transgression, and bring in\nan everlasting righteousness, work in them a new nature, and thereby\nbruise the serpent\u2019s head, _i.\u00a0e._ destroy his power and dominion over\nthem. By the serpent\u2019s seed, we are to understand the devil and all his\nchildren, who are permitted by GOD to tempt and sift his children. But,\nblessed be GOD, he can reach no further than our heel.\n\n \u2666 duplicate word \u201ca\u201d removed\n\nIt is not to be doubted but _Adam_ and _Eve_ understood this promise\nin this sense; for it is plain, in the latter part of the chapter,\nsacrifices were instituted. From whence should those skins come, but\nfrom beasts slain for sacrifice, of which GOD made them coats? We find\n_Abel_, as well as _Cain_, offering sacrifice in the next chapter: and\nthe Apostle tells us, he did it by faith, no doubt in this promise.\nAnd _Eve_, when _Cain_ was _born_, said, \u201cI have gotten a man from\nthe LORD;\u201d or, (as Mr. _Henry_ observes, it may be rendered) \u201cI have\ngotten a man,\u2015\u2015the Lord,\u2015\u2015the promised Messiah.\u201d Some further suppose,\nthat _Eve_ was the first believer; and therefore they translate it thus,\n\u201cThe seed, (not of the, but) of this woman:\u201d which magnifies the grace\nof GOD so much the more, that she, who was first in the transgression,\nshould be the first partaker of redemption. _Adam_ believed also, and\nwas saved: for unto _Adam_ and his wife did the LORD GOD make coats of\nskins, and cloathed them: which was a remarkable type of their being\nclothed with the righteousness of our LORD JESUS CHRIST.\n\nThis promise was literally fulfilled in the person of our LORD JESUS\nCHRIST. Satan bruised his heel, when he tempted him for forty days\ntogether in the wilderness: he bruised his heel, when he raised up\nstrong persecution against him during the time of his public ministry:\nhe in an especial manner bruised his heel, when our LORD complained,\nthat his soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, and he sweat\ngreat drops of blood falling upon the ground, in the garden: He bruised\nhis heel, when he put it into the heart of _Judas_ to betray him: and\nhe bruised him yet most of all, when his emissaries nailed him to an\naccursed tree, and our LORD cried out, \u201cMy GOD, my GOD, why hast thou\nforsaken me?\u201d Yet, in all this, the blessed JESUS, the seed of the\nwoman, bruised Satan\u2019s accursed head: for, in that he was tempted,\nhe was able to succour those that are tempted. By his stripes we\nare healed. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. By dying,\nhe destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. He\nthereby spoiled principalities and powers, and made a shew of them\nopenly, triumphing over them upon the cross.\n\nThis promise has been fulfilled in the elect of GOD, considered\ncollectively, as well before, as since the coming of our LORD in the\nflesh: for they may be called, the seed of the woman. Marvel not,\nthat all who will live godly in CHRIST JESUS, must suffer persecution.\nIn this promise, there is an eternal enmity put between the seed of\nthe woman, and the seed of the serpent; so that those that are born\nafter the flesh, cannot but persecute those that are born after the\nspirit. This enmity shewed itself, soon after this promise was revealed,\nin _Cain_\u2019s bruising the heel of _Abel_: it continued in the church\nthrough all ages before CHRIST came in the flesh, as the history of\nthe Bible, and the xith chapter of the _Hebrews_, plainly shew. It\nraged exceedingly after our LORD\u2019s ascension; witness the _Acts of the\nApostles_, and the History of the Primitive Christians. It now rages,\nand will continue to rage and shew itself, in a greater or less degree,\nto the end of time. But let not this dismay us; for in all this, the\nseed of the woman is more than conqueror, and bruises the serpent\u2019s\nhead. Thus the _Israelites_, the more they were oppressed, the more\nthey increased. Thus it was with the Apostles; thus it was with their\nimmediate followers. So that _Tertullian_ compares the church in his\ntime to a mowed field; the more frequently it is cut, the more it\ngrows. The blood of the martyrs was always the seed of the church. And\nI have often sat down with wonder and delight, and admired how GOD has\nmade the very schemes which his enemies contrived, in order to hinder,\nbecome the most effectual means to propagate his gospel. The devil has\nhad so little success in persecution, that if I did not know that he\nand his children, according to this verse, could not but persecute,\nI should think he would count it his strength to sit still. What did\nhe get by persecuting the martyrs in Queen _Mary_\u2019s time? Was not the\ngrace of GOD exceedingly glorified in their support? What did he get\nby persecuting the good old Puritans? Did it not prove the peopling\nof _New-England_? Or, to come nearer our own times, what has he got\nby putting _us_ out of the synagogues? Hath not the word of GOD,\nsince that, mightily prevailed? My dear hearers, you must excuse me\nfor enlarging on this head; GOD fills my soul generally, when I come to\nthis topic. I can say with _Luther_, \u201cIf it were not for persecution,\nI should not understand the scripture.\u201d If Satan should be yet\nsuffered to bruise my heel further, and his servants should thrust me\ninto prison, I doubt not, but even that would only tend to the more\neffectual bruising of his head. I remember a saying of the then Lord\nChancellor to the pious _Bradford_: \u201cThou hast done more hurt, said he,\nby thy exhortations in private in prison, than thou didst in preaching\nbefore thou wast put in,\u201d or words to this effect. The promise of the\ntext is my daily support; \u201cI will put enmity between thy seed and her\nseed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.\u201d\n\nFurther: this promise is also fulfilled, not only in the church in\ngeneral, but in every individual believer in particular. In every\nbeliever there are two seeds, the seed of the woman, and the seed\nof the serpent; the flesh lusting against the spirit, and the spirit\nagainst the flesh. It is with the believer, when quickened with grace\nin his heart, as it was with _Rebekah_, when she had conceived _Esau_\nand _Jacob_ in her womb; she felt a struggling, and began to be uneasy;\n\u201cIf it be so, says she, why am I thus?\u201d Thus grace and nature struggle\n(if I may so speak) in the womb of a believer\u2019s heart: but, as it was\nthere said, \u201cThe elder shall serve the younger;\u201d so it is here,\u2015\u2015grace\nin the end shall get the better of nature; the seed of the woman shall\nbruise the serpent\u2019s head. Many of you that have believed in CHRIST,\nperhaps may find some particular corruption yet strong, so strong, that\nyou are sometimes ready to cry out with _David_, \u201cI shall fall one day\nby the hand of _Saul_.\u201d But, fear not, the promise in the text insures\nthe perseverance and victory of believers over sin, Satan, death, and\nhell. What if indwelling corruption does yet remain, and the seed of\nthe serpent bruise your heel, in vexing and disturbing your righteous\nsouls? Fear not, though faint, yet pursue: you shall yet bruise the\nserpent\u2019s head. CHRIST hath died for you; and yet a little while,\nand he will send death to destroy the very being of sin in you. Which\nbrings me\n\nTo shew the most extensive manner in which the promise of the text\nshall be fulfilled, viz. at the final judgment, when the LORD JESUS\nshall present the elect to his Father, without spot or wrinkle, or any\nsuch thing, glorified both in body and soul.\n\nThen shall the seed of the woman give the last and fatal blow, in\nbruising the serpent\u2019s head. Satan, the accuser of the brethren, and\nall his accursed seed, shall then be cast out, and never suffered to\ndisturb the seed of the woman any more. Then shall the righteous shine\nas the sun in the kingdom of their Father, and sit with CHRIST on\nthrones in majesty on high.\n\nLet us, therefore, not be weary of well-doing; for we shall reap\nan eternal harvest of comfort, if we faint not. Dare, dare, my dear\nbrethren in CHRIST, to follow the Captain of your salvation, who was\nmade perfect through sufferings. The seed of the woman shall bruise\nthe serpent\u2019s head. Fear not men. Be not too much cast down at the\ndeceitfulness of your hearts. Fear not devils; you shall get the\nvictory even over them. The LORD JESUS has engaged to make you more\nthan conquerors over all. Plead with your Saviour, plead: plead the\npromise in the text. Wrestle, wrestle with GOD in prayer. If it has\nbeen given you to believe, fear not if it should also be given you to\nsuffer. Be not any wise terrified by your adversaries; the king of the\nchurch has them all in a chain: be kind to them, pray for them; but\nfear them not. The LORD will yet bring back his ark, though at present\ndriven into the wilderness; and Satan like lightening shall fall from\nheaven.\n\nAre there any enemies of GOD here? The promise of the text encourages\nme to bid you defiance: the seed of the woman, the ever-blessed JESUS,\nshall bruise the serpent\u2019s head. What signifies all your malice? You\nare only raging waves of the sea, foaming out your own shame. For you,\nwithout repentance, is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. The\nLORD JESUS sits in heaven, ruling over all, and causing all things to\nwork for his childrens good: he laughs you to scorn: he hath you in the\nutmost derision, and therefore so will I. Who are you that persecute\nthe children of the ever-blessed GOD? Though a poor stripling, the LORD\nJESUS, the seed of the woman, will enable me to bruise your heads.\n\nMy brethren in CHRIST, I think I do not speak thus in my own strength,\nbut in the strength of my Redeemer. I know in whom I have believed; I\nam persuaded he will keep that safe, which I have committed unto him.\nHe is faithful who hath promised, that the seed of the woman shall\nbruise the serpent\u2019s head. May we all experience a daily completion of\nthis promise, both in the church and in our hearts, till we come to the\nchurch of the first-born, the spirits of just men made perfect, in the\npresence and actual fruition of the great GOD our heavenly Father!\n\n To whom, with the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be ascribed all honour,\n power, might, majesty, and dominion, now and for evermore.\n _Amen._\n\n\n\n\n SERMON II.\n\n Walking with GOD.\n\n\n GENESIS v. 24.\n\n _And |Enoch| walked with GOD, and he was not, for GOD took him._\n\nVARIOUS are the pleas and arguments, which men of corrupt minds\nfrequently urge against yielding obedience to the just and holy\ncommands of GOD. But, perhaps, one of the most common objections\nthat they make is this, that our LORD\u2019s commands are not practicable,\nbecause contrary to flesh and blood; and consequently, that he is \u201can\nhard master, reaping where he has not sown, and gathering where he has\nnot strewed.\u201d These we find were the sentiments entertained by that\nwicked and slothful servant mentioned in the xxvth of St. _Matthew_;\nand are undoubtedly the same with many which are maintained in the\npresent wicked and adulterous generation. The Holy Ghost foreseeing\nthis, hath taken care to inspire holy men of old, to record the\nexamples of many holy men and women; who, even under the Old Testament\ndispensation, were enabled chearfully to take CHRIST\u2019s yoke upon them,\nand counted his service perfect freedom. The large catalogue of saints,\nconfessors, and martyrs, drawn up in the xith chapter to the _Hebrews_,\nabundantly evidences the truth of this observation. What a great cloud\nof witnesses have we there presented to our view? All eminent for their\nfaith, but some shining with a greater degree of lustre than do others.\nThe proto-martyr _Abel_, leads the van. And next to him, we find\n_Enoch_ mentioned, not only because he was next in order of time, but\nalso on account of his exalted piety. He is spoken of in the words\nof the text in a very extraordinary manner. We have here a short but\nvery full and glorious account, both of his behaviour in this world,\nand the triumphant manner of his entering into the next. The former is\ncontained in these words, \u201cAnd _Enoch_ walked with GOD.\u201d The latter in\nthese, \u201cand he was not: for GOD took him.\u201d He was not; i.\u00a0e. He was not\nfound, he was not taken away in the common manner, he did not see death;\nfor _Hebrews_ xi. 5. GOD had translated him. Who this _Enoch_ was, does\nnot appear so plainly. To me, he seems to have been a person of public\ncharacter. I suppose, like _Noah_, a preacher of righteousness. And,\nif we may credit the Apostle _Jude_, he was a flaming preacher. For\nhe quotes one of his prophecies, wherein he saith, \u201cBehold, the LORD\ncometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all,\nand to convince all that are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly\ndeeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches,\nwhich ungodly sinners have spoken against him.\u201d But whether a public\nor private person, he has a noble testimony given him in the lively\noracles. The author of the epistle to the _Hebrews_ saith, that before\nhis translation he had this testimony, \u201cthat he pleased GOD;\u201d and\nhis being translated, was a proof of it beyond all doubt. And I would\nobserve, that it was wonderful wisdom in GOD to translate _Enoch_ and\n_Elijah_ under the Old Testament dispensation, that hereafter when\nit should be asserted, that the LORD JESUS was carried into heaven,\nit might not seem a thing altogether incredible to the _Jews_; since\nthey themselves confessed, that two of their own prophets had been\ntranslated several hundred years before. But it is not my design\nto detain you any longer, by enlarging, or making observations on\n_Enoch_\u2019s short, but comprehensive character. The thing I have in view,\nbeing to give a discourse, as the LORD shall enable, upon a weighty\nand a very important subject; I mean, _walking with_ GOD. \u201cAnd _Enoch_\nwalked with GOD.\u201d If so much as this can be truly said of you and me\nafter our decease, we shall not have any reason to complain, that we\nhave lived in vain.\n\nIn handling my intended subject, I shall,\n\n_First_, Endeavour to shew, what is implied in these words, _walked\nwith_ GOD.\n\n_Secondly_, I shall prescribe some means, upon the due observance of\nwhich, believers may keep up and maintain their _walk with_ GOD. And,\n\n_Thirdly_, Offer some motives to stir us up, if we never walked with\nGOD before, to come and walk with GOD now. The whole shall be closed\nwith a word or two of application.\n\n_First_, I am to shew what is implied in these words, \u201cwalked with\nGOD;\u201d or in other words, what we are to understand by _walking with_\nGOD.\n\nAnd _First_, _Walking with_ GOD, implies, that the prevailing power of\nthe enmity of a person\u2019s heart, be taken away by the blessed Spirit of\nGOD. Perhaps it may seem a hard saying to some, but our own experience\ndaily proves, what the scripture in many places assert, that the carnal\nmind, the mind of the unconverted, natural man, nay, the mind of the\nregenerate, so far as any part of him remains unrenewed, is enmity,\nnot only an enemy, but \u201cenmity itself against GOD; so that it is not\nsubject to the law of GOD, neither indeed can it be.\u201d Indeed one may\nwell wonder that any creature, especially that lovely creature man,\nmade after his Maker\u2019s own image, should ever have any enmity, much\nless a prevailing enmity against that very GOD in whom he lives,\nand moves, and hath his being. But alas! so it is. Our first parents\ncontracted it when they fell from GOD by eating the forbidden fruit,\nand the bitter and malignant contagion of it, hath descended to, and\nquite overspread their whole posterity. This enmity discovered itself,\nin _Adam_\u2019s endeavouring to hide himself in the trees of the garden.\nWhen he heard the voice of the LORD GOD, instead of running with an\nopen heart, saying, Here am I; alas! he now wanted no communion with\nGOD; and still more discovered his lately contracted enmity, by the\nexcuse he made to the Most High. \u201cThe woman, or this woman, thou gavest\nto be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.\u201d By saying thus,\nhe in effect lays all the fault upon GOD; as though he had said, if\nthou hadst not given me this woman, I had not sinned against thee, so\nthou mayst thank thyself for my transgression. In the same manner this\nenmity works in the hearts of _Adam_\u2019s children. They now and again\nfind something rising against GOD, and saying even unto GOD, what\ndoest thou? \u201cIt scorns any meaner competitor (says the learned Doctor\n_Owen_ in his excellent treatise on indwelling sin) than GOD himself.\u201d\nIts command is like that of the _Assyrians_ in respect to _Ahab_,\nShoot only at the King. And it strikes against every thing that has\nthe appearance of real piety, as the _Assyrians_ shot at _Jehosaphat_\nin _Ahab_\u2019s cloathes. But the opposition ceases when it finds that\nit is only an appearance, as the _Assyrians_ left off shooting at\n_Jehosaphat_, when they perceived it was not _Ahab_ they were shooting\nat. This enmity discovered itself in accursed _Cain_; he hated and\nslew his brother _Abel_, because _Abel_ loved, and was peculiarly\nfavoured by his GOD. And this same enmity rules and prevails in every\nman that is naturally engendered of the offspring of _Adam_. Hence that\naverseness to prayer and holy duties, which we find in children, and\nvery often in grown persons, who have notwithstanding been blessed with\na religious education. And all that open sin and wickedness, which like\na deluge has overflowed the world, are only so many streams running\nfrom this dreadful, contagious fountain; I mean the enmity of man\u2019s\ndesperately wicked and deceitful heart. He that cannot set his seal to\nthis, knows nothing yet, in a saving manner, of the holy scriptures,\nor of the power of GOD. And all that do know this, will readily\nacknowledge, that before a person can be said to walk with GOD, the\nprevailing power of this heart-enmity must be destroyed. For persons\ndo not use to walk and keep company together, who entertain an\nirreconcilable enmity and hatred against one another. Observe me, I\nsay, the prevailing power of this enmity must be taken away. For the\ninbeing of it will never be totally removed, till we bow down our heads\nand give up the ghost. The apostle _Paul_, no doubt, speaks of himself,\nand that too not when he was a pharisee, but a real christian; when\nhe complains, \u201cthat when he would do good, evil was present with him;\u201d\nnot having dominion over him, but opposing and resisting his good\nintentions and actions, \u201cso that he could not do the things which he\nwould,\u201d in that perfection which the new man desired. This is what he\ncalls sin dwelling in him. \u201cAnd this is that \u03a6\u03c1\u03cc\u03bd\u03b7\u03bc\u03b1 \u2666\u03c3\u03b1\u03c1\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2, which,\n(to use the words of the ninth article of our church,) some do expound\nthe wisdom, some sensuality, some the affectation, some the desire of\nthe flesh, which doth remain, yea, in them that are regenerated.\u201d But\nas for its prevailing power, it is destroyed in every soul that is\ntruly born of GOD, and gradually more and more weakened as the believer\ngrows in grace, and the spirit of GOD gains a greater and greater\nascendancy in the heart.\n\n \u2666 \u201c\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03c1\u03ba\u03bf\u03c2\u201d replaced with \u201c\u03c3\u03b1\u03c1\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2\u201d\n\nBut _Secondly_, Walking with GOD not only implies, that the prevailing\npower of the enmity of a man\u2019s heart be taken away, but also that\na person is actually reconciled to GOD the Father, in and through\nthe all-sufficient righteousness and atonement of his dear Son. \u201cCan\ntwo walk together, (says _Solomon_), unless they are agreed?\u201d JESUS\nis our peace, as well as our peace-maker. When we are justified by\nfaith in CHRIST, then, but not till then, we have peace with GOD; and\nconsequently cannot be said till then, to walk with him. Walking with\na person, being a sign and token that we are friends to that person,\nor at least, though we have been at variance, yet that now we are\nreconciled and become friends again. This is the great errand that\ngospel ministers are sent out upon. To us is committed the ministry of\nreconciliation: As ambassadors for GOD, we are to beseech sinners, in\nCHRIST\u2019s stead, to be reconciled unto GOD; and when they comply with\nthe gracious invitation, and are actually by faith brought into a state\nof reconciliation with GOD, then, and not till then, may they be said\nso much as to begin to walk with GOD.\n\nFurther, _Thirdly_, Walking with GOD implies, a settled, abiding\ncommunion and fellowship with GOD, or what in scripture is called, \u201cThe\nHoly Ghost dwelling in us.\u201d This is what our LORD promised when he told\nhis disciples, that \u201cthe Holy Spirit should be in, and with them;\u201d not\nto be like a wayfaring-man, to stay only for a night, but to reside\nand make his abode in their hearts. This I am apt to believe is what\nthe Apostle _John_ would have us understand, when he talks of a person\nabiding in him, in CHRIST, \u201cand walking as he himself also walked.\u201d\nAnd this is what is particularly meant in the words of our text. \u201cAnd\n_Enoch_ walked with GOD.\u201d _i.\u00a0e._ He kept up and maintained a holy,\nsettled, habitual, though undoubtedly not altogether uninterrupted\ncommunion and fellowship with GOD, in and through CHRIST JESUS. So\nthat to sum up what has been said on this part of the first general\nhead, _walking with_ GOD consists especially in the fixed habitual\nbent of the will for GOD, in an habitual dependance upon his power and\npromise, in an habitual voluntary dedication of our all to his glory,\nin an habitual eying of his precept in all we do, and in an habitual\ncomplacence in his pleasure in all we suffer.\n\n_Fourthly_, _Walking with_ GOD implies, our making progress or advances\nin the divine life. _Walking_, in the very first idea of the word,\nseems to suppose a progressive motion. A person that walks, though he\nmove slowly, yet he goes forwards and does not continue in one place.\nAnd so it is with those that walk with GOD. They go on, as the psalmist\nsays, \u201cfrom strength to strength;\u201d or, in the language of the Apostle\n_Paul_, \u201cthey pass from glory to glory, even by the Spirit of the LORD.\u201d\nIndeed in one sense, the divine life admits of neither increase nor\ndecrease. When a soul is born of GOD, to all intents and purposes he is\na child of GOD, and, though he should live to the age of _Methuselah_,\nyet he would then be only a child of GOD, after all. But in another\nsense, the divine life admits of decays and additions. Hence it is,\nthat we find the people of GOD charged with backslidings, and losing\ntheir first love. And hence it is, that we hear of babes, young men and\nfathers in CHRIST; and upon this account it is that the Apostle exhorts\n_Timothy_, \u201cto let his progress be made known to all men.\u201d And what is\nhere required of _Timothy_ in particular; by St. _Peter_, is enjoined\nall christians in general, \u201cBut grow in grace, (says he) and in the\nknowledge of our LORD and Saviour JESUS CHRIST.\u201d For the new creature\nincreases in spiritual stature; and though a person can but be a new\ncreature, yet there are some that are more conformed to the divine\nimage than others, and will, after death, be admitted to a greater\ndegree of blessedness. For want of observing this distinction, even\nsome gracious souls that have better hearts than heads, (as well as\nmen of corrupt minds, reprobates concerning the faith) have unawares\nrun into downright _Antinomian_ principles, denying all growth of grace\nin a believer, or any marks of grace to be laid down in the scriptures\nof truth. From such principles, and more especially from practices\nnaturally consequent on such principles, may the LORD of all Lord\u2019s\ndeliver us!\n\nFrom what then has been said, we may now know what is implied in the\nwords, \u201cwalked with GOD,\u201d viz. Our having the prevailing enmity of our\nhearts taken away by the power of the Spirit of GOD; our being actually\nreconciled and united to him by faith in JESUS CHRIST; our having and\nkeeping up a settled communion and fellowship with him; and our making\na daily progress in this fellowship, so as to be conformed to the\ndivine image more and more.\n\nHow this is done, or, in other words, by what means believers keep\nup and maintain their walk with GOD, comes to be considered under our\nsecond general head.\n\nAnd, _First_, Believers keep up and maintain their walk with GOD, by\nreading of his holy word. \u201cSearch the scriptures,\u201d says our blessed\nLORD, \u201cfor these are they that testify of me.\u201d And the royal psalmist\ntells us, \u201cthat GOD\u2019s word was a light unto his feet, and a lanthorn\nunto his paths;\u201d and he makes it one property of a good man, \u201cthat\nhis delight is in the law of the LORD, and that he exercises himself\ntherein day and night.\u201d \u201cGive thyself to reading,\u201d (says _Paul_ to\n_Timothy_); \u201cAnd this book of the law, (says GOD to _Joshua_) shall\nnot go out of thy mouth.\u201d For whatsoever was written in afore time, was\nwritten for our learning. And the word of GOD is profitable for reproof,\ncorrection, and instruction in righteousness, and every way sufficient\nto make every true child of GOD thoroughly furnished to every good\nwork. If we once get above our Bibles, and cease making the written\nword of GOD our sole rule, both as to faith and practice, we shall soon\nlie open to all manner of delusion, and be in great danger of making\nshipwreck of faith and a good conscience. Our blessed LORD, though\nhe had the Spirit of GOD without measure, yet always was governed by,\nand fought the devil with, \u201cIt is written.\u201d This the Apostle calls the\n\u201cSword of the Spirit.\u201d We may say of it as _David_ said of _Goliah_\u2019s\nsword, \u201cNone like this.\u201d The scriptures are called the lively oracles\nof GOD: not only because they are generally made use of to beget in\nus a new life, but also to keep up and increase it in the soul. The\nApostle _Peter_, in his 2d epistle, prefers it even to seeing CHRIST\ntransfigured upon the mount. For after he had said, chapter i. 18.\n\u201cThat the voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him\nin the holy mount;\u201d he adds, \u201cWe have also a more sure word of prophecy;\nwhereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light shining in a\ndark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts:\u201d\ni.\u00a0e. Till we shake off these bodies, and see JESUS face to face. Till\nthen, we must see and converse with him through the glass of his word.\nWe must make his testimonies our counsellors, and daily, with _Mary_,\nsit at JESUS feet, by faith hearing his word. We shall then by happy\nexperience find, that they are spirit and life, meat indeed, and drink\nindeed to our souls.\n\n_Secondly_, Believers keep up and maintain their walk with GOD by\nsecret prayer. The spirit of grace is always accompanied with the\nspirit of supplication. It is the very breath of the new-creature, the\nfan of the divine life, whereby the spark of holy fire kindled in the\nsoul by GOD, is not only kept in, but raised into a flame. A neglect of\nsecret prayer has been frequently an inlet to many spiritual diseases,\nand has been attended with fatal consequences. _Origen_ observed,\n\u201cThat the day he offered incense to an idol, he went out of his closet\nwithout making use of secret prayer.\u201d It is one of the most noble parts\nof the believer\u2019s spiritual armour. \u201cPraying always, says the Apostle,\nwith all manner of supplication.\u201d \u201cWatch and pray, says our LORD,\nthat ye enter not into temptation.\u201d And he spake a parable, that his\ndisciples should pray, and not faint. Not that our LORD would have\nus always upon our knees, or in our closets, to the neglect of our\nother relative duties. But he means, that our souls should be kept\nin a praying-frame, so that we might be able to say, as a good man\nin _Scotland_ once said to his friends on his death-bed, \u201cCould these\ncurtains, or could these walls speak, they would tell you what sweet\ncommunion I have had with my GOD here.\u201d O prayer, prayer! It brings\nand keeps GOD and man together. It raises man up to GOD, and brings\nGOD down to man. If you would therefore, O believers, keep up your\nwalk with GOD; pray, pray without ceasing. Be much in secret, set\nprayer. And when you are about the common business of life, be much in\nejaculatory prayer, and send, from time to time, short letters post to\nheaven upon the wings of faith. They will reach the very heart of GOD,\nand return to you again loaded with spiritual blessings.\n\n_Thirdly_, Holy and frequent meditation is another blessed means of\nkeeping up a believer\u2019s walk with GOD. \u201cPrayer, reading, temptation,\nand meditation,\u201d says _Luther_, \u201cmake a minister.\u201d And they also\nmake, and perfect a christian. Meditation to the soul, is the same as\ndigestion to the body. Holy _David_ found it so, and therefore he was\nfrequently employed in meditation, even in the night season. We read\nalso of _Isaac_\u2019s going out into the fields to meditate in the evening;\nor, as it is in the margin, to pray. For meditation is a kind of silent\nprayer, whereby the soul is frequently, as it were, carried out of\nitself to GOD, and in a degree made like unto those blessed Spirits,\nwho by a kind of immediate intuition always behold the face of our\nheavenly Father. None but those happy souls that have been accustomed\nto this divine employ, can tell what a blessed promoter of the divine\nlife, meditation is. \u201cWhilst I was musing, says _David_, the fire\nkindled.\u201d And whilst the believer is musing on the works and word\nof GOD; especially that work of works, that wonder of wonders, that\nmystery of godliness, \u201cGOD manifest in the flesh,\u201d the Lamb of GOD\nslain for the sins of the world: he frequently feels the fire of divine\nlove kindle, so that he is obliged to speak with his tongue, and tell\nof the loving-kindness of the LORD to his soul. Be frequent therefore\nin meditation, all ye that desire to keep up and maintain a close and\nuniform walk with the most-high GOD.\n\n_Fourthly_, Believers keep up their walk with GOD, by watching\nand noting his providential dealings with them. If we believe the\nscriptures, we must believe what our LORD hath declared therein, \u201cThat\nthe very hairs of his disciples heads are all numbered; and that a\nsparrow does not fall to the ground, (either to pick up a grain of corn,\nor when shot by a fowler) without the knowledge of our heavenly Father.\u201d\nEvery cross has a call in it, and every particular dispensation of\ndivine providence, has some particular end to answer in those to whom\nit is sent. If it be of an afflictive nature, GOD does thereby say, \u201cMy\nson, keep thyself from idols:\u201d if prosperous, he does it as it were by\na small, still voice, say, \u201cMy son, give me thy heart.\u201d If believers,\ntherefore, would keep up their walk with GOD, they must from time to\ntime hear what the LORD has to say concerning them in the voice of his\nprovidence. Thus we find _Abraham_\u2019s servant, when he went to fetch\na wife for his master _Isaac_, eyed and watched the providence of\nGOD, and by that means found out the person that was designed for his\nmaster\u2019s wife. \u201cFor a little hint from Providence,\u201d says pious Bishop\n_Hall_, \u201cis enough for faith to feed upon.\u201d And as I believe it will be\none part of our happiness in heaven, to take a view of, and look back\nupon, the various links of the golden chain which drew us there; so\nthose that enjoy most of heaven below, I believe, will be most minute\nin remarking GOD\u2019s various dealings with them, in respect to his\nprovidential dispensations here on earth.\n\n_Fifthly_, In order to walk closely with GOD, his children must not\nonly watch the motions of GOD\u2019s providence without them, but the\nmotions also of his blessed Spirit in their hearts. \u201cAs many as are\nthe sons of GOD, are led by the Spirit of GOD,\u201d and give up themselves\nto be guided by the Holy Ghost, as a little child gives its hand to\nbe led by a nurse or parent. It is no doubt in this sense, that we\nare to be converted, and become like little children. And though it is\nthe quintessence of enthusiasm, to pretend to be guided by the Spirit\nwithout the written word; yet it is every christian\u2019s bounden duty to\nbe guided by the Spirit in conjunction with the written word of GOD.\nWatch, therefore, I pray you, O believers, the motions of GOD\u2019s blessed\nSpirit in your souls, and always try the suggestions or impressions\nthat you may at any time feel, by the unerring rule of GOD\u2019s most\nholy word: and if they are not found to be agreeable to that, reject\nthem as diabolical and delusive. By observing this caution, you will\nsteer a middle course between the two dangerous extremes many of this\ngeneration are in danger of running into; I mean, _enthusiasm_, on the\none hand, and _deism_, and _downright infidelity_, on the other.\n\n_Sixthly_, They that would maintain a holy walk with GOD, must walk\nwith him in ordinances as well as providences, &c. It is, therefore,\nrecorded of _Zachary_ and _Elizabeth_, that \u201cThey walked in all\nGOD\u2019s ordinances as well as commandments, blameless.\u201d And all rightly\ninformed christians, will look upon ordinances, not as beggarly\nelements, but as so many conduit-pipes, whereby the infinitely\ncondescending _Jehovah_ conveys his grace to their souls. They will\nlook upon them as childrens bread, and as their highest privileges.\nConsequently they will be glad when they hear others say, \u201cCome, let\nus go up to the house of the LORD.\u201d They will delight to visit the\nplace where GOD\u2019s honour dwelleth, and be very eager to embrace all\nopportunities to shew forth the LORD CHRIST\u2019s death till he come.\n\n_Seventhly_ and _lastly_, If you would walk with GOD, you will\nassociate and keep company with those that do walk with him. \u201cMy\ndelight, says holy _David_, is in them that do excel\u201d in virtue.\nThey were in his sight, the excellent ones of the earth. And the\nprimitive christians, no doubt, kept up their vigour and first love, by\ncontinuing in fellowship one with another. The Apostle _Paul_ knew this\nfull well, and therefore exhorts the christians to see to it, that they\ndid not forsake the assembling of themselves together. For how can one\nbe warm alone? And has not the wisest of men told us, that, \u201cas iron\nsharpeneth iron, so doth the countenance of a man his friend?\u201d If we\nlook, therefore, into church history, or make a just observation of our\nown times, I believe we shall find, that as the power of GOD prevails,\nchristian societies, and fellowship meetings prevail proportionably.\nAnd as one decays, the other has insensibly decayed and dwindled away\nat the same time. So necessary is it for those that would walk with\nGOD, and keep up the life of religion, to meet together as they have\nopportunity, in order to provoke one another to love and good works.\n\nProceed we now to the Third general thing proposed, To offer some\nmotives to excite all to come and walk with GOD.\n\nAnd _First_, Walking with GOD, is a very honourable thing. This\ngenerally is a prevailing motive to persons of all ranks, to stir them\nup to any important undertaking. O that it may have its due weight and\ninfluence with you, in respect to the matter now before us! I suppose\nyou would all think it a very high honour to be admitted into an\nearthly prince\u2019s privy-council, to be trusted with his secrets, and\nto have his ear at all times, and at all seasons. It seems _Haman_\nthought it so, when he boasted, _Esther_ v. 11, that besides his being\n\u201cadvanced above the princes and servants of the king; yea, moreover,\n_Esther_ the Queen did let no man come in with the King unto the\nbanquet that she had prepared, but myself; and to-morrow am I invited\nunto her also with the King.\u201d And when afterwards a question was put to\nthis same _Haman_, chapter vi. 6. \u201cWhat shall be done unto the man whom\nthe King delighteth to honour?\u201d he answered, verse 8. \u201cLet the royal\napparel be brought which the king used to wear, and the horse that the\nking rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head; and\nlet this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the\nking\u2019s most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the\nKing delights to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street\nof the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man\nwhom the King delighteth to honour.\u201d This was all then, it seems, that\nan ambitious _Haman_ could ask, and the most valuable thing that he\nthought _Ahasuerus_, the greatest monarch upon earth, could give. But\nalas, what is this honour in comparison of that which the meanest of\nthose enjoy, that walk with GOD! Think ye it a small thing, Sirs, to\nhave the secret of the LORD of Lords with you, and to be called the\nfriends of GOD? and such honour have all GOD\u2019s saints. \u201cThe secret of\nthe LORD is with them that fear him:\u201d and \u201cHenceforth, says the blessed\nJESUS, call I you no longer servants, but friends; for the servant\nknoweth not the will of his master.\u201d Whatever you may think of it, holy\n_David_ was so sensible of the honour attending a walk with GOD, that\nhe declares, \u201cHe had rather be a door-keeper in his house, than to\ndwell even in the tents of ungodliness.\u201d O that all were like-minded\nwith him!\n\nBut, _Secondly_, As it is an honourable, so it is a pleasing thing to\nwalk with GOD. The wisest of men has told us, that \u201cWisdom\u2019s ways are\nways of pleasantness, and all her paths peace.\u201d And I remember pious\nMr. _Henry_, when he was just about to expire, said to a friend, \u201cYou\nhave heard many mens dying words, and these are mine; A life spent in\ncommunion with GOD, is the pleasantest life in the world.\u201d I am sure I\ncan set to my seal that this is true. Indeed, I have been lifted under\nJESUS\u2019s banner only for a few years; but I have enjoyed more solid\npleasure in one moment\u2019s communion with my GOD, than I should or could\nhave enjoyed in the ways of sin, though I had continued to have went\non in them for thousands of years. And may I not appeal to all you that\nfear and walk with GOD, for the truth of this? Has not one day in the\nLORD\u2019s courts, been to you better than a thousand? In keeping GOD\u2019s\ncommandments, have you not found a present and very great reward? Has\nnot his word been sweeter to you than the honey, or the honey-comb? O\nwhat have you felt, when, _Jacob_-like, you have been wrestling with\nyour GOD? Has not JESUS often met you when meditating in the fields,\nand been made known to you over and over again in breaking of bread?\nHas not the Holy Ghost frequently shed the divine love abroad in your\nhearts abundantly, and filled you with joy unspeakable, even joy that\nis full of glory? I know you will answer all these questions in the\naffirmative, and freely acknowledge the yoke of CHRIST to be easy, and\nhis burden light; or (to use the words of one of our collects) \u201cThat\nhis service is perfect freedom.\u201d And what need we then any further\nmotive to excite us to walk with GOD?\n\nBut methinks I hear some among you say, \u201cHow can these things be? For,\nif walking with GOD, as you say, is such an honourable and pleasant\nthing, whence is it, that the name of the people of this way is cast\nout as evil, and every where spoken against? How comes it to pass that\nthey are frequently afflicted, tempted, destitute, and tormented? Is\nthis the honour, this the pleasure that you speak of?\u201d I answer, Yes.\nStop a while; be not over-hasty. Judge not according to appearance,\nbut judge righteous judgment, and all will be well. It is true, we\nacknowledge the \u201cpeople of this way,\u201d as you, and _Paul_ before you,\nwhen a persecutor, called them, have their names cast out as evil, and\nare a sect every where spoken against. But by whom? Even by the enemies\nof the most high GOD. And do you think it a disgrace to be spoken evil\nof by them? Blessed be GOD, we have not so learnt CHRIST. Our royal\nMaster has pronounced those \u201cblessed, who are persecuted, and have\nall manner of evil spoken against them falsly.\u201d He has commanded them\n\u201cto rejoice and be exceeding glad.\u201d For it is the \u2666privilege of their\ndiscipleship, and that their reward will be great in heaven. He himself\nwas thus treated. And can there be a greater honour put upon a creature,\nthan to be conformed to the ever-blessed Son of GOD? And further, it\nis equally true, that the people of this way are frequently afflicted,\ntempted, destitute, and tormented. But what of all this? Does this\ndestroy the pleasure of walking with GOD? No, in no wise; for those\nthat walk with GOD, are enabled, through CHRIST strengthening them,\nto joy even in tribulation, and to rejoice when they fall into divers\ntemptations. And I believe I may appeal to the experience of all true\nand close walkers with GOD, Whether or not their suffering times, have\nnot frequently been their sweetest times, and that they enjoyed most\nof GOD, when most cast out and despised by men? This we find was the\ncase of CHRIST\u2019s primitive servants, when threatened by the _Jewish_\nsanhedrim, and commanded to preach no more in the name of JESUS; they\nrejoiced, that they were accounted worthy to suffer shame for the\nsake of JESUS. _Paul_ and _Silas_ sang praises even in a dungeon; and\nthe face of _Stephen_, that glorious proto-martyr of the christian\nchurch, shone like the face of an angel. And JESUS is the same now, as\nhe was then, and takes care so to sweeten sufferings and afflictions\nwith his love, that his \u2660disciples find, by happy experience, that as\nafflictions abound, consolations do much more abound. And therefore\nthese objections, instead of destroying, do only more enforce the\nmotives before urged to excite you to walk with GOD.\n\n \u2666 \u201cprilege\u201d replaced with \u201cprivilege\u201d\n\n \u2660 \u201cdisciciples\u201d replaced with \u201cdisciples\u201d\n\nBut supposing the objections were just, and walkers with GOD were\nas despicable and unhappy as you would represent them to be; yet I\nhave a third motive to offer, which, if weighed in the balance of\nthe sanctuary, will over-weigh all objections, viz. That there is a\nheaven at the end of this walk. For, to use the words of pious Bishop\n_Beveridge_, \u201cThough the way be narrow, yet it is not long; and though\nthe gate be straight, yet it opens into everlasting life.\u201d _Enoch_\nfound it so. He walked with GOD on earth, and GOD took him to sit down\nwith him for ever in the kingdom of heaven. Not that we are to expect\nto be taken away as he was: no; I suppose we shall all die the common\ndeath of all men. But after death, the spirits of those who have walked\nwith GOD, shall return to GOD that gave them; and at the morning of the\nresurrection, soul and body shall be for ever with the LORD. Their\nbodies shall be fashioned like unto CHRIST\u2019s glorious body, and their\nsouls filled with all the fulness of GOD. They shall sit on thrones;\nthey shall judge angels. They shall be enabled to sustain an exceeding\nand eternal weight of glory, even that glory which JESUS CHRIST enjoyed\nwith the Father before the world began. _O gloriam quantam et qualem_,\nsays the learned and pious _Arndt_, just before he bowed down his\nhead, and gave up the ghost. The very thought of it is enough to make\nus \u201cwish to leap our seventy years,\u201d as good Dr. _Watts_ expresses\nhimself, and to make us break out into the earnest language of the\nroyal Psalmist, \u201cMy soul is athirst for GOD, yea for the living GOD.\nWhen shall I come to appear in the immediate presence of my GOD?\u201d\nI wonder not that a sense of this, when under a more than ordinary\nirradiation and influx of divine life and love, causes some persons\neven to faint away, and for a time lose the power of their senses. A\nless sight than this, even a sight of _Solomon_\u2019s glory, made _Sheba_\u2019s\nqueen astonished; and a still lesser sight than that, even a sight\nof _Joseph_\u2019s waggons, made holy _Jacob_ to faint, and for a while,\nas it were, die away. _Daniel_, when admitted to a distant view of\nthis excellent glory, fell down at the feet of the angel as one dead.\nAnd if a distant view of this glory be so excellent, what must the\nactual possession of it be? If the first fruits are so glorious, how\ninfinitely must the harvest exceed in glory?\n\nAnd now what shall I, or indeed what can I well say more, to excite you,\neven you that are yet strangers to CHRIST, to come and walk with GOD?\nIf you love honour, pleasure, and a crown of glory, come, seek it where\nalone it can be found. Come, put ye on the LORD JESUS. Come, haste ye\naway and walk with GOD, and make no longer provision for the flesh,\nto fulfil the lust thereof. Stop, stop, O sinner! turn ye, turn ye,\nO ye unconverted men! for the end of that way you are now walking in,\nhowever right it may seem in your blinded eyes, will be death, even\neternal destruction both of body and soul. Make no long tarrying,\nI say: at your peril, I charge you, step not one step further on in\nyour present walk. For how knowest thou, O man, but the next step thou\ntakest may be into hell? Death may seize thee, judgment find thee, and\nthen the great gulph will be fixed between thee and endless glory, for\never and ever. O think of these things, all ye that are unwilling to\ncome and walk with GOD. Lay them to heart. Shew yourselves men, and in\nthe strength of JESUS say, Farewel lust of the flesh, I will no more\nwalk with thee! Farewel lust of the eye, and pride of life! Farewel\ncarnal acquaintance, and enemies of the cross, I will no more walk\nand be intimate with you! Welcome JESUS, welcome thy word, welcome thy\nordinances, welcome thy Spirit, welcome thy people, I will henceforth\nwalk with you. O that there may be in you such a mind! GOD will set\nhis almighty fiat to it, and seal it with the broad seal of heaven,\neven the signet of his Holy Spirit. Yes, he will, though you have been\nwalking with, and following after, the devices and desires of your\ndesperately wicked hearts, ever since you have been born. \u201cI the high\nand lofty one,\u201d says the great Jehovah, \u201cthat inhabiteth eternity,\nwill dwell with the humble and contrite heart, even with the man that\ntrembleth at my word.\u201d The blood, even the precious blood of JESUS\nCHRIST, if you come to the Father in and through him, shall cleanse you\nfrom all sin.\n\nBut the text leads me to speak to you that are saints, as well as to\nyou that are open or unconverted sinners. I need not tell you that\nwalking with GOD is not only honourable, but pleasant and profitable\nalso: for ye know it by happy experience, and will find it more and\nmore so every day. Only give me leave to stir up your pure minds by\nway of remembrance, and to beseech you by the mercies of GOD in CHRIST\nJESUS, to take heed to yourselves, and walk closer with your GOD, than\nyou have in days past: for the nearer you walk with GOD, the more you\nwill enjoy of Him whose presence is life, and be the better prepared\nfor being placed at his right-hand, where are pleasures for evermore.\nO do not follow JESUS afar off! O be not so formal, so dead and stupid\nin your attendance on holy ordinances! Do not so shamefully forsake the\nassembling yourselves together, or be so niggardly, and so indifferent\nabout the things of GOD. Remember what JESUS says of the church\nof _Laodicea_, \u201cBecause thou art neither hot nor cold, I will spew\nthee out of my mouth.\u201d Think of the love of JESUS, and let that love\nconstrain you to keep near unto him; and though you die for him, do not\ndeny him, do not keep at a distance from him in any wise.\n\nOne word to my brethren in the ministry that are here present, and I\nhave done. You see, my brethren, my heart is full; I could almost say\nit is too big to speak, and yet too big to be silent, without dropping\na word to you. For does not the text speak in a particular manner to\nthose who have the honour of being stiled the ambassadors of CHRIST,\nand stewards of the mysteries of GOD? I observed at the beginning of\nthis discourse, that _Enoch_ in all probability was a public person,\nand a flaming preacher. Though he be dead, does he not yet speak to\nus, to quicken our zeal, and make us more active in the service of\nour glorious and ever-blessed Master? How did _Enoch_ preach? How\ndid _Enoch_ walk with GOD, though he lived in a wicked and adulterous\ngeneration? Let us then follow him, as he followed JESUS CHRIST, and\nere long, where he is, there shall we be also. He is now entered into\nhis rest: yet a little while, and we shall enter into ours, and that\ntoo much sooner than he did. He sojourned here below three hundred\nyears; but blessed be GOD, the days of man are now shortened, and in a\nfew days our work will be over. The Judge is before the door: he that\ncometh will come, and will not tarry: his reward is with him. And we\nshall all (if we are zealous for the LORD of Hosts) ere long shine as\nthe stars in the firmament, in the kingdom of our heavenly Father, for\never and ever. To Him, the blessed JESUS, and eternal Spirit, be all\nhonour and glory, now, and to all eternity. _Amen_, and _Amen_.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON III.\n\n _Abraham_\u2019s offering up his Son _Isaac_.\n\n\n GENESIS xxii. 12.\n\n _And he said, Lay not thine Hand upon the Lad, neither do thou\n any thing unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God,\n seeing thou hast not withheld thy Son, thine only Son from me._\n\nTHE great Apostle _Paul_, in one of his epistles, informs us, that\n\u201cwhatsoever was written aforetime was written for our learning, that\nwe through patience and comfort of the holy scripture might have hope.\u201d\nAnd as without faith it is impossible to please GOD, or be accepted in\nJESUS, the Son of his love; we may be assured, that whatever instances\nof a more than common faith are recorded in the book of GOD, they\nwere more immediately designed by the holy Spirit for our learning\nand imitation, upon whom the ends of the world are come. For this\nreason, the author of the epistle to the _Hebrews_, in the xith\nchapter, mentions such a noble catalogue of Old Testament saints and\nmartyrs, \u201cwho subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, stopped the\nmouths of lions, &c. and are gone before us to inherit the promises.\u201d A\nsufficient confutation, I think, of their error, who lightly esteem the\nOld Testament saints, and would not have them mentioned to christians,\nas persons whose faith and patience we are called upon more immediately\nto follow. If this was true, the apostle would never have produced such\na cloud of witnesses out of the Old Testament, to excite the christians\nof the first, and consequently purest age of the church, to continue\nstedfast and unmoveable in the profession of their faith. Amidst this\ncatalogue of saints, methinks the patriarch _Abraham_ shines the\nbrightest, and differs from the others, as one star differeth from\nanother star in glory; for he shone with such distinguished lustre,\nthat he was called the \u201cfriend of GOD,\u201d the \u201cfather of the faithful;\u201d\nand those who believe on CHRIST, are said to be \u201csons and daughters of,\nand to be blessed with, faithful _Abraham_.\u201d Many trials of his faith\ndid GOD send this great and good man, after he had commanded him to get\nout from his country, and from his kindred, unto a land which he should\nshew him; but the last was the most severe of all, I mean, that of\noffering up his only son. This, by the divine assistance, I propose to\nmake the subject of your present meditation, and, by way of conclusion,\nto draw some practical inferences, as GOD shall enable me, from this\ninstructive story.\n\nThe sacred penman begins the narrative thus; verse 1. \u201cAnd it came to\npass, after these things, GOD did tempt _Abraham_.\u201d After these things,\nthat is, after he had underwent many severe trials before, after he was\nold, full of days, and might flatter himself perhaps that the troubles\nand toils of life were now finished; \u201cafter these things, GOD did tempt\n_Abraham_.\u201d Christians, you know not what trials you may meet with\nbefore you die: notwithstanding you may have suffered, and been tried\nmuch already, yet, it may be, a greater measure is still behind, which\nyou are to fill up. \u201cBe not high-minded, but fear.\u201d Our last trials, in\nall probability, will be the greatest: and we can never say our warfare\nis accomplished, or our trials finished, till we bow down our heads,\nand give up the ghost. \u201cAnd it came to pass, after these things, that\nGOD did tempt _Abraham_.\u201d\n\n\u201cGOD did tempt _Abraham_.\u201d But can the scripture contradict itself?\nDoes not the apostle _James_ tell us, \u201cthat GOD tempts no man;\u201d and\nGOD does tempt no man to evil, or on purpose to draw him into sin; for,\nwhen a man is thus tempted, he is drawn away of his own heart\u2019s lust,\nand enticed. But in another sense, GOD may be said to tempt, I mean, to\ntry his servants; and in this sense we are to understand that passage\nof _Matthew_, where we are told, that, \u201cJESUS was led up by the Spirit\n(the good Spirit) into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil.\u201d And\nour LORD, in that excellent form of prayer which he has been pleased\nto give us, does not require us to pray that we may not absolutely\nbe led into temptation, but delivered from the evil of it; whence\nwe may plainly infer, that GOD sees it fit sometimes to lead us into\ntemptation, that is, to bring us into such circumstances as will\ntry our faith and other christian graces. In this sense we are to\nunderstand the expression before us; \u201cGOD did tempt or try _Abraham_.\u201d\n\nHow GOD was pleased to reveal his will at this time to his faithful\nservant, whether by the _Shechinah_, or divine appearance, or by a\nsmall still voice, as he spoke to _Elijah_, or by a whisper, like that\nof the Spirit to _Philip_, when he commanded him to go join himself to\nthe eunuch\u2019s chariot, we are not told, nor is it material to enquire.\nIt is enough that we are informed, GOD said unto him, _Abraham_; and\nthat _Abraham_ knew it was the voice of GOD: for he said, \u201cBehold, here\nI am.\u201d O what a holy familiarity (if I may so speak) is there between\nGOD and those holy souls that are united to him by faith in CHRIST\nJESUS! GOD says, _Abraham_; and _Abraham_ said (it should seem without\nthe least surprize) Behold, here I am. Being reconciled to GOD by the\ndeath and obedience of CHRIST, which he rejoiced in, and saw by faith\nafar off; he did not, like guilty _Adam_, seek the trees of the garden\nto hide himself from, but takes pleasure in conversing with GOD, and\ntalketh with him, as a man talketh with his friend. O that CHRIST-less\nsinners knew what it is to have fellowship with the Father and the Son!\nThey would envy the happiness of saints, and count it all joy to be\ntermed enthusiasts and fools for CHRIST\u2019s sake.\n\nBut what does GOD say to _Abraham_? Verse 2. \u201cTake now thy son, thine\nonly son _Isaac_, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of\n_Moriah_, and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the\nmountains which I shall tell thee of.\u201d\n\nEvery word deserves our particular observation. Whatever he was to\ndo, he must do it now, immediately, without conferring with flesh and\nblood. But what must he do? \u201cTake now thy son.\u201d Had GOD said, take now\na firstling, or choicest lamb or beast of thy flock, and offer it up\nfor a burnt-offering, it would not have appeared so ghastly; but for\nGOD to say, \u201ctake now thy son, and offer him up for a burnt-offering,\u201d\none would have imagined, was enough to stagger the strongest faith. But\nthis is not all: it must not only be a son, but \u201cthine only son _Isaac_,\nwhom thou lovest.\u201d If it must be a son, and not a beast, that must be\noffered, why will not _Ishmael_ do, the son of the bond-woman? No, it\nmust be his only son, the heir of all, his _Isaac_, by interpretation\n_laughter_, the son of his old age, in whom his soul delighted, \u201cwhom\nthou lovest,\u201d says GOD, in whose life his own was wrapped up: and this\nson, this only son, this _Isaac_, the son of his love, must be taken\nnow, even now, without delay, and be offered up by his own father, for\na burnt offering, upon one of the mountains of the which GOD would tell\nhim.\n\nWell might the apostle, speaking of this man of GOD, say, that \u201cagainst\nhope he believed in hope, and, being strong in faith, gave glory to\nGOD:\u201d For, had he not been blessed with faith which man never before\nhad, he must have refused to comply with this severe command. For\nhow many arguments might nature suggest, to prove that such a command\ncould never come from GOD, or to excuse himself from obeying it? \u201cWhat!\n(might the good man have said) butcher my own child! it is contrary\nto the very law of nature: much more to butcher my dear son _Isaac_,\nin whose seed GOD himself has assured me of a numerous posterity. But\nsupposing I could give up my own affections, and be willing to part\nwith him, though I love him so dearly, yet, if I murder him, what will\nbecome of GOD\u2019s promise? Besides, I am now like a city built upon a\nhill; I shine as a light in the world, in the midst of a crooked and\nperverse generation: How then shall I cause GOD\u2019s name to be blasphemed,\nhow shall I become a by-word among the heathen, if they hear that I\nhave committed a crime which they abhor! But, above all, what will\n_Sarah_ my wife say? How can I ever return to her again, after I have\nimbrued my hands in my dear child\u2019s blood? O that GOD would pardon me\nin this thing, or take my life in the place of my son\u2019s!\u201d Thus, I say,\n_Abraham_ might have argued, and that too seemingly with great reason,\nagainst complying with the divine command. But as before by faith he\nconsidered not the deadness of _Sarah_\u2019s womb, when she was past age,\nbut believed on him, who said, \u201c_Sarah_ thy wife shall bear thee a\nson indeed;\u201d so now, being convinced that the same GOD spoke to and\ncommanded him to offer up that son, and knowing that GOD was able to\nraise him from the dead, without delay he obeys the heavenly call.\n\nO that unbelievers would learn of faithful _Abraham_, and believe\nwhatever is revealed from GOD, though they cannot fully comprehend it!\n_Abraham_ knew GOD commanded him to offer up his son, and therefore\nbelieved, notwithstanding carnal reasoning might suggest many\nobjections. We have sufficient testimony, that GOD has spoken to us by\nhis son; why should we not also believe, though many things in the New\nTestament are above our reason? For, where reason ends, faith begins.\nAnd, however infidels may stile themselves reasoners, of all men they\nare the most unreasonable: For, is it not contrary to all reason, to\nmeasure an infinite by a finite understanding, or think to find out the\nmysteries of godliness to perfection?\n\nBut to return to the patriarch _Abraham_: We observed before what\nplausible objections he might have made; but he answered not a single\nword: no, without replying against his Maker, we are told, verse 3.\nthat \u201c_Abraham_ rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and\ntook two of his young men with him, and _Isaac_ his son, and clave the\nwood for the burnt-offering, and rose up and went unto the place of\nwhich GOD had told him.\u201d\n\nFrom this verse we may gather, that GOD spoke to _Abraham_ in a dream,\nor vision of the night: For it is said, he rose up early. Perhaps it\nwas near the fourth watch of the night, just before break of day, when\nGOD said, Take now thy son; and _Abraham_ rises up early to do so; as\nI doubt not but he used to rise early to offer up his morning-sacrifice\nof praise and thanksgiving. It is often remarked of people in the Old\nTestament, that they rose early in the morning; and particularly of\nour LORD in the New, that he rose a great while before day to pray.\nThe morning befriends devotion; and, if people cannot use so much\nself-denial as to rise early to pray, I know not how they will be able\nto die at a stake (if called to it) for JESUS CHRIST.\n\nThe humility as well as the piety of the patriarch is observable:\nhe saddled his own ass (great men should be humble;) and to shew his\nsincerity, though he took two of his young men with him, and _Isaac_\nhis son, yet he keeps his design as a secret from them all: nay, he\ndoes not so much as tell _Sarah_ his wife: for he knew not but she\nmight be a snare unto him in this affair; and, as _Rebekah_ afterwards,\non another occasion, advised _Jacob_ to flee, so _Sarah_ also might\npersuade _Isaac_ to hide himself; or the young men, had they known of\nit, might have forced him away, as in after-ages the soldiers rescued\n_Jonathan_ out of the hands of _Saul_. But _Abraham_ sought no such\nevasion, and therefore, like an _Israelite_ indeed, in whom there was\nno guile, he himself resolutely \u201cclave the wood for the burnt-offering,\nrose up and went unto the place of which GOD had told him.\u201d In the\nsecond verse GOD commanded him to offer up his son upon one of the\nmountains which he would tell him of. He commanded him to offer his son\nup, but would not then directly tell him the place where: this was to\nkeep him dependent and watching unto prayer: for there is nothing like\nbeing kept waiting upon GOD; and, if we do, assuredly GOD will reveal\nhimself unto us yet further in his own time. Let us practise what we\nknow, follow providence so far as we can see already; and what we know\nnot, what we see not as yet, let us only be found in the way of duty,\nand the LORD will reveal even that unto us. _Abraham_ knew not directly\nwhere he was to offer up his son; but he rises up and sets forward, and\nbehold now GOD shews him: \u201cAnd he went to the place of which GOD had\ntold him.\u201d Let us go and do likewise.\n\nVerse 4. \u201cThen on the third day _Abraham_ lifted up his eyes, and saw\nthe place afar off.\u201d\n\nSo that the place, of which GOD had told him, was no less than three\ndays journey distant from the place where GOD first appeared to him,\nand commanded him to take his son. Was not this to try his faith, and\nto let him see that what he did, was not meerly from a sudden pang of\ndevotion, but a matter of choice and deliberation? But who can tell\nwhat the aged patriarch felt during these three days? Strong as he was\nin faith, I am persuaded his bowels often yearned over his dear son\n_Isaac_. Methinks I see the good old man walking with his dear child\nin his hand, and now and then looking upon him, loving him, and then\nturning aside to weep. And perhaps, sometimes he stays a little behind\nto pour out his heart before GOD, for he had no mortal to tell his\ncase to. Then, methinks, I see him join his son and servants again, and\ntalking to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of GOD, as they\nwalked by the way. At length, \u201con the third day, he lifts up his eyes,\nand saw the place afar off.\u201d And, to shew that he was yet sincerely\nresolved to do whatsoever the LORD required of him, he even now will\nnot discover his design to his servants, but \u201csaid, verse 5. to his\nyoung men,\u201d (as we should say to our worldly thoughts, when about to\ntread the courts of the LORD\u2019s house) \u201cAbide you here with the ass; and\nI and the lad will go up yonder and worship, and come again to you.\u201d\nThis was a sufficient reason for their staying behind; and, it being\ntheir master\u2019s custom to go frequently to worship, they could have no\nsuspicion of what he was going about. And by _Abraham_\u2019s saying, that\nhe and the lad would come again, I am apt to think he believed GOD\nwould raise him from the dead, if so be he permitted him to offer his\nchild up for a burnt-offering. However that be, he is yet resolved to\nobey GOD to the uttermost; and therefore,\n\nVerse 6. \u201c_Abraham_ took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it\nupon _Isaac_ his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife,\nand they went both of them together.\u201d Little did _Isaac_ think that\nhe was to be offered on that very wood which he was carrying upon his\nshoulders; and therefore _Isaac_ innocently, and with a holy freedom\n(for good men should not keep their children at too great a distance)\n\u201cspake unto _Abraham_ his father, and said, My father; and he (with\nequal affection and holy condescension) said, Here am I, my son.\u201d And\nto shew how careful _Abraham_ had been (as all christian parents ought\nto be) to instruct his _Isaac_ how to sacrifice to GOD, like a youth\ntrained up in the way wherein he should go; _Isaac_ said, \u201cBehold\nthe fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?\u201d\nHow beautiful is early piety! how amiable, to hear young people ask\nquestions about sacrificing to GOD in an acceptable way! _Isaac_ knew\nvery well that a lamb was wanting, and that a lamb was necessary for a\nproper sacrifice: \u201cBehold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb\nfor a burnt-offering?\u201d Young men and maidens, learn of him.\n\nHitherto, it is plain, _Isaac_ knew nothing of his father\u2019s design: but\nI believe, by what his father said in answer to his question, that now\nwas the time _Abraham_ revealed it unto him.\n\nVerse 8. \u201cAnd _Abraham_ said, My son, GOD will provide himself a Lamb\nfor a burnt-offering.\u201d Some think, that _Abraham_ by faith saw the\nLORD JESUS afar off, and here spake prophetically of that Lamb of\nGOD already slain in decree, and hereafter to be actually offered up\nfor sinners. This was a lamb of GOD\u2019s providing indeed (we dared not\nhave thought of it) to satisfy his own justice, and to render him just\nin justifying the ungodly. What is all our fire and wood, the best\npreparation and performances we can make or present, unless GOD had\nprovided himself this Lamb for a burnt-offering? He could not away\nwith them. The words will well bear this interpretation. But, whatever\n_Abraham_ might intend, I cannot but think he here made an application,\nand acquainted his son, of GOD\u2019s dealing with his soul; and at length,\nwith tears in his eyes, and the utmost affection in his heart, cried\nout, \u201cThou art to be the lamb, my Son;\u201d GOD has commanded me to provide\nthee for a burnt-offering, and to offer thee upon the mountain which we\nare now ascending. And, as it appears from a subsequent verse, _Isaac_,\nconvinced that it was the divine will, made no resistance at all: For\nit is said, \u201cThey went both of them together;\u201d and again, when we are\ntold, that _Abraham_ bound _Isaac_, we do not hear of his complaining,\nor endeavouring to escape, which he might have done, being (as some\nthink) near thirty years of age, and, it is plain, capable of carrying\nwood enough for a burnt-offering. But he was partaker of the like\nprecious faith with his aged father, and therefore is as willing to be\noffered, as _Abraham_ is to offer him: And \u201cso they went both of them\ntogether.\u201d\n\nVerse 9. At length \u201cthey came to the place of which GOD had told\n_Abraham_. He built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and\nbound _Isaac_ his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.\u201d\n\nAnd here let us pause a while, and by faith take a view of the place\nwhere the father has laid him. I doubt not but the blessed angels\nhovered round the altar, and sang, \u201cGlory be to GOD in the highest,\u201d\nfor giving such faith to man. Come, all ye tender-hearted parents,\nwho know what it is to look over a dying child: fancy that you saw the\naltar erected before you, and the wood laid in order, and the \u2666beloved\n_Isaac_ bound upon it: fancy that you saw the aged parent standing\nby weeping. (For, why may we not suppose that _Abraham_ wept, since\nJESUS himself wept at the grave of _Lazarus_?) O what pious, endearing\nexpressions passed now alternately between the father and the son!\n_Josephus_ records a pathetic speech made by each, whether genuine\nI know not: but methinks I see the tears trickle down the Patriarch\n_Abraham_\u2019s cheeks; and out of the abundance of the heart, he cries,\nAdieu, adieu, my son; the LORD gave thee to me, and the LORD calls thee\naway; blessed be the name of the LORD: adieu, my _Isaac_, my only son,\nwhom I love as my own soul; adieu, adieu. I see _Isaac_ at the same\ntime meekly resigning himself into his heavenly Father\u2019s hands, and\npraying to the most High to strengthen his earthly parent to strike\nthe stroke. But why do I attempt to describe what either son or father\nfelt? It is impossible: we may indeed form some faint idea of, but\nshall never fully comprehend it, till we come and sit down with them in\nthe kingdom of heaven, and hear them tell the pleasing story over again.\nHasten, O LORD, that blessed time! O let thy kingdom come!\n\n \u2666 \u201cbelove\u201d replaced with \u201cbeloved\u201d\n\nAnd now, the fatal blow is going to be given. \u201cAnd _Abraham_ stretched\nforth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.\u201d But do you not\nthink he intended to turn away his head, when he gave the blow? Nay,\nwhy may we not suppose he sometimes drew his hand in, after it was\nstretched out, willing to take another last farewell of his beloved\n_Isaac_, and desirous to defer it a little, though resolved at last\nto strike home? Be that as it will, his arm is now stretched out,\nthe knife is in his hand, and he is about to put it to his dear son\u2019s\nthroat.\n\nBut sing, O heavens! and rejoice, O earth! Man\u2019s extremity is GOD\u2019s\nopportunity: for behold, just as the knife, in all probability, was\nnear his throat, verse 11. \u201cthe angel of the LORD, (or rather the LORD\nof angels, JESUS CHRIST, the angel of the everlasting covenant) called\nunto him, (probably in a very audible manner) from heaven, and said,\n_Abraham_, _Abraham_. (The word is doubled, to engage his attention;\nand perhaps the suddenness of the call made him draw back his hand,\njust as he was going to strike his son.) And _Abraham_ said, Here am I.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any\nthing unto him: for now know I that thou fearest GOD, seeing thou hast\nnot withheld thy son, thine only son from me.\u201d\n\nHere then it was that _Abraham_ received his son _Isaac_ from the dead\nin a figure. He was in effect offered upon the altar, and GOD looked\nupon him as offered and given unto him. Now it was that _Abraham_\u2019s\nfaith, being tried, was found more precious than gold purified seven\ntimes in the fire. Now as a reward of grace, though not of debt, for\nthis signal act of obedience, by an oath, GOD gives and confirms the\npromise, \u201cthat in his seed all the nations of the earth should be\nblessed,\u201d verse 17, 18. With what comfort may we suppose the good old\nman and his son went down from the mount, and returned unto the young\nmen! With what joy may we imagine he went home, and related all that\nhad passed to _Sarah_! And above all, with what triumph is he now\nexulting in the paradise of GOD, and adoring rich, free, distinguishing,\nelecting, everlasting love, which alone made him to differ from\nthe rest of mankind, and rendered him worthy of that title which he\nwill have so long as the sun and the moon endure, \u201cThe Father of the\nfaithful!\u201d\n\nBut let us now draw our eyes from the creature, and do what _Abraham_,\nif he was present, would direct to; I mean, fix them on the Creator,\nGOD blessed for evermore.\n\nI see your hearts affected, I see your eyes weep. (And indeed, who can\nrefrain weeping at the relation of such a story?) But, behold, I shew\nyou a mystery, hid under the sacrifice of _Abraham_\u2019s only son, which,\nunless your hearts are hardned, must cause you to weep tears of love,\nand that plentifully too. I would willingly hope you even prevent me\nhere, and are ready to say, \u201cIt is the love of GOD, in giving JESUS\nCHRIST to die for our sins.\u201d Yes; that is it. And yet perhaps you find\nyour hearts, at the mentioning of this, not so much affected. Let this\nconvince you, that we are all fallen creatures, and that we do not love\nGOD or CHRIST as we ought to do: for, if you admire _Abraham_ offering\nup his _Isaac_, how much more ought you to extol, magnify and adore\nthe love of GOD, who so loved the world, as to give his only begotten\nSon CHRIST JESUS our LORD, \u201cthat whosoever believeth on Him should not\nperish, but have everlasting life?\u201d May we not well cry out, Now know\nwe, O LORD, that thou hast loved us, since thou hast not withheld thy\nSon, thine only Son from us? _Abraham_ was GOD\u2019s creature (and GOD\nwas _Abraham_\u2019s friend) and therefore under the highest obligation to\nsurrender up his _Isaac_. But O stupendious love! whilst we were his\nenemies, GOD sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,\nthat he might become a curse for us. O the freeness, as well as the\ninfinity, of the love of GOD our Father! It is unsearchable: I am lost\nin contemplating it; it is past finding out. Think, O believers, think\nof the love of GOD, in giving JESUS CHRIST to be a propitiation for our\nsins. And when you hear how _Abraham_ built an altar, and laid the wood\nin order, and bound _Isaac_ his son, and laid him on the altar upon the\nwood; think how your heavenly Father bound JESUS CHRIST his only Son,\nand offered him upon the altar of his justice, and laid upon him the\niniquities of us all. When you read of _Abraham_\u2019s stretching forth his\nhand to slay his Son, Think, O think, how GOD actually suffered his Son\nto be slain, that we might live for evermore. Do you read of _Isaac_\ncarrying the wood upon his shoulders, upon which he was to be offered?\nLet this lead you to mount _Calvary_ (this very mount of _Moriah_ where\n_Isaac_ was offered, as some think) and take a view of the antitype\nJESUS CHRIST, the Son of GOD, bearing and ready to sink under the\nweight of that cross, on which he was to hang for us. Do you admire\n_Isaac_ so freely consenting to die, though a creature, and therefore\nobliged to go when GOD called? O do not forget to admire infinitely\nmore the dear LORD JESUS, that promised seed, who willingly said, \u201cLo,\nI come,\u201d though under no obligation so to do, \u201cto do thy will,\u201d to obey\nand die for men, \u201cO GOD!\u201d Did you weep just now, when I bid you fancy\nyou saw the altar, and the wood laid in order, and _Isaac_ laid bound\non the altar? Look by faith, behold the blessed JESUS, our all-glorious\n_Emmanuel_, not bound, but nailed on an accursed tree: see how he hangs\ncrowned with thorns, and had in derision of all that are round about\nhim: see how the thorns pierce him, and how the blood in purple streams\ntrickle down his sacred temples! Hark how the GOD of nature groans!\nSee how he bows his head, and at length humanity gives up the ghost!\n_Isaac_ is saved, but JESUS, the GOD of _Isaac_, dies: A ram is offered\nup in _Isaac_\u2019s room, but JESUS has no substitute; JESUS must bleed,\nJESUS must die; GOD the Father provided this Lamb for himself from\nall eternity. He must be offered in time, or man must be damned for\nevermore. And now, where are your tears? Shall I say, refrain your\nvoice from weeping? No; rather let me exhort you to look to him whom\nyou have pierced, and mourn, as a woman mourneth for her first-born:\nfor we have been the betrayers, we have been the murderers of this LORD\nof glory; and shall we not bewail those sins, which brought the blessed\nJESUS to the accursed tree? Having so much done, so much suffered for\nus, so much forgiven, shall we not love much? O! let us love Him with\nall our hearts, and minds, and strength, and glorify him in our souls\nand bodies, for they are his. Which leads me to a second inference I\nshall draw from the foregoing discourse.\n\nFrom hence we may learn the nature of true, justifying faith. Whoever\nunderstands and preaches the truth, as it is in JESUS, must acknowledge,\nthat salvation is GOD\u2019s free gift, and that we are saved, not by any\nor all the works of righteousness which we have done or can do: no; we\ncan neither wholly nor in part justify ourselves in the sight of GOD.\nThe LORD JESUS CHRIST is our righteousness; and if we are accepted with\nGOD, it must be only in and through the personal righteousness, the\nactive and passive obedience, of JESUS CHRIST his beloved Son. This\nrighteousness must be imputed, or counted over to us, and applied by\nfaith to our hearts, or else we can in no wise be justified in GOD\u2019s\nsight: and that very moment a sinner is enabled to lay hold on CHRIST\u2019s\nrighteousness by faith, he is freely justified from all his sins,\nand shall never enter into condemnation, notwithstanding he was a\nfire-brand of hell before. Thus it was that _Abraham_ was justified\nbefore he did any good work: he was enabled to believe on the LORD\nCHRIST; it was accounted to him for righteousness; that is, CHRIST\u2019s\nrighteousness was made over to him, and so accounted his. This, this\nis gospel; this is the only way of finding acceptance with GOD: good\nworks have nothing to do with our justification in his sight. We are\njustified by faith alone, as saith the article of our church; agreeable\nto which the apostle _Paul_ says, \u201cBy grace ye are saved, through faith;\nand that not of yourselves; it is the gift of GOD.\u201d Notwithstanding,\ngood works have their proper place: they justify our faith, though\nnot our persons; they follow it, and evidence our justification in\nthe sight of men. Hence it is that the apostle _James_ asks, was\nnot _Abraham_ justified by works? (alluding no doubt to the story on\nwhich we have been discoursing) that is, did he not prove he was in a\njustified state, because his faith was productive of good works? This\ndeclarative justification in the sight of men, is what is directly to\nbe understood in the words of the text; \u201cNow know I, says GOD, that\nthou fearest me, since thou hast not withheld thy Son, thine only\nSon from me.\u201d Not but that GOD knew it before; but this is spoken\nin condescension to our weak capacities, and plainly shews, that\nhis offering up his son was accepted with GOD, as an evidence of the\nsincerity of his faith, and for this, was left on record to future ages.\nHence then you may learn, whether you are blessed with, and are sons\nand daughters of, faithful _Abraham_. You say you believe; you talk of\nfree grace and free justification: you do well; the devils also believe\nand tremble. But has the faith, which you pretend to, influenced your\nhearts, renewed your souls, and, like _Abraham_\u2019s, worked by love? Are\nyour affections, like his, set on things above? Are you heavenly-minded,\nand like him, do you confess yourselves strangers and pilgrims on the\nearth? In short, has your faith enabled you to overcome the world, and\nstrengthened you to give up your _Isaacs_, your laughter, your most\nbeloved lusts, friends, pleasures, and profits for GOD? If so, take the\ncomfort of it; for justly may you say, \u201cWe know assuredly, that we do\nfear and love GOD, or rather are loved of him.\u201d But if you are only\ntalking believers, have only a faith of the head, and never felt the\npower of it in your hearts, however you may bolster yourselves up,\nand say, \u201cWe have _Abraham_ for our father, or CHRIST is our Saviour;\u201d\nunless you get a faith of the heart, a faith working by love, you shall\nnever sit with _Abraham_, _Isaac_, _Jacob_, or JESUS CHRIST, in the\nkingdom of heaven.\n\nBut I must draw one more inference, and with that I shall conclude.\n\nLearn, O saints! from what has been said, to sit loose to all your\nworldly comforts; and stand ready prepared to part with every thing,\nwhen GOD shall require it at your hand. Some of you perhaps may have\nfriends, who are to you as your own souls; and others may have children,\nin whose lives your own lives are bound up: all I believe have their\n_Isaacs_, their particular delights of some kind or other. Labour, for\nCHRIST\u2019s sake, labour, ye sons and daughters of _Abraham_, to resign\nthem daily in affection to GOD, that, when he shall require you really\nto sacrifice them, you may not confer with flesh and blood, any more\nthan the blessed patriarch now before us. And as for you that have\nbeen in any measure tried like unto him, let his example encourage\nand comfort you. Remember, _Abraham_ your father was tried so before\nyou: think, O think of the happiness he now enjoys, and how he is\nincessantly thanking GOD for tempting and trying him when here below.\nLook up often by the eye of faith, and see him sitting with his dearly\nbeloved _Isaac_ in the world of spirits. Remember, it will be but a\nlittle while, and you shall sit with them also, and tell one another\nwhat GOD has done for your souls. There I hope to sit with you, and\nhear this story of his offering up his Son from his own mouth, and to\npraise the Lamb that sitteth upon the throne, for what he hath done for\nall our souls, for ever and ever.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON IV.\n\n The great Duty of Family-Religion.\n\n\n JOSHUA xxiv. 15.\n\n _As for me and my House, we will serve the_ LORD.\n\nTHESE words contain the holy resolution of pious _Joshua_, who having\nin a most moving, affectionate discourse recounted to the _Israelites_\nwhat great things GOD had done for them, in the verse immediately\npreceding the text, comes to draw a proper inference from what he had\nbeen delivering; and acquaints them, in the most pressing terms, that\nsince GOD had been so exceeding gracious unto them, they could do no\nless, than out of gratitude for such uncommon favours and mercies,\ndedicate both themselves and families to his service. \u201cNow therefore,\nfear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and truth, and put away\nthe Gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood.\u201d\nAnd by the same engaging motive does the prophet _Samuel_ afterwards\nenforce their obedience to the commandments of GOD, 1 _Samuel_ xii. 24.\n\u201cOnly fear the LORD, and serve him in truth, with all your heart; for\nconsider how great things he hath done for you.\u201d But then, that they\nmight not excuse themselves (as too many might be apt to do) by his\ngiving them a bad example, or think he was laying heavy burdens upon\nthem, whilst he himself touched them not with one of his fingers, he\ntells them in the text, that whatever regard they might pay to the\ndoctrine he had been preaching, yet he (as all ministers ought to\ndo) was resolved to live up to and practise it himself: \u201cChuse you\ntherefore, whom you will serve, whether the Gods which your fathers\nserved, or the Gods of the _Amorites_, in whose land ye dwell: but as\nfor me and my house, we will serve the LORD.\u201d\n\nA resolution this, worthy of _Joshua_, and no less becoming, no less\nnecessary for every true son of _Joshua_, that is intrusted with\nthe care and government of a family in our day: and, if it was ever\nseasonable for ministers to preach up, or people to put in practice\n_family-religion_, it was never more so than in the present age; since\nit is greatly to be feared, that out of those many housholds that\ncall themselves christians, there are but few that serve GOD in their\nrespective families as they ought.\n\nIt is true indeed, visit our churches, and you may perhaps see\nsomething of the _form of godliness_ still subsisting amongst us; but\neven that is scarcely to be met with in private houses. So that were\nthe blessed angels to come, as in the patriarchal age, and observe\nour spiritual oeconomy at home, would they not be tempted to say as\n_Abraham_ to _Abimilech_, \u201cSurely, the fear of GOD is not in this\nplace?\u201d _Genesis_ xx. 11.\n\nHow such a general neglect of family-religion first began to overspread\nthe christian world, is difficult to determine. As for the primitive\nchristians, I am positive it was not so with them: No, they had not\nso learned CHRIST, as falsely to imagine religion was to be confined\nsolely to their assemblies for public worship; but, on the contrary,\nbehaved with such piety and exemplary holiness in their private\nfamilies, that St. _Paul_ often styles their house a church: \u201cSalute\nsuch a one, says he, and the church which is in his house.\u201d And, I\nbelieve, we must for ever despair of seeing a primitive spirit of\npiety revived in the world, till we are so happy as to see a revival of\nprimitive family religion; and persons unanimously resolving with good\nold _Joshua_, in the words of the text, \u201cAs for me and my house, we\nwill serve the LORD.\u201d\n\nFrom which words, I shall beg leave to insist on these three things.\n\n I. _First_, That it is the duty of every governor of a family to\n take care, that not only he himself, but also that those\n committed to his charge, \u201c_serve the_ LORD.\u201d\n\n II. _Secondly_, I shall endeavour to shew after what manner\n a governor and his houshold ought to serve the LORD. And,\n\n III. _Thirdly_, I shall offer some motives, in order to excite\n all governors, with their respective housholds, to serve the\n LORD in the manner that shall be recommended.\n\nAnd _First_, I am to shew that it is the duty of every governor of\na family to take care, that not only he himself, but also that those\ncommitted to his charge, should serve the LORD.\n\nAnd this will appear, if we consider that every governor of a family\nought to look upon himself as obliged to act in three capacities: as a\nprophet, to instruct; as a priest, to pray for and with; as a king, to\ngovern, direct, and provide for them. It is true indeed, the latter of\nthese, their kingly office, they are not so frequently deficient in,\n(nay in this they are generally too solicitous;) but as for the two\nformer, their priestly and prophetic office, like _Gallio_, they care\nfor no such things. But however indifferent some governors may be\nabout it, they may be assured, that GOD will require a due discharge of\nthese offices at their hands. For if, as the apostle argues, \u201cHe that\ndoes not provide for his own house,\u201d in temporal things, \u201chas denied\nthe faith, and is worse than an infidel;\u201d to what greater degree of\napostasy must he have arrived, who takes no thought to provide for the\nspiritual welfare of his family!\n\nBut farther, persons are generally very liberal of their invectives\nagainst the clergy, and think they justly blame the conduct of that\nminister who does not take heed to and watch over the flock, of which\nthe Holy Ghost has made him overseer: but may not every governor of a\nfamily, be in a lower degree liable to the same censure, who takes no\nthought for those souls that are committed to his charge? For every\nhouse is as it were a little parish, every governor (as was before\nobserved) a priest, every family a flock: and if any of them perish\nthrough the governor\u2019s neglect, their blood will GOD require at their\nhands.\n\nWas a minister to disregard teaching his people publicly, and from\nhouse to house, and to excuse himself by saying, that he had enough\nto do to work out his own salvation with fear and trembling, without\nconcerning himself with that of others; would you not be apt to think\nsuch a minister, to be like the unjust judge, \u201cOne that neither feared\nGOD, nor regarded man?\u201d And yet, odious as such a character would be,\nit is no worse than that governor of a family deserves, who thinks\nhimself obliged only to save his own soul, without paying any regard\nto the souls of his houshold. For (as was above hinted) every house is\nas it were a parish, and every master is concerned to secure, as much\nas in him lies, the spiritual prosperity of every one under his roof,\nas any minister whatever is obliged to look to the spiritual welfare of\nevery individual person under his charge.\n\nWhat precedents men who neglect their duty in this particular, can\nplead for such omission, I cannot tell. Doubtless not the example\nof holy _Job_, who was so far from imagining that he had no concern,\nas governor of a family, with any one\u2019s soul but his own, that the\nscripture acquaints us, \u201cWhen the days of his childrens feasting\nwere gone about, that _Job_ sent and sanctified them, and offered\nburnt-offerings, according to the number of them all; for _Job_ said,\nIt may be that my sons have sinned and cursed GOD in their hearts:\nthus did _Job_ continually.\u201d Nor can they plead the practice of good\nold _Joshua_, whom, in the text, we find as much concerned for his\nhoushold\u2019s welfare, as his own. Nor lastly, that of _Cornelius_,\nwho feared GOD, not only himself, but with all his house: and were\nchristians but of the same spirit of _Job_, _Joshua_, and the _Gentile_\ncenturion, they would act as _Job_, _Joshua_, and _Cornelius_ did.\n\nBut alas! if this be the case, and all governors of families ought\nnot only to serve the LORD themselves, but likewise to see that their\nrespective housholds do so too; what will then become of those who not\nonly neglect serving GOD themselves, but also make it their business\nto ridicule and scoff at any of their house that do? Who are not\ncontent with \u201cnot entering into the kingdom of heaven themselves; but\nthose also that are willing to enter in, they hinder.\u201d Surely such men\nare factors for the devil indeed. Surely their damnation slumbereth\nnot: for although GOD, in his good providence, may suffer such\nstumbling-blocks to be put in his childrens way, and suffer their\ngreatest enemies to be those of their own housholds, for a trial of\ntheir sincerity, and improvement of their faith; yet we cannot but\npronounce a woe against those masters by whom such offences come. For\nif those that only take care of their own souls, can scarcely be saved,\nwhere will such monstrous profane and wicked governors appear?\n\nBut hoping there are but few of this unhappy stamp, proceed we now to\nthe\n\nSecond thing proposed; To shew after what manner a governor and his\nhoushold ought to serve the LORD.\n\n1. And the first thing I shall mention, is, _reading the word of_\nGOD. This is a duty incumbent on every private person. \u201cSearch the\nscriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life,\u201d is a precept\ngiven by our blessed LORD indifferently to all: but much more so, ought\nevery governor of a family to think it in a peculiar manner spoken to\nhimself, because (as hath been already proved) he ought to look upon\nhimself as a prophet, and therefore, agreeably to such a character,\nbound to instruct those under his charge in the knowledge of the word\nof GOD.\n\nThis we find was the order GOD gave to his peculiar people _Israel_:\nfor thus speaks his representative _Moses_, _Deuteronomy_ vi. 6, 7.\n\u201cThese words,\u201d that is, the scripture words, \u201cwhich I command thee this\nday, shall be in thy heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto\nthy children,\u201d that is, as it is generally explained, servants, as well\nas children, \u201cand shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house.\u201d\nFrom whence we may infer, that the only reason, why so many neglect to\nread the words of scripture diligently to their children is, because\nthe words of scripture are not in their hearts: for if they were, out\nof the abundance of the heart their mouth would speak.\n\nBesides, servants as well as children, are, for the generality, very\nignorant, and mere novices in the laws of GOD: and how shall they\nknow, unless some one teach them? And what more proper to teach them\nby, than the lively oracles of GOD, \u201cwhich are able to make them wise\nunto salvation?\u201d And who more proper to instruct them by these lively\noracles, than parents and masters, who (as hath been more than once\nobserved) are as much concerned to feed them with spiritual, as with\nbodily bread, day by day.\n\nBut if these things be so, what a miserable condition are those unhappy\ngovernors in, who are so far from feeding those committed to their care\nwith the sincere milk of the word, to the intent they may grow thereby,\nthat they neither search the scriptures themselves, nor are careful\nto explain them to others? Such families must be in a happy way indeed\nto do their Master\u2019s will, who take such prodigious pains to know it!\nWould not one imagine that they had turned converts to the Church of\n_Rome_; that they thought ignorance to be the mother of devotion; and\nthat those were to be condemned as heretics who read their Bibles? And\nyet how few families are there amongst us, who do not act after this\nunseemly manner! But shall I praise them in this? I praise them not:\nBrethren, this thing ought not so to be.\n\n2. Pass we on now to the second means whereby every governor and his\nhoushold ought to serve the LORD, _family-prayer_.\n\nThis is a duty, though as much neglected, yet as absolutely necessary\nas the former. Reading is a good preparative for prayer, as prayer\nis an excellent means to render reading effectual. And the reason why\nevery governor of a family should join both these exercises together,\nis plain, because a governor of a family cannot perform his priestly\noffice (which we before observed he is in some degree invested with)\nwithout performing this duty of family prayer.\n\nWe find it therefore remarked, when mention is made of _Cain_ and\n_Abel_\u2019s offering sacrifices, that they brought them. But to whom did\nthey bring them? Why, in all probability, to their father _Adam_, who,\nas priest of the family, was to offer sacrifice in their names. And\nso ought every spiritual son of the second _Adam_, who is entrusted\nwith the care of an houshold, to offer up the spiritual sacrifices of\nsupplications and thanksgivings, acceptable to GOD through JESUS CHRIST,\nin the presence and name of all who wait upon, or eat meat at his table.\n\nThus we read our blessed LORD behaved, when he tabernacled amongst us:\nfor it is said often, that he prayed with his twelve disciples, which\nwas then his little family. And he himself has promised a particular\nblessing to joint supplications: \u201cWheresoever two or three are gathered\ntogether in my name, there am I in the midst of them.\u201d And again, \u201cIf\ntwo or three are agreed touching any thing they shall ask, it shall be\ngiven them.\u201d Add to this, that we are commanded by the Apostle to \u201cpray\nalways, with all manner of supplication,\u201d which doubtless includes\nfamily prayer. And holy _Joshua_, when he set up the good resolution\nin the text, that he and his houshold would serve the LORD, certainly\nresolved to pray with his family, which is one of the best testimonies\nthey could give of their serving him.\n\nBesides, there are no families but what have some common blessings,\nof which they have been all partakers, to give thanks for; some common\ncrosses and afflictions, which they are to pray against; some common\nsins, which they are all to lament and bewail: but how this can be done,\nwithout joining together in one common act of humiliation, supplication,\nand thanksgiving, is difficult to devise.\n\nFrom all which considerations put together, it is evident, that family\nprayer is a great and necessary duty; and consequently, those governors\nthat neglect it, are certainly without excuse. And it is much to be\nfeared, if they live without family prayer, they live without GOD in\nthe world.\n\nAnd yet, such an hateful character as this is, it is to be feared,\nthat was GOD to send out an angel to destroy us, as he did once to\ndestroy the _Egyptian_ first-born, and withal give him a commission,\nas then, to spare no houses but where they saw the blood of the\nlintel, sprinkled on the door-post, so now, to let no families escape,\nbut those that called upon him in morning and evening prayer; few\nwould remain unhurt by his avenging sword. Shall I term such families\nchristians or heathens? Doubtless they deserve not the name of\nchristians; and heathens will rise up in judgment against such profane\nfamilies of this generation: for they had always their houshold gods,\nwhom they worshipped, and whose assistance they frequently invoked. And\na pretty pass those families surely are arrived at, who must be sent\nto school to pagans. But will not the LORD be avenged on such profane\nhousholds as these? Will he not pour out his fury upon those that call\nnot upon his name?\n\n3. But it is time for me to hasten to the third and last means I shall\nrecommend, whereby every governor ought with his houshold to serve the\nLORD, _catechizing_ and _instructing_ their children and servants, and\nbringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the LORD.\n\nThat this, as well as the two former, is a duty incumbent on every\ngovernor of an house, appears from that famous encomium or commendation\nGOD gives of _Abraham_: \u201cI know that he will command his children and\nhis houshold after him, to keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and\njudgment.\u201d And indeed scarce any thing is more frequently pressed upon\nus in holy writ, than this duty of catechising. Thus, says GOD in a\npassage before cited, \u201cThou shalt teach these words diligently unto\nthy children.\u201d And parents are commanded in the New Testament, to\n\u201cbreed up their children in the nurture and admonition of the LORD.\u201d\nThe holy Psalmist acquaints us, that one great end why GOD did such\ngreat wonders for his people, was, \u201cto the intent that when they\ngrew up, they should shew their children, or servants, the same.\u201d And\nin _Deuteronomy_ vi. at the 20th and following verses, GOD strictly\ncommands his people to instruct their children in the true nature\nof the ceremonial worship, when they should enquire about it, as he\nsupposed they would do, in time to come. And if servants and children\nwere to be instructed in the nature of _Jewish_ rites, much more\nought they now to be initiated and grounded in the doctrines and\nfirst principles of the gospel of CHRIST: not only, because it is a\nrevelation, which has brought life and immortality to a fuller and\nclearer light, but also, because many seducers are gone abroad into\nthe world, who do their utmost endeavour to destroy not only the\nsuperstructure, but likewise to sap the very foundation of our most\nholy religion.\n\nWould then the present generation have their posterity be true lovers\nand honourers of GOD; masters and parents must take _Solomon_\u2019s good\nadvice, and train up and catechise their respective housholds in the\nway wherein they should go.\n\nI am aware but of one objection, that can, with any shew of reason, be\nurged against what has been advanced; which is, that such a procedure\nas this will take up too much time, and hinder families too long\nfrom their worldly business. But it is much to be questioned, whether\npersons that start such an objection, are not of the same hypocritical\nspirit as the traitor _Judas_, who had indignation against devout\n_Mary_, for being so profuse of her ointment, in anointing our blessed\nLORD, and asked why it might not be sold for two hundred pence, and\ngiven to the poor. For has GOD given us so much time to work for\nourselves, and shall we not allow some small pittance of it, morning\nand evening, to be devoted to his more immediate worship and service?\nHave not people read, that it is GOD who gives men power to get wealth,\nand therefore that the best way to prosper in the world, is to secure\nhis favour? And has not our blessed LORD himself promised, that if\nwe seek first the kingdom of GOD and his righteousness, all outward\nnecessaries shall be added unto us?\n\n_Abraham_, no doubt, was a man of as great business as such objectors\nmay be; but yet he would find time to command his houshold to serve\nthe LORD. Nay, _David_ was a king, and consequently had a great deal\nof business upon his hands; yet notwithstanding, he professes that\nhe would walk in his house with a perfect heart. And, to instance but\none more, holy _Joshua_ was a person certainly engaged very much in\ntemporal affairs; and yet he solemnly declares before all _Israel_,\nthat as for him and his houshold, they would serve the LORD. And did\npersons but redeem their time, as _Abraham_, _David_, or _Joshua_ did,\nthey would no longer complain, that family duties kept them too long\nfrom the business of the world.\n\nIII. But my Third and Last general head, under which I was to offer\nsome motives, in order to excite all governors, with their respective\nhousholds, to serve the LORD in the manner before recommended, I hope,\nwill serve instead of a thousand arguments, to prove the weakness and\nfolly of any such objection.\n\n1. And the first motive I shall mention is the duty of _gratitude_,\nwhich you that are governors of families owe to GOD. Your lot, every\none must confess, is cast in a fair ground: providence hath given you\na goodly heritage, above many of your fellow-creatures; and therefore,\nout of a principle of gratitude, you ought to endeavour, as much as\nin you lies, to make every person of your respective housholds to call\nupon him as long as they live: not to mention, that the authority, with\nwhich GOD has invested you as parents and governors of families, is a\ntalent committed to your trust, and which you are bound to improve to\nyour Master\u2019s honour. In other things we find governors and parents\ncan exercise lordship over their children and servants readily, and\nfrequently enough can say to one, Go, and he goeth; and to another,\nCome, and he cometh; to a third, Do this, and he doeth it. And shall\nthis power be so often employed in your own affairs, and never exerted\nin the things of GOD? Be astonished, O heavens, at this!\n\nThus did not faithful _Abraham_; no, GOD says, that he knew _Abraham_\nwould command his servants and children after him. Thus did not\n_Joshua_: no, he was resolved not only to walk with GOD himself, but\nto improve his authority in making all about him do so too: \u201cAs for me\nand my houshold, we will serve the LORD.\u201d Let us go and do likewise.\n\n2. But _Secondly_, If gratitude to GOD will not, methinks love and pity\nto your children should move you, with your respective families, to\nserve the LORD.\n\nMost people express a great fondness for their children: nay so great,\nthat very often their own lives are wrapped up in those of their\noffspring. \u201cCan a woman forget her sucking child, that she should\nnot have compassion on the son of her womb?\u201d says GOD by his Prophet\n_Isaiah_. He speaks of it as a monstrous thing, and scarce credible;\nbut the words immediately following, affirm it to be possible, \u201cYea,\nthey may forget:\u201d and experience also assures us they may. Father\nand mother may both forsake their children: for what greater degree\nof forgetfulness can they express towards them, than to neglect\nthe improvement of their better part, and not bring them up in the\nknowledge and fear of GOD?\n\nIt is true indeed, parents seldom forget to provide for their childrens\nbodies, (though, it is to be feared, some men are so far sunk beneath\nthe beasts that perish, as to neglect even that) but then how often do\nthey forget, or rather, when do they remember, to secure the salvation\nof their immortal souls? But is this their way of expressing their\nfondness for the fruit of their bodies? Is this the best testimony they\ncan give of their affection to the darling of their hearts? Then was\n_Dalilah_ fond of _Samson_, when she delivered him up into the hands of\nthe _Philistines_: then were those ruffians well affected to _Daniel_,\nwhen they threw him into a den of lions.\n\n3. But _Thirdly_, If neither gratitude to GOD, nor love and pity to\nyour children, will prevail on you; yet let a principle of _common\nhonesty_ and _justice_ move you to set up the holy resolution in the\ntext.\n\nThis is a principle which all men would be thought to act upon. But\ncertainly, if any may be truly censured for their injustice, none can\nbe more liable to such censure, than those who think themselves injured\nif their servants withdraw themselves from their bodily work, and yet\nthey in return take no care of their inestimable souls. For is it just\nthat servants should spend their time and strength in their master\u2019s\nservice, and masters not at the same time give them what is just and\nequal for their service?\n\nIt is true, some men may think they have done enough when they give\nunto their servants food and raiment, and say, \u201cDid not I bargain with\nthee for so much a year?\u201d But if they give them no other reward than\nthis, what do they less for their very beasts? But are not servants\nbetter than they? Doubtless they are: and however masters may put off\ntheir convictions for the present, they will find a time will come,\nwhen they shall know they ought to have given them some spiritual as\nwell as temporal wages; and the cry of those that have mowed down their\nfields, will enter into the ears of \u2666the LORD of Sabaoth.\n\n \u2666 duplicate word \u201cthe\u201d removed\n\n4. But _Fourthly_, If neither gratitude to GOD, pity to children, nor\na principle of common justice to servants, are sufficient to balance\nall objections; yet let that darling, that prevailing motive of\n_self-interest_ turn the scale, and engage you with your respective\nhousholds to serve the LORD.\n\nThis weighs greatly with you in other matters: be then persuaded to let\nit have a due and full influence on you in this: and if it has, if you\nhave but faith as a grain of mustard-seed, how can you avoid believing,\nthat promoting family-religion, will be the best means to promote\nyour own temporal, as well as eternal welfare? For \u201cGodliness has the\npromise of the life that now is, as well as that which is to come.\u201d\n\nBesides, you all, doubtless, wish for honest servants, and pious\nchildren: and to have them prove otherwise, would be as great a grief\nto you, as it was to _Elisha_ to have a treacherous _Gehazi_, or\n_David_ to be troubled with a rebellious _Absalom_. But how can it be\nexpected they should learn their duty, except those set over them, take\ncare to teach it to them? Is it not as reasonable to expect you should\nreap where you had not sown, or gather where you had not strawed?\n\nDid christianity, indeed, give any countenance to children and\nservants to disregard their parents and masters according to the flesh,\nor represent their duty to them, as inconsistent with their entire\nobedience to their father and master who is in heaven, there might then\nbe some pretence to neglect instructing them in the principles of such\na religion. But since the precepts of this pure and undefiled religion,\nare all of them holy, just, and good; and the more they are taught\ntheir duty to GOD, the better they will perform their duties to you;\nmethinks, to neglect the improvement of their souls, out of a dread of\nspending too much time in religious duties, is acting quite contrary to\nyour own interest as well as duty.\n\n5. _Fifthly_ and _Lastly_, If neither gratitude to GOD, love to\nyour children, common justice to your servants, nor even that most\nprevailing motive self-interest, will excite; yet let a consideration\nof the _terrors of the_ LORD persuade you to put in practice the pious\nresolution in the text. Remember, the time will come, and that perhaps\nvery shortly, when we must all appear before the judgment-seat of\nCHRIST; where we must give a solemn and strict account how we have had\nour conversation, in our respective families in this world. How will\nyou endure to see your children and servants (who ought to be your joy\nand crown of rejoicing in the day of our LORD JESUS CHRIST) coming out\nas so many swift witnesses against you; cursing the father that begot\nthem, the womb that bare them, the paps which they have sucked, and the\nday they ever entered into your houses? Think you not, the damnation\nwhich men must endure for their own sins, will be sufficient, that they\nneed load themselves with the additional guilt of being accessary to\nthe damnation of others also? O consider this, all ye that forget to\nserve the LORD with your respective housholds, \u201clest he pluck you away,\nand there be none to deliver you!\u201d\n\nBut GOD forbid, brethren, that any such evil should befal you: no,\nrather will I hope, that you have been in some measure convinced by\nwhat has been said of the great importance of _family-religion_; and\ntherefore are ready to cry out in the words immediately following the\ntext, \u201cGOD forbid that we should forsake the LORD;\u201d and again, verse 21,\n\u201cNay, but we will (with our several housholds) serve the LORD.\u201d\n\nAnd that there may be always such a heart in you, let me exhort all\ngovernors of families, in the name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, often to\nreflect on the inestimable worth of their own souls, and the infinite\nransom, even the precious blood of JESUS CHRIST, which has been paid\ndown for them. Remember, I beseech you to remember, that you are fallen\ncreatures; that you are by nature lost and estranged from GOD; and\nthat you can never be restored to your primitive happiness, till by\nbeing born again of the Holy Ghost, you arrive at your primitive state\nof purity, have the image of GOD restamped upon your souls, and are\nthereby made meet to be partakers of the inheritance with the saints\nin light. Do, I say, but seriously and frequently reflect on, and act\nas persons that believe such important truths, and you will no more\nneglect your family\u2019s spiritual welfare than your own. No, the love of\nGOD, which will then be shed abroad in your hearts, will constrain you\nto do your utmost to preserve them; and the deep sense of GOD\u2019s free\ngrace in CHRIST JESUS, (which you will then have) in calling you, will\nexcite you to do your utmost to save others, especially those of your\nown houshold. And though, after all your pious endeavours, some may\ncontinue unreformed; yet you will have this comfortable reflection\nto make, that you did what you could to make your families religious:\nand therefore may rest assured of sitting down in the kingdom of\nheaven, with _Abraham_, _Joshua_, and _Cornelius_, and all the godly\nhousholders, who in their several generations shone forth as so many\nlights in their respective housholds upon earth. _Amen._\n\n\n\n\n SERMON V.\n\n CHRIST the best Husband: Or an earnest Invitation\n to Young Women to come and see CHRIST.\n\n Preached to a Society of Young Women, in _Fetter-Lane_.\n\n\n PSALM xlv. 10, 11.\n\n _Hearken, O Daughter, and consider, and incline thine Ear:\n Forget also thine own People, and thy Father\u2019s House: So shall\n the King greatly desire thy Beauty; for he is thy Lord, and\n worship thou him._\n\nTHIS psalm is called the song of loves, the most pure and spiritual,\nthe most dear and delightful loves; namely, those which are between\nCHRIST the beloved, and his church, which is his spouse; wherein is set\nforth, first, the LORD JESUS CHRIST in regard of his majesty, power,\nand divinity, his truth, meekness and equity: And then the spouse\nis set forth, in regard of her ornaments, companions, attendants and\nposterity; and both in regard of their comeliness and beauty. After\nthe description of CHRIST, an invitation to his espousals, is given\nthe children of men, called by the name of daughter; and therefore,\nparticularly applicable unto you, my dear sisters, as being the\ndaughters of men, yet not so as excluding the sons of men.\n\nI shall now, therefore, consider the words, as spoken to you in\nparticular, and containing this doctrine;\n\nThat the LORD JESUS CHRIST doth invite the daughters of men to be his\nspouse; and is exceeding desirous of their beauty; who, forgetting\ntheir people and father\u2019s house, do hearken, consider and incline to\nhis invitation, and join themselves to him in this relation.\n\nI shall shew,\n\nI. How CHRIST doth espouse himself unto the children, but, more\nespecially, unto the daughters of men.\n\nThe LORD JESUS CHRIST, doth espouse himself unto the children of\nmen, in this world, but the public solemnization of the marriage, is\nreserved until the last day; when his spouse shall be brought forth to\nhim, in white robes, and a raiment of perfect righteousness, more rich\nand curious, my dear sisters, than any of your needle-work; and the\nmarriage feast will be kept in his Father\u2019s house, in heaven, where\nthey shall be received into the nearest and closest embraces of his\nlove. The marriage knot is tied here, in which are included four things:\n\n_First_, Mutual Choice.\n\n_Secondly_, Mutual Affection.\n\n_Thirdly_, Mutual Union.\n\n_Fourthly_, Mutual Obligation.\n\n_First_, My dear sisters, there is a _mutual choice_, which is not\nonly in CHRIST, as Mediator, but also by CHRIST as the eternal Son of\nGOD, yea, GOD himself; notwithstanding all that the polite _Arians_ and\n_Socinians_ say to the contrary. The LORD JESUS CHRIST, my dear sisters,\ndoth chuse you merely by his free grace; it is freely of his own\nmercy, that he brings you into the marriage covenant: You, who have so\ngrievously offended him, yet, the LORD JESUS CHRIST hath chosen you;\nyou did not, you would not have chosen him; but when once, my dear\nsisters, he hath chosen you, then, and not till then, you make choice\nof him for your Lord and Husband.\n\nThe LORD JESUS CHRIST when he first comes to you, finds you full of\nsin and pollution; you are deformed, defiled, enslaved, poor, miserable\nand wretched, very despicable and loathsome, by reason of sin; and he\nmaketh choice of you, not because of your holiness, nor of your beauty,\nnor of your being qualified for them; no, the LORD JESUS CHRIST puts\nthose qualifications upon you, as may make you meet for his embrace;\nand you are drawn to make choice of this LORD JESUS CHRIST because he\nfirst chose you.\n\n_Secondly_, In this espousal of your\u2019s, my dear sisters, there is a\n_mutual affection_; this doth accompany the choice. Your hearts are\ndrawn out after CHRIST; your souls pant and long for him; you cannot be\nat rest until you are engaged to this JESUS: You are ready to cry out\ncontinually, none but CHRIST, none but CHRIST: this is the language of\nyour hearts, if you are truly sensible of your need of him. The more\nacquaintance you have of this LORD JESUS, the more pleased you are with\nyour choice, and the more your affections are drawn towards him. And\nwhere can you place your affections better than upon that JESUS who\nshed his blood for your sakes? Surely he deserves both your loves and\naffections: Go on, go on, my dear sisters, that your affections may\ngrow stronger and stronger.\n\n_Thirdly_, There is not only mutual choice, and mutual affection, but\nlikewise _mutual Union_: And here doth the marriage lie chiefly, in\nthis union; CHRIST and souls are contracted, and the knot is tied so\nfast, that neither men on earth, how great soever they be, nor devils\nin hell, though they should combine all their wrath and rage together,\nstill they cannot dissolve, they cannot untie it; no, my dear sisters,\nit is indissolvable, for the union is, by the spirit, on CHRIST\u2019s part,\nand by faith on your\u2019s: By the spirit, CHRIST doth lay hold on you; and\nby faith, you do lay hold on him; and thus the match is made; CHRIST\nbecomes your\u2019s, his person, portion, and all his benefits are your\u2019s;\nand you become CHRIST\u2019s, your persons, your hearts, and all that you\nhave is resigned up unto him; and O that they may be so more and more.\n\n_Fourthly_, There is a _mutual Obligation_ between CHRIST and his\nspouse. CHRIST obliges himself to love you here; he will not, indeed\nhe never will leave you, he will protect you from the malice of\nthe _Pharisees_ of this generation, he will provide for you in all\ndifficulties; he will live with you here, and at last he will take you\nto himself, to live with him for ever. And you are engaged to him to\nbe loving, loyal, faithful, obedient; and you are to stick close to him\nas long as you live; and then you will find yourselves to be married to\nthe best advantage, both for soul and body, for time and for eternity.\n\nII. CHRIST doth Invite all of you to be his spouse.\n\nAnd it is on this account that he sends forth his ministers to preach.\nIt is this, that makes me thus come among you; that you would accept of\nthis invitation, to which, in the name of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, I do\ncall and intreat you to take him, on his own terms. He calls all of you,\nmy sisters, whether elder or younger, whether married or unmarried, of\nhigher degree, or of the meanest quality, the poorest servants, yea,\nthe rabble of this world, as the world calls you, who are willing to\nbe espoused unto the LORD JESUS CHRIST. I say, the poor are as welcome\nto be CHRIST\u2019s spouse as those that are rich. He regardeth not the rich\nmore than the poor: he chose a mean virgin, espoused to a carpenter,\nto be his mother; and he chuseth and calleth all such to be his spouse;\nthen be not discouraged at your being despised in the world; for\nif you are but loved by CHRIST, and espoused to him, it will be an\nover-sufficiency for all the trouble that you have met with here.\n\nIII. Those who would be espoused unto CHRIST, must hearken, consider,\nand incline to his invitation, and forget even their father\u2019s house.\n\nSuch as would be espoused unto CHRIST must hearken. \u201cHearken, O\ndaughter.\u201d Many amongst you, my sisters, stop their ears against the\ncalls of the gospel; they shut their ears like the deaf adder, which\nwill not hearken unto the voice of the charmer, though he charm never\nso wisely. You will not hearken unto the invitations of CHRIST; you\ncan hearken unto the vanities of the world, and be delighted with the\nespousals of the world, but never think, or are delighted with the\nespousals of CHRIST.\n\nIt was by the ear, that the temptation of sin was received by the first\nman, when he departed from GOD; and by the ear, the invitation to be\nCHRIST\u2019s spouse must be received, before the heart will be opened to\nreceive JESUS CHRIST in this conjugal relation.\n\nIf you would, my dear sisters, be espoused to CHRIST, you must consider\nCHRIST\u2019s invitation. It is not a slight or bare hearing of CHRIST\u2019s\ninvitation, which will be of any service to you, or make up the match\nbetween CHRIST and your souls; no, you must receive CHRIST in the\nheart; you must consider the thing itself, the advantages of it, the\ndifference between CHRIST\u2019s invitations and the devil\u2019s temptations, or\nany of the world\u2019s proffers.\n\nThose who would be espoused to CHRIST, must be inclined to accept of\nCHRIST\u2019s invitation. \u201cHearken, O daughter, consider and incline thine\near.\u201d This is to incline your hearts: You must consent with \u2666your wills;\nthere must be a compliance to the motion of CHRIST, and you must have\ndesires after CHRIST, and then your hearts will say, \u2018LORD, let us be\nthy spouse, and be thou our beloved.\u2019\n\n \u2666 \u201cyou\u201d replaced with \u201cyour\u201d\n\nYou must likewise forget your father\u2019s house. \u201cHearken, O daughter,\nand consider, and forget thy father\u2019s house.\u201d You are not here to\ncast off all affections unto natural relations; but you must forget\nall relations, so as to be ready to forego all their favour, when it\nstandeth in competition with that of the LORD JESUS CHRIST; and do not\nlet your carnal friends and relations hinder you from closing with, and\nespousing the LORD JESUS. I earnestly beseech you to suffer the loss\nof any thing, rather than to lose his favours; you must indeed forget\nyour own people, that is, you must forget all your evil customs which\nyou have learned in your father\u2019s house, and forsake all your vain\nconversation, your reading of plays, novels, or romances; and you must\nkeep from learning to sing the songs of the drunkard; for CHRIST, if\nyou are his spouse, hath redeemed you.\n\nSuch of you, my dear sisters, as are espoused to the LORD JESUS CHRIST\nare very beautiful. I do not mean in respect of your bodies; you may\nhave less of external comeliness than others, in respect of your bodies,\nbut as to your souls you will exceed in beauty, not so much in the eyes\nof man, as in the eyes of GOD; such have the most beautiful image of\nGOD stamped upon them; none in the world, beside them, have the least\nspark of spiritual beauty. Such as are not married to CHRIST, are\nunregenerated, they are not born again, nor brought from sin unto GOD,\nwhich must be done before you be espoused to CHRIST.\n\nAnd the LORD JESUS CHRIST desireth to see this beauty in his spouse,\nfor he cries out, \u201cO my dove, thou art in the clefts of the rock, in\nthe secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me\nhear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.\u201d\nHe calleth his spouse his love, being the dear object of his love;\nand he admireth her loveliness; he repeats it twice in one verse,\n\u201cBehold thou art fair, my love, behold thou art fair.\u201d Thus you see\nhe describes their beauty. And then, my sisters, we have a wonderful\nexpression of CHRIST to his spouse, \u201cThou hast ravished my heart, my\nsister, my spouse, thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes,\nwith one chain of thy neck.\u201d Thus you see how pleased the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST is with his spouse; and will not you, therefore, be espoused\nunto the LORD JESUS? I offer JESUS CHRIST to all of you; if you have\nbeen never so notorious for sin, if you have been as great a harlot as\n_Mary Magdalen_ was, when once you are espoused to CHRIST, you shall\nbe forgiven. Therefore be not discouraged, at whatever slights and\ncontempts the world may pass upon you, but come and join yourselves to\nthe LORD JESUS CHRIST, and all your sins shall be washed away in his\nblood; and when once you are espoused to JESUS, you are disjoined from\nsin, you are born again. You are now, as it were, espoused unto sin;\nsin is your husband, and you are too fond of it, but when once you are\nmarried to CHRIST, when you are born again, then you may be said to die\nunto sin; but till then, sin liveth in your affections; therefore, my\nsisters, give sin its death-wound in your hearts; you have been called\nby the word time after time, and it has had no effect upon you; but\nwhen you are espoused unto the LORD JESUS CHRIST, then you will be\nbrought to him by his Spirit: You will then lay hold on him by faith,\nhis Spirit will draw you unto himself; he will make you to be willing\nin the day of his power; he will give you faith in him. Faith is the\nhand of the soul which layeth hold on CHRIST; therefore, do not rest\ncontented till you have this grace of faith wrought in you with power;\ndo not be contented till you have received the LORD JESUS CHRIST.\n\nEmbrace CHRIST in the arms of your dearest love; then you love the LORD\nJESUS CHRIST with sincerity, when you love and esteem him before father,\nmother, or all the delights and pleasures of this life; but if you do\ndelight in any thing that this world can produce, more than in the LORD\nJESUS CHRIST, you have no true love to him.\n\nIf you are espoused to CHRIST, you have acquaintance and converse\nwith him; you will endeavour to promote his interest, and advance his\nname in the world; when others are going to the polite and fashionable\ndiversions of life, you will be labouring to bring honour to the LORD\nJESUS CHRIST; you will commend your beloved above all other beloveds,\nand endeavour to bring others into love to him. Can you, my dear\nsisters, who are now assembled to worship GOD, shew such evidence\nof your espousals unto the LORD JESUS CHRIST? O! how joyful, how\ncomfortable an estate is this! Surely this is a marriage worth seeking\nafter; this is the only desirable marriage, and the LORD JESUS CHRIST\nis the only lover that is worth seeking after.\n\nNow, my dear sisters, I shall speak a few words to those of you who\nhave not yet espoused yourselves to the LORD JESUS. It is a great sin,\nand surely you highly affront the LORD that bought you. It is likewise\nyour folly to refuse and neglect the gracious proffers of being the\nspouse of CHRIST; hereby you forfeit all that love which he would\nbestow upon you; hereby you chuse rags before robes, dross before gold,\npebbles before jewels, guilt before a pardon, wounds before healing,\ndefilement before cleansing, deformity before comeliness, trouble\nbefore peace, slavery before liberty, the service of the devil before\nthe service of CHRIST. Hereby you chuse dishonour before a crown, death\nbefore life, hell before heaven, eternal misery and torment before\neverlasting joy and glory. And need there a farther evidence of your\nfolly and madness, in refusing and neglecting CHRIST to be your spouse.\n\nMy dear sisters, I should exceed the limits of your time, should I\nparticularize all the advantages which you would obtain by being\nespoused to the LORD JESUS. This is your wisdom; they are foolish\nvirgins who refuse; but you are the wise virgins who have accepted of\nthe LORD JESUS CHRIST, and have disposed of yourselves to him; you have\nmade the wisest choice; and however the blind world may deem you fools,\nand despise you as being methodically mad, yet you are wise in the\nesteem of GOD, and will, one day, appear so in the esteem of them that\nnow despise you. It is your glory that you are espoused unto the LORD\nJESUS; and therefore glory in your espousal; glory not in yourselves,\nbut in the LORD who hath thus freely and graciously bestowed these\nfavours upon you. It is your safety to be espoused unto the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST, he will protect and defend you even from sin and satan, and\neternal ruin; and therefore thus far you are safe; he hath a regard for\nyou in times of danger from men, and these times of danger seem to be\nhastening; it is now arising as a black cloud no bigger than a man\u2019s\nhand, and by and by it will overspread the heavens, and when it is full\nit will burst; but if you are espoused to CHRIST, you are safe.\n\nNow, my dear sisters, I shall conclude with an earnest exhortation\nto high and low, rich and poor, one with another, to be espoused unto\nCHRIST.\n\nLet me speak unto you, young women, who are not yet espoused unto\nCHRIST, in an especial manner. It may be to satisfy your curiosity, has\nbrought many of you here; though, perhaps, this may be the time when\nyou shall be brought home to embrace the LORD JESUS, and be espoused\nto him. And O, that I may persuade you, by his Spirit, to espouse\nyourselves unto the LORD of life.\n\nAnd if you are but brought to close with the LORD JESUS CHRIST, I shall\nattain my end, and then both you and I shall rejoice that I preached\nthis sermon to you.\n\nCome virgins, will you give me leave to be a suitor unto you, not in my\nown name, but in the name of the LORD? O! that I may prevail with you\nfor your affections, and persuade you to give them unto CHRIST! May I\nbe instrumental of bringing your souls to CHRIST! May I be instrumental\nto join you and CHRIST together this day!\n\nBe not coy, as some of you possibly are in other loves: modesty and\nthe virgin blush may very well become you, when proposals of another\nkind are made unto you; but here coyness is folly, and backwardness\nto accept of this motion, is shame: you have ten thousand times more\nreason to blush at the refusal of CHRIST for your beloved, than at the\nacceptance; when otherwise the devil and sin would ravish your virgin\naffections. Never had you a better motion made to you; never was such a\nmatch proffered to you as this, of being matched and espoused unto the\nLORD JESUS CHRIST.\n\nConsider who the LORD JESUS is, whom you are invited to espouse\nyourselves unto; he is the best husband; there is none comparable to\nJESUS CHRIST.\n\nDo you desire one that is great? He is of the highest dignity, he\nis the glory of heaven, the darling of eternity, admired by angels,\ndreaded by devils, and adored by saints. For you to be espoused to so\ngreat a king, what honour will you have by this espousal?\n\nDo you desire one that is rich? None is comparable to CHRIST, the\nfulness of the earth belongs to him. If you be espoused to CHRIST,\nyou shall share in his unsearchable riches; you shall receive of his\nfulness, even grace for grace here, and you shall hereafter be admitted\nto glory, and shall live with this JESUS to all eternity.\n\nDo you desire one that is wise? There is none comparable to CHRIST\nfor wisdom. His knowledge is infinite, and his wisdom is correspondent\nthereto. And if you are espoused to CHRIST, he will guide and counsel\nyou, and make you wise unto salvation.\n\nDo you desire one that is potent, who may defend you against your\nenemies, and all the insults and reproaches of the Pharisees of this\ngeneration? There is none that can equal CHRIST in power; for the LORD\nJESUS CHRIST hath all power.\n\nDo you desire one that is good? There is none like unto CHRIST in this\nregard; others may have some goodness, but it is imperfect; CHRIST\u2019s\ngoodness is compleat and perfect, he is full of goodness, and in him\ndwelleth no evil.\n\nDo you desire one that is beautiful? His eyes are most sparkling, his\nlooks and glances of love are ravishing, his smiles are most delightful\nand refreshing unto the soul: CHRIST is the most lovely person of all\nothers in the world.\n\nDo you desire one that can love you? None can love you like CHRIST: His\nlove, my dear sisters, is incomprehensible; his love passeth all other\nloves: The love of the LORD JESUS is first, without beginning; his love\nis free without any motive; his love is great without any measure; his\nlove is constant without any change, and his love is everlasting.\n\nIt was the love of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, my dear sisters, which\nbrought him down from heaven; and which veiled his divinity in a human\nsoul and body; for he is GOD over all blessed for ever: It was love\nthat made him subject to hunger, thirst and sorrow; he was humbled,\neven unto death for you; for you who are espoused to him, he underwent\nthe painful, shameful and ignominious death of the cross: and can you,\nmy sisters, hear this, and not be concerned to think that the blessed\nJESUS underwent all this for such sinful creatures as you and I are?\nAnd when out of love he had finished the redemption on earth, as to\nwhat was needful for satisfaction; it was his love that carried him\nback to heaven, where he was before, that he might make application of\nwhat he had purchased, that there he might make intercession for those\nwhom he had redeemed, and prepare a place for them, even glorious\nmansions with himself, in the house not made with hands, which is\neternal in the heavens. It is out of love that he sendeth such tokens\nto his people from heaven to earth, which he conveyeth through his\nordinances, by his Spirit unto them. Surely then none is so deserving\nas the LORD JESUS CHRIST for you to espouse yourselves unto: if you be\nespoused unto CHRIST he is your\u2019s, all that he is, all that he hath;\nyou shall have his heart, and share in the choicest expressions of his\ndearest love.\n\nThe LORD JESUS CHRIST, my dear sisters, doth beseech you to be his\nspouse. We ministers have a commission from the LORD JESUS CHRIST to\ninvite you, in his name, unto this very thing; and CHRIST\u2019s invitations\nare real; general; frequent; earnest; free.\n\nCHRIST\u2019s invitations of you, to be his spouse, are _real_; and as the\nthing is real, so you, my dear sisters, are really invited unto it.\nThe LORD doth not mock and dissemble with you, as some pretending\nlovers, who dissemble love unto virgins, until they have gained their\naffections, and then falsely and basely relinquish them, never really\nintending either to espouse, or marry them: but the LORD doth really\nintend the thing, in his invitations of you; he never cast off any\nwhose consent and affections he had gained. Again,\n\nCHRIST\u2019s invitations of you, my dear sisters, are _general_. All of you\nare invited, none of you are excluded; all sorts of sinners are invited;\nthe most vile and abominable sinners, the most notorious transgressors\nare invited to be CHRIST\u2019s spouse, and shall be as welcome as any unto\nthe embraces of his love.\n\nCHRIST\u2019s invitations of you are _frequent_: JESUS CHRIST calls on\nyou frequently; he hath waited on you time after time, one year after\nanother; and he doth now invite you, by me this day, to come unto Him.\nDo not slight this invitation, but receive it with joy and thankfulness.\nCome, I beseech you, to this JESUS, who thus invites you to be his\nspouse. Again,\n\nCHRIST\u2019s invitations to be his spouse are _earnest_; he doth call upon\nyou, and not only call, but call earnestly too; yea, he useth many\narguments with you: he will press you to come unto him; he is loth to\ntake any denial from you: he knocks, and knocks hard at the door of\nyour hearts for entertainment; and surely you will not deny the LORD\nof life and glory who died for you, and gave himself for you: O my dear\nsisters, let this be the evening of your espousals to the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST.\n\nHe invites you _freely_ to be his spouse, for all his invitations are\nfree; he doth not expect a portion with you, as worldly lovers do; He\nwants nothing of you: nay, you must have nothing, if you be espoused\nunto the LORD JESUS CHRIST. If you be poor, miserable, blind, naked,\nJESUS CHRIST will supply all these defects of his own free mercy; he\nwill fill and supply you with all things out of his treasury; he will\nmake you meet for himself; he will prepare you to live with him for\never.\n\nConsider, if you be once espoused unto CHRIST, if once joined in this\nrelation, you shall never be separated from him; neither men nor devils\nshall be able to separate you: none, none, shall disjoin you; and\nwhen death doth break all other bonds, it shall not break the conjugal\nbond between you and CHRIST, but bring you unto the most full and\neverlasting possession of your beloved.\n\nAnd what do you now say, young women? shall I have a grant for my\nmaster, or be sent away with a repulse and refusal; no, I cannot carry\nsuch a message to my master; I hope better things of you, my sisters,\nand things which accompany salvation: methinks by this time ye should\nbegin to have a mind unto JESUS CHRIST; you look as if you did desire;\nyou hearken as if you would consent. What do you say? Shall the match\nbe made up this evening between CHRIST and your souls? O that I may\nbe instrumental in joining your hands, or rather your hearts together:\nO that I may be instrumental to tie that knot, which never can be\nunloosed.\n\nSome marry in haste, and repent at leisure; but if you were once\nespoused unto JESUS CHRIST, you would never repent; nothing would\ngrieve you, but that you were not joined to him sooner; and you would\nnot be disjoined again for all the world.\n\nShall this be the day of your espousals? Some of you have stayed a long\ntime; and will you defer any longer? If you will not now, perhaps you\nmay never have another opportunity; this may be the last time of asking;\nand therefore it is dangerous to refuse: some of you are very young,\ntoo young for other espousals; but none of you, my dear sisters, are\ntoo young to be espoused unto the LORD JESUS CHRIST: in other espousals,\nyou must have the consent of your parents; but in this you are at your\nown disposal; you may give, and ought to match yourselves to CHRIST,\nwhether parents do consent or not.\n\nBut if any of you should ask, what you must do that you may be espoused\nunto CHRIST? You must be sensible of your need of being espoused to\nhim; and untill you are sensible of your need of the LORD JESUS CHRIST,\nyou cannot be espoused to him: You must have desires after this JESUS,\nand seek unto him for an interest in him; you must cry nightly unto\nhim to espouse you to himself: put off the filthiness of sin and all\nits defilements; and then, my sisters, put on the white raiment, and\nclean garments, which CHRIST hath provided for you, the robes of his\nrighteousness; in these garments you shall be beautiful; and in these\ngarments you shall be accepted: you must have the wedding garment on;\nyou must put off all your own good works, for they will be but a means\nto keep you from CHRIST; no, you must come as not having your own\nrighteousness, which is of the law, but you must have the righteousness\nof CHRIST. Therefore, come unto the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and he will give\nit to you; he will not send you away without it. Receive him upon his\nown terms, and he is your\u2019s for ever: O devote yourselves to him, soul\nand body, and all, to be his for ever; and CHRIST will be your\u2019s, and\nthen happy, happy you, that ever you were born! But if any of you die\nbefore this espousal unto the LORD JESUS CHRIST, then woe, woe, unto\nyou, that ever you had a being in life; but if you go to CHRIST you\nshall be espoused unto the LORD JESUS: though your sins have been never\nso great, yea, the blood of CHRIST will cleanse you from them; the\nmarriage covenant between CHRIST and your souls will dissolve all your\nsins; you will then be weary of your old ways, for all things will\nbecome new in your souls.\n\nNow, my dear Sisters, I shall conclude by just speaking a word or two\nto those of you, who are already espoused unto the LORD JESUS CHRIST.\n\nO admire, admire the rich and free grace, which hath brought you to\nthis relation: Is not this an instance of the greatest of love, that\nyou should be the spouse of the LORD JESUS CHRIST? You that had no\nbeauty, you that had no comeliness, that was full of sin, that He\nshould embrace such as you and I are; that we should be taken into\nthe embrace of this LORD JESUS. O infinite condescending kindness!\nO amazing love! Reverence, reverence, I beseech you, this LORD JESUS\nCHRIST.\n\nHe is your LORD, and you must reverence him, love and be faithful\nunto him, be subject to him, and careful to please him in every thing;\nendeavour to keep up a daily communion with him; look, long and prepare\nfor CHRIST\u2019s second appearance, when the nuptials between you shall\nbe solemnized, and you live with him in mansions of everlasting joys,\nwhere you shall love and live with this king of glory for ever and ever.\n\nI know not how to conclude; methinks I could speak to you till midnight,\nif it would bring you unto the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and make you be\nespoused to him, for indeed, that will be the espousal which will turn\nto the greatest advantage, as you will find by experience, if you will\nbut make the trial; and that you may do so, my prayers and my constant\nendeavours shall be used.\n\nI will, my dear sisters, spend and be spent for you, and by the\nassistance of GOD, will persevere in this that I have begun; and as\nmany of you may have opportunity some evening in the week, without\nbreaking in on the business of life; I shall therefore, my sisters,\neither be here, or where you shall be publicly acquainted with: I will\nnot mind being reproached or despised: the men of this world may use\nwhat language they please; they may say I am a Methodist. Indeed, my\nsisters, I am resolved, by the grace of GOD, to use all methods I can,\nto pluck you from Satan, that you may be as brands plucked from the\nburning fire: this shall be my method, which I hope will be the means\nof effectually saving your precious and immortal souls.\n\nAnd if I am the instrument of this, I shall rejoice, yea, and I will\nrejoice in spight of what men, or devils, can say or do to the contrary:\nand may the LORD JESUS CHRIST direct, and assist me at all times, to\nact what will be most for his glory, and the welfare of your souls: and\nmay you all say a hearty Amen thereto.\n\n \u201cNow the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who is GOD over all, blessed for\n ever, assist and watch over you, keep you from all evil and\n sin here, and present you before his Father faultless at the\n great day of account! To this LORD JESUS CHRIST, the Father,\n and the blessed Spirit, three persons and but one eternal and\n invisible GOD, be ascribed all honour, power, glory, might,\n majesty and dominion, now, henceforth, and for ever more. Amen,\n Amen.\u201d\n\n \u201cThe grace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, the love of GOD, and the\n fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with you all, to comfort under,\n and deliver you from tribulation; to preserve you to your\n respective places of abode; and when there, to keep you in\n his fear, that you may live to his glory; that to live may\n be CHRIST\u2019s, and to die be your eternal gain; so that you may\n live with him through eternal ages, and sing Hallelujahs to\n him for ever. Amen.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n SERMON VI.\n\n _Britain_\u2019s Mercies, and _Britain_\u2019s Duty.\n\n Preached at _Philadelphia_, on _Sunday, August 24, 1746_. and\n occasioned by the Suppression of the late unnatural Rebellion.\n\n\n PSALM cv. 45.\n\n _That they might observe his Statutes and keep his Laws._\n\nMEN, brethren, and fathers, and all ye to whom I am about to preach\nthe kingdom of GOD, I suppose you need not be informed, that being\nindispensibly obliged to be absent on your late thanksgiving-day, I\ncould not shew my obedience to the governor\u2019s proclamation, as my own\ninclination led me, or as might justly be expected from, and demanded\nof me. But as the occasion of that day\u2019s thanksgiving is yet, and\nI trust ever will be, fresh in our memory, I cannot think that a\ndiscourse on that subject can even now be altogether unseasonable. I\ntake it for granted, further, that you need not be informed, that among\nthe various motives which are generally urged to enforce obedience\nto the divine commands, that of love is the most powerful and cogent.\nThe terrors of the law may affright and awe, but love dissolves and\nmelts the heart. \u201cThe love of CHRIST,\u201d says the great apostle of the\n_Gentiles_, \u201cconstraineth us.\u201d Nay, love is so absolutely necessary for\nthose that name the name of CHRIST, that without it, their obedience\ncannot truly be stiled evangelical, or be acceptable in the sight of\nGOD. \u201cAlthough, (says the apostle) I bestow all my goods to feed the\npoor, and though I give my body to be burnt, and have not charity,\u201d\n(i.\u00a0e. unless unfeigned love to GOD, and to mankind for his great\nname\u2019s sake, be the principle of such actions, howsoever it may benefit\nothers) \u201cit profiteth me nothing.\u201d This is the constant language of the\nlively oracles of GOD. And, from them it is equally plain, that nothing\nhas a greater tendency to beget and excite such an obediential love in\nus, than a serious and frequent consideration of the manifold mercies\nwe receive time after time from the hands of our heavenly Father. The\nroyal psalmist, who had the honour of being stiled, \u201cthe man after\nGOD\u2019s own heart,\u201d had an abundant experience of this. Hence it is,\nthat whilst he is musing on the divine goodness, the fire of divine\nlove kindles in his soul; and, out of the abundance of his heart,\nhis mouth speaketh such grateful and extatic language as this. \u201cWhat\nshall I render unto the LORD for all his mercies? Bless the LORD, O\nmy soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.\u201d And why?\n\u201cwho forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases,\nwho redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving\nkindness and tender mercies.\u201d And when the same holy man of GOD had\na mind to stir up the people of the _Jews_ to set about a national\nreformation, as the most weighty and prevailing argument he could make\nuse of for that purpose, he lays before them, as it were, in a draught,\nmany national mercies, and distinguishing deliverances, which have\nbeen conferred upon and wrought out for them, by the most high GOD.\nThe psalm to which the words of our text belong, is a pregnant proof\nof this; it being a kind of epitome or compendium of the whole _Jewish_\nhistory: at least it contains an enumeration of many signal and\nextraordinary blessings the _Israelites_ had received from GOD, and\nalso the improvement they were in duty bound to make of them, \u201cObserve\nhis statutes and keep his laws.\u201d\n\nTo run through all the particulars of the psalm, or draw a parallel\n(which might with great ease and justice be done) between GOD\u2019s\ndealings with us and the _Israelites_ of old: To enumerate all the\nnational mercies bestowed upon, and remarkable deliverances wrought\nout for the kingdoms of _Great-Britain_ and _Ireland_, from the infant\nstate of _William_ the _Norman_ to their present manhood, and more\nthan _Augustan_ maturity, under the auspicious reign of our rightful\nSovereign King _George_ the second; howsoever pleasing and profitable\nit might be at any other time, would, at this juncture, prove, if not\nan irksome, yet an unreasonable undertaking.\n\nThe occasion of the late solemnity, I mean the suppression of a most\nhorrid and unnatural rebellion, will afford more than sufficient matter\nfor a discourse of this nature, and furnish us with abundant motives to\nlove and obey that glorious _Jehovah_, who giveth salvation unto kings,\nand delivers his people from the hurtful sword.\n\nNeed I make an apology, before this auditory, if, in order to see\nthe greatness of our late deliverance, I should remind you of the\nmany unspeakable blessings which we have for a course of years\nenjoyed, during the reign of his present Majesty, and the gentle,\nmild administration under which we live? Without justly incurring the\ncensure of giving flattering titles, I believe all who have eyes to\nsee, and ears to hear, and are but a little acquainted with our public\naffairs, must acknowledge, that we have one of the best of Kings. It is\nnow above nineteen years since he began to reign over us. And yet, was\nhe seated on a royal throne, and were all his subjects placed before\nhim, was he to address them as _Samuel_ once addressed the _Israelites_,\n\u201cBehold here I am, old and grey-headed, witness against me before the\nLORD, whose ox have I taken? Or whose ass have I taken? Or whom have\nI defrauded? Whom have I oppressed?\u201d They must, if they would do him\njustice, make the same answer as was given to _Samuel_, \u201cThou hast not\ndefrauded us, nor oppressed us.\u201d What _Tertullus_, by way of flattery,\nsaid to _Felix_, may with the strictest justice be applied to our\nsovereign, \u201cBy thee we enjoy great quietness, and very worthy deeds\nhave been done unto our nation by thy providence.\u201d He has been indeed\n_Pater Patri\u00e6_, a father to our country, and though old and grey-headed,\nhas jeoparded his precious life for us in the high places of the field.\nNor has he less deserved the great and glorious title, which the LORD\npromises, that kings should sustain in the latter days, I mean, \u201ca\nnursing father of the church.\u201d For not only the Church of _England_,\nas by law established, but all denominations of christians whatsoever,\nhave enjoyed their religious as well as civil liberties. As there\nhas been no authorized oppression in the state, so there has been no\npublicly allowed persecution in the church. We breathe indeed in free\nair; as free (if not freer) both as to temporals and spirituals, as\nany nation under heaven. Nor is the prospect likely to terminate in his\nmajesty\u2019s death, which I pray GOD to defer. Our princesses are disposed\nof to protestant powers. And we have great reason to be assured,\nthat the present heir apparent, and his consort, are like minded with\ntheir royal father. And I cannot help thinking, that it is a peculiar\nblessing vouchsafed us by the King of kings, that his present Majesty\nhas been continued so long among us. For now, his immediate successor\n(though his present situation obliges him, as it were, to lie dormant)\nhas great and glorious opportunities, which we have reason to think\nhe daily improves, of observing and weighing the national affairs,\nconsidering the various steps and turns of government, and consequently\nof laying in a large fund of experience, to make him a wise and great\nprince, if ever GOD should call him to sway the _British_ sceptre.\nHappy art thou, O _England_! Happy art thou, O _America_, who on every\nside art thus highly favoured!\n\nBut, alas! how soon would this happy scene have shifted, and a\nmelancholy gloomy prospect have succeeded in its room, had the rebels\ngained their point, and a popish abjured pretender been forced upon the\n_British_ throne! For, supposing his birth not to be spurious, (as we\nhave great reason to think it really was) what could we expect from one,\ndescended from a father, who, when Duke of _York_, put all _Scotland_\ninto confusion; and afterwards, when crowned King of _England_, for\nhis \u2666arbitrary and tyrannical government, both in church and state, was\njustly obliged to abdicate the throne, by the assertors of _British_\nliberty? Or, supposing the horrid plot, first hatched in hell, and\nafterwards nursed at _Rome_, had taken place; supposing, I say, the old\nPretender should have obtained the triple crown, and have transferred\nhis pretended title (as it is reported he has done) to his eldest son,\nwhat was all this for, but that, by being advanced to the popedom,\nhe might rule both son and subjects with less controul, and by their\nunited interest, keep the three kingdoms of _England_, _Scotland_, and\n_Ireland_, in greater vassallage to the see of _Rome_? Ever since this\nunnatural rebellion broke out, I have looked upon the young Pretender\nas the phaeton of the present age. He is ambitiously and presumptuously\naiming to seat himself in the throne of our rightful sovereign King\n_George_, which he is no more capable of keeping, than _Phaeton_ was\nto guide the chariot of the sun; and had he succeeded in his attempt,\nlike him, would only have set the world on fire. It is true, to do\nhim justice, he has deserved well of the Church of _Rome_, and, in all\nprobability, will hereafter be canonized amongst the noble order of\ntheir fictitious saints. But, with what an iron rod we might expect\nto have been bruised, had his troops been victorious, may easily be\ngathered from those cruel orders said to be found in the pockets of\nsome of his officers, \u201cGive no quarters to the Elector\u2019s troops.\u201d Add\nto this, that there was great reason to suspect, that, upon the first\nnews of the success of the rebels, a general massacre was intended. So\nthat if the LORD had not been on our side, _Great Britain_, not to say\n_America_, would, in a few weeks or months, have been an _Aceldama_, a\nfield of blood.\n\n \u2666 \u201carbritrary\u201d replaced with \u201carbitrary\u201d\n\nBesides, was a _Popish_ Pretender to rule over us, instead of being\nrepresented by a free parliament, and governed by laws made by their\nconsent, as we now are; we should shortly have had only the shadow of\none, and it may be, no parliament at all. This is the native product\nof a _Popish_ government, and what the unhappy family, from which this\nyoung adventurer pretends he descended, has always aimed at. Arbitrary\nprinciples he has sucked in with his mother\u2019s milk, and if he had been\nso honest, instead of that immature motto upon his standard, _Tandem\ntriumphans_, only to have put, _Stet pro ratione Voluntas_, he had\ngiven us a short, but true portrait of the nature of his intended, but\nblessed be GOD, now defeated reign. And why should I mention, that the\nsinking of the national debt, or rending away the funded property of\nthe people, and the dissolution of the present happy union between the\ntwo kingdoms, would have been the immediate consequences of his success,\nas he himself declares in his second manifesto, dated from _Holy-rood\nHouse_? These are evils, and great ones too; but then they are only\nevils of a temporary nature. They chiefly concern the body, and must\nnecessarily terminate in the grave. But, alas! what an inundation of\nspiritual mischiefs, would soon have overflowed the Church, and what\nunspeakable danger should we and our posterity have been reduced to\nin respect to our better parts, our precious and immortal souls? How\nsoon would whole swarms of monks, dominicans and friars, like so many\nlocusts, have overspread and plagued the nation; with what winged\nspeed would foreign titular bishops have posted over, in order to take\npossession of their respective sees? How quickly would our universities\nhave been filled with youths who have been sent abroad by their\n_Popish_ parents, in order to drink in all the superstitions of the\nchurch of _Rome_? What a speedy period would have been put to societies\nof all kinds, for promoting christian knowledge, and propagating the\ngospel in foreign parts? How soon would our pulpits have every where\nbeen filled with these old antichristian doctrines, free-will, meriting\nby works, transubstantiation, purgatory, works of supererogation,\npassive-obedience, non-resistance, and all the other abominations of\nthe whore of _Babylon_? How soon would our protestant charity schools\nin _England_, _Scotland_ and _Ireland_, have been pulled down, our\nBibles forcibly taken from us, and ignorance every where set up as\nthe mother of devotion? How soon should we have been deprived of\nthat invaluable blessing, liberty of conscience, and been obliged to\ncommence (what they falsely call) catholicks, or submit to all the\ntortures which a bigoted zeal, guided by the most cruel principles,\ncould possibly invent? How soon would that mother of harlots have made\nherself once more drunk with the blood of the saints? And the whole\ntribe even of free-thinkers themselves, been brought to this dilemma,\neither to die martyrs for, (although I never yet heard of one that did\nso) or, contrary to all their most avowed principles, renounce their\ngreat _Diana_, unassisted, unenlightened reason? But I must have done,\nlest while I am speaking against antichrist, I should unawares fall\nmyself, and lead my hearers into an antichristian spirit. True and\nundefiled religion will regulate our zeal, and teach us to treat even\nthe man of sin with no harsher language than that which the angel gave\nto his grand employer Satan, \u201cThe LORD rebuke thee.\u201d\n\nGlory be to GOD\u2019s great name! the LORD has rebuked him; and that too\nat a time when we had little reason to expect such a blessing at GOD\u2019s\nhands. My dear hearers, neither the present frame of my heart, nor\nthe occasion of your late solemn meeting, lead me to give you a detail\nof our public vices. Though, alas! they are so many, so notorious,\nand withal of such a crimson-dye, that a gospel minister would not\nbe altogether inexcusable, was he, even on such a joyful occasion,\nto lift up his voice like a trumpet, to shew the British nation their\ntransgression, and the people of _America_ their sin. However, though\nI would not cast a dismal shade upon the pleasing picture the cause of\nour late rejoicings set before us; yet thus much may, and ought to be\nsaid, that as GOD has not dealt so bountifully with any people as with\nus, so no nation under heaven has dealt more ungratefully with Him.\nWe have been like _Capernaum_, lifted up to heaven in privileges, and\nfor the abuse of them, like her, have deserved to be thrust down into\nhell. How well soever it may be with us, in respect to our civil and\necclesiastical constitution, yet in regard to our morals, _Isaiah_\u2019s\ndescription of the _Jewish_ polity is too applicable, \u201cThe whole head\nis sick, the whole heart is faint; from the crown of the head to the\nsole of our feet, we are full of wounds and bruises, and putrifying\nsores.\u201d We have, _Jeshurun_-like, waxed fat and kicked. We have played\nthe harlot against GOD, both in regard to principles and practices.\n\u201cOur gold is become dim, and our fine gold changed.\u201d We have crucified\nthe Son of GOD afresh, and put him to an open shame. Nay, CHRIST has\nbeen wounded in the house of his friends. And every thing long ago\nseemed to threaten an immediate storm. But, O the long-suffering and\ngoodness of GOD to us-ward! When all things seemed ripe for destruction,\nand matters were come to such a crisis, that GOD\u2019s praying people began\nto think, that though _Noah_, _Daniel_ and _Job_, were living, they\nwould only deliver their own souls; yet then in the midst of judgment\nthe Most High remembered mercy, and when a popish enemy was breaking in\nupon us like a flood, the LORD himself graciously lifted up a standard.\n\nThis to me does not seem to be one of the most unfavourable\ncircumstances which have attended this mighty deliverance; nor do\nI think you will look upon it as a circumstance altogether unworthy\nyour observation. Had this cockatrice indeed been crushed in the egg,\nand the young Pretender driven back upon his first arrival, it would\nundoubtedly have been a great blessing. But not so great as that for\nwhich you lately assembled to give GOD thanks: for then his Majesty\nwould not have had so good an opportunity of knowing his enemies, or\ntrying his friends. The _British_ subjects would in a manner have lost\nthe fairest occasion that ever offered to express their loyalty and\ngratitude to the rightful sovereign. _France_ would not have been so\ngreatly humbled; nor such an effectual stop have been put, as we trust\nthere now is, to any such further _Popish_ plot, to rob us of all that\nis near and dear to us. \u201cOut of the eater therefore hath come forth\nmeat, and out of the strong hath come forth sweetness.\u201d The Pretender\u2019s\neldest son is suffered not only to land in the _North-West Highlands_\nin _Scotland_, but in a little while he becomes a great band. This for\na time is not believed, but treated as a thing altogether incredible.\nThe friends of the government in those parts, not for want of loyalty,\nbut of sufficient authority to take up arms, could not resist him. He\nis permitted to pass on with his terrible banditti, and, like the comet\nthat was lately seen, spreads his baleful influences all around him.\nHe is likewise permitted to gain a short-liv\u2019d triumph by a victory\nover a body of our troops at _Preston-Pans_, and to take a temporary\npossession of the metropolis of _Scotland_. Of this he makes his boast,\nand informs the public, that \u201cProvidence had hitherto favoured him with\nwonderful success, led him in the way to victory, and to the capital\nof the antient kingdom, though he came without foreign aid.\u201d Nay, he\nis further permitted to press into the very heart of _England_. But\nnow the Almighty interposes. Hitherto he was to go, and no further.\nHere were his malicious designs to be staid. His troops of a sudden\nare driven back. Away they post to the _Highlands_, and there they are\nsuffered not only to increase, but also to collect themselves into a\nlarge body, that having, as it were, what _Caligula_ once wished _Rome_\nhad, but one neck, they might be cut off with one blow.\n\nThe time, manner, and instrument of this victory, deserves our notice.\nIt was on a general fast-day, when the clergy and good people of\n_Scotland_ were lamenting the disloyalty of their perfidious countrymen,\nand, like _Moses_, lifting up their hands, that _Amalek_ might not\nprevail. The victory was total and decisive. Little blood was spilt\non the side of the Royalists. And, to crown all, Duke _William_, his\nMajesty\u2019s youngest son, has the honour of first driving back, and then\ndefeating the rebel-army. A prince, who in his infancy and youth, gave\nearly proofs of an uncommon bravery and nobleness of mind; a prince,\nwhose courage has increased with his years. Who returned wounded\nfrom the battle of _Dettingen_, behaved with surprizing bravery at\n_Fontenoy_, and now, by a conduct and magnanimity becoming the high\noffice he sustains, like his glorious predecessor the Prince of\n_Orange_, has delivered three kingdoms from the dread of popish\ncruelty, and arbitrary power. What renders it still more remarkable is,\nThe day on which his Highness gained this victory, was the day after\nhis birth-day, when he was entering on the 26th year of his age; and\nwhen _Sullivan_, one of the Pretender\u2019s privy-council, like another\n_Ahitophel_, advised the rebels to give our soldiers battle, presuming\nthey were surfeited and over-charged with their yesterday\u2019s rejoicings,\nand consequently unfit to make any great stand against them. But, glory\nbe to GOD, who catches the wise in their own craftiness! his counsel,\nlike _Ahitophel_\u2019s, proves abortive. Both General and soldiers were\nprepared to meet them. \u201cGOD taught their hands to war, and their\nfingers to fight,\u201d and brought the Duke, after a deserved slaughter\nof some thousands of the rebels, with most of his brave soldiers,\nvictorious from the field.\n\nIf we then take a distinct view of this notable transaction, and trace\nit in all the particular circumstances that have attended it, I believe\nwe must with one heart and voice confess, that if it be a mercy for a\nstate to be delivered from a worse than a _Catiline_\u2019s conspiracy, or a\nchurch to be rescued from a hotter than a _Dioclesian_ persecution; if\nit be a mercy to be delivered from a religion that turns plough-shares\ninto swords, and pruning-hooks into spears, and makes it meritorious\nto shed protestant blood; if it be a mercy to have all our present\ninvaluable privileges, both in church and state, secured to us more\nthan ever; if it be a mercy to have these great things done for us,\nat a season, when for our crying sins, both church and state justly\ndeserved to be overturned; and if it be a mercy to have all this\nbrought about for us, under GOD, by one of the blood-royal, a prince\nacting with an experience far above his years; if any, or all of these\nare mercies, then have you lately commemorated one of the greatest\nmercies that ever the glorious GOD vouchsafed to the _British_ nation.\n\nAnd shall we not rejoice and give thanks? Should we refuse, would not\nthe stones cry out against us? Rejoice then we may and ought: but,\nO let our rejoicing be in the LORD, and run in a religious channel.\nThis, we find, has been the practice of GOD\u2019s people in all ages. When\nhe was pleased, with a mighty hand, and out-stretched arm, to lead\nthe _Israelites_ through the _Red-Sea_, as on dry ground, \u201cThen sang\n_Moses_ and the children of _Israel_; and _Miriam_ the prophetess, the\nsister of _Aaron_, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went\nout after her. And _Miriam_ answered them, Sing ye to the LORD; for\nhe hath triumphed gloriously.\u201d When GOD subdued _Jabin_, the King of\n_Canaan_, before the children of _Israel_, \u201cthen sang _Deborah_ and\n_Barak_ on that day, saying, \u2018Praise ye the LORD for the avenging\nof _Israel_.\u2019\u201d When the ark was brought back out of the hands of\nthe _Philistines_, _David_, though a king, danced before it. And, to\nmention but one instance more, which may serve as a general directory\nto us on this and such-like occasions: when the great Head of the\nchurch had rescued his people from the general massacre intended to\nbe executed upon them by a cruel and ambitious _Haman_, \u201c_Mordecai_\nsent letters unto all the _Jews_ that were in all the provinces of the\nKing _Ahasuerus_ both nigh and far, to establish among them, that they\nshould keep the fourteenth day of the month _Adar_, and the fifteenth\nday of the same yearly, as the days wherein the _Jews_ rested from\ntheir enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow\nunto joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them\ndays of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and\ngifts to the poor.\u201d And why should we not go and do likewise?\n\nAnd shall we not also, on such an occasion, express our gratitude to,\nand make honourable mention of, those worthies who have signalized\nthemselves, and been ready to sacrifice both lives and fortunes at this\ncritical juncture?\n\nThis would be to act the part of those ungrateful _Israelites_, who\nare branded in the book of GOD, for not shewing kindness to the house\nof \u201c_Jerub-Baal_, namely _Gideon_, according to all the goodness which\nhe shewed unto _Israel_.\u201d Even a _Pharaoh_ could prefer a deserving\n_Joseph_, _Ahasuerus_ a _Mordecai_, and _Nebuchadnezzar_ a _Daniel_,\nwhen made instruments of signal service to themselves and people.\n\u201cMy heart, says _Deborah_, is towards (_i.\u00a0e._ I have a particular\nveneration and regard for) the Governors of _Israel_ that offered\nthemselves willingly. And blessed above women shall _Jael_ the wife\nof _Heber_ the _Kenite_ be; for she put her hand to the nail, and her\nright-hand to the workman\u2019s hammer, and with the hammer she smote\n_Sisera_, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken\nthrough his temples.\u201d And shall we not say, \u201cBlessed above men let\nhis Royal Highness the Duke of _Cumberland_ be; for through his\ninstrumentality, the great and glorious JEHOVAH hath brought mighty\nthings to pass?\u201d Should not our hearts be towards the worthy Archbishop\nof _York_, the Royal Hunters, and those other _English_ heroes who\noffered themselves so willingly? Let the names of _Blakeney_, _Bland_,\nand _Rea_, and all thole who waxed valiant in fight on this important\noccasion, live for ever in the _British_ annals. And let the name of\nthat great, that incomparable brave soldier of the King, and a good\nsoldier of JESUS CHRIST, Colonel _Gardiner_, (excuse me if I here\ndrop a tear: he was my intimate friend) let his name, I say, be had in\neverlasting remembrance.\n\nBut, after all, is there not an infinitely greater debt of gratitude\nand praise due from us, on this occasion, to Him that is higher than\nthe highest, even the King of kings and Lord of Lords, the blessed and\nonly Potentate? Is it not his arm, his strong and mighty arm, (what\ninstruments soever may have been made use of) that hath brought us\nthis salvation? And may I not therefore address you, in the exulting\nlanguage of the beginning of this psalm, from which we have taken our\ntext? \u201cO give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his\ndeeds among the people. Sing unto him; sing psalms unto him; talk ye\nof all his wondrous works; glory ye in his holy name; remember his\nmarvellous work which he hath done.\u201d\n\nBut shall we put off our good and gracious benefactor with mere\nlip-service? GOD forbid. Your worthy Governor has honoured GOD in his\nlate excellent proclamation, and GOD will honour him. But shall our\nthanks terminate with the day? No, in no wise. Our text reminds us of\na more noble sacrifice, and points out to us the great end the Almighty\nJEHOVAH proposes, in bestowing such signal favours upon a people, \u201cThat\nthey should observe his statutes, and keep his laws.\u201d\n\nThis is the return we are all taught to pray, that we may make to the\nMost High GOD, the Father of mercies, in the daily office of our church,\n\u201cThat our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we may shew\nforth his praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving\nup ourselves to his service, and by walking before him in holiness and\nrighteousness all our days.\u201d O that these words were the real language\nof all that use them! O that there were in us such a mind! How soon\nwould our enemies then flee before us? And GOD, even our own GOD, would\nyet give us more abundant blessings!\n\nAnd why should not we \u201cobserve GOD\u2019s statutes, and keep his laws?\u201d Dare\nwe say, that any of his commands are grievous? Is not CHRIST\u2019s yoke, to\na renewed soul, as far as renewed, easy; and his burden comparatively\nlight? May I not appeal to the most refined reasoner, whether the\nreligion of JESUS CHRIST be not a social religion? Whether the\nMoral Law, as explained by the LORD JESUS in the gospel, has not a\nnatural tendency to promote the present good and happiness of a whole\ncommonwealth, supposing they were obedient to them, as well as the\nhappiness of every individual? From whence come wars and fighting\namongst us? From what fountain do all those evils, which the present\nand past ages have groaned under, flow, but from a neglect of the laws\nand statutes of our great and all-wise law-giver JESUS of _Nazareth_?\nTell me, ye men of letters, whether _Lycurgus_ or _Solon_, _Pythagoras_\nor _Plato_, _Aristotle_, _Seneca_, _Cicero_, or all the antient\nlawgivers and heathen moralists; put them all together, ever published\na system of ethics, any way worthy to be compared with the glorious\nsystem laid down in that much despised book, (to use Sir _Richard\nSteel_\u2019s expression) emphatically called, the Scriptures? Is not the\ndivine image and superscription written upon every precept of the\ngospel? Do they not shine with a native intrinsic lustre? And, though\nmany things in them are above, yet, is there any thing contrary to\nthe strictest laws of right reason? Is not JESUS CHRIST, in scripture,\nstiled the Word, the Logos, the Reason? And is not his service a\nreasonable service? What if there be mysteries in his religion? Are\nthey not without all controversy great and glorious? Are they not\nmysteries of godliness, and worthy of that GOD who reveals them? Nay,\nis it not the greatest mystery, that men, who pretend to reason, and\ncall themselves philosophers, who search into the _arcana natur\u00e6_,\nand consequently find a mystery in every blade of grass, should yet\nbe so irrational as to decry all mysteries in religion? Where is the\nscribe? where is the wise? where is the disputer against the christian\nrevelation? Does not every thing without and within us, conspire to\nprove its divine original? And would not self-interest, if there was no\nother motive, excite us to observe GOD\u2019s statutes, and keep his laws?\n\nBesides, considered as a protestant people, do we not lie under the\ngreatest obligations of any nation under heaven, to pay a chearful,\nunanimous, universal, persevering obedience to the divine commands.\n\nThe wonderful and surprising manner of GOD\u2019s bringing about a\nreformation, in the reign of King _Henry the Eighth_; his carrying it\non in the blessed reign of King _Edward the Sixth_; his delivering us\nout of the bloody hands of Queen _Mary_, and destroying the _Spanish_\ninvincible armada, under her immediate protestant successor Queen\n_Elizabeth_; his discovery of the popish plot under King _James_; the\nglorious revolution by King _William_; and, to come nearer to our own\ntimes, his driving away four thousand five hundred _Spaniards_, from\na weak (though important) frontier colony, when they had, in a manner,\nactually taken possession of it; his giving us _Louisbourg_, one of the\nstrongest fortresses of our enemies, contrary to all human probability,\nbut the other day, into our hands: these, I say, with the victory which\nyou have lately been commemorating, are such national mercies, not to\nmention any more, as will render us utterly inexcusable, if they do not\nproduce a national reformation, and incite us all, with one heart, to\nkeep GOD\u2019s statutes, and observe his laws.\n\nNeed I remind you further, in order to excite in you a greater\ndiligence to comply with the intent of the text, that though the storm,\nin a great measure, is abated by his Royal Highness\u2019s late success, yet\nwe dare not say, it is altogether blown over?\n\nThe clouds may again return after the rain; and the few surviving\nrebels (which I pray GOD avert) may yet be suffered to make head\nagainst us. We are still engaged in a bloody, and, in all probability,\na tedious war, with two of the most inveterate enemies to the interests\nof _Great-Britain_. And, though I cannot help thinking, that their\npresent intentions are so iniquitous, their conduit so perfidious, and\ntheir schemes so directly derogatory to the honour of the Most High\nGOD, that he will certainly humble them in the end, yet, as all things\nin this life happen alike to all, they may for a time, be dreadful\ninstruments of scourging us. If not, GOD has other arrows in his quiver\nto smite us with, besides the _French_ King, his Catholick Majesty, or\nan abjured Pretender. Not only the sword, but plague, pestilence, and\nfamine, are under the divine command. Who knows but he may say to them\nall, \u201cPass through these lands?\u201d A fatal murrain has lately swept away\nabundance of cattle at home and abroad. A like epidemical disease may\nhave a commission to seize our persons as well as our beasts. Thus GOD\ndealt with the _Egyptians_: who dare say, he will not deal so with us?\nHas he not already given some symptoms of it? What great numbers upon\nthe continent have been lately taken off by the bloody-flux, small-pox,\nand yellow-fever? Who can tell what further judgments are yet in store?\nHowever, this is certain, the rod is yet hanging over us: and I believe\nit will be granted on all sides, that if such various dispensations of\nmercy and judgment do not teach the inhabitants of any land to learn\nrighteousness, they will only ripen them for a greater ruin. Give me\nleave, therefore, to dismiss you at this time with that solemn awful\nwarning and exhortation, with which the venerable _Samuel_, on a public\noccasion, took leave of the people of _Israel_: \u201cOnly fear the LORD,\nand serve him in truth, with all your heart: for consider how great\nthings he hath done for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, [I will\nnot say as the Prophet did, You shall be consumed; but] ye know not but\nyou may provoke the LORD Almighty to consume both you and your king.\u201d\nWhich GOD of his infinite mercy prevent, for the sake of JESUS CHRIST:\nto whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, three persons, but one\nGOD, be all honour and glory, now and for evermore. _Amen, Amen._\n\n\n\n\n SERMON VII.\n\n Thankfulness for Mercies received, a necessary Duty.\n\n A Farewel Sermon, preached on board the _Whitaker_, at Anchor\n near _Savannah_, in _Georgia_, _Sunday, May 17, 1738_.\n\n\n PSALM, cvii. 30, 31.\n\n _Then are they glad, because they are at rest, and so he bringeth\n them unto the haven where they would be._\n\n _O that men would therefore praise the LORD for his goodness,\n and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men!_\n\nNUMBERLESS marks does man bear in his soul, that he is fallen and\nestranged from GOD; but nothing gives a greater proof thereof, than\nthat backwardness, which every one finds within himself, to the duty\nof praise and thanksgiving.\n\nWhen GOD placed the first man in paradise, his soul no doubt was so\nfilled with a sense of the riches of the divine love, that he was\ncontinually employing that _breath of life_, which the Almighty had\nnot long before breathed into him, in blessing and magnifying that\nall-bountiful, all-gracious GOD, in whom he lived, moved, and had his\nbeing.\n\nAnd the brightest idea we can form of the angelical hierarchy above,\nand the spirits of just men made perfect, is, that they are continually\nstanding round the throne of GOD, and cease not day and night, saying,\n\u201cWorthy art thou, O Lamb that wast slain, to receive power and riches,\nand wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.\u201d\n_Revelation_ v. 12.\n\nThat then, which was man\u2019s perfection when time first began, and will\nbe his employment when death is swallowed up in victory, and time shall\nbe no more, without controversy, is part of our perfection, and ought\nto be our frequent exercise on earth: and I doubt not but those blessed\nspirits, who are sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of\nsalvation, often stand astonished when they encamp around us, to find\nour hearts so rarely enlarged, and our mouths so seldom opened, to shew\nforth the loving-kindness of the LORD, or to speak of all his praise.\n\nMatter for praise and adoration, can never be wanting to creatures\nredeemed by the blood of the Son of GOD; and who have such continual\nscenes of his infinite goodness presented to their view, that were\ntheir souls duly affected with a sense of his universal love, they\ncould not but be continually calling on heaven and earth, men and\nangels, to join with them in praising and blessing that \u201chigh and lofty\none, who inhabiteth eternity, who maketh his sun to shine on the evil\nand on the good,\u201d and daily pours down his blessings on the whole race\nof mankind.\n\nBut few are arrived to such a degree of charity or love, as to rejoice\nwith those that do rejoice, and to be as thankful for others mercies,\nas their own. This part of christian perfection, though begun on earth,\nwill be consummated only in heaven; where our hearts will glow with\nsuch fervent love towards GOD and one another, that every fresh degree\nof glory communicated to our neighbour, will also communicate to us a\nfresh topic of thankfulness and joy.\n\nThat which has the greatest tendency to excite the generality of fallen\nmen to praise and thanksgiving, is a sense of GOD\u2019s private mercies,\nand particular benefits bestowed upon ourselves. For as these come\nnearer our own hearts, so they must be more affecting; and as they are\npeculiar proofs, whereby we may know, that GOD does in a more especial\nmanner favour us above others, so they cannot but sensibly touch us;\nand if our hearts are not quite frozen, like coals of a refiner\u2019s\nfire, they must melt us down into thankfulness and love. It was a\nconsideration of the distinguishing favours GOD had shewn to his chosen\npeople _Israel_, and the frequent and remarkable deliverances wrought\nby him in behalf of \u201cthose who go down to the sea in ships, and occupy\ntheir business in great waters,\u201d that made the holy Psalmist break out\nso frequently as he does in this psalm, into this moving, pathetical\nexclamation, \u201cO that men would therefore praise the LORD for his\ngoodness, and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of\nmen!\u201d\n\nHis expressing himself in so fervent a manner, implies both the\nimportance and neglect of the duty. As when _Moses_ on another occasion\ncried out, \u201cO that they were wise, that they understood this, that they\nwould _practically_ consider their latter end!\u201d _December_ xxxii. 29.\n\nI say, importance and neglect of the duty; for out of those many\nthousands that receive blessings from the LORD, how few give thanks\nin remembrance of his holiness? The account given us of the ungrateful\nlepers, is but too lively a representation of the ingratitude of\nmankind in general; who like them, when under any humbling providence,\ncan cry, \u201cJESUS, Master, have mercy on us!\u201d _Luke_ xvii. 13. but when\nhealed of their sickness, or delivered from their distress, scarce one\nin ten can be found \u201creturning to give thanks to GOD.\u201d\n\nAnd yet as common as this sin of ingratitude is, there is nothing\nwe ought more earnestly to pray against. For what is more absolutely\ncondemned in holy scripture than ingratitude? Or what more peremptorily\nrequired than the contrary temper? Thus says the Apostle, \u201cRejoice\nevermore; in every thing give thanks,\u201d 1 _Thessalonians_ v. 16, 18.\n\u201cBe careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication,\nwith thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto GOD,\u201d\n_Philippians_ iv. 6.\n\nOn the contrary, the Apostle mentions it as one of the highest crimes\nof the _Gentiles_, that they were not thankful. \u201cNeither were they\nthankful,\u201d _Romans_ i. 21. as also in another place, he numbers the\n\u201cunthankful,\u201d 2 _Timothy_ iii. 2. amongst those unholy, prophane\npersons, who are to have their portion in the lake of fire and\nbrimstone.\n\nAs for our sins, GOD puts them behind his back; but his mercies he will\nhave acknowledged, \u201cThere is virtue gone out of me,\u201d says JESUS CHRIST,\n_Luke_ viii. 46. and the woman who was cured of her bloody issue,\nmust confess it. And we generally find, when GOD sent any remarkable\npunishment upon a particular person, he reminded him of the favours\nhe had received, as so many aggravations of his ingratitude. Thus when\nGOD was about to visit _Eli_\u2019s house, he thus expostulates with him by\nhis prophet: \u201cDid I plainly appear unto the house of thy fathers, when\nthey were in _Egypt_, in _Pharaoh_\u2019s house? And did I chuse him out of\nall the tribes of _Israel_, to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar,\nto burn incense, and to wear an ephod before me? Wherefore kick ye\nat my sacrifice, and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my\nhabitation, and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat\nwith the chiefest of all the offerings of _Israel_ my people? Wherefore\nthe LORD GOD of _Israel_ saith, I said indeed, that thy house, and the\nhouse of thy father, should walk before me for ever; but now the LORD\nsaith, Be it far from me, for them that honour me will I honour, and\nthey that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.\u201d 1 _Samuel_ ii. 27, 28,\n29, 30.\n\nIt was this and such like instances of GOD\u2019s severity against the\nunthankful, that inclined me to chuse the words of the text, as the\nmost proper subject I could discourse on at this time.\n\nFour months, my good friends, we have now been upon the sea in this\nship, and \u201chave occupied our business in the great waters.\u201d At GOD\nAlmighty\u2019s word, we have seen \u201cthe stormy wind arise, which hath lifted\nup the waves thereof. We have been carried up to the heaven, and down\nagain to the deep, and some of our souls melted away because of the\ntrouble; but I trust we cryed earnestly unto the LORD, and he delivered\nus out of our distress. For he made the storm to cease; so that the\nwaves thereof were still. And now we are glad, because we are at rest,\nfor GOD hath brought us to the haven where we would be. O that you\nwould therefore praise the LORD for his goodness, and declare the\nwonders that he hath done for us, the unworthiest of the sons of men.\u201d\n\nThus _Moses_, thus _Joshua_ behaved. For when they were about to take\ntheir leaves of the children of _Israel_, they recounted to them what\ngreat things GOD had done for them, as the best arguments and motives\nthey could urge to engage them to obedience. And how can I copy after\nbetter examples? What fitter, what more noble motives, to holiness and\npurity of living, can I lay before you, than they did?\n\nIndeed, I cannot say, that we have seen the \u201cpillar of a cloud by day,\nor a pillar of fire by night,\u201d going visibly before us to guide our\ncourse; but this I can say, that the same GOD who was in that pillar of\na cloud, and pillar of fire, which departed not from the _Israelites_,\nand who has made the sun to rule the day, and the moon to rule the\nnight, has, by his good providence, directed us in our right way, or\nelse the pilot had steered us in vain.\n\nNeither can I say, That we have seen the \u201csun stand still,\u201d as the\nchildren of _Israel_ did in the days of _Joshua_. But surely GOD,\nduring part of our voyage, has caused it to withhold some of that heat,\nwhich it usually sends forth in these warmer climates, or else it had\nnot failed, but some of you must have perished in the sickness that has\nbeen, and does yet continue among us.\n\nWe have not seen the waters stand purposely on an heap, that we might\npass through, neither have we been pursued by _Pharaoh_ and his host,\nand delivered out of their hands; but we have been led through the sea\nas through a wilderness, and were once remarkably preserved from being\nrun down by another ship; which had GOD permitted, the waters, in all\nprobability, would immediately have overwhelmed us, and like _Pharaoh_\nand his host, we should have sunk, as stones, into the sea.\n\nWe may, indeed, atheist like, ascribe all these things to natural\ncauses, and say, \u201cOur own skill and foresight has brought us hither in\nsafety.\u201d But as certainly as JESUS CHRIST, the angel of the covenant,\nin the days of his flesh, walked upon the water, and said to his\nsinking disciples, \u201cBe not afraid, it is I,\u201d so surely has the same\neverlasting I AM, \u201cwho decketh himself with light as with a garment,\nwho spreadeth out the heavens like a curtain, who claspeth the winds\nin his fist, who holdeth the waters in the hollow of his hands,\u201d and\nguided the wise men by a star in the east; so surely, I say, has he\nspoken, and at his command the winds have blown us where we are now\narrived. For his providence ruleth all things; \u201cWind and storms obey\nhis word:\u201d he saith to it at one time, Go, and it goeth; at another,\nCome, and it cometh; and at a third time, Blow this way, and it bloweth.\n\nIt is he, my brethren, and not we ourselves, that has of late sent us\nsuch prosperous gales, and made us to ride, as it were, on the wings of\nthe wind, into the haven where we would be.\n\n\u201cO that you would therefore praise the LORD for his goodness,\u201d and by\nyour lives declare, that you are truly thankful for the wonders he had\nshewn to us, who are less than the least of the sons of men.\n\nI say, declare it by your lives. For to give him thanks, barely with\nyour lips, while your hearts are far from him, is but a mock sacrifice,\nnay, an abomination unto the LORD.\n\nThis was the end, the royal Psalmist says, GOD had in view, when he\nshewed such wonders, from time to time, to the people of _Israel_,\n\u201cThat they might keep his statutes, and observe his laws,\u201d _Psalm_ cv.\n44. and this, my good friends, is the end GOD would have accomplished\nin us, and the only return he desires us to make him, for all the\nbenefits he hath conferred upon us.\n\nO then, let me beseech you, give to GOD your hearts, your whole hearts;\nand suffer yourselves to be drawn by the cords of infinite love, to\nhonour and obey him.\n\nAssure yourselves you can never serve a better master; for his service\nis perfect freedom; his yoke, when worn a little while, is exceeding\neasy, his burden light; and in keeping his commandments there is great\nreward; love, peace, joy in the Holy Ghost here, and a crown of glory\nthat fadeth not away, hereafter.\n\nYou may, indeed, let other lords have dominion over you, and Satan may\npromise to give you all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of\nthem, if you will fall down and worship him; but he is a liar, and was\nso from the beginning; he has not so much to give you, as you may tread\non with the sole of your foot; or could he give you the whole world,\nyet, that could not make you happy without GOD. It is GOD alone, my\nbrethren, whose we are, in whose name I now speak, and who has of\nlate shewed us such mercies in the deep, that can give solid lasting\nhappiness to your souls; and he for this reason only desires your\nhearts, because without him you must be miserable.\n\nSuffer me not then to go away without my errand; as it is the last time\nI shall speak to you, let me not speak in vain; but let a sense of the\ndivine goodness lead you to repentance.\n\nEven _Saul_, that abandoned wretch, when _David_ shewed him his skirt,\nwhich he had cut off, when he might have also taken his life, was\nso melted down with his kindness, that he lifted up his voice and\nwept. And we must have hearts harder than _Saul_\u2019s, nay, harder\nthan the nether milstone, if a sense of GOD\u2019s late loving kindnesses,\nnotwithstanding he might so often have destroyed us, does not even\ncompel us to lay down our arms against him, and become his faithful\nservants and soldiers unto our lives end.\n\nIf they have not this effect upon us, we shall, of all men, be most\nmiserable; for GOD is just, as well as merciful; and the more blessings\nwe have received here, the greater damnation, if we do not improve them,\nshall we incur hereafter.\n\nBut GOD forbid that any of those should ever suffer the vengeance\nof eternal fire, amongst whom, I have, for these four months, been\npreaching the gospel of CHRIST; but yet thus must it be, if you do\nnot improve the divine mercies: and instead of your being my crown of\nrejoicing in the day of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, I must appear as a swift\nwitness against you.\n\nBut, brethren, I am persuaded better things of you, and things that\naccompany salvation, though I thus speak.\n\nBlessed be GOD, some marks of a partial reformation at least, have been\nvisible amongst all you that are soldiers. And my weak, though sincere\nendeavours, to build you up in the knowledge and fear of GOD, have not\nbeen altogether in vain in the LORD.\n\nSwearing, I hope is, in a great measure, abated with you; and GOD, I\ntrust, has blessed his late visitations, by making them the means of\nawakening your consciences, to a more solicitous enquiry about the\nthings which belong to your everlasting peace.\n\nFulfil you then my joy, by continuing thus minded, and labour to go\non to perfection. For I shall have no greater pleasure than to see, or\nhear, that you walk in the truth.\n\nConsider, my good friends, you are now, as it were, entering on a new\nworld, where you will be surrounded with multitudes of heathens; and\nif you take not heed to \u201chave your conversation honest amongst them,\u201d\nand to \u201cwalk worthy of the holy vocation wherewith you are called,\u201d you\nwill act the hellish part of _Herod_\u2019s soldiers over again; and cause\nCHRIST\u2019s religion, as they did his person, to be had in derision of\nthose that are round about you.\n\nConsider further, what peculiar privileges you have enjoyed, above\nmany others that are entering on the same land. They have had, as\nit were, a famine of the word, but you have rather been in danger of\nbeing surfeited with your spiritual manna. And, therefore, as more\ninstructions have been given you, so from you, men will most justly\nexpect the greater improvement in goodness.\n\nIndeed, I cannot say, I have discharged my duty towards you as I ought.\nNo, I am sensible of many faults in my ministerial office, and for\nwhich I have not failed, nor, I hope, ever shall fail, to humble myself\nin secret before GOD. However, this I can say, that except a few days\nthat have been spent necessarily on other persons, whom GOD immediately\ncalled me to write and minister unto, and the two last weeks wherein\nI have been confined by sickness; all the while I have been aboard,\nI have been either actually engaged in, or preparing myself for\ninstructing you. And though you are now to be committed to the care of\nanother (whose labours I heartily beseech GOD to bless amongst you) yet\nI trust I shall, at all seasons, if need be, willingly spend, and be\nspent, for the good of your souls, though the more abundantly I love\nyou, the less I should be loved.\n\nAs for your military affairs, I have nothing to do with them. Fear GOD,\nand you must honour the King. Nor am I well acquainted with the nature\nof that land which you are now come over to protect; only this I may\nventure to affirm in the general, that you must necessarily expect upon\nyour arrival at a new colony, to meet with many difficulties. But your\nvery profession teaches you to endure hardship; \u201cbe not, therefore,\nfaint-hearted, but quit yourselves like men, and be strong,\u201d _Numbers_\nxiv. Be not like those cowardly persons, who were affrighted at the\nreport of the false spies, that came and said, that there were people\ntall as the _Anakims_ to be grappled with, but be ye like unto _Caleb_\nand _Joshua_, all heart; and say, we will act valiantly, for we shall\nbe more than conquerors over all difficulties through JESUS CHRIST\nthat loved us. Above all things, my brethren, take heed, and beware of\nmurmuring, like the perverse _Israelites_, against those that are set\nover you; and \u201clearn, whatsoever state you shall be in, therewith to be\ncontent,\u201d _Philippians_ iv. 11.\n\nAs I have spoken to you, I hope your wives also will suffer the word of\nexhortation,\n\nYour behaviour on shipboard, especially the first part of the voyage,\nI chuse to throw a cloak over; for to use the mildest terms, it was not\nsuch as became the gospel of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. However, of late,\nblessed be GOD, you have taken more heed to your ways, and some of\nyou have walked all the while, as became \u201cwomen professing godliness.\u201d\nLet those accept my hearty thanks, and permit me to intreat you all\nin general, as you are all now married, to remember the solemn vow\nyou made at your entrance into the marriage state, and see that you be\nsubject to your own husbands, in every lawful thing: Beg of GOD to keep\nthe door of your lips, that you offend not with your tongues; and walk\nin love, that your prayers be not hindered. You that have children, let\nit be your chief concern to breed them up in the nurture and admonition\nof the LORD. And live all of you so holy and unblameable, that you may\nnot so much as be suspected to be unchaste; and as some of you have\nimitated _Mary Magdalen_ in her sin, strive to imitate her also in her\nrepentance.\n\nAs for you, sailors, what shall I say? How shall I address myself to\nyou? How shall I do that which I so much long to do; touch your hearts?\nGratitude obliges me to wish thus well to you. For you have often\ntaught me many instructive lessons, and reminded me to put up many\nprayers to GOD for you, that you might receive your spiritual sight.\n\nWhen I have seen you preparing for a storm, and reefing your sails\nto guard against it; how have I wished that you and I were as careful\nto avoid that storm of GOD\u2019s wrath, which will certainly, without\nrepentance, quickly overtake us? When I have observed you catch at\nevery fair gale, how have I secretly cried, O that we were as careful\nto know the things that belong to our peace, before they are for ever\nhid from our eyes! And when I have taken notice, how steadily you eyed\nyour compass in order to steer aright, how have I wished, that we as\nsteadily eyed the word of GOD, which alone can preserve us from \u201cmaking\nshipwreck of faith, and a good conscience?\u201d In short, there is scarce\nany thing you do, which has not been a lesson of instruction to me;\nand, therefore, it would be ungrateful in me, did I not take this\nopportunity of exhorting you in the name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, to\nbe as wise in the things which concern your soul, as I have observed\nyou to be in the affairs belonging to your ship.\n\nI am sensible, that the sea is reckoned but an ill school to learn\nCHRIST in: and to see a devout sailor, is esteemed as uncommon a thing,\nas to see a _Saul_ amongst the prophets. But whence this wondering?\nWhence this looking upon a godly sailor, as a man to be wondered at, as\na speckled bird in the creation? I am sure, for the little time I have\ncome in and out amongst you, and as far as I can judge from the little\nexperience I have had of things, I scarce know any way of life, that is\ncapable of greater improvements than yours.\n\nThe continual danger you are in of being overwhelmed by the great\nwaters; the many opportunities you have of beholding GOD\u2019s wonders in\nthe deep; the happy retirement you enjoy from worldly temptations; and\nthe daily occasions that are offered you, to endure hardships, are such\nnoble means of promoting the spiritual life, that were your hearts bent\ntowards GOD, you would account it your happiness, that his providence\nhas called you, to \u201cgo down to the sea in ships, and to occupy your\nbusiness in the great waters.\u201d\n\nThe royal Psalmist knew this, and, therefore, in the words of the text,\ncalls more especially on men of your employ, to \u201cpraise the LORD for\nhis goodness, and declare the wonders he doth for the children of men.\u201d\n\nAnd O that you would be wise in time, and hearken to his voice to-day,\n\u201cwhilst it is called to-day!\u201d For ye yourselves know how little is to\nbe done on a sick bed. GOD has, in an especial manner, of late, invited\nyou to repentance: two of your crew he has taken off by death, and most\nof you he has mercifully visited with a grievous sickness. The terrors\nof the LORD have been upon you, and when burnt with a scorching fever,\nsome of you have cried out, \u201cWhat shall we do to be saved?\u201d Remember\nthen the resolutions you made, when you thought GOD was about to take\naway your souls; and see that according to your promises, you shew\nforth your thankfulness, not only with your lips, but in your lives.\nFor though GOD may bear long, he will not forbear always; and if these\nsignal mercies and judgments do not lead you to repentance, assure\nyourselves there will at last come a fiery tempest, from the presence\nof the LORD, which will sweep away you, and all other adversaries of\nGOD.\n\nI am positive, neither you nor the soldiers have wanted, nor will\nwant any manner of encouragement to piety and holiness of living, from\nthose two persons who have here the government over you; for they have\nbeen such helps to me in my ministry, and have so readily concurred\nin every thing for your good, that they may justly demand a public\nacknowledgment of thanks both from you and me.\n\nPermit me, my honoured friends, in the name of both classes of your\npeople, to return you hearty thanks for the care and tenderness you\nhave expressed for the welfare of their better parts.\n\nAs for the private favours you have shewn to my person, I hope so\ndeep a sense of them is imprinted on my heart, that I shall plead them\nbefore GOD in prayer, as long as I live.\n\nBut I have still stronger obligations to intercede in your behalf. For\nGOD, ever adored be his free grace in CHRIST JESUS! has set his seal to\nmy ministry in your hearts. Some distant pangs of the new-birth I have\nobserved to come upon you; and GOD forbid that I should sin against the\nLORD, by ceasing to pray, that the good work begun in your souls, may\nbe carried on till the day of our LORD JESUS CHRIST.\n\nThe time of our departure from each other is now at hand, and you\nare going out into a world of temptations. But though absent in body,\nlet us be present with each other in spirit; and GOD, I trust, will\nenable you to be singularly good, to be ready to be accounted fools\nfor CHRIST\u2019s sake; and then we shall meet never to part again in the\nkingdom of our Father which is in heaven.\n\nTo you, my companions and familiar friends, who came over with me to\nsojourn in a strange land, do I in the next place address myself. For\nyou I especially fear, as well as for myself; because as we take sweet\ncounsel together oftner than others, and as you are let into a more\nintimate friendship with me in private life, the eyes of all men will\nbe upon you to note even the minutest miscarriage; and, therefore,\nit highly concerns you to \u201cwalk circumspectly towards those that are\nwithout,\u201d I hope, that nothing but a single eye to GOD\u2019s glory and\nthe salvation of your own souls, brought you from your native country.\nRemember then the end of your coming hither, and you can never do\namiss. Be patterns of industry, as well as of piety, to those who shall\nbe around you; and above all things let us have such fervent charity\namongst ourselves, that it may be said of us, as of the primitive\nchristians, \u201cSee how the christians love one another.\u201d\n\nAnd now I have been speaking to others particularly, I have one general\nrequest to make to all, and that with reference to myself.\n\nYou have heard, my dear friends, how I have been exhorting every one of\nyou to shew forth your thankfulness for the divine goodness, not only\nwith your lips, but in your lives: But \u201cphysician heal thyself,\u201d may\njustly be retorted on me. For (without any false pretences to humility)\nI find my own heart so little inclined to this duty of thanksgiving for\nthe benefits I have received, that I had need fear sharing _Hezekiah_\u2019s\nfate, who because he was lifted up by, and not thankful enough for, the\ngreat things GOD had done for him, was given up a prey to the pride of\nhis own heart.\n\nI need, therefore, and beg your most importunate petitions at the\nthrone of grace, that no such evil may befal me; that the more GOD\nexalts me, the more I may debase myself; and that after I have preached\nto others, I myself may not be cast away.\n\nAnd now, brethren, into GOD\u2019s hands I commend your spirits, who, I\ntrust, through his infinite mercies in CHRIST JESUS, will preserve you\nblameless, till his second coming to judge the world.\n\nExcuse my detaining you so long; perhaps it is the last time I shall\nspeak to you: my heart is full, and out of the abundance of it, I could\ncontinue my discourse until midnight. But I must away to your new world;\nmay GOD give you new hearts, and enable you to put in practice what\nyou have heard from time to time, to be your duty, and I need not wish\nyou any thing better. For then GOD will so bless you, that \u201cyou will\nbuild you cities to dwell in; then will you sow your lands and plant\nvineyards, which will yield you fruits of increase,\u201d _Psalm_ cvii.\n36, 37. \u201cThen your oxen shall be strong to labour, there shall be\nno leading into captivity, and no complaining in your streets; then\nshall your sons grow up as the young plants, and your daughters be as\nthe polished corners of the temple: then shall your garners be full\nand plenteous with all manner of store, and your sheep bring forth\nthousands, and ten thousands in your streets,\u201d _Psalm_ cxliv. In short,\nthen shall the LORD be your GOD; and as surely as he has now brought us\nto this haven, where we would be, so surely, after we have past through\nthe storms and tempests of this troublesome world, will he bring us\nto the haven of eternal rest, where we shall have nothing to do, but\nto praise him for ever for his goodness, and declare, in never-ceasing\nsongs of praise, the wonders he has done for us, and all the other sons\nof men.\n\n \u200f\u201cTo which blessed rest, GOD of his infinite mercy bring us all,\n through JESUS CHRIST our LORD! to whom with the Father and\n Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, might, majesty, and\n dominion, now, henceforth, and for evermore. _Amen, Amen._\u201d\u200f\n\n\n\n\n SERMON VIII.\n\n The Necessity and Benefits of Religious Society.\n\n\n ECCLESIASTES iv. 9, 10, 11, 12.\n\n _Two are better than One, because they have a good Reward for\n their Labour._\n\n _For if they fall, the One will lift up his Fellow: But woe be\n to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another\n to help him up._\n\n _Again, if Two lie together, then they have heat; but how can\n One be warm alone?_\n\n _And if One prevail against him, Two shall withstand him; and a\n threefold Cord is not quickly broken._\n\nAMONG the many reasons assignable for the sad decay of _true\nchristianity_, perhaps the neglecting to assemble ourselves together,\nin _religious societies_, may not be one of the least. That I may\ntherefore do my endeavour towards promoting so excellent a means of\npiety, I have selected a passage of scripture drawn from the experience\nof the wisest of men, which being a little enlarged on and illustrated,\nwill fully answer my present design; being to shew, in the best\nmanner I can, the necessity and benefits of society in general, and\nof religious society in particular.\n\n\u201cTwo are better than one, &c.\u201d\n\nFrom which words I shall take occasion to prove,\n\n_First_, The truth of the wise man\u2019s assertion, \u201cTwo are better than\none,\u201d and that in reference to society in general, and religious\nsociety in particular.\n\n_Secondly_, To assign some reasons why two are better than one,\nespecially as to the last particular. 1. Because men can raise up one\nanother when they chance to slip: \u201cFor if they fall, the one will lift\nup his fellow.\u201d 2. Because they can impart heat to each other: \u201cAgain,\nif two lie together, then they have heat; but how can one be warm\nalone?\u201d 3. Because they can secure each other from those that do oppose\nthem: \u201cAnd if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a\nthreefold cord is not quickly broken.\u201d From hence,\n\n_Thirdly_, I shall take occasion to shew the duty incumbent on every\nmember of a _religious society_.\n\nAnd _Fourthly_, I shall draw an inference or two from what may be said;\nand then conclude with a word or two of exhortation.\n\n_First_, I am to prove the truth of the wise man\u2019s assertion, that \u201ctwo\nare better than one,\u201d and that in reference to society in general, and\nreligious societies in particular.\n\nAnd how can this be done better, than by shewing that it is absolutely\nnecessary for the welfare both of the bodies and souls of men? Indeed,\nif we look upon man as he came out of the hands of his Maker, we\nimagine him to be perfect, entire, lacking nothing. But GOD, whose\nthoughts are not as our thoughts, saw something still wanting to make\n_Adam_ happy. And what was that? Why, an help meet for him. For thus\nspeaketh the scripture: \u201cAnd the LORD GOD said, It is not good that the\nman should be alone, I will make an help meet for him.\u201d\n\nObserve, GOD said, \u201cIt is not good,\u201d thereby implying that the creation\nwould have been imperfect, in some sort, unless an help was found out\nmeet for _Adam_. And if this was the case of man before the fall; if\nan help was meet for him in a state of perfection; surely since the\nfall, when we come naked and helpless out of our mother\u2019s womb, when\nour wants increase with our years, and we can scarcely subsist a day\nwithout the mutual assistance of each other, well may we say, \u201cIt is\nnot good for man to be alone.\u201d\n\nSociety then, we see, is absolutely necessary in respect to our bodily\nand personal wants. If we carry our view farther, and consider mankind\nas divided into different cities, countries, and nations, the necessity\nof it will appear yet more evident. For how can communities be kept up,\nor commerce carried on, without society? Certainly not at all, since\nprovidence seems wisely to have assigned a particular product to almost\neach particular country, on purpose, as it were, to oblige us to be\nsocial; and hath so admirably mingled the parts of the whole body of\nmankind together, \u201cthat the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need\nof thee; nor again, the hand to the foot, I have no need of thee.\u201d\n\nMany other instances might be given of the necessity of society, in\nreference to our bodily, personal, and national wants. But what are\nall these when weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, in comparison\nof the infinite greater need of it, with respect to the soul? It was\nchiefly in regard to this better part, no doubt, that GOD said, \u201cIt\nis not good for the man to be alone.\u201d For, let us suppose _Adam_ to be\nas happy as may be, placed as the Lord of the creation in the paradise\nof GOD, and spending all his hours in adoring and praising the blessed\nAuthor of his being; yet as his soul was the very copy of the divine\nnature, whose peculiar property it is to be communicative, without the\ndivine all-sufficiency he could not be compleatly happy, because he was\nalone and incommunicative, nor even content in paradise, for want of\na partner in his joys. GOD knew this, and therefore said, \u201cIt is not\ngood that the man shall be alone, I will make a help meet for him.\u201d\nAnd though this proved a fatal means of his falling; yet that was not\nowing to any natural consequence of society; but partly to that cursed\napostate, who craftily lies in wait to deceive; partly to _Adam_\u2019s own\nfolly, in rather chusing to be miserable with one he loved, than trust\nin GOD to raise him up another spouse.\n\nIf we reflect indeed on that familiar intercourse, our first parent\ncould carry on with heaven, in a state of innocence, we shall be apt\nto think he had as little need of society, as to his soul, as before\nwe supposed him to have, in respect to his body. But yet, as GOD and\nthe holy angels were so far above him on the one hand, and the beasts\nso far beneath him on the other, there was nothing like having one to\nconverse with, who was \u201cbone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh.\u201d\n\nMan, then, could not be fully happy, we see, even in paradise, without\na companion of his own species, much less now he is driven out. For,\nlet us view him a little in his natural estate now, since the fall, as\n\u201chaving his understanding darkened, his mind alienated from the life of\nGOD;\u201d as no more able to see his way wherein he should go, than a blind\nman to describe the sun: that notwithstanding this, he must receive his\nsight ere he can see GOD: and that if he never sees him, he never can\nbe happy. Let us view him in this light (or rather this darkness) and\ndeny the necessity of society if we can. A divine revelation we find is\nabsolutely necessary, we being by nature as unable to know, as we are\nto do our duty. And how shall we learn except one teach us? But was GOD\nto do this himself, how should we, but with _Moses_, exceedingly quake\nand fear? Nor would the ministry of angels in this affair, be without\ntoo much terror. It is necessary, therefore (at least GOD\u2019s dealing\nwith us hath shewed it to be so) that we should be drawn with the cords\nof a man. And that a divine revelation being granted, we should use\none another\u2019s assistance, under GOD, to instruct each other in the\nknowledge, and to exhort one another to the practice of those things\nwhich belong to our everlasting peace. This is undoubtedly the great\nend of society intended by GOD since the fall, and a strong argument it\nis, why \u201ctwo are better than one,\u201d and why we should \u201cnot forsake the\nassembling ourselves together.\u201d\n\nBut farther, let us consider ourselves as christians, as having\nthis natural veil, in some measure, taken off from our eyes by the\nassistance of GOD\u2019s holy Spirit, and so enabled to see what he requires\nof us. Let us suppose ourselves in some degree to have tasted the\ngood word of life, and to have felt the powers of the world to come,\ninfluencing and moulding our souls into a religious frame: to be fully\nand heartily convinced that we are soldiers listed under the banner\nof CHRIST, and to have proclaimed open war at our baptism, against\nthe world, the flesh, and the devil; and have, perhaps, frequently\nrenewed our obligations so to do, by partaking of the LORD\u2019s supper:\nthat we are surrounded with millions of foes without, and infested with\na legion of enemies within: that we are commanded to shine as lights\nin the world, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation: that\nwe are travelling to a long eternity, and need all imaginable helps\nto shew, and encourage us in our way thither. Let us, I say, reflect\non all this, and then how shall each of us cry out, brethren, what a\nnecessary thing it is to meet together in religious societies?\n\nThe primitive christians were fully sensible of this, and therefore\nwe find them continually keeping up communion with each other: for\nwhat says the scripture? They continued stedfastly in the apostle\u2019s\ndoctrine and fellowship, _Acts_ ii. 42. _Peter_ and _John_ were no\nsooner dismissed by the great council, than they haste away to their\ncompanions. \u201cAnd being set at liberty they came to their own, and\ntold them all these things which the high priest had said unto them,\u201d\n_Acts_ iv. 23. _Paul_, as soon as converted, \u201ctarried three days with\nthe disciples that were at _Damascus_,\u201d _Acts_ ix. 19. And _Peter_\nafterwards, when released from prison, immediately goes to the house of\n_Mary_, where there were \u201cgreat multitudes assembled, praying,\u201d _Acts_\nxii. 12. And it is reported of the christians in after-ages, that they\nused to assemble together before day-light, to sing a psalm to CHRIST\nas GOD. So precious was the _Communion of Saints_ in those days.\n\nIf it be asked, what advantages we shall reap from such a procedure\nnow? I answer, much every way. \u201cTwo are better than one, because they\nhave a good reward for their labour: for if they fall, the one will\nlift up his fellow; but woe be to him that is alone when he falleth,\nfor he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together,\nthen they have heat; but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail\nagainst him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not\nquickly broken.\u201d\n\n Which directly leads me to my Second general head, under which\n I was to assign some reasons why \u201ctwo are better than one,\u201d\n especially in _Religious Society_.\n\n1. As man in his present condition cannot always stand upright, but by\nreason of the frailty of his nature cannot but fall; one eminent reason\nwhy two are better than one, or, in other words, one great advantage\nof religious society is, \u201cThat when they fall, the one will lift up his\nfellow.\u201d\n\nAnd an excellent reason this, indeed! For alas! when we reflect how\nprone we are to be drawn into error in our judgments, and into vice in\nour practice; and how unable, at least how very unwilling, to espy or\ncorrect our own miscarriages; when we consider how apt the world is to\nflatter us in our faults, and how few there are so kind as to tell us\nthe truth; what an inestimable privilege must it be to have a set of\ntrue, judicious, hearty friends about us, continually watching over\nour souls, to inform us where we have fallen, and to warn us that we\nfall not again for the future. Surely it is such a privilege, that (to\nuse the words of an eminent christian) we shall never know the value\nthereof, till we come to glory.\n\nBut this is not all; for supposing that we could always stand upright,\nyet whosoever reflects on the difficulties of religion in general,\nand his own propensity to lukewarmness and indifference in particular,\nwill find that he must be zealous as well as steady, if ever he expects\nto enter the kingdom of heaven. Here, then, the wise man points out\nto us another excellent reason why two are better than one. \u201cAgain, if\ntwo lye together, then they have heat; but how can one be warm alone?\u201d\nWhich was the next thing to be considered.\n\n2. A second reason why two are better than one, is because they can\nimpart heat to each other.\n\nIt is an observation no less true than common, that kindled coals,\nif placed asunder, soon go out, but if heaped together, quicken and\nenliven each other, and afford a lasting heat. The same will hold good\nin the case now before us. If christians kindled by the grace of GOD,\nunite, they will quicken and enliven each other; but if they separate\nand keep asunder, no marvel if they soon grow cool or tepid. If two or\nthree meet together in CHRIST\u2019s name, they will have heat: but how can\none be warm alone?\n\nObserve, \u201cHow can one be warm alone?\u201d The wise man\u2019s expressing\nhimself by way of question, implies an impossibility, at least a very\ngreat difficulty, to be warm in religion without company, where it\nmay be had. Behold here, then, another excellent benefit flowing from\nreligious society; it will keep us zealous, as well as steady, in the\nways of godliness.\n\nBut to illustrate this a little farther by a comparison or two. Let\nus look upon ourselves (as was above hinted) as soldiers listed under\nCHRIST\u2019s banner; as going out with \u201cten thousand, to meet one that\ncometh against us with twenty thousand;\u201d as persons that are to\n\u201cwrestle not only with flesh and blood, but against principalities,\nagainst powers, and spiritual wickednesses in high places.\u201d And then\ntell me, all ye that fear GOD, if it be not an invaluable privilege\nto have a company of fellow soldiers continually about us, animating\nand exhorting each other to stand our ground, to keep our ranks, and\nmanfully to follow the captain of our salvation, though it be through\na sea of blood?\n\nLet us consider ourselves in another view before mentioned, as persons\ntravelling to a long eternity; as rescued by the free grace of GOD, in\nsome measure, from our natural _Egyptian_ bondage, and marching under\nthe conduct of our spiritual _Joshua_, through the wilderness of this\nworld, to the land of our heavenly _Canaan_. Let us farther reflect\nhow apt we are to startle at every difficulty; to cry, \u201cThere are\nlions! There are lions in the way! There are the sons of _Anak_\u201d to be\ngrappled with, ere we can possess the promised land: How prone we are,\nwith _Lot_\u2019s wife, to look wishfully back on our spiritual _Sodom_,\nor, with the foolish _Israelites_, to long again for the flesh-pots\nof _Egypt_; and to return to our former natural state of bondage and\nslavery. Consider this, my brethren, and see what a blessed privilege\nit will be to have a set of _Israelites_ indeed about us, always\nreminding us of the folly of any such cowardly design, and of the\nintolerable misery we shall run into, if we fall in the least short of\nthe promised land.\n\nMore might be said on this particular, did not the limits of a\ndiscourse of this nature oblige me to hasten,\n\n3. To give a third reason, mentioned by the wise man in the text,\nwhy two are better than one; because they can secure each other\nfrom enemies without. \u201cAnd if one prevail against him, yet two shall\nwithstand him: and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.\u201d\n\nHitherto we have considered the advantages of religious societies, as a\ngreat preservative against falling (at least dangerously falling) into\nsin and lukewarmness, and that too from our own corruptions. But what\nsays the wise son of _Sirach_? \u201cMy son, when thou goest to serve the\nLORD, prepare thy soul for temptation:\u201d and that not only from inward,\nbut outward foes; particularly from those two grand adversaries, the\nworld and the devil: for no sooner will thine eye be bent heavenward,\nbut the former will be immediately diverting it another way, telling\nthee thou needest not be singular in order to be religious; that you\nmay be a christian without going so much out of the common road.\n\nNor will the devil be wanting in his artful insinuations, or impious\nsuggestions, to divert or terrify thee from pressing forwards, \u201cthat\nthou mayst lay hold on the crown of life.\u201d And if he cannot prevail\nthis way, he will try another; and, in order to make his temptation the\nmore undiscerned, but withal more successful, he will employ, perhaps,\nsome of thy nearest relatives, or most powerful friends, (as he set\n_Peter_ on our blessed Master) who will always be bidding thee to spare\nthyself; telling thee thou needest not take so much pains; that it is\nnot so difficult a matter to get to heaven as some people would make of\nit, nor the way so narrow as others imagine it to be.\n\nBut see here the advantage of religious company; for supposing thou\nfindest thyself thus surrounded on every side, and unable to withstand\nsuch horrid (though seemingly friendly) counsels, haste away to thy\ncompanions, and they will teach thee a truer and better lesson; they\nwill tell thee, that thou must be singular if thou wilt be religious;\nand that it is as impossible for a christian, as for a city set upon\na hill, to be hidden: that if thou wilt be an almost christian (and\nas good be none at all) thou mayest live in the same idle, indifferent\nmanner as thou seest most other people do: but if thou wilt be not only\nalmost, but altogether a christian, they will inform thee thou must\ngo a great deal farther: that thou must not only faintly seek, but\n\u201cearnestly strive to enter in at the strait gate:\u201d that there is but\none way now to heaven as formerly, even through the narrow passage of\na sound conversion: and that in order to bring about this mighty work,\nthou must undergo a constant, but necessary discipline of fasting,\nwatching, and prayer. And therefore, the only reason why those friends\ngive thee such advice, is, because they are not willing to take so much\npains themselves; or, as our Saviour told _Peter_ on a like occasion,\nbecause they \u201csavour not the things that be of GOD, but the things that\nbe of men.\u201d\n\nThis then, is another excellent blessing arising from religious society,\nthat friends can hereby secure each other from those who oppose them.\nThe devil is fully sensible of this, and therefore he has always done\nhis utmost to suppress, and put a stop to the communion of saints.\nThis was his grand artifice at the first planting of the gospel; to\npersecute the professors of it, in order to separate them. Which,\nthough GOD, as he always will, over-ruled for the better; yet, it shews,\nwhat an enmity he has against christians assembling themselves together.\nNor has he yet left off his old stratagem; it being his usual way to\nentice us by ourselves, in order to tempt us; where, by being destitute\nof one another\u2019s help, he hopes to lead us captive at his will.\n\nBut, on the contrary, knowing his own interest is strengthened by\nsociety, he would first persuade us to neglect the communion of saints,\nand then bid us \u201cstand in the way of sinners,\u201d hoping thereby to put\nus into the seat of the scornful. _Judas_ and _Peter_ are melancholy\ninstances of this. The former had no sooner left his company at supper,\nbut he went out and betrayed his master: and the dismal downfal of the\nlatter, when he would venture himself amongst a company of enemies,\nplainly shews us what the devil will endeavour to do, when he gets\nus by ourselves. Had _Peter_ kept his own company, he might have kept\nhis integrity; but a single cord, alas! how quickly was it broken?\nOur blessed Saviour knew this full well, and therefore it is very\nobservable, that he always sent out his disciples \u201ctwo by two.\u201d\n\nAnd now, after so many advantages to be reaped from religious society,\nmay we not very justly cry out with the wise man in my text, \u201cWoe be\nto him that is alone; for when he falleth, he hath not another to lift\nhim up?\u201d When he is cold, he hath not a friend to warm him; when he is\nassaulted, he hath not a second to help him to withstand his enemy.\n\n III. I now come to my third general head, under which was to be\n shewn the several duties incumbent on every \u200fmember of a\n religious society, as such, which are three. 1. Mutual reproof;\n 2. Mutual exhortation; 3. Mutual assisting and defending each\n other.\n\n1. _Mutual reproof._ \u201cTwo are better than one; for when they fall, the\none will lift up his fellow.\u201d\n\nNow, reproof may be taken either in a more extensive sense, and then\nit signifies our raising a brother by the gentlest means, when he falls\ninto sin and error; or in a more restrained signification, as reaching\nno farther than those miscarriages, which unavoidably happen in the\nmost holy men living.\n\nThe wise man, in the text, supposes all of us subject to both: \u201cFor\nwhen they fall (thereby implying that each of us may fall) the one will\nlift up his fellow.\u201d From whence we may infer, that \u201cwhen any brother\nis overtaken with a fault, he that is spiritual (that is, regenerate,\nand knows the corruption and weakness of human nature) ought to restore\nsuch a one in the spirit of meekness.\u201d And why he should do so, the\napostle subjoins a reason \u201cconsidering thyself, lest thou also be\ntempted;\u201d i.\u00a0e. considering thy own frailty, lest thou also fall by the\nlike temptation.\n\nWe are all frail unstable creatures; and it is merely owing to the free\ngrace and good providence of GOD that we run not into the same excess\nof riot with other men. Every offending brother, therefore, claims\nour pity rather than our resentment; and each member should strive to\nbe the most forward, as well as most gentle, in restoring him to his\nformer state.\n\nBut supposing a person not to be overtaken, but to fall wilfully into\na crime; yet who art thou that deniest forgiveness to thy offending\nbrother? \u201cLet him that standeth take heed lest he fall.\u201d Take ye,\nbrethren, the holy apostles as eminent examples for you to learn by,\nhow you ought to behave in this matter. Consider how quickly they\njoined the right hand of fellowship with _Peter_, who had so wilfully\ndenied his master: for we find _John_ and him together but two days\nafter, _John_ xx. 2. And verse 19, we find him assembled with the rest.\nSo soon did they forgive, so soon associate with their sinful, yet\nrelenting brother. \u201cLet us go and do likewise.\u201d\n\nBut there is another kind of reproof incumbent on every member of a\nreligious society; namely, a _gentle rebuke_ for some miscarriage or\nother, which though not actually sinful, yet may become the occasion\nof sin. This indeed seems a more easy, but perhaps will be found a more\ndifficult point than the former: for when a person has really sinned,\nhe cannot but own his brethrens reproof to be just; whereas, when it\nwas only for some little misconduct, the pride that is in our natures\nwill scarce suffer us to brook it. But however ungrateful this pill may\nbe to our brother, yet if we have any concern for his welfare, it must\nbe administered by some friendly hand or other. By all means then let\nit be applied; only, like a skilful physician, gild over the ungrateful\npill, and endeavour, if possible, to deceive thy brother into health\nand soundness. \u201cLet all bitterness, and wrath, and malice, and\nevil-speaking, be put away\u201d from it. Let the patient know, his recovery\nis the only thing aimed at, and that thou delightest not causelesly to\ngrieve thy brother; then thou canst not want success.\n\n2. _Mutual exhortation_ is the second duty resulting from the words of\nthe text. \u201cAgain, if two lye together, then they have heat.\u201d\n\nObserve, the wise man supposes it as impossible for religious persons\nto meet together, and not to be the warmer for each other\u2019s company,\nas for two persons to lye in the same bed, and yet freeze with cold.\nBut now, how is it possible to communicate heat to each other, without\nmutually stirring up the gift of GOD which is in us, by brotherly\nexhortation? Let every member then of a religious society write that\nzealous apostle\u2019s advice on the tables of his heart; \u201cSee that ye\nexhort, and provoke one another to love, and to good works; and so\nmuch the more, as you see the day of the LORD approaching.\u201d Believe\nme, brethren, we have need of exhortation to rouse up our sleepy souls,\nto set us upon our watch against the temptations of the world, the\nflesh, and the devil; to excite us to renounce ourselves, to take up\nour crosses, and follow our blessed master, and the glorious company of\nsaints and martyrs, \u201cwho through faith have fought the good fight, and\nare gone before us to inherit the promises.\u201d A third part, therefore,\nof the time wherein a religious society meets, seems necessary to\nbe spent in this important duty: for what avails it to have our\nunderstandings enlightened by pious reading, unless our wills are at\nthe same time inclined, and inflamed by mutual exhortation, to put it\nin practice? Add also, that this is the best way both to receive and\nimpart light, and the only means to preserve and increase that warmth\nand heat which each person first brought with him; GOD so ordering this,\nas all other spiritual gifts, that \u201cto him that hath, i.\u00a0e. improves\nand communicates what he hath, shall be given; but from him that hath\nnot, or does not improve the heat he hath, shall be taken away even\nthat which he seemed to have.\u201d So needful, so essentially necessary,\nis exhortation to the good of society.\n\n3. Thirdly, The text points out another duty incumbent on every member\nof a religious society, to defend each other from those that do oppose\nthem. \u201cAnd if one prevail against him, yet two shall withstand him; and\na threefold cord is not quickly broken.\u201d\n\nHere the wise man takes it for granted, that offences will come, nay,\nand that they may prevail too. And this is no more than our blessed\nmaster has long since told us. Not, indeed, that there is any thing\nin christianity itself that has the least tendency to give rise to, or\npromote such offences: No, on the contrary, it breathes nothing but\nunity and love.\n\nBut so it is, that ever since the fatal sentence pronounced by GOD,\nafter our first parents fall, \u201cI will put enmity between thy seed\nand her seed;\u201d he that is born after the flesh, the unregenerate\nunconverted sinner, has in all ages \u201cpersecuted him that is born after\nthe spirit:\u201d and so it always will be. Accordingly we find an early\nproof given of this in the instance of _Cain_ and _Abel_; of _Ishmael_\nand _Isaac_; and of _Jacob_ and _Esau_. And, indeed, the whole\nBible contains little else but an history of the great and continued\nopposition between the children of this world, and the children of GOD.\nThe first christians were remarkable examples of this; and though those\ntroublesome times, blessed be GOD, are now over, yet the apostle has\nlaid it down as a general rule, and all who are sincere experimentally\nprove the truth of it; that \u201cthey that will live godly in CHRIST\nJESUS, must (to the end of the world, in some degree or other) suffer\npersecution.\u201d That therefore this may not make us desert our blessed\nmaster\u2019s cause, every member should unite their forces, in order to\nstand against it. And for the better effecting this, each would do\nwell, from time to time, to communicate his experiences, grievances,\nand temptations, and beg his companions (first asking GOD\u2019s assistance,\nwithout which all is nothing) to administer reproof, exhortation, or\ncomfort, as his case requires: so that \u201cif one cannot prevail against\nit, yet two shall withstand it; and a threefold (much less a many-fold)\ncord will not be quickly broken.\u201d\n\n IV. But it is time for me to proceed to the fourth general thing\n proposed, to draw an inference or two from what has been said.\n\n1. And first, if \u201ctwo are better than one,\u201d and the advantages of\nreligious society are so many and so great; then it is the duty of\nevery true christian to set on foot, establish and promote, as much as\nin him lyes, societies of this nature. And I believe we may venture to\naffirm, that if ever a spirit of true christianity is revived in the\nworld, it must be brought about by some such means as this. Motives,\nsurely, cannot be wanting, to stir us up to this commendable and\nnecessary undertaking: for, granting all hitherto advanced to be of\nno force, yet methinks the single consideration, that great part of\nour happiness in heaven will consist in the _Communion of Saints_;\nor that the interest as well as piety of those who differ from us, is\nstrengthened and supported by nothing more than their frequent meetings;\neither of these considerations, I say, one would think, should induce\nus to do our utmost to copy after their good example, and settle a\nlasting and pious communion of the saints on earth. Add to this, that\nwe find the kingdom of darkness established daily by such like means;\nand shall not the kingdom of CHRIST be set in opposition against it?\nShall the children of _Belial_ assemble and strengthen each other in\nwickedness; and shall not the children of GOD unite, and strengthen\nthemselves in piety? Shall societies on societies be countenanced for\nmidnight revellings, and the promoting of vice, and scarcely one be\nfound intended for the propagation of virtue? Be astonished, O heavens\nat this!\n\n2. But this leads me to a second inference; namely, to warn persons\nof the great danger those are in, who either by their subscriptions,\npresence, or approbation, promote societies of a quite opposite nature\nto religion.\n\nAnd here I would not be understood, to mean only those public meetings\nwhich are designed manifestly for nothing else but revellings and\nbanquetings, for chambering and wantonness, and at which a modest\nheathen would blush to be present; but also those seemingly innocent\nentertainments and meetings, which the politer part of the world are\nso very fond of, and spend so much time in: but which, notwithstanding,\nkeep as many persons from a sense of true religion, as doth\nintemperance, debauchery, or any other crime whatever. Indeed, whilst\nwe are in this world, we must have proper relaxations, to fit us\nboth for the business of our profession, and religion. But then, for\npersons who call themselves christians, that have solemnly vowed at\ntheir baptism, to renounce the vanities of this sinful world; that are\ncommanded in scripture \u201cto abstain from all appearance of evil, and\nto have their conversation in heaven:\u201d for such persons as these to\nsupport meetings, which (to say no worse of them) are vain and trifling,\nand have a natural tendency to draw off our minds from GOD, is absurd,\nridiculous, and sinful. Surely two are not better than one in this\ncase: No; it is to be wished there was not one to be found concerned in\nit. The sooner we forsake the assembling ourselves together in such a\nmanner, the better; and no matter how quickly the cord that holds such\nsocieties (was it a thousand-fold) is broken.\n\nBut you, brethren, have not so learned CHRIST: but, on the contrary,\nlike true disciples of your Lord and Master, have by the blessing\nof GOD (as this evening\u2019s solemnity abundantly testifies) happily\nformed yourselves into such societies, which, if duly attended on,\nand improved, cannot but strengthen you in your christian warfare, and\n\u201cmake you fruitful in every good word and work.\u201d\n\nWhat remains for me, but, as was proposed, in the last place, to close\nwhat has been said, in a word or two, by way of exhortation, and to\nbeseech you, in the name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, to go on in the\nway you have begun; and by a constant conscientious attendance on your\nrespective societies, to discountenance vice, encourage virtue, and\nbuild each other up in the knowledge and fear of GOD.\n\nOnly permit me to \u201cstir up your pure minds, by way of remembrance,\u201d and\nto exhort you, \u201cif there be any consolation in CHRIST, any fellowship\nof the spirit,\u201d again and again to consider, that as all christians in\ngeneral, so all members of religious societies in particular, are in\nan especial manner, as houses built upon an hill; and that therefore\nit highly concerns you to walk circumspectly towards those that are\nwithout, and to take heed to yourselves, that your conversation, in\ncommon life, be as becometh such an open and peculiar profession of\nthe gospel of CHRIST: knowing that the eyes of all men are upon you,\nnarrowly to inspect every circumstance of your behaviour: and that\nevery notorious wilful miscarriage of any single member will, in some\nmeasure, redound to the scandal and dishonour of your whole fraternity.\n\nLabour, therefore, my beloved brethren, to let your practice correspond\nto your profession: and think not that it will be sufficient for you to\nplead at the last day, LORD have we not assembled ourselves together in\nthy name, and enlivened each other, by singing psalms, and hymns, and\nspiritual songs? For verily, I say unto you, notwithstanding this, our\nblessed LORD will bid you depart from him; nay, you shall receive a\ngreater damnation, if, in the midst of these great pretensions, you are\nfound to be workers of iniquity.\n\nBut GOD forbid that any such evil should befal you; that there should\nbe ever a _Judas_, a traitor, amongst such distinguished followers of\nour common master. No, on the contrary, the excellency of your rules,\nthe regularity of your meetings, and more especially your pious zeal\nin assembling in such a public and solemn manner so frequently in the\nyear, persuade me to think, that you are willing, not barely to seem,\nbut to be in reality, christians; and hope to be found at the last day,\nwhat you would be esteemed now, holy, sincere disciples of a crucified\nRedeemer.\n\nOh, may you always continue thus minded! and make it your daily,\nconstant endeavour, both by precept and example, to turn all your\nconverse with, more especially those of your own societies, into the\nsame most blessed spirit and temper. Thus will you adorn the gospel\nof our LORD JESUS CHRIST in all things: Thus will you anticipate the\nhappiness of a future state; and by attending on, and improving the\ncommunion of saints on earth, be made meet to join the communion and\nfellowship of the spirits of just men made perfect, of the holy angels,\nnay, of the ever-blessed and eternal GOD in heaven.\n\n Which GOD of his infinite mercy grant through JESUS CHRIST our\n LORD; to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost, three\n persons and one GOD, be ascribed, as is most due, all honour\n and praise, might, majesty and dominion, now and for ever.\n _Amen._ \u200f\n\n\n\n\n SERMON IX.\n\n The Folly and Danger of being not righteous enough.\n\n\n ECCLESIASTES vii. 16.\n\n _Be not righteous over-much, neither make thyself over-wise: why\n shouldst thou destroy thyself?_\n\nNOTHING is more frequent, than while people are living in a course of\nsin, and after the fashion and manner of the world, there is no notice\ntaken of them; neither are their ways displeasing to their companions\nand carnal relations: but if they set their faces Zion-ward, and begin\nto feel the power of GOD on their hearts; then they are surrounded\nwith temptations from their friends, who thus act the devil\u2019s part.\nThe enemies, the greatest enemies a young convert meets with, my dear\nbrethren, are those of his own house. They that will be godly, must\nsuffer persecution; so it was in CHRIST\u2019s time, and so it was in the\nApostles time too; for our LORD came not to send peace, but a sword.\nOur relations would not have us sit in the scorner\u2019s chair; they would\nnot have us be prodigals, consuming our substance upon harlots; neither\nwould they have us rakes or libertines, but they would have us be\ncontented with an almost christianity. To keep up our reputation by\ngoing to church, and adhering to the outward forms of religion, saying\nour prayers, reading the word of GOD, and taking the sacraments; this,\nthey imagine, is all that is necessary for to be christians indeed; and\nwhen we go one step farther than this, their mouths are open against us,\nas _Peter_\u2019s was to CHRIST: \u201cSpare thyself, do thyself no harm.\u201d\n\nAnd of this nature are the words of the text. They are not the words\nof _Solomon_ himself, but the words of an infidel speaking to him, whom\nhe introduces in several parts of this book; for _Solomon_ had been\nshewing the misfortunes which attended the truly good, as in the verse\nbefore our text.\n\nUpon this the infidel says, \u201cBe not righteous over-much, neither\nbe thou over-wise: why shouldst thou destroy thyself?\u201d _i.\u00a0e._\nWhy shouldst thou bring these misfortunes upon thyself, by being\nover-strict? Be not righteous over-much; eat, drink, and be merry, live\nas the world lives, and then you will avoid those misfortunes which may\nattend you, by being righteous over-much.\n\nThis text has another meaning; but take it which way you will, my\nbrethren, it was spoken by an unbeliever; therefore it was no credit\nfor the person who lately preached upon this text, to take it for\ngranted, that these were the words of _Solomon_: the words of an\ninfidel was not a proper text to a christian congregation. But as\n_David_ came out against _Goliah_, not armed as the champion was, with\nsword and spear, but with a sling and stone, and then cut off his head\nwith his own sword; so I come out against these letter-learned men, in\nthe strength of the LORD JESUS CHRIST; and, my dear brethren, I trust\nhe will direct me to use my sling, so that our enemies may not gainsay\nus; and by the sword of GOD\u2019s word, cut off the heads of our Redeemer\u2019s\nenemies.\n\nBut though they are not the words of _Solomon_, yet we will take them\nin the same manner the late writer did; and, from the words, shall,\n\n _First_, Shew you what it is, not to be righteous over-much,\n that we may not destroy ourselves.\n\n _Secondly_, I shall let you see what it is to be righteous\n over-much. And then,\n\n _Thirdly_, Conclude with an exhortation to all of you, high and\n low, rich and poor, one with another, to come to the LORD\n JESUS CHRIST.\n\n_First_, The first thing proposed, is to shew you what it is not to be\nrighteous over-much. And here,\n\nIt is by no means to be righteous over-much, to affirm we must have the\nsame Spirit of GOD as the first Apostles had, and must feel that Spirit\nupon our hearts.\n\nBy receiving the Spirit of GOD, is not to be understood, that we are\nto be inspired to shew outward signs and wonders, to raise dead bodies,\nto cure leprous persons, or to give sight to the blind; these miracles\nwere only of use in the first ages of the church; and therefore\nchristians (nominal christians, for we have little else but the name)\nmay have all the gifts of the Spirit, and yet none of the graces of it:\nThou, O man, mayest be enabled by faith to remove mountains; thou, by\nthe power of GOD, mayest cast out devils; thou, by that power, mayest\nspeak with the tongues of men and angels; yea, thou mayest, by that\npower, hold up thy finger and stop the sun in the firmament; and if\nall these are unsanctified by the Spirit of GOD, they would be of\nno service to thee, but would hurry thee to hell with the greater\nsolemnity. _Saul_ received the spirit of prophesying, and had another\nheart, yet _Saul_ was probably a cast-away. We must receive the Spirit\nof GOD in its sanctifying graces upon our souls; for CHRIST says,\n\u201cUnless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of GOD.\u201d We\nare all by nature born in sin, and at as great a distance from GOD, as\nthe devils themselves. I have told you often, and now tell you again,\nthat you are by nature a motley mixture of the beast and devil, and\nwe cannot recover ourselves from the state wherein we have fallen,\ntherefore must be renewed by the Holy Ghost. By the Holy Ghost, I mean,\nthe third Person of the ever-blessed Trinity, co-equal, co-essential,\nco-eternal, and consubstantial with the Father and the Son; and\ntherefore, when we are baptized, it is into the nature of the Father,\ninto the nature of the Son, and into the nature of the Holy Ghost: and\nwe are not true christians, till we are sanctified by the Spirit of GOD.\n\nThough our modern preachers do not actually deny the Spirit of GOD,\nyet they say, \u201cChristians must not feel him;\u201d which is in effect to\ndeny him. When _Nicodemus_ came to CHRIST, and the LORD JESUS was\ninstructing him, concerning the new birth, says he to our LORD, \u201cHow\ncan these things be?\u201d _Nicodemus_, though a master of _Israel_, acts\njust as our learned Rabbi\u2019s do now. The answer that CHRIST gave him\nshould stop the mouths of our letter-learned pharisees: \u201cThe wind\nbloweth where it listeth, and we hear the sound thereof, but cannot\ntell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth.\u201d Now till the Spirit\nof GOD is felt on our souls as the wind on our bodies, indeed, my\ndear brethren, you have no interest in him: religion consists not in\nexternal performance, it must be in the heart, or else it is only a\nname, which cannot profit us, a name to live whilst we are dead.\n\nA late preacher upon this text, seems to laugh at us, for talking of\nthe Spirit in a sensible manner, and talks to us as the _Jews_ did to\nCHRIST: They said, \u201cHow can this man give us his flesh to eat?\u201d So he\nasks, \u201cWhat sign or proof do we give of it?\u201d We do not imagine, that\nGOD must appear to us, and give it us: no; but there may be, and is,\na frequent receiving, when no seeing of it; and it is as plainly felt\nin the soul, as any impression is, or can be, upon the body. To what\na damnable condition should we bring poor sinners, if they could not\nbe sensible of the Spirit of GOD; namely, a reprobate mind and past\nfeeling?\n\n\u201cWhat proof do they give?\u201d says the writer. What sign would they have?\nDo they expect us to raise the dead, to give sight to the blind, to\ncure lepers, to make the lame to walk, and the deaf to hear? If these\nare what they expect, I speak with humility, GOD, by us, hath done\ngreater things than these: many, who were dead in sin, are raised to\nscripture-life: those, who were leprous by nature, are cleansed by the\nSpirit of GOD; those, who were lame in duty, now run in GOD\u2019s commands;\nthose, who were deaf, their ears are unstopped to hear his discipline,\nand hearken to his advice; and the poor have the gospel preached to\nthem. No wonder people talk at this rate, when they can tell us, \u201cThat\nthe Spirit of GOD, is a good conscience, consequent thereupon.\u201d My\ndear brethren, _Seneca_, _Cicero_, _Plato_, or any of the heathen\nphilosophers, would have given as good a definition as this: It means\nno more, than reflecting that we have done well. This, this is only\nDeism refined: Deists laugh at us, when we pretend to be against their\nnotions, and yet these men use no other reason for our differing from\nthem, than what is agreeable to Deists principles.\n\nThis writer tells us, \u201cIt is against common-sense to talk of the\nfeeling of the Spirit of GOD.\u201d Common-sense, my brethren, was never\nallowed to be a judge; yea, it is above its comprehension, neither are,\nnor can the ways of GOD be known by common-sense. We should never have\nknown the things of GOD at all by our common senses: no; it is the\nrevelation of GOD which is to be our judge; it is that we appeal to,\nand not to our weak and shallow conceptions of things. Thus we may see,\nit is by no means to be righteous over-much, to affirm we must have the\nSpirit of GOD as the Apostles had. Nor,\n\n_Secondly_, Is it to be righteous over-much to frequent religious\nassemblies.\n\nThe preacher, upon this text, aims at putting aside all the religious\nsocieties that are in the kingdom: Indeed, he says, \u201cYou may go to\nchurch as often as opportunity serves, and on _Sundays_; say your\nprayers, read the word of GOD; and, in his opinion, every thing else\nhad better be let alone: and as for the Spirit of GOD upon your souls,\nyou are to look upon it as useless and unnecessary.\u201d If this, my\nbrethren, is the doctrine we have now preached, christianity is at a\nlow ebb indeed: but GOD forbid you should thus learn JESUS CHRIST. Do\nyou not forbear the frequenting of religious assemblies; for as nothing\nhelps to build up the devil\u2019s kingdom more than the societies of wicked\nmen, nothing would be more for pulling of it down, than the people of\nGOD meeting to strengthen each others hands; and as the devil has so\nmany friends, will none of you be friends to the blessed JESUS? Yes,\nI hope many of you will be of the LORD\u2019s side, and build each other up\nin christian love and fellowship. This is what the primitive christians\ndelighted in; and shall not we follow so excellent an example? My\nbrethren, till christian conversation is more agreeable to us, we\ncannot expect to see the gospel of CHRIST run and be glorified. Thus\nit is by no means to be righteous over-much, to frequent religious\nassemblies. Nor,\n\n_Thirdly_, Is it to be righteous over-much, to abstain from the\ndiversions and entertainments of the age.\n\nWe are commanded to \u201cabstain from the appearance of evil,\u201d and that\n\u201cwhatsoever we do, whether we eat or drink, we shall do all to the\nglory of GOD.\u201d The writer upon this text tells us, \u201cThat it will be\naccounted unlawful to smell to a rose:\u201d no, my dear brethren, you may\nsmell to a pink and rose too if you please, but take care to avoid the\nappearance of sin. They talk of innocent diversions and recreations;\nfor my part, I know of no diversion, but that of _doing good_: if you\ncan find any diversion which is not contrary to your baptismal vow,\nof renouncing the pomps and vanities of this wicked world; if you can\nfind any diversion which tends to the glory of GOD; if you can find any\ndiversion, which you would be willing to be found at by the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST, I give you free licence to go to them and welcome; but if, on\nthe contrary, they are found to keep sinners from coming to the LORD\nJESUS CHRIST; if they are a means to harden the heart, and such as you\nwould not willingly be found in when you come to die, then, my dear\nbrethren, keep from them: for, indeed, the diversions of this age are\ncontrary to christianity. Many of you may think I have gone too far,\nbut I shall go a great deal farther yet: I will attack the devil in\nhis strongest holds, and bear my testimony against our fashionable and\npolite entertainments. What satisfaction can it be, what pleasure is\nthere in spending several hours at _cards_? Strange! that even people\nwho are grown old, can spend whole nights in this diversion: perhaps\nmany of you will cry out, \u201cWhat harm is there in it?\u201d My dear brethren,\nwhatsoever is not of faith, or for the glory of GOD, is a sin: Now does\ncards tend to promote this? Is it not mispending your precious time,\nwhich should be employed in working out your salvation with fear and\ntrembling? Do _play-houses_, _horse-racing_, _balls_ and _assemblies_,\ntend to promote the glory of GOD? Would you be willing to have your\nsoul demanded of you, while you are at one of those places? Many of\nthese are, (I must speak, I cannot forbear to speak against these\nentertainments; come what will, I will declare against them) many,\nI say, of these are kept up by public authority: the play-houses are\nsupported by a public fund, and our newspapers are full of horse-races\nall through the kingdom: these things are sinful; indeed they\nare exceeding sinful. What good can come from a horse-race; from\nabusing GOD Almighty\u2019s creatures, and putting them to that use he\nnever designed for them: the play-houses, are they not nurseries of\ndebauchery in the age? and the supporters and patrons of them, are\nencouragers and promoters of all the evil that is done by them; they\nare the bane of the age, and will be the destruction of those who\nfrequent them. Is it not high time for the true ministers of JESUS\nCHRIST, who have been partakers of the heavenly gift, to lift up their\nvoices as a trumpet, and cry aloud against these diversions of the age?\nAre they not earthly, sensual, devilish? If you have tasted of the love\nof GOD, and have felt his power upon your souls, you would no more go\nto a play, than you would run your head into a furnace.\n\nAnd what occasions these places to be so much frequented, is the\nclergy\u2019s making no scruple to be at these polite places: they frequent\nplay-houses, they go to horse-races, they go to balls and assemblies,\nthey frequent taverns, and follow all the entertainments that the age\naffords; and yet these are the persons who should advise their hearers\nto refrain from them; but instead thereof, they encourage them by their\nexample. Persons are too apt to rely upon, and believe their pastors,\nrather than the scriptures; they think that there is no crime in going\nto plays or horse-races, to balls and assemblies; for if there were,\nthey think those persons, who are their ministers, would not frequent\nthem: but, my dear brethren, observe they always go disguised, the\nministers are afraid of being seen in their gowns and cassocks; the\nreason thereof is plain, their consciences inform them, that it is not\nan example fit for the ministers of the gospel to set; thus, they are\nthe means of giving that offence to the people of GOD, which I would\nnot for ten thousand worlds: they lay a stumbling-block in the way\nof their weak brethren, which they will not remove, though it is a\nstumbling-block of offence. \u201cWoe unto the world because of offences,\nbut woe unto that man by whom the offence cometh.\u201d The polite gentlemen\nof the age, spend their time in following these diversions, because\nthe love of GOD is not in their hearts; they are void of CHRIST, and\ndestitute of the Spirit of GOD; and not being acquainted with the\ndelight there is in GOD and his ways, being strangers to these things,\nthey run to the devil for diversions, and are pleased and delighted\nwith the silly ones he shews them.\n\nMy dear brethren, I speak of these things, these innocent diversions,\nas the polite part of the world calls them, by experience; perhaps none,\nfor my age, hath read or seen more plays than I have: I took delight\nin, and was pleased with them. It is true, I went to church frequently,\nreceived the sacrament, and was diligent in the use of the forms\nof religion, but I was all this while ignorant of the power of GOD\non my heart, and unacquainted with the work of grace; but when GOD\nwas pleased to shine with power upon my soul, I could no longer be\ncontented to feed on husks, or what the swine did eat: the Bible then\nwas my food; there, and there only I took delight: and till you feel\nthis same power, you will not abstain from the earthly delights of this\nage, you will take no comfort in GOD\u2019s ways, nor receive any comfort\nfrom him; for you are void of the love of GOD, having only the form\nof godliness, while you are denying the power of it; you are nominal\nchristians, when you have not the power of christianity.\n\nThe polite gentlemen say, \u201cAre we to be always upon our knees? Would\nyou have us be always at prayer, and reading or hearing the word of\nGOD?\u201d\n\nMy dear brethren, the fashionable ones, who take delight in hunting,\nare not tired of being continually on horseback after their hounds; and\nwhen once you are renewed by the Spirit of GOD, it will be a continual\npleasure to be walking with, and talking of GOD, and telling what great\nthings JESUS CHRIST hath done for your souls; and till you can find as\nmuch pleasure in conversing with GOD, as these men do of their hounds,\nyou have no share in him; but when you have tasted how good the LORD is,\nyou will shew forth his praise; out of the abundance of your heart your\nmouth will speak.\n\nThis brings me to the second thing proposed, which is an extream that\nvery seldom happens:\n\n_Secondly_, To shew what it is to be righteous over-much. And here,\n\n_First_, When we confine the Spirit of GOD to this or that particular\nchurch; and are not willing to converse with any but those of the same\ncommunion; this is to be righteous over-much with a witness: and so\nit is, to confine our communion within church-walls, and to think that\nJESUS could not preach in a field as well as on consecrated-ground;\nthis is _judaism_, this is _bigotry_: this is like _Peter_, who would\nnot go to preach the gospel to the _Gentiles_, till he had a vision\nfrom GOD: and when his conduct was blamed by the disciples, he could\nnot satisfy them till he had acquainted them with the vision he\nhad seen. And, therefore, we may justly infer, the Spirit of GOD is\nthe center of unity; and wherever I see the image of my Master, I\nnever enquire of them their opinions; I ask them not what they are,\nso they love JESUS CHRIST in sincerity and truth, but embrace them\nas my brother, my sister, and my spouse: and this is the spirit of\nchristianity. Many persons, who are bigots to this or that opinion,\nwhen one of a different way of thinking hath come where they were, have\nleft the room or place on the account: this is the spirit of the devil;\nand if it was possible that these persons could be admitted into heaven\nwith such tempers, that very place would be hell to them. Christianity\nwill never flourish, till we are all of one heart and of one mind; and\nthis would be the only means of seeing the gospel of JESUS to flourish,\nmore than ever it will by persecuting those who differ from us.\n\nThis may be esteemed as enthusiasm and madness, and as a design to\nundermine the established church: No; GOD is my judge, I should rejoice\nto see all the world adhere to her articles; I should rejoice to\nsee the ministers of the Church of _England_, preach up those very\narticles they have subscribed to; but those ministers who do preach\nup the articles, are esteemed as madmen, enthusiasts, schismatics, and\nunderminers of the established church: and though they say these things\nof me, blessed be GOD, they are without foundation. My dear brethren,\nI am a friend to her articles, I am a friend to her homilies, I am\na friend to her liturgy; and, if they did not thrust me out of their\nchurches, I would read them every day; but I do not confine the Spirit\nof GOD there; for I say it again, I love all that love the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST, and esteem him my brother, my friend, my spouse; aye, my very\nsoul is knit to that person. The spirit of persecution will never,\nindeed it will never make any to love JESUS CHRIST. The pharisees make\nthis to be madness, so much as to mention persecution in a christian\ncountry; but there is as much the spirit of persecution now in the\nworld, as ever there was; their will is as great, but blessed be GOD,\nthey want the power; otherwise, how soon would they send me to prison,\nmake my feet fast in the stocks, yea, would think they did GOD service\nin killing me, and would rejoice to take away my life.\n\nThis is not the Spirit of CHRIST, my dear brethren; I had not come to\nhave thus preached; I had not come into the highways and hedges; I had\nnot exposed myself to the ill treatment of these letter-learned men,\nbut for the sake of your souls: indeed, I had no other reason, but\nyour salvation; and for that (I speak the truth in CHRIST, I lie not) I\nwould be content to go to prison; yea, I would rejoice to die for you,\nso I could but be a means to bring some of you to JESUS: I could not\nbear to see so many in the highway to destruction, and not shew them\ntheir danger: I could not bear, my brethren, to see you more willing\nto learn, than the teachers are to instruct you: and if any of them\nwere to come and preach to you, I should not envy them, I should not\ncall them enthusiasts or madmen; I should rejoice to hear they had ten\nthousand times more success than I have met with; I would give them the\nright-hand of fellowship; I would advise them to go on; I would wish\nthem good luck in the name of the LORD, and say as CHRIST did, when the\ndisciples informed him of some casting out devils in his name, and were\nfor rebuking of them, \u201cForbid them not, for they that are not against\nus are for us;\u201d or as St. _Paul_ says, \u201cSome preach CHRIST of envy,\nand some of good-will; notwithstanding, so CHRIST is but preached,\nI rejoice; yea, and will rejoice.\u201d The gospel of JESUS, is a gospel\nof peace. Thus you may see, that to be righteous over-much, is to be\nuncharitable, censorious, and to persecute persons for differing from\nus in religion.\n\n_Secondly_, Persons are righteous over-much, when they spend so much\ntime in religious assemblies, as to neglect their families. There is\nno licence given by the blessed JESUS, for idleness; for in the very\ninfancy of the world, idleness was not allowed of. In paradise, _Adam_\nand _Eve_ dressed the garden, _Cain_ was a tiller of the ground, and\n_Abel_ was a keeper of sheep; and there is a proverb amongst the _Jews_,\n\u201cThat he who brings his son up without a business, brings him up to\nbe a thief:\u201d and therefore our Saviour was a carpenter; \u201cIs not this\nthe carpenter\u2019s son,\u201d said the _Jews_: and St. _Paul_, though brought\nup at the feet of _Gamaliel_, was a tent-maker. Labour, my brethren,\nis imposed on all mankind as part of the divine curse; and you are\ncalled to be useful in the society to which you belong: take care\nfirst for the kingdom of GOD, and all things necessary shall be added.\nTo labour for the meat that perisheth, is your duty; only take care,\nthat you do not neglect getting the meat for the soul: that is of the\ngreatest consequence, for this plain reason, the things of this life\nare temporal, but those of the next are eternal. I would have rich\nmen to work as well as poor: it is owing to their idleness, that the\ndevil hurries them to his diversions; they can be in their beds all the\nmorning, and spend the afternoon and evening in dressing, visiting, and\nat balls, plays, or assemblies, when they should be working out their\nsalvation with fear and trembling. Such a life as this, occasions a\nspiritual numbness in the soul; and if JESUS CHRIST was not to stop\nthose who thus spend their time, they would be hurried into eternity,\nwithout once thinking of their immortal souls. But JESUS CHRIST has\ncompassion upon many of them, and while they are in their blood, he\nbids them \u201clive.\u201d And though I preach this doctrine to you, yet I do\nnot bid you be idle; no, they that do not work should not eat. You have\ntwo callings, a general one, and a special one: as we are to regard\nthe one in respect of our bodies, so we are to regard the other on\naccount of our souls. Take heed, my brethren, I beseech you, take heed,\nlest you labour so for the meat that perisheth, as to forget that meat\nwhich endureth for ever. Seek the things of GOD first; look well to\nobtain oil in your lamps, grace in your hearts. I am not persuading\nyou to take no care about the things of the world, but only not to\nbe encumbered with them, so as to neglect your duty towards GOD, and\na proper concern for your souls. It is meet, it is right, it is your\nbounden duty, to mind the callings wherein GOD hath placed you; and you\nmay be said to be righteous over-much not to regard them. This brings\nme,\n\n_Thirdly_, To give you another sign of being righteous over-much; and\nthat is, when we fast and use corporal austerities, so as to unfit us\nfor the service of GOD.\n\nThis, my brethren, you may think there is no occasion at all to caution\nyou against, and indeed there is not a great necessity for it; however,\nmany persons, upon their first being awakened to a sense of their sin,\nare tempted to use austerities to that excess which is sinful. It is\nour duty to fast, it is our duty to fast often, and it is what we are\ndirected to by JESUS CHRIST himself; but then we are to take care to do\nit in a proper manner: to bring our bodies under for the service of GOD,\nis that which we are commanded by our LORD JESUS CHRIST.\n\nThe late preacher upon this text, runs into great extremes, and charges\nus with saying and acting things, of which we never thought; but I\ndo not regard what he said of me: I do not mind his bitter invectives\nagainst my ministry; I do not mind his despising my youth, and calling\nme novice and enthusiast; I forgive him from my very heart: but when\nhe reflects on my Master; when he speaks against my Redeemer; when\nJESUS CHRIST is spoken against, I must speak, (I must speak indeed, or\nI should burst:) when he gives liberty to persons to take a chearful\nglass, and alledges CHRIST for an example, as in the marriage-feast,\nsaying, \u201cCHRIST turned water into wine, when it is plain there had been\nmore drank than was necessary before;\u201d what is this, but to charge\nCHRIST with encouraging drunkenness? It is true, the Governor says,\n\u201cEvery man in the beginning sets forth good wine, and when men have\nwell drank, that which is worse; but thou hast kept the good wine until\nnow:\u201d but it does not at all follow, that it was not necessary, or that\nthere had been a sufficient quantity before: I would not speak thus\nslightingly of one of my Master\u2019s miracles, for the whole world. And\nwe may observe, that as CHRIST chiefly visited poor people, they might\nnot have wherewithal to buy a sufficient quantity of wine; or having\nmore guests than were expected, the wine was expended sooner than they\nthought; then the Mother of JESUS tells him, \u201cThey have no wine;\u201d he\nanswers, \u201cWoman, what have I to do with thee? My hour is not yet come.\u201d\nAfter this he commanded them to fill the water-pots with water, and\nthey filled them to the brim, and this water he turned into wine: now\nit does not at all follow, that there was more drank than was necessary;\nneither would the LORD JESUS CHRIST have continued in the house if\nthere had. But we have an excellent lesson to learn from this miracle:\nby the water-pots being empty, we may understand, the heart of man\nbeing by nature destitute of his grace, his speaking and commanding to\nfill them, shews, that when CHRIST speaks, the heart that was empty of\ngrace before, shall be filled; and the water-pots being filled to the\nbrim, shews, that CHRIST will fill believers hearts brim full of the\nHoly Ghost: and from the Governor\u2019s observing, that the last wine was\nthe best, learn, that a believer\u2019s best comforts, shall be the last and\ngreatest, for they shall come with the greatest power upon the soul,\nand continue longest there: this, this my dear brethren, is the lesson\nwe may learn from this miracle.\n\nBut one great inconsistency I cannot avoid taking notice of in this\nlate learned preacher. In the beginning of his sermon, he charges us\nwith \u201claying heavy burthens upon people, which they are not able to\nbear;\u201d in the latter part he charges us with being Antinomians, whose\ntenets are, \u201cSo you say you believe in the LORD JESUS CHRIST, you may\nlive the life of devils.\u201d Now, he charges us with being _too strict_,\nand by and by with being _too loose_. Which side, my brethren, will\nyou take? Thus you see, when persons forsake CHRIST, they make strange\nmistakes; for there can be no greater opposition of sentiments than\nthis letter-learned writer has made: as opposite as light and darkness,\ngood and evil, sweet and bitter. And, on this account, to find out\nthese lettered-learned gentlemens notions of the new-birth, I put\na paragraph in my Journal; and, blessed be GOD, I have obtained my\ndesires, and have plainly perceived, that the persons who have lately\nwritten concerning the new-birth, know no more of it than a blind man\ndoes of colours, nor can they have any more notion of it, (by all their\nlearning, falsely so called) than the blind man, who was to give an\naccount what the sun was, and, after a considerable time allowed for\nstudy, he said, \u201cIt was like the sound of a trumpet.\u201d And till they are\ntaught of GOD, they will be unacquainted with the new-birth: therefore,\nif you have a mind to know what the devil has to say against us, read\nDr. _Trapp_\u2019s sermons.\n\nIt is with grief I speak these things, and were not the welfare of your\nsouls, and my Redeemer\u2019s honour at stake, I would not now open my mouth,\nyea I would willingly die (GOD is my judge) for the person who wrote\nsuch bitter things against me, so it would be a means of saving his\nsoul. If he had only spoken against me, I would not have answered him;\nbut, on his making my Redeemer a pattern of vice, if I was not to speak,\nthe very stones would cry out; therefore, the honour of my Redeemer,\nand love to you, constrains me to speak. It is of necessity that I\nspeak, when the divinity of JESUS CHRIST is spoken against, it is the\nduty of ministers to cry aloud, and spare not. I cannot forbear, come\nwhat will; for I know not what kind of divinity we have now among us:\nwe must have a righteousness of our own, and do our best endeavours,\nand then CHRIST will make up the deficiency; that is, you must be your\nown Saviour, in part. This is not the doctrine of the gospel; this is\nnot the doctrine of JESUS: no; CHRIST is all in all; JESUS CHRIST must\nbe your whole wisdom; JESUS CHRIST must be your whole righteousness,\nJESUS CHRIST must be your whole sanctification; or JESUS CHRIST will\nnever be your eternal redemption and sanctification. Inward holiness\nis looked on, by some, as the effect of enthusiasm and madness; and\npreachers of the necessity of the new-birth, are esteemed as persons\nfit for _Bedlam_. Our polite and fashionable doctrine, is, \u201cThat there\nis a fitness in man, and that GOD, seeing you a good creature, bestows\nupon you his grace.\u201d GOD forbid, my dear brethren, you should thus\nlearn JESUS CHRIST!\n\nThis is not the doctrine I preach to you: I say, salvation is the free\ngift of GOD. It is GOD\u2019s free grace, I preach unto you, not of works,\nlest any one should boast. JESUS CHRIST justifies the ungodly; JESUS\nCHRIST passed by, and saw you polluted with your blood, and bid you\nlive. It is not of works, it is of faith: we are not justified for our\nfaith, for faith is the instrument, but by your faith, the active as\nwell as the passive obedience of CHRIST, must be applied to you. JESUS\nCHRIST hath fulfilled the law, he hath made it honourable; JESUS CHRIST\nhath made satisfaction to his Father\u2019s justice, full satisfaction;\nand it is as compleat as it is full, and GOD will not demand it again.\nJESUS CHRIST is the way; JESUS CHRIST is the truth; and JESUS CHRIST\nis the life. The righteousness of JESUS CHRIST, my brethren, must be\nimputed to you, or you can never have any interest in the blood of\nJESUS; your own works are but as filthy rags, for you are justified\nbefore GOD, without any respect to your works past, present, or to come.\nThis doctrine is denyed by the learned rabbi\u2019s; but if they deny these\ntruths of the gospel, they must not be offended, though a child dare\nspeak to a doctor; and, in vindication of the cause of JESUS CHRIST, a\nchild, a boy, by the Spirit of GOD, can speak to the learned clergy of\nthis age.\n\nIf I had a voice so great, and could speak so loud, as that the whole\nworld could hear me, I would cry, \u201cBe not righteous over-much,\u201d by\nbringing your righteousness to CHRIST, and by being righteous in your\nown eyes. Man must be abased, that GOD may be exalted.\n\nThe imputed righteousness of JESUS CHRIST is a comfortable doctrine\nto all real christians; and you sinners, who ask what you must do to\nbe saved? how uncomfortable would it be, to tell you by good works,\nwhen, perhaps, you have never done one good work in all your life:\nthis would be driving you to despair, indeed: no; \u201cBelieve in the LORD\nJESUS CHRIST, and you shall be saved:\u201d therefore none of you need go\naway despairing. Come to the LORD JESUS by faith, and he shall receive\nyou. You have no righteousness of your own to depend on. If you are\nsaved, it is by the righteousness of CHRIST, through his atonement, his\nmaking a sacrifice for sin: his righteousness must be imputed to you,\notherwise you cannot be saved. There is no difference between you, by\nnature, and the greatest malefactor that ever was executed at _Tyburn_:\nthe difference made, is all owing to the free, the rich, the undeserved\ngrace of GOD; this has made the difference. It is true, talking at\nthis rate, will offend the pharisees, who do not like this levelling\ndoctrine, (as they call it); but if ever you are brought to JESUS\nCHRIST by faith, you will experience the truth of it. Come by faith\nto JESUS CHRIST; do not come, pharisee-like, telling GOD what you have\ndone, how often you have gone to church, how often you have received\nthe sacrament, fasted, prayed, or the like: no; come to CHRIST as poor,\nlost, undone, damned sinners; come to him in this manner, and he will\naccept of you: do not be rich in spirit, proud and exalted, for there\nis no blessing attends such; but be ye poor in spirit, for theirs is\nthe kingdom of GOD; they shall be made members of his mystical body\nhere, and shall be so of the church triumphant hereafter. Acknowledge\nyourselves as nothing at all, and when you have done all, say, \u201cYou\nare unprofitable servants.\u201d There is no salvation but by JESUS CHRIST;\nthere is no other name given under heaven amongst men, whereby we\nmay be saved, but that of the LORD JESUS. GOD, out of CHRIST, is a\nconsuming fire; therefore strive for an interest in his Son the LORD\nJESUS CHRIST; take him on the terms offered to you in the gospel;\naccept of him in GOD\u2019s own way, lay hold on him by faith.\n\nDo not think you are christians; do not flatter yourselves with being\nrighteous enough, and good enough, because you lead moral decent lives,\ndo no one any harm, go to church, and attend upon the outward means\nof grace; no, my brethren, you may do this, and a great deal more, and\nyet be very far from having a saving, experimental knowledge of JESUS\nCHRIST.\n\nBeg of CHRIST to strike home upon your hearts, that you may feel the\npower of religion. Indeed, you must feel the power of GOD here, or the\nwrath of GOD hereafter. These are truths of the utmost consequence;\ntherefore, do not go contradicting, do not go blaspheming away. Blessed\nbe GOD, you are not such cowards to run away for a little rain. I\nhope good things of you; I hope you have felt the power of GOD; and\nif GOD should bring any of you to himself through this foolishness of\npreaching, you will have no reason to complain it was done by a youth,\nby a child: no; if I could be made an instrument to bring you to GOD,\nthey may call me novice, enthusiast, or what they please, I should\nrejoice; yea, and I would rejoice.\n\nO that some sinner might be brought to JESUS CHRIST! Do not say I\npreach despair: I despair of no one, when I consider GOD had mercy\non such a wretch as I, who was running in a full career to hell: I\nwas hasting thither, but JESUS CHRIST passed by and stopped me; JESUS\nCHRIST passed by me while I was in my blood, when I was polluted with\nfilth; he passed by me, and bid me live. Thus I am a monument of GOD\u2019s\nfree grace; and therefore, my brethren, I despair of none of you, when\nI consider, I say, what a wretch I was. I am not speaking now out of a\nfalse humility, a pretended sanctity, as the pharisees call it: no, the\ntruth in CHRIST I speak, and therefore, men and devils do your worst; I\nhave a gracious Master will protect me; it is his work I am engaged in,\nand JESUS CHRIST will carry me above their rage.\n\nThose who are come here this night out of curiosity to hear what the\nbabbler says; those who come to spend an idle hour to find something\nfor an evening-conversation at a coffee-house; or you who have stopped\nin your coaches as you passed by, remember that you have had JESUS\nCHRIST offered to you; I offer JESUS CHRIST to every one of you:\nperhaps you may not regard it because it is in a field. But JESUS\nCHRIST is wherever his people meet in sincerity and truth to worship\nhim: he is not confined to church walls: he has met us here; many,\nvery many of you know he has; and therefore you may believe on him with\ngreater confidence.\n\nCan you bear to think of a bleeding, panting, dying JESUS, offering\nhimself up for sinners, and you will not accept of him? Do not say, you\nare poor, and therefore are ashamed to go to church, for GOD has sent\nthe gospel out unto you. Do not harden your hearts: oppose not the will\nof JESUS.\n\nO that I could speak to your hearts, that my words would centre there.\nMy heart is full of love to you. I would speak, till I could speak no\nmore, so I could but bring you to CHRIST. I may never meet you all,\nperhaps, any more. The cloud of GOD\u2019s providence seems to be moving.\nGOD calls me by his providence away from you, for a while. GOD knows\nwhether we shall ever see each other in the flesh. At the day of\njudgment we shall all meet again. I earnestly desire your prayers.\nPray that I may not only begin, _Jehu_-like, in the spirit, but that\nI may continue in it. Pray that I may not fall away, that I may not\ndecline suffering for you, if I should be called to it. Be earnest, O\nbe earnest with GOD in my behalf, that while I am preaching to others,\nI may not be a cast-away. Put up your prayers for me, I beseech you.\nGo not to the throne of grace, without carrying me upon your heart; for\nyou know not what influence your prayers may have. As for you, my dear\nbrethren, GOD knows my heart, I continually bear you on my mind, when I\ngo in and out before the LORD; and it is my earnest desire, you may not\nperish for lack of knowledge, but that he would send out more ministers\nto water what his own right-hand hath planted. May the Antient of\nDays come forth upon his white horse, and may all opposition fall to\nthe ground. As we have begun to bruise the serpent\u2019s head, we must\nexpect he will bruise our heel. The devil will not let his kingdom fall\nwithout raging horribly. He will not suffer the ministers of CHRIST to\ngo on, without bringing his power to stop them. But fear not, my dear\nbrethren, _David_, though a stripling, encountered the great _Goliah_;\nand if we pray, GOD will give us strength against all our spiritual\nenemies. Shew your faith by your works. Give the world the lye. Press\nforward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for\nthe mark set before you. Fight the good fight of faith, and GOD will\ngive you spiritual mercies. I hope we shall all meet at the right-hand\nof GOD. Strive, strive to enter in at the strait gate, that we may\nbe borne to _Abraham_\u2019s bosom, where sin and sorrow shall cease. No\nscoffer will be there, but we shall see JESUS, who died for us; and not\nonly see him, but live with him for ever.\n\n Which GOD, of his infinite mercy, & c.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON X.\n\n A Preservative against unsettled Notions, and want of Principles,\n in regard to Righteousness and Christian Perfection.\n\n Being a more particular Answer to Doctor _Trapp_\u2019s Four Sermons\n upon the same Text.\n\n\n To all the True Members of Christ\u2019s Holy Church.\n\n_Dear Fellow Christians_,\n\nTHE great, and indeed the only motive which prompted me to publish this\nsermon, was the desire of providing for your security from error, at\na time when the deviators from, and false pretenders to truth, are so\nnumerous, that the most discerning find it a matter of the greatest\ndifficulty to avoid being led astray by one or by other into downright\nfalshood. There is no running divisions upon truth; like a mathematical\npoint, it will neither admit of subtraction nor addition: And as it is\nindivisible in its nature, there is no splitting the difference, where\ntruth is concerned. Irreligion and enthusiasm are diametrical opposites,\nand true piety between both, like the center of an infinite line, is\nat an equal infinite distance from the one and the other, and therefore\ncan never admit of a coalition with either. The one erring by defect,\nthe other by excess. But whether we err by defect, or excess, is of\nlittle importance, if we are equally wide of the mark, as we certainly\nare in either case. For whatever is less than truth, cannot be truth;\nand whatever is more than true must be false.\n\nWherefore, as the whole of this great nation seems now more than ever\nin danger of being hurried into one or the other of these equally\npernicious extremes, irreligion or fanaticism, I thought myself more\nthan ordinarily obliged to rouze your, perhaps, drowsy vigilance, by\nwarning you of the nearness of your peril; cautioning you from leaning\ntowards either side, though but to peep at the slippery precipice; and\nstepping between you and error, before it comes nigh enough to grapple\nwith you. The happy medium of true christian piety, in which it has\npleased the mercy of GOD to establish you, is built on a firm rock,\n\u201cand the gates of hell shall never prevail against it.\u201d While then you\nstand steadily upright in the fulness of the faith, falshood and sin\nshall labour in vain to approach you; whereas, the least familiarity\nwith error, will make you giddy, and if once you stagger in principles,\nyour ruin is almost inevitable.\n\nBut now I have cautioned you of the danger you are in from the enemies\nwho threaten your subversion, I hope your own watchfulness will\nbe sufficient to guard you from any surprise. And from their own\nassaults you have nothing to fear, since while you persist in the\nfirm resolution, through GOD\u2019s grace, to keep them out, irreligion and\nenthusiasm, falshood and vice, impiety and false piety, will combine in\nvain to force an entrance into your hearts.\n\nTake then, my dearly beloved fellow-members of CHRIST\u2019s mystical body,\ntake the friendly caution I give you in good part, and endeavour to\nprofit by it: attend wholly to the saving truths I here deliver to you,\nand be persuaded, that they are uttered by one who has your eternal\nsalvation as much at heart as his own.\n\n \u201cAnd thou, O LORD JESUS CHRIST, fountain of all truth, whence\n all wisdom flows, open the understandings of thy people to the\n light of thy true faith, and touch their hearts with thy grace,\n that they may both be able to see, and willing to perform\n what thou requirest of them. Drive away from us every cloud\n of error and perversity; guard us alike from irreligion and\n false pretensions to piety; and lead us on perpetually towards\n that perfection to which thou hast taught us to aspire; that\n keeping us here in a constant imitation of thee, and peaceful\n \u200funion with each other, thou mayest at length bring us to that\n everlasting glory, which thou hast promised to all such as\n shall endeavour to be perfect, even as the Father who is in\n heaven is perfect, who with thee and the Holy Ghost lives and\n reigns one GOD, world without end! _Amen, Amen._\u201d\n\n\n ECCLESIASTES vii. 16.\n\n _Be not righteous over-much, neither make thyself over-wise:\n Why shouldest thou destroy thyself?_\n\nRIGHTEOUS over-much! may one say; Is there any danger of that? Is it\neven possible? Can we be too good? If we give any credit to the express\nword of GOD, we cannot be too good, we cannot be righteous over-much.\nThe injunction given by GOD to _Abraham_ is very strong: \u201cWalk before\nme, and be thou perfect.\u201d The same he again lays upon all _Israel_, in\nthe eighteenth of _Deuteronomy_: \u201cThou shalt be perfect, and without\nblemish, with the LORD thy GOD.\u201d And lest any should think to excuse\nthemselves from this obligation, by saying, it ceased when the old law\nwas abolished, our blessed Saviour ratified and explained it: \u201cBe ye,\ntherefore, perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.\u201d\nSo that until our perfection surpasses that of our heavenly Father, we\ncan never be too good nor righteous over-much; and as it is impossible\nwe should ever surpass, or even come up to him in the perfection of\ngoodness and righteousness, it follows in course that we never can\nbe good or righteous in excess. Nevertheless Doctor _Trapp_ has found\nout that we may be righteous over-much, and has taken no small pains,\nwith much agitation of spirit, to prove that it is a _great folly and\nweakness_, nay, a _great sin_. \u201cO LORD! rebuke thou his spirit, and\ngrant that this false doctrine may not be published to his confusion in\nthe day of judgment!\u201d\n\nBut if what this hasty, this deluded man advances had been true,\ncould there be any occasion, however, of warning against it in these\ntimes, \u201cwhen the danger (as he himself to his confusion owns) is on\nthe contrary extreme; when all manner of vice and wickedness abounds\nto a degree almost unheard of?\u201d I answer for the present, that \u201cthere\nmust be heresies amongst you, that they who are approved may be made\nmanifest.\u201d\n\nHowever, this earthly-minded minister of a new gospel, has taken a text\nwhich seems to favour his naughty purpose, of weaning the well-disposed\nlittle ones of CHRIST from that perfect purity of heart and spirit,\nwhich is necessary to all such as mean to live to our LORD JESUS.\nO LORD, what shall become of thy flock, when their shepherds betray\nthem into the hands of the ravenous wolf! when a minister of thy word\nperverts it to overthrow thy kingdom, and to destroy scripture with\nscripture!\n\n_Solomon_, in the person of a desponding, ignorant, indolent liver,\nsays to the man of righteousness: \u201cBe not righteous over-much, neither\nmake thyself over-wise: Why shouldest thou destroy thyself?\u201d But\nmust my angry, over-sighted brother _Trapp_, therefore, personate a\ncharacter so unbecoming his function, merely to overthrow the express\ninjunction of the LORD to us; which obliges us never to give over\npursuing and thirsting after the perfect righteousness of CHRIST, until\nwe rest in him? Father, forgive him, for he knows not what he says!\n\nWhat advantage might not satan gain over the elect, if the false\nconstruction, put upon this text by that unseeing teacher, should\nprevail! Yet though he blushes not to assist satan to bruise our heel,\nI shall endeavour to bruise the heads of both, by shewing,\n\nI. _First_, The genuine sense of the text in question.\n\nII. The character of the persons, who are to be supposed speaking here;\nAnd\n\nIII. The character of the persons spoken to.\n\nFrom whence will naturally result these consequences.\n\n_First_, That the Doctor was grosly (LORD grant he was not maliciously)\nmistaken in his explanatory sermon on this text, as well as in the\n\u2666application of it.\n\n \u2666 \u201capplicaion\u201d replaced with \u201capplication\u201d\n\n_Secondly_, That he is a teacher and approver of worldly maxims.\n\n_Thirdly_, That he is of course an enemy to perfect righteousness in\nmen, through CHRIST JESUS, and, therefore, no friend to CHRIST: And,\ntherefore, that no one ought to be deluded by the false doctrine he\nadvances, to beguile the innocent, and deceive, if possible, even the\nelect.\n\nI. To come at the true sense of the text in question, it will be\nnecessary to look back, to the preceding verse, where the wise man,\nreflecting on the vanities of his youth, puts on for a moment his\nformer character. \u201cAll things, have I seen in the days of my vanity:\n(and among the rest) there is a just man that perisheth in his\nrighteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongeth his life in his\nwickedness.\u201d Now it is very plain, that he is not here talking of a man,\nwho is righteous over-much, in the Doctor\u2019s manner of understanding\nthe words, that is, \u201cfaulty, and criminal by excess.\u201d For on one side\nhe commends him for being a just man, and full of righteousness, and\nyet on the other tells us, that his righteousness is the shortening of\nhis life. Whereas, had he looked upon his perishing in righteousness\nto be an over-righteousness, he would never have called him a just\nman. Neither by a wicked man, can he mean a man given up to the utmost\nexcess of wickedness, since he tells us, that he prolongeth his life\nin (or by) his wickedness. Who does not know, that the excess of almost\nevery kind of vice, is of itself a shortener of life. So that the\nwhole opposition and contrast lies between a good man, and a bad man.\nA good man whose goodness shortens his life, a bad man whose iniquity\nlengthens his life, or at least is not excessive enough to shorten the\nthread of it. _Solomon_, absorbed in these reflections, speaks here by\nway of _prosopopeia_, not the sense of _Solomon_, the experienced, the\nlearned, the wise; but of the former _Solomon_, a vain young fellow,\nfull of self-love, and the strong desires of life. In the quality of\nsuch a one then, he looks with the same eye upon the righteous man,\nwho perishes in his righteousness, as he would on a wicked one, who\nshould perish in his wickedness. For it is neither the righteousness\nof the one, nor the wickedness of the other, that offends him, but the\nsuperlative degrees of both; which tending equally to shorten life, he\nlooks upon them as equally opposite to the self-love he fondles within\nhim. And, therefore, he deems an excess of debauchery as great an enemy\nto the lasting enjoyment of the pleasures of life, as an extraordinary\nrighteousness would be. Well then might he say to the latter, in\nthis character, \u201cBe not over-much wicked, neither be thou foolish;\nwhy shouldst thou die before thy time?\u201d And to the former: \u201cBe not\nrighteous over-much, neither make thyself over-wise: Why shouldst thou\ndestroy thyself?\u201d\n\nWhat wonder then, that a youth of sprightliness and sense, but led away\nby self-love to be fond of the pleasures and enjoyments of life, when\nattained without hurry, and possessed without risk; what wonder, I say,\nthat such a youth should conceive an equal dislike to the superlative\ndegrees of virtue and vice, and, therefore, advise such of his\ncompanions as give into the excess of debauchery, to refrain from it:\nas it must infallibly tend to clog their understandings, stupify their\nsenses, and entail upon their constitutions a train of infirmities,\nwhich cannot but debilitate their natural vigour, and shorten their\ndays? \u201cBe not over-much wicked, neither be thou foolish: Why shouldst\nthou die before thy time?\u201d What wonder, that the same self-love should\nprompt him to dissuade such of his friends or acquaintance, as he\nwishes to have for companions, and countenancers of his worldly-minded\npursuits, from pursuing righteousness and wisdom to a degree that must\ndestroy in them all taste of earthly pleasures, and may possibly impair\ntheir constitutions, and forward their end? \u201cBe not righteous over-much,\nneither make thyself over-wise: Why shouldst thou destroy thyself?\u201d\n\nThis is the sense in which _Solomon_ (placing himself in the state of\nvanity of his youth) speaks to the one, and the other: to the righteous,\nand to the ungodly. This is the true, genuine sense of the letter; and\nevery other sense put upon it, is false and groundless, and wrested\nrather to pervert than explain the truth of the text. O christian\nsimplicity, whither art thou fled? Why will not the clergy speak truth?\nAnd why must this false prophet suffer thy people, O LORD, to believe\na lye? they have held the truth in unrighteousness. Raise up, I beseech\nthee, O LORD, some true pastors, who may acquaint them with the nature\nand necessity of perfect righteousness, and lead them to that love of\nchristian perfection which the angry-minded, pleasure-taking Doctor\n_Trapp_, labours to divert them from, by teaching, that \u201call christians\nmust have to do with some vanities.\u201d\n\nIs not the meaning of this text plain to the weakest capacity? I have\nhere given it to you, as I have it from the mouth of the royal preacher\nhimself. I have made use of no \u201cphilosophy and vain deceit after the\ntradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after\nCHRIST,\u201d to impose a fleshly sense upon you, for the sense of the\nword of GOD. No, I have given you a natural exposition, obvious from\nthe very words themselves. Hence you may see, my fellow-strugglers\nin righteousness, how grosly our angry adversary is mistaken in his\nexplanation of this text. LORD! open his eyes, and touch his heart;\nand convert him, and all those erring ministers, who have seen vain and\nfoolish things for thy people, and have not discovered their iniquity,\nto turn away thy captivity. For they have erred through wine, and\nthrough strong drink are out of the way: The priest and the prophet\nhave erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they\nare out of the way through strong drink, they err in vision, they\nstumble in judgment.\n\nIt is plain from the words of the text, that the royal Preacher was\nspeaking in the person of a vain worldling, when he said, \u201cBe not\nrighteous over-much;\u201d whereby he meant to exhort the truly righteous\nnot to be dismayed, terrified, or disturbed from their constant pursuit\nof greater and greater perfection of righteousness, until they rest in\nCHRIST; notwithstanding the derision, fleshly persuasion, ill-treatment\nand persecution of worldly men: Who, one day, repenting and groaning\nfor anguish of spirit, shall say within themselves, \u201cThese were they\nwhom we had sometime in derision, and a proverb of reproach. We fools,\naccounted their lives madness; and their end to be without honour. How\nare they numbered among the children of GOD, and their lot is among the\nsaints!\u201d\n\nHow blind then is the application (not to say perverse) which this\nself-wise clergyman makes from the text, to such as, following the\nadvice of the apostle, (_Colossians_ iii. 2.) \u201cset their affection\non things above, not on things on the earth.\u201d Must hastiness in anger\nget the better of sense and truth? Must the people be misled because\nthe pastor cannot, or will not see? Or must the injunction of CHRIST,\n\u201cBe perfect, even as your Father, who is in heaven, is perfect,\u201d give\nplace to the maxim of the heathen _Tully_: The greatest reproach to a\nphilosopher, is to confute his doctrine by his practice; if this be the\ncase, alas, what a deplorable, unspeakably deplorable condition is that\nof some christians! Wherefore, \u201cthus saith the LORD\u201d concerning the\nprophets who make his people to err, that bite with their teeth and cry\npeace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war\nagainst him: therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have\na vision, and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine, and\nthe sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over\nthem.\n\nBut I will leave these lovers of darkness, and turn to you, O beloved,\nelect of GOD! I beseech you, by the bowels of CHRIST, suffer not\nyourselves to be deceived by their flattering, sin-soothing speeches.\n\u201cBe not of that rebellious people, lying children, children who will\nnot hear the law of the LORD: who say to the seers, see not; and to\nthe prophets, prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth\nthings, prophesy deceits.\u201d Follow not those, who flatter you in the\nvanities they practise themselves. O may you never be of the number\nof those, in the person of whom _Solomon_ here says, \u201cBe not righteous\nover-much;\u201d for their character is the character of the beast.\n\nII. The character of the persons, who are to be supposed speaking here\nin the text, is in a word the same with the character of those whom\n_Solomon_ here personates: who, as is already shewn, are a vain set of\nmen, neither righteous enough to have an habitual desire of improving\nvirtue to its perfection, nor quite so flagitious as to give into\nself-destroying vices: in a word, they are self-lovers, the sole end\nof whose pursuits, whether indifferent, bad, or laudable in themselves,\nis self-enjoyment. Insomuch that they look upon virtue and vice,\nrighteousness and wickedness, with the same eye, and their fondness or\naversion for both is alike, as their different degrees appear to be the\nmeans to enhance and prolong the enjoyment of pleasure, or to lessen\nand shorten those pleasures. Thus any virtue, while it is kept within\nsuch bounds as may render it subservient to the pleasurable degrees\nof vice, will meet with no opposition from them; on the contrary, they\nwill even commend it. But the moment it becomes a restraint to _vice in\nmoderation_ (if I may be allowed to make use of terms adequate to their\nsystem) from that moment it gives offence, and they put in their caveat,\n\u201cBe not righteous over-much.\u201d In like manner, vice, while confined to\ncertain limits, which rather improve than obstruct pleasures, is with\nthem a desirable good; but no sooner does it launch out into any depth,\nsufficient to drown and diminish the relish of those pleasures, than\nthey declare open war against it; \u201cBe not over-much wicked.\u201d And the\nreason they assign for their opposition in both cases, is the same:\n\u201cwhy shouldst thou destroy thyself? Why shouldst thou die before thy\ntime?\u201d Such is the prudence of the world, the flesh, and the devil.\nSuch the maxims of these refined libertines, so much the more dangerous\nas they are less obvious; so much the more insinuating, as they are\nremoved from certain extravagancies capable of shocking every man who\nhas the least sense and delicacy. O LORD, how true is it, that the sons\nof darkness are wiser in their generation than the sons of light!\n\nYou are not then, beloved in the LORD, to imagine that your greatest\nopposition, in struggling for perfect righteousness, is to come from\nprofligates, from men whose enormous vices create horror even to\nthemselves: no, your most dangerous, most formidable enemies, are the\nkind of men I have painted to you, who render vice relishable with a\nmixture of apparent virtue, and cloath wickedness in the apparel of\nrighteousness; \u201cBeware of them, for they come to you in the cloathing\nof sheep, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.\u201d\n\nThis perverse generation will ensnare you into ungodliness, by seeming\noppositions to vice, and allow you to swallow the seemings of virtue\nand righteousness like an emetic, only to puke forth the reality of\nthem. They paint black, white, and the white they convert into black.\nNot content with seeming what they are not, they labour to make you,\nwhat they are. Righteousness and wickedness they interweave in an\nartful tissue, capable of deceiving the very elect, and difficult for\nthe most discerning among them to unravel; as alms-giving and avarice,\npride and humility, temperance and luxury, are dextrously blended\ntogether; while as mutual curbs to each other, they combine to stem\nthe tide of impediments to worldly enjoyment, which might flow from\nextraordinary degrees on either side. Thus \u201cAlms-giving (you are told)\nis very excellent,\u201d and you believe the proposition, without knowing\nthe particular sense it is spoken in, which is, that alms-giving is\nan excellent curb upon avarice, by preserving a rich man from such\na superlative love of money as deprives him of the self-enjoyment\nof it. And upon the strength of this belief, the worldly-minded man,\nwho labours to deceive you, gains credit enough with you to establish\nthis maxim, that all superlative degrees of alms-giving, are _great\nsins_, and that a man must never sell all he has and give it to the\npoor, because some may have families of their own, and ought to make\nsufficient provision for them, according to that proverb, \u201cCharity\nbegins at home;\u201d when no one, at least scarce any one, is wise enough\nto know, when he has a sufficiency. O LORD, which are we to believe,\nthese worldlings, or thee? If thou dost deceive us, why dost thou\nthreaten us with punishments, if we do not heed thee? And if the world\nis deceitful, shall we not flee from it to cleave to thee?\n\n\u201cPride is a great sin\u201d even with these worldlings, inasmuch as the\nexternal excesses of it, may obstruct the way to many ambitious\nterminations of view, and its internal agitations are the destruction\nof that peace, to which even self-love aspires; besides, the frequent\nextravagancy of its motions may not only be prejudicial to health,\nbut a shortner of life. And, therefore, no wonder they should object\nagainst it, \u201cBe not over-much wicked: why shouldst thou die before thy\ntime?\u201d For this reason, they look upon a little mixture of humility\nto be not only commendable, but even necessary to curb the extravagant\nsallies of an over-bearing pride. But then a superlative degree of\nhumility, that is, humility free from the least tincture of pride or\nvanity, which is the same with them, as \u201c_an over-strained humility_,\nis a fault as well as folly;\u201d because, forsooth, it is an expediment to\nthe self-enjoyment of the world and its pleasures; \u201cAll christians must\nhave to do with some vanities, or else they must needs go out of the\nworld indeed; for the world itself is all over vanity.\u201d \u2019Tis nothing,\ntherefore, surprising, my brethren, to see a man of this cast of mind\nmaking a vain ostentation of his little superficial acquaintance, with\nthe antient _Greeks_ and _Romans_. What is this but acting conformably\nto his own principle, that \u201call christians must have to do with some\nvanities?\u201d And shall we wonder to hear such a one prefer their writings,\nto those of an apostle; or be astonished to see him wound the apostle\nwith raillery, through your sides, for wishing to know nothing but\nJESUS CHRIST, and him crucified? No, with him it is consistency to\nlaugh and reprove you out of the perfection of righteousness, which,\nhowever he may play with terms, is with him the same as being righteous\nover-much; but with you it would be inconsistency, who ought to know no\ndifference between being righteous, and living in a perpetual, habitual\ndesire of being superlatively so. It is no more then, than you ought\nto expect to hear such advocates for the world cry out to you, \u201cBe not\nrighteous over-much: why should you destroy yourselves?\u201d But, O LORD,\nsurely this is not the same voice which tells us, that unless we humble\nourselves like unto children, we shall not enter into the kingdom of\nheaven, and that he is greatest there, who humbles himself the most\nlike a child! But what will not men advance who are drunk with passion,\nand intoxicated with self-love?\n\n\u201cThe vice of intemperance in eating, and drinking, is plain to every\nbody,\u201d they own. And, therefore, they give it up as an excess which\ncannot but tend to the impairing of health, and shortening of life: nay,\nit drowns the very relish of pleasure in actual eating and drinking.\nHence will every refined debauchee exclaim against it with Dr. _Trapp_:\n\u201cBe not over-much wicked: why shouldst thou destroy thyself?\u201d Little\nsobriety, say they, is requisite to give a zest to luxury and worldly\npleasures. But too much of it is too much, \u201cto eat nothing but bread\nand herbs, and drink nothing but water, unless there be a particular\nreason for it (such perhaps as Doctor _Cheyne_ may assign) is folly at\nbest, (that is, even though it be done for CHRIST\u2019s sake) therefore no\nvirtue:\u201d \u201cBe not then righteous over-much, why shouldst thou destroy\nthyself?\u201d And if you should answer these carnally-minded men with the\nwords of the apostle, _Romans_ viii. \u201cWe are debtors, not to the flesh,\nto live after the flesh: For if we live after the flesh, we shall die:\nbut if we, through the spirit, do mortify the deeds of the flesh, we\nshall live.\u201d If you answer them thus, they will tell you, \u201cthis is\nteaching for doctrines the commandments of men.\u201d And it will be to\nas little purpose to answer them, with what St. _Paul_ says elsewhere\n(_Romans_ xiv. 17.) \u201cThe kingdom of GOD is not meat and drink, but\nrighteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost:\u201d They will not\nblush to tell you, that \u201cour blessed Saviour came eating and drinking,\nnay worked a miracle to make wine (at an entertainment) when it is\nplain there had been more drank than was necessary.\u201d To such lengths\ndoes the love of the world hurry these self-fond, merry-making\nworldlings! Tell them of self-denial, they will not hear you, it\nis an encroachment upon the pleasures of life, and may shorten it\nof a few days, which you are never sure of possessing; it is being\n\u201crighteous over-much: why shouldst thou destroy thyself?\u201d JESUS, you\nwill say, tells us (_John_ xii. 25.) \u201cHe that loveth his life shall\nlose it, and he that hateth his life in this world, shall keep it\nunto life eternal.\u201d But this and the like, they will inform you, \u201care\nhyperbolical phrases.\u201d Now what signifies minding JESUS, when he speaks\nhyperbolically, that is, speaks more than is strictly true. Yet, O LORD\nJESUS, grant us to mind thee, whatever these worldlings may say; remind\nus, that if any man will come after thee, he must deny himself, and\ntake up his cross, and follow thee! O how enlarging is it to the soul,\nto take up the cross of CHRIST and follow him!\n\nBut you are charged, ye beloved lovers of perfect righteousness,\nwith extravagances. You allow of \u201cno sort of recreation or diversion;\nnothing but an universal mortification and self-denial; no pleasure but\nfrom religion only:\u201d you teach \u201cthat the bodily appetites must not be\nin the least degree gratified, any farther than is absolutely necessary\nto keep body and soul together, and mankind in being: No allowances\nare to be made for melancholy misfortunes, or human infirmity; grief\nmust be cured only by prayer;\u201d (a horrid grievance this, to such as\nthink prayer burdensome at best) \u201cTo divert it by worldly amusements\nis carnal.\u201d A heavy charge this: but lest it should seem so only to\nthose carnal persons, who are resolved to give way to their carnal\nappetites; what you look upon as advisable only, these perverters of\ntruth insinuate to be looked upon by you as indispensable duties. And\nlest prevarication should fail, downright falshoods must be placed\nto your account, \u201cso that to taste an agreeable fruit, or smell to\na rose, must be unlawful with you,\u201d however you disown it. But O, my\nbeloved christians, be not discouraged from the pursuit of perfect\nrighteousness by these or such vile misrepresentations. For \u201cblessed\nare ye when men shall revile you, and shall say all manner of evil\nagainst you falsely for the sake of CHRIST JESUS. Rejoice, and be\nexceeding glad: For great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted\nthey the prophets who were before you.\u201d\n\nThus far, then, may suffice to shew clearly with what dangerous views\nthe worldly-minded men, whom _Solomon_ personates in the text before us,\nlay siege to your souls in fair speeches. What I have said, is enough\nto convince you, that their character is that of the beast, whom St.\n_John_, in the Revelations, \u201csaw coming up from the sea (that is,\nthe flagitious world) with seven heads.\u201d And what shall we say of a\nman, a clergyman, who teaches, and is an advocate for their perverse\ndoctrines? May we not, nay, must we not, for the glory of GOD, and your\ngood, inform you, that he is a \u201cTeacher and approver of worldly maxims.\u201d\nMay I not, nay, must I not, give you this caution with the royal\npreacher: \u201cWhen he speaketh fair, believe him not, for there are seven\nabominations in his heart?\u201d But how different is the character I have\ngiven you, from the character of the persons to whom the text under\nconsideration is spoken: that is, the character of all such, as, like\nyou, are resolved never to rest, \u2019till they rest in CHRIST JESUS. To\nshew this, I shall now pass to my third point.\n\nIII. To what sort of persons does _Solomon_ in the character of a\nworldling address himself, when he says, \u201cBe not righteous over-much,\nneither make thyself over-wise: why shouldst thou destroy thyself?\u201d\nNot to the wicked, \u2019tis plain; for besides that it would have been\nan unnecessary precaution, he turns to these in the next verse with\nanother kind of warning, which however has some analogy with this. \u201cBe\nnot over-much wicked, neither be thou foolish, why shouldst thou die\nbefore thy time?\u201d Was it then to the righteous, in a common way; that\nis, to such as content themselves with the observance of the absolute\nessentials of GOD\u2019s laws? Surely our adversaries will not allow this,\nunless they be of opinion, that to be righteous at all, is to be\nrighteous over-much. And yet it cannot possibly be supposed that the\npersons spoken to, are men perfectly righteous; since, as I proved\nto you, in the introduction of this discourse, till we come up to the\nperfection of our heavenly father, we can never be righteous _enough_,\nmuch less _perfectly_ righteous: wherefore, as in this life, men cannot\nattain to the perfection of their heavenly father, it follows in course\nthat the persons here spoken to, cannot be men perfectly righteous,\nthere being no such men existing; for as St. _John_ saith, \u201cIf we say\nthat we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.\u201d\nAlas, O LORD, when shall we be delivered from the body of this death?\n\nIt remains, that the persons spoken to, in the text, are such only, as\npersisting stedfastly in a firm adherence to all the essential laws of\nGOD, content not themselves with the practice of common virtues in a\ncommon degree, but live in a perpetual habitude of desires, struggles,\nand yearnings towards an intimate union with CHRIST, the perfection\nof righteousness. They are not of the number of those righteous with\nindifference, who would fain blend the service of GOD and mammon, would\nfain have CHRIST and the world for their masters, and halting between\ntwo, like the children of _Israel_ of old, with their faces to heaven,\nand their hearts to the earth, are neither hot nor cold. Alas, would\nthey were cold or hot! But \u201cbecause they are luke-warm, and neither\ncold nor hot, the LORD shall spew them out of his mouth.\u201d\n\nNot so the persons spoken to in my text; not so you, O beloved in GOD,\nwho having shaken off the world and worldly affections, to run the more\nswiftly after righteousness, hate your own lives for the sake of CHRIST.\nHappy, happy are all you, who put on our LORD JESUS, and with him the\nnew man! \u201cYou are the true circumcision which worship GOD in spirit,\nand rejoice in CHRIST JESUS, and have no confidence in the flesh.\u201d\n\nWhat wonder then, christians? To you I speak, all ye lovers and\nstrugglers after the perfect righteousness of your divine Master CHRIST;\nwhat wonder is it, that you should be charged with enthusiasm, with\nfolly, with fanaticism and madness? Were not the apostles so before\nyou, when they preached CHRIST JESUS? Nay were they not reputed drunk\nwith wine? Can you be amazed at it in an age, \u201cwhen all manner of\nvice abounds to a degree almost unheard of,\u201d when the land is full of\nadulterers, and because of swearing the land mourneth. O how is the\nfaithful city become an harlot! my heart within me is broken, because\nof the clergy, all my bones shake? I am like a drunken man, and like\na man whom wine hath overcome; because of the LORD, and because of the\nwords of his holiness, perverted by this deluded clergyman.\n\nWhen the clergy, whom CHRIST has appointed to teach his people \u201cto walk\nbefore him and be perfect,\u201d become teachers of worldly maxims, what can\nbe expected from the laity? It is notorious, that for the moralizing\niniquity of the priest, the land mourns. They have preached and lived\nmany sincere persons out of the church of _England_. They endeavour\nto make you vain: (as the prophets did in the days of _Jeremiah_) they\nspeak a vision out of their own mouth, and not out of the mouth of\nthe LORD. In a word, \u201cboth prophet and priest are prophane, and do\nwickedness in the very house of the LORD.\u201d Nay, they say still to them\nwho despise the LORD, The LORD hath said, ye shall have peace; and they\nsay to every one who walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No\nevil shall come upon you.\n\nSuch is the language, my beloved lovers of christian perfection, which\nthe indolent, earthly-minded, pleasure-taking clergy of the church of\n_England_, use to strengthen the hands of evil-doers, that none may\nreturn from his wickedness. Such is the doctrine of the letter-learned\ndivine, who has dipped his pen in gall, to decry perfect righteousness,\nand to delude you from it, with a false application of that text so\ngrosly misunderstood by him: \u201cBe not righteous over-much, neither be\nthou over-wise: why shouldst thou destroy thyself?\u201d But suffer not\nyourselves, my fellow-christians, to be deluded by him. For as I have\nalready shewn to you, he is grosly (LORD grant he was not maliciously)\nmistaken in his manner of explaining this text; and so far from making\na right application of it according to the wise, the experienced\n_Solomon_\u2019s intention, he acts the character of a vain libertine,\nfull of self-love, and earthly desires, whom _Solomon_ but personated,\nto ridicule. But the doctor by realizing that character in himself,\nbecomes the teacher and approver of worldly maxims, which he applies\nto you, on purpose to destroy in you the yearnings after perfect\nrighteousness in CHRIST. May I not then, nay, must I not warn you, my\nbeloved, that this man is an enemy to perfect righteous in men through\nCHRIST JESUS, and, therefore, no friend to CHRIST? O that my head was\nan ocean, and my eyes fountains of tears, to weep night and day for\nthis poor creature, this hood-winked member of the clergy.\n\nPray you, O true christians, pray and sigh mightily to the LORD;\nimportune him in the behalf of this erring pastor; pray that he would\nvouchsafe to open the eyes, and touch the stubborn heart of this scribe,\nthat he may become better instructed. Otherwise, as the LORD said by\nthe mouth of his true prophet _Jeremiah_, \u201cBehold, I will feed him\nwith wormwood, and make him drink the water of gall; for from him is\nprophaneness gone forth into all the land.\u201d\n\nThis good, however, hath he done by attempting to shew the folly, sin,\nand danger of that which he miscalls being righteous over-much, that\nis, being superlatively righteous, in desire and habitual struggles; he\nhas thereby given me the occasion to shew you, brethren, in the course\nof this sermon, the great and real folly, sin, and danger of not being\nrighteous enough; which, perhaps, I should never have thought of doing,\nhad not his false doctrine pointed out to me the necessity of doing it.\nThus does the all-wise providence of GOD, make use of the very vices of\nmen to draw good out of evil; and chuse their very errors to confound\nfalsehood and make way for truth. Though this should be more than our\nangry adversary intended, yet, LORD, reward him according to his works;\nand suffer him no longer to be hasty in his words, that we may have\nroom to entertain better hopes of him for the future.\n\nBlessed be GOD for sending you better guides! I am convinced it was\nhis divine will: our dear fellow-creature, Doctor _Trapp_, falling\ninto such errors, has given so great a shock to the sound religion of\n_christian perfection_, that unless I had opposed him, I verily believe\nthe whole flock who listened to his doctrine, would have been scattered\nabroad like sheep having no shepherd. \u201cBut woe to ye scribes and\npharisees! Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep\nof my pasture, saith the LORD.\u201d\n\nFull well I know that this sermon will not be pleasing to my poor\npeevish adversary; but correction is not to pleasure but to profit: few\nchildren can be brought willingly to kiss the rod which rebuketh them;\nthough, when they become of riper understanding, they will bless the\nhand that guided it. Thus shall this angry man, I trust, thank me one\nday for reproving him, when his reason shall be restored to him by the\nlight of the holy spirit. O LORD, grant thou this light unto him, and\nsuffer him to see with what bowels of pity and tenderness I love him in\nthee, even while I chasten him.\n\nNeither am I insensible, brethren, how offensive my words will be to\nworldlings in general, who loving falsehood better than truth, and the\nflesh before the spirit, will still prefer the doctor\u2019s sin-soothing\ndoctrines to the plain gospel verities preached by me. O how my soul\npities them. But I have done my duty, I wash my hands, and am innocent\nof the blood of all. I have not sought to please my hearers, but\nhave spoken plain truth though it should offend. For what things were\ngain to me, those I counted loss for CHRIST; and hope I shall ever do\nso. Not that I presume to think myself already perfect. But \u201cI press\nforward towards the mark, for the prize of the high-calling of GOD in\nCHRIST JESUS.\u201d\n\nNone of us, as I before told you, can boast of having attained the\nsummit of perfection; though, he is the nearest to it, who is widest\nfrom the appetites of the flesh, and he stands the highest, who is\nthe lowliest in his own esteem: wherefore, as many of us as have made\nany advances towards CHRIST and his kingdom, \u201cwhereto we have already\nattained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.\u201d\n\nWalk not then, brethren, according to the ways of the world: but be\nfollowers of CHRIST together with me. And if any, even an angel of\nlight, should presume to teach you any other gospel than that which\nI have here taught you, let him be accursed. \u201cFor you will find many\nwalking, like such of whom I have told you already, and now tell you\nweeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of CHRIST: whose end\nis destruction, whose GOD is their belly: and whose glory is in their\nshame, for they mind worldly things. But your conversation is in heaven,\nfrom whence also you look for the Saviour, the LORD JESUS CHRIST: who\nshall change your vile bodies, that they may be fashioned like unto his\nglorious body, according to the working whereby he is able to subdue\neven all things unto himself,\u201d even the stubborn heart of our perverse\nadversary.\n\n Which GOD of his infinite mercy grant, &c.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XI.\n\n The Benefits of an Early Piety.\n\n Preached at _Bow_ Church, _London_,\n before the Religious Societies.\n\n\n ECCLESIASTES xii. I.\n\n _Remember now thy Creator in the Days of thy Youth._\n\nTHE amiableness of religion in itself, and the innumerable advantages\nthat flow from it to society in general, as well as to each sincere\nprofessor in particular, cannot but recommend it to the choice of every\nconsiderate person, and make, even wicked men, as they wish to die\nthe death, so in their more sober intervals, to envy the life of the\nrighteous. And, indeed, we must do the world so much justice, as to\nconfess, that the question about religion does not usually arise from a\ndispute whether it be necessary or not (for most men see the necessity\nof doing something for the salvation of their souls;) but when is\nthe best time to set about it. Persons are convinced by universal\nexperience, that the first essays or endeavours towards the attainment\nof religion, are attended with some difficulty and trouble, and\ntherefore they would willingly defer the beginning of such a seemingly\nungrateful work, as long as they can. The wanton prodigal, who is\nspending his substance in riotous living, cries, a little more pleasure,\na little more sensuality, and then I will be sober in earnest. The\ncovetous worldling, that employs all his care and pains in \u201cheaping up\nriches, though he cannot tell who shall gather them,\u201d does not flatter\nhimself that this will do always; but hopes with the rich fool in the\ngospel, to lay up goods for a few more years on earth, and then he will\nbegin to lay up treasures in heaven. And, in short, thus it is that\nmost people are convinced of the necessity of being religious some time\nor another; but then, like _Felix_, they put off the acting suitably to\ntheir convictions, \u2019till, what they imagine, a more convenient season:\nwhereas, would we be so humble as to be guided by the experience and\ncounsel of the wisest men, we should learn that youth is the fittest\nseason for religion; \u201cRemember now thy creator, (says _Solomon_) in the\ndays of thy youth.\u201d By the word _remember_, we are not to understand\na bare speculative remembrance, or calling to mind, (for that, like\na dead faith, will profit us nothing,) but such a remembrance as will\nconstrain us to obedience, and oblige us out of gratitude, to perform\nall that the LORD our GOD shall require of us. For as the forgetting\nGOD in scripture language, implies a total neglect of our duty, in like\nmanner remembring him signifies a perfect performance of it: so that,\nwhen _Solomon_ says, \u201cRemember thy Creator in the days of thy youth,\u201d\nit is the same as if he had said, keep GOD\u2019s commandments; or, in other\nwords, be religious in the days of thy youth, thereby implying, that\nyouth is the most proper season for it.\n\nI shall in the following discourse,\n\n _First_, Endeavour to make good the wise man\u2019s proposition,\n implied in the words of the text, and to shew that youth is\n the fittest season for religion.\n\n _Secondly_, By way of motive, I shall consider the many\n unspeakable advantages that will arise from, \u201cRemembering our\n Creator in the days of our youth.\u201d And,\n\n _Thirdly_, I shall conclude with a word or two of exhortation to\n the younger part of this audience.\n\n_First_, I am to make good the wise man\u2019s proposition, implied in the\nwords of the text, and to shew that youth is the fittest season for\nreligion: \u201cRemember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.\u201d But to\nproceed more clearly in this argument, it may not be improper, first,\nto explain what I mean by the word _religion_. By this term, then, I\nwould not be understood to mean a bare outward profession or naming\nthe name of CHRIST; for we are told, that many who have even prophesied\nin his name, and in his name cast out devils, shall notwithstanding be\nrejected by him at the last day: nor would I understand by it, barely\nbeing admitted into CHRIST\u2019s church by baptism; for then _Simon Magus_,\n_Arius_, and the heresiarchs of old, might pass for religious persons;\nfor these were baptized: nor yet the receiving the other seal of the\ncovenant, for then _Judas_ himself might be canonized for a saint; nor\nindeed do I mean any or all of these together, considered by themselves;\nbut a thorough, real, inward change of nature, wrought in us by the\npowerful operations of the Holy Ghost, conveyed to and nourished in\nour hearts, by a constant use of all the means of grace, evidenced by\na good life, and bringing forth the fruits of the spirit.\n\nThe attaining this real, inward religion, is a work of so great\ndifficulty, that _Nicodemus_, a learned doctor and teacher in _Israel_,\nthought it altogether impossible, and therefore ignorantly asked our\nblessed LORD, \u201cHow this thing could be?\u201d And, _truly_, to rectify a\ndisordered nature, to mortify our corrupt passions, to turn darkness\nto light, to put off the old man, and put on the new, and thereby to\nhave the image of GOD reinstamped upon the soul, or, in one word, \u201cto\nbe born again,\u201d however light some may make of it, must, after all\nour endeavours, be owned by man to be impossible. It is true, indeed,\nCHRIST\u2019s yoke is said to be an easy or a gracious yoke, and his burthen\nlight; but then it is to those only to whom grace has been given to\nbear and draw in it. For, as the wise son of _Sirach_ observes, \u201cAt\nfirst wisdom walked with her children in crooked ways, and brings\nthem into fear; and torments them with her discipline, and does not\nturn to comfort and rejoice them, \u2019till she has tried them and proved\ntheir judgment.\u201d No; we must not flatter ourselves that we shall walk\nin wisdom\u2019s pleasant ways, unless we first submit to a great many\ndifficulties. The spiritual birth is attended with its pangs, as well\nas the natural: for they that have experienced it, (and they only are\nthe proper judges,) can acquaint you, that in all things that are dear\nto corrupt nature, we must deny ourselves, lest, after all, when we\ncome to the birth, we should want strength to bring forth.\n\nBut if these things are so; if there are difficulties and pangs\nattending our being born again; if we must deny ourselves, what season\nmore proper than that of youth? When, if ever, our bodies are robust\nand vigorous, and our minds active and couragious; and, consequently,\nwe are then best qualified to endure hardness, as good soldiers of\nJESUS CHRIST.\n\nWe find, in secular matters, people commonly observe this method, and\nsend their children abroad among the toils and fatigues of business, in\ntheir younger years, as well knowing they are then fittest to undergo\nthem. And why do they not act with the same consistency in the grand\naffair of religion? Because, as our Saviour has told us, \u201cThe children\nof this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.\u201d\n\nBut, _Secondly_, If pure and undefiled religion consists in the renewal\nof our corrupted natures, then it is not only a work of difficulty, but,\nthe perfection of it, of time.\n\nAnd if this be the case, then it highly concerns every one to set about\nit betimes, and to \u201cwork their work while it is day, before the night\ncometh, when no man can work.\u201d\n\nCould we, indeed, live to the age of _Methuselah_, and had but little\nbusiness to employ ourselves in, we might then be more excusable, if\nwe made no other use of this world, than what too many do, take our\npastime therein: but since our lives are so very short, and we are\ncalled to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, we have no\nroom left for trifling, lest we should be snatched away while our lamps\nare untrimmed, and we are entirely unprepared to meet the Bridegroom.\n\nDid we know a friend or neighbour, who had a long journey of the utmost\nimportance to make, and yet should stand all the day idle, neglecting\nto set out till the sun was about to go down, we could not but pity and\ncondemn his egregious folly. And yet it is to be feared most men are\njust such fools; they have a long journey to take, nay, a journey to\neternity, a journey of infinite importance, and which they are obliged\nto dispatch before the sun of their natural life be gone down; and yet\nthey loiter away the time allotted them to perform their journey in,\ntill sickness or death surprizes them; and then they cry out, \u201cWhat\nshall we do to inherit eternal life?\u201d But leaving such to the mercies\nof GOD in CHRIST, who can call at the eleventh hour, I pass on to\n\nThe Second general thing proposed, To shew the advantages that will\narise from remembering our Creator in the days of our youth; which may\nserve as so many motives to excite and quicken all persons immediately\nto set about it.\n\nAnd the first benefit resulting from thence is, that it will bring\nmost honour and glory to GOD. This, I suppose, every serious person\nwill grant, ought to be the point in which our actions should centre;\nfor to this end were we born, and to this end were we redeemed by the\nprecious blood of JESUS CHRIST, that we should promote GOD\u2019s eternal\nglory. And as the glory of GOD is most advanced by paying obedience\nto his precepts, they that begin soonest to walk in his ways, act most\nto his glory. The common objection against the divine laws in general,\nand the doctrines of the gospel in particular, is, that they are not\npracticable; that they are contrary to flesh and blood; and that all\nthose precepts concerning self-denial, renunciation of and deadness\nto the world, are but so many arbitrary restraints imposed upon human\nnature: but when we see mere striplings not only practising, but\ndelighting in such religious duties, and in the days of their youth,\nwhen, if ever, they have a relish for sensual pleasures, subduing and\ndespising the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of\nlife; this, this is pleasing to GOD; this vindicates his injured honour;\nthis shews that his service is perfect freedom, \u201cthat his yoke is easy,\nand his burden light.\u201d\n\nBut, _Secondly_, as an early piety redounds most to the honour of\nGOD, so it will bring most honour to ourselves: for those that honour\nGOD, GOD will honour. We find it, therefore, remarked to the praise of\n_Obadiah_, that he served the LORD from his youth: of _Samuel_, that he\nstood, when young, before GOD in a linen ephod: of _Timothy_, that from\na child he had known the holy scriptures: of St. _John_, that he was\nthe youngest and most beloved disciple: and of our blessed LORD himself,\nthat at twelve years old he went up to the temple, and sat among the\ndoctors, both hearing and asking them questions.\n\nNor, _Thirdly_, will an early piety afford us less comfort than\nhonour, not only because it renders religion habitual to us, but also\nbecause it gives us a well-grounded assurance of the sincerity of our\nprofession. Was there no other argument against a death-bed repentance,\nbut the unsatisfactoriness and anxiety of such a state, that should\nbe sufficient to deter all thinking persons from deferring the most\nimportant business of their life to such a dreadful period of it. For\nsupposing a man to be sincere in his profession of repentance on a\ndeath-bed (which, in most cases, is very much to be doubted) yet, he is\noften afraid lest his convictions and remorse proceed not from a true\nsorrow for sin, but a servile fear of punishment. But one, who is a\nyoung saint, need fear no such perplexity; he knows that he loves GOD\nfor his own sake, and is not driven to him by a dread of impending evil;\nhe does not decline the gratifications of sense, because he can no\nlonger \u201chear the voice of singing men and singing women;\u201d but willingly\ntakes up his cross, and follows his blessed Master in his youth, and\ntherefore has reason to expect greater confidence of his sincerity\ntowards GOD. But farther, as an early piety assures the heart of its\nsincerity, so, likewise, it brings its present reward with it, as it\nrenders religion and all its duties habitual and easy. A young saint,\nwas you to ask him, would joyfully tell you the unspeakable comfort of\nbeginning to be religious betimes: as for his part, he knows not what\nmen mean by talking of mortification, self-denial, and retirement, as\nhard and rigorous duties; for he has so accustomed himself to them,\nthat, by the grace of GOD, they are now become even natural, and he\ntakes infinitely more pleasure in practising the severest precepts of\nthe gospel, than a luxurious _Dives_ in a bed of state, or an ambitious\n_Haman_ at a royal banquet. And O how happy must that youth be, whose\nduty is become a second nature, and to whom those things, which seem\nterrible to others, are grown both easy and delightful!\n\nBut the greatest advantage of an early piety is still behind,\n_Fourthly_, It lays in the best provision of comfort and support\nagainst such times as we shall stand most in need thereof, viz. all\ntimes of our tribulation, and in particular, against the time of old\nage, the hour of death, and the day of judgment.\n\nThis is the argument the wise man makes use of in the words immediately\nfollowing the text: \u201cRemember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,\nwhile the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, wherein thou\nshalt say, I have no pleasure in them.\u201d Observe, the time of old age,\nis an evil time, years wherein there is no pleasure: and ask those that\nare grown old, and they will inform you so. Cordials surely, then, must\nbe exceeding proper to support our drooping spirits: and O what cordial\ncomparable to the recollection of early piety, depending wholly on the\nrighteousness of CHRIST? When the eyes, like _Isaac_\u2019s, are grown dim\nwith age; when \u201cthe keepers of the house, the hands, shall tremble,\u201d as\nthe wise man goes on to describe the infirmities of old age; when \u201cthe\nstrong men bow themselves,\u201d or the legs grow feeble; and the \u201cgrinders,\u201d\nthe teeth, shall cease to do their proper office, because they are\nfew; for a person then to hear the precepts of the gospel read over to\nhim, and to be able to lay his hand on his heart, and to say sincerely,\nnotwithstanding a consciousness of numberless short-comings, \u201cAll these\nhave I endeavoured, through grace, to keep from my youth:\u201d this must\ngive him, through CHRIST who worketh all, comfort that I want words to\nexpress and thoughts to conceive. But, supposing it was possible for\nus to escape the inconveniences of old age, yet still death is a debt,\nsince the fall, we all must pay; and, what is worse, it generally comes\nattended with such dreadful circumstances, that it will make even a\n_Felix_ to tremble. But as for the godly, that have been enabled to\nserve the LORD from their youth, it is not usually so with them; no,\nthey have faith given them to look upon death, not as a king of terrors,\nbut as a welcome messenger, that is come to conduct them to their\nwished-for home. All the days of their appointed time have they waited,\nand it has been the business of their whole lives to study to prepare\nthemselves for the coming of their great change; and, therefore, they\nrejoice to hear that they are called to meet the heavenly Bridegroom.\nThus dies the early pious, whose \u201cpath has been as the shining light,\nthat shineth more and more unto the perfect day.\u201d But follow him\nbeyond the grave, and see with what an holy triumph he enters into his\nMaster\u2019s joy; with what an humble boldness he stands at the dreadful\ntribunal of JESUS CHRIST; and can you then forbear to cry out, \u201cLet me\ndie the death of the righteous, and let my latter end, and future state,\nbe like his?\u201d\n\nNeed I then, after having shewn so many advantages to arise from an\nearly piety, use any more arguments to persuade the younger part of\nthis audience, to whom, in the _Third_ and last place, I address myself,\nto \u201cremember their Creator in the days of their youth?\u201d\n\nWhat! will not all the arguments I have mentioned, prevail with them\nto leave their husks, and return home to eat of the fatted calf? What!\nwill they thus requite our Saviour\u2019s love? That be far from them! Did\nhe come down and shed his precious blood to deliver them from the power\nof sin; and will they spend their youthful strength and vigour in the\nservice of it, and then think to serve CHRIST, when they can follow\ntheir lusts no longer? Is it fit, that many, who are endowed with\nexcellent gifts, and are thereby qualified to be supports and ornaments\nof our sinking church, should, notwithstanding, forget the GOD who gave\nthem, and employ them in things that will not profit? O why will they\nnot arise, and, like so many _Phineas\u2019s_, be zealous for the Lord of\nHosts? Doubtless, when death overtakes them, they will wish they had:\nand what hinders them, but that they begin now? Think you that any\none yet ever repented that he began to be religious too soon? But how\nmany, on the contrary, have repented that they began when almost too\nlate? May we not well imagine, that young _Samuel_ now rejoices that\nhe waited so soon at the tabernacle of the LORD? Or young _Timothy_,\nthat from a child he knew the holy scriptures? And if you wish to be\npartakers of their joy, let me persuade you to be partakers of their\npiety.\n\nI could still go on to fill my mouth with arguments; but the\ncircumstances and piety of those amongst whom I am now preaching \u201cthe\nkingdom of GOD,\u201d remind me to change my style; and, instead of urging\nany more dissuasives from sin, to fill up what is behind of this\ndiscourse, with encouragements to persevere in holiness.\n\nBlessed, for ever blessed be the GOD and the Father of our LORD JESUS\nCHRIST, I am not speaking to persons inflamed with youthful lusts,\nbut to a multitude of young professors, who by frequently assembling\ntogether, and forming themselves into religious societies, are, I hope\non good ground, in a ready way to be of the number of those \u201cyoung men,\nwho have overcome the wicked-one.\u201d\n\nBelieve me, it gladdens my very soul, to see so many of your faces set\nheaven-wards, and the visible happy effects of your uniting together,\ncannot but rejoice the hearts of all sincere christians, and oblige\nthem to wish you good luck in the name of the LORD. The many souls who\nare nourished weekly with the spiritual body and blood of JESUS CHRIST,\nby your means; the weekly and monthly lectures that are preached by\nyour contributions; the daily incense of thanksgiving and prayer which\nis publicly sent up to the throne of grace by your subscriptions; the\nmany children which are trained up \u201cin the nurture and admonition of\nthe LORD,\u201d by your charities; and, lastly, the commendable and pious\nzeal you exert in promoting and encouraging divine psalmody, are such\nplain and apparent proofs of the benefit of your religious societies,\nthat they call for a public acknowledgment of praise and thanksgiving\nto our blessed Master, who has not only put into your hearts such good\ndesigns, but enabled you also to bring the same to good effect.\n\nIt is true it has been objected, \u201cThat young mens forming themselves\ninto religious societies, has a tendency to make them spiritually proud,\nand to \u2018think more highly of themselves than they ought to think.\u2019\u201d And,\nperhaps, the imprudent, imperious behaviour of some novices in religion,\nwho, \u201cthough they went out from you, were not of you,\u201d may have given\ntoo much occasion for such an aspersion.\n\nBut you, brethren, have not so learned CHRIST. Far, far be it from you\nto look upon yourselves, as righteous, and despise others, because you\noften assemble yourselves together. No; this, instead of creating pride,\nought to beget an holy fear in your hearts, lest your practice should\nnot correspond with your profession, and that, after you have benefited\nand edified others, you yourselves should become cast-aways.\n\nWorldly-mindedness, my brethren, is another rock against which we are\nin danger of splitting. For, if other sins have slain their thousands\nof professing christians, this has slain its ten thousands. I need not\nappeal to past ages; your own experience, no doubt, has furnished you\nwith many unhappy instances of young men, who, \u201cafter (as one would\nhave imagined) they had escaped the pollutions which are in the world\nthrough lust,\u201d and \u201chad tasted the good word of life,\u201d and endured\nfor a season, whilst under the tuition and inspection of others: yet,\nwhen they have come to be their own masters, through a want of faith,\nand through too great an earnestness in \u201clabouring for the meat which\nperisheth,\u201d have cast off their first love, been again entangled with\nthe world, and \u201creturned like the dog to his vomit, and like the sow\nthat was washed, to her wallowing in the mire.\u201d You would, therefore,\ndo well, my brethren, frequently to remind each other of this dangerous\nsnare, and to exhort one another to begin, pursue, and end your\nchristian warfare, in a thorough renunciation of the world, and worldly\ntempers; so that, when you are obliged by Providence to provide for\nyourselves, and those of your respective housholds, you may continue\nto walk by faith, and still \u201cseek first the kingdom of GOD, and his\nrighteousness;\u201d not doubting, but all other things, upon your honest\nindustry and endeavours, shall be added unto you.\n\nAnd now, what shall I say more? To speak unto you, fathers, who\nhave been in CHRIST so many years before me, and know the malignity\nof worldly-mindedness, and pride in the spiritual life, would be\naltogether needless. To you, therefore, O young men, (for whom I\nam distressed, for whom I fear as well as for myself) do I once\nmore address myself, in the words of the beloved disciple, \u201cLook\nto yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought,\nbut receive a full reward.\u201d Be ever mindful, then, of the words that\nhave been spoken to us by the apostles of the LORD and Saviour. \u201cGive\ndiligence to make your calling and election sure. Beware, lest ye\nalso being led away by the error of the wicked, fall from your own\nstedfastness. Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.\nBe not high-minded, but fear. But we are persuaded better things of\nyou, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For GOD\nis not unrighteous, to forget your works and labours of love. And we\ndesire that every one of you do shew the same diligence, to the full\nassurance of hope unto the end: that ye be not slothful, but followers\nof them, who through faith and patience inherit the promises.\u201d It is\ntrue, we have many difficulties to encounter, many powerful enemies to\novercome, ere we can get possession of the promised land. We have an\nartful devil, an ensnaring world, and above all, the treachery of our\nown hearts, to withstand and strive against. \u201cFor strait is the gate,\nand narrow is the way that leadeth unto eternal life.\u201d But wherefore\nshould we fear, since he that is with us is far more powerful, than\nall who are against us? Have we not already experienced his almighty\npower, in enabling us to conquer some difficulties which seemed as\ninsurmountable then, as those we struggle with now? And cannot he, who\ndelivered us out of the paws of those bears and lions, preserve us also\nfrom being hurt by the strongest _Goliah_?\n\n\u201cBe stedfast therefore, my brethren, be immoveable.\u201d Be not \u201cashamed\nof the gospel of CHRIST: for it is the power of GOD unto salvation.\u201d\nFear not man; fear not the contempt and revilings which you must meet\nwith in the way of duty; for one of you shall chase a thousand; and two\nof you put ten thousand of your enemies to flight. And if you will be\ncontented, through grace, to suffer for a short time here; I speak the\ntruth in CHRIST, I lye not; then may ye hope, according to the blessed\nword of promise, that ye shall be exalted to sit down with the Son\nof Man, when he shall come in the glory of his Father, with his holy\nangels, to judgment hereafter. May Almighty GOD give every one of us\nsuch a measure of his grace, that we may not be of the number of those\nthat draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe and endure unto\nthe end, to the saving of our souls, through our LORD JESUS CHRIST.\n\n Which GOD, &c.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XII.\n\n CHRIST the Believer\u2019s Husband.\n\n\n ISAIAH liv. 5.\n\n _For thy Maker is thy Husband._\n\nALTHOUGH believers by nature, are far from GOD, and children of wrath,\neven as others, yet it is amazing to think how nigh they are brought\nto him again by the blood of JESUS CHRIST. Eye hath not seen, nor ear\nheard, neither hath it entered into the heart of any man living, fully\nto conceive, the nearness and dearness of that relation, in which they\nstand to their common head. He is not ashamed to call them brethren.\nBehold, says the blessed JESUS in the days of his flesh, \u201cmy mother\nand my brethren.\u201d And again after his resurrection, \u201cgo tell my\nbrethren.\u201d Nay sometimes he is pleased to term believers his _friends_.\n\u201cHenceforth call I you no longer servants, but friends.\u201d \u201cOur friend\n_Lazarus_ sleepeth.\u201d And what is a friend? Why there is a friend that\nis nearer than a brother, nay, as near as one\u2019s own soul. And \u201cthy\nfriend, (says GOD in the book of _Deuteronomy_) which is as thy own\nsoul.\u201d Kind and endearing appellations these, that undoubtedly bespeak\na very near and ineffably intimate union between the LORD JESUS and\nthe true living members of his mystical body! But, methinks, the words\nof our text point out to us a relation, which not only comprehends,\nbut in respect to nearness and dearness, exceeds all other relations\nwhatsoever. I mean that of a _Husband_. \u201cFor thy Maker is thy husband;\nthe LORD of Hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of\n_Israel_, the GOD of the whole earth shall he be called.\u201d\n\nThese words were originally spoken to the people of the _Jews_,\nconsidered collectively as a peculiar people, whom our LORD had\nbetrothed and married to himself; and they seem to be spoken, when\nreligion was on the decline among their churches; when they had, in a\ngreat measure, lost that life and power, which they once experienced;\nand their enemies began to insult them with a \u201cwhere is now your GOD?\u201d\nSuch a state of things must undoubtedly be very afflicting to the true\nmourners in _Zion_; and put them upon crying unto the LORD in this\ntheir deep distress. He hears their prayer, his bowels yearn towards\nthem; and in the preceding verse, he assures them, that though the\nenemy had broken in upon them like a flood, yet their extremity should\nbe his opportunity to lift up a standard against him. \u201cFear not, (says\nthe great Head and King of his church) for thou shalt not be ashamed\n(finally or totally); neither be thou confounded, (dissipated or\ndejected, giving up all for gone, as though thou never shouldst\nsee better days, or another revival of religion) for thou shalt not\n(entirely) be put to shame;\u201d though for a while, for thy humiliation,\nand the greater confusion of thy adversaries, I suffer them to triumph\nover thee: \u201cFor thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt\nnot remember the reproach of thy widow-hood any more;\u201d _i.\u00a0e._ I\nwill vouchsafe you such another glorious gale of my blessed Spirit,\nthat you shall quite forget your former troubled widow-state, and\ngive your enemies no more occasion to insult you, on account of your\ninfant-condition, but rather to envy you, and gnash their teeth, and\nmelt away at the light of your unthought-of glory and prosperity. And\nwhy will the infinitely great and condescending JESUS deal thus with\nhis people? Because the church is his spouse; \u201cFor, (as in the words\njust now read to you) thy Maker is thy husband; thy Redeemer, the Holy\nOne of _Israel_;\u201d and therefore he loves thee too well, to let thy\nenemies always trample thee under foot. \u201cThe LORD of Hosts is his\nname, the GOD of the whole earth shall he be called;\u201d and therefore he\nis armed with sufficient power to relieve his oppressed people, and\novercome and avenge himself of all their haughty and insulting foes.\n\nThis seems to be the prime and genuine interpretation of the text\nand context, especially if we add, that they may have a further view\nto the latter-day glory, and that blessed state of the church, which\nthe people of GOD have been looking for in all ages, and the speedy\napproach of which, we undoubtedly pray for, when we put up that\npetition of our LORD\u2019s, \u201cthy kingdom come.\u201d\n\nBut, though the words were originally spoken to the _Jews_, yet they\nare undoubtedly applicable to all believers in all ages, and, when\ninlarged on in a proper manner, will afford us suitable matter of\ndiscourse both for sinners and for saints; for such as know GOD, as\nwell as for such who know him not; and likewise for those, who once\nwalked in the light of his blessed countenance, but are now backslidden\nfrom him, have their harps hung upon the willows, and are afraid\nthat their beloved is gone, and will return to their souls no more.\nAccordingly, without prefacing this discourse any farther, as I suppose\nthat a mixed multitude of saints, unconverted sinners, and backsliders,\nare present here this day, I shall endeavour so to speak from the words\nof the text, that each may have a proper portion, and none be sent\nempty away.\n\nIn prosecuting this design, I will,\n\n I. Endeavour to shew, what must pass between JESUS CHRIST and\n our souls before we can say, \u201cthat our Maker is our husband.\u201d\n\n II. The duties of love which they owe to our LORD, who stand in\n so near a relation to him.\n\n III. The miserable condition of such as cannot yet say, \u201ctheir\n Maker is their husband.\u201d And\n\n IV. I shall conclude with a general exhortation to all such\n unhappy souls, to come and match with the dear LORD JESUS. And\n O! may that GOD who blessed _Abraham_\u2019s servant, when he went\n out to seek a wife for his son _Isaac_, bless me, even me also,\n now I am come, I trust, relying on divine strength, to invite\n poor sinners, and recal backsliders, to my Master JESUS!\n\nAnd _First_, I am to shew, what must pass between JESUS CHRIST and our\nsouls before we can say, \u201cOur Maker is our husband.\u201d\n\nBut before I proceed to this, it may not be improper to observe, that\nif any of you, amongst whom I am now preaching the kingdom of GOD,\nare enemies to inward religion, and explode the doctrine of inward\nfeelings, as enthusiasm, cant and nonsense, I shall not be surprized,\nif your hearts rise against me whilst I am preaching; for I am about to\ndiscourse on true, vital, internal piety; and an inspired apostle hath\ntold us, \u201cthat the natural man discerneth not the things of the spirit,\nbecause they are spiritually discerned.\u201d But, however, be noble as the\n_Bereans_ were; search the Scriptures as they did; lay aside prejudice;\nhear like _Nathaniel_, with a true _Israelitish_ ear; be willing to do\nthe will of GOD; and then you shall, according to the promise of our\ndearest LORD, \u201cknow of the doctrine, whether it be of GOD, or whether\nI speak of myself.\u201d\n\nI would further observe, that if any here do expect fine preaching\nfrom me this day, they will, in all probability, go away disappointed.\nFor I came not here to shoot over people\u2019s heads; but, if the LORD\nshall be pleased to bless me, to reach their hearts. Accordingly, I\nshall endeavour to cloath my ideas in such plain language, that the\nmeanest negro or servant, if GOD is pleased to give a hearing ear,\nmay understand me; for I am certain, if the poor and unlearned can\ncomprehend, the learned and rich must.\n\nThis being premised, proceed we to shew what must pass between JESUS\nCHRIST and our souls, before we can say, \u201cour Maker is our husband.\u201d\n\nNow, that we may discourse more pertinently and intelligibly upon this\npoint, it may not be amiss to consider, what is necessary to be done,\nbefore a marriage between two parties amongst ourselves, can be said\nto be valid in the sight of GOD and man. And that will lead us in a\nfamiliar way, to shew what must be done, or what must pass between us\nand JESUS CHRIST, before we can say, \u201cour Maker is our husband.\u201d\n\nAnd _First_, In all lawful marriages, it is absolutely necessary, that\nthe parties to be joined together in that holy and honourable estate,\nare actually and legally freed from all pre-engagements whatsoever.\n\u201cA woman is bound to her husband, (saith the apostle) so long as her\nhusband liveth.\u201d The same law holds good in respect to the man. And\nso likewise, if either party be betrothed and promised, though not\nactually married to another, the marriage is not lawful, till that\npre-engagement and promise be fairly and mutually dissolved. Now, it\nis just thus between us and the LORD JESUS. For, we are all by nature\nborn under, and wedded to the law, as a covenant of works. Hence it is\nthat we are so fond of, and artfully go about, in order to establish\na righteousness of our own. It is as natural for us to do this, as\nit is to breathe. Our first parents, _Adam_ and _Eve_, even after the\ncovenant of grace was revealed to them in that promise, \u201cthe seed of\nthe woman shall bruise the serpent\u2019s head,\u201d reached out their hands,\nand would again have taken hold of the tree of life, which they had\nforfeited, had not GOD drove them out of paradise, and compelled\nthem, as it were, to be saved by grace. And thus all their descendants\nnaturally run to, and want to be saved, partly at least, if not\nwholly, by their works. And even gracious souls, who are inwardly\nrenewed, so far as the old man abides in them, find a strong propensity\nthis way. Hence it is, that natural men are generally so fond of\n_Arminian_ principles. \u201cDo and live,\u201d is the native language of a\nproud, self-righteous heart. But before we can say, \u201cour Maker is our\nhusband,\u201d we must be divorced from our old husband the law; we must\nrenounce our own righteousness, our own doings and performances, in\npoint of dependence, whether in whole or part, as dung and dross, for\nthe excellency of the knowledge of CHRIST JESUS our LORD. For thus\nspeaks the apostle _Paul_ to the _Romans_, chapter vii. 4. \u201cYe also are\nbecome dead to the law (as a covenant of works) by the body of CHRIST,\nthat ye should be married to another, even to him, who is raised from\nthe dead.\u201d As he also speaketh in another place, \u201cI have espoused\nyou, as a chaste virgin to JESUS CHRIST.\u201d This was the apostle\u2019s own\ncase. Whilst he depended on his being a _Hebrew_ of the _Hebrews_,\nand thought himself secure, because, as to the outward observation\nof the law, he was blameless; he was an entire stranger to the divine\nlife: but when he began to experience the power of JESUS CHRIST\u2019s\nresurrection, we find him, in his epistle to the _Philippians_,\nabsolutely renouncing all his external privileges, and all his\npharisaical righteousness; \u201cYea, doubtless, and I count all things but\nloss, nay but dung, that I may win CHRIST, and be found in him, not\nhaving mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is\nthrough the faith of JESUS CHRIST, the righteousness which is of GOD\nby faith.\u201d And thus it must be with us, ere we can say, \u201cour Maker is\nour husband.\u201d Though we may not be wrought upon in that extraordinary\nway in which the apostle was, yet we must be dead to the law, we must\nbe espoused as chaste virgins to JESUS CHRIST, and count all external\nprivileges, and our most splendid performances (as was before observed)\nonly \u201cas dung and dross, for the excellency of the knowledge of JESUS\nCHRIST our LORD.\u201d\n\nBut further; before a marriage among us can stand good in law, both\nparties must not only be freed from all pre-engagements, but there\nmust be a mutual consent on both sides. We are not used to marry people\nagainst their wills. This is what the _Jews_ called betrothing, or\nespousing, a thing previous to the solemnity of marriage. Thus we\nfind, the Virgin _Mary_ is said to be espoused to _Joseph_, before they\nactually came together, _Matthew_ i. 18. And thus it is among us. Both\nparties are previously agreed, and, as it were, espoused to each other,\nbefore we publish, what we call the banns of marriage concerning them.\nAnd so it will be in the spiritual marriage, between JESUS CHRIST and\nour souls. Before we are actually married or united to him by faith;\nor, to keep to the terms of the text, before we assuredly can say, that\n\u201cour Maker is our husband,\u201d we must be made willing people in the day\nof GOD\u2019s power, we must be sweetly and effectually persuaded by the\nHoly Spirit of GOD, that the glorious _Emmanuel_ is willing to accept\nof us, just as we are, and also that we are willing to accept of him\nupon his own terms, yea, upon any terms. And when once it comes to\nthis, the spiritual marriage goes on apace, and there is but one thing\nlacking to make it compleat. And what is that? An actual union.\n\nThis is absolutely necessary in every lawful marriage among men. There\nmust be a joining of hands before witnesses, ere they can be deemed\nlawfully joined together. Some men indeed of corrupt minds, are apt to\nlook upon this as a needless ceremony, and think it sufficient to be\nmarried, as they term it, in the sight of GOD. But whence men get such\ndivinity, I know not. I am positive, not from the Bible; for we there\nread that even at the first marriage in paradise, there was something\nof outward solemnity; GOD himself (if I may so speak) being there the\npriest. For we are told, _Genesis_ ii. 22. that, after GOD had made\nthe woman, \u201che brought her unto the man.\u201d And indeed, to lay aside all\nmanner of outward ceremony in marriage, would be to turn the world into\na den of brute beasts. Men would then take, or forsake as many wives as\nthey pleased, and we should soon sink into as bad and brutal a state,\nas those nations are, amongst whom such practices are allowed of, and\nwho are utterly destitute of the knowledge of our LORD and Saviour\nJESUS CHRIST. Whoever has experienced the power of his resurrection, I\nam persuaded will never plead for such a licentious practice. For the\nterms made use of in Scripture, to represent the mystical union between\nCHRIST and his church, such as, our being \u201cjoined to the LORD,\u201d and\n\u201cmarried to JESUS CHRIST,\u201d are all metaphorical expressions, taken\nfrom some analogous practices amongst men. And as persons when married,\nthough before twain, are now one flesh; so those that are joined to\nthe LORD, and can truly say, \u201cour Maker is our husband,\u201d are in the\napostle\u2019s language, one spirit. This was typified in the original\nmarriage of our first parents. When GOD brought _Eve_ to _Adam_, he\nreceived her with joy at his hands, and said, \u201cthis is bone of my bone,\nand flesh of my flesh.\u201d They had there, primarily, but one name. For\nthus speaks the sacred Historian, _Genesis_ v. 1, 2. \u201cIn the day that\nGOD created man, he blessed them, and called their name _Adam_.\u201d And\nwhy? because they were one flesh, and were to have but one heart. The\nself-same terms are made use of in Scripture, to express the believer\u2019s\nunion with JESUS CHRIST. We are called Christians, after CHRIST\u2019s\nname, because made partakers of CHRIST\u2019s nature. Out of his fulness,\nbelievers receive grace for grace. And therefore, the marriage state,\nespecially by the apostle _Paul_, is frequently made use of, to figure\nout to us the real, vital union, between JESUS CHRIST and regenerate\nsouls. This is termed by the apostle, _Ephesians_ v. 32. \u201cA great\nmystery.\u201d But great as it is, we must all experience it, before we\ncan say assuredly, that \u201cour Maker is our husband.\u201d For what says our\nLORD, in that prayer he put up to his Father before his bitter passion?\n\u201cFather, I will that those whom thou hast given me, shall be where I am,\nthat they may be one with thee; even as thou, O Father, and I are one,\nI in them, and they in me, that we all may be made perfect in one.\u201d O\ninfinite condescension! O ineffable union! Hence it is, that believers\nare said to be members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.\nHence it is, that the apostle speaking of himself, says, \u201cI live, yet\nnot I, but CHRIST liveth in me.\u201d What an expression is that? How much\ndoes it comprehend? And, that we might not think this was something\npeculiar to himself, he puts this close question to the _Corinthians_;\n\u201cKnow ye not, that CHRIST is in you, unless you be reprobates?\u201d\nAgreeable to what he says in his epistle to the _Colossians_, \u201cCHRIST\nin you, the hope of glory.\u201d And hence it is, that our church, in\nthe communion-office, directs the minister to acquaint all those who\nreceive the sacrament worthily, that they are one with CHRIST, and\nCHRIST with them; that they dwell in CHRIST, and CHRIST in them. Words\nthat deserve to be written in letters of gold, and which evidently shew,\nwhat our reformers believed all persons must experience, before they\ncould truly and assuredly say, that \u201ctheir Maker is their husband.\u201d\n\nFrom what has been delivered, may not the poorest and most illiterate\nperson here present easily know whether or not he is really married\nto JESUS CHRIST. Some indeed, I am afraid, are so presumptuous as to\naffirm, at least to insinuate, that there is no such thing as knowing,\nor being fully assured, whilst here below, whether we are in CHRIST\nor not. Or at least, if there be such a thing, it is very rare, or was\nonly the privilege of the primitive believers. Part of this is true,\nand part of this absolutely false. That this glorious privilege of a\nfull assurance is very rare, is too, too true. And so it is equally too\ntrue, that real christians, comparatively speaking, are very rare also.\nBut that there is no such thing, or that this was only the privilege\nof the first followers of our blessed LORD, is directly opposite to\nthe word of GOD. \u201cWe know (says St. _John_, speaking of believers in\ngeneral) that we are his, by the spirit which he hath given us;\u201d and,\n\u201cHe that believeth hath the witness in himself;\u201d \u201cbecause you are sons\n(saith St. _Paul_) GOD hath sent forth his Spirit into your hearts,\neven the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.\u201d Not that\nI dare affirm, that there is no real christian, but what has this full\nassurance of faith, and clearly knows, that his Maker is his husband.\nIn speaking thus, I should undoubtedly condemn some of the generation\nof GOD\u2019s dear children, who through the prevalence of unbelief,\nindwelling sin, spiritual sloth, or it may be, for want of being\ninformed of the privileges of believers, may walk in darkness, and see\nno light; therefore, though I dare not affirm, that a full assurance\nof faith is absolutely necessary for the very being, yet I dare assert,\nthat it is absolutely necessary, for the well being of a christian.\nAnd for my own part, I cannot conceive, how any persons, that pretend\nto christianity, can rest satisfied or contented without it. This is\nstopping short, on this side _Jordan_, with a witness. And gives others\ntoo much reason to suspect, that such persons, however high their\nprofession may be, have, as yet, no true saving grace at all.\n\nMen, whose hearts are set on this world\u2019s goods, or, to use our LORD\u2019s\nlanguage, \u201cthe children of this world,\u201d act not so. I suppose there\nis scarce a single merchant in this great congregation, especially\nin these troublous times, that will venture out either his ship or\ncargo, without first insuring, both against the violence of an enemy,\nor a storm. And I suppose there is scarce a single house, of any\nconsiderable value, in any populous town or city, but the owner has\ntaken out a policy from the fire-office, to insure it, in case of fire.\nAnd can I be so irrational as to think, that there is such a thing as\nsecuring my goods, and my house, and that there is no such thing as\ninsuring, what is infinitely more valuable, my precious and immortal\nsoul? Or if there be such a thing, as undoubtedly there is, what\nfoolishness of folly must it needs be in men, that pretend to be men of\nparts, of good sense, and solid reasoning, to be so anxious to secure\ntheir ships against a storm, and their houses against a fire, and at\nthe same time, not to be unspeakably more solicitous, to take a policy\nout of the assurance-office of heaven; even the seal and witness of\nthe blessed Spirit of GOD, to insure their souls against that storm\nof divine wrath, and that vengeance of eternal fire, which will at the\nlast decisive day come upon all those, who know not GOD, and have not\nobeyed his gracious gospel? To affirm therefore, that there is no such\nthing as knowing, that \u201cour Maker is our husband;\u201d or that it was a\nprivilege peculiar to the first christians, to speak in the mildest\nterms, is both irrational and unscriptural. Not that all who can say,\ntheir Maker is their husband, can give the same clear and distinct\naccount of the time, manner and means of their being spiritually united\nand married by faith, to the blessed bridegroom of the church. Some\nthere may be now, as well as formerly, sanctified from the womb. And\nothers in their infancy and non-age, as it were silently converted.\nSuch perhaps may say, with a little _Scotch_ maiden, now with GOD, when\nI asked her, whether JESUS CHRIST had taken away her old heart, and\ngiven her a new one? \u201cSir, it may be, (said she,) I cannot directly\ntell you the time and place, but this I know, it is done.\u201d And indeed\nit is not so very material, though no doubt it is very satisfactory,\nif we cannot relate all the minute and particular circumstances, that\nattended our conversion; if so be we are truly converted now, and can\nsay, the work is done, and that, \u201cour Maker is our husband.\u201d And I\nquestion, whether there is one single adult believer, now on earth, who\nlived before conversion, either in a course of secret or open sin, but\ncan, in a good degree, give an account of the beginning and progress of\nthe work of grace in his heart.\n\nWhat think ye? Need I tell any married persons in this congregation,\nthat they must go to the university, and learn the languages, before\nthey can tell whether they are married or not? Or, if their marriage\nwas to be doubted, could they not, think you, bring their certificates,\nto certify the time and place of their marriage; and the minister that\njoined them together in that holy state? And if you are adult, and\nare indeed married to JESUS CHRIST, though you may be unlearned, and\nwhat the world terms illiterate men, cannot you tell me the rise and\nprogress, and consummation of the spiritual marriage, between JESUS\nCHRIST and your souls? Know you not the time, when you were first under\nthe drawings of the Father, and JESUS began to woo you for himself?\nTell me, O man, tell me, O woman, knowest thou not the time, or at\nleast, knowest thou not, that there was a time, when the blessed Spirit\nof GOD stripped thee of the fig-leaves of thy own righteousness, hunted\nthee out of the trees of the garden of thy performances, forced thee\nfrom the embraces of thy old husband the law, and made thee to abhor\nthy own righteousness, as so many filthy rags? Canst thou not remember,\nwhen, after a long struggle with unbelief, JESUS appeared to thee,\nas altogether lovely, mighty and willing to save? And canst thou not\nreflect upon a season, when thy own stubborn heart was made to bend;\nand thou wast made willing to embrace him, as freely offered to thee in\nthe everlasting gospel? And canst thou not, with pleasure unspeakable,\nreflect on some happy period, some certain point of time, in which a\nsacred something (perhaps thou couldst not then well tell what) did\ncaptivate, and fill thy heart, so that thou could say, in a rapture\nof holy surprize, and extacy of divine love, \u201cMy LORD and my GOD! my\nbeloved is mine, and I am his; I know that my Redeemer liveth;\u201d or, to\nkeep to the words of our text, \u201cMy Maker is my husband.\u201d Surely, amidst\nthis great and solemn assembly, there are many that can answer these\nquestions in the affirmative. For these are transactions, not easily\nto be forgotten; and the day of our espousals is, generally, a very\nremarkable day; a day to be had in everlasting remembrance.\n\nAnd can any of you indeed, upon good grounds say, that your Maker is\nyour husband? May I not then (as it is customary to wish persons joy\nwho are just entered into the marriage state) congratulate you upon\nyour happy change, and wish you joy, with all my heart? Sure am I that\nthere was joy in heaven on the day of your espousals: and why should\nnot the blessed news occasion joy on earth? May I not address you in\nthe language of our LORD to the women that came to visit his sepulchre,\n\u201cAll hail!\u201d for ye are highly favoured. Blessed are ye among men,\nblessed are ye among women! All generations shall call you blessed.\nWhat! \u201cis your Maker your husband? the holy one of _Israel_ your\nRedeemer?\u201d Sing, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth! What an amazing\nstoop is this! What a new thing has GOD created on the earth! Do not\nyour hearts, O believers, burn within you, when meditating on this\nunspeakable condescension of the high and lofty one that inhabiteth\neternity? Whilst you are musing, does not the sacred fire of divine\nlove kindle in your souls? And, out of the abundance of your hearts,\ndo you not often speak with your tongues, and call upon all that is\nwithin you, to laud and magnify your Redeemer\u2019s holy name? Is not that\nGOD-exalting, self-abasing expression frequently in your mouths, \u201cWhy\nme, LORD, why me?\u201d And are you not often constrained to break out\ninto that devout exclamation of _Solomon_, when the glory of the LORD\nfilled the temple, \u201cAnd will GOD indeed dwell with man?\u201d ungrateful,\nrebellious, ill, and hell-deserving man! O, my brethren, my heart is\nenlarged towards you! Tears, while I am speaking, are ready to gush out.\nBut they are tears of love and joy. How shall I give it vent? How shall\nI set forth thy happiness, O believer, thou bride of GOD! And is thy\nMaker thy husband? Is his name \u201cThe LORD of hosts?\u201d Whom then shouldst\nthou fear? And is thy Redeemer the holy one of _Israel_? the GOD of the\nwhole earth should he be called! of whom then shouldst thou be afraid?\nHe that toucheth thee, toucheth the very apple of GOD\u2019s eye. \u201cThe\nvery hairs of thy head are all numbered;\u201d and \u201cit is better that a man\nshould have a milstone tied round his neck, and be drowned in the sea,\nthan that he should justly offend thee.\u201d\n\nAll hail, (I must again repeat it) thou Lamb\u2019s bride! for thou art\nall glorious within, and comely, through the comeliness thy heavenly\nbridegroom hath put upon thee. Thy garment is indeed of wrought gold;\nand, ere long, the King shall bring thee forth with a raiment of\nneedle-work, and present thee blameless before his Father, without\nspot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. In the mean while, well shall it\nbe with you, and happy shall you be, who are married to JESUS CHRIST:\nfor all that CHRIST has, is yours. \u201cHe is made of GOD to you, wisdom,\nrighteousness, sanctification, and eternal redemption.\u201d \u201cWhether _Paul_,\nor _Cephas_, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or\nthings to come; all are yours.\u201d All his attributes are engaged for your\npreservation, and all things shall work together for your good, who\nlove GOD, and, by being thus married to the LORD JESUS, give an evident\nproof that you are called according to his purpose. What say you? When\nyou meditate on these things, are you not frequently ready to cry out,\nWhat shall we render unto the LORD for all these mercies, which, of\nhis free unmerited grace, he hath been pleased to bestow upon us? For,\nthough you are dead to the law, as a covenant of works, yet you are\nalive to the law as a rule of life, and are in, or under the law (for\neither expression seems to denote the same thing) to your glorious\nhusband, JESUS CHRIST.\n\nPass we on therefore to the\n\n_Second_ general head, under which I was to shew, what duties of love\nthey owe to JESUS CHRIST, who are so happy as to be able to say, \u201cMy\nMaker is my husband.\u201d\n\nI say, duties of love. For being now married to JESUS CHRIST, you\nwork not for life, but from life. The love of GOD constrains you, so\nthat, if there was no written law, or supposing JESUS would set you\nat liberty from his yoke, so far as grace prevails in your hearts, you\nwould say, we love our blessed bridegroom, and will not go from him.\n\nAnd what does the LORD require of you? That we may speak on this head\nas plainly as may be, we shall pursue the method we begun with; and,\nby carrying on the allegory, and examining what is required of truly\nchristian wives, under the gospel, infer what our LORD may justly\ndemand of those who are united to him by faith, and can therefore say,\n\u201cour Maker is our husband.\u201d\n\nAnd here let us go to the law and to the testimony. What says the\nscripture? \u201cLet the wife see that she _reverence_ her husband.\u201d It is,\nno doubt, the duty of married women to think highly of their husbands.\nFrom whom may husbands justly command respect, if not from their wives?\nThe apostle\u2019s expression is emphatical. \u201cLet the wife see that she\nreverence her husband;\u201d thereby implying, that women, some of them\nat least, are too prone to disrespect their husbands; as _Michal_,\n_Saul_\u2019s daughter, despised _David_ in her heart, when she tauntingly\nsaid, 2 _Samuel_ vi. 20. \u201cHow glorious was the king of _Israel_ to-day,\nwho uncovered himself to-day in the eyes of the handmaids of his\nservants, as one of the vain fellows shamlessly uncovereth himself.\u201d\n\nThis is a source and fountain, from whence many domestic evils\nfrequently flow. Women should remember the character that husbands\nsustain in scripture. They are to them, what CHRIST is to the church.\nAnd it is mentioned to the honour of _Sarah_, that she called _Abraham_\n\u201cLord.\u201d \u201cShall I have a child who am old, _my Lord_ being old also?\u201d It\nis remarkable, there are but two good words in that whole sentence, \u201cmy\nLord,\u201d (for all the others are the language of unbelief) and yet those\ntwo words the Holy Ghost mentions to her eternal honour, and buries,\nas it were, the rest in oblivion. \u201cEven as _Sarah_ (says St. _Peter_)\nobeyed _Abraham_, calling him Lord.\u201d An evident proof how pleasing it\nis in the sight of GOD, for women in the married state to reverence and\nrespect their husbands. Not that husbands therefore should lord it over\ntheir wives, or require too much respect at their hands. This would be\nunchristian, as well as ungenerous, indeed. They ought rather, as GOD\nhas taken such care to keep up their authority, commanding their wives\nto reverence and respect them; they ought, I say, to be doubly careful,\nthat they live so holy and unblameable, as to lay their wives under no\ntemptation to despise them. But to return from this digression. Does\nthe apostle say, \u201cLet the wife see that she reverence her husband?\u201d May\nI not pertinently apply this caution to you who are married to JESUS\nCHRIST? See to it that you reverence and respect your husband. I say,\n_see to it_. For the devil will be often suggesting to you hard and\nmean thoughts against your husband. It was thus he beset our mother\n_Eve_, even in a state of innocence. He would fain persuade her to\nentertain hard thoughts of her glorious benefactor. \u201cWhat, has GOD\nsaid, ye shall not eat of the trees of the garden?\u201d Has he been so\ncruel to put you here in a beautiful garden only to vex and teize you?\nThis he made use of as an inlet to all his succeeding insinuations. And\nthis trade he is still pursuing, and will be pursuing to the very end\nof time. Besides, in the eyes of the world, JESUS CHRIST has no form\nor comeliness that they should desire him; and therefore, unless you\n\u201cwatch and pray,\u201d you will be led into temptation, and not keep up such\nhigh thoughts of your blessed JESUS as he justly deserves. In this you\ncan never exceed. Women, perhaps, may sometimes think too highly of,\nand, through excess of love, idolize their earthly comforts. But it is\nimpossible for you to think too highly of your heavenly husband, JESUS\nCHRIST.\n\nFarther, what says the apostle in his epistle to the _Ephesians_?\nSpeaking of the marriage state, he says, \u201cThe wife is the _glory_ of\nher husband;\u201d as though he had said, a christian wife should so behave,\nand so walk, as to be a credit to her husband. As _Abigail_ was an\nhonour to _Nabal_, and by her sweet deportment made up, in some degree,\nfor her husband\u2019s churlishness. This is to be a help-meet indeed. Such\na woman will be praised in the gate; and her husband get glory, and\nmeet with respect on her account. And ought a woman to be the glory of\nher husband? How much more ought you, that are the Lamb\u2019s bride, so to\nlive, and so to walk, as to bring glory, and gain respect, to the cause\nand interest of your husband JESUS? This is what the apostle every\nwhere supposes, when he would draw a parallel between a temporal and\nspiritual marriage. \u201cThe woman, is the glory of her husband, even as\nthe church is the glory of CHRIST.\u201d Agreeable to this, he tells the\n_Corinthians_, \u201cWhether you eat or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all\nto the glory of GOD;\u201d and as he also speaks to the _Thessalonians_, 1\n_Thessalonians_ ii. 11, 12. \u201cAs you know how we exhorted, and comforted,\nand charged every one of you (as a father doth his children) that you\nwould walk worthy of GOD who hath called you to his kingdom, and his\nglory.\u201d What an expression is here! \u201cThat you would walk worthy of\nGOD.\u201d O! how ought this, and such like texts, to stir up your pure\nminds, O believers, so to have your conversation in this world, that\nyou may be what the apostle says some particular persons were, even\n\u201cthe glory of CHRIST.\u201d You are his glory; he rejoices over you with\nsinging; and you should so walk, that all who know and hear of you,\nmay glorify CHRIST in you.\n\n_Subjection_, is another duty, that is enjoined married women, in the\nword of GOD. They are to \u201cbe subject to their own husbands in every\nthing,\u201d every lawful thing: \u201cFor, the husband is the head of the wife,\neven as CHRIST is the head of the church.\u201d And knowing how unapt some\nbase minds would be to submit to the husband\u2019s authority, he takes\ncare to enforce this duty of subjection by many cogent and powerful\narguments. \u201cFor _Adam_ was first made, and not _Eve_. Neither was the\nman made for the woman, but the woman for the man.\u201d And again, \u201cThe man\nwas not first in the transgression, but the woman.\u201d Upon which accounts,\nsubjection was imposed on her as part of her punishment. \u201cThy desire\n(says GOD) shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule (though not\ntyrannize) over thee.\u201d So that, to use the words of pious Mr. _Henry_,\nthose who attempt to usurp authority over their husbands, not only\ncontradict a divine command, but thwart a divine curse. And if women\nare to be subject to their own husbands in every thing, how much more\nought believers, whether men or women, to be subject to JESUS CHRIST:\nfor he is the head of the church. He has bought her by his blood.\nBelievers therefore are not their own, but are under the highest\nobligations to glorify and obey JESUS CHRIST, in their bodies and their\nsouls, which are his. Add to this, that his service, as it is admirably\nexpressed in one of our collects, is perfect freedom. His commandments\nholy, just, and good. And therefore it is your highest privilege, O\nbelievers, to submit to, and obey them. Earthly husbands may be so\nmean as to impose some things upon their wives, merely to shew their\nauthority; but it is not so with JESUS CHRIST. He can and does impose\nnothing, but what immediately conduces to our present, as well as\nfuture good. In doing, nay, in suffering for JESUS CHRIST, there is\na present unspeakable reward. And therefore I may say to believers,\nas the blessed Virgin said to the servants at the marriage in _Cana_,\n\u201cWhatsoever he says unto you, do it.\u201d \u201cFor his yoke is easy, and his\nburden is light.\u201d And I believe it might easily be proved in a few\nminutes, that all the disorders which are now in the world, whether in\nchurch or state, are owing to a want of being universally, unanimously,\nchearfully, and perseveringly conformed to the laws and example of our\nLORD and Saviour JESUS CHRIST.\n\nAgain, _Faithfulness_ in the marriage state, is strictly enjoined\nin the scriptures of truth. \u201cMarriage is honourable in all, and the\nbed undefiled. But whoremongers and adulterers GOD will judge.\u201d Nay,\nadultery is an iniquity to be punished by the earthly judges; it\ndissolves the marriage relation. \u201cFor the man has not power over his\nown body, but the woman; neither has the woman power over her own body,\nbut the man.\u201d The heathens themselves have been taught this by the\nlight of nature; and adultery, among some of them, is punished with\nimmediate death. And ought married persons to be thus careful to keep\nthe marriage-bed undefiled, how carefully then ought believers to\nkeep their souls chaste, pure, and undefiled, now they are espoused to\nJESUS CHRIST? For there is such a thing as spiritual adultery; \u201cO ye\nadulterers and adulteresses,\u201d saith St. _James_. And GOD frequently\ncomplains of his people\u2019s playing the harlot. Hence it is, that St.\n_John_, in the most endearing manner, exhorts believers to \u201ckeep\nthemselves from idols.\u201d For the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh,\nand pride of life, are always ready to steal away our hearts from JESUS\nCHRIST. And every time we place our affections upon any thing more\nthan CHRIST, we do undoubtedly commit spiritual adultery. For we admit\na creature to rival the Creator, who is GOD over all, blessed for\nevermore. \u201cLittle children, therefore, keep yourselves from idols.\u201d\n\nBut it is time for me to draw towards the close of this head.\n_Fruitfulness_ was a blessing promised by GOD to the first happy pair;\n\u201cIncrease and multiply, and replenish the earth.\u201d \u201cLo, children, and\nthe fruit of the womb, (says the Psalmist) are a gift and heritage,\nwhich cometh of the LORD.\u201d And so, if we are married to JESUS CHRIST,\nwe must be fruitful. In what? In every good word and work: for thus\nspeaks the Apostle, in his epistle to the _Romans_: \u201cWherefore, my\nbrethren, ye also are become dead to the law, by the body of CHRIST,\nthat ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from\nthe dead.\u201d What follows? \u201cThat we should bring forth fruit unto GOD.\u201d\nGlorious words, and proper to be considered in a peculiar manner,\nby such who would explode the doctrine of free justification, as an\n_Antinomian_ doctrine, and as though it destroyed good works. No;\nit establishes, and lays a solid foundation, whereon to build the\nsuperstructure of good works. _Titus_ is therefore commanded to \u201cexhort\nbelievers to be careful to maintain good works.\u201d And \u201cherein (says\nour LORD) is my Father glorified, that ye bring forth much fruit. Let\nyour light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and\nglorify your Father which is in heaven:\u201d with a multitude of passages\nto the same purpose.\n\nMoreover, it is required of wives, that they not only love and\nreverence their husbands, but that they also love and respect their\n_husband\u2019s friends_. And if we are married to JESUS CHRIST, we shall\nnot only reverence the bridegroom, but we shall also love and honour\nthe bridegroom\u2019s friends. \u201cBy this, shall all men know that ye are my\ndisciples, if ye love one another.\u201d \u201cBy this we know, (says the beloved\ndisciple) that we have passed from death to life, because we love\nthe brethren.\u201d Observe, _the brethren_, indefinitely, of whatever\ndenomination. And this love must be \u201cwithout dissimulation, and with\na pure heart fervently.\u201d This was the case of the primitive christians.\nThey were all of one heart, and of one mind. It was said of them\n(O that it could be said of us!) \u201cSee how these christians love one\nanother!\u201d They were of the same spirit as a good woman of _Scotland_\nwas, who, when she saw a great multitude, as is customary in that\ncountry, coming from various parts to receive the blessed sacrament,\nsaluted them with a \u201cCome in, ye blessed of the LORD, I have an house\nthat will hold an hundred of you, and a heart that will hold ten\nthousand.\u201d Let us go and do likewise.\n\nOnce more. Persons that are married, take one another _for better_ or\n_for worse_, for richer or for poorer, to love and to cherish each\nother in sickness and in health. And if we are married to JESUS CHRIST,\nwe shall be willing to bear his _cross_, as well as to wear his _crown_.\n\u201cIf any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross,\nand follow me.\u201d Neither will they be compelled to do this, as _Simon_\nof _Cyrene_ was, but they will be volunteers in his service; they will\ncry out, Crown him, crown him, when others are crying out, \u201cCrucify\nhim, crucify him.\u201d They will never leave or forsake him, but willingly\nfollow the Captain of their salvation, though it be through a sea of\nblood.\n\nI might run the parallel still further, and also enlarge upon the hints\nalready given; but I fear I have said enough already to reproach most\nbelievers; I am sure I have said more than enough to abash and upbraid\nmyself. For alas! how vilely, treacherously, and ungratefully have we\nbehaved towards our spiritual husband, the dear LORD JESUS, ever since\nthe day of our espousals? Had our friends, or even the wives of our\nown bosoms, behaved to us as we have behaved to our great and best\nfriend, our glorious husband, we should have broken off our friendship,\nand sued for a bill of divorcement long ago. Under our first love,\nwhat promises did we make to him? But how frowardly have we behaved\nourselves in this covenant? How little have we reverenced him? How\noften has our Beloved been no more to us than another beloved? How\nlittle have we lived to his glory? Have we not been a shame and\nreproach to his gospel? Have we not crucified him afresh, and has he\nnot been sorely wounded in the house of his friends? Nay, has not his\nholy name been blasphemed through our means? For alas! how little have\nwe obeyed him? How careless and indifferent have we been, whether we\npleased him or not? We have often said, indeed, when commanded by him\nto go work in his vineyard, We go, LORD; but alas! we went not. Or if\nwe did go, with what reluctance has it been? How unwilling to watch\nwith our dear Lord and Master, only one hour? And of his sabbaths, how\noften have we said, What a weariness is this? As for our adulteries,\nand spiritual fornications, how frequent, how aggravated have they\nbeen? Have not idols of all sorts, been suffered to fill up the room of\nthe ever-blessed JESUS in our hearts? You that love him in sincerity,\nwill not be offended if I tell you, that the xvith chapter of _Ezekiel_\ngives, in my opinion, a lively description of our behaviour towards\nour LORD. We were, like base-born children, cast out in the field to\nthe loathing of our persons: no eye pitied or had compassion on us.\nJESUS passed by, saw us polluted in our own blood, and said unto us,\n\u201cLive,\u201d _i.\u00a0e._ preserved us, even in our natural state, from death.\nAnd when his time of love was come, he spread the skirt of his imputed\nrighteousness over us, and covered the nakedness of our souls, entered\ninto covenant with us, and we became his. He washed us also with\nwater, even in the laver of regeneration, and thoroughly washed us\nby his precious blood, from the guilt of all our sins. He cloathed\nus also with broidered work, and decked us with ornaments, even with\nrighteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. We did eat fine\nflour and honey at his ordinances, and we fed on JESUS CHRIST in our\nhearts by faith, with thanksgiving. In short, we were made exceeding\nbeautiful, and the kingdom of GOD was erected in our hearts. We were\nrenowned among our neighbours for our love to GOD, and all that knew us\ntook knowledge of us, that we had been with JESUS. But alas! how have\nwe fallen, who were once sons of the morning! How have we trusted in\nour own beauty, have grown spiritually proud, and provoked our patient\nand unspeakably long-suffering LORD to anger? Where is that ardent love\nwe spake of, when we told him, that, though we should die for him, we\nwould not deny him in any wise? How desperately wicked, and deceitful\nabove all things, have we proved our hearts to be, since we have done\nall these things, even the work of an imperious woman? These are great\nand numerous charges; but great and numerous as they are, there is not\na single believer here present, but, if he knows his own heart, may\nplead guilty to some, or all of them. But this is a tender point: I see\nyou concerned: your tears, O believers, are a proof of the anguish of\nyour souls. And can any of us give any reason, why JESUS CHRIST should\nnot give us a bill of divorcement, and put us away? May he not justly\nspeak to us as he did to his adultress _Israel_, in the forementioned\nxvith of _Ezekiel_, \u201cWherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD; I\nwill judge thee as women that break wedlock, and shed blood, are judged.\nI will give thee blood in fury and jealousy, because thou hast not\nremembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these\nthings. Behold, therefore, I also will recompence thy way upon thy head.\nI will even deal with thee as thou hast done, who hast despised the\noath, in breaking the covenant, the marriage contract that was between\nus.\u201d This, I am persuaded, you will confess to be the treatment which\nwe all most justly deserve. But be not overwhelmed with over-much\nsorrow: for though the LORD our GOD is a jealous GOD, and will\ncertainly \u2666visit our offences with a rod, and our backslidings with\na spiritual scourge, yet his loving-kindness will he not utterly take\nfrom us, nor suffer his truth to fail. Though we have changed, yet\nhe changeth not: He abideth faithful: his loving-kindness abideth for\nevermore. Hark! how sweetly he speaks to his backsliding people of\nold; \u201cO _Israel_, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thy help.\nI will heal their backsliding, and love them freely.\u201d And in the verses\nimmediately following the words of the text, how comfortably does he\naddress his espoused people! \u201cIn a little wrath, I hid my face from\nthee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on\nthee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of _Noah_\nunto me: for as I have sworn, that the waters of _Noah_ should no more\ngo over the earth; so have I sworn, that I would not be wroth with\nthee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills\nbe removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall\nthe covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy\non thee.\u201d O that this goodness may lead us to repentance! O that this\nunparalleled, infinite, unchangeable love, may constrain us to an\nuniversal, uniform, chearful, unanimous, persevering obedience to all\nthe commands of GOD!\n\n \u2666 \u201cvsit\u201d replaced with \u201cvisit\u201d\n\nBrethren, my heart is enlarged towards you, and I could dwell a long\nwhile upon the many great and precious invitations that are made to\nbacksliders, to return to their first love, and do their first works:\nbut it is high time for me, if, as was proposed,\n\nIII. I give to every one their proper portion; to speak to those poor\nsouls, who know nothing of this blessed Bridegroom of the church, and\nconsequently cannot yet say, \u201cMy Maker is my husband.\u201d\n\nAh! I pity you from my inmost soul; I could weep over, and for you,\nthough perhaps you will not weep for yourselves. But surely you would\nweep, and howl too, did you know the miserable condition those are in,\nwho are not married to JESUS CHRIST. Will you give me leave (I think\nI speak it in much love) to inform you, that if you are not married to\nJESUS CHRIST, you are married to the law, the world, the flesh, and the\ndevil, neither of which can make you happy; but all, on the contrary,\nconcur to make you miserable. Hear ye not, ye that are married to the\nlaw, and seek to be justified in the sight of GOD, partly, at least,\nif not wholly, by your own works, what the law saith to those that are\nunder it, as a covenant of works? \u201cCursed is every one that continueth\nnot in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them.\u201d\nEvery word breathes threatening and slaughter to poor fallen creatures.\nCursed, both here and hereafter, be this man, and every one, naturally\nengendered of the offspring of _Adam_, without exception, that\ncontinueth not, even to the very end of life, in all things; not only\nin some, or many, but in all things, that are written in the book of\nthe law, to do them, in the utmost perfection: for \u201che that offendeth\nin one point, is guilty of all.\u201d So that, according to the tenor of the\ncovenant of works, whosoever is guilty of one wicked thought, word, or\naction, is under the curse of an angry sin-avenging GOD. \u201cFor as many\nas are under the law, are under the curse.\u201d And do you know what it is\nto be under the curse of GOD, and to have the Wrath of GOD abide upon\nyou? If you did, I believe you would not be so unwilling to be divorced\nfrom the law, and be espoused, as chaste virgins, to JESUS CHRIST.\n\nAnd why are ye so wedded to the world? Did it ever prove faithful or\nsatisfactory to any of its votaries? Has not _Solomon_ reckoned up the\nsum total of worldly happiness? And what does it amount to? \u201cVanity,\nvanity, saith the preacher, all is vanity,\u201d nay he adds, \u201cand vexation\nof spirit.\u201d And has not a greater than _Solomon_ informed us, that\na man\u2019s life, the happiness of a man\u2019s life, doth not consist in the\nthings which he possesseth? Besides, \u201cknow ye not that the friendship\nof this world is enmity with GOD; so that whosoever will be a friend\nto the world, (to the corrupt customs and vices of it) is an enemy to\nGOD?\u201d And what better reasons can you give for being wedded to your\nlusts? Might not the poor slaves in the gallies, as reasonably be\nwedded to their chains? For do not your lusts fetter down your souls\nfrom GOD? Do they not lord it, and have they not dominion over you? Do\nnot they say, Come, and ye come; Go, and ye go; Do this, and ye do it?\nAnd is not he or she that liveth in pleasure, dead, whilst he liveth?\nAnd above all, how can ye bear the thoughts of being wedded to the\ndevil, as every natural man is: for thus speaks the scripture, \u201cHe\nnow ruleth in the children of disobedience.\u201d And how can ye bear to be\nruled by one, who is such a professed open enemy to the most high and\nholy GOD? Who will make a drudge of you, whilst you live, and be your\ncompanion in endless and extreme torment, after you are dead? For thus\nwill our LORD say to those on the left hand, \u201cDepart from me, ye cursed,\ninto everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.\u201d But,\n\nIV. Will you permit me, O sinners, that I may draw towards a close of\nthis discourse, to propose a better match to your souls. This is a part\nof the discourse which I long to come to, it being my heart\u2019s desire,\nand earnest prayer to GOD, that your souls may be saved. \u201cAnd now, O\nLORD GOD Almighty, thou Father of mercies, and GOD of all consolations,\nthou GOD and Father of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, who hast promised to give\nthy Son the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of\nthe earth for his possession, send me good speed this day, O LORD, send\nme now prosperity. Behold, I stand here without the camp, bearing a\nlittle of thy dear Son\u2019s sacred reproach! Hear me, O LORD, hear me, and\naccording to thy word, let thy dear, thine only begotten Son, see of\nthe travel of his soul, and be satisfied! O help me so to speak, that\nmany may believe on, and cleave unto thy blessed, thine holy child\nJESUS!\u201d\n\nBut who am I, that I should undertake to recommend the blessed JESUS to\nothers, who am myself altogether unworthy to take his sacred name into\nmy polluted lips? Indeed, my brethren, I do not count myself worthy\nof such an honour; but since it has pleased him, in whom all fulness\ndwells, to count me worthy, and put me into the ministry, the very\nstones would cry out against me, did I not attempt, at least, to lisp\nout his praise; and earnestly recommend the ever-blessed JESUS to the\nchoice of all.\n\nThus _Abraham_\u2019s faithful servant behaved, when sent out to fetch a\nwife for his master _Isaac_. He spake of the riches and honours, which\nGOD had conferred on him; but what infinitely greater honours and\nriches, has the GOD and Father of our LORD JESUS, conferred on his only\nSon, to whom I now invite every christless sinner! To you, therefore,\nI call, O ye sons of men, assuring you, there is every thing in JESUS\nthat your hearts can desire, or hunger and thirst after. Do people in\ndisposing of themselves or their children in marriage, generally covet\nto be matched with persons of _great names_? Let this consideration\nserve as a motive to stir you up to match with JESUS. For GOD the\nFather has given him a name above every name; he has upon his vesture,\nand upon his thigh, a name written, \u201cThe King of kings, and the Lord\nof lords;\u201d and here in the text we are told, \u201cThe Lord of Hosts is his\nname.\u201d Nor has he an empty title, but power equivalent; for he is a\nprince, as well as a saviour. \u201cAll power is given unto him, both in\nheaven and on earth:\u201d \u201cThe GOD of the whole earth, (says our text) he\nshall be called.\u201d The government of men, of the church, and of devils,\nis put upon his shoulders: \u201cThrones, principalities and powers, are\nmade subject unto him; by him kings reign, and princes decree justice;\nhe setteth up one, and putteth down another: and of his kingdom there\nshall be no end.\u201d Will _riches_ be an inducement unto you to come\nand match with JESUS? Why then, I can tell you, the riches of JESUS\nare infinite: for unto me, who am less than the least of all saints,\nis this grace given, that I should preach to poor sinners, the\nunsearchable riches of JESUS CHRIST. I appeal to you that are his\nsaints, whether you have not found this true, by happy experience; and\nthough some of you, may have been acquainted with him thirty, forty,\nfifty years ago, do you not find his riches are yet unsearchable, and\nas much past finding out, as they were the very first moment in which\nyou gave him your hearts!\n\nWould you match with a _wise husband_? Haste then, sinners, come away\nto JESUS: He is the fountain of wisdom, and makes all that come unto\nhim, wise unto salvation; \u201cHe is the wisdom of the Father: the LORD\npossessed him in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.\nWhen he prepared the heavens, he was there; when he appointed the\nfoundations of the earth, then was he with him, as one brought up with\nhim; he was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.\u201d As he\nis wise, so is he _holy_; and therefore, in the words of our text, he\nis stiled, \u201cThe Redeemer, the Holy One of _Israel_:\u201d and by the angel\n_Gabriel_, \u201cThat holy Thing.\u201d The apostles, addressing GOD the Father,\nstile him his \u201choly child JESUS:\u201d and the spirits of just men made\nperfect, and the angels in heaven, cease not day or night, saying,\n\u201cHoly, holy, holy.\u201d Nor is his _beauty_ inferior to his wisdom or\nholiness; the seraphs veil their faces, when they appear before him:\n\u201cHe is the chiefest among ten thousand, nay, he is altogether lovely.\u201d\nAnd, as he is altogether lovely, so is he altogether _loving_: his\nname and his nature is Love. GOD, GOD in CHRIST is love: love in the\nabstract. And in this has he manifested his love, in that, whilst we\nwere yet sinners, nay open enemies, JESUS, in his own due time, died\nfor the ungodly. He loved us so as to give himself for us. O what\nmanner of love is this! What was _Jacob_\u2019s love to _Rachel_, in\ncomparison of the love which JESUS bore to a perishing world! He became\na curse for us. For it is written, \u201cCursed is every man that hangeth\nupon a tree.\u201d What _Zipporah_ said to her husband improperly, JESUS may\nsay properly to his spouse the church, \u201cA bloody wife hast thou been\nto me, because of the crucifixion.\u201d For he has purchased her with his\nown blood. And having once loved his people, he loves them unto the\nend. His love, like himself, is from everlasting to everlasting. He\nhates putting away: though we change, yet he changeth not: he abideth\nfaithful. When we are married here, there comes in that shocking clause,\nto use the words of holy Mr. _Boston_, \u201cTill death us doth part;\u201d but\ndeath itself shall not separate a true believer from the love of GOD,\nwhich is in CHRIST JESUS his Lord: for he will never cease loving his\nBride, till he has loved her to heaven, and presented her before his\nFather, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. Nay, his love will,\nas it were, but be beginning, through the endless ages of eternity.\n\nAnd now, Sirs, what say you? Shall I put that question to you, which\n_Rebecca_\u2019s relations, upon a proposal of marriage, put to her? \u201cWill\nye go with the man?\u201d With the God-man, this infinitely great, this\ninfinitely powerful, this all-wise, all-holy, altogether lovely,\never-loving JESUS? What objection have you to make against such a\ngracious offer? One would imagine, you had not a single one; but it is\nto be feared, through the prevalency of unbelief, and the corruption of\nyour desperately wicked deceitful hearts, you are ready to urge several.\nMethinks I hear some of you say within yourselves, \u201cWe like the\nproposal, but alas! we are poor.\u201d Are you so? If that be all, you may,\nnotwithstanding, be welcome to JESUS: \u201cFor has not GOD chosen the poor\nof this world, to make them rich in faith, and heirs of his everlasting\nkingdom?\u201d And what says that Saviour, to whom I am now inviting you?\n\u201cBlessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.\u201d\nAnd what says his Apostle concerning him? \u201cThough he was rich, yet for\nour sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made\nrich.\u201d But say you, \u201cWe are not only poor, but we are in debt; we owe\nGOD ten thousand talents, and have nothing to pay;\u201d but that need not\nkeep you back: for GOD the Father, from the LORD JESUS, his dearly\nbeloved Son, has received double for all believers sins: the blood of\nJESUS cleanseth from them all. But you are blind, and miserable, and\nnaked; to whom then should you fly for succour, but to JESUS, who came\nto open the eyes of the blind, to seek and save the miserable and lost,\nand cloath the naked with his perfect and spotless righteousness. And\nnow, what can hinder your espousals with the dear and ever-blessed Lamb\nof GOD? I know but of one thing, that dreadful sin of unbelief. But\nthis is my comfort, JESUS died for unbelief, as well as for other sins,\nand has promised to send down the Holy Spirit to convince the world\nof this sin in particular: \u201cIf I go not away, the Comforter will not\ncome unto you; but if I go away, I will send the Comforter, and he\nwill convince the world of sin.\u201d What sin? of unbelief; \u201cbecause they\nbelieve not on me.\u201d O that this promise may be so fulfilled in your\nhearts, and JESUS may so become the author of divine faith in your\nsouls, that you may be able to send me the same message as a good woman\nin _Scotland_, on her dying bed, sent me by a friend: \u201cTell him, (says\nshe) for his comfort, that at such a time he married me to the LORD\nJESUS.\u201d This would be comfort indeed. Not that we can marry you to\nCHRIST: No; the Holy Ghost must tie the marriage knot. But such honour\nhave all GOD\u2019s ministers; under him they espouse poor sinners to JESUS\nCHRIST. \u201cI have espoused you (says St. _Paul_) as a chaste virgin to\nJESUS CHRIST.\u201d O that you may say, We will go with the man; then will\nI bow my head, as _Abraham_\u2019s servant did, and go with joy and tell my\nMaster, that he has not left his poor servant destitute this day: then\nshall I rejoice in your felicity. For I know, my Master will take you\ninto the banqueting-house of his ordinances, and his banner over you\nshall be love. That this may be the happy case of you all, may the\nglorious GOD grant, for the sake of JESUS his dearly beloved Son, the\nglorious bridegroom of his church; to whom, with the Father, and the\nHoly Spirit, be all honour and glory, now and for evermore. _Amen_, and\n_Amen_.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XIII.\n\n The Potter and the Clay.\n\n\n JEREMIAH xviii. 1\u20126.\n\n _The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Arise,\n and go down to the potter\u2019s house, and there I will cause thee\n to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter\u2019s house, and\n behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that\n he made of clay was marred in the hands of the potter, so he\n made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to\n make it. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house\n of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord.\n Behold, as the clay is in the potter\u2019s hand, so are ye in mine\n hand, O house of Israel._\n\nAT sundry times, and in divers manners, GOD was pleased to speak to\nour fathers by the prophets, before he spoke to us in these last days\nby his Son. To _Elijah_, he revealed himself by a small still voice.\nTo _Jacob_, by a dream. To _Moses_, he spake face to face. Sometimes\nhe was pleased to send a favourite prophet on some especial errand;\nand whilst he was thus employed, vouchsafed to give him a particular\nmessage, which he was ordered to deliver without reserve to all the\ninhabitants of the land. A very instructive instance of this kind we\nhave recorded in the passage now read to you. The first verse informs\nus that it was a word, or message, which came immediately from the\nLORD to the prophet _Jeremiah_. At what time, or how the prophet was\nemployed when it came, we are not told. Perhaps, whilst he was praying\nfor those who would not pray for themselves: Perhaps, near the morning,\nwhen he was slumbering or musing on his bed. For the word came to\nhim, saying, \u201cArise.\u201d And what must he do when risen? He must \u201cgo\ndown to the potter\u2019s house\u201d (the prophet knew where to find it) \u201cand\nthere (says the great Jehovah) I will cause thee to hear my words.\u201d\n_Jeremiah_ does not confer with flesh and blood, he does not object\nthat it was dark or cold, or desire that he might have his message\ngiven him there, but without the least hesitation is immediately\nobedient to the heavenly vision. \u201cThen (says he) I went down to the\npotter\u2019s house, and behold he wrought a work upon the wheels.\u201d Just as\nhe was entering into the house or workshop, the potter, it seems, had a\nvessel upon his wheel. And was there any thing so extraordinary in this,\nthat it should be ushered in with the word BEHOLD? What a dreaming\nvisionary, or superstitious enthusiast, would this _Jeremiah_ be\naccounted, even by many who read his prophecies with seeming respect,\nwas he alive now? But this was not the first time _Jeremiah_ had heard\nfrom heaven in this manner. He therefore willingly obeyed; and had you\nor I accompanied him to the potter\u2019s house, I believe we should have\nseen him silently, but intensely waiting upon his great and all-wise\nCommander, to know wherefore he sent him thither. Methinks I see him\nall attention. He takes notice, that \u201cthe vessel was of clay;\u201d but as\nhe held it in his hand, and turned round the wheel, in order to work it\ninto some particular form, \u201cit was marred in the hands of the potter,\u201d\nand consequently unfit for the use he before intended to put it to. And\nwhat becomes of this marred vessel? Being thus marred, I suppose, the\npotter, without the least imputation of injustice, might have thrown it\naside, and taken up another piece of clay in its room. But he did not.\n\u201cHe made it again another vessel.\u201d And does the potter call a council\nof his domestics, to enquire of them what kind of vessel they would\nadvise him to make of it? No, in no wise. \u201cHe made it again another\nvessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d adds _Jeremiah_, whilst he was in the way of duty\u2015\u2015then\u2015\u2015whilst\nhe was mentally crying, LORD what wouldst thou have me to do? \u201cThen\nthe word of the LORD came unto me, saying, O house of _Israel_, cannot\nI do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is\nin the hands of the potter (marred, and unfit for the first designed\npurpose) so are ye in mine hand, O house of _Israel_.\u201d At length, then,\n_Jeremiah_ hath his sermon given to him: short, but popular. It was\nto be delivered to the whole house of _Israel_, princes, priests, and\npeople: short, but pungent, even sharper than a two-edged sword. What!\nsays the sovereign LORD of heaven and earth, must I be denied the\nprivilege of a common potter? May I not do what I will with my own?\n\u201cBehold, as the clay is in the potter\u2019s hands, so are ye in mine hands,\nO house of _Israel_. I made and formed you into a people, and blessed\nyou above any other nation under heaven: but, O _Israel_, thou by thy\nbackslidings hast destroyed thyself. As the potter therefore might\njustly have thrown aside his marred clay, so may I justly unchurch\nand unpeople you. But what if I should come over the mountains of your\nguilt, heal your backslidings, revive my work in the midst of the years,\nand cause your latter end greatly to increase? Behold, as the clay\nis in the hands of the potter, lying at his disposal, either to be\ndestroyed or formed into another vessel, so are ye in my hands, O\nhouse of _Israel_: I may either reject, and thereby ruin you, or I\nmay revisit and revive you according to my own sovereign good will and\npleasure, and who shall say unto me, what dost thou?\u201d\n\nThis seems to be the genuine interpretation, and primary intention\nof this beautiful part of holy writ. But waving all further enquiries\nabout its primary design or meaning, I shall now proceed to shew, that\nwhat the glorious Jehovah here says of the house of _Israel_ in general,\nis applicable to every individual of mankind in particular. And as I\npresume this may be done, without either wire-drawing scripture on the\none hand, or wresting it from its original meaning on the other, not\nto detain you any longer, I shall, from the passage thus explained\nand paraphrased, deduce, and endeavour to enlarge on these two general\nheads.\n\n_First_, I shall undertake to prove, that every man naturally\nengendered of the offspring of _Adam_, is in the sight of the\nall-seeing, heart-searching GOD, only as a \u201cpiece of marred clay.\u201d\n\n_Secondly_, That being thus marred, he must necessarily be renewed:\nand under this head, we shall likewise point out by whose agency this\nmighty change is to be brought about.\n\nThese particulars being discussed, way will naturally be made for a\nshort word of application.\n\n_First_, To prove that every man naturally engendered of the offspring\nof _Adam_, is in the sight of an all-seeing, heart-searching GOD, only\nas a piece of marred clay.\n\nBe pleased to observe, that we say every man _naturally_ engendered\nof the offspring of _Adam_, or every man since the fall: for if we\nconsider man as he first came out of the hands of his Maker, he was\nfar from being in such melancholy circumstances. No: he was originally\nmade upright; or as _Moses_, that sacred penman, declares, \u201cGOD made\nhim after his own image.\u201d Surely never was so much expressed in so few\nwords; which hath often made me wonder how that great critic _Longinus_,\nwho so justly admires the dignity and grandeur of _Moses_\u2019s account of\nthe creation, and \u201cGOD said, Let there be light, and there was light;\u201d\nI say I have often wondered why he did not read a little further, and\nbestow as just an encomium upon this short, but withal inexpressibly\naugust and comprehensive description of the formation of man, \u201cso GOD\ncreated man in his own image.\u201d Struck with a deep sense of such amazing\ngoodness, and that he might impress yet a deeper sense of it upon our\nminds too, he immediately adds, \u201cin the image of GOD made he him.\u201d\nA council of the most adorable Trinity was called on this important\noccasion: GOD did not say, Let there be a man, and there was a man, but\nGOD said, \u201cLet us make man in our image, after our likeness.\u201d This is\nthe account which the lively oracles of GOD do give us of man in his\nfirst estate: but it is very remarkable, that the transition from the\naccount of his creation to that of his misery, is very quick, and why?\nFor a very good reason, because he soon fell from his primeval dignity;\nand by that fall, the divine image is so defaced, that he is now to be\nvalued only as antiquarians value an ancient medal, merely for the sake\nof the image and superscription once stamped upon it; or of a second\ndivine impress, which, through grace, it may yet receive.\n\nLet us take a more particular survey of him, and see whether these\nthings are so or not: and first, as to his _understanding_. As man was\ncreated originally \u201cafter GOD in knowledge,\u201d as well as righteousness\nand true holiness, we may rationally infer, that his understanding,\nin respect to things natural, as well as divine, was of a prodigious\nextent: for he was made but a little lower than the angels, and\nconsequently being like them, excellent in his understanding, he knew\nmuch of GOD, of himself, and all about him; and in this as well as\nevery other respect, was, as Mr. _Collier_ expresses it in one of\nhis essays, a perfect major: but this is far from being our case now.\nFor in respect to _natural things_, our understandings are evidently\ndarkened. It is but little that we can know, and even that little\nknowledge which we can acquire, is with much weariness of the flesh,\nand we are doomed to gain it as we do our daily bread, I mean by the\nsweat of our brows.\n\nMen of low and narrow minds soon commence wise in their own conceits:\nand having acquired a little smattering of the learned languages, and\nmade some small proficiency in the dry sciences, are easily tempted to\nlook upon themselves as a head taller than their fellow mortals, and\naccordingly too, too often put forth great swelling words of vanity.\nBut persons of a more exalted, and extensive reach of thought, dare\nnot boast. No: they know that the greatest scholars are in the dark,\nin respect to many even of the minutest things in life: and after all\ntheir painful researches into the _Arcan\u00e6 Natur\u00e6_, they find such an\nimmense void, such an unmeasurable expanse yet to be travelled over,\nthat they are obliged at last to conclude, almost with respect to\nevery thing, \u201cthat they know nothing yet as they ought to know.\u201d This\nconsideration, no doubt, led _Socrates_, when he was asked by one\nof his scholars, why the oracle pronounced him the wisest man on\nearth, to give him this judicious answer, \u201cPerhaps it is, because\nI am most sensible of my own ignorance.\u201d Would to GOD, that all who\ncall themselves christians, had learnt so much as this heathen! We\nshould then no longer hear so many _learned men_, falsely so called,\nbetray their ignorance by boasting of the extent of their shallow\nunderstanding, nor by professing themselves so wise, prove themselves\nsuch arrant pedantic fools.\n\nIf we view our understandings in respect to _spiritual things_, we\nshall find that they are not only darkened, but become darkness itself,\neven \u201cdarkness that may be felt\u201d by all who are not past feeling.\nAnd how should it be otherwise, since the infallible word of GOD\nassures us, that they are alienated from the light and life of GOD,\nand thereby naturally as incapable to judge of divine and spiritual\nthings, comparatively speaking, as a man born blind is incapacitated to\ndistinguish the various colours of the rainbow. \u201cThe natural man, (says\nan inspired apostle) discerneth not the things of the Spirit of GOD;\u201d\nso far from it, \u201cthey are foolishness unto him;\u201d and why? Because they\nare only to be \u201cspiritually discerned.\u201d Hence it was, that _Nicodemus_,\nwho was blessed with an outward and divine revelation, who was a ruler\nof the _Jews_, nay a master of _Israel_, when our LORD told him, \u201che\nmust be born again;\u201d appealed to be quite grappled. \u201cHow (says he)\ncan a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his\nmother\u2019s womb and be born? how can these things be?\u201d Were three more\nabsurd questions ever proposed by the most ignorant man alive? or can\nthere be a clearer proof of the blindness of man\u2019s understanding, in\nrespect to divine, as well as natural things? Is not man then a piece\nof marred clay?\n\nThis will appear yet more evident, if we consider the _perverse bent of\nhis will_. Being made in the very image of GOD; undoubtedly before the\nfall, man had no other will but his Maker\u2019s. GOD\u2019s will, and _Adam_\u2019s,\nwere then like unisons in music. There was not the least disunion, or\ndiscord between them. But now he hath a will, as directly contrary to\nthe will of GOD, as light is contrary to darkness, or heaven to hell.\nWe all bring into the world with us a carnal mind, which is not only\nan enemy to GOD, but \u201cenmity itself, and which is therefore not subject\nunto the law of GOD, neither indeed can it be.\u201d A great many shew much\nzeal in talking against the man of sin, and loudly (and indeed very\njustly) exclaim against the _Pope_ for sitting in the temple, I mean\nthe church of CHRIST, and \u201cexalting himself above all that is called\nGOD.\u201d But say not within thyself, who shall go to _Rome_, to pull down\nthis spiritual antichrist? as though there was no antichrist but what\nis without us. For know, O man, whoever thou art, an infinitely more\ndangerous antichrist, because less discerned, even _self-will_, sits\ndaily in the temple of thy heart, exalting itself above all that is\ncalled GOD, and obliging all its votaries to say of CHRIST himself,\nthat Prince of peace, \u201cwe will not have this man to reign over us.\u201d\nGOD\u2019s people, whose spiritual senses are exercised about spiritual\nthings, and whose eyes are opened to see the abominations that are in\ntheir hearts, frequently feel this to their sorrow. Whether they will\nor not, this enmity from time to time bubbles up, and in spight of all\ntheir watchfulness and care, when they are under the pressure of some\nsharp affliction, a long desertion, or tedious night of temptation,\nthey often find something within rising in rebellion against the\nall-wise disposals of divine Providence, and saying unto GOD their\nheavenly father, \u201cwhat dost thou?\u201d This makes them to cry (and no\nwonder, since it constrained one of the greatest saints and apostles\nfirst to introduce the expression) \u201cO wretched man that I am, who shall\ndeliver me from the body of this death?\u201d The spiritual and renewed soul\ngroans thus, being burdened; but as for the natural and unawakened man,\nit is not so with him; self-will, as well as every other evil, either\nin a more latent or discernable manner, reigns in his unrenewed soul,\nand proves him, even to a demonstration to others, whether he knows, or\nwill confess it himself or not, that in respect to the disorders of his\nwill, as well as his understanding, man is only a piece of marred clay.\n\nA transient view of fallen man\u2019s _affections_ will yet more firmly\ncorroborate this melancholy truth. These, at his being first placed\nin the paradise of GOD, were always kept within proper bounds, fixed\nupon their proper objects, and, like so many gentle rivers, sweetly,\nspontaneously and habitually glided into their ocean, GOD. But now the\nscene is changed. For we are now naturally full of vile affections,\nwhich like a mighty and impetuous torrent carry all before them. We\nlove what we should hate, and hate what we should love; we fear what\nwe should hope for, and hope for what we should fear; nay, to such\nan ungovernable height do our affections sometimes rise, that though\nour judgments are convinced to the contrary, yet we will gratify our\npassions though it be at the expence of our present and eternal welfare.\nWe feel a war of our affections, warring against the law of our minds,\nand bringing us into captivity to the law of sin and death. So that\n_video meliora proboque, deteriora sequor_, I approve of better things\nbut follow worse, is too, too often the practice of us all.\n\nI am sensible, that many are offended, when mankind are compared to\nbeasts and devils. And they might have some shadow of reason for being\nso, if we asserted in a physical sense, that they were really beasts\nand really devils. For then, as I once heard a very learned prelate,\nwho was objecting against this comparison, observe, \u201ca man being a\nbeast would be incapable, and being a devil, would be under an\nimpossibility of being saved.\u201d But when we make use of such _shocking\ncomparisons_, as he was pleased to term them, we would be understood\nonly in a moral sense; and in so doing, we assert no more than some of\nthe most holy men of GOD have said of themselves, and others, in the\nlively oracles many ages ago. Holy _David_, the man after GOD\u2019s own\nheart, speaking of himself, says, \u201cso foolish was I, and as a beast\nbefore thee.\u201d And holy _Job_, speaking of man in general, says, that\n\u201che is born as a wild ass\u2019s colt,\u201d or take away the expletive, which as\nsome think ought to be done, and then he positively asserts, that man\nis a wild ass\u2019s colt. And what says our LORD, \u201cYe are of your father\nthe devil;\u201d and \u201cthe whole world is said to lie in him, the wicked\none, who now rules in the children of disobedience,\u201d that is, in all\nunrenewed souls. Our stupidity, proneness to fix our affections on the\nthings of the earth, and our eagerness to make provision for the flesh,\nto fulfil the lusts thereof, evidence us to be earthly and brutal;\nand our mental passions, anger, hatred, malice, envy, and such like,\nprove with equal strength, that we are also devilish. Both together\nconspire to evince, that in respect to his affections, as well as his\nunderstanding and will, man deservedly may be termed a piece of marred\nclay.\n\nThe present _blindness of natural conscience_ makes this appear in a\nyet more glaring light; in the soul of the first man _Adam_, conscience\nwas no doubt the candle of the LORD, and enabled him rightly and\ninstantaneously to discern between good and evil, right and wrong. And,\nblessed be GOD! some remains of this are yet left; but alas, how dimly\ndoes it burn, and how easily and quickly is it covered, or put out\nand extinguished. I need not send you to the heathen world, to learn\nthe truth of this; you all know it by experience. Was there no other\nevidence, your own consciences are instead of a thousand witnesses,\nthat man, as to his natural conscience, as well as understanding, will\nand affections, is much marred clay.\n\nNor does that great and boasted _Diana_, I mean unassisted\n_unenlightened reason_, less demonstrate the justness of such an\nassertion. Far be it from me to decry or exclaim against human reason.\nCHRIST himself is called the \u201cLOGOS, the Reason;\u201d and I believe it\nwould not require much learning, or take up much time to prove, that so\nfar and no farther than as we act agreeably to the laws of CHRIST JESUS,\nare we any way conformable to the laws of right reason. His service is\ntherefore called \u201ca reasonable service.\u201d And however his servants and\nfollowers may now be looked upon as fools and madmen; yet there will\ncome a time, when those who despise and set themselves to oppose divine\nrevelation, will find, that what they now call reason, is only _reason\ndepraved_, and as utterly incapable, of itself, to guide us into the\nway of peace, or shew the way of salvation, as the men of _Sodom_\nwere to find _Lot_\u2019s door after they were struck with blindness by the\nangels, who came to lead him out of the city. The horrid and dreadful\nmistakes, which the most refined reasoners in the heathen world ran\ninto, both as to the object, as well as manner of divine worship, have\nsufficiently demonstrated the weakness and depravity of human reason:\nnor do our modern boasters afford us any better proofs of the greatness\nof its strength, since the best improvement they generally make of\nit, is only to reason themselves into downright wilful infidelity, and\nthereby reason themselves out of eternal salvation. Need we now any\nfurther witness, that man, fallen man, is altogether a piece of marred\nclay?\n\nBut this is not all, we have yet more evidence to call; for do the\nblindness of our understandings, the perverseness of our will, the\nrebellion of our affections, the corruption of our consciences, the\ndepravity of our reason prove this charge; and does not the present\n_disordered frame_ and _constitution of our bodies_ confirm the same\nalso? Doubtless in this respect, man, in the most literal sense of the\nword, is a piece of marred clay. For GOD originally made him of the\n\u201cdust of the earth.\u201d So that notwithstanding our boasting of our high\npedigrees, and different descent, we were all originally upon a level,\nand a little red earth was the common substratum out of which we were\nall formed. Clay indeed it was, but clay wonderfully modified, even by\nthe immediate hands of the Creator of heaven and earth. One therefore\nhath observed, that it is said \u201cGOD built the man;\u201d he did not form\nhim rashly or hastily, but built and finished him according to the\nplan before laid down in his own eternal mind. And though, as the great\nGOD is without body, parts, or passions, we cannot suppose when it\nis said \u201cGOD made man after his own image,\u201d that it has any reference\nto his body, yet I cannot help thinking (with Doctor _South_) that as\nthe eternal Logos was hereafter to appear, GOD manifest in the flesh,\ninfinite wisdom was undoubtedly exerted in forming a casket into which\nso invaluable a pearl was in the fulness of time to be deposited. Some\nof the ancients are said to have asserted, that man at the first, had\nwhat we call a glory shining round him; but without attempting to be\nwise above what is written, we may venture to affirm, that he had a\nglorious body, which knowing no sin, knew neither sickness nor pain.\nBut now on this, as well as other accounts, he may justly be called\n_Ichabod_; for its primitive strength and glory are sadly departed\nfrom it, and like the ruins of some ancient and stately fabric, only\nso much left as to give us some faint idea of what it was when it\nfirst appeared in its original and perfect beauty. The apostle _Paul_,\ntherefore, who knew how to call things by their proper names, as well\nas any man living, does not scruple to term the human body, though\nin its original constitution fearfully and wonderfully made, a \u201cvile\nbody;\u201d vile indeed! since it is subject to such vile diseases, put\nto such vile, yea very vile uses, and at length is to come to so vile\nan end. \u201cFor dust we are, and to dust we must return.\u201d This among\nother considerations, we may well suppose, caused the blessed JESUS to\nweep at the grave of _Lazarus_. He wept, not only because his friend\n_Lazarus_ was dead, but he wept to see human nature, through man\u2019s own\ndefault, thus laid in ruins, by being subject unto such a dissolution,\nmade like unto the beasts that perish.\n\nLet us here pause a while, and with our sympathizing LORD, see if\nwe cannot shed a few silent tears at least, upon the same sorrowful\noccasion. Who, who is there amongst us, that upon such a melancholy\nreview of man\u2019s present, real, and most deplorable depravity both in\nbody and soul, can refrain from weeping over such a piece of marred\nclay? Who, who can help adopting holy _David_\u2019s lamentation over _Saul_\nand _Jonathan_? \u201cHow are the mighty fallen! How are they slain in their\nhigh places!\u201d Originally it was not so. No, \u201cGOD made man after his\nown image: in the image of GOD made he man.\u201d Never was there so much\nexpressed in so few words. He was created after GOD in righteousness\nand true holiness.\n\nThis is the account, which the sacred volume gives us of this\ninteresting point. This, this is that blessed book, that book of books,\nfrom whence, together with an appeal to the experience of our own\nhearts, and the testimonies of all past ages, we have thought proper\nto fetch our proofs. For, after all, we must be obliged to divine\nrevelation, to know what we were, what we are, and what we are to be.\nIn these, as in a true glass, we may see our real and proper likeness.\nAnd from these only can we trace the source and fountain of all those\ninnumerable evils, which like a deluge have overflowed the natural\nand moral world. If any should object against the authenticity of\nthis revelation, and consequently against the doctrine this day drawn\nfrom thence, they do in my opinion thereby very much confirm it. For\nunless a man was very much disordered indeed, as to his understanding,\nwill, affections, natural conscience, and his power of reasoning, he\ncould never possibly deny such a revelation, which is founded on a\nmultiplicity of infallible external evidences, hath so many internal\nevidences of a divine stamp in every page, is so suited to the common\nexigencies of all mankind, so agreeable to the experience of all men,\nand which hath been so wonderfully handed and preserved to us, hath\nbeen so instrumental to the convicting, converting, and comforting\nso many millions of souls, and hath stood the test of the most severe\nscrutinies, and exact criticisms of the most subtle and refined, as\nwell as of the most malicious and persecuting enemies, that ever lived,\neven from the beginning of time to this very day. Persons of such\na turn of mind, I think, are rather to be prayed for, than disputed\nwith, if so be this perverse wickedness of their hearts may be forgiven\nthem: They are in the very gall of bitterness, and must have \u201ctheir\nconsciences seared as it were with a red-hot iron,\u201d and must have\ntheir eyes \u201cblinded by the GOD of this world,\u201d otherwise they could not\nbut see, and feel, and assent to the truth of this doctrine, of man\u2019s\nbeing universally depraved; which not only in one or two, but in one or\ntwo thousands, in every page, I could almost say, is written, in such\nlegible characters, that he that runs may read. Indeed, revelation\nitself is founded upon the doctrine of the fall. Had we kept our\noriginal integrity, the law of GOD would have yet been written in our\nhearts, and thereby the want of a divine revelation, at least such as\nours, would have been superseded; but being fallen, instead of rising\nin rebellion against GOD, we ought to be filled with unspeakable\nthankfulness to our all bountiful Creator, who by a few lines in his\nown books hath discovered more to us, than all the philosophers and\nmost learned men in the world could, or would, have discovered, though\nthey had studied to all eternity.\n\nI am well aware, that some who pretend to own the validity of divine\nrevelation, are notwithstanding enemies to the doctrine that hath\nthis day been delivered; and would fain elude the force of the proofs\ngenerally urged in defence of it, by saying, they only bespeak the\ncorruption of particular persons, or have reference only to the heathen\nworld: but such persons err, not knowing their own hearts, or the power\nof JESUS CHRIST: for by nature there is no difference between _Jew_\nor _Gentile_, _Greek_ or _Barbarian_, bond or free. We are altogether\nequally become abominable in GOD\u2019s sight, all equally fallen short of\nthe glory of GOD, and consequently all alike so many pieces of marred\nclay.\n\nHow GOD came to suffer man to fall? how long man stood before he fell?\nand how the corruption contracted by the fall, is propagated to every\nindividual of his species? are questions of such an abstruse and\ncritical nature, that should I undertake to answer them, would be only\ngratifying a sinful curiosity, and tempting you, as Satan tempted our\nfirst parents, to eat forbidden fruit. It will much better answer the\ndesign of this present discourse, which is practical, to pass on\n\nII. To the next thing proposed, and point out to you the absolute\nnecessity there is of this fallen nature\u2019s being renewed.\n\nThis I have had all along in my eye, and on account of this, have\npurposely been so explicit on the first general head: for \u2666as\n_Archimedes_ once said, \u201cGive me a place where I may fix my foot, and\nI will move the world;\u201d so without the least imputation of arrogance,\nwith which, perhaps, he was justly chargeable, we may venture to say,\ngrant the foregoing doctrine to be true, and then deny the necessity\nof man\u2019s being renewed who can.\n\n \u2666 \u201chas\u201d replaced with \u201cas\u201d\n\nI suppose, I may take it for granted, that all of you amongst whom I\nam now preaching the kingdom of GOD, hope after death to go to a place\nwhich we call Heaven. And my heart\u2019s desire and prayer to GOD for you\nis, that you all may have mansions prepared for you there. But give\nme leave to tell you, was you now to see these heavens opened, and the\nangel (to use the words of the seraphic _Hervey_) cloathed with all\nhis heavenly drapery, with one foot upon the earth, and another upon\nthe sea; nay, were you to see and hear the angel of the everlasting\ncovenant, JESUS CHRIST himself, proclaiming \u201ctime shall be no more,\u201d\nand giving you all an invitation immediately to come to heaven; heaven\nwould be no heaven to you, nay it would be a hell to your souls, unless\nyou were first prepared for a proper enjoyment of it here on earth.\n\u201cFor what communion hath light with darkness?\u201d Or what fellowship\ncould unrenewed sons of _Belial_ possibly keep up with the pure and\nimmaculate JESUS?\n\nThe generality of people form strange ideas of heaven. And because\nthe scriptures, in condescension to the weakness of our capacities,\ndescribe it by images taken from earthly delights and human grandeur,\ntherefore they are apt to carry their thoughts no higher, and at\nthe best only form to themselves a kind of _Mahometan_ paradise. But\npermit me to tell you, and GOD grant it may sink deep into your hearts!\nHeaven is rather a state than a place; and consequently, unless you are\npreviously disposed by a suitable state of mind, you could not be happy\neven in heaven itself. For what is grace but glory militant? What is\nglory but grace triumphant? This consideration made a pious author say,\nthat \u201choliness, happiness, and heaven, were only three different words\nfor one and the self-same thing.\u201d And this made the great _Preston_,\nwhen he was about to die, turn to his friends, saying, \u201cI am changing\nmy place, but not my company.\u201d He had conversed with GOD and good men\non earth; he was going to keep up the same, and infinitely more refined\ncommunion with GOD, his holy angels, and the spirits of just men made\nperfect, in heaven.\n\nTo make us meet to be blissful partakers of such heavenly company,\nthis \u201cmarred clay,\u201d I mean, these depraved natures of ours, must\nnecessarily undergo an universal moral change: our understandings must\nbe enlightened; our wills, reason, and consciences, must be renewed;\nour affections must be drawn toward, and fixed upon things above;\nand because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven,\nthis corruptible must put on incorruption, this mortal must put on\nimmortality. And thus old things must literally pass away, and behold\nall things, even the body as well as the faculties of the soul, must\nbecome new.\n\nThis moral change is what some call, repentance, some, conversion, some,\nregeneration; choose what name you please, I only pray GOD, that we all\nmay have the thing. The scriptures call it holiness, sanctification,\nthe new creature, and our LORD calls it a \u201cNew birth, or being born\nagain, or born from above.\u201d These are not barely figurative expressions,\nor the flights of eastern language, nor do they barely denote a\nrelative change of state conferred on all those who are admitted into\nCHRIST\u2019s church by baptism; but they denote a real, moral change of\nheart and life, a real participation of the divine life in the soul of\nman. Some indeed content themselves with a figurative interpretation;\nbut unless they are made to experience the power and efficacy thereof,\nby a solid living experience in their own souls, all their learning,\nall their laboured criticisms, will not exempt them from a real\ndamnation. CHRIST hath said it, and CHRIST will stand, \u201cUnless a man,\u201d\nlearned or unlearned, high or low, though he be a master of _Israel_\nas _Nicodemus_ was, unless he \u201cbe born again, he cannot see, he cannot\nenter into the kingdom of GOD.\u201d\n\nIf it be enquired, who is to be the potter? and by whose agency this\nmarred clay is to be formed into another vessel? Or in other words,\nif it be asked, how this great and mighty change is to be effected? I\nanswer, not by the mere dint and force of moral suasion. This is good\nin its place. And I am so far from thinking, that christian preachers\nshould not make use of rational arguments and motives in their sermons,\nthat I cannot think they are fit to preach at all, who either cannot,\nor will not use them. We have the example of the great GOD himself\nfor such a practice; \u201cCome (says he) and let us reason together.\u201d And\nSt. _Paul_, that prince of preachers, \u201creasoned of temperance, and\nrighteousness, and a judgment to come.\u201d And it is remarkable, \u201cthat\nwhilst he was reasoning of these things, _Felix_ trembled.\u201d Nor are\nthe most persuasive strains of holy rhetoric less needful for a scribe\nready instructed to the kingdom of GOD. The scriptures both of the\nOld and New Testament, every where abound with them. And when can they\nbe more properly employed, and brought forth, than when we are acting\nas ambassadors of heaven, and beseeching poor sinners, as in CHRIST\u2019s\nstead, to be reconciled unto GOD. All this we readily grant. But at\nthe same time, I would as soon go to yonder church-yard, and attempt\nto raise the dead carcases, with a \u201ccome forth,\u201d as to preach to\ndead souls, did I not hope for some superior power to make the word\neffectual to the designed end. I should only be like a sounding brass\nfor any saving purposes, or as a tinkling cymbal. Neither is this\nchange to be wrought by the power of our own free-will. This is an\nidol every where set up, but we dare not fall down and worship it.\n\u201cNo man (says CHRIST) can come to me, unless the Father draw him.\u201d\nOur own free-will, if improved, may restrain us from the commission of\nmany evils, and put us in the way of conversion; but, after exerting\nour utmost efforts (and we are bound in duty to exert them) we\nshall find the words of our own church article to be true, that \u201cman\nsince the fall hath no power to turn to GOD.\u201d No, we might as soon\nattempt to stop the ebbing and flowing of the tide, and calm the most\ntempestuous sea, as to imagine that we can subdue, or bring under\nproper regulations, our own unruly wills and affections by any strength\ninherent in ourselves.\n\nAnd therefore, that I may keep you no longer in suspence, I inform you,\nthat this heavenly potter, this blessed agent, is the Almighty Spirit\nof GOD, the Holy Ghost, the third person in the most adorable Trinity,\ncoessential with the Father and the Son. This is that Spirit, which at\nthe beginning of time moved on the face of the waters, when nature lay\nin one universal chaos. This was the Spirit that over-shadowed the Holy\nVirgin, before that holy thing was born of her: and this same Spirit\nmust come, and move upon the chaos of our souls, before we can properly\nbe called the sons of GOD. This is what _John_ the baptist calls\n\u201cbeing baptized with the Holy Ghost,\u201d without which, his and all other\nbaptisms, whether infant or adult, avail nothing. This is that fire,\nwhich our LORD came to send into our earthly hearts, and which I pray\nthe LORD of all lords to kindle in every unrenewed one this day.\n\nAs for the extraordinary operations of the Holy Ghost, such as working\nof miracles, or speaking with divers kinds of tongues, they are long\nsince ceased. But as for this miracle of miracles, turning the soul to\nGOD by the more ordinary operations of the Holy Ghost, this abides yet,\nand will abide till time itself shall be no more. For it is he that\nsanctifieth us, and all the elect people of GOD. On this account, true\nbelievers are said to be \u201cborn from above, to be born not of blood, nor\nof the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of GOD.\u201d Their\nsecond, as well as their first creation, is truly and purely divine.\nIt is, therefore, called \u201ca creation;\u201d but put ye on (says the apostle)\nthe new man which is created\u2015\u2015And how? Even as the first man was,\n\u201cafter GOD in righteousness and true holiness.\u201d\n\nThese, these are the precious truths, which a scoffing world would fain\nrally or ridicule us out of. To produce this glorious change, this new\ncreation, the glorious JESUS left his Father\u2019s bosom. For this he led\na persecuted life; for this he died an ignominious and accursed death;\nfor this he rose again; and for this he now sitteth at the right hand\nof his Father. All the precepts of his gospel, all his ordinances, all\nhis providences, whether of an afflictive or prosperous nature, all\ndivine revelation from the beginning to the end, all center in these\ntwo points, to shew us how we are fallen, and to begin, carry on, and\ncompleat a glorious and blessed change in our souls. This is an end\nworthy of the coming of so divine a personage. To deliver a multitude\nof souls of every nation, language and tongue, from so many moral evils,\nand to reinstate them in an incomparably more excellent condition than\nthat from whence they are fallen, is an end worthy the shedding of\nsuch precious blood. What system of religion is there now, or was there\never exhibited to the world, any way to be compared to this? Can the\ndeistical scheme pretend in any degree to come up to it? Is it not\nnoble, rational, and truly divine? And why then will not all that\nhitherto are strangers to this blessed restoration of their fallen\nnatures, (for my heart is too full to abstain any longer from an\napplication) why will you any longer dispute or stand out against it?\nWhy will you not rather bring your clay to this heavenly Potter, and\nsay from your inmost souls, \u201cTurn us, O good LORD, and so shall we be\nturned?\u201d This, you may and can do: and if you go thus far, who knows\nbut that this very day, yea this very hour, the heavenly Potter may\ntake you in hand, and make you vessels of honour fit for the Redeemer\u2019s\nuse? Others that were once as far from the kingdom of GOD as you are,\nhave been partakers of this blessedness. What a wretched creature was\n_Mary Magdalene_? And yet out of her JESUS CHRIST cast seven devils.\nNay, he appeared to her first, after he rose from the dead, and she\nbecame as it were an apostle to the very apostles. What a covetous\ncreature was _Zaccheus_? He was a griping cheating publican; and yet,\nperhaps, in one quarter of an hour\u2019s time, his heart is enlarged, and\nhe made quite willing to give half of his goods to feed the poor. And\nto mention no more, what a cruel person was _Paul_. He was a persecutor,\na blasphemer, injurious; one that breathed out threatnings against\nthe disciples of the LORD, and made havoc of the church of CHRIST. And\nyet what a wonderful turn did he meet with, as he was journeying to\n_Damascus_? from a persecutor, he became a preacher; was afterwards\nmade a spiritual father to thousands, and now probably sits nearest\nthe LORD JESUS CHRIST in glory. And why all this? That he might be\nmade an example to them that should hereafter believe. O then believe,\nrepent; I beseech you, believe the gospel. Indeed, it is glad tidings,\neven tidings of great joy. You will then no longer have any thing to\nsay against the doctrine of _Original Sin_; or charge the Almighty\nfoolishly, for suffering our first parents to be prevailed on to eat\nsuch sour grapes, and permitting thereby their children\u2019s teeth to be\nset on edge. You will then no longer cry out against the doctrine of\nthe _New Birth_, as enthusiasm, or brand the assertors of such blessed\ntruths with the opprobrious names of fools and madmen. Having felt,\nyou will then believe; having believed, you will therefore speak; and\ninstead of being vessels of wrath, and growing harder and harder in\nhell fire, like vessels in a potter\u2019s oven, you will be made vessels\nof honour, and be presented at the great day by JESUS, to his heavenly\nFather, and be translated to live with him as monuments of rich, free,\ndistinguishing and sovereign grace, for ever and ever.\n\nYou, that have in some degree experienced the quickening influence (for\nI must not conclude without dropping a word or two to GOD\u2019s children)\nyou know how to pity, and therefore, I beseech you also to pray for\nthose, to whose circumstances this discourse is peculiarly adapted.\nBut will you be content in praying for them? Will you not see reason to\npray for yourselves also? Yes, doubtless, for yourselves also. For you,\nand you only know, how much there is yet lacking in your faith, and how\nfar you are from being partakers in that degree, which you desire to\nbe, of the whole mind that was in CHRIST JESUS. You know what a body of\nsin and death you carry about with you, and that you must necessarily\nexpect many turns of GOD\u2019s providence and grace, before you will be\nwholly delivered from it. But thanks be to GOD, we are in safe hands.\nHe that has been the author, will also be the finisher of our faith.\nYet a little while, and we like him shall say \u201cIt is finished;\u201d we\nshall bow down our heads and give up the ghost. Till then, (for to\nthee, O LORD, will we now direct our prayer) help us, O Almighty Father,\nin patience to possess our souls. Behold, we are the clay, and thou\nart the Potter. Let not the thing formed say to him that formed it,\nwhatever the dispensations of thy future Will concerning us may be,\nWhy dost thou deal with us thus? Behold, we put ourselves as blanks in\nthine hands, deal with us as seemeth good in thy sight, only let every\ncross, every affliction, every temptation, be overruled to the stamping\nthy blessed image in more lively characters on our hearts; that so\npassing from glory to glory, by the powerful operations of thy blessed\nSpirit, we may be made thereby more and more meet for, and at last be\ntranslated to a full, perfect, endless, and uninterrupted enjoyment\nof glory hereafter, with thee O Father, thee O Son, and thee O blessed\nSpirit; to whom, three persons but one GOD, be ascribed, as is most due,\nall honour, power, might, majesty and dominion, now and to all eternity.\nAmen and Amen.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XIV.\n\n The LORD our Righteousness.\n\n\n JEREMIAH xxiii. 6.\n\n _The LORD our Righteousness_.\n\nWHOEVER is acquainted with the nature of mankind in general, or the\npropensity of his own heart in particular, must acknowledge, that\n_self-righteousness_ is the last idol that is rooted out of the heart:\nbeing once born under a covenant of works, it is natural for us all to\nhave recourse to a covenant of works, for our everlasting salvation.\nAnd we have contracted such a devilish pride, by our fall from GOD,\nthat we would, if not wholly, yet in part at least, glory in being\nthe cause of our own salvation. We cry out against popery, and that\nvery justly; but we are all Papists, at least, I am sure, we are\nall Arminians by nature; and therefore no wonder so many natural men\nembrace that scheme. It is true, we disclaim the doctrine of merit,\nare ashamed directly to say we deserve any good at the hands of GOD;\ntherefore, as the Apostle excellently well observes, \u201cwe go about,\u201d we\nfetch a circuit, \u201cto establish a righteousness of our own, and,\u201d like\nthe Pharisees of old, \u201cwill not wholly submit to that righteousness\nwhich is of GOD through JESUS CHRIST our LORD.\u201d\n\nThis is the sorest, though, alas! the most common evil that was ever\nyet seen under the sun. An evil, that in any age, especially in these\ndregs of time wherein we live, cannot sufficiently be inveighed against.\nFor as it is with the people, so it is with the priests; and it is to\nbe feared, even in those places, where once the truth as it is in JESUS\nwas eminently preached, many ministers are so sadly degenerated from\ntheir pious ancestors, that the doctrines of grace, especially the\npersonal, _all-sufficient righteousness of_ JESUS, is but too seldom,\ntoo slightly mentioned. Hence the love of many waxeth cold; and I have\noften thought, was it possible, that this single consideration would be\nsufficient to raise our venerable forefathers again from their graves;\nwho would thunder in their ears their fatal error.\n\nThe righteousness of JESUS CHRIST is one of those great mysteries,\nwhich the angels desire to look into, and seems to be one of the first\nlessons that GOD taught men after the fall. For, what were the coats\nthat GOD made to put on our first parents, but types of the application\nof the merits or righteousness of JESUS CHRIST to believers hearts? We\nare told, that those coats were made of skins of beasts; and, as beasts\nwere not then food for men, we may fairly infer, that those beasts\nwere slain in sacrifice, in commemoration of the great sacrifice, JESUS\nCHRIST, thereafter to be offered. And the skins of the beasts thus\nslain, being put on _Adam_ and _Eve_, they were hereby taught how their\nnakedness was to be covered with the righteousness of the Lamb of GOD.\n\nThis is it which is meant, when we are told, \u201c_Abraham_ believed on the\nLORD, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.\u201d In short, this\nis it of which both the law and the prophets have spoken, especially\n_Jeremiah_ in the words of the text, \u201cThe LORD our righteousness.\u201d\n\nI propose, through divine grace,\n\n I. To consider who we are to understand by the word LORD.\n\n II. How the LORD is man\u2019s righteousness.\n\n III. I will consider some of the chief objections that are\n generally urged against this doctrine.\n\n IV. I shall shew some very ill consequences that flow naturally\n from denying this doctrine.\n\n V. Shall conclude with an exhortation to all to come to CHRIST\n by faith, that they may be enabled to say with the Prophet in\n the text, \u201cThe LORD our righteousness.\u201d\n\nI. I am to consider who we are to understand by the word LORD. The LORD\nour righteousness.\n\nIf any Arians or Socinians are drawn by curiosity to hear what the\nbabler has to say, let them be ashamed of denying the divinity of that\nLORD, who has bought poor sinners with his precious blood. For the\nperson mentioned in the text, under the character of the LORD, is JESUS\nCHRIST. Verse 5. \u201cBehold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will\nraise unto _David_ a righteous branch, a king shall reign and prosper,\nand shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days (verse\n6.) _Judah_ shall be saved, and _Israel_ shall dwell safely; and this\nis his name whereby he shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.\u201d\nBy the _righteous branch_, all agree, that we are to understand JESUS\nCHRIST. He it is that is called the LORD in our text. If so, if there\nwere no other text in the Bible to prove the divinity of CHRIST, this\nis sufficient: for if the word _Lord_ may properly belong to JESUS\nCHRIST, he must be GOD. And, as you have it in the margin of your\nBibles, the word _Lord_ is in the original _Jehovah_, which is the\nessential title of GOD himself. Come then, ye Arians, kiss the Son of\nGOD, bow down before him, and honour him, even as ye honour the Father.\nLearn of the angels, those morning-stars, and worship him as truly\nGOD: for otherwise you are as much idolators, as those that worship\nthe Virgin _Mary_. And as for you Socinians, who say CHRIST was a mere\nman, and yet profess that he was your Saviour, according to your own\nprinciples you are accursed: for, if CHRIST be a mere man, then he is\nonly an arm of flesh: and it is written, \u201cCursed is he that trusteth\non an arm of flesh.\u201d But I would hope, there are no such monsters here;\nat least, that, after these considerations, they would be ashamed of\nbroaching such monstrous absurdities any more. For it is plain, that,\nby the word _Lord_, we are to understand the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who\nhere takes to himself the title of _Jehovah_, and therefore must be\nvery GOD of very GOD; or, as the Apostle devoutly expresses it, \u201cGOD\nblessed for evermore.\u201d\n\nII. How the LORD is to be man\u2019s righteousness, comes next to be\nconsidered.\n\nAnd that is, in one word, by _imputation_. for it pleased GOD, after\nhe had made all things by the word of his power to create man after his\nown image. And so infinite was the condescension of the high and lofty\nOne, who inhabiteth eternity, that, although he might have insisted on\nthe everlasting obedience of him and his posterity; yet he was pleased\nto oblige himself, by a covenant or agreement made with his own\ncreatures, upon condition of an unsinning obedience, to give them\nimmortality and eternal life. For when it is said, \u201cThe day thou eatest\nthereof, thou shalt surely die;\u201d we may fairly infer, so long as he\ncontinued obedient, and did not eat thereof, he should surely live.\nThe 3d of _Genesis_ gives us a full, but mournful account, how our\nfirst parents broke this covenant, and thereby stood in need of a\nbetter righteousness than their own, in order to procure their future\nacceptance with GOD. For what must they do? They were as much under\na covenant of works as ever. And though, after their disobedience,\nthey were without strength; yet they were obliged not only to do, but\ncontinue to do all things, and that too in the most perfect manner,\nwhich the LORD had required of them: and not only so, but to make\nsatisfaction to GOD\u2019s infinitely offended justice, for the breach\nthey had already been guilty of. Here then opens the amazing scene of\n_divine philanthropy_, I mean, GOD\u2019s love to man: For behold, what man\ncould not do, JESUS CHRIST, the son of his Father\u2019s love, undertakes\nto do for him. And that GOD might be just in justifying the ungodly,\nthough \u201che was in the form of GOD, and therefore thought it no robbery\nto be equal with GOD; yet he took upon him the form of a servant,\u201d even\nhuman nature. In that nature he obeyed, and thereby fulfilled the whole\nmoral law in our stead; and also died a painful death upon the cross,\nand thereby became a curse for, or instead of, those whom the Father\nhad given to him. As GOD, he satisfied, at the same time that he obeyed\nand suffered as man; and, being GOD and man in one \u2666person, he wrought\nout a full, perfect, and sufficient righteousness for all to whom it\nwas to be imputed.\n\n \u2666 \u201cpersan\u201d replaced with \u201cperson\u201d\n\nHere then we see the meaning of the word _righteousness_. It implies\nthe active as well as passive obedience of the LORD JESUS CHRIST. We\ngenerally, when talking of the merits of CHRIST, only mention the\nlatter,\u2015\u2015his death; whereas, the former,\u2015\u2015his life and active obedience,\nis equally necessary. CHRIST is not such a saviour as becomes us,\nunless we join both together. CHRIST not only died, but lived; not\nonly suffered, but obeyed for, or instead of, poor sinners. And both\nthese jointly make up that compleat righteousness, which is to be\nimputed to us, as the disobedience of our first parents was made ours\nby imputation. In this sense, and no other, are we to understand that\nparallel which the apostle _Paul_ draws, in the vth of the _Romans_,\nbetween the first and second _Adam_. This is what he elsewhere terms,\n\u201cour being made the righteousness of GOD in him.\u201d This is the sense\nwherein the Prophet would have us to understand the words of the text;\ntherefore, _Jeremiah_ xxxiii. 16. \u201cShe (_i.\u00a0e._ the church itself)\nshall be called, (having this righteousness imputed to her) The LORD\nour righteousness.\u201d A passage, I think, worthy of the profoundest\nmeditation of all the sons and daughters of _Abraham_.\n\nMany are the objections which the proud hearts of fallen men\nare continually urging against this wholesome, this divine, this\nsoul-saving doctrine. I come now,\n\nIII. To answer some few of those which I think the most considerable.\n\nAnd, _First_, they say, because they would appear friends to morality,\n\u201cThat the doctrine of an imputed righteousness is destructive of good\nworks, and leads to licentiousness.\u201d\n\nAnd who, pray, are the persons that generally urge this objection?\nAre they men full of faith, and men really concerned for good works?\nNo; whatever few exceptions there may be, if there be any at all,\nit is notorious, they are generally men of corrupt minds, reprobate\nconcerning the faith. The best title I can give them is, that of\n_profane moralists_, or moralists falsely so called. For I appeal to\nthe experience of the present as well as past ages, if iniquity did\nand does not most abound, where the doctrine of CHRIST\u2019s whole personal\nrighteousness is most cried down, and most seldom mentioned: Arminian\nbeing antichristian principles, always did, and always will lead to\nantichristian practices. And never was there a reformation brought\nabout in the church, but by the preaching the doctrine of an imputed\nrighteousness. This, as that man of GOD, _Luther_, calls it, is\n\u201c_Articulus stantis aut cadentis Ecclesi\u00e6_,\u201d the article by which the\nChurch stands or falls. And though the preachers of this doctrine are\ngenerally branded by those on the other side, with the opprobrious\nnames of Antinomians, deceivers, and what not; yet, I believe, if the\ntruth of the doctrine on both sides was to be judged of by the lives of\nthe preachers and professors of it, on our side the question would have\nthe advantage every way.\n\nIt is true, this, as well as every other doctrine of grace, may be\nabused. And perhaps the unchristian walk of some, who have talked of\nCHRIST\u2019s imputed righteousness, justification by faith, and the like,\nand yet never felt it imputed to their own souls, has given the enemies\nof the LORD thus cause to blaspheme. But this is a very unsafe, as well\nas a very unfair way of arguing. The only question should be, Whether\nor not this doctrine of an imputed righteousness, does in itself cut\noff the occasion of good works, or lead to \u2666licentiousness? To this we\nmay boldly answer, In no wise. It excludes works, indeed, from being\nany cause of our justification in the sight of GOD; but it requires\ngood works as a proof of our having this righteousness imputed to us,\nand as a declarative evidence of our justification in the sight of\nmen. And then, how can the doctrine of an imputed righteousness be a\ndoctrine leading to licentiousness?\n\n \u2666 \u201clicentousness\u201d replaced with \u201clicentiousness\u201d\n\nIt is all calumny. The apostle _Paul_ introduceth an infidel making\nthis objection, in his epistle to the _Romans_; and none but infidels,\nthat never felt the power of CHRIST\u2019s resurrection upon their souls,\nwill urge it over again. And therefore, notwithstanding this objection,\nwith the Prophet in the text, we may boldly say, \u201cThe LORD is our\nrighteousness.\u201d\n\nBut Satan (and no wonder that his servants imitate him) often\ntransforms himself into an angel of light: and therefore, (such\nperverse things will infidelity and Arminianism make men speak) in\norder to dress their objections in the best colours, some urge, \u201cThat\nour Saviour preached no such doctrine; that in his sermon on the mount,\nhe mentions only morality:\u201d and consequently the doctrine of an imputed\nrighteousness falls wholly to the ground.\n\nBut surely the men, who urge this objection, either never read, or\nnever understood, our LORD\u2019s blessed discourse, wherein the doctrine of\nan imputed righteousness is so plainly taught, that he who runs, if he\nhas eyes that see, may read.\n\nIndeed our LORD does recommend morality and good works, (as all\nfaithful ministers will do) and clears the moral law from many corrupt\nglosses put upon it by the letter-learned Pharisees. But then, before\nhe comes to this, \u2019tis remarkable, he talks of inward piety, such as\npoverty of spirit, meekness, holy mourning, purity of heart, especially\nhungring and thirsting after righteousness; and then recommends good\nworks, as an evidence of our having his righteousness imputed to us,\nand these graces and divine tempers wrought in our hearts. \u201cLet your\nlight (that is, the divine light I before have been mentioning) shine\nbefore men, in a holy life; that they, seeing your good works, may\nglorify your father which is in heaven.\u201d And then he immediately adds,\n\u201cthink not that I am come to destroy the moral law: I came not to\ndestroy, (to take away the force of it as a rule of life) but to fulfil,\n(to obey it in its whole latitude, and give the compleat sense of it.)\u201d\nAnd then he goes on to shew how exceeding broad the moral law is. So\nthat our LORD, instead of setting aside an imputed righteousness in\nhis sermon upon the mount, not only confirms it, but also answers the\nforegoing objection urged against it, by making good works a proof and\nevidence of its being imputed to our souls. He, therefore, that hath\nears to hear, let him hear what the Prophet says in the words of the\ntext, \u201cThe LORD our righteousness.\u201d\n\nBut as Satan not only quoted scripture, but backed one temptation\nafter another with it, when he attacked CHRIST in the wilderness; so\nhis children generally take the same method in treating his doctrine.\nAnd, therefore, they urge another objection against the doctrine of an\nimputed righteousness, from the example of the young man in the gospel.\n\nWe may state it thus: \u201cThe Evangelist _Mark_, say they, chapter x.\nmentions a young man that came to CHRIST, running, and asking him\nwhat he should do to inherit eternal life? CHRIST referred him to\nthe commandments, to know what he must do to inherit eternal life.\nIt is plain, therefore, works were to be, partly at least, the cause\nof his justification: and consequently the doctrine of an imputed\nrighteousness is unscriptural.\u201d This is the objection in its full\nstrength: and little strength in all its fulness. For, was I to prove\nthe necessity of an imputed righteousness, I scarce know how I could\nbring a better instance to make it good.\n\nLet us take a nearer view of this young man, and of our LORD\u2019s\nbehaviour towards him, _Mark_ x. 17. the Evangelist tells us, \u201cThat\nwhen CHRIST was gone forth into the way, there came one running (it\nshould seem it was some nobleman; a rarity indeed to see such a one\nrunning to CHRIST!) and not only so, but he kneeled to him, (perhaps\nmany of his rank now, scarce knew the time when they kneeled to\nCHRIST) and asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do that I may\ninherit eternal life?\u201d Then JESUS, to see whether or not he believed\nhim to be what he really was, truly and properly GOD, said unto him,\n\u201cWhy callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is GOD.\u201d\nAnd, that he might directly answer his question, says he, \u201cThou\nknowest the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not bear false\nwitness, defraud not, honour thy father and thy mother.\u201d This was\na direct answer to his question; namely, That eternal life was not\nto be attained by his doings. For our LORD, by referring him to the\ncommandments, did not (as the objectors insinuate) in the least hint,\nthat his morality would recommend him to the favour and mercy of GOD:\nbut he intended thereby, to make the law his schoolmaster to bring him\nto himself; that the young man, seeing how he had broken every one of\nthese commandments, might thereby be convinced of the insufficiency of\nhis own, and consequently of the absolute necessity of looking out for\na better righteousness, whereon he might depend for eternal life.\n\nThis was what our Lord designed. The young man being self-righteous,\nand willing to justify himself, said, \u201cAll these have I observed from\nmy youth:\u201d but had he known himself, he would have confessed, all\nthese have I broken from my youth. For, supposing he had not actually\ncommitted adultery, had he never lusted after a woman in his heart?\nWhat, if he had not really killed another, had he never been angry\nwithout a cause, or spoken unadvisedly with his lips? If so, by\nbreaking one of the least commandments in the least degree, he became\nliable to the curse of GOD: for \u201ccursed is he (saith the law) that\ncontinueth not to do all things that are written in this book.\u201d And\ntherefore, as observed before, our LORD was so far from speaking\nagainst, that he treated the young man in that manner, on purpose to\nconvince him of the necessity of an imputed righteousness.\n\nBut perhaps they will reply, it is said, \u201cJESUS beholding him, loved\nhim.\u201d And what then? This he might do with a human love, and at the\nsame time this young man have no interest in his blood. Thus CHRIST is\nsaid to wonder, to weep over _Jerusalem_, and say, \u201cO that thou hadst\nknown, &c.\u201d But such-like passages are to be referred only to his\nhuman nature. And there is a great deal of difference between the love\nwherewith CHRIST loved this young man, and that wherewith he loved\n_Mary_, _Lazarus_, and their sister _Martha_. To illustrate this by\na comparison: A minister of the LORD JESUS CHRIST seeing many amiable\ndispositions, such as a readiness to hear the word, a decent behaviour\nat public worship, and a life outwardly spotless in many, cannot but\nso far love them; but then there is much difference betwixt the love\nwhich a minister feels for such, and that divine love, that union and\nsympathy of soul, which he feels for those that he is satisfied are\nreally born again of GOD. Apply this to our LORD\u2019s case, as a faint\nillustration of it. Consider what has been said upon the young man\u2019s\ncase in general, and then, if before you were fond of this objection,\ninstead of triumphing, like him you will go sorrowful away. Our\nSaviour\u2019s reply to him more and more convinces us of the truth of the\nprophet\u2019s assertion in the text, that \u201cthe LORD is our righteousness.\u201d\n\nBut there is a fourth, and a grand objection yet behind, which is\ntaken from the 25th chapter of _Matthew_, \u201cwhere our LORD is described\nas rewarding people with eternal life, because they fed \u2666the hungry,\ncloathed the naked, and such-like. Their works therefore were a\ncause of their justification, consequently the doctrine of imputed\nrighteousness is not agreeable to scripture.\u201d\n\n \u2666 \u201cthey\u201d replaced with \u201cthe\u201d\n\nThis, I confess, is the most plausible objection that is brought\nagainst the doctrine insisted on from the text; and that we may answer\nit in as clear and brief a manner as may be, we confess, with the\nArticle of the Church of _England_, \u201cThat albeit good works do not\njustify us, yet they will follow after justification, as fruits of\nit; and though they can claim no reward in themselves, yet forasmuch\nas they spring from faith in CHRIST, and a renewed soul, they shall\nreceive a reward of grace, though not of debt; and consequently the\nmore we abound in such good \u2666works, the greater will be our reward when\nJESUS CHRIST shall come to judgment.\u201d\n\n \u2666 \u201cwords\u201d replaced with \u201cworks\u201d\n\nTake these considerations along with us, and they will help us much\nto answer the objection now before us. For thus saith _Matthew_, \u201cThen\nshall the King say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed children\nof my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation\nof the world. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty,\nand ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and\nye cloathed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye\ncame unto me. I will therefore reward you, because you have done these\nthings out of love to me, and hereby have evidenced yourselves to be\nmy true disciples.\u201d And that the people did not depend on these good\nactions for their justification in the sight of GOD, is evident. \u201cFor\nwhen saw we thee an hungred, say they, and fed thee? or thirsty, and\ngave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in, or\nnaked, and cloathed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and\ncame unto thee?\u201d Language, and questions, quite improper for persons\nrelying on their own righteousness, for acceptance and acquittance in\nthe sight of GOD.\n\nBut then they reply against this: \u201cIn the latter part of the chapter,\nit is plain that JESUS CHRIST rejects and damns the others for not\ndoing these things. And therefore, if he damns these for not doing,\nhe saves those for doing; and consequently the doctrine of an imputed\nrighteousness is good for nothing.\u201d\n\nBut that is no consequence at all; for GOD may justly damn any man for\nomitting the least duty of the moral law, and yet in himself is not\nobliged to give to any one any reward, supposing he has done all that\nhe can. We are unprofitable servants; we have not done near so much\nas it was our duty to do, must be the language of the most holy souls\nliving; and therefore, from or in ourselves, cannot be justified in the\nsight of GOD. This was the frame of the devout souls just now referred\nto. Sensible of this, they were so far from depending on their works\nfor justification in the sight of GOD, that they were filled, as it\nwere, with a holy blushing, to think our LORD should condescend to\nmention, much more to reward them for, their poor works of faith and\nlabours of love. I am persuaded their hearts would rise with a holy\nindignation against those who urge this passage, as an objection to\nthe assertion of the prophet, that \u201cthe LORD is our righteousness.\u201d\n\nThus, I think, we have fairly answered these grand objections, which\nare generally urged against the doctrine of an _imputed righteousness_.\nWas I to stop here, I think I may say, \u201cWe are made more than\nconquerors through him that loved us.\u201d But there is a way of arguing\nwhich I have always admired, because I have thought it always very\nconvincing, by shewing the _absurdities_ that will follow from denying\nany particular proposition in dispute.\n\nIV. This is the next thing that was proposed. And never did greater\nor more absurdities flow from the denying any doctrine, than will flow\nfrom denying the doctrine of CHRIST\u2019s imputed righteousness.\n\nAnd _first_, if we deny this doctrine, we turn the truth, I mean the\nword of GOD, as much as we can, into a lie, and utterly subvert all\nthose places of scripture which say that we are saved by grace; that\nit is not of works, lest any man should boast; that salvation is GOD\u2019s\nfree gift; and that he who glorieth, must glory only in the LORD. For,\nif the whole personal righteousness of JESUS CHRIST be not the sole\ncause of my acceptance with GOD, if any work done by or foreseen in\nme, was in the least to be joined with it, or looked upon by GOD as an\ninducing, impulsive cause of acquitting my soul from guilt, then I have\nsomewhat whereof I may glory in myself. Now boasting is excluded in\nthe great work of our redemption; but that cannot be, if we are enemies\nto the doctrine of an imputed righteousness. It would be endless to\nenumerate how many texts of scripture must be false, if this doctrine\nbe not true. Let it suffice to affirm in the general, that if we deny\nan imputed righteousness, we may as well deny a divine revelation all\nat once: for it is the _alpha_ and _omega_, the beginning and the end\nof the book of GOD. We must either disbelieve that, or believe what the\nprophet hath spoken in the text, \u201cthat the LORD is our righteousness.\u201d\n\nBut farther: I observed at the beginning of this discourse, that\nwe are all _Arminians_ and _Papists_ by nature: for as one says,\n\u201c_Arminianism_ is the back way to _popery_.\u201d And here I venture further\nto affirm, that if we deny the doctrine of an imputed righteousness,\nwhatever we may stile ourselves, we are really _Papists_ in our hearts,\nand deserve no other title from men.\n\nSirs, what think you? Suppose I was to come and tell you, that you must\nintercede with saints, for them to intercede with GOD for you; would\nyou not then say, I was justly reputed a _popish missionary_ by some,\nand deservedly thrust out of the synagogues by others? I suppose you\nwould. And why? Because, you would say, the intercession of JESUS\nCHRIST was sufficient of itself, without the intercession of saints;\nand that it was blasphemous to join theirs with his, as though it was\nnot sufficient.\n\nSuppose I went a little more round about; and told you that the death\nof CHRIST was not sufficient, without our death being added to it;\nthat you must die as well as CHRIST, join your death with his, and then\nit would be sufficient. Might you not then, with a holy indignation,\nthrow dust in the air, and justly call me a \u201csetter forth of strange\ndoctrines?\u201d And now then, if it be not only absurd, but blasphemous,\nto join the intercession of saints with the intercession of CHRIST, as\nthough his intercession was not sufficient; or our death with the death\nof CHRIST, as though his death was not sufficient: judge ye, if it be\nnot equally absurd, equally blasphemous, to join our obedience, either\nwholly or in part, with the obedience of CHRIST, as if that was not\nsufficient. And if so, what absurdities will follow the denying that\nthe LORD, both as to his active and passive obedience, is our\nrighteousness?\n\nOne more absurdity I shall mention, as following the denying this\ndoctrine, and I have done.\n\nI remember a story of a certain prelate, who, after many arguments\nin vain urged to convince the Earl of _Rochester_ of the invisible\nrealities of another world, took his leave of his lordship with some\nsuch words as these: \u201cWell, my lord, if there be no hell, I am safe;\nbut if there should be such a thing as hell, what will become of you?\u201d\nI apply this to those that oppose the doctrine now insisted on. If\nthere be no such thing as the doctrine of an imputed righteousness,\nthose who hold it, and bring forth fruit unto holiness, are safe; but\nif there be such a thing (as there certainly is) what will become of\nyou that deny it? It is no difficult matter to determine. Your portion\nmust be in the lake of fire and brimstone for ever and ever. Since\nyou will rely upon your works, by your works you shall be judged. They\nshall be weighed in the balance of the sanctuary; and they will be\nfound wanting. By your works therefore shall you be condemned; and you,\nbeing out of CHRIST, shall find GOD, to your poor wretched souls, a\nconsuming fire.\n\nThe great _Stoddard_ of _Northampton_ in _New-England_, has therefore\nwell intitled a book which he wrote (and which I would take this\nopportunity to recommend) \u201cThe Safety of appearing in the Righteousness\nof CHRIST.\u201d For why should I lean upon a broken reed, when I can have\nthe rock of ages to stand upon, that never can be moved?\n\nAnd now, before I come to a more particular application, give me leave,\nin the apostle\u2019s language, triumphantly to cry out, \u201cWhere is the\nscribe, where the disputer?\u201d Where is the reasoning infidel of this\ngeneration? Can any thing appear more reasonable, even according to\nyour own way of arguing, than the doctrine here laid down? Have you not\nfelt a convincing power go along with the word? Why then will you not\nbelieve on the LORD JESUS CHRIST, that so he may become the LORD _your_\nrighteousness?\n\nBut it is time for me to come a little closer to your consciences.\n\nBrethren, though some may be offended at this doctrine, and may account\nit foolishness; yet, to many of you, I doubt not but it is precious,\nit being agreeable to the form of sound words, which from your infancy\nhas been delivered to you; and, coming from a quarter, you would least\nhave expected, may be received with more pleasure and satisfaction.\nBut give me leave to ask you one question; Can you say, the LORD our\nrighteousness? I say, the LORD _our_ righteousness. For entertaining\nthis doctrine in your heads, without receiving the LORD JESUS CHRIST\nsavingly by a lively faith into your hearts, will but increase your\ndamnation. As I have often told you, so I tell you again, an unapplied\nCHRIST is no CHRIST at all. Can you then, with believing _Thomas_, cry\nout, \u201cMy LORD and my GOD?\u201d Is CHRIST your sanctification, as well as\nyour outward righteousness? For the word righteousness, in the text,\nnot only implies CHRIST\u2019s personal righteousness imputed to us, but\nalso holiness wrought in us. These two, GOD has joined together. He\nnever did, he never does, he never will put them asunder. If you are\njustified by the blood, you are also sanctified by the Spirit of our\nLORD. Can you then in this sense say, The LORD our righteousness? Were\nyou ever made to abhor yourselves for your actual and original sins,\nand to lothe your own righteousness; for, as the prophet beautifully\nexpresses it, \u201cyour righteousness is as filthy rags?\u201d Were you ever\nmade to see and admire the all-sufficiency of CHRIST\u2019s righteousness,\nand excited by the Spirit of GOD to hunger and thirst after it?\nCould you ever say, my soul is athirst for CHRIST, yea, even for the\nrighteousness of CHRIST? O when shall I come to appear before the\npresence of my GOD in the righteousness of CHRIST! nothing but CHRIST!\nnothing but CHRIST! Give me CHRIST, O GOD, and I am satisfied! my soul\nshall praise thee for ever.\n\nWas this ever the language of your hearts? and, after these inward\nconflicts, were you ever enabled to reach out the arm of faith, and\nembrace the blessed JESUS in your souls, so that you could say, \u201cmy\nbeloved is mine, and I am his?\u201d If so, fear not, whoever you are. Hail,\nall hail, you happy souls! The LORD, the LORD CHRIST, the everlasting\nGOD, is your righteousness. CHRIST has justified you, who is he that\ncondemneth you? CHRIST has died for you, nay rather is risen again, and\never liveth to make intercession for you. Being now justified by his\ngrace, you have peace with GOD, and shall, ere long, be with JESUS in\nglory, reaping everlasting and unspeakable fruits both in body and soul.\nFor there is no condemnation to those that are really in CHRIST JESUS.\n\u201cWhether _Paul_ or _Apollos_, or life or death, all is yours if you\nare CHRIST\u2019s, for CHRIST is GOD\u2019s.\u201d My brethren, my heart is enlarged\ntowards you! O think of the love of CHRIST in dying for you! If the\nLORD be your righteousness, let the righteousness of your LORD be\ncontinually in your mouth. Talk of, O talk of, and recommend the\nrighteousness of CHRIST, when you lye down, and when you rise up, at\nyour going out and coming in! Think of the greatness of the gift, as\nwell as of the giver! Shew to all the world, in whom you have believed!\nLet all by your fruits know, that the LORD is your righteousness, and\nthat you are waiting for your LORD from heaven! O study to be holy,\neven as he who has called you, and washed you in his own blood, is\nholy! Let not the righteousness of the LORD be evil spoken of through\nyou. Let not JESUS be wounded in the house of his friends; but grow\nin grace, and in the knowledge of our LORD and Saviour JESUS CHRIST,\nday by day. O think of his dying love! Let that love constrain you\nto obedience! having much forgiven, love much. Be always asking, What\nshall I do, to express my gratitude to the LORD, for giving me his\nrighteousness? Let that self-abasing, GOD-exalting question be always\nin your mouths; \u201cWhy me, LORD? why me?\u201d why am I taken, and others\nleft? why is the LORD my righteousness? why is he become my salvation,\nwho have so often deserved damnation at his hands?\n\nMy friends, I trust I feel somewhat of a sense of GOD\u2019s distinguishing\nlove upon my heart; therefore I must divert a little from\ncongratulating you, to invite poor christless sinners to come to him,\nand accept of his righteousness, that they may have life.\n\nAlas, my heart almost bleeds! What a multitude of precious souls are\nnow before me! how shortly must all be ushered into eternity! and yet,\nO cutting thought! was GOD now to require all your souls, how few,\ncomparatively speaking, could really say, the LORD _our_ righteousness!\n\nAnd think you, _O sinners_, that you will be able to stand in the day\nof judgment, if CHRIST be not your righteousness! No, that alone is the\nwedding-garment in which you must appear. O christless sinners, I am\ndistressed for you! the desires of my soul are enlarged. O that this\nmay be an accepted time! that the LORD may be your righteousness! For\nwhither would you flee, if death should find you naked? Indeed there is\nno hiding yourselves from his presence. The pitiful fig-leaves of your\nown righteousness will not cover your nakedness, when GOD shall call\nyou to stand before him. _Adam_ found them ineffectual, and so will you.\nO think of death! O think of judgment! Yet a little while, and time\nshall be no more; and then what will become of you, if the LORD be not\nyour righteousness? Think you that CHRIST will spare you? No, he that\nformed you, will have no mercy on you. If you are not of CHRIST, if\nCHRIST be not your righteousness, CHRIST himself shall pronounce you\ndamned. And can you bear to think of being damned by CHRIST? Can you\nbear to hear the LORD JESUS say to you, \u201cDepart from me, ye cursed,\ninto everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.\u201d Can you\nlive, think you, in everlasting burnings? Is your flesh brass, and your\nbones iron? what if they are? hell-fire, that fire prepared for the\ndevil and his angels, will heat them through and through. And can you\nbear to depart from CHRIST? O that heart-piercing thought! Ask those\nholy souls, who are at any time bewailing an absent GOD, who walk in\ndarkness, and see no light, though but a few days or hours; ask them,\nwhat it is to lose a sight and presence of CHRIST? See how they seek\nhim sorrowing, and go mourning after him all the day long! And, if it\nis so dreadful to lose the sensible presence of CHRIST only for a day,\nwhat must it be to be banished from him to all eternity?\n\nBut thus it must be, if CHRIST be not your righteousness. For GOD\u2019s\njustice must be satisfied; and, unless CHRIST\u2019s righteousness is\nimputed and applied to you here, you must hereafter be satisfying the\ndivine justice in hell-torments eternally; nay, CHRIST himself shall\ncondemn you to that place of torment. And how cutting is that thought!\nMethinks I see poor, trembling, christless wretches, standing before\nthe bar of GOD, crying out, LORD, if we must be damned, let some\nangel, or some archangel, pronounce the damnatory sentence: but all in\nvain. CHRIST himself shall pronounce the irrevocable sentence. Knowing\ntherefore the terrors of the LORD, let me persuade you to close with\nCHRIST, and never rest till you can say, \u201cthe LORD our righteousness.\u201d\nWho knows but the LORD may have mercy on, nay, abundantly pardon you?\nBeg of GOD to give you faith; and, if the LORD gives you that, you will\nby it receive CHRIST, with his righteousness, and his All. You need not\nfear the greatness or number of your sins. For are you sinners? so am I.\nAre you the chief of sinners? so am I. Are you backsliding sinners? so\nam I. And yet the LORD (for ever adored be his rich, free and sovereign\ngrace) the LORD is my righteousness. Come then, _O young men_, who (as\nI acted once myself) are playing the prodigal, and wandering away afar\noff from your heavenly Father\u2019s house, come home, come home, and leave\nyour swines trough. Feed no longer on the husks of sensual delights:\nfor CHRIST\u2019s sake arise, and come home! your heavenly Father now calls\nyou. See yonder the best robe, even the righteousness of his dear Son,\nawaits you. See it, view it again and again. Consider at how dear a\nrate it was purchased, even by the blood of GOD. Consider what great\nneed you have of it. You are lost, undone, damned for ever, without it.\nCome then, poor, guilty prodigals, come home: indeed, I will not, like\nthe elder brother in the gospel, be angry; no, I will rejoice with the\nangels in heaven. And O that GOD would now bow the heavens, and come\ndown! Descend, O Son of GOD, descend; and, as thou hast shewn in me\nsuch mercy, O let thy blessed Spirit apply thy righteousness to some\nyoung prodigals now before thee, and clothe their naked souls with thy\nbest robe!\n\nBut I must speak a word to you, _young maidens_, as well as young men.\nI see many of you adorned, as to your bodies: but are not your souls\nnaked? Which of you can say, the Lord is my righteousness? which of you\nwas ever solicitous to be dressed in this robe of invaluable price, and\nwithout which you are no better than whited sepulchres in the sight of\nGOD? Let not then so many of you, young maidens, any longer forget your\nchief and only ornament. O seek for the LORD to be your righteousness,\nor otherwise burning will soon be upon you, instead of beauty!\n\nAnd what shall I say to you of a middle age, you _busy merchants_, you\n_cumbered Martha\u2019s_, who, with all your gettings, have not yet gotten\nthe LORD to be your righteousness? Alas! what profit will there be of\nall your labour under the sun, if you do not secure this pearl of\ninvaluable price? this one thing, so absolutely needful, that it only\ncan stand you in stead, when all other things shall be taken from you.\nLabour therefore no longer so anxiously for the meat which perisheth,\nbut henceforward seek for the LORD to be your righteousness, a\nrighteousness that will entitle you to life everlasting. I see also\nmany _hoary heads_ here, and perhaps the most of them cannot say, the\nLORD is my righteousness. O gray-headed sinners, I could weep over you!\nyour gray hairs, which ought to be your crown, and in which perhaps\nyou glory, are now your shame. You know not that the LORD is your\nrighteousness: O haste then, haste ye, aged sinners, and seek an\ninterest in redeeming love! Alas, you have one foot already in the\ngrave, your glass is just run out, your sun is just going down, and it\nwill set and leave you in an eternal darkness, unless the LORD be your\nrighteousness! Flee then, O flee for your lives! be not afraid. All\nthings are possible with GOD. If you come, though it be at the eleventh\nhour, CHRIST JESUS will in no wise cast you out. Seek then for the LORD\nto be your righteousness, and beseech him to let you know, how it is\nthat a man may be born again when he is old! But I must not forget the\n_lambs_ of the flock. To feed them was one of my LORD\u2019s last commands.\nI know he will be angry with me, if I do not tell them, that the\nLORD may be _their_ righteousness; and that of such is the kingdom of\nheaven. Come then, ye little children, come to CHRIST; the LORD CHRIST\nshall be _your_ righteousness. Do not think, that you are too young to\nbe converted. Perhaps many of you may be nine or ten years old, and yet\ncannot say, the LORD is our righteousness; which many have said, though\nyounger than you. Come then, while you are young. Perhaps you may\nnot live to be old. Do not stay for other people. If your fathers and\nmothers will not come to CHRIST, do you come without them. Let children\nlead them, and shew them how the LORD may be _their_ righteousness. Our\nLORD JESUS loved little children. You are his lambs; he bids me feed\nyou. I pray GOD make you willing betimes to take the LORD for your\nrighteousness.\n\nHere then I could conclude; but I must not forget the _poor negroes_;\nno, I must not. JESUS CHRIST has died for them, as well as for others.\nNor do I mention you last, because I despise your souls, but because\nI would have what I shall say, make the deeper impression upon your\nhearts. O that you would seek the LORD to be your righteousness! Who\nknows but he may be found of you? For in JESUS CHRIST there is neither\nmale nor female, bond nor free; even you may be the children of GOD, if\nyou believe in JESUS. Did you never read of the eunuch belonging to the\nqueen of _Candace_? a negro like yourselves. He believed. The LORD was\nhis righteousness. He was baptized. Do you also believe, and you shall\nbe saved. CHRIST JESUS is the same now as he was yesterday, and will\nwash you in his own blood. Go home then, turn the words of the text\ninto a prayer, and intreat the LORD to be _your_ righteousness. Even so,\ncome LORD JESUS, come quickly, into all our souls! _Amen_, LORD JESUS,\n_Amen_ and _Amen_!\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XV.\n\n The Righteousness of CHRIST, an everlasting Righteousness.\n\n\n DANIEL ix. 24.\n\n _And to bring in everlasting Righteousness._\n\nON reading these words, I cannot help addressing you in the language of\nthe angels to the poor shepherds, who kept watch over their flocks by\nnight, \u201cBehold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy,\u201d such tidings,\nthat if we have ears to hear, if we have eyes to see, and if our hearts\nhave indeed experienced the grace of GOD, must cause us to cry out with\nthe Virgin _Mary_, \u201cMy soul doth magnify the LORD, and my spirit doth\nrejoice in GOD my Saviour.\u201d The words which I have read to you, are\npart of one of the most explicit revelations that was given of JESUS\nCHRIST, before he made his public entrance into this our world. It has\nbeen observed by some, and very properly too, that it is one mark of\nthe divine goodness to his creatures, that he is pleased to let light\ncome in gradually upon the natural world. If the sun from midnight\ndarkness, was immediately to shine forth in his full meridian blaze,\nhis great splendor would be apt to dazzle our eyes, and strike us blind\nagain: but GOD is pleased to make light come gradually in, and by that\nmeans we are prepared to receive it. And as GOD is pleased to deal with\nthe natural, so he has dealt with the moral, with the spiritual world.\nThe LORD JESUS CHRIST did not appear in his full glory all at once,\nbut as the sun rises gradually, so did the LORD JESUS, the Sun of\nrighteousness, rise gradually upon men, with healing under his wings.\nHence it was, that our first parents had nothing to fix their faith\nupon, but that first promise, \u201cThe seed of the woman shall bruise the\nserpent\u2019s head.\u201d And in future ages, at sundry times, and after divers\nmanners, GOD was pleased to speak to our fathers by the prophets,\nbefore he spake to us in these last days by his son; and the prophets\nthat were more peculiarly dear to GOD, it should seem had more peculiar\nand extraordinary revelations vouchsafed to them, concerning JESUS\nCHRIST.\n\nIt is plain from the accounts we have in Scripture, that the Prophet\n_Daniel_ was one of these; he is stiled by the angel, not only a \u201cman\nthat was beloved,\u201d but a \u201cman that was _greatly_ beloved,\u201d or as it is\nin the margin of your bibles, \u201che was a man of desires,\u201d of large and\nextensive desires to promote the glory of GOD; he was a desirable man,\na man that did much good in his generation, and therefore his life\nwas much to be desired by those who loved GOD. The words which I\nhave chosen for the subject of our present meditation, contain part\nof a revelation made to this man. If you look back to the beginning\nof this chapter, you will find how the good man was employed, when\nGOD was pleased to give him this revelation; verse 2. \u201cIn the first\nyear of _Darius_\u2019s reign, I _Daniel_ understood by books the number\nof the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to _Jeremiah_ the\nprophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of\n_Jerusalem_.\u201d _Daniel_ was a great man, and withal a good man; great as\nhe was, it seems he was not above reading his Bible; he made the Bible\nhis constant study; for it is the Bible we are to understand by what\nis here termed books, and elsewhere, the scriptures of truth. He found,\nthat the time for GOD\u2019s people being delivered from the captivity,\nwas now at hand. Well, one would have thought, that therefore _Daniel_\nneeded not to pray; but this, instead of retarding, quickened him\nin his prayers: and therefore we are told in the third verse, \u201cI set\nmy face unto the LORD GOD, to seek by prayer and supplications, with\nfasting and sackcloth, and ashes.\u201d It is beautifully expressed: \u201che\nset his face,\u201d as though he was resolved never to let his eye go off\nGOD, till GOD was pleased to give him an answer; he was resolved,\n_Jacob_-like, to wrestle with the LORD GOD, until GOD should be pleased\nto give him the desired blessing. We are told in the fourth verse,\nthat \u201che prayed unto the LORD, and made confession,\u201d not only of his\nown sins, but the sins of his people. And when ye retire home to your\nhouses, before ye go to bed, I would recommend to you the reading of\nthis prayer; every word of it bespeaks his exceeding concern for the\npublic good. It would take me up too much time, was I to make such\nobservations as indeed the prayer deserves; to bring you sooner to the\nwords of the text, let us go forward to the twentieth verse, and there\nyou will find the success that _Daniel_ met with, when praying. Says he,\n\u201cwhile I was praying and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people\n_Israel_, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my GOD, for\nthe holy mountain of my GOD; yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even\nthe man _Gabriel_, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning,\nbeing caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening\noblation.\u201d The manner in which _Daniel_ expresses himself, is very\nemphatical: \u201cWhile I was _speaking in prayer_;\u201d implying, that GOD\nsuffers us, when we draw near to him by faith in prayer, to lay all our\ncomplaints before him; he suffers us to speak unto, and talk with him,\nas a man talketh with his friend. _Daniel_ at this time too was making\n_confession_ one part of his prayer; for we are never, never in a\nbetter frame to receive answers from above, than when we are humbling\nourselves before the LORD. He was not only confessing his own sins,\nbut he was confessing the sins of his people; he was praying for those,\nwho perhaps seldom prayed for themselves; \u201cwhile I was speaking in\nprayer, the man _Gabriel_:\u201d which word, by interpretation, signifies\n_the strength of_ GOD; a very proper name, says Bishop _Hall_, for\nthat angel who was to come and bring the news to the world, of the GOD\nof strength, the LORD JESUS CHRIST. This angel is here represented as\nflying, and as flying swiftly; to show us how willing, how unspeakably\nwilling those blessed spirits are, to bring good news to men. And it is\nupon this account, I suppose, that we are taught by our LORD to pray,\n\u201cthat GOD\u2019s will may be done by us on earth, as it is done in heaven,\u201d\nthat we may imitate a little of that alacrity and vigour, which angels\nemploy, when they are sent on errands for GOD.\n\nWell, here is not only mention made of the angel\u2019s flying swiftly, but\nthere is mention made of the time that he came; \u201cHe came and touched me,\nabout the time of the evening oblation,\u201d that is, about three o\u2019clock\nin the afternoon; at this time there was a sacrifice made to GOD,\nand this sacrifice was in a peculiar manner a type of the LORD JESUS,\nwho in the evening of the world was to become a sacrifice for sinners.\nWe are told in the 22d verse, what message this angel delivered,\n\u201cHe informed me, and talked with me, and said, O _Daniel_, I am now\ncome forth to give thee skill and understanding; at the beginning of\nthy supplication, the commandment came forth, and I am come to show\nthee, for thou art greatly beloved, therefore understand the matter,\nand consider the vision.\u201d This passage, with such-like passages of\nscripture, hath often comforted my soul, and may comfort the hearts of\nall GOD\u2019s people. There are a great many of you, perhaps, have prayed,\nand prayed again to GOD, and probably you do not find any answer given\nyou: you pray for an enlarged heart, you pray for comfort, you pray for\ndeliverance; GOD is pleased to withhold it for a while; then the devil\nstrikes in, and says, GOD has shut out your prayers, GOD will never\nhear, GOD will never regard you, therefore pray no more. But, my dear\nfriends, this is a mistake; a thousand years are with GOD as one day;\nand the LORD JESUS has bid us, \u201cto pray always, and not faint.\u201d You\nmay have had your prayers heard, the very moment they went out of your\nlips, though it may not please your GOD, (and it may not be proper\nfor you) to let you know that they are heard. \u201cAt the beginning of thy\nsupplication, the commandment went forth;\u201d and this very angel some\nhundred years after, told _Zacharias_, that his prayer was heard; a\nprayer for what? a prayer for a child; it could not be supposed that\nat the very time _Zacharias_ was praying for a child; but his prayer\nhe had put up forty years before, GOD was pleased to answer so long\nafterwards.\n\nBut to proceed with _Gabriel_\u2019s declaration, verse 24. \u201cSeventy \u2666weeks\nare determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish\ntransgression, to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for\niniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness,\u201d I do not intend\nto trouble you about the critical exposition of these _seventy weeks_;\ncommentators are divided exceedingly upon this subject; some of them\nexplain them one way, and some another, and perhaps we shall never\nknow till the day of judgment, till the glorious day spoken of in the\nNew Testament, which are right. My intention is to dwell upon this\nparticular part of the angel\u2019s message, that some one person was to\ndo something _unspeakable_ for GOD\u2019s people, even \u201cto bring in an\neverlasting righteousness.\u201d\n\n \u2666 \u201cyears\u201d replaced with \u201cweeks\u201d\n\nIf you want to know who was the person that was to do this, look to\nthe 26th verse, and you will find the person mentioned, the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST: \u201cafter threescore and two weeks shall the _Messiah_ be cut\noff, but not for himself:\u201d he is the person spoken of, he was \u201cto put\nan end to sin, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in\neverlasting righteousness.\u201d\n\nFrom these important words, I shall endeavour,\n\n _First_, To shew you what we are to understand by the word,\n \u201cRighteousness.\u201d\n\n _Secondly_, I shall endeavour to shew you, upon what account it\n is, that the righteousness mentioned in the text, is called an\n \u201ceverlasting righteousness.\u201d\n\n _Thirdly_, I shall shew, what we are to understand by \u201cbringing\n it in.\u201d And,\n\nThen speak a word to saints and sinners. And while I am speaking to\nyour ears, may GOD, for the LORD JESUS CHRIST\u2019s sake, speak to your\nhearts!\n\n_First_, To explain what we are to understand by the word,\n\u201crighteousness.\u201d If I was to ask some people what we are to understand\nby the word, righteousness; if the person was an _Arminian_, or an\nenemy to the doctrine of free grace, he would answer me, it signifies\nwhat we commonly call _moral honesty_, or doing justice between man\nand man. And, indeed, in various passages of scripture, the word\nrighteousness has no other meaning, at least, it bears that meaning.\nI suppose, we are to understand it in this sense, when we are told,\nthat _Paul_, preaching before _Felix_, \u201creasoned of temperance,\nof righteousness, and of a judgment to come.\u201d _Felix_ had been a\nvery unrighteous and unjust man, and therefore, to convince him of\nhis wickedness, to alarm his conscience, to put him upon seeking\nhelp in the LORD JESUS, _Paul_ preached not only of temperance, (for\n_Felix_ had been a very intemperate man) but he preached to him of\nrighteousness, of the necessity of doing justice, because he had been\nan unjust man; and he puts before him the judgment to come, in order to\nmake him fly to JESUS CHRIST for deliverance from the bad consequences\nof that judgment; and there are other places of scripture, where the\nword righteousness may be understood in this sense.\n\nIt likewise signifies inward holiness, wrought in us by the blessed\nSpirit of GOD. But, I believe, the word righteousness in my text\nsignifies, what, I trust most, I should be glad if I could say, all who\nattend this night, will be glad to hear of: What is that? It is what\nall reformed divines, that have clear heads and clear hearts, call an\n_imputed righteousness_, or the righteousness of the LORD JESUS CHRIST\nto be imputed to poor sinners upon their believing: and, if you ask me,\nwhat I mean by an imputed righteousness; not to shoot over your heads,\nbut rather, if GOD shall be pleased to make me, to reach your hearts,\nI will tell you, by this word \u201crighteousness,\u201d I understand all that\nCHRIST hath done, and all that CHRIST hath suffered: or, to make use of\nthe term generally made use of by sound divines, \u201cCHRIST\u2019s active, and\nCHRIST\u2019s passive obedience;\u201d put these two together, and they make up\nthe righteousness of the LORD JESUS CHRIST. My dear friends, thus stood\nthe case between GOD and man: at first GOD made man upright. _Moses_\ngives us a short, but never was so full a description of the origin\nand nature of man given by any other but himself. \u201cIn the image of GOD\nmade he man,\u201d says that sacred historian, being inspired by the Spirit\nof GOD. GOD said, and it was done; GOD commanded, and the world arose\nbefore him; \u201cLet there be light,\u201d and instantaneously behold light\nappeared: but when that lovely, that divine, that blessed creature Man,\nthe Lord of the creation, GOD\u2019s vicegerent, was to be made, GOD calls\na council, and says, \u201cLet us make man after our own image.\u201d Now, this\nimage is to be understood, no doubt, in respect of man\u2019s soul; for GOD\nbeing no corporeal substance, man could not be made after his image\nthat way. Well, in this condition GOD made man. _Adam_ stood as our\nrepresentative. _Adam_ and _Eve_ had but one name originally, \u201cGOD made\nman, and called their name _Adam_.\u201d GOD left _Adam_ to his own free\nwill; he was pleased to enter into a covenant with him, which, indeed,\nis an amazing instance of GOD\u2019s condescension. GOD might have ordered\nman to do so and so, and not made him any promise of a reward: but\nthe great Creator was pleased to promise him, that if he performed an\nunsinning obedience, if he abstained from eating a particular tree,\nthat he and his posterity should live for ever; but if He broke that\ncommand, in the day that he ate thereof, he and all his posterity\nwere to die. Now, I verily believe, had you and I been there present,\nhowever some people may object against GOD\u2019s severity, in imputing\n_Adam_\u2019s sin to us; yet I believe, if you and I, and all the world\nhad been present, we should have heartily come into this agreement.\nSupposing GOD had called the whole creation together, and had said,\n\u201cYe, my creatures, I have made here a man after my own image, I have\nbreathed into him the breath of life, I have caused him to become a\nliving soul, I have filled him with righteousness and true holiness; he\nhas not the least propensity to sin, only he is a fallible and mutable\ncreature; all that I desire of this man is, that he abstain from yonder\ntree: I have given to him all the trees of the garden, I have made\nhim, and planted for him a garden with mine own right hand, I desire he\nmay abstain from plucking yonder fruit: Will ye stand or fall by this\nman, will ye let him be your representative, will ye be content that\nhis obedience or disobedience be imputed to you?\u201d If we had been all\nthere, every one of us would have said, \u201cLORD GOD, we will let him be\nour representative;\u201d the terms were so easy, the improbability of his\nfalling was so exceeding great, that I believe every one of us should\nhave all put our hand to the covenant. And supposing us alive, and that\nwe had agreed to that covenant, who is that man or woman that could\nfind fault with GOD\u2019s imputing _Adam_\u2019s sin to us. Well, my friends,\nGOD made man in this condition; the devil envied his happiness; it is\nsupposed by some, that man was made to supply the places of the fallen\nangels. But the devil envied man, and had leave to tempt him; _Eve_\nsoon reached out her hand and plucked of the forbidden fruit, and\nafterwards _Adam_ transgressed also; and from that very moment, to make\nuse of Mr. _Boston_\u2019s words, \u201cMan\u2019s name was _Ichabod_,\u201d the glory of\nthe LORD departed from him. _Adam_ and _Eve_ then fell: you, and I, and\nall their posterity (whom they represented) fell in them. Mankind had\nbut one neck; and GOD might have served mankind, as _Caligula_ would\nhave served _Rome_, according to his own words, \u201cI wish it had but one\nneck, and I would cut it off with one blow.\u201d GOD, if he pleased, might\nhave sent us all to hell. Here _Calvin_ represents GOD\u2019s attributes\nas struggling one with another; Justice saying to GOD, seeing Justice\nhad framed the sanction, \u201cIs the law broken, damn the offender, and\nsend him to hell.\u201d The mercy of GOD, his darling attribute, cries out,\n\u201cSpare him, spare him.\u201d The wisdom of GOD contrives a way, that justice\nmight be satisfied, and yet mercy be triumphant still. How was that?\nThe LORD JESUS interposes, the days-man, the dear Redeemer! he saw GOD\nwielding his flaming sword, and his hand taking hold of vengeance; the\nLORD JESUS CHRIST saw the sword ready to be sheathed in the blood of\nthe offender; when no eye could pity, when no angel or archangel could\nrescue, just as GOD was, as it were, about to give the fatal blow, just\nas the knife was put to the throat of the offender, the Son of GOD, the\neternal Logos, says, \u201cFather, spare the sinner; let him not die; Father,\nFather, O hold thy hand, withdraw thy sword, for I come to do thy will;\nman has broken thy law, and violated thy covenant: I do not deny but\nman deserves to be damned for ever; but, Father, what _Adam_ could not\ndo, if thou wilt prepare me a body, I in the fulness of time will go,\nand die for him; he has broken thy law, but I will go and keep it, that\nthy law may be honoured; I will give a perfect unsinning obedience to\nall thy commandments; and that thou mayst justify ungodly creatures, I\nwill not only go down and obey thy law, but I will go down and bleed;\nI will go down and die: here I am; I \u2666will step in between thee and\nsinners, and be glad to have thy sword sheathed in my heart\u2019s blood for\nthem.\u201d\n\n \u2666 duplicate word \u201cwill\u201d removed\n\nIn the fulness of time descends the eternal Logos, \u201cIn the fulness of\ntime GOD sent forth his Son made of a woman, made under the law, to\nredeem them that are under the law from the curse of it, being made a\ncurse for us.\u201d The LORD JESUS CHRIST being cloathed in human nature,\nfulfilled all righteousness; he submitted to every institution of GOD,\nand was pleased to obey the whole moral law; and afterwards, O can we\nthink of it, O can you hear of it, without a heart leaping with joy, at\nlast the LORD JESUS bled and died! and when he was just expiring, just\nas he was about to bow down his head, and give up the ghost, what do ye\nthink he said? He said, \u201cIt is finished!\u201d As much as to say, \u201cNow the\narduous work, the difficult task I had undertaken, blessed be GOD, is\nnow completely over; all the demands of the law are finished; now GOD\u2019s\njustice is satisfied; now a new and living way is opened by my blood to\nthe holiest of all for poor sinners.\u201d\n\nSo that when CHRIST\u2019s righteousness is here spoken of, we are to\nunderstand \u201cCHRIST\u2019s obedience and death,\u201d all that CHRIST has done,\nand all that CHRIST has suffered for an elect world, for all that will\nbelieve on him. And blessed be GOD for this righteousness! blessed be\nGOD for the epithet which in the text is put to this righteousness;\nit might be called a _blessed_ righteousness, it might be called\na _glorious_ righteousness; it might be called an _invaluable_\nrighteousness; but the angel calls it an _everlasting righteousness_;\nGOD give you to take the comfort of it!\n\n_Secondly_, I am now to shew, on what account, this righteousness is\nhere called an _everlasting_ righteousness; and pray why do you think\nis CHRIST\u2019s righteousness called an everlasting righteousness?\n\nI suppose it is called an everlasting righteousness,\n\n_First_, Because CHRIST\u2019s righteousness was intended by the great GOD\nto extend to mankind even from eternity. All of you know, that old love\nis the best love. When we have an old acquaintance, a friend, that has\nloved us for many years, indeed that love is sweet: though we may love\nnew friends, yet when an old friend and a new friend meet together,\nwe may say, that the old is better. Now this should endear GOD to us,\nto think that from all the ages of eternity GOD had thoughts of you;\nGOD intended the LORD JESUS CHRIST to save your souls and mine: hence\nit is, that GOD, to endear _Jeremiah_ to him, tells him, I have loved\nthee with an everlasting love. Hence it is, that the LORD JESUS, when\nhe calls his elect people up to heaven, says, \u201cCome, ye blessed of\nmy Father;\u201d what follows? \u201creceive the kingdom prepared for you;\u201d how\nlong? \u201cfrom the foundation of the world.\u201d All that we receive in time;\nall the streams that come to our souls, are but so many streams flowing\nfrom that inexhaustible fountain, GOD\u2019s electing, GOD\u2019s sovereign,\nGOD\u2019s distinguishing, GOD\u2019s everlasting love; and, therefore, the\nrighteousness of JESUS CHRIST may properly be called an everlasting\nrighteousness, because GOD intended it from everlasting.\n\n_Secondly_, It is called an everlasting righteousness, because the\nefficacy of CHRIST\u2019s death took place immediately upon _Adam_\u2019s fall.\nChristianity, in one sense, is as old as the creation. Great Professor\n_Franck_, of _Germany_, says, \u201cThat CHRIST is the sum and substance\nof all righteousness.\u201d Mr. _Henry_ observes, \u201cThat the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST is the treasure hid in the field of the Old Testament, under\nthe types and shadows of the _Mosaic_ dispensation.\u201d We have the Sun\nof Righteousness shining in his full meridian in the New Testament\ndispensation. Now the righteousness of JESUS CHRIST, may be called an\neverlasting righteousness, because all the saints that have been saved,\nor that ever will be saved, are all saved by the righteousness of\nCHRIST. A great many censorious people are mighty inquisitive to know,\nwhat will become of the heathens, that never heard of JESUS CHRIST.\nI would say to such persons, as the LORD JESUS CHRIST did to another\ncurious enquirer, \u201cWhat is that to thee? follow thou me.\u201d Pray, for\nwhat should you and I trouble ourselves about the heathens? Are not we\nheathens? It is too true, that we have too much of the heathens temper\nand practice with us. But why should we lose our time in enquiring\nabout what will become of the heathen, and not rather enquire what will\nbecome of our own souls? We may be sure GOD will deal with heathens\naccording to their light: if he has given them no revelation, they will\nnot be judged by a revelation; if they have not had a law, they will\nbe judged without law. But as for the _Jews_ and _Gentiles_, who have\nthe gospel revealed to them, however Deists may argue contrary to it;\nhowever they may set up reason in opposition to divine revelation;\nwe may be sure none were ever saved, or will be saved, but by the\nrighteousness of CHRIST. It was through faith in him, that _Abel_ was\nsaved; it was through the sacrifice of JESUS CHRIST, that _Abraham_\nwas accepted, and that all the prophets of old were accepted; and there\nis none other name given under heaven, whereby we can be saved, but\nthat of CHRIST. And therefore, since persons under the law, and under\nthe gospel, are to be saved only through CHRIST; therefore, CHRIST\u2019s\nrighteousness may properly be called an everlasting righteousness. But\nthis is not all.\n\n_Thirdly_, The righteousness of JESUS CHRIST, is not only to be called\nan everlasting righteousness, because that all persons under the law,\nand all persons under the gospel, are saved by it; but because the\nefficacy thereof, blessed be GOD for it! is to continue till time shall\nbe no more. Blessed be GOD for JESUS CHRIST! the efficacy of whose\nblood, death, and atonement, is as great and as effectual now to the\nsalvation of poor sinners, as when he bowed his blessed head, and gave\nup the ghost: \u201cJESUS CHRIST is the same yesterday, to-day, and for\never;\u201d and whosoever believes on him now, whosoever comes to, and\naccepts of him, shall now see his power, shall taste of his grace, and\nshall be actually saved by him, the same as if he had been in company\nwith those who saw him expiring.\n\n_Fourthly_, CHRIST\u2019s righteousness may be called an everlasting\nrighteousness, because the benefit of it is to endure to everlasting\nlife. Indeed, some people tell us, that a person may be in CHRIST\nto-day, and go to the devil to-morrow: but, blessed be GOD, ye have\nnot so learned CHRIST! No, my dear friends, thanks be to GOD for that\ndivine text, \u201cThere is now no condemnation to them that are in CHRIST\nJESUS.\u201d Though GOD\u2019s people may fall foully; and though many are full\nof doubts and fears, and say, \u201cOne day I shall fall by the hands of\n_Saul_;\u201d however ye may say in your haste, \u201cAll men are liars;\u201d however\nyour poor souls may be harassed, yet no wicked devil, nor your own\ndepraved heart, shall be able to separate you from the love of GOD:\nGOD has loved you, GOD has fixed his heart upon you, and having loved\nhis own, he loves them unto the end. The LORD of life and of glory,\nthe blessed JESUS, will never cease loving you, till he hath loved and\nbrought you to heaven; when he will rejoice, and say, \u201cBehold me, O\nmy Father, and the dear children that thou hast given me; thou gavest\nthem me; thine they were, I have bought them with my blood, I have\nwon them with my sword and with my bow, and I now will wear them as\nso many jewels of my crown.\u201d Therefore, JESUS CHRIST\u2019s righteousness\nmay be called an everlasting righteousness, because those who once\ntake hold of, and are interested in it, shall be saved everlastingly by\nCHRIST: \u201cIt is GOD that justifies us, (says St. _Paul_) who is he that\ncondemneth? It is CHRIST that died, yea rather that is risen again.\u201d\nHe gives devils the challenge, \u201cO death, where is thy sting, O grave,\nwhere is thy victory? Who shall separate us from the love of GOD? I\nam persuaded that neither death nor life, neither principalities nor\npowers, nor any other creature, shall ever be able to seperate us from\nthe love of GOD, which is in CHRIST JESUS our LORD.\u201d Those whom GOD\njustifies, he also glorifies. And because CHRIST lives, blessed be GOD,\nwe shall live also. I know not what you may say; but though I trust I\nhave felt the grace of CHRIST, yet I find that I have as much need to\ncome to CHRIST every day for fresh strength, as if I had never believed\nbefore: and if I was to depend upon my own faithfulness, and not the\nfaithfulness of the Son of GOD, I am sure I should soon desert the LORD\nJESUS CHRIST. But glory be to GOD, he is faithful that hath promised!\nGlory be to GOD, our salvation depends not upon our own free will, but\nupon GOD\u2019s free grace! Here is a sure bottom; the believer may build\nupon it; let the storms blow as long and as high as they please, they\nmay make the poor creature tremble, but blessed be GOD, they never\nshall be able to take him off the foundation; though they may shake\nhim, they shall only shake off his corruption: and I believe all that\nfear GOD, will be glad to part with it. On all these accounts, CHRIST\u2019s\nrighteousness may be called an everlasting righteousness.\n\nIII. It is said, in my text, that JESUS was to bring it in. What are\nwe to understand by his bringing it in? Our LORD\u2019s promulgating and\nproclaiming it to the world. Indeed, it was brought in under the law;\nbut then it was brought in under types and shadows, and most of the\n_Jews_ looked no further. But JESUS CHRIST brought life and immortality\nto light by the gospel. The light of _Moses_ was only twilight; the\nlight of the gospel, is like the sun at noon-day, shining in his\nfull meridian. Therefore, JESUS CHRIST may be said to bring in this\neverlasting righteousness, because he proclaimed it to the world, and\ncommanded it to be preached, that GOD sent his Son into the world, that\nthe world through him might be saved.\n\nAgain, The LORD JESUS CHRIST brought in this righteousness, as he\nwrought it out for sinners upon the cross. Some Antinomians, for want\nof a proper distinction, run into a grievous error, telling us, Because\nGOD intended to justify by the righteousness of JESUS CHRIST, therefore\nman is justified from all eternity: which is absurd: a person cannot\nbe justified, till he is actually existing; therefore, though man is\njustified, as it lies in GOD\u2019s mind from all eternity, yet it was not\nactually brought in till the LORD JESUS CHRIST pronounced those blessed\nwords, \u201cIt is finished;\u201d the grand consummation! then JESUS brought\nit in. A new and a living way was to be opened to the Holy of Holies,\nfor poor sinners, by the blood of CHRIST. But I do not think that the\nexpression, _brought in_, is to be limited to this sense, though I\nsuppose it is the primary one; it implies not only CHRIST\u2019s bringing\nit into the world, as promulgating, and having it written in the word\nof GOD, and as having wrought it out for sinners in his life, and on\nthe cross; but he brings it in, in a manner, which, I pray GOD may\ntake place this night; I mean, bringing it, by his blessed Spirit, into\npoor believers hearts. All that CHRIST hath done, all that CHRIST hath\nsuffered, all CHRIST\u2019s active obedience, all CHRIST\u2019s passive obedience,\nwill do us no good, unless by the Spirit of GOD, it is brought into\nour souls. As one expresses it, \u201cAn unapplied CHRIST is no CHRIST at\nall.\u201d To hear of a CHRIST dying for sinners, will only increase your\ndamnation, will only sink you deeper into hell, unless we have ground\nto say, by a work of grace wrought in our hearts, that the LORD JESUS\nhath brought this home to us. Hence it is, that the Apostle, speaking\nof CHRIST, says, \u201cWho loved me, and gave himself for me.\u201d O that dear,\nthat great, that little, but important word, _me_. Happy they, who can\nadopt the Apostle\u2019s language! Happy they that can apply it to their\nown heart; and when they hear that CHRIST has brought in an everlasting\nrighteousness, can say, Blessed be GOD, it is brought in by the blessed\nSpirit to my soul!\n\nAre there any here that can go along with me on this doctrine? But\nwhy do I ask this question, when preaching to numbers, who, I hope,\nhave tasted of the grace of GOD long ago? I do not know; I cannot\ndistinguish you; you are just like other people, as to your looks\nand habits; but if I do not, and if your neighbours cannot know you,\nthat great GOD, in whose presence you are, knows you; He, before whose\ntribunal we are shortly to appear, knows you. If CHRIST JESUS hath\nbrought his everlasting righteousness into your heart; if it is applied\nby the Spirit of GOD to your soul, what shall I say to you? I will say\nas the Angel to _John_, \u201cCome up hither,\u201d thou child of GOD! Come up\nhither, thou son, thou daughter of _Abraham_! Come and join with me, in\ncalling upon angels and archangels, in calling upon the spirits of just\nmen made perfect, to help thee to praise that loving Redeemer, that\nhas brought in an everlasting righteousness. O was ever love like this!\nWhen _Abraham_ was about to offer up his son, GOD said, \u201cNow I know\nthat thou lovest me, since thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only\nson from me.\u201d Now may each child of GOD say, \u201cNow, O GOD, I know that\nthou hast loved me, since thou hast not withheld thy Son, thy dear\nSon, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, from dying for me.\u201d If thou hast got CHRIST\nbrought into thy soul by faith, O look forward, look towards a happy\neternity; O look towards those everlasting mansions, into which GOD\nwill bring thee after death. My dear friends, I could say much from\nthis text to comfort GOD\u2019s people: But\n\nI must address myself to you, poor souls, who cannot say, that this\nrighteousness has been brought home to your souls; but if it was never\nbrought home before, may GOD, for the LORD JESUS CHRIST\u2019s sake, bring\nit home now! Are any of you depending upon a righteousness of your\nown? Do any of you here, think to save yourselves by your own doings?\nI say to you, as the Apostle said to one that offered money for a\npower to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost, your righteousness shall\nperish with you. Poor miserable creatures! What is there in your tears?\nwhat in your prayers? what in your performances, to appease the wrath\nof an angry GOD? Away from the trees of the garden; come, ye guilty\nwretches, come as poor, lost, undone, and wretched creatures, and\naccept of a better righteousness than your own. As I said before, so\nI tell you again, the righteousness of JESUS CHRIST is an everlasting\nrighteousness: it is wrought out for the very chief of sinners. Ho,\nevery one that thirsteth, let him come and drink of this water of life\nfreely. Are any of you wounded by sin? Do any of you feel you have no\nrighteousness of your own? Are any of you perishing for hunger? Are any\nof you afraid ye will perish for ever? Come, dear souls, in all your\nrags; come, thou poor man; come, thou poor, distressed woman; you, who\nthink GOD will never forgive you, and that your sins are too great to\nbe forgiven; come, thou doubting creature, who art afraid thou wilt\nnever get comfort; arise, take comfort, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, the LORD\nof life, the LORD of glory, calls for thee: through his righteousness\nthere is hope for the chief of sinners, for the worst of creatures.\nWhat if thou hadst committed all the sins in the world? What if thou\nhadst committed the sins of a thousand, what if thou hadst committed\nthe sins of a million of worlds? CHRIST\u2019s righteousness will cover, the\nblood of the LORD JESUS CHRIST will cleanse thee from the guilt of them\nall. O let not one poor soul stand at a distance from the Saviour. My\ndear friends, could my voice hold out, was my strength equal to my will,\nI would wrestle with you; I would strive with arguments, till you came\nand washed in this blood of the Lamb; till you came and accepted of\nthis everlasting righteousness. O come, come! Now, since it is brought\ninto the world by CHRIST, so in the name, in the strength, and by\nthe assistance of the great GOD, I bring it now to the pulpit; I now\noffer this righteousness, this free, this imputed, this everlasting\nrighteousness to all poor sinners that will accept of it. For GOD\u2019s\nsake accept it this night: you do not know but ye may die before\nto-morrow. How do ye know, but while I am speaking, a fit of the\napoplexy may seize, and death arrest you? O my dear friends, where\ncan ye go? where will ye appear? How will ye stand before an angry\nGOD, without the righteousness of the LORD JESUS CHRIST put upon your\nsouls? Can ye stand in your own rags? Will ye dare to appear before a\nheart-searching GOD, without the apparel of your elder brother? If ye\ndo, I know your doom: CHRIST will frown you into hell: \u201cDepart, depart,\nye cursed, into everlasting fire,\u201d shall be your portion. Think, I\npray you, therefore, on these things; go home, go home, go home, pray\nover the text, and say, \u201cLORD GOD, thou hast brought an everlasting\nrighteousness into the world by the LORD JESUS CHRIST; by the blessed\nSpirit bring it into my heart!\u201d then, die when ye will, ye are safe; if\nit be to-morrow, ye shall be immediately translated into the presence\nof the everlasting GOD: that will be sweet! Happy they who have got\nthis robe on; happy they that can say, \u201cMy GOD hath loved me, and I\nshall be loved by him with an everlasting love!\u201d That every one of you\nmay be able to say so, may GOD grant, for the sake of JESUS CHRIST, the\ndear Redeemer; to whom be glory for ever. _Amen._\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XVI.\n\n The Observation of the Birth of CHRIST,\n the Duty of all Christians;\n or the true Way of keeping Christmas.\n\n\n MATTHEW i. 21.\n\n _And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his Name\n Jesus: For he shall save his People from their Sins._\n\nTHE celebration of the birth of CHRIST hath been esteemed a duty by\nmost who profess christianity. When we consider the condescension and\nlove of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, in submitting to be born of a virgin,\na poor sinful creature; and especially as he knew how he was to be\ntreated in this world; that he was to be despised, scoffed at, and at\nlast to die a painful, shameful, and ignominious death; that he should\nbe treated as though he was the off-scouring of all mankind; used, not\nlike the son of a man, and, therefore, not at all like the Son of GOD;\nthe consideration of these things should make us to admire the love of\nthe LORD JESUS CHRIST, who was so willing to offer himself as a ransom\nfor the sins of the people, that when the fulness of time was come,\nCHRIST came, made of a woman, made under the law: he came according to\nthe eternal counsel of the Father; he came, not in glory or in splendor,\nnot like him who brought all salvation with him: no, he was born in\na stable, and laid in a manger; oxen were his companions. O amazing\ncondescension of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, to stoop to such low and poor\nthings for our sake. What love is this, what great and wonderful love\nwas here, that the Son of GOD should come into our world in so mean\na condition, to deliver us from the sin and misery in which we were\ninvolved by our fall in our first parents! And as all that proceeded\nfrom the springs must be muddy, because the fountain was so, the LORD\nJESUS CHRIST came to take our natures upon him, to die a shameful, a\npainful, and an accursed death for our sakes; he died for our sins,\nand to bring us to GOD; he cleansed us by his blood from the guilt of\nsin, he satisfied for our imperfections; and now, my brethren, we have\naccess unto him with boldness; he is a mediator between us and his\noffended Father.\n\nTherefore, if we do but consider into what state, and at how great\na distance from GOD we are fallen; how vile our natures were; what a\ndepravity, and how incapable to restore that image of GOD to our souls,\nwhich we lost in our first parents: when I consider these things, my\nbrethren, and that the LORD JESUS CHRIST came to restore us to that\nfavour with GOD which we had lost, and that CHRIST not only came down\nwith an intent to do it, but actually accomplished all that was in his\nheart towards us; that he raised and brought us into favour with GOD,\nthat we might find kindness and mercy in his sight; surely this calls\nfor some return of thanks on our part to our dear Redeemer, for this\nlove and kindness to our souls. How just would it have been of him,\nto have left us in that deplorable state wherein we, by our guilt, had\ninvolved ourselves? For GOD could not, nor can receive any additional\ngood by our salvation; but it was love, mere love; it was free love\nthat brought the LORD JESUS CHRIST into our world about 1700 years ago.\nWhat, shall we not remember the birth of our JESUS? Shall we yearly\ncelebrate the birth of our temporal king, and shall that of the King\nof kings be quite forgotten? Shall that only, which ought to be had\nchiefly in remembrance, be quite forgotten? GOD forbid! No, my dear\nbrethren, let us celebrate and keep this festival of our church, with\njoy in our hearts: let the birth of a Redeemer, which redeemed us\nfrom sin, from wrath, from death, from hell, be always remembered;\nmay this Saviour\u2019s love never be forgotten! but may we sing forth all\nhis love and glory as long as life shall last here, and through an\nendless eternity in the world above! may we chaunt forth the wonders\nof redeeming love, and the riches of free grace, amidst angels and\narchangels, cherubim and seraphim, without intermission, for ever\nand ever! And as, my brethren, the time for keeping this festival is\napproaching, let us consider our duty in the true observation thereof,\nor the right way for the glory of GOD, and the good of immortal souls,\nto celebrate the birth of our LORD JESUS CHRIST; an event which ought\nto be had in eternal remembrance.\n\nIt is my design to lay down rules for the true keeping of that time of\n_Christmas_, which is now approaching.\n\n I. I shall shew you when you may be said, not to observe this\n festival aright.\n\n II. I shall shew you, when your observation and celebrating of\n this festival is done according to the glory of GOD, and to\n the true manner of keeping of it.\n\n III. Shall conclude with an exhortation to all of you, high and\n low, rich and poor, one with another, to have a regard to your\n behaviour at all times, but more especially, my dear brethren,\n on this solemn occasion.\n\nI. My brethren, I am to shew when your celebration of this festival is\nnot of the right kind.\n\nAnd _First_, you do not celebrate this aright, when you spend most of\nyour time in cards, dice, or gaming of any sort.\n\nThis is a season, for which there is no more allowance for wasting\nof your precious time in those unlawful entertainments, than any\nother. Persons are apt to flatter themselves that they are free and at\nliberty to spend whole evenings now at cards, at dice, or any diversion\nwhatsoever, to pass away, as they call it, a tedious evening. They\ncan do any thing now to pass away that, which is hastening as fast as\nthought: time is always upon the wing; it is no sooner present but it\nis past, and no sooner come but it is gone. And have we so much to do,\nand so little time to do it in, and yet complain of time lying heavy\nupon our hands? Have we not the devil and the beast to get out of our\nsouls? Are not our natures to be changed, our corruptions to be subdued,\nour wills to be brought over to GOD, our hard hearts to be softened,\nall old things to be done away, and all things to become new in our\nsouls? Is there not all this to be done? And yet we have too much time\nupon our hands! It is well, that instead of having too much time, it\nbe not found that we have got too little, when we come to die: then\nwe shall wish, my brethren, that we had made more account of our time,\nthat we had improved it for the glory of GOD, and the welfare of our\nimmortal souls.\n\nGood GOD! how amazing is the consideration, that many can go to church\nin the morning, and take the Sacrament, and come home and spend the\nafternoon and evening in cards: Is this, my brethren, discerning the\nLORD\u2019s body? Is this taking the sacrament according to its institution?\nIs not this a pollution thereof, and making the blood of the covenant\nan unholy thing.\n\nTherefore, those of you who have made this your practice in times past,\nlet me beseech you, in the bowels of mercy, not to do so any more; for,\nindeed, it is earthly, it is sensual, it is devilish. Consider what is\nsaid of those who eat and drink at the LORD\u2019s table unworthily, that\nthey eat and drink their own damnation: And can they, my brethren, be\nsaid to eat and drink any otherwise, who no sooner go from the table\nof the LORD, but run to the diversions of the devil? Indeed this is\nexceeding sinful, and displeasing unto the LORD; then forbear those\ndiversions which are so evil in themselves: O be not found in those\nexercises, and in that pleasure, which you would not be found in\nwhen you come to die. Thus, my brethren, you see it is not a right\ncelebration of the birth of the LORD JESUS, to spend it in cards, dice,\nor any other diversions, which proceed so directly from the devil, and\nare destructive to all true goodness.\n\n_Secondly_, They cannot be said truly to celebrate this time, who spend\ntheir time in eating and drinking to excess.\n\nThis is a season when persons are apt to indulge themselves in all\nmanner of luxury: iniquity now abounds apace; nothing is scarcely to\nbe seen but things of the greatest extravagance imaginable; not only\nfor the necessities of the body, but to pamper it in lust, to feed its\nvices, to make us go on in sin, to be a means for gratifying our carnal\nappetite; and this is a means to make us forget the LORD of glory.\nThis makes us only fit to do such drudgery, as the devil shall set us\nabout; this is only preparing to run wheresoever the devil sends: this,\ninstead of denying ourselves, is indulging ourselves; this is not, nor\ncannot be called, a celebration of the birth of our LORD JESUS CHRIST,\nwhen we are making ourselves worse than the beasts that perish.\n\nI am not speaking against eating and drinking of the good things\nof life, but against the eating and drinking of them to excess,\nbecause, thus they unqualify us for the service of GOD; and to our\nfellow-creatures they make us unsociable, and may occasion us to be\nguilty of saying and acting those things, which we should be ashamed\nto think of, if we had only eat or drank with moderation.\n\nTherefore, my dear brethren, let me beseech you to set a watch over\nyourselves; be careful that you do not run into that company which may\ntempt you to evil; for would a man run himself into danger on purpose?\nWould a man enter himself into that company, where, before he goes, he\nknows he shall be exposed to great temptations; and therefore, if you\nhave any reason to think that the company you are going into will be a\ntemptation, I beseech you, by the mercies of GOD in CHRIST JESUS, that\nyou would not run into it.\n\nHow can you say, \u201cLead us not into temptation,\u201d when you are resolved\nto lead yourselves into it, by running into the occasions of sins. You\nare commanded to keep from the appearance of evil; and do you do that,\nby running into the place and company where it is like to be committed?\nNo, this is so far from avoiding, and shunning it, that it is a plain\nproof to the contrary; therefore, if you are for observing this time,\nthis festival of our church, let it not be done by running to excess;\nfor you plainly see, that those who are guilty thereof, cannot be said\nproperly to celebrate it.\n\n_Thirdly_, Nor can they, my brethren, be said to keep, or rightly\nobserve the commemoration of the birth of our Redeemer, the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST, who neglect their worldly callings to follow pleasures and\ndiversions.\n\nAlas! many, instead of keeping this time as it ought to be, run into\nsin with greediness; instead of devoting their time to the LORD, it\nis only devoted to the devil and their own lusts. How many who thus\nmispend their time, at this season, lay by the work of their callings\nfor a considerable time, with no other view, but to follow earthly,\nsensual, and devilish pleasures. If they should go to hear a sermon,\nor to a society, my brethren, the mouths of all the _Pharisees_ at\nonce are open against them, that they are not only a going to be ruined\nthemselves, but are going to ruin their families too; they think it\nneedless to make so much ado; this is being _righteous over-much_; but\nyou may be as wicked as you please, and they will not cry out; however,\nwhen you are _wicked over-much_, by serving the devil and your own\npleasures for a week or a month together, then, my brethren, with them\nyou are only taking a little recreation, spending your time in innocent\ndiversions; no one cries out against you, there is no outcry that you\nare going to be ruined. Again, if you give never so small a matter\namong the poor people of GOD, for their relief, then you are robbing\nyour families, then you are going to turn madmen, and in a few days\nwill be so methodistically mad, that you are not fit for a polite\ngentleman\u2019s conversation; but if you spend one hundred times the money\nin playhouses, &c. on your lusts and pleasures, then you are liked and\nesteemed as a good friend and companion; but, my dear brethren, these\ngood companions in the world\u2019s account, are never so in the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST\u2019s. You cannot serve GOD and mammon; you must either lose your\nlusts, your pleasures, and your delights, or you cannot expect to find\nfavour with GOD; for indeed, and indeed, the ways that too many follow\nat this time, are sinful, yea, they are exceeding sinful. You see they\ncannot be said to celebrate this holy time, who thus mispend their\nprecious time to the neglect of their families; such are destroying\nthemselves with a witness.\n\nThus, my dear brethren, I have shewn you who they are who do not\nrightly observe this holy festival.\n\nII. I come now, in the second place, to shew you, who they are who do\nrightly observe, and truly celebrate the birth of our Redeemer.\n\nAnd I shall shew you who they are in two particulars, directly opposite\nto the others; and then, my brethren, take your choice: you must choose\nthe one or the other, there is no medium, you must either serve the\nLORD or Baal; and, therefore, my dear brethren, let me beg of you to\nconsider,\n\n_First_, That those spend their time aright, and truly observe this\nfestival, who spend their hours in reading, praying, and religious\nconversation.\n\nWhat can we do to employ our time to a more noble purpose, than reading\nof what our dear Redeemer has done and suffered; to read, that the King\nof kings, and the LORD of lords, came from his throne and took upon\nhim the form of the meanest of his servants; and what great \u2666things\nhe underwent. This, this is an history worth reading, this is worth\nemploying our time about: and surely, when we read of the sufferings\nof our Saviour, it should excite us to prayer, that we might have an\ninterest in the LORD JESUS CHRIST; that the blood which he spilt upon\nmount _Calvary_, and his death and crucifixion, might make an atonement\nfor our sins, that we might be made holy; that we might be enabled to\nput off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man, even the\nLORD JESUS CHRIST; that we may throw away the heavy yoke of sin, and\nput on the yoke of the LORD JESUS CHRIST. Indeed, my brethren, these\nthings call for prayer, and for earnest prayer too; and O do be earnest\nwith GOD, that you may have an interest in this Redeemer, and that you\nmay put on his righteousness, so that you may not come before him in\nyour filthy rags, nor be found not having on the wedding garment. O do\nnot, I beseech you, trust unto yourselves for justification; you cannot,\nindeed, you cannot be justified by the works of the law. I intreat that\nyour time may be thus spent; and if you are in company, let your time\nbe spent in that conversation which profiteth: let it not be about your\ndressing, your plays, your profits, or your worldly concerns, but let\nit be the wonders of redeeming love: O tell, tell to each other, what\ngreat things the LORD has done for your souls; declare unto one another,\nhow you were delivered from the hands of your common enemy, _Satan_,\nand how the LORD has brought your feet from the clay, and has set them\nupon the rock of ages, the LORD JESUS CHRIST; there, my brethren, is\nno slipping; other conversation, by often repeating, you become fully\nacquainted with, but of CHRIST there is always something new to raise\nyour thoughts; you can never want matter when the love of the LORD\nJESUS CHRIST is the subject: then let JESUS be the subject, my brethren,\nof all your conversation.\n\n \u2666 \u201cthnigs\u201d replaced with \u201cthings\u201d\n\nLet your time be spent on him: O this, this is an employ, which if you\nbelong to JESUS, will last you to all eternity. Let others enjoy their\ncards, their dice, and gaming hours; do you, my brethren, let your time\nbe spent in reading, praying, and religious conversation. Which will\nstand the trial best at the last day? which do you think will bring\nmost comfort, most peace, in a dying hour? O live and spend your time\nnow, as you will wish to have done, when you come to die.\n\n_Secondly_, Let the good things of life, you enjoy, be used with\nmoderation.\n\nI am not, as the scoffers of this day tell you, against eating and\ndrinking the good things of life; no, my brethren, I am only against\ntheir being used to an excess; therefore, let me beseech you to avoid\nthose great indiscretions, those sinful actions, which will give the\nenemies of GOD room to blaspheme. Let me beseech you, to have a regard,\na particular regard to your behaviour, at this time; for indeed the\neyes of all are upon you, and they would rejoice much to find any\nreason to complain of you. They can say things against us without a\ncause; and how would they rejoice if there was wherewith they might\nblame us? Then they would triumph and rejoice indeed; and all your\nlittle slips, my dear brethren, are, and would be charged upon me. O at\nthis time, when the eyes of so many are upon you, be upon your guard;\nand if you use the good things of this life with moderation, you do\nthen celebrate this festival in the manner which the institution calls\nfor.\n\nAnd instead of running into excess, let that money, which you might\nexpend to pamper your own bodies, be given to feed the poor; now, my\nbrethren, is the season, in which they commonly require relief; and\nsure you cannot act more agreeable, either to the season, to the time,\nor for the glory of GOD, than in relieving his poor distressed servants.\nTherefore, if any of you have poor friends, or acquaintance, who are\nin distress, I beseech you to assist them; and not only those of your\nacquaintance, but the poor in general. O my dear brethren, that will\nturn to a better account another day, than all you have expended to\nplease the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, or the pride of\nlife. Consider, CHRIST was always willing to relieve the distressed; it\nis his command also; and can you better commemorate the birth of your\nking, your Saviour, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, than in obeying one of his\ncommands?\n\nDo not, my dear brethren, be forgetful of the poor of this world;\nconsider, if providence has smiled upon you, and blessed you with\nabundance of the things of this life, GOD calls for some returns of\ngratitude from you: be ye mindful of the poor, and when you are so,\nthen you may be said to have a true regard for that time which is now\napproaching; if you would truly observe this festival, let it be done\nwith moderation, and a regard to the poor of this world.\n\n_Thirdly_, Let me beg of you not to alienate too much of your time from\nthe worldly business of this life, but have a proper regard thereunto,\nand then you may be said rightly to observe this festival.\n\nGOD allows none to be idle: in all ages business was commended; and\ntherefore do not think that any season will excuse us in our callings:\nwe are not, my brethren, to labour for the things of this life\ninordinately, but we are to labour for them with all moderation: we\nare not to neglect our callings; no, we are to regard those places and\nstations of life, which GOD in his providence has thought convenient\nfor us; and therefore, when you neglect your business to the hurt of\nyour families, whatever pretence you thereby make for so doing, you\nare guilty of sin; you are not acting according to the doctrine of the\ngospel, but are breaking the commands of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, both\naccording to his word, and to his own practice.\n\nAt this festival, persons are apt to take a little more liberty than\nusual; and if that time from our vocations is not prejudicial to\nourselves or families, and is spent in the service of GOD, and the good\nof immortal souls, then I do not think it sinful; but there is too much\nreason to fear, that the time is spent upon our own lusts, and then\nit is exceeding sinful, it is against our own souls, and it is against\nthe good of our families, and instead of commemorating the birth of our\ndear Redeemer, we are dishonouring him in the greatest degree possibly\nwe can.\n\nTherefore, enquire strictly into your end and design in spending your\ntime; see, my brethren, whether it proceeds from a true love to your\nRedeemer, or whether there is not some worldly pleasure or advantage\nat the bottom: if there is, our end is not right; but if it proceed\nintirely from love to him that died, and gave himself for us, our\nactions will be a proof thereof; then our time will be spent, not\nin the polite pleasures of life, but according to the doctrines and\ncommands of the blessed JESUS; then our conversation will be in heaven:\nand O that this might be found to be the end of each of you, who now\nhear me; then we should truly observe this festival, and have a true\nregard to the occasion thereof, that of CHRIST\u2019s coming to redeem the\nsouls of those which were lost.\n\nLet me now conclude, my dear brethren, with a few words of exhortation,\nbeseeching you to think of the love of the LORD JESUS CHRIST. Did JESUS\ncome into the world to save us from death, and shall we spend no part\nof our time in conversing about our dear JESUS; shall we pay no regard\nto the birth of him, who came to redeem us from the worst of slavery,\nfrom that of sin, and the devil; and shall this JESUS not only be\nborn on our account, but likewise die in our stead, and yet shall we\nbe unmindful of him? Shall we spend our time in those things which\nare offensive to him? Shall we not rather do all we can to promote\nhis glory, and act according to his commands? O my dear brethren, be\nfound in the ways of GOD; let us not disturb our dear Redeemer by any\nirregular proceedings; and let me beseech you to strive to love, fear,\nhonour and obey him, more than ever you have done yet; let not the\ndevil engross your time, and that dear Saviour who came into the world\non your accounts, have so little. O be not so ungrateful to him who\nhas been so kind to you; What could the LORD JESUS CHRIST have done for\nyou more than he has? Then do not abuse his mercy, but let your time be\nspent in thinking and talking of the love of JESUS, who was incarnate\nfor us, who was born of a woman, and made under the law, to redeem us\nfrom the wrath to come.\n\n Now to GOD the Father, GOD the Son, &c.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XVII.\n\n The Temptation of CHRIST.\n\n\n MATTHEW iv. 1\u201211.\n\n _Then was JESUS led up of the spirit into the wilderness, to be\n tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and\n forty nights, he was afterwards an hungered. And when the\n tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of GOD,\n command that these stones may be made bread. But he answered\n and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone,\n but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of GOD.\n Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth\n him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou\n be the Son of GOD, cast thyself down: for it is written, He\n shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their\n hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy\n foot against a stone. JESUS said unto him, It is written again,\n Thou shalt not tempt the LORD thy GOD. Again, the devil taketh\n him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all\n the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them: and saith\n unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall\n down and worship me. Then saith JESUS unto him, Get thee hence,\n Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the LORD thy GOD,\n and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and\n behold, angels came and ministered unto him._\n\nDEARLY beloved, to-day you are invited to take a walk into the\nwilderness, to behold, sympathize with, and get instruction and\ncomfort from a Saviour tempted. In the conflict, he approves himself\nto be GOD\u2019s beloved Son; and the Father gives demonstrable evidence,\nthat with, and in him, he is indeed well pleased. Let us with serious\nattention consider, when, where, and how, our great _Michael_ fought\nwith and overcame the dragon. The Evangelist _Matthew_ is very\nparticular in relating the preparations for, the beginning, process,\nand issue of this glorious and important combat.\n\n\u201cThen was JESUS led up of the spirit into the wilderness, to be tempted\nof the devil.\u201d In the close of the foregoing chapter we are told, that\nthe blessed JESUS had been publicly baptized, and was also solemnly\ninaugurated to his mediatorial office, by the opening of the heavens,\nby the Spirit of GOD descending on him like a dove, and by a voice from\nheaven, saying, \u201cThis is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased;\u201d\nand then it was, when he came from the solemn ordinance of baptism;\nwhen he was about to shew himself openly unto _Israel_; when he was\nfull of the Holy Ghost (_Luke_ iv. 1.); even _then_ was he led, with a\nholy unconstrained violence, as a champion into the field, to engage an\nenemy, whom he was sure to conquer. But whither is this conqueror led?\nInto a lonesome, wide, howling wilderness: probably, says Mr. _Henry_,\ninto the great wilderness of _Sinai_; a wilderness, not only lonesome,\nbut inhabited by wild beasts. _Mark_ i. 13. Hither was our LORD led,\nnot only that he might prepare himself by retirement and prayer, but\nalso that he might be alone, and thereby give Satan all the advantages\nhe could desire. In this combat, as well as that of his last agony,\n\u201cof the people, there was to be none with him.\u201d Neither does he content\nhimself with praying, but he fasts also, and that \u201cforty days and forty\nnights,\u201d (verse 2.): as _Moses_ and _Elias_ had done, many years before,\nit may be, in the very same place. All these fasts were miraculous;\nand therefore, though we are taught hereby, that fasting is a christian\nduty, yet, to pretend, in an ordinary way, to imitate them, by fasting\nfor so long a term together, is no doubt superstitious, presumptuous,\nand sinful: but few people, I believe, need such a caution.\n\nDuring these forty days, we may suppose, our LORD felt no hunger:\nconverse with heaven, to him was instead of meat and drink; but\n\u201cafterwards he was an hungered;\u201d exceedingly so, no doubt. And now, the\nimportant fight begins. For, then \u201cthe tempter,\u201d emphatically so called,\nbecause he first tempted our first parents to sin, and hath ever since\nbeen unwearied in tempting their descendants; then the tempter, who\nin an invisible manner had been attacking our blessed LORD all the\nwhole forty days, when he saw him hungering, and in such distressing\ncircumstances, came to him, as it should seem, in a visible shape, and\nprobably transformed into the appearance of an angel of light. And what\ndoes he tempt him to? To nothing less, than to doubt of his being the\nSon of GOD. \u201cIf thou be the Son of GOD.\u201d What! put an _if_ to this,\nSatan, after the glorious JESUS had been proved to be GOD\u2019s son, and\nrepeatedly too in such a glorious manner? Surely, thou thyself couldst\nnot but see the heavens opened, and the Spirit descending; surely,\nthou didst hear the voice that came to him from heaven, immediately\nafter his baptism, saying, \u201cThis is my beloved Son:\u201d And dost thou now\nsay unto him, \u201cIf thou be the Son of GOD.\u201d Yes; but Satan knew, and\nbelieved he was full well; but he wanted to make our LORD to doubt of\nit. And why? Because he was in such a melancholy situation. As though\nhe had said, \u201cIf GOD was thy father, he would never suffer thee to\nstarve to death in a howling wilderness, among wild beasts. Surely,\nthe voice thou lately didst hear, was only a delusion. If thou wast\nthe Son of GOD, especially his beloved Son, in whom he was so pleased,\nthou wouldst be taken more care of by him.\u201d Thus he attacked our first\nparents, by suggesting to them hard thoughts of their all-bountiful\nCreator: \u201cYea, hath GOD said, Ye shall not eat of every tree in the\ngarden?\u201d \u201cHath he placed you amidst such a variety of delicious fruits,\nonly to teaze and make you miserable?\u201d And how artfully now does he\nlabour to insinuate himself into our LORD\u2019s affections, as he then did\nto ingratiate himself with our first parents. \u201cIf thou be the Son of\nGOD, says he, come, prove it, by commanding these stones (a heap of\nwhich, probably, lay very near) to be made bread: this will demonstrate\nthy divinity, and relieve thy pressing necessity at the same time.\u201d\nThus, as in all his other temptations, Satan would fain appear to be\nhis very kind friend; but the holy JESUS saw through the disguised\nenmity of his antagonist; and scorning either to distrust his righteous\nFather on the one hand, or to work a miracle to please and gratify the\ndevil on the other, although he had the Spirit of GOD without measure,\nand might have made use of a thousand other ways, yet answers him with\na text of scripture: \u201cIt is written, that man shall not live by bread\nalone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of GOD.\u201d This\nis a quotation from _Deuteronomy_ viii. 3, and contains a reason given\nby the great GOD, why he chose to feed the _Israelites_ with manna;\nthat they might learn thereby, man doth not live by bread alone, but\nby every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of GOD. This our blessed\nLORD here applies to himself; and his being in the wilderness, made\nthe application of it still more pertinent. _Israel_ was GOD\u2019s son:\nout of _Egypt_ was he called to sojourn in the wilderness, where he\nwas miraculously supported. And therefore our LORD, knowing that he\nwas typified by this _Israel_, and that, like them, he was now in a\nwilderness, quotes this scripture as a reason why he should not, at\nSatan\u2019s suggestion, either despair of receiving help from his Father\nin his present circumstances, or distrust the validity of his late\nmanifestations, or make use of any unwarrantable means for his present\nrelief. For as GOD was his father, he would, therefore, either in an\nordinary way spread a table for him in the wilderness, or support and\nsustain him, as he did his _Israel_ of old, in some extraordinary way\nor other without it: \u201cFor man shall not live by bread alone, but by\nevery word that proceedeth out of the mouth of GOD.\u201d\n\nThus is the tempter foiled in the first onset; but he hath other\narrows in his quiver, with which he will farther strive to wound the\nimmaculate Lamb of GOD. Since he cannot draw him in either to distrust,\nor despair, he will now try if he cannot prevail on him to presume.\nIn order to effect this, \u201cHe taketh the blessed JESUS up into the Holy\nCity,\u201d or _Jerusalem_, called by our Saviour, the city of the Great\nKing, and here called holy, because the holy temple was in it, and, we\nwould hope, many holy people. This was a populous place, and therefore,\nwould greatly befriend the devil\u2019s design. And not only so, but \u201che\nsetteth him on a pinnacle,\u201d a battlement or wing, \u201cof the temple,\u201d the\ntop of which was so very high, that, as _Josephus_ observes, it would\nmake a man\u2019s head run giddy to look down from it. And some think this\nwas done at the time of public worship. How the holy JESUS suffered\nhimself to be taken hither; whether he was transported through the air,\nor whether he followed Satan on foot, is uncertain; but certainly it\nwas an instance of amazing condescension in our LORD, that he should\npermit so foul a fiend, to carry or lead his holy body about in this\nmanner. Well! Satan hath now gotten him upon the pinnacle of the\ntemple, and still harping upon his old string, \u201cIf thou be the Son\nof GOD, (says he) cast thyself down,\u201d and thereby shew to this large\nworshipping assembly, (who will assuredly then believe) that thou art\nGOD\u2019s beloved Son, under the special protection of heaven, and art that\nMessiah, \u201cwho was to come into the world.\u201d This was artful, very artful.\nBut he seems to improve in cunning: for he brings his Bible with him,\nand backs his temptation with a text of scripture; \u201cFor it is written,\n(says he) he shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their\nhands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot\nagainst a stone.\u201d But is _Saul_ also among the prophets? Does the devil\nquote scripture, yea, and seemingly such a very apposite one too? I\nsuspect some design, without doubt: for herein, he would mimic our LORD,\nwho, he perceived, intended to fight him with this weapon; and not\nliking the sharp edge of it, he thought that if he quoted scripture,\nthe LORD JESUS would not employ it against him any more. \u201cIt is written,\n(therefore said he) he shall give his angels charge concerning thee,\nand in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou\ndash thy foot against a stone: and therefore, since thou art sure of\nsuch protection, thou needst not fear to cast thyself down.\u201d This was\nplausible, and by the length of it, one would be apt to imagine, it\nwas a fair quotation; but Satan takes care, not only to misapply, but\nalso to maim it, purposely omitting these important words, \u201cin all\nthy ways.\u201d It is true, GOD had given charge to his angels, concerning\nhis children in general, and his beloved Son in particular, that they\nshould keep him in all his ways; but, if our LORD had at this time, at\nthe devil\u2019s request, and to gratify pride, thrown himself down from the\npinnacle, and thereby unnecessarily presumed on his Father\u2019s protection,\nhe would not have been in GOD\u2019s way, and therefore, would have had no\nright to the promised protection at all. Satan was aware of this, and\ntherefore slily left out what he knew would not suit his purpose. But\nis scripture the worse, for being abused or perverted by the devil,\nor his emissaries? No, in no wise. Our LORD, therefore, lets him know,\nthat he should not throw aside this important weapon upon this account,\nbut puts by this home thrust, with another scripture: \u201cIt is written\n_again_, Thou shalt not tempt the LORD thy GOD.\u201d Still our LORD quotes\nsomething out of the book of _Deuteronomy_, and hath his eye upon\n_Israel_ in his wilderness state. Originally these words were directed\nto the _Israelites_ in general, and accordingly are in the plural\nnumber; but here our LORD, as before, makes a particular application\nof them to himself: Satan bids him cast himself down, assuring him, GOD\nhad promised in his word, to order his angels to take care of him: Now,\nsays our LORD, \u201cIt is written in another part of his word, that the\n_Israelites_ should not tempt the LORD their GOD, by distrusting his\ngoodness on the one hand, or presuming on his protection on the other:\nAnd, therefore, as I would not command the stones to be made bread,\nneedlessly and distrustfully set up to provide for myself; neither will\nI now presume unnecessarily upon GOD\u2019s power, by casting myself down,\nthough placed by thee in such a dangerous situation.\u201d\n\nThus our great _Michael_ comes off conqueror in the second assault. And\ndoth not the serpent feel his head bruised enough yet? Not at all: on\nthe contrary, being more and more enraged at such unusual opposition,\nand want of success, \u201cHe again taketh him up into an exceeding high\nmountain, (what mountain is not very material) and sheweth him all the\nkingdoms of the world, and the glory of them,\u201d St. _Luke_ adds, \u201cin\na moment of time:\u201d which confirms the common conjecture, that Satan\ndid not shew our LORD really the kingdoms of the world, (for that must\nhave taken up more time) but only took him up into an exceeding high\nmountain to humour the thing, and by exerting his utmost art, impressed\non our LORD\u2019s imagination _all at once_, a very strong, and to any but\ninnocence itself, a very striking prospect of the kingdoms of the world,\nand the glory of them; not the cares: that would not serve Satan\u2019s turn.\nHe shewed our Saviour crowns, but never told him, those crowns were\ngilded with thorns; \u201cHe shewed him, (says Mr. _Henry_, my favourite\ncommentator) as in a landscape, or airy representation in a cloud,\nsuch as that great deceiver could easily frame and put together, the\nglorious and splendid appearance of princes, their robes and retinue,\ntheir equipage and life-guards; the pomps of thrones and courts, and\nstately palaces; the sumptuous buildings in cities; the gardens and\nfields about the country seats, with the various instances of their\nwealth, pleasure, and gaiety; so as might be most likely to strike the\nfancy, and excite the admiration and affection. Such was this shew.\u201d\nOur Saviour very well knew it, only lets Satan go to the full length\nof his string, that his victory over him might be the more illustrious.\nAnd now, says the devil, \u201cAll these things (a mighty all indeed; a mere\nimaginary bubble!) will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship\nme.\u201d He would fain have it taken for granted, that he had succeeded in\nthe two preceding temptations: \u201cCome, thou seest thou art not the Son\nof GOD, or if thou art, thou seest what an unkind Father he is; thou\nart here in a starving condition, therefore take my advice, disown\nthy relation to him, set up for thyself, call me father, ask of me\nblessings, and all these will I give thee; while all that I desire\nin return, is but a bow, only fall down and worship me.\u201d Here Satan\ndiscovers himself with a witness: this was a desperate parting stroke,\nindeed. It is now high time for thee, O thou enemy of souls, to be\ncommanded to depart! Filled with a holy resentment at such hellish\ntreatment, and impatient of the very thought of setting up for himself,\nor alienating the least part of his heart and affections from his\nFather, or dividing them between his GOD and the world; \u201cThen said\nJESUS unto him, Get thee hence, Satan, (I know thee who thou art,\nunder all thy disguises) get thee hence, thou grand adversary: for it\nis written, Thou shalt worship the LORD thy GOD, and him only shalt\nthou serve: this is the great commandment of the law; this is the\ncommandment my Father gave unto his _Israel_ of old, and wouldst thou\nhave me, who came to fulfil the law and the prophets, thus shamefully\nbe a transgressor of it? Get thee hence, I will bear thy insolence\nno longer: thy other temptations were hellish, like thyself, but this\nintolerably so: get thee therefore hence, Satan: my heavenly Father is\nthe LORD my GOD, and him only will I serve.\u201d\n\nAnd now the battle is over: the important combat is ended: JESUS hath\nwon the field: Satan is routed and totally put to flight. \u201cThen,\u201d when\nthe devil found that JESUS could withstand even the golden bait, the\nlust of the eye and pride of life, in the two last, as well as the lust\nof the flesh in the first temptation, despairing of the least success,\nand quite stunned with that all-powerful _Get thee hence, Satan_, \u201che\nleaveth him.\u201d\n\nHell, we may well suppose, like the Philistines of old, was confounded,\nand gave a horrible groan, when they saw their great _Goliah_, in whom\nthey had so long trusted, thus shamefully and totally defeated in no\nless than three pitched battles. The first _Adam_ was attacked but\nonce, and was conquered; but the second _Adam_, though thus repeatedly\nassaulted, comes off without the least sin, not only conqueror, but\nmore than conqueror. Think you not, that there was joy, joy unspeakable\nin heaven, upon this glorious occasion? Think you not that the angels,\nthose sons of GOD, and the multitude of the heavenly host, who shouted\nso loud at our LORD\u2019s birth, did not repeat, if possible, with yet\ngreater extasy, that heavenly anthem, \u201cGlory be to GOD in the highest.\u201d\nFor a while they were only spectators, orders, we may suppose, being\nissued out, that they should only wait around, but not relieve their\npraying, fasting, tempted LORD; but now the restraint is removed: Satan\ndeparts, and \u201cbehold, angels came and ministered unto him;\u201d they came\nto administer to his bodily necessities, and to congratulate him upon\nthe glorious and compleat victory which he had gained: some of them,\nit may be, had done this kind office for _Elijah_ long ago; and with\nunspeakably greater joy, they repeat it to the LORD of _Elijah_ now.\nHis Father sends him bread from heaven; and by this lets him know, that\nnotwithstanding the horrid temptations with which he had been attacked,\nhe is his own beloved son, in and with whom he was well pleased.\n\nAnd was there joy in heaven on this happy occasion? What equal, and\nif possible, what infinitely greater joy ought there to be among the\nchildren of GOD here on earth? For we should do well to remember, that\nour blessed LORD in this great fight with, and conquest over the dragon,\nacted as a public person, as a f\u00e6deral head of his mystical body\nthe church, even the common representative of all believers. We may\ntherefore from this blessed passage gather strong consolations; since\nby our LORD\u2019s conquest over Satan, we are thereby assured of our own,\nand in the mean while can apply to him as a compassionate High-Priest,\nwho was in all things tempted as we are, that he might experimentally\nbe enabled to succour us when we are tempted.\n\nWho, who after hearing of or reading this, can think themselves\nhardly used, or utterly cast off by GOD, because they are tempted to\nself-murder, blasphemy, or any other horrid and shocking crimes? Who\ncan wonder at wave being permitted to come upon wave, and one trial\nto follow upon the back of another? Who can admire, that Satan follows\nthem to holy ordinances, and tempts them to doubt of the reality of\nall their manifestations, and of their being GOD\u2019s children, even\nafter they have enjoyed the most intimate and delightful communion with\ntheir heavenly Father? Was not our LORD treated thus? And \u201cshall the\nservant be above his Lord, or the disciple above his Master?\u201d No, it\nis sufficient that the servant be as his Lord, and the disciple as his\nMaster.\n\nBut not to dwell on a general improvement, let us see what particular\nlessons may be learned from this affecting portion of holy writ.\n\nAnd _First_, was our LORD thus violently beset in the _wilderness_?\nthen we may learn, that however profitable solitude and retirement may\nbe, when used in due season, yet when carried to an extreme is hurtful,\nand rather befriends than prevents temptation. Woe be to him that\nis thus always alone; for he hath not another to lift him up when he\nfalleth, or to advise with when he is tempted. As a hermit in _America_\nonce told me, when I asked him whether he found that way of life\nlessened his temptations; \u201cDost not thou know, friend, (said he) that\na tree which grows by itself, is more exposed to winds and storms than\nanother that stands surrounded with other trees in the woods?\u201d Our LORD\nknew this, and therefore he was _led by the Spirit_ into the wilderness\nto be tempted of the devil. LORD, keep us from leading ourselves\ninto this temptation, and succour and support us whenever led by thy\nprovidence into it! Then, and then only, shall we be safe amidst the\nfiery darts of the grand enemy of our souls.\n\n_Secondly_, Did our LORD by prayer, fasting, and temptation, prepare\nhimself for his public ministry? Surely then, all those who profess to\nbe inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon them the office and\nadministration of the church, should be prepared in the same manner.\nFor though the knowledge of books and men, are good in their places,\nyet without a knowledge of Satan\u2019s devices be superadded, a minister\nwill be only like a physician, that undertakes to prescribe to sick\npeople, without having studied the nature of herbs. And hence, it is\nto be feared, many heavy laden and afflicted souls have been sent by\ncertain ministers, to surgeons, to be blooded in the arm, instead of\nbeing directed to apply to the blood of CHRIST to cleanse their hearts.\nHence, conviction is looked upon as a delirium, and violent temptations\ncensured as downright madness. Hence, souls that are truly and\nearnestly repenting of their sins, and as earnestly seeking after rest\nin CHRIST, have been directed to plays, novels, romances, and merry\ncompany, to divert them from being righteous over-much. Miserable\ncomforters are such blind guides! Surely, they deserve no better\ntitles than that of _murderers of souls_! They go not into the kingdom\nof heaven themselves, and those who are entering in they would by\nthis means hinder. Go not after them, all ye young men who would\nbe able ministers of the New Testament; but on the contrary, if you\nwould be useful in binding up the broken hearted, and pouring the oil\nof consolation into wounded souls, prepare yourselves for manifold\ntemptations. For as _Luther_ says, \u201cprayer and meditation, reading and\ntemptation, make a minister.\u201d If now exercised with spiritual conflicts,\nbe not disheartened, it is a good sign that our LORD intends to make\nuse of you. Being thus tempted like unto your brethren, you will be the\nbetter enabled to succour and advise those who shall apply to you under\ntheir temptations. What says the apostle _Paul_? \u201cIf we are afflicted,\nit is for your sake.\u201d And if you are afflicted, it is only that you may\nsave your own souls, and help to save the souls of those who shall be\ncommitted to your charge. Be strong therefore in the grace which is in\nCHRIST JESUS, and learn to endure hardness, like good soldiers, that\nare hereafter to instruct others how they must fight the good fight of\nfaith.\n\n_Thirdly_, Did the tempter come to CHRIST when he saw him an hungered?\nLet those of you that are reduced to a low estate, from hence learn,\nthat an hour of poverty is an hour of temptation, not only to murmuring\nand doubting of our sonship and the divine favour, but also to help\nourselves by unlawful means. \u201cIf thou be the Son of GOD, said Satan,\ncommand that these stones may be made bread.\u201d This is what _Agur_\ndreaded, \u201clest I be poor and steal.\u201d Learn, ye godly poor, to be upon\nyour guard, and remember that poverty and temptations are no marks of\nyour being cast off by GOD. Your LORD was an hungered; your LORD was\ntempted on this account to doubt his sonship, before you. Learn of him\nnot to distrust, but rather to trust in your heavenly Father. Angels\ncame and ministered unto CHRIST; and he who is LORD of the angels,\nwill send some kind messenger or another to relieve your wants. Your\nextremity shall be the Redeemer\u2019s opportunity to help you. Make your\nwants known unto him, he careth for you. Though in a desart, though no\nvisible means appear at present, yet you shall in GOD\u2019s due time find a\ntable spread for you and yours; \u201cFor man doth not live by bread alone,\nbut by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of GOD.\u201d\n\nAnd may not such among you, who are exalted, as well as those who are\nbrought low, from Satan\u2019s taking the LORD JESUS, and placing him upon\na pinnacle of the temple, learn also a lesson of holy watchfulness and\ncaution. High places are slippery places, and are apt to make even the\nstrongest heads and most devout hearts to turn giddy. How necessary\ntherefore is that excellent petition in our Litany, \u201cin all time of our\nwealth, (as well as in all time of our tribulation) good LORD deliver\nus!\u201d Agreeably to this, _Agur_ prays as much against riches as poverty;\nif he was poor, he feared he should be tempted to steal, if rich, that\nhe should trust in uncertain riches, and say, who is the LORD?\n\nI charge, therefore, all of you, who are rich and high in this world,\nto watch and pray, lest ye fall by Satan\u2019s temptation. Those especially\nof you, that are placed as on the pinnacle of the temple, exalted above\nyour fellows in the church of GOD, take heed in an especial manner unto\nyourselves, lest by spiritual pride, vanity, or any other sin that doth\nmost easily beset persons in such eminent stations, ye cast yourselves\ndown. This is what Satan aims at. He strives to make us destroyers\nof ourselves. And he hath a particular enmity against such as you; he\nknows, that your name is _Legion_; and that if you cast yourselves down,\nhe shall gain a great advantage over many others; you cannot fall alone.\nO that it may be said of us, as the papists used to say of _Luther_,\n\u201cThat _German_ beast doth not love gold.\u201d May the fire of divine love\nburn up all the love of this present evil world, and pride of life,\nout of your hearts! This, Satan reserved for his last, as thinking it\nwas the most powerful and prevailing temptation, \u201cHe took our LORD up\ninto an exceeding high mountain, and shewed him all the kingdoms of\nthe world and the glory of them.\u201d He cares not how high he exalts us,\nor how high he is obliged to bid, so he can but get our hearts divided\nbetween GOD and the world. All this will he offer to give us, if we\nwill only fall down and worship him. Arm us, dear LORD JESUS, with thy\nSpirit, and help us under all such circumstances, to learn of thee, and\nsay unto the tempter, \u201cGet thee hence, Satan; for it is written, thou\nshalt worship the LORD thy GOD, and him only shalt thou serve.\u201d\n\n_Fourthly_, Whether beset with this or any other temptation, let all\nof us learn of our LORD to fight the devil with the sword of the Spirit,\nwhich is the word of GOD. Though he had the Spirit without measure,\nyet he always made use of this. We may say of it, as _David_ did of\n_Goliah_\u2019s sword, \u201cnone like this,\u201d none like this. And supposing\nSatan should be permitted to transform himself into an angel of light,\nand by false impressions, and delusive applications of misquoted texts,\nattempt to turn this weapon upon us against ourselves; let us not\ntherefore be prevailed on to let go, but by comparing spiritual things\nwith spiritual, as our LORD did, find out GOD\u2019s mind and our duty.\nHad CHRIST\u2019s children and ministers only observed this one lesson,\nhow much strange fire would quickly have been extinguished? how much\nreal enthusiasm been easily stopped? how many imaginary revelations\nhave been detected? how many triumphs of Satan and his emissaries been\nprevented? and how much more would the comforts of CHRIST\u2019s people\nand ministers been continued and increased, not only in this present,\nbut also in every age of the christian church? But let us not be\ndiscouraged or think worse of CHRIST, his cause, or his word, because\nthrough Satan\u2019s subtlety, any of us, or others, may have been drawn in\nto make some wrong applications of it; others have been thus tempted\nand mistaken before us. However, let us be humbled before GOD and man,\nand be excited by our past ignorance of Satan\u2019s devices, to adhere more\nclosely to the written word, and to pray more earnestly for GOD\u2019s holy\nSpirit to give us direction by it. \u201cThen will it still be a lanthorn\nunto our feet, and a light unto our paths;\u201d we shall yet be enabled\nto behave more skilfully under all our future trials. Many we must yet\nexpect; nay, perhaps our severest temptations are yet to come; Satan\nleft our LORD, after his attacking him in the wilderness, \u201conly for\na season,\u201d as St. _Luke_ has it, until the season of his death and\npassion. And thus he may be permitted to deal with us. We are not yet\ncome to our compleat rest; the King of terrors is yet to be grappled\nwith, and the valley of the shadow of death to be passed through;\nlong before that, we may be called to endure many a fiery trial, and\nbe beset with manifold temptations, under which we may be as ignorant\nhow to behave, as under those with which we have already been visited.\nAlas! we know not what remaining corruptions are in our hearts, which\ntime and temptation may draw out and discover. Perhaps Satan hath\nnot yet attacked us on our weakest side; when he does, if left to\nourselves, how weak shall we be? It is said of _Achilles_, that he\nwas invulnerable, except in the heel, and by a wound in that, at last\nhe died. \u201cLet not him, therefore, that putteth on the harness, boast\nas though he had put it off.\u201d Neither, on the other hand, let us be\nfaint-hearted or dismayed. Satan may tempt, but cannot force; he may\nsift, but CHRIST will pray. He who hath helped us already, will help\nus to the end. He who conquered for us in the wilderness, will ere\nlong make us also more than conquerors over all trials and temptations,\ninward and outward, and over death and hell itself, through his\nalmighty, everlasting, and never-failing love. We now sow in tears;\nin a very little time, and we shall reap with joy: we may now go on\nour way weeping, by reason of the enemy oppressing us; but, ere long,\nangels shall be sent, not to minister to us in this wilderness, but to\ncarry us to an heavenly _Canaan_, even to _Abraham_\u2019s bosom. Then shall\nwe see this accuser and tempter of our LORD, of our brethren, and of\nourselves, cast out: this wicked one, as well as the wicked world, and\nwicked heart, will no more be permitted to vex, disturb or annoy us.\n\n\u201cBut woe unto you that laugh now; for you shall then lament and\nweep.\u201d Woe unto you, who either believe there is no devil, or never\nfelt any of his temptations. Woe unto you that are at ease in _Zion_,\nand instead of staying to be tempted by the devil, by idleness,\nself-indulgence, and making continual provision for the flesh, even\ntempt the devil to tempt you. Woe unto you, who not content with\nsinning yourselves, turn factors for hell, and make a trade of tempting\nothers to sin. Woe unto you, who either deny divine revelation, or\nnever make use of it but to serve a bad turn. Woe unto you who sell\nyour consciences, and pawn your souls for a little worldly wealth or\nhonour. Woe unto you who climb up to high places, when in church or\nstate, by corruption, bribery, extortion, cringing, flattery, or bowing\ndown to, and soothing the vices of those by whom you expect to rise.\nWoe unto you! for whether you will own the relation or not, surely you\nare of your father the devil; for the works of your father you will do;\nI tremble for you. How can you escape the damnation of hell.\n\nBut I have not time to follow such as you any farther. This discourse,\nand the present frame of my mind, lead me rather to speak to those,\nwho by feeling Satan\u2019s fiery darts, know assuredly that there is a\ndevil. Comfort thou, comfort thou, these afflicted ones, O LORD. O thou\nall-merciful and all-bountiful GOD, and thou compassionate High-Priest,\nthou once tempted, but now triumphant Saviour, as thou once didst\nnot disdain to be ministered unto by angels, bless we pray thee this\ndiscourse, to the support and strengthening of thy tempted people,\nthough delivered by the meanest messenger thou didst ever yet employ in\nthy church!\n\nI add no more. The LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD lift up the\nlight of his countenance, stablish, strengthen, and settle you, and\nbring you to his eternal kingdom!\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XVIII.\n\n The Heinous Sin of Profane Cursing and Swearing.\n\n\n MATTHEW v. 34.\n\n _But I say unto you, Swear not at all._\n\nAMONG the many heinous sins for which this nation is grown infamous,\nperhaps there is no one more crying, but withal more common, than\nthe abominable custom of profane swearing and cursing. Our streets\nabound with persons of all degrees and qualities, who are continually\nprovoking the holy one of _Israel_ to anger, by their detestable oaths\nand blasphemies: and our very children, \u201cout of whose mouths,\u201d the\npsalmist observes in his days, \u201cwas perfected praise,\u201d are now grown\nremarkable for the quite opposite ill quality of cursing and swearing.\nThis cannot but be a melancholy prospect, for every sincere and honest\nminister of JESUS CHRIST, to view his fellow-creatures in; and such\nas will put him on contriving some means to prevent the spreading at\nleast of so growing an evil; knowing that the LORD (without repentance)\nwill assuredly visit for these things. But alas! what can he do?\nPublic animadversions are so neglected amongst us, that we seldom\nfind a common swearer punished as the laws direct. And as for private\nadmonition, men are now so hardened through the deceitfulness of sin,\nthat to give them sober and pious advice, and to shew them the evil\nof their doings, is but like \u201ccasting pearls before swine; they only\nturn again and rend you.\u201d Since matters then are come to this pass, all\nthat we can do is, that as we are appointed watchmen and ambassadors\nof the LORD, it is our duty from time to time to shew the people their\ntransgression, and warn them of their sin; so that whether they will\nhear, or whether they will forbear, we however may deliver our own\nsouls. That I therefore may discharge my duty in this particular, give\nme leave, in the name of GOD, humbly to offer to your most serious\nconsideration, some few observations on the words of the text, in order\nto shew the heinousness of profane cursing and swearing.\n\nBut, before I proceed directly to the prosecution of this point,\nit will be proper to clear this precept of our LORD from a\nmisrepresentation that has been put on it by some, who infer from\nhence, that our Saviour prohibits swearing before a magistrate, when\nrequired on a solemn and proper occasion. But that all swearing is\nnot absolutely unlawful for a christian, is evident from the writings\nof St. _Paul_, whom we often find upon some solemn occasions using\nseveral forms of imprecation, as, \u201cI call GOD to witness;\u201d \u201cGOD is my\njudge;\u201d \u201cBy your rejoicing in CHRIST JESUS,\u201d and such like. And that\nour Saviour does by no means forbid swearing before a magistrate, in\nthe words now before us, is plain, if we consider the scope and design\nhe had in view, when he gave his disciples this command. Permit me to\nobserve to you then, that our blessed master had set himself, from the\n27th verse of the chapter, out of which the text is taken, to vindicate\nand clear the moral law from the corrupt glosses and misconstruction of\nthe _Pharisees_, who then sat in _Moses_\u2019s chair, but were notoriously\nfaulty in adhering too closely to the literal expression of the law,\nwithout ever considering the due extent and spiritual meaning of it.\nAccordingly they imagined, that because GOD had said, \u201cThou shalt not\ncommit adultery,\u201d that therefore, supposing a person was not guilty\nof the very act of adultery, he was not chargeable with the breach\nof the seventh commandment. And likewise in the matter of swearing,\nbecause GOD had forbidden his people, in the books of _Exodus_ and\n_Deuteronomy_, \u201cto take his name in vain,\u201d or to swear falsely by\nhis name; they therefore judged it lawful to swear by any creature\nin common discourse, supposing they did not directly mention the name\nof GOD. Our blessed Saviour therefore, in the words now before us,\nrectifies this their mistake about swearing, as he had done in the\nverses immediately foregoing, concerning adultery, and tells the people,\nthat whatever allowances the _Pharisees_ might give to swear by any\ncreature, yet he pronounced it absolutely unlawful for any of his\nfollowers to do so. \u201cYou have heard, that it has been said by them\nof old time,\u201d (namely, by the _Pharisees_ and teachers of the _Jewish_\nlaw) \u201cThou shalt not forswear thyself, but perform unto the LORD thine\noaths: but I say unto you,\u201d (I who am appointed by the Father to be\nthe great prophet and true law-giver of his church) \u201cSwear not at all,\n(in your common conversation) neither by heaven for it is GOD\u2019s throne;\n(and therefore to swear by that, is to swear by Him that sits thereon)\nneither by the earth, for it is his foot-stool; nor by _Jerusalem_,\nfor it is the city of the great King; neither shalt thou swear by thy\nhead, because thou canst not make one hair white or black: but let your\ncommunications (which plainly shews that CHRIST is here speaking of\nswearing, not before a magistrate, but in common conversation) let your\ncommunication be yea, yea; nay, nay, (a strong affirmation or negation\nat the most); for whatsoever is more than this, cometh of evil;\u201d that\nis, cometh from an evil principle, from the evil one, the devil, the\nauthor of all evil.\n\nWhich by the way, methinks, should be a caution to all such persons,\nwho, though not guilty of swearing in the gross sense of the word, yet\nattest the truth of what they are speaking of, though ever so trifling,\nby saying, Upon my life,\u2015\u2015as I live,\u2015\u2015by my faith,\u2015\u2015by the heavens, and\nsuch like: which expressions, however harmless and innocent they may\nbe esteemed by some sorts of people, yet are the very oaths which our\nblessed LORD condemns in the words immediately following the text; and\npersons who use such unwarrantable forms of speaking, must expect to be\nconvicted and condemned as swearers, at our Saviour\u2019s second coming to\njudge the world.\n\nBut to return: It appears then from the whole tenor of our Saviour\u2019s\ndiscourse, that in the words of the text he does by no means disannul\nor forbid swearing before a magistrate (which, as might easily be\nshewn, is both lawful and necessary) but only profane swearing in\ncommon conversation; the heinousness and sinfulness of which I come\nnow, more immediately to lay before you.\n\nAnd here, not to mention that it is a direct breach of our blessed\nmaster\u2019s and great law-giver\u2019s command in the words of the text, as\nlikewise of the third commandment, wherein GOD positively declares, \u201che\nwill not hold him guiltless (that is, will assuredly punish him) that\ntaketh his name in vain:\u201d not to mention that it is the greatest abuse\nof that noble faculty of speech, whereby we are distinguished from the\nbrute creation; or the great hazard the common swearer runs, of being\nperjured some time or other: not to mention those reasons against it,\nwhich of themselves would abundantly prove the folly and sinfulness\nof swearing: I shall at this time content myself with instancing four\nparticulars, which highly aggravate the crime of profane swearing, and\nthose are such as follow:\n\n I. _First_, Because there is no temptation in nature to this sin,\n nor does the commission of it afford the offender the least\n pleasure or satisfaction.\n\n II. _Secondly_, Because it is a sin which may be so often\n repeated.\n\n III. _Thirdly_, Because it hardens infidels against the christian\n religion, and must give great offence, and occasion much\n sorrow and concern to every true disciple of JESUS CHRIST.\n\n IV. _Fourthly_, Because it is an extremity of sin, which can only\n be matched in hell.\n\nI. The first reason then, why swearing in common conversation is so\nheinous in GOD\u2019s sight, and why we should not swear at all, is, because\nit has no temptation in nature, nor does the commission of it, unless\na man be a devil incarnate, afford the offender the least pleasure or\nsatisfaction.\n\nNow here, I presume, we may lay it down as a maxim universally agreed\non, that the guilt of any crime is increased or lessened in proportion\nto the weakness or strength of the temptation, by which a person\nis carried to the commission of it. It was this consideration that\nextenuated and diminished the guilt of _Saul_\u2019s taking upon him to\noffer sacrifice before the Prophet _Samuel_ came; and of _Uzza_\u2019s\ntouching the ark, because it was in danger of falling: as, on the\ncontrary, what so highly aggravated the disobedience of our first\nparents, and of _Lot_\u2019s wife, was, because the former had so little\nreason to eat the forbidden fruit, and the latter so small a temptation\nto look back on _Sodom_.\n\nAnd now if this be granted, surely the common swearer must of all\nsinners be the most without excuse, since there is no manner of\ntemptation in nature to the commission of his crime. In most of the\nother commands, persons, perhaps, may plead the force of natural\ninclination in excuse for the breach of them: one, for instance, may\nalledge his strong propensity to anger, to excuse his breaking of the\nsixth: another, his proneness to lust, for his violation of the seventh.\nBut surely the common swearer has nothing of this kind to urge in his\nbehalf: for though he may have a natural inclination to this or that\ncrime, yet no man, it is to be presumed, can say, he is born with a\nswearing constitution.\n\nBut farther, As there is no temptation to it, so there is no pleasure\nor profit to be reaped from the commission of it. Ask the drunkard why\nhe rises up early to follow strong drink, and he will tell you, because\nit affords his sensual appetite some kind of pleasure and gratification,\nthough it be no higher than that of a brute. Enquire of the covetous\nworldling, why he defrauds and over-reaches his neighbour, and he has\nan answer ready; to enrich himself, and lay up goods for many years.\nBut it must certainly puzzle the profane swearer himself, to inform\nyou what pleasure he reaps from swearing: for alas! it is a fruitless\ntasteless thing that he sells his soul for. But indeed he does not sell\nit at all: in this case he prodigally gives it away (without repentance)\nto the devil; and parts with a blessed eternity, and runs into\neverlasting torment, merely for nothing.\n\nII. But _Secondly_, what increases the heinousness of profane swearing,\nis, that it is a sin which may so often be repeated.\n\nThis is another consideration which always serves to lessen or\nincrease the guilt and malignity of any sin. It was some excuse for\nthe drunkenness of _Noah_, and the adultery of _David_, that they\ncommitted these crimes but once: as, on the contrary, of the patriarch\n_Abraham_\u2019s distrust of GOD, that he repeated the dissembling of\n_Sarah_ to be his wife, two several times. And if this be admitted\nas an aggravation of other persons crimes, surely much more so of the\nguilt of common swearing, because it is a sin which may be, and is for\nthe generality often repeated. In many other gross sins it cannot be\nso: if a man be overcome in drink, there must be a considerable time\nere he can recover his debauch, and return to his cups again: or if he\nbe accustomed to profane the sabbath, he cannot do it every day, but\nonly one in seven. But alas! the profane swearer is ready for another\noath, almost before the sound of the first is out of our ears: yea,\nsome double and treble them in one sentence, even so as to confound the\nsense of what they say, by an horrid din of blasphemy! Now if the great\nand terrible _Jehovah_ has expresly declared that he will not hold him\nguiltless, that is, will assuredly punish him, that taketh his name\nbut once in vain: what a vast heap of these heinous sins lies at every\ncommon swearer\u2019s door! It would be apt to sink him into an intolerable\ndespair, did he but see the whole sum of them. And O what a seared\nconscience must that wretch have, that does not feel this prodigious\nweight!\n\nIII. But _Thirdly_, what makes the sin of profane swearing appear\nyet more exceeding sinful, is, that it hardens infidels against the\nchristian religion.\n\nIt is the Apostle _Peter_\u2019s advice to the married persons of his time,\nthat they should walk as became the gospel of CHRIST, that those who\nwere without, might be won to embrace the christian religion, by seeing\nand observing their pious conversation coupled together with fear. And\nwhat the Apostle presses on married persons, we find elsewhere enjoined\non each particular member of the church. Accordingly we are commanded\nby our blessed LORD, to \u201clet our light so shine before men, that they\nmay see our good works, and glorify our Father which is in heaven:\u201d And\nthe Apostle _Paul_ bids us \u201cwalk circumspectly towards them that are\nwithout, redeeming the time;\u201d that is, embracing all opportunities to\ndo them good, \u201cbecause the days are evil.\u201d But alas! in what a direct\ncontradiction does the profane swearer live to this and such-like\nprecepts, who, instead of gaining proselytes to CHRIST from the\nunbelieving part of the world, does all he can to oppose it! For\nhow can it be expected, that infidels should honour our GOD, when\nchristians themselves despise him; or that any should embrace our\nreligion, when professors of it themselves make so light of one of\nits strictest commands? No; to our grief and shame be it spoken, it is\nby reason of such impieties as these, that our holy religion (the best\nand purest in itself) is become a by-word among the heathen; that the\nsacred authority of the holy JESUS and his doctrine is despised; and\n\u201cGOD\u2019s name (as it is written) blasphemed among the _Gentiles_.\u201d\n\nThese cannot but be sad stumbling-blocks and offences in the way of our\nbrethren\u2019s conversion: \u201cBut woe be to those men by whom such offences\ncome.\u201d We may say of them, as our blessed LORD did of _Judas_, \u201cit had\nbeen better for such men, that they had never been born:\u201d Or, as he\nthreatens in another place, \u201cIt shall be more tolerable for _Sodom_ and\n_Gomorrah_ in the day of judgment, than for such sinners.\u201d\n\nBut this is not all; As profane swearing must undoubtedly harden those\nin their infidelity, that are without, so must it no less grieve and\ngive great offence to those honest and sincere persons that are within\nthe church. We hear of _David_\u2019s complaining and crying out, \u201cWoe is me,\nthat I am constrained to dwell with _Mesech_, and to have my habitation\namongst the tents of _Kedar_;\u201d that is, that he was obliged to live and\nconverse with a people exceedingly wicked and profane. And St. _Peter_\ntells us, that \u201c_Lot_\u2019s righteous soul was grieved day by day, whilst\nhe saw and observed the ungodly conversation of the wicked.\u201d And no\ndoubt it was one great part of our blessed Master\u2019s sufferings whilst\non earth, that he was compelled to converse with a wicked and perverse\ngeneration, and to hear his heavenly Father\u2019s sacred name profaned\nand scoffed at by unrighteous and wicked men. And surely it cannot\nbut pierce the heart of every true and sincere christian, of every one\nthat does in any measure partake of the spirit of his Master, to hear\nthe multitude of oaths and curses which proceed daily and hourly out\nof the mouths of many people, and those too, whose liberal education,\nand seeming regard for the welfare of religion, one would think, should\nteach them a more becoming behaviour. To hear the great and terrible\nname of GOD polluted by men, which is adored by angels; and to consider\nhow often that sacred name is profaned in common discourse, which\nwe are not worthy to mention in our prayers: this, I say, cannot\nbut make each of them cry out with holy _David_, \u201cWoe is me, that\nI am constrained to dwell with _Mesech_, and to have my habitation\namongst the tents of _Kedar_.\u201d And though the blasphemous and profane\ndiscourses of others, will not be imputed to sincere persons for\nsin, so long as they \u201chave no fellowship with such hellish fruits\nof darkness, but rather reprove them;\u201d yet it will greatly enhance\nthe present guilt, and sadly increase the future punishment of every\nprofane swearer, by whom such offences come. For if, as our Saviour\ntells us, \u201cit had been better for a man to have a mill-stone tied about\nhis neck, than that he should offend one of his little ones, (that\nis, the weakest of his disciples) how much sorer punishment will they\nbe thought worthy of,\u201d who not only cause GOD\u2019s name to be blasphemed\namong the _Gentiles_, and the religion of our dear Redeemer to be\nabhorred; but who make his saints to weep and mourn, and vex their\nrighteous souls from day to day, by their ungodly, profane, and\nblasphemous conversation? Surely, as GOD will put the tears of the\none into his bottle, so it will be just in him to punish the other\nwith eternal sorrow, for all their ungodly and hard speeches, and cast\nthem into a lake of fire and brimstone, where they shall be glad of\na drop of water to cool those tongues, with which they have so often\nblasphemed the LORD of Hosts, and grieved the people of our GOD.\n\nIV. But it is time for me to proceed to give my _Fourth_ and last\nreason, why common swearing is so exceeding sinful; and that is,\nBecause it is such an extremity of sin, that can only be matched in\nhell, where all are desperate, and without hope of mercy.\n\nThe damned devils, and damned souls of men in hell, may be supposed\nto rave and blaspheme in their torments, because they know that the\nchains wherein they are held, can never be knocked off: but for men\nthat swim in the river of GOD\u2019s goodness, whose mercies are renewed\nto them every morning, and who are visited with fresh tokens of his\ninfinite unmerited loving-kindness every moment: for these favourite\ncreatures to set their mouths against heaven, and to blaspheme a\ngracious, patient, all-bountiful GOD; is a height of sin which exceeds\nthe blackness and impiety of devils and hell itself.\n\nAnd now, after what has been here offered, to shew the heinousness of\nprofane cursing and swearing in common conversation, may I not very\njustly address myself to you in the words of the text, \u201cTherefore I say\nunto you, Swear not at all;\u201d since it is a sin that has no temptation\nin nature, nor brings any pleasure or profit to the committer of it;\nsince it hardens infidels in their infidelity, and affords sad causes\nof grief and lamentation to every honest christian; since it is a sin\nthat generally grows into a habit; and lastly, such a sin that can only\nbe matched in hell.\n\n1. And first then, if these things be so, and the sin of profane\nswearing, as hath been in some measure shewn, is so exceeding sinful,\nwhat shall we say to such unhappy men, who think it not only allowable,\nbut fashionable and polite, to \u201ctake the name of GOD in vain;\u201d who\nimagine that swearing makes them look big among their companions, and\nreally think it a piece of honour to abound in it? But alas! little do\nthey think that such a behaviour argues the greatest degeneracy of mind\nand fool-hardiness, that can possibly be thought of. For what can be\nmore base, than one hour to pretend to adore GOD in public worship, and\nthe very next moment to blaspheme his name: indeed, such a behaviour,\nfrom persons who deny the being of a GOD, (if any such fools there be)\nis not altogether so much to be wondered at; but for men, who not only\nsubscribe to the belief of a Deity, but likewise acknowledge him to be\na GOD of infinite majesty and power; for such men to blaspheme his holy\nname, by profane cursing and swearing, and at the same time confess,\nthat this very GOD has expressly declared, he will not hold him\nguiltless, but will certainly and eternally punish (without repentance)\nhim that taketh his name in vain; is such an instance of foolhardiness,\nas well as baseness, that can scarcely be paralleled. This is what they\npresume not to do in other cases of less danger: they dare not revile a\ngeneral at the head of his army, nor rouze a sleeping lion when within\nreach of his paw. And is the Almighty GOD, the great JEHOVAH, the\neverlasting King, who can consume them by the breath of his nostrils,\nand frown them to hell in an instant; is he the only contemptible\nbeing in their account, that may be provoked without fear, and offended\nwithout punishment? No; though GOD bear long, he will not bear always:\nthe time will come, and that too, perhaps, much sooner than such\npersons may expect, when GOD will vindicate his injured honour, when\nhe will lay bare his almighty arm, and make those wretches feel the\neternal smart of his justice, whose power and name they have so often\nvilified and blasphemed. Alas! what will become of all their bravery\nthen? Will they then wantonly sport with the name of their Maker, and\ncall upon the King of all the earth to damn them any more in jest? No;\ntheir note will then be changed: indeed, they shall call, but it will\nbe for \u201cthe rocks to fall on them, and the hills to cover them from the\nwrath of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the Lamb for ever.\u201d\nIt is true, time was when they prayed, though without thought, perhaps,\nfor damnation both for themselves and others: and now they will find\ntheir prayers answered. \u201cThey delighted in cursing, therefore shall it\nhappen unto them; they loved not blessing, therefore shall it be far\nfrom them; they cloathed themselves with cursing like as with a garment,\nand it shall come into their bowels like water, and like oil into their\nbones.\u201d\n\n2. But farther, if the sin of swearing is so exceeding heinous,\nand withal so common, then it is every particular person\u2019s duty,\nespecially those that are in authority, to do their utmost towards\ndiscountenancing and suppressing so malignant a crime. The duty we owe\nboth to GOD and our neighbour, requires this at our hands: by the one\nwe are obliged to assert our Maker\u2019s honour; by the other to prevent\nour neighbour\u2019s ruin: and it is but doing as we would be done by, and\nas we ourselves act in cases of lesser consequence. Were we to hear\neither our own or our friend\u2019s good name vilified and traduced, we\nshould think it our bounden duty to vindicate the wronged reputation\nof each: and shall the great, terrible, and holy name of our best and\nonly friend, our king, our father, nay our GOD: shall this be daily,\nnay every moment, defied and blasphemed; and will no one dare to stand\nup in defence of his honour and holiness? Be astonished, O heavens, at\nthis! No; let us scorn all such base and treacherous treatment: let us\nresolve to support the cause of religion, and with a becoming prudent\ncourage manifest our zeal for the honour of the LORD of Hosts. Men in\nauthority have double the advantages of ordinary christians: their very\noffice shews they are intended for the punishment of evil doers. And\nsuch is the degeneracy of mankind, that the generality of them will be\nmore influenced by the power of persons in authority, than by the most\nlaboured exhortations from the pulpit. To such, therefore, if there\nare any here present, I humbly address myself, beseeching them, in the\nname of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, to do their utmost to put a stop to, and\nrefrain profane cursing and swearing. And though it must be confessed,\nthat this is a work which requires a great deal of courage and pains,\nyet they would do well to consider, it is for GOD they undertake it,\nwho certainly will support and bear them out in a due execution of\ntheir office here, and reward them with an exceeding and eternal weight\nof glory hereafter. But it is time to draw towards a conclusion.\n\n3. Let me, therefore, once more address myself to every person here\npresent, in the name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST; and if any amongst them\nhave been any way guilty of this notorious sin of swearing, let me\nentreat them by all that is near and dear to them, that they would\nneither give the magistrate the trouble to punish, nor their friends\nany reason for the future to warn them against committing the crime;\nbut keep a constant and careful watch over the door of their lips, and\nwithal implore the divine assistance (without which all is nothing)\nthat they offend no more so scandalously with their tongues. Let them\nseriously lay to heart, what with great plainness and simplicity has\nhere been delivered: and if they have any regard for themselves as\nmen, or their reputation as christians; if they would not be a public\nscandal to their profession, or a grief to all that know or converse\nwith them: in short, if they would not be devils incarnate here, and\nprovoke GOD to punish them eternally hereafter; I say unto them in the\nname of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, \u201cSwear not at all.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XIX.\n\n CHRIST the Support of the Tempted.\n\n\n MATTHEW vi. 13.\n\n _Lead us not into Temptation._\n\nTHE great and important duty which is incumbent on christians, is\nto guard against all appearance of evil; to watch against the first\nrisings in the heart to evil; and to have a guard upon our actions,\nthat they may not be sinful, or so much as seem to be so. It is true,\nthe devil is tempting us continually, and our own evil hearts are ready\nto join with the tempter, to make us fall into sins, that he thereby\nmay obtain a victory over us, and that we, my brethren, may be his\nsubjects, his servants, his slaves; and then by-and-by he will pay\nus our wages, which will be death temporal, and death eternal. Our\nLORD JESUS CHRIST saw how his people would be tempted; and that the\ngreat enemy of their souls would lay hold of every opportunity, so he\ncould but be a means of keeping poor sinners from coming to the LORD\nJESUS CHRIST; hurrying you with temptation, to drive you to some great\nsins; and then if he cannot gain you over, fall it to a smaller, and\nsuit his temptations time after time; and when he finds none of these\nthings will do, often transform himself into an angel of light, and\nby that means make the soul fall into sin, to the dishonour of GOD,\nand the wounding of itself: the LORD JESUS, I say, seeing how liable\nhis disciples, and all others, would be to be overcome by temptation,\ntherefore advises them, when they pray, to beg that they might not\nbe led into temptation. It is so dangerous to engage so subtle and\npowerful an enemy as Satan is, that we shall be overcome as often as we\nengage, unless the LORD is on our side. My brethren, if you were left\nto yourselves, you would be overcome by every temptation with which you\nare beset.\n\nThese words are part of the prayer which CHRIST taught his disciples;\nand I shall, therefore, make no doubt, but that you all believe them to\nbe true, since they are spoken by one who cannot lie. I shall,\n\n I. Shew you who it is that tempts you.\n\n II. Shall shew, my brethren, why he tempts you.\n\n III. Mention some of the ways and means he makes use of, to draw\n you over to his temptations.\n\n IV. Let you see how earnest you ought to be to the LORD, that he\n may preserve you from being led into temptation.\n\n V. I shall make some application by way of entreaty unto you, to\n come unto CHRIST, that he, my brethren, may deliver you from\n being tempted.\n\nI. _First_, We are to consider who it is that tempts ye.\n\nAnd the Tempter is Satan, the prince of the power of the air, he that\nnow ruleth in the children of disobedience; he is an enemy to GOD and\ngoodness, he is a hater of all truth: Why else did he slander GOD in\nparadise? Why did he tell _Eve_, \u201cYou shall not surely die?\u201d He is full\nof malice, envy, and revenge: for what reasons else could induce him to\nmolest innocent man in paradise? The person that tempts ye, my brethren,\nis remarkable for his subtilty: for having not power given him from\nabove, he is obliged to wait for opportunities to betray us, and to\ncatch us by guile: he, therefore, made use of the serpent to tempt our\nfirst parents: and to lie in wait to deceive, is another part of his\ncharacter. And though this character is given of the devil, if we were\nto examine our own hearts, we should find many of the tempter\u2019s\ncharacters legible in us.\n\nDo not many of you love to make a lie? And if it is done in your trade,\nyou therefore look on it as excusable; but whether you believe it\nor not, it is sinful, it is exceedingly sinful. Though you may value\nyourselves as fine rational creatures, and that you are noble beings;\nand you were so, as you first came out of GOD\u2019s hands; but now you are\nfallen, there is nothing lovely, nothing desirable in man; his heart is\na sink of pollution, full of sin and uncleanness: Yet, though a man\u2019s\nown heart is so desperately wicked, he is told by our modern polite\npreachers, that there is a fitness in men, and that GOD seeing you a\ngood creature, gives you his grace; but this, though it is a modern,\npolite, and fashionable way of talking, is very unscriptural; it is\nvery contrary to the doctrines of the Reformation, and to our own\nArticles. But however contrary to the doctrines of the Church of\n_England_, yet our pulpits ring of nothing more, than doing no one\nany harm, living honestly, loving your neighbour as yourselves, and\ndo what you can, and then CHRIST is to make up the deficiency: this is\nmaking CHRIST to be half a saviour, and man the other part; but I say,\nCHRIST will be your whole righteousness, your whole wisdom, your whole\nsanctification, or else he will never be your whole redemption. How\namazing is it, that the ministers of the church of _England_ should\nspeak quite contrary to what they have subscribed! Good GOD! if these\nare the guides of the ignorant, and esteemed to be the true ministers\nof JESUS, because they have a great share of letter-learning; when at\nthe same time they are only the blind leaders of the blind; and without\na special Providence, they both will fall into the ditch.\n\nNo wonder at people\u2019s talking of the fitness and unfitness of things,\nwhen they can tell us, that the Spirit of GOD, is a good conscience,\nand the comforts of the Holy Ghost are consequent thereupon. But this\nis wrong; for it should be said, the Spirit of GOD, are the comforts of\nthe Holy Ghost, and a good conscience consequent thereupon. _Seneca_,\n_Cicero_, _Plato_, or any of the heathen philosophers, would have given\nas good a definition as this; it means no more than reflecting we have\ndone well.\n\nBut let these modern, polite gentlemen, and let my letter-learned\nbrethren, paint man in as lovely colours as they please, I will not do\nit: I dare not make him better than the word of GOD does. If I was to\npaint man in his proper colours, I must go to the kingdom of hell for\na copy: for man is by nature full of pride, subtilty, malice, envy,\nrevenge, and all uncharitableness; and what are these but the tempers\nof the devil? and lust, sensuality, pleasure, these are the tempers of\nthe beast. Thus, my brethren, man is half a beast, and half a devil,\na motley mixture of the beast and devil. And this is the creature,\nwho has made himself so obnoxious to the wrath of GOD, and open to his\nindignation, that is told, that he must be part his own saviour, by\ndoing good works, and what he cannot do CHRIST will do for him.\n\nThis is giving the tempter great room to come in with his temptation;\nhe may press a soul to follow moral duties, to go to church, take the\nsacrament, read, pray, meditate; the devil is well content you should\ndo all these; but if they are done in your own strength, or if you go\nno farther than here, you are only going a smoother way to hell.\n\nThus, my brethren, you may see who it is that tempts us. But\n\nII. Why he tempts you, is the second thing I am to shew you.\n\nIt is out of envy to you, and to the LORD JESUS CHRIST, he endeavours\nto keep you from closing with JESUS; and if he can but keep you from\nlaying hold by faith on CHRIST, he knows he has you safe enough; and\nthe more temptations you are under, and according to their nature and\ngreatness, you are more hurried in your minds; and the more unsettled\nyour thoughts and affections are, the more apt you are to conclude,\nthat if you were to go to CHRIST, at present, in all that hurry of\nmind, he would not receive you; but this is the policy of the tempter,\nto make you have low and dishonourable thoughts of the blessed JESUS;\nand so by degrees he works upon your minds, that you are careless and\nindifferent about CHRIST. This, this, my brethren, is the design of the\ntempter. Nothing will please him more, than to see you ruined and lost\nfor ever. He tempts you for that end, that you may lose your interest\nin JESUS CHRIST, and that you may dwell with him and apostate spirits\nto all eternity. He knows that JESUS CHRIST died for sinners, yet he\nwould fain keep souls from seeking to this city of refuge for shelter,\nand from going to _Gilead_ for the true balm.\n\nIt is he that rules in thy heart, O scoffer, O _Pharisee_; the devil\nreigns there, and endeavours to blind your eyes, that you shall not see\nwhat danger you are in, and how much evil there is in those hearts of\nyours; and as long as he can keep you easy and unconcerned about having\nyour hearts changed, he will be easy; though if he can, he will tempt\nyou to sin against him, until you are hardened in your iniquity. O, my\nbrethren, do not give the devil a handle wherewith he may lay hold on\nyou: alas! it is no wonder that the devil tempts you, when he finds you\nat a play, a ball, or masquerade; if you are doing the devil\u2019s work, it\nis no wonder if he presses you in the continuation thereof; and how can\nany say, \u201cLead us not into temptation,\u201d in the morning, when they are\nresolved to run into it at night? Good GOD! Are these persons members\nof the church of _England_? Alas, when you have gone to church, and\nread over the prayers, it is offering no more than the sacrifice of\nfools; you say _Amen_ to them with your lips, when in your hearts you\nare either unconcerned at what you are about, or else you think that\nthe bare saying of your prayers is sufficient, and that then GOD and\nyou have balanced accounts.\n\nBut, my dear brethren, do not deceive yourselves, GOD is not to be\nmocked. You are only ruining yourselves for time and eternity. You pray,\n\u201clead us not into temptation,\u201d when you are tempting the devil to come\nand tempt you.\n\nIII. I shall now point out some of the ways and means, he makes use of\nto draw you to himself.\n\nBut this is a field so large, and I have but just begun to be a soldier\nof JESUS CHRIST, that I cannot name many unto you. I shall therefore be\nvery short on this head.\n\n1. He endeavours to make you think sin is not so great as it is;\nthat there is no occasion of being so over-strict, and that you are\nrighteous over-much; that you are ostentatious, and will do yourself\nharm by it; and that you will destroy yourselves. He shows you, my\nbrethren, the bait, but he hides the hook; he shows you the pleasure,\nprofits and advantages, that attend abundance of this world\u2019s goods;\nbut he does not show you the crosses, losses and vexations that you may\nhave while you are in the enjoyment of the blessings of this world.\n\n2. When he finds he cannot allure you by flattery, he will try you\nby frowns, and the terrors of this world; he will stir up people to\npoint at you, and cry, \u201cHere comes another troop of his followers:\u201d\nHe will stir them up to jeer, scoff, backbite, and hate you; but if he\nstill finds this will not do, then he throws doubts, my brethren, and\ndiscouragements in your mind, whether the way you are in is the true\nway or not; or else he will suggest, What! do you expect to be saved by\nCHRIST? Also, He did not die for you; you have been too great a sinner;\nyou have lived in sin so long, and committed such sins against CHRIST,\nwhich he will not forgive. Thus he hurries poor sinners almost into\ndespair.\n\nAnd very often, when the people of GOD are met to worship him, he sends\nhis agents, the scoffers, to disturb them. We saw an instance of their\nrage just now; they would fain have disturbed us; but the LORD was on\nour side, and so prevented all the attempts of wicked and designing\nmen, to disturb and disquiet us. LORD JESUS, forgive them who are thus\npersecuting thy truth! JESUS, shew them that they are fighting against\nthee, and that it is hard for them to kick against the pricks! These,\nmy brethren, are some of the ways Satan takes, in his temptations,\nto bring you from CHRIST: Many more might be named; but these are\nsufficient, I hope, to keep you on your guard, against all that the\nenemy can do to hinder you from coming to CHRIST.\n\n\u200fIV. I come to shew you, how earnest you ought to be with JESUS CHRIST,\neither not to suffer you to be led into temptations, or to preserve you\nunder them.\n\nAnd here, my dear brethren, let me beseech you to go to JESUS CHRIST;\ntell him, how you are assaulted by the evil one, who lies in wait\nfor your souls; tell him, you are not able to master him, in your own\nstrength; beg his assistance, and you shall find him ready to help you;\nready to assist you, and to be your Guide, your Comforter, your Saviour,\nyour All: He will give you strength to resist the fiery darts of the\ndevil; and, therefore, you can no where find one so proper to relieve\nyou, as JESUS CHRIST; he knows what it is to be tempted; he was tempted\nby Satan in the wilderness, and he will give you the assistance of\nhis Spirit, to resist the evil one, and then he will fly from you.\nIn CHRIST JESUS you shall have the strength you stand in need of, the\ndevil shall have no power; therefore fear not, for in the name of the\nLORD we shall overcome all our spiritual _Amalekites_: Let the devil\nand his agents rage, let them breathe out threatnings, yea, let them\nbreathe out slaughters, yet we can rejoice in this, that JESUS CHRIST\nhath them in his power, they shall go no farther than he permits them;\nthey may rage, they may rage horribly, but they can go no farther,\nuntil they have got more power from on high.\n\nIf they could do us what mischief they would, very few of us should be\npermitted to see our habitations any more; but, blessed be GOD, we can\ncommit ourselves to his protection; he has been our protector hitherto,\nhe will be so still. Then earnestly intreat of the LORD to support you\nunder those temptations, which the devil may assault you with; he is a\npowerful adversary, he is a cunning one too; he would be too hard for\nus, unless we have the strength of CHRIST to be with us. But let us be\nlooking up unto JESUS, that he would send his Spirit into our hearts,\nand keep us from falling. O my dear brethren in CHRIST JESUS, how\nstands it now between GOD and your souls? Is JESUS altogether lovely\nto your souls? is he precious unto you? I am sure, if you have not gone\nback from CHRIST, he will not from you; he will root out the accursed\nthings of this world, and dwell in your hearts. You are candidates for\nheaven; and will you mind earth? What are all the pleasures of earth,\nwithout an interest in the LORD JESUS CHRIST? And one smile from him is\nmore to be desired than rubies, yea more than the whole world.\n\nO you who have found JESUS CHRIST assisting you, and supporting you\nunder all the temptations of this life, will you forsake him? have you\nnot found him a gracious master? is he not the chiefest of ten thousand,\nand altogether lovely? Now you see a form and comeliness in CHRIST,\nwhich you never saw before. O! how do you and I wish we had known JESUS\nsooner, and that we had more of his love; it is condescending love, it\nis amazing, it is forgiving love, it is dying love, it is exalted and\ninterceding love, and it is glorified love. Methinks when I am talking\nof the love of JESUS CHRIST, who loved me before I loved him; he saw\nme polluted in blood, full of sores, a slave to sin, to death and hell,\nrunning to destruction, then he passed by me, and said unto my soul,\n\u201cLive;\u201d he snatched me as a brand plucked from the burning. It was\nlove that saved me, it was all of the free grace of GOD, and that only.\nThe little experience I have had of this love, makes me amazed at the\ncondescension, the love, and mercifulness of the blessed JESUS, that\nhe should have mercy upon such a wretch. O, my brethren, the kingdom of\nGOD is within me, and this fills me so full of love, that I would not\nbe in my natural state again, not for millions of millions of worlds;\nI long to be with JESUS, to live with the LORD that bought me, to live\nforever with the Lamb that was slain, and to sing _Hallelujah_\u2019s unto\nhim. Eternity itself will be too short to set forth the love of the\nLORD JESUS CHRIST. I cannot, indeed I cannot forbear speaking again,\nand again, and again, of the LORD JESUS.\n\nAnd if there are any here who are strangers to this love of the LORD\nJESUS CHRIST, do not despair; come, come unto CHRIST, and he will have\nmercy upon you, he will pardon all your sins, he will heal all your\nbackslidings, he will love you freely, and take you to be with himself.\nCome therefore, O my guilty brethren, unto JESUS, and you shall find\nrest for your souls. You need not fear, you need not despair, when GOD\nhas had mercy upon such a wretch as I; and he will save you also, if\nyou will come unto him by faith.\n\nWhy do ye delay? What! do you say, you are poor, and therefore ashamed\nto come? It is not your poverty that CHRIST mindeth; come in all your\nrags, in all your pollution, and he will save you. Do not depend upon\nany thing but the blood of JESUS CHRIST; do not stand out an hour\nlonger, but give your hearts to CHRIST, give him the firstlings of the\nflock; come unto him now, lest he should cut you off before you are\nprepared, and your soul be sent to that pit from whence there is no\nredemption.\n\nDo not waver, but give him that which he desires, your hearts; it is\nthe heart the LORD JESUS CHRIST wanteth; and when you have an inward\nprinciple wrought in your hearts by this same JESUS, then you will\nfeel the sweetness and pleasure of communion with GOD. O consider, my\nbrethren, the love of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, in dying for you; and are\nyou resolved to slight his dying love? Your sins brought CHRIST from\nheaven, and I humbly pray to the LORD that they may not be a means of\nsending you to hell. What language will make you leave your sins and\ncome to CHRIST? O that I did but know! and that it lay in my power\nto give you this grace; not one of you, not the greatest scoffer here\nshould go hence before he was changed from a natural to a spiritual\nlife; then, then we would rejoice and take sweet council together; but\nall this is not in my power: but I tell you where you may have it, even\nof the LORD JESUS; he will give it to you, if you ask it of him, for he\nhas told us, \u201cAsk, and you shall receive;\u201d therefore ask of him, and if\nyou are repulsed again and again, intreat him more, and he will be unto\nyou as he was to the poor _Syroph\u0153nician_ woman, who came to CHRIST\non account of her daughter; and if she was so importunate to him for a\nbody, how much more should we be solicitous for our souls? If you seek\nto him in faith, his answer will be to you as it was to her, \u201cThy faith\nhath saved thee, be it as thou wouldest have it.\u201d\n\nO, do not forsake the seeking of the LORD; do not, I beseech you,\nneglect the opportunities which may be offered to you, for the\nsalvation of your souls; forsake not the assembling of yourselves\ntogether, to build up and confirm and strengthen those who are weak\nin faith; to convince sinners, that they may feel the power of GOD\npricking them in their hearts, and make them cry out, \u201cWhat must we do\nto be saved?\u201d\n\nThe devil and his agents have their clubs of revelling, and their\nsocieties of drunkenness; they are not ashamed to be seen and heard\ndoing the devil their master\u2019s works; they are not ashamed to proclaim\nhim; and sure you are not ashamed of the LORD JESUS CHRIST; you dare\nproclaim that JESUS, who died that you might live, and who will own\nyou before his Father and all the holy angels: Therefore, dare to be\nsingularly good; be not afraid of the face of man; let not all the\nthreats of the men of this world move you: what is the loss of all the\ngrandeur, or pleasure, or reputation of this life, compared to the loss\nof heaven, of CHRIST and of your souls? and as for the reproaches of\nthe world, do not mind them; when they revile you, never, never revile\nagain; do not answer railing with railing; but let love, kindness,\nmeekness, patience, long-suffering, be found in you, as they were\nin the blessed JESUS; therefore, I beseech you, do not neglect the\nfrequent coming together, and telling each other, what great things\nJESUS CHRIST hath done for your souls.\n\nI do not now, as the Pharisees say I do, encourage you to leave your\nlawful callings, and your business, in which GOD, by his providence,\nhath placed you; for you have two callings, the one a general, and the\nother a special one; it is your duty to regard your \u2666families, and if\nyou neglect them out of any pretence whatsoever, as going to church or\nto societies, you are out of the way of your duty, and offering that to\nGOD which he commanded you not. But then, my brethren, you are to take\ncare that the things of this life do not hinder the preparing for that\nwhich is to come; let not the business of the world make you unmindful\nof your souls; but in all your moral actions, in the business of life,\nlet all be done with a view to the glory of GOD, and the salvation of\nyour souls.\n\n \u2666 \u201cfamiles\u201d replaced with \u201cfamilies\u201d\n\nThe night draws on, and obliges me to hasten to a conclusion; though,\nmethinks, I could speak until my tongue clave to the roof of my mouth,\nyea, until I could speak no more, if it was to save your souls from the\npaws of him who seeketh to devour them.\n\nTherefore let me beseech you, in all love and compassion: Consider, you,\nwho are Pharisees; you, who will not come to CHRIST, but are trusting\nto yourselves for righteousness; who think, because you lead civil,\nhonest, decent lives, all will go well at last; but let me tell you,\nO ye Pharisees, that harlots, murderers, and thieves, shall enter the\nkingdom of GOD before you. Do not flatter yourselves of being in the\nway to heaven, when you are in the broad way to hell; but if you will\nthrow away your righteousness and come to CHRIST, and be contented to\nlet JESUS CHRIST do all for you, and in you, then CHRIST is willing to\nbe your Saviour; but if you bring your good works with you, and think\nto be justified on the account of them, you may seek to be justified\nby them for ever, and never be justified; no, it is only the blood of\nJESUS that cleanseth us from the filth and pollution of all our sins;\nand you must be sanctified before you are justified. As for good works,\nwe are justified before GOD without any respect to them, either past,\npresent, or to come: when we are justified, good works will follow our\njustification, for we can do no good works, until we are cleansed of\nour pollution, by the sanctification of the Spirit of GOD.\n\nO ye scoffers, come and see this JESUS, this LORD of glory whom you\nhave despised; and if you will but come to CHRIST, he will be willing\nto receive you, notwithstanding all the persecution you have used\ntowards his members: However, if you are resolved to persist in your\nobstinacy, remember, salvation was offered to you, that CHRIST and free\ngrace were proposed; but you refused to accept of either, and therefore\nyour blood will be required at your own hands.\n\nI shall only say this unto you, that however you may despise either me\nor my ministry, I shall not regard it, but shall frequently shew you\nyour danger, and propose to you the remedy; and shall earnestly pity\nand pray for you, that GOD would shew you your error, and bring you\nhome into his sheepfold, that you, from ravenous lions, may become\npeaceful lambs.\n\nAnd as for you, O my brethren, who desire to chuse CHRIST for your Lord,\nand to experience his power upon your souls, and as yet do not find\nyour desires and prayers answered; go on, and CHRIST will manifest\nhimself unto you, as he does not unto the world; you shall be made\nto see and feel this love of JESUS upon your souls; you shall have a\nwitness in your own breast, that you are the LORD\u2019s; therefore, do not\nfear, the LORD JESUS CHRIST will gather you with his elect, when he\ncomes at that great day of accounts, to judge every one according to\nthe deeds done in the body, whether they be good, or whether they be\nevil: and, O that the thought of answering to GOD for all our actions,\nwould make us more mindful about the consequences that will attend it.\n\nAnd now let me address all of you, high and low, rich and poor, one\nwith another, to accept of mercy and grace while it is offered to you:\nNow is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation; and will you\nnot accept it, now it is offered unto you? do not stand out one moment\nlonger; but come and accept of JESUS CHRIST in his own way, and then\nyou shall be taken up at the last day, and be with him for ever and\never: and sure this should make you desirous of being with that JESUS\nwho has done so much for you, and is now interceding for you, and\npreparing mansions for you; where may we all arrive and sit down with\nJESUS to all eternity!\n\n Which GOD of his infinite mercy grant, &c.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XX.\n\n Worldly business no Plea for the Neglect of Religion.\n\n\n MATTHEW viii. 22.\n\n _Let the dead bury their dead._\n\nST. _Paul_ preaching at _Athens_, tells them, that as he passed by\nand beheld their devotions, he perceived they were in all things too\n_superstitious_. But was this apostle to rise, and come publishing the\nglad tidings of salvation in any of our populous cities, he would see\nno reason why he should charge the inhabitants with this; but rather\nas he passed by and observed the tenor of their life, say, I perceive\nin all things ye are too _worldly-minded_; ye are too eagerly bent on\npursuing your lawful business; so eagerly, as either wholly to neglect,\nor at least too heedlesly to attend on the one thing needful.\n\nThere cannot then be a greater charity shewn to the christian\nworld, than to sound an alarm in their ears, and to warn them of the\ninexpressible danger, of continually grasping after the things of this\nlife, without being equally, nay a thousand times more concerned for\ntheir well-being in a future state.\n\nAnd there is still the more occasion for such an alarm, because\nworldly-mindedness so easily and craftily besets the hearts of men.\nFor out of a specious pretence of serving GOD in labouring for the\nmeat which perisheth, they are insensibly lulled into such a spiritual\nslumber, as scarce to perceive their neglect to secure that which\nendureth to everlasting life.\n\nThe words of the text, if not at first view, yet when examined and\nexplained, will be found applicable to this case, as containing an\nadmirable caution not to pursue the affairs of this world, at the\nexpence of our happiness in the next.\n\nThey are the words of JESUS CHRIST himself: the occasion of their being\nspoken was this; As he was conversing with those that were gathered\nround about him, he gave one of them an immediate summons to follow him:\nbut he, either afraid to go after such a persecuted master, or rather\nloving this present world, says, \u201cSuffer me first to go home and bury\nmy father,\u201d or, as most explain it, let me first go and dispatch some\nimportant business I have now in hand. But JESUS said unto him, \u201cLet\nthe dead bury their dead;\u201d leave worldly business to worldly men, let\nthy secular business be left undone, rather than thou shouldst neglect\nto follow me.\n\nWhether this person did as he was commanded, I know not; but this I\nknow, that what CHRIST said here in person, he has often whispered with\nthe small still voice of his holy Spirit, and said to many here present,\nthat rise up early and late take rest, and eat the bread of carefulness,\nCome draw off your affections from the things of this life; take up\nyour cross and follow me. But they, willing to justify themselves,\nmake answer, LORD, suffer us first to bury our fathers, or dispatch our\nsecular affairs. I say unto all such, \u201cLet the dead bury their dead,\u201d\nlet your worldly business be left undone, rather than you should\nneglect to follow him.\n\nFrom the words thus explained, naturally arises this proposition, that\nno business, though ever so important, can justify a neglect of true\nreligion.\n\nThe truth of which I shall first shew, and then make an application of\nit.\n\nI. _First_ then, I am to prove, that no temporal business, though ever\nso important, can justify a neglect of true religion.\n\nBy the word _religion_, I do not mean any set of moral virtues, any\npartial amendment of ourselves, or formal attendance on any outward\nduties whatsoever: but an application of CHRIST\u2019s whole and personal\nrighteousness, made by faith to our hearts; a thorough real change of\nnature wrought in us by the invisible, yet powerful operation of the\nHoly Ghost, preserved and nourished in our souls by a constant use of\nall the means of grace, evidenced by a good life, and bringing forth\nthe fruits of the Spirit.\n\nThis is true and undefiled religion, and for the perfecting this good\nwork in our hearts, the eternal Son of GOD came down and shed his\nprecious blood; for this end were we made, and sent into the world, and\nby this alone can we become the sons of GOD. Were we indeed to judge by\nthe common practice of the world, we might think we were sent into it\nfor no other purpose, than to care and toil for the uncertain riches of\nthis life: but if we consult the lively oracles, they will inform us,\nthat we were born for nobler ends, even to be born again from above,\nto be restored to the divine likeness by JESUS CHRIST, our second\n_Adam_, and thereby be made meet to inherit the kingdom of heaven; and\nconsequently, there is an obligation laid upon all, even the most busy\npeople, to secure this end; it being an undeniable truth, that all\ncreatures ought to answer the end for which they were created.\n\nSome indeed are for confining religion to the clergy, and think it only\nbelongs to those who serve at the altar: but what a fatal mistake is\nthis, seeing all persons are indifferently called by GOD to the same\nstate of inward holiness. As we are all corrupt in our nature, so must\nwe all be renewed and sanctified. And though it must be granted, that\nthe clergy lie under double obligations to be examples to believers,\nin faith, zeal, charity, and whatever else is commendable and of good\nreport, as being more immediately dedicated to the service of GOD; yet\nas we have been all baptized with one baptism into the death of CHRIST,\nwe are all under the necessity of performing our baptismal covenant,\nand perfecting holiness in the fear of GOD: for the holy scriptures\npoint out to us but one way of admission into the kingdom of CHRIST,\nthrough the narrow gate of a sound conversion: and he that does not\nenter into the sheepfold, whether clergy or lay-man, by this door, will\nfind, to his everlasting confusion, there is no climbing up another way.\n\nBesides, what a gross ignorance of the nature of true religion, as well\nas of our own happiness, does such a distinction discover? For what\ndoes our Saviour, by willing us to be religious, require of us? but\nto subdue our corrupt passions, to root out ill habits, to engraft the\nheavenly graces of GOD\u2019s most holy Spirit in their room; and, in one\nword, to fill us with all the fulness of GOD.\n\nAnd will men be so much their own enemies, as to affirm this belongs\nonly to those who minister in holy things? Does it not equally concern\nthe most active man living? Is it the end of religion to make men\nhappy, and is it not every one\u2019s privilege to be as happy as he can? Do\npersons in business find the corruptions of their nature, and disorder\nof their passions, so pleasing, that they care not whether they ever\nregulate or root them out? Or will they consent that ministers shall be\nalone partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light? If not, as\nthey desire the same end, why will they not make use of the same means?\nDo they think that GOD will create a new thing upon the earth, and,\ncontrary to the purity of his nature, and immutability of his counsel,\nadmit them into heaven in their natural state, because they have been\nencumbred about many worldly things? Search the scriptures, and see if\nthey give any room for such a groundless hope.\n\nBut farther, one would imagine there was something of the highest\nconcern and utmost importance in our temporal affairs, that they should\ndivert so many from purifying their hearts by faith which is in CHRIST\nJESUS.\n\nA covetous miser, who neglects religion by being continually intent\non seeking great things for himself and those of his own houshold,\nflatters himself he herein acts most wisely; and at the same time will\ncensure and condemn a young prodigal, who has no time to be devout,\nbecause he is so perpetually engaged in wasting his substance by\nriotous living and following of harlots. But yet a little while, and\nmen will be convinced, that they are as much without excuse who lose\ntheir souls by hunting after riches, as those who lose them by hunting\nafter sensual pleasures. For though business may assume an air of\nimportance, when compared with other trifling amusements, yet when put\nin the balance with the loss of our precious and immortal souls, it\nis equally frivolous, according to that of our Saviour, \u201cWhat shall it\nprofit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul;\nor what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?\u201d\n\nAnd now what need we any further proof? We have heard the decision out\nof CHRIST\u2019s own mouth. But because it is so difficult to convince such\nof this important truth, whose hearts are blinded by the deceitfulness\nof riches, that we had need cry out to them in the language of the\nprophet, \u201cO earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD,\u201d I shall lay\nbefore you one passage of scripture more, which I could wish were\nwritten on the tables of all our hearts. In the xivth of St. _Luke_,\nthe 18th and following verses, our blessed LORD puts forth this parable,\n\u201cA certain man made a great supper, and bade many, and sent his servant\nat supper-time, to call them that were bidden: but they all, with one\nconsent, began to make excuse. The one said, I have bought a piece of\nground, and I must needs go and see it, I pray thee have me excused.\nAnd another said, I have bought a yoke of oxen, and I must needs go\nand prove them, I pray thee therefore have me excused. So the servant\nreturned, and shewed his master all these things.\u201d And what follows?\nDid the master accept of their excuses? No, the text tells us the good\nman was angry, and said, \u201cthat none of those which were bidden, should\ntaste of his supper.\u201d And what does this parable teach, but that the\nmost lawful callings cannot justify our neglect; nay, that they are no\nlonger lawful when they in any wise interfere with the great concerns\nof religion? For the marriage supper here spoken of, means the gospel;\nthe master of the house is CHRIST; the servants sent out, are his\nministers, whose duty it is, from time to time, to call the people to\nthis marriage-feast, or, in other words, to be religious. Now we find\nthose that were bidden, were very well and honestly employed. There was\nno harm in buying or seeing a piece of ground, or in going to prove a\nyoke of oxen; but here lay their fault, they were doing these things,\nwhen they were invited to come to the marriage feast.\n\nWithout doubt, persons may very honestly and commendably be employed\nin following their respective callings; but yet, if they are engaged\nso deeply in these, as to hinder their working out their salvation\nwith fear and trembling, they must expect the same sentence with their\npredecessors in the parable, that none of them shall taste of CHRIST\u2019s\nsupper: for our particular calling, as of this or that profession, must\nnever interfere with our general and precious calling, as christians.\nNot that christianity calls us entirely out of the world, the holy\nscriptures warrant no such doctrine.\n\nIt is very remarkable, that in the book of life, we find some almost\nof all kinds of occupations, who notwithstanding served GOD in their\nrespective generations, and shone as so many lights in the world.\nThus we hear of a good centurion in the evangelists, and a devout\n_Cornelius_ in the _Acts_; a pious lawyer; and some that walked with\nGOD, even of _Nero_\u2019s houshold, in the epistles; and our divine master\nhimself, in his check to _Martha_, does not condemn her for minding,\nbut for being cumbered or perplexed about many things.\n\nNo, you may, nay, you must labour, out of obedience to GOD, even for\nthe meat which perisheth.\n\nBut I come, in the _Second_ place, to apply what has been said.\n\nI beseech you, by the mercies of GOD in CHRIST JESUS, let not your\nconcern for the meat which perisheth be at the expence of that which\nendureth to everlasting life; for, to repeat our blessed Saviour\u2019s\nwords, \u201cWhat shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world,\nand lose his own soul; or, what shall a man give in exchange for his\nsoul?\u201d\n\nWere we always to live in the world, then worldly wisdom would be our\nhighest wisdom: but forasmuch as we have here no continuing city, and\nwere only sent into this world to have our natures changed, and to fit\nourselves for that which is to come; then to neglect this important\nwork for a little worldly gain, what is it but, with profane _Esau_,\nto sell our birth-right for a mess of pottage.\n\nAlas! how unlike are christians to christianity! they are commanded to\n\u201cseek first the kingdom of GOD and his righteousness,\u201d and all other\nreal necessaries shall be added unto them; but they are fearful (O\nmen of little faith!) that if they should do so, all other necessaries\nwould be taken from them: they are strictly forbidden to be careful\nfor the morrow, and yet they rest not night or day, but are continually\nheaping up riches for many years, though they know not who shall gather\nthem. Is this acting like persons that are strangers and pilgrims\nupon earth? Is this keeping their baptismal vow? Or rather, is it\nnot directly apostatizing from it, and deserting the service of JESUS\nCHRIST, to list themselves under the banner of mammon?\n\nBut what will be the hope of such worldlings, when GOD shall take away\ntheir souls? What if the almighty should say to each of them, as he did\nto the rich fool in the gospel, \u201cthis night shall thy soul be required\nof thee;\u201d O then, what would all those things profit them, which they\nare now so busy in providing?\n\nWas eternal life, that free gift of GOD in CHRIST JESUS, to be\npurchased with money; or could men carry their stocks beyond the grave,\nto buy oil for their lamps, i.\u00a0e. grace for their hearts, when they\nshould be called to meet the bridegroom, there might be some reason why\nGOD might well bear with them: but since their money is to perish with\nthem; since it is certain, as they brought nothing into the world, so\nthey can carry nothing out; or supposing they could, since there is no\noil to be bought, no grace to be purchased when once the lamp of their\nnatural life is gone out; would it not be much more prudent to spend\nthe short time they have here allotted them, in buying oil while it\nmay be had, and not for fear of having a little less of that which will\nquickly be another man\u2019s, eternally lose the true riches?\n\nWhat think you? Is it to be supposed, it grieved that covetous\nworldling before mentioned, when his soul sprung into the world of\nspirits, that he could not stay here till he had pulled down his barns\nand built greater? Or think you not that all things here below seemed\nequally little to him then, and he only repented that he had not\nemployed more time in pulling down every high thought that exalted\nitself against the Almighty, and building up his soul in the knowledge\nand fear of GOD?\n\nAnd thus it will be with all unhappy men, who like him are disquieting\nthemselves in a vain pursuit after worldly riches, and at the same time\nare not rich towards GOD.\n\nThey may, for a season, seem excellently well employed in being\nsolicitously careful about the important concerns of this life; but\nwhen once their eyes are opened by death, and their souls launched into\neternity, they will then see the littleness of all sublunary cares, and\nwonder they should be so besotted to the things of another life, while\nthey were, it may be, applauded for their great wisdom and profound\nsagacity in the affairs of this world.\n\nAlas! how will they bemoan themselves for acting like the unjust\nsteward, so very wisely in their temporal concerns, in calling their\nrespective debtors so carefully, and asking how much every one owes\nto them, and yet never remembring to call themselves to an account,\nor enquire how much they owed to their own great LORD and master?\n\nAnd now what shall I say more? The GOD of this world, and the\ninordinate desire of other things, must have wholly stifled the\nconscience of that man, who does not see the force of these plain\nreasonings.\n\nPermit me only to add a word or two to the rich, and to persons that\nare freed from the business of this life.\n\nBut here I must pause a while, for I am sensible that it is but an\nungrateful, and as some may imagine, an assuming thing, for such a\nnovice in religion to take upon him to instruct men in high stations,\nand who perhaps would disdain to set me with the dogs of their flock.\n\nBut however, since St. _Paul_, who knew what best became a young\npreacher, commanded _Timothy_, young as he was, to exhort and charge\nthe rich with all authority; I hope none here that are so, will be\noffended, if with humility I beg leave to remind them, though they once\nknew this, that if persons in the most busy employs are indispensibly\nobliged to \u201cwork out their salvation with fear and trembling,\u201d much\nmore ought they to do so, who are free from the toils and incumbrance\nof a lower way of life, and consequently have greater opportunities and\nleisure to prepare themselves for a future state.\n\nBut is this really the case? or do we not find, by fatal experience,\nthat too many of those whom GOD has exalted above their brethren, who\nare \u201ccloathed in purple and fine linnen, and fare sumptuously every\nday,\u201d by a sad abuse of GOD\u2019s great bounty towards them, think that\ntheir stations set them above religion, and so let the poor, who live\nby the sweat of their brows, attend more constantly on the means of\ngrace than do they?\n\nBut woe unto such rich men! for they have received their consolation.\nHappy had it been if they had never been born: for if the careless\nirreligious tradesman cannot be saved, where will luxurious and wicked\ngentlemen appear?\n\nLet me therefore, by way of conclusion, exhort all persons, high and\nlow, rich and poor, one with another, to make the renewal of their\nfallen nature, the one business of their lives; and to let no worldly\nprofit, no worldly pleasure, divert them from the thoughts of it. Let\nthis cry, \u201cBehold the bridegroom cometh,\u201d be ever sounding in our ears;\nand let us live as creatures that are every moment liable to be hurried\naway by death to judgment: let us remember, that this life is a state\nof infinite importance, a point between two eternities, and that after\nthese few days are ended, there will remain no more sacrifice for sin;\nlet us be often asking ourselves, how we shall wish we had lived when\nwe leave the world? And then we shall always live in such a state, as\nwe shall never fear to die in. Whether we live, we shall live unto the\nLORD; or whether we die, we shall die unto the LORD; so that living or\ndying we may be the LORD\u2019s.\n\nTo which end, let us beseech GOD, the protector of all them that put\ntheir trust in him, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy,\nto increase and multiply upon us his mercy, that he being our ruler and\nguide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not\nthe things eternal; through JESUS CHRIST our LORD.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXI.\n\n CHRIST the only Rest for the Weary and Heavy-Laden.\n\n\n MATTHEW xi. 28.\n\n _Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will\n give you rest._\n\nNOTHING is more generally known than the duties which belong to\nchristianity; and yet, how amazing is it, nothing is less practised?\nThere is much of it in name and shew, but little of it in the heart and\nconversation; indeed, if going to church, and to the sacrament, or, if\nour being called after the name of CHRIST, and being baptized into that\nname; if that will make us christians, I believe all of us would have\na claim thereto: but if it consists in the heart, that there must be an\ninward principle wrought in us by faith; that there must be a change of\nthe whole nature, a putting off the old man with his deeds, a turning\nfrom sin unto GOD, a cleaving only unto the Son of Righteousness; and\nthat there must be a new birth, and we experience the pangs thereof;\nand that you must feel yourselves weary and heavy laden with your sins,\nbefore you will seek for deliverance from them; if this is to be the\ncase, if there is so much in being children of GOD, alas! how many who\nplease themselves with an outside shew, a name to live whilst they are\ndead; and how few that have any share in this spiritual state, in this\ntrue and living name? How few are they who are weary and heavy laden\nwith their sins, and seek to CHRIST for rest? They say, in a formal\ncustomary manner, we are sinners, and there is no health in us; but how\nfew feel themselves sinners, and are so opprest in their own spirits,\nthat they have no quiet nor rest in them, because of the burden of\ntheir sins, and the weight that is fallen and lays on their minds?\n\nUnder these burdens, these heavy burdens, they are at a loss what to\ndo whereby they may obtain rest; they fly to their works, they go to\na minister, and he tells them to read, to pray, and meditate, and take\nthe sacrament: thus they go away, and read, and pray, and meditate\nalmost without ceasing, and never neglect the sacrament whenever there\nis an opportunity for the taking of it. Well, when the poor soul has\ndone all this, it still finds no ease, there is yet no relief: Well,\nwhat must you do then? To lie still under the burden they cannot, and\nto get rid of it they cannot: O what must the burdened soul do! Why,\ngoes to the clergyman again, and tells him the case, and what it has\ndone, and that it is no better. Well, he asks, have you given alms to\nthe poor? Why no. Then go and do that, and you will find rest. Thus the\npoor sinner is hurried from duty to duty, and still finds no rest: all\nthings are uneasy and disquiet within, and there remains no rest in\nthe soul. And if it was to go through all the duties of religion, and\nread over a thousand manuals of prayers, none would ever give the soul\nany rest; nothing will, until it goes to the LORD JESUS CHRIST, for\nthere is the only true rest; that is the rest which abideth, and will\ncontinue for ever. It is not in your own works, nor in your endeavours:\nno; when CHRIST comes into your souls, he pardons you, without any\nrespect to your works, either past, present, or to come.\n\nFrom the words, my brethren, I have now read, I shall\n\n I. Shew you who are the weary and heavy laden.\n\n II. Inquire what is meant by coming to CHRIST. And,\n\n III. Conclude with exhorting you to accept of the invitation\n which the LORD JESUS CHRIST gives unto you to come unto him,\n with the assurance of finding rest. \u200f\n\n_First_, I am to shew you, who are the weary and heavy-laden.\n\nAnd here it will be necessary to consider who are not; and then, to\nconsider who they are that are really so.\n\n1. Those who think themselves good enough, and are pleased that they\nare not so bad as others, these are not weary or heavy laden.\n\nNo, these Pharisees are not thus troubled; they laugh and jest at those\nwho talk of feeling their sins, and think there is no occasion to make\nso much ado about religion: it is to be righteous over-much, and the\nmeans to destroy yourselves. They think if they do but mean well, and\nsay their prayers, as they call them, it is sufficient: though they\nmay say a prayer, yea, thousands of prayers, and all the while be only\noffering up the sacrifice of fools. They may call GOD, Father, every\nday, when it is only mocking of GOD, and offering up false fire unto\nhim; and it would be just for him to serve them, as he did _Nahab_ and\n_Abihu_, destroy them, cut them off from the face of the earth: but he\nis waiting to be gracious, and willing to try a little longer, whether\nyou will bring forth any thing more than the leaves of an outward\nprofession, which is not all that the LORD requires: no, he wants the\nheart; and unless you honour him with that, he does not regard your\nmouths, when the other is far from him. You may say over your prayers\nall your lives, and yet you may never pray over one: therefore, while\nyou flatter yourselves you are good enough, and that you are in a state\nof salvation, you are only deceiving your own souls, and hastening on\nyour own destruction. Come unto him, not as being good enough, but as\nvile sinners, as poor, and blind, and naked, and miserable, and then\nJESUS will have compassion.\n\nO ye Pharisees, what fruits do ye bring forth? Why, you are moral,\npolite creatures; you do your endeavours, you do what you can, and so\nJESUS is to make up the rest. You esteem yourselves fine, rational,\nand polite beings, and think it is too unfashionable to pray; it is\nnot polite enough: perhaps you have read some prayers, but knew not\nhow to pray from your hearts; no, by no means: that was being righteous\nover-much indeed.\n\nBut when once you are sensible of your being lost, damned creatures,\nand see hell gaping ready to receive you; if GOD was but to cut the\nthread of life, O then, then you would cry earnestly unto the LORD to\nreceive you, to open the door of mercy unto you; your tones would then\nbe changed, you would no more flatter yourselves with your abilities\nand good wishes: no, you would see how unable you were, how incapable\nto save yourselves; that there is no fitness, no free will in you:\nno fitness, but for eternal damnation, no free will but that of doing\nevil; and that when you would do good, evil is present with you, and\nthe thing that ye would not, that do ye. He knows the secret intent of\nevery heart; and this is a pleasure to you, my dear brethren, who come\non purpose to meet with him, though it be in a field. And, however some\nmay esteem me a mountebank, and an enthusiast, one that is only going\nto make you methodically mad; they may breathe out their invectives\nagainst me, yet CHRIST knows all; he takes notice of it, and I shall\nleave it to him to plead my cause, for he is a gracious Master: I have\nalready found him so, and am sure he will continue so. Vengeance is his,\nand he will repay it. Let them revile me; let them cast me out of their\nsynagogues, and have my name in reproach, I shall not answer them by\nreviling again, or in speaking evil against them: no, that is not the\nSpirit of CHRIST, but meekness, patience, long-suffering, kindness, &c.\n\nYe pharisees, who are going about to establish your own righteousness;\nyou, who are too polite to follow the LORD JESUS CHRIST in sincerity\nand truth; you, who are all for a little shew, a little outside work;\nwho lead moral, civil, decent lives, CHRIST will not know you at the\ngreat day, but will say unto you, O ye Pharisees, was there any place\nfor me in your love? Alas! you are full of anger and malice, and\nself-will; yet you pretended to love and serve me, and to be my people:\nbut, however, I despise you; I, who am GOD, and knoweth the secret of\nall hearts; I, who am truth itself, the faithful and true witness, say\nunto you, \u201cDepart from me, ye workers of iniquity, into that place of\ntorment, prepared for the devil and his angels.\u201d Good GOD! and must\nthese discreet polite creatures, who never did any one harm, but led\nsuch civil, decent lives, must they suffer the vengeance of eternal\nfire? Cannot their righteous souls be saved? Where then must the sinner\nand the ungodly appear? Where wilt thou, O sabbath-breaker, appear,\nthou, who canst take thy pleasure, thy recreation, on the LORD\u2019s-day,\nwho refusest to hear the word of GOD, who wilt not come to church to\nbe instructed in the ways of the LORD? Where will you, O ye adulterers,\nfornicators, and such-like of this generation appear? Whoremongers and\nadulterers GOD will judge, and them he will condemn. Then you will not\ncall these tricks of youth: no, but you will call on the rocks and the\nmountains to fall on you, to hide you from the fury and anger of the\nLORD. Where wilt thou, O man, appear, that takes pleasure in making a\nmock of sin, who despisest all reproof, who throws about thy jests as\na madman does fire, and asks whether thou art not in sport? Where wilt\nthou, O man, appear, that makes it thy business to preach against the\nchildren of the Most High; thou, who art inventing methods in order to\nstop the progress of the gospel, and using thy utmost power to quash\nthe preaching thereof; who art raising of evil reports against the\ndisciples of CHRIST, and esteemest them madmen, fools, schismatics,\nand a parcel of rabble? Thou, O man, with all thy letter-learning, wilt\nsurely see the judgment-seat of CHRIST, though, perhaps, sorely against\nyour will; to be cast by him into eternal fire, a place prepared for\nthe devil and his angels. There is a burning tophet kindled by the\nfury of an avenging GOD, which will never, never be quenched. The devil\nlongs to embrace you in his hellish arms, whenever the sentence is\npast, where you must for ever bear the weight of your sin: there is no\nredemption then; the day of grace is past; the door of hope is shut;\nmercy will be no more offered, but you must be shut out from GOD for\never. O who can dwell with everlasting burnings!\n\nHowever you may think of hell, indeed it is not a painted fire; it\nis not an imagination to keep people in awe: then, then you will feel\nthe power of the almighty arm. If you will not lay hold on his golden\nsceptre, he will break you with his iron rod. O ye Pharisees, who\nare now so good, so much better than others, how will ye stand before\nCHRIST, when drest in his glory as judge? You Arians, may now despise\nhis divinity; then you shall have a proof of it; he will shew, that\nhe has all power, and that he was no subordinate GOD; he will shew you\nthat he has all power in heaven and earth that he was King of kings,\nand Lord of lords; that he was the mighty GOD, the everlasting Father;\nand this power that he has, he will exercise in preserving you to no\nother end, but to punish you for ever. Thus you, who please yourselves\nwith being good enough now, who are not weary and heavy laden with a\nsense of your sins here, will be weary and heavy laden with a sense of\nyour punishment hereafter.\n\n2. Those, my brethren, are not weary and heavy laden with a sense of\ntheir sins, who can delight themselves in the polite entertainments of\nthe age, and follow the sinful diversions of life.\n\nNow they can go to balls and assemblies, play-houses and horse-racing;\nthey have no thought of their sins; they know not what it is to weep\nfor sin, or humble themselves under the mighty hand of GOD; they can\nlaugh away their sorrows, and sing away their cares, and drive away\nthese melancholy thoughts; they are too polite to entertain any sad\nthoughts; the talk of death and judgment is irksome to them, because\nit damps their mirth; they could not endure to think of their sin and\ndanger; they could not go to a play, and think of hell; they could not\ngo quietly to a masquerade, and think of their danger; they could not\ngo to a ball or an assembly in peace, if they thought of their sins.\n\nAnd so it is proved, even to a demonstration, that these are not weary\nand heavy laden: for if they are not thoughtful about their sins, they\nwill never be weary and heavy laden of them. But at the day of judgment\nall will be over: they shall lose all their carnal mirth, all their\npleasure, all their delight will be gone for ever.\n\nThey will say then of their laughter, it is mad; and of mirth, What\ndost thou? Their merry conceits, and witty jests against the poor\ndespised people of GOD, are then over. Their mirth was but as the\ncrackling of thorns under a pot; it made a great blaze and unseemly\nnoise for a while, but it was presently gone, and will return no more.\n\nThey think now, that if they were to fast or to pray, and meditate\nand mourn, they should be righteous over-much, and destroy themselves;\ntheir lives would be a continual trouble, and it would make them run\nmad. Alas, my brethren, what misery must that life be, where there\nis no more pleasant days, no more balls or plays, no cards or dice,\nthose wasters of precious time, no horse-racing and cock-fighting, from\nwhence no good ever came, unless abusing GOD Almighty\u2019s creatures, and\nputting them to that use which he never designed them, can be called\nso. How miserable will your life be, when all your joys are over,\nwhen your pleasures are all past, and no more mirth or pastime? Do you\nthink there is one merry heart in hell? one pleasing countenance? or\njesting, scoffing, swearing tongue? A sermon now is irksome: the offer\nof salvation, by the blood of JESUS CHRIST, is now termed enthusiasm;\nbut then you would give thousands of worlds, if in your power, for one\ntender of mercy, for one offer of grace, which now you so much despise.\n\nNow, you are not weary of your diversions, nor are you heavy laden with\nthe sins, with which they are accompanied; but then you will be weary\nof your punishment, and the aggravation which attends it. Your cards\nand dice, your hawks and hounds, and bowls, and your pleasant sports,\nwill then be over. What mirth will you have in remembering your sports\nand diversions? I would not have you mistake me, and say, I am only\npreaching death and damnation to you; I am only shewing you what will\nbe the consequence of continuing in these sinful pleasures; and if\nthe devil does not hurry you away with half a sermon, I shall shew\nyou how to avoid these dangers, which I now preach up as the effect\nof sin unrepented of. I mention this, lest you should be hurried away\nby the devil: but be not offended, if I point out unto you more of the\nterrors which will attend your following these polite and fashionable\nentertainments of the present age, and of not being weary and heavy\nladen with a sense of your sins.\n\nThey who delight in drinking wine to excess, and who are drunkards,\nwhat bitter draughts will they have instead of wine and ale? The heat\nof lust will be then also abated; they will no more sing the song of\nthe drunkard; no more spend their time in courting their mistresses,\nin lascivious discourse, in amorous songs, in wanton dalliances, in\nbrutish defilements: no, these are all over; and it will but prick\neach other to the heart to look one another in the face. Then they will\nwish, that instead of sinning together, they had prayed together; had\nfrequented religious societies; had stirred up each other to love and\nholiness, and endeavoured to convince each other of the evil of sin,\nand how obnoxious they are to the wrath of GOD; and the necessity of\nbeing weary and heavy laden with a sense thereof; that they might have\nescaped the punishment which they suffer, by their following the sinful\nand polite diversions of the age they fell into. But as it was against\nGOD himself they had sinned, so no less than GOD will punish them\nfor their offences: he hath prepared these torments for his enemies;\nhis continual anger will still be devouring of them; his breath of\nindignation will kindle the flame; his wrath will be a continual\nburden to their souls. Woe be to him who falls under the stroke of the\nAlmighty!\n\nThus they are not weary and heavy laden with their sins, who can follow\nthe polite and fashionable entertainments of the age. But,\n\n_Secondly_, I am to shew you what it is to be weary and heavy laden\nwith sins. And\n\n1. You may be said, my brethren, to be weary and heavy laden, when your\nsins are grievous unto you, and it is with grief and trouble you commit\nthem.\n\nYou, who are awakened unto a sense of your sins, who see how hateful\nthey are to GOD, and how they lay you open to his wrath and indignation,\nand would willingly avoid them; who hate yourselves for committing them;\nwhen you are thus convinced of sin, when you see the terrors of the\nlaw, and are afraid of his judgments; then you may be said to be weary\nof your sins. And O how terrible do they appear when you are first\nawakened to a sense of them; when you see nothing but the wrath of\nGOD ready to fall upon you, and you are afraid of his judgments! O how\nheavy is your sin to you then! Then you feel the weight thereof, and\nthat it is grievous to be borne.\n\n2. When you are obliged to cry out under the burden of your sins, and\nknow not what to do for relief; when this is your case, you are weary\nof your sins. It does not consist in a weariness all of a sudden: no,\nit is the continual burden of your soul, it is your grief and concern\nthat you cannot live without offending GOD, and sinning against him;\nand these sins are so many and so great, that you fear they will not be\nforgiven.\n\nI come, _Secondly_, to shew you what is meant by coming to CHRIST.\n\nIt is not, my brethren, coming with your own works: no, you must come\nin full dependance upon the LORD JESUS CHRIST, looking on him as the\nLORD who died to save sinners: Go to him, tell him you are lost, undone,\nmiserable sinners, and that you deserve nothing but hell; and when you\nthus go to the LORD JESUS CHRIST out of yourself, in full dependance\non the LORD JESUS CHRIST, you will find him an able and a willing\nsaviour: he is pleased to see sinners coming to him in a sense of their\nown unworthiness; and when their case seems to be most dangerous, most\ndistressed, then the LORD in his mercy steps in and gives you his grace;\nhe puts his Spirit within you, takes away your heart of stone, and\ngives you a heart of flesh. Stand not out then against this LORD, but\ngo unto him, not in your own strength, but in the strength of JESUS\nCHRIST.\n\nAnd this brings me, _Thirdly_, to consider the exhortation CHRIST gives\nunto all of you, high and low, rich and poor, one with another, to come\nunto him that you may have rest. And if JESUS CHRIST gives you rest,\nyou may be sure it will be a rest indeed; it will be such a rest as\nyour soul wants; it will be a rest which the world can neither give nor\ntake away. O come all of ye this night, and you shall find rest: JESUS\nCHRIST hath promised it. Here is a gracious invitation, and do not let\na little rain hurry you away from the hearing of it; do but consider\nwhat the devil and damned spirits would give to have the offer of mercy,\nand to accept of CHRIST, that they may be delivered from the torments\nthey labour under, and must do so for ever; or, how pleasing would this\nrain be to them to cool their parched tongues; but they are denied both,\nwhile you have mercy offered to you; free and rich mercy to come to\nCHRIST: here is food for your souls, and the rain is to bring forth the\nfruits of the earth, as food for your bodies. Here is mercy upon mercy.\n\nLet me beseech you to come unto CHRIST, and he will give you rest: you\nshall find rest unto your souls. O you, my weary, burthened brethren,\ndo but go to CHRIST in this manner, and though you go to him weary, you\nshall find rest before you come from him: let not any thing short of\nthe LORD JESUS CHRIST be your rest; for wherever you seek you will be\ndisappointed; but if you do but seek unto the LORD JESUS CHRIST, there\nyou will find a fulness of every thing which your weary soul wants. Go\nto him this night; here is an invitation to all you who are weary souls.\nHe does not call you, O Pharisees; no, it is only you weary sinners;\nand sure you will not stay from him, but accept of his invitation; do\nnot delay; one moment may be dangerous: death may take you off suddenly.\nYou know not but that a fit of the apoplexy may hurry you from time\ninto eternity: therefore, be not for staying till you have something\nto bring; come in all your rags, in all your filthiness, in all your\ndistresses, and you will soon find JESUS CHRIST ready to help, and\nto relieve you: he loves you as well in your rags, as in your best\ngarments; he regards not your dress; no, do but come unto him, and you\nshall soon find rest for your souls.\n\nWhat say you? Shall I tell my Master you will come unto him, and that\nyou will accept him on his own terms. Let me, my brethren, beseech you\nto take JESUS without any thing of your own righteousness: for if you\nexpect to mix any thing of yourself with CHRIST, you build upon a sandy\nfoundation; but if you take CHRIST for your rest, he will be that unto\nyou. Let me beseech you to build upon this rock of ages. O my brethren,\nthink of the gracious invitation, \u201cCome unto me,\u201d to JESUS CHRIST: it\nis he that calls you: And will you not go?\n\nCome, come unto him. If your souls were not immortal, and you in danger\nof losing them, I would not thus speak unto you; but the love of your\nsouls constrains me to speak: methinks this would constrain me to speak\nunto you for ever. Come then by faith, and lay hold of the LORD JESUS:\nthough he be in heaven, he now calleth thee. Come, all ye drunkards,\nswearers, sabbath-breakers, adulterers, fornicators; come, all ye\nscoffers, harlots, thieves, and murderers, and JESUS CHRIST will save\nyou; he will give you rest, if you are weary of your sins. O come lay\nhold upon him. Had I less love for your souls, I might speak less; but\nthat love of GOD, which is shed abroad in my heart, will not permit me\nto leave you, till I see whether you will come to CHRIST or no. O for\nyour life receive him, for fear he may never call you any more. Behold,\nthe Bridegroom cometh; it may be this night the cry may be made. How\nwould you bear this, if you were sure to die before the morning light?\nGOD grant you may begin to live, that when the king of terrors shall\ncome, you may have nothing to do but to commit your souls into the\nhands of a faithful Redeemer.\n\n Now to GOD the Father, GOD the Son, and GOD the Holy Ghost, be\n all honour, praises, dominion, and power, henceforth and for\n evermore, _Amen_, _Amen_. \u200f\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXII.\n\n The Folly and Danger of parting with CHRIST\n for the Pleasures and Profits of Life.\n\n\n MATTHEW viii. 23, to the End.\n\n _And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.\n And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch\n that the ship was covered with the waves: But he was asleep.\n And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord,\n save us, we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful,\n O ye of little faith? Then he arose and rebuked the winds and\n the sea, and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled,\n saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and\n the sea obey him! And when he was come to the other side into\n the country of the |Gergesenes|, there met him two possessed\n with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so\n that no man might pass by that way. And behold, they cried out,\n saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?\n Art thou come hither to torment us before the time? And there\n was, a good way off from them, an herd of many swine, feeding.\n So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out,\n suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto\n them, Go: And when they were come out, they went into the herd\n of swine; and behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently\n down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.\n And they that kept them, fled and went their ways into the\n city, and told every thing; and what was befallen to the\n possessed of the devils. And behold, the whole city came out\n to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they besought him that\n he would depart out of their coasts._\n\nIF we were but sensible of the great necessity there is, in this our\nday, of being real christians, sure we should not be contented with\nbeing nominal ones; but we are sunk into I know not what; we are no\nbetter than baptised heathens: And how amazing is it, that we should\nprofess the name of CHRIST, and yet so little converse about him;\nsurely, this name whereby we are called, should be the theme of our\ndiscourse here, and of our eternal _Hallellujahs_ in a world to come.\nBut is it not more amazing, to consider, that instead of the name of\nJESUS, whereby we are to have salvation, we are taught to look for\nit in ourselves, and that there must be a fitness in us before GOD\nbestows his grace and favour upon us. But what doctrine is this? Not\nthe doctrine of the scripture, not the doctrine of JESUS, not that\nof the primitive christians, not that of the reformation, nor that\nof the articles of the church of _England_: No, it is the doctrine of\nthe devil: this is making CHRIST but half a Saviour, and driving man\ninto an error of the greatest consequence, in making him go to JESUS\nin his own strength, and not in the name of the LORD JESUS CHRIST:\nBut, my brethren, unless you go in the strength of JESUS CHRIST; unless\nyou depend only upon him for salvation; unless he is your wisdom,\nrighteousness and sanctification, he will never be your redemption. Our\nsalvation is the free gift of GOD; it is owing to his free love, and\nthe free grace of JESUS CHRIST, that ever you are saved.\n\nDo not flatter yourselves of being good enough, because you are morally\nso; because you go to church, say the prayers, and take the sacrament,\ntherefore you think no more is required: alas, you are deceiving your\nown souls; and if GOD, in his free grace and mercy, does not shew you\nyour error, it will only be leading you a softer way to your eternal\nruin; but GOD forbid that any of you, to whom I am now speaking, should\nimagine this; no, you must be abased, and GOD must be exalted, or\nyou will never begin at the right end, you will never see JESUS with\ncomfort or satisfaction, unless you go to him only on the account of\nwhat he has done and suffered.\n\nIs it not plain to a demonstration, that we are acting the part of the\n_Gergesenes_, who came and desired JESUS to depart from them: Let us\nconsider the words, and then we shall see how exactly we are performing\nthe part of these men over again.\n\n_And when he was entered into a ship his disciples followed him._\n\nCHRIST had been working of many miracles, as we read a few verses\nbefore; and as he continually went about doing good, so now he was\ngoing to the country of the _Gergesenes_ to dispossess two, who were\npossessed with devils; and his disciples followed him: No doubt they\nwere reproached and pointed at, for following such a babbler, as the\nScribes and Pharisees esteemed the LORD JESUS CHRIST: Doubtless they\nwere pointed at, jeered, scoffed, and esteemed madmen, enthusiasts, and\na parcel of rabble; but still they followed the LORD JESUS CHRIST, they\ndid not mind a little reproach; no, they loved their Master too well to\nforbear following him for the sake of a little persecution. And if you\ndo but love the LORD JESUS CHRIST, love him above all, you will follow\nhim in spight of the malice of all the Scribes and Pharisees of this\ngeneration.\n\n_And behold there arose a great tempest on the sea._\n\nThe presence of CHRIST in the ship, did not preserve the disciples from\nfears and troubles; they were filled with uneasiness, although CHRIST\nwas with them: this was only for a trial of their faith, to see if they\nwould stand fast for the LORD in a persecuting time. My dear brethren,\nif the LORD is trying of you, do not give out; no, stand fast in all\nthat the LORD may call you to suffer: It is easy to follow CHRIST when\nall things are safe: but your love to JESUS CHRIST would be seen more,\nif you must lose your lives, or deny your JESUS; it would be a trial\nof your love, when fire and faggot was before you, if you would rush\ninto that, rather than flie from the truth as it is in JESUS. Though\nall things are calm now, the storm is gathering, and by and by it\nwill break; it is at present no bigger than a man\u2019s hand; but when\nit is full it will break, and then you will see whether you are sound\nchristians or not. Persecution would scatter the hypocrites, and make\nnominal christians afraid to worship GOD; they would then soon turn\nunto the world and the things of it.\n\n_And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, LORD, save us,\nwe perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little\nfaith? Then he arose and rebuked the winds and sea, and there was a\ngreat calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this,\nthat even the winds and the sea obey him!_\n\nHere we may see the great compassion of the LORD JESUS CHRIST; no\nsooner had the disciples awakened him, and he saw their danger, but he\nrebuked the winds and seas, and all things were calm: Thus it was in\na natural way, and will be so in a spiritual one; for no sooner does\nJESUS CHRIST speak peace to a troubled soul, but all is calm and quiet:\nNow none but GOD could have performed this great miracle, and therefore\nit is no wonder that his disciples and the men of the ship were amazed\nto see the wonders he performed; and they could not forbear to express\ntheir sense thereof, by inquiring, \u201cWhat manner of man is this!\u201d\n\nAnd when the LORD has brought you out of trouble, you will be amazed\nat the gracious dealings of the LORD with you, and wonder that he would\nso easily remove your troubles from you, when you have deserved nothing\nbut wrath and destruction, and to be punished to all eternity.\n\n_And when he was come to the other side into the country of the\n|Gergesenes|, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of\nthe tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And\nbehold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, JESUS,\nthou Son of GOD? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?_\n\nTwo men, who were possessed bodily with that evil one who is going\nabout seeking whom he may devour, met JESUS; as soon as they saw him\nthey were afraid, and \u2666cried out: though they made every one afraid\nof them, yet they no sooner saw CHRIST, but their power left them, and\nthey cried out, \u201cWhat have we to do with thee, JESUS, thou Son of GOD?\u201d\nWe know that thou art GOD; we do not want thee, we have no power over\nthee, but thou hast over us, and we fear thou art come to torment us\nbefore our time; we know that we are to be brought to judgment, and\ntherefore we would not be tormented until that time come.\n\n \u2666 \u201ccreid\u201d replaced with \u201ccried\u201d\n\n_And there was, a good way off from them, a herd of many swine feeding.\nSo the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to\ngo into the herd of swine._\n\nThe evil spirits were sensible that CHRIST was come to dispossess them,\nand that their time was now come, when they must leave the bodies of\nthese two men; for when CHRIST comes, who is stronger than the strong\nman armed, all must fall before him; they could not stand against the\npower of CHRIST: And here we may observe, that though the devil is an\nenemy, yet he is a chained one; he cannot hurt a poor swine until he\nhas power given him from above: and we may likewise see the malice of\nthe devil, that he would hurt a poor swine rather than do no mischief;\nand the devil would, if in his power, destroy each of your souls, but\nCHRIST, by his mighty power, prevents him.\n\n_And he said unto them, Go: And when they were come out, they went into\nthe herd of swine; and behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently\ndown a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. And they\nthat kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every\nthing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. And behold,\nthe whole city came out to meet JESUS, and when they saw him, they\nbesought him that he would depart out of their coasts._\n\nHere observe, that no sooner had CHRIST given the devils permission to\nenter the swine, but they did, and their malice was so great, that the\nswine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and were drowned.\n\nWhat poor spite was here, that the devil should disturb poor swine!\nAnd the city, therefore, was so grieved for the loss of a little wealth,\nthat they came and besought CHRIST to depart; they did not want his\ncompany; they preferred a few poor swine before the company of CHRIST;\na few worldly goods, a little pleasure, or any thing rather than CHRIST,\npart with CHRIST before any thing; but one, who is sensible of the love\nof CHRIST, will part with all, rather than with the LORD JESUS CHRIST.\n\nThus far the letter of the story goes; perhaps you think there is\nnothing to be learned herefrom, and that this is all you are to\nunderstand by it; but if so, my brethren, you are much mistaken; for\nhere is an excellent lesson to be learned, and that you will see, by\nconsidering the words again, in a spiritual sense.\n\n_And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the\nship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep._\n\nAnd do not you frequently experience great tempests in this world? does\nnot the sea of temptation beat over your souls? you are afraid lest\nyou should be overcome by them; you can see no way to escape, for your\nsouls are covered with waves, and you expect to be swallowed up in\nthe tempest; you are afraid lest you should fall into the hands of\nthe evil one. O do not fear, for JESUS CHRIST, though he may be asleep\nto your thinking, yet will keep you, he will preserve you from the\nraging of the men, of the Pharisees of this world; they may rage and\nspit forth all their venom against you, still CHRIST will deliver,\npreserve and protect you; if you but seek unto him in a sense of your\nown helplessness and unworthiness, you will soon find he is a GOD ready\nto pardon and forgive. O that all that hear me would be persuaded to\nbow their knee, and their hearts, as soon as they go home: but alas,\nhow many of our christians go to GOD, day by day, and call him, Father,\nwhich is but mocking of GOD, when the devil is their father: None have\na right to call him father, but those who have received the spirit of\nadoption, whereby they have a right to call him, \u201cAbba, Father.\u201d Could\nthe brute beasts speak, they might call GOD father as well as some of\nyou; for he is their Creator to whom they owe their being; but this\nwill not entitle you to call GOD father, in a spiritual sense; no, you\nmust be born again of GOD; however you may flatter yourselves, you must\nhave an inward principle wrought in your hearts by faith. This you must\nexperience, this, this you must feel before you are christians indeed.\n\nThe LORD JESUS CHRIST takes notice of each of you: you may think the\nLORD does not take notice of us, because we are in a field, and out of\nchurch walls; but he does observe with what view you came this evening\nto hear his word; he knows whether it was to satisfy your curiosity, or\nto find out wherewith you might ridicule the preacher. The thoughts and\nintentions of all your hearts are not hidden from JESUS CHRIST; though\nhe may seem to be asleep, because you are, at present, insensible of\nhis workings upon your heart, and he may not seem to take notice of you,\nand regard you, no more than he did the _Syroph\u0153nician_ woman; yet he\nwill turn to you and behold you with love; the LORD will be mindful of\nyou in due time, and speak peace to your troubled soul, though the sea\nof troubles is beating over you, though the Pharisees of this day are\nscoffing at you, yet, when CHRIST rebukes, then they shall cease.\n\nDo not depend on yourself: say unto him, \u201cSave us, LORD, or we perish:\u201d\nbeseech him to be your guide, and your salvation: I beseech you, by the\ntender mercies of GOD, which are in CHRIST JESUS, that you present\nyourselves to him, as your reasonable service.\n\nAwake, you that sleep, and arise from the dead, from the death of sin,\nand CHRIST then will give you the light of his righteousness. Come to\nCHRIST and you shall be welcome; O come unto this blessed JESUS, come\nnotwithstanding your vileness; for if you come not you will perish:\nIf CHRIST does not save you, your own good meaning, your own good\nintentions cannot; no, as you are in your blood, so you must perish in\nyour blood; but if you come to CHRIST you will find mercy, you shall\nnot perish. You cannot find salvation in any other but in CHRIST; if\nthe disciples could have saved themselves, they would not have awoken\nJESUS CHRIST; but they were sensible that no one could save them but\nhim; and therefore they cried out unto him; and so you, who are under\nthe sense of sin, who are in fear of hell, if you seek unto your own\nworks, you only seek your own death; for there is no fitness in you. I\nspeak the truth in CHRIST JESUS, I lie not, there is no fitness in you,\nbut a fitness for eternal damnation; for what are you by nature, but\nchildren of wrath, and your hearts are Satan\u2019s garrison. Because you\nhave gone to church, said the prayers, gone to the sacrament, and done\nno one any harm, you speak peace to your souls; and all is in peace you\nthink, and your case is good enough; but indeed, all is a false peace,\nand if you have no other peace than this, you must shortly lie down in\neverlasting flames; this is an ungrounded, self created peace, and if\nyou trust to this peace you will perish.\n\nBut do as the disciples did when they were in distress; they go\nto CHRIST and say to him, \u201cLORD, save us, we perish.\u201d I offer you\nsalvation this day; the door of mercy is not yet shut, there does yet\nremain a sacrifice for sin, for all that will accept of the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST; he only knows the inmost thoughts of thy heart, he will embrace\nyou in the arms of his love; he sees the first risings of grace in you,\nand would willingly encourage it: the angels long for your being in\nthe love and favour of GOD; they will rejoice to see you turn from sin\nunto him. All the ministers of the blessed JESUS would be glad to be\ninstruments to turn you from darkness to light, and from the power of\nSatan unto GOD.\n\n_And he saith to them, why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?_\n\nAnd so, my brethren, I may say to you; why are you fearful to leave\nyour sins and turn to GOD? O turn to him, turn in a sense of your\nown unworthiness; tell him how polluted you are, how vile, and be not\nfaithless, but believe; do not go in your own strength, and then you\nneed not fear. Why fear ye that the LORD JESUS CHRIST will not accept\nof you? your sins will be no hindrance, your unworthiness will be\nno hindrance; if your own corrupt hearts do not keep you back, or if\nyour own good works do not hinder you from coming, nothing will hinder\nCHRIST from receiving of you: he loves to see poor sinners coming to\nhim, he is pleased to see them lie at his feet pleading his promises:\nand if you thus come to CHRIST, he will not send you away without his\nSpirit; no, but will receive and bless you.\n\nO do not put a slight on infinite love: what would you have CHRIST do\nmore? Is it not enough for him to come on purpose to save? Will you not\nserve GOD in your souls, as well as with your bodies? If not, you are\nonly deceiving yourselves, and mocking of GOD; he must have the heart.\nO ye of little faith, why are ye fearful lest he should not accept of\nyou? If you will not believe me, sure you will believe the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST; he has told thee that he will receive you: then why tarry ye,\nand do not go to him directly? Does he desire impossibilities? It is\nonly, \u201cGive me thy heart:\u201d or, does he want your heart only for the\nsame end as the devil does, to make you miserable? no, he only wants\nyou to believe on him, that you might be saved. This, this, is all the\ndear Saviour desires, to make you happy, that you may leave your sins,\nto sit down eternally with him, at the marriage supper of the Lamb.\n\n_Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great\ncalm._\n\nThus, you see, it was only in the power of CHRIST to stop the raging of\nthe sea; he rebuked it: the disciples might have spoken for ever, and\nit would not have ceased: so it is with the word preached; I may preach\nto you while I live; I may speak till I can speak no more; but the\ndoctrines of CHRIST will never do you good, unless he impress them upon\nyour hearts: O then, in all thy troubles look up to CHRIST, that he may\nrebuke them; and if he speaks the word, then they shall cease. If the\nPharisees of this generation scoff and jeer you, if they say all manner\nof evil against you, do not answer them; leave it unto CHRIST to rebuke\nthem; for all you can say will be of no more signification, than the\ndisciples speaking to the sea; but when CHRIST speaks the word, then\nthey shall cease; let it not discourage you, for if you will live godly\nin CHRIST JESUS, you must suffer persecution.\n\nIt is true, that those who are sincerely good, are set up for marks for\nevery one to shoot at. There is a continual enmity between the seed of\nthe woman and the seed of the serpent; if you were of the world, the\nworld would love its own; but because CHRIST hath chosen you out of the\nworld, therefore it hateth you.\n\nDo not think of following CHRIST into glory, unless you go through the\npress here. Look forward, my brethren, into eternity, and behold CHRIST\ncoming, and his reward with him, to give a kind recompence for all the\ntemptations and difficulties of this present life.\n\n_But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even\nthe winds and the seas obey him!_\n\nThe men of the ship were amazed to see the miracle that JESUS CHRIST\nwrought only by his word; they thought he was something more than a man.\nAnd have not we as much reason to admire, that when we are overwhelmed\nwith troubles, from within and without, that JESUS CHRIST, only by the\nword of his power, should speak peace, and then there is peace indeed.\nWhen GOD first awakens us with a sense of sin, and sets his terrors\nin array against us, then there are troubles and tempests; for Satan\nhaving got possession, before he will give place, he will fight and\ndrive hard to keep the soul from closing with JESUS: But when CHRIST\ncomes, he storms the heart, he breaks the peace, he giveth it most\nterrible alarms of judgment and hell, he sets all in a combustion of\nfear and sorrow, \u2019till he hath forced it to yield to his mere mercy,\nand take him for its governor; then Satan is cast out; then the storm\nis rebuked, and he establishes a firm and lasting peace.\n\nCan the sea be still while the wind is raging? no, it is impossible:\nso it is that there can be no peace in the soul, while it is at enmity\nwith CHRIST; indeed, it may flatter itself and speak peace, but there\ncan be no true peace: tho\u2019 thou, O Pharisee, may harden and fortify\nthy heart against fear, grief, and trouble, yet, as sure as GOD is true,\nthey will batter down thy proud and fortified spirit, and seize upon it,\nand drive thee to amazement. This will be done here, or hereafter; here\nin mercy, or hereafter in wrath and judgment.\n\nO my brethren, consider what CHRIST hath done, and you will be\nastonished that he has done so much for such wicked wretches as you and\nI are. If you are easy under the storm and tempest of sin, and do not\ncry to CHRIST for salvation, thou art in a dangerous condition: and it\nis a wonder to consider, how a man that is not sure of having made his\npeace with GOD, can eat, or drink, or live in peace; that thou art not\nafraid, when thou liest down, that thou should\u2019st awake in hell: but\nif CHRIST speak peace unto thy soul, who can then speak trouble? None;\nno, not men or devils: Therefore, lie down at the feet of CHRIST whom\nyou have resisted, and say, LORD, what wouldst thou have me to do? and\nhe will rebuke the winds and seas of thy troubled mind, and all things\nwill be calm.\n\n_And when he was come to the other side into the country of the\n|Gergesenes|, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of\nthe tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way._\n\nThe LORD JESUS CHRIST, who went about doing good continually, very\nwell knew, that he should meet two poor men in this country of the\n_Gergesenes_, who were possessed with devils; and JESUS CHRIST went\non purpose that way, that he might relieve them. The devil, where he\nhas the power, never wants will: but as I said before, so I say again,\nthough the devil is an enemy, yet he is a chained one; he could not\ndestroy these two poor men, he could not hurt the people that passed\nthat way, he could only terrify them: and thus it is with you; the\ndevil tries his utmost skill and power to frighten you from coming to\nthe LORD JESUS CHRIST; he uses the utmost of his endeavours to keep\npoor sick and weary sinners from coming to JESUS; if he can but make\nyou lose your souls, it is the end he aims at.\n\nAnd how many souls does he keep from CHRIST, for fear of reproach?\nMany thousands would willingly see CHRIST in his glory, in the world\nto come, and would be happy with him there, but they are afraid of\nbeing now laughed at, and of hearing the pharisees say, here is another\nof his followers: they are afraid of losing their worldly business,\nor of being counted methodistically mad and fit for bedlam. I doubt\nnot but many are kept from JESUS CHRIST, for fear of a little hurt or\ninconveniency.\n\nWhat will such say, when the LORD JESUS CHRIST shall appear in his\nglory? Would you be glad to be confessed by him then, you must now not\nbe ashamed of confessing him before men: let not the fierceness of the\ndevil keep you back from CHRIST, for fear of being counted fools; for\nthe time will come, when it will be found who are truly wise, and who\nare truly mad.\n\nAre you afraid to stand up for the cause of CHRIST in the world? Dare\nnot you be singularly good? Are you afraid of being members of JESUS\nCHRIST? I tell you, such persons would crucify him afresh were he in\nthe world. But do not you, my brethren, so learn CHRIST; let not the\ntemptations of the devil keep you from coming to the LORD JESUS CHRIST;\nhe may be fierce, he may hurry you from place to place, but strive\nwith him, so that he may not drive you from CHRIST; and if you seek\nunto CHRIST, he will so help you that you shall resist the devil, and\nthen he will fly from you; CHRIST will dispossess him, be not afraid\ntherefore to meet JESUS CHRIST; tell him all that your souls want, and\nhe will give it to you; and you shall not be any longer troubled with\nthe fierce outrages of the devil.\n\n_And they cried out, saying, what have we to do with thee, JESUS, thou\nSon of GOD? Art thou come to torment us before the time?_\n\nAs soon as the devils observed JESUS coming near, then they were afraid,\nlest he was come to punish them before that day of accounts, when all\nmust be brought to judgment.\n\nThe devils themselves are enough to convince all our polite Arians and\nSocinians. They here own the LORD JESUS CHRIST to be GOD blessed for\never; they feel his power, and are assured of his being the GOD who\nmust condemn them at the great day of accounts; and they were afraid\nlest the LORD JESUS CHRIST was come to punish them now. But though the\ndevils believe the divinity of CHRIST, yet the world swarms with Arians\nand Socinians.\n\nThe Arians make CHRIST no more than a titular GOD, a subordinate deity,\none who was more than man, and yet less than GOD; that he was a prophet\nsent from GOD they own, but deny him to be equal with the Father. But I\nhope, my brethren, he is to you, what our creed makes him, GOD of GOD,\nvery GOD of very GOD, co-eternal and consubstantial with the Father;\nthat as there was not a moment of time in which GOD the Father was not,\nso there is not a moment of time in which GOD the Son was not. For he\nsays himself, \u201cAll things were made by him;\u201d and if they were made by\nhim, he must be GOD; and whoever reads but the word of GOD, will find\ndivine homage is paid to him, \u201cand that he thought it no robbery to be\nequal with GOD;\u201d he is \u201cthe Alpha and Omega.\u201d These and a great many\nmore places might be brought to prove the divinity of the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST; he could never have made satisfaction for our sins if he had\nnot been GOD as well as Man. As Man he suffered; as GOD he satisfied;\nso was GOD and man in one person; he took our nature upon him, and was\noffered upon the cross for the sins of all those who come unto him,\nwhich if he had not been GOD he could never have satisfied for. It may\nbe proved, even to a demonstration, that the LORD JESUS CHRIST is GOD,\nand that he is equal with the Father.\n\nThe Socinians do not go so far as the others; they look on CHRIST to\nbe no more than a good man, who told the people their duty, and died in\ndefence of the doctrines which he delivered unto them.\n\nBut I hope there are none such here, that have so low and dishonourable\nthoughts of the blessed JESUS, and that thus despise the divinity of\nthe LORD who bought them. No, I hope better things of you, and things\nthat accompany salvation. Think you, that any one who denies the deity\nof CHRIST can ever be saved by him, living and dying in that state?\nSurely, the time will come, when they who have denied his Deity, shall\nfeel the power of it hereafter; they shall feel that he is GOD as well\nas man; then he will be owned as GOD by all those who now dare to deny\nhis truths; but GOD forbid it should go undetermined till then! Woe\nunto the polite infidels of this generation, for the devils will rise\nup in judgment against them.\n\nIf any such are here, consider what you are doing of, before it is too\nlate; return, return ye unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon you,\nand to JESUS CHRIST, and he will abundantly pardon. O my friends, let\nme beseech you to consider what you are about, lest you fall into hell,\nand there be none to deliver you.\n\n_And the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us\nto go away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go: And when\nthey were come out, they went into the herd of swine; and behold, the\nwhole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and\nperished in the waters._\n\nHere we may see, that no sooner had the devil power, but he puts it\ninto execution; thus, if the devil has but power to tempt, or to hurry\na soul, O how grievous a tyrant he is, hurrying from one temptation\nto another, from one sin unto another, and would, if it were possible,\nhurry you all into hell with as much violence, as he did the poor swine\ninto the sea; but CHRIST by his grace prevents it. JESUS CHRIST died\nfor souls, and therefore the devil cannot do with them as he will; he\nmay have the will, but he cannot get the power. It is plain, that when\nthe devil himself, or persecuting men, get the power, they will harrass\nthe poor christians; every thing is too good for them, and they are not\nworthy to be set with the dogs of the flock. My brethren, how joyful\nwould many be, if the laws of our land would permit them to destroy us;\nhow would the Pharisees hurry us to prison and to death; but, blessed\nbe GOD, he does not say to them, as to the devil, \u201cGo:\u201d No, he bids\nthem stay, he hedges their way up with thorns that they cannot stir\nto hurt us; they would fain, but they dare not destroy us; nothing\nwithholds them but the power of the blessed JESUS. And therefore, be\nnot afraid of their wrath though it is cruel, and of their anger though\nit be fierce: let them shoot their arrows, even bitter words, against\nus, blessed be GOD, the shield of faith will be a preservative against\nthem all.\n\nAnd when you are thus preserved, it will be the occasion of joy in the\nHoly Ghost; though many look on the joy of the Holy Ghost as enthusiasm\nand madness, and say that there is no such thing; but well do I know\nthere is, it carries its own evidence along with it. Plead therefore\nwith GOD, in the name of JESUS CHRIST; continue to wrestle with him,\nuntil he bestows the blessing upon you, and gives you a feeling of that\njoy which the world intermeddles not with, and which they are strangers\nto: indeed the devil may stir up his agents to hurry us from one\ntrouble to another; but it will not signify, for the LORD JESUS CHRIST\nwill not suffer him to hurry us into hell; no, but will give us his\nSpirit, which will be a preservative against all the assaults of the\ndevil. Now see what followed this miracle, which JESUS had wrought, by\npermitting the devil to enter into the herd of swine.\n\n_And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and\ntold every thing; and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils._\n\nThe people were so amazed to see the power that CHRIST had, and the\nmalice with which the devil was possessed, that they were afraid, and\ntold all that had befallen the possessed of the devils: and so, when\nthe spirit of GOD has been at work on your souls, and you are brought\nto feel the power of GOD upon your hearts, you will be so overjoyed\nthat you will tell to every one what great things GOD has done for\nyour souls; you will be so full of joy, that you will declare the whole\nworking of GOD on your hearts, and you will declare how you have been\nenabled to overcome Satan, and how you were affected at such a sermon,\nin such a place, and at such a time.\n\nYou will then love to talk of JESUS; no conversation will be so\npleasing as that of the LORD JESUS CHRIST; no, he will be altogether\nlovely unto you, when you have once tasted of his love, and felt the\npower of his grace upon your hearts.\n\n_And behold the whole city came out to meet JESUS, and when they saw\nhim, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts._\n\nThe whole city came to meet JESUS, not to worship, nor to thank him\nfor the releasing of the two poor men who were possessed; no, but to\nbeseech him to go from them; they valued their swine more than the\nLORD JESUS CHRIST, and had rather part from him, than them: and have we\nnot among us, thousands who call themselves christians, who had rather\npart with CHRIST than their pleasures? A play, a ball, or an assembly\nis far more agreeable to them than the company and presence of the LORD\nJESUS CHRIST: if they can but indulge their sensual appetite, please\nand pamper their bellies, satisfy the lust of the eye, the lust of the\nflesh, and the pride of life, they regard no more, but rest contented,\nas if they were to live here always. O my dear brethren, I hope none\nof you can rest contented with such proceedings as these, but that you\nlike the company of the LORD JESUS too well to part with him for a few\ndelights of this life: and are there not many, who part with CHRIST for\ntheir own good works, and think they can go to heaven, if they do but\ngo to church and say their prayers and take the sacrament? but alas!\nthey will be much deceived, for if they rest in any thing short of the\nLORD JESUS, if they do not make him the chief corner-stone, they will\nfall infinitely short of what they flattered themselves to attain unto.\n\nI would speak a few words to you before I part from you this evening,\nby way of application. Let me beseech you to come to JESUS CHRIST; I\ninvite you all to come to him and receive him as your LORD and Saviour;\nhe is ready to receive you: if you are afraid to go because you are in\na lost condition, he came to save such; and to such as were weary and\nheavy laden, such as feel the weight and burden of their sins, he has\npromised he will give rest: such as feel the weight and burden of their\nsins on their souls, a burden too heavy for them to bear, are weary\nof it, and know not how to obtain deliverance of it, in the name of my\nLORD and master, I invite you to come to him, that you may find rest\nfor your souls.\n\nIf you will but come unto him he will not reproach you, as justly he\nmight; he will not reflect upon you for not coming sooner unto him; no,\nmy dear brethren, he will rejoice and be glad, and will say unto you,\n\u201cSon, daughter, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you:\u201d these\nwords he said to others; and if you will but come unto him, by faith in\nhis blood, he is ready to say the same unto you now, as he did to them\nformerly, for \u201che is the same to-day, yesterday and for ever:\u201d though\nhe suffered on the cross seventeen hundred years ago, yet he is the\nsame in goodness and power as ever he was.\n\nHe calls you, by his ministers; O come unto him, beg of him to break\nyour stubborn hearts, that you may be willing to be brought to him in\nhis own way, to be made poor in spirit, and entitled to an inheritance\namong them that are sanctified.\n\nO come and drink of the water of life; you may buy without money and\nwithout price; he is labouring to bring you back from sin, and from\nSatan unto himself: open the door of your hearts, and the King of glory\nshall enter in.\n\nBut if you are strangers to this doctrine, and account it foolishness;\nor, if you think you have enough of your own to recommend you to the\nfavour of GOD, however you may go to church, or receive the sacrament,\nyou have no true love to the LORD JESUS CHRIST; you are strangers\nto the truth of grace in your hearts, and are unacquainted with the\nnew-birth; you do not know what it is to have your natures changed;\nand \u2019till you do experience these things, you never can enter into the\nkingdom of GOD.\n\nWhat shall I say, my brethren, unto you? My heart is full, it is quite\nfull, and I must speak, or I shall burst. What, do you think your souls\nof no value? do you esteem them as not worth saving? Are your pleasures\nworth more than your souls? Had you rather regard the diversions of\nthis life, than the salvation of your souls? If so, you will never be\npartakers with him in glory; but if you come unto him, he will give you\na new nature, supply you with his grace here, and bring you to glory\nhereafter; and there you may sing praises and hallelujahs to the Lamb\nfor ever.\n\nAnd may this be the happy end of all who hear me! may the LORD guide\nyou by his counsel, until he comes to fetch you to heaven, and make you\npartakers of his glory!\n\nMay he direct you in his ways, and lead you in those paths which lead\nto everlasting life! May you be holy here, and happy hereafter: may\nyour lives answer the profession you make, that we may all be found at\nthe right hand of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, when he shall come to judge\nthe world according to our works, whether they be good or evil! and\nthat we then may be presented faultless before the presence of his\nglory with exceeding joy, GOD of his infinite mercy grant, &c.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXIII.\n\n Marks of a true Conversion.\n\n\n MATTHEW xviii. 3.\n\n _Verily, I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as\n little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven._\u200f\n\nI SUPPOSE I may take it for granted, that all of you, among whom I am\nnow about to preach the kingdom of GOD, are fully convinced, that it\nis appointed for all men once to die, and that ye all really believe\nthat after death comes the judgment, and that the consequence of that\njudgment will be, that ye must be doomed to dwell in the blackness of\ndarkness, or ascend to dwell with the blessed GOD, for ever and ever.\nI may take it for granted also, that whatever your practice in common\nlife may be, there is not one, though ever so profligate and abandoned,\nbut hopes to go to that place, which the scriptures call Heaven,\nwhen he dies. And, I think, if I know any thing of mine own heart,\nmy heart\u2019s desire, as well as my prayer to GOD, for you all, is, that\nI may see you sitting down in the kingdom of our heavenly Father.\nBut then, though we all hope to go to heaven when we die, yet, if we\nmay judge by people\u2019s lives, and our LORD says, \u201cthat by their fruits\nwe may know them,\u201d I am afraid it will be found, that thousands, and\nten thousands, who hope to go to this blessed place after death, are\nnot now in the way to it while they live. Though we call ourselves\nchristians, and would consider it as an affront put upon us, for any\none to doubt whether we were christians or not; yet there are a great\nmany, who bear the name of CHRIST, that yet do not so much as know\nwhat real christianity is. Hence it is, that if you ask a great many,\nupon what their hopes of heaven are founded, they will tell you, that\nthey belong to this, or that, or the other denomination, and part of\nchristians, into which _Christendom_ is now unhappily divided. If you\nask others, upon what foundation they have built their hope of heaven,\nthey will tell you, that they have been baptized, that their fathers\nand mothers presented them to the LORD JESUS CHRIST in their infancy;\nand though, instead of fighting under CHRIST\u2019s banners they have\nbeen fighting against him, almost ever since they were baptised, yet\nbecause they have been admitted to church, and their names are in the\nRegister-book of the parish, therefore they will make us believe, that\ntheir names are also written in the book of life. But a great many,\nwho will not build their hopes of salvation upon such a sorry rotten\nfoundation as this, yet if they are, what we generally call, negatively\ngood people; if they live so as their neighbours cannot say that they\ndo any body harm, they do not doubt but they shall be happy when they\ndie; nay, I have found many such die, as the scripture speaks, \u201cwithout\nany bands in their death.\u201d And if a person is what the world calls an\nhonest moral man, if he does justly, and, what the world calls, loves\na little mercy, is now and then good-natured, reacheth out his hand to\nthe poor, receives the sacrament once or twice a year, and is outwardly\nsober and honest; the world looks upon such an one as a christian\nindeed, and doubtless we are to judge charitably of every such person.\nThere are many likewise, who go on in a round of duties, a model of\nperformances, that think they shall go to heaven; but if you examine\nthem, though they have a CHRIST in their heads, they have no CHRIST in\ntheir hearts.\n\nThe LORD JESUS CHRIST knew this full well; he knew how desperately\nwicked and deceitful mens hearts were; he knew very well how many\nwould go to hell even by the very gates of heaven, how many would climb\nup even to the door, and go so near as to knock at it, and yet after\nall be dismissed with a \u201cverily I know you not.\u201d The LORD, therefore,\nplainly tells us, what great change must be wrought in us, and what\nmust be done for us, before we can have any well grounded hopes of\nentering into the kingdom of heaven. Hence, he tells _Nicodemus_, \u201cthat\nunless a man be born again, and from above, and unless a man be born\nof water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of GOD.\u201d\nAnd of all the solemn declarations of our LORD, I mean with respect to\nthis, perhaps the words of the text are one of the most solemn, \u201cexcept,\n(says CHRIST) ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall\nnot enter into the kingdom of heaven.\u201d The words, if you look back to\nthe context, are plainly directed to the disciples; for we are told,\n\u201cthat at the same time came the disciples unto JESUS.\u201d And I think it\nis plain from many parts of Scripture, that these disciples, to whom\nour LORD addressed himself at this time, were in some degree converted\nbefore. If we take the words strictly, they are applicable only to\nthose, that have already gotten some, though but weak, faith in CHRIST.\nOur LORD means, that though they had already tasted the grace of GOD,\nyet there was so much of the old man, so much indwelling sin, and\ncorruption, yet remaining in their hearts, that unless they were more\nconverted than they were, unless a greater change past upon their souls,\nand sanctification was still carried on, they could give but very\nlittle evidence of their belonging to his kingdom, which was not to be\nset up in outward grandeur, as they supposed, but was to be a spiritual\nkingdom, begun here, but compleated in the kingdom of GOD hereafter.\nBut though the words had a peculiar reference to our LORD\u2019s disciples;\nyet as our LORD makes such a declaration as this in other places of\nScripture, especially in that discourse to _Nicodemus_, I believe the\nwords may be justly applied to saints and sinners; and as I suppose\nthere are two sorts of people here, some who know CHRIST, and some of\nyou that do not know him; some that are converted, and some that are\nstrangers to conversion, I shall endeavour so to speak, that if GOD\nshall be pleased to assist me, and to give you an hearing ear and an\nobedient heart, both saints and sinners may have their portion.\n\n_First_, I shall endeavour to show you in what respects we are to\nunderstand this assertion of our LORD\u2019s, \u201cthat we must be converted\nand become like little children.\u201d I shall then,\n\n_Secondly_, Speak to those who profess a little of this child-like\ntemper.\n\nAnd _Lastly_, shall speak to you, who have no reason to think that this\nchange has ever past upon your souls. And\n\n_First_, I shall endeavour to show you, what we are to understand\nby our LORD\u2019s saying, \u201cExcept ye be converted and become as little\nchildren.\u201d But I think, before I speak to this point, it may be proper\nto premise one or two particulars.\n\n1. I think, that the words plainly imply, that before you or I can have\nany well-grounded, scriptural hope, of being happy in a future state,\nthere must be some great, some notable, and amazing change pass upon\nour souls. I believe, there is not one adult person in the congregation,\nbut will readily confess, that a great change hath past upon their\nbodies, since they came first into the world, and were infants dandled\nupon their mothers knees. It is true, ye have no more members than ye\nhad then; but how are these altered! Tho\u2019 you are in one respect the\nsame ye were, for the number of your limbs, and as to the shape of your\nbody, yet if a person that knew you when ye were in your cradle, had\nbeen absent from you for some years, and saw you when grown up, ten\nthousand to one if he would know you at all, ye are so altered, so\ndifferent from what ye were, when ye were little ones. And as the words\nplainly imply, that there has a great change past upon our bodies since\nwe were children, so before we can go to heaven, there must as great\na change pass upon our souls; Our souls considered in a physical sense\nare still the same, there is to be no philosophical change wrought on\nthem: But then, as for our temper, habit and conduct, we must be so\nchanged and altered, that those who knew us the other day, when in a\nstate of sin, and before we knew CHRIST, and are acquainted with us now,\nmust see such an alteration, that they may stand as much amazed at it,\nas a person at the alteration wrought on any person he has not seen for\ntwenty years from his infancy.\n\n2. But I think it proper to premise something farther, because this\ntext is the grand strong-hold of _Arminians_, and others. They learn\nof the devil to bring texts to propagate bad principles: when the devil\nhad a mind to tempt JESUS CHRIST, because CHRIST quoted scripture,\ntherefore Satan did so too. And such persons, that their doctrine and\nbad principles may go down the better, would fain persuade unwary and\nunstable souls, that they are founded upon the word of GOD. Though\nthe doctrine of original sin, is a doctrine written in such legible\ncharacters in the word of GOD, that he who runs may read it; and though,\nI think, every thing without us, and every thing within us, plainly\nproclaims that we are fallen creatures; though the very heathens, who\nhad no other light, but the dim light of unassisted reason, complained\nof this, for they felt the wound, and discovered the disease, but\nwere ignorant of the cause of it; yet there are too many persons\nof those who have been baptized in the name of CHRIST, that dare to\nspeak against the doctrine of original sin, and are angry with those\nill-natured ministers, who paint man in such black colours. Say they,\n\u201cIt cannot be that children come into the world with the guilt of\n_Adam_\u2019s sin lying upon them.\u201d Why? Desire them to prove it from\nScripture, and they will urge this very text, our LORD tells us,\n\u201cExcept ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not\nenter into the kingdom of heaven.\u201d Now their argument runs thus, \u201cIt\nis implied in the words of the text, that little children are innocent,\nand that they come into the world like a mere blank piece of white\npaper, otherwise our LORD must argue absurdly, for he could never\npretend to say, that we must be converted, and be made like wicked\ncreatures; that would be no conversion.\u201d But, my dear friends, this is\nto make JESUS CHRIST speak what he never intended, and what cannot be\ndeduced from his words. That little children are guilty, I mean, that\nthey are conceived and born in sin, is plain from the whole tenor of\nthe book of GOD. _David_ was a man after GOD\u2019s own heart, yet, says\nhe, \u201cI was conceived in sin.\u201d _Jeremiah_ speaking of every one\u2019s heart,\nsays, \u201cthe heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked above all\nthings.\u201d GOD\u2019s servants unanimously declare, (and _Paul_ cites it from\none of them) \u201cthat we are altogether now become abominable, altogether\ngone out of the way of original righteousness, there is not one of us\nthat doth good (by nature), no not one.\u201d And I appeal to any of you\nthat are mothers and fathers, if ye do not discern original sin or\ncorruption in your children, as soon as they come into the world; and\nas they grow up, if ye do not discover self-will, and an aversion to\ngoodness. What is the reason your children are so averse to instruction,\nbut because they bring enmity into the world with them, against a good\nand gracious GOD? So then, it is plain from scripture and fact, that\nchildren are born in sin, and consequently that they are children of\nwrath. And for my part, I think, that the death of every child is a\nplain proof of original sin; sickness and death came into the world\nby sin, and it seems not consistent with GOD\u2019s goodness and justice,\nto let a little child be sick or die, unless _Adam_\u2019s first sin was\nimputed to him. If any charge GOD with injustice for imputing _Adam_\u2019s\nsin to a little child, behold we have gotten a second _Adam_, to bring\nour children to him. Therefore, when our LORD says, \u201cunless ye are\nconverted, and become as little children,\u201d we are not to understand,\nas though our LORD would insinuate, that little children are perfectly\ninnocent; but in a comparative, and as I shall shew you by and by, in\na rational sense. Little children are innocent, compare them with grown\npeople; but take them as they are, and as they come into the world,\nthey have hearts that are sensual, and minds which are carnal. And\nI mention this with the greatest concern, because I verily believe,\nunless parents are convinced of this, they will never take proper\ncare of their children\u2019s education. If parents were convinced, that\nchildren\u2019s hearts were so bad as they are, you would never be fond of\nletting them go to balls, assemblies, and plays, the natural tendency\nof which is to debauch their minds, and make them the children of the\ndevil. If parents were convinced of this, I believe they would pray\nmore, when they bring their children to be baptized, and would not make\nit a mere matter of form. And I believe, if they really were convinced,\nthat their children were conceived in sin, they would always put up\nthat petition, before their children came into the world, which I have\nheard that a good woman always did put up, \u201cLORD JESUS, let me never\nbear a child for hell or the devil.\u201d O! is it not to be feared, that\nthousands of children will appear, at the great day, before GOD, and\nin presence of angels and men will say, Father and mother, next to the\nwickedness of mine own heart, I owe my damnation to your bad education\nof me.\n\nHaving premised these two particulars, I now proceed to shew in what\nsense we are really to understand the words, that we must be converted\nand become like little children. The Evangelist tells us, \u201cthat the\ndisciples at this time came unto JESUS, saying, Who is the greatest\nin the kingdom of heaven?\u201d These disciples had imbibed the common\nprevailing notion, that the LORD JESUS CHRIST was to be a temporal\nprince; they dreamed of nothing but being ministers of state, of\nsitting on CHRIST\u2019s right-hand in his kingdom, and lording it over\nGOD\u2019s people; they thought themselves qualified for state offices, as\ngenerally ignorant people are apt to conceive of themselves. Well, say\nthey, \u201cWho is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?\u201d Which of us shall\nhave the chief management of public affairs? A pretty question for a\nfew poor fishermen, who scarcely knew how to drag their nets to shore,\nmuch less how to govern a kingdom. Our LORD, therefore, in the 2d verse,\nto mortify them, calls a little child, and sets him in the midst of\nthem. This action was as much as if our LORD had said, \u201cPoor creatures!\nyour imaginations are very towering; you dispute who shall be greatest\nin the kingdom of heaven; I will make this little child preach to you,\nor I will preach to you by him: Verily I say unto you, (I who am truth\nitself, I who know in what manner my subjects are to enter into my\nkingdom; I say unto you, ye are so far from being in a right temper\nfor my kingdom, that) except ye be converted, and become as this little\nchild, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven, (unless ye are,\ncomparatively speaking, as loose to the world, as loose to crowns,\nscepters, and kingdoms, and earthly things, as this poor little child\nI have in my hand) ye shall not enter into my kingdom.\u201d So that what\nour LORD is speaking of, is not the innocency of little children, if\nyou consider the relation they stand in to GOD, and as they are in\nthemselves, when brought into the world; but what our LORD means is,\nthat as to ambition and lust after the world, we must in this sense\nbecome as little children. Is there never a little boy or girl in this\ncongregation? Ask a poor little child, that can just speak, about a\ncrown, scepter, or kingdom, the poor creature has no notion about it:\ngive a little boy or girl a small thing to play with, it will leave\nthe world to other people. Now in this sense we must be converted, and\nbecome as little children; that is, we must be as loose to the world,\ncomparatively speaking, as a little child.\n\nDo not mistake me, I am not going to persuade you to shut up your shops,\nor leave your business; I am not going to persuade you, that if ye will\nbe christians, ye must turn hermits, and retire out of the world: ye\ncannot leave your wicked hearts behind you, when you leave the world;\nfor I find when I am alone, my wicked heart has followed me, go where I\nwill. No, the religion of JESUS is a social religion. But though JESUS\nCHRIST does not call us to go out of the world, shut up our shops,\nand leave our children to be provided for by miracles; yet this must\nbe said to the honour of christianity, if we are really converted,\nwe shall be loose from the world. Though we are engaged in it, and\nare obliged to work for our children; though we are obliged to follow\ntrades and merchandize, and to be serviceable to the commonwealth; yet\nif we are real christians, we shall be loose to the world; though I\nwill not pretend to say that all real christians have attained to the\nsame degree of spiritual-mindedness. This is the primary meaning of\nthese words, that we must be converted and become as little children;\nnevertheless, I suppose the words are to be understood in other senses.\n\nWhen our LORD says, we must be converted and become as little children,\nI suppose he means also, that we must be sensible of our weakness,\ncomparatively speaking, as a little child. Every one looks upon a\nlittle child, as a poor weak creature; as one that ought to go to\nschool and learn some new lesson every day; and as simple and artless:\none without guile, having not learned the abominable art, called\ndissimulation. Now in all these senses, I believe we are to understand\nthe words of the text.\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015Are little children sensible of their\nweakness? Must they be led by the hand? Must we take hold of them\nor they will fall? So, if we are converted, if the grace of GOD be\nreally in our hearts, my dear friends, however we may have thought of\nourselves once, whatever were our former high exalted imaginations; yet\nwe shall now be sensible of our weakness; we shall no more say, \u201cWe are\nrich and increased with goods, and lack nothing;\u201d we shall be inwardly\npoor: we shall feel \u201cthat we are poor, miserable, blind, and naked.\u201d\nAnd as a little child gives up its hand to be guided by a parent or a\nnurse, so those who are truly converted, and are real christians, will\ngive up the heart, their understandings, their wills, their affections,\nto be guided by the word, providence, and the Spirit of the LORD. Hence\nit is, that the Apostle, speaking of the sons of GOD, says, \u201cAs many\nas are led by the Spirit of GOD, they are (and to be sure he means they\nonly are) the sons of GOD.\u201d\n\nAnd as little children look upon themselves to be ignorant creatures,\nso those that are converted, do look upon themselves as ignorant too.\nHence it is, that _John_, speaking to christians, calls them little\nchildren; \u201cI have written unto you, little children.\u201d And CHRIST\u2019s\nflock is called a little flock, not only because little in number,\nbut also because those who are members of his flock, are indeed little\nin their own eyes. Hence that great man, that great apostle of the\n_Gentiles_, that spiritual father of so many thousands of souls, that\nman, who in the opinion of Dr. _Goodwin_, \u201csits nearest the God-man,\nthe LORD JESUS CHRIST, in glory,\u201d that chosen vessel, the Apostle\n_Paul_, when he speaks of himself, says, \u201cUnto me, who am less than\nthe least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach\namong the _Gentiles_ the unsearchable riches of CHRIST.\u201d Perhaps some\nof you, when you read these words, will be apt to think that _Paul_\ndid not speak true, that he did not really feel what he said; because\nyou judge _Paul_\u2019s heart by your own proud hearts: but the more ye\nget of the grace of GOD, and the more ye are partakers of the divine\nlife, the more will ye see your own meanness and vileness, and be less\nin your own eyes. Hence it is, that Mr. _Flavel_, in his book called,\n_Husbandry Spiritualized_, compares young christians to green corn;\nwhich before it is ripe, shoots up very high, but there is little\nsolidity in it: whereas, an old christian is like ripe corn; it doth\nnot lift up its head so much, but then it is more weighty, and fit\nto be cut down, and put into the farmer\u2019s barn. Young christians are\nalso like little rivulets; ye know rivulets are shallow, yet make\ngreat noise; but an old christian, he makes not much noise, he goes on\nsweetly, like a deep river sliding into the ocean.\n\nAnd as a little child is looked upon as an harmless creature, and\ngenerally speaks true; so, if we are converted, and become as little\nchildren, we shall be guileless as well as harmless. What said the dear\nRedeemer when he saw _Nathaniel_? As though it was a rare sight he\ngazed upon, and would have others gaze upon it; \u201cBehold an _Israelite_\nindeed:\u201d Why so? \u201cIn whom is no guile.\u201d Do not mistake me; I am not\nsaying, that christians ought not to be prudent; they ought exceedingly\nto pray to GOD for prudence, otherwise they may follow the delusions of\nthe devil, and by their imprudence give wrong touches to the ark of GOD.\nIt was the lamentation of a great man, \u201cGOD has given me many gifts,\nbut GOD has not given me prudence.\u201d Therefore, when I say, a christian\nmust be guileless, I do not mean, he should expose himself, and lie\nopen to every one\u2019s assault: we should pray for the wisdom of the\nserpent, though we shall generally learn this wisdom by our blunders\nand imprudence: and we must make some advance in christianity, before\nwe know our imprudence. A person really converted, can say, as it is\nreported of a philosopher, \u201cI wish there was a window in my breast,\nthat every one may see the uprightness of my heart and intentions:\u201d And\nthough there is too much of the old man in us, yet, if we are really\nconverted, there will be in us no allowed guile, we shall be harmless.\nAnd that is the reason why the poor christian is too often imposed upon;\nhe judgeth other people by himself; having an honest heart, he thinks\nevery one as honest as himself, and therefore is a prey to every one. I\nmight enlarge upon each of these points, it is a copious and important\ntruth; but I do not intend to multiply many marks and heads.\n\nAnd therefore, as I have something to say by way of personal\napplication, give me leave therefore, with the utmost tenderness, and\nat the same time with faithfulness, to call upon you, my dear friends.\nMy text is introduced in an awful manner, \u201cVerily I say unto you;\u201d and\nwhat JESUS said then, he says now to you, to me, and to as many as sit\nunder a preached gospel, and to as many as the LORD our GOD shall call.\nLet me exhort you to see whether ye are converted; whether such a great\nand almighty change has passed upon any of your souls. As I told you\nbefore, so I tell you again, ye all hope to go to heaven, and I pray\nGOD Almighty ye may be all there: when I see such a congregation as\nthis, if my heart is in a proper frame, I feel myself ready to lay down\nmy life, to be instrumental only to save one soul. It makes my heart\nbleed within me, it makes me sometimes most unwilling to preach, lest\nthat word that I hope will do good, may increase the damnation of any,\nand perhaps of a great part of the auditory, through their own unbelief.\nGive me leave to deal faithfully with your souls. I have your dead\nwarrant in my hand: CHRIST has said it, JESUS will stand to it, it is\nlike the laws of the _Medes_ and _Persians_, it altereth not. Hark, O\nman! hark, O woman! he that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the\nLORD JESUS CHRIST says, \u201cVerily I say unto you, except ye be converted,\nand become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom\nof heaven.\u201d Though this is _Saturday_ night, and ye are now preparing\nfor the sabbath, for what you know, you may yet never live to see the\nsabbath. You have had awful proofs of this lately; a woman died but\nyesterday, a man died the day before, another was killed by something\nthat fell from a house, and it may be in twenty-four hours more, many\nof you may be carried into an unalterable state. Now then, for GOD\u2019s\nsake, for your own souls sake, if ye have a mind to dwell with GOD,\nand cannot bear the thought of dwelling in everlasting burning, before\nI go any further, silently put up one prayer, or say _Amen_ to the\nprayer I would put in your mouths; \u201cLORD, search me and try me; LORD,\nexamine my heart, and let my conscience speak; O let me know whether\nI am converted or not!\u201d What say ye, my dear hearers? what say ye, my\nfellow-sinners? what say ye, my guilty brethren? Has GOD by his blessed\nSpirit wrought such a change in your hearts? I do not ask you, whether\nGOD has made you angels? That I know will never be; I only ask you,\nWhether ye have any well-grounded hope to think that GOD has made you\nnew creatures in CHRIST JESUS? So renewed and changed your natures,\nthat you can say, I humbly hope, that as to the habitual temper and\ntendency of my mind, that my heart is free from wickedness; I have a\nhusband, I have a wife, I have also children, I keep a shop, I mind\nmy business; but I love these creatures for GOD\u2019s sake, and do every\nthing for CHRIST: and if GOD was now to call me away, according to the\nhabitual temper of my mind, I can say, LORD, I am ready; and however I\nlove the creatures, I hope I can say, Whom have I in heaven but thee?\nWhom have I in heaven, O my GOD and my dear Redeemer, that I desire in\ncomparison of thee? Can you thank GOD for the creatures, and say at the\nsame time, these are not my CHRIST? I speak in plain language, you know\nmy way of preaching: I do not want to play the orator, I do not want to\nbe counted a scholar; I want to speak so as I may reach poor people\u2019s\nhearts. What say ye, my dear hearers? Are ye sensible of your weakness?\nDo ye feel that ye are poor, miserable, blind, and naked by nature? Do\nye give up your hearts, your affections, your wills, your understanding\nto be guided by the Spirit of GOD, as a little child gives up its hand\nto be guided by its parent? Are ye little in your own eyes? Do ye think\nmeanly of yourselves? And do you want to learn something new every\nday? I mention these marks, because I am apt to believe they are more\nadapted to a great many of your capacities. A great many of you have\nnot that flowing of affection ye sometimes had, therefore ye are for\ngiving up all your evidences, and making way for the devil\u2019s coming\ninto your heart. You are not brought up to the mount as ye used to be,\ntherefore ye conclude ye have no grace at all. But if the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST has emptied thee, and humbled thee, if he is giving thee to see\nand know that thou art nothing; though thou art not growing upward,\nthou art growing downward; and though thou hast not so much joy, yet\nthy heart is emptying to be more abundantly replenished by and by. Can\nany of you follow me? Then, give GOD thanks, and take the comfort of it.\n\nIf thou art thus converted, and become a little child, I welcome thee,\nin the name of the LORD JESUS, into GOD\u2019s dear family; I welcome thee,\nin the name of the dear Redeemer, into the company of GOD\u2019s children.\nO ye dear souls, though the world sees nothing in you, though there\nbe no outward difference between you and others, yet I look upon you\nin another light, even as so many kings sons and daughters: all hail!\nin the name of GOD, I wish every one of you joy from my soul, ye sons\nand daughters of the King of kings. Will not you henceforth exercise a\nchild-like temper? Will not such a thought melt down your hearts, when\nI tell you, that the great GOD, who might have frowned you to hell for\nyour secret sins, that nobody knew of but GOD and your own souls, and\nwho might have damned you times without number, hath cast the mantle of\nhis love over you; his voice hath been, Let that man, that woman live,\nfor I have found a ransom. O will ye not cry out, Why me, LORD? Was\nKing _George_ to send for any of your children, and were you to hear\nthey were to be his adopted sons, how highly honoured would you think\nyour children to be? What great condescension was it for _Pharaoh_\u2019s\ndaughter to take up _Moses_, a poor child exposed in an ark of\nbulrushes, and breed him up for her child? But what is that happiness\nin comparison of thine, who was the other day a child of the devil, but\nnow by converting grace art become a child of GOD? Are ye converted?\nAre ye become like little children? Then what must ye do? My dear\nhearers, be obedient to GOD, remember GOD is your father; and as every\none of you must know what a dreadful cross it is to have a wicked,\ndisobedient child; if ye do not want your children to be disobedient\nto you, for CHRIST\u2019s sake be not disobedient to your heavenly parent.\nIf GOD be your father, obey him: if GOD be your father, serve him;\nlove him with all your heart, love him with all your might, with all\nyour soul, and with all your strength. If GOD be your father, fly from\nevery thing that may displease him; and walk worthy of that GOD, who\nhas called you to his kingdom and glory. If ye are converted and become\nlike little children, then behave as little children: they long for\nthe breast, and with it will be contented. Are ye new-born babes? then\ndesire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. I do not\nwant that Arminian husks should go down with you; ye are kings sons and\ndaughters, and have a more refined taste; you must have the doctrines\nof grace; and blessed be GOD that you dwell in a country, where the\nsincere word is so plainly preached. Are ye children? then grow in\ngrace, and in the knowledge of your LORD and Saviour JESUS CHRIST. Have\nany of you children that do not grow? do not ye lament these children,\nand cry over them; do not ye say, my child will never be fit for any\nthing in the world? Well, doth it grieve you to see a child that will\nnot grow; how much must it grieve the heart of CHRIST to see you grow\nso little? Will ye be always children? Will ye be always learning the\nfirst principles of christianity, and never press forward toward the\nmark, for the prize of the high calling of GOD in CHRIST JESUS? GOD\nforbid. Let the language of your heart be, \u201cLORD JESUS help me to grow,\nhelp me to learn more, learn me to live so as my progress may be known\nto all!\u201d\n\nAre ye GOD\u2019s children? Are ye converted, and become like little\nchildren? Then deal with GOD as your little children do with you; as\nsoon as ever they want any thing, or if any body hurt them, I appeal\nto yourselves if they do not directly run to their parent. Well, are ye\nGOD\u2019s children? Doth the devil trouble you? Doth the world trouble you?\nGo tell your father of it, go directly and complain to GOD. Perhaps you\nmay say, I cannot utter fine words: but do any of you expect fine words\nfrom your children? If they come crying, and can speak but half words,\ndo not your hearts yearn over them? And has not GOD unspeakably more\npity to you? If ye can only make signs to him; \u201cAs a father pitieth\nhis children, so will the LORD pity them that fear him.\u201d I pray you\ntherefore be bold with your father, saying, \u201cAbba, Father,\u201d Satan\ntroubles me, the world troubles me, my own mother\u2019s children are angry\nwith me; heavenly Father, plead my cause! the LORD will then speak for\nyou some way or other.\n\nAre ye converted, and become as little children, have ye entered\ninto GOD\u2019s family? Then assure yourselves, that your heavenly father\nwill chasten you now and then; \u201cfor what son is there whom the father\nchastneth not: if ye are without chastisement, of which all are\npartakers, then are ye bastards and not sons.\u201d It is recorded of bishop\n_Latimer_, that in the house where he came to lodge, he overheard the\nmaster of the house say, I thank GOD I never had a cross in my life:\nO said he, then I will not stay here. I believe there is not a child\nof GOD, when in a good frame, but has prayed for great humility; they\nhave prayed for great faith, they have prayed for great love, they have\nprayed for all the graces of the Spirit: Do ye know, when ye put up\nthese prayers, that ye did also say, LORD send us great trials: for how\nis it possible to know ye have great faith, humility and love, unless\nGOD put you into great trials, that ye may know whether ye have them or\nnot. I mention this, because a great many of the children of GOD (I am\nsure it has been a temptation to me many times, when I have been under\nGOD\u2019s smarting rod) when they have great trials, think GOD is giving\nthem over. If therefore ye are GOD\u2019s children; if ye are converted\nand become as little children; do not expect that GOD will be like a\nfoolish parent; no, he is a jealous GOD, he loves his child too well to\nspare his rod. How did he correct _Miriam_? How did he correct _Moses_?\nHow hath GOD in all ages corrected his dearest children? Therefore\nif ye are converted, and become as little children, if GOD hath taken\naway a child, or your substance, if GOD suffers friends to forsake you,\nand if you are forsaken as it were both by GOD and man, say, LORD I\nthank thee! I am a perverse child, or GOD would not strike me so often\nand so hard. Do not blame your heavenly Father, but blame yourselves;\nhe is a loving GOD, and a tender Father, \u201che is afflicted in all our\nafflictions:\u201d therefore when GOD spake to _Moses_, he spake out of\nthe bush; as much as to say, \u201c_Moses_, this bush represents my people;\nas this bush is burning with fire, so are my children to burn with\naffliction; but I am in the bush; if the bush burns, I will burn with\nit, I will be with them in the furnace, I will be with them in the\nwater, and though the water come over them, it shall not overflow them.\u201d\n\nAre ye GOD\u2019s children? Are ye converted and become as little children?\nThen will ye not long to go home and see your Father? O happy they that\nhave gotten home before you; happy they that are up yonder, happy they\nwho have ascended above this field of conflict. I know not what you may\nthink of it, but since I heard that some, whose hearts GOD was pleased\nto work upon, are gone to glory, I am sometimes filled with grief,\nthat GOD is not pleased to let me go home too. How can you see so much\ncoldness among GOD\u2019s people? How can ye see GOD\u2019s people like the moon,\nwaxing and waning? Who can but desire to be forever with the LORD?\nThanks be to GOD, the time is soon coming; thanks be to GOD, he will\ncome and will not tarry. Do not be impatient, GOD in his own time will\nfetch you home. And though ye may be brought to short allowance now,\nthough some of you may be narrow in your circumstances, yet do not\nrepine; a GOD, and the gospel of CHRIST, with brown bread, are great\nriches. In thy Father\u2019s house there is bread enough and to spare;\nthough thou art now tormented, yet by and by thou shalt be comforted;\nthe angels will look upon it as an honour to convey thee to _Abraham_\u2019s\nbosom, though thou art but a _Lazarus_ here. By the frame of my heart,\nI am much inclined to speak comfortably to GOD\u2019s people.\n\nBut I only mention one thing more, and that is, if ye are converted,\nand become as little children, then for GOD\u2019s sake take care of doing\nwhat children often do; they are too apt to quarrel one with another.\nO love one another; \u201che that dwells in love dwells in GOD, and GOD in\nhim.\u201d _Joseph_ knew that his brethren were in danger of falling out,\ntherefore when he left them, says he, \u201cfall not out by the way.\u201d Ye are\nall children of the same Father, ye are all going to the same place;\nwhy should ye differ? The world has enough against us, the devil has\nenough against us, without our quarelling with each other; O walk in\nlove. If I could preach no more, if I was not able to hold out to the\nend of my sermon, I would say as _John_ did, when he was grown old and\ncould not preach, \u201cLittle children, love one another:\u201d if ye are GOD\u2019s\nchildren, then love one another. There is nothing grieves me more, than\nthe differences amongst GOD\u2019s people. O hasten that time, when we shall\neither go to heaven, or never quarrel any more!\n\nWould to GOD I could speak to all of you in this comfortable language;\nbut my master tells me, I must \u201cnot give that which is holy to dogs,\nI must not cast pearls before swine;\u201d therefore, though I have been\nspeaking comfortably, yet what I have been saying, especially in this\nlatter part of the discourse, belongs to children; it is children\u2019s\nbread, it belongs to GOD\u2019s people. If any of you are graceless,\nchristless, unconverted creatures, I charge you not to touch it, I\nfence it in the name of GOD; here is a flaming sword turning every way\nto keep you from this bread of life, till ye are turned to JESUS CHRIST.\nAnd therefore, as I suppose many of you are unconverted, and graceless,\ngo home, and away to your closets, and down with your stubborn hearts\nbefore GOD; if ye have not done it before, let this be the night: Or,\ndo not stay till ye go home; begin now, while standing here; pray to\nGOD, and let the language of thy heart be, LORD convert me! LORD make\nme a little child, LORD JESUS let me not be banished from thy kingdom!\nMy dear friends, there is a great deal more implied in the words, than\nis expressed: when CHRIST says, \u201cYe shall not enter into the kingdom\nof heaven,\u201d it is as much as to say, \u201cye shall certainly go to hell, ye\nshall certainly be damned, and dwell in the blackness of darkness for\never, ye shall go where the worm dies not, and where the fire is not\nquenched.\u201d The LORD GOD impress it upon your souls! May an arrow (as\none lately wrote me in a letter) dipped in the blood of CHRIST, reach\nevery unconverted sinner\u2019s heart! May GOD fulfil the text to every one\nof your souls! It is he alone that can do it. If ye confess your sins,\nand leave them, and lay hold on the LORD JESUS CHRIST, the Spirit of\nGOD shall be given you; if you will go and say, turn me, O my GOD! thou\nknowest not, O man, what the return of GOD may be to thee. Did I think\nthat preaching would be to the purpose, did I think that arguments\nwould induce you to come, I would continue my discourse till midnight.\nAnd however some of you may hate me without a cause, would to GOD\nevery one in this congregation was as much concerned for himself, as\nat present (blessed be GOD) I feel myself concerned for him. O that\nmy head were waters, O that mine eyes were a fountain of tears, that\nI might weep over an unconverted, graceless, wicked, and adulterous\ngeneration. Precious souls, for GOD\u2019s sake think what will become of\nyou when ye die, if you die without being converted; if ye go hence\nwithout the wedding garment, GOD will strike you speechless, and ye\nshall be banished from his presence for ever and ever. I know ye cannot\ndwell with everlasting burnings; behold then I shew you a way of escape;\nJESUS is the way, JESUS is the truth, the LORD JESUS CHRIST is the\nresurrection and the life. It is his Spirit must convert you, come to\nCHRIST, and ye shall have it; and may GOD for CHRIST\u2019s sake give it to\nyou all, and convert you, that we may all meet, never to part again, in\nhis heavenly kingdom; even so LORD JESUS, Amen and Amen.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXIV.\n\n What think ye of CHRIST?\n\n\n MATTHEW xxii. 42.\n\n _What think ye of CHRIST?_\n\nWHEN it pleased the eternal Son of GOD to tabernacle among us, and\npreach the glad tidings of salvation to a fallen world, different\nopinions were entertained by different parties concerning him. As\nto his person, some said he was _Moses_; others that he was _Elias_,\n_Jeremias_, or one of the ancient prophets; few acknowledged him to be\nwhat he really was, GOD blessed for evermore. And as to his doctrine;\nthough the common people, being free from prejudice, were persuaded\nof the heavenly tendency of his going about to do good, and for the\ngenerality, heard him gladly, and said he was a good man; yet the\nenvious, worldly-minded, self-righteous governors and teachers of the\n_Jewish_ church, being grieved at his success on the one hand, and\nunable (having never been taught of GOD) to understand the purity of\nhis doctrine, on the other; notwithstanding our LORD spake as never\nman spake, and did such miracles which no man could possibly do, unless\nGOD was with him; yet they not only were so infatuated, as to say,\nthat he deceived the people, but also were so blasphemous as to affirm,\nthat he was in league with the devil himself, and cast out devils\nby _Beelzebub_ the prince of devils. Nay, our LORD\u2019s own brethren\nand kinsmen, according to the flesh, were so blinded by prejudice\nand unbelief, that on a certain day, when he went out to teach the\nmultitudes in the fields, they sent to take hold on him, urging this\nas a reason for their conduct, \u201cThat he was besides himself.\u201d\n\nThus was the King and the LORD of glory judged by man\u2019s judgment, when\nmanifest in flesh: far be it from any of his ministers to expect better\ntreatment. No, if we come in the spirit and power of our Master, in\nthis, as in every other part of his sufferings, we must follow his\nsteps. The like reproaches which were cast on him, will be thrown on us\nalso. Those that received our LORD and his doctrine, will receive and\nhear us for his name\u2019s sake. The poor, blessed be GOD, as our present\nmeeting abundantly testifies, receive the gospel, and the common people\nhear us gladly; whilst those who are sitting in _Moses_\u2019 chair, and\nlove to wear long robes, being ignorant of the righteousness which is\nof GOD by faith in CHRIST JESUS, and having never felt the power of GOD\nupon their hearts, will be continually crying out against us, as madmen,\ndeceivers of the people, and as acting under the influence of evil\nspirits.\n\nBut he is unworthy the name of a minister of the gospel of peace,\nwho is unwilling, not only to have his name cast out as evil, but\nalso to die for the truths of the LORD JESUS. It is the character of\n_hirelings_ and _false prophets_, who care not for the sheep, to have\nall men speak well of them. \u201cBlessed are you, (says our LORD to his\nfirst apostles, and in them to all succeeding ministers) when men speak\nall manner of evil against you falsely for my name\u2019s sake.\u201d And indeed\nit is impossible but such offences must come: for men will always judge\nof others, according to the principles from which they act themselves.\nAnd if they care not to yield obedience to the doctrines which we\ndeliver, they must necessarily, in self-defence, speak against the\npreachers, lest they should be asked that question, which the Pharisees\nof old feared to have retorted on them, if they confessed that _John_\nwas a prophet, \u201cWhy then did you not believe on him?\u201d In all such cases,\nwe have nothing to do but to search our own hearts, and if we can\nassure our consciences, before GOD, that we act with a single eye to\nhis glory, we are chearfully to go on in our work, and not in the least\nto regard what men or devils can say against, or do unto us.\n\nBut to return. You have heard what various thoughts there were\nconcerning JESUS CHRIST, whilst here on earth: nor is he otherwise\ntreated, even now he is exalted to sit down at the right hand of his\nFather in heaven. A stranger to christianity, was he to hear, that\nwe all profess to hold one LORD, would naturally infer, that we all\nthought and spoke one and the same thing about him. But alas! to our\nshame be it mentioned, though CHRIST be not divided in himself, yet\nprofessors are sadly divided in their thoughts about him; and that\nnot only as to the circumstances of his religion, but also of those\nessential truths which must necessarily be believed and received by us,\nif ever we hope to be heirs of eternal salvation.\n\nSome, and I fear a multitude which no man can easily number, there\nare amongst us, who call themselves christians, and yet seldom or\nnever seriously think of JESUS CHRIST at all. They can think of their\nshops and their farms, their plays, their balls, their assemblies, and\nhorse-races (entertainments which directly tend to exclude religion out\nof the world); but as for CHRIST, the author and finisher of faith, the\nLORD who has bought poor sinners with his precious blood, and who is\nthe only thing worth thinking of, alas! he is not in all, or at most\nin very few of their thoughts. But believe me, O ye earthly, sensual,\ncarnally-minded professors, however little you may think of CHRIST\nnow, or however industriously you may strive to keep him out of your\nthoughts, by pursuing the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and\nthe pride of life, yet there is a time coming, when you will wish you\nhad thought of CHRIST more, and of your profits and pleasures less.\nFor the gay, the polite, the rich also must die as well as others, and\nleave their pomps and vanities, and all their wealth behind them. And\nO! what thoughts will you entertain concerning JESUS CHRIST, in that\nhour?\n\nBut I must not pursue these reflections: they would carry me too far\nfrom the main design of this discourse, which is to shew, what those\nwho are truly desirous to know how to worship GOD in spirit and in\ntruth, ought to think concerning JESUS CHRIST, whom GOD hath sent to\nbe the end of the law for righteousness to all them that shall believe.\n\nI trust, _my brethren_, you are more noble than to think me too strict\nor scrupulous, in thus attempting to regulate your thoughts about JESUS\nCHRIST: for by our thoughts, as well as our words and actions, are we\nto be judged at the great day. And in vain do we hope to believe in,\nor worship CHRIST aright, unless our principles, on which our faith\nand practice are founded, are agreeable to the form of sound words\ndelivered to us in the scriptures of truth.\n\nBesides, many deceivers are gone abroad into the world. Mere heathen\nmorality, and not JESUS CHRIST, is preached in most of our churches.\nAnd how should people think rightly of CHRIST, of whom they have\nscarcely heard? Bear with me a little then, whilst, to inform your\nconsciences, I ask you a few questions concerning JESUS CHRIST: for\nthere is no other name given under heaven, whereby we can be saved, but\nhis.\n\n_First_, What think you about the person of CHRIST? \u201cWhose Son is\nhe?\u201d This is the question our LORD put to the Pharisees in the words\nfollowing the text; and never was it more necessary to repeat this\nquestion than in these last days. For numbers that are called after\nthe name of CHRIST, and I fear, many that pretend to preach him, are\nso far advanced in the blasphemous chair, as openly to deny his being\nreally, truly, and properly GOD. But no one that ever was partaker of\nhis Spirit, will speak thus lightly of him. No; if they are asked, as\n_Peter_ and his brethren were, \u201cBut whom say ye that I am?\u201d they will\nreply without hesitation, \u201cThou art CHRIST the Son of the ever-living\nGOD.\u201d For the confession of our LORD\u2019s divinity, is the rock upon which\nhe builds his church. Was it possible to take this away, the gates of\nhell would quickly prevail against it. My brethren, if JESUS CHRIST\nbe not very GOD of very GOD, I would never preach the gospel of CHRIST\nagain. For it would not be gospel; it would be only a system of moral\nethics: _Seneca_, _Cicero_, or any of the _Gentile_ philosophers,\nwould be as good a Saviour as JESUS of _Nazareth_. It is the divinity\nof our LORD that gives a sanction to his death, and makes him\nsuch a high-priest as became us, one who by the infinite merits\nof his suffering could make a full, perfect, sufficient sacrifice,\nsatisfaction and oblation to infinitely offended justice. And\nwhatsoever minister of the church of _England_, makes use of her forms,\nand eats of her bread, and yet holds not this doctrine (as I fear\ntoo many such are crept in amongst us) such a one belongs only to the\nsynagogue of Satan. He is not a child or minister of GOD: no; he is a\nwolf in sheep\u2019s cloathing; he is a child and minister of that wicked\none the devil.\n\nMany will think these hard sayings: But I think it no breach of charity\nto affirm, that an _Arian_ or _Socinian_ cannot be a christian. The one\nwould make us believe JESUS CHRIST is only a _created_ God, which is\na self-contradiction: and the other would have us look on him only as\na good man; and instead of owning his death to be an atonement for the\nsins of the world, would persuade us, that CHRIST died only to seal the\ntruth of his doctrine with his blood. But if JESUS CHRIST be no more\nthan a mere man, if he be not truly GOD, he was the vilest sinner that\never appeared in the world. For he accepted of divine adoration from\nthe man who had been born blind, as we read _John_ ix. 38. \u201cAnd he\nsaid, LORD I believe, and worshipped him.\u201d Besides, if CHRIST be not\nproperly GOD, our faith is vain, we are yet in our sins: for no created\nbeing, though of the highest order, could possibly merit any thing\nat GOD\u2019s hands: it was our LORD\u2019s divinity, that alone qualified him\nto take away the sins of the world; and therefore we hear St. _John_\npronouncing so positively, that \u201cthe Word (JESUS CHRIST) was not only\nwith GOD, but was GOD.\u201d For the like reason, St. _Paul_ says, \u201cthat\nhe was in the form of GOD: That in him dwelt all the fulness of the\ngodhead bodily.\u201d Nay, JESUS CHRIST assumed \u2666the title which GOD gave to\nhimself, when he sent _Moses_ to deliver his people _Israel_. \u201cBefore\n_Abraham_ was, I AM.\u201d And again, \u201cI and my father are one.\u201d Which last\nwords, though our modern infidels would evade and wrest, as they do\nother scriptures, to their own damnation, yet it is evident that the\n_Jews_ understood our LORD, when he spake thus, as making himself equal\nwith GOD; otherwise, why did they stone him as a blasphemer? And now,\nwhy should it be thought a breach of charity, to affirm, that those\nwho deny the divinity of JESUS CHRIST, in the strictest sense of the\nword, cannot be christians? For they are greater infidels than the\ndevils themselves, who confessed that they knew who he was, \u201ceven the\nholy one of GOD.\u201d They not only believe, but, which is more than the\nunbelievers of this generation do, they tremble. And was it possible\nfor arch-hereticks, to be released from their chains of darkness, under\nwhich (unless they altered their principles before they died) they\nare now reserved to the judgment of the great day, I am persuaded they\nwould inform us, how hell had convinced them of the divinity of JESUS\nCHRIST, and that they would advise their followers to abhor their\nprinciples, lest they should come into the same place, and thereby\nincrease each others torments.\n\n \u2666 duplicate word \u201cthe\u201d removed\n\nBut, _Secondly_, What think you of the manhood or incarnation of\nJESUS CHRIST? For CHRIST was not only GOD, but he was GOD and man in\none person. Thus runs the text and context, \u201cWhen the Pharisees were\ngathered together, JESUS asked them, saying, What think ye of CHRIST?\nWhose Son is he? They say unto him, The Son of _David_. How then, says\nour divine master, does _David_ in spirit call him LORD?\u201d From which\npassage it is evident, that we do not think rightly of the person of\nJESUS CHRIST, unless we believe him to be perfect GOD and perfect man,\nof a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.\n\nFor it is on this account that he is called CHRIST, or the _anointed\none_, who through his own voluntary offer was set apart by the father,\nand strengthened and qualified by the anointing or communication of the\nHoly Ghost, to be a mediator between Him and offending man.\n\nThe reason why the Son of GOD took upon him our nature, was, the fall\nof our first parents. I hope there is no one present so atheistical,\nas to think, that man made himself: no, it was GOD that made us,\nand not we ourselves. And I would willingly think, that no one is so\nblasphemous as to suppose, that if GOD did make us, he made us such\ncreatures as we now find ourselves to be. For this would be giving\nGOD\u2019s word the lie, which tells us, that \u201cin the image of GOD (not in\nthe image which we now bear on our souls) made he man.\u201d As GOD made man,\nso GOD made him perfect. He placed him in the garden of _Eden_, and\ncondescended to enter into a covenant with him, promising him eternal\nlife, upon condition of unsinning obedience; and threatening eternal\ndeath, if he broke his law, and did eat the forbidden fruit.\n\nMan did eat; and herein acting as our representative, thereby involved\nboth himself and us in that curse, which GOD, the righteous judge, had\nsaid should be the consequence of his disobedience. But here begins\nthat mystery of godliness, GOD manifested in the flesh. For (sing,\nO heavens, and rejoice, O earth!) the eternal Father, foreseeing how\nSatan would bruise the heel of man, had in his eternal counsel provided\na means whereby he might bruise that accursed Serpent\u2019s head. Man is\npermitted to fall, and become subject to death; but JESUS, the only\nbegotten Son of GOD, begotten of the Father before all worlds, Light\nof light, very GOD of very GOD, offers to die to make an atonement\nfor his transgression, and to fulfil all righteousness in his stead.\nAnd because it was impossible for him to do this as he was GOD, and\nyet since man had offended, it was necessary it should be done in the\nperson of man; rather than we should perish, this everlasting GOD,\nthis Prince of Peace, this Antient of Days, in the fulness of time,\nhad a body prepared for him by the Holy Ghost, and became an infant. In\nthis body he performed a compleat obedience to the law of GOD; whereby\nhe, in our stead, fulfilled the covenant of works, and at last became\nsubject to death, even death upon the cross; that as GOD he might\nsatisfy, as man he might obey and suffer; and being GOD and man in one\nperson, might once more procure a union between GOD and our souls.\n\nAnd now, What think you of this love of CHRIST? Do not you think it\nwas wondrous great? Especially when you consider, that we were CHRIST\u2019s\nbitter enemies, and that he would have been infinitely happy in himself,\nnotwithstanding we had perished for ever. Whatever you may think of\nit, I know the blessed angels, who are not so much concerned in this\nmystery of godliness as we, think most highly of it. They do, they will\ndesire to look into, and admire it, through all eternity. Why, why O ye\nsinners, will you not think of this love of CHRIST? Surely it must melt\ndown the most hardened heart. Whilst I am speaking, the thought of this\ninfinite and condescending love fires and warms my soul. I could dwell\non it for ever. But it is expedient for you, that I should ask you\nanother question concerning JESUS CHRIST.\n\n_Thirdly_, What think you about being justified by CHRIST? I believe\nI can answer for some of you: for many, I fear, think to be justified\nor looked upon as righteous in GOD\u2019s sight, without JESUS CHRIST.\nBut such will find themselves dreadfully mistaken: for out of CHRIST,\n\u201cGOD is a consuming fire.\u201d Others satisfy themselves, with believing\nthat CHRIST was GOD and man, and that he came into the world to save\nsinners in general; whereas, their chief concern ought to be, how they\nmay be assured that JESUS CHRIST came into the world to save them in\nparticular. \u201cThe life that I now live in the flesh, (says the Apostle)\nis by faith of the Son of GOD, who loved me, and gave himself for me.\u201d\nObserve, _for me_: it is this immediate application of JESUS CHRIST\nto our own hearts, that renders his merits effectual to our eternal\nsalvation. An unapplied CHRIST will do us no service at all. Others\nthere are who go still farther: for they think that JESUS CHRIST is\nGod-man; that he is to be applied to their hearts; and that they can\nbe justified in GOD\u2019s sight, only in or through him: but then they make\nhim only in part a saviour: They are for doing what they can themselves,\nand then JESUS CHRIST is to make up the deficiencies of their\nrighteousness. This is the sum and substance of our modern divinity.\nAnd was it possible for me to know the thoughts of most that hear\nme this day, I believe they would tell me, this was the scheme they\nhad laid, and perhaps depended on for some years, for their eternal\nsalvation. Is it not then high time, my brethren, for you to entertain\nquite different thoughts concerning justification by JESUS CHRIST? For\nif you think thus, you are in the case of those unhappy _Jews_, who\nwent about to establish their own righteousness, and would not submit\nto, and consequently missed of that righteousness which is of GOD by\nfaith in CHRIST JESUS our LORD. What think you then, if I tell you,\nthat you are to be justified freely through faith in JESUS CHRIST,\nwithout any regard to any work or fitness foreseen in us at all? For\nsalvation is the free gift of GOD. I know no fitness in man, but a\nfitness to be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone for ever. Our\nrighteousnesses, in GOD\u2019s sight, are but as filthy rags: he cannot\naway with them. Our holiness, if we have any, is not the cause, but\nthe effect of our justification in GOD\u2019s sight. \u201cWe love GOD, because\nhe first loved us.\u201d We must not come to GOD as the proud Pharisee did,\nbringing in as it were a reckoning of our services; we must come in the\ntemper and language of the poor Publican, smiting upon our breasts, and\nsaying, \u201cGOD be merciful to me a sinner:\u201d for JESUS CHRIST justifies us\nwhilst we are ungodly. He came not to call the righteous, but sinners\nto repentance. The poor in spirit only, they who are willing to go out\nof themselves, and rely wholly on the righteousness of another, are so\nblessed as to be members of his kingdom. The righteousness, the whole\nrighteousness of JESUS CHRIST, is to be imputed to us, instead of our\nown: \u201cFor we are not under the law, but under grace: and to as many\nas walk after this rule, peace be on them:\u201d for they, and they only\nare the true _Israel_ of GOD. In the great work of man\u2019s redemption,\nboasting is entirely excluded: which could not be, if only one of our\nworks was to be joined with the merits of CHRIST. Our salvation is all\nof GOD, from the beginning to the end: it is not of works, lest any\nman should boast: man has no hand in it: it is CHRIST who is to be made\nto us of GOD the Father, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and\neternal redemption. His active as well as his passive obedience, is to\nbe applied to poor sinners. He has fulfilled all righteousness in our\nstead, that we might become the righteousness of GOD in him. All we\nhave to do, is to lay hold on this righteousness by faith: and the very\nmoment we do apprehend it by a lively faith, that very moment we may be\nassured, that the blood of JESUS CHRIST has cleansed us from all sin:\n\u201cFor the promise is to us and to our children, and to as many as the\nLORD our GOD shall call.\u201d If we and our whole houses believe, we shall\nbe saved as well as the Jaylor and his house: for the righteousness\nof JESUS CHRIST is an everlasting, as well as a perfect righteousness.\nIt is as effectual to all who believe in him now, as formerly; and\nso it will be, till time shall be no more. Search the scriptures, as\nthe _Bereans_ did, and see whether these things are not so. Search St.\n_Paul_\u2019s epistles to the _Romans_ and _Galatians_, and there you will\nfind this doctrine so plainly taught you, that, unless you have eyes\nand see not, he that runs may read. Search the _Eleventh Article_ of\nour Church: \u201cWe are accounted righteous before GOD, only for the merits\nof our Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST by faith, and not for our own\nworks or deservings.\u201d\n\nThis doctrine of our free justification by faith in CHRIST JESUS,\nhowever censured and evil spoken of by our present Masters of _Israel_,\nwas highly esteemed by our wise fore-fathers: for in the subsequent\nwords of the forementioned article, it is called a most _wholesome\ndoctrine_, and very full of comfort: and so it is to all that are weary\nand heavy laden, and are truly willing to find rest in JESUS CHRIST.\n\nThis is gospel, this is glad tidings of great joy to all that feel\nthemselves poor, lost, undone, damned sinners. \u201cHo, every one that\nthirsteth, come unto the waters of life, and drink freely; come and\nbuy without money and without price.\u201d Behold a fountain opened in your\nSaviour\u2019s side, for sin and for all uncleanness. \u201cLook unto him whom\nyou have pierced:\u201d look unto him by faith, and verily you shall be\nsaved, though you came here only to ridicule and blaspheme, and never\nthought of GOD or of CHRIST before.\n\nNot that you must think GOD will save you because, or on account of\nyour faith; for faith is a work, and then you would be justified for\nyour works: but when I tell you, we are to be justified by faith, I\nmean that faith is the instrument whereby the sinner applies or brings\nhome the redemption of JESUS CHRIST to his heart. And to whomsoever\nGOD gives such a faith, (for it is the free gift of GOD) he may lift up\nhis head with boldness, he need not fear; he is a spiritual son of our\nspiritual _David_; he is passed from death to life, he shall never come\ninto condemnation. This is the gospel which we preach. If any man or\nangel preach any other gospel, than this of our being freely justified\nthrough faith in CHRIST JESUS, we have the authority of the greatest\nApostle, to pronounce him accursed.\n\nAnd now, my brethren, what think you of this foolishness of preaching?\nTo you that have tasted the good word of life, who have been\nenlightened to see the riches of GOD\u2019s free grace in CHRIST JESUS, I\nam persuaded it is precious, and has distilled like the dew into your\nsouls. And O that all were like-minded! But I am afraid, numbers are\nready to go away contradicting and blaspheming. Tell me, are there not\nmany of you saying within yourselves, \u201cThis is a licentious doctrine;\nthis preacher is opening a door for encouragement in sin.\u201d But this\ndoes not surprize me at all, it is a stale, antiquated objection,\nas old as the doctrine of justification itself; and (which by the\nway is not much to the credit of those who urge it now) it was made\nby an infidel. St. _Paul_, in his epistle to the _Romans_, after he\nhad, in the first five chapters, demonstrably proved the doctrine of\njustification by faith alone; in the sixth, brings in an unbeliever\nsaying, \u201cShall we continue in sin then, that grace may abound?\u201d But as\nhe rejected such an inference with a \u201cGOD forbid!\u201d so do I: for the\nfaith which we preach, is not a dead speculative faith, an assenting\nto things credible, as credible, as it is commonly defined: it is not\na faith of the head only, but a faith of the heart. It is a living\nprinciple wrought in the soul, by the Spirit of the ever-living GOD,\nconvincing the sinner of his lost, undone condition by nature; enabling\nhim to apply and lay hold on the perfect righteousness of JESUS CHRIST,\nfreely offered him in the gospel, and continually exciting him, out\nof a principle of love and gratitude, to shew forth that faith, by\nabounding in every good word and work. This is the sum and substance\nof the doctrine that has been delivered. And if this be a licentious\ndoctrine, judge ye. No, my brethren, this is not destroying, but\nteaching you how to do good works, from a proper principle. For to\nuse the words of our Church in another of her Articles, \u201cWorks done\nbefore the grace of CHRIST, and the inspiration of the Spirit, are not\npleasant to GOD, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in JESUS CHRIST;\nrather, for that they are not done as GOD has willed and commanded\nthem to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin.\u201d So that\nthey who bid you do, and then live, are just as wise as those who would\npersuade you to build a beautiful magnificent house, without laying a\nfoundation.\n\nIt is true, the doctrine of our free justification by faith in CHRIST\nJESUS, like other gospel truths, may and will be abused by men of\ncorrupt minds, reprobates concerning the faith; but they who receive\nthe truth of GOD in the love of it, will always be shewing their\nfaith by their works. For this reason, St. _Paul_, after he had told\nthe _Ephesians_, \u201cBy grace they were saved through faith, not of\nworks, lest any man should boast,\u201d immediately adds, \u201cFor we are his\nworkmanship, created in CHRIST JESUS unto good works.\u201d And in his\nepistle to _Titus_, having given him directions to tell the people they\nwere justified by grace, directly subjoins, chapter iii. verse 8. \u201cI\nwill that you affirm constantly, that they who have believed in GOD\nmight be careful to maintain good works.\u201d Agreeable to this, we are\ntold in our Twelfth Article, \u201cThat albeit good works, which are the\nfruits of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away our\nsins, and endure the severity of GOD\u2019s judgment; yet are they pleasing\nand acceptable to GOD in CHRIST; and do spring necessarily out of\na true and lively faith, insomuch, that a lively faith may be as\nevidently known by them, as a tree discerned by the fruit.\u201d\n\nWhat would I give, that this Article was duly understood and preached\nby all that have subscribed to it! The ark of the LORD would not then\nbe driven into the wilderness, nor would so many persons dissent from\nthe Church of _England_. For I am fully persuaded, that it is not so\nmuch on account of rites and ceremonies, as our not preaching the truth\nas it is in JESUS, that so many have been obliged to go and seek for\nfood elsewhere. Did not we fall from our established doctrines, few,\ncomparatively speaking, would fall from the Established Church. Where\nCHRIST is preached, though it be in a church or on a common, dissenters\nof all denominations have, and do most freely come. But if our clergy\nwill preach only the law, and not shew the way of salvation by faith in\nCHRIST JESUS, the charge of schism at the day of judgment, I fear, will\nchiefly lye at their door. The true sheep of CHRIST know the voice of\nCHRIST\u2019s true shepherds, and strangers they will not hear.\n\nObserve, my dear brethren, the words of the Article, \u201cGood works are\nthe fruits of faith, and follow after justification.\u201d How then can they\nprecede, or be any way the cause of it? Our persons must be justified,\nbefore our performances can be accepted. GOD had respect to _Abel_\nbefore he had respect to his offering: and therefore the righteousness\nof JESUS CHRIST must be freely imputed to, and apprehended by us\nthrough faith, before we can offer an acceptable sacrifice to GOD:\nfor out of CHRIST, as I hinted before, GOD is a consuming fire: and\nwhatsoever is not of faith in CHRIST, is sin.\n\nThat people mistake the doctrine of free justification, I believe, is\npartly owing to their not rightly considering the different persons\nto whom St. _Paul_ and St. _James_ wrote in their epistles; as also\nthe different kind of justification each of them writes about. The\nformer asserts in line upon line, argument upon argument, \u201cThat we\nare justified by faith alone:\u201d The latter put this question, \u201cWas\nnot _Abraham_ justified by works?\u201d From whence many, not considering\nthe different views of these holy men, and the different persons they\nwrote to, have blended and joined faith and works, in order to justify\nus in the sight of GOD. But this is a capital mistake; for St. _Paul_\nwas writing to the _Jewish_ proselytes, who sought righteousness\nby the works, not of the ceremonial only, but of the moral law.\nIn contradistinction to that, he tells them, they were to look for\njustification in GOD\u2019s sight, only by the perfect righteousness\nof JESUS CHRIST apprehended by faith. St. _James_ had a different\nset of people to deal with; such who abused the doctrines of free\njustification, and thought they should be saved (as numbers among us\ndo now) upon their barely professing to believe on JESUS CHRIST. These\nthe holy Apostle endeavours wisely to convince, that such a faith was\nonly a dead and false faith; and therefore, it behoved all who would\nbe blessed with faithful _Abraham_, to shew forth their faith by their\nworks, as he did: \u201cFor was not _Abraham_ justified by works?\u201d Did he\nnot prove that his faith was a true justifying faith, by its being\nproductive of good works? From whence it is plain, that St. _James_ is\ntalking of a declarative justification before men; shew me, demonstrate,\nevidence to me, that thou hast a true faith, by thy works: Whereas,\nSt. _Paul_ is talking only of our being justified in the sight of GOD;\nand thus he proves, that _Abraham_, as we also are to be, was justified\nbefore ever the moral or ceremonial law was given to the _Jews_: for\nit is written, \u201c_Abraham_ believed in the LORD, and it was accounted to\nhim for righteousness.\u201d\n\nTake the substance of what has been said on this head, in the few\nfollowing words. Every man that is saved, is justified three ways:\n_First_, _meritoriously_, by the death of JESUS CHRIST: \u201cIt is the\nblood of JESUS CHRIST alone that cleanses us from all sin.\u201d _Secondly_,\n_instrumentally_, by faith: faith is the means or instrument whereby\nthe merits of JESUS CHRIST are applied to the sinner\u2019s heart: \u201cYe are\nall the children of GOD by faith in CHRIST JESUS.\u201d _Thirdly_, we are\njustified _declaratively_; namely, by good works: good works declare\nand prove to the world, that our faith is a true saving faith. \u201cWas not\n_Abraham_ justified by works?\u201d And again, \u201cShew me thy faith by thy\nworks.\u201d\n\nIt may not be improper to illustrate this doctrine by an example or\ntwo. I suppose no one will pretend to say, that there was any fitness\nfor salvation in _Zaccheus_ the publican, when he came to see JESUS\nout of no better principle, than that whereby perhaps thousands are led\nto hear me preach; I mean, curiosity: but JESUS CHRIST prevented and\ncalled him by his free grace, and sweetly, but irresistibly inclined\nhim to obey that call; as, I pray GOD, he may influence all you that\ncome only to see who the preacher is. _Zaccheus_ received our LORD\njoyfully into his house, and at the same time by faith received him\ninto his heart: _Zaccheus_ was then freely justified in the sight of\nGOD. But behold the immediate fruits of that justification! He stands\nforth in the midst, and as before he had believed in his heart, he now\nmakes confession with his mouth to salvation: \u201cBehold, LORD, the half\nof my goods I give unto the poor; and if I have taken any thing from\nany man by false accusation, I restore him four-fold.\u201d And thus it will\nbe with thee, O believer, as soon as ever GOD\u2019s dear Son is revealed in\nthee by a living faith; thou wilt have no rest in thy spirit, till out\nof love and gratitude for what GOD has done for thy soul, thou shewest\nforth thy faith by thy works.\n\nAgain, I suppose every body will grant there was no fitness for\nsalvation in the persecutor _Saul_; no more than there is in those\npersecuting zealots of these last days, who are already breathing out\nthreatenings, and, if in their power, would breathe out slaughter also,\nagainst the disciples of the LORD.\n\nNow our LORD, we know, freely prevented him by his grace, (and O that\nhe would thus effectually call the persecutors of this generation)\nand by a light from heaven struck him to the ground. At the same time,\nby his Spirit, he pricked him to the heart, convinced him of sin, and\ncaused him to cry out, \u201cWho art thou, LORD?\u201d CHRIST replies, \u201cI am\nJESUS whom thou persecutest.\u201d Faith then was instantaneously given\nto him, and behold, immediately _Saul_ cries out, \u201cLORD, what wouldst\nthou have me to do?\u201d And so will every poor soul that believes on the\nLORD JESUS with his whole heart. He will be always asking, LORD, what\nshall I do for thee? LORD, what wouldst thou have me to do? Not to\njustify himself, but only to evidence the sincerity of his love and\nthankfulness to his all-merciful High-priest, for plucking him as a\nfirebrand out of the fire.\n\nPerhaps many self-righteous persons amongst you, may flatter yourselves,\nthat you are not so wicked as either _Zaccheus_ or _Saul_ was, and\nconsequently there is a greater fitness for salvation in you than in\nthem. But if you think thus, indeed you think more highly of yourselves\nthan you ought to think: for by nature we are all alike, all equally\nfallen short of the glory of GOD, all equally dead in trespasses\nand sins, and there needs the same almighty power to be exerted in\nconverting any one of the most sober, good-natured, moral persons here\npresent, as there was in converting the publican _Zaccheus_, or that\nnotorious persecutor _Saul_. And was it possible for you to ascend\ninto the highest heaven, and to enquire of the spirits of just men made\nperfect, I am persuaded they would tell you this doctrine is from GOD.\nBut we have a more sure word of prophecy, to which we do well to give\nheed, as unto a light shining in a dark place. My brethren, the word is\nnigh you; search the scriptures; beg of GOD to make you willing to be\nsaved in this day of his power: for it is not flesh and blood, but the\nSpirit of JESUS CHRIST, that alone can reveal these things unto you.\n\n_Fourthly_ and _Lastly_, What think you of JESUS CHRIST being formed\nwithin you? For whom CHRIST justifies, them he also sanctifies.\nAlthough he finds, yet he does not leave us unholy. A true christian\nmay not so properly be said to live, as JESUS CHRIST to live in him.\nFor they only that are led by the Spirit of CHRIST, are the true sons\nof GOD.\n\nAs I observed before, so I tell you again, the faith which we preach\nis not a dead, but a lively active faith wrought in the soul, working a\nthorough change, by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the whole man: and\nunless CHRIST be thus in you, notwithstanding you may be orthodox as\nto the foregoing principles, notwithstanding you may have good desires,\nand attend constantly on the means of grace; yet, in St. _Paul_\u2019s\nopinion, you are out of a state of salvation. \u201cKnow you not, (says that\nApostle to the _Corinthians_, a church famous for its gifts above any\nchurch under heaven) that CHRIST is in you, (by his Spirit) unless you\nare reprobates?\u201d\n\nFor CHRIST came not only to save us from the guilt, but from the power\nof our sins: till he has done this, however he may be a Saviour to\nothers, we can have no assurance or well-grounded hope, that he has\nsaved us: for it is by receiving his blessed Spirit into our hearts,\nand feeling him witnessing with our spirits, that we are the sons\nof GOD, that we can be certified of our being sealed to the day of\nredemption.\n\nThis is a great mystery; but I speak of CHRIST and the new-birth.\nMarvel not at my asking you, what you think about CHRIST being formed\nwithin you? For either GOD must change his nature, or we ours. For as\nin _Adam_ we all have spiritually died, so all that are effectually\nsaved by CHRIST, must in CHRIST be spiritually made alive. His only end\nin dying and rising again, and interceding for us now in heaven, is to\nredeem us from the misery of our fallen nature, and, by the operation\nof his blessed Spirit, to make us meet to be partakers of the heavenly\ninheritance with the saints in light. None but those that thus are\nchanged by his grace here, shall appear with him in glory hereafter.\n\nExamine yourselves, therefore, my brethren, whether you are in the\nfaith; prove yourselves; and think it not sufficient to say in your\ncreed, I believe in JESUS CHRIST: many say so, who do not believe, who\nare reprobates, and yet in a state of death. You take GOD\u2019s name in\nvain, when you call him Father, and your prayers are turned into sin,\nunless you believe in CHRIST, so as to have your life hid with him in\nGOD, and to receive life and nourishment from him, as branches do from\nthe vine.\n\nI know, indeed, the men of this generation deny there is any such thing\nas feeling CHRIST within them; but alas! to what a dreadful condition\nwould such reduce us, even to the state of the abandoned heathen, who,\nSt. _Paul_ tells us, \u201cwere past feeling.\u201d The Apostle prays, that the\n_Ephesians_ may abound in all knowledge and spiritual understanding,\nor as it might be rendered, spiritual sensation. And in the office\nfor the visitation of the sick, the minister prays, that the LORD may\nmake the sick person know and feel, that there is no other name under\nheaven given unto men, in whom and through whom they may receive health\nand salvation, but only the name of our LORD JESUS. For there is a\nspiritual, as well as a corporeal feeling; and though this is not\ncommunicated to us in a sensible manner, as outward objects affect our\nsenses, yet it is as real as any sensible or visible sensation, and\nmay be as truly felt and discerned by the soul, as any impression from\nwithout can be felt by the body. All who are born again of GOD, know\nthat I lie not.\n\nWhat think you, Sirs, did _Naaman_ feel, when he was cured of his\nleprosy? Did the woman feel virtue coming out of JESUS CHRIST, when she\ntouched the hem of his garment, and was cured of her bloody issue? So\nsurely mayst thou feel, O believer, when JESUS CHRIST dwelleth in thy\nheart. I pray GOD to make you all know and feel this, ere you depart\nhence.\n\nO my brethren, my heart is enlarged towards you. I trust I feel\nsomething of that hidden, but powerful presence of CHRIST, whilst I am\npreaching to you. Indeed it is sweet, it is exceedingly comfortable.\nAll the harm I wish you, who without cause are my enemies, is, that\nyou felt the like. Believe me, though it would be hell to my soul, to\nreturn to a natural state again, yet I would willingly change states\nwith you for a little while, that you might know what it is to have\nCHRIST dwelling in your hearts by faith. Do not turn your backs; do\nnot let the devil hurry you away: be not afraid of convictions; do not\nthink worse of the doctrine, because preached without the church walls.\nOur LORD, in the days of his flesh, preached on a mount, in a ship, and\na field; and I am persuaded, many have felt his gracious presence here.\nIndeed we speak what we know. Do not reject the kingdom of GOD against\nyourselves: be so wise as to receive our witness. I cannot, I will not\nlet you go; stay a little, let us reason together. However lightly you\nmay esteem your souls, I know our LORD has set an unspeakable value\non them. He thought them worthy of his most precious blood. I beseech\nyou, therefore, O sinners, be ye reconciled to GOD. I hope you do not\nfear being accepted in the beloved. Behold, he calleth you; behold,\nhe prevents and follows you with his mercy, and hath sent forth his\nservants into the highways and hedges, to compel you to come in.\nRemember then, that at such an hour of such a day, in such a year, in\nthis place, you were all told what you ought to think concerning JESUS\nCHRIST. If you now perish, it will not be for lack of knowledge: I am\nfree from the blood of you all. You cannot say I have been preaching\ndamnation to you; you cannot say I have, like legal preachers, been\nrequiring you to make brick without straw. I have not bidden you to\nmake yourselves saints, and then come to GOD; but I have offered you\nsalvation on as cheap terms as you can desire. I have offered you\nCHRIST\u2019s whole wisdom, CHRIST\u2019s whole righteousness, CHRIST\u2019s whole\nsanctification and eternal redemption, if you will but believe on him.\nIf you say, you cannot believe, you say right; for faith, as well as\nevery other blessing, is the gift of GOD: but then wait upon GOD, and\nwho knows but he may have mercy on thee? Why do we not entertain more\nloving thoughts of CHRIST? Or do you think he will have mercy on others,\nand not on you? But are you not sinners? And did not JESUS CHRIST come\ninto the world to save sinners? If you say you are the chief of sinners;\nI answer, that will be no hindrance to your salvation, indeed it will\nnot, if you lay hold on him by faith. Read the Evangelists, and see how\nkindly he behaved to his disciples who fled from and denied him: \u201cGo\ntell my brethren,\u201d says he. He did not say, Go tell those traitors; but,\n\u201cGo tell my brethren, and _Peter_:\u201d as though he had said, Go tell my\nbrethren in general, and poor _Peter_ in particular, \u201cthat I am risen;\u201d\nO comfort his poor drooping heart, tell him I am reconciled to him;\nbid him weep no more so bitterly: for though with oaths and curses he\nthrice denied me, yet I have died for his sins, I am risen again for\nhis justification: I freely forgive him all. Thus slow to anger, and\nof great kindness, was our all-merciful High-priest. And do you think\nhe has changed his nature, and forgets poor sinners, now he is exalted\nto the right-hand of GOD? No, he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for\never, and sitteth there only to make intercession for us. Come then,\nye harlots, Come ye publicans, come ye most abandoned of sinners, come\nand believe on JESUS CHRIST. Though the whole world despise you and\ncast you out, yet he will not disdain to take you up. O amazing, O\ninfinitely condescending love! even you, he will not be ashamed to call\nhis brethren. How will you escape if you neglect such a glorious offer\nof salvation? What would the damned spirits, now in the prison of hell,\ngive, if CHRIST was so freely offered to their souls? And why are not\nwe lifting up our eyes in torments? Does any one out of this great\nmultitude dare say, he does not deserve damnation? If not, why are we\nleft, and others taken away by death? What is this but an instance of\nGOD\u2019s free grace, and a sign of his good will towards us? Let GOD\u2019s\ngoodness lead us to repentance! O let there be joy in heaven over some\nof you repenting! Though we are in a field, I am persuaded the blessed\nangels are hovering now around us, and do long, \u201cas the hart panteth\nafter the water-brooks,\u201d to sing an anthem at your conversion. Blessed\nbe GOD, I hope their joy will be fulfilled. An awful silence appears\namongst us. I have good hope that the words which the LORD has enabled\nme to speak in your ears this day, have not altogether fallen to\nthe ground. Your tears and deep attention, are an evidence, that the\nLORD GOD is amongst us of a truth. Come, ye Pharisees, come and see,\nin spite of your satanical rage and fury, the LORD JESUS is getting\nhimself the victory. And brethren, I speak the truth in CHRIST, I\nlie not, if one soul of you, by the blessing of GOD, be brought to\nthink savingly of JESUS CHRIST this day, I care not if my enemies were\npermitted to carry me to prison, and put my feet fast in the stocks,\nas soon as I have delivered this sermon. Brethren, my heart\u2019s desire\nand prayer to GOD is, that you may be saved. For this cause I follow\nmy Master without the camp. I care not how much of his sacred reproach\nI bear, so that some of you be converted from the errors of your ways.\nI rejoice, yea and I will rejoice. Ye men, ye devils, do your worst:\nthe LORD who sent, will support me. And when CHRIST, who is our life,\nand whom I have now been preaching, shall appear, I also, together with\nhis despised little ones, shall appear with him in glory. And then,\nwhat will you think of CHRIST? I know what you will think of him. You\nwill then think him to be the fairest among ten thousand: You will\nthen think and feel him to be a just and sin-avenging judge. Be ye\nthen persuaded to kiss him lest he be angry, and so you be banished for\never from the presence of the LORD. Behold, I come to you as the angel\ndid to _Lot_. Flee, flee, for your lives; haste, linger no longer in\nyour spiritual _Sodom_, for otherwise you will be eternally destroyed.\nNumbers, no doubt, there are amongst you, that may regard me no more\nthan _Lot_\u2019s sons-in-law regarded him. I am persuaded I seem to some of\nyou as one that mocketh: but I speak the truth in CHRIST, I lie not; as\nsure as fire and brimstone was rained from the LORD out of heaven, to\ndestroy _Sodom_ and _Gomorrah_, so surely, at the great day, shall the\nvials of GOD\u2019s wrath be poured on you, if you do not think seriously of,\nand act agreeable to the gospel of the LORD\u2019s CHRIST. Behold, I have\ntold you before; and I pray GOD, all you that forget him may seriously\nthink of what has been said, before he pluck you away, and there be\nnone to deliver you.\n\n Now to GOD the Father, &c.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXV.\n\n The wise and foolish Virgins.\n\n\n MATTHEW xxv. 13.\n\n _Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour in\n which the Son of man cometh._\n\nTHE apostle _Paul_, in his epistle to the _Hebrews_, informs us, \u201cThat\nit is appointed for all men once to die; after that is the judgment.\u201d\nAnd I think, if any consideration be sufficient to awaken a sleeping\ndrowsy world, it must be this, That there will be a day wherein these\nheavens shall be wrapt up like a scroll, this element melt with fervent\nheat, the earth and all things therein be burnt up, and every soul,\nof every nation and language, summoned to appear before the dreadful\ntribunal of the righteous Judge of quick and dead, to receive rewards\nand punishments, according to the deeds done in their bodies. The great\napostle just mentioned, when brought before _Felix_, could think of no\nbetter means to convert that sinful man, than to reason of temperance,\nrighteousness, and more especially of a judgment to come. The first\nmight in some measure affect, but, I am persuaded, it was the last\nconsideration, a judgment to come, that made him to tremble: and so\nbad as the world is now grown, yet there are few have their consciences\nso far seared, as to deny that there will be a reckoning hereafter.\nThe promiscuous dispensations of providence in this life, wherein we\nsee good men afflicted, destitute, tormented, and the wicked permitted\ntriumphantly to ride over their heads, has been always looked upon\nas an indisputable argument, by the generality of men, that there\nwill be a day in which GOD will judge the world in righteousness, and\nadminister equity unto his people. Some indeed are so bold as to deny\nit, while they are engaged in the pursuit of the lust of the eye, and\nthe pride of life. But follow them to their death-beds, ask them, when\ntheir souls are ready to launch into eternity, what they then think of\na judgment to come? and they will tell you, they dare not give their\nconsciences the lie any longer. They feel a fearful looking for of\njudgment and fiery indignation in their hearts. Since then these things\nare so, does it not highly concern each of us, my brethren, before we\ncome on a bed of sickness, seriously to examine how the account stands\nbetween GOD and our souls, and how it will fare with us in that day? As\nfor the openly prophane, the drunkard, the whoremonger, the adulterer,\nand such-like, there is no doubt of what will become of them; without\nrepentance they shall never enter into the kingdom of GOD and his\nCHRIST: no; their damnation slumbereth not; a burning fiery _Tophet_,\nkindled by the fury of GOD\u2019s eternal wrath, is prepared for their\nreception, wherein they must suffer the vengeance of eternal fire. Nor\nis there the least doubt of the state of true believers. For though\nthey are despised and rejected of natural men, yet being born again of\nGOD, they are heirs of GOD, and joint heirs with CHRIST. They have the\nearnest of the promised inheritance in their hearts, and are assured,\nthat a new and living way is made open for them, into the holy of\nholies, by the blood of JESUS CHRIST, into which an abundant entrance\nshall be administered to them at the great day of account. The only\nquestion is, what will become of the _almost Christian_, one that\nis content to go, as he thinks, in a middle way to heaven, without\nbeing prophane on the one hand, or, as he falsly imagines, righteous\nover-much on the other? Many there are in every congregation, and\nconsequently some here present, of this stamp. And what is worst of\nall, it is more easy to convince the most notorious publicans and\nsinners of their being out of a state of salvation, than any of these.\nNotwithstanding, if JESUS CHRIST may be our judge, they shall as\ncertainly be rejected and disowned by him at the last day, as though\nthey lived in open defiance of all his laws. For what says our LORD in\nthe parable of which the words of the text are a conclusion, and which\nI intend to make the subject of my present discourse. \u201cThen,\u201d at the\nday of judgment, which he had been discoursing of in the foregoing, and\nprosecutes in this chapter, \u201cshall the kingdom of heaven, (the state of\nprofessors in the gospel church) be likened unto ten virgins, who took\ntheir lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.\u201d In which words,\nis a manifest allusion to a custom prevailing in our LORD\u2019s time among\nthe _Jews_ at marriage solemnities, which were generally at night, and\nat which it was customary for the persons of the bride-chamber to go\nout in procession, with many lights, to meet the bridegroom. By the\n_bridegroom_, you are here to understand JESUS CHRIST. The church, i.\u00a0e.\ntrue believers, are his _spouse_; he is united to them by one spirit,\neven in this life; but the solemnizing of these sacred nuptials, is\nreserved till the day of judgment, when he shall come to take them home\nto himself, and present them before men and angels, as his purchase,\nto his Father, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. By the ten\nvirgins we are to understand, the professors of christianity in general.\nAll are called virgins, because all are called to be saints. Whosoever\nnames the name of CHRIST, is obliged by that very profession to depart\nfrom all iniquity. But the pure and chaste in heart, are the only\npersons that will be so blessed as to see GOD. As CHRIST was born of\na virgin, so he can dwell in none but virgin souls, made pure and holy\nby the cohabitation of his holy Spirit. What says the apostle? \u201cAll are\nnot _Israelites_ that are of _Israel_,\u201d all are not christians that are\ncalled after the name of CHRIST: No, says our LORD, in the 2d verse,\n\u201cFive of those virgins were wise,\u201d true believers, \u201cand five were\nfoolish,\u201d formal hypocrites. But why are five said to be wise, and the\nother five foolish? Hear what our LORD says in the following verses;\n\u201cThey that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:\nbut the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.\u201d They that\nwere foolish took their lamps of an outward profession. They would\ngo to church, say over several manuals of prayers, come perhaps\ninto a field to hear a sermon, give at a collection, and receive the\nsacrament constantly, nay, oftner than once a month. But then here lay\nthe mistake; they had no oil in their lamps, no principle of grace, no\nliving faith in their hearts, without which, though we should give all\nour goods to feed the poor, and our bodies to be burnt, it would profit\nus nothing. In short, they were exact, nay, perhaps superstitious\nbigots as to the form, but all the while they were strangers to, and,\nin effect, denied the power of godliness in their hearts. They would go\nto church, but at the same time, think it no harm to go to a ball or an\nassembly, notwithstanding they promised at their baptism, to renounce\nthe pomps and vanities of this wicked world. They were so exceedingly\nfearful of being righteous over-much, that they would even persecute\nthose that were truly devout, if they attempted to go a step farther\nthan themselves. In one word, they never effectually felt the power\nof the world to come. They thought they might be christians without\nso much inward feeling, and therefore, notwithstanding their high\npretensions, had only a name to live.\n\nAnd now, Sirs, let me pause a while, and in the name of GOD, whom I\nendeavour to serve in the gospel of his dear Son, give me leave to ask\none question. Whilst I have been drawing, though in miniature, the\ncharacter of these foolish virgins, have not many of your consciences\nmade the application, and with a small, still, though articulate voice,\nsaid, Thou man, thou woman, art one of those foolish virgins, for thy\nsentiments and practice agree thereto? Stifle not, but rather encourage\nthese convictions; and who knows, but that \u2666the LORD who is rich in\nmercy to all that call upon him faithfully, may so work upon you even\nby this foolishness of preaching, as to make you wise virgins before\nyou return home?\n\n \u2666 insert missing word \u201cthe\u201d\n\nWhat they were you shall know immediately: \u201cBut the wise took oil in\ntheir vessels with their lamps.\u201d Observe, the wise, the true believers,\nhad their lamps as well as the foolish virgins; for christianity does\nnot require us to cast off all outward forms; we may use forms, and\nyet not be formal: for instance, it is possible to worship GOD in a\nset form of prayer, and yet worship him in spirit and in truth. And\ntherefore, brethren, let us not judge one another. The wise virgins\nhad their lamps; herein did not lie the difference between them and the\nfoolish, that one worshipped GOD with a form, and the other did not: No:\nas the Pharisee and Publican went up to the temple to pray, so these\nwise and foolish virgins might go to the same place of worship, and sit\nunder the same ministry; but then the wise took oil in their vessels\nwith their lamps; they kept up the form, but did not rest in it;\ntheir words in prayer were the language of their hearts, and they were\nno strangers to inward feelings; they were not afraid of searching\ndoctrines, nor affronted when ministers told them they deserved\nto be damned; they were not self-righteous, but were willing that\nJESUS CHRIST should have all the glory of their salvation; they were\nconvinced that the merits of JESUS CHRIST were to be apprehended only\nby faith; but yet were they as careful to maintain good works, as\nthough they were to be justified by them: in short, their obedience\nflowed from love and gratitude, and was chearful, constant, uniform,\nuniversal, like that obedience which the holy angels pay our Father in\nheaven.\n\nHere then let me exhort you to pause again; and if any of you can\nfaithfully apply these characters to your hearts, give GOD the glory,\nand take the comfort to your own souls; you are not false but true\nbelievers. JESUS CHRIST has been made of GOD to you wisdom, even that\nwisdom, whereby you shall be made wise unto salvation. GOD sees a\ndifference between you and foolish virgins, if natural men will not.\nYou need not be uneasy, though one chance and fate in this life may\nhappen to you both. I say, one chance and fate; for, verse 5. \u201cwhile\nthe bridegroom tarried,\u201d in the space of time which passed between our\nLORD\u2019s ascension and his coming again to judgment, \u201cthey all slumbered\nand slept.\u201d The wise as well as foolish died, for dust we are, and\nto dust we must return. It is no reflection at all upon the divine\ngoodness, that believers, as well as hypocrites, must pass through\nthe valley of the shadow of death; for CHRIST has taken away the sting\nof death, so that we need fear no evil. It is to them a passage to\neverlasting life: death is only terrible to those who have no hope,\nbecause they live without faith in the world. Whosoever there are\namongst you, that have received the first-fruits of the spirit, I am\npersuaded you are ready to cry out, we would not live here always,\nwe long to be dissolved, that we may be with JESUS CHRIST; and though\nworms must destroy our bodies as well as others, yet we are content,\nbeing assured that our Redeemer liveth, that he will stand at the\nlatter days upon the earth, and that in our flesh we shall see GOD.\n\nBut it is not so with hypocrites and unbelievers beyond the grave; for\nwhat says our LORD? \u201cAnd at midnight:\u201d observe, at midnight, when all\nwas hushed and quiet, and no one dreaming of any such thing, \u201ca cry\nwas made;\u201d the voice of the arch-angel and the trump of GOD was heard\nsounding this general alarm; to things in heaven, to things in earth,\nand to things in the waters under the earth, \u201cBEHOLD!\u201d mark how this\nawful summons is ushered in with the word _behold_, to engage our\nattention? \u201cBehold the bridegroom cometh!\u201d even JESUS CHRIST, the\ndesire of nations, the bridegroom of his spouse the church: Because he\ntarried for a while to exercise the faith of saints, and give sinners\nspace to repent, scoffers were apt to cry out, \u201cWhere is the promise of\nhis coming? But the LORD is not slack concerning his promise, as these\nmen account slackness.\u201d For behold, he that was to come, now cometh,\nand will not tarry any longer: he cometh to be glorified in his saints,\nand to take vengeance on them that know not GOD, and have not obeyed\nhis gospel: he cometh not as a poor despised _Galilean_; not to be\nlaid in a stinking manger; not to be despised and rejected of men;\nnot to be blindfolded, spit upon, and buffeted; not to be nailed to an\naccursed tree; he cometh not as the Son of man, but as he really was,\nthe eternal Son of the eternal GOD: He cometh riding on the wings of\nthe wind, in the glory of the Father and his holy angels, and to be had\nin everlasting reverence of all that shall be round about him. \u201cGo ye\nforth to meet him;\u201d arise, ye dead, ye foolish, as well as wise virgin,\narise and come to judgment. Multitudes, no doubt, that hear this\nawakening cry, would rejoice if the rocks might fall on, and the hills\ncover them from the presence of the Lamb: what would they give, if as\nthey lived as beasts, they might now die like the beasts that perish?\nHow would they rejoice, if those same excuses which they made on this\nside eternity for not attending on holy ordinances, would serve to\nkeep them from appearing before the heavenly bridegroom! But as _Adam_,\nnotwithstanding his fig-leaves, and the trees of the garden, could\nnot hide himself from GOD, when arrested with an \u201c_Adam_, where art\nthou?\u201d So now the decree is gone forth, and the trump of GOD has given\nits last sound; all tongues, people, nations, and languages, both wise\nand foolish virgins, must come into his presence, and bow beneath his\nfootstool; even _Pontius Pilate_, _Annas_ and _Caiaphas_; even the\nproud persecuting high-priests and Pharisees of this generation, must\nappear before him: for says our LORD, \u201cthen, (when the cry was made,\nBehold, the bridegroom cometh!) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,\nthe graves were opened, the sea gave up its dead, and all those virgins,\nboth wise and foolish, arose and trimmed their lamps,\u201d or endeavoured\nto put themselves in a proper posture to meet the bridegroom.\n\nBut how may we imagine the foolish virgins were surprized, when,\nnotwithstanding their high thoughts and proud imaginations of their\nsecurity, they now find themselves wholly naked, and void of that\ninward holiness and purity of heart, without which no man living at\nthat day shall comfortably meet the LORD! I doubt not, but many of\nthese foolish virgins, whilst in this world, were cloathed in purple\nand fine linnen, fared sumptuously every day, and disdained to set the\nwise virgins, some of whom might be as poor as _Lazarus_, even with\nthe dogs of their flock. These were looked upon by them as enthusiasts\nand madmen, as persons that were righteous over-much, and who intended\nto turn the world upside down: but now death hath opened their eyes,\nand convinced them, to their eternal sorrow, that he is not a true\nchristian, who is only one outwardly. Now they find (though, alas! too\nlate) they, and not the wise virgins, had been beside themselves. Now\ntheir proud hearts are made to stoop, their lofty looks are brought low;\nand as _Dives_ entreated that _Lazarus_ might dip the tip of his finger\nin water, and be sent to cool his tongue, so these foolish virgins,\nthese formal hypocrites, are obliged to turn beggars to those whom they\nonce despised: \u201cGive us of your oil;\u201d O! impart to us a little of that\ngrace and holy spirit, for the insisting on which we fools accounted\nyour lives madness; for alas! \u201cour lamps are gone out;\u201d we had only the\nform of godliness; we were whited sepulchres; we were heart-hypocrites;\nwe contented ourselves with desiring to be good; and though confident\nof salvation whilst we lived, yet our hope is entirely gone, now GOD\nhas taken away our souls: Give us therefore, O! give us, though we\nonce despised you, give us of your oil, for our lamps of an outward\nprofession, and transient convictions, are quite gone out. \u201cComfort\nye, comfort ye, my people, saith the LORD.\u201d My brethren in CHRIST,\nhear what the foolish say to the wise virgins, and learn in patience to\npossess your souls. If you are true followers of the lowly JESUS, I am\npersuaded you have your names cast out, and all manner of evil spoken\nfalsly against you, for his name\u2019s sake; for no one ever did or will\nlive godly in CHRIST JESUS, without suffering persecution; nay, I doubt\nnot but your chief foes are those of your own houshold: tell me, do not\nyour carnal relations and friends vex your tender souls day by day, in\nbidding you spare yourselves, and take heed lest you go too far: And as\nyou passed along to come and hear the word of GOD, have you not heard\nmany a Pharisee cry out, Here comes another troop of his followers!\nBrethren, be not surprized, CHRIST\u2019s servants were always the world\u2019s\nfools; you know it hated him before it hated you. Rejoice and be\nexceeding glad. Yet a little while, and behold the bridegroom cometh,\nand then shall you hear these formal scoffing Pharisees saying unto you,\n\u201cGive us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out.\u201d When you are reviled,\nrevile not again: when you suffer, threaten not; commit your souls into\nthe hands of him that judgeth righteously: for behold the day cometh,\nwhen the children of GOD shall speak for themselves.\n\nThe wise virgins, in the parable, no doubt endured the same cruel\nmockings as you may do; but as the lamb before the shearers is dumb,\nso in this life opened they not their mouths; but now we find they can\ngive their enemies an answer: \u201cNot so, lest there be not enough for us\nand you; but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.\u201d\nThese words are not to be understood as though they were spoken in\nan insulting manner; for true charity teaches us to use the worst of\nsinners, and our most bitter enemies, with the meekness and gentleness\nof CHRIST: Though _Dives_ was in hell, yet _Abraham_ does not say, Thou\nvillain, but only, \u201cSon, remember:\u201d and I am persuaded, had it been in\nthe power of these wise virgins, they would have dealt with the foolish\nvirgins, as, GOD knows, I would willingly deal with my most inveterate\nenemies, not only give them of their oil, but also exalt them to the\nright hand of GOD. It was not then for want of love, but the fear of\nwanting a sufficiency for themselves, that made them return this answer,\n\u201cNot so, lest there be not enough for us and you:\u201d for they that have\nmost grace, have none to spare; none but self-righteous, foolish\nvirgins think they are good enough, or have already attained. Those\nwho are truly wise are always most distrustful of themselves, pressing\nforwards to the things that are before, and think it well if after they\nhave done all, they can make their calling and election sure. \u201cNot so,\nlest there be not enough for us and you; but go ye rather to them that\nsell, and buy for yourselves.\u201d These words indeed seem to be spoken in\na triumphant, but certainly they were uttered in the most compassionate\nmanner; \u201cgo ye to them that sell, and buy for yourselves;\u201d unhappy\nvirgins! you accounted our lives folly; whilst with you in the body,\nhow often have you condemned us for our zeal in running to hear\nthe word of GOD, and looked upon us as enthusiasts, for talking and\naffirming, that we must be led by the spirit, and walk by the spirit,\nand feel the spirit of GOD witnessing with our spirits, that we are his\nchildren? But now you would be glad to be partakers of this privilege,\nbut it is not ours to give. You contented yourselves with seeking, when\nyou should have been striving to enter in at the strait gate. And now\ngo to them that sell, if you can, and buy for yourselves.\n\nAnd what say you to this, ye foolish formal professors? For I doubt not\nbut curiosity and novelty hath brought many such, even to this despised\nplace, to hear a sermon. Can you hear this reply to the foolish virgins,\nand yet not tremble? Why, yet a little while, and thus it shall be done\nto you. Rejoice and bolster yourselves up in your duties and forms;\nendeavour to cover your nakedness with the fig-leaves of an outward\nprofession and a legal righteousness, and despise the true servants\nof CHRIST as much as you please, yet know, that all your hopes will\nfail you when GOD brings you into judgment. For not he who commendeth\nhimself is justified, but he whom the LORD commendeth.\n\nBut to return; we do not hear of any reply the foolish virgins make:\nNo, their consciences condemned them; like the person without a\nwedding-garment, they are struck dumb, and are now filled with anxious\nthoughts how they shall buy oil, that they may lift up their heads\nbefore the bridegroom. \u201cBut whilst they went to buy,\u201d verse 10, whilst\nthey were thinking what they should do, the bridegroom, the LORD JESUS,\nthe king, the husband of his spouse the church, cometh, attended with\nthousands and twenty times ten thousands of saints and angels, publicly\nto count up his jewels; \u201cand they that were ready,\u201d the wise virgins\nwho had oil in their lamps, and were sealed by his spirit to the\nday of redemption, these having on the wedding garment of an imputed\nrighteousness, and a new nature, \u201cwent in with him to the marriage.\u201d\n\nBut who can express the transports that these wise virgins felt, when\nthey were thus admitted, in holy triumph, into the presence and full\nenjoyment of him, whom their souls hungred and thirsted after! No doubt\nthey had tasted of his love, and by faith had often fed on him in their\nhearts, when sitting down to commemorate his last supper here on earth;\nbut how full may we think their hearts and tongues were of his praises,\nwhen they see themselves seated together to eat bread in his heavenly\nkingdom. And what was best of all, \u201cthe door was shut,\u201d and shut them\nin, to enjoy the ever blessed GOD, and the company of angels and the\nspirits of just men made perfect, without interruption for evermore.\nI say, without interruption; for in this life, their eyes often gushed\nout with water, because men kept not GOD\u2019s law; and they could never\ncome to appear before the LORD, or to hear his word, but Satan and his\nemissaries would come also to disturb them; but now \u201cthe door is shut,\u201d\nnow there is a perfect communion of saints, which they in vain longed\nfor in this lower world; now tares no longer grow up with the wheat;\nnot one single hypocrite or unbeliever can screen himself amongst them.\n\u201cNow the wicked cease from troubling, and now their weary souls enjoy\nan everlasting rest.\u201d\n\nOnce more, O believers, let me exhort you in patience to possess your\nsouls. GOD, if he has freely justified you by faith in his son, and\ngiven you his spirit, has sealed you to be his; and has secured you, as\nsurely as he secured _Noah_, when he locked him in the ark. But though\nheirs of GOD, and joint heirs with CHRIST, and neither men nor devils\ncan pluck you out of your heavenly Father\u2019s hands, yet you must be\ntossed about with manifold temptations; however, lift up your heads,\nthe day of your perfect, compleat redemption draweth nigh. Behold the\nbridegroom cometh to take you to himself, the door shall be shut, and\nyou shall be for ever with the LORD.\n\nBut I even tremble to tell you, O nominal christians, that the door\nwill be shut, I mean the door of mercy, never, never to be opened to\ngive you admission, though you should continue knocking to all eternity.\nFor thus speaks our LORD, verse 11. \u201cAfterwards,\u201d after those that were\nready went in, and the door was shut; after they had, to their sorrow,\nfound that no oil was to be bought, no grace to be procured, \u201ccame\nalso the other virgins;\u201d and as _Esau_, after _Jacob_ had gotten the\nblessing, cried with an exceeding bitter cry, \u201cBless me, even me also,\nO my father;\u201d so they came saying, \u201cLORD, LORD, open to us.\u201d Observe\nthe importunity of these foolish virgins, implied in the words, \u201cLORD,\nLORD.\u201d Whilst in the body, I suppose they only read, did not pray over\ntheir prayers. If you now tell them, they should \u201cpray without ceasing,\u201d\nthey should pray from their hearts, and feel the want of what they\nprayed for; they would answer, they could not tell what you mean by\ninward feelings; that GOD did not require us to be always on our knees,\nbut if a man did justly, and loved mercy, and did as the church forms\nrequired him, it was as much as the LORD required at his hands.\n\nI fear, sirs, too many among us are of this mind: nay, I fear there\nare many so polite, so void of the love of GOD, as to think it too\ngreat a piece of self-denial, to rise early to offer up a sacrifice of\npraise and thanksgiving acceptable to GOD through JESUS CHRIST. If any\nsuch, by the good providence of GOD, are brought hither this morning,\nI beseech you to consider your ways, and remember, if you are not\nawakened out of your spiritual lethargy, and live a life of prayer here,\nyou shall but in vain cry out with the foolish virgins, \u201cLORD, LORD,\nopen unto us,\u201d hereafter. Observe farther, the impudence, as well as\nimportunity of these other virgins; \u201cLORD, LORD,\u201d say they, as though\nthey were intimately acquainted with the holy JESUS. Like numbers among\nus, who because they go to church, repeat their creeds, and receive the\nblessed sacrament, think they have a right to call JESUS their Saviour,\nand dare call GOD their Father, when they put up the LORD\u2019s prayer. But\nJESUS is not your Saviour. The devil, not GOD, is your father, unless\nyour hearts are purified by faith, and you are born again from above.\nIt is not merely being baptized by water, but being born again of the\nHoly Ghost that must qualify you for salvation; and it will do you no\nservice at the great day, to say unto CHRIST, LORD, my name is in the\nregister of such and such a parish. I am persuaded, the foolish virgins\ncould say this and more; but what answer did JESUS make? He answered\nand said, verse 12. \u201cVerily, I say unto you:\u201d He puts the word VERILY,\nto assure them he was in earnest. \u201cI say unto you,\u201d I who am truth\nitself, I whom you have owned in words, but in works denied, \u201cverily,\nI say unto you, I know you not.\u201d These words must not be understood\nliterally; for whatever Arians and Socinians may say to the contrary,\nyet we affirm, that JESUS CHRIST is GOD, GOD blessed for ever,\nand therefore knoweth all things. He saw _Nathaniel_, when under\nthe fig-tree: he sees, and is now looking down from heaven, his\ndwelling-place, upon us, to see how we behave in these fields. Brethren,\nI know nothing of the thoughts and intents of your hearts, in coming\nhither; but JESUS CHRIST knows who come like new-born babes, desirous\nto be fed with the sincere milk of the word; and he knows who came\nto hear what the babler says, and to run away with part of a broken\nsentence, that they may have whereof to accuse him. This expression\nthen, \u201cI know you not,\u201d must not be understood literally; no, it\nimplies a knowledge of approbation, as though CHRIST had said, \u201cYou\ncall me, LORD, LORD, but you have not done the things that I have said;\nyou desire me to open the door, but how can you come in hither not\nhaving on a wedding garment? Alas, you are naked! Where is my outward\nrighteousness imputed to you? Where is my inherent righteousness\nwrought in you? Where is my divine image stamped upon your souls? How\ndare you call me LORD, LORD, when you have not received the Holy Ghost,\nwhereby I seal all that are truly mine? Verily, I know you not; depart\nfrom me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and\nhis angels.\u201d\n\nAnd now, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear what manner of persons\nthese were, whom JESUS CHRIST dismissed with this answer. Remember,\nI entreat you, remember they are not sent away for being fornicators,\nswearers, sabbath-breakers, or prodigals. No, in all probability, as\nI observed before, they were, touching the outward observances of the\nmoral law, blameless; they were constant as to the form of religion;\nand if they did no good, yet no one could say, they did any one any\nharm. The only thing for which they were condemned, and eternally\nbanished from the presence of the LORD, (for so much is implied in \u201cI\nknow you not\u201d) was this, they had no oil in their lamps, no principle\nof a true living faith and holiness in their hearts. And if persons\nmay go to church, receive the sacrament, lead honest moral lives,\nand yet be sent to hell at the last day, as they certainly will be if\nthey advance no farther, Where wilt thou, O drunkard? Where wilt thou,\nO swearer? Where wilt thou, O sabbath-breaker? Where wilt thou that\ndeniest divine revelation, and even the form of godliness? Where will\nyou, and such-like sinners appear? I know very well. You must appear\nbefore the dreadful tribunal of JESUS CHRIST: however you may, like\n_Felix_, put off the prosecution of your convictions, yet you, as\nwell as others, must arise after death, and appear in judgment; you\nwill then find, to your eternal sorrow, what I just hinted at in the\nbeginning of this discourse, that your damnation slumbereth not: sin\nhas blinded your hearts, and hardened your foreheads now, but yet a\nlittle while, and our LORD will ease him of his adversaries. Methinks,\nby faith, I see the heavens opened, and the holy JESUS coming, with\nhis face brighter than ten thousand suns, darting fury upon you from\nhis eyes! Methinks I see you rising from your graves, trembling and\nastonished, and crying out, who can abide this day of his coming!\n\nAnd now what inference shall I draw from what has been delivered? Our\nLORD, in the words of the text, has drawn one for me; \u201cWatch therefore,\nfor ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.\u201d\n\n\u201c_Watch_;\u201d that is, be upon your guard, and keep your graces in\ncontinual exercise: For as when we are commanded to watch unto prayer,\nit signifies that we should continue instant in that duty; so when we\nare required to watch in general, it means that we should put on the\nwhole armour of GOD, and live every day as though it was our last. And\nO! that the LORD may now enable me to lift up my voice like a trumpet!\nFor had I a thousand tongues, or could I speak so loud that the whole\nworld might hear me, I could not sound a more useful alarm than that\nwhich is contained in the text. WATCH therefore, my brethren, I beseech\nyou by the mercies of GOD in CHRIST JESUS, watch; be upon your guard;\nawake, ye that sleep in the dust: for ye know neither the day nor\nthe hour wherein the Son of man cometh. Perhaps to-day, perhaps this\nmidnight, the cry may be made: \u201cfor in a moment, in the twinkling of\nan eye, the trump is to sound.\u201d However, supposing the final day of\njudgment may yet be a great way off, the day of death is certainly near\nat hand: for what is our life? \u201cIt is but a vapour,\u201d but a span long,\nsoon passeth it away, and we are gone. Blessed be GOD, we are all here\nwell; but who, out of this great multitude, dares say, I shall go home\nto my house in safety? Who knows, but whilst I am speaking, GOD may\ncommission his ministring spirits immediately to call some of you away\nby a sudden stroke, to give an account with what attention you have\nheard this sermon. You know, my brethren, some such instances we have\nlately had. And what angel or spirit hath assured us, that some of you\nshall not be the next? \u201cWatch therefore, for ye know neither the day\nnor the hour wherein the Son of man will come:\u201d And it is chiefly for\nthis reason, that GOD has hidden the day of our deaths from us. For\nsince I know not but I may die to-morrow, why, O my soul, may each\nof us say, wilt thou not watch to-day? Since I know not but I may die\nthe next moment, why wilt thou not prepare for dying this? Many such\nreflections as these, my brethren, croud in upon my mind. At present,\nblessed be the LORD, who delights to magnify his strength in a poor\nworm\u2019s weakness, I am at a stand, not so much about what I shall say,\nas what I shall leave unsaid. My belly, like _Elihu_\u2019s, is, as it were,\nfull of new wines; \u201cout of the abundance of my heart my mouth speaketh.\u201d\nThe seeing so great a multitude standing before me; a sense of the\ninfinite majesty of that GOD in whose name I preach, and before whom\nI as well as you must appear, to give an account; and the uncertainty\nthere is whether I shall live another day, to speak to you any more:\nthese considerations, especially the presence of GOD, which I now\nfeel upon my soul, furnishes me with so much matter, that I scarce\nknow where to begin, or where to end my application. However, for\nmethod-sake, by the divine assistance, I will branch it into three\nparticulars.\n\nAnd _first_, I would remind you that are notoriously ungodly, of what\nour LORD says in the text: For though I have said that your damnation\nslumbereth not, whilst you continue in an impenitent state; yet that\nwas only to set you upon your watch, to convince you of your danger,\nand excite you to cry out, \u201cWhat shall we do to be saved?\u201d I appeal to\nall that hear me, whether I have said, the door of mercy should be shut\nagainst you, if you believe on JESUS CHRIST: No, if you are the chief\nof sinners; if you are murderers of fathers, and murderers of mothers;\nif you are emphatically the dung and offscouring of all things; yet if\nyou believe on JESUS CHRIST, and cry unto him with the same faith as\nthe expiring thief, \u201cLORD, remember me, now thou art in thy kingdom;\u201d\nI will pawn my eternal salvation upon it, if he does not shortly\ntranslate you to his heavenly paradise. Wonder not at my speaking with\nso much assurance: For I know \u201cit is a faithful and true saying, and\nworthy of all acceptation, that JESUS CHRIST came into the world to\nsave (all truly affected and believing) sinners:\u201d Nay, so great is his\nlove, that I am persuaded, was it necessary, he would come again into\nthe world, and die a second time for them on the cross. But, blessed\nbe GOD, when our LORD bowed down his head, and gave up the ghost, our\nredemption was finished. It is not our sins, but our want of a lively\nfaith in his blood, that will prove our condemnation: if you draw\nnear to him by faith, though ye are the worst of sinners, yet he will\nnot say unto you, \u201cVerily I know you not.\u201d No, a door of mercy shall\nbe opened to you. Look then, look then, by an eye of faith, to that\nGOD-man whom ye have pierced. Behold him bleeding, panting, dying upon\nthe cross, with arms stretched out ready to embrace you all. Hark!\nhow he groans! See how all nature is in an agony! The rocks rend, the\ngraves open; the sun withdraws its light, ashamed as it were to see the\nGOD of nature suffer; and all this to usher in man\u2019s great redemption.\nNay, the Holy JESUS, in the very agonies and pangs of death, prays for\nhis very murderers; \u201cFather, forgive them, for they know not what they\ndo.\u201d If then you have crucified the Son of GOD afresh, and put him to\nan open shame, yet do not despair, only believe, and even this shall be\nforgiven. You have read, at least you have heard, no doubt, how three\nthousand were converted at St. _Peter_\u2019s preaching one single sermon,\nafter our LORD\u2019s ascension into heaven; and many of the crucifiers of\nthe LORD of glory undoubtedly were amongst them; and why should you\ndespair? For \u201cJESUS CHRIST is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.\u201d\nThe Holy Ghost shall be sent down on you, as well as on them, if you\ndo but believe; for CHRIST ascended up on high to receive this gift\neven for the vilest of men. Come then, all ye that are weary and heavy\nladen with the sense of your sins, lay hold on CHRIST by faith, and he\nwill give you rest; for salvation is the free gift of GOD to all them\nthat believe. And though you may think this too good news to be true,\nyet I speak the truth in CHRIST, I lie not, this is the gospel, this is\nthe glad tidings which we are commissioned to preach to every creature.\nBe not faithless then, but believing. Let not the devil lead you\ncaptive at his will any longer; for all the wages he gives his servants\nis death, death often in this life, death everlasting in the next:\nBut the free gift of GOD, is eternal life to all that believe in\nJESUS CHRIST. Pharisees are and will be offended at my coming here,\nand offering you salvation on such cheap terms; but the more they bid\nme hold my peace, the more will I cry out and proclaim to convicted\nsinners, that JESUS, _David_\u2019s Son according to the flesh, but\n_David_\u2019s Lord as he was GOD, will have mercy upon all that by a living\nfaith truly turn to him. If this is to be vile, I pray GOD, I may be\nmore vile. If they will not let me preach CHRIST crucified, and offer\nsalvation to poor sinners in a church, I will preach him in the lanes,\nstreets, highways and hedges; and nothing pleases me better, than to\nthink I am now in one of the devils strongest holds. Surely, the LORD\nhas not sent me and all you hither for nothing; no, blessed be GOD,\nthe fields are white ready unto harvest, and many souls I hope will\nbe gathered into his heavenly garner. It is true, it is the midnight\nof the church, especially the poor church of _England_; but GOD has\nlately sent forth his servants to cry, \u201cBehold the bridegroom cometh:\u201d\nI beseech you, O sinners, hearken unto the voice! Let me espouse you\nby faith to my dear master; and henceforward \u201cwatch and pray,\u201d that you\nmay be ready to go forth to meet him.\n\n_Secondly_, I would apply myself to those amongst you, that are not\nopenly profane, but by depending on a formal round of duties, deceive\nyour own souls, and are only foolish virgins. But I must speak to your\nconviction, rather than your comfort. My dear brethren, do not deceive\nyour own souls. You have heard how far the foolish virgins went, and\nyet were answered with \u201cVerily I know you not:\u201d The reason is, because\nnone but such who have a living faith in JESUS CHRIST, and are truly\nborn again, can possibly enter into the kingdom of heaven. You may,\nperhaps, live honest and outwardly moral lives, but if you depend on\nthat morality, or join your works with your faith, in order to justify\nyou before GOD, you have no lot or share in CHRIST\u2019s redemption: For\nwhat is this but to deny the LORD that has bought you? What is this but\nmaking yourselves your own Saviours? taking the crown from JESUS CHRIST,\nand putting it on your own heads? The crime of the devil, some have\nsupposed, consisted in this, that he would not bow to JESUS CHRIST,\nwhen the Father commanded all the angels to worship him; and what do\nyou less? You will not own and submit to his righteousness; and though\nyou pretend to worship him with your lips, yet your hearts are far from\nhim; besides you, in effect, deny the operations of his blessed spirit,\nyou mistake common for effectual grace; you hope to be saved, because\nyou have good desires, and a few short convictions; and what is this,\nbut to give GOD, his word, and all his saints, the lie? A _Jew_, a\n_Turk_, has equally as good grounds whereon to build his hopes of\nsalvation. Need I not then to cry out to you, ye foolish virgins, watch.\nBeg of GOD to convince you of your self-righteousness, and the secret\nunbelief of your hearts; or otherwise, whensoever the cry shall be\nmade, \u201cBehold the bridegroom cometh,\u201d you will find yourselves utterly\nunprepared to go forth to meet him: You may cry \u201cLord, Lord;\u201d but the\nanswer will be, \u201cVerily, I know you not.\u201d\n\n_Thirdly_, I would speak a word or two by way of exhortation to\nthose who are wise virgins, and are assured that they have on a\nwedding-garment. That there are many such amongst you, who by grace\nhave renounced your own righteousness, and know that the righteousness\nof the LORD JESUS is imputed to you, I make no doubt. GOD has his\nsecret ones in the worst of times; and I am persuaded he has not let\nso loud a gospel cry to be made amongst his people, as of late has been\nheard, for nothing. No, I am confident, the Holy Ghost has been given\nto many at the preaching of faith, and has powerfully fallen upon many,\nwhilst they have been hearing the word. You are now then no longer\nfoolish, but wise virgins; notwithstanding, I beseech you also to\nsuffer the word of exhortation; for wise virgins are too apt, whilst\nthe bridegroom tarries, to slumber and sleep. Watch therefore, my\ndear brethren, watch and pray, at this time especially; for perhaps a\ntime of suffering is at hand. The ark of the LORD begins already to be\ndriven into the wilderness. Be ye therefore upon your watch, and still\npersevere in following your LORD, even without the camp, bearing his\nreproach: the cry that has been lately made, has awakened the devil\nand his servants; they begin to rage horribly; and well they may; for\nI hope their kingdom is in danger. Watch therefore, for if we are not\nalways upon our guard, a time of trial may overtake us unawares; and,\ninstead of owning, like _Peter_ we may be tempted to deny our master.\nSet death and eternity often before you. Look unto JESUS, the author\nand finisher of your faith, and consider how little a while it will be,\nere he comes to judgment; and then our reproach shall be wiped away;\nthe accusers of us and our brethren shall be cast down, and we all\nshall be lodged in heaven for ever, with our dear LORD JESUS.\n\n_Lastly_; what I say unto you, I say unto all, watch: high and low,\nrich and poor, young and old, one with another, I beseech you, by the\nmercies of JESUS, to be upon your guard: fly, fly to JESUS CHRIST,\nthat heavenly bridegroom: behold he desires to take you to himself,\nmiserable, poor, blind and naked as you are; he is willing to cloath\nyou with his everlasting righteousness, and make you partakers of that\nglory, which he enjoyed with the Father before the world began. Do\nnot turn a deaf ear to me; do not reject the message on account of\nthe meanness of the messenger. I am a child; but the LORD has chosen\nme, that the glory might be all his own. Had he sent to invite you\nby a learned rabbi, you might have been tempted to think the man had\ndone something; but now GOD has sent a child, that the excellency of\nthe power may be seen not to be of man, but of GOD. Let the learned\nPharisees then despise my youth: I care not how vile I appear in the\nsight of such men; I glory in it. And I am persuaded, if any of you\nshould be married to CHRIST by this preaching, you will have no reason\nto repent, when you come to heaven, that GOD sent a child to cry,\n\u201cBehold the bridegroom cometh!\u201d O! my brethren, the thought of being\ninstrumental in bringing one of you to glory, fills me with fresh zeal.\nOnce more I entreat you, \u201cWatch, watch and pray:\u201d for the LORD JESUS\nwill receive all that call upon him faithfully. Let that cry, \u201cBehold\nthe bridegroom cometh,\u201d be continually sounding in your ears; and begin\nnow to live, as though you were assured, this night you were to \u201cgo\nforth to meet him.\u201d I could say more, but the other business and duties\nof the day oblige me to stop. May the LORD give you all an hearing ear,\nand obedient heart, and so closely unite you to himself by one spirit,\nthat when he shall come in terrible majesty, to judge mankind, you may\nbe found having on a wedding garment, and ready to go in with him to\nthe marriage.\n\n Grant this, O LORD, for thy dear Son\u2019s sake!\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXVI.\n\n The Eternity of Hell-Torments.\n\n\n To the INHABITANTS of SAVANNAH in GEORGIA.\n\n_My dear Friends_,\n\nTHOUGH the following sermon has been preached elsewhere, yet as the\noccasion of my preaching it among you was particular, as you seemed to\ngive an uncommon attention to it in public, and afterwards expressed\nyour satisfaction in it to me, when I came to visit you in your own\nhouses, I thought proper to offer it to you.\n\nAnd here I cannot but bless GOD for the general dislike of heretical\nprinciples that I have found among you; as also for your zeal and\napprobation of my conduct, when the glory of GOD and your welfare, have\nobliged me to resent and publicly declare against the antichristian\ntenets of some lately under my charge.\n\nI need only exhort you to beg of GOD to give you a true faith, and to\nadd to your faith virtue, that you may adorn the gospel of our LORD\nJESUS CHRIST in all things.\n\nYour constant daily attendance upon public worship, the gladness\nwherewith you have received me into your houses, the mildness wherewith\nyou have submitted to my reproofs, more especially the great (though\nunmerited) concern you shewed at my departure, induce me to hope this\nwill be your endeavour.\n\nHow long GOD of his good providence will keep me from you, I know\nnot. However, you may assure yourselves I will return according to my\npromise, as soon as I have received imposition of hands, and compleated\nthe other business that called me hither.\n\nIn the mean while, accept of this, as a pledge of the undissembled love\nof\n\n Your affectionate though unworthy pastor,\n\nLondon,\n 1738.\n\n GEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n\n MATTHEW xxv. 46.\n\n _These shall go away into everlasting punishment._\n\nTHE excellency of the gospel dispensation, is greatly evidenced by\nthose sanctions of rewards and punishments, which it offers to the\nchoice of all its hearers, in order to engage them to be obedient to\nits precepts. For it promises no less than eternal happiness to the\ngood, and denounces no slighter a punishment than everlasting misery\nagainst the wicked: On the one hand, \u201cIt is a savour of life unto life,\u201d\non the other, \u201cA savour of death unto death.\u201d And though one would\nimagine, the bare mentioning of the former would be sufficient to draw\nmen to their duty, yet ministers in all ages have found it necessary,\nfrequently to remind their people of the latter, and to set before them\nthe terrors of the LORD, as so many powerful dissuasives from sin.\n\nBut whence is it that men are so disingenuous? The reason seems to\nbe this: The promise of eternal happiness is so agreeable to the\ninclinations and wishes of mankind, that all who call themselves\nchristians, universally and willingly subscribe to the belief of it:\nbut then there is something so shocking in the consideration of eternal\ntorments, and seemingly such an infinite disproportion between an\nendless duration of pain, and a short life spent in pleasure, that men\n(some at least of them) can scarcely be brought to confess it as an\narticle of their faith, that an eternity of misery awaits the wicked\nin a future state.\n\nI shall therefore at this time, beg leave to insist on the proof of\nthis part of one of the Articles of our Creed; and endeavour to make\ngood what our blessed LORD has here threatened in the words of the text,\n\u201cThese (that is, the wicked) shall go away into everlasting punishment.\u201d\n\nAccordingly, without considering the words as they stand in relation to\nthe context, I shall resolve all I have to say, into this one general\nproposition, \u201cThat the torments reserved for the wicked hereafter, are\neternal.\u201d\n\nBut before I proceed to make good this, I must inform you that I take\nit for granted,\n\nAll present do stedfastly believe, They have something within them,\nwhich we call a soul, and which is capable of surviving the dissolution\nof the body, and of being miserable or happy to all eternity.\n\nI take it for granted farther, That you believe a divine revelation;\nthat those books, emphatically called the Scriptures, were written by\nthe inspiration of GOD, and that the things therein contained, are\nfounded upon eternal truth.\n\nI take it for granted, That you believe, that the Son of GOD came down\nto die for sinners; and that there is but one Mediator between GOD and\nman, even the man CHRIST JESUS.\n\nThese things being granted, (and they were necessary to be premised)\nproceed we now to make good the one general proposition asserted in the\ntext, That the torments reserved for the wicked hereafter are eternal.\n\u201cThese shall go away into everlasting punishment.\u201d The\n\n_First_ argument I shall advance to prove that the torments reserved\nfor the wicked hereafter, are eternal, is, That the word of GOD himself\nassures us, in line upon line, that it will be so.\n\nTo quote all the texts that might be produced in proof of this, would\nbe endless. Let it suffice to instance only in a few. In the Old\nTestament, in the book of _Daniel_, chapter xii. verse 2. we are told,\nthat \u201csome shall awake to everlasting life, and others to everlasting\ncontempt.\u201d In the book of _Isaiah_, it is said, that \u201cthe worm of those\nthat have transgressed GOD\u2019s law, and die impenitently, shall not die,\nnor their fire be quenched.\u201d And in another place, the holy Prophet,\nstruck, no doubt, with astonishment and horror at the prospect of the\ncontinuance of the torments of the damned, breaks out into this moving\nexpostulation, \u201cWho can dwell with everlasting burnings?\u201d\n\nThe New Testament is still fuller as to this point, it being a\nrevelation which brought this and such-like particulars to a clear\nlight. The Apostle _Jude_ tells us of the profane despisers of\ndignities in his days, that \u201cfor them was reserved the blackness of\ndarkness for ever.\u201d And in the book of the _Revelations_, it is written,\nthat \u201cthe smoke of the torments of the wicked ascendeth for ever and\never.\u201d And if we believe the witness of men inspired, the witness of\nthe Son of GOD, who had the Spirit given him, as Mediator, without\nmeasure, is still far greater: and in St. _Mark_\u2019s gospel, He repeats\nthis solemn declaration three several times, \u201cIt is better for thee\nto enter into life maimed;\u201d that is, it is better to forego the\ngratification of thy lust, or incur the displeasure of a friend, which\nmay be as dear to thee as a hand, or as useful as a foot, \u201cthan having\ntwo hands and feet, (that is, for indulging the one, or disobeying GOD\nto oblige the other) to be cast into hell, where the worm dieth not,\nand the fire is not quenched.\u201d\n\nAnd here again, in the words of the text, \u201cThese (the wicked) shall go\naway into everlasting punishment.\u201d\n\nI know it has been objected by some who have denied the eternity of\nhell-torments, That the words _everlasting_ and _ever and ever_, are\noften used in the Holy Scriptures, (especially in the Old Testament)\nwhen they signify not an endless duration, but a limited term of time.\n\nAnd this we readily grant: but then we reply, That when the words\nare used with this limitation, they either manifestly appear to be\nused so from the context; or are put in opposition to occasional\ntypes which GOD gave his people on some special occasions, as when\nit is said, \u201cIt shall be a perpetual or everlasting statute,\u201d or, \u201ca\nstatute for ever;\u201d that is, a standing type, and not merely transient\nor occasional, as was the pillar of cloud, the manna, and such-like.\nOr, lastly, they have a relation to that covenant, GOD made with his\nspiritually _Israel_; which, if understood in a spiritual sense, will\nbe everlasting, though the ceremonial dispensation be abolished.\n\nBesides, it ought to be observed, that some of the passages just now\nreferred to, have neither of these words so much as mentioned in them,\nand cannot possibly be interpreted, so as to denote only a limited term\nof years.\n\nBut let that be as it will, it is evident even to a demonstration, that\nthe words of the text will not admit of such a restrained signification,\nas appears from their being directly opposed to the words immediately\nfollowing, \u201cThat the righteous shall go into life eternal.\u201d From which\nwords, all are ready to grant, that the life promised to the righteous\nwill be eternal. And why the punishment threatened to the wicked should\nnot be understood to be eternal likewise, when the very same word in\nthe original, is used to express the duration of each, no shadow of a\nreason can be given.\n\nBut, _Secondly_, There cannot be one argument urged, why GOD should\nreward his saints with everlasting happiness, which will not equally\nprove that he ought to punish sinners with eternal misery.\n\nFor, since we know nothing (at least for a certainty) how he will deal\nwith either, but by a Divine Revelation; and since, as was proved by\nthe foregoing argument, he hath as positively threatened eternally to\npunish the wicked, as to reward the good; it follows, that his truth\nwill be as much impeached and called in question, did he not inflict\nhis punishments, as it would be, if he did not confer his rewards.\n\nTo this also it has been objected, That though GOD is obliged by\npromise to give his rewards, yet his veracity could not be called\nin question, supposing he should not execute his threatenings, as\nhe actually did not in the case of _Nineveh_; which GOD expressly\ndeclared by his Prophet _Jonah_, \u201cshould be destroyed in forty days:\u201d\nnotwithstanding the sequel of the story informs us, that _Nineveh_ was\nspared.\n\nBut in answer to this objection we affirm, that GOD\u2019s threatenings, as\nwell as promises, are without repentance; and for this reason, because\nthey are both founded on the eternal laws of right reason. Accordingly\nwe always find, that where the conditions were not performed, on\nthe non-performance of which the threatenings were denounced, GOD\nalways executed the punishment threatened. The driving _Adam_ out of\n_Eden_, the destruction of the old world by a deluge of water, and the\noverthrow of _Sodom_ and _Gomorrah_, are, and will be always so many\nstanding monuments of GOD\u2019s executing his threatenings when denounced,\nthough to our weak apprehensions, the punishment may seem far to exceed\nthe crime.\n\nIt is true, GOD did spare _Nineveh_, and that because the inhabitants\ndid actually repent, and therefore performed the conditions upon\nwhich it was supposed, by the Prophet\u2019s being sent to warn them, the\nthreatened punishment should be withheld.\n\nAnd so in respect to gospel threatenings. If men will so far consult\ntheir own welfare, as to comply with the gospel, GOD certainly will\nnot punish them, but on the contrary, confer upon them his rewards. But\nto affirm that he will not punish, and that eternally to, impenitent,\nobstinate sinners, according as he hath threatened; what is it, in\neffect, but to make GOD like a man, that he should lie, or the son of\nman, that he should repent?\n\nBut the absurdity of such an opinion will appear still more evident\nfrom\n\nThe _Third_ argument I shall offer to prove, that the torments reserved\nfor the wicked hereafter are eternal, From the nature of the christian\ncovenant.\n\nAnd here I must again observe, that it was taken for granted at the\nbeginning of this discourse, that you believe the Son of GOD came down\nto save sinners; and that there is but one Mediator between GOD and man,\neven the man CHRIST JESUS.\n\nAnd here I take it for granted farther, (unless you believe the absurd\nand unwarrantable doctrine of purgatory) that you are fully persuaded,\nthis life is the only time allotted by Almighty GOD for working out\nour salvation, and that after a few years are passed over, there will\nremain no more sacrifice for sin.\n\nAnd if this be granted (and who dares deny it?) it follows, that if\na wicked man dieth in his wickedness, and under the wrath of GOD,\nhe must continue in that state to all eternity. For, since there is\nno possibility of their being delivered out of such a condition, but\nby and through CHRIST; and since, at the hour of death, the time of\nCHRIST\u2019s mediation and intercession for him is irrecoverably gone;\nthe same reason that may be given, why GOD should punish a sinner that\ndieth under the guilt of his sins for a single day, will equally hold\ngood, why he should continue to punish him for a year, an age, nay to\nall eternity.\n\nBut I hasten to the _Fourth_ and last argument, to prove, That the\ntorments reserved for the wicked hereafter are eternal, Because the\ndevil\u2019s punishment is to be so.\n\nThat there is such a being whom we call the devil; that he was once an\nangel of light, but for his pride and rebellion against GOD, was cast\ndown from heaven, and is now permitted, with the rest of the spiritual\nwickednesses, to walk to and fro, seeking whom they may devour; that\nthere is a place of torment reserved for them, or, to use the Apostle\u2019s\nwords, \u201cThat they are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness\nunto the judgment of the great day;\u201d are truths all here present were\nsupposed to be convinced of, at the beginning of this discourse, you\nbelieving the Holy Scriptures to be written by the inspiration of GOD,\nwherein these truths are delivered.\n\nBut then if we allow all this, and think it no injustice in GOD to\npunish those once glorious spirits for their rebellion; how can we\nthink it unjust in him, to punish wicked men for their impenitency to\nall eternity?\n\nYou will say, perhaps, that they have sinned against greater light,\nand therefore deserve a greater punishment. And so we grant that the\npunishment of the fallen angels may be greater as to degree; than that\nof wicked men; but then we affirm; it will be equal as to the eternal\nduration of it: for in that day, as the lively oracles of GOD inform us,\nshall the Son of Man say to them on his left hand, \u201cDepart from me, ye\ncursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.\u201d\nWhere we find that impenitent sinners are to be cast into the same\neverlasting fire, with the devil and his angels; and that too very\njustly. For though they may have sinned against greater light, yet\nchristians sin against greater mercy. Since CHRIST took not hold of,\ndid not die for, the fallen angels, but for men and for our salvation.\nSo that if GOD spared not those excellent beings, assure thyself, O\nobstinate sinner, whoever thou art, he will by no means spare thee.\n\nFrom what then has been said it plainly appears, that verily the\ntorments reserved for the wicked hereafter, are eternal. And if so,\nbrethren, how ought we to fly to JESUS CHRIST for refuge; how holy\nought we to be in all manner of conversation and godliness, that we\nmay be accounted worthy to escape this wrath to come!\n\nBut before I proceed to a practical exhortation, permit me to draw an\ninference or two from what has been said.\n\nAnd _First_, If the torments reserved for the wicked hereafter are\neternal, what shall we say to those, who make an open profession in\ntheir creed to believe a life everlasting, a life of misery as well as\nhappiness, and yet dare to live in the actual commission of those sins\nwhich will unavoidably, without repentance, bring them into that place\nof torment? Thou believest that the punishments of the impenitently\nwicked in another life, are eternal: \u201cThou dost well, the devils also\nbelieve and tremble.\u201d But know, O vain man, unless this belief doth\ninfluence thy practice, and makes thee bid adieu to thy sins, every\ntime thou repeatest thy creed, thou doest in effect say, I believe I\nshall be undone for ever.\n\nBut, _Secondly_, If the torments reserved for the wicked hereafter are\neternal, then let this serve as a caution to such persons, (and it is\nto be feared there are some such) who go about to dissuade others from\nthe belief of such an important truth: There being no surer way, in all\nprobability, to encourage and promote infidelity and prophaneness, than\nthe broaching or maintaining so unwarrantable a doctrine. For if the\npositive threats of GOD concerning the eternity of hell-torments, are\nalready found insufficient to deter men from sin, what a higher pitch\nof wickedness may we imagine they will quickly arrive at, when they\nare taught to entertain any hopes of a future recovery out of them; or,\nwhat is still worse, that their souls are hereafter to be annihilated,\nand become like the beasts that perish? But wo unto such blind leaders\nof the blind. No wonder if they both fall into the ditch. And let\nsuch corrupters of GOD\u2019s word know, that I testify unto every man that\nheareth me this day, \u201cThat if any one shall add unto, or take away from\nthe words that are written in the book of GOD, GOD shall take his part\nout of the book of life, and shall add unto him all the plagues that\nare in that book.\u201d\n\n_Thirdly_ and _Lastly_, If the torments reserved for the wicked\nhereafter are eternal, then this may serve as a reproof for those\nwho quarrel with GOD, and say it is inconsistent with his justice,\nto punish a person to all eternity, only for enjoying the pleasures\nof sin for a season. But such persons must be told, that it is not\ntheir thinking or calling GOD unjust, will make him so, no more\nthan a condemned prisoner\u2019s saying the law or judge is unjust, will\nrender either duly chargeable with such an imputation. But knowest\nthou, O worm, what blasphemy thou art guilty of, in charging GOD with\ninjustice? \u201cShall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast\nthou made me thus?\u201d Wilt thou presume to arraign the Almighty at the\nbar of thy shallow reasoning? and call him unjust, for punishing thee\neternally, only because thou wishest it may not be so? But hath GOD\nsaid it, and shall he not do it? He hath said it: and let GOD be true,\nthough every man be a liar. \u201cShall not the judge of all the earth do\nright?\u201d Assuredly he will. And if sinners will not own his justice in\nhis threatenings here, they will be compelled ere long to own and feel\nthem, when tormented by him hereafter.\n\nBut to come to a more practical application of what has been delivered.\n\nYou have heard, brethren, the eternity of hell-torments plainly proved,\nfrom the express declarations of holy scriptures, and consequences\nnaturally drawn from them. And now there seems to need no great art of\nrhetoric to persuade any understanding person to avoid and abhor those\nsins, which without repentance will certainly plunge him into this\neternal gulph. The disproportion between the pleasure and the pain (if\nthere be any pleasure in sin) is so infinitely great, that supposing\nit was only possible, though not certain, that the wicked would be\neverlastingly punished, no one that has the reason of a man, for the\nenjoying a little momentary pleasure, would, one might imagine, run the\nhazard of enduring eternal pain. But since the torments of the damned\nare not only possible, but certain, (since GOD himself, who cannot\nlie, has told us so) for men, notwithstanding, to persist in their\ndisobedience, and then flatter themselves, that GOD will not make good\nhis threatenings, is a most egregious instance of folly and presumption.\n\n_Dives_ himself supposed, that if one rose from the dead, his brethren\nwould amend their lives; but Christians, it seems, will not repent,\nthough the Son of GOD died and rose again, and told them what they must\nexpect, if they continue obstinate in evil-doing.\n\nWould we now and then draw off our thoughts from sensible objects,\nand by faith meditate a while on the miseries of the damned, I doubt\nnot but we should, as it were, hear many an unhappy soul venting his\nfruitless sorrows, in some such piteous moans as these.\n\n\u201cO wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body\nof death!\u201d O foolish mortal that I was, thus to bring myself into\nthese never-ceasing tortures, for the transitory enjoyment of a few\nshort-lived pleasures, which scarcely afforded me any satisfaction,\neven when I most indulged myself in them. Alas! are these the wages,\nthese the effects of sin? Are all the grand deceiver\u2019s inviting\npromises come to this? O damned apostate! First to delude me with\npretended promises of happiness, and after several years drudgery in\nhis service, thus to involve me in eternal woe. O that I had never\nhearkened to his beguiling insinuations! O that I had rejected his\nvery first suggestions with the utmost detestation and abhorrence! O\nthat I had taken up my cross and followed CHRIST! O that I had never\nridiculed serious godliness; and out of a false politeness, condemned\nthe truly pious as too severe, enthusiastic, or superstitious! For I\nthen had been happy indeed, happy beyond expression, happy to all\neternity, yonder in those blessed regions where they sit, cloathed\nwith unspeakable glory, and chanting forth their seraphic hallelujahs\nto the Lamb that sitteth upon the throne for ever. But, alas! these\nreflections come now too late: these wishes now are vain and fruitless.\nI have not suffered, and therefore must not reign with them. I have\nin effect denied the LORD that bought me, and therefore justly am I\nnow denied by him. But must I live for ever tormented in these flames?\nMust this body of mine, which not long since lay in state, was cloathed\nin purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day, must it be\nhere eternally confined, and made the mockery of insulting devils? O\neternity! that thought fills me with despair: I must be miserable for\never.\n\nCome then, all ye self-deluding, self-deluded sinners, and imagine\nyourselves for once in the place of that truly wretched man I have been\nhere describing. Think, I beseech you by the mercies of GOD in CHRIST\nJESUS, think with yourselves, how racking, how unsupportable the\nnever-dying worm of a self-condemning conscience will hereafter be to\nyou. Think how impossible it will be for you to dwell with everlasting\nburnings.\n\nCome, all ye christians of a lukewarm, _Laodicean_ spirit, ye\n_Gallio_\u2019s in religion, who care a little, but not enough for the\nthings of GOD; O think, think with yourselves, how deplorable it will\nbe to lose the enjoyment of heaven, and run into endless torments,\nmerely because you will be content to be almost, and will not strive\nto be altogether christians. Consider, I beseech you consider, how you\nwill rave and curse that fatal stupidity which made you believe any\nthing less than true faith in JESUS, productive of a life of strict\npiety, self-denial, and mortification, can keep you from those torments,\nthe eternity of which I have been endeavouring to prove.\n\nBut I can no more. These thoughts are too melancholy for me to dwell\non, as well as for you to hear; and GOD knows, as punishing is his\nstrange work, so denouncing his threatenings is mine. But if the bare\nmentioning the torments of the damned is so shocking, how terrible must\nthe enduring of them be!\n\nAnd now, are not some of you ready to cry out, \u201cThese are hard sayings,\nwho can bear them?\u201d\n\nBut let not sincere christians be in the least terrified at what has\nbeen delivered: No, for you is reserved a crown, a kingdom, an eternal\nand exceeding weight of glory. CHRIST never said that the righteous,\nthe believing, the upright, the sincere, but the wicked, merciless,\nnegatively good professors before described, shall go into everlasting\npunishment. For you, who love him in sincerity, a new and living way\nis laid open into the Holy of Holies by the blood of JESUS CHRIST: and\nan abundant entrance will be administered unto you, at the great day of\naccount, into eternal life. Take heed, therefore, and beware that there\nbe not in any of you a root of bitterness springing up of unbelief:\nbut on the contrary, stedfastly and heartily rely on the many precious\npromises reached out to you in the gospel, knowing that he who hath\npromised is faithful, and therefore will perform.\n\nBut let no obstinately wicked professors dare to apply any of the\ndivine promises to themselves: \u201cFor it is not meet to take the\nchildrens meat and give it unto dogs:\u201d No, to such the terrors of\nthe LORD only belong. And as certainly as CHRIST will say to his\ntrue followers, \u201cCome, ye blessed children of my Father, receive the\nkingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world;\u201d so he will\nunalterably pronounce this dreadful sentence against all that die in\ntheir sins, \u201cDepart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared\nfor the devil and his angels.\u201d\n\nFrom which unhappy state, may GOD of his infinite mercy deliver us\nall through JESUS CHRIST; to whom, with thee O Father, and thee O Holy\nGhost, three Persons and one eternal GOD, be ascribed, as is most due,\nall honour, power, might, majesty, and dominion, now and for evermore.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXVII.\n\n Blind _Bartimeus_.\n\n\n MARK x. 52.\n\n _And JESUS said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee\n whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed\n JESUS in the way_.\n\nWHEN the apostle _Peter_ was recommending JESUS of _Nazareth_, in\none of his sermons to the _Jews_, he gave him a short, but withal a\nglorious and exalted character, \u201cThat he went about doing good.\u201d He\nwent about, he sought occasions of doing good; it was his meat and\ndrink to do the works of him that sent him, whilst the day of his\npublic administration lasted. Justly was he stiled by the prophet, the\nsun of righteousness. For, as the sun in the natural firmament diffuses\nhis quickening and reviving beams through the universe, so, wherever\nthis sun of righteousness, the blessed JESUS arose, he arose with\nhealing under his wings. He was indeed a prophet like unto _Moses_,\nand proved that he was the Messiah which was to come into the world,\nby the miracles which he wrought; though with this material difference,\nthe miracles of _Moses_, agreeable to the Old Testament dispensation,\nwere miracles of judgment; the miracles of JESUS, who came to bear our\nsicknesses and heal our infirmities, were miracles of mercy, and were\nwrought, not only for the cure of people\u2019s bodies, but also for the\nconversion of their precious and immortal souls. Sometimes, one and the\nsame person was the subject of both these mercies. A glorious proof of\nthis, we have in the miraculous cure wrought upon a poor blind beggar,\nnamed _Bartimeus_, who is to be the subject of the following discourse,\nand to whom the words of the text refer. \u201cJESUS said unto him, Go thy\nway, thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his\nsight, and followed JESUS in the way.\u201d\n\nMy design is, _First_, to make some observations on the matter of fact,\nas recorded by the evangelists. And then,\n\n_Secondly_, To point out the improvement that may be made thereof. May\nJESUS so bless this following discourse, that every spiritually blind\nhearer may receive his sight, and, after the example of _Bartimeus_,\n\u201cfollow JESUS in the way!\u201d\n\nIf we would take a view of the whole story, we must go back to the\n46th verse of this chapter. \u201cAnd they (our LORD and his disciples,\nwho, we find by the context, had been conversing together) came to\n_Jericho_,\u201d a place devoted by _Joshua_ to the curse of GOD; and\nyet, even this place yields converts to JESUS; _Zaccheus_ had been\ncalled there formerly; and _Bartimeus_, as we shall hear by-and-by,\nin all probability, was called now. For some good may come even out of\n_Nazareth_. CHRIST himself was born there, and his sovereign grace can\nreach and overcome the worst of people, in the very worst of places.\nJESUS came to _Jericho_. Let not his ministers, if providence points\nout their way, shun going to seemingly the most unlikely places to\ndo good, some chosen vessels may be therein. JESUS and his disciples\ncame to _Jericho_. They were _itinerants_; and, as I have frequently\nobserved, seldom stayed long in a place; not that this is any argument\nagainst the stated settlement of particular pastors over particular\nparishes. But however, our LORD\u2019s practice, in this respect, gives a\nkind of a sanction to itinerant preaching, when persons are properly\ncalled to, and qualified for, such an employ. And I believe we may\nventure to affirm (though we would by no means prescribe or dictate\nto the Holy One of _Israel_) that, whenever there shall be a general\nrevival of religion in any country, itinerant preaching will be more in\nvogue. And it is to be feared, that those who condemn it now, merely on\naccount of the meanness of its appearances, would have joined with the\nself-righteous Scribes and Pharisees, in condemning even the Son of GOD\nhimself, for such a practice.\n\n\u201cAnd as he went out of _Jericho_ with his disciples, and a great\nnumber of people;\u201d \u2666\u1f44\u03c7\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5 \u1f31\u03ba\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u1fe6 a great number of mob, or rabble,\nas the High-priests of that generation termed them: for these were\nthe constant followers of JESUS of _Nazareth_; it was the poor that\nreceived his gospel, the common people heard him gladly, and followed\nhim from place to place. Not that all who followed him, were his true\ndisciples. No, some followed him only for his loaves, others out of\ncuriosity; though some undoubtedly followed to hear, and be edified by\nthe gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth. JESUS knew this,\nand was also sensible how displeasing this crowding after him was to\nsome of the rulers of the _Jewish_ church, who, upon every occasion,\nwere ready to say, \u201cHave any of the Scribes and Pharisees believed on\nhim?\u201d But, notwithstanding, I do not hear of our blessed LORD\u2019s sending\nthem home but once; and that was, after they had been with him three\ndays, and had nothing left to eat, he saw they were as sheep having\nno shepherd, and therefore had compassion on them, and taught them. A\nsufficient warrant this for gospel-ministers to preach to poor souls\nthat follow to hear the word, whatever principle their coming may\nproceed from. At the same time, they should caution people against\nthinking themselves christians, because they follow CHRIST\u2019s ministers.\nThis our LORD frequently did. For there are many that followed JESUS,\nand now follow his ministers, and hear them gladly; nay, perhaps do\nmany things, as _Herod_ did, who, it is to be feared, will never follow\nthem into the kingdom of heaven. Much people followed JESUS out of\n_Jericho_, but how many of them were offended in him; and afterwards,\nit may be, cried out, \u201cCrucify him, crucify him.\u201d Who would depend on\npopularity? It is like the morning cloud, or early dew, that passeth\naway. But what a press, and seemingly continued hurry of business did\nthe blessed JESUS live in! he could not be hid; go where he would,\nmuch people followed him. He had scarce time to eat bread. Happy is it\nfor such who are called to act in a public station in the church, and\nto be more abundant in labours, that their JESUS has trodden in this\ndangerous path before them. Popularity is a fiery furnace, and no one,\nbut he who kept the three children amidst _Nebuchadnezzar_\u2019s flames,\ncan preserve popular ministers from being hurt by it. But we can do all\nthings through CHRIST strengthening us. And I have often thought, that\nthere is one consideration sufficient to extinguish, or moderate at\nleast, any excess of joy and self-complacence, which the most popular\npreacher may feel, when followed even by the greatest multitudes;\nand that is this, \u201cHow many of these hearers will go away, without\nreceiving any saving benefit by my preaching; nay, how many, it may be,\nwill only have their damnation increased by it!\u201d As we find many will\nsay at the great day, \u201chast thou not taught in our streets;\u201d to whom\nJESUS shall answer, \u201cVerily, I know you not.\u201d\n\n \u2666 \u201c\u1f53\u03b3\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u1fe6\u201d replaced with \u201c\u1f44\u03c7\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5 \u1f31\u03ba\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u1fe6\u201d\n\nBut to proceed, \u201cAs our LORD went out of _Jericho_ with his disciples,\nand a great number of people, blind _Bartimeus_, (the son of _Timeus_)\nsat by the highway-side begging.\u201d It should seem that he was a noted,\nthough by no means what we commonly call, a sturdy beggar; having no\nother way, as he had lost his sight, to get his bread; his case was\nstill the more pitiable, if he was, as some think the name imports, the\nblind son of a blind father. It may be, he begged for his father and\nhimself too; and if so, then this may give us light into that passage\nof _Matthew_ xx. 22. where we are told, that \u201ctwo men spake to JESUS.\u201d\nIt might be father and son, though only one is mentioned here, because\nhe only followed JESUS in the way. Thus that holy, judicious, and\npractical expositor of holy writ, Mr. _Henry_. But however this be, he\nis not blamed for begging, neither should we discommend others for so\ndoing, when providence calls to it. It was the unjust steward that said,\n\u201cTo beg I am ashamed.\u201d It is our pride that often makes us unwilling\nto be beholden; JESUS was not thus minded, he lived, as it were, upon\nalms; the women that followed him, ministred to him of their substance.\n_Bartimeus_, not being able to dig, begs for his living; and, in\norder to make a better trade of it, sat by the highway-side, in all\nprobability, without, or near the gate of the city, where people must\nnecessarily pass in and out. But though he had lost his sight, he had\nhis hearing perfect; and it should comfort us, if we have lost one\nsense, that we have the use of another, and that we are not deprived\nof the benefit of all. Happy was it for _Bartimeus_ that he could\nhear, though not see. For in all probability, upon hearing the noise\nand clamour of the much people that followed after our LORD, his\ncuriosity set him upon enquiring into the cause of it, and some one or\nanother told him, \u201cthat JESUS of _Nazareth_ was passing by;\u201d JESUS of\n_Nazareth_, called so, because he was bred there, or out of contempt;\n_Nazareth_ being either a very mean, or very wicked place, or both,\nwhich made guileless _Nathaniel_ say, \u201cCan any good come out of\n_Nazareth_?\u201d And what does _Bartimeus_ do when he hears of JESUS? We\nare told, verse 47; \u201cAnd when he heard that it was JESUS of _Nazareth_,\nhe began to cry out.\u201d This plainly denotes, that though the eyes of\nhis body were shut, yet the eyes of his mind were, in some degree,\nopened, so that he saw, perhaps, more than most of the multitude that\nfollowed after JESUS; for, as soon as he heard of him, he began to\ncry out; which he would not have done, had he not heard of him before,\nand believed also, that he was both able and willing to restore sight\nto the blind. \u201cHe began to cry out.\u201d This implies, that he had a deep\nsense of his own misery, and the need which he had of a cure; his\nprayers did not freeze as they went out of his lips; he began to cry\nout, that JESUS might hear him, notwithstanding the noise of the throng;\nand he began to cry out, as soon as he heard he was passing by, not\nknowing whether he might ever enjoy such an opportunity any more. \u201cHe\nbegan to cry out, JESUS, thou Son of _David_, have mercy upon me.\u201d The\npeople called him JESUS of _Nazareth_. _Bartimeus_ stiles him, \u201cJESUS,\nthou Son of _David_.\u201d Thereby evidencing, that he believed him to be\nthe Messiah who was to come into the world, unto whom the LORD GOD was\nto give the throne of his father _David_, and of whose kingdom there\nwas to be no end. \u201cJESUS, thou Son of _David_;\u201d or, as it is in the\nparallel place of St. _Matthew_ xx. 30. \u201cO LORD, thou son of _David_;\u201d\nof whom it had been long foretold, _Isaiah_ xxxv. that when he should\ncome, \u201cthe eyes of the blind should be opened.\u201d \u201cHave mercy upon me,\u201d\nthe natural language of a soul brought to lie down at the feet of a\nsovereign GOD. Here is no laying claim to a cure by way of merit; no\nproud, self-righteous, GOD I thank thee that I am not as other men are:\nno bringing in a reckoning of performances, nor any doubting of JESUS\u2019s\npower or willingness to heal him, but out of the abundance of the heart,\nhis mouth speaketh, and, in the language of the poor, broken-hearted\npublican, he cries out, \u201cJESUS, thou Son of _David_, have mercy on me.\u201d\nJESUS, thou friend of sinners, thou Saviour, who, though thou be the\ntrue GOD, wast pleased to become the Son of _David_, and to be made man,\nthat thou mightest seek and save those that were lost, have mercy upon\nme; let thy bowels yearn towards a poor, miserable, blind beggar!\n\nOne would have thought that such a moving petition as this would have\nmelted the whole multitude, that heard his piteous cry, into compassion,\nand induced some at least to turn suitors in his behalf, or help to\ncarry him to the blessed JESUS. But instead of that, we are told, verse\n48, that \u201cmany charged him.\u201d The word in the original seems to imply a\ncharge, attended with threatning, and spoken in an angry manner. They\ncharged him \u201cto hold his peace;\u201d and it may be, threatned to beat him\nif he did not. They looked upon him beneath the notice of JESUS of\n_Nazareth_, and were ready enough to ask, whether he thought JESUS\nCHRIST had nothing else to do but to wait upon him. This was, no doubt,\nvery discouraging to blind _Bartimeus_. For opposition comes closest\nwhen it proceeds from those who are esteemed followers of the Lamb. The\nspouse complains as of something peculiarly afflicting, that her own\nmother\u2019s children were angry with her. But opposition only serves to\nwhet the edge of true devotion, and therefore _Bartimeus_, instead of\nbeing silenced by their charges and threatnings, \u201ccried out the more a\ngreat deal, thou Son of _David_, have mercy on me.\u201d Still he breaks out\ninto the same humble language, and, if JESUS, the Son of _David_, will\nhave mercy on him, he cares not much what some of his peevish followers\nsaid of, or did unto him. This was not a vain repetition, but a devout\nreiteration of his request. We may sometimes repeat the same words, and\nyet not be guilty of that \u0392\u03b1\u03c4\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03b9\u03b1, or vain speaking, which our LORD\ncondemns. For our LORD himself prayed in his agony, and said twice the\nsame words; \u201cFather, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.\u201d\nThus _Bartimeus_, \u201cJESUS, thou Son of _David_, have mercy upon me.\u201d\nAnd how does the Son of _David_ treat him? does he join issue with the\nmultitude, and charge him to hold his peace? or does he go on, thinking\nhim beneath his notice? no; for, says St. _Mark_, verse 49. \u201cAnd JESUS\nstood still,\u201d though he was on a journey, and it may be in haste (for\nit is not losing time to stop now and then on a journey to do a good\noffice by the way) \u201cand commanded him to be called:\u201d why so? to teach\nus to be condescending and kind even to poor, if real beggars, and\ntacitly to reprove the blind, misguided zeal of those who had charged\nhim to hold his peace. By this also our LORD prepares the multitude\nthe better to take the more notice of the blind man\u2019s faith, and of his\nown mercy and power exerted in the healing of him. For there are times\nand seasons when we are called to perform acts of charity in the most\npublic manner, and that too very consistently with the injunction\nof our Saviour, \u201cnot to let our right hand know what our left hand\ndoth.\u201d For there is a great deal of difference between giving alms, and\nexercising acts of charity, that are seen of men, and doing them, that\nthey may be seen; the one is always sinful, the other often becomes\nour duty. JESUS commanded _Bartimeus_ to be called, \u201cand they called\nhim.\u201d Who called him? it may be, those who a little before charged\nhim to hold his peace. For it often happens, that our opposers and\ndiscouragers, afterwards become our friends. \u201cWhen a man\u2019s ways please\nthe LORD, he makes his enemies be at peace with him.\u201d And it is to\nbe wished, that all who have charged poor souls, that are crying\nafter JESUS, to hold their peace, and to spare themselves, and not be\nrighteous over-much, would imitate the people here, and encourage those\nthey once persecuted and maligned. \u201cThey call the blind man, saying\nunto him, Be of good comfort, rise, he calleth thee.\u201d The words, and\nmanner of speaking them, implies haste, and a kind of solicitude for\nthe blind man\u2019s relief. O! that we might hereby learn to be patient,\nand long-suffering, towards opposers. For it may be, that many may\noppose awakened souls, not out of enmity, but through prejudice and\nmisinformation, through ignorance and unbelief, and a real, though\nperhaps false, persuasion, that their relations are going in a wrong\nway. By and by they may be convinced, that CHRIST is indeed calling\nthem, and then they may become real and open friends to the cause and\nwork of GOD; if not, it is our duty to behave with meekness towards\nall, and not to render railing for railing, but contrarywise blessing,\nknowing that we are thereunto called, that we may inherit a blessing;\nJESUS did not break out into harsh language against these opposers,\nneither did _Bartimeus_. \u201cOur LORD stood still, and commanded him to\nbe called; and they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good\ncomfort, rise, he calleth thee; and he, casting away his garment, rose\nand came to JESUS.\u201d Had _Bartimeus_ not been in earnest when he cried,\n\u201cJESUS, thou Son of _David_, have mercy upon me,\u201d he might have said,\nwhy do you mock me? why bid ye me arise; rise indeed I can, but after I\nam risen, how can I, being blind, find my way unto him? If he will come\nto me, it is well; if not, all your calling availeth nothing, it being\nimpossible for me to find my way. Thus thousands now-a-days object to\nevangelical preachers, saying, Why do you bid us come to, and believe\non JESUS CHRIST, when you tell us it is impossible of ourselves to\nturn to GOD, or to do good works; and that no one can come unto him,\nunless the Father draw him. Is not this like the people\u2019s calling upon\n_Bartimeus_, to arise and come to JESUS, when he could not possibly see\nhis way before him? true, it is so; and would to GOD that all who make\nthis objection, would imitate _Bartimeus_, and put forth the strength\nthey have! What if we do call you to come, and to believe on the LORD\nJESUS CHRIST, that you may be saved? does this imply, that you have a\npower in yourselves to do so? no, in no wise, no more than JESUS saying\nunto _Lazarus_\u2019s dead and stinking carcase, \u201cCome forth,\u201d implied,\nthat _Lazarus_ had a power to raise himself from the grave. We call\nto you, being commanded to preach the gospel to every creature, hoping\nand praying, that CHRIST\u2019s power may accompany the word, and make it\neffectual to the quickening and raising of your dead souls. We also\ncall to you to believe, upon the same account as JESUS said unto the\nlawyer, \u201cdo this, and thou shalt live;\u201d that you seeing your utter\ninability to come, might thereby be convinced of your unbelief, and\nbe led to ask for faith of him, whose gift it is, and who is therefore\nin scripture emphatically stiled the _Author_, as well as _Finisher_,\nof our faith. Add to this, that it is your duty to wait at the pool,\nor to make use of the strength you have, in the earnest and steady\nperformance of all commanded duty. For though you cannot do what is\nspiritually good, because you want spiritual principles of action,\nyet ye may do what is morally and materially good, inasmuch as ye are\nreasonable creatures; and though doing your duty as you can, no ways\ndeserves mercy, or entitles you to it, yet it is the way in which you\nare required to walk, and the way in which GOD is usually found. While\nyou are attempting to stretch out your withered arm, peradventure it\nmay be restored; and who knows but JESUS may work faith in you, by his\nalmighty power?\n\n_Bartimeus_ has set before such objectors an example; O that they would\nonce submit to be taught by a poor blind beggar! For he, casting away\nhis garment, rose, and blind as he was, came to JESUS; \u201ccasting away\nhis garment.\u201d This seems to be a large coat or cloak, that he wore to\nscreen himself from the rain and cold; undoubtedly, it was the most\nnecessary and valuable vestment he had, and one would have thought,\nthat he should have taken this along with him; but he knew very\nwell, that if he did so, it might hang about his heels, and thereby\nhis reaching JESUS be retarded at least, if not prevented entirely.\nValuable therefore as it was to him, he cast it away. The word implies,\nthat he threw it from off his shoulders, with great precipitancy and\nresolution, knowing that if he got a cure, which he now hoped for, by\nCHRIST\u2019s calling him, he should never want his garment again. And thus\nwill all do that are in earnest about coming to JESUS here, or seeing\nand enjoying him in his kingdom eternally hereafter. They will cut off\na right-hand, they will pluck out a right-eye, they will leave father\nand mother, husband and wife, yea, and their own lives also, rather\nthan not be his disciples. The apostle _Paul_, therefore, exhorts\nchristians, to \u201clay aside every weight, and the sin that doth most\neasily beset them,\u201d or hang about their heels, as the word in the\noriginal imports; alluding to the custom of the _Romans_, who wore\nlong garments. Such a one was this, which _Bartimeus_ had wrapped round\nhim. But he, to shew that he sincerely desired to recover his sight,\ncasting it away, arose and came to JESUS. And what treatment did JESUS\ngive him? did he say, come not nigh me, thou impudent noisy beggar? No,\n\u201che answered and said unto him, What wilt thou, that I should do unto\nthee?\u201d an odd question this, seemingly. For did not our LORD know what\nhe wanted? yes, he did; but the LORD JESUS dealt with him, as he deals\nwith us. He will make us acknowledge our wants ourselves, that we\nthereby may confess our dependance upon him, and be made more sensible\nof the need we stand in, of his divine assistance. The blind man\nimmediately replies, \u201cLORD, (thereby intimating his belief of CHRIST\u2019s\ndivinity) that I might receive my sight.\u201d Methinks, I see the poor\ncreature listening to the voice of our Saviour, and with looks and\ngestures bespeaking the inward earnestness of his soul, he cries out,\n\u201cLORD, that I may receive my sight.\u201d As though he had said, I believe\nthou art that Messiah who was to come into the world. I have heard\nof thy fame, O JESUS! and hearing the long-wished-for glad-tidings of\nthy coming this way, I cry unto thee, asking not for silver and gold,\nbut what thou, thou alone canst give me, LORD, that I might receive\nmy sight. No sooner does he ask, but he receives. For, verse 52,\n\u201cJESUS said unto him, Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole; and\nimmediately he received his sight.\u201d With the word there went a power;\nand he that spake light out of darkness, saying, \u201cLet there be light,\nand there was light,\u201d commanded light into this poor blind beggar\u2019s\neyes, and behold there was light. The miracle was instantaneous;\n_immediately_ he received his sight. And next to a miracle it was,\nthat by breaking into open light all at once, he was not struck blind\nagain: but he that gave the sight, preserved it when given. O! happy\n_Bartimeus_! thy eyes are now opened, and the very first object thou\ndost behold, is the ever-loving, altogether-lovely JESUS. Methinks I\nsee thee transported with wonder and admiration, and all the disciples,\nand the multitude, gazing around thee! And now, having received thy\nsight, why dost thou not obey the LORD\u2019s command, and go thy way? why\ndost thou not haste to fetch thy garment, that thou just now in a hurry\ndidst cast away? No, no! with his bodily eyes, I believe he received\nalso a fresh addition of spiritual sight, and though others saw no\nform or comeliness in the blessed JESUS, that they should desire him;\nyet he by an eye of faith discovered such transcendent excellencies\nin his royal person, and felt at the same time such a divine attraction\ntowards his all-bountiful benefactor, that instead of going his way to\nfetch his garment, \u201che followed JESUS in the way;\u201d and by his actions,\nsays with faithful, honest-hearted _Ruth_, \u201centreat me not to leave\nthee; for whither thou goest, I will go; where thou lodgest, I will\nlodge; thy people shall be my people; and thy God, my GOD.\u201d He followed\nJESUS in the way; the narrow way, the way of the cross; and I doubt not\nbut long since he has followed him to his crown, and is at this time\nsitting with him at the right hand of his Father.\n\nAnd now, my dear hearers, how find you your hearts affected at the\nrelation of this notable miracle which JESUS wrought? are you not ready\nto break out into the language of the song of _Moses_, and to say, \u201cWho\nis like unto thee, O LORD, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises,\ncontinually doing wonders!\u201d Marvellous are thy works, O JESUS, and that\nour souls know right well! But we must not stop here, in admiring what\nthe LORD did for _Bartimeus_; this, no doubt, as well as other parts\nof Scripture, was written for our learning, upon whom the ends of the\nworld are come; consequently, as was proposed in the\n\n_Second_ place, we should see what spiritual improvement can be made of\nthis history, upon which we have already been making some remarks.\n\nA natural man, indeed, goes no further than the outward court of\nthe Scripture, and reads this, and the other miracles of our blessed\nSaviour, just in the same manner as he reads _Homer_\u2019s battles, or the\nexploits of _Alexander_. But GOD forbid, that we should rest in only\nhearing this matter of fact. For I tell thee, O man, I tell thee, O\nwoman, whoever thou art, that sittest this day under a preached gospel,\nthat if thou art in a natural state, thou art as blind in thy soul,\nas _Bartimeus_ was in his body; a blind child of a blind father, even\nof thy father _Adam_, who lost his sight when he lost his innocence,\nand entailed his blindness, justly inflicted, upon thee, and me, and\nhis whole posterity. Some think indeed, that they see; but alas! such\ntalk only like men in their sleep, like persons beside themselves; the\nscriptures every where represent fallen man, not only as spiritually\nblind, but dead also; and we no more know, by nature, savingly the way\nof salvation by JESUS CHRIST, than _Bartimeus_, when he was blind, knew\nthe colours of the rainbow. This, I trust, some of you begin to feel,\nI see you concerned, I see you weeping, and, was I to ask some of you,\nwhat you want to have done unto you? I know your answer would be, that\nwe may receive our sight. And GOD forbid, that I should charge you to\nhold your peace, as though JESUS would not regard you! no, your being\nmade sensible of your natural blindness, and crying thus earnestly\nafter JESUS, is a sign at least, that you are awakened by his holy\nSpirit (though it is possible, that you may cry with an exceeding\nbitter cry, as _Esau_ did, and be lost at last); however, christian\ncharity induces me to believe and hope the best; I will therefore, in\nthe language of those who afterwards encouraged _Bartimeus_, say unto\nyou, Arise, take comfort; for, I trust, JESUS is calling you; follow\ntherefore the example of _Bartimeus_, cast away your garment; lay aside\nevery weight, and the sin which doth most easily beset you, arise, and\ncome to JESUS. He commands me, by his written word, to call to you,\nand say, \u201cCome unto him, all ye that are weary, and heavy laden, and he\nwill refresh you, he will give you rest.\u201d Be not afraid, ye seek JESUS\nof _Nazareth_, behold, he comes forth to meet you; ye are now on the\nhighway side, and JESUS, I trust, is passing by; I feel his presence,\nI hope many of you feel it too; O then, cry mightily to him, who is\nmighty and willing to save you; lay yourselves at the feet of sovereign\ngrace, say unto him, \u201cJESUS, thou Son of _David_, have mercy on me,\u201d\nin the same frame as _Bartimeus_ did, and JESUS will answer you, he\nwill not cast out your prayer; according to your faith, so shall it be\ndone unto you. Blind as you are, you shall, notwithstanding, receive\nyour sight; Satan, indeed, and unbelief, will suggest many objections\nto you, your carnal relations will also join issue with them, and\ncharge you to hold your peace; one will tell you, that your blindness\nis too inveterate to be cured; another, that it is too late; a third,\nthat though JESUS can, yet he will not have mercy upon such poor, blind,\ndespicable beggars, as ye are; but, the more they charge you to hold\nyour peace, do you cry out so much the more a great deal, \u201cJESUS, thou\nSon of _David_, have mercy on us.\u201d JESUS, thou Saviour, thou friend\nof sinners, thou Son of _David_, and therefore a Son of man! gracious\nwords! endearing appellations! be encouraged by them, to draw nigh unto\nhim. Though _David_\u2019s Lord, yet he is become _David_\u2019s Son, after the\nflesh, that ye through him may be made the sons of GOD: no matter what\nthou art, O woman, what thou art, O man; though thou art literally a\npoor beggar, think not thy condition too mean for JESUS to take notice\nof; he came into the highways and hedges, to call such poor beggars\nin; or, if you are rich, think not yourselves too high to stoop to\nJESUS; for he is the King of kings; and you never will be truly rich,\nuntil you are made rich in JESUS; fear not being despised, or losing\na little worldly honour: one sight of JESUS will make amends for all:\nyou will find something so inviting, so attracting, so satisfying, in\nthe altogether-lovely Lamb of GOD, that every sublunary enjoyment will\nsicken, and die, and vanish before you; and you will no more desire\nyour former vain and trifling amusements, than _Bartimeus_, after he\nhad received his sight, desired to go back again and fetch his garment.\nO that there may be many such blind beggars among you this day!\n\nHere is a great multitude of people following me, a poor worm, this\nday. I rejoice to see the fields thus white, ready unto harvest, and\nto spread the gospel-net amidst so many; but alas! I shall return\nhome with a heavy heart, unless some of you will arise and come to my\nJESUS; I desire to preach HIM, and not myself; rest not in hearing and\nfollowing me. Behold, believe on, and follow the Lamb of GOD, who came\nto take away the sins of the world. Indeed, I do not despair of any\nof you, neither am I discouraged, on account of my preaching in the\nhighways and hedges; JESUS called _Zaccheus_; JESUS called _Bartimeus_,\nas he passed through _Jericho_; that cursed, that devoted place; and\nwhy may he not call some of you, out of these despised fields? is his\narm shortened, that he cannot save? is he not as mighty now, and as\nwilling to save, even to the uttermost, all that come to the Father\nthrough him, as he was seventeen hundred years ago? assuredly he is;\nhe hath said, and he also will do it, \u201cWhosoever cometh to me, I will\nin no wise cast out.\u201d In no wise, or by no means. O encouraging words!\nsinners, believe ye this? arise then, be of good comfort, for JESUS is\nindeed calling you. Some of you, I trust, have obeyed this invitation,\nand have had a sight of him long ago; I know then, you will bless and\nlove him; and if he should say unto you, as he did unto _Bartimeus_, go\nyou your way; your answer would be, we love our master, and will not go\nfrom him. But suffer ye the word of exhortation:\n\nSuffer me to stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, shew that\nyou have indeed seen him, and that you do indeed love him, by following\nhim in the way; I mean, in the way of the cross, the way of his\nordinances, and in the way of his holy commandments; for alas! the love\nof many waxeth cold, and few there are that follow JESUS rightly in the\nway; few there are that cast away their garments so heartily as they\nshould; some idol or another hangs about us, and hinders us in running\nthe race that is set before us. Awake therefore, ye sleepy, though, it\nmay be, wise virgins. Awake, awake, put on strength; shake yourselves\nfrom the dust; arise and follow JESUS more closely in the way, than\never you did yet. Lift up the hands that hang down, and strengthen\nthe feeble knees. Provide right paths for your feet, lest that which\nis lame be turned out of the way, but rather be ye healed. For though\nthe way be narrow, yet it is not long; \u201cthough the gate be straight,\n(to use the words of pious bishop _Beveridge_) yet it opens into\neverlasting life.\u201d O that ye may get a fresh sight of him again this\nday! That would be like oil to the wheels of your graces, and make\nyour souls like the chariots of _Aminadab_. It is only owing to your\nlosing sight of him, that you go so heavily from day to day. A sight\nof JESUS, like the sun rising in the morning, dispels the darkness and\ngloominess that lies upon the soul. Take therefore a fresh view of him,\nO believers, and never rest until you are translated to see him as he\nis, and to live with him for evermore, in the kingdom of heaven. Even\nso, LORD JESUS, _Amen_ and _Amen_!\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXVIII.\n\n Directions how to hear Sermons.\n\n\n LUKE viii. 18.\n\n _Take heed, therefore, how ye hear._\n\nTHE occasion of our LORD\u2019s giving this caution, was this: Perceiving\nthat much people were gathered together to hear him out of every city,\nand knowing (for he is GOD, and knoweth all things) that many, if not\nmost of them, would be hearers only, and not doers of the word; he\nspake to them by a parable, wherein, under the similitude of a sower\nthat went out to sow his seed, he plainly intimated, how few there were\namongst them, who would receive any saving benefit from his doctrine,\nor bring forth fruit unto perfection.\n\nThe application one would imagine should have been plain and obvious;\nbut the disciples, as yet unenlightened in any great degree by the Holy\nSpirit, and therefore unable to see into the hidden mysteries of the\nkingdom of GOD, dealt with our Saviour, as people ought to deal with\ntheir ministers; they discoursed with him privately about the meaning\nof what he had taught them in public; and with a sincere desire of\ndoing their duty, asked for an interpretation of the parable.\n\nOur blessed LORD, as he always was willing to instruct those that were\nteachable, (herein setting his ministers an example to be courteous and\neasy of access) freely told them the signification. And withal, to make\nthem more cautious and more attentive to his doctrine for the future,\nhe tells them, that they were in an especial manner to be the light\nof the world, and were to proclaim on the house-top whatsoever he told\nthem in secret; and as their improving the knowledge already imparted,\nwas the only condition upon which more was to be given them, it\ntherefore highly concerned them to \u201ctake heed how they heard.\u201d\n\nFrom the context then it appears, that the words were primarily spoken\nto the Apostles themselves. But as it is to be feared, out of those\nmany thousands that flock to hear sermons, but few, comparatively\nspeaking, are effectually influenced by them, I cannot but think it\nvery necessary to remind you of the caution given by our LORD to his\ndisciples, and to exhort you with the utmost earnestness, to \u201ctake heed\nhow you hear.\u201d\n\nIn prosecution of which design I shall,\n\n_First_, Prove that every one ought to take all opportunities of\nhearing sermons. And,\n\n_Secondly_, I shall lay down some cautions and directions, in order to\nyour hearing with profit and advantage.\n\n_First_, I am to prove, that every one ought to take all opportunities\nof hearing sermons.\n\nThat there have always been particular persons set apart by GOD, to\ninstruct and exhort his people to practise what he should require\nof them, is evident from many passages of scripture. St. _Jude_\ntells us, that \u201c_Enoch_, the seventh from _Adam_, prophesied (or\npreached) concerning the LORD\u2019s coming with ten thousand of his saints\nto judgment.\u201d And _Noah_, who lived not long after, is stiled by\nSt. _Peter_, \u201ca preacher of righteousness.\u201d And though in all the\nintermediate space between the flood and giving of the law, we hear but\nof few preachers, yet we may reasonably conclude, that GOD never left\nhimself without witness, but at sundry times, and after divers manners,\nspoke to our fathers by the patriarchs and prophets.\n\nBut however it was before, we are assured that after the delivery of\nthe law, GOD constantly separated to himself a certain order of men\nto preach to, as well as pray for his people; and commanded them to\nenquire their duty at the priests mouths. And though the _Jews_ were\nfrequently led into captivity, and for their sins scattered abroad\non the face of the earth, yet he never utterly forsook his church,\nbut still kept up a remnant of prophets and preachers, as _Ezekiel_,\n_Jeremiah_, _Daniel_, and others, to reprove, instruct, and call them\nto repentance.\n\nThus was it under the law. Nor has the church been worse, but\ninfinitely better provided for under the gospel. For when JESUS CHRIST,\nthat great High-priest, had through the eternal Spirit offered himself,\nas a full, perfect, sufficient sacrifice and satisfaction for the sins\nof the whole world, and after his resurrection had all power committed\nto him, both in heaven and earth, he gave commission to his Apostles,\nand in them to all succeeding ministers, to \u201cgo and preach his gospel\nto every creature;\u201d promising to \u201cto be with them, to guide, assist,\nstrengthen, and comfort them always, even to the end of the world.\u201d\n\nBut if it be the duty of ministers to preach, (and woe be to them\nif they do not preach the gospel, for a necessity is laid upon them)\nno doubt, the people are obliged to attend to them; for otherwise,\nwherefore are ministers sent?\n\nAnd how can we here avoid admiring the love and tender care which our\ndear Redeemer has expressed for his spouse the church? Who, because he\ncould not be always with us in person, on account it was expedient he\nshould go away, and as our forerunner take possession of that glory he\nhad purchased by his precious blood, yet would not leave us comfortless,\nbut first settled a sufficient number of pastors and teachers; and\nafterwards, according to his promise, actually did and will continue\nto send down the Holy Ghost, to furnish them and their successors\nwith proper gifts and graces \u201cfor the work of the ministry, for the\nperfecting of the saints, for the edifying of his body in love, till we\nall come in the unity of the spirit, to the fulness of the measure of\nthe stature of CHRIST.\u201d\n\nO how insensible are those persons of this unspeakable gift, who do\ndespite to the Spirit of grace, who crucify the Son of GOD afresh, and\nput him to an open shame, by wilfully refusing to attend on so great\na means of their salvation? How dreadful will the end of such men be?\nHow aggravating, that light should come into the world, that the glad\ntidings of salvation should be so very frequently proclaimed in this\npopulous city, and that so many should loath this spiritual manna, this\nangels food, and call it light bread? How much more tolerable will it\nbe for _Tyre_ and _Sidon_, for _Sodom_ and _Gomorrah_, than for such\nsinners? Better, that men had never heard of a Saviour being born, than\nafter they have heard, not to give heed to the ministry of those, who\nare employed as his ambassadors, to transact affairs between GOD and\ntheir souls.\n\nWe may, though at a distance, without a spirit of prophesy, foretel the\ndeplorable condition of such men; behold them cast into hell, lifting\nup their eyes, being in torment, and crying out, How often would our\nministers have gathered us, as a hen gathereth her chickens under\nher wings? But we would not. O that we had known in that our day, the\nthings that belonged to our everlasting peace! But now they are for\never hid from our eyes.\n\nThus wretched, thus inconceiveably miserable, will such be as slight\nand make a mock at the public preaching of the gospel. But taking it\nfor granted, there are but few, if any, of this unhappy stamp, who\nthink it worth their while to tread the courts of the LORD\u2019s house, I\npass on now to the\n\n_Second_ general thing proposed, to lay down some cautions and\ndirections, in order to your hearing sermons with profit and advantage.\n\nAnd here, if we reflect on what has been already delivered, and\nconsider that preaching is an ordinance of GOD, a means appointed by\nJESUS CHRIST himself for promoting his kingdom amongst men, you cannot\nreasonably be offended, if, in order that you may hear sermons with\nprofit and advantage, I\n\n1. Direct or entreat you to come to hear them, not out of curiosity,\nbut from a sincere desire to know and do your duty.\n\nFormality and hypocrisy in any religious exercise, is an abomination\nunto the LORD. And to enter his house merely to have our ears\nentertained, and not our hearts reformed, must certainly be highly\ndispleasing to the Most High GOD, as well as unprofitable to ourselves.\n\nHence it is, that so many remain unconverted, yea, unaffected with\nthe most evangelical preaching; so that like St. _Paul_\u2019s companions,\nbefore his conversion, they only hear the preacher\u2019s voice with\ntheir outward ears, but do not experience the power of it inwardly in\ntheir hearts: Or, like the ground near _Gideon_\u2019s fleece, they remain\nuntouched; whilst others, who came to be fed with the sincere milk\nof the word, like the fleece itself, are watered by the dew of GOD\u2019s\nheavenly blessing, and grow thereby.\n\nFlee therefore, my brethren, flee curiosity, and prepare your hearts by\na humble disposition, to receive with meekness the engrafted word, and\nthen it will be a means, under GOD, to quicken, build up, purify, and\nsave your souls.\n\n2. A second direction I shall lay down for the same purpose, is, not\nonly to prepare your hearts before you hear, but also to give diligent\nheed to the things that are spoken from the word of GOD.\n\nIf an earthly king was to issue out a royal proclamation, on performing\nor not performing the conditions therein contained, the life or death\nof his subjects entirely depended, how solicitous would they be to hear\nwhat those conditions were? And shall not we pay the same respect to\nthe King of kings, and LORD of lords, and lend an attentive ear to his\nministers, when they are declaring, in his name, how our pardon, peace,\nand happiness may be secured?\n\nWhen GOD descended on mount _Sinai_ in terrible majesty, to give unto\nhis people the law, how attentive were they to his servant _Moses_? And\nif they were so earnest to hear the thunderings or threatenings of the\nlaw, shall not we be as solicitous to hear from the ministers of CHRIST,\nthe glad tidings of the gospel?\n\nWhilst CHRIST was himself on earth, it is said, that the people hung\nupon him to hear the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth.\nAnd if we looked on ministers as we ought, as the sent of JESUS CHRIST,\nwe should hang upon them to hear their words also.\n\nBesides, the sacred truths that gospel ministers deliver, are not dry\ninsipid lectures on moral philosophy, intended only to amuse us for a\nwhile; but the great mysteries of godliness, which, therefore, we are\nbound studiously to listen to, lest through our negligence we should\neither not understand them, or by any other means let them slip.\n\nBut how regardless are those of this direction, who, instead of hanging\non the preacher to hear him, doze or sleep whilst he is speaking to\nthem from GOD? Unhappy men! Can they not watch with our blessed LORD\none hour? What! have they never read how _Eutychus_ fell down as he was\nsleeping, when St. _Paul_ continued his discourse till midnight, and\nwas taken up dead?\n\nBut to return. Though you may prepare your hearts, as you may think,\nby a teachable disposition, and be attentive whilst discourses are\ndelivering, yet this will profit you little, unless you observe\u2666\n\n \u2666 duplicate word \u201ca\u201d removed\n\n3. A third direction, Not to entertain any the least prejudice against\nthe minister.\n\nFor could a preacher speak with the tongue of men and angels, if his\naudience was prejudiced against him, he would be but as sounding brass,\nor tinkling cymbal.\n\nThat was the reason why JESUS CHRIST himself, the Eternal Word, could\nnot do many mighty works, nor preach to any great effect among those of\nhis own country; for they were offended at him: And was this same Jesus,\nthis GOD incarnate, again to bow the heavens, and to come down speaking\nas never man spake, yet, if we were prejudiced against him, as the\n_Jews_ were, we should harden our hearts as the _Jews_ did theirs.\n\nTake heed therefore, my brethren, and beware of entertaining any\ndislike against those whom the Holy Ghost has made overseers over you.\nConsider that the clergy are men of like passions with yourselves: and\nthough we should even hear a person teaching others to do, what he has\nnot learned himself; yet, that is no sufficient reason for rejecting\nhis doctrine: for ministers speak not in their own, but CHRIST\u2019s name.\nAnd we know who commanded the people to do whatsoever the Scribes and\nPharisees should say unto them, though they said but did not. But\n\n4. _Fourthly_, As you ought not to be prejudiced against, so you\nshould be careful not to depend too much on a preacher, or think more\nhighly of him than you ought to think. For though this be an extream\nthat people seldom run into, yet preferring one teacher in opposition\nto another, has often been of ill consequence to the church of GOD. It\nwas a fault which the great Apostle of the _Gentiles_ condemned in the\n_Corinthians_: For whereas one said, \u201cI am of _Paul_; another, I am of\n_Apollos_: are ye not carnal,\u201d says he? \u201cFor who is _Paul_, and who is\n_Apollos_, but instruments in GOD\u2019s hands by whom you believed?\u201d And\nare not all ministers sent forth to be ministring ambassadors to those\nwho shall be heirs of salvation? And are they not all therefore greatly\nto be esteemed for their work\u2019s sake.\n\nThe Apostle, it is true, commands us to pay double honour to those who\nlabour in the word and doctrine: but then to prefer one minister at\nthe expence of another, (perhaps, to such a degree, as when you have\nactually entered a church, to come out again because he does not preach)\nis earthly, sensual, devilish.\n\nNot to mention that popularity and applause cannot but be exceedingly\ndangerous, even to a rightly informed mind; and must necessarily fill\nany thinking man with a holy jealousy, lest he should take that honour\nto himself, which is due only to GOD, who alone qualifies him for his\nministerial labours, and from whom alone every good and perfect gift\ncometh.\n\n5. A _Fifth_ direction I would recommend is, to make a particular\napplication of every thing that is delivered to your own hearts.\n\nWhen our Saviour was discoursing at the last supper with his beloved\ndisciples, and foretold that one of them should betray him, each of\nthem immediately applied it to his own heart, and said, \u201cLORD, is it\nI?\u201d And would persons, in like manner, when preachers are dissuading\nfrom any sin, or persuading to any duty, instead of crying, this was\ndesigned against such and such a one, turn their thoughts inwardly, and\nsay, LORD, is it I? how far more beneficial should we find discourses\nto be, than now they generally are?\n\nBut we are apt to wander too much abroad; always looking at the mote\nwhich is in our neighbour\u2019s eye, rather than at the beam which is in\nour own. Haste we now to the\n\n6. _Sixth_ and last direction: If you would receive a blessing from the\nLORD, when you hear his word preached, pray to him, both before, in,\nand after every sermon, to endue the minister with power to speak, and\nto grant you a will and ability to put in practice, what he shall shew\nfrom the book of GOD to be your duty.\n\nThis would be an excellent means to render the word preached effectual\nto the enlightening and enflaming your hearts; and without this, all\nthe other means before prescribed will be in vain.\n\nNo doubt it was this consideration that made St. _Paul_ so earnestly\nentreat his beloved _Ephesians_ to intercede with GOD for him: \u201cPraying\nalways, with all manner of prayer and supplication in the spirit, and\nfor me also, that I may open my mouth with boldness, to make known the\nmysteries of the gospel.\u201d And if so great an Apostle as St. _Paul_,\nneeded the prayers of his people, much more do those ministers, who\nhave only the ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit.\n\nBesides, this would be a good proof that you sincerely desired to do,\nas well as to know the will of GOD. And it must highly profit both\nministers and people; because GOD, through your prayers, will give them\na double portion of his Holy Spirit, whereby they will be enabled to\ninstruct you more fully in the things which pertain to the kingdom of\nGOD.\n\nAnd O that all who hear me this day, would seriously apply their hearts\nto practise what has now been told them! How would ministers see Satan,\nlike lightning, fall from heaven, and people find the word preached\nsharper than a two-edged sword, and mighty, through GOD, to the pulling\ndown of the devil\u2019s strong holds!\n\nThe Holy Ghost would then fall on all them that hear the word, as when\nSt. _Peter_ preached; the gospel of CHRIST would have free course, run\nvery swiftly, and thousands again be converted by a sermon.\n\nFor \u201cJESUS CHRIST is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.\u201d He\nhas promised to be with his ministers always, even unto the end of the\nworld. And the reason why we do not receive larger effusions of the\nblessed Spirit of GOD, is not because our all-powerful Redeemer\u2019s hand\nis shortened, but because we do not expect them, and confine them to\nthe primitive times.\n\nIt does indeed sometimes happen, that GOD, to magnify his free grace in\nCHRIST JESUS, is found of them that sought him not; a notorious sinner\nis forcibly worked upon by a public sermon, and plucked as a firebrand\nout of the fire. But this is not GOD\u2019s ordinary way of acting: No,\nfor the generality, he only visits those with the power of his word,\nwho humbly wait to know what he would have them to do; and sends\nunqualified hearers not only empty, but hardened away.\n\nTake heed, therefore, ye careless, curious professors, if any such\nbe here present, how you hear. Remember, that whether we think of\nit or not, \u201cwe must all appear before the judgment-seat of CHRIST;\u201d\nwhere ministers must give a strict account of the doctrine they have\ndelivered, and you as strict a one, how you have improved under it.\nAnd, good GOD! how will you be able to stand at the bar of an angry,\nsin-avenging judge, and see so many discourses you have despised, so\nmany ministers, who once longed and laboured for the salvation of your\nprecious and immortal souls, brought out as so many swift witnesses\nagainst you? Will it be sufficient then, think you, to alledge, that\nyou went to hear them only out of curiosity, to pass away an idle hour,\nto admire the oratory, or ridicule the simplicity of the preacher? No;\nGOD will then let you know, that you ought to have come out of better\nprinciples; that every sermon has been put down to your account, and\nthat you must then be justly punished for not improving by them.\n\nBut fear not, you little flock, who with meekness receive the ingrafted\nword, and bring forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness; for it\nshall not be so with you. No, you will be your minister\u2019s joy, and\ntheir crown of rejoicing in the day of our LORD JESUS: And they will\npresent you in a holy triumph, faultless and unblameable, to our common\nRedeemer, saying, \u201cBehold us, O LORD, and the children which thou hast\ngiven us.\u201d\n\nBut still take heed how you hear: for upon your improving the grace\nyou have, more shall be given, and you shall have abundance. \u201cHe\nis faithful that has promised, who also will do it.\u201d Nay, GOD from\nout of _Sion_, shall so bless you, that every sermon you hear shall\ncommunicate to you a fresh supply of spiritual knowledge. The word\nof GOD shall dwell in you richly; you shall go on from strength to\nstrength, from one degree of grace unto another, till being grown up\nto be perfect men in CHRIST JESUS, and filled with all the fulness of\nGOD, you shall be translated by death to see him as he is, and to sing\npraises before his throne with angels and archangels, cherubim and\nseraphim, and the general assembly of the first-born, whose names are\nwritten in heaven, for ever and ever.\n\n Which GOD, &c.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXIX.\n\n The Extent and Reasonableness of Self-Denial.\n\n\n LUKE ix. 23.\n\n _And he said unto them all, If any man will come after me, let\n him deny himself._\n\nWHOEVER reads the gospel with a single eye, and sincere intention, will\nfind, that our blessed LORD took all opportunities of reminding his\ndisciples that his kingdom was not of this world; that his doctrine was\na doctrine of the cross; and that their professing themselves to be his\nfollowers, would call them to a constant state of voluntary suffering\nand self-denial.\n\nThe words of the text afford us one instance, among many, of our\nSaviour\u2019s behaviour in this matter: for having in the preceding verses\nrevealed himself to _Peter_, and the other apostles, to be \u201cThe CHRIST\nof GOD;\u201d lest they should be too much elated with such a peculiar\ndiscovery of his deity, or think that their relation to so great a\npersonage would be attended with nothing but pomp and grandeur, he\ntells them, in the 22d verse, that \u201cthe son of man was to suffer many\nthings,\u201d in this world, though he was to be crowned with eternal glory\nand honour in the next: and that if any of them or their posterity\nwould share in the same honour, they must bear a part with him in his\nself-denial and sufferings. For \u201cHe said unto them all, if any man will\ncome after me, let him deny himself.\u201d\n\nFrom which words I shall consider these three things:\n\n I. _First_, The nature of the self-denial recommended in the\n text; and in how many respects we must deny ourselves, in\n order to come after JESUS CHRIST.\n\n II. _Secondly_, I shall endeavour to prove the universality and\n reasonableness of this duty of self-denial.\n\n III. _Thirdly_, I shall offer some considerations, which may\n serve as so many motives to reconcile us to, and quicken us in,\n the practice of this self-denial.\n\nI. _First_, I am to shew you the nature of the self-denial recommended\nin the text; or in how many respects we must deny ourselves in order to\nfollow JESUS CHRIST.\n\nNow as the faculties of the soul are distinguished by the understanding,\nwill and affections; so in all these must each of us deny himself. We\nmust not lean to our own understanding, being wise in our own eyes,\nand prudent in our own sight; but we must submit our short-sighted\nreason to the light of divine revelation. There are mysteries in\nreligion, which are above, though not contrary to our natural reason:\nand therefore we shall never become christians unless we cast down\nimaginations, \u201cand every high thing that exalteth itself against\nthe knowledge of GOD, and bring into captivity every thought to the\nobedience of CHRIST.\u201d It is in this respect, as well as others, that\nwe must become fools for CHRIST\u2019s sake, and acknowledge we know nothing\nwithout revelation, as we ought to know. We must, with all humility and\nreverence, embrace the truths revealed to us in the holy scriptures;\nfor thus only can we become truly wise, even \u201cWise unto salvation.\u201d\nIt was matter of our blessed LORD\u2019s thanksgiving to his heavenly\nfather, that he had \u201chidden these things from the wise and prudent,\nand had revealed them unto babes.\u201d And in this respect also we must\n\u201cbe converted and become as little children,\u201d teachable, and willing\nto follow the Lamb into whatsoever mysteries he shall be pleased to\nlead us; and believe and practise all divine truths, not because we can\ndemonstrate them, but because GOD, \u201cwho cannot lye,\u201d has revealed them\nto us.\n\nHence then we may trace infidelity to its fountain head: for it is\nnothing else, but a pride of the understanding, an unwillingness to\nsubmit to the truths of GOD, that makes so many, professing themselves\nwise, to become such fools as to deny the LORD, who has so dearly\nbought them; and dispute the divinity of that eternal Word, \u201cin whom\nthey live, and move, and have their being:\u201d Whereby it is justly to be\nfeared, they will bring upon themselves sure, if not swift destruction.\n\nBut, as we must deny ourselves in our understandings, so must we deny,\nor, as it might be more properly rendered, renounce our wills: that is,\nwe must make our own wills no principle of action, but \u201cwhether we eat\nor drink, or whatsoever we do, we must do all, (not merely to please\nourselves, but) to the glory of GOD.\u201d Not that we are therefore to\nimagine we are to have no pleasure in any thing we do: \u201cWisdom\u2019s ways\nare ways of pleasantness;\u201d but pleasing ourselves must not be the\nprincipal, but only the subordinate end of our actions.\n\nAnd I cannot but particularly press this doctrine upon you, because\nit is the grand secret of our holy religion. It is this, my brethren,\nthat distinguishes the true christian from the mere moralist and\nformal professor; and without which none of our actions are acceptable\nin GOD\u2019s sight: For \u201cif thine eye be single,\u201d says our blessed LORD,\n_Matthew_ vi. 22. that is, if thou aimest simply to please GOD, without\nany regard to thy own will, \u201cthy whole body, (or all thy actions) will\nbe full of light;\u201d agreeable to the gospel, which is called light: \u201cBut\nif thine eye be evil, (if thine intention be diverted any other way)\nthy whole body, (all thy actions) will be full of darkness,\u201d sinful and\nunprofitable, we must not only do the will of GOD, but do it because it\nis his will; since we pray that \u201cGOD\u2019s will may be done on earth as it\nis in heaven.\u201d And no doubt, the blessed angels not only do every thing\nthat GOD willeth, but do it chearfully, out of this principle, because\nGOD willeth it: And if we would live as we pray, we must go and do\nlikewise.\n\nBut farther; as we must renounce our wills in doing, so likewise must\nwe renounce them in suffering the will of GOD. Whatsoever befals us, we\nmust say with good old _Eli_, \u201cIt is the LORD, let him do what seemeth\nhim good;\u201d or with one that was infinitely greater than _Eli_, \u201cFather,\nnot my will, but thine be done.\u201d O JESUS, thine was an innocent will,\nand yet thou renouncedst it: Teach us, even us also, O our Saviour! to\nsubmit our wills to thine, in all the evils which shall be brought upon\nus; and in every thing enable us to give thanks, since it is thy\nblessed will concerning us!\n\n_Thirdly_, we must deny ourselves, as in our understandings and\nwills, so likewise in our affections. More particularly, we must deny\nourselves the pleasurable indulgence and self-enjoyment of riches: \u201cIf\nany man will come after me, he must forsake all and follow me.\u201d And\nagain (to shew the utter inconsistency of the love of the things of\nthis world with the love of the Father) he tells us, \u201cunless a man\nforsake all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.\u201d\n\nFar be it from me to think that these texts are to be taken in a\nliteral sense; as though they obliged rich persons to go sell all\nthat they have and give to the poor, (for that would put it out of\ntheir power to be serviceable to the poor for the future) but however,\nthey certainly imply thus much, that we are to sit loose to, sell and\nforsake all in affection, and be willing to part with every thing, when\nGOD shall require it at our hands: that is, as the apostle observes, we\nmust \u201cuse the world as though we used it not;\u201d and though we are in the\nworld, we must not be of it. We must look upon ourselves as stewards,\nand not proprietors, of the manifold gifts of GOD; provide first what\nis necessary for ourselves and for our housholds, and expend the rest,\nnot in indulgencies and superfluous ornaments, forbidden by the apostle,\nbut in cloathing, feeding, and relieving the naked, hungry, distressed\ndisciples of JESUS CHRIST. This is what our blessed LORD would have us\nunderstand by forsaking all, and in this sense must each of us deny\nhimself.\n\nI am sensible that this will seem an hard saying to many, who will be\noffended because they are covetous, and \u201clovers of pleasure more than\nlovers of GOD:\u201d but if I yet pleased such men, I should not be the\nservant of CHRIST. No, we must not, like _Ahab_\u2019s false prophets, have\na lying spirit in our mouths, but declare faithfully the whole will of\nGOD; and like honest _Micajah_, out of pity and compassion, tell men\nthe truth, though they may falsely think we prophecy not good but evil\nconcerning them.\n\nBut to proceed: As we must renounce our affection for riches, so\nlikewise our affections for relations, when they stand in opposition to\nour love of, and duty to GOD: For thus saith the Saviour of the world:\n\u201cIf any man will come after me, and hateth not his father and mother,\nhis children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also,\nhe cannot be my disciple.\u201d Strange doctrine this! What, hate our own\nflesh! What, hate the father that begat us, the mother that bare us!\nHow can these things be? Can GOD contradict himself? Has he not bid\nus to honour our father and mother? and yet we are here commanded to\nhate them. How can these truths be reconciled? By interpreting the\nword hate, not in a rigorous and absolute sense, but comparatively:\nnot as implying a total alienation, but a less degree of affection.\nFor thus our blessed Saviour himself (the best and surest expositor of\nhis own meaning) explains it in a parallel text, _Matthew_ x. 37. \u201cHe\nthat loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me: He that\nloveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me.\u201d So that when\nthe persuasions of our friends (as for our trial they may be permitted\nto be) are contrary to the will of GOD, we must say with _Levi_, \u201cwe\nhave not known them;\u201d or, agreeably to our blessed LORD\u2019s rebuke to\n_Peter_, \u201cGet you behind me, my adversaries; for you savour not the\nthings that be of GOD, but the things that be of man.\u201d\n\nFarther, we must deny ourselves in things indifferent: for it might\neasily be shewn, that as many, if not more, perish by an immoderate use\nof things in themselves indifferent, as by any gross sin whatever. A\nprudent christian therefore, will consider not only what is lawful, but\nwhat is expedient also: not so much what degrees of self-denial best\nsuit his inclinations here, as what will most effectually break his\nwill, and fit him for greater degrees of glory hereafter.\n\n_Lastly_, To conclude this head, we must renounce our own righteousness:\nFor, though we should give all our goods to feed the poor, and our\nbodies to be burned, yet, if we in the least depend on that, and do\nnot wholly rely on the perfect all-sufficient righteousness of JESUS\nCHRIST, it will profit us nothing. \u201cCHRIST is the end of the law for\nrighteousness to every one that believeth.\u201d We are compleat in him, and\nhim only. Our own righteousnesses are but as filthy rags. We must count\nall things but dung and dross, so that we may be found in him, not\nhaving our own righteousness, but the righteousness which is of GOD,\nthrough JESUS CHRIST our LORD.\n\nAnd is this the doctrine of christianity? is not the christian world\nthen asleep? If not, whence so much self-righteousness, whence the\nself-indulgence, whence the reigning love of riches which we every\nwhere meet with? Above all, whence that predominant greediness after\nsensual pleasure, that has so over-run this sinful nation, that was a\npious stranger to come amongst us, he would be tempted to think some\nheathen Venus was worshipped here, and that temples were dedicated\nto her service. But we have the authority of an inspired apostle to\naffirm, that they who live in a round of pleasure, \u201care dead while they\nlive.\u201d Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, \u201cAwake thou that sleepest,\nand arise from the dead, and CHRIST shall give thee light.\u201d But the\npower of raising the spiritually dead belongeth only unto GOD. Do thou\ntherefore, O Holy JESUS, who by thy almighty word commandest _Lazarus_\nto come forth, though he had lain in the grave some days, speak also as\neffectually to these spiritually dead souls, whom Satan for many years\nhath so fast bound by sensual pleasures, that they are not so much as\nable to lift up their eyes or hearts to heaven.\n\nII. But I pass on to the second general thing proposed, to consider the\nuniversal obligation and reasonableness of this doctrine of self-denial.\n\nWhen our blessed master had been discoursing publicly concerning the\nwatchfulness of the faithful and wise steward, his disciples asked him,\n\u201cSpeakest thou this parable to all, or only to us?\u201d The same question\nI am aware has been, and will be put concerning the foregoing doctrine:\nfor too many, unwilling to take CHRIST\u2019s easy yoke upon them, in order\nto evade the force of the gospel precepts, would pretend that all\nthose commands concerning self-denial, and renouncing ourselves and\nthe world, belonged to our LORD\u2019s first and immediate followers, and\nnot to us or to our children. But such persons greatly err, not knowing\nthe scriptures, nor the power of godliness in their hearts. For the\ndoctrine of JESUS CHRIST, like his blessed self, is \u201cthe same yesterday,\nto-day, and for ever.\u201d What he said unto one, he said unto all, even\nunto the ends of the world; \u201cIf any man will come after me, let him\ndeny himself:\u201d and in the text it is particularly mentioned that he\nsaid it unto them ALL. And lest we should still absurdly imagine that\nthis word ALL was to be confined to his apostles, with whom he was then\ndiscoursing, it is said in another place, that JESUS turned unto the\nmultitude and said, \u201cIf any man will come after me, and hateth not his\nfather and mother, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.\u201d\nWhen our blessed LORD had spoken a certain parable, it is said, \u201cthe\nscribes and Pharisees were offended, for they knew the parable was\nspoken against them:\u201d And if christians can now read these plain and\npositive texts of scripture, and at the same time not think they are\nspoken of them, they are more hardened than _Jews_, and more insincere\nthan Pharisees\u00b9.\n\n \u00b9 Law\u2019s _Christian Perfection_.\n\nIn the former part of this discourse I observed, that the precepts\nconcerning forsaking and selling all, did not oblige us in a literal\nsense, because the state of the church does not demand it of us, as\nit did of the primitive christians; but still the same deadness to the\nworld, the same abstemious use of, and readiness to part with our goods\nfor CHRIST\u2019s sake, is as absolutely necessary for, and as obligatory\non us, as it was on them. For though the church may differ as to the\noutward state of it, in different ages, yet as to the purity of its\ninward state, it was, is, and always will be invariably the same. And\nall the commands which we meet with in the epistles, about \u201cmortifying\nour members which are upon the earth, of setting our affections on\nthings above, and of not being conformed to this world;\u201d are but so\nmany incontestible proofs that the same holiness, heavenly-mindedness,\nand deadness to the world, is as necessary for us, as for our LORD\u2019s\nimmediate followers.\n\nBut farther, as such an objection argues an ignorance of the scriptures,\nso it is a manifest proof, that such as make it are strangers to the\npower of godliness in their hearts. For since the sum and substance\nof religion consists in recovery from our fallen estate in _Adam_, by\na new-birth in CHRIST JESUS, there is an absolute necessity for us to\nembrace and practice the self-denial before spoken of. If we are alive\nunto GOD, we shall be dead to ourselves and the world. If all things\nbelonging to the spirit live and grow in us, all things belonging to\nthe old man must die in us. We must mourn before we are comforted,\nand receive the spirit of bondage before we are blessed with the\nunspeakable privilege of the spirit of adoption, and with a full\nassurance of faith can say, \u201cAbba, Father.\u201d\n\nWere we indeed in a state of innocence, and had we, like _Adam_\nbefore his fall, the divine image fully stamped upon our souls, we\nthen should have no need of self-denial; but since we are fallen,\nsickly, disordered, self-righteous creatures, we must necessarily deny\nourselves (and count it our privilege to do so) ere we can follow JESUS\nCHRIST to glory. To reject such a salutary practice on account of the\ndifficulty attending it at first, is but too like the obstinacy of a\nperverse sick child, who nauseates and refuses the potion reached out\nto it by a skilful physician or a tender parent, because it is a little\nungrateful to the taste.\n\nHad any of us seen _Lazarus_ when he lay full of sores at the rich\nman\u2019s gate; or _Job_ when he was smitten with ulcers, from the crown\nof his head to the sole of his foot: And had we at the same time\nprescribed to them some healing medicines, which, because they might\nput them to pain, they would not apply to their wounds, should we not\nmost justly think, that they were either fond of a distempered body,\nor were not sensible of their distempers? But our souls, by nature, are\nin an infinitely more deplorable condition than the bodies of _Job_ or\n_Lazarus_, when full of ulcers and boils: for, alas! \u201cour whole head\nis sick, and our whole heart faint, from the crown of the head to the\nsole of the foot, we are full of wounds and bruises and putrifying\nsores, and there is no health in us.\u201d And if we are unwilling to deny\nourselves, and come after JESUS CHRIST in order to be cured, it is a\nsign we are not sensible of the wretchedness of our state, and that we\nare not truly made whole.\n\nEven _Naaman_\u2019s servants could say, when he refused (pursuant to\n_Elisha_\u2019s orders) to wash in the river _Jordan_, that he might cure\nhis leprosy, \u201cFather, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing,\nwouldst thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to\nthee, wash and be clean?\u201d And may not I very properly address myself to\nyou in the same manner, my brethren? If JESUS CHRIST, our great prophet,\nhad bid you to do some far more difficult thing, would you not have\ndone it? Much more then should you do it, when he only bids you deny\nyourselves what would certainly hurt you if indulged in, and he will\ngive you a crown of life.\n\nBut to illustrate this by another comparison: In the 12th chapter of\nthe _Acts_, we read, that \u201cSt. _Peter_ was kept in prison, and was\nsleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: And behold an\nangel of the LORD came upon him, and smote _Peter_ on the side, saying,\narise up quickly: And his chains fell off from his hands.\u201d But had this\ngreat apostle, instead of rising up quickly, and doing as the blessed\nangel commanded him, hugged his chains and begged that they might not\nbe let fall from his hands, would not any one think that he was in\nlove with slavery, and deserved to be executed next morning? And does\nnot the person who refuses to deny himself, act as inconsistently,\nas this apostle would have done if he had neglected the means of his\ndeliverance? For our souls, by nature, are in a spiritual dungeon,\nsleeping and fast bound between the world, the flesh, and the devil,\nnot with two but ten thousand chains of lusts and corruptions. Now\nJESUS CHRIST, like St. _Peter_\u2019s good angel, by the power of his gospel\ncomes and opens the prison door, and bids us \u201cdeny ourselves and follow\nhim.\u201d But if we do not arise, gird up the loins of our mind and follow\nhim, are we not in love with bondage, and do we not deserve never to be\ndelivered from it?\n\nIndeed, I will not affirm that this doctrine of self-denial appears in\nthis just light to every one. No, I am sensible that to the natural man\nit is foolishness, and to the young convert an hard saying. But what\nsays our Saviour? \u201cIf any man will do my will, he shall know of the\ndoctrine, whether it be of GOD, or whether I speak of myself.\u201d This,\nmy dear friends, is the best, the only way of conviction: Let us up and\nbe doing; let us arise quickly, and deny ourselves, and the LORD JESUS\nwill remove those scales from the eyes of our minds, which now, like so\nmany veils, hinder us from seeing clearly the reasonableness, necessity,\nand inexpressible advantage of the doctrine that has been delivered.\nLet us but once thus shew ourselves men, and then the spirit of GOD\nwill move on the face of our souls, as he did once upon the face of\nthe great deep; and cause them to emerge out of that confused chaos, in\nwhich they are most certainly now involved, if we are strangers and\nenemies to self-denial and the cross of CHRIST.\n\nIII. Proceed we therefore now to the third and last general thing\nproposed, to offer some considerations, which may serve as so many\nmotives to reconcile us to, and quicken us in, the practise of this\nduty of self-denial.\n\n1. And the first means I shall recommend to you, in order to reconcile\nyou to this doctrine, is, to meditate frequently on the life of our\nblessed Lord and Master JESUS CHRIST. Follow him from his cradle to the\ncross, and see what a self-denying life he led! And shall not we drink\nof the cup that he drank of, and be baptized with the baptism that\nhe was baptized with? Or think we, that JESUS CHRIST did and suffered\nevery thing in order to have us excused and exempted from sufferings?\nNo, far be it from any sincere christian to judge after this manner:\nfor St. _Peter_ tells us, \u201cHe suffered for us, leaving us an example\nthat we should follow his steps.\u201d Had CHRIST, indeed, like those that\nsat in _Moses_\u2019 chair, laid heavy burthens of self-denial upon us,\n(supposing they were heavy, which they are not) and refused to touch\nthem himself with one of his fingers; we might have had some pretence\nto complain: But since he has enjoined us nothing, but what he first\nput in practise himself, thou art inexcusable, O disciple, whoever\nthou art, who wouldst be above thy persecuted self-denying master: And\nthou art no good and faithful servant, who art unwilling to suffer and\nsympathize with thy mortified, heavenly-minded LORD.\n\n2. Next to the pattern of our blessed master, think often on the lives\nof the glorious company of the apostles, the goodly fellowship of the\nprophets, and the noble army of martyrs; who by a constant looking\nto the author and finisher of our faith, have fought the good fight,\nand are gone before us to inherit the promises. View again and again,\nhow holily, how self-denyingly, how unblameably they lived: And if\nself-denial was necessary for them, why not for us also? Are we not\nmen of like passions with them? Do we not live in the same wicked world\nas they did? Have we not the same good spirit to assist, support, and\npurify us, as they had? and is not the same eternal inheritance reached\nout to us, as was to them? And if we have the same nature to change,\nthe same wicked world to withstand, the same good spirit to help, and\nthe same eternal crown at the end; why should not we lead the same\nlives as they did? Do we think they did works of supererogation? if not,\nwhy do not we do as they did? or why does your own church set apart\nfestivals to commemorate the deaths and sufferings of the saints, but\nin order to excite you to follow them as they did CHRIST.\n\n3. _Thirdly_, Think often on the pains of hell; consider, whether it is\nnot better to cut off a right-hand or foot, and pull out a right-eye,\nif they offend us (or cause us to sin) \u201crather than to be cast into\nhell, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.\u201d Think\nhow many thousands there are now reserved with damned spirits in chains\nof darkness unto the judgment of the great day. And think withal,\nthat this, this must be our case shortly, unless we are wise in time,\ndeny ourselves, and follow JESUS CHRIST. Think you, they now imagine\nJESUS CHRIST to be an hard master; or rather think you not, they would\ngive ten thousand times ten thousand worlds, could they but return to\nlife again, and take CHRIST\u2019s easy yoke upon them? And can we dwell\nwith everlasting burnings more than they? No, if we cannot bear this\nprecept, deny yourselves, take up your crosses; how shall we bear the\nirrevocable sentence, \u201cDepart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,\nprepared for the devil and his angels?\u201d But I hope those, amongst whom\nI am now preaching the kingdom of GOD, are not so disingenuous as to\nneed to be driven to their duty by the terrors of the LORD, but rather\ndesire to be drawn by the cords of love.\n\n_Lastly_, Therefore, often meditate on the joys of heaven: think, think\nwith what unspeakable glory those happy souls are now incircled, who\nwhen on earth were called to deny themselves as well as we, and were\nnot disobedient to that call: Lift up your hearts frequently towards\nthe mansions of eternal bliss, and with an eye of faith, like _Stephen_,\nsee the heavens opened, and the Son of man with his glorious retinue of\ndeparted saints, sitting and solacing themselves in eternal joys. Hark!\nmethinks I hear them chanting forth their everlasting _Hallelujahs_,\nand echoing triumphant songs of joy. And do you not long, my brethren,\nto join this heavenly choir? do not your hearts burn within you? As the\nhart panteth after the water brooks, do not your souls so long after\nthe blessed company of these sons of GOD? Behold then a heavenly ladder\nreached down to you, by which you may climb to this holy hill. Let us\nbelieve on the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and deny ourselves! By this alone,\nevery saint that ever lived ascended into the joy of their LORD: And\nthen, we, even we also shall ere long be lifted up into the same most\nblissful regions, there to enjoy an eternal rest with the people of GOD,\nand join with them in singing doxologies and songs of praise, to the\neverlasting, blessed, all-glorious, most adorable Trinity, for ever and\never.\n\nWhich GOD of his infinite mercy grant, _&c._\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXX.\n\n CHRIST\u2019s Transfiguration.\n\n\n LUKE ix. 28\u201236.\n\n _And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings,\n he took |Peter| and |John| and |James|, and went up into\n a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his\n countenance was altered, and his rayment was white and\n glistering. And behold, there talked with him two men, which\n were |Moses| and |Elias|: who appeared in glory, and spake of\n his decease, which he should accomplish at |Jerusalem|. But\n |Peter| and they that were with him, were heavy with sleep:\n and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men\n that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed\n from him, |Peter| said unto JESUS, Master, it is good for us\n to be here; and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee,\n and one for |Moses|, and one for |Elias|: not knowing what he\n said. While he thus spake, there came a cloud and overshadowed\n them, and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And\n there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my\n beloved Son, hear him. And when the voice was past, JESUS was\n found alone; and they kept it close, and told no man in those\n days any of those things which they had seen._\n\nWHEN the angel was sent to the Redeemer\u2019s beloved disciple _John_, we\nare told that the angel said unto him, \u201cCome up hither:\u201d He was to be\nexalted, to be brought nearer heaven, that his mind might be better\nprepared for those great manifestations, which an infinitely great and\ncondescending GOD intended to vouchsafe him. And on reading the verses\nthat you have just now heard, when I also see such a great and serious\nassembly convened in the presence of GOD, I think I must address you,\nas the angel addressed _John_, and say unto you, \u201cCome up hither;\u201d\nleave your worldly thoughts, for a time forget the earth. And as it\nis the Lord\u2019s-day, a time in which we ought more particularly to think\nof heaven, I must desire you to pray to GOD, that ye may get up on\n_Pisgah_\u2019s mount, and take a view of the promised land. It is true,\nindeed, eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, nor hath it entered into\nthe heart of any man to conceive the great and good things, which GOD\nhath prepared for his people here; much less, those infinitely greater\nand more glorious things, that he hath laid up for them that fear him,\nin the eternal world: but, blessed be GOD! though we are not yet in\nheaven, unless to be in CHRIST may properly be termed heaven, and then\nall real christians are there already; yet, the blessed JESUS has been\npleased to leave upon record some account of himself, of what happened\nto him in the days of his flesh, and of some manifestations he was\npleased to grant to a few of his disciples; that from what happened\nto them here below, we may form some faint, though but a faint idea\nof that happiness that awaits his people in his kingdom above. If any\nof you enquire, in what part of our LORD\u2019s life those instances are\nrecorded, I have an answer ready: One of these instances, and that a\nvery remarkable one, is recorded in the verses that I have now chosen\nfor the subject of your meditation.\n\nThe verses give us an account of what is generally called our LORD\u2019s\n_Transfiguration_; his being wonderfully changed, and his being\nwonderfully owned by his Father upon the mount. Some think that this\nwas done upon a sabbath-day; and the particular occasion of our blessed\nLORD\u2019s condescending to let his servants have such a sight as this,\nwe may gather from the 27th verse. It seems our blessed LORD had been\npromising a great reward to those who should not be ashamed of him:\n\u201cWhosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the\nSon of Man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and of\nhis Father, and of the holy angels.\u201d In this threatening is implied,\na reward to those who should not be ashamed of him: \u201cBut, (adds he) I\ntell you of a truth, there be some standing here, who shall not taste\nof death, till they see the kingdom of GOD:\u201d As much as to say, There\nwill be a day, when I will come in the glory of my Father and of his\nholy angels; but I tell you there are some of my favourites; I tell you\nof a truth, though you may think it too good news, there are some of\nyou that shall not taste of death, till ye shall see the kingdom of\nGOD. Some divines think, that this promise has reference to our LORD\u2019s\nerecting a gospel church; and if we take it in this sense, it means\nthat the Apostles, who were then present, some of them at least, should\nnot die, till they saw Satan\u2019s kingdom in a great measure pulled down,\nand the Redeemer\u2019s gospel-kingdom erected. Some think it has a peculiar\nreference to _John_, who it seems survived all the other Apostles, and\nlived till CHRIST came; that is, till he came to destroy _Jerusalem_.\nBut it is the opinion of Mr. _Henry_, of Bishop _Hall_, of _Burkit_,\nand others, who have written upon this passage, that our blessed LORD\nhas a peculiar reference to the transfiguration upon the mount: \u201cThere\nbe some of you here, that shall not taste of death, till ye see my\ntransfiguration upon the mount; till ye see some glorified saint come\ndown from heaven and pay me a visit, and consequently see a little\nof that kingdom of GOD, which ye shall have a full sight of, when ye\ncome to glory.\u201d This seems to be the right interpretation. If you will\nlook to the margin of your Bibles, you will see the parallel place in\n_Matthew_, where the account of our LORD\u2019s transfiguration is given,\nand there you will find it immediately follows upon this promise of our\nLORD.\n\nWell, as CHRIST had told them, that they should not taste of death,\ntill they had seen the kingdom of GOD, why the Evangelist, at the\n28th verse, tells us, \u201cIt came to pass about an eight days after these\nsayings, he took _Peter_, and _John_, and _James_, and went up into\na mountain to pray.\u201d About an eight days; that is, as Bishop _Hall_\nthinks, upon the sabbath-day; or, according to some, the first day of\nthe week, which was hereafter to be the christian sabbath; our blessed\nLORD takes _Peter_, _John_, and _James_: Why did not the LORD JESUS\nCHRIST take more of his disciples? Why three, and these three? And why\nthree only? Our blessed LORD was pleased to take three and no more, to\nshow us that he is a sovereign agent; to show us, that though he loved\nall his disciples, yet there are some to whom he is pleased to allow\npeculiar visits. He loved _Peter_, and all the other disciples; yet\n_John_ was the disciple that he peculiarly loved. And he took three\nrather than one, because three were sufficient to testify the truth\nof his being transfigured: \u201cOut of the mouth of two or three witnesses\nevery word shall be established.\u201d And he took no more than three,\nbecause these three were enough. And he took these three, _Peter_,\n_John_, and _James_, in particular, because these very persons\nthat were now to see CHRIST transfigured, were hereafter to see him\nagonizing in the garden, sweating great drops of blood falling unto the\nground. And had not these three disciples seen CHRIST upon the mount,\nthe seeing him afterwards in the garden, might have staggered them\nexceedingly: they might have doubted whether it was possible for the\nSon of GOD to be in such doleful circumstances. Well, our LORD takes\nthese three \u201cup into a mountain.\u201d Why so? Because CHRIST JESUS was to\nbe like _Moses_, who was taken up into a mountain, when GOD intended\nto deliver unto him the moral law: And our blessed LORD went up into a\nmountain, because a mountain befriended devotion. When he had a mind to\nretire to pray to his Father, he went to such places where he could be\nmost secret, and give the greatest vent to his heart. Thus we are told,\nthat once when _Peter_ prayed, it was upon the house-top. And if we\nhave a mind to be near GOD, we should choose such places as are freest\nfrom ostentation, and that most befriend our communion with GOD. \u2666And\nwhat doth CHRIST, when he got up into a mountain? We are told, he went\nup into a mountain \u201cto pray.\u201d CHRIST had no corruption to confess, and\nhe had but few wants of his own to be relieved; yet we hear of CHRIST\nbeing much in prayer; we hear of his going up to a mountain to pray;\nof his rising up a great while before it was day to pray; and of his\nspending a whole night in prayer to GOD.\n\n \u2666 \u201cAud\u201d replaced with \u201cAnd\u201d\n\nIn the 29th verse, you have an account of the effect of our LORD\u2019s\npraying; \u201cAs he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered,\nand his raiment was white and glistering.\u201d I would have you take\nnotice, that our LORD was not changed in respect of his body, while\nhe was going up to the mount, but when he got upon the mount, and\nwhile engaged in prayer. It is sufficient that way for our souls to be\ntransformed: the time we are more particularly to expect the influences\nof GOD\u2019s Spirit, is, when we are engaged in prayer. There seems to be a\nvery great propriety in our LORD\u2019s being transfigured or changed upon\nthe mount. I hope I need inform none of you, that when _Moses_ went up\nto the mount of GOD, GOD was pleased to speak to him face to face; and\nwhen he came down from the mount, the people of _Israel_ observed that\n_Moses_\u2019s face shone so, that he was obliged to have a veil put upon\nhis face. Now the shining of _Moses_\u2019s face, was a proof to the people,\nthat _Moses_ had been conversing with GOD. And _Moses_ told the people,\n\u201cThat the LORD would raise up unto them a prophet like unto him, whom\nthe people were to hear.\u201d GOD the Father, in order to give his Son\n(considering him as man) a testimony that he was a prophet, was pleased\nnot only to let his face glitter or shine; but to show that he was a\nprophet far superior to _Moses_, he was pleased to let his garment be\nwhite and glistering, and \u201chis countenance (as we are told by another\nEvangelist) did shine as the sun.\u201d What a change was here! What a\nsight! Methinks I see _Peter_, _James_, and _John_ surprized: and,\nindeed, well might the Evangelist, considering what happened, usher in\nthe following part of the story with the word _Behold_; \u201cBehold, there\ntalked with him two men, _Moses_ and _Elias_:\u201d And in the 31st verse,\nyou have an account of their dress, \u201cThey appeared in glory;\u201d and of\ntheir discourse, \u201cThey spake of his decease which he should accomplish\nat _Jerusalem_.\u201d\n\n\u201cBehold, two men, which were _Moses_ and _Elias_;\u201d these were two very\nproper persons to come upon this embassy to the Son of GOD. _Moses_ was\nthe great lawgiver, _Elias_ was the great restorer of the law: The body\nof _Moses_ was hidden and never found, _Elias_\u2019s body was translated\nimmediately, and carried up in a fiery chariot to heaven: And it may\nbe that this was done particularly, because these two were hereafter\nto have the honour of waiting upon the Son of GOD. \u201cThey appeared in\nglory;\u201d that is, their bodies were now in that glorious habit, in which\nthe bodies of believers are to be at the morning of the resurrection.\nCHRIST was, as it were, now sitting in his royal robes; and as it is\nusual for ambassadors, when they are to be admitted into the king\u2019s\npresence, on bringing a message from one king to another, to appear\nin all their grandeur, to make the message more solemn; so here, these\nheavenly messengers being to wait upon the LORD JESUS CHRIST, are\ninvested as with royal dignity, they appeared in glory, and \u201cthey spake\nof his decease which he should accomplish at _Jerusalem_,\u201d they came to\ntell the Redeemer of his sufferings, and of the place of his sufferings,\nand to acquaint him, that his sufferings, however great, however bitter,\nwere to be _accomplished_; that there was to be an end put to them, as\nour LORD himself speaks, \u201cThe things concerning me are to have an end.\u201d\nWhat other particulars they spoke to our LORD, we are not told. But\nwhat effect this had upon the disciples, you may learn from the 32d\nverse, \u201c_Peter_, and they that were with him, were heavy with sleep.\u201d\n\nWe are not to suppose, that _Peter_, _James_ and _John_, were now\nasleep in a literal sense; no, if we compare this, with another passage\nof holy writ, I mean the account given us of _Daniel_\u2019s being impressed\nand overcome, when he saw the angel of the LORD, you will find that\nthis sleep implies what we call a swoon. They were overcome with the\nsight of the glory of CHRIST\u2019s garments, the glistering of his body,\nand the glory in _Moses_ and _Elias_ appeared: these quite overcame\nthem, sunk them down, and, like the Queen of _Sheba_, when she saw\n_Solomon_\u2019s glory, they had no life in them. But they recovered\nthemselves: \u201cwhen they were awake,\u201d that is, when they had recovered\ntheir strength, when GOD had put strength into them, as the angel put\nstrength into _Daniel_, \u201cthey saw his glory, and the two men that stood\nwith him.\u201d And how do you think they gazed upon CHRIST? how may we\nsuppose they fixed their eyes upon _Moses_ and _Elias_? _Peter_, who\nwas always the first speaker, out of the abundance of his heart, spoke\nupon this occasion. Verse 33. \u201cAnd it came to pass as they departed\nfrom him, _Peter_ said unto JESUS, Master, it is good for us to be here;\nand let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for _Moses_,\nand one for _Elias_, not knowing what he said.\u201d _Peter_, when he had\ndrank a little of CHRIST\u2019s new wine, speaks like a person intoxicated;\nhe was overpowered with the brightness of the manifestation. \u201cLet us\nmake three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for _Moses_, and one\nfor _Elias_.\u201d It is well added, \u201cnot knowing what he said.\u201d That \u2666he\nshould cry out, \u201cMaster, it is good for us to be here,\u201d in such good\ncompany, and in so glorious a condition, is no wonder; which of us all\nwould not have been apt to have done the same? But to talk of building\ntabernacles, and one for CHRIST, and one for _Moses_, and one for\n_Elias_, was saying something for which _Peter_ himself must stand\nreproved. Surely, _Peter_, thou wast not quite awake! thou talkest like\none in a dream: If thy LORD had taken thee at thy word, what a poor\ntabernacle wouldst thou have had, in comparison of that house not made\nwith hands, eternal in the heavens, in which thou hast long since dwelt,\nnow the earthly house of the tabernacle of thy body is dissolved? What!\nbuild tabernacles below, and have the crown, before thou hast borne\nthe cross? O _Peter, Peter_! \u201cMaster, spare thyself,\u201d sticks too too\nclosely to thee: And why so selfish, _Peter_? Carest thou not for\nthy fellow disciples that are below, who came not up with thee to the\nmount? carest thou not for the precious souls, that are as sheep having\nno shepherd, and must perish for ever, unless thy Master descends from\nthe mount to teach, and to die for them? wouldst thou thus eat thy\nspiritual morsels alone? Besides, if thou art for building tabernacles,\nwhy must there be three of them, one for CHRIST, and one for _Moses_,\nand one for _Elias_? are CHRIST and the prophets divided? do they not\nsweetly harmonize and agree in one? did they not prophesy concerning\nthe sufferings of thy LORD, as well as of the glory that should follow?\nAlas, how unlike is their conversation to thine? _Moses_ and _Elias_\ncame down to talk of suffering, and thou art dreaming of building I\nknow not what tabernacles. Surely, _Peter_, thou art so high upon the\nmount, that thy head runs giddy.\n\n \u2666 \u201cshe\u201d replaced with \u201che\u201d\n\nHowever, in the midst of these infirmities, there was something that\nbespoke the honesty and integrity of his heart. Though he knew not very\nwell what he said, yet he was not so stupid as his pretended successor\nat _Rome_. He does not fall down and worship these two departed saints,\nneither do I hear him say to either, _Ora pro nobis_; he had not so\nlearnt CHRIST; no, he applies himself directly to the head, \u201che said\nunto JESUS, Master, it is good for us to be here.\u201d And though he\nwas for building, yet he would not build without his Master\u2019s leave.\n\u201cMaster, let us build,\u201d or, as St. _Mark_ words it, \u201cwilt thou that\nwe build three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for _Moses_, and\none for _Elias_?\u201d I do not hear him add, and one for _James_, and one\nfor _John_, and one for _Peter_. No, he would willingly stay out with\nthem upon the mount, though it was in the cold and dark night, so that\nCHRIST and his heavenly attendants were taken care of. The sweetness\nof such a heavenly vision, would more than compensate for any bodily\nsuffering that might be the consequence of their longer abode there:\nnay farther, he does not desire that either CHRIST, or _Moses_, or\n_Elias_, should have any trouble in building; neither does he say, let\nmy curates, _James_ and _John_, build, whilst I sit idle and lord it\nover my brethren; but he says, \u201clet us build;\u201d he will work as hard, if\nnot harder than either of them, and desire to be distinguished only by\nhis activity, enduring hardness, and his zeal to promote the welfare of\ntheir common LORD and Master.\n\nDoubtless, _Peter_ had read how the glory of the LORD filled the\ntabernacle, and the temple of old; and now JESUS is transfigured,\nand _Moses_ and _Elias_ appear in glory, he thinks it right that new\ntabernacles shall be erected for them. Such a mixture of nature and\ngrace, of short-sightedness and infirmity, is there in the most ardent\nand well-meant zeal of the very best of men, when nearest the throne\nof grace, or even upon the mount with GOD. Perfection in any grace must\nbe looked for, or expected, only among the spirits of just men made\nperfect in heaven. Those who talk of any such thing on earth, like\n_Peter_, they know not what they say.\n\nBut how came _Peter_ so readily to distinguish which was _Moses_, and\nwhich was _Elias_? He seems to speak without the least hesitation, \u201cLet\nus build three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for _Moses_, and one\nfor _Elias_,\u201d as though he was very well acquainted with them, whereas\nthey had both been dead, long, long before _Peter_ was born. Was there,\ndo you imagine, any thing distinguishing in their apparel? or any\nthing in their conversation that discovered them? or rather, did he not\nknow them here on the mount, as we may from hence infer, that departed\nsaints do, and will know each other in heaven, even by intuition and\nimmediate revelation? But alas! how transient are our views of heaven,\nduring our sojourning here on earth: Verse 34. \u201cWhilst he thus spake,\u201d\nwhilst _Peter_ was talking of building tabernacles, whilst he was\nsaying, \u201cit is good for us to be here,\u201d whilst he was dreaming that\nhis mountain was so strong that it never could be moved, \u201cthere came a\ncloud and overshadowed them.\u201d St. _Matthew_ observes, it was a bright\ncloud, not dark like that on mount _Sinai_, but bright, because the\ngospel opens to us a far more bright dispensation than that of the law.\nThis overshadowed, and thereby not only filled them with an holy awe,\nbut also screened them, in some measure, from the brightness of that\nglory with which they were now surrounded, and which otherwise would\nhave been insupportable. This cloud was like the veil thrown on the\nface of _Moses_, and prepared them for the voice which they were soon\nto hear coming out of it. I am not much surprized at being informed by\nSt. _Matthew_, that \u201cthey feared as they entered into the cloud,\u201d or by\nSt. _Mark_, that \u201cthey were sore afraid.\u201d For since the fall, there is\nsuch a consciousness in us all of deserved wrath, that we cannot help\nfearing when we enter into a cloud, even though JESUS CHRIST himself\nbe in the midst of it. Ah _Peter_, where is thy talk of building\ntabernacles now? is thy strong mountain so quickly removed? what, come\ndown so soon? why do we not now hear thee saying, \u201cIt is good for us to\nbe here?\u201d Alas! he and his fellow disciples are quite struck dumb; see\nhow they tremble, and, like _Moses_ upon another occasion, exceedingly\nquake and fear. But how quickly are those fears dispelled, how soon is\nthe tumult of their minds hushed and calmed, with that soul-reviving\nvoice that came from the excellent glory, verse 35, \u201cThis is my beloved\nSon, hear him.\u201d\n\nSt. _Mark_ and St. _Matthew_ add \u201cin whom I am well pleased.\u201d The same\ntestimony that GOD the Father gave to the blessed JESUS at his baptism,\nbefore he entered upon his temptation, is now repeated, in order to\nstrengthen and prepare him for his impending agony in the garden.\nProbably, it was a small still though articulate voice, attended\nneither with thunder nor lightning, nor the sound of a trumpet, but,\nagreeable to the blessed news which it contained, ushered in with\ntokens of unspeakable complacency and love. GOD the Father, hereby\ngives _Moses_ and _Elias_ a solemn discharge, as though they were\nsent from heaven on purpose to give up their commission to their\nrightful LORD, and like the morning star, disappear when the Sun of\nRighteousness himself arises to bring in a gospel day. \u201cThis is my\nbeloved Son, hear Him.\u201d But the emphasis upon the word _this_; this\nSon of Man, this JESUS, whom you are shortly to see in a bloody sweat,\nblindfolded, spit upon, buffeted, scourged, and at length hanging upon\na tree, I am not ashamed to own to be my Son, my only begotten Son,\nwho was with me before the heavens were made, or the foundations of the\nearth were laid; my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom my\nsoul delighteth, and whom I do by these presents, publicly constitute\nand appoint to be the king, priest, and prophet of the church. \u201cHear\nye Him.\u201d No longer look to _Moses_ or _Elias_, no longer expect to be\nsaved by the works of the law; but by the preaching and application of\nthe ever-blessed gospel. Hear ye him, so as to believe on, love, serve,\nobey, and, if needs be, to die and lay down your very lives for him.\n\u201cHear him;\u201d hear what he hath to say, for he comes with a commission\nfrom above. Hear his doctrine; hear him, so as to obey him; hear him,\nso as to put in practice his precepts, and copy after his good example.\n\nIn the 36th verse, we have the close of this heavenly feast; \u201cWhen the\nvoice was past, JESUS was found alone; and they kept it close, and told\nno man in those days, any of those things which they had seen.\u201d If we\ncompare this, with the account which the other Evangelists give of our\nblessed LORD\u2019s transfiguration, you will find this was done by CHRIST\u2019s\norder: _Peter_, _James_, and _John_, would otherwise have gone down\nand told the whole world, that they had seen the LORD CHRIST upon the\nmount of transfiguration; but our LORD ordered them to keep it silent.\nWhy so? If they had gone down from the mount, and told it to the other\ndisciples, it might have raised ill blood in the others; they might\nhave said, Why did our Master single out _Peter_, _James_, and _John_?\nWhy might not we have had the privilege of going up to the mount as\nwell as they? Had they said, that their LORD was transfigured, people\nwould not have believed them; they would have thought, that _Peter_,\n_James_, and _John_ were only enthusiasts; but if they kept it till\nafter his resurrection, and he had broken the gates of death, for them\nthen to say, that they saw him upon the mount transfigured, would\ncorroborate the evidence.\n\nI have thus paraphrased the words for your better understanding the\naccount the Evangelist gives of our blessed LORD\u2019s transfiguration; but\nI have not yet done; I have been speaking to your heads; the practical\npart is yet to come. O that GOD may reach your hearts! And though,\naccording to order, I ought to begin with the practical inferences that\nmight be drawn from the first part; yet, I think it best to show you,\nwho are the people of GOD, especially you young converts, that have\nhonesty, but not much prudence, what instructions our LORD would here\nhave you to learn.\n\n\u201cWhen the voice was past, JESUS was found alone, and they kept it\nclose, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had\nseen.\u201d There is nothing more common, when GOD vouchsafes communications\nto a poor soul, than for the person that enjoys them, to go and tell\nall that he has seen and felt, and often at improper seasons and to\nimproper persons. I remember that Mr. _Henry_ observes, \u201c_Joseph_\nhad more honesty than he had policy, or else he would never have told\nhis brethren of his dreams.\u201d Young christians are too apt to blunder\nthus: I am sure it is a fault of which I have been exceedingly guilty,\nspeaking of things which, perhaps, had better been concealed; which\nis a fault GOD\u2019s people are too apt to fall into. Though it is good\nfor those that have seen CHRIST, and that have felt his love, to tell\nothers what GOD hath done for their souls; yet, however you may think\nof it now, when you come down from the mount, and know yourselves a\nlittle, ye will find reason often to hold your tongue. Young christians\nare like children, to whom if you give a little money in their pocket,\nthey cannot be quiet till they have spent it upon something or other:\nyoung christians, when they get a little of GOD, are ready to talk too\nmuch of it. They should therefore beware, and know when to speak, and\nwhen to be silent.\n\nBut, my dear friends, did our LORD JESUS CHRIST take _Peter_, _James_,\nand _John_ into a mountain to pray? Are any of you fathers, mothers,\nmasters and mistresses of families? Learn then from hence to take\nyour children, your servants, and those that belong to you, from the\nworld, at certain times, and not only pray for them, but pray with them.\nIf CHRIST did thus, who had few wants of his own to be supplied, and\nnothing to confess and lament over; if CHRIST was such a lover of\nprayer, surely, you and I, who have so many wants to be supplied, so\nmany corruptions to mourn over; you and I should spend much time in\nprayer. I do not say that you are to lock yourselves up in your closets,\nand not mind your shops or farms, or worldly business; I only say, that\nyou should take care to husband all your time: and if you are GOD\u2019s\nchildren, you will frequently retire from the world, and seek a visit\nfrom your GOD.\n\nWas the LORD JESUS transformed or transfigured, while he was praying?\nLearn hence, to be much in spiritual prayer. The way to have the\nsoul transformed, changed into, and made like unto GOD, is frequently\nto converse with GOD. We say, a man is as his company. Persons by\nconversing together, frequently catch each others tempers: and if you\nhave a mind to imbibe the divine temper, pray much. And as CHRIST\u2019s\ngarments became white and glistering, so shall your souls get a little\nof GOD\u2019s light to shine upon them.\n\nDid _Moses_ and _Elias_ appear in glory? Are there any old saints here?\nI doubt not but there are a considerable number. And are any of you\nafraid of death? Do any of you carry about with you a body that weighs\ndown your immortal soul? I am sure a poor creature is preaching to you,\nthat every day drags a crazy load along. But come, believers, come, ye\nchildren of GOD, come, ye aged decrepid saints, come and trample upon\nthat monster death. As thou goest over yonder church-yard, do as I know\nan old excellent christian in _Maryland_ did; go, sit upon the grave,\nand meditate on thine own dissolution. Thou mayest, perhaps, have\na natural fear of dying: the body and the soul do not care to part\nwithout a little sympathy and a groan; but O look yonder, look up to\nheaven, see there thy JESUS, thy Redeemer, and learn, that thy body is\nto be fashioned hereafter like unto CHRIST\u2019s most glorious body; that\npoor body which is now subject to gout and gravel, and that thou canst\nscarce drag along; that poor body, which hinders thee so much in the\nspiritual life, will ere long hinder thee no more: it shall be put into\nthe grave; but though it be sown in corruption, it shall be raised in\nincorruption; though it is sown in dishonour, it shall be raised again\nin glory. This consideration made blessed _Paul_ to cry out, \u201cO death,\nwhere is thy sting! O grave, where is thy victory!\u201d Thy soul and body\nshall be united together again, and thou shalt be \u201cfor ever with the\nLORD.\u201d Those knees of thine, which perhaps are hard by kneeling in\nprayer; that tongue of thine, which hath sung hymns to CHRIST; those\nhands of thine, which have wrought for GOD; those feet, which have\nran to CHRIST\u2019s ordinances; shall all, in the twinkling of an eye,\nbe changed; and thou shalt be able to stand under an exceeding and an\neternal weight of glory. Come then, ye believers in CHRIST, look beyond\nthe grave; come, ye dear children of GOD, and however weak and sickly\nye are now, say, Blessed be GOD, I shall soon have a body strong, full\nof vigour and of glory.\n\nBut as this speaks comfort to saints, it speaks terror to sinners,\nto all persons that live and die out of CHRIST. It is the opinion of\nArchbishop _Usher_, that as the bodies of the saints shall be glorified,\nso the bodies of the damned shall be deformed. And if this be true,\nalas! what a poor figure will the fine ladies cut, who die without a\nCHRIST! What a poor figure will the fine gentleman cut in the morning\nof the resurrection, that now dresses up his body, and at the same\ntime neglects to secure an interest in CHRIST and eternal happiness!\nIt is the opinion, likewise, of Archbishop _Usher_, that damned souls\nwill lose all the good tempers they had here; so that though GOD gave\nunregenerate people a constitutional meekness, good nature, and courage,\nfor the benefit of the commonwealth; yet, the use of these things being\nover, and they having died without CHRIST, and it being impossible\nthere will be an appearance of good in hell, their good tempers will be\nfor ever lost. If this be so, it is an awful consideration; and I think\npersons who love their bodies, should also hence take care to secure\nthe welfare of their souls.\n\nDid _Peter_ know which was _Moses_ and which _Elias_? Then I think,\nand GOD be praised for it, it is plain from this and other passages\nof scripture, that we shall know one another when we come to heaven.\n_Dives_ knew _Lazarus_: \u201cFather _Abraham_, send _Lazarus_:\u201d And we are\ntold, \u201che saw _Lazarus_ sitting in _Abraham_\u2019s bosom.\u201d _Adam_ knew his\nwife _Eve_; though cast into a deep sleep when GOD made her out of his\nrib, yet, by a kind of intuition, he says, \u201cThis is bone of my bone,\nand flesh of my flesh.\u201d And it is on this account, that the Apostle,\nspeaking to the _Philippians_, says, \u201cYe are my joy and crown of\nrejoicing, in the day of the LORD.\u201d What comfort will this be to a\nspiritual father! Says one, Here is the man, O LORD JESUS, that brought\nmy soul to taste of thy love; says another, This is the man, that\nat such a time, and with such words, struck my heart: thou, O LORD,\nknowest it. Then the spiritual father will rejoice over his children.\nYou that have met and have prayed together, sighed and sympathized\ntogether, and told your temptations to one another, shall be for\never with the LORD and with each other. There we shall see _Abraham_,\n_Isaac_, and _Jacob_ sitting, with all the redeemed company; and we\nshall know the names of every one mentioned in the book of GOD. O\nblessed prospect! O blessed time! Who that thinks of this, of seeing\nthe Lamb sitting upon the throne, with all GOD\u2019s people about him,\nbut must desire to go to heaven, and be for ever, for ever with the\nLORD. And if there is such comfort for believers to know one another\nin heaven, with what comfort may any of you, that have lost fathers,\nmothers, or friends, think of them: we are parted for a little while,\nbut we shall see them again. My father died in CHRIST, my mother died\nin the LORD, my husband, my wife, was a follower of JESUS; I shall see\nthem, though not now; I shall go to them, but they shall not return\nto me! This may keep you from sorrowing as persons without hope; and\nkeep you from being so cruel, as to wish them to come down to this evil\nworld.\n\nBut O what a dreadful consideration is this for damned souls! I believe,\nthat as glorified spirits will know one another, so will damned souls\nknow one another too. And as the company of the blessed increases the\nhappiness of heaven, so the company of the damned will increase their\ntorments. What made _Dives_ to put up that petition? \u201cI have five\nbrethren; send somebody to my father\u2019s house to testify unto them, lest\nthey also come into this place of torment.\u201d One would imagine at first\nreading, that hell had made _Dives_ charitable, and that though he was\nill natured on earth, yet he had acquired some good nature in hell. No,\nno, there is not a spark of good nature in the place of torment. But\n_Dives_ knew, if his five brethren came there, they might say, We may\nthank you, next to an evil heart, for coming hither; you made us drink\nhealths, till we were drunk; you taught us to game, to curse, to swear,\n&c. He knew very well, that his five brethren being brought to hell\nby his example, hell would be heated five times hotter to torment his\nsoul. One will cry out, Cursed be the day that ever I was companion\nwith such an one in sin; cursed be the day that ever we hearkened to\none another\u2019s advice, and were allured by each others example to sin\nagainst GOD.\n\nBut did a cloud overshadow _Peter_, _James_, and _John_? were heavenly\nand divine visits here but short? Then wonder not, ye people of GOD,\nif ye are upon the mount one hour, and down in the valley of the shadow\nof death the next. There is nothing in the world more common, after\nyou have been in a good frame, than for a cloud to overshadow you.\nWe generally say, \u201cIt is good to be here,\u201d and often make a CHRIST of\nour graces; and therefore the LORD sends a cloud to overshadow us. But\nnever fear; GOD shall speak to you out of the cloud; GOD will reveal\nhimself to you; this cloud shall soon be gone; ere long we shall be in\nheaven, and in that glory where no cloud can possibly reach us.\n\nI can now only mention one thing more, and that is, Did the Father say,\n\u201cThis is my beloved Son, hear him?\u201d then let every one of our hearts\necho to this testimony given of CHRIST, \u201cThis is my beloved Saviour.\u201d\nDid GOD so love the world, as to send his only begotten Son, his well\nbeloved Son to preach to us? then, my dear friends, HEAR HIM. What GOD\nsaid seventeen hundred years ago, immediately by a voice from heaven,\nconcerning his Son upon the mount, that same thing GOD says to you\nimmediately by his word, \u201cHear him.\u201d If ye never heard him before, hear\nhim now. Hear him so as to take him to be your prophet, priest, and\nyour king; hear him, so as to take him to be your GOD and your all.\nHear him to-day, ye youth, while it is called to-day; hear him now,\nlest GOD should cut you off before you have another invitation to hear\nhim; hear him while he cries, \u201cCome unto me;\u201d hear him while he opens\nhis hand and his heart; hear him while he knocks at the door of your\nsouls, lest you should hear him saying, \u201cDepart, depart, ye cursed,\ninto everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.\u201d Hear him,\nye old and grey-headed, hear him, ye that have one foot in the grave;\nhear him, I say; and if ye are dull of hearing, beg of GOD to open the\nears of your hearts, and your blind eyes; beg of GOD that you may have\nan enlarged and a believing heart, and that ye may know what the LORD\nGOD saith concerning you. GOD will resent it, he will avenge himself on\nhis adversaries, if you do not hear a blessed Saviour. He is GOD\u2019s son,\nhe is GOD\u2019s beloved son; he came upon a great errand, even to shed his\nprecious blood for sinners; he came to cleanse you from all sin, and to\nsave you with an everlasting salvation. Ye who have heard him, hear him\nagain; still go on, believe in and obey him, and by-and-by you shall\nhear him saying, \u201cCome, ye blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom\nprepared for you from the foundation of the world.\u201d May GOD grant it to\nyou all, for the LORD JESUS CHRIST\u2019s sake. _Amen_, and _Amen_.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXXI.\n\n The Care of the Soul urged as the one thing needful.\n\n\n LUKE x. 42.\n\n _But one thing is needful._\n\nIT was the amiable character of our blessed Redeemer, that \u201che went\nabout doing good,\u201d this great motive, which animated all his actions,\nbrought him to the house of his friend _Lazarus_, at _Bethany_, and\ndirected his behaviour there. Though it was a season of recess from\npublic labour, our LORD brought the sentiments and the pious cares of\na preacher of righteousness into the parlour of a friend; and there his\ndoctrine dropped as the rain, and distilled as the dew, on the little\nhappy circle that were then surrounding him. _Mary_, the sister of\n_Lazarus_, with great delight made one amongst them; she seated herself\nat the feet of JESUS, in the posture of an humble disciple; and we have\na great deal of reason to believe, that _Martha_, his other sister,\nwould gladly have been with her there; but domestic cares pressed hard\nupon her, and \u201cshe was cumbered with much serving,\u201d being, perhaps, too\nsolicitous to prepare a sumptuous entertainment for her heavenly master\nand the train that attended him. Happy are they, who in a crowd of\nbusiness do not lose something of the spirituality of their minds, and\nof the composure and sweetness of their tempers. This good woman comes\nto our LORD with too impatient a complaint; insinuating some little\nreflection, not only on _Mary_, but on himself too. \u201cLORD, dost thou\nnot care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her, therefore,\nthat she help me.\u201d Our LORD, willing to take all opportunities of\nsuggesting useful thoughts, answers her in these words, of which the\ntext is a part, \u201c_Martha, Martha_, thou art careful and troubled about\nmany things, but one thing is needful; and _Mary_ has chosen that\ngood part, which shall not be taken away from her.\u201d Alas, _Martha_!\nthe concerns of the soul are of so much greater importance than those\nof the body, that I cannot blame your sister on this occasion: I rather\nrecommend her to your imitation, and caution you, and all my other\nfriends, to be much on your guard, that in the midst of your worldly\ncares, you do not lose sight of what much better deserves your\nattention.\n\nI shall consider these words, \u201cOne thing is needful,\u201d as a kind of\naphorism, or wise and weighty sentence, which dropped from the mouth\nof our blessed Redeemer, and is evidently worthy of our most serious\nregard. I shall,\n\n I. Consider what we are to understand by \u201cThe one thing\u201d here\n spoken of.\n\n II. Shew you what is intended, when it is said to be the one\n thing _needful_.\n\n III. I will shew how justly it may be so represented, or prove\n that it is, indeed, the one thing needful. And then conclude\n with some reflections.\n\nMy friends, the words which are now before us, are to this day, as true,\nas they were seventeen hundred years ago. Set your hearts to attend to\nthem. O that you may, by divine grace, be awakened to hear them with a\ndue regard, and be so impressed with the plain and serious things which\nare now to be spoken, as you probably would, if I were speaking by your\ndying beds, and you had the near and lively view of eternity!\n\n_First_, I am to consider, what we are to understand by the \u201cone thing\nneedful.\u201d\n\nNow in a few words, it is the \u201c_Care of the soul_,\u201d opposed, as you\nsee in the text, to the care, the excessive care of the body; to which\n_Martha_ was gently admonished by our LORD. This is a general answer,\nand it comprehends a variety of important particulars, which is the\nbusiness of our ministry often to open to you at large: The care\nof the soul, implies a readiness to hear the words of CHRIST, to\nseat ourselves with _Mary_ at his feet, and to receive both the law\nand the gospel from his mouth. It supposes, that we learn from this\ndivine teacher the worth of our souls, their danger, and their remedy;\nand that we become above all things solicitous about their eternal\nsalvation. That, heartily repenting of all our sins, and cordially\nbelieving the everlasting gospel, we receive the LORD JESUS CHRIST for\nrighteousness and life, resting our souls on the value of his atonement,\nand the efficacy of his grace. It imports, the sincere dedication\nof ourselves to the service of GOD, and a faithful adherence to it,\nnotwithstanding all oppositions arising from inward corruptions,\nor outward temptations; and a resolute perseverance in the way of\ngospel dependance, \u2019till we receive the end of our faith in our\ncompleat salvation. This is the \u201cone thing needful,\u201d represented\nindeed in various scriptures by various names. Sometimes it is called\n\u201cRegeneration,\u201d or \u201cthe new creature,\u201d because it is the blessed work\nof GOD\u2019s efficacious grace. Sometimes the \u201cFear of GOD,\u201d and sometimes\n\u201chis love, and the keeping his commandments;\u201d and very frequently\nin the new testament it is called \u201cfaith,\u201d or \u201creceiving CHRIST, and\nbelieving on him,\u201d which therefore is represented as the \u201cgreat work of\nGOD,\u201d _John_ vi. 29. the great thing which GOD in his glorious gospel\nrequires, as well as by his spirit produces in us: each of these, if\nrightly understood and explained, comprehends all that I have said on\nthis head. On the whole, we may say, that, as the body is one, though\nit has many members, and the soul is one, though it has many faculties,\nso in the present case, this real vital religion is \u201cone thing,\u201d\none sacred principle of divine life, bringing us to attend to the\ncare of our souls, as of our greatest treasure. It is one thing,\nnotwithstanding all the variety of views in which it may be considered,\nand of characters under which it may be described. I proceed,\n\n_Secondly_, To consider what may be intended in the representation\nwhich is here made of it, as the \u201cone thing _needful_.\u201d\n\nNow I think it naturally includes these three particulars: it is a\nmatter of universal concern; of the highest importance; and of so\ncomprehensive a nature, that every thing which is truly worthy of our\nregard, may be considered as included in, or subservient to it. Let me\na little illustrate each of these particulars.\n\n1. The care of the soul may be called the \u201cone thing needful,\u201d as it is\nmatter of universal concern.\n\nOur LORD, you see, speaks of it as needful in the general. He says\nnot, for this or that particular person; or for those of such an age,\nstation, or circumstance in life, but needful for all. And indeed,\nwhen discoursing on such a subject, one might properly introduce it\nwith those solemn words of the psalmist, \u201cGive ear, all ye people,\nhear, all ye inhabitants of the earth, both high and low, rich and\npoor, together,\u201d _Psalm_ xlix. 1, 2. For it is the concern of all,\nfrom the king that sits upon the throne, to the servant that grindeth\nat the mill, or the beggar that lieth upon the dunghill. It is needful\nfor us that are _ministers_, for our own salvation is concerned: and\nwoe, insupportable woe will be to our souls, if we think it enough to\nrecommend it to others, and to talk of it in a warm, or an awful manner,\nin public assemblies, or in our private converse, while it does not\npenetrate our hearts, as our own greatest care. Our case will then be\nlike that of the _Israelitish_ lord in _Samaria_, _2 Kings_ vii. 2. who\nwas employed to distribute the corn when the siege was raised; though\nwe see it with our eyes, and dispense it with our hands, we shall\nourselves die miserably, without tasting the blessings we impart. It\nis needful to all you that are our _hearers_, without the exception of\none single person. It is needful to you that are _rich_, though it may\non some accounts be peculiarly difficult for you; even as difficult,\ncomparatively speaking, as for a \u201cCamel to go through the eye of a\nneedle,\u201d _Matthew_ xix. 24. yet if it be neglected, you are poor in the\nmidst of all your wealth, and miserable in all your abundance; a wretch\nstarving for hunger, in a magnificent palace and a rich dress, would\nbe less the object of compassion than you. It is needful for you that\nare _poor_; though you are distressed with so many anxious cares, \u201cwhat\nyou shall eat, and what you shall drink, and wherewithal you shall be\ncloathed,\u201d _Matthew_ vi. 31. The nature that makes you capable of such\nanxieties as these, argues your much greater concern in the \u201cbread\nwhich endures to eternal life,\u201d _John_ vi. 27. than in that by which\nthis mortal body must be supported. It is needful for you that are\n_advanced in years_; though your strength be impaired so that the\n\u201cgrashopper is a burthen,\u201d _Ecclesiastes_ xii. 5. and though you\nhave by your long continuance in sin rendered this great work so\nhard, that were it less important, one would in pity let you alone\nwithout reminding you of it: yet, late as it is, it must be done, or\nyour hoary heads will be brought down to the grave with wrath, and\nsink under a curse aggravated by every year and by every day of your\nlives. It is needful to you that are _young_, though solicited by so\nmany gay vanities, to neglect it, though it may be represented as an\nunseasonable care at present, yet I repeat it, it is needful to you;\nimmediately needful, unless you who walk so frequently over the dust\nof your brethren and companions, that died in the bloom and vigour\nof their days, have made some secret covenant with the grave for\nyourselves, and found out some wonderful method, hitherto unknown, of\nsecuring this precarious life, and of answering for days and months to\ncome, while others cannot answer for one single moment.\n\n2. The care of the soul is \u201ca matter of the highest importance;\u201d beyond\nany thing which can be brought into comparison with it.\n\nAs _Solomon_ says of wisdom, that \u201cit is more precious than rubies,\nand that all things which can be desired are not to be compared with\nher,\u201d _Proverbs_ iii. 15. So I may properly say of this great and most\nimportant branch of wisdom; whatever can be laid in the balance with it,\nwill be found altogether lighter than vanity. This is strongly implied\nwhen it is said in the text, \u201cone thing is needful;\u201d one thing, and\n_one thing alone_ is so. Just as the blessed GOD is said to be \u201conly\nwise,\u201d _1 Timothy_ i. 17. and \u201conly holy,\u201d _Revelation_ xv. 4. because\nthe wisdom and holiness of angels and men is as nothing, when compared\nwith his. What seems most great and most important in life, what kings\nand senates, what the wisest and greatest of this world are employing\ntheir time, their councils, their pens, their labours upon, are trifles,\nwhen compared with this one thing. A man may subsist, he may in some\nconsiderable measure be happy, without learning, without riches,\nwithout titles, without health, without liberty, without friends,\nnay, though \u201cthe life be more than meat, and the body than raiment,\u201d\n_Matthew_ vi. 25. yet may he be happy, unspeakably happy, without\nthe body itself. But he cannot be so, in the neglect of the one thing\nneedful. I must therefore bespeak your regard to it in the words of\n_Moses_, \u201cit is not a light thing, but it is your life,\u201d _Deuteronomy_\nxxxii. 47.\n\n3. The care of the soul is of so comprehensive a nature, that \u201cevery\nthing truly worthy of our regard may be considered as included in it,\nor subservient to it.\u201d\n\nAs _David_ observes, that \u201cthe commandment of GOD is exceeding broad,\u201d\n_Psalm_ cxix. 96. so we may say of this one thing needful; or as\n_Solomon_ very justly and emphatically expresses it, \u201cto fear GOD and\nto keep his commandments is the whole duty of man,\u201d _Ecclesiastes_ xii.\n13. his whole duty, and his whole interest; and every thing which is\nwise and rational does in its proper place and connection make a part\nof it. We should judge very ill concerning the nature of this care, if\nwe imagined, that it consisted merely in acts of devotion, or religious\ncontemplation; it comprehends all the lovely and harmonious band\nof social and humane virtues. It requires a care of society, a care\nof our bodies, and of our temporal concerns; but then all is to be\nregulated, directed, and animated by proper regards to GOD, CHRIST, and\nimmortality. Our food and our rest, our trades and our labours, are to\nbe attended to, and all the offices of humanity performed in obedience\nto the will of GOD, for the glory of CHRIST, and in a view to improving\nthe mind in a growing meetness for a state of compleat perfection.\nName any thing which has no reference at all to this, and you name\na worthless trifle, however it may be gilded to allure the eye,\nor however it may be sweetened to gratify the taste. Name a thing,\nwhich, instead of thus improving the soul, has a tendency to debase\nand pollute, to enslave and endanger it, and you name what is most\nunprofitable and mischievous, be the wages of iniquity ever so great;\nmost foul and deformed, be it in the eyes of men ever so honourable, or\nin their customs ever so fashionable. Thus I have endeavoured to shew\nyou what we may suppose implied in this expression of \u201cone thing being\nneedful.\u201d I am now,\n\n_Thirdly_, To shew you with how much propriety the care of the soul may\nbe represented under this character, as the one thing needful, or as a\nmatter of universal and most serious concern, to which every thing else\nis to be considered as subservient, if at all worthy of our care and\npursuit.\n\nThere let me appeal to the sentiments of those who must be allowed most\ncapable of judging, and to the evident reason of the case itself, as it\nmust appear to every unprejudiced mind.\n\n1. Let me argue \u201cfrom the opinions of those who must be allowed most\ncapable of judging in such an affair,\u201d and we shall quickly see that\nthe care of the soul appears to them, the one thing needful.\n\nIs the judgment of the blessed GOD \u201caccording to truth,\u201d how evidently\nand how solemnly is that judgment declared? I will not say merely in\nthis or the other particular passage of his word, but in the whole\nseries of his revelations to the children of men, and the whole tenor\nof his addresses to them. Is not this the language of all, from the\nearly days of _Job_ and _Moses_ to the conclusion of the canon of\nscripture. _Job_ xxviii. 21, 23, 28. \u201cIf wisdom be hid from the eyes\nof all the living, surely GOD understandeth the way thereof, he knoweth\nthe place thereof;\u201d and if he does, it is plainly pointed out, for\n\u201cunto man he still saith, behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom,\nand to depart from evil, that is understanding.\u201d By _Moses_ he declared\nto the _Israelites_, that \u201cto do the commandments of the LORD would\nbe their wisdom and their understanding in the sight of the nations,\nwho should hear his statutes, and say, surely this is a wise and an\nunderstanding people,\u201d _Deuteronomy_ iv. 6. When he had raised up one\nman on the throne of _Israel_, with the character of the wisest that\never lived upon the face of the earth, he chose to make him eminently\na teacher of this great truth. And though now all that he spoke on the\ncurious and less concerning subjects of natural philosophy is lost,\n\u201cthough he spoke of trees from the cedar to the hyssop, and of beasts,\nand of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes,\u201d _1 Kings_ iv.\n33. that saying is preserved in which he testifies, that \u201cthe fear\nof the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,\u201d _Proverbs_ i. 7, 9, 10. and\nthose _Proverbs_, in almost every line of which, they who neglect\nGOD and their own souls, are spoken of as fools, as if that were the\nmost proper signification of the word, while the religious alone are\nhonoured with the title of wise. But in this respect, as attesting this\ntruth in the name of GOD and in his own, \u201ca greater than _Solomon_ is\nhere.\u201d\n\nFor if we inquire what it was that our LORD JESUS CHRIST judged to be\nthe one thing needful, the words of the text contain as full an answer\nas can be imagined; and the sense of them is repeated in a very lively\nand emphatical manner, in that remarkable passage wherein our LORD not\nonly declares his own judgment, but seems to appeal to the consciences\nof all, as obliged by their own secret convictions to subscribe to the\ntruth of it. \u201cWhat is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and\nlose his own soul; or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?\u201d\n_Matthew_ xvi. 26. If it were once lost, what would he not be willing\nto give to redeem it? But it depends not on the words of CHRIST alone.\nLet his actions, his sufferings, his blood, his death, speak what\na value he set on the souls of men. Is it to be imagined, that he\nwould have relinquished heaven, have dwelt upon earth, have laboured\nby night and by day, and at last have expired on the cross, for a\nmatter of light importance? Or can we think that he, in whom \u201cdwell\nall the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and all the fulness of the\nGodhead bodily,\u201d _Colossians_ ii. 3, 9. was mistaken in judgment so\ndeliberately formed, and so solemnly declared?\n\nIf after this, there were room to mention human judgment and\ntestimonies, how easy would it be to produce a cloud of witnesses in\nsuch a cause, and to shew that the wisest and best of men in all ages\nof the world have agreed in this point, that amidst all the diversities\nof opinion and profession, which succeeding generations have produced,\nthis has been the unanimous judgment, this the common and most\nsolicitous care of those whose characters are most truly valuable, to\nsecure the salvation of their own souls, and to promote the salvation\nof others.\n\nAnd let me beseech you seriously to reflect, what are the characters\nof those who have taken the liberty, most boldly and freely to\ndeclare their judgment on the contrary side? The number of such is\ncomparatively few; and when you compare what you have observed of their\ntemper and conduct, I will not say with what you read of holy men of\nold, but with what you have yourselves seen in the faithful, active,\nand zealous servants of CHRIST, in these latter ages, with whom you\nhave conversed; do you on the whole find, that the rejecters and\nderiders of the gospel, are in other respects so much more prudent\nand judicious, so much wiser for themselves, and for others, that are\ninfluenced by them, as that you can be in reason obliged to pay any\ngreat deference to the authority of a few such names as these, in\nopposition to those to whom they are here opposed?\n\nBut you will say, and you will say it too truly, Though but a few may\nventure in words to declare for the neglect of the soul and its eternal\ninterest, that the greater part of \u2666mankind do it in their actions. But\nare the greater part of mankind so wise, and so good, as implicitly to\nbe followed in matters of the highest importance? And do not multitudes\nof these, declare themselves on the other side, in their most serious\nmoments? When the intoxications of worldly business and pleasures\nare over, and some languishing sickness forces men to solitude and\nretirement; what have you generally observed to be the effect of such\na circumstance? Have they not then declared themselves convinced of\nthe truth we are now labouring to establish? Nay, do we not sometimes\nsee, that a distemper which seizes the mind with violence, yet does\nnot utterly destroy its reasoning faculties, fixes this conviction\non the soul in a few hours, nay, sometimes in a few moments? Have you\nnever seen a gay, thoughtless creature, surprized in the giddy round of\npleasures and amusements, and presently brought not only to seriousness,\nbut terror and trembling, by the near views of death? Have you never\nseen the man of business and care interrupted, like the rich fool in\nthe parable, in the midst of his schemes for the present world? And\nhave you not heard one and the other of them owning the vanity of those\npleasures and cares, which but a few days ago were every thing to them?\nConfessing that religion was the one thing needful, and recommending\nit to others with an earnestness, as if they hoped thereby to atone\nfor their own former neglect? We that are ministers, frequently are\nwitnesses to such things as these, and I believe few of our hearers are\nintire strangers to them.\n\n \u2666 \u201cmainkind\u201d replaced with \u201cmankind\u201d\n\nOnce more, what if to the testimony of the dying, we could add that of\nthe dead? What if GOD were to turn aside the vail between us and the\ninvisible world, and permit the most careless sinner in the assembly\nto converse for a few moments with the inhabitants of it? If you were\nto apply yourself to a happy Spirit, that trod the most thorny road\nto paradise, or passed through the most fiery trial, and to ask him,\n\u201cwas it worth your while to labour so much, and to endure so much for\nwhat you now possess?\u201d Surely if the blessed in heaven were capable\nof indignation, it would move them to hear that it should be made a\nquestion. And, on the other hand, if you could inquire of one tormented\nin that flame below, though he might once be \u201cclothed in purple and\nfine linen, and fare sumptuously every day,\u201d _Luke_ xvi. 19. if you\ncould ask him, \u201cwhether his former enjoyments were an equivalent for\nhis present sufferings and despair?\u201d What answer do you suppose he\nwould return? Perhaps an answer of so much horror and rage, as you\nwould not be able so much as to indure. Or if the malignity of his\nnature should prevent him from returning any answer at all, surely\nthere would be a language even in that silence, a language in the\ndarkness, and flames, and groans of that infernal prison, which would\nspeak to your very soul what the word of GOD is with equal certainty,\nthough less forcible conviction, speaking to your ear, that \u201cone\nthing is needful.\u201d You see it is so in the judgment of GOD the Father,\nand the LORD JESUS CHRIST, of the wisest and best of men, of many,\nwho seemed to judge most differently of it, when they come to more\ndeliberate and serious thought, and not only of the dying, but of the\ndead too, of those who have experimentally known both worlds, and most\nsurely know what is to be preferred. But I will not rest the whole\nargument here; therefore,\n\n2. I appeal to the evident reason of the case itself, as it must appear\nto every unprejudiced mind, that the care of the soul is indeed the one\nthing needful.\n\nI still consider myself as speaking not to atheists, or to deists, but\nto those who not only believe the existence and providence of GOD, and\na future state of happiness and misery, but likewise who credit the\ntruth of the christian revelation, as many undoubtedly do, who live in\na fatal neglect of GOD, and their own souls. Now on these principles, a\nlittle reflection may be sufficient to convince you, that it is needful\nto the present repose of your own mind; needful, if ever you would\nsecure eternal happiness, and avoid eternal misery, which will be\naggravated, rather than alleviated by all your present enjoyments.\n\n1. The care of the soul is the one thing needful, because, \u201cwithout it\nyou cannot secure the peace of your own mind, nor avoid the upbraidings\nof your conscience.\u201d\n\nThat noble faculty is indeed the vicegerent of GOD in the soul. It\nis sensible of the dignity and worth of an immortal spirit, and will\nsometimes cry out of the violence that is offered to it, and cry so\nloud, as to compel the sinner to hear, whether he will or not. Do you\nnot sometimes find it yourselves? when you labour most to forget the\nconcerns of your soul, do they not sometimes force themselves on your\nremembrance? You are afraid of the reflections of your own mind, but\nwith all your artifice and all your resolution can you intirely avoid\nthem? Does not conscience follow you to your beds, even if denied\nthe opportunity of meeting you in your closets, and, though with an\nunwelcome voice, there warn you, \u201cthat your soul is neglected, and will\nquickly be lost:\u201d Does it not follow you to your shops and your fields,\nwhen you are busiest there? Nay, I will add, does it not sometimes\nfollow you to the feast, to the club, to the dance, and perhaps, amidst\nall resistance, to the theatre too? Does it not sometimes mingle your\nsweetest draughts with wormwood, and your gayest scenes with horror? So\nthat you are like a tradesman, who, suspecting his affairs to be in a\nbad posture, lays by his books and his papers, yet sometimes they will\ncome accidentally in his way. He hardly dares to look abroad for fear\nof meeting a creditor or an arrest: and if he labours to forget his\ncares and his dangers, in a course of luxury at home, the remembrance\nis sometimes awakened, and the alarm increased, by those very\nextravagancies in which he is attempting to lose it. Such probably\nis the case of your minds, and it is a very painful state; and while\nthings are thus within, external circumstances can no more make you\nhappy, than a fine dress could relieve you under a violent fit of the\nstone. Whereas, if this great affair were secured, you might delight\nin reflection, as much as you now dread it; and conscience, of your\nbitterest enemy, would become a delightful friend, and the testimony of\nit your greatest rejoicing.\n\n2. The care of the soul is the one thing needful, \u201cbecause without this\nyour eternal happiness will be lost.\u201d\n\nA crown of everlasting glory is not surely such a trifle as to be\nthrown away on a careless creature, that will not in good earnest\npursue it. GOD doth not ordinarily deal thus, even with the bounties of\nhis common providence, which are comparatively of little value. As to\nthese, the hand of the diligent generally makes rich, and he would be\nthought distracted, rather than prudent, who should expect to get an\nestate merely by wishing for it, or without some resolute and continued\napplication to a proper course of action for that purpose. Now, that we\nmay not foolishly dream of obtaining heaven, in the midst of a course\nof indolence and sloth, we are expresly told in the word of GOD, that\n\u201cthe kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by\nforce,\u201d _Matthew_ xi. 12. and are therefore exhorted to \u201cstrive,\u201d with\nthe greatest intenseness, and eagerness of mind, as the word properly\nsignifies, \u201cto enter in at the strait gate,\u201d for this great and\nimportant reason, \u201cbecause many shall another day seek to enter in, and\nshall not be able,\u201d _Luke_ xiii. 24. Nay, when our LORD makes the most\ngracious promises to the humble petitioner, he does it in such a manner\nas to exclude the hopes of those who are careless and indifferent. \u201cAsk,\nand it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it\nshall be opened unto you,\u201d _Matthew_ vii. 7. If, therefore, you do not\nask, seek, and knock, the door of mercy will not be opened, and eternal\nhappiness will be lost. Not that heaven is to be obtained by our own\ngood works: no, no; for having done all, we must account ourselves\nunprofitable servants.\n\nAnd surely if I could say no more as to the fatal consequences of your\nneglect, than this, that eternal happiness will be lost, I should say\nenough to impress every mind, that considers what ETERNITY means. To\nfall into a state of everlasting forgetfulness, might indeed appear\na refuge to a mind filled with the apprehension of future misery. But\nO how dreadful a refuge is it! Surely it is such a refuge, as a vast\nprecipice, (from which a man falling would be dashed to pieces in a\nmoment) might appear to a person, pursued by the officers of justice,\nthat he might be brought out to a painful and lingering execution.\nIf an extravagant youth would have reason to look round with anguish,\non some fair and ample paternal inheritance, which he had sold or\nforfeited merely for the riot of a few days: how much more melancholy\nwould it be for a rational mind to think that its eternal happiness\nis lost for any earthly consideration whatever? Tormenting thought!\n\u201cHad I attended to that one thing which I have neglected, I might have\nbeen, through the grace of GOD in CHRIST JESUS, great and happy beyond\nexpression, beyond conception: not merely for the little span of ten\nthousand thousand ages, but for ever. A line reaching even to the\nremotest star would not have been able to contain the number of ages,\nnor would millions of years have been sufficient to figure them down;\nthis is eternity, but I have lost it, and am now on the verge of being.\nThis lamp, which might have outlasted those of the firmament, will\npresently be extinguished; and I blotted out from amongst the works of\nGOD, and cut off from all the bounties of his hand.\u201d Would not this be\na very miserable case, if this were all? And would it not be sufficient\nto prove this to be the better part, which, as our LORD observes, can\n\u201cnever be taken away?\u201d But GOD forbid that we should be so unfaithful\nto him, and to the souls of men, as to rest in such a representation\nalone. I therefore add once more,\n\n3. The care of the soul is the one thing needful, because \u201cwithout it,\nyou cannot avoid a state of eternal misery, which will be aggravated,\nrather than alleviated by all your present enjoyments.\u201d\n\nNothing can be more evident from the word of the GOD of truth. It there\nplainly appears to be a determined case, which leaves no room for a\nmore favourable conjecture or hope. \u201cThe wicked shall be turned into\nhell, even all the nations that forget GOD,\u201d _Psalm_ ix. 17. \u201cThey\nshall go away into everlasting punishment,\u201d _Matthew_ xxv. 46. into a\nstate where they shall in vain seek death, and death shall flee from\nthem. Oh! brethren, it is a certain, but an awful truth, that your\nsouls will be thinking and immortal beings, even in spite of themselves.\nThey may indeed torment, but they cannot destroy themselves. They can\nno more suspend their power of thought and perception, than a mirror\nits property of reflecting rays that fall on its surface. Do you\nsuspect the contrary? Make the trial immediately. Command your minds\nto cease from thinking but for one quarter of an hour, or for half that\ntime, and exclude every idea and every reflection. Can you succeed in\nthat attempt? Or rather, does not thought press in with a more sensible\nviolence on that resistance; as an anxious desire to sleep, makes us so\nmuch the more wakeful. Thus will thought follow you beyond the grave,\nthus will it, as an unwelcome guest, force itself upon you, when it can\nserve only to perplex and distress the mind. It will for ever upbraid\nyou, that notwithstanding all the kind expostulations of GOD and man,\nnotwithstanding all the keen remonstrances of conscience, and the\npleadings of the blood of CHRIST, you have gone on in your folly, till\nheaven is lost, and damnation incurred; and all, for what? for a shadow\nand a dream.\n\nOh think not, sinners, that the remembrance of your past pleasures,\nand of your success in your other cares, whilst that of the one thing\nneedful was forgotten, think not that this will ease your minds. It\nwill rather torment them the more. \u201cSon, remember that thou in thy\nlife-time receivedst thy good things.\u201d Bitter remembrance! Well might\nthe heathen poets represent the unhappy spirits in the shades below, as\neagerly catching at the water of forgetfulness, yet unable to reach it.\nYour present comforts will only serve to give you a livelier sense of\nyour misery, as having tasted such degrees of enjoyment; and to inflame\nthe reckoning, as you have misimproved those talents lodged in your\nhands for better purposes. Surely, if these things were believed, and\nseriously considered, the sinner would have no more heart to rejoice\nin his present prosperity, than a man would have to amuse himself with\nthe curiosities of a fine garden, through which he was led to be broken\nupon the rack.\n\nBut I will enlarge no farther on these things. Would to GOD that the\nunaccountable stupidity of mens minds, and their fatal attachment to\nthe pleasures and cares of the present life, did not make it necessary\nto insist on them so frequently and so copiously!\n\nI now proceed to the reflections which naturally arise from hence, and\nshall only mention two.\n\n1. How much reason have we to lament the folly of mankind in neglecting\nthe one thing needful.\n\nIf religion be indeed the truest wisdom, then surely we have the\njustest reason to say with _Solomon_, \u201cthat folly and madness is in\nmens hearts,\u201d _Ecclesiastes_ ix. 3. Is it the one thing needful? Look\non the conduct of the generality of mankind, and you would imagine they\nthought it the one thing needless: the vainest dream, and the idlest\namusement of the mind. GOD is admonishing them by ordinances, and\nprovidences, sometimes by such as are most awful, to lay it to heart;\nhe speaks once, yea twice, (yea a multitude of times) but man regards\nnot, _Job_ xxxiii. 14. They profess perhaps to believe all that I have\nbeen saying, but act as if the contrary were self-evident; they will\nrisk their souls and eternity for a thing of nought, for that, for the\nsake of which they would not risk so much as a hand, or a finger, or a\njoint, no, nor perhaps a toy that adorns it. Surely this is the wonder\nof angels, and perhaps of devils too, unless the observation of so many\nages may have rendered it familiar to both. And can we, my christian\nbrethren, behold such a scene with indifference? If some epidemical\nmadness had seized our country, or the places where we live, so that as\nwe went from one place to another, we every where met with lunaticks,\nand saw amongst the rest, some perhaps of the finest genius, in the\nmost eminent stations in life, amusing themselves with straws and\nbubbles, or wounding themselves and others; surely were we ever so\nsecure from the danger of infection or assault, the sight would cut us\nto the heart. A good-natured man would hardly be able to go abroad, or\neven be desirous to live, if it must be amongst so many sad spectacles.\nYet these poor creatures might, notwithstanding this, be the children\nof GOD, and the higher their frenzy rose, the nearer might their\ncomplete happiness be. But alas! the greater part of mankind are seized\nwith a worse kind of madness, in which they are ruining their souls:\nand can we behold it with indifference? The LORD awaken our compassion,\nour prayers, and our endeavours, in dependence on divine grace, that\nwe may be instrumental in bringing them to their mind, and making them\nwise indeed, that is, wise to salvation!\n\n2. How necessary is it that we should seriously enquire, how this one\nthing needful is regarded by us!\n\nLet me entreat you to remember your own concern in it, and\nenquire\u2015\u2015Have I thought seriously of it? Have I seen the importance\nof it? Has it lain with a due and abiding weight on my mind? Has\nit brought me to CHRIST, that I might lay the stress of these great\neternal interests on him? And am I acting in the main of my life,\nas one that has these convictions? Am I willing, in fact, to give up\nother things, my interests, my pleasures, my passions to this? Am I\nconversing with GOD and with man, as one that believes these things; as\none that has deliberately chosen the better part, and is determined to\nabide by that choice?\n\nObserve the answer which conscience returns to these enquiries, and you\nwill know your own part in that more particular application, with which\nI shall conclude.\n\n1. Let me address those that are entirely unconcerned about the one\nthing needful.\n\nBrethren, I have been stating the case at large, and now I appeal to\nyour consciences, are these things so, or are they not? GOD and your\nown hearts best know for what the care of your soul is neglected;\nbut be it what it will, the difference between one grain of sand and\nanother, is not great, when it comes to be weighed against a talent\nof gold. Whatever it is, you had need to examine it carefully. You had\nneed to view that commodity on all sides, of which you do in effect\nsay, For this will I sell my soul; for this will I give up heaven,\nand venture hell, be heaven and hell whatever they may. In the name of\nGOD, brethren, is this the part of a man, of a rational creature? To\ngo on with your eyes open towards a pit of eternal ruin, because there\nare a few gay flowers in the way: or what if you shut your eyes, will\nthat prevent your fall? It signifies little to say, I will not think of\nthese things, I will not consider them: GOD has said, \u201cIn the last days\nthey shall consider it perfectly,\u201d _Jeremiah_ xxiii. 20. The revels of\na drunken malefactor will not prevent nor respite his execution. Pardon\nmy plainness; if it were a fable or a tale, I would endeavour to amuse\nyou with words, but I cannot do it where your souls are at stake.\n\n2. I would apply to those who are, in some sense, convinced of the\nimportance of their souls, and yet are inclined to defer that care of\nthem a little longer, which, in the general, they see to be necessary.\n\nI know you that are young, are under peculiar temptations to do this;\nthough it is strange that the death of so many of your companions,\nshould not be an answer to some of the most specious and dangerous\nof those temptations. Methinks, if there were the least degree of\nuncertainty, the importance is too weighty to put matters to the\nventure. But here the uncertainty is great and apparent. You must\nsurely know, that there are critical seasons of life for managing the\nconcerns of it, which are of such a nature, that if once lost, they\nmay never return: here is a critical season: \u201cNow is the accepted time,\nnow is the day of salvation,\u201d _2 Corinthians_ vi. 2. \u201cTo-day, if ye\nwill hear his voice, harden not your hearts,\u201d _Hebrews_ iii. 7, 8. This\nlanguage may not be spoken to-morrow. Talk not of a more convenient\nseason; none can be more convenient; and that to which you would\nprobably refer it, is least of all so, a dying time. You would not\nchuse then to have any important business in hand; and will you of\nchoice refer the greatest business of all to that languishing, hurrying,\namazing hour? If a friend were then to come to you with the balance\nof an intricate account, or a view of a title to an estate, you would\nshake your fainting head, and lift up your pale trembling hand, and say,\nperhaps, with a feeble voice, \u201cAlas, is this a time for these things?\u201d\nAnd is it a time for so much greater things than these? I wish you\nknew, and would consider, into what a strait, we that are ministers are\nsometimes brought, when we are called to the dying beds of those who\nhave spent their lives in the neglect of the one thing needful. On the\none hand, we fear, lest if we palliate matters, and speak smooth things,\nwe shall betray and ruin their souls: and on the other, that if we use\na becoming plainness and seriousness, in warning them of their danger,\nwe shall quite overwhelm them, and hasten the dying moment, which is\nadvancing by such swift steps. O let me entreat you for our sakes,\nand much more for your own, that you do not drive us to such sad\nextremities; but if you are convinced, as I hope some of you may now\nbe, that the care of the soul is that needful thing we have represented,\nlet the conviction work, let it drive you immediately to the throne of\ngrace; from thence you may derive that wisdom and strength, which will\ndirect you in all the intricacies which entangle you, and animate you\nin the midst of difficulty and discouragement.\n\n3. I would in the last place address myself to those happy souls, who\nhave in good earnest attended to the one thing needful.\n\nI hope, that when you see how commonly it is neglected, neglected\nindeed, by many, whose natural capacities, improvements, and\ncircumstances in life, appear to you superior to your own; you will\nhumbly acknowledge, that it was distinguishing grace which brought\nyou into this happy state, and formed you to this most necessary care.\nBless the LORD, therefore, who hath given you that counsel, in virtue\nof which you can say, \u201cHe is your portion.\u201d Rejoice in the thought,\nthat the great concern is secured: as it is natural for us to do, when\nsome important affair is dispatched, which has long lain before us,\nand which we have been inclined to put off from one day to another, but\nhave at length strenuously and successfully attended. Remember still to\nendeavour to continue acting on these great principles, which at first\ndetermined your choice; and seriously consider, that those who desire\ntheir life may at last be given them for a prey, must continue on their\nguard, in all stages of their journey through a wilderness, where daily\ndangers are still surrounding them. Being enabled to secure the great\nconcern, make yourselves easy as to others of smaller importance: You\nhave chosen the kingdom of GOD, and his righteousness; other things,\ntherefore, shall be added unto you: and if any which you desire should\nnot be added, comfort yourselves with this thought, that you have\nthe good part, which can never be taken away. And, not to enlarge on\nthese obvious hints, which must so often occur, be very solicitous\nthat others may be brought to a care about the one thing needful. If\nit be needful for you, it is so for your children, your friends, your\nservants. Let them, therefore, see your concern in this respect for\nthem, as well as for yourselves. Let parents especially attend to this\nexhortation, whose care for their offspring often exceeds in other\nrespects, and fails in this. Remember that your children may never live\nto enjoy the effects of your labour and concern to get them estates\nand portions: the charges of their funerals may, perhaps, be all their\nshare of what you are so anxiously careful to lay up for them. And O\nthink what a sword would pierce through your very heart, if you should\nstand by the corpse of a beloved child with this reflection: \u201cThis poor\ncreature has done with life, before it learnt its great business in it;\nand is gone to eternity, which I have seldom been warning it to prepare\nfor, and which, perhaps, it learned of me to forget.\u201d\n\nOn the whole, may this grand care be awakened in those by whom it has\nbeen hitherto neglected: may it be revived in each of our minds. And\nthat you may be encouraged to pursue it with greater chearfulness,\nlet me conclude with this comfortable thought, that in proportion to\nthe necessity of the case, through the merits of CHRIST JESUS, is the\nprovision which divine grace has made for our assistance. If you are\ndisposed to sit down at CHRIST\u2019s feet, he will teach you by his word\nand Spirit. If you commit this precious jewel, which is your eternal\nall, into his hand, he will preserve it unto that day, and will then\nproduce it richly adorned, and gloriously improved to his own honour,\nand to your everlasting joy.\n\n Which GOD of his infinite mercy grant, &c.\n\n\n END of the FIFTH VOLUME.","title":"The works of the Reverend George Whitefield, M.A., Vol. 5 (of 6) : $b Containing all his sermons and tracts, etc.","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":189674}