K^ 
 
 7> ^•- 
 
 
.7 .' . .-, 
 
 PRESENTED TO THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINHRY 
 
 BY 
 
 |VlPs. Rle^^andep Ppoudfit. 
 
 
:^^''^mM^: 
 
SEVENTEEN 
 
 SERMONS, 
 
 O N 
 
 FJRIOUS IMPORT A NT SUBJECTS. Viz. 
 
 CN ORIGINAL GUILT ORIGINAL DEPRAVITY— HUMAN IM- 
 
 POTENCY— THE TRINITY T^E DEITY OF CHRIST— JUS- 
 TIFICATION BY CHRISt'3 righteousness THE NATURE 
 
 AND USE OF FArTH IN THE SlNNER^S JUSTIFICATION 
 
 ON THE CHRfSTIAN^S WARFARE THE CHRISTIANAS 
 
 COURS^E THE CHRISTIAN'S STEADFASTNESS THE CHRIS- 
 TIAN'S CROWN LOVE 10 AN UNSEEN SAVIOUR. 
 
 BY THE LATE .ilEVER END 
 
 Mr. SAMUEL HATWARD. 
 
 TO WHICH ARE ADDED, 
 
 THE PLEASANTNESS 
 
 O f A 
 
 KELIGIOUS LIFE, 
 
 • PENED, PROVED, AND RECOMMENDED TO THE CONSIDERA^ 
 
 TION OF ALL, PARTICULARLY OF YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 AND A 
 
 CHURCH IN THE HOUSE: 
 
 BEING A 
 
 S E R M O N 
 
 COHCERNING 
 
 FAMILY RELIGION. 
 
 BOTH BY THE LATE REVEREND 
 
 Mr. MATTHEW HENRY, 
 
 MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN CHESTER, 
 
 AIR; 
 
 PRINTED CY JOHN & PETER WILSON. 
 
 M,DCC,XC1I. 
 
 [Price bound Three Shillings.J 
 
TO T H 1 
 
 CHURCH AND CONGREGATION, 
 
 LATELY UNDER THE CARE OF 
 
 THE REV. S. HAYWARD, DECEASED. 
 
 Dear Chrijlian Friends^ 
 
 YOU, and the Public, are here prefented with a fmall 
 collection of your late dear and worthy Pallor's Ser- 
 mons. Pollhiimous difcourfes indeed, always appear with 
 a confiderable difadvantage, as they come out deftitiite o£ 
 that hand, which alone had a right to make alterations in 
 method or expreflion. Care has been taken to fele£t fuch as 
 appeared diltin^l in their fubje£l matter, and were molt full 
 and liniflied in pointof compofition ; yetasthey werenotcom- 
 pofcd or preached in this connection, fome coincidence of 
 matter and famenefs of thouglit will occafionally occur. 
 However, they are publiihed at your defire : a defire which 
 flows from your cordial love to his memory, and- genuine 
 eitecin for his labours, which were fo acceptable and ufeful 
 among you when alive ; and with a viewtobe in fomedec^ree 
 btneiii-ial to his dear and tender family, no^v he is removed. 
 Ivlany of you doubtlefs have an agreeablw" remembrance of 
 the earneilntfs and affcQion with which they were deli- 
 vered from the pulpit, and alfo an experience of inftruCtioii 
 and profit, as well as of entertainment from them. There 
 needs therefore little apologv for the prcfcnt publlcatiunj 
 
IV DEDICATION. 
 
 nor is there any fear about your kind reception of it. And^ 
 as to others, even fuch as are in no degree prepofTefTed iu 
 its favour, I cannot but hope, upon their ferious and candid 
 perufal, they will find fuch a plain, fcriptural reprefentation 
 of feveral moll material and interefting doftrines of our 
 holy religion, and thefe inforced in fo earnefl: and pathetic 
 a manner, on the hearts and confclences of men, as will 
 yield them a folid pleafure. If there is any pieafure in per- 
 ufing the lemaiiis of one who appears to have confidered re- 
 ligion as a reality, its do£lrines as the appointed means of 
 holinefs and happinefs, principles not merely to be known 
 and maintained, but alfo to be ufed and improved in the 
 divine life ; one who confidered himfclf a real friend to the 
 fouls of men, commiflioned to lead them in the paths of 
 peace, and warmly defirous of fuccefs in his work — The 
 truly pious and favoury vein which runs through the whole 
 of thefe difcourfes mud necefTirily gain a general accepta- 
 tion, and with the divine blefling afford both profit and de- 
 light. It is proper farther to inform you, that this collec- 
 tion has been made in conformity, in fome mcafure, to a 
 plan our deceafed friend had formed a little before his laft 
 illnefs, which was to lay together in a plain and concife 
 manner, the fcripture evidences for the feveral principal 
 do^lrines of the Gofpel, and to employ a confiderable part 
 of each difcourfe in a large and familiar reprefentation of 
 the importance and influence of thefe great truths in the 
 Chriftian's life of faith and holinefs : the five firft Sermons 
 were compofed upon this plan ; illnefs prevented a farther 
 profecution of it, nor was he able to review them for the 
 prefs, as I know he propofed. Thofe which follow will, it 
 is hoped, appear to have fome degree of conformity to his 
 defign, and yield a fhare of fatisfadion to the intelligent 
 reader. 
 
 As to our worthy deceafed friend and brother, it would 
 be but a debt of friendfhip paid to his memory, were I to 
 take this occafion of mentioning fome particulars in his life, 
 which the great intimacy and long continued correfpon- 
 dence between us have enabled me to lay together ; but it 
 may be fufficitnt juft to obferve, that he was'enabJtd to 
 fupport the minifterial charadler, with reputation and ufe^ 
 fulnefs, for almofl: twenty years. He entered upon the work 
 young, and it plcafed God to own and blcfs him, even in 
 
DEDICATION. V 
 
 Vis firfl attempts, for the awakening, quickening, and re- 
 viving the fouls of many, efjiecially of young perfons, in 
 the congregation where he minidered. From his hrft en- 
 trance upon the facred office, 1 have good reafon to think 
 his heart was very feriouily turned, and m a good degree en- 
 gaged, upon thefe two great branches of minifterial care and 
 concern, ** ihe faving our own fouls and them that hear 
 ** us." How truly his mind was bent in purfult of heart 
 religion, how clofc and affecting his inward exercifes, how 
 great his folicitude about his own interell in the great fal- 
 vation, while he was thus fuccefst'ui in preaching it to 
 others, will molt naturally appear by the following extract 
 from a letter wrote in the firil year of his public miniftry. 
 
 Dear Friend^ Saffron JValden, 1739-49, 
 
 I TAKE my pen, but know not what to fay ; I am, full 
 of complaints and have too much reafon to be fo -, I 
 complain, and yet am unconcerned; I fear,^ yet am Itu- 
 pid ; it will be a mercy if God give me not up to an 
 hardened frame. My mercies have made but little im- 
 prelhon, love commonly conftrains, but it feems other- 
 wife with me *, mercies are forgotten, and fins too much gra- 
 tified. Therefore if I enjoy any comfort,! fear it is only ima- 
 ginary; it is a mercy to diltinguifh between the confolations 
 of the fpirit and the flows of afFe(^ion ; it is pleafantto have 
 the afi^eclions raifed in duty, and I fear I often take this 
 for fomething higher. Duties are pleafant to God's 
 people, but burdenfome to me; fpiritual mindednefs I 
 know but little of, carnal mindednefs I am too much ac- 
 quainted with, and that we know ifiues in death. In 
 Oiort, if I am a child of God, I am fure I behave not as 
 fuch ; if I have an intereft in Chrift, the leaft, the weakeft, 
 the mofl unworthy and contemptible need not to be 
 afraid ; but if I am an hypocrite ! Oh ! let every one 
 fearch their own hearts, examine themfelves, and keep a 
 diligent watch, left, when weighed in the balance, they 
 
VI DEDICATION. 
 
 ** are found too light : for common convitlions may carry 
 ** usveiy fav. I blefs God my worth efs labours have been 
 " beyond cxpe^tatioii blefled, to the good of fume fouls, but 
 «* I may be a call away myfelf, o:c." 
 
 Thcfe deep concerns about vital religion in himfclf were 
 conne£l^d with as genuine a delire, and endeavour, to pro- 
 mote the fame in the hearts of others. As he advanced in 
 life, he feem^ to have been growingly folicitous to advance 
 the iiiteretl of rehgion wlieve provineiice had placed him. 
 In the courfe of our correfpondcnce, his letters frequently 
 cxprelfed his great concern about the fuccefs of liis miniftra- 
 tions. What fpecial methods could be taken to ft em the tide 
 of immcrah*y and prophanenefs ? Wiiat, to quicken and 
 revive the fpirit of religion amongft profeiibrs ? What could 
 be done particularly with young perfons, to bring them to a 
 ferlous fenfe of things? &c. were inquiries, whicii appeared 
 often to lie near his heaift, and were the leading topics of 
 our epiilolary converfe. In one of his letters, he lays open 
 the refult of his own obfcrvation, experience, and concern^ 
 iii refpe£l lo a material branch of minifterial duty, with that 
 judgement, humility, ami ireedom of thought, asrendercd it 
 not a little profitable as well as pleafant in the firil: perufal ; 
 it may be fo to others, and therefore I hope without offence 
 tra.nfcribed. 
 
 JD.'jr Brother^ Pooly \^ MarcJh 1751. 
 
 " X Am forry to find yon complain of th.e ftate of re- 
 
 " |_ liijion amongfl you, &c. Iniideiity atxjunds, and 
 
 '« Chriltians grow cold and lukewarm : Miniilers labour, and 
 " in a great mealure in vain j fuihcient caufes cf lamcnta- 
 ** tion thefe : Ytt both miniller<^ and private Chriftians have 
 " rcafon to be ailiamcd of their frequent ncgle6f of thofe 
 *' imrortiint duties, a ferious and re»^ular difcliarge ot 
 wl'.ich, has a tendency to revive tlic power of re 
 
 igion 
 
 « tlunigh 1 am fullv fenhble nothing wiU do without the 
 " prefe:>ee of the fpirit of God, yet fo far as we live in the 
 " i.c^ltcl of any mean?:, l"o far wc arc cercainiy culpable. 
 
DE T>IC ATION. VU 
 
 " The great ckfeO: In (erlotis Gofpel minlfters in the prc- 
 ** fent ciay, I apprehend is impertinent convcrfation, aiu! 
 ** not labouring in private, to imprcfs upon the minds olT 
 " their hearers, a fenfe of what is delivered in pu'olic. If 
 " our vifits were more rehgiousj we miglit hope to find ov<t 
 *' labours more owned When wc arc in Chriltian company^ 
 ** where we may ufe the utmoft freedom, how kick ward to 
 ** a ferious enlivening convcrfation! A>d we can fnend 
 ** perhaps an whole evening arnongft our lefs religious hear* 
 *' ers, and not drop a fmgle word that favours of the real 
 •* power of godliness. 1 fj^eak too much by experience, 
 ** liaving often loft a difpofition to converfe about the things 
 " of God, by impertinent chat, 8:c. It is a difficult mat- 
 ** terto retain a ferious temper, and an inclination to inter- 
 " mix with indifferent fubjec^s, ferious and fuitable reflec- 
 ** tions. We are either afhamed, or afraid, to fpeak for 
 *' God ; or elfe our inclination is wanting, or fomc trilling 
 •' excufe or other keeps us from the difcharge of our duty. 
 ** I am often convinced of my negleft, and promife to ftrivc 
 *^ againft it ; but I am foon overcome with fear, or filled 
 ** with that fhameful modefty which is a great hindrance to* 
 " ufefulnefs. It is certainly a roinifter's duty to preach in 
 ** private and to ufe plainnefs and faithfulnefs : when In- 
 " ftead of inforcing in private what we preach in public 
 ** we readily join in impertinent talk, unrenewed perfons 
 ** are hardened in their impenitency, and if they have had 
 ** any convidions, upon this they prefume to take encou- 
 ** ragement, either to think well of their ftate, or to think 
 ** there is nothing in religion ; by which means our public 
 " performances are defpifed, or looked upon as a mere form. 
 ** It is neceff-iry then that we ufe plainnefs with finners in 
 *' private, as well as publicly admonifh them, and talk with 
 ** them about their fouls in the moft ferious and afrec- 
 ** tionate manner, if we would be fuccefsful. I am only 
 ** telling you, how it has been with me; I hope God has 
 ** given fome others a greater meafure of refolution, and 
 '* grace, to (land up fir him : yet as this is too generally 
 *' the cafe, and you nv.iy have found Something of it, let us 
 ** refolve, in a dependence upon our great mafter, to add 
 ** this to -ill our other endeavours ; hoping to find fuccefs 
 ** in a greater meafure crowning our imperf ft labours in 
 " the coiiverfion of fouls. Infidelity appears more and saorcT 
 
Vlll D E D I C A T I O K# 
 
 *« bnreface(^ ; 5t requires couraoje and refolution notv, t& 
 " confefs Chrift before men : thinj^s cannot continue Ions 
 " in the prefent pofture, either a reformation, or fomc fore 
 " judgement. God grant it'may be the former ! I cannot but 
 •* entertp.in great hopes from thofe mennt in town which 
 " are made ufe of, to fen4 ferious Gofpel minifter's cut, 
 ** &c. I have lately, I blefs God, been more deeply impref- 
 •* fed with a fenfe of the worth of fouls, the awfulnefs of 
 •* death and eternity, than ufual, though I could willi it did 
 " ftir me up to greater diligence, in the purfuit of eternal 
 ** bleflings : 1 have fuch a fenfe of the awfulnefs of dying 
 '* in a flate of fufpence, that I cannot bring my mind to give 
 •* up the point to God, from whom I am fenCble I deferve 
 '' no favour, yet I cannot but beg for a cheerful frame in <k 
 ** dying hour, to bear a teftiraony to the truth God enables 
 " me to deliver. Oh happy cafe, when the foul is enabled 
 " to bid a cheerful farewel to time, and boldly ventures 
 ** into eternity, fecure of eternal life, through a dear Re- 
 •< deemer." 
 
 How far my deceaftd brother was enabled to condu£l 
 himfelf in after life, according to the excellent and impor- 
 tant view of paftoral duty, above expreffed, you and others 
 are beft able to witnefs ; fo far it is evident he did, as to 
 gain your fincere love and efteem, and with fuch fuccefs in 
 connection with other duties of his (tation, as to be inftru-' 
 mental, of reviving and increafnig the intcreft of religion 
 among you, and of giving a very plcafing profpcdl of the 
 •Jmich's farther enlargement and profperity, 
 
 Amidft the pleafmg fcene of harmony and ufefulnefs^ 
 and at an age of life, which promifed much longer public 
 fervice to his generation, it pleafed the wife, the fovereign 
 God, to put a period to his days, and bereave you of fo ami- 
 able a friend, — fo faithful and a^live a fervant, in your beft 
 interefls. The greater is your lofs ! A lofs which many be- 
 lidcj yourfelves deplore. But, " The will of the Lord be 
 «' done," is the language of filial fubmilTion ; ** And fhew 
 •* me wherefore thou contended with mc," is the language 
 ©f humble prayer, which our heavenly father allows, yea 
 which he calls for, from his people under all fuch mournful 
 and ftriking inflances of his difplcafure. And may I not 
 add the well chofen text, at the late funeral folemnity, Job 
 xix. 21. ♦* Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, Oh my 
 
DEDICATION. ix 
 
 *' friends, for Che. h;r-i(l of the Lord biitlrtoiiclieu me •,'* is 
 fill) the forrovvUi! language of a widowed church and iii- 
 tereft, which hibours under the fingular d-fcoura;Tement of 
 this declining age, wherein it is a very diiaeult tiling, fully 
 •ajul fpeedily to repair fo great .a breach. Yet as a confider- 
 able allay to our ,t:ricf, and encouragement to our own hopes 
 towards God. it: dcferves to be remembered, how mercifully 
 the Lord dealt with him in his lad illnefs ! What had been 
 matter of his earneil prayers, years before, as cKpreffod at 
 iheclofe of the above letter, was now the matter of Jiis hap- 
 py experience. Fhe evening of his life was ferene, and with- 
 out a cloud ; heaven was in his eye, and much of heaven 
 appeared to be in his heart; he was enabled to bear tefti- 
 mony to the truths he had preached, and to. take a cheerful 
 farewel of time, comfortably fecure of eternal liie through a 
 dear Redeemer. 
 
 And now myChrlftian friends permit me to take leave, 
 with reminding you, that Jefus the great fliepherd dill jives.; 
 lives to exefcife the tendered care over his 'humble depen- 
 dant Hock. The promife yet ftands, " rwill give you paf- 
 *' tors according to my heart." J^r. iii. j 5". . Hi$ power 
 and faithfulnefs are yet engaged,, in the conveyance of chit, 
 and every promifed good ; the refidue of the fpirit is dill 
 with him : he can, and I trud will yet appear for you, will 
 dire-fl: and unite your choke, in, another ufeful indnimeat 
 for your continued, profperity, and tlie furtherance of y.jur 
 fplritual and everlading ad^'antage. Only remember your 
 foiemn engagements, who are' church members, to one an- 
 other, as weU as co the Lord ; your Church relation con- 
 tinues, though your mini ters are mortal; keep together in 
 Cxod's fear, and cheerfully expe£l- his prefence among you. 
 That this may be your condant experience, is the earned 
 prayer of your 
 
 Sincere friend and fervant, 
 
 Jan. r. 7 
 
 1768. 5 J. CONDER. 
 
 B 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 .4-^-<-<-4»-» »■■>■> >•■> >■ ►->•• 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 On Original Guilt. 
 Gal. iii. 22. But the Scripture bath concIiK^.cd all 
 under fin Page 17 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 On Original Pollution. 
 
 The fame Text, 34 
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 On Human Impotency* 
 
 The fame Text. 51 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 On the Trinity of Perfons in the Divine Effencc. 
 
 I John V. 7. And thefe three are one* 6S 
 
 SERMON V. 
 On the Deity of ChriiL 
 Rom. ix. 5. — Who is over all^ Godhleffedfot ever, 84 
 SERMON VI. 
 On Juftification, what it is. 
 Gal. ii. 16. Kno\vi?ig that a man is notjufifedhy 
 the Ivor ks cf the law, but by the faith of Jefus 
 Chriji, even ive have believed in Jefus Chriji ; 
 that we might be juftified by the faith of Chrifl^ 
 and not by the works of thd law : for by the 
 works of the lawjh'all nofefo bejujlified, 98 
 
 S E R M ON VII. 
 
 Man's Righteoufnefs Infuflicient. 
 The fame Text, 1 1 1 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 By Chrift's Righteoufnefs. 
 Phil. ill. Q. And be found in him not having my 
 ozvn righteoufnefs — page 127 
 
 S E R M O N IX. 
 
 On the Imputation of Chrift's Righteoufnefs. 
 
 7 he fame Text. 142 
 
 S E R M O N X. 
 
 Juftification by Faith. 
 
 Rom. V. I, Being jiififcd by faith ^ive have peace 
 
 with Gody through our Lord Jefus Chrifi, 1 5G 
 
 SERMON XI. 
 
 How Faith Juftifiesi 
 
 the fame Text, 169 
 
 SERMON XII. 
 
 The Freenefs of Grace in Juftification. 
 
 The fame Text. \ jg 
 
 SERMON XIII. 
 
 The Chriftiah Warfare and Conqueft. 
 
 at Tim. iv. 7. / have fought a goodfigbi—r 1 90 
 
 S E R JNI O N XIV. 
 
 The Chriftian's Courfe. 
 
 2 Tim. IV. 7. — I have ftnifhed my courfe- — 208 
 
 S E R M O N XV. 
 
 Steadfaftnefs in the Faith. 
 
 2 Tim. iv. 7. — / have kept the faith. 224 
 
 SERMON XVI. 
 The Chriftian's Crown. 
 
 3 Tim. iv. 8. Henceforth there is laid up for me 
 a crown of righteoufnefs^ which the Lord, the 
 
Xii C O N T £ N T S; 
 
 r'lghfco'js Judge fijall pve me at that day: and 
 not to me only^ hut unto all ihem that love his 
 appearing. page 238 
 
 S E R M p N XVII. 
 The Chriftian's Love to an unfeen Saviour. 
 I Pet i..8. Wko7ii having notfecnje love ; in whom 
 though now ye fee hi' a ;/9/, yet believing ye re- 
 joice with joy mifpeakable and full of glory, 254 
 
 C O N TENT S, 
 Of the Pleafantnefs of a Religious Life. 
 
 Prov. ill. 17. Her ways are ways of pleafantiiefs^ 
 and all her paths are peace. 285 
 
 Chap. J. The Explication of the Doclrine. 292 
 
 Chip. 11. The Pieaiure of being religious, 
 proved from the nature of true Religion, 
 :ind many particular inftances of it. 305 
 
 Chap. Ill The Pleafantnefs of Religion, proved 
 frona the provifion that is made for the 
 comfort of rhofe who are religious, and the 
 privileges they are entitled to 322 
 
 Chap. IV. The Doctrine further proved by 
 Kxperic:.:e* - 338 
 
 Chap. V. The Doarine illuilrated by the 
 funilitude ufed in the Text, of a pleafant 
 way or journey. 347 
 
 Chap' VL' T\\c boclrine vindicated from 
 WiUit may be objecled ngainll it. . 356 
 
 Chjp. 111. The;ipphcation of the Dofirlne. 308 
 
 A Church in the Iloufe. 
 I Cor. xvi. 8. —With the Church thai is in thine 
 Ibuie, 3^8 
 
SERMON I 
 
 .,..,.,..,..<.^***«»;«**4'^"->-»- 
 
 GAL. Ui. 22. FORMER CLAUSE. 
 
 But the fcripture hath concluded all under fm— 
 
 r\V all kinds of knowledge, that which '^el/'" " °" 
 ( ) everbfting Intereft is the moft .mportant, ^'nd parti- 
 cVly that of %neU felf. This is =^f >-«'y -" J^^,^! 
 our knowing Chrift aright, and therefore '^ fo. to^°"; '»^_ 
 
 vation ; and is what the fpirit gives, when he b^S'" / f % 
 vation , ana r ^^^^ negleaed ? 
 
 cious work in the loui. lec w' * .i,„ ,„„rt« of crea- 
 
 uoii . liuw VI g, ^^^^r„i orp manv to view and examine 
 
 ri-nA rniintries ' How carciul are many l«j v>^ 
 
 tht rrrfabric the body, ^^fj^^^^^^^S^ 
 parts ! but never inquire into their ftate G°d-warrtb^ i n y 
 
 Lver aflc, what that P^^ ^^^^^!:^;^^^':, 
 it is removed, but appear to be <:o"t^"Y'y ^ , ^ f^^j 
 thefe moft niomentous concerns-, all -'"^^ jj^^^ '^^ '^ 
 <.ff,.f\^ r,f the fall, in that blindnefs and ftupidity we arc 
 S lly unde^Jid HiouM fill us with *e deepeft huind^^^ 
 ation Nay, notwithftanding our p.aure is ^-g V ^^7« 
 
 in God's word, and our ftate •"^P'-f'^'^t/wm not "«'«</ 
 plorable, we will not believe it ; at leaft, ^'^. ^'" ""V,"^^ " 
 \o it, though we are in danger o fl^^^'J^^J"}^''^ 
 mife;yi ior the fcripture has "«^ "'^^'' "^.f '"^e w s to 
 
 The great defien of the apoftle in this epiltie ^..s 
 eftabliof the doarlne of juftification by *e "gbteoufr^f^ f 
 Chrift, and to guard the Galat.ans ^f "^ ^^''^^"^ ",.- 
 ipon the law. lie therefore ^akes ule of a vauety 
 
j-S ORIGINAL GUILT. Serm. K 
 
 guments for this purpofe, particularly in the verfe before 
 our text, fays, that if there had been a law which could 
 have given us an unqueflionable title to eternal life, then 
 there would have been no need of a mediator ; as our juf- 
 tifying righteoufnefs would have confirted in a conformity 
 to that law : but this is far from being the cafe, for the 
 fcripture hath concluded all^ both Jews and Gentiles, under 
 fin^ and therefore under an incapacity of being juftified by 
 any obedience of their own, that fo the free promife of 
 life and falvntion through faith in Jefus Ghrift, might be 
 fulfilled to all who fliould be enabled to believe in him. 
 Thus vi'e have in the w^ords an awful andaife£ling account 
 of our ftate by nature, and a glorious intimation of gofpel 
 grace ; the one to humble, the other to encourage and 
 quicken us. It is the firfl: of thefe I am now to confider, 
 and may the view of it fuitably imprefs each of our hearts, 
 that under a fenfe of our loft condition we may be thankful 
 for, and may be ftirred up cheerfully to embrace the fa- 
 Viour whom God has provided. The great truth then that 
 lies before us is this, viz. That all mankind are concluded 
 tinder^ or are naturally in a fiatc of ftn. There is not an 
 individual that can be excepted, but all are alike. And 
 this is not a fancy, a human fiction, but is a truth built 
 upon divine teftimony, and fupported both by the Old and 
 the New Teftament. T\\Q fcripture hath concluded us all 
 under fin. To lay open this truth as it appears in fcripture, 
 I muft reprefent it under the three following moftafFedting 
 vievi's. 
 
 L We are all under the guilt of fin. 
 IT. We are all under the pollution of fin. 
 III. We are all under its power and government. 
 
 Thefe three things give us a juft view of human naturey 
 and fliow the miferable ftate we are ali in, from the oldeft 
 to the youngeft, fo' long as we are deftitute of the grace of 
 God. This is the ftate in which the Father viewed us when 
 he laid the plan of our falvation, and chofe a number of the 
 fallen race of Adam to be his peculiar people. This is the 
 ftate in which the iSon of God viewed us, when he under- 
 took to redeem us, and came a<Slually to accompliih it. 
 And this is the ftate in which the Spirit finds us, when he 
 comes to apply the bleihng of falvation to us. Particularly,- 
 
Serm. I. or^oinal guilt. 19 
 
 I. We are all under the guilt of fin. This is the cafe 
 not only witli men of years, but with infants of a day old. 
 None are excepted but cur Lord Jefus Chrift, who de- 
 fcended not from Adam in an ordinary way. To ni2k% 
 this truth appear clear, I would 
 
 T. Inquire into what io meant by guilt. 
 II. Prove that we are under the guilt of fin. 
 
 III. How it is that we are all guilty. And, 
 
 IV. Improve the fubje6t. 
 
 I. Let us inquire what is meant by guilt ? Guilt is ai> 
 obligation to puniOmient on account of fin. When I fay, 
 therefore, that we are all under the guilt of fin, I mean, 
 that we are all of us fo chargeable with the breach of the 
 law of God, as to be juftly bound over by it to punifliment. 
 Thus fays the apoftle, Rom. vi. 23. The ivages of Jin is 
 death, which is agreeable to the threatening which God 
 pronounced upon Adam's difobedience, Gen. ii. 17. la 
 the day that thou eatejl thereof thou Jhait fur ely die, 80 that 
 you fee, whoever can juftly be charged with fin, is brought 
 under an obligation to punifhment, by the righteous confti- 
 tution of God, and according to the nature and demerit of 
 (in. It may not be amifs here to inquire into that punifh- 
 ment which fin renders us obnoxious to. And I cannot 
 give a better defcription than you have in that excellent 
 form of words, the AffcmhW s Catechifm, which gives us 
 this account : That all mankind by their fall lojt communion 
 ivith Cody are under his ivrath and cur fe, and fo made liable 
 to all the miferics of this life, to death itjelf, and to the pains 
 of hell forever. Let us fpend a few thoughts upon this 
 view. And, 
 
 I . By Jin vje Ife communion luith God. Can two walk tO' 
 get her except they be agreed F A very important and figni- 
 Acant quellion, which the prophet put to the Jews in the 
 name of God, to convince them of the reafon.that he had 
 withdrawn his favourable regards from them, Amos iii. 3. 
 When our firft parents heard the voice of the Lord God, 
 they attempted to hide themfelves among * the trees of the 
 garden^ fenfible of what they had done to prevent all comr 
 munion with him, and to expofe them tp his everlafting 
 
 • Gen. iii. S. 
 C2 
 
2<$ ORIGINAL GUILT. Serm. !• 
 
 flifpleafure. When God did not fave his people, nor hear 
 their cries, it was not becaufe he was incapable of doing 
 it, brut their iniquities had feparated between them and 
 *' their God, and their fins had hid his face from them, 
 ** that he would not hear *." Sin is fo diflionourable to 
 God, that it provokes him to withhold the light of his 
 countenance from the foul,>and ftop all comfortable com- 
 munion ; an affli£lion which the Chriftian too often knows 
 to his grief arid forrow. But, 
 
 2. Stn brings us under the •wrath and curfe of God, 
 Every one that believes not in Jefus Chrift is under the 
 wrath of God, John iii. 36, And the apoftle tells us, 
 Rom. i. i8» that " the wrath of God is revealed from 
 ** heaven againft the ungodlinefs and unrighteoufnefs of 
 *' men. The curfe of the Lord is in the houfe of the 
 ** wicked f ;" and therefore you read of the awful curfes 
 that were to be brought upon the Ifraelites, if they did not 
 obferve to do all the commandments and ftatutes of God. 
 Deut. xxviii. i5~r-20»' ^f Curfed (halt'thou be in the city, 
 '* and curfed flialt thou be in the' field- Curfed fliall be 
 ^* thy balket arid thy (lore. Curfed (hall be the fruit of thy 
 ** body, and the fruit of thy land, the increafe of thy kine, 
 ** and the flocks of thy fheep. Curfed fhalt thou be, when 
 *' thou comefj: in, and curfed (halt thou be when thou goeft 
 ** out. The Lord fhall fend upon thee curfing, vexation, 
 ** and rebuke in all that thou fetteft thine hand unto for to 
 ** do." Thus we fee that fin imbitters our common mer- 
 cies, fharpens our affliftions, turns our very table into a 
 fnare unto us, and brings down the curfe of God upon our 
 perfons and upon all we do. - . . c ; 
 
 3. Sin renders us liable to all the miferies of this life, and 
 to death itfelf. It is fin that makes man " eat his bread in 
 ** the fweat of his brow, till he return into the ground," 
 Gen. iii. 19. Sin brings public judgements and calamities, 
 ** famine, and evil beafts, peftilence, and blood, and the 
 *' fword," Ezek. v. 1 7. The righteous themfelves fliall not 
 pfcape, or be exempted from trials. Does David fm ? 
 David X mud feel the fmart of the rod too, though a man 
 after God's own heart. There is a difference indeed be- 
 tv/een the common fuflerings of the godly and the wicked? 
 
 • If. lix. I, a. f Prov. iii. Zh \ 1 Chion. xxi. 7, 8. Pf. \u 
 
Serm. I. original guilts 21 
 
 To the one they arc, through diflingulfhing grace, turned 
 into bleflings ; to the other they are curfCvS. To the one 
 they are fanftified, and made a means of preparing for 
 heaven j v/hereas to the other they are forerunners of 
 everlafling calamities They all have a fhiire in them, 
 3nd all muft die. And from the account which the apoftlc 
 gives lis of death, and its relation to fm, we cannot 
 look upon it as a mere necelTary coni'equence, but the 
 punifliment of fin, Rom. vi. 23, and chap. v. 12. 
 
 4. S\n expofeth us to the pains of hell for ever. Eternal 
 death,' as well as temporal, is the wages of fin. The 
 apoftle appears evidently to carry it farther than death tem- 
 poral, even to eternal death, becaufe he puts eternal life in 
 oppofition to it. And as he eftabliilies it as a general pre- 
 pofition, that the nvages cf Jin is deaths without mentioning 
 any particular fin, that by reafon of various aggravating 
 circumftances, may be more heinous than others, fo we 
 may conclude, that every fin deferves eternal death. Sin 
 not only renders life uncomfortable, but if not pardoned, 
 death and eternity too •, nay, it gives death a fting which 
 will be deftru6live of our everlafting peace, and will pierce 
 our fouls through with everlafling forrows. Oh, come and 
 fee the punifhment of fin ! An everlafling feparation frorr^ 
 all outward * enjoyments. An " everlafling deftruftion f 
 '* from the prefence of the Lord- and from the glory of his 
 ** power. Weeping :}:, and wailing, and gnailiing of teeth 
 *' in outer darknefs. J gna-wing worm jj, that dieth not. 
 f^ A fire that can never be quenched Indignation § and 
 ** wrath, tribulation and anguifh. ^hefociety of the devil ** 
 *^ and his angels. A lake which burneth wjth fire and 
 '* brimftone -j-." Dreadful defpair and horror, without one 
 benm of hope. This, all this is the proper defert of fin, 
 what it expofeth us to, and fliall be infli-fled upon all thofe 
 who are found out of Chrift. Awful defcription ! Such is 
 the punifnment to which fin renders us obnoxious. Let us 
 now, 
 
 IL Endeavour to pr9ve this important pshitf viz. that we 
 are all under thegvi't of fin. It need not take up any of our 
 time to prove the point, was it to be referred only to thofe, 
 who arrive to the years of maturity, fo as to be capable of ac- 
 tual fin ; experience fufficientlyfhews that there is none, not 
 
 • Job vii. TO. f a Thefl". i 9. \ Matt. xxv. xo. |j Mark, ix. 44- 
 § Rom. ii.«,9, •• Matth. XXV.41. 4. Rev.xx 10. 
 
?2 ORIGINAL GUILT. Serm. I, 
 
 even a good man, that liveth upon earth and finneth not. 
 Therefore, if any are fo infenfible as to efteem themfelvcs 
 free from fin, they deceive themfelves, and the truth is not 
 in them. We confider not man as grown up, but as he 
 comes into the world, and therefore we include all infants, 
 and affirm that all fuch who have defcended, or (hall de- 
 fcend from Adam by natural generation, muft be confi* 
 dered, and are concluded by the fcripture under the guilt 
 of fin. However difagreeablc this truth may appear to 
 corrupt nature, it is confirmed by that revelation, which 
 we ar^e to make our guide in all affairs of a religious con- 
 cern." Thus the apoille fets the point out in the cleareft 
 light, Rom y. 12, 16, 18. In the twelfth vcrfe, he abfo- 
 Jutely tells us, *f that we all have finned-/' and that he docs 
 not exclude infants, is plain from the 13th and 14th verfes. 
 In the 1 6th verfe he fays, " the judgement was by one to 
 *' condemnation.'^ The word condemnation is a law term; 
 it fuppofes 3 charge of guilt, and therefore an obligation to 
 punifhment, the defert of fin. And that this is the cafe with 
 ii//, we are told in the i8th verfe, where it is faid, " judge- 
 " ment came upon all men to condemnation." 
 
 This truth is further proved/rc;w the miferies and death 
 of ally even of infants. See what a train of evils come upon 
 thefe little creatures. They are born to trouble, and there- 
 fore fesl it as foon as they fee the light. What cries and 
 tears, what pains and agonies, enough to move the hardeft 
 heart ! Some foon take their leave, difappoint the willies 
 and expeftations of their fond indulgent parents, and enter 
 eternity ; while others ftay fome days or months to tafte the 
 bitter cup of fuiFerings, to linger under painfijl difeafes, 
 till their tender frame is intirely broke, and they yield to 
 all- conquering death. And what can be the reafon of all 
 this but fin ? We cannot fuppofe that all this comes by 
 chance to the infant- And, if it come from God it muft 
 be on the account of fin. It would be inconfiflent with our 
 ideas of the infinite goodnefs, love, and compafiTion, nay, 
 the infinite righteoufnefs and juflice of God, to confider 
 Iiim inflicting punifhment upon a perfectly innocent crea- 
 ture. Is he a father, and has he no bowels of conipaiTion ? 
 A father indeed takes the rod and correds his child, but 
 tlien ji is ahvnys fuppofed to be for fome inftances of difo- 
 
 •" 1 John 5. 8. 
 
Scrm. L original guilt. ^j 
 
 bediencc, and where there is a probability of his improving 
 the correftion. But in the cafe of infants, they are inca- 
 pable of reflection, or infenfible of the hand that chaftifeth 
 them, and are not therefore proper fubje<Sls of correftion 
 upon that account. It would be confequently aljcribing 
 truelty, feverity, and injuftice to God, whofe character is 
 perfectly contrary to thefe, to reprefent him as putting 
 thefe little helplefs babes to extreme pain and mifery, when 
 they have no manner of guilt. Has this been his ufual cuf- 
 tom of dealing with innocent creatures ? Have the good 
 angels in the courfe of their imfpotted obedience, been 
 under the awful evidences of their Creator's frowns, and 
 felt any kinds of diftrefs ; or did our firll parents, when in 
 their innocent condition, groan under any degree of pain ? 
 No ! it is Jin that has brought every evil upon us. Befides, 
 if there is any compaflion fliewn to one another, it is to 
 perfons of advanced years, or to infant-children. And 
 therefore it is a fign of the greateft infcnfibility and cruelty 
 when a mother, who fnould be all tenderncfs, can fo far 
 overpower the druggies of nature, as to forget and forfake 
 her fucking child. From the whole then it appears, tha« 
 an infinitely gracious God would never fuffer affli<Slion and 
 death to feize upon infants, did he not view them under 
 the guilt of Jin. Thus the fcripture in many places points 
 Cut Jin as the caufe of afflictions and death. " Wherefore," 
 fays the prophet, ** Ihould a living man complain," or grieve ; 
 vex, and murmur under his various afflictions, when it is 
 all for the " punlfliment of his fins," Lam. ill. 39. The 
 apoftle in the above-mentioned, Rom. v. 12. fays, that 
 ^* death came into the world by fin," and that the reafon 
 that ali die is becaufe all have finned. Thus it reigned from 
 Adam to Mofes, and has reigned ever fince, even over them 
 that have not finned after the fimilitude of Adam's tranf- 
 greflion. Therefore, as they are fubjeft to death, and 
 death is upon the account of fin, even as a punifliment, 
 fo thefe infants muil be confidered as guilty. 
 
 This truth further appears from what the apofile fays In 
 Eph. ii. 3, that we are " by nature children of wrath, even 
 ** as others." That is, that as foon * as we are born, we 
 deferve, lie expofed unto, and are under a law-ientence of 
 
 * Bt. Guyfe' Paraph rafe. See like wife the note there upon this verfe. 
 
tS4 ORIGINAL GUILT. Serm« ?, 
 
 the wrath of God. This is the natural ftate then of all 
 mankind, not only of the children of difobedience, but alfd 
 of thofe who through grace are made heirs of eternal life | 
 not only of grown perfons, but of infant babes. I am 
 now, 
 
 III. To inquire how it comes to pafs that we are all thus 
 naturally under the guilt of fin. This can be no otherwife 
 than by the imputation of Adam's fm to us. Now to im- 
 pute fm is to charge it upon us, fo as legally to inflid de- 
 ferved punifhment. "We do not mean that the fin \i 
 reckoned to be committed by us ; for we did not commit it, 
 but Adam ; but it is fo reckoned ours, upon our being in- 
 cluded in him as our cOvenant-head, that we are puniflied 
 for it according to the demerit of the fin. To reprefent 
 this point therefore in a proper Hght, we muft confider 
 Adam as i. public heady when God made that covenant of 
 life with him, and threatened death upon his difobedience : 
 the confequeuces of that adl were not only to afFe£i: hini" 
 felf, but all that fhouM defcend from him by ordinary ge- 
 neration. That he was 2 covenant head appears from his 
 being a figure of Chrift, Rom. v. xiv. " The figure of him 
 ^* that was to come." This appears in the following in-- 
 fiances. The firft Adam was the head of the covenant of 
 works r the fecond Adam was the head of the covenant of 
 grace. The firft reprefented all mankind that fhould de- 
 fcend from him in the common way ;. the fecond repre- 
 fented all the chofen of the father, alt that were given to 
 him. By the one therefore came death; by thd other eter- 
 nal life. You may fee the parallel fun by tltc apoftle in 
 the above chapter. From whence it appears, that if Chrift 
 was a public head and reprefentative of his feed, Adam' 
 muft be fo of his too, as there are no other inftauces in 
 which he could properly be faid to be a figure of him that 
 huas to come. That it was evefy way reafonable that he 
 (hould reprefent his pofterity, appears, if we confider, that 
 he was a common parent to all, was pcrfecSlly holy, had not 
 the leaft bias or inclination to fin, and had a full capacity to 
 fulfil every command, as well as that all would have beeii 
 put into the poiTeflion of eternal life, had he continued iri 
 his obedience. If the fcripture reprefent it, we are fure ic 
 is truth, and it is our duty immediately to believe it, know- 
 ing that God can do nothing but what is perfediy right." 
 
Serin. I. original cuilTo^ ^5 
 
 After the firft fin his heacKhip ceafed. The cc:venani 
 broken, all the cyils threatened came upon us ; fo that after- 
 wards, though Adam was a common father, he no longec 
 repreferitcd his pofterlty^ but all his after fins were charged 
 upon himff^lf alone. Dut let iis return to what the apoftle 
 fays in the 5th of Romans for a more direct proof of this 
 truth Thus when he fays, " By one man fin entered into 
 */ the world, and death by fin, and fo death pafTed upon all 
 1* ;r'en, h? addS) for that, or in whom all have finned." Let 
 but. a cpmnion reader attend with an unprejudiced mmd^ 
 and.'he. will eafily and readily conclude that the apoftles, 
 meaning is, that we all have finned in Adam, and that this 
 is the reafon of the death of infants, mentioned in verfes 
 13 th and 14th: fpr, as we have already obferved, death is 
 the punifhmenj: of fin, and as infants die as well as others, 
 fo they mud be necefiajily concluded to be finners ; but 
 they are abfqlutely incapable of a6lual fin, and therefore 
 muft fin in their great head, even the firft Adam. Thus, 
 verfe fifteen, we are faid to be dead through the .offence of 
 0ne, plainly pointing to Adam mentioned .before ; and^ 
 yerfe fixteen, judgement was l^y one to condemnation, by 
 one offence, or by the offence of one man, as in verfe eighteen; 
 and, in verfe. nineteen it is again confirmed^ when the 
 apoftle fays, that by onp man^s difobedience many were made 
 fmners. From the whole of thefe p^lTages then wc may- 
 gather this truth, viz " that m the covenant of works, 
 */ Adam reprefented all his pofterity ; who were to be dealt 
 " with according as he fulfilled or broke the law ; that dif- 
 *.* obeying the commapd he entailed guilt upon all, his race^ 
 V and they therefore have loft communipn with God, be- 
 ** come liable to. all the miferies of this life, to death itfelf, 
 ** and to the pains of hell forever." • . 
 
 But here let it be obferved, that " this guilt in all adults 
 ** is increafed by numberlefs aftual trarifgrefl!ions." We 
 lie not only under the guilt of Adam's firft fin, but under 
 the guilt of actual fins which will fink us into an abyfs of 
 cverlafting .mifery, unlefs pardoned thrpugh the blood o£ 
 Chrift. . We are " tranfgreflbrs from the womb*," have 
 been adding fin to fin, and iniquity to iniquity ; fo that, if 
 iic could reckon diem all up, oh how vaft the fum ! They 
 
 • . Ifaiah xlviii. 8. 
 
z6 ORIGINAL GUILT. Scrm. I. 
 
 may fitly be compnred to the fand upon thefea-fliore for mul- 
 titude. David fays concerning bis, that they exceeded the 
 hairs of his head, Pf. xl. 12. Who can draw up the cata- 
 logue of his fins, and enumerate every inftance of guilt ? 
 Who can reckon his fins of cmiflion, and fins of com- 
 miffion, fins of thought, word, and deed, fecret and public 
 fins ; fins attended with peculiar aggravations, committed 
 acainft light and knowledge, againfl conviction and love; 
 fins in every charafter and relation in life; who can reckon 
 them up ? Had we received the defert of our fins, our lives 
 mud have beeti full of milcry and wretchednefs •, nay, we 
 muft long ago have taken our dwelling with devouring fire 
 and cverlafting burnings. Thus, having taken a view of 
 the doftrinal part of our fubjecl, I come, 
 
 IV. And laftly, to confider lukat life it may he of to us. 
 This do£lrine appears in a moft unfavourable light to many. 
 Some can by no means relifli it, and therefore abfoluteiy 
 difbelieve, nny defpife and contemn it. Others though 
 obliged to acknowledge it, yet are for treating it rather as a 
 matter of fpeculation, than of any importance to us. But 
 however difreliftiing it may be to flefli and blood, furely it 
 has a tendency to anfwer fome taluable and important 
 purpofes, both in promoting the glory of God, and oui* 
 own prefent and future welfare ;• particularly, if this doc** 
 trine is viewed aright. 
 
 I. It lays a foundation for admiration, JmmiUatioh^ grati-^ 
 tude^ and obedience. We muft hereby be convinced that 
 our falvation is perfectly free, in the contrivance, in the 
 purchafe, and in the application of it ; becaufe God confi- 
 dered us as fallen, guilty creatures, and therefore as deferv- 
 ing everlafling puniflmient. And how does this exalt the 
 riches of his free mercy, and call us to (land and admire, 
 and adore ! How rich was the grnce of the Father, in that 
 whilft we were finncrs he laid owt the plan of falvation, 
 and cheerfully appointed his own Son to be the Saviour \ 
 How inconceivably glorious the love of the Son that he un- 
 <lertook the work, and fo readily came to finilh it, though 
 attended with fo much fliame and fufferingf How great 
 the love of the Spirit in coming to refcue hell-deferving 
 finners from unquenchable fire, by leading us to the great 
 ficrifice, and enabling us to lay hold on Jelas for falvation? 
 Here is no room for boafting *, that is abfoluteiy unbecom- 
 
Serm. I. original guilt. 27 
 
 ing one who Is guilty, and who is faved by free, rich 
 mercy. Under a view of this dodrine then, fee how the 
 foul admires infinite grace who has any folid hopes of 
 heaven, and how humble he appears.-^" What, fays he, 
 " was my name wrote in the Lamb's book of life ? Did the 
 " Father look upon me, guihy as I m^us, and fay deliver 
 «' hhn from going down into the pit * P And did the fon irn- 
 «^ mediately agree, and fay, yea, Father, for behold I will 
 «^ become a ranfom for him ? What heights and depths, 
 <« what lengths and breadths of love ! Has the Spirit in 
 " confequence of all this taken poflemon of my heart? Are 
 " my fins pardoned, and am I an heir of eternal life ? 
 « Whence is all this. Oh my foul ? A guilty creature par- 
 « doned ! A creature deferving hell raifed to heaven! Oh 
 *« Grace, Grace ! free rich mercy to an unworthy wretch ! 
 « Lord, 1 can refolve it into nothing but thy fovereign 
 « pleafure and good-will, and fay, even/Oy Father, for fo it 
 ^^jeemedgood in thy fight \ I O ! what was I, as I came into 
 «« the world, but a child of wrath ? And why am I not fo 
 *« now ? What was I a few months or years ago, a rebel 
 « againft God, increafing, by numberlefs tranfgreffions, my 
 «< guilt ? and what am I now ? A child of God ; Oh, for a 
 " tongue to fet forth the praifes of God ! Oh, for a heart 
 «* to love him ! what obligations has he laid me under to 
 *« him I Why does not a fenfe of it quicken thee, my foul, 
 ** endear the faviour more to thee, engage thee with greater 
 " cheerfulnefs in his fervice, and ftir thee up to every adl, 
 « to every inflance of gratitude, and humble and cheerful 
 " obedience ? I would chide myfelf that I am fo flothful, 
 « fo fecure, and that I have done no more for God. Lord 
 « help me to be for ever thine, and to devote that body 
 •' and foul which thou haft preferved from the bottomlefs 
 " pit conftantly to thy praife, and bring me at length to 
 « that world, where I ihall love, and praife, and worlhip 
 " thee day and night, for ever and ever." Thus this doc- 
 trine may be improved by us But, 
 
 1. There is fomcthing in this doarine that tends /* ex- 
 cite us to pity tcor finners, and to ufe all poj/ible means t<^ 
 cpen their eyes ^and brinfr them to a proper fnife of their dan.- 
 ger. Who that has a fenfe of guilt can forbear dropping * 
 
 • Job. t IMatth. xi. a6. 
 
 D a 
 
^8 ORIGINAL GUILT. Scrm. L 
 
 tear over the rebellious finner ? Did every minifter fee and 
 confider the ftate, the unrenewed part of his congregation 
 are in, oh how importunate would he be v/ith them to flee 
 from the wrath to come ! With what compalfion wouU he 
 addrefs them ! Every fentence v/ould come with a peculiar 
 pathos, and he could not certainly be carelefs and flothfutc 
 Were but parents properly aifefted with a view of the ftate 
 of their children by nature, Oh, how would it engage their 
 attention, niiake every bowel move within them, and put 
 them upon every poffible method to pluck thofe'dear parts 
 of themfelves out of everlaftirig fire ! Come then my hearerj 
 come my child, let me perfohate this mmifter, let me a£t 
 this parent, and expoftulate with thee about thy ftate I 
 muft tell thee this awful truth, that thou art guilty, con- 
 cluded under fin, and expofed to everlafting burnings, if a 
 ftranger to the Redeemer. Do not thinlc that I tell thee fo 
 out of caprice and humour, but of a cruelty of temper^ or 
 tnerely to affright thee, and render thy life uncomfortable 5 
 I only fpeak what the fcripture does, and what thy owii 
 corifcience often tells thee, wouldft thou but heatken to it i 
 I fpeak it out of tender compafliori to thy foul, and with a 
 fmcere view to thy falvation. Believe it. Oh believe it 
 that *< thou art a child of wrath," and ferioufly confider it. 
 What are all thy coniforts, fo long as thy fins remain un- 
 pardoned ? How canft thou be at eafe, when every moment 
 thou art expofed to hell ? Is not this " dreadful found 
 ** often in thine ears * ?" Doft thou not fometimes " flee, 
 ** when no man purfueth -j- ?" Canft thou enjoy a moment's 
 peace, under the guilt not only of Adam's firft fin, but of 
 innumerable actual fins of thy own ? Let me befeech thee 
 to confider thy ftate, confider thy foul, confider eternity 
 and the bar of God ; How canft thou die in fuch a condi- 
 tion ? How wilt thou appear before ' the fupreme tribunal 
 above ? How wiit thou bear to fee an ahgry God, or be 
 able to endure that wrath which thou ha|t deferved ? Oh, 
 to be for ever in the midft of the bottomlefs pit ! The 
 thonaht one u^ould hope, yZ>^z//i, and thy compaflfionate 
 minifter, thy tender parent prays, that it may thoroughly 
 ilrike thee. Perhaps thou thinkeft to efcape \ but how can 
 h be ? Did juftice feize upon the Lamb of God, and fiU 
 
 * Job XV. ai. f Pror. xxviii. i. 
 
Serm. 1. original guilt. 29 
 
 his foul with fo much forrow, and flialt thou cfcape ? Doft 
 thou think to pafs unobferved ? No ; it is impoffible. God 
 IS every where prefent *, and nothing pafles unnoticed by 
 him. Thou canft not poflibly fly from him. Confider this, 
 you who are in the bloom of life ; young as you arc, you 
 are expofed to hell. You have the guilt of many fins upon 
 you, and if it is not removed you mult be for ever mife- 
 rable. Art thou old, and yet unconcerned ? It is time for 
 thee efpecially to awake. How great muft thy guilt be ? 
 And fee, the ftorni is gathering, and all looks black : it 
 will foon break upon thy head to thy everlaft-ing confufiori 
 and diftrefs, if fin is unpardoned. Oh, what couldft thou 
 do, were the judge to fummon thee before his bar, and fen- 
 tence thee to the infernal prifon ? Would he be unjuft ? 
 Haft thou not finned ? Thy mouth then muft be for ever 
 ftopped, whilft infinite juftice is inflicting upon thee that 
 puniftimcnt which is the proper defert of thy fins. The 
 Lord awakf^n thee therefore before it is too late, and the 
 door of mAcy is (liut for ever. 
 
 ' 3. 'This do6trine (hews us the dreadful nature ofjin^ and 
 hoiv much wefhould be concerned to guard againft it. If one 
 fin ruined Adam and all his pofterity, we may certainly 
 toncludei that nothing is more hurtful than fin. It is an 
 enemy to our temporal and fpiritual comforts, to our peace 
 here and hereafter. It is diihonourable to God, fo dif- 
 honourable that immediately Upon the commiffjon of it, he 
 withdraws his favour and refufes to fmile ; the foul is pof- 
 felTed with awful feArs of ah hereafter ; the body becomes 
 liable to jje diftrefled with paitiful difeafes, and death comes 
 to fcparaf:e thefe two intimate companions, comes with a. 
 fting in it, which if not taken away, will fill body and foul 
 with^verlafting anguifh. Every fin has an infinite guilt in 
 it, as it is the violation of the law of God, who is a being 
 of infinite perfection. It tends to fink his infinite wifdom 
 into folly ; it depreciates his infinite goodnefs, dcfpifes his 
 omnifclencc, and oniniprefence, is a contempt of his al- 
 mighty power, a defiance of his infinite juftice, a dift)elief 
 of his infinite faithfulnefs, ofl^ers the higheft aflronts to his 
 infinite holinefs, and tends to obfcure all his glory ! This, 
 this is fin And can you think lightly of it ? or, when con- 
 
 • ^fal. cxxxix. 7. i:^. 
 
3© ORIGINAL GUILT* Serm. I. 
 
 fcicHce IS a£t*ing a faithful part, and cautioning you againft 
 it, can you fay, fpare it, for it is but a little one ? Can you 
 fport with that which call the angels out of heaven, and 
 pur firft parents out of paradife, which has llain its thou- 
 ^nds and its ten thoufands ? Can you roll that as a fweet 
 morfel under your tongues, which damned fpirits in hell 
 are feeling the fad effecSls of, and are therefore groaning 
 under the mod extreme torments ? Oh ! confider, when 
 fin entices you, confider and fay : " Why fhould I be thus 
 ^* fooliflily bewitched with fin? Let me not hearken to 
 f* this folicita?ion, and gratify this criminal corruption, let 
 ** its pleas be never fo powerful. What but fin feparated 
 " God and rnan ? And as fure as Adam was ruined by it, 
 *' fo furely will it eternally deftroy my precious foul, if I 
 ^^ purfue it. However beautiful it may appear, and pleaf- 
 ^* ing to flefh and blood, it has the moil deflrudlive poifon 
 •* concealed in it : However fweet it may be in the mouth, 
 ** it will be moft bitter in the belly ; however defirable in 
 " the enjoyment, it will be inconceivably painful in the 
 ** review, and ruining in its confequences *, therefore. Lord 
 *' fill my heart with an irrisconcilable hatred of all fin, and 
 " help me by thy grace to be continually upon my guard 
 " that it may not enflave my foul, and caft me into capti- 
 "vity" 
 
 4. This do£lrine tends to make us fet a peculiar value 
 tipon th€ (jofpcly and to fiir us up to fcek after an intereft in 
 ihat Saviour it reveals. Are we all guilty, and do we lie 
 naked and expofed to the wrath of God. How pleafing 
 fhould the tidings of falvation be, how welcome the news 
 of a faviour ! How amiable is the gofpel ? The difcoveries 
 it makes are all fuited to the circumftanccs of guilty crea- 
 tures, not to increafe our terror, but to fcatter our fears, 
 and enliven our fouls with the hopes of eternal life. It 
 brings the nev^s of pardon ; pardon bought with the blood 
 of Jefus ; pardon for the moft unworthy, and thofe who 
 have contraded the greateft guilt. See, ye the children of 
 Adam, fee there is balm in Gilead, there is a phyfician 
 ihere to eafe your fouls. Hear, you whom the law has 
 condemned and curfed, hear the proclamation, and rejoice. 
 " Ho, every one that thirfteth, come ye to the waters, and 
 ** he that hath no money, come, buy and cat, yea, buy 
 " wine and milk without money and without price," 
 
Scf m. I. ORIGINAL GUILt. ji 
 
 Ifa. Iv. I. If you have nothing to recommend you to God, 
 this is no objeftion ; nay, if you are in the ftatc of con- 
 demned malefaftors, and never fo deferving of death, yet 
 there is encouragement for you in the gofpel, there is free 
 and full pardon : there is a glorious and all-fufficient favi*. 
 our, who is able and ready to deliver you from the wrath 
 to come ; and why do you not rejoice ? Why hafte you 
 not to this Jefus, who is holding out the golden fccptre ? 
 Is not the news of pardon acceptable to a condemned cri- 
 minal ? docs he not receive it with a heart full of joy ? 
 Would not every one juftly blame his ftupidity, was he to 
 fteglc£l: the profpe£l of life and liberty ? And are not you 
 1 thoufand times more reprovable to be fecure under the 
 fentence of eternal death ? A fentence which may be ex- 
 ecuted upon you this very night ? Awake, awake ye fleepy 
 dreaming fmners, and " turn ye to the flrong hold as pri- 
 <• foners of hope*." The gofpel is now founding ia 
 your ears ; founding the bleflednefs of pardon, founding 
 the riches of the Redeemer's grace, and the infinite vir- 
 tue of his blood to deliver guilty fouls from de- 
 ferved wrath. It is fetting before you a mercy-feat, a 
 throne of grace, and inviting you by the mofl endearing 
 motives to feek after falvation. Sure one would think, I 
 iieed not make ufe of arguments to prefs you to feck after 
 Chrift, vc^hcn you are ** under the wrath of God f ." Your 
 hearts (hould leap within you under a confideration of the 
 declarations of the gofpel, a Saviour provided, a facrificc 
 offered and accepted, and a God who can and does " abun- 
 *' dantly pardon %." Let it be your concern then to have 
 your fouls fprinkled with the atoning blood of the Lamb 
 of God, that the hand-writing which is againfl: you may 
 be blotted out, and that you may be freed from the con- 
 demnation of a broken law. 
 
 5. This doFtrine tends to guard us againjl envying the 
 duiivard condition of an impenitent finnery ho-wever profpC" 
 rous, and to make us efieem onrfelves vnfpeakably happy^ if 
 our fins are pardoned. How inconceivably more happy arc 
 the righteous than the wicked ? The one, though in cir- 
 Cumftances of outward meannefs and poverty, is truly 
 blefTed, having " his tranfgrelTions forgiven, and his fins 
 <* covered If •," whilfl: the other is miferable in the midft of 
 
 • Zech. ix. i>. t John iiJ. 36. t I^^. Iv. 7. 11 Pfal. xxxii. i. 
 
32 ORIGINAL GUILT. Sttm. 1^ 
 
 all his outward abundance, In as much as he is bound 
 over to eternal death. — What means then this envy, Oh my 
 (bul, when I view the " profperity of the wicked, and fee 
 ** their eyes (land out with fatnefs ? They are fet in flip- 
 ** pery places ; they fhall be call down into deftrudion. • 
 " How are they brought into dcfolation, as in a moment ? 
 ** They are utterly confumed with terrors *. They arc 
 *' referved to the day of deftrucliion, arid (liall be brought 
 ** forth to the day of wrath +. Becaufe they have no 
 ^'changes they fear not God :{;.*' They are incrcafmg their 
 guilt, and treafuring up unto thcmfelves wrath againit the 
 day of Vrath. But I, though by nature guilty as they, anr 
 plucked as a brand out of the fire, am delivered from all 
 condemnation, and have everlafting happinefs in profpecl, 
 Ceafe then to envy the poor finner's little all, and rathei 
 let my breaft be filled with tender compafllon. *^ Rejoice,, 
 " Oh young jpan, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer 
 *' thee in the days of thy youth; walk in the ways of thine 
 •* heart,, aud in the fight of thine eyes, but know thou, that 
 •* for all thefe things God will bring thee into judgement Ij, 
 «* What will all. thy carnal mirth be^ but as the crackling 
 *« of thorns under a pot § V* Thou wilt make a little fiafli, 
 a little nolfe, and then thy fins will fink thee down into 
 everlafting darknefs and forrow. Ceafe then every angry 
 pafilon, and let me rejoice that my itate is not like theirs, 
 6 This doElrine teacheth us to be humble and fubmijfivd 
 vndtr all our affli6lions. We are too ready to murmur and 
 repine under the various difappointments, and afflictive 
 difpenfations we are exercifed with, Und to accufe God of 
 feverity and injuftice, but a confideration of our being 
 guilty creatures is enough to put a Hop to pvery refle£l:ion, 
 and to forbid the leaft uneafy thought.-T-* Shall I cenfure 
 
 * the conduct of divine providence, or think it hard that I 
 
 < am ftripped of this and the other comfort,, whenV if God 
 
 < had been ftri£l: to mark mine iniquitiesj he niight Jiave 
 
 * taken all from me, and have fent my foul to the bottom - 
 
 * lefs pit ? Do I not deferve it ? Why To angry, rny evil 
 
 * heart ? Why doft thou rife up in rebellion againff that 
 
 * God, who has * puniflied thee far lefs than thy iniquities 
 ^ deferve ** ! I will bear the indignation of the Lord, ther:- 
 
 * Pfal. Ixxlij. 4, 7, l8, 19. f Job. xxi 30 \ Pfal. Iv. 19. jj Ecc. xi, 9', 
 
 §ficc.Tiu'6. •♦iLZiaUjj. 
 
Scrm. I. ORIGINAL GUILT. 3^ 
 
 ** fore,* whatever it is, * becaufe I have finned againft him *.* 
 
 * Lord, do what thou pleafeft with me and my comforts ; 
 
 * I muft and will juflifjr thee in all thy proceedings, and 
 
 * fubmit with the utmoft cheerfulnefs to thy various difpen- 
 
 * fations : nay, I would blefs thee that thou art dealing fo 
 
 * gently with me j that thou art not taking away my all^ 
 
 * and giving me an awful view of everlafting diftrefs and 
 
 * mifety. Do with me therefore whatfoever feems good 
 
 * in thy fight/ 
 
 Thus we fee how this dodrine may be improved. It 
 may be of ufe to the finner, to ftrike him with a conviction 
 of his giiilt and wretchednefs> and to ftir him up to feek 
 after an intereft in the Redeemer. It may be of ufe to the 
 Chriftiari too, by filling him with admiration and thankful- 
 iiefs for deliverance from the guilt of fin, by quickening him 
 to all humble ohedience, by keeping him from an envious 
 difpofition, and by engaging him to behave with the moft 
 cheerful fubmiffion under all the various difpenfations of 
 providence. 
 
 • Miah vii. 9^. 
 
SERMON II. 
 
 .,<..< .,..^..< .4,|.<|.^ig( )j.' Ijt^. ^<|.k..>.>..»..>. ►» 
 
 GAt IW. 22. FORMER CLAUSE, 
 
 But the fcripture hath concluded all under fm"-^ 
 
 WHEN we look into heathen countries, and confider 
 their aftonilhing ignorance, we have the jjreateft 
 reafon to be thankful for that revelation which God has 
 diftinguilhed us with, and which removes the mifts of dark- 
 nefs from us, and leads us into the knowledge of truths of 
 everlafting importance. The do6lrines of original fin, juf- 
 tification and falvation by Jefus Chrift, are infinitely above 
 the reach of nature, and would not have been known by 
 us, had it not been for this facred word. The heathens 
 found their minds agitated with a variety of moft ungovern- 
 able paflions, and that they were expofed to all manner of 
 pains and afBiclions, yea even to death itfelf, as foon as 
 they came into the world, but they were at the utmoft lofs 
 to know the rife and fpring of all this. What they were 
 ignorant of, the fcripture declares to us, fhews us the ori- 
 gin of evil, concludes us all under fin, and tells us how 
 we became gulhy, and fo liable to all the miferies of this 
 and a future world. 
 
 We have already confidercd the fcripture account of ori- 
 ginal guilt— What, is meant by it- — That we are all under it — 
 How it came about ; and have endeavoured to point out 
 tlie ufe and importance of this truth both to the finner and 
 the believer. We now come to take another view of ori^ 
 ginal fin, as polluting our nattwes, for this view the fcrip- 
 ture gi?es us of it. And it is a truth of equal importance 
 with the other, though by no means fuitable to the polite 
 
Scrm. If. ORIGINAL GUILT. 35 
 
 tafte of the prcfent age. To fet this truth In a clear light, 
 and fo, as it miy tend properly to alTe6l our hearts, I would 
 take the following method. 
 
 I. ConJiJer what this pollution is, with the extenfi-qenefs 
 of it. 
 
 II. See -what proofs we have of it, and how we are to ac- 
 count for it. And, 
 
 III. Shew the life and improvemeut of this do^rine, which 
 I hope will be fufficicnt to convince us all of its great im- 
 portance. 
 
 I. Let us confider what this pollution is^ with the exten- 
 fivei.efs of it. And now we come to take a further view 
 of the death of the foul. Sin has not only robbed us of 
 the favour of God and expofed us to his difpleafure, but 
 it has occafioned a melancholy alteration in us, defaced all 
 " the beauty we had, and has rendered us worfe than the 
 beads which perilh ; fin has deftroyed the image of God 
 in us ; has depraved our whole nature, and is a conftant 
 fpring and fountain from whence proceed all the ftreams 
 of actual tranfgreflions. And this is the fad cafe with every 
 individual of the human race. 
 
 \ . Through fin the image of Cod is dejiroyed in us. We 
 read that when God made man, he made him after his own 
 imige. Thus, Gen. i. 26. *' God faid, let us make man 
 ^' in our ima^je, after our likenefs." And we find he did 
 fo, ver. 27. " So God created man, in his own image, in 
 ** the image of God created he him, male and female cre- 
 <* ated he them." And Gen. v. i. " In the day that God 
 ** created man, in the likenefs of God made he him." This 
 image, as the AHembly's Catechifm well exprelTes it, con- 
 fids in knowledge, rigliteoufnefs, and holinefs, with a do- 
 minion over the creatures. It chiefly lay in a refemblance 
 which man had of God in his foul. Thus it confided in 
 knowledge. Agreeably to which the apodle fays. Col. iii. 
 10. " Put on the new man, which is renewed in know- 
 ** ledge, after the knowledge of him that created him." 
 He had a perfc^l: underdanding of the law of God, and a 
 large meafure of wifdom and knowledge to direct and 
 iead him, which is partly redored when the fpirit comes to 
 open our eyes and bring us again into the divine likenefs. 
 It confids in righteoufnefs and holiaefs, as the apodle fays, 
 
 E 2 
 
3^ ORIGINAL GuiLT-i Seriti. II, 
 
 Jph. Iv. 24. *' Put on the new man, which after God, is 
 ** created in righteoufnefs and true holinefs." He was 
 free at his creation from every blemifh, had not the lead ir- 
 regularity in his foul, nor the leaft imperfectiqn, but had 
 an intire conformity to God in every faculty. And to 
 this we may add the do minion he had over the creatures 
 who were all brought to Adam * to yield their united fub- 
 jeftion to him, and to receive their refpe£live names from 
 him. This image, fin upon its entrance, has fadly defaced. 
 Our gold is become dim, and our fine gold is much cor- 
 rupted ; our beauty is gone, wo unto us that we have fin- 
 ned. We have loft that which was the glory and excel- 
 lency of the creature, and the crown is fallen from off our 
 heads. "Where is that wifdqm and light neceflary to difcern 
 between good and evil, to guide us in the way of duty, and 
 to guard us againft every error ? Where is that ready fub- 
 jeftion of foul to God, that fweet acquiefcence and joy in 
 him ; that holy awe of him, that care to pleafe him, and 
 that conformity to him that was fb confpicuous in man at 
 his firft formation ? Where is that regularity and harmony 
 amongft all the faculties of the foul, that orderly fubjeciion 
 of one to the other, and that ready union in divine exer- 
 cifes, which appeared in our innocent parent ? We have 
 loft our higheft glory, our original re£litude and purity, and 
 our dominion over the creatures too. ' Inftead of paying 
 their proper homage, and being ready to ferve us accord- 
 ing to their ability, they naturally run from us, rebel againft 
 us, and would fet up a fovereignty of their own. "^ And 
 thus we fee the lofs we have fuftained through fin ; but 
 this is not all ; for, 
 
 2. There is nn aHual pollution of our whole nature. It 
 has feized upon the whole man. Body and foul feel the fad 
 cffe(5^s of it. It has fpread its contagion throughout the 
 creature, and turned every part from that end to which it 
 was directed Let us take a view of the foul : and wc (hall 
 find the underftanding awfully darkened, fo that no true 
 fp'ritual light is to be found in it, till the fpirit comes and 
 opens our ey;"s, and gives us the light of the knowledge of 
 the glory of God in the face of Jefus Chrift. Therefore 
 v/hen God efFecSlually calls a finner, he calls him " out of 
 
 * Gea. ii. 19, ao. 
 
Serm. II. original guilt. 37 
 
 '^ darknefs into his marvellous light." i Pet. ii. 9. The 
 will, Inftead of being obedient to the divine will, and 
 choofing that which is good, is full of prejudice and rebel- 
 lion againft God, faying to him, " Depart from me j for I 
 " defire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the AI- 
 ** mighty, that I (hould ferve him ? and what profit (hould 
 " I have, if I pray unto him ?" Job xxi. 14, 15. Our af- 
 fe<£^ions are fadly depraved, and therefore naturally cleave 
 to nothing but evil, having a diftafte to every thing that is 
 of God. Inftead of mourning over fin, we lam'^^nt our 
 wordly difappointments, and are concerned that we have 
 not the opportunities we defire of gratifying our ambition, 
 pride, covetoufnefs, or love of pleafure. Inftead of re- 
 joicing in Chrift, and in the hope of the glory of God, all 
 our joy lies in the narrow compafs of earth and fenfe, and 
 fo ebbs and flows with outward comforts. Inftead of ef- 
 teeming the moft amiable objefts, we love that which we 
 ihould hate, and defire and long after that which is dif- 
 honourable to God, and ruinous to our immortal fouls. In- 
 ftead of being afraid of fin, and of offending God by it, we 
 are rather afraid of temporal evils, and our greateft concern 
 is to avoid that which is painful and difagreeable to flefti 
 and blood. Once more, inftead of fixing our hopes upon 
 the glorious realities within the veil, we confine them to the 
 (hort-lived happinefs of the prefent ftate. We are crying 
 out, ** who will fliew us any good *," and are " fpending 
 " our ftrength for nought, and our labour for that which 
 ** profiteth notf." Our aife6lions are upon the whole all 
 carnal, fixed either upon unlawful objects, or elfe upon thofe 
 that are lawful, in an immoderate degree. Our memory is 
 depraved too, fo that we retain not fpiritual things, but 
 foon lofe X them, tliough we can eafily remember and are 
 ready to treafure up that which is impertinent and finful. 
 Our thoughts and imaginations are evil, and are naturally 
 ready to run after things moft criminal and dlfpleafing to 
 God. Nay our bodies are partakers of, or are alFedted with 
 the contagion too, for we ** yield our members as inftru- 
 '* ments of uririghteoufnefs unto fin." Rom. vi. 13. Thus 
 our whole nature if^. defiled j we are all over fin. ** Front 
 ^^ the crown of the head to the fole of the foot, we are full 
 
 • Pfal. IT. 6. t ^^^' 1^- i- ♦ Pfal. cvi, J J, 2X. 
 
38 
 
 ORTGTNAL GUILT. Semi. IL 
 
 ** of woiiiK^s, and brnifes, and putrlfylng fores," in a fpi- 
 rltual ftinfe, lb that there is " no foundnefs in us*." This, 
 this is our ftate by nature, this our cafe as we come into 
 the wovld. And further, 
 
 3. This is a conjlant fpring and fountain in us, from 
 ivhence proceed all atlual tranfgreffwns. Thefe are as 
 fo many ftreams from it : they are fo many branches fprout- 
 ing out from this root. From hence proceed evil thoughts, 
 murders, adukcries, fornications, thefts, falfe witnefs, blaf- 
 phemies and every evil word and work. Every fin is virtually 
 contained in this, and arifes from it. It leads one to fen- 
 fuality and uncleannefs, another to pride, another to cove- 
 toufnefs, another to infidelity. It pufhes one to a£ls of 
 cruelty and inhumanity, another to blafphemy. It (hews 
 itfelf in an open contempt of divine things in one, in an- 
 other in hypocrify and deceit. It is to be found in all the 
 natural defcendants, of Adam. It comes into the world 
 with us, and it equally defiles us all. None but the holy 
 one of God was perfectly pure, and he was free from all 
 depravity. He bore our fins, and yet was free from fin. 
 He was tempted by Satan, but the prince of this world 
 found nothing in him ; for though he was made of a v/oman, 
 yet he was conceived by the power of the Holy Ghoft in 
 the womb of the virgin, and therefore was ahfoiutely with- 
 out a foot. Thus we fee the deplorable ftate of all man- 
 kind. Let us now, 
 
 II. Inquire -what proofs we hive of the point, together ivith 
 the reafon of it. We muft go back to our firft parents to 
 find out the caufe. Adam is not only to be confidered as a 
 rovenant-head and reprefentative of his poilerity, but as 
 their natural root. In one view, guilt is imputed to us, in 
 the other, he conveys a corrupt nature. Defilement there- 
 fore has been propagated from father to fon in all ages and 
 generations hitherto, and will be fo to the end of time. 
 And however we may be at a lofs to know how the foul, 
 which comes pure from God, is corrupted, yet it is an un- 
 deniable i\^y.^ and fo, as that he is by no means the author 
 of fin. 'i'hat this defilement is univtrf.il, appears, 
 
 I. From fcripture reprcfentat'io-u 0^ the matter. Thus 
 it is faid that " Adam begat a fon in his own iikcncfs^ after 
 
 • Iia. i. 6. ^ 
 
Serm. II. original guilt. 39 
 
 ** his image." Gen. v. 3. It would be a low interpretation 
 to fay, that all that is meant by it is this, that he begat ?L 
 child who had ail the features and parts of a human crea- 
 ture. The words appear to be more fignificant, viz. that 
 the fon he had came into the world with the fame cor- 
 rupted image which he himfelf bore after his fall. This 
 therefore feems to be put in oppofition to that Irkenefs of 
 God in which man was at firfl: created, and which is men- 
 tioned in the firft verfe. Again, when '* God faw that the 
 " wickednefs of man was great in the earth," he adds, ** and 
 ** that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was 
 " only evil continually," Gen. vi. 5. Who that reads thefc 
 words but mull immediately conclude that there is a cor- 
 rupt fountain in the heart, elfe the imaginations that are iu 
 the heart could never be only evily and that continually. This 
 is more fully delivered in Gen. viii. 21. where God fays, 
 " that the imagination of man's heart is evil from his 
 ** youth," from his childhood, fo that he comes into the 
 world with a depraved heart. Job therefore reprefents the 
 impoffibility of our being pure, by afking, " who can bring 
 "a clean thing out of an unclean .-'" Job xiv- 4. He eafily 
 anfwers it, and fays, not one. It cannot be. Can an impure 
 fountain fend forth pure dreams } " Can a corrupt tree 
 *' bring forth good fruit ?Or, of thorns do men gather figs, 
 ** or of a bramble- bufli gather they grapes V We may as 
 reafonably expe£l this to come to pafs, as that from a cor- 
 rupt root fhould fpring a pure offspring. If Adam had 
 continued innocent, he would have had an innocent and 
 iioly feed, but falling, and his nature being tainted with (in, 
 it comes thus from him to all his poflerity. And there- 
 fore Job again afks, chap. xv. 14. ** What is man that he 
 ** fliould be clean-, and he who is born of a woman, that he 
 " fhould be righteous ?" Bildad believed this important 
 truth, when he fays, Job. xxv. 4. *' How then can man be 
 ** juftified with God, or how can he be clean that is born 
 '* of a woman ?" David had a deep fenfe of the finfulnefs 
 of his nature, when he fays, ** behold I was fliapen in Ini- 
 " quity, and in fin did my mother conceive me." Pfitl. li. 5. 
 We have no reafon to beUeve that David is here lamenting 
 over fome heinous fin that his father and mollis r had been 
 
 • Luke vi. 43, ^^^ 
 
4© ORIGINAL GUILT. Setm. IL 
 
 guilty of. To charge them with a deteftable crime, only 
 to evade the truth of a particular text, when there is no- 
 thing in all fcripture to fupport it, is indecent and unbe- 
 coming a Chrillian, and (hews that we had much rather be 
 guilty of forgery and falfehood, than yield to a dodrine fo 
 unfuitable to our natural pride. Befides, David is not in 
 this Pfalm lamenting the (ins of others, but his own (ins, 
 and therefore goes to the root, and fliews how his very 
 frame was formed in fin, that it is therefore infeparablc 
 from his nature, and came into the world with him. Thefe 
 paffages then make this point appear evident to an unpreju- 
 diced mind, and tend to eftablifh us in this awful truth, the 
 corruption of our nature. ** Whatfoever," fays our Lord, 
 ** is born of flefh is flefh," John iii. 6. It is a certain truth 
 that like produceth like. "We cannot fuppofe then that 
 Adam's children could be free from corruption, when the 
 ftock from whence they came was all polluted. They muft 
 have the fame nature conveyed to them; from them it muft 
 come to others, and fo will be propagated to the lateft po- 
 fterity. But, 
 
 2. This truth is evidently proved by the ordinances of cir-^ 
 cumcijion and baptifm. Circumcifion was not only defigned 
 as a {landing memorial of God's regard and care for the 
 Jews, as long as that difpenfation continued, but was in- 
 tended to point out the impurity of the heart, and the ne- 
 ceflity of its being cleanfed, that they might be the real 
 children of God, and be fitted for the enjoyment of him. 
 As long as this ordinance therefore remained in the church, 
 and was attended to, it was a ftriking reptefentation of the 
 corruption of nature, even in children of eight days old. 
 Thus baptifm under the prefent difpenfation is defigned to 
 te a (landing proof of the fame important truth. The re^ 
 generating and fan6lifying influences of the fpirit are reprc- 
 fented by water * \ and as water is made ufe of by divine 
 appointment in this ordinance, fo it has a reference to this 
 fpiritual blefling, and therefore muft neceflirrily fuppofe im- 
 parity, and that our fouls are polluted as we come mto the 
 world. But, 
 
 3. This truth evidently appears in the temper and beha^ 
 viour of children and others. Solomon fays, •* that fooliih- 
 
 ♦ Ezck.xxxvi. ij. Tit. J, 5. 
 
Scrmo II. ORIGINAL GUILT. '4^ 
 
 * ncfs is bouiiil ur in tlie heart of a child," Prov. xxii. 15. 
 and the Pfalmifl, " tliat the wicked are eltranged from the 
 ** womb, they ^0 aftray as foon as they are born, fpeaking 
 ** lies," Pfal. Iviii. 3. If nature was not corrupted, could we 
 fuppofe that all would be led by the influence of e?{ampl$ 
 into fin ? Some are favoured with the privilege of godly 
 parents, and tlicrcfore with a religious education. Their 
 tender relatives early inftru£l them in the principles of 
 Chriflianity, and endeavour to inftil in their minds fenti- 
 ments truly evangelical, recommend the ways of God to 
 them, exhort, intreat, and take every method to guard men 
 again ft fin, and lead them to holinefs, inforcing all by a 
 fuitable and becoming example, Biit you fee how many 
 tinder all thefe advantages difcover the greateft inclinations 
 to fin, and the ftrongeft prejudices a.:ainfl: God. Cain, not- 
 withftanding the opportunities he hadof inflru£lion,yetdifco- 
 veredthedep^avity of his heart by deftroying his own brother, 
 be.caufe God had given him fuch teflimonies of his acceptance 
 of Abel's facrifice. Yea, fhofe children, who have appeared 
 under the moft early religious impreflions, have yet given 
 many evidences of a polluted tiature, and made it manifeft 
 that they came into the world impure Elfe what means 
 that pride, .envy, refentment, and other criminal gratifica- 
 tions {q obfervable in them. It is ftrange if the babe is 
 perfedly innocent and pure, that before he can well form 
 an articulate found, he fhould be paflionate, obflinate, and 
 difobedient, and that nor a fingle inflance could ever yet be 
 found, except the holy Jefus, of a child's withfianding the 
 influence of every evil example, and of walking in a perfe6h 
 courfe of unfpotted holinefs. The reafon plainly is this, 
 that every one has enough in his heart for temptations to 
 work upon, and therefore that all are depraved. 
 
 La 111 y, T/}is appears from the experience of the faints^ 
 Thefe fee the odioufnefs of fin, the beauty of holinefs, and 
 are under the influence of the llrongeft motives, and moft 
 powerful perfuafives to obedience ; but fee their numerous 
 backilidings, hear their frequent complaints, their mourn- 
 ful confefTions, all which fhew the fad defilement of nature^ 
 which is not perfe<^ly waOied away. The heart will never 
 be thoroughly pure till the foiil gets above. A tree will not 
 be totally deftroyed unlefs you cut it down ; to take away 
 a branch v>ill not anfwer the end. * Sin fays an old divine^i 
 
 F 
 
/^d ORIGINAL GUILT. Serm. ft 
 
 * is like the wild fig-tree, or ivy in the v^nll, cut ofT ftump^ 
 < bociy, bough, and branche?, yet feme fprigs or rtl;er will 
 
 * fprcut out again, till the wall is pulled down." Notwith- 
 ftanding cur high enjoyments, yet fin will difcover itfelf^ 
 and we fliail be in da:nger of being exalted above meafure *. 
 Ihough we fhould be engaged in duties, where the prefencc 
 of God fliould enliven us, the fear of God awe us, yet l\n 
 will be there : and what is this but the body of death, the 
 fountain of corruption, original fin in the heart from which 
 the believer is not intirely cleanfed, whilft he is in the body ? 
 For the proof of this ccnfult Paul's feventh chapter of h's 
 epiftle to the Romans, from the fifteenth verfe, and kt 
 every Chriftian examine his own c perience. 
 
 Thus I have endeavoured to ftate and give you feme 
 proofs of this truth, and now come, 
 
 III. ToJJjew the life and nnprovemcnt of it. However difa- 
 greeable it may appear to our natural pride and felf-flattery, 
 and whatever contempt may be C2:ft upon it as ufelefs and 
 unprofitable, and only fit for enthufiafts, and perfons of 
 contraiSled fpirits to believe, a ferious view of the matter 
 will eafily point out to. us, how neceflary it is that our . 
 iiiinds fhould be deeply imprelTed with afenfe of this truth, 
 becanfe it dire£lly tends to anfwer the following important 
 ends. 
 
 I. To keep lis ever humble and fill us ivith felf-loafhlng. 
 Humility is an amiable grace, a mod beautiful garment, a' 
 robe with which we {hould be always clothed And what 
 tends more to fecure us from pride and haughtinefs, from 
 every lofty look and thought, and make us appear low and 
 tiefpicable in our own eyes, tlian a ferious view^ and a fuit- 
 able fonfe of our natural depravity ? This keeps the foul 
 humble in his addrefies to God. He dare not now come 
 in the temper of the boafting rhurifee, but like the penitent 
 Publican, is adiamed, and fniites upon his breaft. In hi"g 
 confefl^ions of fin to Gcd now, how humble I And he does 
 not only mention and lament over a6lual fins, but original. 
 Thus David contented himfclf not with ai mournful ac- 
 knowledgement of his public fins, but he goes to the foun- 
 tain head, and laments over its great impurity : " Behold 
 " I was fliapen in iniquity, and in fin did my mother cona 
 
 • rCor. xli. ;. 
 
Serm. II. original guilt. 43 
 
 *« ceive mc," Pfal 11. 5. As if he had faid * why fliould I 
 'dwell upon my actual fins, let me go to their fi)rin<r and 
 
 * fourcc. They are as fo niatiy outbreakings of that clefile- 
 
 * nicnt that cleaves to my heart. Oh let me tiirn within: 
 
 * And lee, 1 am nothing but fin. I brought it into the 
 ^ world with me, and therefore have been a tranfgrclTor 
 
 * from the very womb.* The C'lriltian's petitions are all 
 put up with humility, and accompanied with felf-abhor- 
 lence, under a fenfe of his own vilenefs, and therefore of 
 his great unworthincfs to appear before God 'I'his keeps 
 him humble under a confideration of that diftinillon God 
 has made between him and others. *' Has the Lord called 
 
 * rac by his fpirit, wdiilft others remain in da^knefs and fin ? 
 
 * let not me afcribe it to any beauty or worthinefs he faW 
 
 * in me: I am the fame by nature with the vileft finner, 
 
 * therefore let a fenfe of my original depravity be a curb to 
 
 * every rifmg of pride, and keep me continually humble.* 
 This keeps the Chrillian humble under all his enjoyments 
 and glorious profpects. ^ Has the Lord beei> pleafed to fa- 
 
 < vour me with the light of his countenance, and bring me 
 
 < to the top of Pifgah, to give me a view of the promifed 
 
 * land .'' Is it day with my foul, whilft it is night with 
 
 * many of my fellow Chriilians ? Oh let me yet lie low, and 
 
 * not think too highly of myfelf ; let me keep conftantly in 
 
 * view^ of the corruption of my heart, and that will 
 
 * check my vanity, and make me appear vile and defpicable.'* 
 Thus likewife, has the Chriftian been kept from public 
 backflidings ; has he walked wdth God from day to day, 
 made progrefs in grace, and been careful to maintain good 
 works ? \' et fo long as he has a proper fenfe of this truth, 
 he finds enough to lament over, and to convince him that 
 he deferves to be call out of God s favour and to be fepa- 
 rated for ever from him ; and thus whilft he is a ihining 
 example to others, and is had in reputation am.ong the 
 churches, he is yet kept humble, by a daily view of his owni 
 heart. A fenfe of this truth too guards us againft behaving 
 with a haughty and fuperior air to others, or being lifted up 
 with any outward enjoyments Who art thou that boaft- 
 cft of thy extra61:ion, thy noble birth, the dignity and anti- 
 quity of thy family ? Thou wail conceived in fin, and art 
 jufl upon a level withthofe thou art ready to d^.fpife Who 
 ^rt thoju that prideil thyfelf in thy numerous titles, honour^, 
 
 J? 2 
 
44 ORIGINAL GUILT. Serm. IL 
 
 apd preferments ? See here is enough to debafe thee : and 
 were but thine eyes open to fee thy depravity, it would fill 
 thee with felf-loathing amid ft all thy grandeur, and make 
 tliee efieem others equally with or above thyfelf. Who art 
 thou that art elated with riches, and an abundance of out- 
 ward enjoyments and cannot ftoop to take notice of thy poor 
 neighbour, thou who art ready to look with an air of 
 haughtinefs upon all beneath thee, and to claim before 
 others a right to and intereft in the favour of heaven ? 
 waft thou but to have a fuitable fight and fenfe of the foun- 
 tain of corruption in thy foul, it would bring down thy 
 Joftinefs to the ground, make thee look upon all thy riches 
 as empty trifles, fill thee with felf-abhorrence, and engage 
 thee to behave with all Chriftian decency and refpedi tothofe 
 who are below thee. Thus in thefe and all other cafes, 
 where there are temptations to pride and haughtinefs, a be- 
 coming fenfe of this truth would be a great means of keep- 
 ing us humble, corre6ting our tempers and regulating our 
 behaviouro ' This truth upon the whole, leads us to that 
 poverty of fpirit, to which our Lord has annexed real blef- 
 fednefs, and to that excellent frame and temper of mind, 
 %vhic}) runs through, and is recommended in the whole gof- 
 pel, and' appears fo amiable both to God and man, and 
 therefore t.his truth is of great importance, 
 
 2. This' truth greatly enhances and leads us to adore and 
 admire the free grace of God in our redemption^ effe6lual call* 
 ing^ and falvation. It not only magnifies the grace of God in 
 taking notice of Us, who are guilty and therefore unworthy 
 of his favours, but filthy and polluted and fo, therefore, con- 
 trary to his pure and holy nature. Did the father fee ug 
 in this condition, when he fixed upon us as the veflels of 
 his mercy ? Sure we may well fav, why were we not the 
 objects of his abhorrence, having loft his image, and be- 
 come all over polluted with fin ! Did he, who is of purer 
 eyes than to behold iniquity ; he in whofe fight the heavens 
 are not clean, and who chargeth his angels with I*olly ; did 
 he look upon us in our depravity, and determine our ever- 
 lafting falvation ? Has the Son of God therefore vifited this 
 lower world, appeared in faflfion as a man, offered up him- 
 felf a facrifice upon the accurfed tree, and made a complete 
 purchafe of all the blefilngs of falvation for us ? Has the 
 Jipirit vifited our fouls, opened our eyes, renewed oi;r hearts, 
 
Serm. II. original guilt. 45 
 
 and partly reftored the image of God to us ? Did he fee us 
 polluted in our blood, and fay unto us live ? Has God been 
 pleafed to manifeft liimfelf to us, {bed abroad his love ii\ 
 our hearts, and given us the hopes of the everlafting enjoy- 
 ment of himfelf ? We may furely fay, <* his ways are not 
 <* as our ways, nor his thoughts as our thoughts *." "What- 
 ever contempt may be call upon this grace by fome, thof^ 
 who have a fuitable fenfe of the evil of fin, and the plague 
 of their hearts cannot but admire the riches of it. The 
 more, they view themfelves, the more they are aftonifhed 
 ;it that Grace that chofe them, has redeemed, quickened, 
 and given them the hopes of eternal glory. Far, yea very 
 far is this truth from encouraging us to run from God, it 
 leads us to him, fills our fouls, when under divine influ- 
 ences, |rith holy wonder, and prefents us with the ftrongell 
 motives to everlafting love and admiration. Oh, none but 
 the believer can fing the heights, and depths, and breadths, 
 and lengths of the love of God, becaufe none elfe fee pro- 
 perly their own hearts. This makes the myfteries of re- 
 deeming faving grace more glorious than all the myfteries 
 of the creation. This engages the attention of angels. 
 f O, what was I, yea, what was I a few months or year3 
 
 * ago ? In my fins^ my underftanding a confufed chaos, my 
 
 * will obftinate and rebellious ; my afFe£lions all impure ; 
 
 * nay, what am I now ? Does not this body of death ftill 
 
 * continue within me ? Do I not find it often leading m3 
 
 * into captivity to the dlflionouring of God ? Am I not yet 
 f carnal and fold under fin ? And will God take me into 
 
 * his bofom, d^^ell with and in me .'' Is he leading fuch a 
 f wretch as I am to the top of Nebo, and giving me at 
 ^ times a clufter of Canaan's grapes ? Oh my foul, for ever 
 
 * love this God, admire his Grace and never ceafe to fing 
 
 * his praifes." 
 
 3. yl fenfe of this truth tends to convince us of the neceffity^ 
 reality, and importance of regeneration, and to guard us 
 againfl a dependence upon an out-ward reformation. It is no 
 wonder that he who will not believe the corruption of na- 
 ture ridicules the new birth, and thinks a change of life to 
 be fufficient to denominate him a Chriftian. He has never 
 feen the uncleanncfa of his heart, and therefore in his owa 
 
 * lA^Iuh Iv. S. 
 
#^ jCriginal guilt. Serm. II, 
 
 tpprehenfions wants no cleanfing. Has he been a drun-r 
 Icard ? If he becomes fober and temperate he thinks it 
 enough Or, has he been a fwearer, or any open or public 
 finner ? He is fatisfied by abitcuning from thele notorious 
 immoralities, and more efpecially if he is brought to go 
 through a round of duties, or to a regular attendance upon 
 ordinances •, now he cries p,eace, peace, when he is ftill far 
 from the kingdom of God. Here lies the danger of de- 
 fr.ifing this truth Perfons are not aware, how infenfibly a 
 denial of it leads them to a neglect, and often a contempt 
 of real holinefs : whiift on the other hand, when we firmly 
 believe our natural corruption, and efpecially, when we 
 .have a becoming fenfe of it, we cannot be contented M'ith 
 an external religion, but muft be feekinor after a chaniie of 
 difpofition and heart, as well as a change of life. "He who 
 acts confidently with this belief, and witli the voice of thi$ 
 truth, muft reafon in fome fuch manner as this. * I now fee 
 
 * the neceffity of inward holinefs, an inward change, and 
 
 * that I may therefore be a hypocrite notwithftanding all 
 
 * my fair appearances. Oh, let me fee then that my heart 
 ;* be cleanfed. I^Iy hopes of heaven cannot be right, if my 
 
 * heart is not purified. Let me not then be deceived in a 
 
 * matter of fo much importance to my falvation, but feek 
 
 * to have the image of God reftored in my foul, which fin 
 
 * had deftroyed ' \.Vo heal a ftream will not be fufficient ; 
 the fountain itfelf muft be purified. The believer's care is 
 therefore to lay the axe ^to -the root of the tree, and never 
 to be eafy or happy till the body of death is totally deftroyed. 
 Permit me therefore to addre's you my friends, who are 
 itrangers to tlie new birth, and like the Pharifees are only 
 concerned to go through the forms of religion. I muft tell 
 you, and I hope I do it out of real tendernefs and faithful- 
 nefs to your fouls, that you are not fit for the kingdom of 
 God. ^ou may acknowledge that holinefs is abfolutely 
 neceffa^y to happinefs, but you have never yet been duly 
 fenfible what this holinefs is. You may be outwardly 
 fober and regular, but you have never yet felt the fan6l:ify» 
 ing influences of the fpirlt in your hearts. You have no 
 leal knowledge of fin. You fee not its odioufiVffs, and how 
 the fad contagion has fpread itfelf through the faculties ol 
 yt>ur foils, and thereby rendered you unmeet fi»r the enjoy- 
 ment of God. You have no t* ue vcllih for the fpivitucii 
 
3crm. Hi original 6uilt. ^j 
 
 part of religion, no real love to God in your hearts, no de- 
 light in him, and how can you then thirk of henvcn ? Caa 
 you carry a polluted nature there ? Nothing unclean (hail 
 ever enter the gates of the New Jcrufalem. Befidcs, could 
 you find admittance, you would have nohappinefs, becaufe 
 you have no fuitablenefs of foul to the enjoyments and em- 
 ployments of heaven. Let me intreat you to confic'er, that 
 religion lies not in outward forms. You mull be born 
 again. You muft have new hearts. Old things mud be 
 done away, and alt things mufl become new. You are 
 naturally filthy and polluted, and you muit be waflied, you 
 mufl be fanttified by the fpirit of God> Tou muft be pure 
 in heart, or elfe you can never enter into the manfions 
 above. Believe the important truth therefore, and feek 
 with the utmoft earneftnefs to be regenerated, that you 
 may have the image of God in your fouls here, and may 
 ftand in his prefence hereafter, having neither fpot, nor 
 Wrinkle, nor any fuch thing. 
 
 4. It is an evidence of the Chrljlian io be made fenfihle of 
 the fountain of fin in the hearty to mourn over it^ and to get 
 it cleanfed. I'hough the Spirit of God may oftentimes 
 faften the firft conviciion upon fome a^lual ^irXy yet when- 
 ever he begins a real work in the foul, he nlways opens the 
 heart, and gives the awakened creature a view of his un- 
 cleannefs This you find was the cafe with Saul when 
 converted. Before, he thought he was blamelefs, but 
 •• when the commandment came fin revived, and he died." 
 Rom. vii. 9. You fee therefore how the Spirit opened to 
 him, and fet before him the plague of his henrt, that though 
 he was chargeable with no public immoralities, yet he had 
 fuch a view, and fucli a feeling fenfe of the corruptiont 
 within, that he nijourned over it, appeared vile in his own 
 eyes, and longed to be delivered from it as that which was 
 his greatcft burden. And this you find in a great meafure 
 in every Chrifiran. Though he is not all at once led to fee 
 what a vile, depraved creature he is, yet as he grows in 
 grace he is more acquainted with himfelf : and this is his 
 peculiar complaint before God, the darknefs of his under- 
 ilanding, the depravity of his will and afre^lions. Thefe 
 lay him low, fill him with real contrition, and warm and 
 carneft defires to be cleanfed in the fountain of the Re-' 
 deemer's blood. With this he firuggles as long as he is ia 
 
4o c^RiGi^^AL GUILT. Scrm. it 
 
 life. The fad remains of fin perplex him dally, lead him 
 often into captivity, unfit him for duties, interrupt liim in 
 them, and lay a foundation for deep humiliation, and make 
 him frequently water his couch with tears. < Oh this body 
 
 * of fin, when will it be deftroyed ? This unclean heart of 
 
 * mine, when will it be all pure ? I long for deliverance as 
 
 * much as a poor captive whofe bondage is peculiarly, dif- 
 
 * trefling. I am burdened, I am burdened •, who will take 
 
 * off the load ? Oh for an underfcanding free from all dark- 
 
 * nefs 5" for every power of my foul to be made perfect 1^ 
 « Oh for a heart to love God for ever 1 Blefled be God I 
 
 * have the profpeci: through Jefus Clirifl my Lord.* We 
 never find that Paul mourned becaufe of his perfecutions 
 and afflidions. He was ready not only to be " bound, but 
 ** even to die at Jerufalem, for the fiike of Chrift * ;" but 
 tphen he came to look within, and to fee and feel the cor- 
 rupted fountain, rendering him fo unlike God, and filling 
 him with fo much coldncfs, he was grieved ; he was cut to 
 the very heart What can we conclude then from this, but, 
 that all thofe who are not fenfible of the plague and wick- 
 cdnefs of their hearts ; they who fee not their inward de- 
 pravity, but think themfelves perfecl, have never yet expe- 
 rienced a faving change. And thus we fee the importance 
 of this truth. It is that which the Spirit opens to all his 
 people, as being the great means of bringing them into ail 
 evangelical frame. 
 
 5. This doBrine ficidd fvt vs all upon the great duty cf 
 examination. Here let me call upon thee to attend, whilft 
 1 put a few qucftions to thee of everlafting importance. 
 Haft thou ever confidered this foul-humbling and awaken- 
 ing truth ; or, art thou one of thofe who caft cOntefnpt' 
 upon it, as a mere fancy, or art thou paffmg it by as a' 
 Inatter of fpeculation ? Doft thou believe it as a part of 
 revelation, and haft thou not yet inquired how thou fhalt 
 be delivered from it ? Haft thou feen and felt this inward 
 corruption, and haft thou been convinced of the neceffity 
 of regeneration, and been feeking after it .'' or, does not a 
 confideration of a lofs of God's image, and the depravity 
 of all thy faculties affeft thy mind .^ Art thou apprehend- 
 ing that a mere acknowledgement of this truth is fufii* 
 
 • ACii xxi. 13. 
 
Serm. 11. original guilt. 49 
 
 cient ; and art thou therefore contenting thyfelf with a 
 jealous vindication of it in oppofition to all thofe who 
 deny it ? Doft thou never think of the impofiibility of get- 
 ting into heaven with fuch a polluted nacure, and there- 
 fore never inquire how thou fhalt get it cleanfed ? Doft 
 thou never confider that one great part of the Chriftian's 
 happinefs lies in a total deliverance from this body of death ? 
 Does it never give thee concern, that thou art unfit for the 
 kingdom of God ? What are thy hopes of heaven founded 
 Upon ; or what encouragement haft thou to hope for eter- 
 nal life ? Is t'hy foul fprlnkled with the blood of Jefus, and 
 art thou in fome meafure fant^ified by his Spirit ? A view 
 of this truth will furnifti us with a variety of the moft impor- 
 tant queftions to put to our fouls,^ and lay out much work 
 for examination; and thetefore it Is a truth of great moment, 
 and highly deferving onr attention. But, 
 
 Laftly, This do6irine JJjould put the Chriftian much upon 
 ivatchtng and prayer. We fee the Chriftian is in perpetual 
 danger of falling into fin. We have not only an enemy with- 
 out U6^ but we have one within us too. Satan has a friend 
 in our hearts •, he fees our pollution, and his concern is to 
 fuit his temp^tatlons to it % and when fin and Satan are both 
 importunate, it Is a difficult matter to ftand. How earneft 
 then fhould we be with God in prayer for his divine prefence 
 and affiftance, and how watchful over our own hearts, left 
 T^t any time we fliould be.enfnared .? . Like fentinels be ever 
 iipon your guard, remembering that you are always in dan-» 
 ger of a furprlfe. 
 
 Thus We fee how important this do<3trIne Is, and what a 
 peculiar tendency it has to be ufeful to us as t3 O'lr ever-* 
 i.iftlng Intereft. I might have mentioned fome other inftances 
 of its Importance -, as, that it tends to fet off the gofpel, and 
 make us highly prize and admire it, for the provifion that 
 is made for our fan(Slification as well as forourjuftification. 
 It tends to wean the Chriftian, from this imperfciSl world, 
 and to fet him a longing after a better, where all his com- 
 plaints will be for ever over, and his foul made perfect 
 in holinefs. Upon the whole, a right knowledge of original 
 fin is of fignal ufe to us in our way to heaven. It is, 
 fays a divine of the laft age, the curb of pride, the foil to fet; 
 off grace, the glafs of man, the fpur of Induftry. It Is thajt 
 which makes thebeft of faints to weep in the beft of duti€S;> 
 
 G 
 
so ORIGINAL GUILT. SeriD. IL 
 
 and the worfl of finners to look pale in their greateft 
 profpei'ty. Let us not therefore be afliamed of this 
 dodrine, but firmly believe it, and be concerned to get a 
 fu! table knowledge of it, that we may not hold it fpecula- 
 tively, but may improve it for the ends and purpofes that 
 have been mentioned. Look therefore into the word of 
 God where this do<£^rine is revealed. Examine your own 
 hearts, and fee whether they ccrrcfpond not ^ith it. And 
 above all, be concerned to look up to the Spirit of God, to 
 open your eyes, and to give you a fpiritual difcrrning of 
 this truth, and to lead you to the blood of Jefus *, ivhicb 
 cleanfeth from all fin. And you who are parents, teach 
 your children early this moft affe£ling doftrlne; fet before 
 them their pollution -, tell them of the neceihty of their be- 
 ing born again •, and do not take fo much pride in feeing 
 them in a gaudy drefs, but be concerned to fee their fouls 
 adorned with the image of God. Not only get them fprinkled 
 with water, and then think you have done your duty, 
 but pray that they may be baptized with the Holy GhoR, 
 that you and yours may be purified and cleanfed, and fa 
 be fitted for, and at length brought to the manfions above, 
 where you will appear without a fpot, and love and praif^ 
 for ever and ever. 
 
 ^ t John r. 7. 
 
SERMON III. 
 
 G A L. ill. 22. FORMER CLAUSE. 
 
 But the fcripture hath concluded all under Jin-^ 
 
 THE reprefentations which the fcriptures give us of our 
 natural ftate, though never Ibju i and confiilent with 
 truth, are y t highly difagreeable to our corrupt fentiments 
 and inclinations, as they io evidently tend to clieck our pride 
 and vanity, and to deftroy all our felf-confitlence. The 
 two doftrines we have confidered are therefore reje6led 
 upon this account : And that we have now in view is equally 
 ofFenfivC; and is therefore as much difregarded, though it i$ 
 never fo well fupportcd by the vvord of God. 
 
 The fcripture hath concluded us not only under the guilt 
 and pollution, but under the power and government of fm 
 too : fo that man cannot pojjiblv fav? himjtl', I his is the great 
 point we are now to prove, and then to improve, or to fhew. 
 the \!i{Q and importance of. 
 
 That this point may appear clear to every one's under- 
 ftanding, I iliall confidcr man's impotency in two views. 
 
 I. Hii abfo'iite incapacity to rejlore himfelf to the divin$ 
 favour^ and obtain a title to eternal life ; and, 
 
 II. His litter inability to fiibdue the dominion offin^ and to 
 purge and cleanfe his j'oul from it. From thefe views it 
 will appear how weak and helplefs man is of himfelf, and 
 that, had not God gracioully undertaken our falvation, we 
 mu I have perillied for ever. 
 
 The two great parts of falvation are juftification and fanc- 
 tification j or our being delivered from the guilt of fin, and 
 
5'2 ORIGINAL GUILT. Scrm. III. 
 
 having a title to eternal life, and our being delivered from 
 the power and being of fin, and fo having -a fitnefs for the 
 everlafting enjoy ment of God. Man's impotency lies iii 
 thefe two things. 
 
 I. He IS ahfolutely unah'e to deHver h'lmfelf frsm the 
 guilt offtn, recommend himf elf to the favour of Godyand obtain 
 a title to eternal life ; Or^ he cannot do any th.ng to juffify 
 himfelfheforf God. That vi^e may be juflified, two things 
 are abfolutely necefTary. i. That atonement be made for 
 Jin. Andy 2. That ive have aperfeSl righteoufnefs. 
 
 I, Atonement wufl he made for fin. This is the firft fl:ep 
 towards juftification ; and if man is unequal to this, all his 
 attempts to juftify himielf by a courfe of obedience will be 
 infignii'cant, even if he could perfectly fulfil the law. 
 There is a debt that is contrafted, and how muft this be 
 paid ? We have all finned in Adam, and have been guilty 
 of violating the law of God in thoufands of inftances, and 
 how muft thefe breaches be made up ? God has abfolutely 
 threatened death upon our difobedience, and how can we 
 efcape it ? To fay that God will overlook our many paft 
 imperfe£l:ions, if we are but fincere and upright in our 
 walk, is to fay that which is contrary to the whole current of 
 fcripture, and to reile£l Upon all the other perfections of the 
 divme nature. The pleas of truth and juftice are as power* 
 ful and importunate as thofe of mercy, and therefore demand 
 an equal attention God will not pardon fin, either to de- 
 preciate his law, to ftaln and fink his government, or to fully 
 the glory of his truth, juftice, and hoiinefs. He requires a 
 fuitable fatisfaftion therefore, before he will iiTue out a par* 
 don, that the honour of thefe may be prefcrved. The 
 penalty threatened muft be borne, and no relaxation granted; 
 and this is his folernn determination, that " without fliedding 
 ** of blood, there ftiall be no remifilon.'* This appears plainly 
 to be the do6lrlne of the Old.Teftament, and therefore re- 
 prefented in the facrifices that were offered Thefe 
 facrifices all pointed at the guilt of fm, the demands of 
 juftice, and fljewed that if we were delivered from the 
 wrath of an oifcnded God, it muft be by fatisfying thefe 
 demands : hc\K\ as they were typical of the great facrifice, 
 the Lord Jefus Chvift, fo they plainly reprefen ted this fouL 
 humbling truth. Man's weaknefs and inability to aton.» 
 for fin by anyXacsifices he ihould offer, or any fufferings hg 
 
Scrm. TIL original guilt. 55 
 
 ihould endure. " Wherewith fliall we come before the Lord, 
 " and bow ourfclves before the high God ? Shall we come 
 ^* before him with burnt oflerings, with calves of a y »ar 
 ^' old ? Will the Lord be pleaf^^d with thoufands of rams, 
 ^* or with ten thoufands of rivers of oil ? Shall we give our 
 ^* firft born for our tranfgreflion, the fruit of our body for 
 " the fin of our foul ?" Mic. vi. 6, 7. All thefe, were they 
 in our power, would be abfolutely infufficient to repair the 
 honour of law and juflice, fo relle£led upon by fin. You find 
 the apoftle therefore reprefeniing us as " without ftrength/* 
 when " Chrift died for us." Rom. v. 6. It is evident, that 
 if man could have made fatisfa^ion to the demands of juf- 
 tice, fo that God could have been glorified in our pardon 
 and falvation, he would not have fent his fon to be a pro- 
 pitiation for us. AH thy tears and fighs, then, all thy figns 
 of forrow and humiliation j all thy fufferings of whatever 
 kind j all thy mortifications, thy wafting thy body by ab- 
 ftcmioufnefs and failings, all bear no proportion to the in- 
 finite evil and demerit of fin, and therefore cannot redeem 
 thy foul from the curfe of a broken law. Thus man being 
 a finner, is weak and helplefs, and therefore lies naked ami 
 epcpofed to the awful threatening denounced againft fin. But, 
 
 2. Befides atonement for Jin y we mnjt have a perfeR righ- 
 teoiifnefsy or lue can never be ju/iijied before God, There 
 are the fame terms of juftification now as in the ftate of in- 
 nocency. ** Do this and live.'* The law will not admit 
 of any thing lefs, neither will infinite jufticc. That the 
 obedience that juftifies us may be complete, it muftbe uni- 
 verfal, free from all fin, and perpetual. Unlefs it has thefe 
 three properties, it cannot lay any folid foundation for our 
 expectation of eternal life. 
 
 It mnjl be unlverfaL Every divine command muft b;; 
 obeyed, and none neglected. Therefore the Pharifee's 
 righteoufnefs was greatly defective, as all he had to fay was, 
 that he was "no extor^^ner, unjuil, adulterer, or fo vile 
 ^* as the poor Publican ;"' that he had " fafted twice in the 
 ** week, and given tithes of all he pofleir^d.'* Luke xviii. 
 II, 12. No wonder that our Lord faid, "Unlefs your 
 ** righteoufnefs exceeds the righteoufnefs of the Scribes 
 " and Pharifees, ye fhall in nowife enter into the kingdom 
 " of God." Mat. v. 20. They paid tithe of mint, and anif«, 
 ^* apd cummin, but they negle£lcd the weightier matters 
 
54 ORIGINAL GUILT. Scrm. III. 
 
 ** of the law, judgement, mercy and faith : Thefe they 
 " ought to have done," as well as " not to leave the other 
 *' undone." Mat. xxiil. 23. The curfe of God ftands in 
 full force againft all thofe, who continue not in " all things 
 f* that are written in the book of the law to do them." GaU 
 ill. 10. If one command is laid afide, all our obedience 
 will prove infufficient to juftify us. 
 
 But, our obedience muO be abjolutcly perfeH too^ or free 
 from all Jin. Every command muft be perfectly obeyed in 
 thought, word, and deed. We are greatly miftaken in our 
 natural conceptions of the law. Saul the Pharifee thought 
 liimfcif blamclcfs, becr.ufc he had endeavoured ftridly to 
 ©bferye the letter of the law, not knowing its full meaning 
 and extent. It requires purity of thought, as well as purity 
 of life ; and according to the explanation which our Lord 
 lias given us of it, he is not only a murderer in the eye of 
 the law, who a<£lualiy kills his fellow creature, but who 
 entertains malice and refentment in his heart againfl him, 
 cr indulges angry paffions : and fo of other things. Matth. v; 
 Thus, ** whofoever fliall keep the whole law, and yet offend 
 •' in one fingle point, he is guilty of all," and therefore is as 
 far from juftificatlon, as if he had broke every command of 
 the law, James ii. 10. Law and juftice will admit of no- 
 thing lefs than an abfolutely perfccl: righteoufnefs as our 
 juftify ing righteoufnefs. Again, 
 
 Our chedience muft he perpetual We muft ^^ continue 
 « in all things written in the book of the law to do them," 
 Gal iii. 10. A fmgle a£t, or a few ads of obedience, a day 
 or a year's watchfulnefs againft fin and obfcrvance of the 
 law will be of no avail to us. Our obedience muft be per- 
 fect and complete, and therefore perpetual, elfc we Ihall 
 find it intirely infufticient to ju'iify us before God. 
 
 If this then be the cafe, who can ftand before God } Who 
 can fay, he is free from fin.? Who can perform fuch an 
 obedience; and, who then can j^'Cify himfelf ? « In many 
 « things," fays the apoftle, " we offend all," James iii. 2. 
 if every one v^ould but take a view of his own heart, he 
 muft acknov/ledge with the affcmbly of divines, that no mcer 
 mmfince the fall, is able in this life perfeRly to keep the 
 commandments of Cody but daily doth break ihem >yi fhouoht, 
 \:Qrd and deed*. Who can, who dire fay, that his fervice* 
 • AflcmLly's Cut. Q^82. 
 
Serm. III. original guilt. 55 
 
 are perfe(^ ? What a mixture of fin is In our beft duties, 
 and therefore how infufficient to juftify us before God ? 
 The believer cannot perform a religious duty without fornc 
 imperfe£^ion. An apoftle was obliged to fr.y, that *' when 
 " he would do good, evil was prefent with him," Rom. vii- 
 21. And how then mud it be with a perfon, in M^hom the 
 power of fin is not fubdued ? If the church efteemed her 
 righteoufnelles all as filthy rags, and an uncle;in thing, and 
 therefore every way unable to intitle her to the diviue fa- 
 vour, oh what mufl the duties and fervices of a poor unre- 
 newed (inner be, which are never animated with a fenfe of 
 the love of God, neither are ever performed with a view to 
 his glory. Upon the whole, as our nature is fadly and uni- 
 verfally polluted, fo our fervices mufl be polluted too, and 
 confequently infufiiclent to juftify us before God. And 
 thus we fee man's impotency in the point of juftification. 
 
 To this we may likewife add, that he is fo much under 
 the government of fin, as to be unable to believe on the 
 Lord Jefus Chrlft for juftificatlon^ and therefore would re- 
 main for ever in a ftate of condemnation, did not God gra-» 
 cloully impute to him the rlghteoufnefs of the great Media- 
 tor, and his fplrit enable him to receive and reft upon it for 
 eternal life. But, 
 
 II. Man is of himfelf utterly iinable fo fiibdue the dcmU 
 nion of fin^ and to purge and clcanfe his foul from it. This is 
 abfolutely neceflary to be done elfe there can be no enjoy- 
 ment of God ', and we ftiall foon be convinced how unequal 
 inan Is to it, when we coiifider what power fin exercifes ia 
 every faculty of the foul. Particularly, 
 
 His underfianding is fo much blinded^ that he cannot difcern 
 things as he ought. He is therefore faid to be " Darknefs,'^ 
 Eph. v. 8. He Is fo dark that he cannot fee himfelf to be 
 that guilty, odious, and defpicable creature that he really 13 
 leprefented to be in the fcrlptures. He fees not the plague, 
 the wickednefs of his own heart, but is ready to Ipeak of 
 his goodnefs, his foundnefs, his cleannefs of heart, as if he 
 had no fin. He is ignorant of the fplrituallty of the law, 
 and therefore efteems an obedience to the letter of it fufl>i 
 cient to intitle him to the favour of God. Thus * Saul 
 was alive without the law once, and never faw himfcH iuch 
 
 • Kadi. vii. f. 
 
56 ■ Original guilt. Serm. III- 
 
 a tranfgrefibr, till the Spirit came and fet tlic cbmrhahdment 
 before him. 
 
 He fees no amlablenefs in Jefiis Chrift, no excellency in 
 his perfon, his righteoufnefs, his fiilnefs, his titles, and of- 
 fices. He fees no need of the fanftifying and renewing in- 
 fluences of the Holy Spirit, and therefore is ready to look 
 upon all reprefentatlons of thefe things as erithiifiallic fan- 
 cies, and wild chimeras of a difordered brain. ** Hecalleth 
 ** evil good and good evil," If. v. 20. " The natural man 
 ** receivcth not the things of the Spirit of God : for they 
 ** are foolifhnefs untq him, neither can he know them, be- 
 •* caufe they are fpiritually difcerned," i Cor. ii. 14. Thl^ 
 is the cafe with all, " for there is none that underftandeth," 
 Rom. iii. 11. Thus we fee one of the noble faculties of the 
 foul, even the underftanding, robbed of Its native beauty, 
 and fdfar enllaved by fin, as to be turned into darknefs itfelf j 
 £0 that all the reprefentations which are made of fin, of ho- 
 iinefs, of Chrift, and of fpiritual things to a natural man, 
 are abfolutely loft, and therefore without any faving effe£l:, 
 as he fees no real importance, excellency, or fuitablenefs in 
 them. But agairtj: / . 
 
 His luill is abfolutely infuhjeBion to Jin. He choofes no- 
 thing but fin, can delight in nothing elfe, and is full of the 
 bittereft enmity tr», and ftrongeft prejudices againft the 
 ways and things of God. ** The carnal mind is enmity 
 •* againft God; for it is not fubje6^ to the law of God, 
 ** neither indeed can be," Rom. viii. 7. " His underftand- 
 ** ing is not only darkened, bvt he is alienated from the life 
 ** of God, through the ignorance that is in him, becaufe of 
 •* the blindnefs or hardnefs of his heart," Eph. iv. 1 8. Sin 
 has gained fuch a dominion over the will,' that it is obfti- 
 nately prejudiced againft the way of falvation by Jefus 
 Chrift, fo that the finner will not come to him that he may 
 have life *. The heart is called a " heart of ftone f ;" fo 
 hard that nothing but an almighty power can make a 
 faving impreflion upon it. The finner is reprefented as 
 Jiout hearted. He walks in the way? of his heart, and in the 
 (ight of his eyes, and will not be controlled by man. " He 
 V ftretcheih out his hands againft God, and ftrengtheneth 
 <* himfelf againft the Almighty. He runneth upon hinr, 
 
 • John V, 40- t ^*ck. xxxvi. 36. 
 
Serm. tit. original guilt. gy 
 
 ** even on his neck, upon the thick boffes of his bucklers." 
 Job XV. 25, ?,6. Thus his will is determined for and bound, 
 to evil, and averfe to all good. He cannot bear to think of 
 plucking out his right eye, and cutting off his right hand 
 fins, and of fubmitting to the yoke and government of 
 Chrift. His heart rifes therefore againft God, and difcovers 
 its implacable enmity by dcfpifing gofpel truths, by perfe-^ 
 cuting God's people, and by running into every ad gf re- 
 bellion againft him. But further, 
 
 7/;^? affetlions of the foul are ahfolutely under the pciver of 
 Jin, They are intireiy enflaved, fo that you find no moan- 
 ing for fm, no joy in Gk)d, no fear of him, no love to him, 
 but every afFeftion turned from its proper objeft, and go- 
 ing afide readily and fully from God. The fmner is abfo- 
 iutely infenfible and ftupid, a lover of pleafnre, a hater of 
 Godi ftands in no awe of fin or hellj choofes the way to 
 everlafting darknefs, and is like the wild afs ufed to the wil- 
 dernefs that fnufFeth up the wind at her pleafure, he will 
 not bear reproof. 
 
 His memory is led captive hy fin. He likes not to retain 
 God in his mind, but his memory is fet againft every thing 
 that has a tendency to be really ufeful to him, whilft it 
 carefully endeavours to ftore up things, that are of the mofl; 
 polluting and hardening nature to our hearts^ arid the molt 
 deftru6live to our fouls. 
 
 The confcience is hardened through fin. It ftands but 
 againft every awful threatening, and defperately out-braves 
 hell and damnation. In fine, the whole foul is not only- 
 polluted, but led captive by fin. It binds us with the 
 ftrongeft fetters ; it governs us like a law *; it commands 
 us like a tyrant : it reigns in us, and exercifes a fovereignty, 
 which none can fubdue but that power, which brought all 
 things out of nothing. The foul and body are both in fub- 
 je^lion to it, and ready to execute it's orders, however rui- 
 nous to our everlafting peace. We are naturally fo under 
 the power of fin, that no calls, no exortations, however 
 prefling will move us, no awful reprefentations of the ter- 
 rors of the law, and of the bottomlefs pit will awaken us, no 
 human rhetoric will perfuade us, no invitations and in- 
 treaties, though delivered with all poflible endearment, will 
 
 • Rx)iji. vii. 13. 
 
 H 
 
58 0Ki6it^AL GUILT, Scrm. III. 
 
 win us, no tlefciiptions of the love of Chrift, though never 
 fo Orong, will melt and captivate our foiils, anri bring us in- 
 to obedience. Our paffions may be moved, whilit our hearts 
 remain Oill hardened and impenitent. Like Aj^rippa we 
 may be almolt perfuaded to be Cbriftians ; or like Felix we 
 may be made to tremble, but rtill continue under the do- 
 minion of fin. Not all the affiic^ions M^e meet with can 
 really awaken our fiupid fouls, or foften our rocky hearts : 
 nay, not even the views of death itfelf can bring us really 
 to God. We may be in fome measure alarmied^ and through 
 fear of hell, promife and vow, and bring ourfelves under the 
 mcfl folemn engagements to am,end our lives, and return to 
 God J but after all our refolving, and re-refolving, we juft con- 
 tinue and die the fame, unlefs God is pleafed to enlighten 
 and fave us. We are reprefented as pafi feeling, Eph. iv. 
 19. and as dead in trefpaffes and fins, liph. ii. i. Whicli 
 fliews evidently our inability to do any thing in, or even 
 towards the fpiritual life, fo as either to renew our hearts, 
 fanftify and cleanfe them, or prepare ourfelves for the re- 
 ception of divine grace, as fome have imagined We are 
 not fufficient of ourfelves, to think any thing as of 
 ourfelves, 2 Cor. iii. 5. "Without Chrift we can do 
 nothing. John xv. 5. Who can put forth an acl of 
 faving faith in the Redeemer ? Who can exercife real re- 
 pentance towards God ? Who can crucify one corruption, 
 get the dominion over it, and at length eradicate it out of 
 the heart ? V/ho Is fufficient for thefe things ? The believer 
 readily owns his utter inability to do it : and we may 
 therefore without hefitation conclude that the unrenewed 
 finner muft be every way unfit for a work fo important. 
 
 Thus we have a view of man's impotency. But let it be 
 tonfidered, that this impotency is voluntary. Though man 
 is naturally carried out after nothing but evil, yet he pur- 
 fues it willingly : he choofes his ilavery, is pleafed with his 
 condition, and therefore ftifies every convidion that is not 
 accompanied with a faving power, and does all he can to 
 harden his heart againft God, and get above all impreffions. 
 This, this is the fad and awful ftate we are all of us in ; 
 thefe are the dreadful confequences of fin's entrance into the 
 foul. We arc all of us bond-ilaves and captives, fold ui>- 
 der fin, and thereby have given Satan an opportunity of 
 more eafily feducing our fouls, keeping us from Gcd, and 
 
Serm. IIT. original guilt. 59 
 
 increafing our bonds. If man converts })Imfe]f, he muft 
 jconquer notonlyiieni and blood but principAlltiesatid powers, 
 and ipiritual wickedncUcs in hi;^h places He mufl enlighten 
 his underihuiding, turn the bias of his will, the edge of 
 his defires, and choofe, purfue, and delight in that which 
 fin and Satan have given him the deepeft enmity to, and 
 the ftrongefl prejudices ag;ainft Tliisis the doctrine of our 
 Bible, and it is iuitable to our experience, and is re.KJiiy ac- 
 knowledged by thofe who have been led by the Spirit of 
 God into a faving acquaintance with their own hearts, 
 however it may be defpifed by others. 
 
 We now come to the ufe and improvement of this doc- 
 trine. I would here fliew how much it tends to be ufeful 
 both to the finner and to the real Chrillian. 
 
 This doctrine may be of peculiar fervice to the finner. 
 
 I. To Jlir him up to the life of all neceffar, and appointed 
 means. Some will conclude, that as man is abfolutely un- 
 able to convert himfelf, it is a difcour igement to the ufe of 
 means, and opens a wide door to carnal fecurity, negligence, 
 and fin. Whilft perfons entertain this unhappy thought, 
 they are enemies to the dodtrine, and lofe the advantages 
 that arife from the mind's being imprefled with a fuitable 
 fenfe of it But, though man cannot either juftify himfelf 
 by his own obedience, or turn to God by his own 
 power, but this is the work of God alone, yet he does it 
 in the ufe o^ means, and therefore it is the creatures duty 
 to attend upon them. Man is not an unthinking flock or 
 ftone : He has his faculties dill, though enflaved by fin, and 
 h? may do more than he does None will have it to fay, 
 they have done all they could. We may attend public or- 
 dinances, we may read the word, we may converfe and 
 pray, and exercife our thoughts about things of evcrlading 
 importance. Thefe are the various means which God 
 makes ufe of to begin, and carry on a work of grace in the 
 heart. Might you not have gone to the houfe of God, my 
 friend, the laft Lord's Day, inftead of fpending it in vralk- 
 ing in the fields, or in floth and idlenefs at home ? Might 
 you not the other night have fpent your time in the exer^ 
 cifes of prayer and reading, inftead of being at the play- 
 houfe, or revelling at a tavern ? or could you not have fpent 
 that hour lately in religious company for the edification of 
 your foul, which you wantoned away with the fon^ of Be- 
 lial ? Do not therefore take encouragement from what you 
 
 H 2 
 
5p ORIGINAL GUILT. Serm. Ill- 
 
 have heard of this doctrine, and lull your confciencc afleep* 
 by faying that you can do nothing : there are many thingt 
 you can do. When your mind was laid under fome con- 
 victions, -and you found fome emotions of foul, under that 
 awakening fermon you heard the other Lord's Day, or un- 
 der thnt affliClive providence, God lately cxercifed you with ; 
 inftead of ftifling thcfe, as you have done, might you not 
 have gone to God by prayer, and made ufe of means to 
 cherilh and ftrengthen them ? Oh, remember your plead- 
 ing your impotency, your inability to work <mt yqur own 
 flilvation, will (land you in no (lead at the great day, whilil 
 you lived in the negle6l of thofe means, which you might 
 have attended. Are you under a neceflity of ridiculing the 
 gofpel, defpifmg the .Saviour, reproaching his people, run- 
 ning into all excefs of riot, and negle£ling ordinances, and 
 the means of falvation ? For your fouls fake, confider what 
 you are doing, how you are deceiving yourfeif, and how 
 Satan is leading you on to everlafting darknefs. Has not con- 
 fcience often told you, that you were wrong ? Has it not 
 pften whifpered you in the ear to go to public worlhip, to 
 read the Bible, to p^ray, and the like ? Oh, let me befeech 
 you to attend the means of grace. Who knows but the 
 Lord may command a bleffing upon them, and make them 
 effectual to your falvation. The* impotent man could not get 
 into the pool himfelf, but he would be in the way to be put in. 
 Do you be in the way of God's blefTmg ; for out of the way 
 of it you cannot expert it. What if the judge at the lail 
 day fliould fay, becaufe I called, and thou didft refufe, I 
 ftretched out my hand, and thou didft not regard j but haft 
 fet at nought all my counfel, and wouldS: none of my re- 
 proof; I alfo will now laugh at thy calamity, and mock now 
 thy fear cometh : What would you fay but; Lord it is true. 
 I refufed to comply with thy calls. I would not hear. I 
 flifled confcience, negle£ted means, and defpifed falvation, 
 nnd thou art righteous in refufing to fuccour me, now dlf- 
 trefs and anguifh are come upon me. — Oh, think of thefc 
 things, and if you have any regard for your fouls, attend, 
 carefully attend the means of grace. But, 
 
 2 This do^tr'uie is of ufe to caution the firmer againft car^ 
 vai/ecurity and felf^dependence. To cry up the dignity of hu- 
 man nature, and reprefent man as equal to the great work 
 
 • John V. $. 
 
Scrm. III. ORIGINAL GUILT. 6t 
 
 of converfion and falvation, has a mofl dangerous tendency. 
 Upon this many a finner has flifled prefent convi6lions» 
 filenced confcience, and prefumed to put otT the great con* 
 cerns of eternity to the decline of life, apprehending it i$ 
 foon enough to think of religion, and promifing they will 
 hereafter fet about it in good earneft, repent, and turn to 
 God. Is not this the cafe with thee, thou young, gay, un- 
 thinking (?reature ? Did I not fee thee the other day under 
 fome convidions, fome thoughtfulnefs of foul, and how is 
 it removed ? How is it thou canft follow thy pleafures again 
 with fo much grecdinefs ? The cafe is plain : Thou haft 
 fucked in that naturally fweet, but really poifonous dodrinc 
 of man's fufliciency, and this has lulled thee into a dangerous 
 doze : Thou canfl now fin again, becaufe thou haft afTured 
 thy confcience that by and by thou wilt certainly leave off 
 thy fins, and give up thyf If to God, Metliinks I fee thy in* 
 ward ftruggles to get rid of thy conviftions. How didft thou 
 ftrive before thou didft hit upon the happy method to appeafc 
 confcience, and quietly purfue thy fins again. But this at 
 pnce fet thee at liberty, and now I hear thee faying calmly and 
 cheerfully to confcience, as Felix did to Paul, Go thy way for 
 this tim.e ; " when 1 liave a convenient feafon, I will call for 
 ^* thee." Acls xxiv. 25. What a dangerous fnare is this! That it 
 is really the cafe, I appeal to the confciences of thofe, who 
 are fo felf-fufHcient. Thoufands have fplit upon this dan- 
 gerous rock, and, prefuming they could repent when they 
 pleafed, put off the things of eternity, till it was abfolutely 
 too late to think of them, and their fouls were lodged in the 
 bottomlefs pit. Could you but hear the reflections of poor 
 fouls in hell, I dare venture to . fay, you would hear fome 
 crying out with unutterable anguifti. — * Oh curfed, foul-ruin- 
 f ing do£lrine, that of man's ability, &c. I believed it, and 
 
 * was lulled on, thinking I could turn to God, and one day 
 « or other would do it, till I funk into this bottomlefs gulph 
 
 * where I mud lie for ever. I fiifled every conviclion, by 
 f making refolutions of doing fomething hereafter. I with 
 ^ zeal propagated this deftru6live notion, and am now ruined 
 
 * for ever by it.' Thus it is dangerous to fet up the 
 power of the creature. I am fure I have been reprefenting 
 the fad experience of many poor infatuated finners. On the 
 ptherh^jnd, the doctrine of man's impotency tends to ftir up 
 die fmner to make no delay, but now to feek the Lord 
 
^2 ORIGINAL GUILT. Scrm, III. 
 
 whild: he may be found, and to call upon him whilft he is 
 near. Permit me to addrefs you then in the language of 
 this c;o£lrine, by .which you may judge of its ufe and im^ 
 portance — * Nov/ is the accepted time; behold now is the 
 
 * day of falvation ;' do not put off the great concerns of 
 eternity to an hereafter : R^emember your impotency, which 
 will increafe through fin, and fo you become more unfit to 
 
 * think about your fouls, and your hearts grow harder. 
 
 * Now go to God by prayer, and attend the means. Why, 
 
 * Oh why do you ileep ? Remember the work is great, and 
 
 * you are unequal to it. Go to the throne of Grace there- 
 
 * fore, and en-'eavour to engage the almighty arm of God 
 
 * to undertake the work, and do not difregard it, left you 
 
 * provoke God to withdraw his Spirit, take his final leave, 
 
 * and fo you perifli for ever. Are you under any convi£i:ions, 
 < or divine imprefiions ? Oh confider your weaknefs and ina- 
 
 * bility to revive them, if they are once ftifled and loft. Be 
 
 * therefore importunate with God to faften them deeply 
 
 * upon your fouls, and bring you effectually to himfelf. 
 
 * Tell him of your own weaknefs, the greatnefs of the 
 
 * work, the worth of your fouls, and your dependence 
 
 * upon him, and not be carelefs, and fo be eternally ruined.' 
 This is the language of this doctrine j thus it calls upon all 
 fmners. 
 
 3. This deprive is of ufe to convince the firmer of the folly 
 and danger of depending on his own duties, and of the neceffi-f 
 /y of going elfeiihere for help. We aie naturally ready to 
 think well of our duties, and to place a peculiar confidence in 
 our own righteoufnefs as if it were abfollitely pure, 2x1^ 
 every way fuch as the law required. The poor pharifaical 
 creature therefore is elated and alive, though he is a6f ually 
 dead, and e\pofed to everlafting condemnation. Art thou, 
 my friend, this Pharifee ? Art thou thinking favourably of 
 thy righteoufnefs, concluding that thou canft do every thing 
 that is required of thee, and fo building thy hopes of heaven 
 upon thy duties ? Come and let us reafon a little upon this 
 important head, and fee what foundation thou haft for felf- 
 confidence. Let me bring thee to the law, and fee if thou 
 canft ftand thy ground. Read over the commands one by 
 one, and then alk whether thou haft perfedly obfcrved them 
 all. Haft thou worHiipped r.one other but God ? lias not 
 tliv heart been often divided, and gold, honour, or fome 
 
Serm. III. original gviLt, 6^ 
 
 earthly enjoyment been fet up as an idol in thy foul ? Thott 
 haft then broken the firft command. Haft thou been care- 
 ful to preferve the woriliip of God pure and fre^ from all 
 fin ? Haft thou never been guilty of a vain thought in reli- 
 gious duties, never found any coldnefs or formality, or wan- 
 derings from God, never been chargeable with any irreve- 
 rence? Here thou muft lay thy hand upon thy mouth, as having 
 broken in numberlefs iriftances the fecond command. Haft 
 thou not often taken the name of God into thy mouth in a 
 thoughtlefs, carelefs manner, without that ferioufnefs and 
 iiwe with which it fhould have been done ? Haft thou been 
 careful to devote thy Sabbaths to God in the duties of the 
 family, the clofet, and the fanftuary ?' Haft thou perfe£l:Iy 
 watched over thy frame, thy words, thy a^lions that day, {o 
 as not to err in one fingle point ? Here thou muft ftop, and 
 cry guilty, and fo thou haft broken the third and fourth com- 
 mands. Thus I might run through every other command, 
 arid Ihew how thou haft broke the whole. And where is thy 
 boafted power and fufficiency now ? Where are thy hopes 
 of eternal life .'' Canft thou venture to carry fuch an obe- 
 dience to the bat' of God, and plead it there ? Sure, this is 
 enough to convince thee of thy helplefs condition, of the 
 neceftity of a better righteoufnefs, and of making thee abun- 
 dantly thankful for the Gofpel, in pointing thee to a righ- 
 teoufnefs which is abfolutely perfeft and fulHcient to recom- 
 mend thee to God, and directing thee to an infinite fulnefg, 
 where every want of the creature may be fupplied. Many 
 apprehend they are equal to the whole work of religion, and 
 therefore fet forward in their own ftrength, and foon give 
 up. This i& the reafon why there have been fo many 
 apoftates, fo itiany ftony ground hearers, who under a 
 fudden flow of afledlion have made a profefTion, but hav- 
 ing never feen their own hearts, and been fenijble of their 
 own weaknefs, their zeal has foon grown cold, their fins 
 have revived, they have returned again to folly, and walked 
 iio more with the people of God. The Lord grant we may 
 not thus appear to begin in the fpirit and end in the flefli. 
 This doctrine tends to guard the fiimer againft fuch an at- 
 tempt, by {hewing him his utter inability to conquer fo many 
 enemies, withftand fo mu-.h oppofition, and go through the 
 whole of the Chriftian life. 
 
 Thus this du6lrine of maus impotency may be of ufe to 
 
64 ©RiGiNAL GUILT. Serm. til. 
 
 the finner. It tends to empty him of felF, to curb his pride^ 
 to guard bim again ft a dependence upon his own power, and 
 to ftir him up to feek for help in another, findinj:^ that he haS 
 ruined himfelf, and that he is abfolutely unable in all ref- ' 
 peO:s to intitle himfelf to the divine favour, or reftore to his 
 polluted foul that amiable image which he has fiidly loft. 
 
 But this dcdrine is of peculiar fervice to the ChriO.ian, 
 and has a loud and paricular voice in it to him. As, 
 
 I. // tends to Jill him, with, and calls him to Humility and 
 admiration^ 'J'his do£trii.e takes all boaftlng from the 
 creature, becaufe it reprefents him as abfolutely weak and 
 helplefs in the great bufinefs of falvation. '1 hpu didft not 
 gain that fpiritual difcerning of divine things, by any dili- 
 gence or labour of thy own. ThoU didft not give thy will 
 its prefent fubmiflion to God, or conquer that enmity, thou 
 didft find in thy heart once to him, by any art of reafoning, 
 any power of eloquence, or any ftrength of refolution. 
 Thou didft not give thyfelf thofe holy defires, thou now feel- 
 eft; that hatred of fm, that dehght in Chrift, and that readi- 
 cefs to obedience which now appear in thee. It is not by any 
 righteoufnefs of thy own, that thou haft been introduced in- 
 to the favour of God, and continueft in it Hadft thou been 
 left to thyfelf, thy hard heart would never have been fof- 
 tened ; thy foul would never have been raifed to God, thy af- 
 fe6lions would never have been freed from the entangle- 
 ments of fm ; thou wouldft never have felt one real defire 
 after Jefus Chrift, pr ever have had any folid ground of hope 
 for eternal life •, but fm and Satan would have kept thee iii 
 thy flavery and bondage, till death had uflier<»d thee before 
 the bar of God, and an awful fentencehad adjudged thee to 
 regions of everlafting darknefs. Keep thefe things in conftant 
 remembrance, and they will bring down every proud lofty 
 thought, preferve thee from an oftentatious fpirit, fill thee 
 with deep humility, raife thy thankfulnefs and admiration, 
 and enable thee to give all the glory where it is moft juftly 
 due Be often f-iying therefore, * who opened my eyes, and 
 
 * difpelled the darknefs of my mind ? Who removed thofe 
 *" deep rooted prejudices I once had again ft Chrift and his 
 
 * ways ? Who conquered the power of fin, turned Satan 
 
 * out of his ftrong holds, and fet my poor captive foul at li- 
 
 * berty ? What is it that has fecured to mc the favour of 
 
 * God, and given me a title to eternal life, when I was fo 
 
Scrm. III. ORIGINAL GUILT. 6$ 
 
 * unable to do nny thinor towards it ? O my foul, I was abfo- 
 
 * lutely without llren^tK, and never (houl'd have taken one 
 y (ingle fiep towards heaven, if I had been left to myfelf. 
 
 * Learn therefore to be ever humble ; afcribe not the 
 ' change to thy own power, Ikill, or diligence, but learn 
 
 * more of this foul emptying truth, that thou art nothing, 
 
 * and admire the work that is done in thee, and give God 
 
 * all the glory/ _ 
 
 ■ ^. This doFirine fends to keep the Chnjlian from rajh and 
 h^Jiy refoliitions^ and a dependance upon his oivnjirength. We 
 are too ready to lofe a fenfe of our wcaknefs, and to aiSl as 
 if our ftrength lay in ourfelves and not In Chrifh. This is 
 the cafe pretty much with young. Chriftians. Their zeal 
 puts them often upon hafty refolutioiis, and fo brings them 
 into great 4ifliculties. Peter did not confider his weaknefs, 
 when he fo boldly determined even to face death itfelf, and 
 not defert his mailer, It was a noble refoluticn, had it 
 been made in a proper niannei. , He is full of himfelf, and 
 thinks nothing can flVake his faith, and dagger his foul, and 
 therefore if all the difciples forfook their Lord, he M^ould 
 {land fteadily by him. He was left to fall, that he might 
 be more fenfible of his own infulRciency,' and guard more 
 again ft a rafh im.prudent zeal. Many have made great re- 
 folutions without confidering their utter inability to execute 
 them, and therefore breaking through them, they have there« 
 by been filled with great diilrefs of foul. To make refo- 
 lutions is not inconfiftent with our duty.' . But then they 
 mull be made under a proper fenfe and imprefuon cf our 
 own inability to perform them if the Lord does not help us, 
 and not in a dependance upon our own ftrength. The 
 making and breaking of refohuions have wounded many a 
 foul, and made him walk uncomfortably a great part of his • 
 days, whereas a due fenfe of this doclrine would kt him 
 right, guide his zeal, guard his refolutions, and keep him 
 from-that dependance upon felf, which is fo dangerous and 
 hurtful. We are never farther from danger than when we 
 fee moft of our own helpleffnefs. When we are * weak, 
 then we are ftrOng : a paradox tliis to the finner, but the 
 Chriftian knows its meaning. In a word, this do£lrine is 
 peculiarly ufeful to the Chriftian, to humble him, quickeu 
 
 • a CfT. xii. |0. 
 
 I 
 
66 ORIGINAL GUILT. SeriT. Ill* 
 
 him, brln^ him into an evangelical temper ; to keep him 
 from leaning to his own underftanding, from being lifted 
 up with his own duties, his progrefs, and advances in grace, 
 and to lead him to a dependance upon the Lord Jefus Chrift, 
 that fo he may be fafe in a time of danger and temptation, 
 may get the victory over his fpirltual enemies, be fupported 
 amidft the vairous difliculties of life, and perfevere even 
 unto the end. A proper fenfe of this doclrine has a ten* 
 dency to bring about thefe defirable ends, and fo to pro- 
 mote and fecure the Chriftian's comfort and holinefs. 
 
 Thus we have taken a view of man's natural ftate, and 
 have confidered the ufe and importance of being properly 
 impreffed with a fenfe of original guilt, pollution, and moral 
 impotency. Thefe do£^rines are felf-debafing and humbling, 
 but not foul difcouraging do(£lrines. They bring down our 
 pride, but they do not drive us to defpair. They happily 
 prepare our minds for receiving the news of the gofpel, 
 make us more thankful for it, and when improved, ftir us 
 Up to feek after an interefl in and acquaintance with the 
 Lord Jefus Chrift, whom to know is eternal life. They 
 are doctrines, which indeed for thefe very reafons, nature 
 cannot bear, and therefore are fo much ridiculed and def- 
 pifed. To tell man of the dignity of his nature, the noble 
 powers of his foul,- and his great fulhciency to do every 
 thing that is required of him : to praife his gifts and abili- 
 ties, commend his works of charity, and feed him with the 
 hopes of heaven, would be to gain his efteem, and to efta- 
 biifti the reputation of an ingenuous preacher ; but to tell 
 him that he is guilty, polluted and even worfe than thcf 
 beads that perifli ; to reprefent to him his mifery and 
 wretchednefs, that he is a child of wrath, and is expofed to 
 everlafting condemnation, and that he can do nothing to 
 merit the favour of God, or procure eternal life, but is ab-» 
 folutely helpkfs and without itrength. To do this would 
 be highly difpleafmg, and you cannot expe6l any kinder 
 treatment than that of ridicule and reproach, and no better 
 a title than that of bigot and enthufiaft. But I hope better 
 things of you, my dear friends. You will not reproach me 
 for fctting thefe truths before you, and preffmg them upon 
 your confciences, but I truft will each be concerned to ex- 
 amine what fenfe and experience you have of them in yonr 
 o^n fouls> and to get a greater acquaintance with themv 
 
Serm. III. original guilt. 6j 
 
 Afk your fouls thcfe important queftions. — * Do I not only 
 
 * acknowledge man's impotency and 'A^eaknefs, but have I felt 
 
 * it ? Do I not only fee it by the light of God's word, but 
 
 * have I feen it by the light of his Spirit? Have I found it by 
 
 * my experience to be an infallible truth, that I can do 
 
 * aothing ? Am I no more the proud Pharifee, efteeming 
 
 * myfelf with Saul to be blamelefs ; and boafting of and 
 
 * depending upon my own righteoufnefs ; but do I f-e the 
 
 * imperfections of my be ' duties, and loath myfelf and them 
 
 * too ? Am I thoroughly fenfible that I cannot fuUil one 
 
 * promife, fubdue one corruption, withftand one temptation, 
 
 * cxercife one grace, and perform one duty in a fpiritual 
 
 * manner of myfelf? Have I feen my undcrftanding to be 
 
 * darknefs, felt my will to be rebellion, and found my aiFec- 
 
 * tions polluted, and my foul under the power of fm ?' Thcfe 
 and fuch like queftions are of the utmoft importance, as they 
 relate to and point out the work of God in its beginnipgs, 
 and in its progrefs in the foul. The more we grow m grace, 
 the more we fee of our own emptinefs and impotency : But 
 if we are ftrangers to thefe things, and have {qcw and felt 
 nothing of them, we have too muchreafon to conclude that 
 wc are ftrangers to the grace of God, and that aH our 
 religion is no more than an empty form. Be concerned 
 my dear friends, whatever you do, to get a true fenfe of 
 your own weaknefs, and endeavour to have your minds con- 
 ftantly imprcfled with it, for then you will be in leaft danger 
 of failin.4 ; be mod vv^atch'*ul over your own hearts, and de- 
 pend mod upon the Lord Jefus Chriit for all itrength and 
 righteoufnefs. 
 
 ^\ 
 
S E R M O N IV 
 
 A TRINITY OF PERSONS IN THE UNITY Of 
 
 THE DIVINE ESSENCE. 
 
 f 
 
 t JOHN V. 7. LATTER PART. 
 
 '-—And thefe Three are One. 
 
 THE doctrine of the Trinity is one of the glories of 
 revelation, and therefore highly deferving our parti- 
 cular confideraticn and efteem. However it maybe treated 
 with ridicule, and viewed as an abfurdity by many, becaufe 
 it is myfterious and incomprehenfible, .t is one of the capi- 
 tal articles of the Chriftian's creed, it enters into the very 
 elTence of his comfort, his holinefs, and his falvation, and 
 therefore he receives it with the utmoft readinefs and cheer- 
 fulnefs. 
 
 The apoftle in the verfe before our text is fpeaking of the 
 Saviour, and telling us that when he came into the world 
 to execute the important work he had undertaken, he came 
 .not by -water or\\yy when he was publicly baptized, but by 
 'water and hlood, which appeared when he was upon the 
 crofs, and which were fymbolical reprefentations of that 
 deliverance from the guilt and defilement of fm, which we 
 (hould have through his death. That Chrift is thus a com- 
 plete and able faviour appears from the Spirit's application 
 of the virtue of his death, to our fouls Nay, there arc 
 teftimcnies fulFicient to his incarnation and the efficacy of 
 Jt : for not only one, even the Spirit, but the three glorious 
 perfons who inhabit eternity, bear witnefs to Jefus the 
 
Serm. IV. on the trinity. 69 
 
 Mediator. The Father not only at his baptifm * and tranf- 
 figuration f gave a public proof of his approbTition of him» 
 butij: declared him to be his Son, by his refurredlion from 
 the dead. The Son often bare witnefs of himfelf whilft he 
 was upon earth ; and if the people would not believe his 
 own teftimony, he appealed to his various works, his many 
 miracles, as inconteftiablc proofs of his divine miflion. The 
 third divine witnefs is the Spirit, who defcended upon him 
 at his baptifm> and ever fince his afcenfion has come in 3 
 glorious manner, in confequence of his fatisfaclion and 
 purchafe, to apply all the bleflings of falvation to the elecb 
 of God, and will continue to do fo till the whole number is 
 completed, and all the purpofes of divine grace are fully an- 
 fwered. Thefe three divine witnefTes, thus giving their 
 diftiniSt teftimony, and perfonally diftin£^ from each other, 
 are yet but one. It is not faid of them as it is of the wit- 
 nefles on earth, that they agree in one, but that they are 
 one ; not one perfon but one thing, or one eflence. The 
 truth then that appears from this part of God's word is this> 
 viz. (which the Aflembly's Catechifm has fully exprefled) 
 ^hat there are three perfons in the Godhead, the Father, the 
 Sony and Holy Ghofl, and thefe three are one God, the fame in 
 Juhftancey equal in po-wer and glory, I fhall confider this in 
 ^ts feveral parts, fo that the whole may appear clear and 
 evident, as, 
 
 I. Prove that there are three in the Godheads 
 II. That thefe are three diJHiidl perfons, 
 
 III. That thefe three perfons are the one Supreme God^ 
 equally partaking of one common undivided nature or efj'ence. 
 And then, 
 
 IV. Confider the ufe and improvement of this truth, I 
 would defire to fpeakof this divine myftery with the great- 
 eft caution and with the utmoft reverence, knowing how 
 infinitely it tranfcends all our ideas, and how much feriouf- 
 nefs it requires in us, when we are reprefentlng the nature, 
 the perfonal properties, and the perfedtions of the glorious 
 Jehovah. 
 
 I. We are to fhew that there are three in the Godhead, or 
 ^hat there is a plurality in the Godhead, You will eafily 
 
 ♦ Mat. iji. 17. f Mat. xvi. 5. \ Rom. i. 4. 
 
yo O'N THE TRINITY. Scrm, IV^ 
 
 fee that my buHnefs is not to attempt to give you clear idea* 
 of the Trinity j tJiat is impoffible for man to do : but to 
 prove the various truths from fcripture; and where our rea- 
 fon falls Ihort in comprehending the truths, let not this 
 dagger our mindsj but let us cheerfully embrace them, fo 
 far as we find a divine warrant for it. Take your bibles 
 then into your hands, and examine, whilft I go through the 
 proofs of each do<flrine diftin£lly. We have fome intima- 
 tion of a plurality in the Deity in Gen. i. i. where, the 
 word God is put in the original in the plural number, and 
 fo it runs throughout the chapter. And when God came 
 to make man, his form of fpeech upon that occafion, im- 
 plies a confuitation, and fignifies that more than one were 
 concerned in man's formation. Gen. i. 26. " And God 
 •* faid, let us make man in our own image, after our like- 
 ** nefs." Accordingly, in Job xxxv. 10. the word maker is 
 in the plural number, and fo (liould be read, "where is Cod 
 my makers ? Thus the word creator in Ecci. xii. i . is in 
 the plural, and fo it {hould be, remember thy creators^ 
 Again, that there is a plurality in the Godhead, appears 
 from Gen. iii. 22. " And the Lord God faid, behold the 
 ** man is become as one of us." Thus the fame hint is 
 given. Gen. xi. 7. *^ Go to, let us go down." The fame 
 truth appears in If. vi. 8. " Who will go for us ?" Thefe 
 things are fo plain that he that runs may read the do<Sl:rine 
 contained in them. Thus the Old Teftament fhews us there 
 are more than one in the Godhead. The New Teftament 
 is more particular in the account of the perfons in the God- 
 head, reprefenting their number, their names, and charac- 
 ters, and the different offices they have undertaken to exe- 
 cute in the redemption and falvation of fallen man. Thus 
 in Matth. xxviii. 19. we are told there are three, and we 
 have an account of their different names, viz. Fat her ^ Son^ 
 and Holy Chofl. In John xiv. 16. they are again mentioned. 
 Chrill fpeaks of himfelf under the perfonal pronoun /; he 
 mentions the Father too, and reprefcnts the Holy Gho/} undci^ 
 the chara£ler of a Comforter. So verfe twenty-fix they are 
 diflinillv fpoken of : " But the Comforter, which is the 
 ** Holy Ghofl, whom the Father will fend in my name" 
 You meet witl\ thcfc glorious three again in John xvi. 13, 
 14, 15. In the doxology mentioned by the apoftle, 2 Cor. 
 xiii. 14 you have them diftindly reprefented. " Th« gn^cc 
 
Serm. IV. on the trinity, 71 
 
 " of the Lord Jelus Chrifl:, and the love of Ood, and the 
 *' communion of the Holy Ghoft be with you all." Here 
 is the Son reprefented under his office character, the Father 
 called God, which fometimes is a name peculiarly appli- 
 cable to one of the divine perfons, and fometimes includes 
 all, and here is alfo the third perfon, or the Holy Ghoft. 
 Again, the apoflle fpeaks of tliem all in Gal. iv. 6. Where 
 he fays, " God," that is the Father, " hath fent forth the 
 ** fpirit of his fon into your hearts." You meet with thetn 
 again in Eph. ii. 1 8. " For through him," that is Chrift, 
 " we have an accefs by one fpirit unto the Father." Thus 
 in Hebrews iv. 14. the apoftle fays, "How much more 
 " fhall the blood of Chrift, who through the eternal fpirit 
 " offered himfelf without fpot to God," Src. And once 
 more we have, the fac red Three mentioned in Rev. i. 4, 5. 
 •* John to the Seven Churches which are in Afia, Grace be 
 ** unto you, and peace, from hi?n luhlch isy and which wasy 
 •* and which is to comCy and from the Seven Spirits, which 
 •* are before his throne, and from Jcfm Chriji, who is the 
 «* faithful witnefs."^ The Father is here reprefented by his 
 eternity and immutability, the Spirit by the variety and per- 
 feftion of hisfpiritual gifts and operations, and the Son by his 
 mediatorial character. And thus we fee from fcripture that 
 there is a plurality in the Deity, viz. Three, whofe diftin6l 
 Jiames, characters, and offices are reprefented. I now come, 
 
 2. To (liew from the fame facred word of truth, that thefc 
 are three diftin<£l perfons. And here I readily own myfelf at 
 a lofs to entettain fuitable conceptions of divine perfonaJity. 
 When we apply perfon to one another, we take in the idea 
 of diftin6l beinj^, but this muft be abftra6led from perfona- 
 lity when wc are confidering the facred Trinity. They arc 
 not diftin£l beings nor diftinft Gods ; this is the greateft 
 abfurdity and impoffibility. And yet they are more than 
 diffiirent names- of the fame perfon j to look upon them in 
 this light would take away a great part of the glory of this 
 doftrine, and introduce the greateft confufion. They have 
 a diftin£l manner of fubfiftence, and therefore are diftinCt 
 from each other. The Father is not tlie Son, nor the Holy 
 Ghoft. The Father did not die, does not intercede, nei- 
 ther is he that Comforter who is promifed Here let it be 
 obferved, that the diftin61: perfonality of Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghoft is not the refult of th,e divine will, nor does it 
 
75 ON THE TRINITY. Scrm. TV; 
 
 arife from their dlftin£i: offices in the work of redemption or 
 fcheme of falvation, but is neceffary and eternal, and there- 
 fore to be confidered as laying a foundation for thofe dif- 
 tin£l: parts they have undertaken in the gofpel ceconomy, 
 and not as produced by them. That they are three diftindl 
 perfons appears from their being fpoken of as diftin^l:. The 
 Father is a divin^! perfon, fo is the Son, and fo is the Spirit, 
 clfe there would have been fome marks of diftintiiion put 
 upori them, to let us knov/ that they were only the different 
 names, qtialities, or attributes of the Father. But they are 
 mentioned as diilin£t from him, and in fuch a manner as 
 to give U3 the utmoft reafon to believe that they are perfons 
 ^as well as the Father, difLin6lly fubfifting as fuch. Thus 
 the Son is fpoken of as diftincl' from the Father, i John i. i, 
 ** In the beginning was the word, and the word was with 
 ** God, and the word was God." As he was with God, he 
 mufl be diflintt from him, and not that perfon with whom 
 he was. Thus in the form of baptifm the Son and Spirit 
 are fpoken of as diftinCt from the Father. And what is 
 faid of the Father to denote him to be a divine perfon, is 
 faid of thefe two. Is the Father fpoken of under the per- 
 fonal pronouns, /, thoii^ and he, to afe they. Thus Chrift 
 fays, " I was fet up from everlafting." Prov. viii. 23. Again 
 fays the Father to the Son, '^Thou art my Son, this day 
 ** have I begotten thee," Pf. ii. 7. And again, John i. 10. 
 '* He was in the world, and the world wzi made by him." 
 Thus it is faid alfo- oif the Spirit, " When he is come." 
 John xvi. 8. As thefe pronouns are charafters of a real 
 perfon, fo they fliew the Son and Holy Ghoft to be perfons. 
 Again, are works and aclions afcribed to the Father, which, 
 are peculiar to perfons, fo they are equally to the _ Son and 
 Spirit. Thus the Son is faid to create not only the naturaF 
 world, but to create anew to good works, John i. 3., He is 
 our mediator, and (lands between God and us. He is our 
 prophet, and therefore a divine teacher. Acts iii. 22. He 155 
 our priefl, and fo made atonement for our fins on earth, and 
 is now making intercefhon for us in heaven, Heb. x. 12. 
 And chap. vii. 25. He is our king, and as fuch rules and 
 defends us, reftrains and conquers all his and our enemies, 
 Pfal. ii. 6. He is our iliepherd, and as fuch watcheth over 
 us as his flock, provides for Qs, reftores us when going 
 allray, gathers the lambs in his arms, and carries them iji' 
 
Scrm. IV. ORIGINAL GUILT, 7^ 
 
 his bofom, and gently leads all thofe that are with youngs 
 Pf. xxiii. I, 2, 3, and If. xl 1 1. Thus 1 might go through 
 the various characters, works, and oihces of Jefus Chrilt, 
 all which are (o many chara«5teri{tics of a perfon, and cannot 
 with any manner of propriety be afcribed to a quality or an 
 attribute of the Father. Thus works and ii£^s equally def- 
 ^riptlve of a perfun are afcribed to the Spirit of God, and 
 therefoie prove that he is no power of the Father, but a per- 
 fon diftinft from him. Thus he is faid to teachy John xiv, 
 76. He glorifies Chrift, by taking of his things, and View- 
 ing them' unto his people, John xvi. 14. He brings things 
 to the remembrance of his people, and leads them into all 
 truth, Jolin xiv. 26. and chap. xvi. 13. He renews and fanc- 
 tifies us ; quicke^is us v/hen dead in trefpalies and fins ; fub- 
 dues the power of fin, mortifies our corruptions, and brings 
 us into the image of God, Tit. iii. 5. John iii. 6 He is a 
 fpirit of prayer, arid helps his people in that duty ; makes 
 them fenfible of their wants, fills their mouths with argu- 
 ments, and helps them to plead with God, and to come in 
 the exercife of faith in Jefus Chrift, Rom viii, 26. Zech. 
 xii. 10 He is a comforter, and as fuch cheers the fouls of 
 his people, helps them to claim a covenant relation to God, 
 and fills them with joy and peace in believing, Jchn xiv 26. 
 Gal. iv. 6. Now are not all thefe demonftrative proofs of 
 the Spirit's being a divine perfon ? Befides, we have hini 
 represented as being tempted, A^ls v.. 9, as being vexed 
 and grieved, Eph. iv. 30, As being lied unto, A0:o v. 3, 
 4; as fpeaking to Peter, Afts x 19, 20; and to others, 
 and fending forth, A^ts xiii. i, 2, 4. Thefe things are all 
 ^efcriptive of a real perfon. Once more, are perfonal pro- 
 perties attributed to the Father? So they are to the Son 
 and Holy Ghofi. Has he underftanding and wifdom ? So 
 has the Son, Col. ii. 3. and fo has the Spirit, i Cor. ii. lOj 
 12. Has the Father a will ? The Son has fo too, and alfo 
 the Holy Ghoft, John vi. 38 i Cor. ?cli. 11. Does power 
 belong to the Father ? It does fo to the Son and Spirit, If« 
 Ixiii I. Mic ii. 7. Thus from the whole, tl|lfe three. 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft are three perfons, difi:in6t 
 from each other. If they arc not fo, how can we under- 
 (tand the diftintt characters and oifices that are afcribed to 
 them ? If they are only different names of one perfon, thenj 
 f«ch as thefe are the confequences, via; The Father, inlle»4' 
 
 K 
 
^74 
 
 ORIGINAL GUILT. Scrm. IV, 
 
 cf fending Kis Son into the world, fent hinrileir; indeed ol* 
 the Son's praying to the Father, the Father prays to him- 
 felf: the Father fuffered, obeyed, fatisfied for fin, and is 
 the great mediator of the new covenant Inftead of the 
 Father's fending the Holy Ghoft as the comforter, he fent 
 himfelf. In a word, when the Father mentions the other 
 perfons, he all the while means himfelf, only reprefented 
 under different charadlers, fo that to deOroy diflinft per- 
 fonality M'ould be to introduce inextricable difBculties. I 
 now come 
 
 ^. To fhew that thefe three perfons are the cne Jnprcme 
 Cod, the fame in fuhfiancey equal in power and glory. I am 
 not here to fhew how they are one. It is abfolutely impof- 
 fible for the higheft angel in heaven, whofe grafp of thought 
 muft be vaftly fuperior to ours, to point out or conceive the 
 modus of the Trinity, and therefore it would be vain for a 
 poor weak man to expe£f: it. We readily acknowledge it to 
 be a great myftery, a myftery in which we are entirely lofl. 
 HowevT fome may efteem it a reproach upon their under- 
 ftandings to believe what they cannot fully comprehend, I 
 defire to efleem it none, and therefore freely own my igno- 
 rance, how the facred three are difiincl as to perfonality, 
 and yet cne eflentially. Thefe. are fubje^ls of an infinite 
 nature, and therefore cannot come within the reach of a 
 finite mind. Nothing but infinity can take in infinity, and 
 therefore it difcovers the greateft pride and vanity m a fhort 
 fighted mortal to refufe to give credit to a doftrine fo 
 immediately relating to deity, becaufe it is incomprehenfible. 
 If w-e mull believe nothinor but what we can entirely ac- 
 count for, we muft turnabfolute fceptics. We mull qutf- 
 tion our own exiflence, becaufe we know not how wc 
 cxift ; we mufl deny there are any fuch things as fun, moon, 
 and ftars, though we fee them, becaufe we can give no ac- 
 count of their matter and formation : nay, we mufl deny 
 that there is- a God, becaufe we cannot fully know him. 
 We are lofl hi his eternity, immenfity, omnifcience, omni- 
 prefence,and yet we readily believe thefe perfections belong 
 to him-, becaufe not only all nature gives us fome hints of 
 it, but the fcriptures particularly and clearly reveal it as an 
 undeniable truth. Why then can wenot aseafily give crc^ 
 dit to revelation, when it reprefents a Trinity of perfons in 
 the Unity of the divine nature ? Here we fay we cannot- 
 
Serm. IV. original guilt. j^ 
 
 jinderftand it ; but in the other cafe, though we cannot iin- 
 f^erfland it, we yet believe it, becaufe it is fo demonilrablc 
 from nature and Icripture. This do6lrine is not contrary 
 to reafon, though above it. We do not fay tiiat three per- 
 fons are one perfon, or that they are three diibind: Be- 
 ings or Gods, but that the three perfon s arc one God. 
 The Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy 
 Ghoft is almightyj and yet there are not three almighties, 
 but one Almighty. The Father is eternal, the Son isefenial, 
 and the Holy GhoQ: is eternal, and yet there are not three 
 eternals, but one Internal. 
 
 That this is the do6lrinc of Scripture, appears plain "both 
 from the Old and New Teftament. Some have thought 
 that it appears in Pfal. xxxiii. 6. where it is faid, that " by 
 ** the word of the Lord were the heavens made *, and all 
 " the hoft of them by the breath of his mouth." By the 
 M^ord fome fuppofe is meant Chrift, who is called the wordy 
 John i. I. By the Lord is the Father, and by the breath of 
 his mouth is meant the Spirit, which fignifies breath. Some 
 likewife think that the blefling which Aaron and his fons 
 were to pronounce upon the children of liVael, fignified the 
 Trinity and Unity, Numb. vi. 24, 25, 26. " The Lord 
 *' blefs thee, and keep thee •, the Lord make his face to 
 ^' fhine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee j the Lord lift 
 ** up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." It 
 is apprehended that the Lord in the twenty-fourth verfe, 
 fignifies the Father, in the twenty- fifth verfe the Son, and 
 in the twenty-fixth verfe the Holy Spirit. But however 
 fuitable this explication of the words may be to this doc- 
 trine, as contained in other parts of Scripture, I would not 
 produce thefe palTages as dire£t proofs of it. What we 
 have in If. vi. 3. fcems more peculiarly defigned to fpeak 
 this great truth. '* And one cried unto another, and faid, 
 *' Holy, holy is the Lord of Holts : tiie whole earth is full 
 ** of his glory." There is no impropriety in faying that 
 this thrice holy refers to the Trinity. This glorious Lord 
 of hofts Ifaiah faw in his vifion, is in one place referred to 
 the Son, and in another to the Holy Ghoft, John xii 41. 
 and A6ls xxviil. 25. And the fame Lord, in verfe eight, 
 fays, ** who will go for us ? So that it appears as if the 
 Prophet had a vifion of the facred Three, arid heard the 
 Spirits furroimding the throne celebrating the prailes of 
 cachj and if fo, it evidently fhews that tliev are tiie One 
 
 K 2 
 
^6 ORIGINAL GUILT. Seriti. I¥. 
 
 Supreme God, equal in all divine glorle?, and therefore 
 demanding equal praifes from ail creatures. But this ap- 
 pears more particularly in the New Teftament. Thus 
 it is a truth evidently contained in the order of baptifm. In 
 this form the Sen and Holy Ghoft are equally mentioned 
 with the Father, without the leaft appearance of inferiority. 
 If they r.re not one in eiiencc, it is ftrange that thofe who 
 sre baptized fhould be as much given up to the Son nnd 
 Spirit as to the Father; that they fhould thereby be brought 
 under an equal obligation to pay religious honours to all, 
 ?ind that by a divine appointment, wheni all revelation is 
 ^gainfl: it : fo if the opinion of one fiipreme and two fub- 
 ordinate Gods ^^'ere true, we cannot, therefore, from 
 hence but conclude a Trinity of perfons'in the Unity of 
 the divine nature." This I apprehend the apo^le plainly 
 fhows in the above-mentioned doxplogy, 2 Cor xiii 14. 
 It evidently points out an equality, as well as a diftinftion 
 of perfon but this truth will be more fully proved, wheri 
 we come to confider the Deity "of the Son and the Holy 
 Ghoft ; for if all that belongs to God the Father belongs 
 equally to them, then they are the fame in fub fiance, equal 
 in power and glory. I fliall therefore now proceed to con- 
 iider. , ' ■ > . ^ • . 
 
 > Laflly, The particular iife and improvement of this doC'^ 
 irine. It is not a mere matter of fpeculation, and therefore 
 yiot a point of indifterency ; it is ufeful, though my'rrrious, 
 imd however above the reach of our limited underflandings^ 
 k cannot but be of great advantage, when we are enabled 
 to attend to, and to npply it ar'ght. Too many thiow all 
 myfterles outof religion,reprefenting them notcnly asabfurd, 
 but as no way tending to be ufeful ; as if it were abfolutely 
 neccfTary to an improvement of a do(£lrine that we fliould 
 fully comprehend it. Wherein does the neceflity of our 
 perfeflly taking in this dotlrine lie ? Does our happinefs 
 depend upon the thing itfelf, or upon the modus of it ? 
 Does its remaining a myflcry lefien our comfort ? Or ceafe to 
 promote our holinefs? Whilft we believe the glorious'] hree 
 to be equal in all divine perfei.T;ions, we are fatisficd the 
 foundation upon which we build is fafe ; we know our fd-^ 
 vation is hereby fecured : wc fee the motives, how powerful 
 to all obedience, all which would be no way increafed by 
 knowing how tlicfe Three are difi-indl as to pcrfonality and 
 
Scrm. IV. ORIGINAL GUILT. 77 
 
 yet one God. Therefore it Is vain curiofity for any to pry 
 into thofe things which are unfearchable ; and great arro- 
 gance for any to fay ihis glorious myftery can anfwer no 
 valuable purpofe, becaufe it is a myftery, when it appear* 
 evident that the myfterioufnefs of it is no way eflential to 
 our comfort and happinefs, any more than our comprehend- 
 ing the eternity, and other perfe£lions of God is. Let ui 
 then confider what this do6^rine teacheth us. And, 
 
 1. It teacheth lis thankfulnefy for a divine revelation. 
 The light of nature would never have inftru6led us in fo 
 important a truth. There are no hints of it to be met with 
 in the creation. None of the ancient philofophers could 
 ever find any foot-fteps of the Trinity, even if they ranfack- 
 ed all nature. A God the whole creation proclaims, nay 
 the mofl minute part of it clearly fpeaks this great truth : 
 but a Trinity, where is it to be found, but in the book of 
 God? You had never heard of this important doctrine, if 
 you had been born, and had lived where the gofpel has never 
 come ! .See how' it is w^ith the poor heathen. Look into 
 thofe countries where there is nothing but Pagan darknefs, 
 and from thence learn your obligations to blefs God for the 
 fcriptures, and be concerned to prize and efteem this facred 
 volum.e. This word is a light unto cur feet ^ and a lamp nn^ 
 to ourpathsy Pf. cxix. In it the great myfteries of Chrifti- 
 smity are revealed ; the obje£l of divine worfliip is clearly 
 reprefented, every thing relating to God, ourfelves, and 
 eternity that is iTscefiary is mentioned, and therefore a 
 foundation laid for peculiar thankfulnefs and praife. Is it 
 not then a piiviJege to have a revelation ? Is it not defirable 
 to be refcued from a ftate of darknefs and wretched ignor- 
 ance, fuch as poor heathens are in ? Is not the Bible to b« 
 valued becaufe of the glorious views It gives us of God ? 
 Shall we not be thankful that he has revealed himfelf in his 
 perfonal properties, characfl^ers, and perfe£l:ions, with which 
 our comfort, our happinefs is fo much connected ? Is it not 
 an inllance of infinite grace and condefcentioy in God to 
 make himfelf thus known to us ^ Shall we defpife this 
 revelation, reprefent it as unuecefiary, or ridicule it for thofe 
 facred myfteries it contains f How ungrateful would this be, 
 how infolent, how unfuitable to our obligations .^ What, to 
 elleem our privileges, no privileges, to defpife that word, in 
 which fo much invaluable treafurc is laid up ; furely, Sodom 
 
7S ORIGINAL GUILT. ScriTl. IV. 
 
 and Gomorrah will rife up againft thee, thou infatuated foul ! 
 Ethiopia and 8heba will condemn thee ; the whole heathen 
 world will upbraid thee with fhameful ingratitude ; and the 
 c!evils themfelves will refledl: upon thee for thy ftupidity. 
 It is exceeding awful that there fliould be any found in this 
 land of gofpel light, who treat the fcriptures with contempt, 
 when all our light and knowledge, comfort and holinefsare 
 derived from them. O let us blefs God for that word which 
 ^ives us fuch flriking views of thofe glorious myfteriesj we 
 Should for ever have remained ignorant of, had we been left 
 to the mere light of nature 
 
 2. Hence ive are taught humbly to adore the iinfearchahle 
 Jehovah. When Job had a view of God he abhorred him- 
 felf, Job xlii. It is enough to keep us for ever humble under 
 a fenfe of our weaknefs, when we confider the infinite glory 
 of the fu pre me God. Three diflin£l perfons equally par- 
 taking of the fame incomprehenfible eflence ; the Father 
 God, the Son God, the Holy Ghoft God, and yet not three 
 Gods, but only one God ? Is this the obje£l of our worfhip, is 
 this the God that fupports us,fupplies,prote6ls, and faves us? 
 Glorious Being indeed ! Well may angels adore him ! Well 
 may devils tremble before him ! What a difproportion be- 
 tween him and us ! He is infinite, but we are finite : he is 
 immenfe and unlimited, but we are confined and contra£led : 
 he is eternal, but we are of yefterday. He can eafily grafp 
 fuch creatures as we \ but it is only a little that we know 
 of him. And fhall not this curb our pride, and ever keep 
 us low, when we confider how fcanty our knowledge, how 
 narrowourunderftandings? Some are for explaining thisdoc- 
 trine, and to fnew how thefe three are one, borrow fimili- 
 tudes from nature ; but attempts of this kind fliew too 
 great boldnefs with Deity, and only tend to give us impro- 
 per ideas of the frinity. We fhould ever view it as an in- 
 explicable truth, and therefore a fenfe of it fliould fill us 
 with a holy awe "and reverence of God, and engage us to 
 adore his infinitely tranfcending greatnefs and glory. In 
 fine, this doftrine gives an occafion for fuch reflections as 
 thefe. — * Oh how glorious is Jehovah, Father, Son, and 
 ' Holy Ghcft ! This one fupreme God, fubfifting in three 
 
 * pt-rfons, is abfolutely incomprel^enfible. Who by fearch- 
 
 * iiig can find out God, who can find out thee the Al- 
 
 * mighty unto perfeQiou } Such knowledge, Lord, is to<* 
 
Serm. IV. origiiS^ial (Suilt. 79 
 
 * wonderful for me, it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Oh 
 
 * all ye anj^els that excel in ftrength, that do his command- 
 
 * ments, hearkening to the voice of his word, adore this 
 
 * imfearchable Jehovah! Alive his hoJls, ye minillcrs of 
 
 * his that do his pleafure celebrate his praifes. All yc 
 
 * creatures in all places of his dominion, according to your 
 
 * feveral capacities, blefs your adorable Creator ; yea, blefs 
 
 * him, oh my foul, (land and for ever admire the myfteries 
 
 * of his nature ; fear, obey, and continually praife him.'* 
 Thus this doctrine tends to keep us in a conilant, humble, 
 and adoring temper. 
 
 3. Hence lue fee the foundation that is laid for dijiinn com- 
 munion ivith the Father^ Sony and Holy Chojf^ and for di/iindl 
 afcriptions of praife and glory to each. As their difllnci 
 perTonality has laid a foundation for their undertaking dif- 
 tinft parts in the falvation of fnmers, fo likewife for diftin£t 
 communion with each according to their refpcdlive cha- 
 racters, and offices in the ceconomy of the gofpel. We 
 read therefore of having felloivjlip ivith the Fat he r, and 
 ivith his Son Jefus Chrijly I John, i 3. And our Lord 
 tells us of his and the father's coming unto vsy and of mak- 
 ing their abode ivith «j, John xiv. 23. He fpeaks of his 
 coming in to us, and flipping ivith us, and we ivith him, Rev. 
 ill. 20. Now, communion with God lies in carrying on a 
 fweet, free, and intimate converfe with him, as with a friend, 
 and is maintained in the exercife of faith, love, hope, joy, 
 and in the duties of prayer, meditation, praife, and in public 
 ordinances. In thefe duties and exercifes there is a happy 
 meeting of God and the foul, and the fweetell: intercourfe 
 is often maintained, even with each perfon. Thus the 
 Father is mentioned as the objeft of faith John xiv. i. 
 Ye believe in God, Honour is paid to him in particular. 
 Eph. ill. 14, 15. Bleffing is afcribed to him. Eph. i. 3, 4. 
 The Son is likewife reprefented as the obje6l: of faith, John 
 xiv. I Believe alfo in me. As the object of love, i Pet. i. 8. 
 Whom having not feen ye love, Praifes are particularly af- 
 cribed to him. Rev. i. 5,6. We read of the communion of 
 the Holy Ghoft too, 2 Cor. xiii. 14 ^ This communion 
 with one perfon diftinftly, does not exclude the others. 
 For inftance when I have dlftinO: communion with the 
 Father, I do not exclude the Son, for it is through the Soii 
 ihat 1 have communion with the Father. When again, I 
 
So ORIGINAL GUILT. Scrm. WK 
 
 have clifl:in£l communion with the Son, I do riot negle61:, of 
 refleO: upon the Father ; for the exercife of all faith and joy 
 in Chrilt is the efFe6i: of the Father's free, everlafting love. 
 So mv communion with the Spirit is the effeft of the Fa- 
 ther's love, arid the Son's purchafe. Thus dlftincl: com- 
 munion with each is to the glory of all. When with the 
 Father, it is to the honour of the Son and Spirit : when with 
 the Son, it is to the glory of the Father and Spirit : and when 
 with the Spirit, it is to the glory of Father and Son. In 
 tTiis communion lies the very eflence of our comfort, the 
 fweetnefs and power of religion. 1 he Chriilian would hz 
 much more happy did he converfe more v.^ith the facred 
 ThrcCo The fcheme of falvation Is all the life and joy of our 
 fouls, and to view the various characters and offices of Fa- 
 ther, Son, and Holy Spirit, which their diftintl perfonality 
 lays a foundation for, would fill our fouls vv'ith unfpeakable 
 pleafure, . This communion, were it more maintained, 
 would bring heaven into the foul, fweeten every difficulty, 
 and give that joy which the world knows nothing of. O 
 happy faint that is got above to hold everlafting communion 
 with God, and to view the diftinil glories of each divine 
 perfon ! Happy Chriftian that lives much with God here ! 
 Let us view" the infercourfe he has with each perfon See 
 him then through Chrift, and by the Spirit approaching the 
 Father, and viewing his perfonal characters, and relations, 
 2nd the wonders of his love. See, the Father is pleafed to 
 come down and commune with him, and to reveal his love 
 to him. He f]ie\^'3 him how free, how rich, how matchlefs 
 this love ; that it was everlafting, and that it is immutable. 
 He reveals the fecrcts of his covenant to him j tells him 
 that his najiie was written in the book of life. This lays a 
 foundation for tlie Chriftian's joy. He feeds upon it ; he 
 loves the Father again, and rejoices in him. Father, thou 
 haft won all my heart, and I give up my all to thee. The Fa- 
 ther rejoices in him as his chofen vefTel. The Chriftian re- 
 joices in him as his Father, his reft. What a fweet com- 
 placency, what admiration ! " O why did the Father fix 
 
 * upon me, why was I chofe to eternal life ! Dear Father, 
 
 • who am I that thou ftiouldil love me fo as to givj me ta 
 
 * thy Son, to pardon, to juftify mc, to heal my backflidings, 
 
 • and to be a Father unto me ! Amazing love ! Lord enable 
 ^ me to give my whole felf to thee, and to live to thy glory." 
 
Serm. IV* on the trinity. 8i 
 
 Again, what fweet communion has the foul with the Son 
 of God ? What fatlsfaQion in viewing the glories of his 
 perfon, the charafters he fuftaiiis, the work he has already 
 don^, and that in which he is eternally employed ! The Sori 
 rejoicesin theChriilian ashis purchafe,teilshim howhelovecj 
 him, how he bled and died, how he engaged principalities and 
 powers, and triumphed over them all, and how he is now en- 
 gaged above for his falvation. The foul rejoices in Chrifl: as his 
 bridegroom, his hufband, his portion, finds his heart capti- 
 vated and.drawn to him, feels the warmeft affection for him, 
 and the ftrongeft dcfires after him. O how amiable is the Re- 
 deemer ! What endearing expreflions does the foul make ufe of^ 
 what meltings of heart, what fvi^eet confidence and holy jgy, 
 what admiration, love, and praife at a view of tlffe dear, the blef- 
 fcd mediator I Thus likewife the Chriftian has the higheft 
 pleafure in communion with the Holy Ghoft. He is a com- 
 forter, and therefore fiUs the foul with his divine confola- 
 tions. He feals the children of God, flieds abroad the love 
 of God in their hearts, opens to them the glory of the pro- 
 mifes, fliines upon his own work in the foul, and lets him 
 fee that he bears the image of his heavenly Father, that a 
 faving change is made, that he is fan<Sified and fet apart for 
 God, and is an heir of eternal life. The fpirit helps him' 
 in prayer, to plead with God, to exercife a cheerful confi- 
 dence in him, and to call him Father. And thefe things 
 fdl the foul with joy, he views every chara61:er of the Spirit 
 and rejoices, he feels the refrefhment, and admires. * Shall 
 
 * I grieve this good Spirit ? Shall I quench his facred mo- 
 
 * tions ? No, this would be the greateft ingratitude Lord, 
 
 * I would admire thy grace in all thy works in me, and 
 
 * live to thy praife.' I need not fay how your fouls would 
 be animated and enlivened, were you but to converfe more 
 with thefe facred perfons, as they are reprefented in the gof- 
 pel. Let us then be feeking after communion with God, be 
 often viewing the various glories, works, and characters of 
 thefe three divine perfons, as this will be a happy means o£ 
 preparing us more for the work and enjoyments of heaven, 
 and contribute much to our comfort and joy, whillt we are 
 here upon earth. 
 
 4. Hence we learn that there mufl be a conflant harmony 
 between thefe three perfons in all their defignsj affs, and 
 §peratiQns, As they are one in eflence, they muit b« 
 
 L 
 
82 ON THE TRINITY. Sei*m. IV. 
 
 harmonious : they muft have the fame will, and i\€t in the 
 whole fcheme of falvation with the utmoft union. What 
 the Father has cloiie, and docs, muft be perfecE^ly agreeable 
 to the Son and Spirit j and what the Son and Spirit do, muft 
 have the entire approbation of the Father. Thus the form- 
 ing the plan from eternity, and the execution of it in time, 
 mufl: be agreeable to all the three perfons. The fame things 
 are often attributed to each divine perfon. Creation is 
 afcribed to all the tliree. So likewife is the new-creation. 
 The Father teaches. John vi. 46. The Son, and the holy 
 Spirit too. The Father quickens, and fo the fetond and third 
 divine perfons. John v. iii Rom. viti. 10. Now this is 
 a very important circumftancCj that the facred three fliould 
 be thus one in will, defign, and operation. This contributes 
 much to the comfort of a poor awakeiied fmner, and 
 to the fatisfaction of the believer as he paftes through 
 life. Yf ith what pleafure may a poor foul view, depend 
 upon, and plead with the Father the facrifice of Chflft for 
 pardon and acceptance. * Lord this faCrifice \vas of thine 
 
 • own appointment, thou didft approve of it, thou haft 
 
 • accepted it, and fet it forth as the only refuge for a poor 
 
 • guilty foul to fly to •, Lord 1 would fly to it and plead it 
 
 • for thofe very purpofes which thou haft defigned fliould 
 
 • be anfwered by it. And wilt thou not look upon it ? 
 
 • Wilt thou rcfufc me acceptance ?' Thus we may comfortably 
 depend Upon the intercellion of Chrift, and conclude th-it 
 the Father will alv/ays hear him. We may now be fatisfied 
 that the work which the Spirit has begun in our hearts is 
 agreeable to the Father and the Son and that it will there*^ 
 fore be carried on, all our backflidings be healed, all our 
 corruptions be fubdued, all our enemies be conquered, and 
 we atlaft be brought fafe to God in the heavenly Zion. I 
 might iiere add, that this doctrine fends to Jill the Believer 
 ivith admiration. Is this God my God ? Is the Father mine ? 
 Is the Son mire.'' Is the Holy Ghoft mine } O my happinefs f 
 O diftinguiihing Grace ! What amazing condefcention, foi* 
 fuch a God to look upon me, for each glorious perfon to 
 undertake for my Salvation ! Admire, O my foul, aixl long 
 to get above, where I fliall be fweetly engaged, in adoring 
 the facred three, and in crying Grace, Grace, for ever. 
 
 This (hBrine commands an aive from the finner. j^nd it 
 Jhews the dreadjul Jtate he is in to have no intcrejl in ^he' 
 
Serm. IV. gn the trinity. S3 
 
 Fat her y Son and Spirit ^ nay, to have the Father his enemy, 
 the Son and Holy Ghoft his enemies. M«-'lancholy condi- 
 tion ! How canil thou eat and drink, and deep in quiet ? 
 What can give thee peace, when God is again ft thee ? 
 Thou wilt not embrace the 8on, therefore thou canft expe£t 
 no pity from the Father, no kindnefs from the Spirit. 
 Thou art defpifing the operation, and quenching the motions 
 of the Spirit, and therefore thou cand not look for any 
 mercy from the Father and ^he Son. They are all united, 
 and if one is defpifed, they are all defpifed. O confider 
 this ye that forget God, left he tear you in pieces, and there 
 be none to deliver. 
 
 Laftly, We Jhould all enquire -whether this God is our God, 
 Is the Father my Father ? Is the Son my Saviour ? Is the 
 Holy Ghoft my San6tifier and Comforter ? Is this God mine 
 in all his relations, perfons, chara6i:ers, offices, and perfec- 
 tions,'* Thefe are important quefiions, and which we fhould 
 all be concerned to put clofely and faithfully to our 
 fouls. 
 
 Thus we fee how this do!!vl:nnc may be Improved, how it 
 enters into our comfort, and is ufeful to us in our way to ^ 
 better world, though never fo myfterious and incompreheuT 
 fible. The particular improvement of the Deity of the Soi> 
 and Holy Ghoft will be left till we come to a confideratiou 
 of thofe diftin£l fabjeds ; what have already been offered 
 ^re only a few general hints upon the dodtrine of th« 
 Tcinitv. 
 
 L 2 
 
S E R M O N y. 
 
 ■ • . • - t -. 
 
 Rom. ix. 5. latter part. 
 — Who is over ally God bhjfcdfor ever. 
 
 WE have already confidered and proved from fcrip«» 
 ture, a Trinity of perfons in the Unity of the 
 divine eflence : a glorious do6trine indeed. The Father 
 is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghoft io God. 
 That the Father is God, all will readily acknowledge j 
 but many abfolutely deny Deity to the Son. This there- 
 fore is a point of fuch moment that it will be highly necef- 
 fary to take it into a particular confideration, that fo we may 
 be fatisfied whether the Saviour we truft in is God or not. 
 For this purpofe I have chofen the words 1 have mentioned 
 as the fubje6^ of our prefent meditations " In the whole 
 verfe we have a diftin£^ account of the two natures of Chrifl-, 
 his human and divine. As to his human nature, he derived it 
 from the Jews. He was the offspring of David, and the 
 feed of Abraham. As to his divine nature, he was un- 
 created, and is infinitely exalted above all creatures, and 
 poflefled of all pofTible bleflednefs •, he is over all God blejfeci 
 for ever. This, this is the Saviour of poor finners : a fit 
 perfon therefore to go through the great work he has under- 
 taken, and a fuitable objecl: of our religious truft, reverence, 
 and adoration. That thefc words prove Clirift to be true 
 and proper God, appears very plain. He that is over, or 
 above all, he that is infinitely and eternally blefled in himfelf, 
 and is the object of everlafting bleffing and r.doration, muft 
 be the fupreme God. You therefore find the Father repre- 
 fented under thefe characters. Eph. iv. 6. One God and 
 Father of ally -who is above ally And Rom. i. 25. Who is 
 bleJTcd/or ever, and 2 Cor. xj. 31. The Cod and Father of 
 
Serm. V. the deity of christ. t$ 
 
 gur Lord Jefus Chrifl^ which is hlejfed for evermore. As 
 (hefe are defcriptions of the fupreme God, and as Chrlft \% 
 reprefented by them, we muft neceflariiy conclude that 
 Jefus Chrift is God equal with the Father. But this is not 
 the only text upon which this glorious truth is built ; wc 
 find it both in the Old and New Teftament. I would 
 therefore, 
 
 I. Confider thefe parts of fcripturey which evidently prove 
 this great truth. And then, 
 
 II. Shew the importance of this great article of our faith. 
 
 That we may receive this truth upon good evidence, 
 let us, 
 
 I. Examine the proofs we have of it in fcripture. And 
 here, it would be impoflible for me to go through all the 
 texts of fcripture that prove this doctrine in a fmgle difcourfe, 
 there is fuch a fulnefs and variety. I hope what I may con- 
 fider will be fufhciently convincing. And here let us look 
 into fcripture, and fee how it proves the Father to be God, 
 and we ihall find tjiat the very fame things are attributed to 
 Chrift, and confequently he muft be God. Thus incom- 
 municable titles and attributes, as well as thofe works and 
 branches of worfhip which are all incontellible proofs o£ 
 deity, are all afcribed to Chrift in Scripture. 
 
 I. Incommunicable titles are given him by a divine authority. 
 Thus the xiTimc Jehovah is given to Chrift: a name that 
 muft be peculiar to the fupreme God, as it implies eternity, 
 independency, neceffary exiftence, immutability, infinity, 
 tind the like. Therefore the great God takes it to himfclf 
 as his own proper name. If. xlii. 8. / am the Lordy or 
 'Jehoiuihy that is my Jiame^ and my glory will I not give to 
 another. The prophet Amos defcribing the great God, that 
 formed and fafhioned all things, fays, that Jehovah is his 
 name. Rom. v. 8- and ix. "6, and the Pfalmift fpeaking of 
 him fays, that men may knowy that thou whofe name 
 'alone is Jehovahy art the m^ft high over all the earth. Thus 
 we fee that the name Jehovah belongs to none but the true 
 God. This nam6 is in a variety of places given to Chrift. 
 He was that Jehovah that fent fiery fcrpents amongftthe 
 people to wound and deftroy many. Num. xxi. 5, 9. com- 
 pared with I Cor. X. 9. We meet with this name again. 
 if» xl. 3, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah. That tliis was 
 
W THE DEiTv OF CHRIST. Serm, ¥, 
 
 Chnft, appejirs from Mat. in. 3. In that fortieth of Ifaiah, 
 liow is that Jehovah fct forth ? What llriking cicfcriptvons, 
 Trhat grand reprefcTitations, fuitable to none but to the gre^^ 
 God ? Chrlft was that JeJmvahy which Ifaiah faw in his yifion 
 fitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. If. vi. i,and ^. 
 compared with John xii. 41. He is again called by thijf 
 name, If viii. 13. San^ify the Lord^ or Jehovah o^ Hojisi, 
 
 Ihis Jehovah in the 14th verfe is called a San£iuary ; 
 but a (tone of ftumbling and a rock of offence to fome ; 
 which exactly aniwers the defcription of our Lord Jefus 
 Chrift. I Pet. ii. 6, 8, We have the name Jehovah given 
 lo Chrift in If. xlv, 18, 25. It is very plain from a view of 
 the Saviour that all this is rneant of him, and you have ful| 
 fatisfac^ion' concerning it, if you confult Rom. ^^iv 10, ir. 
 and Phil. ii. 10, 11, Thus we are thoroughly fatisfied thi^t 
 Jcfus Chrift is plainly pointed to in Jer. xxiii. 6. The L^rct, 
 or Jehovah o^r right emifnefs. Who deferves that (ignificanl 
 »nd moft emphatical title but the redeemer ? He i$ agair^ 
 caikd Jehavah in Hag. ii. 6, 7 That this is the mediatof" 
 appears from Heb. xii- 26. And laftly, you find him cane4 
 by the fame glorious name in Mai. iii. i. He who is calle4 
 Jehavahy is the meflcnger of the covenant, which is none 
 elfe but our adorable Immanueh Thus then, if Jefus Chrift 
 in a variety of places bearg the title of Jehoyah^ which is a 
 name the great God has himfelf alTumed, and which he 
 will not give to any beneath him, it gives us fufficient rea- 
 fbn to conclude that he is God equal with ffpe Father. 
 
 Again, we find that Chrift has other titles given hirrj 
 which are evident proofs of his deity, as they belong only tQ 
 the fupreme God. Thus he is called the grei^t Cody Tit. ii, 
 13, It is Chrift who is meant, for it is he that will appear 
 and not the Father j it is he who is the hope of his people. 
 Under the fame characters of deity he is reprefented, Pf, 
 xcv. 3. The Lord is a great God, and a great King ahoye alt 
 Cods. From what the Apoftle obferves, Heb. iii. 7. It is 
 plain that this is the fecond perfon. He is called the mighty 
 Cod, If. ix. 6, the true Ccui^ \ John v. 20. The apofll^ 
 had juft been fpeaking of Jcfus Chrift, and them irnniedif 
 ately adds, ihis is the great God. He is called the h'ghejf^ 
 l.uke i. 76. Lord of Gloryy » Cor. ii 8. He is ftyled tie 
 King eternal^ immortal, arid invijib/e^ the only wife G^^ 
 I Tim i. 17. 7hx blejjcd and only potentate^ King of Kings s, 
 
Sfentl»V. THE DEITY OF CHRISt. S/ 
 
 And Lord of Lords y i Tim. vi 15 Now are not all thefe 
 glorious and pompous titles cxprefTive of deity ? Can they 
 vrith any manner of propriety be given to Chrift, if he is 
 only a creature ? How mud we then diilinguilTi the creator 
 from the creature •, If Chrifthas all the diilinguifhing names 
 of the fupreme God, I apprehend we may reiullly conclude 
 that he is really God, equal with the Father, for God will 
 not part with thofe titles which fet him infinitely above tlic 
 highell angels, or give that which is his glory to another, 
 feut, 
 
 2. There are perfeSlions given to Chrijly which are p€ciili^r 
 to the fupreme God. There are fome perfeftions which 
 urc called communicable,^ that is, they are afcribed in a lower 
 degree to creatures. Thus is God called -mife P fo is man. 
 is he merciful ? fo ate his people. Is he holy, jult, faith- 
 ful and the like ? fo are they. There are other perfeO:ion<j 
 which belong to God atone, and cannot be found -iven m 
 the higheft creature, and thefe are faid to be incommuni- 
 cable : fuch as eternity, immutability, omnipotence, omnifci- 
 'Cnce, omniprefencc. Whoever poflefTeth thefe perfections 
 muft be God ; and therefore Chrift is fo, becaufe wc find 
 them afcribed to him. 
 
 1. He is eternal. Thus " his goings forth have been 
 *' from of old, from everlafting," Mic. v. 2. compared with 
 Matth. ii. 6. He is repreferited as the " Alpha and the 
 ** Omega, the beginning and the end, the firft and the laft," 
 Rev. i. 8. ii. 17 Chap. ii. 17. chap. ii. 8 He is faid to be 
 ** before all things," Col. i 17. And to be in tlie " beginning 
 '* with God," John i. i. An expreiTion which doubtlefs de- 
 notes eternity. Thus he was " fet up from everlarting, frojn 
 *' the beginning, or ever the earth was :" and it appears that 
 he was prefent with the Father when this appointment was 
 made, ** Then was I by him as one brought up with him." 
 Prov. viii. 23 — 31 Thus if Chrift was from eternity he 
 can be no creature, but muft be true God, for none elfe in- 
 habits eternity. 
 
 2. Be is immittable. His being called the Alpha and 
 Omega, beginning and end, the firil and the laft, not only 
 proves his eternity but his immutability. He is unchange- 
 able in his purpofes and perfections, and therefore anfwert 
 ihe defcription of the great God. Hear what the Father 
 
 ' 'fays to him, Heb. i. 10, 1 1, 12. " Thou I,ord, in the be- 
 
is THE DEITY OF CHRIST^ ierm. Vi 
 
 ** ginning haft. laid the foundation of the earth, and the 
 ** heavens are the works of thine hands They fliall perilh, 
 ** but thou remained *, they fliall all wax old as doth a gar- 
 ** ment ; and as a veflure (lialt thou fold them up, and they 
 ** fhall be changed : but thoU art the fame, and thy Years 
 " fliall not fail." What are all thefebut chara6ters of deity?"- 
 He is faid to be " the fame yeilerday, to-day, and for ever.'* 
 Heb. xiii. 8. Thus he is immutable. 
 
 3. He is almighty. He has an omnipotent arm^ by whi<:h_ 
 he is able to fubdue all things unto himfelf. He is called 
 the mighty Ccd, If. ix. 6. ; and is therefore mighty to/avCy 
 If. Ixiii. 1 . The Pfalmift ftyles him the vio/i mighty^ PfaL 
 xlv. 3. In Rev. 1 8. He is called the almighty. And chap. 
 XV. 3. In that fong of Mofes and the Lamb, fung by the 
 faints above, and efpecially at the final conqueil of every 
 enemy, they cr^— Great and mar-uellous are thfiuorks Lord 
 Cod Almighty) I That this is Jefus Chrift appears, from it$; 
 being called the Song of the Lamhy from his being called 
 Xing of Saints, a title peculiar to the Son of God. — But, 
 
 4. He is omni/cient.. His underflanding is infinite, there 
 IS nothing but what he knows. He fearches the heart of 
 man. Now this is peculiar to God, Jer. xvii. 10. «I th€ 
 *' Lord feafch the heart, I try the reins. And, i Kings viii, 
 39. " Thou, even thou only knoweft the hearts of all the 
 *' children of men." This is afcribed to Chrift, Rev. ii 23. 
 *' I am he, which fearcheth the reins and hearts." You 
 therefore read in the four Evangelifts, in many places, hoW 
 Chrift knew the thoughts of his enemies, and the fecret 
 reafonings of his difciples- But the apoftle Peter puts this 
 point out of difpute in his appeal to our Lord for the reality 
 of his love to him. " Lord thou knoweft all things, thou 
 « knoweft that I love thee." John xxi.. 1 7; Nothing can 
 pofRbly be concealed from thine eye, thou knoweft every 
 tranfa£tion, yea, the very thoughts ti the heart, and there-' 
 fore I can with the more cheerfulncfs appeal to thee for my 
 love, thou knoweft that I love thee. But, 
 
 5. He is omniprcfent. It is jrn undeniable truth, that no 
 creature can be in various places at the fame time, this is 
 peculiar to God. But Chrift is in ten thoufand places at 
 the fame time. Therefore he tells us, that " where two or 
 «« three are gathered together in his name, he is in the 
 y midft of them," Matth. j^viii. 20. This holds good now, a» 
 
Serm. V. the deity of christ. tg 
 
 \vell as then when the words were fpoken, and therefore 
 fuppoies Chrill prefent in all the aircmblies of his people, 
 in what part of the world foever they may be gathered to- 
 gether. He h'ds alfo promifed to be with .'lis miniftei-s to 
 the end of tlie world, in the regular adminiftration of gof- 
 pel ordinances. Matth. xxvili. ;o. Confcquently he niuft 
 be in numberlefs places, even of the greateft dillance from 
 each other at the fame moment of time, and therefcTC mud 
 beomniprefent. Thus then as Chrill pofleffeth eternity, 
 immiiLitbility, almighty power, omnifcience and omnipre- 
 fence, he mufl be true God, as thofe are perfections, that 
 cannot pofTibly be communicated to any creature, but belong 
 to God alone But, 
 
 3. Such works are afcribed to Chrifl as nor/e hut the great 
 God is equal to — Here I fhall not mention what I might, but 
 confine niyfelf to" creation work. He that created ail things 
 muit be God. If we confider what creation was, viz. to 
 bring all things out of nothing. "What a variety m the 
 creation, the heavens and the earth, with their refpe£five 
 inhabitants ; what a beautiful and exa6l arrangement of 
 creatures and thinj^s, each keeping their proper places : if we 
 confider the fun that rules by day, and the moon which 
 governs the night, we cannot but conclude that he that was 
 equal to all this work muft be God, as he muft have infinite 
 wifdom, omnipotence, eternity, and uncontroulable fove- 
 reignty. You therefore find that creation work is afcribed 
 to God, and to him alone. N<^h. ix. 6. Thoii^ even thou 
 art Lord alone, thou haji made h^iiven^ the heaven of heavens 
 ivith all their hojiy the earth and all th'ngs that are thereiriy 
 the feas. and all that is therein. He is diftinguiflied upon 
 this account from all other Gods. Jer x. 10, 11, 12, 15, 
 16 *. Now creation is afcribed to Clivin:. Thus John i. 3. 
 Without him was not any thin^ made, that wai made. Now 
 if he was a creature, he mull be concerned in making him- 
 felf, and fo muft be fupp'Ted to have a being even before he 
 exifled, which is an abfurdity. It clearly appears from Col. i. 
 16. For h\> him -were aU things created that are in heaven^ 
 mndfhat are in earth v'fible and invlfiblc : ivhcthcr thcj be 
 thrones^ or dominions, or principalities, or povj.-rs : nay, the 
 «poflle goes yet fuither and fays, that all things wjcre not only 
 
 • See other places that prove this truth. 
 
 M 
 
go THE DEITY OF CHRIST. Scrm. V. 
 
 created hy hbn, but for hiniy to manifcfl his Glory. I might 
 mention other parts * of Scripture that iY-eak this truth, but 
 thefe are enou^^h, they are fo exprefs. Thus by the eternal 
 word were the heavens made He only fpokc and it luas 
 done, he rcmmarided and it Jlood fn/r f. He laid, let there he 
 lights and behold there was lioht 4, all which are fuch proofs 
 of itifinite power, and fovereignty, as evidently declare Jefus 
 Chrifttobe God— But, 
 
 4 Tnat \vorfl:)ip ivhich only belongs to the fuprcme God 
 is given to Chrift. Divine wcrfliip is internal and external. 
 Internal worfliip confifts in the various acl:s of the mind, 
 faith, love, reverence, and the like, external worfliip lies in 
 prayer and praife, and is performed by fuitable geftures, of 
 (landing kneeling, and proflration. This worfliip fnppofes 
 infinite excellencies in the obje6r, and every thing that lays 
 a foundation for it. Now this worfliip in its nioft extenfive 
 view is given to Chrift He is the ob]e£l of faith, John 
 xiv. I. Of love Matt. x. 37. Of Prayer. Aci:s vii 59 Of 
 praife .Rev. i. ^,6^ and Chap, v 13. All thefe ads of 
 worfliip are given him in the Lord's fupper. Here he i^ 
 fet forth as a fit obje6l of faith, of love, of praife : here the 
 Chriftian dedicates hirafelf to him, foul, and body, and all v 
 and refolves to live to that redeemer who died for him, and 
 rofe again. If then religious worfhip is given to Chrift, he 
 muft certainly be God. There is no diftinftion m;ide be- 
 tween him and the Father, but the fame praifes are afcribed 
 to him as to the Father; prayer is made equally to him, and 
 the poor guilty fmner flies to him, anil lays all the Ifrefs ot'' 
 his falvation upon him, he then muffc be equal with the Fa- 
 ther, as there is not the lead appearance of inferiority 
 
 Befides there are two things, a confideration of which fliould 
 determine us in this great point, viz. Chrift himfelf has re- 
 ceived all religious worlhip, and the Father has commande.l 
 
 it to be given him. Chrift himfelf received it when on 
 
 earth. Thus the woman of Canaan came and worfhipped him. 
 Mat. XV. 2;;'. And his difciples worfliipped him after his re-*" 
 furred ion, Mat. xxviii. 17. Now had he been only a crea- 
 ture, even though of the hijzhcft rank, he would not have re-^ 
 ceived divine worfhip, but would have forbid it as Peter did' 
 
 • T Cor rip. 6. Heh. i. ^. Pom. xi. 36. Pfal. cii. aj. If. xl. 12, l-Sy 1*' 
 Jf. xlv. 18. f Pfal xxxiii.9. \ Gen. i, j. 
 
Serm. V. the deity of christ. gt 
 
 Cornelius, A£Vs x. 26 And as the angel did JoKn, Rev. 
 xix. 10. It would not have have been conliitent with his 
 faithfuhiefs to his Father to have taken that, wdiich was due 
 to God alone ; nor can we fuppofe his Father would have 
 fupported him in it, nay commanded tliat he iliould be wor-!- 
 fliipped. Yet, when he came into the world the Father 
 gave command, that all the Angels fliould worihip him. 
 Heb i. 6. And in another place it is faid, he has comttiittcd 
 aU judgement to ihe Son^ that all menjhou Id honour him even 
 as they honour the Father^ John v. 22, 23. Which cannot 
 be, unlefs they give the Son the fame divine honour they 
 do the Father- To fum up all, as divine worfliip in all its 
 parts and branches is given to our Lord J.Tus Chrill 5 as he 
 has readily received it without the leall objection ; as it is 
 by the Father's command that he is wordiipped, and as no 
 creature, though ever fo exalted, can be the obje£t of divine 
 worfliip, fo we muil conclude that Chriil is God equal with 
 the Father — 
 
 Thefe 1 apprehend to-be fufficient proofs of this great 
 doctrine If thefe are the diilinguifliing charadlers of 
 fleity, and they are applied to Chriil, then he muil be God. 
 If they are not, I alk what are fo, and how we mud know 
 the true God from the higheil of his creatures ? Hov^^ever 
 the infidel may fneer at thefe hints, I hope they are enough 
 to fatisfy your minds, and to confirm you in the truth. I 
 fhall therefore proceed, 
 
 II. To the improvement of this great article of our faith. 
 And we fliall now fee the great importance of this doclrine, 
 as for inftance, 
 
 1. // nuas abfoluteJy necejfury that Chrijl JJjoutd be God, to 
 Jit him for. executin(f that ivorky nvhich he grac'-oufly under- 
 
 took. His work we may confider in a threefold view ; that 
 which he was to do on earth — That which he daily does in 
 heaven — And that M^hich he will do at the great day 
 
 2. He had a work to do on earthy which he never could have 
 gone through, had he not been God, This was to make fatis- 
 fa£lion to infinite juftice for the fins of his people, to pur- 
 chafe grace and glory for them, and to gain a complete con- 
 queil over every enemy. And who could do all this but the 
 mighty God ^ He could not pojfibly have bore up under that 
 load of guilty ivhich lay upon him, if he had not had deity to 
 
 M 2 
 
92 THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 5erm. V. 
 
 fupport h'mu All the fins of Iiis people lay upon him, and 
 met in him, and were enough to fink him abfolutely down, 
 if he had only been a creature He mult be in the utmoO: 
 diftrefs from his agony in the garden, yea fuch diftrefs as no 
 being inferior to God could have grappled with j all his 
 body was in a bloody fweat, and the blood dr. pped upon 
 the, ground in clods^ being forced through the pores by his 
 extreme torture. — Befides, he vjculd not h tV- been able f 
 have made atoneiivnt for the fins he l)o~e^ (/ '/o more than a 
 creature. As fm has an infinite evil in it, fo it i^equires an 
 infinite fatisfaction. "What was the reafon that the blood of 
 beafts could not make this fatisfa61:ion, but becaufe there 
 ■was no proportion between this and fin. And to look upon 
 the facrifice of Chrift as only that of a man, a creature, is 
 only going a few fteps higher-, ftiil the proportion would 
 not be equal, and therefore it would not declare the glory 
 of God in the pardon of fin, on the account of fuch a facri- 
 fice. — If he had nor been God, he never could have pur chafed 
 grace and glory,' Confidered as a creature, there could have 
 been no merit in what he did and fufFered, efpecially for 
 others. ' AH a creature can do, he owes to God, in every 
 capacity and relation, and th>-refore heaven could never have 
 been llyled a pur chafed poffeffion. He could never have gained 
 €1 complete conqtiefi over our fpiritual enemies if any thing he^ 
 low God Principalities and powers were not eafily fpoiled. 
 Death and hell required an almighty arm to conquer them. 
 "When he looked, and there was none to help, he mud have 
 yielded the viQory, and funk in defpair ; his own arm would 
 never have brought falvation to hiin, if it had only been the 
 feeble arm of a creature. And thus our redemption never 
 "would have been obtained, the price would never have been 
 paid, and therefore the everlafting gates never have beeno- 
 pened. But,confider;ng him as God, he was equal to the whole 
 arduous work, he finiHied it in a little time, and had no 
 occafion to lie an eternity under torment •, he triumphed 
 over every enemy, and led captivity captive. But, 
 
 3. If he wasnrA^od he would not be equal tothe work hers dai- 
 ly executing above He is gone intoheavenyto appear in ihepre- 
 fenceol Grjdfor us^ Heb. ix 24- He thtremakes intercefior.for 
 tran/greffor^. If. lii. . 2. He fits as the exalted king and head 
 of his church, to conquer all our enemies for us, to apply 
 Palvation, and bring all his people in, to fee that the work 1$ 
 
Scrm. V. THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 93 
 
 carried on, that all our wants are fupplled, that none he 
 undertook for are jofl, .md therefore to order and direci all 
 ^he fleps in providence fo that his enemies maybe difappoint- 
 td, and the good of his people promoted. Now you will 
 eafily fee to anfwer thefe ends he muft have Infinite know- 
 ledge and wifdom, know all his people, with all their wants 
 and various circumftances : to know his enemies with all 
 their fchemes ; and to know what methods arebeft for him 
 to purfue He mull be prefent every where, that he may- 
 be a help in every time of need. He muft have almighty 
 power, to cruih our enemies, to fupport, fupply and keep us. 
 He muft have infinite love and pity, to pafsby fo many back- 
 ilidings, and exercife fuitable compafTion to thofe that are 
 in diftrefs. In fine, you will eafily fee, how neceffary it is 
 
 that he pofPefies every divine perfection Laftly, He 
 
 rniill be God to he equal tn the work of the great day He 
 will raife the dead, both fmall and great, affemble the world, 
 fit upon his exalted throne, pafs an equal and decifive fen- 
 tence upon air, and execute this fentence in the everlafting 
 deltrudtion of fome, and in the complete happinefs of others. 
 And who but a God can do all this ? Can a creature know- 
 where the fcattered dull of millions lies, raife it and form 
 it into a body fitted for immortality ? Can any lefs than 
 God pafs a juft and fuitable fentence upon all, difl:inguifli 
 the righteous from the wicked, know and remember the 
 fecret fprins^s and principles of every action, and produce 
 fo many millions upon the ftage ? Can any but the great 
 fovereign of the world be the judge of it, doom the wicked 
 to everlafting darknefs, and immediatelyexecute the fentence 
 upon them, and with uncontroulable authority open the 
 everlafting gates to all his people, and place them at his 
 own riglit hand ? — Thus if Chrift had not been more than 
 a creature, he never would have been able to have gone 
 through the work, the execution of which was of fo much 
 importance to the glory of God, and to our falvation. 
 
 BleiTed be God we have fuch a vSaviour. 
 
 ' 4. This doRrine of Chrift^s deity lays a foundation for ^ and 
 is a powerful motiiie to admiration^ love and obedience. How 
 does it magnify the grace and love of the Redeemer in all 
 his works for us ! What I did the mighty God under- 
 take our falvation ? Did he who was infinitely blefPed for 
 Evermore, veil his glory in the form of a fervant, and ap- 
 
^4 THE DEITY OF CHRIST. Scrm. V, 
 
 pear in fan)ion as a man ? How amazing tlie (loop ! How 
 inconceivable the love ! Had it been a creature's love, it 
 iwould liave appeared great, could behave gone through the 
 work : but it was the infinitely glorious Creator, that gave 
 his life a ranibm for us. Behod the grace cf our Lord Jejtis 
 Chnjiy^who though fje was rich^ yet for our Jakes became poor^ 
 that lue through his poverty might be made rich, 2 Cor viii. 
 p. Behold it ye angels and wonder and adore. Yea, ye do 
 admire, ye do view this amazing myflery of godlinefs, and 
 find matter for entertainment and praife. Behold it O my 
 foul, thou art more immediately concerned in it. Behold 
 the heights, and depths, and lengths, and breadths of the 
 love of the Son of God : keep it ever in view, it will warm 
 thee when cold and llfelefs ; it will humble thee under a 
 fenfe of thy feeble attempts to love ; it will enliven thy fer- 
 Tices ; make thee hate Cm, and be a quickening motive to all 
 obedience : it will kindle a fecret fire in thy foul, and make 
 thee long to be with thy Redeemer above, to love and praife 
 bim for ever without coldnefs or interruption. Do the 
 faints praife him in heaven ? yes, i:hat facred temple re- 
 founds with hallelujahs to God, and to the Lamb. They have 
 the higheft, the cleared views of the love of Jehovah the fe- 
 cond perfon. Tliis is the theme they for ever dwell upon, 
 and tune their harps, and touch the Joudeil ft ring to praife 
 the great mediator. Thou adorable Emanuel, didft thou 
 leave thine exalted throne to come down, and purchafe our 
 falvation f Can we make thee more happy than thou really 
 rrt, haft been from all eternity, and wilt be to all eternity ? 
 No, it was thine own free, rich, matchlefs love, that did in- 
 cline thee to do all this for us. * Oh love unfathomable I 
 
 * All glory, honour and praife be to him that thus loved us. 
 
 * Here we are the fruits of thy purchafe, reaping the effects 
 
 * of thine iniinite merit, and we will fpend an eternity to 
 ^ thy praife.' This love is the ftron^reft and moft powerful 
 motive to obedience we have in all the gofpel. Come hither, 
 ye flothful fouls, who complain that you are like the door 
 upon its hint^es, come hither, and view the love of the mighty 
 God, and, if any thing will quicken you, this will, and make 
 you move fwiftly on in your Redeemer's fervice. Come ye, 
 in whoni the facred fire feems faii^t and low, bring your 
 cold hearts hither, and the love of the everlafting Father 
 will kindle it afrefl\. Bring your hard rocky hearts hither. 
 
Serm.V. the deit^jv of Christ. 9^ 
 
 and fee if this love will not foften them. Attend ye back- 
 fliders 5 behold the Son of God in the likenefs of finful Hcflr, 
 and if any thing will melt your fouls, and fill you with con- 
 trition, this will. Look upon the mighty God becoming si 
 prince of peace, when you are under any temptations to be . 
 led into fm, and this will tend to guard you againft a com- 
 pliance, convince you of your obligations to him, and llir 
 you up to all holy circumfpe6lion and diligence in the di- 
 vine life. * Oh, did God undertake for me? Is God him- 
 
 * felf become my Saviour ? What love is this! What means 
 
 * this coldnefs O my foul, to this divine Saviour ? Why fo 
 
 * dull, and infenfibie of thy obligations to him ? Why fo 
 
 * worldly, fo earthly and fenfual ? What means this care- 
 
 * leflhefs in thy walk, thy frame, thy converfation ! Come, 
 
 * let me view the perfon of my Saviour: Sec, my foul, who 
 
 * is it that has loved thee ? It is the high and lofty one that 
 
 * inhabits eternity. Oh what motives to praife, to obedi- 
 
 * ence ! Have this ever in thine eye, that it may keep thee 
 
 * from fecurity, endear the mediator more and more to thec^ 
 
 * and make thee daily aftive in his fervice, and for his glory, 
 
 * till thou fhalt be tranfiated to the world above, where thou 
 
 * wilt love and praife for ever.' 
 
 - 5 . I-Vhat a fund of confolation is there in this doclrine. - It 
 ^dminfters relief in every cafe, and is an inexhauflible foun- 
 tain and fpring of comfort to all in diftrefs. Is the fmner 
 under a deep fenfe of fin } Does the load of guilt he has 
 contracted lie heavy on his foul ? Da his numberlefs tranf- 
 grefiions appear before him with all their aggravations ? 
 Does he fee his unworthinefs of the favours of God, and 
 in his own apprehenfions is he upon the brink of hell ? It 
 is a melancholy Cafe indeed ; but awful as it is, this doclrine 
 affords relief, and opens a door of hope to him at once. 
 " Shall I defpair when I hear of fuch a faviour ? He is not 
 *< a creature, then fhould I defpair ; but he is the fupreme 
 *• God, and fure he can help me, though never fo miferable 
 ** and helplefs. He can ftand between ofiended juftice and 
 ** my poor guilty foul, therefore vrill I venture, and call 
 *' myfelf upon this glorious, this all-fuflicient mediator, not 
 ** doubting but he can pluck me out of the fire, and make 
 ** me, though never fo unworthy, an heir of eternal life.* 
 Is the ChrifHan diftreiTed with a fenfe of his numerous 
 enemies, and his own weaknefa to withftand them ? 1$ be 
 
^6 THE DEITY OF CHRIST. SeriTl. VJ 
 
 afraid therefore that he (liall not hold out and perfevere ta 
 the end ? Is he diftrefTed from day to dny through fear of 
 giving up the conqueft to his enemies ? There is enough in 
 this doftrine to fet him at liberty, to cheer his foul, and 
 revive his hopes of an everlafiing triumph over all oppo- 
 lition. ** Why ihould I be diftrefled, O my foul, and 
 ** walk in perpetual bondage through fear of my enemies ? 
 •' It is true they are too poweiful for me ; and v/as I there- 
 ** fore left to myfelf I muH: inevitably fall, and never finifli 
 " my courfe •, bi\t look up and fee M^ho is on thy fide. God 
 " himfelf is for thee, it matters not then who are againtt 
 ** thee. Thou leaneft not upon an arm of flefn, but upon 
 *' everlafting ftrength. Away then all ye difquieting fears ; 
 '' though I .m weak, yet my redeemer is ftrong ; and I arrt 
 *' abundantly more fecure than JeruAilem itfelf, though 
 ** furrounded with mountains, for the Lord himfelf is 
 *' round about mCo I will go on my way rejoicing there- 
 ** fore in the midft of every difcouragement, and not quef- 
 *< tion my reaching to my journey's end, and getting fafe to 
 *' Zion." Oh, it is a glorious truth ? It is upon this that the 
 church * is built, as upon an immoveable rock, and not upon 
 Peter ; and therefore the gates of hell fliall not be able to 
 prevail agalnft it. Here is fomething for the Chriftian un- 
 der all his fears j fomething that tends to fill him with joy 
 unfpeakable and full of glory. -Whatever his circumftances 
 are y whether he is difcouraged with a fenfe of his backllid- 
 ings, or flruggling with fome corruption, or diftrelTed with 
 his unworthineff. : whatever his difficulties are, a view of 
 the mighty God is enough to remove them all, and give him 
 boldnefs and courage in life and death, and under the prof- 
 pe6f of the great day He is now become a fit Saviour. He 
 is a fuitable obje£l of a poor finner's truft and dependence/ 
 and we may cheerfully leave our fouls with him, as being 
 able to keep them again ft the judgement day Upon the 
 whole, take this doftrine out of the Bible, and what is it ? 
 This is the glory of the ChrilHan fcheme, that .God Hands 
 at the head of it. It is this that giv<^s life and efficacy to 
 every other do6>rine. This makes ChviO appear gloriou^ 
 in all his mediatorial charafn^ers. This is the foundation 
 •f tlic Chiiftian's comfort. Remove this, and his hopes of 
 
 • Mat. xvi, 1 8. 
 
Serm. V. the deity of ch p. is T. 97 
 
 pardon and eternal life ceafe at once •, therefore it is a doc- 
 trine of theutmoft importance. 
 
 6. Chrifi^s being (Jodjhould render him infimtely amiable t's 
 all^ and does fo to hif people. How blind thofe eyes, that can 
 fee no beauty in Jefus Chrift ! How hard .th;it heart, that 
 feels no love to him ! Is he God ? He then pofTeffeth infinite 
 giory. Are the angels beings of peculiar excellency ; how- 
 much more is the Son of God ? Come and view him, and" 
 iec if there is nothing you can perceive that is captivating 
 in him. How ignorant were the daughters of Jerufalem, 
 when they afked the fpoufe, what her beloved was more 
 than another's beloved, that her heart was fo much fet 
 upon him ? She anfwefs them by reprefenting the in- 
 rumerable qualifications and excellencies of our Lord Jefus 
 Chrift. < What is my beloved, fays the Chriftian ? Re is 
 
 * all I want, all I can defire. He is the Son of God-, the 
 
 * brightnefs of the Father's glory and the exprefs image of 
 ' his'^perfon. See, how glorious his perfon, how bright his 
 
 * excellencies. How can I but love.Jiim, and efteem him 
 ' fairer than all the children of men ? Lord, whom have I 
 < hi heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth I defirc 
 
 * befides thee. Should I be infenfible of fuch excellencies, or 
 
 * not love thee, thou glorious Emmanuel, all might efteem 
 
 * me funk and loft in the utmoft ftupidity.' How infen- 
 fible, and how ftupid muft you be, poor hardened finners, 
 that you can pafs by fo much glory, and fix your hearts upon 
 things that are unworthy of your efteem ? Have you yetfeen 
 ho beauty in Jefus, that you fliould defire him as your 
 friend, your hufband ? To prefer the poor enjoyments be- 
 fore the Lord of Lords ! This intimates as if you thought 
 there was nothing in him that could render him a fit obje<^ 
 of your efteem. What a refledion this upon that Jefus, 
 whom angels adore ! Stupid creatures, that the glorious 
 mediator has not yet won your hearts. Let me recommend 
 him to thee as one worthy of tjiy choice, one worthy of 
 thine efteem ; one that can make thee unfpeakably happy, 
 and in whofe friendfhip, whofe favour, thou wilt find the 
 greateft pleafure. 
 
 Laftly, How awful the /late and condition of thofe who re-, 
 fnfe divine honours to our Lord J if us Chri/l^ and cajl contempt 
 iipon his glorious perfon I 
 
 N 
 
ii» iw iiuBttmrnK^mt 
 
 SERMON VL 
 
 ON JUSTIFICATION. 
 
 •< •-••<••< •■<* *4^* :*: *4'4'4'»- >•>• >"'^ 
 
 Gal, ii. 16. 
 
 Knowing that a man is not jujlified by the *works of the 
 laiL^ hut by the faith of Jeftis Chrijly even ive have 
 believed in Jefus Chriji ; that ur might hejuftified by 
 the faith of Chriji^ and not by the works of the law :■ 
 for by the works of the lawfhall noflefh bejiijiifedi 
 
 THE great doftrine of juflification by the righteoufnefs 
 of Jefus Chrill imputed, though of the utmoft im- 
 portance, is become too much the obje(Si: of conten-ipt ; it is 
 no wonder iudeed, if we confider, that it is inconfiftent with 
 that wayof happinefs which reafon knew in a flate of innoccn- 
 cv, and which corrupt nature now, only approves ; it is in 
 vain to attempt to accommodate the gofpel, to the common 
 conceptions of corrupted reafon, for reafon, when in its 
 higheft and pureft (late, was unacquainted with it -, the 
 words Grace and Chriji were unknown, in the ftate of in- 
 nocency; no way to eternal Hfe was then revealed but by a 
 perfon-il obedience, to the law. There was no neceffity of 
 .a mediator, till fm was introduced into the vv'orld, there- 
 fore there was no revelation of Chrift till after the fall j when 
 man had expofed himfelf to the awful curfe of the law, and 
 was abfolutely unable to prevent the execution of it. As 
 man was acquainted with no other language when in his 
 perfeO re6^itude, but do this and livey no wonder that the 
 way of juflification by the ri^hteoufnefs of Chrift iliould 
 
Serm. VI. on justification. 99 
 
 now appear new and myilerious, and be reprcfented as the 
 effe<fh of enthufmrm ? Have we received any peculiar advan- 
 tage by the fall? Have we gained any confulcrable light by it ? 
 Or are we more inclined to receive the myftericsGod has re- 
 vealed ? No, behold, we have the utmoil reafon to bewail 
 cur apoftacy ! having felt the fad eflefts of it, in th-e blind- 
 nefs of our minds, andhardnefs of our hearts ! The fall has 
 placed us at the utmofl: diftance from God, and filled our 
 minds with the fi:rongell prejudices againft the glorious 
 mylleries of the kingdom of God. Thus in all ages, the 
 great and important truths of the gofpcl have been 
 ridiculed and defpifed ; not only in the darker days of 
 the Old TeJlament, but under the prefent difpenfation, 
 when life and Immortality are brought to life by the 
 gofpel. The preaching of the crofs of Chrift was to 
 the Jews a flumbling-block, and to the Greeks fooliflmefs. 
 I Cor. i. 23. The Jews, though favoured with the various 
 prophecies of the Old Teftament, which Ipeakof Chrift, and 
 Ills righteoufnefs, yet difcovered the utmofl averfion to this 
 way of j unification, as direftly contrary to thofe high 
 thoughts they had entertained of themfelves, and their fcr- 
 vlces, and as abfolutely deltroying all their favourite prin- 
 ciples which they had imbibed, and which they were deter- 
 mined to maintain againft all the oppofition that (liould be 
 made to them. Hence we find them uniting their endea- 
 vours againft Chrift and his difciples, to put a ftop, if poffible 
 to the fpreading of a docSlrine fo repugnant to the fentiments 
 of corrupt nature, and fo deftru6tive of thofe elevated hopes 
 which were built on the apprehended worthinefs of their 
 imperfe£l fervices. On this account we find the apoftles, 
 with a noble zeal, maintaining the great doftrines of the 
 gofpel, and particularly this of juftification *, this glorious 
 truth, however oppofite to the didlates of degenerate reafon, 
 is of the utmoft importance ; fome have called it the grand 
 prop and bulwark of the Chriftian religion ; it certainly en- 
 ters into the very effence of Chriftianity, and is necefiary for 
 xxs to knov/, as it is the foundation of our hopes of eternal 
 life, is our greateft fupport in life, and our comfort in a 
 dying hour. Is it not of the utmoft importance for the fiiiner 
 to know how it is he (hall be juftified before God ? How is 
 it, that this is not a more general fubje£l of inquiry ? Do 
 you confider that a miftake here may be of the moft dread- 
 ful confecjuence ? Will it not be inexnrelTibly awful to live 
 
 N 2 
 
xoo ©N JUSTIFICATION. Serin. \l 
 
 in expectation of a difcharge at the bar of God, and an en- 
 trance into the everlafting manfions, and to meet with a 
 difappointment ? to hear the dreadful found, Depart, and 
 be ientenced to the bottomlefs pit ! The fliame and con- 
 fiifion that muit attend fuch a difappointment cannot pof- 
 fibly come v/ithin the reach of human conception : it is no 
 wonder then, that we find the apoftle Paul fo zealouily 
 maintaining the way of juftification by the righteoufnefs of 
 Chrill, and that he is fo large, and fo particular, upon this 
 fubje£t. He was well acquainted with the oppofition that 
 nature made to this great doftrine, for he was once 
 an enemy Ito it hinifelf, he was a diftinguifhed Phari- 
 fee, was remarkable for his zeal for the lav/, and for 
 his enmity againfl Chrift and his glorious caufe : he was 
 alive in hh own apprehenfions, and was far from fufpecting 
 his title to heaven, till the fpirit came and enlightened his 
 underftanding, conquered his averfion to the gofpel, con- 
 vinced him of his guilt, and led him to a view of his wretch- 
 ed ftate and condition without a better righteoufnefs than 
 that he had depended upon. Now he becomes a zealous 
 advocate fof Chrift, he is unwearied in his endeavours to 
 fpread the knowledge of Chrift, he labours to'convince his 
 countrymen of their ignorance and obftinacy, reprefents to 
 them the vanity of their hopes, the way, the true way of jufti- 
 fication, and prelTeth them to come to that Jefus, to whom 
 he had committed all his concerns, and on whom he depend- 
 ed for eternal life. I^ his epiftle to the Galatians he par- 
 ticularly enters on the do£lrine of juftification by faith in 
 Jefus Chrift, reproves thofe to whom he MTOte for their 
 departing in fome meafure from the purity of the truth, and 
 their adherence to the law in this great article ; and ailerts 
 that neither the works of the cerem.onial, nor the moral law, 
 have any hand in the juftification of a fniner, it being only 
 by faith in our Lord Jefus Chrift. JVe who are Jews by 
 nature^ and not /inner s of the Gentiles^ knowing that a man is 
 not j lift ified by the works of the laWy but by i he faith of J ejus 
 Chrift^ even we have believed in Jefus Chriji, that we might 
 he j lift ified by the faith of Chrij}^ ar.d not by the works of the 
 law ; for b^ the wot hs of the law firnll no flt:Jh be jujiijied. 
 Thefe words natutally lead us to confidcr this great and 
 important do6lrine of juftification, fo eflential to the being 
 and comfort of a real Chriftian. In liopes that fome may 
 pe inftruckd in this glorious truth, and others confirmed ani 
 
Senp. VI. ON JUSTIFICATION. I©1 
 
 eftabliflied in their belief of it, let us confider the following 
 things. 
 
 I. Let us inquire into the meaning of being juftified, or 
 what are the privileges of juftificntion. 
 
 II. Show that our perfonal righteoufnefs is abfolutely 
 unable to juftit'y us before God. 
 
 Hi. That it is the righteoufnefs of Chrift alone that is 
 the matter of our juHification, and the ground of our ac- 
 ceptance with God. 
 
 IV. How the righteoufnefs of Chrift is made ours, fo 
 that we may be really juftified by it. And, 
 
 V. Make a practical improvement of the fubje£t. 
 
 I We are to inquire into the meaning of being juftified, 
 or (hew what the privileges of juftlfi cation are. There have 
 been great difputes about the woxAjitfiify ; it being evident- 
 ly taken in difterent fenfes in the M^ord of God. Some- 
 times it fignifies our celebrating the juftice or righteoufnefs 
 of God, or our vindicating his perfections from any charge 
 that may be brought againft them, Pfa li. 4. But in the 
 matter of the finner's juftification before God, the word 
 juftify is to be taken in a forenfic fenfe *, the papifts plead 
 that it is to be taken in a phyfical, or moral fenfe, for the 
 infufion of righteoufnefs, and therefore pointing out that 
 as the matter of our juftification : but it is evident we are 
 to take it in a law fenfe ; in feveral places of fcripture, where 
 a judicial procefs is reprcfented, mention is made of a law 
 accufing of perfons guilty, of divine juftice requiring puniftr- 
 ment or fatisfaCtion given, and finners abfolved and cleared; 
 juftification then is a judicial aft, an aft of juftice, as well 
 as of mercy •, luho Jhall lay any thirty to the charge of God's 
 ele<2l ? (fays the apoftle.) It is God that juftipcth. ivho jhall 
 condemn ? It is Chri/i that died. Rom. viii. 33. Who ftiall 
 cndite them in courfe of law, or judgement ? Who can pro- 
 ceed againft them legally ? Let him come forth. There, 
 is enough indeed, to be charged againft God's eleft, but- 
 who ftiall condemn them for it ? Chrift has made fatisfac- 
 tion for them, and God has juftified them. They have 
 linned and violated the lav^^ of God, but Chrift has made 
 fatisfaftion for them, on which account God has difcharge^d 
 and freed them from the fentence of condemnation. Thus 
 juftification is a judicial aft. This being confidered, leads 
 
^^t ON JUSTIFICATION, Senn. Vf, 
 
 «s to takr, notice of the bleflings contained in juftlfication* 
 or what is meant by a finner's being juftified. And tliefc 
 two things are fignified thereby ; 
 
 1. That the hns of thofe who are jufliiied are pardoned ; 
 and, 
 
 2. Tliat they are received Into the favour of God, and 
 bave a right -and title given them to eternal life. 
 
 I. To be juftified, fignifies that our fins are all pardoned. 
 This fuppofes that v/e are naturally under a law, that v/c 
 have violated this law, have forfeited the favour of God 
 hereby, and rendered ourfelves obnoxious to the curfc de- 
 nounced by the law-giver upon tranfgreihon. 
 
 This is a truth of the utmoft impoitance, every where fo 
 reprefented in the M^ord of God. God gave man a law in 
 innocency, to v/hieh he annexed an awful threatening of 
 ercrlaiking death, to be executed upon us if we violated and 
 Uroke this lav/ The firft tranfgrerfion being an a£l: of a pub- 
 lic reprefentatiye, ail mankind arc concluded under fin, 
 and become guilty before God (to this we may add num- 
 beliefs a6^ual tranfgrelBons) ; we are hereby naturally un- 
 der the curfe of the law, liable to the execution of its con- 
 demning fentence. In fuch awful circumf^ances does God 
 find us, when he comes and a6tually j^iftifies us, by which 
 irit he pardons all our fius, original and aftual, blots out the 
 hand-writing againtl us, cancels the enditement, ftops the 
 prof€Cuticn,and givesus adifcharge from punifhment. In juf- 
 tifvint^ us, God gives us a full pardon of all our fins, fo that 
 we fliall never be brought into, condemnation. Hence it is 
 fjLii\y tb^re is no condemnation to them -which are in Chrijl 
 Jeftts Rom. viii. i We have the pardon of fin repre- 
 fented in fuch flrong cxpreflTions in the word of God as fuffici- 
 ently fhews its certainty and fulnefs, fo that it is impofllble 
 for fin ever to condemn the juftified foul. Thus it is faid» 
 our fins are covered. PfaL xxxii. i. Blejfcd is he inhofe 
 trnnfgrcjjion is forgiven^ -whofefin is covered. They are ^o 
 covered that they Ihull never appear before the judicial eye 
 of God to procure our condemnation Again, in the fe- 
 cond verfe pardon is reprefented by a not imputing fin, Blcjfed 
 is the man unto -whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. He 
 reckons it not to him, places it not to his account, and con- 
 frf|nentlyit cannot procure his condemnation. It is again 
 fft f'lnth bv < not reintmkriii^curjms any nwrey Jer. xxxi. 
 
Serm. VL on justification. 103 
 
 34. God is fald to cajl our fins behind his back, Ifn. xxxviii. 
 17. To caft them into the depths of the fia^ Mlc. vil, 19. 
 •Signifying the impoflibility of thtir ever appearing againfl 
 the believer more ; they fliall be forgotten never to be re- 
 membered, they fhnll be lort, fo as never to be fo-.ind. A- 
 gain, pardon is fet forth by blotting out, and clean firKg, 
 Pfal. li. I, 2. Acts iii. 19. Alhiding to a creditor, vA\o 
 croiTes out a debt in his book of accompts, that it may never 
 more ftand in force againll the perfon who ,contrad:ed h. 
 Thefe and various other expreiTions in the word of God, are 
 defigncd to exprefs the fulnefs of pardon, and the happinefs 
 of thofe who receive it ThuvS we find God reprefented as 
 ** feeing no iniquity in Jacob, neither any perverfenefs m 
 <* Ifrael," Num xxiii. 21. The meaning of which words 
 cannot be, that the fins of his people are not known to him 5 
 nothing can be concealed from his all comprchenfive view- 
 He fees the fins his people commit, but not as their judge 
 io condemn them 5 he deals with them as if they had never 
 tranfgrefied the law, by difiblving their obligation to punifiv 
 ment, and treating them as children. TJie fins of God's 
 people are not fo taken away, -as to deftroy the demerit of 
 fm. Though they are delivered from condemnation, yet there 
 is enough in them that is matter of condemnation. The 
 Tms which they daily commit deferve cverlafting pu:;ifl?- 
 ment, and appear in themfelves Infinitely odious in the eyes 
 of God who cannot behold iniquity but with the utmoft de- 
 teftation and abhorrence. This therefore lays a foundation 
 for continual deep humiliation of foul, and admiration nt 
 the infinite grace of God, in the pardon of fins fo often re- 
 peated, and attended with fuch aggravating circumflances« 
 Nor does the blotting out of fin, and the like, fignify that 
 fin does not cleave to the foul ; fin ftill remains, and exer- 
 cifeth too much power in the foul ; remilTion of fin confiders 
 it with relation to punifhment, and not as a quality inherent 
 in the fubje£t, therefore the ftain remains till it is fully wafhed 
 away by the fandifying influences of the Spirit of God, 
 which will not be, till body and foul are feparated : yet 
 there is a full, and abfolute remifllon of fin, both as ta 
 the guilt and as to thepunifiiment : fo that all the proceed- 
 mgs of God with his juftified people are in a wav of mercy. 
 Here it may be afked, vv'hcther the fins of the believer, paft, 
 prefent, and to come, are all pardoned when the foul is juf- 
 *ified ? If we confider remifilon as to the purpofe and de- 
 
104 ^^ JUSTIFICATIONS Scrm. VL 
 
 cree of God, or as to the promife of God In the Covenant 
 of Grace, or as to the merit of Chrift, who gave full fatis- 
 fa£lion to infinite juftice for all the Hns of his people, their 
 fins paft, prefent, and to come, are all pardoned. But if 
 we confider remiHion as a6iiiany given to the foul, his paft 
 and prefent fins may be fald to be forgiven, but not his fu- 
 ture fins*, for they cannot be confidered as being actually 
 committed, and a debt cannot be blotted out before it is 
 contracled. No more can our fins be faid to be all at once, 
 and expHcitly forgiven, before they are aftually committed. 
 However upon the whole, Chrilt's righteoufnefs being im- 
 puted to us, lays a foundation for the remiifion of all fins ; 
 our future fins fiialt not be laid to^ our chatge, nor iniquity 
 prove our ruin : and here God has wifely made it our duty, 
 to beg daily for the forgivenefs of our fins, and to bring 
 forth fruits meet for repentance ; to (hew his hatred to fin, 
 the charafter of thofe <^n whom he beftows forgivenefs, and 
 to evidence to the foul that his fins are forgiven. Thus wc 
 fee how important a bleifing juftification is ; whilft we are 
 ftrangers to Chrift we have no reafon to conclude that our 
 fins are forgiven, the fentence of the law fiiands open againft 
 us, we are expofed to the wrath of God, and have the ut- 
 moft reafon to fear the dreadful execution of it, according 
 to the awful demerit of fin, Blefied therefore is the man 
 whofe tranfgrefiions are forgiven, whofe fins are covered; 
 blefied is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not ini- 
 quity ; but there is a further blelling contained in juftifica- 
 lion : for, 
 
 2. Thofe who are juftificd are received into the favour 
 of God, accepted as rigliteous, and have a title given them 
 to eternal life. To juiiify is more than to pardon : a king 
 may pardon a rebel, but not take him into favour. Adam 
 was under no obligation to punifliment when he was in a 
 ftate of innocency, yet he was not juftified, i e. he was not 
 declared righteous fo as to have a title given him to eternal 
 life, that depended on his continuance in obedience. As 
 jufi.iiication is a declaring ri!.>hte()us, fo it fuppofes a Hgh- 
 teoufnefs in us, or in another, by which we are declared 
 richteous. '^i here is certainly a pofitive righteoufnefs re- 
 quired by which we muft be declared righteous •, becaufe 
 the law requires obedience, as well as fuffering : the one to 
 free from puniflunent in cafe of ofience, the other to entitle 
 
Serm. VI. on justification. 105 
 
 to life. Thofe who cannot be declared righteous, cannot 
 be entitled to eternal life. In juftification therefore the 
 righteoufncfs of Jeius Chrift being imputed to the believer, 
 he is pronounced righteous, accepted as fiich, and entitled 
 to a glorious immortality, for that righteoufnefs by whichl 
 lie is juftified is perfetJ^ly anfwerable to the demands of the 
 law and juftice. If therefore this righteoufnefs be properly 
 rec'soned to the believer, he muft be neceflarily acquitted, 
 be introduced ac^bually, into the divine favour, and have a 
 juft and iridifputable right to eternal- life. And that this 
 righteoufnefs which Chrift has wrought out, may be rec- 
 koned to the believer fo as to fecure to him thefe important 
 blefTmgs, will be confidered rriore particularly when we 
 Come to inquire how the righteoufnefs of Chrift becomes 
 burs. Some there are who apprehend that juftification is 
 imperfeft in this life, as depending upon our continuance 
 in obedience ; according to them when we firft beHeve, we 
 have all our paft iniquities forgiven, are at prefent delivered 
 from condemnation, and have a title to eternal life, provid- 
 ed we continue in the performance of obedience, to the end 
 of life. This makes our right to life riot immutable and 
 perfe£l:, but changeable^ as it depends upon the perfonal 
 performance of certain conditions,' the fulfilment of which 
 muft be precarious ; our title therefore may be loft, and we 
 deprived of the glorious inheritance above Juftification,, 
 according to this uncomfortable fcheme, only makes our 
 falvaiion poflible, not certain ; it does not in this fenfe fup- 
 pofe the law to be fulfilled, therefore it does,not include a 
 proper title to eternal glory ; for if we confider juftification 
 as giving an immutable title to life (as certainly it does) it 
 necefiarily fuppofes the law to be fulfilled, which threatned 
 death ; confequently there remains nothing now, but (as 
 man is declared righteous) that he be put into the pofleflion 
 of that glorious inheritance, to which God hath given him 
 a title. In juftification then the finner not only receives 
 the pardon and forgivencfs of his fins, but a right and title 
 to eternal life ; thefe two are diftincT: blefTmgs, though in- 
 feparably conne(^l:ed ; where there is one, there is like wife 
 the other. Every one who has his iniquities forgiven, has 
 likewife a right to all the blefiings of the everlafting cove- 
 nant ; they were both purchafed by Jefus Chrift, and are 
 confequently given to all tJiofe to wliom he imputes hij 
 
 O 
 
io6 ON JUSTIFICATION'. Scrm. VL 
 
 perfect righteoufnefs. Adoption is a part of jultification ; 
 and " as inany 7i$ received him to them gave he power to 
 " become the fons of God, even to as many as believed on 
 " his name." John i. 12 Chrili came not only to redeem 
 us from the curfe of the law, but to favour us with the 
 adoption of fons, Gal. iv. 4, 5. He covers oin- guilt with the 
 robe of his rightecufnefs, and he makes ourperfons accepted 
 of God ; he renders ail the awful threatmngs of the law 
 abfolutely void, gives us a drfcharge from eternal death, and 
 prefents us with the glorious profpetl of an heavenly mhe- 
 ritance ; he gives a right to all the promifcs in the word of 
 God, givesr us an interelt in all the divine perfections, and 
 makes us heirs of God and joint heirs with himfelf. 
 
 Siich are the bleffings of j unification, bleffmgs of the 
 greateft Importance To be freed from the obligation to 
 everlalling punifliment, fo be made hens of eternal life. 
 "Who can reprefent the' excellency of fuch blelhngs ? they 
 are more than all the honours of the prefent life. 
 
 To clofe the prefent difcourfe with fome ufeful inftruc- 
 tions deducible from the point : as, 
 
 I. Hence we learn how necellary it is for us fledfaftfy to 
 believe Original Sin, with all its confequences. To deny 
 this ijnpoftant truth, is, to open a door fur that latitude of 
 thought, which has had fo dreadful a- fpread to the ruin of 
 immortal fouls. Many who have fallen oft from the go f- 
 pel, have begun here: it is well to have our hearts ella- 
 bliflied in thofe divine truths which have fo ftrift a connec- 
 tion with our falvition, and which have fuch an influence 
 Upon it. It is a difagreeable thought to proud man, Vthat 
 
 * we are all under the guilt of fin, and have our fouls tainted 
 
 * with its pollution, as we come into the world,' though it 
 really is the caufe of that condemnation the law placeth us 
 Under, as well as thofe many a£lual tranfgrelfions with 
 whicli ^^ e are chargeable, w^ich are all pardoned in jufiifi- 
 Cation. This truth, of all mankind's being in a \hic oi fin 
 and condemnation, hatti a near concern with ju{tifici>tion in 
 a gofpel fenfe. Tlie apoftle Paul therefore, in treating of 
 th;U great do6^rine, mentions this firft, aS what is neceflary 
 to be firft confidered •, as you may fee, in the firft, fecond, 
 and third chapters, of the epiftle to the Romans. And ifi 
 the fifth chapter of the fixme epiftle, ver. 12, &c he prove* 
 ^is truth, by a regular courfe of moft conclufive arguments^ 
 
Serm. VI. on justification. 107 
 
 Wherefore^ as h^ one man Jin entered into the luorld^ and 
 death h)) Jin ; and jo death pajeth upon all men y for that^ or 
 in as much as aU hiwe Jlnned. Experience likewife adds its 
 teftimotiy to put the inatt--r beyond all doubt. There are 
 early difcoveries given of the lofs of original rc6litude, 
 and of tlie p;uilt we are under; and whilil we believe fled- 
 failly this important trutli, we are led to adore infinite wif- 
 dom and grace in the method of falvation revealed in the 
 gofpel ; to value the great bleiHngs included in jullification, 
 aiid cheerfuliy and thankfully to depend upon that righ- 
 teoufnefs which Jefus has provided, and by which alone 
 M^e can be juitified in the fight of God. 
 
 2. Hence we learn to adore the infinite grace of God, in 
 bellowing upon creatures fo unworthy, fuch an inv^.luable 
 and important blefiing. When M^e conader our apoftacy 
 from God, and how juilly we have deferved his everlafting; 
 indignation, we have juft reafon to cry out, Lord, what is 
 man th^it tliou art mindful of him, or the fon of man that 
 thou vifiteft him ! 
 
 Does God jultify the ungodly ? Lord, fays the fenfible 
 humbled finner, what allonifhing grace ! Is there forgive- 
 nefs with thee that thou mayeit be feared ! May fuch a 
 guilty creature as I draw near unto thee ! RejoicCj O my 
 foul and wonder at fovereign grace : there is room for me 
 to hope ; behold God juftifies guilty finners M'ho He natu- 
 rally under the condemnation of the law, and might have 
 been made the everlalting monuments of infinite wrath | 
 See the blelfings he confers, he pardons, freely and fully 
 pardons every tranfi:;reinon, and gives a glorious and furc 
 title to eternal life ; he makes finners heirs of an inheritanctj 
 to come, an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, 
 and that fadeth not away, an inheritance that far exceed'^ 
 all the glory of this lower world. Oh furprinng grace ! 
 When God gives, he gives like himfelf He is himfclf far 
 above our comnrehenfion, and fo are his dealings towards 
 his people. Do not your hearts burn within you ? Are not 
 your fouls filled with unfpeakable wonder, to hear of God 
 juftifying the guilty } God, who has been olTcnded in 
 innumerable inflances; that God who, for an act of rebel- 
 lion, ca(t the finning angels down from their e-alted hap- 
 pinefs to everlafting mifery ? Does this God pardon guilty 
 man, receive him into favour, and make him an heir 
 
 O 2 
 
f©8 ©N JUSTIFICATION. Scrm. VI. 
 
 of everlafting bleflings ? Who cnn be filent under fuch 
 glorious views of divine grace and mercy ! Were we to be 
 infenfible of fuch grace, the very ftones would cry out 
 againft us, and upbraid us with ingratitude. Oh may wc 
 unite in afcribing everlafting praifes to him, who pafitd by 
 the fallen angels, but determined to exalthis grace and mercy 
 in ihe juflification and falvation of fallen man, and fulfils 
 his gracious defigns by making the heirs of wrath to be heirs 
 of heaven. It is the Lord's doing, may it ever be marvellous 
 in our eyes! Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy 
 name be all the glory . 
 
 3.' Hence we fee the difference, between juftification 
 and fan£^ificatron. They are both bleffmgs of the everlafting 
 covenant, and infeparable Thofe who are pofleired of the 
 one are alfo of the other, they cannot poffibly be feparated, 
 yet they are different : the one is a relative change, the 
 other a phyfical or moral change. The one frees us from 
 all obligation to punifhment_, and gives us a title to heaven ; 
 the other cleanfeth our fouls from the pollution of fin, makes 
 us holy, and fo fits us for the enjoyment of eterUfil life By 
 juftification we ftand in a diflTerent relation to God from what 
 we before did, then we wf re to be confidered as children of 
 wrath, under the curfe of the law, and could claim no fpe- 
 cial intereft in the divine favour, but rather had reafon to 
 look upon God as oftended, and as obliged by his own 
 threatning to execute the fentence of the law againft us : 
 now we are related to him as children, he is our father, and 
 we may joyfully expe£f to enjoy all the happy confequencs 
 of fuch a reliction. Thus juftification changes our ftate, 
 fan£tification, cur tempers, and difpofitions. It is juftifica- 
 tion gives us the title of children, fo fanQification gives us 
 the temper of children, and makes us behave ourfelves ii> 
 ibme meafure agreeably to fuch a relation In juftification 
 we have a righteoufnefs imputed to us -, in fan<£lification we 
 have a righteoufnefs inherent, a righteoufnefs infufed ; the 
 one Is an acl of God's free grace through the righteoufnefs of 
 Chrift in changing our ftate, the other is the work of his 
 fpirlt purifying our hearts. Thus we fee they are difierent, 
 and yet they are both abfolutely necefiary to our full and 
 complete falvation ; and always meet in the foul that gets 
 fafe to glory ; what God hath thus joined let no man at- 
 tempt to put afunder. If there are no evidences of the 
 
Serm. VI. on justification^ 109 
 
 grace of God changing your hearts, you may conclude that 
 you are (till in a It.ue, of condemnation ; you muft (liew you 
 are juilified, by your love to Chrifl:, your hatred of fin by 
 your feviaus, humble and heavenly converfation, elfe all your 
 hopes of an intcrclt in the divine favour are vain and deceit- 
 ful. 8an£li|ication indeed is not perfect in this life as j uni- 
 fication is, it is a work that'is of a progreiF^ve nature, it is 
 gradually carried on in the foul,' and not fully perfe£l till 
 body and foul are feparated •, yet as in juftification j:he believ-* 
 er receives a full difcharge from the curfe of the law, hath a 
 Aire title given him to eternal life, and fhall never come into 
 condemnation, fo iikewife, in fan£lification where the work 
 is begun in the heart, it fliall be carried on till it is perfected ; 
 hence the loweft degree of fan£tification is an aflurance of 
 the whole, an earneft of heaven. Glory be to God, fuch pro- 
 vifion is made as is every way necefiary to fecure our ever- 
 laHing falvation : that we may not be deceived at iaft, and 
 
 be deprived of the piomifed inheritance. '' ' 
 
 4. Hence we le^irn that all the afHi61:ions God is pleafed to 
 bring upon his people, in the prefent life, are not curfes or 
 punifliments for fm, but paternal chaftifements and fruits 
 of love. As by juftification our fins arc all forgiven, and 
 we are taken into the favour of God, fo all God's dealings 
 with his juftified one's are agreeable to that relation which 
 he ftands in to them, and confequently the effects of lovq 
 and mercy. Sin was indeed the original caufe of every 
 affli6lion j on the account of fin man gets his bread by the 
 fweet of his brows ; when fin was introduced into the 
 world, immediately man berame liable to innumerable 
 afflictions and calamities, and if we* view afflictions 
 as they are confidered in the covenant of works, we 
 muft view them as curfes, as parts of that punifhment 
 which God threatned, and confequently as the effects of 
 his juft wrath and indignation : but let us look into the new co- 
 venant and there view them in a different light; there they are 
 not confidered as curfes but as fatherly corrections, and real 
 blefllngs Pfa Ixxxix 30, 34. If his children forfake my 
 law, and walk not in my judgements; if they break my 
 ftatutes, and keep not my commandments : then will I vifit 
 their tranfgrefiion with the rod, and their iniquity with 
 {trip s Neverthelefs my loving-kindnefs will I not utterly 
 take from him, nor fuffer my faithfulnefs to fail. Thofc 
 
no ON JUSTIFICATION. Scrm. VI, 
 
 tliatare.juflified may look upon all their afflictions as mercy 
 ami truth ; they have a right given them, to all the blefiings 
 of the covenant of grace, and therefore affliftions are brought 
 wpon them as they are confidered in this covenant, which 
 are fatherly corrc6lions. Thus David finned greatly, and 
 God affliiS^ed him for it, hut though his affli£^ions were on 
 the account of fin, yet they were not as curfes, but the 
 effects of a father's difpleafure ; as fuch they are likewife 
 defigned for our everlafting good, and fo are out of love and 
 compaffion. As a prudent ferious parent not only corrccfts 
 his difobedient child to IheM'' his difpleafure at his fin, but ou^ 
 of love to him to promote his real good and advantage, and 
 to put a (lop if pofTible to that M^hich would prove his ruin : 
 thus God not only fhews his deteftation of fin when he 
 affli£ls his people, but fliews his love to their fouls, inafnuich 
 as he takes this method to humble them for fin, to quicken 
 them in their way to Zion, and to fit them more and more 
 for a better world. Ifaiah xxvii. 9. * By this therefore 
 
 * fliall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this is all the 
 
 * fruit to take away his fin.* What agreeable news m.uft 
 this be to the mourning foul, who is ready to draw raih con- 
 clufions from his long and tedious afflictions! Fear not, 
 your troubles have not the dreadful bitternefs of the curfc 
 in them, fee them fweetened by a confideration of that love 
 that is the caufe ; view them as tlie gentle correc- 
 tions of your heavenly father, wha takes fuch meafures 
 with you, to promote your everlailing advantage; call 
 not your fonOiip in quedion, * for whom the Lord 
 
 * loveth he chaftneth, and fcourgeth every fon whom h& 
 
 * recciveth If ye endure ch<^rtning> God dealeth with 
 
 * you as with fons : for what fon is he whom the Father 
 
 * chaftneth not ? But if ye be without chadifement, where- 
 
 * of all are partakers, then are ye baftards and not Sons.* 
 
 5. Does God beftow fuch invaluable blelfings upon his 
 people in judification, l^his fliould keep them from envying 
 the profperity of all the worhily great, and reconcile then^ 
 $0 every difpenfation of providence. 
 
SERMON YIL 
 
 ON JUSTIFICATION. 
 
 .<.<.<..<f .*.4» ^ ;^: ifit ^ ^ 4.».>..> »..►. 
 
 Gal. II. 1 6. 
 
 Knowhig that a man is not juji'ified by the ivorks of .the 
 lazv^ hut by the faith of Jefus Chrijl^ even we have 
 believed in Jefus Chrifi ; that we might bejuftified hf 
 the faith of Chrifi^ and not by the works of the law : 
 for by the works of the law//:/ all no flefj hefuflijled* 
 
 WHEN we confider the worth of an Immortal foul, 
 and the tendency which tlie glorious myfteries of 
 the gofpel have to promote and advance the glory of God, 
 and our everlafting welfare, we have abundant reafon to 
 adore inirnite grace, for that revelation which he has given 
 us, and readily to receive whatever is contained therein. 
 Had we not been favoured with this, we ihould have gro- 
 velled in perpetual darkneis and remained perfectly ignorai.t 
 of thofe fublime and exalted truths whicli are fo nearly 
 connected with our prefent and future comfort. Original 
 fm, juitifi-cation by the imputed righteoufneis of Jefus 
 Chrift, and the other great and important truths of the gof- 
 pel are pure matter of divine revelation ; they lie far above 
 the reach of nature, and would never have entered into the 
 heart of man •, nay, now they are revealed, they appear far 
 beyond our comprehenfion we are all furprife and aitonifli- 
 ment when we view the myfteries of infinite grace, and are 
 loft amidil the glorious fccnes that open to us in our falva*^ 
 lion by Jefus Chrift. 
 
iT2 6>f JO^TlPiCA'f ION. Serm. Vll. 
 
 We have entered ,upon the confideration of the great 
 do6lrine of juftificrition, a doctrine of the utmoQ im- 
 J^ortance, which lays a foundation for the moft glorious ex- 
 peftations, fecures the Chriftian from the awful fling of 
 death, and brings him fafe at Jafl to the glorious and cver- 
 lafting embraces of his exalted redeemer. To fct this doc- 
 trine in fuch light as may inform the ignorant, comfort the 
 dejeifled, artd confirm the Chriftian in his attachment to it, 
 we propofed to confider, 
 
 L, What is the meaning of the word juftify, and what are 
 the blefTmg of which juftification confifts. 
 
 II. Shew that our own perfofial righteoufnefs is abfolutc- 
 ly infufEcient tojuftify us, before God. 
 
 III. That it is the righteoufnefs of Jefus Chrift which is 
 the matter of our Juftiiication and ground of our acceptance 
 'with Godo 
 
 IV. How this righteoufnefs becomes ours fo that We may 
 be legally and really juftified uy it. 
 
 We have already confidered the firft thing, and have 
 fhewn the word juftify is to be taken in a law, or forenfic 
 fenfe. — When a fmner is faid to be juftified it fignifies, 
 
 1 . That all his fins are pardoned. 
 
 2. That he is introduced a£lually into the favour of God, 
 accepted as righteous, and has an immutable right and title to 
 eternal life given him We now come to ftiew, 
 
 II. That our own perfonal righteoufnefs is abfolutely 
 infulhcicnt to juftify us before God , This is a truth plain- 
 ly and exprefsly contained in our text, in which the apoftle 
 afierts, that no flefli can be juftified by the works of the law, 
 by which works he means not only thofe of the ceremonial 
 but alfo of the moral law ; had there been any juftification 
 by outward works he muft have been juftified ; but notwith- 
 ftanding all his boafting whilft he was a Pharifec, yet when 
 the fpirlt of God came, and enlightned his underftanding^ 
 in the myfteries of the gofpel, he immediately renounced all 
 felf dependance, and committed his foul to Jefus alone, de- 
 pending entirely on his righteoufnefs. We, fays the apoftle, 
 \vho are Jews by nature, and not finners of the Gentiles. We 
 are not of the finful Gentiles who have nothing to boaft of, 
 but we are of the race of the Jews, that ancient, and diftinguifti- 
 ed people of God, who can boaft of the greateft privileges ; 
 wc are of thofe, to whom the oracles of Cod, and the means 
 
Serm. VII. on justification. 113 
 
 of grace are committed ; we have many duties to produce, 
 many works which we have performed,\et being convinced 
 that a man is not juftified by the works of the law,but by tlie 
 faith of Jefiis Chrift, evcniue have renounced all our privi- 
 leges and^duttes in point of juftification, and have believed 
 in Jefus Chrift, that we rhight be juftified by the faith of 
 Chrill, and not by the works of the law, for by the works 
 of tJiclaw (hall no fleft) be juftified. This teftimony of the 
 apoftJe, efpecially when we confider him as directed by th« 
 Holy Ghoft herein, is fufticient to convince us of the vanity 
 cf all dependence: upon our own righteoufnefs, and ftir us 
 up to. feek: after juftification by the righteoufnefs of Jcius 
 Chrift. ;, But as it is fo. natural to man to go about to 
 cftablifh a righteoufnefs. of his own, arid as it is a matter of 
 fuch moment to the foul, fo it ;may not be unprofitable par* 
 ticularly to ftiew the abfolutc impoflibility of being juftified 
 by any righteoufnefs of our own: and I pray God it may- 
 be made eife^lual to convince fome felf righteous finncr of 
 the vanity of his felf dependence, and quicken him to give 
 up himfelf and his everlafting concerns into the hands o£ 
 Jefus. 
 
 No'w in order to make it appear, that our own righteouf- 
 nefs, in any ftate whatever, is unable to juftify us before God^ 
 i fhall ftie\t^ the neceffity of a perfe£b righteoufnefs, and 
 then confider how far fhort ours comes, of fuch a rightcouf- 
 iiiefs. 
 
 . L Let us confider the neceffity of a perfect righteoufnefs 
 to our juftification before God — And that a perfect righ- 
 teoufnefs is abfolutely neceflary to our Juftification before 
 God appears, if we confider the infinite juftice and holi- 
 ^lefs of God, and the explanation our Lord himfelf has given 
 «s of the law. 
 
 I . Let us confider the infinite juftice and hoiinefs of God, 
 and his awful majefty and glory. If we confider the in- 
 finite perfections and glory of him who juftifies, it will ap- 
 pear that a perfe£^ righteoufnefs is abfolutely neceflary. 
 The whole creation proclaims the infinite glory of God» 
 and tends to fill us with awe and reverence of him ; all the, 
 reprefentations we have of God in his word have the fame 
 tendency, they forbid every proud exalted thought of our- 
 (elvcs, and fill the moft perfea: creatures with the moU pro- 
 found humility. Thu,s the angels who furround tlic glo- 
 
114 ^N jf^sTii^iCATiON. Serm* VII. 
 
 rious throne of God above, lofe, as it were, all fenfe of their 
 own excellcnc)^, \^'hcn .hey view the iniinite furpafflng 
 glories of their great Creator ; they therefore in the moft 
 admiring and adoring flrainscry out, Holy, holy, holy Lord 
 God Almighty ! God is fo fpotlefs and holy himfelf, that the 
 heavens are not clean in his fight, and he charges even his 
 angels with folly, Job. iv. i8. Chron. xv. i^. Who can 
 itand before him without aperfe6l righteoufnefs ? Is it not 
 moft agreeable to the infinite holinefs and juftice of God 
 that the righteoufnefs he accepts ofy and on the account of 
 which he introduces creatures into eternal life, fhould be a 
 perfect righteoufnefs ? It is certainly moft confiftent with 
 thofe views we hiave of the infinite purity and glory of God, 
 with the revelation he hath made of his fpotlefs perfe£lions, 
 as well as with the ends and defigns he has in view m the 
 falvation of his people, which are to exalt his righteoufnefs 
 and juftice as well as his grace and mercy : if we take but 
 thefe things into our confideration we ftiall fee immediate- 
 ly the neccflity of a perfeft righteoufnefs to render us ac- 
 cepted of God. It is indeed eafy for man when elated with 
 pride, in the time of health and profperity, to extol the 
 worth and excellency of virtue ; to perfuade himfelf and 
 others, that it is perfectly confiftent with the juftice of God, 
 to accept of the righteoufnefs which man is capable of per- 
 forming ; and below him, to take notice of thofe trifling ex- 
 curfions of r.ature which are efteemed and reprefented as 
 the necelTary effects of our conftitution ; it is eafy for the 
 finner to perfuade himfelf that all is well, when confcience 
 is aileep and death appears at a great diftance ; but fuppofe 
 the finner ftanding upon the brink of an unchangeable 
 v/orld, with confcience awake, his mind impreflcd with a 
 fenfc of the glory and majefty of that God before whom 
 he is going to appear -, fuppofe him taking his everlafting 
 farewell of all mortal converfe, and convinced he is going 
 to the tribunal of that God before whom the angels fall 
 down with the moft profound reverence, going to receive a 
 fentence that will determine his everlafting condition ; will 
 he not ftart back at the awful view ? Will he not fufpecl the 
 fulficiency of his own righteoufnefs, and be ready to cry out 
 with the great Bellarmine, It is fafeft to truft in the righ- 
 teoufnefs of Chrift ? However light and trifling our thou^^hts 
 may b«i^ of the way of a finner's juttification before God, 
 
Serm^VII."* on justification. ri^ 
 
 an awakening confcience and the views of death will make 
 a great alteration in our ientiments, and fill us with n feri- 
 ♦ouihcrs and awe, to which we wcr-j before in a great mea- 
 fure ftrangers Befides, God has brought himfelf under an 
 exprefs obligation to proceed with man according to the 
 law, either to give eternal life upon perfect obedience, or 
 to punilh difobedience with everlafti ng death. As perfec'l 
 obedience only is agreeable to the tenour of this law, fo if 
 man is faved, confident with the divine juflice and faith- 
 fulnefs, it miift be by fuch an obedience. But, 
 
 2. It appears .from the explanation which our Lord gives 
 us of the law, that an abfolutely perfe6t rightcoufnefs is ne- 
 cefTary to our juftification before God. That a law by which 
 God may govern his creatures, neceflarily flows from the 
 relation in which they (land to each other, from the infinite 
 perfections of the Creator and the capacities of the creature 
 is felf evident. That a law was given originally to man 
 made capable of moral government, and that this law re-» 
 quired fpotlefs and perfect obedience, is likewife as plain. 
 Hence the law doth eternally and unchangeably oblige man 
 unto the fame fpotlefs obedience; for though man has by an 
 adl of his own, weakened himfelf fo as to be incapable of 
 paying perfe£l obedience, yet as there is ftill the fame re- 
 lation fubfifting between God and us, fo there is the fan^e 
 obligation upon us, though not the fame capacity in us. 
 Our want of capacity to fulfil the law, is no reafon why the 
 law muft abate of its demands : therefore we find our Lord 
 in the 5th and 6th chapters of Matthew reprefents the law 
 as not only requiring a conftant uniformity of action, but 
 an abfolute regularity and perfection, in the tlioughts, will, 
 and affections. I need not repeat what Chrift fays in thofe 
 chapters, as it muft be known to all that attentively read 
 the Scriptures, but we may afk the queftion, why does 
 Chrift himfelf thus open the law ? Docs it not fignify that 
 the law requires more than an outward obedience, even a per- 
 fect conformity of heart and life ? and why has he explained 
 the law thus, in our degenerate circumftances, while we 
 are incapable of paying fuch a finlefs obedience ? Does it 
 not fignify that the law has fuftained no alteration, that it 
 is as extenfive in its demands as ever, and that nothing but 
 a p>erfe£t rightcoufnefs will be accepted, as our jultifyin^j 
 jrighteoufnefs ? Chrift'* explanation of the law dius has 4 
 
 P 2 
 
ii6 ON jusTiri«ATioN. Scrm. YIJL* 
 
 tendency to convince the (inner of his numberlefs imper- 
 fections, to humble him under a fenfe of them, to make him 
 <Je{pair of ever obtaining eternal life by his own righteouf- 
 iiefs and to ilir him up to feek with the utmoft earnell- 
 nefs and diligence, after an intereft in that perfect righteouf- 
 nefs, which alone is commcnfurate with all the demands of 
 the law, and can give a foul boldnefs and confidence at the 
 bar of God. Having thus mentioned the ncceffity of a per- 
 fect rightcoufnefs to our juftification, we may- proceed to 
 fhew that man's righteoufnefs, in whatever ftate or capacity 
 vc view'him, is abfolutely infufficient to juftify him befor« 
 G04 ■as being imperfect. And, ' *' 
 
 i. It is evident that the righteoufnefs of the unrenewed 
 {inner muft be every way imperfe£t— or that w'orks before 
 converfion are fd— therefore thefe cannot juftify us. If the 
 fountain be corrupt the ftreams muft, if the tree be corrupt 
 the fruit will befo too. You cannot gather grapes of thorns, 
 and figs of thiftles- It is as irrational to expe£t a perfect 
 righteoufnefs from thofe, who are abfolutely under the power 
 and government of fin : none of the works of which the 
 dinner is ready toboaft, can be called fpiritually good : they flovr 
 not from a good principle ; hearts muft be renewed before 
 we can produce the amiable fruits of righteoufnefs in our 
 lives 5 we muft be firft united to Ghrift and ingrafted into 
 him. Unlefs the branches are in the rine, they cannot 
 flourifti and bring forth fruit, they muft receive nourifhment 
 from the root by which they become productive • of proper 
 fruit. Thus muft the foul be in Chrift, or h^ cannot bring 
 forth the fruits of righteoufnefs. ■ None of the firiner's pre- 
 tended good works are dire£led to a good end : they have 
 not the glory of God in view in the performance, and there- 
 fore they cannot juftify^: tofuppofe it, is to reflect upon the 
 infinite purity of God, or his wifdom and knowledge, for 
 either he muft not be fo holy as he is reprefented, or he 
 cannot, confiilent with his glorious perfections, connive and 
 xvink at fin ; or elfe he muft be deceived by the appearance 
 of a fplendid profefTion, and not know the fprings, princi- 
 ples, and ends from whence the finner a£ts : but who dare 
 prefume to entertain a thought of God fo 'unbecoming his 
 divine and glorious perfe£ti^)ns ? Befides, the righteoufnefs 
 nf the finner being imperfect, the law, inftead of juftifying, 
 ccndenuis him, " Curfed is every one that continueth not 
 
Serm.VU. on justification. U^; 
 
 « in all things which are written in the book of the law to 
 « do them," Gal.iii. i8. May thefe awful words be deep- 
 ly impreffed upon the minds of the felf-righteous finncr I 
 and be made a happy means of leading him to Jefus, who 
 only hasfatisfted the law, and is able to deliver the guilty 
 foul from the wrath to come ! • ^ r n. 
 
 ' 2- Our habitual or inherent rlghteoufnefs is imperfett, 
 and therefore cannot juftify a foul. This is the work of the 
 fpirit upon the heart, and therefore far exceeds all the works 
 of the unrenewed finner ; this fuppofes the fountain of fin 
 to be in part cleanfed, the dominion of fin to be in part dc- 
 ftroyed, and the image of God to be in fome meafure im- 
 preffed even on all the powers and faculties of the foul ; 
 yet this work being imperfed, lays no foundation for the 
 foul to build his hopes of acceptance with God upon •, it is 
 abfolutely ncceffary to fit us for the enjoyment of God, as 
 it gives a fuitablencfs in the heart to heaven, without which 
 there could be no happinefs v but we muft not put it in the 
 place of a perfect juftifying rlghteoufnefs. Nothing IhaU 
 meet with the divine approbation that i$ not agreeable to his 
 appointment, and is fitted to anfwer the ends for which he 
 has appointed it 5 it is plain the work of fanaification is im- 
 perfea, the word of Gbd fufficiently attefts it, and fo does 
 the Chriftian's experience. The apoftle Paul makes a me- 
 lancholy complaint of the remains of fin : he viewed not 
 only with the deepeft humility his various backflidings, but 
 the Body oi finht ftill found within him. He went to th« 
 root, to the fountain head, and was concerned to have that 
 more and more cleanfed and purified. " O wretched man 
 <* that I am, who (hall deliver me from the body of this 
 « death ?" Rom. vii. 24. And is not this oftentimes your 
 language, Chiiftians ? are not your fouls often deeply hum- 
 bled at the melancholy view of the remains of fin in every 
 faculty, which render your fanaification imperfea ? And 
 can you then with a comfortable fatisfaaion depend upon 
 what God has wrought in you for your acceptance with 
 him ? A confideration of that body of fin, that ftill in part 
 remains, forbids your dependence, and fets you upon an in- 
 <juiry after a perfea rlghteoufnefs. 
 
 3. Good works, or works after converfion, are imperfea, 
 and therefore cannot be our juftifying rlghteoufnefs. From 
 our habitual and aaual righteoufnefs we may be pronounced 
 
11^ ON JUSTIFICATION SiBrm.'Vir; 
 
 jttft'afitl ryiteous perfons, but not juftiiied. Confidering 
 ' imquiiy is in every faculty, there muil be iniquity cleaving 
 to -every duty. As die .works of unrenewed Tinners can in 
 no refpc-dl: be faid to be fplrituaiiy good, fo the good works 
 of real believers are but partly fo; how can it be otherwife, 
 when the heart is but partly renewed ? if the fountain be 
 not nerfe£lly pure, the ftreams that flow from thence can- 
 not." Confequently all the good works of the believer can- 
 nf>t juftify him before God. The Ephefians were efteemed 
 holy perfons wdien the apoftle wrote to them, and yet he 
 tells them they were not faved by works, which mud be 
 works after converfion. •* For by grace are ye faved,^ 
 " through faith; and that not of yourfelves : it is the gift of 
 " God : Not of works, left any man fliould boaft. For we 
 " are his workmanihip, created in Chrift Jefus unto good 
 " works, which God hath before ordained that we fhould 
 *^ walk in them." Eph. ii. 8, 9. 10. But it is alleged by 
 fome that Chrift came not to furnifli us with ^ perfect 
 righteoufnefs of his own, but to fulfil certain conditions 
 agreed upon between the Father and him, by which a va- 
 luable confideration fhould be given to God, that he might 
 not execute the law of works, but difannull it, and new 
 terms of acceptance with God be eftabliihed for man— viz. 
 a new and much eafier law of faith, and repentance, and 
 Cncere obedience, which, though imperfe^i, yet fl)ould be 
 accepted as our juftifying righteoufnefs. If there is a pof- 
 {ibility of our being juftified by a righteoufnefs of our own, 
 this certainly Hands the f;\ireft for it ; and as it is fo natu- 
 ral, to efpouie fentiments prejudicial to our everlafling com- 
 fort, and this is an affair of fo much moment, it may not be 
 ;Tmiis to endeavour to remove this imaginary foundation, 
 left we fliould be unwarily led afide from the truth as it is 
 in Jefus, or iiii<l:^uate in our minds about things of fuch great 
 importance. Accordingly, in oppofition to this fpecious 
 allegation we anfwer, fuch away of juftification is contrary 
 to the word of God, and the experience of the flints re- 
 torded there, it lays an evident foundation for boalling : 
 {t opens a door to the. grcateft difcourasrements, and our 
 own righteoufnefs is put in direcl; oppofition to that righ- 
 Icoafnefs by which m'C are juftified. 
 
 1. Tiiis way of juftification is contrary to the word of Codi 
 ^ad the expcrioUL^ of all tlie faints recoriicd^therc. The 
 
Serm. VII. on jusTiFiCATioyK rtt; 
 
 Pfalmlft was a man really renewed, and in part fanx^ifiedj 
 he was doubtlefs fmcere in his obedience, and yet he cti<^s 
 out, Pfal. cxxx. 3. ** If thou, Lord, flmuld mark iniquities, 
 ** O Lord who fliall ftand ?" Intimating that as thei*e 
 are none who are without iniquities, fo thefe are fufh- 
 cient to render all our righteoufnefs," though never fb 
 fincere, unfit to ftand the trial of infinite juftice, and eon- 
 fequently incapable of juftifying us A conlideration <5f 
 the infinite perfetlions of the judge, keeps the believer frorti 
 depending upon any thing hehimfelf has done. David inti- 
 mates that he was a fervant of God, he feared an<l obeyed 
 him, he was eminent for his zeal in worfliipping, and 13 ftylet! 
 a man after God's own heart, and yet I hear his humble 
 language, and fee the fenfe he had of his own imperfe<flion$, 
 and of the infinite purity and reilitude of the divine nature, 
 Pfal. cxliii. 2 " Enter not into judgement with thy fer- 
 " vant, for in thy fight fliall no man living be juftified.'* 
 Behold now he lies humble in his own eyes, and under an 
 awful fenfe of the glorious perfections of the deity. Does 
 he boaft? No, Lord, fays he, when Iconfider thine infinite 
 and fpotlefs excellencies I am loft, my obedienee appears 
 -every way unworthy of thy acceptance ; waft thou to enter 
 into judgement with me, I muft give up all hopes of thine 
 everlafting favour, for none can ftand before thee wl^n thou 
 art angry. David appears to be abfolutely ignorant of a 
 way of juftificatioii by faith, repentance, and new obedience ; 
 had this been the way, though he- could not have pleade<l 
 juftification by the law, he might by the gofpel have pleaded 
 with God his fincerity, &c. Yet fee, he intreats that God 
 would not enter into judgement with him ; and whv ? Be- 
 caufe in his fight, or before him, no flefh can be jullified^ 
 We may appeal to God for our fincerity and integrity, and 
 in fome cafes plead it : thus Hezekiah pleads his integrity 
 for fparing his life 5 " remember now, O Lord, I befeech 
 " thee, how I have walked before thee in truth, and with a 
 <* perfedl heart, and have done that which is good in thy 
 " fight: and Hezekiah wept fore." Ifii. xxxvlii. 3. He had 
 been fo zealous a reformer of worfliip, that had he been cut 
 ofi^ In the midft of his days, idolaters might have reprefenf- 
 ed it as the judgement of God upon him. Job maintained 
 his fincerity with the utmoft confidence before his friend'? 
 ^ho fufpe^ed it, but v/hen God came to call him to ^n at- 
 
12© ON JUSTIFICATION. SeriTl. Vft. 
 
 count, beKold with what humility he appears ! he is en- 
 tirely filent and cannot plead any thing with God which 
 may entitle him to his favour, but lies at his footftool and 
 •* abhors himfelf and repents in duft and afhes." Job. xlii. 6.^ 
 The apoftle gives us his own fentiments in the text and in 
 Phil, iii, 9. And "be found in him, not hav-ing my own 
 " righteoufnefs, which is of the law, but thit which is 
 •*. through the faith of Chrifl, the righteoufnefs which is of 
 V God by faith." Ifaiah perfonating the church fays, Ixiv. 6. 
 " But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteouf- 
 ** nefle§ ate as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and 
 ** our iriiq:uities like the wind have taken us away." But the 
 ajioftic;, James fays,- that Abraham was juftified by works 
 . when he piFeted Ifaac his fon upon the altar, James ii. 21. : 
 true, but this cannot be meant of juftification before God.. 
 For the ,defign, of, this chapter is to (hew the excellency of 
 juftifying faith, tto it is a vital principle in the foul, and is 
 froduAive of all good works. It could not be meant that 
 Abraham when he offered up his fon, was then and by that 
 a£liori juftified before God, for he was juftified long before, 
 when he believed God, and it was imputed to him for 
 righteoufnefs. That a£l: of Abraham's was indeed, a fufh- 
 cient evidence of his faith, and thus is faith faid to be made 
 perfedt by works, James ii. 22.. " Seefl thou how faith 
 " wrought with his works, and by works was faith made; 
 " perfeS." By this aft of Abraham's the apoftle fays the; 
 fcripture was fulfilled :" and the fcripture was fulfilled, 
 «* which faith, Abraham believed God and. it was imputed 
 ** to him for righteoufnefs, and he was call^jd the friend of 
 «• God." James ii. 23. i. e. The fcripture before ; declared 
 Abraham to be juftified by faith, and now it evidently ap- 
 pears that the fcripture was true, for behold he withholds 
 not his own fon when God Galls, • < . ;,^ 
 
 2 If we are juftified before God either in whole or in 
 part by our own righteoufnefs, it lays a foundation for 
 boafting. Chrift is the fole author and finifher of our fal- 
 vation ; if we are juOified by his righteoufnefs in oppofition 
 to our works, then he muft have all the glory; accordingly 
 we find the happy fpirits above all adoring him that fitteth 
 upon the Throne, and the Lamb, their glorious mediator,, 
 who redeemed them by his own blood, and made thcni 
 kings and priefts unto God, Rev. v. 9, &c. But if Chrilt 
 
Serm, VIL on justification. 121 
 
 came only to procure cafler terms of acceptance, if he came 
 to open a way for the acceptance of our faith anc( fincerc 
 obedience as our juftifying righteoufnels, this furprifingly 
 leflens that prai e that is his due, while it attributes part to 
 the creature : for fo far as refpcct is had to our righteouf^ 
 neis in juftification, fo far we have a ihare in the glory, and 
 that no frtlall lliare if we are indebted to Chrili only for 
 making way for our jultification, while our own righteouf- 
 nefs i^ the ii»i mediate caufe of it. But this is contrary to 
 the wliole tenour of .Scripture, which gives all to Chrift. It 
 IS evidently jull what the apoftle fays, " If Abraham was 
 *^ jullified by works, then he would have whereof to glo- 
 ** ry," Rom iv 2 But the fcheme of falvation is fo ad- 
 mirably contrived, that it lays no foundation for our boaft- 
 ing, but leads us to give all the praife to God, and to ad- 
 mire the aftoniniing riches of his grace, in defigning and 
 bringing about our falvation, fo that no flefh Ihould glory- 
 in his prefence. ** But of him are ye, in Chrift Jcfus, who 
 f* of God is made unto us wifdom, and righteoufnefs, and 
 ** fan£lification, and redemption. That according as it is 
 " written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord,** 
 I Cor. i. 29, 30. Pride is very Unbecoming in thofe who 
 are indebted to free grace for all they have* God has ef- 
 fe£lually put it out of the power of thofe that are faved to 
 afcribe any glory to themfelves, by undertaking the whole 
 himfelf. .It is the eylderit defign of the .gbfpel fcheme to 
 keep the foul humble and to magnify the riches of fove- 
 reign grace ; whatever therefore dot^s not debafe the crea- 
 ture, and exalt God ; whatever lays a foundation for men's 
 glorying, is inconfiilciit with the whole tenour of revelation, 
 diflionours Gqd, and is unworthy of our credit. 
 
 .3, Juftification by faith, repentance, and fmcere obedi- 
 ence deftroys t]ie Chriftian's comfort, .and lays a founda- , 
 tion for great, and diftrefling fears. Upon this fcheme we 
 can be fure of nothing, becaufe juftification depends upon. 
 a continuance and perfeverance in obedience till death, and 
 this perfeverance is not abfolutely fecured to us, neither by 
 the covenant engagements of God, nor by the purchafe of 
 our Lord Jefus Chrift ; hence arifes a great uncertainty of 
 our falvation, for though Chrift has purchafed eternal Ufe^' 
 it is only for thofe who believe and obey unto the end, and 
 ihire is no abfolute purchafe of ftrength to enabk them tp 
 
122 01^ justiricATiON. Scrm. ViL 
 
 believe, or to continue in faith; thus the whole mediation 
 of Chrift may be rendered fruitlefs, the end of his death un- 
 anfwercd, and the foul that has btlieved may fall away and 
 be eternally loft. O uncomfortable doftrine, fays the 
 Chriftirn ! What, is this the gofpel which Gcd,.has revealed, 
 is this air the encouraging news it brings? Is this all the 
 profpe61: I have of eternal life ? I muft then fit down and 
 abfolutely defpair ; for how can I expe£l falvation ? It is 
 true this fcheme fays, if I will believe, and repdnt, and obey 
 unto the end of life, then I fliall be juftified ; but how can 
 I beheve, fays the awakened foul? How can I conquer thofe 
 deep rooted prejudices with which my mind has been fo 
 long filled againft Chrift and his gofpel ? Or ho'w^ iliall I be 
 able to ftem the tide of fin and corruption, and to perfeverc 
 in the midft of the moft powerful temptations ? I am told 
 indeed the terms are eafy, that if I will do a part God will 
 do the reft for me, but alas 1 I find I can do nothing, if God 
 does not begin the work, and carry it on, I muft perifli. Q 
 melancholy thought [ If I have not fufficient ftrength pur- 
 chafed for me I am undone, and all my hopes are abfolute- 
 ly vain. If this be the cafe, I can at beft have no certainty 
 of my falvation ; for could I fay with the apoftte Paul, that 
 Chrift loved me and gaie himfelf for me, yet what fatis* 
 faftion would it give my foul, fo long as Chrift has not ab- 
 folutely fecured nry perfeverance in obedience, upon which 
 depends my juftificatiofi' ? lean never fay I am juftified. 
 Whilft indeed my purpofes aild refolutions are ftrong, 
 M'hilft my fincerity appears clear and evident to me, 1 may 
 entertain hopes of heaven ; but when I fhall backflide, when 
 my lufts prevail over me, how fhall it then be ? I muft then 
 give up. all hopes, till I have again repented, formed frefli 
 J-efolutions, and turned to God ; then I may venture to en- 
 tertain a diftant hope again. Thus uncomfortable would 
 this fcheme be, was it the fcheme of the gofpel ; but bleffed 
 be God ! I have a better foundation to build upon, the ever-* 
 lafting engagements of God, the full aind perfe£l fati8fa<flion^ 
 and glorious purchafe, and therefore the conftant and pre- 
 vailing intercefhon of my great Redeeiner. Here my foul 
 can fweetly reft, here I find all I want, here is all my falva^ 
 tion and all my defire. Upon the whole, in this fcheme, 
 there can be no jufiification in this life, we cannot with 
 comfort fay there is no condemnation, till wc have fmlllied 
 
Serm. VII. on justification. i«3 
 
 our courfe and got fafe above ; and how mufl tills diftrefs- 
 the awakened foul ? What relief can it be to a foul bur- 
 dened witli a fenfeof fin and fenfible of his own weaknefs ? 
 I fliall clofe this head with a pailage out of a worthy au- 
 thor upon this fubje£l. . 
 
 * This argument, fays he, is much ufed by our firft re-^ 
 
 < formers, Luther, Melandton, Chemnitius, and others, and 
 
 * they thought it unanfwerable, viz. That however men 
 ^ infenfible of fin might difpute for the influence of their 
 
 * works in jullification ; yet when men have fore terror? 
 
 * of confcience neither their works pad nor their promlfes 
 
 * and purpofes of what they will be for the future will com- 
 
 * fort them ; but only the do£lrine of free grace and par- 
 
 * don, by hoping in the mercy of God. Our Martyr Mr. 
 
 * Bilney hearing a rhetorical preacher lay a great flrefs upon 
 
 * repentance and obedience, as the only ground of hope, 
 
 * was offended, and faid how uncomfortable would this 
 
 * dodrine have been to me, whea I was in great terrors 
 
 < for my fall.' 
 
 4. Our own righteoufnefs is put in direct oppofition to 
 that righteoufnefs by which we arc juftified. The aportle 
 is very explicit in mentioning the works of the law as hav- 
 ing no concern in our juftifieation, Rom iii.. 28 " There- 
 •^ fore we conclude, that a man is juftified by faith with- 
 <« out the deeds of the law," Rom. iv. 5. * But to him that 
 «* workethnot, but believe th on him, that juftifieth the un- 
 ** godly, his faith is counted for righteoufnefs." — Rom. xi. 
 6. " And if by grace then it is no more of works, otherwife 
 ** grace is no more grace ; but if it be of works, then it is 
 ** no more grace ; otherwife work is no more work." A id 
 in our text the apoftle pofitively afferts, that no fiefli can be 
 juftified by the works of the law. That by the law in ge- 
 neral and efpecially touching juftifieation, is meant the nr^ral 
 law is plain, for after he has told us that he had believed in 
 Chrift, that he might not be juttified by the works of the law, 
 he fays, ver. 19. That *' he through the law was 
 " dead to the law." Alluding to Rom. vii. 9, which 
 muft be the moral law. Again he gives another 
 rcafon wiry juftifieation cannot be by the law, becaufe 
 by the " law is the knowledge of fin," Rom iii. 20, which 
 is the moral law, that being the means of the apoftie's con- 
 via:ion,Rom vii. 7. « What (hall we fav then ? Is tlie Li^ 
 
 Q2 ' 
 
ft4 OK JUSTIFICATION. Serm. VIJ. 
 
 V fin ? God forbid. Nay, I had not known Cn, but by the 
 *' law : for I had not known lu.% except the law had faid, 
 *' ? hou {halt not covet." It is this law that is eftablifbed 
 hy faith, which the apoftle excludes, Rom. iii. 31.' " Do 
 ** we then make voi.1 the law through faith ? God' forbid: 
 " yea we eilablifh the law." The law that brings under its 
 curfe. Gal. iii. 10. <* For as many as are of the works of the 
 ** law, are under the curfe," &c. From all which it is plain, 
 that all the works of the moral law are put in oppofition to 
 that righteoufnefs by which we are juftified. And furely- 
 the apoftle fays enough to put it out of all difpute, when he 
 fiAys, that he '* defired to win Chrifl, and be found in him, 
 ** not having mine own righteoufnefs which is of the law, 
 *' but that which is through the faith of Chrift, the righ- 
 *' teou hefs which is of God by faith,* Phil. iii. 8 Here his 
 owTi righteoufnefs, and the righteoufnefs by which he was 
 juftified, are put in dire£t oppofition ; if the righteoufnefs 
 which is faid here to be by faith, is that holinefs of life, &c. 
 which faith is productive of in the Chriftian, that would be 
 the fame as our own righteoufnefs, which the apoftle dif- 
 claims. The righteoufnefs of faith then Is a righteoufnefs 
 without us, even the lighteoufnefii of him, who is God as 
 well as man, and is received by faith, for our juftifying 
 righteoufnefs. Thus we have reprefented the infufficiency 
 of our own righteoufnefs, &c and fhall clofe with a re- 
 flection or two . .- ' V. 
 
 . We fhould each be concerned ferioufty to examine, 
 what is the foundation on which we are building our Iiopes 
 of eternal life Is it not a matter of the laft importance ? 
 Ye negligent fouls that never make the important inquiry, 
 whether you are built upon a folid and gofpel foundation, 
 but tike it for granted that all is well, fliould you be fud- 
 deuly removed into an everlafting ftate, fummoned before 
 the bar of God, and meet with an awful difaopointment, how 
 mt^iancholy nuift be your cafe ! to be got at once, in a mo- 
 iuent, beyond the reach of mercy and the found of falvation, 
 to find a i-piftake, which can never be rectified ! Oh! the 
 fad feif reflections which the foul muft too late mnke ujX)n 
 his former ftupidity • Infatuated creatine ! I went on in a 
 conftant round of duties, and never imagined but I was in 
 the way to a better world, I never examined my heart, and 
 U UiiS now deceived me ? Now it is too late to recal paft op- 
 
Serm. VII. on justification. ?5^ 
 
 portunities for reflection ! My Sabbaths are concluded ! The 
 goipel has ceafecl its found ! and a fcenc of eternal darknefs 
 inexpreffibly awful prefents itfelf before my difl;ra<Sled mind, 
 and fills me with the moft dreadful anguifli and defpair ! 
 How inconceivably melancholy muft the difappointmentbe I 
 May we therefore now ferioufly alk our fouls thefe import- 
 ant quertions. what is my dependence for juftification ? Is 
 it the rightequfnefs of Chrift or my own ? What have been 
 my thoughts of this important point ? Have I only renoun- 
 ced my own righteoufnefs in judgement, or have 1 been able 
 a£lually to do it ? Convinced of its unworthincfs, have I act- 
 ually made application to Jefus Chrift ? There are two adls 
 of juftifying faith, viz. An ad of the underftanding, and an 
 a£\:jof the will ; or an aflent of the mind to the truths con- 
 cerning Chvilt, and a real application of foul to him as he is 
 reprefented. Have we been enabled in reality to look to an- 
 other righteoufnefs and not our own ? It is certainly time to 
 make an inquiry You who are in the bloom of life, can- 
 not too foon inquire into this important point, or too early 
 come to a fatisfa6i:ion that you are juftified, and have peace 
 With God Can we pafs our days in bufy cares, or in gay- 
 ety and pleafure, without a ferious reflection upon the ftate 
 of our fouls ! See how the moments fly away, and is there 
 no inquiry made ? May we defer an afi^air of fuch moment no 
 longer, but now put the queftion faithfully and iferioufly to 
 our fouls, looking up to the eternal fpirit, to help us in our 
 inquiry, and to give us a view of our ftate and circum- 
 ftances. 
 
 2. Haw melancholy is their cafe, who are going about to 
 eftablilh a righteoufnefs of their own, in oppofition to that 
 which God has revealed ! Infatuated fouls that fondly think 
 your own imperfect duties fufficient, to entitle you to the 
 favour of God. Did you ever ferioufly confider the infinite 
 perfections of that God before whom you muft appear ? 
 and by whom your righteoufnefs muft be ftriClIy tried ? Did 
 you ever confider what the apoftle, under the immediate in- 
 fluences of the Holy Ghoft, fays, that other foundation can 
 no man lay, than that is laid, which is Jefus Chrift ? i Cor. 
 iii. 1 1. Did you ever ferioufly weigh the worth of an im- 
 mortal foul ? and view the awfulncfs of a difappointment ? 
 It cannot be, if you are depending upon a righteoufnefs of 
 your own. Think well upon the matter, it is of the utmoft 
 
|l6 ©N JUSTIFICATION, ScriTl, VII, 
 
 importance. Confider the divine authority of that word 
 ^t fays, by the works of the law fliall no flefti living be 
 iuftified. The law cannot juftify, it condemns, it is as a 
 fchoolmafter to lead us to Chrift. Oh may it be made fuch 
 to our fouls, that we feeing the infufficiency of our own 
 obedience to juftify us, may fly wholly to that righteoufnef§ 
 is'hich alone is perfe£l, and can alone deliver u$ from con«- 
 demnation, and entitle us to eternal life. 
 
SERMON VIII 
 
 ON JUSTIFICATION. 
 
 ^•<..4..i..4^^^^yii^i^i^i^>..t..y.^..i. 
 
 Phil. iii. 
 
 And be found in him^ not having mine own righieoufiiefj 
 which is of the law^ but that which is through the 
 faith of Chriji, the righteoufnefs which is of God bj 
 faith. 
 
 TH E apoftle is evidently in this chapter, reprefentin^; 
 the way of a finner's juftifi cation, and he gives us his 
 own fentiments while he was a Pharifee, and the diiFerent 
 conceptions, frames, and temper of mind he difcovcred, 
 when he was favingly enlightened by the Spirit of God. If 
 tliere is a j^ofFibility of being juflified by works, privileges, 
 or duties, the apoftle flood the faireft for it ; he exceededP^ 
 all his countrymen, in his zeal for outward, moral, and ce- 
 remonial duties, and in privileges he exceeded many : i£ 
 ** any other man thinketh," fays he, ** that he hath where- 
 ** of he might trufl in the flefh, I more,** I can go beyond 
 them all if they come to boafting. ** I was circumcifed the 
 •* eighth day i'* at the exa£t time that was appointed of 
 God. " I am of the ftock of Ifrael," that ancient diftin- 
 guifhed people, and of a favourite tribe, " tiic tribe of Ben- 
 ^* jamin j" both my parents were Hebrews. And thug 
 iione exceeded me in privileges, and as to my charafter, 
 temper, and behaviour, I have in thefe outihined mod of 
 my countrymen ; I was of the flri£left fe6l nmongft the 
 Jews, viz. a Pharifee i I was warmed with the hlgheft zeai 
 
128 t)N irsTiriCATit)!?. Serm. Vllij 
 
 for the law,* and was tenacious of the varicus rights and 
 ceremonies of the Jewifh religion; and as to my hfe it was 
 igreeable to thC: letter of the law; thus, if any think. they 
 may have confidence in outward privileges or duties, I cer- 
 tainly may : and therefore I boafted of thefe, my heart was 
 lifted up with pride, and ifilled with a vain expectation of 
 eternal life, apprehending I had done enough to recommend. 
 me to God ; but oh when God was pleafed to enlighten my 
 mind, to fet his law before me in all its purity and fpiritu- 
 allty, and to reveal his Son m me, how was I aftonilhed to 
 find I was a vile unworthy (inner ! ! faw myfelf miferable 
 and wretched, with all my pretended duties and privileges !. 
 I found there was no other refuse for a poor guilty finner 
 but in Jefus Chrift; In confequence of which, what I before 
 cfteemed gain ; what I before prized and fondly thought 
 would recommend me to God, npW 1 renounced, partect 
 with, and counted it lofs for Chrifte " Yea doubtlefs, and 
 *' I count all things but lofs, for the excellency of the know- 
 ** ledge of Chrift Jefus my Lord ; for whom I have fuffered 
 ** the lofs of all things," all my righteoufnefs, my name, and, 
 reputation, the efteem of my countrymen, and my worldly 
 profpefts. I have fuffered the lofs of all for Chrift, and, 
 •* do count them but dung that I may win Chrift ;" I Iqok 
 upon them as mean and contemptible, v. hen compared with 
 Chrift, he is all and in all to my foul, I will let go all the 
 world, life, and righteoufnefs, and all, may I but win Chrift. 
 nnd " be found in him not having my own righteoiffnefs,"| 
 &c. Oh what an alteration did grace make in this man ! from 
 a perfecutor, an enraged enemy, a fiery bigot, he becomes 
 a zealous advocate for, and nn afFeclionate admirer of Jefus 
 Chrift, and his righteoufnefs ! " and be found in him," &Co 
 He is here evidently ftiewing the ground of a finner's ac- 
 ceptance with God, that it is on the account of a rightecmf- 
 ]iefs ; that this righteoufnefs is not our own, either wrought 
 in us, or performed by us, but it is the righteoufnefs of Je- 
 fus Chrift received by faith. This is the righteoufnefs on 
 which the apoftle had placed all his dependence for juftiti- 
 cation^ the righteoufnefs therefore which he defired to ap- 
 pear in at the bar of God, being fenfible that no other righ- 
 teoufnefs would be accepted and honoured there. The 
 apoftle has his eye to fome future fcafon of folrmnity,' 
 "either when his foul fliould appear before God difmifted 
 
S^rni. VIII. on justification. tig 
 
 from tlie body,- or when body and foul fliould be united at 
 ^ the morning of the refurreclion, and ftand before the bar-, 
 by which he does not intimate that a perfon is not juftified 
 till then, or that there is a fecond jul^.ification then; no, 
 the foul is juftified as foon as he beheves, his fins are then 
 forjriven, and he receives a title to eternal, life ; at judge- 
 ment his juflification is martifefted to all the world, he is 
 openly received and publicly acknowledged as the pdrfoii 
 ^whom God has clothed with the righteoufnefs of Jefus 
 Chrift, andfo admitted into the fulIpofTcflion of that glory, 
 to which he had before given him. a title It was the 
 apoflle^s earneft defire to be found thus arrayed, that he 
 might be owned and acknowledged, as one the Redeemer 
 had purchafed, and fo be introduced into the a6l:ual poflef- 
 fion of eternal life ; and therefore he made the righteouf- 
 nefs of Chrift his dependence, committed his foul, and his 
 erverlafting concerns into his hands, and counted all things 
 but lofs for him. Thus then it is evident, that the apoflle 
 fpeaks of that which is the ground of our acceptance with 
 God, and the matter of juftifi cation, that is net our own 
 righteoufnefs, but the righteoufnefs of Jefus Chrift, here 
 <*alled the righteoufnefs of God, and. is faid to be by faith,^ 
 that isreceived, or apprehended by faith. We h^ve made 
 fome fmall progref^ in the great do£trine of juftification — 
 have confidered what is meant by a Tinner's being juftified, 
 have likewife endeavoured to iliew that our own rightcouf- 
 fiefs is abfolutely infufficient to juftify us before God. This 
 is abundantly evident, becaufe a.perfe£t righteoufnefs is ab- 
 folutely neceftary to our juftification, and our owii righ* 
 teoufnefs, in every ftate and capacity in. which man is con- 
 fidered, is imperfe£l:, whether it be works before converfion, 
 habitual or inherent righteoufnefs, or works after conver- 
 fion. We have likewife ftiewn, the infufhciency of faith, 
 repentiince, and fincere obedience. to juftify us before God ; 
 that this way of juftification is directly contrary to the ex- 
 periences of all the faints, recorded in the word of God-^ 
 That it lays a foundation for boafting, that it deprives the 
 Chriftian of all folid coinfort, and filis him with diftrefling 
 fears, and that our own rii^hteoufnels is put in dWeSi oppo- 
 *ifition to that righteoufnefs by which we are juftified. We 
 might now, according to our propofed method, have pro- 
 ceeded to confider the third thing, viz. That it is the tigli- 
 
 R 
 
13a ON jusTincAtiON. Serni. VllV 
 
 tifcoufncfs of Chrift that Is t]>e matter of our juftification, 
 and the ground of our acceptance with God. iWt as tlicre 
 ate fojnc parts of Scripture which are brought in as favour- 
 ing juilification by our own rigliteoufnefs, and which may' 
 appear fomewhat perplexing, fo it may. not be altogether 
 amifs to take fome notice of them, anci efpecially of.thefe 
 two. The firft is Matth. xxv. 34 where Ave have fome ge- 
 neral a'ccount of the proceedings of tlie laft day, and where 
 Ghrift the judge is reptefented as introducing his people in- 
 to the poiiefTion of eternal life^ faying, " Come ye bleflcd 
 ** of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for youy 
 ** frbt^i the foundation of the world, for I <vas an 
 ** hungered," &:c. "Where we find the good works of the 
 believer, and particularly thofe of charity and beneficence, 
 lisem to be fAtroduced as the reafon why he inherits the 
 kingdom of God, and confequently good works- give a title ;> 
 but this is only a defcriptive account of the perfons that' are- 
 ndmitfed into the kingdom of God, and not a reprefenta- 
 tlon'of the caufc why they arc admitted. The word/cr, as 
 A judicious divine remarks upon this pafTage, does not al- 
 tn-ays point out the catife but fometimcs the effe£l: : thus, fays 
 he, x^'e fay the fpring is come, for the trees bud. Good works* 
 iire the fruits and effefts of God*s beftowing fpiritual blef« 
 fmgs, but not the caufes or conditions for which he does It. 
 God juflifies the fmner freely by the rlghteoufnefs of Je- 
 fits Chrift j but in the l?.it judgement, he will proceed ac*^ 
 cording to works, by which it will appear who they are that 
 reallv believed in Jefus Chrifl, and were juftified by him ^ 
 bv which God will aft agreeably to his charafter as a righ-j 
 tcous judge, in beftowing eternal life upon thofe who have' 
 hroiigh't forth the fruits of righteoufnicfs, and dooming tcr 
 t^verlafting darknefs all thofe who are ftraitgers toy real ho- 
 'Jinefs. 
 
 There Is nothing in this pniTage th^t Is Inconfiftent with" 
 free juftification, or the peculiar doftrines of the gtace of 
 -God. For our Lfrd Intim^jtes that the kingdom of heaveiv 
 *was prepared for his ]>eople from eVerlafting, they were 
 fuch as had believed ; for love to Chrill which is mentioned 
 as the principle from whence their works of chhrlty pro- 
 ceeded, is the eilecl: of faith. Upon the ■<vhole, the wotd^- 
 appear to bear this fenfe : " Come ye happy objefts of my 
 Fnthcr's evcrlafting love, ye heirs of God, come and inhejrii 
 
Serm. Vlll. qn justii^ic atiqn, 13 i: 
 
 the kingdom, for you have made it abundantly man^feft that 
 you are the perlbns for whom it was prepared, by your 
 love to me and to my poor people ; come, pofl'efs the inherit' 
 tance which my Father defigned for you, the inheritance 
 you were long aj^o made the heirs of; come, and poilefs full 
 and everlaiting happinefs.'^ Thus the tranfaclions of the 
 lad day throw no reflection on the grace of God in freely 
 giving eternal life, or on the righteoufnefs of Chrift In juf- 
 tificatioK, but are every way confiftent therewith, and will 
 fliow the righteoufnefs of the judge in owning and honour- 
 ing thofe, who owned and honoured him, and his people 
 here on earth ; and this will lead us into the true meaning 
 of all thofe pafPages, where God is faid to give to every on^ 
 according to their works, and the like. 
 
 The other pairage is in Matth. xix. 16, 17, where we 
 have an account of a young man coming to Chriil:, and fay- 
 ing, ** Good mafter, what good thing fliall I do that I may 
 ^^ have eternal life ?" To which our Lord anfwered, *' if 
 f* thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments." From 
 whence we may obferve that the young man had no know- 
 ledge of the way of juftification by the righteoufnefs of an- 
 other : he comes not humbled under a fenfe of the guilt of 
 fin, and his undone condition, but under the apprehenfion 
 that he could do fomething, by which he fliould have eter- 
 nal life. Our Lord anfwers according to the general in- 
 tent of the queftion, if thou wilt enter into life keep the 
 commandments, which we may either underiland to point 
 out the way to eternal life in general, as a wai; of "holinefs 
 and obedience to the commands of God *, or to fignify to 
 liim the miftaken apprehenfions he was under as to 
 his obtaining eternal life of himfelf; in order to enter In- 
 to it, he muft keep the'eommandments : this was enough, 
 one Ihould imagine, hak^.he had any fenfe of his own weak- 
 nefs, to have convinced him, that he was miferable without 
 a better righteoufnefs than his own. But behold his ftu- 
 pidity ! He tells our Lord, that he had kept all thefe from 
 his youth ; to convince him qi which miftake, our Lord 
 bids him go fell all that he had, and give to the poor, and 
 come and follow him :. but here he falters. — Thus then if 
 w^ conlider the/nut^urc of the queilion, the anfwer Chrift 
 gave to it, and the whole palTage, \ve cannot but fee, that it 
 was a way of treating the young man, which, had he feri- 
 cufly attended to, had a tendency to convince him of his 
 
 R 2 
 
132 ON J^USTIFIGATION. SeriTl. VIII. 
 
 miftake, in apprehending that he could do every thing him- 
 felf, that was neceffary to eternal life, and to lead him to 
 inquire after a better righteoufnefs than his own. Where- 
 fore ferves the law now in our ftate of degeneracy ? It is 
 not only to be the directory of our obedience, but by us purity 
 and fpiritua^y to fliew us the vanity of our dependence 
 upon it, and to fend us to Jefus in whom alone we find a 
 perfect righteoufnefs. Thus the law is called ** a fchool- 
 *' mafter to lead us to Chrill,'* Gal. iii. 24. Upon the 
 vhole, the young man inquires riot how he fhall be par- 
 doned, accepted, juftified, from a fenfe of fm ; therefore 
 Chrift anfwers him according to the general intent of the 
 queftion. How different was the queljiion the jailor put | 
 Here is a finner deeply humbled, convinced of fin, and ii> 
 great diftrefs, crying out for falvation, therefore theapoftles 
 ilire£l him at once to Jefus, *f Believe on the Lord |efu5 
 *' Chrift and thou flialt be faved," Afts xvi. 31. Froni 
 whence we learn, how juft the obfervation of our Lord is, 
 that ' " the whole have no need of a phyfician but thofe that 
 ** are fick,"' Matth. ix. 12. ' ^ • . . . : 
 
 Thus we have fhewn the infufRciency of our own righ- 
 teoufnefs "to juftify us before God ; none will be fo weak as to 
 conclude from hence, the ufelefsnefs and unprofitablenefs of 
 fan6lificati'on and good works in our falvation. There is si 
 great difference between the aeceffity of holinefs in order to 
 fiilvation, and depending upon it foracceptancCj and eternal 
 life. Good works cannot juftify us, biit they difcover our 
 juftification, they are the neceffary effe£l:s of faving faith, 
 and a means of carrying on and advancing the divine life in 
 the foul. But this will be more particularly confidered 
 
 hereafter Let us proceed, 
 
 in. To (hew that it is the righteoufnefs of Jefus Chrift 
 alone that is the matter of our juftification, and the groun4 
 of oUr acceptance with God. Not having mine own righ- 
 teoufnefs. Here for our better underftanding of this fub- 
 
 je(^ we may inquire, 
 
 1. What the righteoufnefs of Chrift is, or of what it 
 confifts. 
 
 2. Why it is called the righteoufnefs of God. 
 
 3. Why is it that we are juftified by the righteoufiiiefi 
 of Chrift only. 
 
Serm. VIII. on justification. J33 
 
 I. Let us confider what the rightcoufnefs of Chrift is, or 
 of what it confifts. The rightcoufnefs of Chrilt, which jufti- 
 fies us before God, is that rightcoufnefs which he wrought 
 out in his human nature when he was upon earth, confift- 
 ing of his attive and paflivc obedience, or that obedience 
 which he paid to the commands of the law, and his fuffer- 
 ings and death j fome have been for fcparatirjg thefe two, 
 and reprefcnting the fufFerings and death of Chrifl alone as 
 fufficient for our juftification before God, but they are to be 
 joined ; and thus united are confidered as that righteoufnefs 
 by which we receive the forgivenefs of our fins and a title to 
 eternal life ; the neceflity of both will appear, if we confider 
 the original intent and meaning of the law, and the power 
 which the law has now over us as finners. 
 
 The original and primary defign of the law, was a perfe£l 
 obedience ; this appears from the command, " Do this antl 
 •* live:" And from the cur fe which the law pronounces againfl 
 all thofe who are guilty of a breach of it. " For it is written 
 " curfed is every one, that continueth not in all things which 
 •* are written in the book of the law to do them." Gal. iii. 
 10. Had man continued in perfect obedience to the law, he 
 had enjoyed the favour of God, and pofTefled a happy im- 
 mortality. This leads us then to conclude that the original 
 defign of the law was an acSlive pcrfe6l righteoufnefs. The 
 law had no other obligation upon man in a Hate of innocency, 
 But now the law is broke, it has a frefh power, a power to 
 condemn the finner for tranfgreflions •, in our pre fen t guilty 
 circumftances then, two things are neceffary to be done in 
 order to our juftification.' i. That the power which the 
 law has over us to condemn us (hould be difi!blved : and, 2. 
 That a perfect obedience ftiould be yielded 10 the commands 
 of the law to entitle to eternal life, and therefore the righ- 
 teoufnefs of Chrift muft confift of his active and paflive obe- 
 dience. 
 
 I. The fufFerings and the death of Chrift are a part of 
 that righteoufnefs by which a guilty creature is juftified be- 
 fore God. Man having broken the law, and confequently 
 fallen under its condemnatory fentence, the firft thing that 
 is to be done towards his juftification is to reverfe that awful 
 fentencejor to make fitisfaction, by which God may,confiftent 
 with his juftice, pardon the rebellious c^"eature, and not put 
 
1^4- OK JUSTIFICATION. Scrm. VIII. 
 
 the hw in execution againfl him; unkfs wefiippofe God can 
 difi>eiife with his law^ and fet afide his threatning, without 
 taking jiotice of tranfgreffion ; ^ut wherefore then did he 
 annex a threatning to the law or cpvenant which he made- 
 u-ith man, if lie did not xletermine to execute it? Is it not 
 opening a way for the iinner to encourage himfeli" in every a6t 
 .ot rebellion, upon a prefumption that the threatningsof God,- 
 howtverawfuljwill not be executed againft him ? Nay, is it not 
 jnconrirtent with the revelation which God has made of his in- 
 finitely cdoiious perfec'lionSjhisjuftice and holinefs,whicharG 
 perfet'ttons of his nature, as well as his mercy and goqdnels ? 
 I5 it not inconfiftent with the obligation God brought him- 
 fclf under to deal with man according to the law ? Did he 
 (determine that the violation of the law (hould be punidied 
 v/ith death ? It m^d be fo then, either in the perfon of the 
 finner, or his furety ; for Gp4 is not mutable like us, but 
 whatever he has l'.;id fhall be done ; fatisfa<Sion muft be 
 made by fuifering and death, that the demerit of fin might 
 plainly appear, and God be honoured in his truth and faith- 
 fulnefs, in the falvation of the guilty : this was lignified by 
 ihedding of blood in the facrifices of old, the meaning of 
 \vhich was, that God would not pardon Cm without death, 
 \nthout blood; and whofe blood wasfufEcient to expiate fin ? 
 Was the blood of beads ? No, the daily repetition of them 
 could not bear any proportion to the demerit of fin, there- 
 fore they were only typical of what was to come 5 man was alv 
 folutely incapable of making any fatisfa£^ion, for all he can 
 do he o^vcs to God : here then appears evidently the abfo- 
 liite neceluty of the futTerings and death of our Lord Jefus 
 Chrid, to which all the facr'vficesof old pointed. We there- 
 fore find Chriil reprefented as " the lamb of God, which 
 " taketh away the fin of the world." Johni. 29. We find him 
 called the High Priejiy and the like. The fufierings of Chrilfc 
 arc part of the vigi^teoufntfs that juftihes us, thus it is faid, 
 ^* bv his flripes we are healed ;" If liii. 5. and thefe luf- 
 ferings belong not only to his death, but likewife to his life, 
 theyinclude all tliofe afHicStions he was exercifcd v/ithal,thofe 
 buffetings of devils he was fubjea to, all the mockings, per- 
 fecutions, and cruelties, he endured from man, all the Ihame 
 and ignominy he bore,and in ihort, all that wrath of God which 
 his people defcrved by their fins ; all thefe ;Tiake up the fulFer- 
 in-Ts of Chrill; which were iicccfTary to make atoncmentfor fiu 
 
Serm. VIII/ on justification.. 135 
 
 and open a wsy for ils full pardon. And here, flop a while 
 O my foul, and view the exqulfite agonies, the painful fuf- 
 ferings of thy dear Redeemer I Stop and talce a \\r\v ot hi? 
 ]o\x^ in fuifering and dying, and then fay if thou canil auy ■ 
 longer doubt his willingnefs to receive thee, or his care to ■ 
 fave thee ! Bring your feirfur unbelieving hearts Chrillians,' 
 to the crofs of Chriil, and fee whether a view of the <lying 
 Saviour will not fpeak peace, and raile your languifnin^ 
 hopes I Bring your hard hearts hither, hnners, and fee 
 whether fuch alloniiliing love will not mollify and foften 
 thcni ! Look upon a fuflering Jefus, ye ilothful fouls, tlus 
 may (Quicken your diligence, convince you of your iugrati^ 
 tude, and fill you with a growing zeal in your Redeemers 
 fervice ! 
 
 t. There muH be a perfe£l obedience paid to the com- 
 mi^nds of the law to entitle us to eternal life. It appeal's 
 from the nature of juftification, which coiifiils in pardon of 
 /in, and a right to eternal life, that we niuft have a righ- 
 lecufnefs perfectly anfwering all the requirements of the 
 law, elfe we cannot enjoy both thefe blelhngs. Wiien a 
 man fufrers the penalty of any law, the law can exacSl: no- 
 further punifhment of him, but he cannot be faid by his fuF- 
 fering the penalty, to deferve the rewards promifed by tlie 
 law to thofe that obey it. He that fuiFers the penalty cer- 
 tainly cannot be put upon the fame footing with thofe that 
 have continued in obedience. The fuftcrlngs of Chrifl: 
 made fatisfatHon for the breach of the law, and therefore 
 fropped the execution of its fentence; bat eternal life is not 
 promifed to the fufferings of Chrift, he therefore came and 
 obeyed the law, that by his obedience imputed to us we 
 might have a title to life everlaRing. This is plainly inti- 
 niated to us in Tarious pailages of the NewTeftament. Thus, 
 Rom. V. 19. " For as by one man's difobedience many were 
 ^^ made fmners : fo by the obedience of one, fliall jnany be 
 ** made righteous." What was Atlam's difobedience, but 
 an actual tranfgreirion of the law ? What muO: that obedi- 
 ence be then, that is put in oppofition to it, birt an acHvc 
 obedience or fulfilling the eommands of the law I A<raiTt,- 
 Rom. viii. 3, 4. <* What the law roald not do, being 
 ** weak through the flefli, God fending his own Son in the 
 *' likcnefs of finful iledi, and for fin, comdemned fin in 
 **■ the flelli : that the Tighceoufnefs of tlie law might be 
 
t^6 o^J JUSTIFICATION^. Serm. VITi; 
 
 ** fulfilled In us, who walk not after th? fiefh, but after the 
 ** fplrit," which evidently points to a righteoufnefs an- 
 fwerable to the commands of the law. — Again, Rom. x. 4. 
 «* Chrlft is called the end of the law for righteoufnefs to 
 ** every one that believeth." Here the apoftle clearly in- 
 timates that the primary end of the law was obedience; in 
 dying, Chrift did not anfwer the primary intent of the law: 
 therefore in the jiiftlfication of his people it was neceiPary 
 that he fhould obey the law, which having done, in the 
 room and ; ftead of his people, and this being imputed to 
 them,' and received by faith, the end of the law is anfwered. 
 intheirjuftifi cation, which is a perfedl righteoufnefs. Does 
 the law, fays the believer,. rtjquire a perfect righteoufnefs ? 
 "Will^ it . admit of nothing lefs ? Here it is, in my glorious 
 furety, he has wrought it out for me ! Thus Chrift is the end 
 of the law, &c. And thus we fee his a6tive and paflive obedi- 
 ence, or his obedience to the law, and his fufFerings and deaths 
 both make Up that which is our juftifying righteoufnefs. "We 
 find in fome places indeed, a particular ftrefs is laid upon the 
 death of Chrift, but this c?:nnot be underftpod to exclude his 
 obedience; we might with eqiial propriety fay, it excludes like- 
 wife all the fufferings of his life : his death may indeed be 
 particularly mentioned, as that was the laft aft of his obe- 
 dience, all was confummatcd in his death. "VVe now pro- 
 ceed, . . , • 
 
 2. To confiderupon v/hat accounts the righteoufnefs of 
 Jefus Chrift is called the righteoufnefs of God. The reafons 
 appear to be obvious, and a confideration of them tends great- 
 ly to raife the hopes of the believer, and ftrengthen him \n 
 the belief of this way of juftification. It is the righteoufnefs 
 of God. r . 
 
 I. As It is of God the Father's appointment. Our Lord 
 tells: us, ** He came not to do his own will but the will of 
 *< him that fent him." John vi. 38. And agalii, " Lo I 
 «« come to do thy will, O God." Pf, xl. 8. If we confide-' 
 now the errand Chrift came into the world upon, and that 
 he wns fent upon this errand by God the Father, ^'C may 
 from hence conclude, that the righteoufnefs which Chrilt 
 has MTOught out for us, is entirely agreeable to the plea- 
 fure of the Father; it was by his appointment and it waS. 
 with his approbation that Chrift came to "make an end of 
 *"< f.n, to make reconcilivition, for iniquity, and bring in ever*' 
 
Serrri. Vlli. on justification. 137 
 
 * lafllncj righteoufncfs " What a glorious circumftance 13 
 this in favour of jullification by the righteoufncfs of Jefus 
 Chrid !• And how much does it tend to fill the fouls with 
 the hi^hed hopes of the eternal bleffings, which depend up- 
 on this rif^httoufnefs ! Remember whenever you come to 
 plead this righteoufnefs with God, that it is of his appoint- 
 ing, his own free, gracious appointing ! This is enough to 
 fill your fouls with holy boldnefs at the throne of Grace, to 
 alk for all fpiritual and eternal biefiings : this is enough to 
 encourage your hopes of acceptance with God ; for the 
 righteoufnefs you bring to him by faith, and plead with 
 him, is a righteoufnefs of his own appointing. He has ap- 
 pointed it for thofe very ends and purpofes for which you 
 plead it. This is fo important a circumftance, that it fhould 
 be ferioufly confidered by thofe, who are depending upoa 
 their own righteoufnefs. If God has laid your own righ- 
 teoufnefs, as the foundation^ of your hopes, you are fafe ; 
 bu^ remember if it be not of his own appointmentj it will 
 not meet with his acceptance. I might add, 
 H 2. That it is God that imputes this righteoufnefs to iis 
 ^n juflification. This is a further confideration that tends 
 to encourage and ftrengthen our hopes herein ; God im- 
 putes it, therefore he will accept, pardon, and fave the foul, 
 to whom he imputes it. — £lfe why does he impute it ? But,. 
 3. He that wrought out this righteoufnefs is God as well 
 as man. The deity indeed cannot be faid to obey or fuf- 
 fer, but there is fo {tri6l a union between the divine and 
 human natures of Chriit, that the a£l: of the human nature 
 is faid to be the acl: of the whole pcrfon, and thus it ap- 
 pears in the fight of God. On this account it is, that the 
 righteoufnefs of Chrifl hafj fuch a peculiar virtue and effi-. 
 cacy in it, (o as to be fuflicient to fatisfy infinite jullice, and 
 to be properly meritorious. For had he been no more than 
 a mete creature, the law of creation would have laid him 
 under an obligation to perform all the obedience he was 
 capable of; and confequently no one a<^ of his life could, 
 have been meritorious for himfelf, fnuch lefs could it have 
 been fo for others. V/e hence fee then, what matrer of. 
 thankfulnefs and admiration it is, that he who is our Savi- 
 our is God as we'-I as man ! God and man fo clofely united,' 
 that what he has done and (ufFered in his human nature, js_ 
 reckoHcd to be done and fuffered by God himfelf, and fji 
 
 S' 
 
13S OH JUSTIFICATION. Scrm. VIIL 
 
 every way fatisfaOory and meritorious ! Sec you not there- 
 fore the excellency of the Chrlflian fcheme ? Has not the 
 believer abundantly the advantage of every other perfon ? 
 How does a fenfe of Chrift's being God as well as man, en- 
 courage the foul In his dependence upon his Redeemer's 
 righteoufnefs ? can he doubt of Its efficacy ? He may cheer- 
 fully venture into eternity, and appear with boldnefs before 
 the bar of God, being clothed with fuch a righteoufnefs \ 
 Well might the apoftle Paul be fo defirous of being found, 
 not having his own righteoufnefs but the righteoufnefs of 
 Jefus Chrift, becaufe it is the righteoufnefs of God. A 
 conlideration of Chrift's being God, fills us with wonder at 
 his infinite love and condefcenfion in appearing in human 
 nature, and obeying and fuffering for us, and is a glorious 
 motive to ftir us up, and to quicken us to all holy obedi- 
 ence. I now proceed, 
 
 3. To fliew why it Is that we are jufllfied by the righ- 
 teoufnefs of Jefus Chrift only. We need not fay mu!:h 
 upon this head, It appearing evident from what has been al- 
 ready hinted, why we are juflitied by the righteoufnefs of ^ 
 Chriit only — becaufe it alone is perfect and fatisfatlory — 
 becaufe it brings moft glory to God, — and becaufe it af- 
 fords mofl confolation to the foul in life and death, and Is 
 of infinite and everlafting virtue and efficacy. 
 
 The righteoufnefs of Chrift alone is perfecl and fui^fac- 
 torv, Thofe who have been enabled to make the greateft 
 advances in grace, have yet come far Ihcrt of perfection, and 
 therefore after they have done all they can, mufl acknow- 
 ledge themfelves to be unprofitable fervants. When you 
 tnke a reviev/ of your many duties, and confider the num- 
 berlcfs defers that have attended them, vou muft humbly 
 own them wilh tlie church, to be but as fdthy garments, 
 and as an unclean thing. But is the righteoufnefs of your 
 Redeemer fo ? Can you obferve any fpot in his obedience ^ 
 No, It is all perfeftly pure and lovely, it is worthy of Crod's 
 acceptance, it is ftt for your dependence, it is abundantly 
 fatisfa£tory to infmite juftice, for all your fins Chriltians, 
 and therefore only capable of being your juftifying righ- 
 teoufnefs ; a High Prieft became us, who is holy, harmlefs, 
 imdefiled, and feparate from finners ; and fuch an High 
 Pried God provided for us ! He was holy in heart and life» 
 he fulfilled all lighteoufuefs, he made full atonement for Hn^ 
 
Serm. VIII. on justification. 139 
 
 and fliall not fuch a righteoufnefs be thy juflifying righ- 
 teoufnefs ? Oh my foul Ihall I prefer an imperfeft righ- 
 teoufnefs before it ? No^ Lord take away mine iniquity, 
 and clothe me with this change of raiment ! 
 
 The law is honoured by this rigbteoufnefs, and God is 
 glorified. Is it not a pecuUar honour done to the law that 
 he who is God ihouid become man, and be made under the 
 law ? Could the law have been {o much honoured by the 
 fpotlefs obedience of all the race'of Adam ? Had they been 
 juftified by it the law would have pronounced them righ- 
 teous, but behold, by what Chrift has done the law is mag- 
 nified, and made honourable, and the end of it abundantly 
 anfwercd, and all the perfections of God glorified. With 
 what luftre does his infinite purity and holinefs fliinc forth 
 in our jullification by the righteoufnefs of Jefus Chrift ! 
 What glorious views have we of infinite faithfulnefs exe- 
 cuting the fentence upon the furety, and requiring a per- 
 fedl obedience from him, before the guilty offender can be 
 pardoned and accepted to eternal life ! how infinitely ex- 
 ceeding all human comprehenfion does the wifdom of God 
 appear in this method of juftiftcation ! Behold God Is juft 
 in punilhing finners, and yet In pardoning ; he Is juft, and 
 yet the juftifier of them that beheve in Jefus. How gloria 
 ous are the titles he bears ! A juft God, and yet, through 
 this righteoufnefs, a juftifier, a faviour ! And can the love 
 and grace of God more illuftrioufly appear, than in this way 
 of jullification — in appointing and furnifliing the foul with 
 this righteoufnefs ? buppofe God could, confiftent with his 
 other perfections, have juftified the finner by his own im- 
 perfect righteoufnefs, yet would his infinite mercy, would 
 his grace have been fo much exalted, as by this righteouf* 
 nefs ? No, behold God the Father appointing his Son, to 
 come, and bring in an everlafting righteoufnefs ! Behold 
 God the Son, cheerfully undertaking the work ! See the 
 mighty God appearing in human nature, obeying the law, 
 and futTering death for guilty, unworthy hell-deferving crea- 
 tures ! See him clothing thole who are narurally ungodly 
 with his own righteoufnefs ! Pardoning and entitling them 
 to eternal Hfe ! And is not this grace beyond the compre- 
 henfion of men or angels ! Hov/ glorious is this righteouf- 
 nefs ! The great end God has in view, in the juftification 
 and falvation of his people, is his own glory. And is it 
 
 S % 
 
140 ON JUSTIFICATION. Seriii. FII^, 
 
 this righteoiifnefs that only fecures and exalts his glory ? 
 It is enough to engage us, to make it our only dependence. 
 Lord as we would aim at thy glory in the whole of our 
 falvation, fo we w^ould gladly and thankfully qccept of this 
 righteoufnefs, as that which brings everiafting glory to all 
 thy perfe<Slions. But further, this righteoufnefs alone, 
 brings comfort to the foul in life and death. This is the 
 only righteoufnefs that is fuited to the wants and neccflities 
 cf an awakened foul. See the convinced finner, he is feek- 
 ing after a righteoufnefs to appear in before God, he goes 
 to duty, apprehending this will allay the fury of an awak- 
 ened confcience. But the more he looks to duty for jufti- 
 fication, the more he is perplexed, and can find no rell till 
 he comes to Jefus. S^e, no fooner does the Spirit give him 
 a view of the Redeemer*s righteoufnefs, but behold he is 
 fatisfied ; Lord, fays he, it is enough 5 I now fee where my 
 dependence muft be, give me but this righteoufnefs, and I'll 
 rejoice and triumph in life and death ' Oh glorious and all- 
 perfei^ righteoufnefs ! It is the righteoufnefs of God ! Here 
 am I fafc ! Oh my foul, this righteoufnefs will bear the 
 trial of infinite juftice, thi:? righteoufnefs will bring me off 
 "with honour at the fupreme tribunal, this garment of falva- 
 tion, will hide all my fins and make me appear for ever ami- 
 able, in the fight of an infinitely pure and holy God. Iti$ 
 a foul refrefhlng righteoufnefs, it comforts the 'foul undef 
 a fenfe of guilt, under all the fears of a mifcarriage, a view 
 of this righteoufnefs fupports and cheers the believer "Why 
 fliould you be difcouraged, Oh my foul, here is a righ- 
 teoufnefs ahfwers all the demands of law and juflice, here 
 is a righteoufnefs of God ! Art thou afraid of appearing 
 before the bar of God ? Lay afide thy fears, confider he 
 that will be thy judge, has clothed thee with this righteouf- 
 nefs, it is his, and will he difown his own righteoufnefs ^ 
 In fine, the guilty foul finds the righteoufnefs of Jefus 
 Chrill to be the only ground of comfort in life and death, 
 and no wonder then that he makes it his dependence. 
 
 To conclude. This righteoufnefs is everiafting in its 
 efficacy and virtue. ** Chrift the fame yefterday, to-day, 
 *< and for ever." Heb. iii. 8. And his righteoufneft^, like 
 himfelf, remaincth for ever, 2 Cor ix. 9. It is an ever- 
 iafting righteoufnefs vi-hich he has brought in, Dan. ix. 24. 
 In the virtue wherL-of, multitude* of happy fouls, have bew* 
 
Sefm. VIII. ON JUSTIFICATION* 141 
 
 already juftified, and faved, and arc now actually employed, 
 in finging the praifes of redeeming love ; and its efficacy is 
 not at all diminifhed, it is (till the fame, for the complete and 
 everlafting juftificatlon of all that fhall believe through 
 grace For the mercy of the Lord is from everlafting to 
 everlafting upon them that fear him, and his righteoufnefn 
 unto children's children, Pfa. ciii. 17. Wherefore comfort 
 ©ne another with thefc things. 
 
SERMON IX 
 
 ON JUSTIFICATION, 
 
 ..4..4"<"4-<'t' 4"*^ <t.¥#f ♦4* ►•>•►-»••►- 
 
 Phil. iii. 
 
 And be found in him^ not having mine own righteoufnefs ^ 
 which is of the law^ but that which is through the 
 faith of Chrijl^ the righteoufnefs which is of God b^ 
 faith. 
 
 WHEN the Prophet Ifaiah had a view of the glory 
 and majefty of God, as featcd upon his exalted 
 throne, and feraphs and glorified Spirits furrounding him, 
 crying out, Holy^ holy^ holy is the Lord God of hojls, he was 
 £iicd with the humbleft fenfe of himfelf, faying, " Wo is 
 ** me, for I am undone, becaufe I am a man of unclean 
 ** lips, and I dwell in the midfl of a people of unclean 
 ** lips, for mine eyes have feen the Kivg» the Lord of Hofts. 
 Ifaiah vi. 1.5. It is well to have our minds imprefled with 
 a fuitable fenfe of the infinite majefty and perfecSlions of 
 God, the more we view them and the more humble our 
 fouls lie under a fenfe of the infinite diftance there is be- 
 tween God and us, and efpecially under a fenfe of our guilt and 
 imperfecllons the better : as juftification is a judicial acl, 
 it is neceilary for us to confider before, or by whom it is wc 
 are to be juftified. We are fo ftupid that we are ready to 
 think God is fuch an one as ourfelves. It is one thing 
 to view him at a diftance, when we have ten thoufand ob- 
 jetls around us to take away the imprclhon, and another 
 thing to view him when we are juft ready to appear before 
 
Sefm. IX. ON JUSTIFICATION. 14^ 
 
 his folemn tribunal, or when our fouls are filled with a deep 
 fenfe of guilt and we feel the terrors of an awakened con- 
 fcience ! fome reprefent him as full of mercy, lenity, and 
 tompafrion, or as having nothing in him to fill the finner 
 with the leaft dread and confufion : but behold our nrfl pa- 
 rents guilty of a breach of the divine command, fenfible of 
 the threatning which God denounced, and hearing tlie voice 
 of the Lord in the garden, were itruck with terror^ and in 
 the utnioft confufion attempt to fly and hide themfcives, 
 from the prefcnce of the Lord amoniiil the trees of the gar- 
 den. Gen. iii. 8. Or they were afraid that juilire would 
 put in execution the dreadful fcntence, and punifti them 
 with everlafting death, and all the views of mercy wouki 
 give them no relief until a faviour was revealed. How 
 can we form any hopes of the everlafting favour of God 
 from our own fervicesjwhen we confider how dreadfully they 
 are tainted, how fadly they are polluted ! The apoftle Paul, 
 when after his converfion, he came to confider the infinite 
 holinefs of God, the purity of his law, and fo compare his 
 own heart with it, he ftyles himfelf carnal znd fo/d under Jin, 
 Rom. vii. 14. In what a ilrong manner does hecxprefs his 
 defire of appearing in Chrift and his righteoufnefs ? Being 
 taught by the fpirit of God that this was the only way of 
 acceptance with him, and of being entitled to eternal life. 
 « And I count all things but drofs and dung that I might win 
 ** Chrift," Phil. iii. 8. When a (inner is favingly awakened 
 and convinced of the worth of his foul, and tiis need of 
 Chrift, how earneft and importunate is he after an intereilt 
 in Jefus I He looks on the glory of the prefent world, and 
 counts it all but dung and drofs, his foul is all taken up witJi 
 concerns of everlafting moment and importance, and he 
 treats all the affairs of mortal life as trifles ; and with an 
 indifference fuitable to their vanity. Such was the temper 
 of the apoftle Paul, when he breathed forth his foul in th« 
 moft ardent and heavenly manner. '* Yea and I count all 
 ** things but lofs for the excellency of ths knowledge of 
 " Chrift Jefus my Lord," Phil. iii. 8. In our treating upon 
 the great do£trine of juftification, we have already fliewn 
 what it is to be juftified. That our ovv^n perfonal righteouf- 
 nefs is infufBcient to juftify us before God. We have like- 
 wife from thefc words fhewn that it is the righteoufnefs of 
 jcfus Chrift, thati» the mutter of our juftification, and the 
 
144 OK JUSTIFICATION. Serm. IXo- 
 
 ground of our acceptance with God : under which head 
 we confidered what the righteoufnefs of Chrifl: is, that it 
 confifts of his aftive and paflive obedience, or his obedience to 
 the commands of the law, and his fufFcrings to death. "We have 
 {hewn why this righteoufnefs is called the righteoufnefs of 
 God. It is of God the Father's appointment; he that wrought 
 it out Is God as well as man ; it is God that imputes it. Wc 
 have likeWife (hewn, why it is that we are juflified by the 
 righteoufnefs of Jefus Chrift alone, his righteoufnefs alone 
 is perfect and fatisfa^lory. It alone fecures the glofy of all 
 the divine perfections. It alone affords confolation to the 
 foul both in life and death, and it has infinite and everlafting 
 virtue and efficacy in it, and therefore is fufficientto juftify 
 the moft guilty and unworthy in every age and generation.. 
 We now ccme, 
 
 IV. To confider how the righteoufnefs of Chrift becomes 
 ours, fo that we may be really and legally juftified by it. 
 This is a point neceflary to be confidered and to be cleared 
 up to the fatisfaCtion of the humble awakened guilty foul, 
 that he may be thoroughly convinced, that it is not an ima- 
 ginary foundation he is building his hopes on, but a glorious 
 reality ; that fo he may rejoice in the profpeft of eternal 
 life, which is every way fecured to him in believing. That 
 the righteoufnefs of Chrift may properly and legally become 
 ours, foas we may be juftified by it, two things are necef- 
 fary. — ift. That God ftiould impute it to us ; and 2dly, That 
 •we fhould receive it by faith as our only juftifying righteouf- 
 nefs, and reft upon it for that purpofe. Thefe two things well 
 confidered will make it abundantly appear, that the foul is 
 built upon a folid foundation that builds upon Chrift, that 
 iiothing can deprive him of the expelled inheritance, but he 
 fiiall receive the end of his faith, even his everlafting fa I va- 
 i'lon. Thefe two things are of fo much moment and im- 
 portance, that they deferve each of them a particular confi- 
 deration. 
 
 I . That the righteoufnefs of Chrift may become ours, fo 
 that we may be really and legally juftified by it, it is necef- 
 fary that God iTiould impute it to us. Unlefs tiiis Is done, 
 unlefs God has given us fome good grounds to believe that 
 he does it to all that believe, our faith will be in vain, and 
 ourfalvation very uncertain. Blefled be God he has not left 
 us under an uncertainty about this nccciHiry and momeu-^' 
 
Serm. IX. oH jtsfitfiCAf idM'. i^g 
 
 tous point, but has given lis fufftcient intirhatiohi of his im- 
 puting the righteoufnefs of Chrift to all his people, to their 
 cverlafting comfort and falvatidn. To make this point 
 clear, I Ohitl firft confider whatis meant by imputation, and 
 then fecondly, fliew that the righteoufnefs of Jefus Chrift 
 is made oiirs by imputation. 
 
 ill. Let us confider what is meant by imputation. Wc 
 have the word imputed, occurring various timer, both in the 
 Old and New Teflament, and we find it fignifies to efteem, 
 to reckon j to judge_, to lay to one's charge, &c Lev. xvii. 
 4. Pfa. cvi. 31. The great Dr. Owen mentions two forts 
 of imptltation. 
 
 , I ft. To impute that which was our own antecedently to 
 fuch imputation ; this is a reckoning and a pafling judge- 
 mient that the thing is really in us, and a dealing with us 
 according to it, whether good or evil. Thus when we im- 
 pute learning to a man, lie was learned before the imputa- 
 tion, from hence this divirie remarks, that when God efteem- 
 cth any thing to be ours that was fo antecedently, he ef- 
 feemeth of it jitft as it is, no more and holefs ; confequerit- 
 ly, fays he, this (hews tlie folly and ftiipidity of thofe who 
 are for imputation of faith, obedience, &c. for as it is im- 
 perfect, fo God efteemeth it, and therefore cannot be faid 
 to impute it to us for a perfect righteoufnefs. Th^ic is^ 
 iays the fame author, an imputation, 
 
 2dly, Of that which is not antecedently our own, andi of 
 this kind is the imputation of Chrift's righteoufnefs, the im- 
 putation of our fins to him, and the imputation of Adam*^ 
 fm tous. In all thefe imputations what idea does the word 
 impute convey to us but this, to reclcon, to efteem, to place 
 to one's account, and to deal with us according to it ? Wc 
 cannot fuppofe by imputation, is meant that believers are 
 reckoned by God to have done thofe things which Chrift a- 
 lone performed, or to have fufFered thofe p^alties which he 
 Endured, Chrift and believers are diftin6t perfons, and the 
 actions of one perfon cartnot properly be reckoned the ac- 
 tions of another. The honour of furnifhing this glorioua 
 ^nd all perfect righteoufnefs belongs to CKrift alone, it wag 
 he that came and brought it in, and though imputed to us" 
 for our juftification, yet he is the author of it i but his 
 righteoufnefs is made ours, and that fo really, and upon fucK 
 grounds, as that we are dealt with according to it^ fo that It 
 
146 ON JUSTIFICATION. Semi. IX, 
 
 anfwers all the ends and purpcfcs it would have ferved had 
 wc wrought it out incur own^erfons When our fin» 
 AxTre laid upon, reckoned, or imputed to Chrift, he muft 
 not be tileemed a^luaHy a finner, though as lie appeared 
 our furety, to anfwer for us, the law treated him as a finner, 
 by requiring of him the penalty ; and thus he a£\ually made 
 fatlsfj6tiou for fm, and cancelled the hand-writing which 
 was againfl us as effed'tuaily as if he could have done it, and 
 therefore had done it in our own perfons. Thus Adam's 
 fin is juftly imputed of reckoned to all his poflerity, not 
 that they all fmned perfon^lly, and actually, when he did, 
 but he being their federal head and reprefentative, his fm 
 is reckoned to them, fo that they are as really liable to con- 
 demnation on the account of it, as if they had adually in 
 their own perfons each committed it. Thus, in the im- 
 J)utation of Chrifl's righteoufnefs, God accounteth it to 
 have been wrought by him for all his people, and therefore 
 rioth receive them into favour, and give them a title to eter- 
 nal life upon the account of it. His righteoufnefs is rec- 
 koned to their account, fo that they have all the benefit of 
 it, and are as efted:ually jufti iied by jt, as if they had perfect- 
 ly obeyed the law in their own perfons. When the debtor 
 js difcharged he cannot be faid to have paid the money 
 himfelf, it was his furety that did it for him ; yet the money 
 being paid for him in his Head, and accepted for him by 
 the creditor, he may be reckoned a clear perfon, and the 
 payment be placed to his account as really as if he had paid 
 it with his own hands. Thus Chriil's righteoufnefs is made 
 curs, or reckoned to our account, thus it was to Abraham^ 
 who is the firft perfon that we read of as being juftified by 
 imputed righteoufnefs, though he was not really the firft. 
 Gen. X. 6. Rom iv. 20, 24. Ihus God is faid " to im-*- 
 ** pute tighteoufnefs without works," Rom. iv. 6. This 
 imputation of Chrift's righteoufnefs has opened a way, for 
 its being reprefented as a robe or garment, and our being 
 faid to put on Chrift apd the like; apd doubtlefs the apoftle 
 I'aul had this in his eye, when he fays, " And be found in 
 ** him, not having mine own righteoufnefs. Sec." He de- 
 fired to be found clothed with the righteoufnefs of Jefus 
 Cb.rift, as a garment, that fo he might not be found naked 
 at the great day. Thus we fee what is meant by imputa- 
 tion, it is a gracious acl of Ccd whereby he reckons the 
 
Serm. IX. on justification. 147 
 
 righteoufncfs of Chrin. to his people, and deals w'tli them 
 according to its Infinite and everlaiting virtue and cfiicacy. 
 Our next thin^ is, 
 
 adly, To Ihew tint this imputation is not Imaginary but 
 real, by confidcring the grounds and foundation upon which 
 it is built. A view of this, through the influence of the Spi- 
 rit, will free our minds from all doubt and hefitation about it, 
 and fill us with a holy joy at the profpeft of everbftlng hlef- 
 iings: take what may belong to this head in the following 
 particulars. The law which Chrift was fubjeft to, is the 
 fame law which man broke.— -He obeyed the law and fuf- 
 fered its penalty in our room and (lead. — He was conilitut- 
 cd our furety by the Father, and all he did and fuffered for 
 Ills people in that charafter was according to his approba- 
 tion, and met with his acceptance. And laflly, it was all 
 likewife the etfe£t of his own voluntary choice. ** 
 
 I. The law which Chrift was fubjecl to, is the fame law 
 which man broke, viz. the moral law. Thofe that deny that 
 the adive righteoufncfs of Chrift has any part in our juili- 
 fication, fay, that Chrift was not under the moral law, but 
 under a law of mediation ; a peculiar law eftabliflied between 
 the Father and the Son, in which it wa-j agreed, what Chrift 
 was to fufFer to open the way for the acceptance of our faith, 
 repentance, and fincere obedience as our juftifying righteouf- 
 nefs. If then it can be proved that Chrift was made under 
 the moral law, and fulfilled it, it will lead us to conclude 
 that we arejuftified by his righteoufncfs alone, and that 
 the way in which it was made ours, is by imputation as 
 ■well as faith. Now if Chrift was not fubjecH: to the moral 
 law, why was he made man? Does not his being made 
 man, cfpecially when we confider the errand he came upon, 
 fuppofe that he was to fulfil the law which man had broke, 
 and that fatisfa6lion muft be made to infinite juftice in the 
 fame nature that finned ? This is certainly the eafieft, moft 
 natural, and obvious conftru6):ion that can be put upon his 
 appearance in human nature : to accomplifti therefore this 
 jrreat and important end he was pofTeffed of abfolutely perfe£fc 
 re£l:itude of nature, and his life was every way agreeable to 
 the divine law, that fo, in fulfilling all-its demands, he might 
 redeem and fave his people. After our Lord had been 
 preffing his difciplcs to the purfuit of hollnefs, he fays, 
 " Think not that I am come to deftroy the i^w or th^ 
 
 T 2 
 
i^Z OK ]if§T|»ieATiD^. Senn. IX, 
 
 *' prophets, I am not come to ^eftroy but to fulfil.'* Mat. y^ 
 17. Let not the Jews, or any other perfons obje£l to my 
 coming, that it is to fet afide the law or any part of the OI4 
 Teftament ; * I am come as the great Antitype to fulfil the 
 ^ ceremonial law, and I am come to pay a perfecl: obedience 
 * to the moral law, and to endure its curfe, that I may make 
 f fatisfa(£lion to infinite juftice for my people.' That our 
 Lor4 had a particular view to the moral law i$ plain and 
 evident, for he immediately proceeds to the explanation of it, 
 which muft be the fame law he came to fulfil, and 
 is as Kiiuch as to fay that he earns to fulfil all righteouf- 
 nefs. ' That jChrill was fubje6i: to the moral law appears 
 evident from Gal. iv. 4, 5. " Whei^ the fulnefs of time wa^ 
 f* come, God fent forth his Son made of a woman, matj^ 
 f* under the law, to redeem them that were under the l^w, 
 ** that we might receive the adoption of Sons." Now here we 
 find there is no diftin£lion made between the laxy which 
 thrift was ma«le under, aqd the law his people were \mder 
 whom he carne to Redeem, therefore we may afk,— What 
 Uw is that we are naturally under .'' Js it not the moral law 
 ^s a covenant of works ? If fp Chrift alfo was made under 
 the fsime, &c. This truth again clearly appears from Gal. 
 iii 10, 13. f^ For as many as are of the works of the law 
 *• are under the curfe, for it is written, curfed is evety one 
 ** that continueth not in all things which are written in th^ 
 *' book of the law to do them." In this verfe it is plain the 
 ;ipoftle is (hewing, that all thofe that are feeking juftifica- 
 tion by the works of the moral law are fo far from g^ini^g 
 ^heir purpofe, that they are rather under the curfij of it, be- 
 caufe the law will admit of nothing but a perfect o,bedience ; 
 curfmg and condemning ail that come in any refped (hort. 
 From whence it is evident that this C7\n be no other than 
 the moral law. In the 13th verfe therefore the^poftle fays, 
 ** Chrift hath redeemed us from the curfe of the law, bcir^g 
 •* made a curfe for us, for it is written, curfed is every ©ne 
 ** that hangeth en a tree" The way we find by whjch Chrift 
 hath redeemed us from the curfe of th? law, is by being 
 made a curfe for us i now that law from the curfe of which 
 Clirift came to redeem us is the moral law : apd it lb it is 
 evident, Chrift himfelf was under it, for no other law could 
 make him a curfe. Thus then we fep, th;^t the great defign 
 of Chrift's taking human nature was, that he might be fub- 
 jc6l to the law, he came and fulfilled all righteoufnefs, by 
 
S(jrm. IX. ON JUSTIFICATION. 149 
 
 perfe<Q:ly anfwerlng all the precepts of the bw, ^nd he bore 
 the penalty of the law j he endured Its dreadful curfe by 
 Ijanging on the crofs, by dying the de;uh which God had 
 threatned. This point being deteriiiined, therefore the next 
 thjng we have to advance to clear the way fur in^puta- 
 fion is, 
 
 2. That Chrift obeyed the law, and fufFer^d the penalty 
 as his people's furcty, in their room and flead. We hzv^ 
 already obfervcd, that our L,ord came into the world ** to fulfil 
 ^* alj righteoufnefs," Mat. v. 17. He came to put an end to 
 fin, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in ever- 
 Jelling righteoufnefs. Dan. ix 24. But could this be for 
 himfelf ? Dare any one prefume to fay that he ftood in nee4 
 .of it.'' Was he not infinitely happy and glorious, btfor? he 
 appeared in human nature or was this neceflary to make 
 .^ny addition to his blelTednefs ? No -, It wJ^snot, therefore, 
 for himfelf, it mud be for his people on whofe account he 
 came ipto the world : he came to furnifh his people with » 
 righteoufnefs in which they may appear before God and 
 fmd acceptance. Therefore he obeyed the law in their 
 room and Head, that fo his righteoufnefs might be imputed 
 unto them. This does by no means make our obedience uq- 
 neceflavy, it is an unfair and unnatural conclufion that, is 
 c^f^wn from hence and is abfolutely inconfiftent with the 
 whole gofpel. The gofpel lays us under peculiar obligj*- 
 tions to obedience^ though we are not to obey the law for 
 the fame ends and purpofes that Chrifl did. 1 he law re- 
 mains as a perpetual directory and rule of life to us, though 
 we are not to look to it as a covenant of works : all thofe 
 yrho are juftified by the imputed righteoufnefs of Chrift pay 
 the greateft regard to the law, and are Ubouring after ^n 
 internal as well as an external conformity to it. Chrift 
 fufFcred in our room and flead. It is evident from a clofe 
 view of his many fufferings, that he was confidered not as 
 an innocent pcrfon but as guilty. Where there is no guilt 
 there can be no puniOimenti to fj^y otherwife would be to 
 refle£l upon the infinite juftice and righteoufnefs of God. 
 T^OT can the afliidious and fyflferings of Chrift appear only 
 as common, view his agony in the garden, Nyhen he fweated 
 great drops of b!ood, through the anguilh he was In ; view 
 his cruel, curfed, and ignominious death ; and are thefe 
 tokens of his innocency, do they not plainly point out pun- 
 
15^ ox JUSTIFICATION. Scrm. IX. 
 
 ifiime^it and guilt ? But what guilt had Chrlft the fon of 
 .God ? " Was he not holy, harmlefs, undefiled, and feparatc 
 «* from Tinners?" Heb vii. 26. Mult it not therefore be 
 guilt imputed, even his people*B guilt ? vie^v his fufferings, 
 and you mu(l be convincc^d, that he had the fins of his 
 j3eople laid upon him, and fuffered and died in their 
 room ?nd (lead ! Tiiis la alio perfe^lly agreeable to the 
 'Scnptwre account of the matter. Thus the prophet Ifaiah 
 is .very particular and exprefs in delivering this great and 
 Important truth. Ifaiah liii. 5. " He was wounded for 
 «' on.r ^ranfgrefrions, he vns bruifed for our iniquities," &.c, 
 Andverfe 6. '* 'Ihe J.crd hr.th laid-on him the iniquity of 
 ^^ us ■iDy and verfe 8. *•* for the tranfgrefTion of my peo- 
 " pie was he firicken/* What ftronger expreflions could 
 the prophet make ufe of to aiTert this truth, what more di- 
 reO proofs ? Agreeable to this, the apoflle Peter, under the 
 influences of tJie holy Spirit, fays, 1 Pet. ii. 24. " Who 
 •*' his ownfclf bare our fin? in his own body on the tree.** 
 And the apoftlePaul by iliefame fpirit fpeaks the fame truth. 
 2 Cor. V. 21. ** He hath made him to be fin for us who 
 " knew no fin, that we might be made the righteoufnefs of 
 ** God in him.'* Now how was Chrift made fin ? Sin could 
 not cleave to him, he m^s not a finjier by inhefion ; the 
 meaning then can only be, that our fins were imputed to 
 him, and that he fuffered the punifliment due to us for 
 them. Hence we find him called a ran/cnu Mat. xx. 28. 
 ** The Son of man came to give his life a raafom for many,** 
 and I Tim. ii. 6. " Who gave himfelf a ranfora for all.'* 
 Thus he is likewife faid to " lay down his life for thefheep/* 
 John X. 15. and i Pet. iij. 18. He is faid to fuffer for jiriy 
 'ihtjvjl for the iinjvfi. All which exprefiions clearly fliew, 
 that he came to obey the law, and endure its penalty in^pur 
 room and Head. We accordingly find him reprefented -vn- 
 derthe charad;er of a furety, Heb, vii. 22. Now a furcty 
 is one that receiveth the obligation upon himfelf whei^ ,th'e 
 i!ebtor for whom he undertakes is not able to pay, io that 
 the furety becomes bound to difcharge the debt. Chriljt 
 then by taking this character has taken the obligation of hav- 
 ing the debt of perfcO obedience, and making fatisfaf^ion 
 to judice upon himfelf, and has actually done it in our 
 room and fl:ead, which the character of a furety necefiarily 
 fignifies. Hii being God gave an iaiinitc virtue to his fuf- 
 
Serm. IX. on jusTifiCATio>r. i^i 
 
 ferings, whereby they came fully f itisfa6l:ory though they 
 were but fuort ; for eternity is only accidental to punilb- 
 ment arifing from the inability of the creature's fuflcrin^s to 
 make fatisfadion. And thus Chrill, acting as furety, has 
 laid a glorious foundation for the impiitntion of his righ- 
 leoufnefs. What did the npolUe Paul mean but this, when 
 )te oppofed the death of Chrill to all the accai'ations that 
 could be brought in againll him ? What could be the ]^round 
 4rf his triumphing, but the furetyihip of Chrill? Had not 
 Chrift died in his room and Itead, it would have been but 
 to little purpofe to have triumphed fo boldly, k is Chrift 
 that died, Rom. viii. 33. This transferring of guilt to Chrill, 
 and the doctrine of his furetylliip was held forth by the fa- 
 crifices of the Old Teftament : what was the meaning of 
 the offender's putting his hand upon the head of the burnt 
 offering ? Did it not fignify the transferring of guilt from 
 the offender to the vi£tim ? Lev. i. 4. ch. iii. 2. Was it 
 not as much as to fay, * Lord I have tranfgreffed and ac- 
 
 * cordingly deferve to die, but I here bring a facrifice to 
 
 * die for mc in my ftead, accept thereof and fpare me.* 
 Such facrlfices as were of old could not indeed expiate fm ; 
 but they were typical of Chrift the great facrifice, and (liew 
 us how he was to take away fm, viz. by bearing the fins of 
 his people, and dying in their room and ftead. What could 
 be more expreffive of this dodlrine, than the confelhng the 
 fins of the people over the head ©f the Icape goat ? Lev. xvi* 
 20, 2 i , 22. Here is plainly a transferring of guilt ; by which 
 we are taught that our fins were transferred t6 Chrift ; than 
 he died in our room atid ftead 5 and confcquently the wav for 
 the imputation of hh righteoufnefs to us is clear. Thii 
 will ftill more evidently appear if we conlider, 
 
 3. That Chrift was conftituted furety by the Father, artel 
 accepted and approved of by him in all he did in that charac- 
 ter. Thus the Father calls Chrift " his ele6l, in whom hi« 
 " foul delighteth, Ifaiah xlii. i. pointing out his belnj; 
 chofen to the oftice of a mediator by him ; for the follow! ngj 
 verfes treat of the work he was to do, and his furniture for it* 
 He is faid in another place " to be fet up from evcrlaHing," 
 Prov. viii. 23. referring to thofe eternal tranfactions W 
 tween the Father and the Son, in which the Fatht r appoint- 
 ed him as mediator and furety. God is faid, " to fet lun\ 
 ♦* forth, as a propitiation through faith in hi*, blood to dc* 
 
152 ^^ ibstiKicA^ioi^. Serm.i;?. 
 
 ^larc his righteoufnefs for the remifBcri of fins, &c. Rom. 
 ill. 25. It is again faid by Ifaiah, " that it pleafed the 
 •* Lord to bruife him, to put him to grief, and to lay upon him 
 ** the iniquities of us all." If;aiah. ]iii. 6, 10. Which fignify 
 to us, that God the Father conflitilted him fUfety, was 
 pleafed with his undertaking, laid the fins of his people, whom 
 he reprefented, upon him and therefore inflicted upon hirrj 
 all that wrath which their fins deferved ! Our Lord himfelf 
 tells us that he came m obedience to his Father's will. Johfi 
 vt 38. *M came down from heaven not to do mine own 
 ** will, but the will of him that fent ni;;. In various othef 
 places he is faid to be fent by the Father, and to do the will 
 of the Father, and his laying down his life, was a fulfilling 
 his Father's will, John x. 17, 18. The fe things manifeft- 
 ly (hew, that the great worlc of Redemption and Salivation 
 "which Chriffc came to accomplifh, was in every refpefl 
 agreeable to the Father's will. He therefore has given the 
 jnoft public and undoubted evidences of his acceptanc^e and 
 Approbation of the work which Chrift came into the world 
 upon. At the baptifm of Jefus, the Spirit defcended upon 
 him, and a voice was heard, " This is my beloved Son, in 
 •* whom I am well pleafed." Mat. iii. 16. The fame was 
 repeated at his transfiguration. Mat. xvii. 5. Thus wKilft 
 our Lord was upon earth, he had this public teftimonj that 
 he pleafed the Father. And what was his refurrefiion ? 
 What was his afcention ? What his reception into heaven f 
 What his exaltation there ? What his perpetual and prevailitig 
 interceflion ? What are all thefe, but fo many undoubted evi- 
 dences of the Father's perfedl approbation of the work which 
 Chrift has done, the acceptablenefs of his facrifice, and the 
 fulnefs of that fatisfaftion which he has made for his people ^ 
 K^ow then we fee Chrill appointed by the Father, accepted 
 of and approved by him^ and fo far we fee a way is open for 
 the imputation of his righteoufnefs. We have only one thing 
 more to confider, and that is, 
 
 4. All that Chrift has done in the chaTa£ler of a furety, 
 is the effect of his own free, voluntary choice. He gives us 
 the plained indications of his being free and voluntary, and 
 that it was not a talk impofed upon him ; " his delights are 
 ♦* faid from all eternity to be with the fons of men," Prov. 
 viii. 31. Intimating how much he approved of the work he 
 kad undertaken. When no creature could help usj he fells 
 
S^m. IXv 6?i jtJsTiricfATforjri' ij^ 
 
 w<hc^<r volttm-^tflty he olFerett- himfeJf, a net " <^amft.t6 (Jo th« 
 « j>l«;irui<6 of his Father," Heb' x. 5, 6, 7. In ftne, he li 
 f^lrj, " to fvpur ont his foul linto death," Ih, liii. r». 
 Which fignifies a voluntary and fpoiftarteous a£^. Thuf^ 
 then, if we confider t-hat Chrifl was fubjeiEt to the moral 
 hw J that he performed obedience to it, arid bore its' penaU 
 ty, in our room and (iead ; thaf all this was agreeable t6 
 the Father's appointment^, and was the efFe£i of hij own 
 free, rSnd voluntary choice ; wd may from h^nce fee ho\^ 
 juftly the ri^hteoufn^fs of Chrifl; is really and actually im» 
 pwt^d to us for ju'ftificationy and thatf it- is tiOtf in enthufi- 
 iflic fancy, there being a" glorious and fufficiertt fou-ndat-iofli 
 laid for it. If a perfort is willing to pay all the debt which 
 his friend has contracted, if he and the creditor are agreed, 
 Ihall the debtor make any objetStiori to it ? Or is there not 
 a real foundation laid for his legal difcharge ? If the SoA 
 was willing to become a furety, and the Father a^pproved 
 of it. If Chrift has paid the whole debt, arrd the Far- 
 ther has accepted oC it, fhall we objei! to an imiputatiort 
 of his righteoUfnefs ? There Cxan be nothing to' prevent or 
 Iiinder fiich an imputation. God does not difpenfe 'tt^itfi 
 his law by admitting the faretyfliip of Chrift, the law Is 
 rather honoured and magnified by it. He w^s under n6 
 obligation of obeying the law for himfelf, as lb me have ai^ 
 ferted, for it was his own free voluntary a<St that he was 
 made n^an ; it was by a. ftipulation with his Father, and it 
 was etitirely with this view that he might redeern his peo- 
 ple, and furnifh them with a perfect and everiafting righ« 
 teoufnefs : therefore his rightecuTnefs is rhade legally ours 
 by imputation, and is fufBcient to free us from the gu^ilt and 
 plmiflim^nt of fin, to introduce us into the divine favour, 
 and to give tfs ai right and title to eternal life, fiut, laflly. 
 
 This truth appears clear from^vavious pafrtg of fcriptu/e,' 
 ixrhich cannot be fo well underftood, as by allowing impu- 
 iation. We find thefe occurring, both in the Old and irt 
 the New Teftamcnt *, thus the church is reprefented as fayi- 
 trig, ^< In the Lord have I righteoufnefs itiA firength." 
 KighteOufnefs and ftrength are two diftin^l thirfgs ; how 
 does God communicate (trength or grace ^ Not by impu- 
 tation, there is no making us inherently ri;^hfeoUs and 
 ftrong to refift temptations this way, it muffc be infufion of 
 imph>Titation-v but i« tliia fighteoufncf^ liiad© ours- tlie f^tmflr 
 
X54 ON JUSTIFICATION.' Scrm. IX# 
 
 ^vay ? Then it >\ould be no longer di{lln£l from grace and 
 ftrength, Ifa. xlv. ,24. Therefore it is made ours Ibme othei* 
 way, even by imputation, agreeable to the general fenfe of 
 fcripture. To this purpofe Jeremiah fpeaks when men- 
 tioning Chrift, he fays, " He fhall be called the Lord our 
 ** righteoufnefs," Jcr. xxiii. 6. Theapoftle evidently points 
 to this, when he fays, ** As by the difobedience of one," 
 &c. Rom. V. 19. As the guilt of Adam's fin was imputed 
 to his pofterity, whereby they are reckoned (inners, and are 
 under condemnation j fo the righteoufnefs of the fecond 
 Adam is imputed to his people, whereby they are efteemed 
 righteous, and are entitled to eternal life. Were not the 
 words to be taken in this fenfe, the parallel would be de- 
 llroyed between Chrift and Adam, This truth appears 
 with yet greater light if poffible, i Cor. i. 30. " Chrift is 
 •* made of God unto us wifdom, righteoufnefs," &c. And 
 2 Cor. V. 21., " Chrift was made fm for us who knew no 
 .«' (in," &:c Kow Chrift is not made wifdom, righteoufnefs, 
 and faniSlification in the fame way and manner, for thefe 
 are bleflings fo diftin£l,v that it is impofTible he fliould : 
 Chrift is made fan£lification to us as he has purchafed it 
 for us, and fends his Spirit to implant his image in us, and 
 i"o carries it on in our fouls. But is he made righteoufnefs 
 -to us in the fame way? Then righteoufnefs is the fame with 
 :fan£l:ification, whereas they are here brought- in as diftincl 
 iblefiings j diftinft in their nature, though never to be fe- 
 parated. As to the other place already mentioned, the na- 
 .lural and obvious meaning is, that as Chrift was made (in 
 by imputation, or as our fins were reckoned to him, fo his 
 righteoufnefs is made ours by imputation alfo ; therefore, 
 ^s he really fuflTercd for our fins, though he did not commit 
 them, we fl\all as really be juftified, and enjoy eternal life, 
 through the virtue of his righteoufnefs, though we did not 
 .perform it. Thus then we fee how this righteoufnefs be- 
 . comes ours ; we may likewifc be fatisfied that imputation 
 .is not a mere imagination, there is the higheft reafon for 
 it, it is built upon a folid foundation ; for if Chrift came, 
 and perfectly obeyed the law we had broke, and bore its 
 penalty, if he did this voluntarily, and in our room and 
 iflead,.to furnifli us with a righteoufnefs for our juftification, 
 «nd if this was accepted by'the Father for his people, then 
 tvho fliall forbid the imputation of Chrift's righteuufucfi ? 
 
Serm. IX. on jusTiFicATioif. 155 
 
 Is it not every way juft and righteous ? Shall the traitor, 
 who ftands in need of fuch a righteoufnefs, obje£l: to it ? 
 God forbid ! BlelTed be God this imputation is his own 
 a£i:, it is God that juflifieth : this is the Chriftian's comfort. 
 If God juilihes, who fliall condemn ? All the cavils of the 
 moft fubtle reafoners fignify nothing It is riot a 'mere 
 imagination O humble foul ! What ever fome may fay of 
 it, it has a folid, and as real a foundation as that upon which 
 the heavens and the earth are built. Chrift has obeye i aad 
 fuffered all that was required, and thy heavenly Father has 
 accepted it ; fear not then, thy faith is not in vain, thou 
 fhalt receive the forgivenefs of thy iins, and an inheritance 
 among them that are fandified through faith that is ia 
 him. 
 
 u V 
 
S E R M O N X. 
 
 pN JUSTIFfCATIQif. 
 
 Rom. v. I. 
 
 Therefore hein^ jufllfied by faith ^ ive have, peace ivjiJ^ 
 Cod t^jrough our Lord Jefus Chrifl. 
 
 WHATEVER hatred and averfion the apofllc Paul 
 difcovered to *^ hrill and His caufe, whilll he was a 
 Pharifee, yet when he was favingly enlightened, his thoughts 
 were pecuharly turned upon, and his afFe£i;ipns {Irongly 
 drawn to the perfon and righteoufnefs of the glorious Re- 
 deemer •, and it was his great concern to rnake known Jefus 
 Chrift, and him crucified amongft the poor Ger|tiles, that 
 they might be led into an acquaintance vitH the true \yay of 
 ifalvation, and be no longer ftrangers to him, whomtoknow 
 is life eternal. The great do£irine of julli'ication by the 
 righteoufnefs of Jefus ChriO, is what he was dire£led by 
 ^he Holy Ghoft ftrongly to maintain, and open \ ye find 
 him therefore in every cpillle, and almoft in every chapter, 
 cither anfwcring feme objection to this glorious truth, or 
 leprefenting its reality and importance, its happy influences 
 upon the heart and life, and its tendency to advance and 
 promote the glory of all the divine perfections. 
 
 This do6lrine the apoftle fets forth particularly and clear- 
 Jy in the third and fourth chapters of this epiftlc to the Ro- 
 mans, and in the beginning of this fifth chapter fhews the 
 }iappy efiedls of it, in peacv* with God, perfcverance in his 
 
S^rm. X. ON jtfsTiFiCATiON. 157 
 
 jr4V0ur, ho[)^ of his glory, ^nd a holy* rejoicing In every dif- 
 penfation of providence. 
 
 Therefore heing juJliH by fa'th, &c. We have been 
 fome time upon the dodrine of juiVification; and the im- 
 port;iince of the do6trine, its influence upon our prefent and 
 ievcrlal^ing peace, and our natural readinefs to miftake it; 
 all fhew the neceifjty there is of being particular upon it; 
 and therefore I nted not make any apology for my enlarging^ 
 In our lail difcourfe you may remember we confidered the 
 imputation of Chrift's righteoufnef? which we lupported by 
 the foilowing confiderations ; 
 
 I. The law wh.ich Chrift was fubje£l to, yf2L% the fame 
 which man broke. 
 
 7. That Chriil obeyed the law and fuffered dea^h as his 
 people's furety, in their room and (lead. 
 
 3. That Chrift was conftituted furety by the Father, and 
 accepted and approved of by hini in that character. 
 
 4, All that Chriil has don^ in the charader of a furety, 
 is the QWt€t of his own fret, and voluntary choice. From 
 all which confiderations it is plain there i§ a fufficient foun-* 
 Nation laid fqr the imputation of Chrift's pghteoufnefs : and 
 this is one way by which it becomes ours. This is Qod's z€t ; 
 fcut there is alfo an ad of ours that is neceflary to ouf hav- 
 ing this righteoufnefs fo as to enjoy the benefits of it, aM 
 that is faith, or believing, by which we receive this righteouf-r 
 nefs for all the ends and purpofes for which it was pro- 
 vided. We receive it as our juftifying righteoufnefs ; wc 
 plead it with God and reft upon it entirely forjuftification ; 
 and thus it becomes legally and properly ours : God makes 
 us willing to receive it as oUr juftifying righteoufnefs, and he 
 is gracioufly pleafed to impute it to us as fuch Who then 
 ihall fay we Ihall not be jyftified by it ? Who (hall difpute 
 ©ur real intereft in it ? Or fay it is not legally ours ? "-Who 
 « fhall lay any thing to the charge of God's eleft ?'* &c. 
 Jlom. viii. 33, &c. As faith is turned from its proper end, 
 and out of its place by many, and as we are every where in 
 fcripture faid to be juftified by faith, fo it will be neceflary 
 to endeavour to fet this weighty and important affair m % 
 true gofpel light ; that God may be glorified and our foul? 
 direaed, encouraged, and cjuickcned. To do this it may be 
 
JS^ o>W^usTIFI CATION. Serm.X. 
 
 i'. To confider the nature of that faith that juftifies. 
 And, 
 
 It. How, or iii what manner it juflifies. Thefe two 
 •ireads \vili lead us to lay all that is neceflary concerning 
 jofcifyrng faith. . 
 
 • ■ I. Let us confider what that faith is which juftifies. And 
 ko make this the more clear and diftin6l let us confider, 
 ift. The author of it. And ad. What it implies. 
 ' 7. Let lis confider who is the author of juftifying faith. 
 It 13: neceifary to confider this, that we may know to whom 
 wemuftlookand be indebted for it; that we may guard tgainft 
 feif-depCDdence, and be filled with conftantand deep humility. 
 And the author of juftifying faith is God j it is not a com- 
 i^nn^ gilt as the bleflings of providence are, but the eiFeft of 
 God's fpecial diftinguifliing grace, and wrought in the foul 
 ;|jjr^?i[ almighty l>and : it is not the efFe^ of natural ftrength, 
 nor is it produced by the mere power of moral arguments j 
 .aH the eloquence and rhetoric of man cannot perfuade the 
 guilty foul to put forth one aft of faith in Jefus Chrift. 
 How often have our beft endeavours been rendered fruitlefs", 
 :ind the moft ingenuous and elaborate difcourfes been only a*s 
 ■water fpi It upon the ground, that cannot be gathered ! whilft 
 tlie gofpel, preached in its naked fimplicity without humaii 
 o^aments, has found its way into the hearts of the mod 
 -obftinate and ignorant and caufed a faying alteration, to 
 Ihew «s, that we are not to boaft of, or depend on our own apl 
 prebended ftrength, or abilities, but to look to an almighty 
 arm,, to make our attempts effedlual to bring finners by 
 faith to Jefus Chrift. God generally works by means, and 
 the means which he has appointed, and which he niakes ufe 
 of to produce faith, are fuited to anfwer fuch an end, and 
 Ihew that God deals with us as rational creatures whilft he 
 add/effes our underftandings in his word and offers a variety 
 of arguments, which,. when accompanied with an almighty 
 power, convince us of our need of Chrift, and are a means 
 to quicken and engage us to believe on him. Believing is 
 cur aft, but the power that enables us to put forth that aft 
 cornea from God. Faith, we find therefore is called Ids 
 gift.. Eph. ii. 8. And the fame apoftle mentions «' the ex- 
 «* ceeding great power of God," that is manifefted in pro- 
 eUicing faith ; even ** that glorious power that raifed Jefu$ 
 ^« Chrift fronuhe dead." £ph. i. J 9. TJntil the day of God'« 
 
Serm. X. on justification. 1^5 
 
 power comes we continue in a ftatc of unbelief, and all due 
 loud calls of providence, all the arguments that are made ufc 
 of, make no faving impreiTion. It is a fitrn we know but 
 little of our own hearts, when we exalt the power of tliti! 
 creature, and make him equal to tJie great duties of ihc 
 Chrillian life. What was the reafon that oar Lord's jrreach-* 
 ing was not attended with greater fuccefs ? upon the fup* 
 pofition of man's ability to believe, who but mufl have 
 yielded to his importunity ? vdio could have refufed obedi* 
 cnce who confidered, that tliis was he that cam€ ftom 
 heaven, upon the molt glorious and important errand, ths 
 falvation of finners ? Was not thin confideration enough to 
 have melted their fouls, captivated their affections, and crK* 
 gaged them immediately to believe ! Who could refiii fucSi 
 arguments ? And yet we fee. how few believed ! What is ta 
 be expelled from creatures who are alienated from the life 
 of God j whofe minds are blinded and whole hearts are liard- 
 cned; who have the utmofl averfion to faith, and are abfoluto- 
 ly under the dominion of fin !' It is eafy to talk of bellev-J- 
 ing, but it is a matter of the greateft difficulty to believe ! 
 To commit our fouls into the hands of Jefus, under a fenfe 
 of our guilt and mifery, requires an almighty power I Chrift 
 is therefore reprefented as the ** Author and the fiaiflier of 
 /' our faith." Heb.xii. 2. " And the gofpel is the power 
 '* of God to falvation, to every one that believeth." Rom- 
 i. 16. ** The word is mighty through God, to the pulling 
 ** down the ftrong holds of fin and Satan, and the bring- 
 " ing us into obedience unto Chrlll," 2 Cor. x. 4, 5. Ths 
 treafure of the gofpel is committed to earthen ve/fels^ wak 
 imperfect creatures, that in the falvation of thofc that hear 
 it, " the excellency of the power may be of God and hot 
 **• of man," 2 Cor. iv. 7. Thus we fee the author of jufti^ 
 fying faith is God ; this is agreeable to the cuiTent of icnp- 
 ture, and to the experience of thofe that behcve. Was it 
 not an almighty power that conquered your naturr^l aver- 
 fion to Jefus ? Removed your rooted prejudices, and en- 
 abled you to truft your everlalting concerns with him ? Was 
 it not the Spirit that convinced, you of fin,.of the unwbrths- 
 -nefs of your own righteoufnefs, gave you a view of Chrift. 
 and led you to him ^ Give him therefore all the glory and 
 look up to him to h,elp you in the conilant exercife of. this 
 .faith, that you may continue linto the end, ■ Thccoiiiida- 
 
J^« ON JUSTTFI^ATION. SeriTl. !^^ 
 
 ration of Goifs beings the author of faith does not at all dif- 
 courage the ufe of mdans, or open a door for indolence, as 
 fomc would infinuate ; it rather is neceffaryto keep us from 
 fclf dependence, a dangerous and deftru6tiTC fin, and to 
 quicken us to look Up to him, who commands us to believe, 
 to give us that faith which he requires, and difplay his glori- 
 ous and almighty power in leading us to Chrift, for the faU 
 vation of our fouls. In Tuk^ if we confider the natural en- 
 rnity and aveffion we all have to the way of falvation by 
 faith in Jefiis Chrlfl *, if we view the tendency which a fenfc 
 of guilt, and the apprehenfion of an angry God have to fill 
 us with abfolute defpair ; and at the fame time take notice 
 of the natuire of faving and juftifying faith, we cannot but b«l 
 convinced of the abfolute neceflity of a divine and almighty 
 power to enable us to believe, and that God is the author 
 of this important grace. "We proceed therefore now to eon- 
 
 2. What faith Implies^— or wnat is fignified by believing 
 in Chrift. We may confider f;n'ing juftifying faith as nc- 
 ccffarily implying three things, i. As including an affent 
 of the mind to the gofpel way of falvation, tipon a convidlion 
 of its excellency and importance, a. A hearty appTobation 
 of the way of falvation by Chrift, and a receiving and reft- 
 ing upon thrift alone for it. And 3. As a vital principle of 
 aJl obedience. Thefe three things are neceffary to maKe up' 
 that faith which is required in the gofpel. , . / 
 
 1 . It includes in it an aflent of the mind t5 the gofpel way 
 of falvation, upon a conviction of its excellency and imporf- 
 a-nce, made in the mind by the Spirit of God. The real 
 Chriftbn believes in Jefus Chrift upon the hlgheft and beft 
 evidence*, upon a full perfuafion of the truth and import- 
 ance of what is believed. There muft be an aflent of the 
 mind to Chrift, or elfe there can be no real faith, this aflent, 
 of the mind to Chrift muft pre-fuppofe fome knowledge of 
 him, and confequently convictions. How can we believe 
 in an unknown objed ? " I know, " fays the apoftle " In 
 <* whom I have believed, and I am pcrfuaded that he is able 
 " to keep," Sec. 2 Tim i. 12 I am not ignorant of the 
 perfon to whom I have committed my fotil *, I know who 
 he is, I am fatisficd of his fuitablenefs and ability to fave 
 mc, and to do all that for me which I t;uft him for. Many 
 eiay believe the gofpel and be convinced o£ its truth by ^ 
 
Serm* X. on ju-stification. HBt 
 
 CJlreful examination into the eTidenccs of its authomy : fd 
 a real believer may be fenfible of the truth of the Chriftian 
 teHgion by viewing its outward evidences ; but the afTent 
 which he gives, and the profeflion which he makes do not 
 arife merely from fucli d conviction, but lilcewife from a 
 conviction made by tlie Spirit of God, upon the mind,' 
 wherjiby he is fully fenfible of the guilty condition he is in, 
 that he is loft without Chrift, and fees a real excellency arvd 
 fuitablefiefs in the gofpel method of falvation. Such a fpi- 
 ritual faving convi£lion as this, does not properly belong 
 to a temporary faith, though there may be fome appear- 
 ances of it ; there being oftentimes convidions to be found 
 in perfons, dnd yet no faving faith, Simon Magus hw the 
 miracles which Philip perforriied, and was convinced of the 
 truth of his do£trine, and therefore gave his afTent to it, 
 Afts viii. i^. but he fooii fell off, The fmncr fometimes 
 by the word, and fometimes by a providence, appears under 
 convictions, talks of his guilt, of his beirig loft and undone, 
 fecms to have the moft alarming views of everlafiing wrath, 
 and calls upon God for a time, and wiftie^ for all intercft 
 in Chrift; but he has not thofe peculiaf- cofiviCiions of the 
 imperfedion of his own righteoufnefs, his inability to help, 
 himfelf, the fuitablenefs, excellency, and alKfufficicncy of 
 Jefus Chrift, as are to be found in thofe thatrealfy believe ; 
 all convictions therefore, end not in converfion. Yet con- " 
 viCtioris, even convictions wrought by the bpirit of God 
 tipon the mind, are abfolutely necelTary to favmg juftifying 
 faith, being always previous to it, and being neceftarily im- 
 plied in it. Tliis is evident both from the flatufe, from the 
 tn^f and defign of faith. What is the peculiar bufinefs the 
 foul has with Chrift whfen he comes to him by faith ? Is it 
 not to be delivered from fin and hell, and to be put into the 
 poflcflion of all purchafed bleflings ? And muft not the foul 
 be really fenfible that he is guilty and deferves hell, and that. 
 none but Jefus can fave him ?^ muft he not be fenfible of 
 this before he comes ? Our Lord plainly intimates this, 
 xvhen he fays, the " whole have no need of a phyfician, but 
 «« thofe that are fick," Matth. ix. 12. The apoftle Paul 
 was made to defpair of obtaining falvation by his own'righ- 
 teoufnefs, before he came to Jefus Chrift for it, Rom. vii. 
 i). Thefe conviftions are different in difi^rent perfons, as' 
 to continuance, degrees, &c. Sometimes w« ihall find th^ 
 
 X 
 
i62 ON JUSTIFICATION. Scrm. X. 
 
 fmncr under great legal convictions ; for a long time under 
 awful terrors of foul, before he is made fenfiblc of his owa 
 x^eaknefs, and of the fuitablenefs and all-fufHcicncy of Je- 
 fus Chrift •, while others, as foon as they are wounded are 
 led to the glorious remedy. But though they are not exa6tly 
 alike in all, nor do they always regulally fucceed one an- 
 other in the mind, yet they are for fubllance the fame, and 
 are always previous to real faith. Being the means of pre- 
 vailing upon the fniner to give his ready affent to Chrift, as 
 the only way to falvation, and of his being tvilling to re- 
 ceive him, whatever contempt he cait upon him before. It 
 will not follow from what has been faid concerning thefe 
 convictions as nccefTarily connefted with juftification, that 
 they have any merit in them, or have anycaufalinfiuenceonit^ 
 , There are often legal convi£lions, or €onvi£tionsof guilt,feaT 
 cf wrath, &c wherethereisno juftifiGation,nor can thefe con* 
 vi61:i()ns properly be called preparations to it v for the finner 
 who is convinced of guilt, at firft generally goes to du- 
 ty, apprehending that will rend:er his condition the better, 
 fo that he is not prepared to receive Jefus Chrift, till the 
 Spirit comes and convinces him of his need of Chrift, and 
 his fuitablenefs ; then there h immediately an afient to him, 
 and a willingnefs to receive him. 
 
 2. Faith implies a confent of the will, and is a dire£l ap-« 
 plication of the foul to Chrift, in which act he receives 
 him, and refts upon him for juftification- — ^To explain 
 and illuftrate this, we may take notice of the obje<^ of jus- 
 tify ing faith, and then confider the eflential acts of it/ 
 
 I. "We may ta-ke notice of the objccl: of juftrfying 
 faith. Now true faving faith hath for its fubjedt 
 matter the whole word of God, all divine revelation : he 
 who believes viot tlie word of God,< believes not in Jefus, 
 who is the fubjec^ matter of gofpel revelation. God is the pro-* 
 per obje£l of faith ; he who comes to God miift believe that 
 he is, and that he is the rewarder, Src. Hek xi.-6. All the 
 perfections of God are the objefts of faith. Thus the Old 
 Teftament faints trufted in the mercy of God, Pfa. xxxiii. 
 1 8. They pleaded his mercy, as David, Pfa H. i. And 
 . the penitent publican flics to the mercy of God for relief. 
 Luke xviii 13. " God be merciful," &c. But we muft 
 not look upon this as the uncovenanted general mercy of 
 • Cod i.God, conlldcrcd in himfelf> cut of Chrift is a con^ 
 
Serm. X. on justification. i^j 
 
 ^uming fire, and not a proper obje6l of our faith and hope ;. 
 confiderinjT the awful demerit of fin, the threatening of the 
 law, and infinite holinefs and juftice of God, we have ra- 
 ther reafon to fly from him, as our firft parents attempted 
 to do, than hope and truft in him, unlefs we view him in 
 Chrift. Ill whom alone he is merciful, gracious, and long 
 fuflering, &c. It was the 'mercy of God therefore as it hail 
 a relation to our redemption by Jefus Chrift, that the Old. 
 Teftament faints trufted in. This mercy and grace of God, 
 is the grand fpring and caufe of juftification, redemption, 
 and all fpiritual and eternal blelTmgs. " We are j unified 
 ** freely by grace through the redemption that is in Chrift 
 « Jefus," Rom. iii 24. In Chrift we " have redemption 
 " through his blood, the forgivenefs of fins according to the 
 " riches of his grace." Eph. i. 7. The mercy of God in 
 Chrift is cxpreifed in the promifes, and the fubftance of 
 all the promifes is Jefus Chrift, fo that Chrift, and Chrift 
 alone is' the immediate object of faith, for pardon and life.' 
 It is Chrift contained in the promife, that the finner is to 
 jookto for all ; "Believe in the Lord Jefus Chrift and thou 
 « (halt be faved," Afts xvi. 31. From the whole it plainly 
 appears, that Chrift ns fent, and ordained of God, for the 
 falvation of finners, is the proper immediate object of jufti-- 
 lying faith. But as Chrift himfelf is reprefented under va- 
 rious characters, and difcharges various offices, in bringing 
 about the redemption and falvation of finners •, and as only 
 fome of thefe charaders and offices have an immediate re- 
 lation to juftification, fo we may inquire, what is the ob- 
 jc6t of faith in that ad of it, that relates immediately to juf- 
 tification. Now that aft of faith that juftifies, relates only 
 to the prieftly office of Chrift; this appears from the nature 
 of juftification, and the end and defign of faith: juftifica- 
 tion «s to be delivered from the guilt and puniOiment of fin, 
 to be introduced actually into the favour of God, and to 
 have a right to eternal life ; and the end of faith is our jul- 
 tification. Gal. ii. 1 6. What the bufinefs is, the foul has with 
 Chrift, when he firft comes, our Lord tells us himfelf, Jo 
 V. 40. " Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." 
 The foul comes for life -, he fees himfelf guilty, and he is 
 feeking after pardon, after deliverance, from the wrath 
 f)f.. God which he has deferved ; after acceptance with 
 Kim, and a ri-hteoufnefs to ftand iu befor« him i t;his ftie.w j 
 
 X -. 
 
jfS^ ax jusTiiic-^TjOK. Scrm. X. 
 
 that the immediate o,bje£^ of faith, as jufllfying is the prtcfl;- 
 ly ofBce of Chrifl j that only anfwering the finner's want 
 as to juftilication. J'he prophetical, and kingly offices of 
 Chriii, are equally neceflary with his prieftly, as by them. 
 we have fpiritual light, grace, and fan£lification,, are pre- 
 ferred, and brought o^ victorious over all our enemies ; 
 Chrift confidered in every capacity, in every charadler, is 
 the object of that faith that is favnig, though confidered in 
 his prieftly office he furnifhes a righteeufnefs for our jufti- 
 ficatibn : it is this that gives fovereign comfort to the foul 
 fenfible of guilt, and wounded with fin, thus it isreprefent- 
 €;d in fcripture, and thus it was plainly intimated to th^ 
 church of old, by the facrifices whicli God appointed ; ^ 
 crucified Chrifl is all the finrier's comfort and hope, and all 
 his dependence for juflification. Thus we fee what is the 
 Cbje£l of juftifying faith. Now, 
 
 z. What is the' eifential aQ of it ? Believing in Chrifl; {% 
 an humble application of the foul to him, in which he re- 
 ceives him and reils upon hifn alone for falvation, Ther^ 
 is a great difference between believing that Chcifl is the fa^ 
 yiour, and believing on him ;' thfe one is only the aflent o£ 
 the mind, the other is the approbation and confent of th& 
 will, and the application of the fouf to him. The firft, con- 
 fidered abflra£led as an a6l: of the mind, rnaybe found iama- 
 py, who are fpiritually flrangers to Jefus Chriii. In the 
 Other lies the efTence of faith, and therefore we generall"]| 
 ^nd faving faith reprefented as a believing on Chriit, Romi 
 iv, 5. and 9, 10, II, &c. In true faving faith the afjent 
 of the mind is accompanied with a hearty approbation, of 
 the method of falvation by Chrif]:, a direct application- o{ the 
 foul to him, and refting on him ; in which a£t the foplfree- 
 Jy renounces his own righteoufncfs, and every other way o£ 
 falvation, and betakes himfelf fmcerely and cordially to tha 
 way whicli God has appointed, acquiefces in it, as the beft 
 and moft fuitable way, and trufls abfolutcly and entirely in, 
 Jefus Chriit for juftification and falvation We find fuith^ 
 faving faith reprefented and illuitrated under variou,s me- 
 taphors in the word of God, which tend to (hew its- nature, 
 and point out its aclings We find faith reprefented ** by 
 f* coming to Chrift." Thus our Lord called tJic burdened 
 ^ndJ}cav'y Inderiy to come to hiWy that is to believe on bini» 
 Hu!:th, xi- :j3. John vi. 35. " I,aavthc bread, of life, he 
 
Serm. X. qn lusTiFrcATioK. 165 
 
 ** who Cometh to me fliall never hunger," ver. 37. ** AH 
 ^' that the father giveth me fliali come," &c. ver. 45. " E- 
 '^ very man that liath heard and learned of the Father com-» 
 ** eth unto me," ver. 65. ** No man can come unto me, 
 " except it were given to him of the Father." To the fame 
 ptarpofc our Lord fpeaks, John vii. 37. ** In the laft day, 
 ^* that great day of the feait, Jcfus ftood and cried, faying, 
 ** If any man thirlt let him come unto me and drink." la 
 all thefe places what mull we underftand by coming to 
 Chrift but believing on him ? Is k -iot a fpiritual acl that 
 is meant ? An a£t of the foul, under a fenfe of guilt ? And 
 does it not imply a renouncing felf-dependence, and a betak- 
 ing ourfelves entirely to Jefus Chrift for paidon and juftifi-* 
 cation ? The es^ercife of no other grace can be called a 
 coming to Chrift: ; faith alone muft be meant, which has 
 Chrift for its object, to whom we go, and on whom alone 
 we caft our fouls, an4 all our concerns* Again, faith i^ 
 called a receiving Chrift, John i. 12. " To as many as re- 
 <* ceived him, to tliem gave he pow^r to become the fons 
 ** of God, even to them that believe on his name." Col. ii. 
 <5. " As ye hav« therefore received Chrift Jefus the Lord, 
 *' fo walk ye in him." And unbelief is often reprefented 
 by a not receiving of Chrift. 
 
 Again, faith is reprefented as a flying for refuge. Heb. 
 vi. iH. ^* That we might have ftrong confolatlon, who havct 
 " fleet for refuge to lay hold of the hope fet before us." 
 This has a manifed allulion to the cities of refuge, which 
 God appointed of old ; where thofe that had been undefign- 
 Cfdly the caufe of the death of any, might fly, and be fafe 
 from the wrath of the purfuer, and avenger of blood y there 
 he was out of the reach of thofe he had injured, and might 
 j^veiiecure : thus Chrift is appointed as a fanduary, whither 
 poor diftrefled fouls are to fly, and where they will be fafe 
 irom the fword of infmite julUce i this flying for refuge 
 Signifies a foul in diftrefs, not able to do any thing himfelf, 
 he ftands expofed to everlafting death, he therefore betakes 
 himfelf to Chrift, to free him from the wrath to come. 
 
 Again, faith is reprefented by looking. Ifa. xlv. 22. 
 *' Look unto me »nd l>e ye faved," kc. Zech. xii. 10. John 
 iii. 14, 15. Num. x\i 8, 9 A brazen ferpent was made and 
 ^ed upon a pole, that whoever among the Jews were ftung, 
 aad; looked iipon this ferpent might be healed. Chrift, in 
 
x()6 ©N JUSTIFICATION. Scrm. X. 
 
 arnfion to this, is faid to be lifted up ; lie is appointed, fet 
 forth, and held out, as the Iplrltual phyfician and faviour, 
 that whofoever looketh to, or believeth on him fliall be 
 faved. This looking to, or believing on Chrift, therefore 
 Cgnifies a fjnner wounded under a fenfe of fin, and points 
 <mt a real application of foul to him. Faith excludes all 
 our righteoufncfs from'juliiiication, and gives all the glory, 
 amd ascribes all the healing efficacy to Chrift alone. 
 ' ''Again, faith is repref^nted by trufting in Chrift. Thus 
 f^ysthe apoftle, " I knt -. whom I have believed," or trufted, 
 2 Tim i: 17.. In trufting the foul commits himfelf and his 
 concerns into the hands of Chrift, and leaves all with him. 
 As Potiphar left all withjofeph, and trufted him with all. 
 Gen. 5rxxix. 6. This is a noble a^t of faith, which the foul 
 is enabled to put forth, he trufts in Chrift though he fees 
 Mm not •, in the midft of the greatcft difcouragements and 
 difliculties, he trufts himfelf with, cleaves to, and depends 
 npon a glorious Redeemer •, and this trufting Ihews that 
 Chrift is the chief, the only objetl of a guilty foul's depen- 
 dence for juftification. ' 
 
 Thus by thefe and various other metaphors is faith fet 
 forth ill the w6rd of God, all which give us fo many con- 
 vincing proofs of juftification by the righteoufnefs of Chrift 
 nlone, as well as point out to us the true notion of faith. 
 In fine, we fee the objeft and the nature of faith : confi- 
 dered in general as faving faith, it hath for its object Chrift 
 in all his charafters, God in his nature and perfeO:ions, as 
 revealed in the whole of his word, but confidered as juftify- 
 ing, it looks to Chril^ in his prieftly charaOier alone, and i$ 
 Jiotonly a crediting the report concerning him, but a direct 
 application to him, in which the foul lenfible of fin, re- 
 nounces all his own righteoufnefs, trufts in Chrift, received 
 him, and refts upon him alone for juftification. 
 
 (3.) True juftifying faving faith is a vital principle in the 
 foul, of all obedience— Saving faith is not a dead, inad'Hve, 
 fruitlefs faith. " Faith without works is dead," fays the 
 apoftle That is not the faith which God requires ; a bar^. 
 Ten, unprofitable faith is only diflionouvable to God and in- 
 jurioufj to the foul " .^hew me thy faith without thy works, 
 *< and I will ihcw thee my faith by my works." James li. 18. 
 "iVe are juftified by faith alone, but faith is not alone in the 
 foul, it is accompanied with every otJicr grace, it cannot bo 
 
.Serm. X. on jusTiFrcATloN. i6^ 
 
 feparated from a principle of life rind univerfril obedience ; 
 it virtir.illy and radically contains in it all obedience, as the 
 cfFccft is in the caufe, it is a " faith that purifies the heart " 
 A£l:s XV. 9. " it works by love." Gal. v. 6. It is the grand 
 fpring that fets every wheel in motion, it is an adlive, an 
 enlivening, and quickeninj^ grace, it puts the Chrillian upon 
 the purfuit and practice of every duty ; it difcovers its real- 
 ity and excellency, by curbing the power of fm in the louJ, 
 bv mortifying every hill, by promoting love to Chriil, by 
 freeing the foul from every fenfual confinement, and by 
 conforming us more and more to the image of Chrift. This 
 faith will riot fulVer the Chriftian to live a life of indolence 
 and profancncfs; it Is a living principle, the more it is in ex- 
 ercife, the more the Chriftian flourilhes and profpers in the 
 divine life. See the Chriftian, when faith is in lively ex- 
 €rcife, he not only rejoices in the profpett of eternal life, 
 but he prefles forward towafrds holinefs ; fee how he mourns 
 for fin I How humble in his own eyes ! See how warm his 
 defires after Chriil, how flrong his love to him f how lively 
 in duty 1 See how fpiritual and heavenly in his frame ! How 
 patient in tribulation I How active in duty 1 The more he- 
 looks by faith to his Redeemer, the more he is changed into 
 his likenefs, grows in grace, and makes advances in fan£lifi- 
 cation. But we fhaM fpeak more particularly to this, when 
 we come to confider the influence which faith has upon 
 holinefs, and good works, or the infeparable conneclion 
 there is between juilification and fan£lification. Thus we- 
 fee the nature of juftifying faith. 
 
 Inf. I. Hence learn, that alFuraRce is not of the cfTencc 
 of faving juftifying faith. We may really believe in Chrift, 
 though we cannot fee our intereft in him. There is a per- 
 fuafion or aflurance that is eflential to faith, but that is a 
 perfuafion or aifu ranee of the object, i e. of the truth of 
 thofe promifes in which Chrift is held forth. Thus we are 
 exhorted to come in full alTurance of faith to Gotl. Heb. 
 X. 22. ** And we arc to alk in faith, nothing wavering/* 
 Tames i. 6. The meaning of which cannot be, that we mull 
 Delieve that we (liall receive what we afic, or that this is ei^ 
 fential to acceptable prayer ; but that we come with a ftcd-* 
 faft belief of the truth of thefe promifes which God has 
 made, and that he would fulfil them, according to the inten- 
 tion of them. And this perfuafion fatisf^cs tlie mind, an<i 
 
\6S ON JUSTIFICATION/; ^erm. X.. 
 
 pvcs the believer a comfortable hope, that God will give 
 him the blcffings he comes for, if infinite wifrlom fee therh 
 necefTary for him ; there muft be a perfuafion of tlve reality 
 of the declarations made of Chrift, there muft be ^ perfua- 
 fion of the fUitablenefs and all-fulficiency of Jefus Chrift, or 
 clfe where is faith ! Nay, there muft be fome peradyenture 
 Chrift M'ill fave us, or elfe there can be no reliance ; for how 
 can we conceive of any medium between hope and abfoliite 
 defpair? But there may be true faith in Chrift, where there 
 is no afTuranceof a perfonal intereft in him. If we are juf- 
 tified by the faith of aflurance, then a mere propdCtion that 
 Chrift is ours, would be the objeCl of faith and not Chrift 
 himfelf ; and'fo the principal a6t of faith would be an Si€i 
 of the underftanding, whereas the principal, the uniting a^ 
 of faith, we have fcen, lies in the will -, therefore it is called 
 receiving Chrift, and being drawn to him ; would you there- 
 fore know whether you have faving juftifying faith, inquire 
 not whether you can fay Chrift is yours, but whether you 
 are made willing to receive Chrift, whether you have been 
 enabled to give up yourfelves to liim, to make him your de- 
 pendence ; inquire into the fruits and eife^ls of faith, whe- 
 ther you love Chrift in all his chardclcrs, for he is precious 
 to none blit thofc who believe. 
 
 /«/. 2. Is faving, juftifying faith of fuch a nature and 
 from fuch an origin as has been reprefented ? Then learn 
 the obligation believers are under to blefs God for fuch a 
 favour ! O blefs God that he has given you faith in Chrift I 
 That you have been enabled to look to lum for healing, to 
 fly to him for refuge, to fee his excellencies, and receive him 
 in all his fulnefs ! Look up to him daily, to enable you to 
 live more in the exercife of this precious grace. Oh may 
 the life we live in the flefti be by the faith of the Sora of 
 45od, who ha* loved us and given himfclf for \is \ 
 
SERMON Xi 
 
 ON JUSTIFICATION. 
 
 "<^^-'<-<i'f4*?K*'l">*>">*»-»"^ 
 
 OM. V. i. 
 
 Therefore^ being jujiified By faith ^ we have peace with 
 God, through our Lord Jejus Chrifi. 
 
 THE way of juftlfication and falyation by faith in JeCvLi 
 Chrift, is fo contrary to our natural conceptions, that 
 IVe (hoUld have ever remained in the dark, had it not beeri 
 for a divine revelation : and till the Spirit of God enligh- 
 tens our underftanding, and leads iis by faith to Jefu's Chriftj 
 we remain perfeft ftrang€rs to him, notwithftar.ding the 
 revelation we ejijoy. We are naturally flying to a courfe 
 of duties, to make oiir peace with God, and gain us an in- 
 tereft in his favour, a melancholy evidence this,of the dread-^ 
 ful ignorance and corruption of human nature I As well asi 
 ii clear intimation of tl/c obligation we are under, to adore 
 the injfinlte riches of diflinguiftiing grace, if we are brought 
 to believe in Jefus Chrift; 
 
 We have under our confideratiori juflification by faith in 
 Chrift — And to fet this fubje^l in a clear light. We pro- 
 pofed, 
 
 I. To confider the nature of that faith that juftifies. 
 And, 2. How it juftifies. We have already conddered the 
 riature of that faith that juftifies. We have confidcred, i« 
 its author, and 2, what it implies, 
 
 i. It implies an affent of the mind to the ^ii^ way o£ 
 Y 
 
170 ON JUSTIFICATION. Scrm. X# 
 
 falvatlon, wpon a convI6^ion of its excellency and impor- 
 tance, made in the mind, by the Spirit of Cod. 
 
 2. Faith implies a confent of the will, and is a dire6l ap- 
 plication of the foiil to Chrilt, in which he receives him, 
 and reds upon him alone for juflification. Here we con- 
 fidered the object of juftifying faith, and the effential act 
 of it. We now come, 
 
 IIL To inquire how faith juflifies. Now, i. Faith docs 
 not juftify without relation to its obje£l:. The fcripture 
 limits faith to its object. " Believe in the Lord Jefus Chrift, 
 ** and thou (halt be faved," A£ts 5£vi. 31. It niny be in- 
 deed objected in the cafe of Abraham, fof it is faid, •* A- 
 ** braham believed God, and it was accounted unto him for 
 ** righteolifnefs," Rom iv. 3. i. e. The aEl oj believing. And 
 therefore faith itfelf is our juftifying righteoufnefs. To 
 which we may anfwer, it is a cohtradi<£iion to fay, that 
 faith itfelf juflifies : faitli, though the gift of God, yet is an 
 aft of ours. To fay then, that faith juftifies, is to fay wft 
 are juftified by an act of our own, and therefcTC that we 
 arejuftifiedby works. In the forementioned, Rom iii. 4, 
 5, 6, verfes, there is a manifeft oppofition between faith 
 and works. " Abraham believed God, and it was counted 
 " unto him for righteoufnefs." It muft be the object that 
 was counted, and not the aft, for the next verfe proves it 
 •* Now to him that worketh, is the reward not reckoned of 
 ** gmce but of debt •," this plainly (liews, that Abraham wa^ 
 not juftified by works but by grace. To him that worketh, 
 i e. for juflification, if he can be juftified by his works, 
 then grace has no hand in it, eternal life becomes his juft 
 due. Whereas it is reprefented as a free gift.— But, fays 
 the apoftle, " To him that worketh not, ;'. e^ (for jultifica- 
 •* tion) but believeth on him, that juftifieth the ungodly, 
 *' his faith is counted for righteoufnefs." Thus we fee the 
 apoftle mentions juftification by works, and by Chriit ; 
 from what different caufes they arife, one of debt, the other 
 of grace ; confcquently as there is this oppofition made be- 
 tween faith and works, our being juftified by faith, is not 
 by the a6t of faith, but the objeft which we receive by faith ". 
 for were we juftified by the aft, we Ihould then be juftified 
 by works and of debt ♦, but we are juftified by grace. It is 
 common in fcripture to attribute that to the aft or habit 
 "vvhich belongs to the objeft. It was not the woman^s 
 
Seni). X. ON JUSTIFICATION. 171 
 
 touching Chriil that healed her, but the virtue that came 
 from him, Mark v. 25, &c. It was not faith that made 
 perfons whole, but the power and itrength of Chriil ap- 
 prehended by faith. Thus it is not faith that jullllies us, 
 but the righteoufncfs of Chrid received and apprehended by 
 it But what is that faith which is faid to be imputed to 
 Abraham ; It was a faith In the promiie of God Faith 
 that had an eye to Chrift, Gal. iii. 16. " Now to Abra- 
 •' ham and his feed were the promifes made, he faith not, 
 ** and to feeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy feed, 
 *' which is Chrift.'* For though Abraham lived at'fuch a 
 diftance of time from the days of Chrift, yet he " faw this 
 ** day by faith, and he rejoiced, and M^as glad." John viii. 
 ^6. Thus Abraham was an example for us, in this way 
 of juftificatlon, as appears from Rom iv. 23, 24. " Now 
 ** it was not written for his fake alone, that it was imputed 
 ** to him, but for us alfo, to whom it ftiall be imputed, if 
 ** we believe on him that raifed up Jefus from the dead," 
 To fay that faith itfelf juftifies, is to deftroy the nature of 
 faith. What does faith do, but prefent the righteoufncfs 
 of Chrift to God for acceptance ? Does faith plead works ? 
 No, it pleads what Chrilt hath done, which makes it evi- 
 dently appear, that the righteoufncfs of Clirift, and not the 
 a6t of believing is our jullifying righteoufncfs. 
 
 2. Faith does not juftify as accompanied with works. 
 There is indeed a great difference between an empty, dead 
 faith, and juftifying faith: juftifying faith is a faith that 
 produces works, but yet it does not juftify with its works. 
 We muft feparate works and faith in the acl of juftifying; 
 though faith in the foul is accompanied with every other grace, 
 and leads on to virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, 
 godlinefs, brotherly-kind nefs, and charity, yet it doth not 
 juftify the foul, on account of this beautiful train attend* 
 
 3. Faith juftifies as an inftrumcnt, by trufting in Chrift. 
 Sanguification is a progrelhve work, and is abfolutely ne- 
 cefTary to our complete falvation : for which we muft look 
 to Chrift in all his offices ; but in juftification we muft 'ook 
 to his prieftly office alone, and therefore juftifying faith, is 
 reprefented by trufting in, depending upon, receiving him, 
 &c. to fignlfy that faith is only an inftrument in juftifica- 
 tion, and not the caufe, or condition of iu The riijhteoufr 
 
 y 2 
 
t;^ on justification. Serm. XI. 
 
 nefs of Chr.ft is a gift beftoweci upon us, and received by 
 us : and how is it received by us r By faith : therefore faith 
 in juftincation is no more than the hand or inftrument by 
 "fthich we receive the benefit of the Redeemers righteouf- 
 nefs. When we bid a poor creature in diflrefs hold out 
 his hand, and we will give him fome fupply ; the holding 
 out his hand is ngt the condition of our giving alms ; though 
 it is the means by which our charity is conveyed, and he be- 
 comes' pofTefled of it In fine, though without faith there 
 IS no juftification, yet faith itfelf does not jullify ; all tha^ 
 is meant by thefe expreflions of being juftified by faith it 
 this, viz. That the blefling of juftification is conveyed to us 
 in a way of believing, and was not enjoyed before. 1 hus 
 ■we fee how the righteoufnefs of Chrift becomes ours, by the 
 gracious imputation of God, and by our faith, he reckoning 
 it to us on the one hand, and we receiving it; pleading itg 
 virtue with God for the pardon of our fins, and a title to 
 glory, and entirely refting upon it for juftification on the 
 Other. By this m.eans it becomes ours really and legally, 
 and we are juftified by it, 'and fhall receive the everlafting 
 blcffings and benefits of it in a better world, ^ 
 
 We have now gonie through what we propofed, — Have 
 {hewr wherein juftification confifts,- — That our own perfonal 
 righteoufnefs is abfolutely unable to juftify us before God i 
 that it is the righteoufnefs of Jefus Chrift alone, that is the 
 matter of our juftification, and the ground of our accep- 
 tance with God ; and how it is, that this righteoufnefs is 
 made ours, that we may be really and legally juftified by it. 
 Let us now attend to a particular improvement of fo great 
 ji fubjed:, and, ' " ' • = • ' 
 
 Ufe I . From what has been faid upon this important fub- 
 jcOi we learn, that the three glorious pcrfons in the trinity, 
 are jointly concerned in the juftification of a finner, and 
 therefore ••re to be equally glorified. The Father is repre- 
 fented, vis purpofing the falvation of his people , as contriv- 
 ing the glorious fcheme, which has been purfued v as calling 
 Chrift to the important office of a mediator •, as fending him 
 into the world, to bring in an everlafting righteoufnefs; as 
 accepting of this righteoufnefs, and, in confequence thereof, 
 as imputing it to his people, pardoning them, and accepting 
 them as righteous upon the account of it. Ihe vSon, the 
 Lord Jefus Chrift, voluntarily accepted of the office his Fa- 
 
Serm. XL on justihicatiok* ?7t 
 
 ther had appointed for him, came into the world, veiled h\% 
 glory in the humble forni of a fervant, obeyed the law, and 
 fufFcied the penalty, by which he furnifhcd us with that righ- 
 teoufnefs we ftand in before God: hq is our great Higk 
 Frieft, who, after he had offered himfelf a facrificc to God, 
 went into the heavens, and fits down at the right hand o£ 
 God, pleading the virtue of his righteoufnefs for his people. 
 And the Holy Spirit applies the redemption purchafed by 
 Chrift, and particularly in juftification he works faith In the 
 {inner, he convinces him of fui, of his loft and undone con« 
 dition, and of the irt»perfc£kion of his own righteoufnefs, 
 that it is but a$ filthy rags, and aii unclean thing, and not 
 worthy of God's acceptance ; he leads him to Chrift, and 
 he takes of his things, and fhews them to the foul 5 he, in. 
 line, enables him to believe, helps him to go out of himfelf, to 
 renounce all his own mean, worthlefs fervices, and to calt 
 kimfelf upon the Lord Jefus Chrift, and truft in him alone 
 for juftification. Thus the Spirit implants faith ii> the foul, 
 and enables him to exercife it, and fo has a concern in the 
 juftification of a finner. He, as the comforter likewife, gives 
 the foul a view of his juftification, introduces fweet peace 
 into his mind, removes the pangs of an awakened confci* 
 ence, and cheers the foul with a view of a reconciled God. 
 Thus equal honours are due to the three glorious perfons in 
 the Trinity, as being concerned in the juftification of a fin^ 
 ner. "Whilft you arc adoring the Lord Jefus Chrift, for 
 the wonders of his love, in providing fuch a perfe£l righ- 
 teoufnefs for your juftification, and introducing you by it in- 
 ^o the divine favour *, forget not to admire the grace of the 
 Father, who called his only begotten Son to the important 
 ofiice of a mediator, and who fent him into the world upon 
 this glorious errand, and who accepts and juftifies you 
 through him ; nor negle£l to afcribc e-qual praifes to the e^ 
 ternal Spirit, who brought you to a fenfe of your need of 
 Chrift, and enabled you to believe on him Oh ! what 
 honours has God put upon a poor fmner, that the three glo- 
 rious perfons in the Godhead ftiould be all concerned in his 
 juftification ! and Oh how truly is he juftified ! Need I, 
 Oh my foul, fear to appear before the tribunal of God ? 
 Will nut each glorious perfon own me ? Will not the Father 
 view me, as the perfon he has juftified and pardoned ? Will 
 pot the Son receive mc as one for whom he furniflied a 
 
174 ON JUSTIFICATION. Scrm. XL 
 
 glorious righteoufnefs ? And will not the Holy Spirit own 
 that faith in me, which is of his own implanting ? "Will he 
 not fee the marks and traces of his own work in my foul ? 
 How happy, how fecure am I therefore, and Oh, what 
 honours are due to the glorious three ! The faints above, 
 ieniible of their obligations, are oifering their united and 
 unwearied praifes to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft. 
 Glory be to thee, Oh Father, for thine everMing love, thine 
 eteniul appointment, thy pardoning mercy. Glory be to 
 thee. Oh thou lamb of God, for thy fweet fmelling facrificc, 
 thy perfect and everlaiting righteoufn^fs And glory be to 
 thee, Oh holy and bleffed bpirit, for thy quickcing and 
 enlivening operations, thy facred productions, thine almigh- 
 ty energy. This, this is the delightful employment of the 
 faints above : Oh may we join thefe heavenly inhabitants at 
 laft, and fpend an eternity in praifnig and adoring the grace, 
 the dilHnd: aCts and operations of Father, Son, and Holy 
 Gho(t in the whole of our falvation. 
 
 Ufe 2. From what has been faid upon this fubje£l:, we 
 learn that the notion of an eternal juftification is without 
 foundation. Justification we have confidered as a relative 
 change, a£tually made when we become perfonally abfolved, 
 pardoned, pronounced righteous, and entitled to eternal 
 life. This juftification is faid to be by faith, now faith M^e 
 know is fomething wrought in u^, it prefuppofes conviction 
 in the mind, and confequently the actual exiftence of the 
 perfon who believes. This confideration therefore effectu- 
 ally deftroys eternal juftification, unlefs we can fuppofe an 
 impoihbility, viz. That believers exiited from all eternity, 
 and believed from all eternity. We acknowledge that all 
 believers were reprcfented in Chrift their head, when he 
 made the glorious agreement with the Father from eternity, 
 he undertook to do and fuffer for them all that was necef- 
 f irv, he took all their fins upon him, and the Father, well 
 knowing that the debt would be paid, promifod eternal life 
 to Chrilt their head. Titus i. 2. ** In hopes of eternal life, 
 ♦' which God, that cannot lie, promifed before the woild 
 " began." Thus their falvation was infured and rendered 
 certain ; but how ditTerent is this from aCtual perfonal juf- 
 tification ? The blclfings of falvation were given to C^irilt, 
 and received by him for us, but we could not be faid to bs 
 perfoiuUy i)oiHired of dicni. Behevers Vv'cre in fome mea- 
 
Serm. XL on justification. ijg 
 
 fure juftificd in Chrlfl when he was ralfed from the dead, 
 for he arofe as a public perfon, they were jiiftiiicil in thcif 
 head : but tliere is a great difference between being juiHfierl 
 in our head, and juitified perlbnally and ai^^ually thrnuj^h , 
 him: weal) finned in Adam, but wc are not aclually under 
 the condemninp^ power of the law, till we appear perfonally 
 on earth. In fine, what is juftificntion but the removing of 
 fin, and giving us a title to eternal life ? This necefT^rily 
 prefuppofes a (late of guilt, Condemnation, and dcatli, and 
 a real, adiual cliangc from one ft ate to the other ; agreeable 
 to the word of God, which ftyles even believers themfelves, 
 before they believe, ** children of wrath even as others.** 
 Eph. ii. 3 And the believing Corinthians had experienced 
 a change of ftate as well as of heart, i Cor. ri. 1 1. " And 
 " fuch were fome of you, but ye are wafiied," Sic. In an- 
 other place we are faid to be concluded under fin, and be- 
 come guilty before God, Rom. iii. 9. " What then are wc 
 *' better than they, &c. For we have before proved both 
 " Jews and Gentiles, that they arc all under fin." 19 verfe, 
 "Now we know, &c. and all the world become guilty be- 
 •* fore God." Now, are thefe meaning or unmeaning phrafes? 
 Do they not contain an awful reality in them, viz. That wc 
 are naturally under the condemning fentence of the law f 
 What is juftification then, but a perfonal difcharge ? Sec. If 
 then there is a time when the people of God are under the 
 condemning fentence of the law, then there is a time when 
 they are not juftified : unlefs we can fuppofe that to be 
 tinder condemnation and to be juftified are confiftent at the 
 fame time, which cannot be. The word of God, and not 
 his fecret will is to be the rule of our judgement; and what- 
 ever the word of God fays is pcrfed: truth. Now, as it 
 reprefents us at one time children oi wrath, under the 
 wrath of God, and at another time juftifi<?d, and the chil- 
 dren of God j we learn that juftification, perfonal, acVual* 
 cofpel juftification, was not, cannot be from eternity, but i» 
 mtime when the finner actually believes, and no fooner. 
 
 Ufe 3. From what has been faid, we learn the dreadful 
 malignity and demerit of fin ! Sin never appears more odi- 
 ous, than when we view the fufi^erings and humilintion of 
 Jefus Chrlft. Was man unable to make fatisfartion for it? 
 Were all die Old Teftament facrifices iufufiicient to mak« 
 atonement ? Muft the Son of God become man .'' Muft be 
 
f>^ 
 
 JON JUSTIFICATION* SerxTi. Xt. 
 
 bear the wrath of God ? Mufl: he pour out his precious 
 blood before fin could be pardoned and the guilty creature 
 teftored to favour ? Oh what a dreadful evil is fm, it is im- 
 poflible to fet forth its real malignity ; it is inconceivably 
 odious and dreadful in its nature and tendency. Would 
 you entertain fome fuitable conceptions of the awful de- 
 merit of (in, look upon the mighty God becoming man; view 
 him a man of forrows, &:c. Follow him to the garden, and 
 fee him iii inexpreflible agonies of foul, fweating great drops 
 of blood J go from the garden to the crofs, fee him feeling 
 the cfiielty of maa, the wrath of God, crying out, " My 
 •* God, my Qod, why haft thou forfaken me ?" All this was 
 ficceflary to the pardon of fin, to the enjoyment of the di- 
 vine favour, and eternal life. Oh what an evil and bitter 
 thing is it then to fin againft God ! And can you roll fin as 
 a fweet morfel undet your tongues, ye carelefs fouls, who 
 are ftrangersand enemies to Chrift ! Can you love fin, which 
 filled the Saviour with fuch amazing agony ! Oh think. If 
 you can, how inconceivably dreadful thofe torments mufl 
 be which your foul will feel on the account of fm in the 
 bottomlefs pit, if it is not forgiven. And can you fport with 
 fm ? Ye followers of Jefus, who have gi:'en your fouls up to 
 him. Oh ftand at the utmoft dlfts.nce from fm. See what 
 Chrift has done for you ! And Oh be not negligent, be not 
 carelefs, be upon your guard, and be concerned , to have 
 your fouls filled with the utmoft deteftation of fin f Was it 
 a light thing for Chrift to fweat great drops of blood ; was 
 it a tripling matter for the Son of God to bear infinite wrath f 
 To hang upon the crofs and make himfelf a facrifice for 
 you ! Oh when yoii are tempted at any time t6 fin, when 
 opportunity prefents, and finners, or your own hearts, would 
 tempt you to fin ; fay, how can I do this wickednefs. Oh 
 my foul ? It is the blood of Chrift, how can I love it ? It 
 coft him his life, how can I trifle with it ? Oh let me ftart 
 even at finful thought I 
 
 Ufe 4. We learn further, the exceeding great love of our 
 Redeemer, and the obligation we are under, to love, honour, 
 and ferve him. When we confider that JeTus Chrift has 
 furniflied us with that righteoufnefs by which we arc jufti- 
 ficd, and what he did, and fufi^ered to bring in this righ- 
 teoufnefs, we cannot but be convinced of our obligations, 
 to love, honour, and fcrvehim; efpccially if we confider the 
 
S^fm. XL ON jusTiFicATion. iyf 
 
 <iignity of his pcrfon and our unworthinefs of fuch infinite 
 kindnefs : when we confider the blefiings of juflifi cation, 
 which we receive through our Redeemer's tighteoufnefs, we 
 cannot but be fenfible how much we ought to love him, 
 and call upon our fouls, and all that is within Us to blefs 
 his holy name. Haft thou any hope, Oh my foal, of par- 
 don. and falvation ? It is owing to thy kind Redeemer: I 
 might have' dwelt in the bottomlefs pit forever, had it not 
 been for his infinite compaflion, and the virtue of his righ- 
 teoufnefs ! Can I view God reconciled to me ? Have I any 
 profpett of deliverance from the wrath to come ? Oh un- 
 fpeakable love of my glorious Redeemer I It is bwing to 
 thee, dtarefi; Jcfus, that I have a profped: of fuch exalted 
 blefiings ! And, Oh my foiil, fiiall I not love fo glorious a 
 friend ? Am I not umier the greatefi; obligation's to him ? 
 Has he faved my poor foul ? Made mc! an heir of eternal 
 life, when I might have perifhed forever ? Oh what won- 
 derful and aftonifliing love ! And why then all this cold- 
 nefs to my dear Redeemer ! Why is his name no more pre- 
 cious ? Why am I fo indifferent, fo lifelefs in his fervice, 
 why have I no more boldnefs^ no more zeal for his name 
 and his caufe I Oh my ufigrateful heart, to be no more 
 warmed with love to Jefus I 'Tb be no mort fenfible of my" 
 obligations ! Lord fhed abroad thy love in my foul, tl.at it 
 inay kindle mine to thee, that the fife may burn with greater 
 fervour in my cold heart, and my foul be more lively and 
 vigorous in thy fervice ! ... 
 
 Ufe 5- From what has been faid we learn the perfever- 
 fncc of the faints. If we are once juftlfied, we fliall never 
 fell into condemnation. Chrijfl, as our furety, made fatis- 
 fa(£Vion for all our fins. Now this fatlsfa^lion was eitjier im- 
 perfect or firll and perfe£t: j if the fatisfadiori which Chrift 
 made to infinite juftice for his people's fins was imperfe£V, 
 if he only partly fatisfied* and left part for us, then indeed 
 our circumftayces are melancholy, then may the foul be 
 afraid of a mifcarriage, and ou* falvation would be precari- 
 ous and uncertain : but this fatisfadiion was full and per- 
 fect, all that juftice required was paid down j this appears 
 by his difcharge from death, his afcenfion into heaven, his 
 Exaltation and interceflion there. . Chrift therefore making 
 full fatisfa£lion for all his people's fins, they mud be dif- 
 charged from hell and wrath, and be put into the poflcfllon 
 
 Z 
 
t78 ON JUSTIFIGATI0K. Serm. XI. 
 
 of life fevcrlafting ; confequcntly the foul that believes on 
 Jefus (hall perfevcre finally, and never be deprived of the 
 purchafed inheritance, unlefs we fuppofe God to be mut- 
 able or unfaithful, which cannot be. He that is once jnfti- 
 fied then fhall never fall into condemnation. Juftification 
 is an a6t wherein God abfolves the foul from punilhment, 
 cancels and removes the obligation, and gives him a title to 
 eternal life ; the believer may fall into fin, but he (hall not 
 fall finally ffom God. There is room for daily repentance 
 by our backflidings, room to plead with God for pardon, 
 room for humiliation ; but the foul that is once juftified fhall 
 fland in the favour of God. Thus fays the apoftle, ** By 
 *' whom we have accefs through faith, into this grace 
 ** wherein we (land, and rejoice in hope of the glory 
 •* of God," Rom. v. 2. Once accefs Into the favour of 
 God, and we (hall Continue in it, we may rejoice in hope of 
 full and everlafting glory; for all whom God juftifies, he 
 glorifies. O glorious, O comfortable truth ! Once a£lually 
 in Chrifi: by faith, and you fiiall never, never, never fall 
 into condemnation I Have you believed in Jefus Chrift ? 
 You fliall receive the end of your faith, even the falvatiori 
 of your fouls : the title which God has given you is good, 
 it will ftand the trial, and God will never recal it for the 
 gifts, &c. Rom, xi. 29. This by no means fets afide the 
 ufe of means, it does not lead to fin ; it animates the fouT 
 with greater courage, enlivens him more in his way, an^ 
 fills him with joy unfpcakable and full of glofy» 
 
SERMON XII. 
 
 ON JUSTIFICATION. 
 
 .4^,-<...4-«4'^4'*.'»:***4»-»->->">- 
 
 ROM. V. I, 
 
 Therefore^ being jujlified by faiths ive have peace with 
 Gody through our Lord Jefus Chrifi. 
 
 WE are upon the improvement of this great and pre- 
 cious do£lrine of a Tinner's juftification in the fight 
 of God, viz By faith in the imputed righteoufnefs of the 
 Lord Jefus Chrift. We proceed to, 
 
 Ufe 6 From what has been faid, we learn that there are 
 not different degrees in juftification. If juftification arofe 
 from faith and obedience then it muft be imperfefl:, be- 
 caufe our obedience is fo -, but the apoftle fays, " There is 
 " no condemnation to them which are in Chrill Jefus, who 
 *' walk not after the flefli but after the fpirit," Rom. viii i. 
 Either a perfon is pardoned, or he is not, either he has a 
 title to heaven, or he has not, there is no fuch thing as 
 half a title, or part of a title j there is a full title or none 
 at all. Juftification is not a gradual work, though it would 
 be fo, M^as it to arife from our own obedience j upon this 
 foundation there would be no certainty : according to the 
 meafure of our faith and obedience, fuch would be the 
 meafure of our juftification : an uncomfortable doctrine ! 
 But fuch is not the confequence of juftification by imputed 
 righteoufnefs. *< The righteoufnefs of God by fahh in 
 " Chrift Jefus/' the apoftle tells us, is unto, and upon all 
 
 Z % 
 
i8q on justification. Serm. XII. 
 
 <^* them that believe ; for there is no difference," Rom. iii. 
 22. The weak believer is juftified equally with the ftrong- 
 eft, the fame righteoufnefs is imptited unto them, therefore 
 they mud be juflified alike. Their faith is the fame, though 
 not in degrees yet in nature : believing more llrongly or 
 more vi^eakly, makes no difFerenfe in the ftate of believers, 
 though it cioes in their frames. The weak believer is not 
 fo lively,, not fb well fitted for bearing difficulties, and with- 
 ftanding temptations, as the ftrong "believer ; he is fooner 
 foiled by the enemy, fooner oppreffcd with doubts and 
 fears, fooner loaded with anxious cares, but his title to glo- 
 ry is as good as that of the moft triumphant faint, they Ihall 
 both be glorified. You that are weak in faith, rejoice, your 
 ftrength, your righteoufnefs, your all is in phriftj fo long as 
 his righteoufnefs has any virtue in it, fo long will you ft and 
 m the favour of God ; yOu cannot rejoice perhaps as other* 
 do, but remember you have the fame righteoufnefs to trurt 
 to, the fame Jefus to guide you and keep you fafe to glory 
 as they have, and you (hall reach fafe to Zioa at l^ft as well 
 as they. ' ' ' ''•■-'•,. 
 
 TJfe 7. From what has been faid we learn how exceeding 
 foolifh all thofe are, who will not fubmit to this way of juf- 
 tification. And here give me leave to addrefs you, who 
 are ftrangers and enemies to Jefus Chrift, and arc building 
 all your hopes upon the fandy foundation of your own fer- 
 vices : let me ferioufly afk you this cjueftiop, why is it you 
 reje£l this way of falvation by the righteoufnefs of Jefus 
 Chrift ? Is it a do£lrine that is any ways ditlionourable to 
 God ? Let us bring it to the trial, and fee which of the di- 
 vine perfedions it fullies. Is it the mercy of God ? This 
 pannot be, for nacrcy is glprified, yea highly glorified in the 
 humiliation and fufferings of Jefus Chrift: here is fuch grace 
 and fuch meicy as can appear in no other way. Is it the 
 wifdom of God that is Icifcned ? No, behold this is likewife 
 greatly exalted. Angels admire the way, and glorify in- 
 finite wifdom in its contrivance, Eph. iii. 10. Is the juf- 
 tice of God then diflionoured ? Oh no ! Thejuftice of God 
 appears in all its infinite luflre and glory, whilft we fee 
 God puniftiing fin in the furety, Rom iii. 26 " Jo de- 
 *' clare, I fay at this time his righteoufnefs, that he may be 
 «* jult, and the jnftifier of him that believeth in Jefus." In 
 fine, here every divine perfection appears in its utmoft ra- 
 
Serm. XII. on justification. iS^ 
 
 diancy and glory, to fill our minds with the greatell awe 
 and reverence, to engage our adorations and praifes, and to 
 encourage our faith and hope. And is God honoured by 
 thii do£lrine ? This is enough to engage us heartily to be- 
 lieve it, and earnellly to feek after an interefl in imputed 
 righteoufnefs. Why then do yovi diflike this amiable truth ? 
 Docs it injure the law? Search and fee. The righteouf- 
 nefs of Jefus Chrift is perfedly agreeable to all the com- 
 mands of the law, he fufFered its penalty, and was made a 
 curfe for us, he has laid us under the greatefl: obligations t» 
 obey it, how then is it injured ? It is rather honoured, yea 
 greatly honoured, by the infinite Hoop q{ the Son of God, 
 found m fafliion of a man, and made under tlie law, that he 
 might magnify it and make it honourable. Wherefore then 
 do you defpife this truth, is it an uncomfortable dodirine ? 
 Does it diftrefs the niind, and fill the foul with a melancho- 
 ly gloom ? Aflc the awakened finner, and you will find 
 nothing is more effectual to remove his fears, to quiet his 
 confcience, to raife his hopes, and fill him with a fweet 
 peace and tranquillity. Oh, fays he, it is the mod com- 
 fortable news I have ever heard, it fuits my foul, it opens 
 a door of hope before me. Afk the believer that has walked 
 in the truth fome years ; he has tried it, and can certainly 
 form a judgement of i^. You that twenty or thirty years 
 ago, were led to take hold of this truth, what fort of a doc- 
 trine have you found it to your fouls ? Can you recommend 
 it to the fmner as a foul comforting truth ? Have you been 
 enlivened, comforted, and encouraged by it ? How has It 
 appeared, when confcience has ftung you with a fenfe of 
 guilt ? When death has prefented itfelf before you, and e- 
 ternity has been in view ? Some of you no doubt have met 
 with fuch opportunities to try the excellency of this truth, 
 and have you any thing to fay in its favour ? Has it not 
 been your greateft cordial, your chief fupport ? Yes, fays tlie 
 believer, I have tried it for a long courfe of years, ii^j, I 
 have tried the poor felf righteous man's refuge *, I have tried 
 every foundation which the finner is endeavouring to efta- 
 blifh, and find that of an imputed righteoufnefs the only 
 one to cheer and fupport a wounded fpirit, to brighten my 
 views, fupport me in the moment of trial, and to fill me 
 with folid confolation. Heareft thou this finner ? Permit 
 |ne then again to repeat the queftion : why do you difap-j 
 
iSz ON JUSTIFICATION. Seriti. XIL 
 
 prove of this doftrlne ? Is it an unfafe way, is there any un- 
 certainty in it, do you run any riik of your immortal foul ? 
 If fo, we v.ili all difcurd it, and renounce it at once, as not 
 fit for our dependence; bring it to the trial then, and give 
 it -A fair hearing. And if we take a review of what we 
 have already faid upon this fubjeft, if we confider the Fa- 
 ther's approbation- of Chrift as our furety and righteouf- 
 iiefs ; the fulnefs of his fati$fa61:ion, and his anfwerlng all 
 die demands, the ends and purpofes of the law ; that he 
 did ail this voluntarily in the room and (lead of his people ; 
 if we confider all tliis, we cannot but conclude, that there 
 is the moft folid foundation laid for our trull and depend- 
 ence, and the utmoil certainty of our falvation. The re- 
 prcfentations we have of Chriit in the word of God, as the 
 only foundation, the fur<^ foundation, a tried ftone, &c. are 
 enough to convince us, that it is the moft fafe and fecurc 
 way. Chrift is a tried ftone he has been proved, God the 
 Fatiier tried him, when he laid our fins upon him and he 
 bore them all. The devils tried him, and he conquered and 
 fpoiled principalities, &c. And his people have tried him 
 above five thoufand years, and have found him an able favi- 
 our. The thoufanda and ten thoufand times ten thoufand, 
 who are at the right hand of God finging victory and fal- 
 Yalion, and giving glory to the lamb ; all thefe are living e- 
 ■widences of his perfed^, and all-fufficient righteoufnefs \ nay, 
 Bot one foul, that trufted in him, ever met with a difap- 
 pointment. And Oh, what can you now objeft ? "Will you 
 iiot believe in, and rejoice in tins way of falvation yet ? 
 Think ferioufly, whether you can anfwer fatisfa6lorily thefe 
 queftions. * Why is Chrift reprefented as our rlghtcouf- 
 
 * nefs ? Why as the lamb of God, &c. Why as the High- 
 
 * Prieft I Why is all the glory of our falvation afcrlbed 
 
 * unto him ?' Have thefe things any meaning ? Do they 
 Eot riainly fhcw the reality of that dcflrine we have been 
 vini 'jating ? Think further, how you will appear before 
 God, You may go about to eftablifti a righteoufnefs of 
 vour own, and pleafe yourfelves that it will do, but fit, and, 
 with the utmoft ferioufnefs, think upon the fubjeft for a 
 few moments, labouring to call off your thoughts from all 
 fublunary things; and now fuppofe all earthly things vanini- 
 jng, that you are goiiig to leave converfe with mort.ils, and 
 to appear before God, and to.receire a.fcnteace which wi-1! 
 
germ* XIL ON jtisti^rcAtiOj^. tgj 
 
 determine your everlafting condition ! Sunpofe you \Tere 
 jufl going to be examined by him, by tb;it God who is of 
 purer eyes than to behold iniquity, that God in whofc fight 
 the heavens are not clean, that God before whom the an- 
 gels fall down with humble reverence ! Is not this an awful 
 thought ? Is it not enough in fuch n ferious moment to make 
 y6u dirtrufl your own righteoufnefs ? Oh, how will you a|>- 
 pear before God I That God whofc prefencc our firrt parent?? 
 tvould liave fled, and hid themfclves amongll the trees of 
 the garden I Can you venture boldly before his bat, M^hen 
 you come in that critical moment to loojc back upon fo many 
 omiflions of duty, fo many commifnons of fm ; Will not 
 your hearts flirink with fear of the confeo^uences ? Oh may 
 thefe confiderations be rendered e{Te<ftual to engage you td 
 come n,iked and guilty to Jefus Chrift for righteoufnefs and 
 peace I and, 
 
 WhatblefTed encouragement does this way of juflificatioTi 
 give the finner ! God is juft, yet* there is the greateft ^ft- 
 Couragemcnt to apply to him, he has a<El:ed agreeable to hh 
 infinite purity and juftice, thofe glorious perfections of his 
 nature ; agreeable to his character as tlie fupreme law-givei* 
 and governor, in punifhing fm in the furety. Oh bleffed 
 news to awaken finners ! Let none defpair ; if their fmsar?; 
 never fo great, here is a perfect, a glorious righteoufnefs 
 ^ Chrift is the end of the law for righteoufnefs to every one 
 *' that believes." Rom. x. 4. 
 
 Ufc 8. The lafl ufe I would make of this great fubjefl is to 
 to point out the freenefs of grace in our juftification, " being 
 *< juftified freely by his gface through the redemption thati» 
 ** in Chrift Jefus " Rom. iii. 24. Our redemption is by 
 a price paid, and our juftification is in virtue of a righteout 
 hefs Chrift has wrought out, neverthclefs to us it is all gra- 
 tuitous and free : free, diftinguiftiing, fovereign grace is 
 what the believer is indebted to for every blefTing he enjoys 
 liere, for all that he lives in the expe(3:ation of hereafter. 
 This is a truth of no fmall importance in the Chnllian )if^, 
 as it tends to flay all felf-dependence, to keep us truly 
 humble under a becoming fcnfe of our own weaknefs 
 and vilenefs, and to fill us with the moft adoring thoughts 
 of that giace whereby we are faved. Permit me then t9 
 Conclude the whole fubje£l by the mention of two or three 
 
i84 ©N JUSTIFICATION. Seffti. Xlf; 
 
 things In fupport of this point. This will fully appear if we 
 Confider, 
 
 i. The fixing and appointing this way of juftification 
 was the efFe^l of the free, diftinguifliing, and everlafting 
 love of God. The fcheme was laid in eternity, it was con- 
 trived by infinite wifdom, it was the efFc<Sk of everlafting 
 lore; there was none to plead for us, the fcheme was formed, 
 and the affair fettled, before the mountains were brought 
 forth; or ever the earth or the fea were made, even from- 
 everlafting : it was the mere efte6t of God's fovereign plea-^ 
 fure, and fprung from his free Undeferved pity, grace, and 
 companion. Who was it, that laid the grand platform of 
 our falvation/ in which the way of our juftification, and 
 the beftowment of every blelTing was fettled ? Who was rt 
 that appoinfed the ble fled Son,, of God to be the mediator, 
 to come in the likenefs of finful ilefii, and bring in a righ- 
 teoufnefs for his people to appear in ? Was it not God the 
 Father, and did it not fprlng from his eternal love, his free 
 unmerited grace? Who was there with God when he fixed' 
 the glorious fcheme, w^lieri he called his Son to the impor- 
 tant office, and fettled th^ grand affair with him ? There was 
 no creature formed to plead his pity ; he faw us, in his all- 
 eomprehenfiVfe view, loft, fallen, wretched, and miferable ; 
 and nothing but his own will deternained him to have mercy 
 upon us. Our juftification, though by the righteoufnefs o£ 
 Chrift, yet was firft laid in the love, the eternal love of God 
 the Father ; here was ,tlie grand fpring of all God*s future 
 acls, his free grace *, this was the foundatiofi, and this will 
 be the top-ftone. Cracey J^rdce will be all the fong of the 
 redeemed of the Lord. Grace began and finiftied their 
 falvation, formed the plan and put it in execution ; Chrift'a 
 righteoufnefs was the way in which the free grace of God 
 difcoveted itfelf ! Had not God been from eternity gracious/ 
 we muft have been forever miferable and wretched, for there 
 is no change in him, he is without any variablenefs, or the 
 leaft fliadow of turning. He was the fame from eteniity 
 as he is now, and he will continue fo to eternity : Chrift 
 did not render God gracious by undertaking the work of our 
 redemption ; what Chrift has done \'^ the effe£t of divind' 
 grace, and was neccflary to open a way for the actual con- 
 veyance of this grace to tjie foul of the fniner. See* then, w^ 
 
Serm. XIL on justification. l^e; 
 
 kre juflified freely by the grace of God in this inftance, thfe 
 Father was free, without any obligation in firing upon, and 
 c^etermining this way of juftification : it was becaufe he 
 loved us that he ordained this righteoufnefs for us. And 
 why did he love us ? becatt^'e he would do it ! He was per- 
 fe<£lly free without cdmpuKion ; alas ! who fliouM conftraiii 
 him, who fhould oblige hirri to make fuch provlfion for us ? 
 All were loft, . had forfeited his favoiir, and deferved h^a 
 cverlalting indignation j in this condition he viewed us 
 when he Ibved lis, and gave his only begotten Son for us : 
 in this wretched condition he viewed us when he made the 
 fettlcment concerning our juflification and falvation, his 
 love then was free as it was great. Rom. v. Ji. ** But God 
 ** comendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet 
 •* finners, ChrlR died for us," Jer. xxxi. 3. <* The Lord 
 •* hath appeared of old unto me, faying, yea, I have loved 
 •' thee with an everlafting love; theiefore with loving kind^ 
 ** nefs have I drawn thee.** 
 
 I. Chrifl WIS abfolutely free, and tUfcovered the richei 
 of his grace in furniftiing us with that ri.ghteoufnefs by 
 which we are juftified. The righteoiifnefs by which we 
 arc juftified, is not of our preparing t as it was of God*s ap- 
 |5ointing fo it was of God's preparing ; God the Father de- 
 termined and fixed it, God the Son wrought it out and both 
 were entirely free* Was the fecond perfon in the trinity con- 
 strained to provide for us fuch a rlghteoufnefs ! He had nd 
 obligation upon him but what he freely arid voluntarily 
 •brought hlmielf under ; he was nOt InflUeiiced to do it by a 
 tIcw of advantage, or from a confideration af any merit or 
 ^'orthintfs in iis ; we lay ruined, helplefs, and mlferablc ; 
 it was free, It was generous love, in the Son of God tO come 
 ■and furnirii lis with a righteoiifnefs to ftand before God. 
 As it was free, fo it was rich grace, abundant aftonifiiing 
 ^race, fuch as entertains angels and raifes their admiration: 
 ihe Son of God muft lay afide his glory and appear in hu- 
 •tnan nature, he muft ftoop fo low as to be macfe under the 
 'law, be obedient to all its commands, and, what is more, en- 
 dure Its penalty, be liable to all manner of fufferings, ofTer 
 himfelf a facrifice, bear the wrath of God, and die a bitter, 
 ignominious, and curfed death, even the death of the crofs I 
 This is the w<jy in which juiiice was to be fatisfied, and 
 ijeavenpu'rchafed, this was the jighteoufnef:! v.iiicii we afc 
 
 A Ji 
 
i86 .. ON JUSTIFICATION. Serfti. Xlf* 
 
 10 be juftlfied by : and is not the grace of our Lord Jefu$ 
 Clirill abundant in providing this righteoufnefs, when we 
 tonfider that he who was rich muft become poor, that we" 
 through his poverty might be made rich ? 2 Cor. viii. 9. 
 It is an a6l of uncommon kindnefs and generofity amongft 
 men, for a perfon to lay down his Ufc for his friend •, but 
 we were not to be confidered in that amiable character when 
 Jefus undertook to provide this righteoufnefs for us *, we 
 were enemies, traitors, and rebels, and yet behold he loved 
 us, he loved us fo as to fulfil all righteoufnefs for us ! Oh 
 .amazing grace, is not all this the effect of his free and fove- 
 reign pleafure t he might have viewed us with contempt v 
 but behold he undertakes for us, and he furnilheth us with a 
 righteoufnefs. It is not your own righteoufnefs, Chriftians^ 
 that M'ill juftify you before God, you are indebted to your 
 glorious Redeemer for it •, he wrought it out, he has brought 
 it in, he provided it hlmfelf, he came voluntarily and did 
 it — He did it all freely without any confideration of re* 
 ward or advantage. What did the mighty Gpd ftand in need 
 of, that he fliould be found in fafiiion as a man ? Needed 
 he our poor worthlefs fervices ? No, it was all to ihew how 
 much he loved us \ It was to iliew the riches of his grace 
 in the juftification and falvatiort of his people. Oh that our 
 fouls were more deeply impreiTed with afenfe of it, &c. 
 
 Thus we fee the appointing this way of juftification and 
 the providing that righteoufnefs whereby we are juftified 
 are both freely from the grace of C^od. 
 
 3. God's a^lually making this righteoufnefs ours by im- 
 putation is freely by the grace of God. We have ibewif 
 that one way in which this righteoufnefs becomes ours, is 
 by imputation, whicli is an ad: of God's bv which he reckons 
 it to us, and deals with us according to its infinite and ever- 
 iafting virtue and efficacy. In this a(ft of imputation God 
 difplays both his jaflice and his grace, he is juft to Chrift, 
 juft in the fulfilment of his promifes, in imputing this righ- 
 teoufnefs to the believer, yet he is merciful and gracicus to 
 us *, can we plead a right a perfonal right to this righteouf- 
 nefs, from any qualification in us, or any fervice done hy 
 us ? We have rather reafon, the utmoit reafon to acknow- 
 ledge our unworthinefs of the leall mercy. Look upon the 
 poor finner, fee what he is by nature, view him in his fil- 
 thy rags, in his fpotted garments all over polluted, from 
 
Serm. XII. on justificatiok. ^ 187 
 
 the crown of his head to the fole of his feet, fee him a 
 tranfgreflbr of the law, an open rebel, and confequently wor- 
 thy of eternal damnation ; fuch is the foul before lie has ac». 
 tually an intereil in this rightcoufnefs, fuch does God find 
 us when he comes by his fpirit to enlighten our underftand- 
 ings and lead us to Chrift, fuch docs he iind us, when he 
 comes by his grace to renew us, to implant fai h in us, and 
 to impute his rightcoufnefs to us •, therefore^we read, Rom. 
 iv. 5." " But to him that worketh not but believeth on him 
 ** that jultifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for rigli- 
 
 " teoufnefs." Not that they remain ungodly, thofe 
 
 whom God jaftifies lie iikewlfe fani^ifies, but he finds them 
 ungodly, when he comes, to tiiem, to give them an actual 
 perfonal intereil in the bleflings of th^ everlalting covenant. 
 Such were you Chriftians ! You were ftrangers and ene- 
 mies to God, guilty and included under fin, expofed t,o the 
 execution of the fentence of the law, and children of wrath. 
 Jn thefe circumitances were you when God came and led 
 you to Jefus. ' 
 
 From this view of the finner then, let any one judge 
 whether God, in imputing the rightcoufnefs of Chrift to 
 him, is not entirely free ! 
 
 Oh, fays the believer, haft thou, Lord, imputed to me the 
 rightcoufnefs of my Redeemer? What an act of grace, 
 free grace and mercy, to fuch an unworthy polluted guilty 
 creature ! All the glory be to thee O Lord. Thus God 
 freely imputes this rightcoufnefs to us and we receive it as a 
 free gift. And thus are we juftified freely by the grace of 
 God through the redemption that is in Chrift Jefus. 
 
 4. If we confider that faith, by which we are faid to be 
 juftified, we fliall fee that we are juftified freely by the grace 
 of God. We need only here mention two things, ift, 
 The author of faith. 2d, The nature of it. 
 
 (i.) How came we to have that faith that juftifies ? Here 
 we find we have no claim to merit, for faith is wrought in 
 us by the almighty power of God, and is the gift of his fpe- 
 cial grace ; " by grace are ye faved through faith ; and that 
 ** not of yourfelves : it is the gift of God," Eph. ii. 8. 
 It is God tjiat helps us to believe, or elfe we fhould remain 
 for ever under the power of unbelief; we have done nothing 
 to entitle us to this faith, nor Is it given on the account of 
 the amiable fruits and effe£ls of it forefcen ; but it is given 
 
 A a 2 
 
J88 ' ON jrrstiPiCATioN. Serm. XIL 
 
 freely, it is a free promife of the everlafting covenant, and \% 
 the purchafe of our Lord Jefus Chrift. And the fpirit comes 
 at the time appointed, and imphmts it in the foul, without 
 paying any regard to the charaOer or temper of the perfon^ 
 or expecting any afliftance from him j he comes with hi$ 
 almighty power, fets the poor prifoner at liberty, leads him 
 to Chrift, and enables him to believe : thus that faith which 
 juftifies, is given to us freely, we have nothing to boall of 
 upon that point, but have reafon to fay that we are juftified 
 freely by the grace of God, &c. After the finner is laid un* 
 der the ftrongeft convi£lion,hc yet deferves nothing, the giv- 
 ing of faith is an a£l of his foverj^ign grace. 
 
 i. It appears from the nature, and a£lings of faith that 
 our juftification is rree. Faith receives falvation a$ 
 the purchafe of Chriil, as a free gift : Faith does not 
 plead the merit of the creature, it pleads nothing but thq 
 rich mercy, the free promife of God, and the righteoufnefs 
 of Jefus Chrift ; the language of faith Hands at the utmoft 
 diftance from pride, and is full of the deepeft humility. 
 Lord I am nothing, I am abfolutely vile and defpicable,! 
 Am unworthy of thy favour, it is rich grace to take notice of 
 fp guilty polluted a creature, all my dependence is upon thee^ 
 for I am altogether helplefs, and miferable *, I traft therefore 
 entirely in thee, and receive the blefiings of falvation as 
 freely coming from thee, Oh what have I which I have not re- 
 ceived ! Oh what is my righteoufnefs ? Nothing but fihhy 
 rags, and an unclean thing ! Not worthy to be mentioned ! 
 It is not for my righteoufnefs fake, God is pleafed to pardon 
 my fins, to accept nie into favour, and give me a title to 
 eternal life ! It is entirely on the account of the righteouf- 
 nefs of my dear Redeemer, which he freely wrought out for 
 dispeople and which God has gracioufly imputed unto me; 
 to what am I indebted for all my fpiritual enjoyments, but to 
 free grace ! All my hopes of tternal blelfings, all that Is done 
 in me, all that Is put upon me, is all the efPecl: of free diflin- 
 guifiiing grace, and God therefore fhall have all the glory. 
 This is the language of genuine faith. No other way fo 
 ynuch exalts free, rich, and fovereign grace as the way of fal- 
 vation by faith in Jefus Chrift ; no other grace is capable of 
 the ofTice which is alhgned to faith in juftification ; faltli re- 
 reives Chrift and his righteoufnefs, leans, depends upon him, 
 and gives him all the glory, which cannot he faid of any 
 
Serm. XII. q^i justificatiqk. 189 
 
 other grace ; therefore wc fee the beauty of the Mvay of fal- 
 vation by faith, and its perfe(S^ confiftency with the p^raee 
 of Go,d. Rom. iv. .16. " Therefore it is of faith, that it 
 •* might be by grace ; to the end thztt the promife might be 
 *' fure to all the feed : not to that only which is of the law, 
 •* but to that alfo which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the 
 *'. Father of us all. Juftification is in every refpe£k 
 free, from the laying of the plan to the execution of it ; it 
 is by the righteoufnefs of Chrift, and therefore free; 
 wc are wholly indebted to free grace for it, and can plead no 
 worthinefs of our own to it. " To him therefore who loved 
 ff us, and wafned us from our fins in his own blood, and 
 ** hath made us kings and priefts unto God and his Father^ 
 f* to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amci?, 
 ff Rev. i/5, 6. / 
 
SERMON XIIL 
 
 THE CONQUERING CHRISTIAN. ' 
 
 .^■•''■■*-<<^^^^)i(^'^^^>->'>>'-f'' 
 
 2 Tim, iv. 7, 8. 
 
 / bave fought a goodjighu 
 
 THESE words were fpoken by the apoftle Paul, that able 
 minifter of the New Teftament, a Iktle before he took 
 his final leave of earthly things, and entered into his mafter's 
 j®y. They give usa view of the character, duty^ and conduft of 
 every real Chriftian J prefenjL us with an example worthy our 
 ronftant imitation ; and encourage our faith and hope, our 
 iledfaflnefs and perfeverance in die fervice of our Redeemer, 
 by tliG profpeds of the noblefl triumphs at death, and a 
 glorious immortaljty, after a life of pain, difBcuhy, and for- 
 Tow here. The apoftle, knowing that the time of his depar- 
 ture, drew nigh, was willing to give his belov.ed Timcthy 
 his laft and folemn Charge, before he left him ; in which 
 lie exhorts him to take heed to his miniftry, to maintain, 
 with a noble boldnefs, and becoming zeal, that caufe he 
 had efpoufcd, to contend for the glorious truths he Jiad 
 heard and learned, and to take care of the flock over which 
 God had fet him : and then he turned his eyes from infe- 
 rior comforts, viewed withpleafure that world he was haften- 
 ing to, and rejoiced in the profpe£t of that crown he was 
 juft going to pofTefs. " I am now ready to be offered, and 
 ** the linis of my departure is at hand."- ■ I am going 
 
Scrm. XIIL The Conqijering, &c. 191 
 
 to fall a vi6llni to ttie rage of my perfecutors, to ftied my 
 blood for my dear Redeemer j and yet the thought fits eafy 
 upon my mind. I am not flartkd at the apprehenfions of 
 my approachmg dilTolution : no, my glorious mafter haa 
 not left me in this critical and important hour, but gives me 
 the teitimony of my confcience, and the witnefs of his fpi* 
 rit, that I have, through grace, been enabled to fight a good 
 fight ; and am going to enjoy the crown. Thefe words 
 naturally lead us to take notice, 
 
 I. Of the plcafmg reflections the apoftk Paul was 
 enabled to make upon his paft life. 
 
 II. The glorious profnct't he had before him, and the 
 triumphant frame of his fonl thereon. And may we, in 
 confidering thefe things, fee the excellency of the Chriftian's 
 life, the honouriiblenefs of his contention in the warfare, in 
 which he is engaged, and be quickened and enabled to en- 
 ter the liils in the name and Itrength of our Redeemer, that 
 we may fight the good fight,, and enjoy the prize aljo, 
 
 I. We are to take notice of the pleafing refledions the 
 apoftle Paul was enabled to make upon that part of his lif« 
 which he had fpent in his Redeemer's fervice. / havt 
 
 foughty &c. Here it may not be amifs to premife, that the 
 apoftle's pleafure did not arife from an apprehenfion of any 
 merit or virtue in what he mentioned, as if thefe things 
 could juftify him before God. He renounced all his righ- 
 teoMfnefs in life, and he retained the fame fentiment till 
 death. Our hatred of fin, our love to God, our diligence in 
 
 ■ his fervice, and all our gootl works cannot entitle us to the 
 favour of God, and abfolvc ns from fin ; but they are evi- 
 dences of the reality of our faith and jufiification; and when 
 ever the Spirit of God enables us to fee them as the real 
 cffefts of a fandtified nature, and confequently as evidences 
 to ourfelves and others of our pardon and right to eternal 
 life, they cannot fail of filling us with the fame unfpcakablc 
 fatisfa£Vion the apoftle here difcovers under the like view. 
 I have fought, S:c. In thefe expreffions he has a manifelt 
 allufion to the Olympic games in ufe amongft the ancient 
 Greeks ; fuch as wreflling, running,. &c. in which whoever 
 came off victorious, was honoured with a crown, or garland 
 of flowers. Thus the apoftle had been a warrior, he had 
 fought, and had got the vidory ; he had run, and had the 
 mark in view j he had kept his flation, and difcharged h» 
 
i$2 The Conquering Serm. Xiil; 
 
 6ffice, TLTid now only waited for a much brighter crown, even 
 iL crown of righteoufnefs, &c. We fnall confider each o£ 
 thefe diftin<f^ly, as they lead us to fomething ufeful and ira- 
 fortant. 
 
 The apoftle had fought a good fight. Here we hare the 
 Chriflian life evidently compared to a Warfare ; to carry on 
 the allufion, and to Ihcw the propriety of this cdmparifon. 
 Wefhallfhew, 
 
 I. When this warfare begins. 
 
 1. What are tlie enemies and difficulties, Chriftlanii are 
 Called to encounter with, in this warfare. 
 
 3. The weapons God has furnifticd them with, in the 
 life of which they are to get the vifborr. And, 
 
 4. Thfe encouragements they have to ufe them in thia 
 warfare: 
 
 I. Let us cohfider wlien this warfare begins. As it is 
 ^in fpiritual nature, fo it does not actually begin till the 
 foul begins a fpiritual life. . Tlie natural man finds but little 
 ^Aiihculty in the purfuit of his gratifications^ only confcience 
 may now and then diflurb him with the apprehenfions of 
 rternityy and a judgement- feat. In general he quietly en-i; 
 joys his beloved pleafures, and meets with but Uttle inter- 
 ruption ; Satan keeps him as an eafy prey •, fin governs him 
 without any diflurbance. He makes little or no oppofition, 
 he loves his captivity, and cannot be perfiiaded to proclaim 
 war, until the all conquering Grace of God comes, and fets 
 }iim at liberty. Chriftians, you knew nothing of this warfare, 
 iintil the Spirit enlightened your minds and renewed 
 your hearts. Then you entered the lifis, were called to 
 encounter with difficulties you were unacquainted with be- 
 fore, and mufl continue the contention, until death places 
 tou at an everlaflxng diflance from every enemy. The con- 
 tefl begins as foon as the grace of God is implanted. Be- 
 fore the finner could eafily run into every excefs ; but now 
 lie finds a powerful check, the enemies tike the alarm, fum- 
 mon all their ilrength, and begin the combat 5 and now the 
 foul is warmly engaged ; he is got into the field, and finds 
 himfelf furrounded with enemies, v/ho ufe their utmoil 
 fkill and flrength to prevent his progrefs Zion-ward, and to 
 lead him into his former captivity. And thus the conteft 
 continues till the Chriftian is proclaimed conqueror, which 
 Hill not h& until body and ibul are feparated. Tliis waj?^ 
 
Serm. XIIT. christian, t^j 
 
 fare none know but thofe who are the real followers of Jefus. 
 The inward ftrugglcs, the warm contentions the Chriftian 
 has with his enemies are concealed from the world. This 
 warfare is not attended with noife of drums and outward in- 
 ftruments : many a battle is loll, and many a victory gained, 
 and the world knows nothing of it. It is a fplritual warfare 
 between the foiil and its enemies. As none then can know- 
 it but the real Chriftian ; and as it always begins when h« 
 really, commences that chara6ler, fo all yoUr complaints, 
 ChrJllians, your ftruggles and conflicts, your fears and dif- 
 treiles, all evidence a warfare, and therefore difcover you to 
 be the real followers of Jefus, and to have a principle of 
 grace implanted. The ilnrencwed fniner cannot be faid to 
 be engaged in a warfare : the Chrifcian's enemies indeed are 
 his enemies ; they will be the inftruments and caufe of his 
 everlafling ruin unlefs dellroyed ; hut he is infenfible of itj 
 he is eafy under it v he has nothing that puts him upon 
 making an oppofitioil, but rather every thing tends to pre« 
 ^ent it. His Underilanding is darknefs, his faculties are all 
 polluted, and he choofes his captivily ; all the pleafure he 
 enjoys lies in a fubjeclion to his enemies. This warfare 
 tannot then begin till a principle is implanted that leads hint 
 to God and heaven : li cannot ceafe till the body is diiTolved, 
 and the loul is^ perfe^,\ly freed from fin, and got above the 
 teach of every enemy. Let us now, 
 
 2. Confider who the Chriftian's enemies, and what hi^ 
 difficulties are which he is called to encounter. Thefe arfe 
 manyy aind are fuch as thefe, — ^^the devil, — -the world, — 
 fin. 
 
 I. The devil is the Chriflian's enemy. The apoftle men- 
 tions *' principalities and powers, rulers of the darknfcfsof 
 *' this world, and fpiritual wickednefs in high places," aS' 
 Enemies the Chriltian has to contend with. Eph. vi. I2i 
 The devil was an enemy to man as foon as he was created, 
 and fo he continues. This is a fubtle and moft powerful 
 inemy, he is oftentimes the caufe of great diflrefs to the 
 foul. He knows human nature, can find eafy accefs to us^ 
 and has a variety of temptations, all which he makes ufe of, 
 as he fees they will bcfi anfwer his purpofes. No fooner 
 does he find his goverment difturbed, but he takes the alarm, 
 and ufes his utmofl Ikill that he lofe not a fubjed ; he ap- 
 pears under » variety of forms ; fometimes he (hews the moft 
 
 B b 
 
Ig4 "THE CONQUERING SeriTi. XllL 
 
 envenomed malice, and is like a hungry lion roaring after 
 his prey, ready to devour the humble finner : thus he is re- 
 prefented, i Pet. V. 8. Mis davts, which he throws with the 
 iitmoft rage, are called fiery. Eph vi. i6. iSuch are thofe 
 dreadful things he frequently fuggefts to the mind, by which 
 he endeavours to lead the foul to final dcfpair, and perfuade 
 him in the agony of his Spirit to put an end to his exiitence. 
 Again Satan appears in a more favourable, but really more 
 deilruftive form, as an angel of light, 2 Cor xi. 15. he 
 comes In the dlfguife of a friend, as Judas did to our Lord, 
 XiV'hen he faid, hail, mailer; and killed him. Mat. xxvi 49. 
 So Satan will fometimes appear a friend to religion, if he 
 ran by that prevent us from going any further than an ex- 
 ternal appearance ; if he can make us take up with th© 
 fliadow inftead of the fubllance. He knows where is otif 
 weakeft part, and he has a variety of ways to introduce his 
 temptations unfeen to us, that he may the more eafily fuc- 
 ceed. He takes notice of the various circumilances we are 
 in, and fuits his temptations to them, and fo he continues 
 till death, when he makes his lad onfet, and tries all his ik:ill. 
 If he cannot break the Chrillian's head, as a divine fays, (o 
 as to keep him out of heaven ; yet he will, if polhble, bruif© 
 his heel, and fend him limping thither ; that is, fill him fall 
 of fears, and doubts, about his eternal (late. 
 
 2. Another enemy the Chriftian has to encounter with is 
 this world. Tliis world may both include the things of the 
 world, and the men of the world. 
 
 I. The things of the world are become, through the cor- 
 ruption of nature, fnarcs to the Chriftian in his way to Zion. 
 The honours, the pleafures, the wealth and various enjoy-* 
 ments of this world. Thefe are the things Satan made ufr 
 of to tempt our Lord. Mat. iv. 8. ** He took him to an ex- 
 ** ceeding high mountain, and fliewed him all the kingdoms 
 ** of the world, and the glory of them : and faid, all thefe 
 •* things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and wor- 
 •' fliip me.*^ Agur prayed very wifely, when he defired- 
 neither poverty nor riches, Prov. xxx. 8, 4. Such a ftate is 
 ]eaft expofed to fnares and temptations When perfona 
 grow in wealth and honour, they think themfclves above all 
 iidmonition and reproof, both from God and man ; they are 
 above all" religion, imagine they have a right to treat facred 
 things with indiiVerence, and a(S as if they were no ways a<:- 
 
Serm. XIII. christian 155 
 
 countable. " When Jefliurun waxed fat, he kicked/' Deut» 
 x.xxii 15. This world inllead of making us thankful as it 
 increafes, it puffs us up ; inftead of improving it more, we 
 are more clofely attached to it. It requires great grace to 
 keep that perfon humble whom the world fmlles upon : to 
 grow in grace and grow in the world are difficult thinirs. 
 The fniner is eafily caught by the flattering honours and 
 plcafures of the prefent life : he facrifices all to them, cf- 
 teems them as his God ; and the Chriftian finds them of- 
 tentimes great hindrances to him ; they are pleafing to cor- 
 rupt nature, ileal away the heart, and leave little for God 
 and religion. The young man efteemed his poffeffions be- 
 fore Chrift and eternal life. We had need to ufc the utrnoft 
 caution how we purfue the honour, wealth, and pleafures of 
 this world ; they tempt us to neglect God and eternity, 
 take us off from nobler purfuits, promife us complete hap- 
 pinefs, but difappoint our expectations, and leave the poor 
 deceived finner eternally to bewail his folly. 
 
 2. The men of the world are enemies to the Chriftian. 
 There was ever a war between the feed of the woman and 
 the feed of the ferpent. It cannot be otherwife. For be- 
 tween corrupt nature and grace, there is the greatefl oppo- 
 fition. The heart of man being all over polluted, it can- 
 not entertain the leafl elteem for holinefs, but is filled witli 
 the greateft hatred to it : for the very fame reafon ; the na- 
 tural man cannot efteem the Chrillian confidered as a Chrif-» 
 tian. This has appeared in every age hitherto, in the per- 
 fccutions that have been raifed againlt the followers of Je- 
 fus, and the cruelties that have been inflicted upon them. 
 Sinners can agree to violate the facred commands of God, 
 and run into finful exceffes -, but when God is pleafed to 
 make a diftin<ttion, no fooner is one of them convinced and 
 enlightened : no fooner does he begin to fet his face Zion- 
 ward ; but his companions take the alarm, their agreement 
 is over, they have loft all their eftcem for him, ftigmatize 
 him with the moft odious names, and do all they can to 
 perplex and dillrefs him in his way to a better world. What 
 cruelties have been invented, what tortures ! what racks ! 
 what painful deaths I and all to put a ftopto the Chritlian's 
 progrefs, and to oblige him, if poffible, to defert the ways of 
 Chrift. It is impoffible to reprcfcnt the venom of the heart 
 againft Qod and his people : it is an unfpeakable mercy the 
 
 B b 2 
 
196 THE CONQUERING Scrni. XIIL 
 
 hands of the wicked are not always at liberty to diftrefvJ 
 the righteous. There is the fame fp^rit ftill prevailing, that 
 appeared in the moft fiery perfecutions \ the heart itfelf is 
 not changed, it only wants power and opportunity to fliew its 
 malice. If the natural man cannot exercife cruelties upon 
 the Chrifhian, he will reproach him, make him the fubje6t 
 of his profane ridicule, and do all he can to injure him in 
 his character, reputation, and eftate. This makes the Chrif- 
 tian life a warfare : the apoftle Paul found it fo *, he met 
 with the greatefl difficulties in his courfe ; *^ In labours 
 ** more abundant, in ftripes above meafure, in prifons more 
 f' frequent, in deaths oft,'* Sec, 2 Cor. xi. 23, 27. Thefe 
 things greatly perplex the Chriftian in his way to a better . 
 world, and fufficiently {hew his life to be a warfare. 
 
 3. Another enemy the Chriftian has is fin. Sin is his 
 word enemy : fip has fpread its dreadful contagion through 
 every faculty of the foul, and thereby furniihes Satan and 
 the world with fit matter to work upon. The teniptation^ 
 of Satan would not be near fo powerful ; nor the honours 
 and enjoyments of the world fo decoying if the heart was 
 free from all fin.' But through fm it is a neft of unclean 
 birds, it is like tinder, it catches at every fpark ; it is full of 
 all manner of wickednefa and abominations ;** from the 
 *' heart proceed murders, adulteries, thefts, and every 
 *« tbing that defiles a man," Mark. vii. 20. And though the 
 Chriftian is fan61:ified, yet he is fanftified but in part: fin 
 Hill remains in every faculty, and caufes an oppofitipn : how 
 is he wearied with its daily aflaults ?' Its fecyet workings ? 
 What vain thoughts does it produce, what carnal defires, 
 what coldnefs and indifference to fpiritual things, \yhat in- 
 terruptions in duties ? How often does it cool the Chrifi- 
 tian's love to Chrift, and his people, and ways ? Damp his 
 zeal, weaken his faith, ftagger his foul, and fill him with aw- 
 ful fears of everlafting judgements .? How often does it lead 
 him into captivity, provoke God to hide his face, to chaf- 
 tife the foul, and to bring aflhctions upon him to humble 
 and try him ? How often does it eclipfe his comforts, dif- 
 turb his peace, and darken his evidences, and prefent him 
 with the moft melancholy profpec^s ? How often does it 
 lead him to difiionour God, by nniimuring and repining 
 under afllielioiis, by diftrufHng his goodnefs, queftioning his 
 power, difbelieving his promifes, and difputing his care ? 
 
Serm. XIII. christian. 197 
 
 In (liort, fin is a perpetual and powerful enemy, it is diffi- 
 cult to curb its power, to fubdue its dominion, and keep it 
 Jn fubje£^ion. It is the caufe of all the Chriftian's diffi- 
 culties, it fills him with innumerable fears, and lays a 
 foundation for great diirefs, much labour, and continual 
 ftrugpjles. Thus the fleffi lufteth againft the fpirit, and 
 the fpirit againft the flefh : thefe two being contrary the 
 one to die other, caufe a perpetual war, Gal. v. 1 7. The 
 apoftle experienced fo much of the power of fm and its fad 
 effi^^ls, that he called himfelf even wretched, and longed 
 and panted after deliverance, Rom. vii. 24, &c. His foul 
 was wearied and fatigued from day to day, and he could 
 not but defire to be delivered. Thus we fee what are the 
 Chriftian's enemies, and confequently what difficulties he 
 mud grapple with before he takes his final farewel of this 
 world : his life mud be a conflant ftruggle with fin, Satan, 
 and the world ; and therefore with innumerable afflictions 
 and temptations, fears and doubts. What is neceffary to 
 overcome thefe things ? How fhall he get the victory ? How 
 muft he withftand and conquer ? This leads us, 
 
 3. To {hew the weapons God has furniflied his people 
 with in the ufe of which they are to get the viftory. In 
 fighting, the ufe of fuitable weapons is highly neceffary : if 
 the enemy take us unarmed, we are cafily conquered. It 
 would be madnefs for foldiers to go naked to the battle, 
 without thofe weapons which are necefiary, not only to de- 
 fend their own lives, but cut ofT and deftroy the enemy. 
 They have armour therefore provided, and fuch as is fit for 
 the purpofes of fighting, by which the victory is gained. It 
 is a greater M'-arfare the Chriflian is engaged in ; it requires 
 therefore fuitable armour to guard againfi the aflaultsof the 
 enemy, fuitable weapons to maintain the confli£l and gain 
 the battle. Such weapons as are every way fit for the pur- 
 pofe God has provided, in the ufe of which his people 
 though weak in themfelves, yet gain the vi£tory and come 
 of triumphant. The Chrlftian*s armour we have particularly 
 defcribed. Eph. vi. 14^—18. " Stand therefore having your 
 ** loins girt about with truth, and having on the breaft-platc 
 ^^ of righteoufnefs, &c. This is the armour, thefe are the 
 weapons that are fuited to this fpiritual warfare ; and in and 
 through which the Chrifi:ian maintainshis ground, and comes 
 o|Fat lali a conqueror. Time forbids me to enlarge upon 
 
198 THE CONQUERING ScriTl. XIII. 
 
 each of thefe particulars, yet we (hall take fome notice of 
 them. And the firll thing mentioned is a girdle ; which 
 was in common ufe among the eaftern nations to bind their 
 clothes faft about them that they might have lefs fatigue in 
 ^^alklng, or in their employment. There was a military 
 girdle likewife which came about the loins, which was not 
 only an ornament, but a means of ftrengthening the foldier 
 ^nd preparing him for the battle. The Chriftian's girdle 
 is triuh, fou;^dnefs of judgement and heart. A neceflary 
 character of a Chriftian. Hypocrify is not only odious but 
 dangerous, deftruttlve to the foul. Sincerity makes a per- 
 fon appear amiable to others, and is a great means of ftreng-, 
 ihcning the phriftian under thofe difficulties he meets with, 
 Satan is oftentimes ready to charge the Chrlflian with hypo«» 
 crify, infinuates to him, that all he has done is nothing but 
 a mere form : thus the finner alfo cafts the utmoft afper?- 
 fions upon the Chrlflian, lUgmatizes him with the name of 
 hypocrite, reprefents him as a£ting falfely and deceitfully 
 ill the ways of God, and as fecretly purfuing all manner 
 of fin. How neceiTary is truth then to oppofe to fuch a 
 temptation ? It cafts a luftrc upon a perfon's charafter, m^d 
 is. llrengthens and fupports him under all the calumnies 
 and reproaches that are caft upon him. Peter could appeal 
 to Chrift for his fmcerity, John xxl. .17. Job was charged 
 with hypocrify by his friends : it was happy for him, under 
 fo heavy a charge, that his confcicnce cleared him, Job, 
 xxvii. 5, 6. When we are accufed unjuftly, it is a pleafure 
 to 2 pcrfon that his confciencc can dlfcharge him. ** Satan 
 larould often vvhifper in my car, that I am but an almoft 
 Chriftian, &c. It is true I have been guilty of many im- 
 pctfeftlons, repeated backflidings ; but I woi^ld not mock 
 God with an outward form. I^ord thou knoweft that I dc-^ 
 (ire to be what I appear to be : I would love thee with all 
 my heart, &c. and fo far as I know myfelf I am fmcerc and 
 upright " Sec to it Chrlftlans that you have your evidences 
 of your fincerity ever clear, that you may be enabled to fay, 
 under every charge of hypocrify, ** Our lejolcing is this, 
 ♦* the teftimony of our confciencc," 2 Cor, i. 12. The nex% 
 piece of armour is a breail-plate •, v/hat foldiers frequently" 
 tifed to wear, to guard and defend them from the dcfigns of 
 their ewemics, and preferve them as much as poflible from 
 piortal wounds. Ihus the ChrilUaa is furniflied with ^ 
 
Sefm. XIIL christian. f 5^ 
 
 brcail-platc of rightcoufnefs: by which the rlghtcoufncfs of 
 Chrifl does not Teem to be meant, but our own perfonAl 
 nghteoufnefs. Thus this breall-phte is faid to confifl of 
 love, I ThefT. v. 8. The heart being purified, filled witU 
 love and every divine grace, is thereby defended and;];uard- 
 ed again (l all temptations to apollacy, which vvould prove 
 fatal to the foul. If we have the exercifts of thofe graces: 
 which God has implanted i if we are enabled to keep up' 
 our purpofes and refolutions of obedience ; and if we are 
 found careful to maintain good works, Satan will not (o 
 eafily lead us afidc, we ftiall be in lefs danger of bcinor 
 drawn away by fm and temptations j and we (hall have 
 fome comfortable evidences of our iriterell in Chrift and 
 eternal life, to keep us from that defpair our enemies woulil 
 drive us to, and to comfort our fouls under every affliction. 
 The next piece of warlike furniture is to have our feet fiiod 
 with the preparation of the gofpel of peace. Shoes are a nc- 
 cefiary piece of armour to keep our feet from being hurt by 
 the pricking thorns, the i!inty ftones, or other things that 
 lie in die path in which we walk. The Chriftian's way to 
 a better world is full of difficulties : it is through much tri- 
 bulation that we muft enter into the kingdom of God, A^s 
 Xlv. 22. ttis ncceffary the mind fiiould be fortified againlt 
 thefe things : and what has a greater tendency to do it thaa 
 the gofpel, which fpeaks nothing but peace and falvation ? 
 A mind filled with that tranquillity andcomfort the gofpel 
 promifes, by aiTurance of tlie divine favour and eternal life, is 
 fitted for the various difficulties of life, and flands prepared 
 to meet the enemy in the field. The apoflle Paul was thus 
 ihod : he was full of inward peace, being aiTured of the di- 
 vine favour, and therefore could triumph over every enemv, 
 Rom viii. 33—^39. Thus the gofpel fortified him againii 
 every difficulty by its peaceful difcoveries. If we are com- 
 fortably perfuaded that God is for us, we (hall not fear all 
 thofe that are againft us. Oh look into the gofpel in or- 
 der to have your fouls prepared for the difficulties of the 
 way : view the promifes it makes, the encouragements it 
 gives, the profpecls it fets before you ; fee, it is all peace ; 
 labour therefore to have your minds poflellecl of it Again, 
 theapoftle goes on to another moft important and neccll- 
 ry piece of armour, which is the fhield : the fhieldof faittu 
 There is no fighting for tlie Ghrifiian with any fuccefs 
 
200 THE CONQIIERIXTG Serih. XIIIj 
 
 without faith, faith in our Lord Jefus Chrift : " This is' 
 ** the viftory that overcome th the world even our faith," 
 1 John V. 4. It was by faith the apoftle Paul was enabled 
 to triumph over every enemy : it was by faith that all the 
 Old Teftament faints endured fo many afRi6lions and came 
 off conquerors at laft : by faith the martyrs endured the fury 
 of the fire, triumphed over death, and nobly maintained 
 their fledfaftnefs. Faith vieweth the all perfe6l and glori- 
 ous righteoufnefs of Jefus Chrift, and oppoieth this to the 
 tmworthinefs, fm, and guilt of the creature : faith views alt 
 ftrength and grace in the great Redeemer, and fets it againft 
 our weaknefs, and is the inftrument by which we derive 
 from our Redeemer, all that grace that is neceffary to keep" 
 us in every danger, fit us for evei-y «]uty, carry us through 
 every conflict, and to bring us off triumphant conquerors. 
 Above all therefore take the fliield of faith. Again the 
 apoftle mentions the helmet cffalvationy or as it Is otherwife 
 expreffed, the hope of falvation^ i Theff. v. 8. Faith and 
 hope generally go together, and are greatly neceflary in the 
 Chriftian warfare. The exercife of hope, like a helmet, 
 fills the Chriftian warrior with courage ; he goes to the 
 battle with greater refolution, receives every aflault with 
 firinnefs of mind, and ftands undaunted while the fiery 
 darts of the wicked one are fent thick at him. With a 
 lively hope the foul marches againft every enemy, his hope 
 encourages him to (he conilicl: ; it keeps him from finking j 
 it is an anchor, it keeps him fteady in the midft of every 
 wave, and threatnlng danger. While he keeps up his hope 
 the enemy In vain afiaults him; he preiTes on till he gets the 
 victory. See therefore that your hope be well grounded 
 and lively, if you think to ftand your ground and come off 
 conquerors. Again the apoftle mentions ** the fword of 
 <* the Spirit, which is the word of God :" this is compared 
 to a two-edged fword, nay it is fliarper, '* it pierces even to 
 the dividing afunder of foul and fpirit, and of the joints and 
 rnarrow *, and is a difcerner of the thoughts and intents of 
 the heart." One of the foldier's weapons is a fword, an in- 
 ftrument ufeful in war : the Spirit of God makes the word 
 effectual as a fword to cut the finews of temptation, to kill 
 and Hay the enmity of the heart, to deftroy every luft and 
 corruption, and to carry on the work of fandtification and 
 holincfs in the foul in fpite of all oppofition. Converf* 
 
Serin. XIII. christian. 2bt 
 
 much with the word of God, believe its importance, and 
 oppofe a Thus faith the Lord^ to every fuggeftion and temp- 
 tation of SataHi and to every enemy you meet with. This 
 \(^as the weapon with which oiir Lord fought when the devil ^ 
 tempted him in the wildernefs •, he turned him to the word 
 with an it is -written, Mat. iv. 4, 7, 10. Laftly, the apoftie 
 mentions " prayer •, praying always with all prayer and fup- 
 ** plication in the fpirit." Prayer is a moft valuable and im- 
 portant duty 5 it is a means of keeping off temptations, we 
 are therefore to pray again ft them : in the ufe of prayer we 
 get ftrength from above, by- which we are enabled to perfe- 
 vere in the way to Zion^ and gain a complete viftory. Mo- 
 fes* prayer was more efficacious than Jofhua's fword : fo 
 long as he held up his hands, Ifrael prevailed, Exod. xvii. 
 i I. The Chriftian need not be afraid that delights in prayer, 
 and frequently draws near to God ; prayer happily fits him 
 for the greateil conflicts ; for God who hears prayer, an- 
 fwers his petitions and gives him what is fieceflary to carry 
 him through all and bring him off triumphant. Thus we 
 fee the Chriftian in his armour ; thus fitted for engagement 
 he may cheerfully enter the lifts with all his enemies and 
 ftot be difcouraged, all things ihall iffue well, to the glory 
 of God, the confufion of his enemiies, and hiei everlafting joy 
 and happinefs. We riow come, , 
 
 4. To confider the encouragements the Chriftian has to 
 fight and engage in this warfare. And here we fhall only 
 confider three things by which the Chriftian appears fuftici- 
 fently encouraged to engage, i. It is a good fight. 2. 
 He has a glorious captain who will lead him on, ftaJid by; 
 him, and ftrengtheri him. Arid j. He has an affurance of 
 vidory. 
 
 I. It is a good fight in which he is engaged. He has na 
 reafon tohefitate aboiit the lawfulnefs of engaging*, it ap- 
 pears plainly to be his duty. It is certainly the duty o£ 
 (svery intelligent creature to walk in conftant obedience to 
 God, and therefore with the utmoft ftrength to tefift every 
 thing that would draw him off from his duty. It is a good 
 fight, for It is the caufe of God, it is for his glory : God is 
 iio ways honoured by a tame fubmiffion to every luft or 
 every temptation ; he is rather highly diOionoured. The 
 way to glorify God is to oppofe every enemy, to hate every 
 fin, to crucify everv luft, to (hun every fiiatc, and to prcl? 
 
 C c 
 
ioa THfi coi^Qj)5RiKG Serm. XlIL 
 
 on in J» courfc of faith and obedience. It is a good %ht^ 
 for God calls us to it and approves of us in it. This is the 
 coAfequence of implanting grace in the heart. If produce* 
 immediately an ©ppofition to every enemy, ftiis up the 
 Chriftian to a molt vigorous contention, iind rievef ceafeS 
 refiftance till it comes off viclotiotis. God therefore mani- 
 feltly approves of it i for it is by hivS afTiftance that the Chrif-« 
 tian is enabled to Hand his ground, and come off a con- 
 qtieror. Fof he, in himfelf, is wevik and abfoliitely unequal 
 to fo great a work, and unlefs the almighty Redeemer waa 
 to give him all fuitable ftrength, he muft fall an eafy facri- 
 ficc to every enemy. It is a good fight, for it will iflue in 
 the Chriftian's everlafting happinefs, it can be no ways per-f 
 niciouS or deftru£iiTe to him t it may be indeed uncom- 
 fortable ; the contention may caufe him much diftrefs, but 
 it will end well : it is therefore for the Chriftian*9 intereit 
 to engage in this fpiritttal warfare. A fubmifTiofi to hi$ 
 enemies will be attended with the mofl dreadful confer 
 qucnces ; nothing lefs than an everlafting baniihment from 
 God, and unfpeakable and everlafting mifery and wretched-^ 
 nefs. Again it \i a gopd fight fot it will bear a reflection. 
 There are many things we do that will not bear a review 5 
 our confciences, tmlefs hardened, immediately, rebuke us on 
 a confideration of neglect of duty, or adual commifTion of 
 fm. But every refiftance againft fin, every ftruggle with 
 our fpiritual enemies will bear a reviewing ; the review 
 will be fo far from galling pur confciences, that it will af- 
 ford pleafure : and all our uneafinefs will be, that we have 
 not contended with greater warmth, that we have not rc- 
 fifted with greater force, evety temptation. The apoftlc 
 Paul was juft upon the borders of an eternal worlds 
 he had eternify In view, yet behold *, he is not ftartled at 
 the profpedt, nor uncafy at a eonfideration of the oppofitiort 
 he had been enabled to make to every enemy : no, he ra- 
 ther fpcaks it with the higheft pleafure : " I have fought,'' 
 &c. I am now going to appear before God j goi"g ta 
 give an account of my ftewatdihip, and be fixed for ever; 
 and I ca;n, in this important crifis, Ibok back with an undif- 
 turhed ferenity of mind upon my ^briftian warfare ; the 
 thoughts of my contention with my fpiritual enemies do not 
 give the leaft terror to death ; no, t blefs God I have been 
 enabled to fight ; ifc is a good caufe in whii:h I ha>6 bcei> cm- 
 
Scrm. XIIL p h r x^ t i a>7* 203 
 
 fcarked, it will bear me out in the views of death, and give 
 me pleafiire in my lail moments Not that I hav<: meritcH 
 any thing : no, all nriy ckpendencc is upon my dear Rc- 
 <ieemer; and I blefs him that has enabled me to fight ^ good 
 iight, which is an evidence of n^y love to and my intercfi: 
 in him. Thus it is a good fight aud this is a fuihcient en- 
 counigemcnt to engage in it. Chiiftians, you will never bs 
 athamed either here or hereafter of your fighting this good 
 fight ', it is the intereft of Chrill j ijt is the intereft of your 
 fouls ; it is for the glory of God. Was it a bad caufe, or 
 did it want any evidence of its being truly good and exceU 
 ient, you might hefitate ; but hear a dying perfoii, one who 
 had tried it, who had met with many enemies, uncommon 
 difficulties, hear this brave apdflle juft before he bids all 
 things an eVerlafting farewel, hear him in this critical mo- 
 ment, pronouncing it, as it were with his laft breath, a good 
 fight ; worth our engaging in. This is the trying time, the 
 hour of death : now the world appears as nothing : now 
 Cm difcovers all its odioufncfs*, now the worldling fees his 
 difappointment : the proud rebel begins to dart, looVs :?- 
 fjhall, and vi^ifhcs he had, like others, fought a good fight : 
 he finds he has been doing wrong and muft be ruined. The 
 Chriftian is the only pcrfon that can now on good grounds 
 rejoice — I have fought, &c. Be not difcouraged,but continue 
 your conflidtg, you will never have rcafon to repent of it. 
 
 a. The captain of your falvation will fkand by, encourage 
 arid ftrengthcn you. It is a thing of confiderable moment in a 
 battle to have z brave commander, a good leader, one who- 
 will lead On, ftand by, and not dcfert the men ; but encourage 
 amd help them in the hour of danger. Such a commander has 
 the Chriftian warrior : a glorious captain, Jtifus Chriit^ 
 w^ho loves him and will never defert him. Fight under his 
 banner ; follow him, and whatever engagements he calU 
 you to, he will encourage and ftrengthen you in. Chrift 
 has pr^mifed to be with his people always, even unto the 
 end of the worM. He has never yet forfakcn any : his peo« 
 pie have been oftentimes in great dangers •, engaged with 
 powerful enemies, almoft ready to be led captive : they have 
 frequently to appearance been upon the point of giving iip 
 all hope, ready to ftagger and conclude it is all over; when the 
 captain of their falvation has encouraged and ftrengthened 
 them, ft:irred them up to a frefli contention and enabled 
 
 C ,s: Z 
 
204 THE CONQUERING Serm. XIII, 
 
 them to hold on and pcrfevere with courage and cheerfulncfs. 
 *' Fear not fori am with thee, be not difmayed for I am thy 
 ** God, I will help thee ; yea I will flrengthen thee, I wiU 
 ** uphold thee M'ith the yight hand of my rlghteoufnefs.** 
 Ifa. xli. 10. ** I will never. leave thee nor for fajce thee," 
 Heb. xiii. 5 Thefe promifes have been always, and (hall 
 ever be ful^'lled. Will God call his people out to fight 
 not only with flefh and blood, but with principalities and 
 powers, with enemies numerous and powerful, and leave 
 them to grapple by themfelves ? No, his people have always 
 hitherto found him kind and faithful *, and fo they will to 
 the end of the world, when every enemy will be vanquilhed 
 nnd their falvation be fully completed. What an encourage- 
 ment is this to enter the lifts, and fight with every enemy ? 
 Had we no one to lead us on, to ftand by us, to affift and 
 flrengthen us, we might then be difcouraged from fuch an 
 attempt : but when we have fo brave a captain to fight un* 
 der, one who is heartily attached to our intereft, one who 
 Tcally loves us and will never leave us, it is enou^ to em- 
 bolden and animate us ; to fpur us on, and to quicken us 
 to the engagement. You may truit your Redeemer, he 
 will ftand by you, he may fufFer you to be hard prefled in 
 the engagement; but in the hour of extremity he will help 
 you, he will keep you with his mighty hand, fupport your 
 finking fpirits, and encourage your fouls to perfeverancc 
 and fortitude. • , ■ 
 
 3. The Chriftian has a fureprofpe£l of vi£i:ofy. Was the 
 cafe uncertain and dubious the Chriftran might be afraid of 
 ■a difappointment *, the young beginner might be difcouraged 
 in his entrance upon this warfare ; but there is an abfolute 
 certainty of vi£lory. The moft experienced commanders, 
 the beft difciplined foldiers are not fure of fuccefs, when 
 they enter upon engagement. The battle is not always to 
 the itrong, nor the race to the fwift ; the wife ft are often- 
 times puzzled, and the braveft and moft refolute overcome ; 
 hut it is not the cafe here, the Chriftian foldier fights upon 
 fure grounds. Not that the vi£lory is obtained by his own 
 ftrength and prudence ; for who is fujfficient for thefe 
 tilings ? Was he to figlit alone he muft lofe the battle, and 
 be led a captive ; but though weak in himfelf, he is ftrong 
 in his mighty Redeemer : " I can do all things," fays the 
 apoitle, " througli Chrift Jefus ftrengtheriing me," He that 
 
Serm. XIII. c m r i s t i a H. 5^^ 
 
 Jlores'the Chriflian will bring him ofFa conqueror. None (hall 
 ever be able to pluck his people out of his hands ; the gates 
 of hell fliall not be able to prevail again ft them. What arc 
 principalities and powers, what are all earthly fnares and 
 temptations, nay what is fm itfelf, though never -fo deeply 
 rooted in the foul ? All muft yield to an almighty power, 
 5nrhcn that is difplayed. The Chriftian may be led into 
 captivity, the apoftle Paul himfelf was, but though he fall 
 he fhall arife again, rcfume the fight, and conquer at laft. 
 ^Why may the Chriftian be fure of conqueft and vi£lory ? 
 Becaufe God has promifed it, Chrift has purchafed it, and 
 he gives him ftrength to overcome. All the cnemie<? the 
 ^believer has are not a match for him, confidering him a^ 
 united to Chrift, and ftrengthened by him ; he has no reafoii 
 to defpond, but to rejoice and triumph ; a little time and 
 his warfare (hall be accomplilhed and the victory be his. 
 This by no means weakens his endeavours or makes him in- 
 dolent : though the glory is Chrift's, yet the viO:ory is got 
 in the ufe of means. > It encourages the Chriilian then to 
 faith and prayer, and to put on that armour which God has 
 appointed. What can animate the foul more than an 
 aflurance of conqueft ? It will not be always fo, oh my foul j 
 Jjook forward to that day when thou (halt be proclaimed a 
 conqueror. Now I languifti at times under fears, I am 
 ready to be prefled down with difficulties, but it will not be 
 long before I Ihall get above the reach of all my enemies, 
 and fing vi£i:ory and falvation. Hark the apoftle triumphs 
 in his laft moments : the trumpet founds to tell him the 
 vidtory is his, the battle is juft over and his enemies are all 
 vanquiftied. I have fought a good fight. I have encoun- 
 tered a variety of enemies, I have laboured hard and been 
 prefled fore, but now it is almoft over ; a few ftruggles more, 
 and I (liall gain the field, a few more conflifts and my war- 
 fare will be accomplilhed : I am now in view of the prize, 
 and in a little time I fhall enjoy it. Thus did the great 
 apoftle conquer at laft, and fo fhall every real Chriftian, 
 through his almighty and glorious Redeemer. 
 
 I. Hence then we learn, it is not an eafy thing to be a 
 Chriftian. The foldier that is always in the field has hard 
 fervice, he muft be ever upon his guard, left the enemy 
 ihouUi furprife him : he muft endure cold, be fubjc£l to 
 hunger and thirft, learn to habituate himfelf to hard* 
 
«#^ THt coKQUERiKo Serm. XUL 
 
 peh, ifhfe would ftand his ground, and difchatge his duty, 
 ^hriftians rtiuft cndurt hardnefs hkt good /§iditrs of J ejus 
 prrift, 
 
 The Chrtftxan'* life is a warfare, ^ continual warfare j 
 firom th^ firft moment of his fpiritual life to his poflefling 
 tl^c cro^yn, he muft be ever upon his watch \ he has enemie* 
 .i^fttinjaally endcayouring to lead him captive, watching 
 kyejy ppportgunity to beat him from his ground, he mult no? 
 ieiiidolent or floihfuK Think not a little will do i it is not 
 iaf^ Veak defires, or feeble attempts that make a Chriftian a 
 ^ you jtjbink to meet with no difficulties you will be mif» 
 taken, you j^ad beft fit dmvn and count the ^oft. Lufts and 
 jcor^upjjons the mod pleafin^ to nature, muft be fubducd a;id 
 morticed : Satan and hell conquered : the foul muft ftand 
 :jlgaijift ihe temptations of the world, and follow Jefu8 till 
 ileath, xhrougt >U difficulties and oppofition : this it is to 
 \it a Chrifti;ip.: we had beft inquire whether we have only 
 the ftiadow without xhc fubftance, that we be not deceived 
 and meet with a ditappQ^intment. It is difficult work to fight 
 thegood fight : n coiis many prayers and tears, many hard 
 iftruggles before the CHriflian comes to Zion. You that 
 »re contenting yourfelycs with only a form, are but tlmoft 
 JPiriftians: the believer ha* great and difficult work to ^o^ 
 with which you are entirely unacquainted. 
 
 2. Hence learn, how it is the Chriftian overcomes, and 
 to whom all the glory is due. It is not by his ftrength, J)ut 
 ^N the ftrength of Chriil that he conquers fin, Satan, and the 
 world. The apoftle did not attribute any tiling to himfeif, 
 he did not take the glory of conquering his enemies •, for 
 he in many places declares his own weaknefs, and Ins de-r 
 pcndence upon J efus Chrift for grace and ftyength to over* 
 come. The armour which God has provided points out 
 to whom the glory of vi£^ory is due ; faith, hope, ^nd 
 fnrayer all give the glory to Jefus Chrift, to whom it is Jiiftly 
 due. We muft depend upon him if ever we come off witK 
 honour. It is a miftake here that caufes many to mifcarry : 
 they b<:gin in their own ftrcngth, they continue for a little 
 while, but foon tire and fainf, give up the conqueft and full 
 a facrifice to their enemies. We from hence then fee how 
 ncceffarv it is that the Tinner ftiould have a fenfe of his own 
 weakncfi. in ovikr to his fetting oat right in the wiiyji of 
 Cod, and confetpiently how needful j^t is that the gufpcl 
 
Scrm. llll. tJMHiitlAK* ief 
 
 ft^ouM be preacher!, as it o penis to us the way of falvation^ 
 and leads us to the Lord Jefus Chrift, by whom alone It ii 
 that we overcome. May we learn to depend upon hitn, a|>^ 
 ply to bim, and give him all the glory. 
 
 3. What a difference there is between earth and heaircfri^ 
 and how happy is the Chriftian when he has got fafe above, 
 tarth is a firefome and fatiguing place ; wc meet with no-^ 
 thing but difficulticf to retarii us in our way to Zion 5 no^ 
 thing but fnares and temptations to entice our affe^liions 
 from God 5 here wc groan under the weighf arid prefTurc of 
 /in; our fouls hang the wing, and we are oftentimes difcon- 
 folate and melancholy. But ^bove there is no enemy td 
 encounter, no difficulties to perplex, no enfnaring obje^s 
 to lead us from God ; there the wicked ceafe from trouble^ 
 ind there the weary are at everlafting reft. Oh happy fouls 
 that have got the vidory, and are introduced into their 
 Redeen^r^s kingdom ; now they have no tormenting cares, 
 their fears are all fcattered, their confiitls arc for ever ovcr^ 
 their enemies are placed at an everlafting diftance, and they 
 are triumphing as conqiierors ; as thofe who have gained the 
 day, and are now wearing the immortal crown. Oh wh6 
 would not long to be there ? Who would not fight the good 
 fight, to \veaT fo glorious a trown at laft ? Who would not 
 i)c willing to put off this earthly tabernacle to be with Jefus? 
 I-.ook within the veil, oh my foul, and fee the glory that is 
 Jjrepared j view the place, fee how it will be when thou haft 
 got the vi^Ofy, and rejoice in the vaft, the immortal prof* 
 
«2=fc 
 
 SERMON XIV, 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN'S COURSE. 
 
 =*..<..«..)<|.*^#>:#^^4^^>"»- ►..».' 
 
 2 Tim. iv. 7, 2. 
 I have fnijhed my Courfe, 
 
 TO die is fomething folemn and important; the foul 
 had need to have fomewhat to fuppoit him in the 
 critical moment. To have a juft fenfe of the worth of ai 
 foul, and the importance of eternity is enough to make us 
 fmk, unlefs we can fee our fins forgiven^ and the Saviour 
 fmillng. It is not every one that, like the apoftle Paul, can 
 face the king of terrors with boldnefs and refolution. Na- 
 ture {hudders at the awful fliock, and is ready to ftart back 
 at the boundlefs profpeft, till God comes with his divine 
 confolations, and cheers our fainting fpirits, by telling us all 
 is well, and giving us a pleafing view of approaching glory. 
 The apoftle Paul had laboured hard in his mafter*s fervlce, 
 and he was well rewarded both in this life and in that to 
 come ; he had not only the enjoyment of the prize at laft ; 
 but he had a comfortable profpe(S: of it here. The thoughts 
 of bidding an everlalting farewel to all earthly things, did 
 not give bim the leaft uneafinefs ; he received the tidings of 
 death with that bravery, that calmnefs and cheerfulnefs 
 which are peculiar to the Chriftianj and talked of his dying, 
 nay of his awful manner of dying, with all the conapofure of 
 
fibrin. XIV. THE christian's, ^c, ^c^ 
 
 a follower of Chrift. He viewed his paft life, and though 
 he could fee many imperfe£lions, yet he rejoiced that God 
 had enabled him to Jig/)t a ^oodfghty and to bear his tefti- 
 mdny in the midft of enemies, and oppofition to his dea^ 
 Redeemer *, he looked forward and though all was eternity, 
 yet he was not affrighted, for he faW the crown prepared, 
 the judge ready to put it upon his head, and multitudes of 
 glorified faints to be his company, to join him in his ever-, 
 larting Hofannahs, and fongs of vi£^ory and falvation. 1 
 have fought From thefe words We propofed, 
 
 I. To confider the pleafmg refle61:ions the. apoflle takes 
 of that part of his life which he had fpent in his Redeemer's 
 fervice, 
 
 II. The glorious profpe£l he had before him, and the tri-i 
 umphant frame of his foul under that amiable view. Wd 
 have entered upon the firfl: of thefe ; and have confidered 
 that part of our text which reprefents the Ghriftiart hfe un- 
 der the fimilitude of a warfare. . 
 
 We now come to the apoflle' s 2c!, reflexion. I have 
 finifhed my courfe. Here the aponie evidently compares 
 the Chrifnari life to a race ; another of the Olympic games^ 
 in which he that firfl reached the goal was prefented with 
 a prize, a garland of flowers, which though of no intrinfic 
 value, yet was efteemed a mark of diftinguifhing honour. 
 Thus the Chriftian fets forward in his way to heaven, he 
 runs his heavenly race, at lafl finiflies his courfe, reaches 
 the mark and receives the prize. In our further treating 
 Upon this I (hall, 
 
 I. Confider the way or path in which the Chriftian is to 
 run.. 
 
 II. How we are to run fo as to finlfh our courfe with ad- 
 vantage. 
 
 III. The encouragement we have to run this race. 
 
 I. We are to confider the way or path in which the 
 Chriflian is to run. This is efTential to a race ; there mu(t 
 be a way a path appointed and determined in Which per- 
 fons were to run. Such there is in tiie heavenly race j the 
 end is eternal life, the way is appointed and determined by 
 God who gives the prize, and he has marked it out, and re- . 
 realed it to us in his word. This way we find to be a way 
 «f faith and holinefs. 
 
 I. The way in which the Chriftian is to run is a way o£ 
 Dd 
 
2IO THE christian's Scrtii. XlV. 
 
 faith in our Lord Jefus Chrlft. Thus Chrifl calls himfelf 
 the wny, John xiv 6. Chrift has opened a way for us In* 
 to th^ hoUed of all, and he is likewife the way thither. He 
 fatisfied infinite juftice for the fins of his people, appeafed 
 the wrath of God and opened a way for the conveyance of 
 grace and mercy in the everlading falvation of the guilty. 
 And had he not undertook this great and important woik, 
 wc muft have been in the moft deplorable circumltances. 
 None behig equal to it but he who grnciouily condefcend- 
 ed to undertake it, and has goneglorloufiy through it. It is 
 accordingly through faith in him that we become partakers 
 of the bleflings he has piirchafcd. Thus God has every 
 where revealed faith in Chrift as the way to falvation. " God 
 " fo loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, 
 " that whofoever believeth on him fliould not perifh but 
 ** have everlaOing life," John ui. i6. ** He that believeth 
 " fliali be faved." Mark xvi. i6. " Being jullified by faith 
 ** we have peace v/ith God.'* Rora. v. i. " By grace ye 
 ** afe faved through faith, and that not of yourfelves, k is 
 *< the gift of God," Eph. 11. 8- *< Without faith It is im- 
 ** pofi^ible to plcafe God " Heb. xi 6. This Is the way he 
 1)26 appointed, and he will approve of no other How can 
 we reafonably expeft acceptance Mith God in any other 
 way but that which he has determined ? This would be fup- 
 pofing hini a weak imperfect being; defeftive in his wif-* 
 dom or changeable in Iiis nature and purpofes. It fuppofes 
 God to reveal a way of falvation by faith in Jefus Chrift, 
 that this is tlie way he has determined and appointed, but 
 yet it fuppofes him accepting of a creature who is preju- 
 diced againft the way of faith, and fets up one of his own 
 in oppofition thereto ; it is arrogance to attempt to put God 
 upon a level with changeable creatures, he is of one mind 
 and who can turn him ? It is through faith in Chrift that 
 we muft be juftified The apoftle tells us It is by that rlgh- 
 t-<^Gufnefs <* wliich Is of God, by faith," Phil. in. o. And 
 that is none but the righteoufnefs of Jefus Chrift, which Is 
 jjracipufly imputed to us and received by faith. Ihe apoftle 
 t-eljs the Galatians, they did once run well. ** Who 
 " hindered you, that ye fhould not obey the truth," Gal. 
 V. *j. Ye once firmly believed the do(SUine of juftifi cation 
 by the righteoufncfs of Cbrlft. Who is it, has turned you 
 out of the way ^ .Tliis is the good old way ; a way that has 
 
Serm, XIV, course. 211 
 
 been tried ; a way in which all who have run have reached 
 the mark and got tli€ prize : it is the moft comfortable way, 
 it gives the Chriilian the higheil courage, the greateil intrepr- 
 dity in every danger, and thefweeteft comporureintheviewsof 
 death : it is, in fhort,, the bed way, the fafeft to walk in , w& 
 cannot mifcarry here, but mull fenifli our courfe well, and 
 be put into the poffefllon of the crown. 
 
 2. The way tlie Chrillian is to run is a way af holinefs. 
 *• I will run the way of thy eommantiments," fays thePfal* 
 mift, " when thou (lialt enlarge my heatt," Pfa. cxix. 32 
 Faith is produ£tive (wherever it is) of univerfal obe'dience. 
 God^ in the everJafting covenant, determined holinefs to be 
 the way to everlalling happincfs •, thus he hath chofen his 
 people " through fan^lification, of the Spirit and belief of 
 ** the truth," 2 Thef. ii- 13. " He hath not called us to 
 " uncleannefs but to holinefs,'* i Thef. iv. 7. God has ap- 
 pointed a certain meafure of grace and holinefs, which eve- 
 ry one of his people {hall fill up before they are introduced 
 into hh kingdom above. This is fitly called a courfe ; a 
 courfe that is limited and kid out, in which thofe that are 
 engaged in a race are to run. In a race there h a quantity 
 of ground laid out, at the end of which a mark is fixed, he 
 that runs and firft reaches the mark receives the prize : 
 Thus with great propriety is the Chriftian life compared to 
 a race> there is an appointed mark which they wm'X through 
 divine grace reach •, before they enter into reft, for fo it is 
 appointed. Not that this has any cafual influence upon the 
 prize fo as to merit it ; the prize they receive as a free gift ; 
 but holinefs is a meetnefs for heaven, and the diderent mea>- 
 fures and degrees of it God has fixed, and v/e find it dif- 
 ferent in different perfoiis Chriftians, in proceeding on 
 this courfe, do it not with the fame life and vigour; fome^ ap- 
 pear cold and indifferent, whilll others are quick and lively;' 
 ibme make great advances, whilft others go on by flow de- 
 grees. Some begin the heavenly race foon, in the bloom 
 of life, whiift others loiter till towards the evening of their 
 days. Some make q;uick improvements and through Chrift 
 finilh their cotirfe foon,, go off the ftage of Ufe, and receive 
 the crown of glory •, wliilft the race of others is long •, they 
 begin in youth, and continue their zeal and patience, their 
 faith and labour of love till a good old age. However all 
 are made holy, and they bring forth the fruits of hoUnefs : 
 Dd2 
 
212 THE CHRISTIAN'S Scrm. XIV. 
 
 Not that they arrive at perfeflion in this life ; it is impof- 
 fible. Neverthelefs we are to feek after advances in holi- 
 refs, knowing that the nearer we approach to perfedion; 
 the more Ihall we be like unto God, ii\ a conformity to 
 whom lies our greatefl; honour. The waiy of fin leads dowrt 
 to the bottomlefs pit ; it is the way of liolinefs alone that 
 ends in eternal life. ' 
 
 II. We now come to confider how we are to run, that we 
 may finifli our courfe with advantage. If we examine the 
 word of God and the Chriftian's experience, we (hall find the 
 following things to be neceffary. i. That every weight 
 Ihould be cai^ off, as the apoftle exprefles it. 2, That wc 
 begin right and continue fo, vi?. In a dependence upon 
 Chrift 3. That we are armed with patience, courage, and 
 refolution. 3, That we be watchful and diligent. And 5^ 
 That we keep preffing forward and perfevere to the end of 
 ourcourfe. » ■■'■ • - • -^ • • '■■-^ •• • 
 
 I. That we may run the Chriftian race well, it is necef- 
 fary that we caft off every weight. A perfon that runs choofei 
 not to be overburdened, becaufe it may retard him in hi^ 
 way, he may foon' tire, and faint, and lofe the prize. In 
 allufion to this the apoftle Paul exhorts us, " to lay afide 
 *' every weight,' and the fin which fo eafily befets us, and 
 ^' fo run the race that is fet before us " ,Heb. xii. i. Wc 
 have many things that prove as weights to prefs us down, 
 and make our running diffici;lt. The love of prefent things 
 3S a burdenfome load ; a too clofe attachment to this world 
 is greatly injurious to the Chriftian, it clogs hirp in his race, 
 makes him run heavily on, and make but little ptogrefs. The 
 younjT man feemed letting out full fpeed towards eternal life, 
 but when he came to find he was to part with his vi'brldly 
 poffeffions he gave over the heavenly purfuit. Mat. xix. 22. 
 Every weight muft be in fome meafure removed j whatever 
 we find to clog, confine, and hinder us in our race we muft 
 ]ay afide ; the fin therefore that fo eafily befets us, what 
 ever it is, whether pride or paffion, covetoufnefs, envy, un- 
 cleannefs, &c It muft be laid afide, or there will be little 
 or no j.rogrefs made. There is a fin in every one that is 
 generally diftinguifiied by the name of conftitution fin ; that 
 is, it is a fin that appears to be interwoven with our very 
 conftitutions ; it is the fin that is moft predominant in us, 
 to wliich we arc moft inclined, and which moft of all lead$i 
 
Serm. XIV, course. 21% 
 
 US afide. This fin cannot but retard the Chriftian's progrefs, 
 it vexes and frequently difturbs him; and unlefs gieatly 
 mortified and fubdued, It makes him ahnofl: ready to faint, 
 ftaggers his foul, and caufes the greateft perplexity. How 
 necellary is it then to our running well that this, nay every 
 fm be fubdued? unlefs the dominion of fin is deftroyed in 
 the foul, he cannot run to advaiiuge ; it will efFeAually 
 confine and keep him down, ''therefore you muft inquire 
 whether fin reigns in your hearts, whether you love it, an4 
 your happinefs lies in the purfuit and pra£lice of it -, if {o, 
 there is no running this race. A work of fandificatioii 
 muft be begun, whereby your fouls may be in fome meafure 
 at liberty to fet forward in the heavenly race j this being 
 previous to it. 
 
 ■ 2. In order to run vi-ell we muft begli^ and continue In a 
 dependence upon Chrift. To begin wrong is the fame as 
 iiot to attempt it. We are naturally too fond of ourfelves, 
 and too ready to apprehend that we are capable of doin^ 
 every thing in a Chriftian life by our own ftrength- With 
 thefe imaginations the finncr makes fome attempt, begins. 
 a reformation, abftains from the pra£bice of various fins, at- 
 tends the means of grace, reads the word, and perhaps prays, 
 and feems refolved for heaven *, but the difficulties he meets 
 witli foon overpower him, his corruptions begin again to 
 aflault him and to be predominant for him j he retains a 
 pleafing remembrance of former gratifications ; a coldnefshi 
 duty, and fo he gives up the confli6t, and returns again to 
 folly. If we (hould fucceed in the Chriftian race, we muft fet 
 out right. This is a matter of the utmoft importance. How 
 neceflary is it then that the finner's impotency and weaknefs 
 (liould be reprefented to him, that he may guard againft 
 flattery and felf dependence ? How neceiTary that Jefus 
 ihould be reprefented as our ftrength, as well as righteouf- 
 nefs j that we may go to him for all we want, and walk in 
 a conftant dependence upon him : without him we can do 
 .nothing* The difficulties we meet with in our way would 
 perplex and weary us, was It not for our almighty Redeemer. 
 The corruptions in our hearts would foon prevail, cool our 
 affections, ftop our progrefs, and entice us from God, was 
 there nothing to curb and fubdue them. We had need be 
 ever fending up our petitions to our glorious Redeemer ; 
 ^* draw us, we will run after thee." Cant- i. 4. He muft' 
 
2i4 THE christian's Serm. XIV. 
 
 enliven us with his gracious fmiles *, he muft give us frefli 
 ftrength continually to ftrive with and furmount every 
 difEcuIty ; he mufl quicken our defires, or elle we (hall loiter 
 in GUT race, grow faint and weary, and proceed no further. 
 They rpuft be abfolutely unacquainted with their own hearts, 
 mho imagine they are equal to every duty and difficulty, 
 and wiH not depend upon the great Redeemer, for his kind 
 and necefHiry afliftancc Chriftians you muft have your 
 eyes-up continually to Jefus ; your dependence upon him : 
 •^ run the race that is fet before you, looking to Jefus the 
 " author and finiflier of your faith," exercifaig faith in him, 
 and expelling all that (Irength from him, by which alone 
 you will be enabled to hold on and finifli your courfe with 
 advantage. 
 
 3. We mufl run with patience, courage, and refokition. 
 Thus fays the apoftle, " run with patience the race that is 
 •* fet before you." Heb. xii. i. The ground that is laid out 
 for a race, the path in which they are to run, is not always 
 fmooth and even ; fometimes there are fteep afcents, or the 
 way ir» rough and rugged ; that thofe that run cannot make 
 that fpeed they would defire ; tliey may ilumble and fall, 
 and be fome time before they reach the mark. Thus it ia 
 in the Chriflian race. The way is not fo eafy and fi-nooth 
 as many may imagine, it is full of difficulties : the Cjbrif- 
 tian muft afcend many mountains of oppofition, and run 
 through valleys dark and difficult before he gets to the end 
 of his race. He meets with many things that clog him in 
 his way, difpirlt and perplex him, try his faith and patience^ 
 and call for great courage and refolution : fometimes he 
 that runs in a race is ready to be difpirited, and was he not 
 to take frefli courage at the view of the prize he muft give 
 out •,' thus it ij> with the Chriflian. He is often tolled be- 
 tween hope and fear: fometimes he has the prize in view„ 
 and hopes to enjoy it •, at other times it is loft in darknefs, 
 he cannot fee it, his hopes begin to flag, and his foul to be 
 difcouraged And now there is need of patience, fortitude, 
 and refolution to bear up his mindinfuch a painful dilem- 
 ma, and to encourage him to wait and hope, and ftili keep 
 on in expe<£lation of the prize. Patience is a moft valuable 
 grace, it is greatly fulted to the prefent difficult and perplex- 
 ing ftate, and keeps the foul from finking under thole difh- 
 Cultics it meets. with> compofes the mind, quiets every tu* 
 
Scrm. XIV. course. ^15 
 
 multuous paflion, and helps the Chriftian to prefs on in op- 
 polUion to every difcouragement. Some meet indeed com- 
 paratively, or however apparently with but few obftacles in 
 their way : the path feems fmooth and pleafant, and thcV 
 hold out with cheerfulness, fee tlie prize before them, and 
 rejoice in the profpe6l ; whilft others languilh along the 
 road, are often ready to grow faint and give over; meet- 
 ing with a variety of difliculties to try their faith, before they 
 reach the goal. Some finilli their courfe with cheetfulncrs, 
 fmile at the fhady valley of deatli, and bravely withftand 
 every enemy in their way, until they have reached the mark 
 and got the prize ; whilft others tlroop, hang their harps 
 upon the willows, and ftart at the appearance of that im- 
 mortality, which will crown their labours with a moft glori- 
 ous and exalted happinefs. However every Chriftian meets 
 with fomething to exercife his patience and to ftiew the ne- 
 ceflity of refolution and courage. Do your fouls hang the 
 wing ? Are you ready to faint and give out ? You are not 
 the iirft : exer-cife a little patience, and all your difficulties 
 will foon be over. Why do vou meet with mountains of 
 oppofition ? It is to try your faith, that God may be glori- 
 fied in your patience, that you may waifc and depend upon 
 him for the prize, and receive it at laft with unfpeakable 
 thankfulnefs. Be not diflieartened, this is not the way to 
 reach the goal ; but be of good courage, ** you ftiall reapi£ 
 ** you faint not." 
 
 4. We muft be watchful and diligent. A perfon who 
 runs a race muft be active and diligent, not flolhful and 
 carelefs : he may then lofe the prize. Tlie Chriftian muft 
 be a-i^iive and fpeedy. To run figni(ies as much as fpeecUlf 
 to go forward. Gal. v. 7. to make hafte, Prov, i, 16. it 
 fign-ifies readinefs of affecSlion, Thus it points out that 
 diligence and activity we ought to difcover in our Chriftian 
 race: the flothful. perfon that hid his talent in the earth, 
 was caft into outer darknefs where there is weeping, wailing, 
 and gnaftiing of teeth. Mat xxv. i?d>. Wc mull ftrive ta 
 enter in at the ftrait gate, Luke xiii. 24. The apoftlc was 
 diligent in his race, his mind was bent upon it ; having his 
 eye fixed upon the prize, he was a^live : he forgot thofe 
 things that were behind, he did not loiter and look back, 
 but, as a perfon in a race, kept his eye upon the prize, he 
 looked and he prefled forward -y the nearer he came to tlic 
 
iti6 THE christian's ^crfh. XIV* 
 
 goal the more he puflied, as a runner exerts all his ftrengthj- 
 and throws himfelf forward to reach the mark, Phil. iii. 
 13, 14. He was upon his guard, left he fhould be retarded j 
 he watched over his heart, mortified the deeds of the body, 
 and took the utmoft care that he was not hindered in hia 
 courfe, I Cor. ix. 24, 27. " Know ye not that they that 
 ** run in a race run all,— f6 run that ye may obtain. — Every 
 ** man that flriveth for the maftery is temperate in all 
 ** things.-^l therefore fo run not as uncertainly, fo fight I, 
 ** not as one that beateth the air, but I keep my body un- 
 ** der, and bring it into fubje£lion, &c. Take heed to 
 " yourfelves," fays our Lord, " left at any time your hearts 
 *' be overcharged with furfeiting, drunkennefs and the cares 
 " of this life, and fo that day come upon you unawares," 
 Luke XXI. 24. A perfon overloaded with liquor is not fit 
 to run a race : no more are thofe fit for the Chriftian race 
 who are full of fenfuality. Be upon your guardj Chriftian,' 
 the way you run is difficult, and it Is attended with many 
 fnares and temptations *, Satan, the world and your own 
 hearts will oppofe your t»ro^refs, ftand in. the way and lead 
 you aft ray : ever/ fall you have, every ftumble you make^ 
 every fnare you fall into will be a hindrance to you ; will 
 harrafs and perplex you,* and caufe you much labour and 
 difficulty. Watch therefore and ^ray that you enter not 
 into temptation ♦, be up and doing, be not indolent, you may 
 have many fteps yet to go, many difficulties yet to encounter 
 before you reach the goal ; " gird up the loins of your mind 
 « then, be fober and watch unto the end," i Pet. i. 13. 
 See that your minds are more upon the ftretch ; that you 
 make more fpced, that you loiter not -, in fine, take car& 
 that your loins be girt and your lig^hts burning, that you 
 may be waiting for the coming of your Lord and maf- 
 ter. 
 
 5. "We muft keep pfcffing forward and perfevere to the 
 
 end of our courfe. A perfon that runs in a race, keeps 
 
 on ; if he ftumbles and falls, he gets up and goes forward : 
 he is approaching nearer and nearer the mark every ftep he 
 takes. Running fignifies making progrefs. This is not al- 
 ways vifible in tlie Chriftian : he fometimes appears to d^ 
 cay, languifli and go backward ; but there are different ways 
 of growth : the Chriftian may grow in grace and make fome 
 progrefs though it may not be fo vifible to himfelf aiid 
 
Serm. XIV. course. if 17 
 
 others. Trees in winter appear dead and wItKer, but iri 
 
 ihe Tpring, revive and flouriih : the Chriftian often meets 
 "sVith winter fealbns : he is cold and almoil frozen, but 
 when the fun of righteoufnefs begins to arife, aad like the 
 fun, in his return from the winter folftice, fpreads his glori- 
 ous beams, the Chrillian begins to look beautiful and flou- 
 riflnng, ** he go^s forth and gicws up like calves of the 
 ** ftall," Mai. iv. 2. We fhould be ever concerned to go 
 forward, and to have it vifible to ourfelves, and others, that 
 we do fo. Chriftians, if you (tumble and fall, lie not (iill ! 
 but up arid prefs on. Loiter not, but keep the prize always 
 in your eye, and be moving towards it : you cannot run 
 well urilefs you hold on and perfevere. ** He that is faith- 
 •* ful unto death fhall receive a crown of life." Rev. ii. lo* 
 " He that endiireth unto the end fhall be fovedj" Mat, x* 
 22. You may meet with many difcouragements, but ftill 
 keep on, the further you go, the lefs ground remains to be 
 trod, therefore let not your hearts be troubled, neither be 
 afraid, but keep on one fteady courfe ; the nearer you come 
 to the end of your race, be the more a6^ive, let the profpe<£t 
 of viftory animate arid quicken you, and let nothing be in 
 your minds but to finifti yoitr courfe, and to enjoy the prize. 
 We come now to corifider, 
 
 III. The encouragement Chriftians have to run this race.' 
 It is attended with toil and difficulty, the believer muft take 
 perhaps many wearifome fteps before he reaches the mark, 
 but this fliould be no difcouragement ; let none be alarmed 
 at the profpe£t of difficulties, there is enough to quicken 
 and ftrengthen the foul in this race ; for inftance, 1. There 
 is a glorious crown before us. 2. He that begins aright fhalt 
 at length certainly finflli his courfe. 3, Every one that finilhes 
 liis courfe fhall as furely receive the prize. 
 . I. There is a glorious crown in profpe£t. I fhall not 
 here particularly inquire into the nature of this crown, that 
 will be confidered when we come to the latter part of our 
 text. I fhall only confider now the Ghriftian's crown as 
 glorious, to fhew the encouragement he has diligently and 
 patiently to run the race fet before him. The prize which 
 the heathen conquerors received in their games, was only 
 a crown, or garland of flowers, or greens : a low prize in- 
 deed ! of no intrinfic value, only thofe who gained it were 
 ^ileemed as victors, and it was reckoned a mark of honour 5 
 
 Ec 
 
21 S THE christian's Scmi. XlVrf 
 
 though in itfclf it was a mean, empty, infignificant trifle, 
 not worth contending for. Whereas the Chriftian's prize 
 is glorious, unfpeakably glorious : our Redeemer's fervicC 
 is not an unprofitable fervice 5 he is no hard mafter ; he not 
 only fits for his fervice thofe whom he calls to it, but freely 
 rewards them at laft : were they to have nothing but what 
 they really merited and dcferved, they mtift come (hort of 
 this prize •, there is no proportion between our ferviees, and 
 the crown of glory Judge not therefore of its value by the 
 performance of duty : ellimate not its worth according to 
 the manner in which you have ferved your Redeemer : be- 
 hold it as the purchafe of the great Redeemer, God and 
 man, vietr ft as his gift, given to glorify and exalt the riches 
 of his grace, and^ you cannot but entertain the moft raifed 
 conceptions of it. The crown we have in profpect is no 
 low earthly trifte •, it is not made up of corruptible things as 
 filver and gold ; but of bleflings inconceivably more exalted, 
 fuch 2yt eye hath not feen, ear hath not heard, and which the 
 ^eart of man is incapable of concehdng : bleifings not of a 
 day, not tranfient and fading, but incorruptible, immortal, 
 everlafting. Is not this then futhcient encouragement to 
 tun the Chriftian race ? Shall the 'young beginner be diC* 
 couraged at a profpeft of difficulties ? Shall the Chriftian 
 that has long toiled, tire and faint at laft ? No, look forwarci 
 to that day when the Ghriftian's crown will be difplayed in 
 all it's glory : l6ok into the veil, where the prize is laid up, 
 and fee its glory And is not this enough to overbalance 
 every forrow, every weary and painful ftep ? Mark what 
 the apoflle fays.- He liad well confidered every ftep of the 
 Chriftian*s race, the difficult wildernefs he was to pafs 
 through, the fufferings he was: to endure, and the end of hi* 
 pilgrimage, the glory he fhould at laft receive ; he had well 
 weighed every circtmrftance in his mind, had put this life 
 in one fcale, and glory in another, and found the latter by 
 far to overbalance the former. " I reckon therefore," fays 
 he, " that th^ fi i"^ " ings of this prefent time are not worthy 
 •* to be compared with the glory which fliall be revealed 
 •* in us," Rom. viii. la-. This then is a glorious encou- 
 ragement to the Chriftian,' and fliould quicken him in his! 
 M'ay, fupport his fpirits when teady to faint, and bear up 
 his mind under the moft preffing difficulties Mofes had 
 his eye upon the rccompence of the reward Above^ when he 
 
Scrm. XIV. course. 219 
 
 turned his b.ick upon the glory of the Egyptian court, en- 
 tered upon the Chrilliin race, and made choice of his af- 
 flictions : the profpetl: encouraged him, amidft thofc trials 
 he mes with ; and he frequently took a view to ftrengthen 
 his mind, Heb. xi. 25. Thus the Chriflian has the grcatcil 
 encouragement to hold on with the greateft fortitude ; the 
 crown he has -in profpe(^ will make ample amends for every 
 tear, every ftruggle, every painful ftep ; it will be far above 
 his expectations, far t^yond his utmoit reach of thought. 
 Oh glorious encouragement ! What difficulties can alarm 
 the foul that has fuch a profpe£t ? See, Oh my foul, what 
 is before thee : canft thou think what is laid up within the 
 veil ? A glorious crown, a crown immortal and cverlalting : 
 not made of earthly materials : far beyond all fcnilblc en- 
 joyments : How then can I think of loitering, or fainting, 
 in my race ? Shall mortals, ambitious of a little earthly ho- 
 nour, run with the utmoft cheerfulnefs and vigour 1 Shall 
 they defpife the difficulties of the race and prefs on to reach 
 the mark? And fhall not a profpccl of immortal honour, 
 awaken me to the utmoft diligence, encourage me under 
 every difficulty, and lielp me to prefs forward ? Can I faint, 
 Ire down weary of my toils, and give up the crown ? No 
 my foul, have thine eye upon the prize, confider its magni- 
 ficence and that will. quicken thee in thy way, and enable 
 thee to hold on. 
 
 2. He that begins his race aright, (hall finifj his courfe. — 
 It is a principal thing in the Chriftian race to fet out in the 
 right path ; too many arc ready to miftake the way, and 
 therefore never come to t|pe mark, and gain the prize. Here 
 we are liable to err •, we are enemies naturally to the way 
 which God has appointed, and vainly think that which is 
 moft agreeable to our own apprehenfions is the mofl agree- 
 able to God and fafe for us. Thus we miftake at hrft, in 
 the matter of the greateft importance, and wander until 
 we are abfolutely and eternally loft, unlefs God is pleafed 
 to lead us into the right way. Some there are, that to ap- 
 pearance begin right, but foon tire, and faint, and give up. 
 Their zeal abates, their love grows cold, they cannot en- 
 counter with fo many difficulties ; they cannot refift the 
 rifings of corruption, they cannot live a life of faith and 
 mortification, they foon grow weary and give up the con- 
 J^CJ. Thefe, notwithftanding their appearance, never begaa 
 
 £ e z 
 
220 THE christian's Scrm. XIV. 
 
 right. Had they really had the dominion of fin fubdued, 
 •grace implanted, and been enabled to give up themfelves 
 really and fmcerely into the hands of Jefus Chrift, they 
 would have continued until they had finilhed their ccurfe 
 and got the prize. This therefore (hould not be the leait 
 difcouragement to the humble foul ; for where the good 
 work is begun, it (hall be carried on until it is perfected, 
 and every one that' really begins the race fhall reach the 
 mark. The great queftion is, have yoii been made fenfible 
 of >your weaknefs, your guilt, and unworthinefs, and yout* 
 inequality to the difficulties of the Chriftlan race ? And 
 have you been enabled to cad your whole dependence upon 
 the ^rcat Redeemer ? Have you, under a fenfe pf fin and 
 guilt, been enabled to fly to Jefus Chrift as your only fanc- 
 tuary ? Is it your concern to feek to, and depend on hini 
 daily for grace, wifdom, and ftrength to enable you to hold 
 on ? In fliort, is Chrift your all ! You may then be encou- 
 raged, though the way be rugged and difficult; he to whom 
 you have' committed yourfelves will guide, dire£t, fupporr, 
 and keep you, and at lafl give you the prize. " It is only 
 thofe that depend upon their own ftrength, and are empty 
 profeiTors that faint and give up : not thofe who are united 
 to Chrift depend upon him, and are partakers of his grace, 
 fuch cannot lofe the prize; he has put,his fpirit within them, 
 to carry on the work of fan£\ification and holinefs in them, 
 to guide and dire6l' them in the' way they fliouldgo; to 
 quicken and enliven them when flothi'ul, to fupport them 
 when weak, to encourage them when caft down ; and to 
 fill them with fortitude and courage, rcfolution and faith- 
 fulnefs, and enable them' to prefs forward and hold on their 
 way till they finifh their courfe, and get the prize; '• Fear 
 not ye humble fouls that have fet your faces Zion-wards ; 
 you fhall not faint and give up ; the more fenfible you arc 
 of your own weaknefs, the more you go to Chrift as your 
 ftrength and righteoufnefs, and the lefs you are in danger 
 of being drawn afide out of the path that leads to eternal 
 jife, be of good courage, you fhall fo run as to obtain : none 
 in your circumftances ever yet came fhort. Thoufands have 
 been afraid, as well as you, were ready to faint, thought 
 they muft tire, ftop and go no further ; but have been a-r 
 gain quickened, fet on with frefh vigour, and, through the 
 ftrength of their Redeemer, finifhed their courfe with joy. 
 
Scrm. XIV. course. q%^ 
 
 Seeing then there is fo great a cloud of witneiTes, be en-* 
 couraged to run the race with patience, in hopes that yoif 
 alfo, through the fame glorious power, ftiall reach the mark 
 and poflefs the crown. The apolile Paul was but a man, 
 a weak and frail man like us ; he was not equal to the dif- 
 ficulties of the Chriftian race, of himfelf : yet he was enabled 
 to hold on till he came to the end : hear him intimating the 
 fame juft before he took pofleiFion of the prize. ** I have 
 ** finiilied my courfe." I have been long fweating and 
 toiling in the Chriflian race, 1 have met with many hin- 
 drances and obitru£lions in my way : I have laboured hard, 
 have been often ready to faint ; I have had many (tumbles ; 
 but, blefled be God, I have been enabled to keep on, I have 
 Oill prefled forward, and now I am juft come to the end of 
 my courfe, my difficulties are juft over, a few fteps more 
 and I iliall reach the mark, and receive the prize. Thus did 
 the apoftle triumph ; thus did he finifli his race well, and 
 now has got the crown in fure poiTeflion *, be not afraid you 
 fliall hold on likewife, he that kept him will keep you, di- 
 rect:, quicken an.d encourage you, and enable you to perfc- 
 vere unto the end, that you may have eternal life. 
 
 Every one that finilhes his courfe, fliall receive the prize. 
 This is not the cafe amongft men ; many perhaps run, but 
 there is but one that can receive the prize : he that firfl 
 reaches the mark has the honour and advantage of the prize ; 
 thofe that are behind, though they come afterwards to the 
 goal, yet they have no part therein, but it is not fo in the 
 Chriftian race ; every one that comes to the goal, and fir* 
 nifhes his courfe, whether it is fopner or later has the crown. 
 " Know ye not," fays the apoftle, *' that they vi^hich rua 
 ** in a race, run all ; but one receiveth the prize ?" Though 
 never fo many fet out with expectation, all muft meet with 
 a difappointment except one ; ** (q run that ye may ob- 
 tain. I Cor. ix, 24. Though our race is not the fame with 
 theirs, though not only he that comes firft to the mark, but 
 every one that finifhes his courfe fhall be crowned ; yet it 
 requires the utmoft activity and diligence ; the cafe is not 
 indeed who is firft at the goal ; but the path is full of diffir 
 culties, and the great concern in the Chriftian race is to 
 reach the goal. Many, to appearance fet out well, but 
 faint in the way, tire and give out. Therefore the apoftle*;} 
 exhortation is necefTi^ry ; (o run, that is, as thofe in a race^ 
 
S12 THS CHRISTIAN'S Scrm. XIV, 
 
 tFtat ftriv? who fhall be foremoft, fo do ye flrlve to hold oa 
 vour eourfe ; It is of no importance whether you reach the 
 mark before others or not -, if you get thither, whether it is 
 firft or laft, you (hall Jiave the prize. This then cannot but 
 be aii eneoungement to the Chriftian in running the race 
 tliat ts fet before him : has he an aflurance of reaching the 
 rnark, and as foon as he reaches the mark fhall he be crown- 
 f^ ? WKat fbould difcourage him then in purfuing the track 
 rhift b. marked out for him ? Do others finifli their courfc 
 licfore him ? Are many that fet out with him in this heavenly 
 race, goc to the end of their journey, and rejoicing in the 
 |K)Cef|ion of the prize ? He (hall at length reach tide goal 
 liimfetf, and join them in giving everJatting praifes to him 
 thaf enabled them to finiih their eourfe well, and has given 
 to each the prize of immortality. Oh happy news ! What 
 encourage raents are here ! the pdze is glorious, you ihall 
 af!^ that begin in Chrift iinifli your eourfe, and every one 
 t!iat does fo fhall be crowned. To conclude, with fome im- 
 provement of the "point. 
 
 I. The further we proceed in our text, the more we fee 
 the difficulty of the Chriftian life, and the vanity of their 
 hopes who content themfelves with a mere form. The lalt 
 inctaphor wherein the Chriftian hfe is compared to the war- 
 fare, fiiews the diflicultiesof it ; and fo does this, wherein it is 
 compared to a race ; a race fignifies much labour and toil 5 
 that our minds muft be upon the ftretch, our fouls a£liv^ 
 and armed with patience *, that we muft watch and f^rive, 
 and prefs forward with all our might. Oh you that ima- 
 gine a Httle will do in religion, and therefore are not con- 
 cerned to be a£live or diligent in the purfuit of fpiritual 
 and eternal things ! See the vanity of your liopes, the itu- 
 pidity of your fouls ; fee Iiow Satan is lulling you into an 
 CJify fecurity, when you are in the utmoft dangers, will you 
 iTot believe there is much difficulty in religion, that it re- 
 fjuires much labour and toil ? Look into our text ; and give 
 lis a reafon, why the Chriftian life is compared to a fight, 
 and to a race ? 13o not thefe and many other fmnlitudcs in 
 the yvord of God point out plainly, that it is not an eafy 
 thing to be a Chriftian indeed ? And will you not yet believe ? 
 Are you determined to run the venture, when tlic fcriptures 
 fire fo evidently againft you ? The confequence muft be 
 itlre-idful i Oh be :.ut content with a few faint wiflics, an 
 
Serm. XIV, c o tr r s e. ^^3 
 
 external fhew of appearance, but examine yourfclves. And 
 in earned feck after eternal life. Mind religion as the one 
 thing needful. 
 
 2. How foolifh are all thote that run eagerly aftef periHi* 
 xng enjoyments, and neglecfl: the prize of immortality ! The 
 prize men generally run for, is of an earthly nature, yet (&s 
 how many have been willing to contend for it. The Chrif- 
 tian*s prize is glorious and immortal, as it is exprefled^ 
 I Cor. ix. 25. ** Thty do it to obtain a corruptible crown j 
 
 <* but we an incorruptible." And yet how few aim at this 
 glorious prize ! 
 
 3. What arguments are there for running this race. Sit 
 down a while and confideri examine the cafe impartially; 
 view the different objefts men are purfuing, and confidet 
 what is the iflue of their purfuits. See the natural m^in 
 toiling for a little glittering gold, or a little honour which 
 will foon leave him. See the Chriflian upon a different pur- 
 fult J his face is ftedfaftly fet Zion- wards, he has heaven in 
 Ills eye, in his aim, and no lefs than heaven will crown his 
 purfuit : behold what different views thefe two have -at 
 death — One taking an unwelcome farewcl — ■■ — Lookingback, 
 
 and ionging to return-" -looking forward an<l llHider- 
 
 ing—unlefs ftupid — See the other, if under the influences 
 of the Spirit, rejoicing that he hasjuil finifhed his race, and 
 IS waiting for the prize. 
 
 Confider thefe things and begin this race ye that ate 
 
 young To that end look up to tl>e Spirit of God who can 
 
 enable you to begirt, hold on, and at lail finifii your cou^rfai 
 with joy and triumph. 
 
 4. How ihould every one that has begun this race rcjoicef 
 
 in the encouragements'that have been offered ! Whether 
 
 you have but juft entered, or whether you have been long 
 toiling, yet take encouragement to hold on, ** for i>e that 
 •* endureth to the end, fliall be faved and enjoy die prize, 
 ** So run, therefore, that you may obtahi.*' 
 
i I 1 
 
 ■Mh W' i A .wii p ii i' i 
 
 SERMON XV 
 
 r.4^:<..< 4^-j.4.|OjOf^^4 
 
 »••>»•>•>" 
 
 2 Tim. IV. 7, 8. 
 
 BEFORE we enter into the kingdom of heaven, we mu{| 
 pafs through much tribulation, A(5ts xiv. 22. Thig 
 life is a ftate of trial, j it tries our faith and patience, our 
 ftedfaftnefs and conflahcy in our Redeemer's fervice, and 
 it calls for the exercife of all thofe graces which God has 
 implanted. There is a wide difference between earth and 
 heaven : here we are labouring under prefling difficulties^ 
 ilriving with innumerable enemies, and wading through 
 feas of affliftion ; there the Chriftian is at everlafting rcil:, 
 free from every trouble, and triumphing over every enemy. 
 Heaven is not to be got without difficulty : we muft ftrive 
 much, prefs hard, and cry earneftly. Heaven is to be taken 
 by violence, it is not given to the indolent and flothful. 
 We muft run with patience and diligence, fortitude and 
 courage, for the way is mountainous and rugged ; full of in- 
 tricacies and difficulties that call for great care left we mif- 
 take the road, and for great refolution, that we faint not be- 
 fore we reach the goal. We have already confidered the 
 Chriftian life under the fimilitude of a race, have inquired 
 into the way we are to take ; how it is we muft run fo as to 
 finifli our courfe well, and the encouragements Chriftians 
 have to run this race. We now come to confider the third 
 refle61:ion which the apoftle was enabled to make, I have 
 kept the faith. Here I (hall, 
 
8erm. XV. on keeping, &c. aaj 
 
 I. iShew what is meant by keeping the faith. 
 
 II. bhew the neceihty and importance of it. 
 
 I. Let us conficier what is meant by keeping the faith — 
 This may point out two things. 
 
 I. That we firmly belieVe the do£lrines God has revealed, 
 and fteadily maintain them ; and, i That we faithfully ob- 
 ferve the vows and engagements we have btought ourfeh'es 
 under, to our glorious mafler, and hold on with integrity 
 and conftancy in his fervice. ; . , 
 
 I. It may fignify that wc firmly believe the clo(ftrine^ 
 God has revealed, and ftedfaftly maintain them. We read 
 of a ** faith once delivered to the fiiints." Jud. v; 3. This 
 faith includes the various articles and do£lripes,. which the 
 Jtpoftles, under the immediate influences of the Holy Ghoft^ 
 delivered to the church and people of God. Thefe there- 
 fore coming from God are certainly worthy of our credit, 
 ijeferve our notice, and ought to be ftedfaftly maintained by 
 tis. There is but one faith,- which God has revealed in his 
 word *, all the various opinions of men, or different doc- 
 trines that are induftrioully propagated in the world, can- 
 not be that faith, being many of them directly oppofite to, 
 and inconfiftent with one another That all who enjoy the 
 .Scriptures, do not believe the truth of the gofpel, is not 
 owing to the darknefs of the revelation God has made, but 
 to our natural prejudices againft the truth *. t^txy part of 
 divine revelation conveys a determinate fenfe, which it is 
 poflible for us to know \ elfe we re fled: upon God for giving a 
 tcvelation wliich we do not, which we cannot underftand. 
 Hence then, as it is poflible to come, to the knowledge of 
 the truth ; we have various exhortations in Scripture, to be- 
 lieve it, to maintain and keep it, to ftek after unity and 
 judgement, &c; : keeping the faith muft imply, firft, our be-- 
 Jieving it. The apoftle himfelf believed thofe glorious doc- 
 trines he fo earncftly contended for. As a minifter and as 
 a Chriftian, he believed the gofpel in all its parts, and 
 warmly maiintained it *, he kept the faith, without giving 
 up any part of it, through fear or cowardice. ** He was 
 •* not aihamed of the gofpel of Chrift, for it is the power 
 ** of God to falvation to every one that believeth," Rom. 
 \i \6. He boldly faced all oppofition, openly defended thd 
 gofpel, and would not part with one of its truths, on any 
 
±26 o N K E E p I N G Scrm. XV# 
 
 pretence whatever : and he prefTed others to ftand up for it, 
 " not to be like cliildren toffed to and fro with every wind 
 •* of doclrine ," Kph. iv. 14. *< But to hold hd that form 
 ** of found M'ords they had heard nnd ]earnt:d." The pre- 
 fent time is a time to try our ftedfaftnefs in the faith. The 
 glorious truths of Chriftianity are become the objecSls of con- 
 tempt. They are fo oppofite to the dictates of degenerate 
 nature ; fo exceed the reach of our underftandings *, and fo 
 much humble and debafe our proud hearts, that cannot re- 
 ceive them, but make them the fubjecls of ridicule, thouglt 
 nevsr fo clearly revealed. It Is almoft a reproach to a per- 
 fon to profefs a regard to the peculiar do<Strines of grace 5 , 
 it requires therefore courage and refolution in both miniflers 
 and Chriftians, to own and defend the gofpel, and not to 
 betray a cowardice of fpirit, and fo give up the faith for the 
 fake of peace, or through {hame and fear. '* I have kept 
 ** the faith," fays the apoflle. I have ftood my ground 
 and kept my ftation ; I have preached the gofpel of Jefus 
 Chrift, and have not fliunned to declare the whole counfel 
 of God. I have parted with nothing through fhame or fear v 
 1 have gone through perfecutions and reproaches Innume- 
 rable, and yet I have not deferted the caufe I have efpoufed > 
 but have kept my charge, and am now going to feai the 
 glorious truths I firmly believe, with my blood. 
 
 2. The exprelFion rignifies, that w^ faithfully obferve the 
 vows and engagements we have brought ourfelves under> 
 to our glorious mafcer, and hold on with integrity and con- 
 ftancy in his fervice. When we en'iil ourfelves under the 
 captain of our falvatlon, we take him for our Lord, our 
 Prophet, Prieft, ancf Kmg, we give up ourfelves unto him, 
 and bring ourfelves under the ftrideli engagements to love, 
 honour, ferve, and follow him in all things unto the end of 
 life ; we engage to facrifice all for him, and be faithful un- 
 to deatli. This was the cafe with the apoflle Paul, when 
 Jefus called to him from heaven, he fell at his feet, crying 
 out, " Lord' what wilt thou have me to do ?" Acts ix. 6. 
 Lord, I am fenfible of my folly, I have been doing 
 wickedly, but now behold here am I, devoted to thy fer- 
 vice* liere am T ready to fulfil thy commands ; fpeak Lord 
 what thou wilt have me to do ; I will follow thee in all 
 things, &c. Thus the apoflle, at liis converf:on, gave up 
 hjmfelf to God, and .brought himfeIC under the (Ixidlcil en-. 
 
Serm. XV. ritfe FAirrr. 227 
 
 gngements to him, and he was faithful in his Red'emcr's 
 fcrvice ; he met with a variety of difficulties in the difchaVge 
 of his duty, enough to have discouraged him, and forbid 
 liis continuance had he not experienced an almighty j^owcr 
 upholding and fupporting him: but fee, lie is not moved, 
 lie will not dcfert his mailer's fevvice, whatever difhculties 
 fcand in the way. All the pcrfecutions he me.t with, did 
 not leflen his love or abate his zeal : all the hardfliips 
 he endured did not weary his foul, oi: caufe iiim to ilackeii 
 his pace ; he ft ill kept on with a noble firmnefs and refolli- 
 tion ; and he had nothing fo mucli in view as t^ie honour 
 of his great Redeemer. See how cheerfully he fubmits to 
 be dripped, to be imprifoned, and to endure all manner of 
 cruelties for his mailer's fake f " He counted all things but 
 •* Jofs for the excellency of the knowledge of ChriH Jcfus, 
 *^ for whom he cheerfully fuflered the lofs of all things, 
 " and counted them but drofs und dung," Phil iii. 7, B. 
 Thus he continued faithful even to the lad, and (ct his face 
 like a flint, cheerfully parting with his blood for Chrid and 
 his caufe : and thus he kept the faith. We are to " hold 
 *^ fad the profefTion of our faith without wavering," Heb. i. 
 23. You mud maintain your allegiance to Jefus Chrid, 
 to whom you have given up yourfclves. Sec that you wdr 
 a good warfare, ^Miolding faith and a good confcience, 
 " which lad, fome having put away concerning faith have 
 *^ made diipwreck," i Tim. i. 19. You have given up 
 yourfelves to Jefus, you are bound to him by oath, by pro- 
 mife, by the mod folemn vows, by the mod facred ties, and' 
 by the drifted engagements. See then that you follo\^ 
 him : to vow and not to perform is only to mock God, and 
 to deceive your own diuls See that you keep the faith ; be- 
 have with fidelity to the king of righteoufnefs whof^ pro- 
 felTed fubjefts you are. I h^ve kept the faith, I have mc^ with 
 jiiany enticements many fnares, many difficulties, and tempta- 
 tions, but blefied be God I have been enabled to dand fad, 
 1 have been enahledjth rough grace,to perfevere, notwithdand- 
 ing every difficulty, and now have the prize in view. 
 
 II. We are now to d\eW the tieccdity and impdrtinc^ of 
 keeping the faith. And, 
 
 I. It is the didinguidiirig chara£i:eridic of a real Chril"- 
 ttan. We cannot, we dare not fay it is eHential to the Clirif- 
 tkfl to believe and maintain all the peculiar dadtrinei of 
 
 F f 2 
 
fi? pN KEEPING Serm. XV. 
 
 the gofpel ; ChriOians, according to their {landing in ChriR, 
 according to their education, according to their different in- 
 ilru^lions, have different conceptions of the gofpel: as there 
 are fome whofe judgements are found, but whofe hearts are 
 >vicked ; fo there are others whofe hearts are better than 
 iheir heads. Yet Chriftians agree in that which ig effen^ 
 tial to their chara(!^>er, they ;u-e all united to Chriit and arc 
 concerned for his glory : they are all fuch as believe pn him 
 for falvation •, and thev ave fuch as are conflant and perfe- 
 vere in his fervice, Thofe that turn afide from following 
 the Redeemer, were never his difciples in reality. There 
 are too many who are ftony ground hearers ; who, through 
 a fuddcn overflowing of affed:ion, make a profeffion of the 
 gofpel of Chrill, but foon return to folly, either through vi 
 remembrance of former gratifications; or through fome pe- 
 culiar difBculties they met with in their prof eition. ' That 
 prpfefTion that is not let upon good principles will never 
 Jiolcl/" Thofe whofe liearts arc eflabliihed with grace never 
 totally fall off. |*'all they may, arid oftentimes ^lo, but they 
 fhall return to God by deep and humble repentiince,' re- 
 fume their integrity, and prefs on towards the mark. The 
 feed that is fowrt iu thp heart grows up unto eternal life i 
 the grace that is implanted keeps the foul in fome meafure 
 fleady ; and ftrength being daily communicated, he keeps 
 on, follows his leader, until he finilhes his courfeV all the 
 temptations he meets with, all the enemies he encounters, 
 »re not able to prevail over him. He never abfolutely de- 
 ferts his glorious mailer, but remains faithful unto death. 
 He does not make vows and never perform thern, but is 
 enabled to pay his vows in fome meafure, and to continue 
 in the fervice of his Redeemer untih he leaves this world, 
 and enters into a better. This- is the character of every real 
 Chriflian. He muft maintain l)is allegiance fo his glorious 
 Lord, witiiftand the oppofition he meets with, and keep his 
 fidelity. 
 
 2. In keeping the faith, the Chriftian's comfort is greatly 
 promoted. fhe glorious do^lrines of faith are of the mofk 
 excellent nature ; they abundantly recompence the Chrif- 
 tian in his Heady belief of and attachment to them, by the un- 
 fpeakablc fupports they yield in every circumftance and 
 flation of life. A confideration of tlie perfon, otlices, righ- 
 tr.pufusfs, and chara(Sters of Jefus Chrill ; the everlafting. 
 
Scrm. XV. THE FAITH. 2i9 
 
 covenant and promlfes of God ; the perfon and operations 
 of the Holy Ghod ; together with the various other im- 
 portant myftcries of Chrillianity ; greatly conduce to fweet* 
 en every difficulty, to eafe every burden, to remove every 
 anxious care, to enlighten every afflidion, ftrengthen our 
 hopes in life and death, and fill us vi^ith unfpeakable joy and 
 fatisfadtion. The more we know of the Gofpel, the more 
 we are like to be comforted and ftrengthened under every 
 forrow. Ignorance of and want of attention to fomc of the 
 glorious truths of Chrillianity expofe the Chriftian to a 
 variety of fears, difficulties and burdens, which a knowledge 
 of the Gofpel has a tendency to remove. Whilft the Chrif- 
 tian is ftedfaftly maintaining the faith he has received, he 
 finds it cheering his foul with the nobleft fupports, reconcil- 
 ing him to the greateft afflidtions, and enabHng him to re- 
 joice when every other refuge and fupport fails. The mar- 
 tyrs experienced the excellency of thofe truths they fealed 
 with their blood ; \vh\\i\ they were fuffering for them, they 
 were fupp®rtedby them, and rejoiced more than if they had 
 been raifed to the higheft pitch of earthly honour and prof- 
 perity. They that keep the faith lofe nothing by it. The 
 gofpel is better than all the world ; this and this alone cheers 
 the foul, when nothing elfe can ; it heais the wounded con- 
 fcience, forbids every fear, and gives him living hopes in his 
 dying moments. Oh ! Who would be cold and indifferent 
 to the faith God has revealed ? Who would give up that 
 which can reconcile them to leave the prefent life, and make 
 their views of eternity glorious ? Shall we prefer the low 
 honours of this world before it ? Shall we part with the 
 faith through fear of reproach and perfecution ^ What, part 
 with that which alone can comfort our fouls in life and 
 
 death ? God forbid ! -Take the words in the fecond 
 
 fenfe, to fignify fidelity and perfeverance in our Redeemer's 
 fervice ; and we cannot but foen fee how clofely that (lands 
 connected with our comfort. When we are led into cap- 
 tivity, break our engagements, and prove zt any time un- 
 faithful ; how are our confciences wounded, how is our 
 peace interrupted, and what fears are introduced, that break 
 in upon our comfort and give us awful apprehcnfions of 
 death and eternity ? Whereas whilft we are enabled fteadily 
 to adhere to our great Redeemer, to hold on in his fervice, 
 ajid to perfevcre, we have thereby fome comfortable evi- 
 
c^'^ ON KEEPING Scrm. XV, 
 
 fences efoiir intercft in Jefus and his falvntion, to comfort 
 our fouls both in life and at d^ath The more faithful and 
 the more ftcdfaft we arc in the fervice of our great mafter, 
 the more comfortible. The "vj-ays of fm and ungodlinefs 
 cannot certainly bring any folid fatisfa6tion to the mind : 
 dvery time we turn afide there muft be an interruption of 
 our peace •, folid comfort ip only to be found in keeping the 
 faith. J have kept the faith •, I have not been afhamed of 
 the faith of Chrift:, but have been enabled to maintain it with 
 9 holy zeal. I have lived in the faith, in fome meafure, as well 
 2S ftood up for it, and been enabled to perfevere in my 
 mailers fervice even unta the end. This was to the apoftle 
 z comfortable evidence of liis intercft in abetter world, and 
 tlicrefore a cheering cordial in his dying moments. He 
 ccirld face death in all its various forms with an undifturbed 
 rqlmnefs and ferenity of mind, and rejoice in the profpecl 
 of an approaching eternity. Would you have the fame com- 
 fortable evidence ? you muft then keep the faith. Can you 
 ^xpeft to be lively in your fouls ^ to enjoy the fmiles of God's 
 countenance ; can you expe6fc to be free from melancholy 
 fears, from the alarms of confcience ; whilft you are cold to 
 tlic faith, or walk unfaithfully with God ? Remember 
 David's- fall, how it wounded his foul, provoked the fpiritof 
 God to withdraw his fpecial influences, and filled him with 
 anguifli and diftrefs : Pf. li. 8. &c. /^ackflidings darken 
 cur evidences, and lay a foundation for diftrefs and melan- 
 choly, make us go on heavily through life, and droop our 
 wings -w hen death and eternity appear in view. 
 
 3. Keeping the faith is necefikry to promote the lionour 
 of Chrift, and to fecure thQ Chriftian from thofe errors and 
 fnarcs to which he ftands cxpofed. Whilft we are indif- 
 ferent about the faith we are liable to be turned away, and to 
 be tofltd to and fro with every wind of doctrine, by the cun- 
 ninj]; craftinefti of men. The many expreftions of ** buying 
 ** the truth, ; n.l felling it-; not contending for the faith once 
 *f delivered 10 the Saints," &c. ftiew the excellency of the- 
 faith and the neceflity and importance of keeping it. The 
 enemy is watching every opportunity to mihinge our minds 3 
 how focn is it done wlx^n wc are not.ftedfjft. but wavering ? 
 Oh hold faft the profciJion of your faith without wavering. 
 Whilft you appear iledfa'^ly refolved ftrr Chrift and his 
 gofpel, as you have received iii, you will be in little danger' 
 
Serm. XV. the faith, 231 
 
 of being drawn into error by the moft crafty infinuatlonsof 
 thofe that love not tlie truth. But if you are unfettleJ an4 
 unlleady, you may eafily be drawn to receive the do<f>riiie$ 
 of men, and fall into errors the mbft fatal to the foul Whiift 
 you are unfteady and wavering-, the enemy may likewifc 
 draw your feet afide into the forbidden paths of impiety; you 
 may wound your confciences, and diihonour your IiOr<|, 
 The enemy has but little hopes of fuccefs, when he finds tlw? 
 Chrillian refolved, his heart eftabliihed, ftcdfaftly attached 
 to the fervice of his mafter, and determined to walk therein. 
 Befides, keeping the faith is neceifary to the honour of Chrift: 
 as we have taken the character of Chrillians, fo we fhouI4 
 be concerned to walk agreeably thereto. As we profefs to 
 believe the gofpel of our Lord, and call ourfelves his follow- 
 ers, we ought certainly to keep the faith, otherwife we dif- 
 honour Chrift, bring reile6lions upon that honourable name 
 by which we are called, and render Chrift j:nd the gofpel 
 the fubjefts of ridicule and contempt. Who honours hi^ 
 great mafter more than he who fv/erves not from his in- 
 tereft, whom no temptations can draw away, but ftaBils 
 £rm in every danger, refolutely withftands all oppofition^ 
 and perfeveres in faith and holinefs even unto, the end ? Such 
 are ornaments to tJie caufe they efpoufe : they only honour 
 Chrift, live like Chriftian's, and glorify God. And wouLdft 
 thou, Oh my foul, honour thy Re<ieemer ? would you, 
 Chriftian's, lay no foundation for reflections on your glorious 
 mafter ? Are you tenderly concerned for his honour ? Then 
 Jieep the faith. Stand up like Chriftians for the gofpel, an4 
 part with none of its glorious truths : perfevere in the ways, 
 of holinefs; like goodfoldiers fight your way through every- 
 difficulty ; like good fentinels be upon y(mr ^v'^^^rd, keep 
 your ftation, let nothing move you from tiie hope of ths 
 gofpel ; then will you honour your dear R.edeemer, and act 
 confiftent with your chara61:er and profelTiou. 
 
 4. Without a ftedfaft perfeverance in the faith our hopes, 
 of heaven are vain and deceitful- Perfeverance in the faitli does 
 not entitle us to eternal life, but there isnoeternal life without 
 it. God haspromifed the crown of life only to thofe wlio are. 
 faithful, unto death. Thofe that, after they have once made 
 a profeftion, fall off, are in the utmoft danger. Every fall 
 lliould fill us witli a godly jcaloufy^ every backfiidinar ft'iOuld 
 put us. upon the inquiry, wJiether we.have received the grace 
 
^3^ cfN KEEPING Serm. TV: 
 
 t)f God or not. Thofe appear in dangerous circumftarice^ 
 who once profefTed to receive the faith and to give up them- 
 fclves to Jefus Chrift, but are now fallen off, have deferted 
 the ordinances of God, and are ftrangers to good works. 
 How happy is it when we can fay with the apoflle, " but we 
 ** are not of them that draw back unto perdition, but we 
 ** are of them that believe unto the faving of the foul!" 
 Heb. X. 39. — How rhuch (hould we be upon our guard ? 
 Though where the good work is begun, it fhall be carried 
 on ; yet there are many who appear to begin in the fpirit 
 and end in the flefh. The do6lrine of perfeverance there- 
 fore by ho means encourages flothfulnefs and fecurity, it is 
 brought about in the ufe of means. Thofe therefore who 
 imagine that a Work of faith and grace is begun in their fouls' 
 and grow carelefs and fecure, running into fm, upon a vain 
 prefumptioti that the feed fowed fhall not die, but grow up 
 unto everlafting life -, fuch perfons have the greatefl reafon 
 to fear they never Were rightly acquainted with the power 
 of religion, and therefore that their hopes of eternal lifje arc 
 abfolutely vain. This fhould by no means diftrefs the hum- 
 ble foul, and fill him with flavifh fears ; in a humble de- 
 pendence upon Jefus Chrift, you fliall perfevere and be faith- 
 ful unto the end. But you who once felt the force of con- 
 vidlions, made the moft folemn promifes and vows, and ari 
 6pen profefTion for a time ; but have loft your concern, for- 
 faken the Lord, and turned again after your former follies f 
 what evidence can you produce of your intereft in Chrift, 
 and your title to eternal life ? What then are your hopes ? 
 Can you be fo irrational as to expe61; the glorious crown, 
 becaufe you once to appearance bade fair for it ? Can you 
 think that God will welcome you into his immediate pre- 
 fence, becaufe you for a little while exprefled a concern to 
 walk before him in all righteoufnefs, becaufe you discovered 
 a few faint wifhes to be his, and made a few feeble attempts 
 towards the Chriftian life ? No, you have fmce fallen away, 
 renounced what you once profelVed, and will appear every 
 way unworthy of eternal life ; unlefs you are united to 
 Chrift and found in him. How melancholy muft it be 
 with the apoftate, when deatli and eternity appear in view, 
 if his confcience is awake ? To look back upon his former 
 profeiTion, and compare it with his paft life : to confidcr his 
 amazing fecurity, his dreadful apoftacy j to look forward 
 
Serm. XV. tiiE PAiTrt* 233 
 
 and fee a fighteoiis judge (landing ready to pafs the fentcnce 
 according to his works : Oh awful view ! Where are now 
 his hopes ? His heart begins to fink his fjlirlts droOp ; it is 
 ii dark and drcadfitl profped:. May. we not fuppofe him fay- 
 ing, Oh what have I been doing ! I can look back to th^ 
 ^ime, when, Hke the young man, I bid fair for heaven ; I paf- 
 fed under many convi£lions ; like Balaam wifhed to die the 
 death of the righteous, and appeared (determined for heaven; 
 but my zeal foo?i, abated, rny pretended love grew cool, I 
 ^uid not continue a. life of mortification, fajth, and fi^lf- 
 clenial ; atid was therefore foon weary, and turned again by 
 degrees to my former ftupidity and folly, yet perRiading my- 
 felf that all was well ; but how can I hope ? Am 1 nrt a 
 hypocrite ? Will God own one that has defer: -d his caufe, 
 forfaken his colours, ;left his ftation, and turrted apofiate ? 
 Alas ! alas ! my^ cafe is melancholy ; I have ruined my- 
 felf : w^at can I blame but my 6wn heart? The ways of 
 God I found to be too fevete for me, I coUld not relilli clo- 
 fet duties, I have no regard for fpiritual meditation, and the 
 bthcrdiftinguilhing duties of the Chriftianlifej Oh foplifli crea- 
 ture ! I have left God, and he will! fear leave me when I ftand 
 in moll need of his favour and prefence. Gh eternity, eterni- 
 ty ; what an awful thought! Oh death, death thou art 
 firmed with every terror f Oh that I could , ffy from thy fa- 
 ial arrow ; but I mud fubmit to thy callj and now take the 
 important confequences* Not fuch is the language of the 
 perfevering Chriftian, efpecially if under the refreshing in- 
 fluences of the Spirit of God. I have kept the faith. True, 
 I have been chargeable with many backflidings and imper- 
 fecSlions ; I have been often befet p\ih. Satan and my own 
 heart ; and Oh how neat was I to being led afide to tx\y 
 everlafting ruin i^ My feet were almofi: gone; I had begun 
 to decline •, be<Tun to enter Upon the borders of temptation, 
 had fwallowed the bait laid befort: me, and often, yea often 
 I repeated the fame ; thus had I been gone for (ivcr, had not 
 infinite diftmguifliing grace convinced me of my folly, and 
 recovered my foul, and led me in the paths, of righteoufnefs 
 again •, Oh blefitd be God that kept me from abfolutely fal- 
 ling away, and enabled me to return uiito him. I have of- 
 ten flepped afide, I have been cold and indifferent, but my 
 Cod has again quickened me ; he has kept rhe by his mighty 
 power, he has enabled me in forne rneafure to perfevere in 
 
 Gg 
 
454 ON KEEPING* Seritl. XVrf 
 
 faith, and hoHnefs 5 I depend not upon this for falvation, but, 
 blelTed be God, it is an evidence of the grace of God in me > 
 it is an evidence of ray union to Jefus Chrift, in and through 
 ■U'hom I hope to be put into the pofTeirion of that crown 
 vhich he has purchafed for all his people. Thus without 
 perfeverance, our hopes of eternal life are vain and deceit- 
 ful, and abfolutely without foundation. Apoftacy is at- 
 tended with melancholy confequences. Better never to 
 have known the way of righteoufnefs, than after to turn 
 from it, 2 Pet. ii. 21. There is nothing but a dreadful 
 looking for of judgement, and fiery indignation for all fuch^ 
 A word or two of improvement muit clofe. 
 
 I. Ts keeping the faith the diftinguifliing chara£ler of k 
 Chriftian ? Then how few are there in the prefent age. It 
 is melancholy to fee fuch numbers cafting contempt upon 
 the dotlrines of faith : this nation was once famous for a 
 zeal for the purity of the gofpel; but now in too man? places 
 there is a famine of hearing the word of the Lord. The 
 gofpel is become the object of too general contempt y 
 churches and congregations have left the faith once de- 
 livered to the faints, and religion is degenerated into infi- 
 delity. It is almoft become a reproach to a perfou to pro- 
 fefs to believe the gofpel, and to fkand up for Jefus Chrift^ 
 and him crucified : kow few are there that really love our 
 glorious Redeemer ? How many are there that fall ofT 
 from their profeifion, def^rt the caufe of Chrift, prove un-^' 
 faithful to him, and turn out no better than hypocrites ? 
 The honours of the world lead away fome, the l^nfualities 
 of life enfnare others : fome are influenced by a view of 
 riches to leave the Redeemer, others are afliamed to own 
 him, becaufe of the reproaches that are caft upon his fol- 
 lowers *, too many have but a name to live, and content 
 rhcmfelves with a mere form, after they have profeffedly 
 given up thcmfelves to God. Were our public afltmblie^ 
 to be carefully examined, how many would be found un- 
 faithful ? There are not many in this aflembly I apprehend, 
 that have efcaped convi6tions, either through the word, or 
 providence ; thefe have, when under cenvittions, promifect 
 and vowed, refolved and determined, to take up their crof<% 
 and follow Chrift, but alas ! How few have been faithful ? 
 How many have broke their vows, and after a little appear- 
 ance of zeal, turned again to their old purfuits, or have fa' 
 
Serm. XV. the faith. 235 
 
 far dwindled as to take up with fome outward form ? The 
 number of true ChrKtians then mult be but fmall There 
 may be many wlio may take the name ; hut how few are 
 there who keep the faith ? How few that hol<l on and pcr- 
 fevere in the ways of God even unto the end ? Oh melan- 
 choly confideration ! 
 
 , 2. Is perfeverance in the faith the character of a real 
 Chriitian ? How melancholy mail their ftate be who never 
 yet fet forward in the ways of God ! How many are there 
 young and airy, whofe minds are full of nothing but vanity ; 
 who have never yet fat down and ferioufly conildered the 
 great concerns of their fouls, whether they are Chriftians, 
 or whether they are not, whether heaven is worth feeking 
 after; they run carelefslyon in the path of pleafure,and fpend 
 not one thought upon future things. Melancholy confide- 
 ration ! What, no concern about your immortal fouls ! No 
 jferious inquiry whither you are going, what will be the end 
 of your prefent purfuits ! No defire to walk in the ways of 
 God ! No thought about future happinefs I This is the me- 
 lancholy cafe ; young perfons greedily fw allow the bait that 
 is laid before them, are eafily enfnared by the honours and 
 pleafurcs of the prefent ftate, without confidering what is 
 necefTary to an immortal happinefs. Is not this adding a 
 jnofl: irrational part ? Are you too young to die ? Are you 
 fure of life ? Will your prefent purfuits give you complete 
 fatisfaction, and fecure you everlafting felicity ? No, yon 
 have not kept the faith, you are unconcerned about it, you 
 think nothing of a future reckoning ; you dream of nothing 
 but of pleafure, wealth, and earthly honour ; and may be 
 fuddenly fnatched out of time into a long and miferable e- 
 ternity ; amazing ftupidity ! your ftate is melancholy in the 
 midft of your apparent profpe-rity : your fouls are every mo- 
 ment at ftake, for you have not fo much as thought about 
 keeping the faith. But Oh how much more melancholy is 
 it with thofe who are come to the decline of life, and yet 
 have not thought ferioufly about the faith ; who have given 
 themfelves no time to think about their fouls ? You are 
 haftening to the grave, and yet have not thought of eternity. 
 Is it not melancholy to fee gray hairs in the ways of fin ? 
 What, are you going to appear before God, to be called to 
 ^n awful account, and yet ftrangers to the divine life ! no 
 concern whether you are in the road to Zion r Aftonilhing 
 G g 2 
 
?3^ 
 
 ON KEEPiN© Se?m. X¥«. 
 
 folly ! Can you fay with the apoftle, when hi the views of - 
 an eternal world, we have kept the faith ? No, alas, you will 
 have, if you continue ip your prefent thou^htlefs condition, 
 no evidences of an intereil in Jefus to comfort your fouls in 
 your departing moments : you will ha^^e nothing but an 
 awful eternity in profpefi: ; nothing but cverlaftlng burn- 
 ings before you to fill your fouls with awful fiirprife, and 
 inexpreflible agonies. None of thofe that will then be found 
 under the dominion of fin, can fay they have kept the faith : 
 thf y never received it aright, they never gave up themfelvesi 
 in reality to Jefus; fin kept dominion over them, and all 
 they profelfed was only a mere form ; all their religion M^as 
 only lip ferviceJ Such is the ftate, fuch the cafe of every 
 unrenewed foul : they are In the gall of bitternefs, and in 
 the bond of iniquity, ilaves to Satan, and children of 
 wrath. • • t « ■. ■-; ^ • ' 
 
 3. Is it fo important to keep the faith ? Then let us fe- 
 rioufly examine our own hearts concerning it. Examina- 
 tion is a duty highly necefcy : to be nothing but hearers 
 •will be but df little avail, if 'we never look into our own 
 hearts, and inquire \yhether we experience what we hear. 
 Then let me' now (it down' and take my heart to tafjc; let 
 me turn vi^ithih and make diligent fearch : I have heard this 
 ^ay that it is the diftinguifliing chara£l:er of a Chriftian ta 
 keep the faiths • And i^ow is it with me ? Po Ibelieve the 
 gofpel v'hich Chrift has levealed ? Have I received the great 
 doftrine of faith ? Thofi^ do£lrines that are of fuch great 
 importance, that enter into the very efTence of religion, and 
 are the foundation of all true holinefs ? And have I kept 
 the faith I have received, amidft the reproaches of infidels, 
 and the fn^ers of fcoifers ? Have I not been afliamed of the 
 gofpc of Chrift ? Have I parted with the truth; through 
 fear, or for the fake of the world ? Is Chrifl a (lumbling 
 ftonc, and a rock of oflence unto me ? Have I given upmy- 
 felf to the Lord Jefus ? Have I folemnly dedicated and de- 
 voted myfelfunto God? Have I determined and promifed 
 to be the L« r I's ? Have I vowed, and have I been enabled to 
 perfor!^ n:y . ows ? Have I been faithful to my Redeemer ? 
 Have 1 been enabled to withftand all oppofition -, to main- 
 tain my ground, to keep diligent watch, and to continue in 
 my mailer's fervlce ? Or have I broke through all my refolu- 
 tion??, and turned again to my former vanities? Have my 
 
Serm. XV, the faith. 237 
 
 lufts and corruptions been too predominant in me ? Have 
 they ftifled every convidion, overcome every refolution, and 
 led me again into captivity ? Have I been unfaithful to my 
 mafter? Or have I continued ftill refolved for heaven and 
 eternal life ? And what is my prefent frame ? What are hiy 
 refolutions ? What arc my thoughts ? Am I prefTing for- 
 vard ? Am I ftedfaft and immoveable, and am I refolved, 
 through the grace and flrength of my Redeemer, to hold on 
 and be faithful unto death ? Inquire, Oh niy foul, and let 
 xne not be a ftranger to myfelf. Examination is difficult 
 work, but it is neceffary j neceflary to our comfort, neceffa- 
 ry to our growth in grace, neceflary to know our ftate, why 
 then are we fo backward ? You who make a profeflion of 
 religion, fit down and inquire, whether you have hitherto 
 kept the faith ; whether you are hypocrites or whether you 
 are Chriflians indeed ? How neceffary is it to have this im- 
 portant point determined ? Omit it therefore no longer ; 
 " for now is the accepted time, now is the day of falva- 
 « tion." • ' 
 
 4. Let me carneftly exhort you to keep the faith. A5 
 you value your comfort ; as you value your immortal fouls -, if 
 you have any concern for your real intereft, (hew it by a fteady 
 belief of the gofpel, and faithful adherence to Chrift. — Oh 
 you that have given up 'yourfelves to Jefus — Keep the 
 faith — Stand fall — To that end look up to him for fhrength — 
 pe much in prayer — Watch over your hearts — Keep death 
 and eternity always in vie w» ' 
 
SERMON XVr. 
 
 -<-^.^"< ^^"f 4^^)J^'#4'4*4'^*"^'*'**' 
 
 THE CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 
 
 2 Tii^. iv. 8, 
 
 Henceforth there is Iqldupfor me a crown of right eouf 
 nefsy which the Lord, the righteous judge ^Jhall give 
 me at that day : and not to me only^ but unto all them 
 clfo that love his appearing. 
 
 IT is the opinion of too many that a religious life is a lif^ 
 of melancholy : they form conceptions of certain aufte- 
 rities in religion which by no means fuit their relifli, and 
 which give them an entire diftafte to the ways of God. The 
 Chriftian doubtlefs meets with a variety of difficulties in the 
 fervice of Chrift, it is a warfare j a warfare in which the 
 Chriftian foldier has many enemies to encounter : it is a. 
 race in which we muft run, labour, and toil before we reach 
 the mark : yet notwithftanding, it is a comfortable and pro- 
 fitable fervice. The Chriftian meets with fvitablc fupports 
 and comforts in his way \ God does not leave him to toil by 
 himfelf, but gives him his prefence and favour in life, and 
 crowns him with everlafting life and glory at death. There is 
 a. crown at laft which will make ample amends for all their 
 labours, difficulties and forrows, and fill them with full and 
 Complete happincls. The apoftle Paul met with as many 
 
i^erm. XVL the crown, tffc* 139 
 
 and as prefling difficulties as moft ; yet he would not have 
 exchanged his condition with the moft magnificent prince in 
 the world : he experienced divine fupports in the way, and 
 when he got to the end of his race, he rejoiced in the prof- 
 y)e€t of a glorious crown, which he now enjoys, and will do 
 io for ever. May we like him maintain our ftedfuftnefs in 
 life, hold out to the end, have the fame glorious profpe£ts 
 before us, and receive the prize of immortality. *• 1 have 
 ** fought the good fight," &c. Thefe words give us a view 
 of the apoftle's reflections he was enabled to make upon 
 that part of his life which he had fpent in his mafter's fer- 
 vice.— And the glorious profpe<it he had in view, and the 
 triumphant frame of his foul under fuch a profpe£t. We 
 have already confidered the apoflle's reflecSlions, before he 
 left the ftage ofvlife. He had fought a good fight, — he had 
 
 finiihed his courfe, and he had kept the faith. Wc 
 
 now come, 
 
 II. To confider the glorious profpe£l the apoflle liad before 
 him, and the triumphant frame of his foul under that ami- 
 able view. We (hall divide this into two heads. The prol- 
 .pc£l itfelf, and the frame of foul the apoftle was in. Firft 
 the profpect, and fecondly the frame. 
 
 Firft, let us confider the profpect itfelf. ** Henceforth 
 ** there is laid up," &c. Here wc find various things 
 worthy of our obfervation, viz. the prize the apoftle had in 
 view ; the perfon by whom it is bellowed ; the time when 
 it fhall be given ; and the character of the perfons who fhali 
 enjoy it. 
 
 1. Let us confider the prize the apoftle had in view, " a 
 " crown of righteoufnefs." Here the apoftle may not only 
 allude to a crown which was given to the conquerors in th/: 
 Olympic games, but to a crown, the enfign of power and 
 dignity ; for we find the Holy Ghoft has reprefented the 
 happinefs above, under a variety of the moft grand fimili- 
 tudes, taken from fenfible obje<Sls, about which we are con- 
 verfant, and in which are the higheft degrees of humait 
 glory, in order to ftrike our attention, raFfe our expectations 
 of, and ftir up and quicken our defires after, fo exalted a 
 happinefs. Royalty is the higheft pitch of human grandeur. 
 Thofe that wear earthly crowns are got to the very fummit 
 of earthly honour, and are in that ftation in which centers 
 all worldly glory and happinefs. Wliat an idea is tliis 
 
t4t T H E ^ R t) i^ N 6 ? Serm. XVli 
 
 fimilltudc defigned to give us then of that gloHous world^ 
 ^vhe^e every faint w^ars an unfading, incorruj>tible and im» 
 mortal crown ? Here, what angry debatts, what warm con- 
 tentions, what bloody contefts are occlilioned by an over, 
 thirfl for government, for all cannot reign y but in the bright 
 regions of immortality, all the people of God ate of this 
 illuftrious rank and chafadier : nil ftand before the tlirone 
 as kings and concjuerors, bearifig the enfigns of royalty and 
 vi6^ory, are perfectly freed from every anxious care, and 
 poflefs a happinefs as glorious as their natures are capable of. 
 In fine, this crown points out the whole of the Chriflian's 
 happinefs in a better world, and gives us the grandeft ideas' 
 Gf it. ; It is fat beyond our prefent reach ; we fall incon-*. 
 cciveably fhort in our conceptions of it ; it is the prepara- 
 tion of an ^ilmighty povi'er, of infinite wifdd^n and grace ; it 
 is the purchafe of Chrlft, and confcqucntly it muft be inex- 
 preflibly glorious. It is here called a crown of righteoufnefs. 
 The propriety of which will appear if we confider, that it 
 confifts of perfect righteoufnefs. It is purchafed by the. 
 righteoufnefs of our dear Redeen^er, and it comes to us, or 
 we, are put into the poffeffion of it in a way of rightcou(« 
 nefs. • .,.,, , . i • 
 
 I. Tliis cto-wn confifts of perfect and eyerlafting righ-, 
 tecufnefs. The fparks of this crown are perfe^ holinefs and 
 a conformity to God.- Here lies the difference between, 
 earth and heaven. This is a ftate of fin and imperfection : 
 while in a ftate of nature tliere is not the leafl (park of true 
 holinefs appearing in us .We are nothing biit fin. . The 
 image of Go^ is every where defaced. The underftanding, 
 will, and affections are all polluted ; we ate nothing but fin ;' 
 Jnade up of ignorance, enmity, _ obflinacy, and fenfuality. 
 And when renewed by the fpirit of God, we are yet imper- 
 fe<^ : at firfl grace is compared to fmoking f!ax and a bruifed 
 teed ; it is as it were almoft fmotheted by thofe corruptions 
 that are ft ill in the foul And when it comes : to its mofl 
 flourifliing ftate here, when it burns up into a bright, even into 
 thebrightefl flame it can do in the prefent life, it is far from 
 perfection, Perfection is what the Chriftian is amiing at, 
 and earneftly preffing after ; but it is a bleffing referved for 
 heaven. The Chriftian when arrived to the higheft mca- 
 fures of grace here, yet finds fome remains of fin ; his duties 
 are but imperfeft, and fm cleaves to every faculty. There 
 
Sirrii. XVL kioHtEOusNEss- d4i 
 
 is fdme pride, fome ignorance, fonie carnality, fomc enmity 
 in the beft of God's people in the prefent ftate : in heaven 
 they fhall receive the fum of all their wifties, in that perfect 
 holinefs with which they (hall be crowned. This crowa 
 ha«i no alloy in it; it is pare without the lead mixture. 
 Behold the faint when he has put off the body and arrived 
 in the realms of jtlory : fee him fliinin^ in the glorious 
 image of God, placed at an everlafling diftance from all fin, 
 and fully pofll-fled of all the beauties of holinefs. BcholJ 
 his underftanding no more clogged with darknefs ; his will 
 no more tainted, his affections no more polluted ; he has 
 dropped the body of fin, arid is without fpot, or wrinkle, or 
 9ny fuch thing. " Here we know in part, but there we ftiall 
 ** ktiow a$ we are known i here we fee thtoiigK a glafis 
 ** dafklyi but there face to face." . , . ; : 
 
 Here our fefvices are imperfeft, but there all righteoual 
 arid holy; no vain thoughts, no impure defires, no wantoii 
 looks. The foul perfectly loves his glorious Redeemer 5 
 God abfolutely and entirely poiTefPes his affeftions ; and no 
 6ther obje6t appears to divide his heart 5 he worfhips hini 
 ^vho fits upon the throne, with unwearied! cheerfulhefs, and 
 finds no temptation, but an everlafting delight in God and 
 holy fubje£tion to him. Oh happy, Oh defirable ftate I 
 Who would not long to be in heaven ? To. be fully deli- 
 vered from all fin, to be made perfe6ily holy I This glorious 
 thought fills the Chriftian with. a peculiar fatisfa£tion in 
 this imperfe£t ftate, and helps him to wait with patience 
 till that happy day when his defires will be fully fatisfied. 
 Such is the crown that is in referve, fuch the happinefs of 
 heaven : body arid foul fliall be fully freed from all fin, and 
 be pofTefled of complete holinefs. In fuch a view is hearea 
 amiable to the real Chriftian, 
 
 2. This crown was purchafed by the righteoufnefs o£ 
 Jefus Chrift. it coft a valuable price, and therefore is o£ 
 Jneftimable worth. Heaven is a purchafed poireifion. Wc 
 £"orfeited and loft it by fin ; and before we coiild have the 
 fjofleflion of it, it muft be purchafed for us. Thi6 was ne- 
 ceflary to preferve the honour of the divine government, to 
 fecure the glory of his perfe£bions,, and to magnify the riches 
 pf fovereign grace, which was the peculiar end he had in 
 View in the falvation of finncr.s. For God to have given 
 hvaven to guilty creatures, without ^ahv fatisf^6tion to ha^ 
 
 Hh 
 
242^ THE CROW;N ot Scrm. XVL 
 
 juftice for fin> would have refleded upon his holinefs and 
 purity, his truth and faithfulnefs, which ptrfe(flions he 
 would exalt and glorify in heilowing eternal life. This then 
 made way for the obedience and futferings of our great Me- 
 diator. For in the fecond covenant man's falvatioii was not 
 to be precarious or uncertain, or liable to be lol\y but fixed 
 and abfolute ; and as we were unable to perform the con- 
 ditions of this fecond ecnenant, by which the falvation pro- 
 ihifed Was to be fecured ; our great mediator has done it in 
 our room and Head :• he came as he agreed, appeared iit 
 human nature, perfeOly obeyed the Jaw, and fuft'ered deaths 
 by which the great tnds of moral governftient are anfwered, 
 tlie divine perfeflions glorified, and heaven fecured t6 all his 
 people, inafmuch as Jefus made an abfolute p<irchafe of it 
 for them. Though our rfghteoufnefs could be of no real 
 value, yet his was of infinite worth and exceUency. He 
 was under no obligations to take human nature/ only what 
 arofe from his free and voluntary proftiife and engagements. 
 The end and defign of his fulfilling all righteoufnefs was 
 entirely to make fatisfa£lion to infinite juftice, and purchafe 
 heaven for his people. He is God as well as man, the two 
 natures being clofely united j his righteoufnefs was the 
 righteoufnefs of God as well as man; from thence rt derived 
 all its efficacy, and on this account is it a valuable confide- 
 ration for heaven itfelf, and all that glory which he will be- 
 llow upon his people. Thus we are to recerve this crown 
 as the purchafe of Ghrift, and as the free gift of God, hence 
 it is become fure to every believer. If Chrifl has purchafcd 
 it, it fliall be given •, elfe it would reflc61: upon the divine 
 falchfulnfefs. That Chrift's righteoufnefs was fuihcient to" 
 purchafe it who can doubt? It is a glorious trutli. The 
 crown in referve is a crown fecured by the righteoufnefs of 
 our Redeemer ; it is purchafed by him. Lord we would 
 receive it as fuch, and adore the i-nfinite riches of our Re- 
 deemer's grace, in thus fecuring it to Us. 
 
 3.^ We come to the pofTeflion of this crown in a^ way of 
 righteoufnefs. It's being purchafed for us does not lay a 
 foundation for our floihfuhiefs, fin, and fecurity. To give 
 falvation in this way would be inconfiftent with the divine 
 pevfeclions : there is an abfolute impofl^ibility. Thofe that 
 Tcprefent fin and fecurity as the necellary confequences o£ 
 furlvatiou by ^vacc, and the righteoufnefs of Chrilt, have 
 
Serm. XVL righteousness. 243 
 
 never yet riglitly feen the beauty of thefe truths, nor expe- 
 rienced their power and fweetuefs. There miiR.bc a per- 
 fonal righteoufnefs in order to tlie poflefilon of this crown ; 
 it is called a crown of righteoufnefs •, it confids of righteouf- 
 nefs, and how can we be fit to enjoy it, or feel any real plea- 
 fure in the enjoyment, unlefs we are righteous ? When 
 thereJs no fuitablenefs in the heart to the object we expedl: 
 to enjoy, our expectations arc vain, for happinefs neceffarily 
 fuppofes agreement. We muft have therefore internal righ- 
 teoufnefs, or a righteoufnefs wrought in us before we can 
 enjoy this crown : nay, the happinefs above is a perfei^ioii 
 of what God begins here in the heart. Heaven is begun in 
 the foui when the Spirit fubdues the dominion of fm, and 
 implants the divine image. Heaven is fully enjoyed when 
 this work is completed, which will be at death, when the 
 foul is introduced into the immediate prefence of God, 
 There mud be this work of holinefs in the heart : " Verily, 
 ** verily I fay unto thee, except a man be born again, he 
 " cannot enter into the kingdom of God." John iii. 3, 
 " Without hoUnefs no man (hall fe« the Lord." Heb. xii. 14. 
 This holinefs is not only implanted in the heart, but it ap- 
 pears in the life •, all thofe therefore who are ftrangers to 
 good works, are ftrangers to internal holinefs, and have 
 little reafon to lay claim to eternal life, for wherever grace 
 is implanted, it will manifeft itfelf in love to God, in prayer, 
 watchfulnefs, anil in walkirrg foberly, righteoufly, and godly 
 in the prefent world, in all thofe fubje£l:3 who are capable 
 of it. Thus we fee how beautiful the method of falvatioii 
 is; how much it glorifies God, and how well it fecurcs the 
 comfort and happinefs of every believer; by the righteouf- 
 nefs of Chrift, the juftice, truth, and holinefs of God arc 
 exalted, heaven is fully purchafed : by internal holinefs a 
 rneetnefs is given for the enjoyment of heaven, and by the 
 fruits of righteoufnefs in thofe that are faved God appears 
 righteous in giving them eternal life, and the mouths of all 
 his ungodly enemies are ftopped. And this leads us, 
 
 II. To confider the perfon by whom this crown is be- 
 ftowed, and his chara£ler as a righteous judge. This illuf- 
 trious perfon is every where reprefcnted to be our Lord 
 Jefus Chrilt. Thus, Adls xvii. 31." God hath appointed 
 •* a day in the which he will judge the world in righteouf- 
 ^ nefs, by that man whom he hath ordained ; whereof ha 
 
 H h2 
 
^44 THE CROWN OF Serm. TV J. 
 
 ** hath given affii ranee unto all men, in that he hath raifed 
 ** him from the dead." Chrift is the appointed perfon, and 
 he is every way fitted for the great and important work, h« 
 being God as well as man : he is abfolutely incapable of 
 committing the leaft miftake or error- He knows all the 
 anions of his creatures, he fees the fprings and motives 
 from whence they proceed : He is not to be deceived by 
 fair pretences ; he knows the hypocrite from the believer, 
 can diftinguifh the leaft dram of grace from the faireft pro- 
 feffion, and cannot be impofed upon. And he is a righteous 
 judge. He will difplay his righteoufnefs in the laft fentence 
 that he will pafs upon every creature. He will appear per- 
 fc£lly righteous in the condemnation of the wicked, and in 
 the falvation of the righteous, in dooming one to everlafting 
 darknefs, and inviting the other into manfions of everlaft- 
 ing felicity. The wicked cannot open their mouths againft 
 thefentenee they, will receive, or accufe the judge of injuf- 
 tice. No, they have but what they have deferved. The 
 proper M'ages or defert of fin is everlafting death. God 
 never determined their minds to evil ; he never conftrained 
 them to walk in the paths of impiety ; they were advifed 
 and warned to the contrary : he fent his ambafladors with 
 meflages of peace; he fent his minifters to warn them of 
 the wrath to come j they were told of the nature and defert 
 of fin, the worth of their fouls, and the awfulnefs of falling 
 into the hands of an angry God. ' They were told of the 
 refuge that is provided, the fuitablenefs of the faviour, and 
 his willingnefs to fave all that come to him ; they were in- 
 vited to come to Jefus, were exhorted to flee from the wratK 
 to come ; they had the calls of God's word and providence, 
 and every encouragement was given them to ftir them up 
 to a diligent purfuit of eternal things. This is the cafe with 
 jEjofpel finners : and will it not be an ac^ of righteoufnefs in 
 the judge to doom fuch to everlafting darknefs ? And as for 
 thofe whom he will fentence to the bottomlefs pit, who 
 were deprived of thefe privileges , the rules he will obferv« 
 in their judgement will be perfectly equitable and righte- 
 ous : " for as many as have finned without law, (hall alfo 
 ** perifh without law — in the day when God fiiall judge the 
 ^* fecrcts of men by Jefus Chrift." Rom. ii. 12. So that 
 every finner muft be for ever filent. Hell cannot reafonahly 
 objefl to, and heaven will applaud the fentence. He will apr 
 
§erm. XVL rioht^ousness. 945 
 
 pear righteous likewire in bcftowin^ the crown of eterna} 
 life upon his people. For he purchafed it for them, he gave 
 them a title to it, and he promifcd them the enjoyment of 
 it. He purchafed it for them. lie laid down his life for 
 his fhcep, he fuffercd the pujiiflimcnt they had deferved, 
 b®re their fins on his own body on the tree, and fulfilled all 
 ifighteoufnefs on purpofe. to purchafe eternal life. If thei> 
 the purchafe was abfolute ; if he entirely fatisfied juftice, 
 and g;ave a valuable confideration for heaven; muft not fucH 
 objefts of his love be faved ? God a^ls righteoufly to the 
 mediator in giving them faith, and an entrance into this fal-» 
 vation in time, and Chrift will a£t righteoufly in pafllng the 
 glorious fentcnce upon them at lad. Chrift gives his people 
 a title to this crown here. This he docs when lie clothes 
 them with his perfe£l and everlafting righteoufnefs. The 
 title which he gives them is clear and good : it is indifput- 
 able, and will bear the teft. Devils cannot fet it afide ; 
 and the judge will not ; it is of his own giving, and he will 
 therefore accept of it. If the title is good, who can dif- 
 pute the enjoyment ? Chrift gave it, and he will a£l a righ- 
 teous part in beftowing the crown of glory and immortality 
 upon them. But further, he has promifed the crown to his 
 people. He has given an a£lual, abfolute promife to all 
 who wafh their robes in his blood, fight under his banner, 
 run diligently ^heir race, keep the faith, and maintain their 
 allegiance unto death : 'he has promifed the crown to all 
 fuch, and therefore is perfe£tly righteous in giving the en- 
 joyment. We hence fee that Chrift the judge does not 
 give his people eternal life for any peculiar merit or excel- 
 lency there was in their works done on earth. And yet he 
 is righteous in giving them the prize of immortality. We 
 read that the fentence will be according to our works. Rom. 
 )i. 6, &c. " God will render to every man according to his 
 ** deeds: to them who, by patient continuance in well doing, 
 ** feek for glory, and honour, and immortality, eternal life. 
 " But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the 
 *< truth, but o"bey i^nrighteoufnefs -, indignation and wrath •, 
 «* tribulation and anguifh upon every foul of man that doth 
 " evil; of the Jew firft and alfo of the Gentile." Faith is 
 mentioned in juftification without works; as it is by faith 
 alone, and not by works that wc lay hold on Jefus Chrift, 
 and are interefted in liim : but in the laft judgement, good 
 
24^ THE CROWN OF Siefm. XVI. 
 
 vorks are mentioned and not faith. And why ? becaufe 
 jjood works are the only evidences of a genuine and fincere 
 faith 
 
 The reprefentation which is made of the final judgement 
 in the 25th of Mat. &c. is of the vllibl^ church ; all pro- 
 feiling faith, hut not all polfefTed of it. Nay, is it not the 
 cafe with all forts, in all nations to hope for future happi- 
 nefs? And how (hall the good be diftinguiflied from the 
 bad, but by the marks and characters of the real Chriitian ? 
 The trial is openly to be made j in order to diftinguifh then, 
 between the hypocrite and the fincere foul, in order to make 
 it appear who really believed in Chriil, and who did not; 
 their works are to be brought to light and examined; 
 Chrift V ill therefore meijtion the charity, and beneficence, 
 and other works of his people, publicly proclaiming the 
 fprings and principles of love and gratitude, from whence 
 they proceeded, and consequently will declare them true 
 marks and charaOier* of thofe that really believe on him, and 
 accordingly introduce them into the pofieffion of eternal 
 Jife, as being purchafed for all fuch : whilft he will men- 
 tion the works of the wicked and ungodly as the marks of 
 all that are really his enemies, and deferve cverlafting con-» 
 demnation. Thus he will appear righteous in each (en- 
 tence : free from all partiality and prejudice, perfectly juft 
 and holy, to the everlaftlng admiration of feme, and to the 
 cverlafting mifery of others. We now come, 
 
 '^. To confider when this crown fhall be completely. pof- 
 £tfi'ed and be fully given. It is here faid to be given at that 
 davy viz. The day of Chrift's appearance to judge the world. 
 This is the emphatical day the apolUe mentions more than 
 once •, the day that will determine the everlalling ftates of 
 all, put fome into the poffefTion of complete happii>ei^, and 
 fink others down into everlallrng mifery. This is the day 
 when Chriil the righteous judge will give the crown to the 
 conquerors, and make them kings and priefts unto God. 
 This does not imply that the believer will remain indolent 
 and inactive, or be put into a ftate of fleep or infenfibiHty 
 until that day : or that he fliall remain in a ftate of trial and 
 purgation. At death the foul enters into glory. Chriil 
 told the penitent thief, thr.t that very day he Ihould be with 
 him in paradife. 
 * The moment the foul is feparated from the body, it is put 
 
Serm. XVL rich tEOusN ess.- ^4^ 
 
 into the everlafting poflellion of the moil exalted hjippmefs* 
 No fooner is the Chrlftian relcafed from liis earthly taber-* 
 nacle, but he is prcfent with the Lord. A place of purga-' 
 tory to purify our fouls, and fit them for the e'njoymeiit of 
 the pure and unfpotted pieahires that are above, is only an 
 invention of man, Ciilculated to promote and advance the 
 power of the pricll, and to iiccumulate wealth and riches 
 in the Popifh church. We muft at death be either imme- 
 diately fentenced to evcrlaliiiig buriiinf^s, or received into 
 cverlafting felicity. But in the {late of fcparation that will 
 cnfue at death, there cannot be a complete enjoyment of 
 what Chrift has purchafed and promifed. The body is 
 mouldering in the grave, reduced to its original dull, inani- 
 mate and therefore infenfible and inacitivc. The complete 
 poflefiion of this crown will be referved therefore to that 
 day : that day when Chriit the judge will appear, that day 
 when he will raife the body that has lain fo long inactive, 
 call all before his judgement feat, join every fpirit to its 
 refpe£tive body, and place body and fpirit thus reunited in 
 an unchangeable ftate, of mifery or happinefs. What a day 
 will this be ! A day big with terror and triumph I A day 
 full of folemnity ! The judge fliall come arrayed in all his 
 glory : in his own and in his father's glory, accompanied 
 with a numerous retinue of angels and faints, Dan. vii. 10. 
 ** Thoufands of thoufands will miniiler unto him, and ten 
 ".thoufand times ten thoLifand will Hand before him: the 
 ** judgement will be fet and the books be opened." The hea- 
 vens diflblving, and the elements melting with fervent heat. 
 All nature trembling at his prefence ! What a Itriking fcene i 
 " The Lord himfelf fliall defceml from heaven with a Ihout, 
 ** with a voice of the archangel, and with the trump of 
 •< God, and the dead in Chrift fliall rife firft ; then we 
 ** which are alive and remain, fliall be caught up together 
 " with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air ; 
 " and fo fliall we ever be with the Lord," i Theif. iv. 16. 
 17. Then will the glorious morning of the refurrec^lion 
 appear, when the faints (hall be raifed; their bodies, which 
 have lain (o long in the grave, and been fcattered into ten 
 thoufand particles of dull, will awake; appear under dif- 
 ferent quaHties, put on glorious forms, after the faOiion of 
 Chrift's glorious body, and be fitted for the higheft: cnjoy- 
 fnents in the heavenly world. The faints, the apoflles ttil 
 
^4S 
 
 THE CROWN OF Scrm. XVL 
 
 iis, fhall be raifed firft, afterwards the wicked ; every body 
 (hall be raifed, even the fiime body: with thefe eyes fhall 
 we fee God, and with thefe ears hear the fentence. Oh 
 glorious, yet awful day ! What inconceivable crowds mud 
 attend the judge in the folemn tranfn£lions of it ! See infi* 
 dels darting at the view, faints rejoicing j fome filled with 
 fear ,and confufion, others with unfpeakable joy and tri- 
 umph. Jefus has already made his flrft appearance ; this 
 was to purchafe falvation for his people ; his fecond will be 
 to finifh it, when he will appear without lin, in all the 
 pomp and fplendour of the moil exalted chara£ler. And 
 now is the time that he will make up his jewels ; now will 
 he own and acknowledge his faithful warriors, thofc that 
 have laboured in his fervice, have fought the good fight, 
 finiftied their courfe, and kept the faith ; now will he fet 
 the crown of glory which he has purchafed upon their heads. 
 Behold them riling therefore from the duft : fee this cor-^ 
 ruption inheriting incorruption ; this mortal putting on im- 
 mortality, and Jefus a fmiling Saviour welcoming them into 
 his glorious kingdom, 7\nd making them eternally happy both 
 in foul and body. ** When he who is our life fhall appcary 
 ** then (hall we alfo appear with him in glory," Col, iii. 4*, - 
 We now come^i 
 
 4. To confider the perfons to whom this crown fliall be 
 (riven. *^To all thofe who love his appearing." The apoftle 
 was one of that happy number. When the great Re- 
 deemer fhall (land at the latter day upon the earth ; he, the 
 apollle, fhall appear, and {hall receive from the hands of his 
 divine mailer this glorious crown. " Henceforth there is 
 ** laid up for me." But is he the only perfcn whom Chriil 
 will honour with fuch a gift ? No, " and not to me 6nly ; but 
 *< unto all them alfo that love his appearing." This is the 
 character of all thofe whom Chrifl the judge will honout 
 in that great day. They love his appearing, for then every 
 enemy will be vanquiftied. Satan the roaring lion willtot- 
 tnent the people of God no more ; fin that fecret deflroyer 
 fliall ceafc for ever. The door of the bottomlefs pit will be 
 eternally (hut, and no more fliall the Chriftian ftaftd in fear 
 of its terrors. . Death fhall then be fwallowed lip in victory, 
 and no longer confine the body : in fliort, every enemy 
 •/hail be fully vnncjuifhed. Again, then the Chriftian's hi- 
 tation will be perfe^ed; Body and foul be again united^ 
 
Serm. XVI. righteousness. 24^' 
 
 and both fitted to dwell with the glorious Redeemer, and 
 to ferve him eternally. And laftly, then ChrlO: the media- 
 tor will be glorified. Then will he appear in all his ma- 
 jefty and glory, and be admired" by all his (aints, whilft fin- 
 ners, who here hlafphemed his name, will tremble before him. 
 On thefe accounts Ghrift's Redeemed people love his ap- 
 pearing, long after, and wait for it ; and this is the cha- 
 raiSler of all thofe upon whom the judge will beftow this 
 amiable crown It was doubtlefs a pleafing thought to the 
 apoftle Paul, that he was not the only perfon who (hould 
 partake of the honours of the laft day. He would not be 
 alone. Every real believer is willing that others (hould be 
 faved and triumph in the enjoyment of a:n everlafting crown 
 as well as himfelf, the real Chrillian is not like the cruel 
 mifcr, wlio would willingly grafp all to himfelf, and be un- 
 concerned at others ruin, fo he did but profper. The gof- 
 pel will not allow fuch a fpirit. It forms us into a moft ge- 
 nerous temper, gives us a real love to others,- and a true plea- 
 fure at the confideration of their falvatiori as well as our 
 own. Though the flock of our Redeemer appears but 
 fmall when we view it in this imperfect (late ; yet thofe 
 that love Chrift's appearing will make upaglorious number,iri 
 that day when he (hall appear with the whole train of his ran- 
 fomed people, the general afTembly and church of the firlt 
 born, who (hall all appear with him and add to the glory, 
 happinefs, and joy of the day, Thus we have confidered 
 what this crown is, &c We have only a few words to add 
 concerning the frame of the apoflle under fo amiable a view. 
 I have fought, &c. How amiable was his frame ? How glo- 
 rious his profpefts I He was not terrified either by looking 
 back or looking forward; but triumphed when he was going 
 to bid all thmgs here an everlafting farewel. And how 
 could he but triumph .'' Had he his evidences of an intcreft 
 in the divine favour clear ^ Had he fuch a vaft, fuch a glo- 
 rious profpedl before him ? Could he look forward to the 
 time of Chrift's appearance, and fee the triumphs of that day 
 and a perfonal intereft in them ? Oh what could intimidate 
 him ? what wanted he more ? Was not this enough .'' Yes, 
 behold he is fatisfied, he is willing to die ; ready to part 
 with all earthly things, life, reputation 'and all: he wai 
 willing to give up ail fo long as lie was happily affurcd of i 
 
 I i 
 
250 THE CROWN OF SeriTi. XVI. 
 
 glorious crowti. He had nownotliiii'^ to dlfcourage or aflriglit 
 him He had now no more complaints to make; nothing 
 to fear : death loll all Its terror ; he could triumph over it, 
 and boldly face eternity, fccure of his Redeemer's love. 
 Was this the frame of all God's people ; how h;;ppy, how 
 pleafant would it be to die ? I'hen we ibould he:\r of no- 
 thing from the Chrillian's m.outh but triumphant fongs. " O 
 ** death where is thy fting ?" &c. But fuch a frame at 
 death is not abfolutely neceflary to falvation, we may go fafe 
 to abetter world, and not be certain of it. It is abfolutely 
 neceffary indeed to our dying comfortably, though it is not 
 to cur dying fafely, a want of fucli a frame at death may oc- 
 cafion the raoft melancholy fears, fill the Chriflian with the 
 greateft diftrefs •, but he is ftill united to Chrift, and fhall be 
 fafely condufled to the regions of blelTednefs. As fuch a 
 frame then is not abfolutely neceliary, fo God does not al- 
 ways give it to his people. We often fee the Chriflian at 
 ■ death under the prefi'ure of doubts and fears. Some- 
 times not fully certain j fometimes having but little hope ;. 
 yetjll get fafe to a glorious world. A comfortable af- 
 furance of an intereft in Jefusis a blelling M^hich God gives 
 to fome and withholds from others, jufl as he fees to be 
 moft for his own glory. In times of public perfecution when 
 his people fall martyrs to his caufe, he generally favours 
 them with the glorious profpe^ts of a better world to fup- 
 port and comfort them under their important trials. ThiS' 
 was the cafe MMth the apoftle Paul : he was going to be fa- 
 crificed for Chrift, therefore his mafter kindly fupporteci 
 him and enabled him to rejoice in death. But in times of 
 general profperlty, with the church •, Chriftians are not fo 
 much favoured with thefe extraordinary comforts either irt 
 life or death. \et God does not obfcrve one conftant ami 
 invariable method ; he ispleafed to diftinguifli fome of his 
 children by the light of his countenance, and to make their 
 dying hours plcaf;nit and comfortable. And it miiil be 
 acknowledged to be a defirable and important blciring. 
 Denth cannot but appear meJancholy and awful to thofc 
 wl'o are under an uncertainty about their cverlailing ftate. 
 What feafon more folemn, on this fide the grave I What 
 fpe6laclc m^re. awful, than a ptrfon juft entering on eternity, 
 and not krK)wing whither he is going f ImpreiSed with a 
 
Serm. XVI. righthousness. 251 
 
 deep fenfe of the worth of his immortal foul, the awful 
 majefty of thiit God he is going to appear before, aiui with 
 his evidences ail d.irk ; Oh it is impofTible to conceive the 
 confufion the foul is in at.-the* awful view, he would willing- 
 ly be all fubmilFion to God, but yet he cannot bear the 
 thought of launching forth in fuch an uncertainty. How 
 neceff^iry is it therefore for our comfort that we enjoy God 
 in death ! Befidesit is a glorious confirmation of theChrif- 
 tian religion : when a Chriftian looks upon death with an 
 undaunted firmnefs of mind, and cheerfully parts with all 
 prcfcnt enjoyments to go to God ; it is a clear and abun- 
 dant evidence of the reality, excellency, and glory of Chrif- 
 tianity, ftrengthens the faith of others, and encourages them 
 to continue in the fervice of their Redeemer, in hopes of a 
 jiappy immortality. On thcfe accounts it appears to be our 
 duty as well as our intereft earneftly to feek, and impor- 
 tunately defire and labour after fuch a frame as this, when 
 we leave the (lage of life. Yet remember we are not to 
 look upon it as abfolutely necefiary or to be dillrelTed and 
 difcouraged on the want of fuch a favour, but ought to com- 
 fort ourfelves with the confideration of the unchangeable- 
 nefs of God, the liability of his p'romifes, the fultablenefs 
 and all-fufliciency of Jefus Chrift, and that thofe M'ho are 
 united to him, and depend upon him fhall be glorified and 
 faved by him, whatever l>e the dying frame. This fubje£t 
 is capable of particular improvement by many ufeful reflec- 
 tions, fuch as, — The wifdom of thofe perfons who make it 
 their chief concern to feek this crown. The way in which 
 finners are direcSled to feek it, viz. by the righteoufnefs of 
 Chrift, which gives the title; and in away of righteoufnefs, 
 which gives the fitnefs. How amazing it is, the folemn 
 tranfa^lions of the laft day have no greater imprelTion and 
 influence upon us. As alfo the importance of the duty of 
 felf-examination, what profpe6l we have of obtaining this 
 crown, &c. But le^'ing thefe things to private mediution, 
 I (hall clofc the fubje6l with one general remark, viz. Hence 
 we fee the excellency of the Chriftian religion, and what 
 encouragement we have to believe and maintain it under all 
 difficulties! Aniidft the doubts that mny arife in our minds, 
 and the difoouragements we may meet with, let us fuppofe 
 ourfelves near the dying bed of a triumphant faint, or view 
 the apoftle's frame in the laft moments of his life, and we 
 
 I i 2 
 
252 THE CROWN OF Semi. XVL 
 
 {hall foon be convinced of the reality and excellency of the 
 Chriftian religion, and be encouraged to J^eep up our confi- 
 dence in Chrift, and our hope of eternal life. The Chrif- 
 tian religion is not a fancy -, it is not an imaginary dream, 
 however difficult it may be for ts to comprehend it- It is a 
 glorious reality ; for it fupports the foul under its greateft 
 difficulties fortifies the mind againft all difcouragements, and 
 when every thing elfe fails ; when nature is diflblving, and 
 time and all things difappearing, it then fweetly calms the 
 mind, frees the foul from every fear, and fills him with the 
 higheft fatisf action. What feafon more important than the 
 hour of death ? Every thing now confpires to fill the foul 
 with gloom and melancholy, nay with the greateft furprife 
 and confternation ; all his riches and worldly honours, are 
 now going to be no more, he is taking his laft and ever- 
 laftlng farewel of all earthly things •, and was he to be an- 
 nihilated, it would be nothing : but he muft not ceafe to 
 cxift, he is going into an unknown world : he has fome- 
 thing within that forbodes fomething awful. Confcience 
 tells ' him that he is going before the bar of God to be 
 €xan>ined, and there to receive a fentence of everlafting 
 life, or evejrlafting condemnation : he is going amongft in- 
 numeral^le fpirits as yet quite unknown, and to have his 
 dwelling fixed for ever either MTith devils of faints. What 
 can be more awful than fuch a view as this ! Muft not the 
 foul fhudder at fuch a vaft and important profpe£l ? Behold 
 him juft ready to launch forth, and nothing here to yield 
 him the leaft fupport. If he looks back upon his former 
 enjoyments, they give him not the leaft fatisfadion : does 
 lie view his friends weeping around him ? This inftead of 
 cheering him, rather adds to his confufion ; in ihort, every 
 thing looks gloomy, and contributes to render death awful 
 and folemn : but behold in this critical moment, the gof- 
 pel foon changes (he fcene, brightens the Chrift ian's prof- 
 pe£ls, enables him with pleafure to bid all below farewel, 
 and to enter triumphantly the regions of immortality. Death 
 lofes all its terror, and whatever awful furprife filled his 
 mind before, now with the fweeteft compofure he talks of 
 eternity, the bar of God, and unembodled fpirits, and longs 
 for death to make the experiment. How glorious, how ex- 
 cellent then muft that religion be, that thus comforts and 
 
Serm. XVI. righteousnijss. 253 
 
 cheers a dympj Chriftian. Is this a fancy, a dream ? No, it 
 is an undoubted reality, and receives a noble teftimony 
 from all thofe who leave this world in the comfortable ex- 
 pe£l:ation of a better. The Lord grant we may all thu^ 
 clofe our eyes on time, and open them on eternity ! 
 
SERMON XVII. 
 
 ..«,.<.«..« <^'^^^yi^_^-^^^*->~>->->- 
 
 LOVE TO AN UNSEEN SAVIOUR. 
 
 I Pet. i. 8. 
 
 Tl7jom having not /een, ye love ; in whsm^ though now 
 ye fee him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy un- 
 fpeakable and full of glory. 
 
 THE love of Chriffc is a glorious theme to entertain our 
 minds, a quickening fubje£t to inflame our afFecSlions, 
 being attended with the moft defirable fruits and effects. 
 How aftonilhing is it, that any fhould call contempt upon 
 that which angels admire and adore ? Wonders far exceed- 
 ing the reach of finite mortals appear in the fubject of re- 
 demption, deferring our utmoft attention and calling for 
 our higheft praifes. Strange that man ftiould be fo ftupid 
 and loft to all fenfe of gratitude as to contemn the amazing 
 heights, and depths, and breadths, and lengths of the love 
 of God ! Do we not wonder at the ftrange phenomena and 
 appearances of nature ? And fliall we not obferve the more 
 glorious and ftriking difplays of divine grace in the works 
 of redemption by Jefus Chrill ? Shall we honour an earthly 
 benefaftor, a fellow mortal, who loves us and gives us all 
 the evidence? cf the moft (Incere and friendly efteem, and 
 fjall we not much mors love and honour him, who laid 
 
Serm. XVII. love to an, ^c, 255 
 
 down his life for us, and who is the author of eternal fatva- 
 tion to our fouls ? The perfons to v/hom the apoftle wrote 
 were diftinguifiied by their love of Chrift and their faith in 
 him, and were worthy of commendation on this account. 
 "As to their outward circumlUnces ihey were Grangers, 
 fcattered about in various parts *, they were purfued and 
 hunted Hke partridges upon the mountains, and fuffered a 
 variety of perfecutions and reproaches for the fake of Chrift. 
 Peter labours to encourage them by the profpe^t of that 
 glorious inheritance they had a lively hope of, and by the 
 coniideration of their perfeverance through the mighty 
 power of God, verfe 3, 4, 5. This they ought to look to, 
 as it would have a peculiar tendency to ftrengthen their 
 minds under every difficulty, reconcile them to every dif- 
 penfation, and enable them to bear every affli<Slion with a 
 becoming fortitude and refolution of foul. He told them 
 of the necefTity there was for their prefcnt trials, that infi- 
 jiite wifdom abundantly appeared therein, as they were de* 
 figned to promote the glory of God and their own advantage;. 
 the excellency of the Chriftian religion, being greatly con-. ' 
 firmed, and their grace tried and improved, verfe 6, 7. 
 Whom having not feen; fays the apoftle, ye love, &c. Thcfc 
 Jews had not feen Jefus, confequently they were not at Je- 
 Tufalem at the feaft of the paflbver, elfe they muft have (cen 
 Jefus perfonally •, but probably they might be there on the 
 day of Pentecoft when under Peter's fermon fo many were 
 converted: however it was as to thi^, they had not feen 
 Chrift bodily, but they had heard of him, and his word had 
 melted their hearts, they faw him fo diftin£lly by the eye 
 of faith, as to be abfolutely certain all was genuine that \\'^s 
 reported of him, and as to fill their fouls with the warmeft 
 love to him, and a joy unfpeakable and full of glory. This 
 was not only their cafe, but it k the cafe with every Chrif- 
 tian, thofe who live at the utmoft diftance from the time in 
 which Chri:"' appeared upon earth. It is their diftinguilh- 
 ing character : it is eflential to their very being. Love is 
 here put before faith,- whereas it is in reality the effect of 
 faith, the genuine and ripe fruit of it. Thefe words prefent 
 us with three things. 
 
 I. The diftinguidiing' character of real Chriftians, they 
 lieUeve on him whom they have not feen. 
 
656 1 o V E T d A N Serm. XVlL 
 
 II.' The genuine effet^ of true faith, a' fpiritual and ar- 
 dent love to an unfeen faviour. . - - ■ 
 
 III. The happy confequence of fuch a faith in, and love 
 to the faviour, it gives the foul joys unfpeakable and full of 
 glory. And oh that we may fee the glorious excellencies' 
 of the great Redeemer, that we may believe in him,. and 
 find our fouls filled with the mofk cordial efteem for him^ 
 and experience that joy that muft neceffarily arife from a 
 view of his various charafters and offices, and a comfortable 
 perfuafion of our intereft in him ! But the only topic I 
 have fingled out, and (hall attempt to difcourfe on, from this 
 text, is. 
 
 The believer's love to an iinfeen faviour. 
 
 To produce in us a love to Chrift, it is not neceflaty that 
 we Ihould fee him with our bodily eyes, a few perfons en- 
 joyed that privilege the little time he was on earth, our a- 
 poftle was one of them, and this privilege every Chriftian 
 will enjoy in the laft great day. " Behold he cometh with 
 «* clouds, and every eye fhall fee him," Rev. i- 7. Hence 
 fays holy Job, " I know that my Redeemer liveth, and 
 " that he ihall ftand at the latter day upon the earth, and 
 ** though after my Ikin, worms deftroy this body, yet in 
 « my flefh (hall I fee God, whom I {hall fee for myfelf, and 
 " mine eyes fliall behold and not another," Job, xix. 25, 26. 
 27. But thofe who adually faw Jefus and loved him, are 
 comparatively few to thofe who love him unfeen. This is^ 
 no way neceffary to form in the breaft this amiable grace : 
 his word, accompanied by his fpirit, is every way fufficient 
 to do it, and is the great fpring of fuch warm defires after, 
 and fuch an afFedionate efteem for Jefus Chrift. There- 
 fore we find perfons in every age poflefted of this moft amiable 
 grace. This love to Chrift confifts in entertaining the high- 
 eft and moft honourable thoughts of him, warm defires and 
 ftrong affection to him : he is the foul's all in all : and all 
 his defires, affedions and thoughts, center in him. To 
 make this fully appear, and to evince that the Chriftian ads 
 the moft rational part herein, let us inquire into three 
 things. 
 
 1 . What are the principal properties of the Chriftian's 
 love to an unfeci> faviour. 
 
 2. What are the grounds, and reafons of fuch a love t» 
 Kim. 
 
Scrm. XVIL unseen saviour^ 257 
 
 3. Mention a few things, which will evince the rcafori'* 
 ablenels ot the Chriltian*s love to an unfeen Saviour. 
 
 I. We are to inquire into the properties of this love. 
 And it has all the excellent properties that are necefiTary to 
 make it appear amiable, and to fhew how much the Chrif- 
 tian is devoted to Chrift. For it is flncere and hearty. — It 
 is univerfal or has refpeft to Chrill in all his characters, and 
 titles. — It is fuperlative, it is conftant, and everlaftlng. — 
 
 I. It is fincere and hearty. None queftions its reality 
 but the foul himfelf — except in public falls, and in a long 
 courfe of backflidings. David gave no evidence of his love 
 to Chrift, when he fell fo criminally, ahd fo publicly with 
 Bathlheba, and lay fo long fccUre . But when he came to 
 himielf, his bitter lamentations for his fin, abundantly mani- 
 felled his hatred of it, and his real love to God. We muft: 
 not judge of ourfelves nor of others, by one fingle a£t in 
 life, but by the habitual frame of a perfon, and the general 
 bent and tenor in his behaviour. A real concern of mind 
 for offending a friend, is a fign that we efteem him. And 
 it Is fo here : the Chriftian loves Chrift, yet he fometime^' 
 diftionours him ; but is it not matter of his decpeft humilia- 
 tion that he fhould be fo unkind and ungrateful-, Lord, fay^ 
 he, have I thus offended thee ? Oh why was I not more 
 "watchful? What! Indulge fm, fia which is fo odious to 
 my deareft Redeemer ! Sin which has wounded him fo 
 bitterly, and tends to open his wounds afrefh ! Have I in- 
 dulged fm ? Have I been fo inCohfiderate arid ungrate- 
 ful ? Lord i I mourn in duft and alhes before thee. I ab- 
 hor myfell : itjs my greateft- concern that I have offended 
 thee, and Oh that I could find my foul more htimbled : Oh 
 be not angry with me, turn not away thy countenance, en- 
 ter not into judgement with me: I cannot bear to think 
 that I have provoked thee. Thus the Chriftian laments 
 over his fins, is aflVaid he has provoked Chrift to abandon 
 him, and therefore is reftlefs lintil he has caft himfelf prof- 
 trate before him, and given up himfelf afrefti unto him. 
 How often has it been the cafe with yoiw fouls, ChriftianSj 
 though you are fo often queftioning your love to the great 
 Redeemer ? Have you not often mourned in fecret before 
 him over your backflidings, your coldnefs to him, your un- 
 fruitfulnefs and "other things by which you have been afraid, 
 you have provoked hiin i When vou have approached his 
 
?5? 
 
 LQVE TO AN Scrm. XViL 
 
 table, and there remembered his love, has not a remem- 
 brance of your fins at the fame time filled you with bitter- 
 nefs ? And have you not deeply lamented before him, yout 
 ingratitude to him ? All this was an evidence that you fm- 
 ccrely loved him. Peter, when he was put to the trial, fell 
 moft lliamefully, and who would lave thought that the per- 
 fon that was denying liim with oaths and imprecations real- 
 ly loved him ? And yet he did; as by his repentance he 
 made abundantly evident, for we read that, " he went out 
 " and wept bitterly," Luke xxii. 62. Again, appeahng to 
 God for our love to him, fliews the fmcerity of it. Peter 
 therefore gave another fure evidence of his love to Chrift ; 
 our Lord was plea fed to interrogate him three times, that 
 he might as often publicly declare Iris love to him. " Si- 
 ** mon, fon of Jonas, lovelt thou me more than theh ?"" 
 l^eter, fenfibie of his late fall and of his weaknefs, did not 
 fay, yea Lord I do love thee more than thefe : he did not 
 aflert that his love was flronger than others : but he ap- 
 pealed to him for the fincerity of it. " Lord thou knoweft 
 ." that I love thee :" nay, when the queilion was put ta 
 him the third time; he adds, ** Lord thou knoweft all 
 ** things," I appeal tx) thee for the reality of my love i 
 thou muft know for nothing is concealed from thee : thine 
 jeye furveys all things. Thou art perfecl:iy acquainted with 
 the feCrets of every heart, and canft eahly diftinguifh be-' 
 Jtween hypocrify and fincerity '. thou therefore knoweft 
 Lord the teal frame of my foul, and the fituation of my 
 Jieart, better than i know myfelf ; fpeak then Lord ; am I 
 an hypocrite i If I am, let me be expofed ; but thou knoweffc 
 that I love thee fincerely, John xxi. 15, &c. You Chrif- 
 tians perhaps cannot at all times fpeak fo pofitively as this 
 apoftle did, being afraid your hearts deceive you. But fo 
 far as you know your own hearts, you can make the ap-* 
 peal : however you can fay. Lord, thou knoweft that we de-* 
 fire to love thee ; we would not deceive onrfelves, nor 
 mock thee, we would have our hearts more fixed upon^ 
 ^nd filled with lo^^ to thee. 'I'his then is a comfortable 
 evidence of the reality and fincerity of your love. Another 
 evidence of fincere love to Chrift is the fouls mourning af* 
 ter him, and his thinking upon him. "We are ready to be 
 imeafy in the abfence of pcrfons we efteem, and to have our' 
 tliou^hts frequently upon them. Thus it is in the prelent 
 
Serm. XVII. unseen saviour. 259 
 
 cafe, the humble foul mourns after an abfent Jefun, goes 
 from one duty to another feekiiig his face, and inquiring 
 and longing after him. Oh what pain it oftentimevS gives 
 the foul that he cannot fee Jcfus ? An<l wli vt fatisfa^^ion 
 and joy when he is enabled to fee his interelt in him ? "What 
 fweet intercourfe ? The foul fits under his (hadow with a- 
 bundance of delight, views his various perfe£lions, excel- 
 lencies and characters with pleafure, and rejoices in him as 
 his all. This is illutlratcd in the conduct of the fpoufe, 
 Gant. iii. i, &c. And is it not your cafe, Chriltians ? Your 
 many fears, doubts, fccret mournings, and longings, make 
 it evident, and tLereforc you are no hypocrites. Your love 
 is not nominal, it is fincere, it is hearty. 
 
 IT. This love is univerfal, or it has refpe£i: unto Chrift in 
 all his characters and titles. When the fpoufe had enume- 
 rated various of the beauties and excellencies of Chrilt, ihe 
 breaks out into an adoration of him as every where full of 
 glory : " yea he is ajtogether lovely !" Cant. v. 16. What 
 need I go any further in a defcription of him ? He is all over 
 amiable and glorious ; in whatever character I view him, I 
 find the ftrongeft affection for and defires after him. Thus • 
 it is with the Chriilian, Jefus appears lovely in every cha- 
 ncier, in every title which he bears The finner bears no love 
 to Jefus in any character ; he fees no beauty in him : thus 
 it is reprefented iu Cant v. ix. Strangers to Chrift aik the , 
 Chriltian why his affedions are fo much fet upon Jefus : 
 what is your beloved more than another's beloved ? Is there 
 any beauty in him more than in other bbje(Sts, does he polfefs 
 any peculiar and diitinguifhing excellency ? We can fee 
 nothing defirable in him, in any of his charatSlers ; and 
 therefore cannot find any eiteem for him. No, " we will 
 •' not have this man to reign over us. We hate his go- 
 vernment, we love not that he (hould bear the fway, or ex- 
 ercife an authority in our fouls. ** Depart from us for wc 
 " defire not the knowledge of thy ways." The fmncr 
 hates Jefus Chritt : what contempt therefore does he cad 
 upon him in his perfon, his righteoufnefs, and all his cha- 
 racters ? iSome profefs a regard to Chrilt in one character, 
 but not in all, they would be willing to (hare in the blef- 
 fmgsof his priefthood, but will not fubmit to his yoke, nor 
 take up their crofs and follow him. Such is not the Chril- 
 tian 5 he loveSvChrift in all that he is, and in all that he has. 
 K k2 
 
^6o LOVE TO AN Serin. XVII, 
 
 As the great prophet he efteems him, adores him in that 
 charatSler, and looks to him for all faving knowledge As 
 a prieft, the great High Prieft, he honours him, and loves 
 him ; values and efteems his rlghteoufnefs, rejoices in his 
 facrifice, and has the ftrongeft regard for his advocacy and 
 interceflion : and as the king and lord of his prople they 
 love him, love his rule and government, think themfelves 
 fafe under his prote6^ion, and would have their hearts more 
 in obedience and fubje£bion to him. As God over all blef^ 
 fed for evermore they love him; entertain the moft honour- 
 able thoughts of him, and caft their whole fouls upon him 
 as the glorious foundation of their hopes of eternal life. Je- 
 fus ! In whatever chara6ker I view him, fays the Chriftian, 
 he is amiable and lovely : all his charafters are moft imr 
 portant : fee how he is defcribed, " as the wonderful coun- 
 ** fellor, the mighty God, the everlafting father, the prince 
 f^ pf peace." AH titles the- moft glorious. Such is thy be- 
 loved, and fuch is thy friend, Oh my foul, how can T then 
 but efteem higi ? I cannot but entertain the-higheft and 
 moft honourable thoughts of him. - Sure he is all amiable : 
 what excellencies belong to his perfon ? How glorious his 
 qualifications, his titles, his perfei^lions ? See him as thy 
 friend to counfel, advife, and direct thee ; as thy {liepherd 
 to ^uide, watch over, and keep thee ; as thy brother to love 
 thee, as thy father to pity and' preferve thee : fee him as 
 the foundation to fupport- thy hopes, as thy dayfman and 
 furety to undertake for thee. . See him as' the only begot- 
 ten fon of God, high in his favour and efteera j. as .Emma- 
 nuel,. God with us, and therefore as the fon of ^ man ap- 
 pearing inhuman nature, and fufFering and dying; fee<him 
 as the captain of falvation leading his noble warriors tolthe 
 battle, encouraging them therein, and giving them thecon- 
 queft. As the fun of righteoufnefs, enlightening, warming, 
 and quickening the fouls of his people with his cheering 
 and reviving beams. Behold him as the great bridegroom 
 efpoufing his people to himfelf for ever, married to them ; 
 rejoicing in anjl delighting over them. As the bread of 
 life not only giving life but maintaining and fupporting it 
 in the fouls of his children. Nay, fee him as the lion of 
 the tribe of Judah ! view him as the great judge of quick 
 and dead, fummoning all before his fupreme tribunal, and 
 pafling a decifiv^e fentence upon each, and he appears ami- 
 
Scrm XVIL unseen saviour. jj^i 
 
 able and lovely : In whatever charaQer I view Inm, T fee 
 enough to raife my efteeni of him, and cannot but be 
 aftoniflied that any fhould be blnid to his excellencies, and 
 have their hearts filled with the lead enmity to him. Oh 
 glorious Redeemer thou art all lovely : my foul with won» 
 der and afte^lion ftands and views thy perfon and characters, 
 and with delight gazes upon thy adorable excellencies. Is 
 it poihble for any to be fo Ignorant and frupid as to view 
 thee with the leaft degriee of indifference ? Lord certainly 
 it cannot be : it appears to be incredible, did not fatal ex- 
 perience too much fliew it : but with concern I fee thee 
 defpifed and contemned by ignorant fmners, thee whorri 
 my foul would always love. 
 
 ' III. This love is fuperlative. It exceeds the e flee m which 
 the foul has for all other things. Chrlfl requires the heart : 
 he will accept of nothing lefs. ** My fon give me thine 
 *' heart." Prov. xxiii. 26. It is agreeable to the command 
 of God. M^rk xii. 30. "Thou ihalt lovetheLord thy 
 " God with all thy heart, and with all thy foul, and with ail 
 •* thy mind, and with all thy ftrength," It muft be fincere, 
 and it muft engage the whole foul. The covetous man we 
 •find lays all his heart out upon his beloved idols. He can 
 jellfli nothing but what is of this world. His thoughts, his 
 affections, his heart, his hands, his time, and his all, are em- 
 ployed about the diHgenj: purfuit of the riches and honours 
 of the prefent ftate. And he has nothing for Jefus, " If any 
 ** man therefore love this world," that is, fet it up as his 
 chief idol in his heart, and purfue it as his chief happinefs, 
 " the love of the father dwelleth not in him." i John ii. 15. 
 Chrift muft bear the fway, elfe your love is partial, and comes 
 (hort of that which is the mark, and charafteriftic of a 
 real Chriffian. The Chrlftian (hews that his love to Chrift 
 is fuperlative by his longing after him •, by his concern for 
 his own and others ingratitude to him, by his defire to ho-, 
 nour him, and his longing after that glorious world, where he 
 fliall love and ferve hina with the utmoft perfection. The 
 Chrlftian thinks upon and longs after a dear Redeemer. 
 His thoughts are not indeed fo much and fo warmly fixed 
 upon Chrift as he would defire them to be, the neceffary 
 affairs of life muft employ his thoughts, and they perhap* 
 too much encumber his mind, andgive hina uneafinefs, left, 
 irhilft he thinks he loves' Jefus, he fliould be deceiving him-, 
 
s6^ LOVE TO AN Scrm. XVII. 
 
 felf, and be found to love tlie world before him. But this 
 is not tlie cafe with fuch dejected fouls. They are frequently 
 langing after a dear Redeemer, and it is their greateft joy 
 jnd happinefs when they fee his face ; but they think them- 
 felves wretched when they cannot find him. They cannot give 
 the world all their time and thoughts, they muft frequently 
 fteal an hour to converfe with whom they love. And Oh 
 with what concern are they filled when they fee or hear him 
 diilionoured by prophane iinners, when they fee the falls of 
 thofe that profefs a real love for him and confider their own 
 ungenerous condu£l and behaviour by which they have fre- 
 quently offended him ! They are labouring to honour him 
 more, are tender of his glorious name, and concerned to 
 bring forth the fruits of righteoufnefs to his abundant praife^ 
 tliey are circijmfpe£l therefore and watchful -, out of a love 
 to Chrii they love his people, and are concerned to pay a 
 conftant obedience to thofe commands which he has left 
 thcra. And Oh how do they frequently long after that 
 glorious world where they will be for ever freed from all 
 fin, and be fitted for glorifying their greut Redeemer in the 
 moft perfecb manner ! the views of heaven give a peculiar 
 pleafure to the believing foul ; becaufe he there (hall no 
 more difhonour, offend, and provoke his dear Redeemer, but 
 have clearer and more glorious views of his love, and make 
 more fuitable returns than he can poffibly do here. All this 
 fliewshis love to be fuperlative, notwithftanding all his fears. 
 How careful fliould thofe be that find fuch a fondnefs fof 
 this world, left they be found deftitute of this divine and 
 amiable Grace ? He that loveth this world above Chrift is 
 not worthy of him. Nay, he himfelf tells us, " that who- 
 *' foever loveth father or mother more than him, or fon or 
 " daughter more than him, is not worthy of him." Mat. x. 
 37. Hard faying this, who can bear it ? Net that we mull 
 Late parents and children, and fuch near and invaluable 
 comforts to fhew our love to Chrift, nor can we in times of 
 profpciity and peace, fo well try ourfelves by thefe things. 
 But in times of perfecution, whoever out of love and regard 
 to parents and childien difobcy the commands of Chrift, and 
 turn their backs upon him ; fuch are not his difciples We are 
 fT) Iionour parents-, but when they interfere with our allegi- 
 ance to Chrift, V muft leave them and follow Chrift, being 
 under greater obligations to obey God than maiv. A- time' 
 
Serm. XVII. unseen saviour. 163 
 
 of profperity is a wrong time for the Chriflian to try his love 
 to Chrift by fuch marks as thefe ; for he but feldom ebmes 
 off with advantage. We hear him frequently faying lam 
 afraid I cannot part with all things for Chrift and follow him, 
 fliould he call me to it : you cannot judge of this properly, 
 though your prefent ftrength ma| be but fmall, yet when 
 Chrift calls you to trials, he will animate and fupport you m 
 proportion to them. Therefore fay not, yoUr love is not 
 right, as you give thofe evidences which are true and real, 
 and fuitable to the circumftances God has placed you in 5 
 fo you may conclude that you really and fuperlatively love 
 a dear Redeemer. 
 
 IV. This love is conftant and everlafting. It is not like 
 the efteem which we have for our fellow creatures^ which 
 frequently ftops upon receiving an affiront, and is often 
 changed into refentment. Where this grace is once im- 
 planted it continues and never ceafes. Gxace may not be 
 always in the fame lively exercife ; fometimes it appears 
 cool and indifferent, at other times vigorous and lively ; but 
 grace will ever remain in the foul that is renewed : nothing 
 can quench that love which the believer has to Jefus. It 
 will abide through every difficulty, through the remains of 
 life and be greatly improved in a future world. The be- 
 liever really lovf s his great Redeemer when he affli»5ls him, 
 as well as when he fmiles upon him. When he takes the 
 tod into his hand to chaftife him for his forgetfulnefs and 
 difobedience, afflicts him in the tendeteft part, yet this does 
 not alter the Chriftian's feivtiments of his exalted Redeemer, 
 or change his efteem into hatred : but he cafts himfelf pro- 
 ftrate before him, and humbles himfelf at his footftool, ac- 
 knowledges his guilt, and mourns that he has offended him, 
 and provoked him to hide his face and^difcover his refent-* 
 mcnt. It is the peculiar property of this love, to be con-* 
 ftant and abiding, Whatever is the conduct: of God towards 
 him. Should his life be nothing but one melancholy fccne 
 of forrows and affliction *, fliould God take one c<>mfort after 
 another from him, till at laft he has ftrlpped him of all, 
 even the deareft and moft valuable, and thrown him into 
 the moft diftreffmg circumftances ; nature would indeed be 
 ready to recoil and prompt the believer to rife in rcberio»i 
 againft God, charge him with cruelty and iniuft'icc, and put 
 itim upon withdrawing his affedions from him, but grace 
 
t64 LOVE TO AN Setm. XVil. 
 
 teaches hlhi a different leflbn : he humbles hlmfelf there- 
 fore under his mighty hand, is full of concern left God-^ 
 fhould have entirely abandoned hini, arid cannot be eafy till 
 he fees his fmiles, and has fome comfortable hope that he 
 has not forfaken him, he may at times murmur and repine, 
 but he quickly checks himfelf for his pvefumptlon, and 
 humbly adores and loves that hand that has fo much cor- 
 te(^ed him This was the cafe with Job : his afflictions 
 were remarkably fore and heavy, he was deprived of chil-; 
 dren and fubftance •; every one appeared againft him ^ and 
 his body was full of anguifh through the melancholy difor- 
 der that he was exercifed with •, and now was the time for 
 the trial of his love to and efteem of God. Did he under 
 all this ftill keep up the moft honourable thoughts of God ? 
 Did he notwithltanding all this really love him? Yes, he 
 bleired*the Lord in taking as well as giving, which difco- 
 Irered the higheft love for and the moft genuine obedience 
 of foul to him* Job. i. 21. Nothing can poflibly quench 
 this love; nothing can hurt it: the innumerable temptations 
 to which the Chriftian is fubjeft, the many enfnaring objecSts 
 with which he is furrounded, all tend to leflen his efteera 
 for Jefus, and catch his affeclions- But he Hands unmoved 
 in the midft of all ; views theiti all with indifference when 
 put in competition v/ith Jefus, and continues in. his loyalty 
 and affe£lion ♦, no other lords or mafters muft have domi- 
 nion over him ; he loves his Saviour, and he will love him 
 imto the end. Whatever perfecutions and diftrefTes arife 
 for the {^ke. of Chrift,he is not offended like the ftony ground 
 hearers-, he does not turn his back upon his great Redeemer y 
 but continues the fame efteem both in life and death; the 
 moft cruel and painful death has not caufed hirh to think ill 
 of Chrift, but his love has led him through the greateft 
 tortures, and made him willingly ftied his blood for his glo- 
 rious Saviour. Witnefs the martyrs who followed Chrift 
 unto death, and loved him fo as to fuffer the greateft cruel- 
 ties human art could invent and an arm of flefh could in- 
 flict: : this is that love that diftinguiflies the real Chriftian 
 from the hypocrite : if you once profeffed to love the Re- 
 deemer but now have defeited him ; if other obje(Sis have 
 gained all your efteem, or the reproaches and difficultiesi 
 you met with in your profeffion of Chrift, have caufed you 
 to change your thoughts of him, you never loved him in 
 
Serni. XVll. unseen saviour. atg 
 
 reality, and therefore are none of his followers. ' Thofc that 
 Continue not, but turn afidc, belong not to Jefus, nor have 
 they any IntereO: in hirt\: Chrift mufi always have your 
 hearts, or elfe yoii will have no part in him : yoii that are 
 entering Upon the ways of Jefus, and find a defire after him, 
 enquire, do you think to love him unto death ? If e.ver you 
 defert him, all your former profefFion will fignlfy nothing,: 
 " if any man draw back my foul ftiall have no pltafure in 
 " him.",. Oh that we may not be " of them that draw back 
 ** untt^ perdition, but of them that believe unto the faving 
 *' of the foul." , This love is conftant; it is everlafting : 
 death will not remove it, but place the foul where it will be 
 inuch improved : there is no room for faith and hope, in the 
 heavenly world, but there is for love. Faith and hope will 
 be no more, for the obje£l will be enjoyed ; but the enjoy- 
 ment will greatly increafe the Chriftian's love Here it is 
 but imperfect, but there it is perfect : here it is often inter- 
 rupted ; the heart feems too often divided between Chrift and 
 the wofUl ;. but in heaven there are no enfnaring objects to 
 take the affections from Jefus, or cool the Chriftian's love ; 
 but the everlafting enjoyment of his Redeemer will keep it; 
 in everlafting exercife, and raife it to the higheft pitch the 
 foul is capable of. Oh Chriftian look more to heaven and 
 long more to be with Jefus, for it is there you Can only love 
 your Redeemer aright: there your love will have no mix- 
 ture, nothing to interrupt or check it, but every circumftance 
 pofiible to heighten and encreafc it, and make ,you for ever 
 
 happy in the exercife of it Thus we fee the, properties 
 
 of the Chriftian's love : it is fin cere, it is univerfal, it is fu- 
 perlative, conftant, and everlafting. All thefe. fhew the va- 
 lue of this grace, and how irnportant.it is : how ,eiTenti^l 
 It is to the real Chriftian, and therefore how neceflary 
 it is that we make a ftricSt inquiry into our own hearts 
 whether this grace is implanted in our fouls, and has ever 
 been brought into exercife. Who would not be willing to 
 know chat they are Chriftians indeed ? Is it not a matter of 
 the utmoft importance to have this weighty point out o^ 
 difpute ? Befides, as Chriftians, the fe that arc called towaic 
 iipon Jefus at his table, fiiould examine themfelves, and 
 then eat of that bread and drink of that cup : let us there- 
 fore recolledl: what has been hinted upon this love to an un- 
 fecn Saviour *, and let us examine ourfelves, left we jQiowl* 
 
 H 
 
2^6 LOVE TO AN Serm. XVII. 
 
 he miftalcen. The great qiieftion is, do we love Chrift ? 
 Do we love him in fincerity ? Or is our love to him only 
 nominal ? Do you love him in de<?d and in truth ? Sinners, 
 It is evident 3^ou love not our Lord Jefus Chrill, for you 
 love fin : you hate his yoke, you cannot part with your be- 
 loved Dalilahs •, y^u fondly hug them in your bofoms, and 
 will not renounce them for Jefus and falvation. But is this 
 your cafe ye that mourn in fecret, left you fhould be but 
 almoft Chriftians ? Is this your chara(fter, ye that thirfl af- 
 ter Chrift at his table ? No, ye love our Lord Jefus Chrift, 
 and ye fhew it by renouncing your fins, mourning over them, 
 and ftriving again ft them. Do you not long after Chrift, 
 think upon and rejoice in him ? All this then ihews the fin- 
 cerity and reality of your love to him^ and is not vour love 
 imiverfal ? Do you not take Chrift in all his characlers ? Is he 
 not precious to you in evety title ? As prophet, as prieft, and 
 king, and do you not fubmit to him in every character ? Or 
 ^t leaft defire and aim to do fo ? Again, is your love to him 
 fuperlative ? Do you love him with all your hearts ? &c. — 
 The finner prefers others to him, but the believer cheerfully 
 parts with every thing, every luft, every idol, every vain and 
 iinful delight for him, and when called to part with the 
 world, wife, children and fubftance, he leaves all and fol- 
 lows Chrift through perfecutions, and fiery trials. 
 
 In fine, is your love conftant and abiding ? Do you con- 
 tinue fteadfaft and unmoved ? Or has it been only a fudderi 
 flafti of afFeflion like the Jews, Hofantia to the fon of 
 , David, and then crucify him ? Thus it is neceflary to in- 
 quire how our affections ftand : " For they that love not 
 •* our Lord Jefus Chrift, let them be anathema maranatha." 
 1 Cor. xvi. 2 2. This is the chara^er of every real Chrif- 
 tian, tb love Chrift. Oh that this grace may be implanted 
 in each 6f our fouls, that we may grow more and more into 
 the likenefs of Chrift, may find his love increafing ours, and 
 niay at Inft be trahflated into that glorious world, where wc 
 ihall love and praife him for ever and ever. We arc 
 tiow, 
 
 II. To inquire into the grounds and reafons why the 
 Chriftian loves an unfecn Jefus. Love to one another is ge- 
 nerally owing to three things, — either a confidcration of 
 fome peculiar amiablencfs and excellency a fellow creature 
 pofltfTes, or fome near, relation which we ftand in to them. 
 
Serm. XVIL unseen saviour. 267 
 
 or elfe fome peculiar obligations we are under from their 
 kind and endearing behaviour .to U5, and the favours they 
 have conferred upon us. From fome of thefe, love to one 
 another takes its rife, and they all appear as reafons why 
 the Chriftian loves an unfeen Saviour. Though he has not 
 feen him perfonally, yet he has heard of his ej:ccllencies, 
 and has feen by an eye of faith his beauty and glory. He 
 (lands in the neareft relation tp him, and has received the 
 greateft favours from him ; all which fhew the foundation 
 there is laid for the greateft. admiration and efteem, and 
 how ungratefully the Chriftian would a£t, as well as un- 
 fuitably to his character, was he not to love Jefus Chrift. 
 But particularly, 
 
 I. The Chriftian loves an unfeen Jefus, becaufe of the 
 ^excellencies which he pofleftes. Whatever excellency is iix 
 the creature may be found in the higheft perfection in Jefus 
 Chrift, for he inherits all true perfedltion : creatures' glories 
 are all imperfc<3:, there are innumerable deficiencies, they 
 are chargeable with, innumerable foibles that caft a (hade 
 upon their excellencies, that they at times can fcaree appear. 
 But there is no mixture in Jefus : his excellencies always 
 /hine with infinite luftre, and are ever apparent to attract 
 our efteem, andraife our admiration. Wifdom and know- 
 ledge, faithfulnefs and prudence, and the inward ornaments 
 of the mind, humility, meeknefs and the like ; thefe are what 
 principally recommend us one to another, and engage our 
 efteem. But what are thefe tothofe fliining excellencies 
 that are in Jefus, and juftly render him a fuitable obje<ft of 
 our efteem ? Behold him pofleired of every divme q^ialifica- 
 tion : As to wifdom and knowledge, who can exceed him ? 
 He knows all the various cafes of his people, what their temp- 
 tations, diiHculties, and difeafes are ; and what applications 
 to make for their removal : " he has all treafures of wifdom 
 ** and knowledge," whereby he is able to govern every thing 
 wifely, to conduct every circumftance fo as to prevent the > 
 defigns of Satan from taking effect, and to promote his own 
 -glory and the good of his people. Col. ii. 3. He is faith- 
 ful and juft in the execution of his threatenings, and in the 
 fulfilment of his promifes : his name is therefore emphatically 
 ftyled ** faithful and true," Rev. xix. 1 \ . being faithful in 
 the management of every concern that is committed to him. 
 
>58 LOVE TO AN Serm. XVI?. 
 
 whether by his father or by his people. He is almighty and 
 powerful, able to help in the moft diftrcfling cafe, to fupport 
 tinder, and to deliver out of the moft deplorable circumftan- 
 ces. His name is therefore " mighty to fave." If. Ixiii \ 
 He is unchangeable and everlafling, " the fame yefterday, to- 
 ** day, and for ever j" he never alters his purpofes nor 
 changes his mind, Heb. xiii. 8. He is in fhort poffefTed of 
 afulnefs of excellencies -, ** in him it hath plcafed the Fa* 
 <« ther that all fulnefs (hould dvi^ell," Col. i. 19. He is kind 
 and condefcending, loving and compaflionate, he is friends 
 ly and eafy of accefs, he is confiderate and bountiful, meek 
 and humble. ** He is the only begotten of the Father, full 
 ** of c-racc and truth," John i. 1 4. Nay, he pofTeffes every 
 div le excellency, being ** God over all blefTed for ever- 
 •* more," Rom, ix. 5. AVho then IhaU not adore fuch exccU 
 lencies ? Certainly he that pofleffes therri is a worthy obje<St 
 of our efteem'.' What is there that can appear more amiable 
 and lovely ? It is indeed one thing to profefs to believe thofe 
 excellencies in Chrift," another to have a fuitable fenfe of 
 them ; fuch a fenfe as draws the admiration and afFedtion 
 iof the foul. We may hear of all the excellencies of Jefus, and 
 yet find ho real love to him : this is too frequently the cafe. 
 The finner hears and gives his afTent, but for want of a real 
 fpiritual view, his hea^t remains hardened, and he finds no 
 Hvorkings of affe£lion. But this is not your cafe, Chriftians. 
 Your underftandings were once darknefs, but now are they 
 light in the Lord. You have had a fpiritual difcerning, by 
 which you haye feen the excellency and amiablcnefs of Jefus, 
 and found your defires drawn out after him. A view of 
 his glory and fuitablenefs has engaged your efteem, and 
 filled you with the moft horwurable thoughts of him. Oh 
 how can I but love him, fays the believer ? Not love Jefus \ 
 One fo amiable, fo fuitable, fo excellent and glorious! I 
 cannot but adore his name, aqd admire his beauty; the 
 whole creation is nothing when compared with him v he is 
 fairer than all the children of men : an(i how amazing is it 
 that my foul is no more employed in adoring his excellen- 
 cies ? Once I was ignorant, a ftranger to every beauty ; but 
 Tiow Icannot view Jefus in any character in which he is re- 
 prefented, but I fee a glory and comelinefs in him : and Oh 
 uupid creatures that are not raifed with the defcriptiohs of 
 
Serm. XVII. unseen saviour. 26^ 
 
 his perfon, his rightcoufnefs, his fulnefs, and his infiniie 
 excellencies ! 
 
 2. The Chriftian loves an unfeen Saviour becaufe of the 
 relation which he (lands in to him. This occafions that 
 love and efteem oftentimes which we have one for another ; 
 the ties of nature and relation are ftrong arguments and 
 inducements to affe<£lion and efteem ; a mother muft turn 
 monfter ifihe does not love her babe ; and fo muft a child if 
 he does not love and honour his parent : a hufband muft 
 z£\. in dire<Sl oppofition to his chara(fl:er, if he love not his 
 wife, and a wife muft be guilty of the fame, if (he can re- 
 main void of a(Fe<Slion to her hulband : children of the 
 fame family ought not to difagrec, but the tendered love 
 and affedion fliould fpread and be ever difFufed. All thefc 
 characters and relations lay a juft foundation for Llie great- 
 eft efteem, and call for the tendereft affedion. And thus 
 if we take a view of the relations which Chrift and believers 
 ftand in to one another, we (hall no longer wonder at the 
 love which the Chriftian has for Jefus. Chrift is repre- 
 lented as a bridegroom, as the hufband 5 and his people 
 as the bride, Jor the wife ; the relation is as real as that of 
 hulband and wife, and the greateft advantages flow from 
 it: as a bridegroom therefore Chrift is faid to rejoice over 
 his bride, and to love his fpoufe ; and muft we not fup- 
 pofe the fame in the church ? The fame affectionate tem- 
 per, and the kindeft thoughts of the unfeen Jefus ? The 
 relation lays a foundation for the moft cordial refpeCt and 
 efteem, and the character which is given the ehurch abun- 
 dantly and clearly fliows that her warmeft afFeCllons are 
 fixed upon the great Redeemer. When the Chriftian 
 comes to confider that Jefus has efpoufed him unto him- 
 felf for ever, and that he has taken the charader of an 
 hufband, his foul is full of the moft cordial efteem, and he 
 rejoices in and longs after him, is filled with a tender con- 
 cern for his honour, and bears a lafting refpe6t to his glo- 
 rious name. Again, Chrift and the Chriftian ftand related 
 as father and fon : as it is neceffary to a£t confiftently with 
 that relation, that a child fliould love his parent ; fo it is e- 
 qually neceflary that Chriftians fhould love Jefus ; Jefus 
 their compalTionate father, who pofTefTes all the kind affec- 
 tions of the moft indulgent parent, and that in the utmoft 
 perfection. As a father he pities, he loves, he corrects, but 
 
%yo LOVE TO AN Scrm. XVII. 
 
 with afre£llon ; he inftrudls nnd advifes ; he longs, he 
 yearns over his people : is afflicted in all their affli£tions, 
 and carries them ever upon his heart : as children therefore 
 they are bound to love, to honour, and highly to efteem 
 him •, to entertain the mod exnitcd thoughts of him ; and 
 to behave with the utmolt refpe£l to him. Again, Chrift 
 and his people are brethren : he took flefh and blood, and 
 dwelt in human nature ; fo that he is one with us, flefh of 
 our fleih, and bone of our bone. In fuch a relation how 
 amiable muft he appear to the Chriftian ? As a brother he 
 entertains the higheft refpedt, lives in conftant harmony, 
 and is not willing to offend or grieve him. Again, Chrift 
 and his people are related as friends : he calls them fre- 
 quently fo, John XV. 14, 15. And he acts a moil friendly 
 part to them by adminittering to their neceffities, comforting 
 them, and fympathizing with them under all their affll6i:ions: 
 as friends therefore they muft on their part refpecl, honour, 
 and efteem him, bear a tender concern for his glorious 
 namq, and ever difcover a fincere regard to his intereft and 
 kingdom. There are various other relations in which Chrift 
 and his people ftand to one another, to fill up which there 
 muft be a conftant, fincere and mutual love; but thefe few 
 hints are fufficient to fliew us, why Chriftians loye an un- 
 feen Jefus. 
 
 3. The Chriftian Is under the greateft obligations to Jefus 
 for the wonders of his free and unmerited love to him : and 
 no wonder then that he loves him though unfeen. Where 
 a perfen fuperior to us in outward circumftances, appears 
 of a truly humane, generous and beneficent temper, conde^ 
 fcends to th^ loweft offices in life to promote our advantage, 
 calls us by the moft afteftionatc titles, confers the higheft 
 favours upon us, and is continually ftudying our intereft ; 
 fuch a perfon was he to be found amongft us, could not but 
 be greatly valued and cfteemed. It would difcover the ut- 
 moft ingratitude, to flight or defpife him : fuch, nay aft in- 
 finitely greater friend is Jefus to the Chriftian ; his love ex- 
 ceeds all human compaffion, it is infinitely great and glori- 
 ous, and therefore cannot but raife the admiration of the 
 humble foul •, and engage his efteem. This brings us to the 
 third general, nameiy» 
 
 III. To mention a few particulars which may ferve to e- 
 vince the reafonablenefs of the Chriftian's love to an unften 
 
Scrm. XVII. unseeit saViour, zyt 
 
 faviour. i. Let us view the infinite glory of his perfon. 
 2. The amazing greatnefs of his condefcention for his 
 people's advantage. 3. The bleflings which he has con- 
 ferred upon the Chriftian. 4. The endearing titles he has 
 given him. 5. The care he continually takes of him, and 
 the glory he has prepared and Mriil fecUre for him. And 6; 
 The freenefs of this love. 
 
 I. Let us view the infinite glory of the perfon o'f Chrift. 
 A perfon of eminent rank greatly recommends himfelf to the 
 eiteem of his fellow-creatures, when he appears affable and 
 friendly, and takes notice of thofe that are much inferior 
 to him : whilft perfons of a haughty and infolent behaviour, 
 are only fit obje£ls of contempt, and are generally defpifed 
 notwithftanding all their grandeur. And if it is fo amiable 
 in an imperfe£l mortal to take notice of thofe who are below 
 him ; how much more amiable muft it be in Jefus the fon 
 of God, to take notice of thofe who are fo much beneath his 
 notice ? Oh that every proud and haughty temper was 
 moulded after the amiable temper of Jefus ! Behold him 
 exalted above all created beings ; fee him poffeffed of every 
 poiTible CKcellency j view him in dignity above angels and 
 archangels, receiving all divine honours, from thofe glorious 
 and exalted fpirits, and yet kindly taking notice of finful 
 polluted creatures, creatures at fuch a diftance from him, 
 and fo much beneath his regards, and unworthy of his care ! 
 What amazing condefcention is this in the high and lofty 
 one that inhabits eternity ? How glorious does he appear ? 
 It cannot but draw the efteem of the Chriftian, when he fits 
 down and views the dignity of the fon of God, and yet the 
 notice which he is pleafed to take of fuch guilty polluted 
 creatures as we. How can I but love an unfeen faviour, 
 fays he ? Would It not appear the higheft ingratitude to take 
 no notice of the kindnefs of thofe of fuperior rank and 
 chara6ter amongft ourfelves ? And is it not more ungrate- 
 ful to be infenfible of the notice which Jefus the mfghty God 
 takes of us ^ Lord I will, nay, I cannot but love thee : what, 
 thou fo glorious, fo happy in the bofom of thy father, and in 
 the enjoyment of thine own excellencies, yet doll thou take 
 notice of fuch a polluted wretch ! Haft thou notwithftanding 
 thy greatnefs, thy glory in the midft of furrounding angels y 
 haft thou yet been pleafed to fet thy love upon fuch a poor 
 diluted worm as me ? What honour is tl^s tliou haft con- 
 
27^ LOVE TO AN ScriTl. XVII, 
 
 ferred upon me ? Lord, I will ever love thee, I will ever a- 
 dore thine infinite goodnefs ; thy name {hall be ever precious 
 to my foul, and I will give thee my whole heart. 
 
 2. The ailowiihing humiliation of Jefus Chrift, in human 
 nature, is a moft powerful attradlive to the Chriftian, and 
 cannot but raifc hi? eOeem. To take the leaft notice of 
 fuch unworthy creatures as we, is amazing condefcention, 
 bow much more when we confide r what Jefus has done ? 
 He hss done what anj^jels wonder at, all heaven (lands 
 aftonifhed ; and yet finful man can hear and remain un- 
 moved I He can hear the reprefentation without feeling one 
 tender affe6lion move ; he can hear and yet be hardened j 
 how wonderful that the ftones break not their native fdence, 
 and upbraid us with ingratitude ! Do you wonder, finners, 
 that the Chriftian difcovers fo tender an afFeclion for Chrill ? 
 it is rather wonderful, it is abundantly more fo, that your 
 hearts are fo much hardened againft him, when there is every 
 thing that tends to raife your admiration, and engage your 
 affection. Love is a powerful incentive to lov6 : and Oh 
 view the amazing love of Jefus Chrift in his humiliation, 
 and then co'ifider what returns fuch love requires. ISee 
 liim poflefled of infinite excellencies and perfe£tions, and 
 yet difrobing himfelf of his glory, and coming in thelikenefa 
 of finful flefh ! " Behold he who was in the form of God, 
 *' and thought it no robbery to be equal with God, took 
 ** upon him the form of a fervant, and was found in 
 '* fafliion as a man, and became obedient unto death, even 
 •* the death of the crofs!" Such condefcention as this is in- 
 deed aftonifliing ; this is fcmething the mofl wonderful 
 and amazing that was ever tranfa^led. . " Oh, great is the 
 " myftery of godlinefs, God manifefted in the flelh," i Tim. 
 lii. 1 6 And is not this enough to engage our warmed af- 
 fe^ions ? Was a fellow creature to lay down his life, and 
 freely facrifice himfelf for our advantage, would it not be 
 enough to render his memory ever precious to us ? And 
 fhould it not be much more the cafe here ? Aik not the Chriftian 
 why he loves an unfeen Jefus. It is apparent to all : he 
 rnuil be the moft hardened creature that can refill the in^ 
 fluence of fuch aftonilhing love, and not find his bread filled 
 with the mofl honourable and exalted thought<; of him. It 
 is Orange, fays the Chriftian, if I fhould not love Jefus; 
 Jefus, that kind, that generous friend, that wondet of an- 
 
Serm. XVII. unseen saviour. 275 
 
 gels, who veiled his glory in a human form, ftooped fo low 
 as to appear in flefli, in circumilances of poverty, meanncfs, 
 and afflid:ion, enduring the daring infolence and contradic- 
 tion of prophane fniners, the buifetings of devils, and fub- 
 mitted to a moft painful and ignominious death, even the 
 death of the crofs. I muft love that dear name ; I mu(t 
 hor)our hifi pcrfon, and give him my vi^hole heart and mind, 
 and foul, and flrength : oh how unfpeakably great my obli- 
 gations ? Did the mighty God appear in the charadler of a 
 fervant, did he fubmit to the law, and endure the greateft: 
 fufferings for m'y.fike ? Oh moft ungrateful wretch, if I did 
 not love hin\ I The heavens and the earth Would be as much 
 ^ftonifhcd at my ingratitude, as they are at the gfeatnefs o£ 
 his love. Lord, may it never be faid that I defpife thee: 
 no; thy love has won all my foul. When I view it, efpe- 
 cially under the kind influences of thy fpirit, it appears fo glo- 
 rious, that I cannot pofTibly withftand it 5 it melts my foul, 
 raifes my admiration, wins my afFe£^ions, curbs every rifing 
 thought againft thy perfon and government, and makes me 
 willing to be entirely thine . Highly reafonable is it, I 
 fhould be wholly and ever thine. . 
 
 • 3. The bleffings which Jefus has conferred upon the 
 Chriftian, fill him with the warmeft love to him. Herein 
 is his love abundantly martifeftcd. He came into this lower 
 world to purchafe the moft valuable and important blefTmgSjj 
 and he accordingly beftows them on theChriftian : this confide- 
 ration cannot but engage the foul, to love him with the. 
 ftrongeft affeftion. How winning is the kindnefs of our 
 fellow mortals ? When we receive favours, efpecially fom^ 
 extraordinary tokens of efteem, we fhould be reckoned the 
 moft abandoned, ungrateful, and unworthy creatures, if we 
 did not refpecSt our benefactor. And woiild it not be much 
 more fo here ? The bleffings which Jefus has beftowed upon 
 the Chriftian, are not trifling and inconfiderable, but of the 
 moft valuable kind : they are bleffings we all abfolutely 
 ftand in need of, and are fufficient to give us lafting and 
 fubftantial happinefs. Is it a fmall thing to have our fins 
 f^orgiven, and be made the children of God ? Is it a trifling 
 matter to be delivered from the power of fni, and be adorned 
 with the image of God ? Is it of no concern to be intro- 
 duced into the favour of God, and be made an obje<!^ of in- 
 finite love and delight ? Lo thefe arc bleffings which Jefus 
 
 Urn ' 
 
274 LOVE TO AN Scrm. XVIL 
 
 beftows upon every Chriftlan here ! And how reafonable is 
 it then that he ftiould love and honour him ? Chriftians, it 
 Avas Jefus that put your names in his book ; it was he that 
 made fatisfadlion to infinite jufUce for your numerous fins, 
 it was lie that died, that you might live eternally. And oh 
 it is this fame Jefus that has aOually redeemed your fouI» 
 from the flayery of fin and Satan, and has made you the 
 children of God : " he faw you in your blood, and faid unto 
 ** you, live : and was not that a time of aftoniflnng love ? He 
 faw you dead in trcfpafles and fins, and hurrying on to ever- 
 lafting death, and he fent his fpirit to quicken your fouls 
 and make you alive : he faw you wandering and running irt 
 the broad road to everlafting ruin, and he flopped you in 
 the midft of your career, and brought you into the way to 
 eternal peace. Oh well then, may you love him ! it is he 
 that has given you a new nature, lively hopes of a happy 
 immortality, and a conformity to the divine image : he hag 
 clothed you with his perfecSl righteoufnefs, call that glori- 
 ous robe around you, pardoned your fins and made you heiri 
 of an immortal inheritance. No wonder that you love him ! 
 fuch a friend, fuch a generous friend and benefadlor is moft 
 certainly deferving of the higheft efleem : you cannot pof- 
 fibly exceed in your love to him. Oh, fays the Chriftian, 
 how great are my obligations ? I had been now amongft the 
 thoughtlefs crowd, running into all manner of excels of riot, 
 or however abfolutely ignorant and fecure, every moment 
 expofed to everlafting burnings *, had it not been for Jefus, 
 who faw me, pitied me, and plucked me as a brand out of 
 the fire. I had now been deceiving myfelf with falfe hopes, 
 crying peace, peace, when under the moft: dreadful guilt, 
 had not Jefus kindly took hold of me, enlightened my un- 
 derftanding, led me into the knowledge ofhimfelf, and gave 
 me fome well grounded hopes of eternal life : and has he 
 thus wonderfully changed my ftate ? Raifed me from a 
 child of wrath to a child of God ? Has he freely pardoned 
 all my fins, pafTcd by my rebellious carriage and behaviour, 
 and made me an heir of eternal glory ? And Ihail I not love 
 liim ? Are not thefe moft powerful arguments, the greatefl 
 attracfllves ? I cannot withftand them : the confideration of 
 what Chrift has done for fuch an unwortliy creature as I 
 am, conftrains me to love him, and to }jlve up myfelf entire- 
 ly unto him. Bicfiings fo great, fo excellent and glorious. 
 
Serm. XVIL unseen saviour. 275 
 
 cannot certainly be e\rer forgot. " Oh whom have I in 
 •* heaven but thee ? And there is none upon earth that I 
 ** defire or elteem in comparifon of thee :" thou art all and 
 in all to my foul, Pl'al. Ixxiii. 25. 
 
 4 The endearing titles which he gives his people, fliew 
 his love to them, and lay them under obligations to love 
 him. He treats them in the kindeil and moll aife-'lionate 
 rnanner, both in his words and actions, he addreiFvjs them 
 in the foftefl language, and calls them by the moft endearing 
 titles. Solomon reprefents Chrift fpeaking to the church 
 in the mod tender manner, calling her " his fpoufe, his 
 •* love, his dove, his unde(iled," Cant. v. 2. And making 
 ufe of every title of endearment, to fliew his love and aiFec- 
 tlon to her. Thus, in various other parts of fcripture, we 
 have the mofl aHeclionate titles given to believers. Chrift 
 calls them my people to diftinguifli them from others, and to 
 fhew what property he has in them, and how much he ef- 
 teems them. He calls thera his children, made fo by faith in 
 his blood, and therefore as fuch lying near his heart. They 
 are his jev/els, his treafure, the apple of his eye ; all which 
 manifefl the peculiar tendernefs he has for thsm, and the 
 care that he takes of them. This therefore is enough to 
 recommend him ever to their efteem : how juilly would a 
 perfon render himfelf an object of contempt amongil men, 
 who did not^efleem the man that always addrefled him in 
 the kindeft language, and that with the utmoft fmcerity ? 
 He muft be of an uncommonly ungrateful difpofition, who 
 could remain churlilh under fuch atFe<3:ionate treatment. 
 Let none then wonder why the Chriftian loves an unfeen 
 Jefus. It would be difcovering the moit fordid temper to 
 caft contempt upon him as the proud prophane finner does. 
 He cannot do it : he is lofl and overwhelmed, when he 
 comes to confider the titles which Jefus has given him, 
 and confequently the love and tendernefs of which they are fo 
 expreflive. Lord, doit thou take fuch kind notice of me an 
 unworthy creature ? Doll thou call me by fuch atfeclionate 
 names .<* I who am fo vile, fo polluted, who might have felt 
 the weight of thine everlafting fury and vengeance. Lord, 
 I am allonilhed, when I confider what honour thou doft put 
 upon me, and (hall I not love thee ? Lord what is my 
 love ? Art thou made the more happy by it ? Doll thou re- 
 <'Cive any benefit or advantage from it ? No, far be from 
 
 M m 2 
 
1176 LOVE TO AN Serm. XVIL 
 
 ine fuch a proud and felf-flatterlng thought : yet, though thou 
 art not rendered more glorious by it, itill I love thee, it is 
 my duty, it is my happinefs, and whatever contempt others 
 call upon thee, 1 Ihould be of all creatures the molt ungrate- 
 ful was I to do it : Lord I abhor the thought : behold thou 
 knowell all things, and thou therefore knowelt that 1 de- 
 iire to love thee vi^ith all my heart, with all my Ibul, and 
 with all my i^rength. 
 
 5. The care which Chrift continually takes of his people, 
 nnd the glory which he has purchafed for, and will give 
 unto them, abundantly fhew the greatnefs of his love to 
 them, and win their hearts and affedions to him. He not 
 only fends his Spirit at hrit to awaken/ enlighten, and 
 quicken them, but he manifefts and difcpvers the utmofl 
 care of, and concern for them, while they are pafhng through 
 this folitary wildernefs, till he brings them to that glorious 
 Canaan which he has purch^afed for therh. They are fur- 
 rounded with dangerous enemies, and confcquently with 
 innumerable temptations, by which they are liable to be 
 led afidc, to the dilhoqour of Qod, and wounding their fouls : 
 Jefus therefore takes them under his conftant care, aind ads 
 the kindelt part to them. As a fhepherd, he continually 
 watches over, guards, and protects them that no ravenous 
 beall of prey break in upon them, and devour them, or left 
 they fhould wander from ^he fold, and be iii danger of be- 
 ing eternally loft. Under a former head we have heard, 
 that as a father he pities them under ^11 their diftrelTes, cor- 
 reds their difobedience, and gives theni the moft affedion- 
 ate nUlrudions and advice. As the captain of 'their falva- 
 tion he leads them on to the battle, e!1co^rages and ani- 
 mates thrm with the hopes of fuccefs, and brings them ofi^" 
 complete conquerors As their prophet he guides theni by 
 Jiis word and fpirit : as their prieft he has oifered himfelf a 
 facrilice to fatisfy infinite juftice for their fins ; and as their 
 ;<dvocate he (its above pleading their caufe and making con- 
 tinual intcrcellion for them, thereby making up every 
 breach, continuing them in the divine favour, and procur- 
 ing them every needful fupply, As their king he defends 
 them in the enjoyment of their privileges and immunities, 
 fecures them from the power and malice of their enemies, 
 governs them by his laws, and makes them happy in the en- 
 joyiiitiit of his royal prefcncc and favour. And thus he 
 
Scrm. XVII. unseen saviour. 27)^ 
 
 fllfcovers a conftant care and concern for them He hands 
 put of his inexhauflible fuhicfs, continually for their abun- 
 dant fupply ; he is their righteoufnefs and ftrength ; their 
 wifdom, fan dlifi cation, and redemption ; in fhort, he is their 
 all and in all : they are nothing, they can do nothing with- 
 out him. They are kept by his mighty power, through faith 
 unto falvation : he continually heals their backflidings, for- 
 gives their iniquities and preferves them to his heavenly 
 kingdom, which he has prepared for them, and where he 
 will at length bring them. They are obliged to him for the 
 bleffings they have already received, for their perfeverancc 
 in grace, and for the profped): of a glorious immortality j he 
 not only gives them bleflings here, but he has prepared for 
 them glories, glories of an immortal and exalted nature, and 
 will put them into the full and everlalling pofleffion of them 
 hereafter : and is not all this enough to win their love, and 
 engage their efteem ? It is not poffible for the Chridian to 
 do otherwife than love his Redeemer. He muft do it : his 
 engagements, his obligations are fo great, and his fenfe of 
 thepi fo deep, that he is powerfully, though fweetly con- 
 ftrained to love an unfeen faviour. Oh my foul, behold 
 the love of thy gr<;at Redeemer : what are corn, and oil, and 
 wine ? What are filver and gold, and all corruptible things ? 
 They are not to be mentioned with the bl'.irings my R^r 
 deemer has given me, and has laid up for me : behold he 
 has made me an heir of God, an heir of an incorruptible^ 
 immortal, and moft glorious inheritance ; he has brought 
 me out of my native darkne s into his marvellous light, he 
 has clothed me with the robe of his righteoufnefs, and is 
 daily a6ling the kindeft and tenderet part towards me. 
 And behold what he has laid up in referve for me : fee. Oh 
 my foul, look into eternity, thy Redeemer has made it all 
 over to thee ; he has taken the fting out of death for thee, 
 and purchafed heaven : fee how he defigns to exalt thee, to 
 make thee a king and a prieft unto God, and to live with 
 him for ever and ever ! Oh how can I then but love him ? 
 Deny him my heart : no, I abhor the thought : Lord I 
 would be thine, for ever thine, 1 would love thee more, and 
 I would mourn before thee that I am fo defe£live. 
 
 6. A confideration of the freenefs of the love of Chrift, 
 in all that he has done, and will do for the Chriftian, en- 
 gages him to love and efteem him. Was a perfon to be- 
 
27^ LOVE TO AN Serm. XVIL 
 
 ftow valuable prefents upon us in our neceflitous clrcum*- 
 ftances, and have no advantage in view by fo doing, but act 
 from a mere principle of gcnerofity and companion, we 
 Gould not but value and efteem fo uncommon a friend : fuch 
 ^ one is Chrill to his people : he had no perfonal advantage 
 in view, when he undertook the work of redemption j ha 
 was under no neccfiity to acl fo kind a part : none could 
 compel him to it ; he was perfectly free in whatever he has 
 donco It was his own generous a£t ; an a£l of the higheJt 
 compafTion, to difplay the riches of his dillinguilhing grace : 
 we had pothing to recommend us to him, nothing to entitle 
 us to hi$ favour, but every thing that tended to fill him 
 with an everlafting abhorrence of us : our circumftances 
 were alfo the moft diftrefling •, poor and miferable, blind 
 and naked ; children of wrath and deferving of everlalting 
 punifhment : in thefe circuniftances were we, when Jefus 
 beheld us and loved us, and manifefted himfelf unto us. 
 "What amazing grace, \j^hat aftonifhing loye was this ? 
 When the foul conies to take a view of it, he is bewildered, 
 overcome with the greatnef3 of it, and raifed in admiration: 
 Oh why did Jefus put my name in his book ? Why did he 
 actually redeem nae from fin and Satan ? Why has he 
 brought me into a ftate of favour with God, when many 
 thoufands around me, are buried in fin and expofed to 
 everlafting burnings ? Oh the love of Jefus is fo a ' oniftiing 
 that I cannot poflibly entertain fuitable conceptions of it I 
 And how can I but love him who has done more for me 
 than tongue can exprefs, nay, than heart cap conceive, and 
 that freely, without the leall obligation ? Oh Lord^ thy love 
 overcomes my foul when I confider it : Oh that mine to 
 thee was greater and more fervent. And thus we fep the 
 reafons why the Chriftian loves an unfeen Jefus And IiiQW 
 rational a part he afts in the grcateft fervours of devotion. 
 
 I. Hence we learn the llupidity and degeneracy of hu- 
 man nature, that we (hould be naturally enemies to fo 
 lovely a Saviour. We are ready enough to efteem what 
 appears excellent, except it is in fpiritual cafes. And here, 
 inftcad of valuing what is really worthy, we find a hatred 
 of, and an avcrfion to it ; fee how Jefus is defpifed : with 
 what contempt does the proud finner view him ; he hates 
 his perfon, he will not fubmit to his government, he de- 
 fpifes his glorious chara<^crs. U not this fomething afto 
 
Scrm XVII. unseen saviour. if§ 
 
 ftifhing ? Alas how Is human nature funk! Oh the dread* 
 ful effects of fin, it blinds our minds, it corrupts our judge- 
 ments; we call good evil, and evil good: amazing (lupidity ! 
 That Jefus who (liould be the obje<Sl of our efteem, is the 
 object of our contempt ! How is our nature changed ! 
 What ftrange, ignorant, perverfe creatures are we? La- 
 ment, Oh my foul : the crown is fallen from thy head, and 
 the moft amiable object is defpifed. 
 
 2 Hence how fhould every Chriftian mourn that his love 
 to Chrift is fo weak One fo lovely, fo glorious, one (o 
 generous and kind certainly deferves the (irongeft affec- 
 tion. The Chriftian is under the grcateft obligations to 
 Jefus ; the bleffmgs he has received, the glories he has in 
 profpe£t call for conftant returns of love. But Oh ! how 
 defeftive is the Chriftian himfelf ? Do you love Jefus as 
 you ought ? Lament, Oh my foul : how wandering thy de- 
 fires ? How cool thy affedions oftentimes to Jefus ? What 
 a fondnefs for prefent things ? How earneftly do I purfuc 
 them ? How feldom converfe with Jefus and his love ? How 
 bent to backflide ? How often does my wicked heart ftart 
 afide ? How frequently do I diftionoUr Jefus ? Lament and 
 mourn, O my foul, over thy ingratitude ! Strange that one's 
 heart (hould be fo cold : ftrange that our fouls ftiould be no 
 more employed in converfmg with Chrift's amiablenefs 
 and excellencies I — Are you not all chargeable ? Oh let us, 
 us in the prefence of God, charge our fouls \yith uegle<Sl. 
 And let us labour to grow in love to him. 
 
 3. How happy are all thofe who love an unfeen Saviour? 
 Thofe who love Jefus he loves. Prov. viii. 17. And what a 
 pleafmg confidcration fliould this be to the foul ? — Chrift 
 himfelf loves thee, Oh my foul ! He has fet his heart upon 
 thee ; thou art an objedl of his favour : What an honour I 
 What an encouragement is this ! Happy it is when we can 
 thus apply the love of Chrift to our fouls: and all that love 
 Chrift may do it : for to whomfoever he is precious, they 
 arc precious to him ; ive love him becaufe hejirjl loved us^ 
 and from hence may moft comfortably conclude our afiured 
 intpreft in him In fine, 
 
 4. How defirable a place is heaven, where we fhall have 
 the cleareft views and greateft fenfe of the love of Chrift 
 to us, and find our fouls filled with the ftrongeft love to 
 him ? May we all learn to love an unfeen Saviour. Amen. 
 
 JBND Of THE SERMONS. 
 
T H fi 
 
 PLEASANTNESS 
 
 O F A 
 
 RELIGIOUS LIFEi 
 
 OPENED AND PROVED; 
 
 AND 
 
 RECOMMENDED TO THE CONSIDERATION OF ALL, 
 
 PARTICULARLY OF 
 
 r U N G PEOPLE. 
 
 TO WHICH IS SUBJOINED, 
 
 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 BEING A 
 
 SERMON 
 
 CONCERNI NG 
 
 FAMILY RELIGION. 
 
 BOTH BY THE LATE REVI^REND 
 
 Mr. MATTHEW HENRY, 
 
 MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL IN CHESTER. 
 
 A I R: 
 
 PRINPED BY J. & P. WILSON, FOR THE PUBLISHER, 
 
 M;DCCjXCII. 
 
T O T H li 
 
 READER 
 
 THAT diftinaiion which thq learned Dr. Hen. 
 ry More infills fo much upon, in his expla- 
 nation of the Grand MyReryof Godlinefs, between 
 the animal life, and the divine life, is certainly of 
 great ufe to lead us into the underftanding of that 
 myftery. What was the fall and apoifacy of man, 
 and what is ftill his iin and mifery, but the foul's 
 revolt from the divine life, and giving up itfelf 
 wholly to the animal lif^. ? And what was the de- 
 fign of our Redeemer, but to recover us to the di- 
 vine and fpiritual life again by the influences of 
 his grace ? And to this his gofpel has a dired ten- 
 dency 5 his religion is all fpiritual and divine, 
 while all other reHgions favour of the animal life- 
 Chriftianity, faith he, is that period of the v/ifdom 
 and providence of God, wherein the animal life 
 is remarkably infulted and triumphed over by the 
 divine, book i , chap. 7. And fo far, and no further, 
 are we Chriftians indeed, than as this revolution 
 is brought about in our fouls. 
 
 The conflicl is between thefe two : Nothing 
 draws more forcibly than pleafure ; in order there- 
 
 N n 2 
 
S84 To THE READER. 
 
 fore to the advancing of the interefts of the divine 
 life in myfelf and others, I have here endeavoured^ 
 as God has enabled me, to make it evident, that 
 the pleafures of the divine life are unfpeakably 
 better, and more deferving, than thofe of the ani- 
 mal life : Were people convinced of this, we fliould 
 gain our point. 
 
 The fubftahce of this was preached lail year, in 
 fix fermons, in the ordinary courfe of my miniflry, 
 among many other reafons why we Ihould be re- 
 ligious ;' I was then folicited to make it public," 
 and now take this opportunity to prepare it fot 
 the prefs, when,' through the good hand of my 
 God upon me, I have finifhed my fifth volume of 
 Expofitions, before I' go about the fixth.' And 
 herein, I confefs, I indulge an inclination of my 
 own; for this doctrine of the pleafantnefs of re- 
 ligion, is what I have long had a particular kind- 
 nefs for, and taken all occafions to mention. " Yet 
 1 would not thus far have gratified either my 
 friends requefi:, or my own inclination, if I had 
 not thought that, by the blefling of God, it might 
 be of fome fervice to the common intcreft of 
 Chrift's kingdom, and the common falvation of 
 precfous fouls. 
 
 May 3ifi,:^ M. H, 
 
 J714. 
 
THE 
 
 PLEASANTNESS 
 
 Q F 
 
 RELIGIOUS LIFE, 
 
 Prov. iii. 17. 
 
 Her ways are ways ofpleafantnefsy and all her paths 
 are peace. 
 
 TRUE religion and godlinefs are often in fcripture, 
 and particularly in this book of the Proverbs, repre- 
 fented, and fo recommended to us, under the name and 
 charafter of wifdom, Prov. ,i. 2, 7, 20. — ii. 2, 10. — iii. 13. 
 Pfal. cxi. 10. Becaufe it is the higheft improvement of the 
 human nature, and the beft and furelt guide of human life. 
 It vi^as one of the firll and moll ancient difcoveries of God's 
 mind to the children of men, to the inquifitive part of them 
 that are in fearch for wifdom, and would have it at any rate ; 
 then when God made a weight for the winds, and a decree 
 for the rain, when he brought all the other creatures under 
 the eftabliflied rule and law of the creation, according to 
 their refpedlive capacities, then he declared this to man, a 
 .reafonable creature, as the law of his creation. Job. xxviii. 
 25,-^28. " Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wifdom ; 
 " and to depart from evil,'* the evil of fin, ** is under^ 
 " landing." 
 
 The great men of the world, that engrofs its wealth and 
 
286 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 honours, arc pretenckrs to wifdom, and think none do fo 
 well for themfelves as they do : But though their neigh-* 
 hours applaud them, and their pofterity, that reap the fruit 
 of their worldly wifdom, approve their fayings; yet this 
 their way is their folly, Pfal xlix. 13, j8. and fo it will an- 
 pe-.ir, >^^hen God himfelf fliall call thofe fools, who faid to 
 their fouls, take your eafe, in barns full of corn, and bags 
 full of nioney, Luke xii 20 Jer xvii 11. 
 
 The learned men of the world were wellwifhers to wif-r 
 do;n, and modeftly called therhfelves f'hifo/ophoiy lovers of 
 wifdom j and many wife principles we have from them, 
 and wife precepts : And yet their philofophy failed them in 
 that which man's great duty and intereit lies in, acquaints 
 ing himlelf with his maker, and keeping up communion with 
 him ; herein they that profeiled themfelves to be wife, be- 
 came fools, Rom. i. 22. ** And the world by wifdom knew 
 " not God," I Cor i. 21. 
 
 But true Chriftiari's are, without doubt, the truly wife 
 men, to whom Chrift is made of God wifdom, i Cor. i. 30, 
 in whom are hid, not from them, but for them, all the 
 treafures of wifdom and knowledge, Col ii 3. They un^ 
 derftand themfelves bell, and on which fide their intercft 
 lies, who give up themfelves to the ponduA of Chrift and 
 Jiis word and fpirit ; that confult his oracles, and govern 
 themfelves by them, which are indeed the trueft oracles of 
 reafon, Prov ix. 10. Men never begin to be wife, till they 
 begin to be religious ; and they then leave off to be wife, 
 when they leave off to do good, Pf^l. xxxvi 3. 
 
 Now, to recommend to us the ftudy and practice of this 
 true wifdom, to bring us into a willing fubjedion to her 
 authority, and keep us to a confcicntious obfervance of her 
 di6^ates, the great God is here by Solomon reafoning with 
 us, from thofe topics, which, in other cafes, ufe to be co-. 
 gent, and commanding enough. It is wondcTful conde- 
 Icenfion, that he, who has an indifputable authority over us, 
 thus vouchfafestoreafon with usj to draw^with the cords of 
 a man, and th* bands of love, Hof. xi. 4. wh; n he might 
 make ufe only of the cords of a God, and the bands of the 
 law, Pfal. ii. 3. to invite us to that by precious promifes, 
 which he enjoins upon us by his precepts, and thofe not 
 grievous, I John v. 3. 
 ' hucreil is the great governefs of the world -, Vv'hich, when 
 
iEINC RELIGIOUS 287' 
 
 tncn are once convinced of, they will be fwaycd by more 
 thaa by any thing clfe. Every one is for what he can get* 
 and therefore applies himfelf to that which lie thinks he can 
 get by; the common inquiry ivS, " Who will {hew us any 
 ** good ?'* We would all be happy, would all be eafy. 
 
 Now, it is here demonnr.ited by eternal truth itfelf, that 
 it is our intereft to be religious; and therefore religion de- 
 ferves to be called wifdom, becaufe it teaches us to do well 
 ioT ourfclvcs ; and it is certain, that the way to be happy 
 (that is, perfe£lly holy) hereafter, is to be holy (that ifi, truly 
 happy) now. It is laid down for a principle here, " Hap- 
 ** py is the man that findeth wifdom," ver. 13. that finds 
 the principles and habits of it planted in his own fjiu! by 
 divine grace; that, having diligently fought, has at length 
 found that pearl of great price : " And the =*man that 
 ** getteth underftanding," reckons himfelf therein a true 
 gainer. The man that draws out underftanding, fo the ori- 
 ginal word fignifies; that produceth it, and brings it forth, 
 
 qui profert intelligentiam ; and fo tlie Chaldee reads it. 
 
 Happy is the man that, having a good principle in him, 
 makes ufe of it both for his own and others benefit : that, 
 having laid up, lays out. 
 
 It is neceflary to our being happy, that we have right no- 
 tions of happinefs; the nature of it, wherein it confifts, 
 what are the ingredients of it, and what the ways that lead 
 to it : for many keep themfelves miferable by thinking them- 
 iclvcs happy, when really they are not ; and we have reafon 
 to fufpe<£l: their miftake concerning themfelves, becaufe they 
 niidake fo grofsly concerning others : they call the proud 
 happy, Mai. iii. 15. they " blefs the covetous, whom the 
 " Lord abhors," Pfal. x. 4. It concerns us, therefore, to 
 confider, whence we take our naieafufes of happinefs, and 
 what rules v/c go by in judging of it ; that we may not covet 
 our lot with thofe, with whom we fhould dread to have our 
 lot ; that we may not fay as the pfalmift was tempted to fay, 
 when he looked upon the outward profperity of worldly 
 people, ^' Happy is the people that is in fuch a cafe ;" but 
 .is he was determined to fay, when he looked upon the true 
 felicity of good people, happy, thrice happy, for ever happy, 
 Is that people whofe God is the Lord, Pfiil. cx!iv. »5. 
 And as God here faith, whofe judgement we are fure is ac- 
 cording to truth, happy is the man that finds wifdom^ 
 
288 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 The happlnefs of thofe who are religious is here proved,, , 
 
 1 . From the true profit that is to be got by religion ; God- 
 linefs is profitable to all things, i Tim. iv. 8. It is of uni- 
 vcrfal advantage. Though we may be lofers for our reli- 
 gion, yet we (liall not only not be lofers by it, but we fhaU 
 be unfpeakable gainers in the end. They that trade with 
 wifdom's talents, will find the merchandife of it better than 
 the merchandife of filver, and the gain thereof than fine 
 gold, and that it is more precious than rubies. As long 
 fince as Job's time it was agreed, that the advantages of re- 
 ligion were fuch, that as they could not be purchafed, fo 
 they could not be valued with the gold of Ophir, the pre- 
 cious onyx, or the fapphire j the topaz of Ethiopia could 
 not equal them. Job. xxviii. i6, 19. Length of days is in 
 wifdom's right hand, even life for evermore ; length of days 
 and no fiiortening of them ; and in her left hand riches and 
 honour, ver. 16. the unfearchable riches of Chrift, and the 
 honour that comes from God, which are true riches, and 
 true honours, becaufe durable, becaufe eternal, and for ever 
 out of the danger of poverty and difgrace. 
 
 In all labour there is profit, more or lefs, of one kind or 
 other ; but no profit like that in the labour of religion : 
 They who make a bufinefs of it, will find great advantage 
 by it. Its prefent incomes are valuable, and a comfortable, 
 honourable maintenance for a foul ; but its future reconi- 
 pences infinitely more fo, above what we are able either to 
 fpeak or think. 
 
 2. From the tranfcendent ^leafure that is to be found in 
 it. Here is profit and pleafufe twifted, which completes 
 the happinefs : for all excel who mingle the pleafant with 
 the ufeful. Thofe who purfue the gains of the world in 
 wealth and riches, mud be willing to deny themfelves in 
 their pleafures ; and they that will indulge themfelves m 
 their pleafures, mufl be content not to get money, but to 
 Ipend it. As they that are covetous, know they mufl not 
 be voluptuous, fo they that are voluptuous leave no room to 
 be covetous ; but it is not fo in the profits and pleafures of 
 religion : here a man may both get and favc the fpiritual 
 riches of divine grace, and yet at the fame time bathe in a 
 full flream of divine confolations, and be neverthelefs a holy 
 epicure in fpiritual delights, for his laying up treafures in 
 heaven j the foul may even then dwell at eafe, when it is' 
 
BEING RELIGIOUSo sS'^ 
 
 labouring mod diligently for the meat that endures to cter" 
 lial life. 
 
 This is that which the text fpeaks of; and both the profit 
 and pleafure of religion are put together in the next words, 
 *' ihe is a tree of hfe," ver. i8. both enriching and delight- 
 ing " to theni thnt lay hold upon her." What gain or com- 
 fort like that of life ? 
 
 fir/i, We are here affured, that her \X'ays are ways of 
 pleafantnefs ; not only pleafant ways, but in the abftrad^:^ 
 ways of pleafantnefs, as if pleafantnefs were confined to 
 thofe ways, and not to be found any where elfe : and the 
 j)leafantnefs arifeth not from any foreign circumdance, but 
 from the innate goodnefs of the ways themfelves. Or it 
 notes the exceeding fuperlative pleafantnefs of religion ; it 
 is as pleafant as pleafintnefs itfelf ; they are ways of plea- 
 fantnefs, this, in the original, is the word from which Na- 
 omi had her name in the day of her profperlty, which after- 
 wards file difclaimed, Ruth i. 20. Call me not Naomi, 
 pleafant ; but Marah, bitter. Think you hear wifdom fay- 
 ing on the contrary, call me not Marah, bitter, as fome have 
 mifcalled me, bat call me Naomi, pleafant. The vulgar 
 Latin reads it, vi^e pulchrae, or her ways are beautiful ways ; 
 ways of fweetnefs, fo the Chaldee. 
 
 Wifdom's ways are fo ; / e, the ways which (lie has di^ 
 tefted us to walk in, the ways of her commandments, thofe 
 are fucli, that if we keep clofe to, and go on in we fhall cer- 
 tainly find true pleafure and fatisfa^lion. Wifdom faith. 
 This is the way, walk in it, and you fiiall not only find life 
 at the end, but pleafure in the way. That which is the only- 
 right way to happinefs, we mufl refolve to travel, and to 
 proceed, and perfeverc in it, whether it be fair or foul, 
 pleafant or unpleafant ; but it is a great encouragement to a 
 traveller, to know that his way is not only the right way, but 
 a pleafant way ; and fuch is the way to heaven. 
 
 God had told us, by iSolomon, chap. ii. 3, 4. that we mull 
 cry after knowledge, muft give our voice to underftanding^ 
 that we mud feek it, and fcarch for it, muft fpare no coft 
 or pains to get it : he had told us, that this wifdom would 
 reflrain us from the way both of the evil man, and of the 
 ftrange woman, chap. ii. 12. 16. that it v/ould keep us fr®m 
 all the forbidden pleafures of fcnfe Now, left thefe re- 
 ftraints from pleafure, and conftraints to piety and labour^ 
 
 O o 
 
290 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 fhould clifcourage any from the ways of religion, he here 
 airares us, not only that our pains V ill he abundantly re- 
 compenfed with the profits of religion, but the plenfureswc 
 forego will be abundantly balanced with the pleafures we 
 {])a11 enjoy. 
 
 S/'Londly, It is added, that all her paths are peace. Peace 
 is fonietimcs. put for all good j here fome take it for the;, 
 good of fafety and prote(5tion. M;iny ways are pleafant, 
 they are clean and look fmooth ; but they are dangerous, 
 either not found at bottom, or befct with tineves ; now the 
 ways of wifdom have in them r. holy fecurity, as well as ai 
 holy ferenity ; and they who. walk in them have God him- 
 felf for their fliield as well as their fun, and are not only 
 joyful in the hope of good, but are or may alfo be quiet 
 from the fear of evil. 
 
 But we may take it for the good of pkafure and delight, 
 and fo it fpeaks the fame with the former part of the verfe: 
 As there is pleafiintnefs in w^ifdom's ways, fo there is peace 
 in all her paths. 
 
 I. There is not onfy peace in the end of religion, but 
 peace in the way. There is not only peace provided as a 
 bed, for good men to lie down in at night when their work 
 is done and their warfare is accompliflied ; but they fnall 
 then enter into peace, reft in their beds, Ifa. Ivii. 2. Mark 
 the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of 
 that man is peace, Pfah xxxvii. 37. it is everlaftirig peace : 
 but there is alfo peace provided as a fiiade, for good men to 
 work in all day, that they may not only do their M^ork, but 
 do it with delight* For even the work of righteoufnefs as 
 v.-ell as its reward, fliall be pence, Ifa. xxxii. 17. and the 
 immediate efFecl: of righteoufnefs, as well as its iiilie at lalt, 
 quietnefs and alTurance for ever. 
 
 It is pofTible, that w^r may be the way to peace : Cc quoe- 
 rimus pacem, thus we pUrfue peace, is the beft motto to be 
 engraven on weapons of war But it is the glory of thofe 
 who are truly religious, that they not only ieek peace hut 
 enjoy it. The peace of God rules their hearts, and by that 
 means keeps them ; and, even while they are travellers, they 
 have peace, though they are not yet at hom.e. 
 
 It is the mifery of the carnal irreligious world, that the 
 V'ays of peace they hiive not known, Rom. iii. i 7. for they 
 are like the troubled fea ; there is no peace, faith my God, 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 2gi 
 
 to the wicketl, l(<\ Ivii. 20, 21. How can peare be fpoken 
 to tl^fe M'lio are not the ions of peace ? Luke x. 4, 5. to 
 thofe who h:ive not grace for the word of psace to faltt-ii 
 upon ? i-hey may cry peace to tlicmfoivcs, but there is no 
 true peace either in their way or in their end : To fuch I 
 fay, as in z Kings i* 18 What had thou to do with peace? 
 turn thee behind tne ; while in God's name I fpeak peace to 
 all who are in covenant with the God of peace, to all the 
 faithful fubjecfs of the prince of peace : They have experi- 
 mentally known the way of peace, and to them 1 fay, Go 
 on, and profper ; Go on in peace, for the God of love and 
 peace is and will be with you. 
 
 2. There is not only this peace in the way of religion in 
 general, but in the particular paths of that way. View it in 
 the f^veral adls and inltances of it, in the exercif:; of every 
 grace, in the performance of every duty, and you will find 
 that wliat Ts faid of the body of Chrillianity, is true of every 
 part of it ; it is peace. 
 
 The ways of religion are tracked as path-ways are. Cant. 
 i. 8. we go forth by the footlteps of the flock. It is the 
 good old way that ail have walked in, who are gone to hea- 
 ven before us ; and this contributes fomething to the peace 
 of it. Walk in the old way, and you fhall find reft to your 
 fouls, Jer. vi. 16. We go on in our way with (o much the 
 more alUirance, when we fee thofe going before us, who, 
 through faith and patience are now inheriting the promife j 
 let us but keep the path, and we fhall not mifs our way. 
 
 The Chaldee reads it, Itinera ejus pacifica, that is. Her 
 journeys are peace. The paths of wifdom are not like walks 
 in a garden, which we make ufe of for diverfion only, and 
 an amufement ; but like tracks in a great road, which we 
 prefs forward in with care and pains, as a traveller in his 
 journey, flill going on, till we come to our journey*s end. 
 We mu'.t remember, that in the way* of religion we are 
 upon our journey, and it is a journey of buiinefs, bufmefs 
 of life and death, and therefore we mull not trifle, or lofe 
 time, but muft lift up our feet, as Jacob did, Gen. xxix. i. 
 (Then Jacob went on his way, in the margin it is, he lift 
 up his feet) and lift up our hearts as Jchofhaphat did in the 
 ways of the Lord, 2 Chron. xvii. 6. and not take up lliort 
 of the end of our f^iith and hope, not take up fhort of home;: 
 And though the journcv is long, and ree]uires ?dl this care 
 
 Og2 
 
Z^2 THZ PLEASURE OF 
 
 and appllcition, yet it is pleafant, it is peace notvvithftaud- 
 ing. 
 
 In the way of religion and godlinefs, taken generally, there 
 are different paths, according to the different fentiments of 
 wife and good men in the lefs weighty matters of the law ; 
 but, bleffed be God, every difTerent path is not a by-puth ; 
 And if it be not, but keep within the fame hedges of divine 
 truths and laws, as to the eflentials of religion, it may be, 
 it {hall be a way of peace •, for both he that eateth and he 
 that eateth not giveth God thanks, Rom, xiv. 6. and has 
 comfort in it. If we rightly underllandthat the kingdom 
 of God, the way of wifdom, is not meat and drink, and we 
 fhall find it to be, which indeed it is, righteoufnefs and 
 peace, and joy in the Holy Ghoft, Rom. xiv. 17. 
 
 3. 1 here is this peace in all the paths of wifdom, in all the 
 inftances of pure and undefiled religion ; look into them all, 
 make trial of them all, and you will find there is none to 
 be e .cepted againil:, none to be quarrelled with -, they are 
 all uniform and of a piece: the fame golden thread of peace 
 and pleafure runs through the whole web of feriouS godlinefs. 
 
 We cannot fay fo of this world, that all its paths are peace, 
 however fome of them may pretend to give the mind a 
 little fatisfa£lion j its pleafures have their allays *, that which 
 one thing fweetens, another comes prefently and embitters. 
 But as there is a univerfal rectitude in the principles of re- 
 ligion, Pfal cxix. 128. I have efteemed all thy precepts con- 
 cerning all things to be right j and Prov.' viii. 8 All the 
 words of my mouth are in righteoufnefs, fairh wifdom, and 
 there is nothing froward or perverfe in them ; fo there is 
 an univerfal peace and pleafure in the pra(ftice of religion ; 
 All our paths, if fuch as they fliould be, will be fuch as we 
 could willu 
 
 The doctrine, therefore, contained in thefe words, is, 
 1 hat true piety hath true pleafure in it. Or thus ; 
 Ihe ways of religion are pleafant and peaceful ways. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 T/jc Explication of ihe BoBrine, 
 
 T is a plain truth which we have here laid down, and 
 there is little in it that needs explication ; It were well 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 293 
 
 for US, if we would but asreadiiy fiibfciibe to the certainty 
 of it, as we apprehend the lenfe and meaning of it. Nor 
 will any complain that it is hard to be underftood, but thofe 
 who know no otlier pleafures than thofe of fenfe, and reiiih 
 no oLher, and therefore refolve not to give credit to it,. 
 Thofc who think, How can this be, that there fhould be 
 pleafure in piety ? will be ready to queftion what is the 
 meaning of this do£lrine ? and call it a hard faying. 
 
 You know what pleafure is; I hope you know fomething 
 what the pleafure of the mind is, a pleafure which the foul 
 has the fenfation of. And do you not know fomething 
 what piety is ? a due regard to a God above us, and having 
 the eyes of the foul ever up unto him ; and then you know 
 what I mean when I fay, that there is an abundance of real 
 pleafure and fatisfadlion in the ways of religion and godli- 
 iiefs. 
 
 But to help you a little in the undcrftanding of it, and 
 to prevent miilakes, obferve, 
 
 Fir/}, That I fpeak of true piety, and of that as far as it 
 goes. 
 
 r. Hypocrites are very much Grangers to the delights 
 and pleafures of religion ; nay, they are altogether fo, for ic 
 is joy which thofe llrangers do not intermeddle with. Coun- 
 terfeit piety can never bring in true pleafure. He who a6ls 
 a part upon a llage, though it be the part of one who ig} 
 never fo pleafant, though he may humour the pleafantnefs 
 well enough, he doth not experience it. Ihe pleafures of 
 God's houie lie not in the outer courts, but within the veil. 
 None know what the peace of God means, but thofe who 
 are under the dominion and operation of his grace; nor can 
 any who deny the power of godlinefs, expert to fhare in th^i 
 pleafures of it. When wifdom enters into thine heart, 
 takes pofleilion of that, and becomes a living adiive prin- 
 cipie there ; then, and not till then, it is pleafant unto thy 
 foul, Prov.ji. 19. Thofe who aim at no more than the cre- 
 dit of their religion before men, juftly fall ihort of the com- 
 fort of it in themfelves. 
 
 Hypocrites have other things that they delight in, the fa- 
 tlsfacHons of the world, the gratifications of fenfe, which 
 put their mouths out of tafte to fpiritualpleafures, fo that 
 they have no pleafure in them. They that have their hearts 
 upon their marketings, are weary of the New Moons and 
 the Sabbaths, Amos viii. 5. With good rcafon, therefor':;, 
 
2g4 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 doth Job aflc, " Will the the hypocrite delight himfelf In 
 " the Almighty ?'* chap, xxvii. lo. No, his foul takes its 
 cafe in the creature, and returns not to the Creator as its 
 refl and home. 
 
 Some flafhy pleafure an hypocrite may have in religion, 
 from a land-iiood of fenfible affections, who yet has not 
 the leaft tafte of the river of God's pleafures. i here were 
 tliofe who ** delighted to know God's ways.'* Ifa. Iviii. 2. 
 'J^hey met v/ith fome pretty notions in them, that furprifed 
 them, and pleafed their fancies; but they did not dt^iight 
 to walk in them. The Itony ground received the word with 
 joy, and yet received no lading beneht by it, Luke viii; 1 3. 
 Herod heard John gladly, Mark vi. 20 He found fomething 
 very agreeable in his fermons, and which natural confcience 
 could nor but embrace ; and yet could not bear to be re- 
 proved for his Herodius. A florid preacher, fuch as Lzekiel 
 was, may be to them as " a very lovely fong of one that 
 *' can play well on an inftrument," Ezek. xxxiii. 32. And 
 yet, at the fame time, the word of the Lord, if it touch their 
 copfciences, and fliew them their tranfgreflions, is to ti:em 
 a reproach, Jer. vi, jo. 
 
 They whofe hearts are not right with God in their reli- 
 gion, cannot have the pleafure of communion v/ith God; 
 for it is the foul only which converfeth with God, and that he 
 communicates himfelf to. " Bodily exercife profiteth lit- 
 " tie," I Tim. iv. 8. and therefore pleafeth little. Ihe 
 fervice of God is a burden and a taCk to an unfan<5fified un- 
 renewed heart *, it is out of its element when it is brought 
 into that air : and therefore, inftead of fnuHing it up, and 
 faying, behold what a pleafure it is ! h fnulfs at it, and faith, 
 *' Behold, what a wearinefs it is !" Mai. i. 13. 
 
 Nor can they take any pleafure in communing with their 
 own confciences, or in their relictions; for they are ready 
 upon all occafions to give them uneaUnefs, by charging them 
 with that which is difagreeable to their profcfllq^'and gives 
 tl^e lie to it: and tliough they cry, peace, peace; fo tfem- 
 felves, they have that within them that tells them, the God 
 of heaven doth not fpeak peace to them ; and this calls a 
 damp upon all their pleafure, that their religion itfelf gives 
 them pain, God himfelf is a terror to them, and the golpcl 
 itlclf condemns them for their infinccrity. And, in tiive of 
 trouble and diilrtfy, none arc fo much afraid as the fmner^j 
 
bEING RELIGIOUS. 29J 
 
 in ZIon, Ifa. xxxiii, 14. The fecret finners there; and 
 fearfulnefs is the greateft furT^vife of all to the hypocrites, 
 Amos vi. I. that were at eafe in Zion, and thought its 
 ftrong holds would be their fecurity, 
 
 And therefore it is, that hypocrites cnft off relip[ion, and 
 difcharge themfclves of the profefTion of it, after they have 
 a while difguifed themlelvcs with it ; bccaufe it did not fit 
 eafy, and they are weary of it. Tradefmcn, that take no 
 pleafure in their bufinefs, will not ftick to it lone: ; no more 
 will thofe who take no pleafure in their religion : Nor will any 
 thing carry us through the outward diilicuJties of it, but the 
 inward delights of it ; if thofe be wanting, the tree is not 
 watered, and therefore even its leaf will foon wither, Pfal. 
 i. 3. The hypocrite will not always call upon God, will 
 not long do it, becaufe " he will not delight himfelf in the 
 «« Almighty," Job xxvii. 9, 10. And this ought not to be 
 a ftumbling block to us. Thus hypocrites in religion prove 
 apoftates from it ; and the reafon is, becaufe they never 
 found it pleafant, becaufe they were never fincere in it, 
 which was their fault, and not the fault of the religion they 
 profelTed. 
 
 Let us therefore " take heed, and beware of hypocrify," 
 Luke xii. i. as ever we hope to find pleafure in religion. 
 Counterfeit piety hath fome other end in view, fome other, 
 end to ferve, than that whiqji is the fpring of true delight* 
 They who reft in that ^* hew them out cilterns," Jer. ii. 
 13 that can hold but little water, and that dead, nay, 
 ** broken cifterns that can hold no water :" And how can 
 they expe£l the pleafure which they have, that cleave to, 
 and continually draw froin, the " fountain of life and living 
 << water ?" No ; as their principles are, fuch are their plea- 
 fures ; as their aims are, fuch are their joys •, they appeal to 
 the world, and to the world they fnall go. But let not the 
 credit of religion fuffer then, for the fake of thofe who are 
 only pretejiders to it, and fo indeed enemies to it. 
 
 2. It is poffible that true Chriftians may, through their 
 own fault and folly, want very much of the pleafure of re- 
 ligion ; and therefore, I fay, true piety, as far as it goes, is 
 very pleafant ; as far as it has its due influence upon us, 
 and is rightly underftood, and lived up to. 
 
 We abide by it, that wifdom's ways are always pleafant; 
 and yet mufl own, that wifdom's children are fometimes un- 
 
^gS THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 picafant, and therein come fhortof juftifying wlfdom in this 
 matter as they ought to do. Luke vii. 35. and rather give 
 advantage to her arcufers, and prejudice to her caufe. 
 r.ither they mils thefe ways, and turn afide out of them, and 
 fo lofe the pleafure that is to be found in them ; or (which 
 is a common cafe) they " refufe to take the comfort" vt^hich 
 they might have in thefe vt^ays. They hamper themfelves 
 with needlefs perplevities, make the yoke heavy wliich Chrifl 
 has made eafy, and tliat frightful v'^hich he defigned fhould be 
 encouraging; they indulge themfelves, and then, as Jonah, 
 when he was angry, judify themfelves in caufelefs griefs and 
 fears, and think they do well to " put themfelves inte an 
 " agony," to be " very heavy and fore amazed," and their 
 fouls exceeding forrowful, even unto death, as Chrift's was ; 
 whereas Chrifi: put himfclf into fuch an agony to make us, 
 cafy. 
 
 But let not true piety fuffer in its reputation becaufe of 
 tliis : For though it be called a religious melancholy, it is. 
 not fo ; for it is contrary to the very nature and defign of 
 religion, while it fliekers itfelf under the colour of it, and 
 pretends to take rife from it. It is rather to be called a 
 fupfrftitious melancholy, deijidamonia, arifmg from fuch a 
 fiavifli fear of God» as the Heathen were driven by to their 
 Demons and barbarous facrifices ; v/hich is a great injury 
 to the honour of his goodnefs, as well as a great injury 
 to themfelves. 
 
 If the profeiTors of religion look for that in the M^orld, 
 which Is to be had in God only, and that iv'^ perfect happi- 
 nefs ; or, if they lock for fhat in themfelves, which is to be 
 had in Chrift only, and that is a perfect righteoufnefs ; or, 
 if they look for that on earth, which is to be had in heaven 
 only, and that is perfedi^ holinefs ; and then fret, and grieve, 
 and go mourning from day to day, becaufe they are difap- 
 pointed in their expectations, they may thank themfelves, 
 <* Why feek they the living among tlie dead ?" Luke xxiv. 
 
 Let but religion, true and pure religion In all th<s laws 
 and inftanccs of it, command and prevail, and thefe tears 
 vii] foon be wiped away : Let but God's fervants take their 
 work before them, allow each principle of their religion its 
 due weight, and each pra<^lice of it its due place and pro- 
 portion, aud let them not daili one precept of the gofpcl, any 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 2^7 
 
 inoTc than one table of the law, in pieces agalnft the other : 
 let them lock upon iv to be as niuth their duty to rejoice in 
 Chrift ]efu?; as to mburii for fin ; nay, and more, for this 
 is in order to that; and then we (liall not fear, that their 
 borrows Vvill in the icsili fhake the truth of our dodrine : 
 JFor, as far as tht^ religion is carried, it will carry this cha- 
 radVer along with it, and further it cannot be expected. 
 
 Snofidlvt In true piety, I fay, there is. a pleafure.; there 
 IS that 'which we nay find comfort in, and fetch iatisfac- 
 tion from. There is in it a good as well as an ufeful pleafure* 
 That is pieafant which is agreeable, which the foul rcjoiceth 
 in, or at lead repofcrth in ; or which it relifheth, pleafeth 
 itfelf with, and defireth the continuance and repetition of. 
 Let a man's faculties be in their due frame and temper, not 
 vitiated^ corrupted, or depraved ; and there is that in the 
 exercife of religion which highly fuits them, and fatisfies 
 them : and this pleafure is fuch as is not allayed with any 
 thing to call a damp upon it. 
 
 I . The ways of religion are right and pieafant -, they arc 
 pieafant without the allay of injury and iniquity. Sin pre- 
 tends to have its plcafures, but they are the ** perverting of 
 ** that which is right," Job, xxxiii. 27 they are ftolen waters, 
 Prov ix. 17 Unjuft, though pieafant ; but the pleafures 
 of godlinefs are as agreeable to the re6litude of our nature, 
 as they are jrratifying to the pure and undebauched defires 
 of it It it the way in which we fhould go, and the way 
 in which, if we were not wretchedly degenerated, we would 
 go of choice. 
 
 They are right ; for they ai^e marked out to us by our 
 rightful Lord, who, having given us the being of rational 
 creatures, has authority to give us a law fuited to our be- 
 ing ; >and he has dene it both by natural confcience, and by 
 the written word : he hath faid, ** this is the way, walk In 
 ** it," Ifa. XXX. 21. It is not onlv permitted and allowed us, 
 but charged and commanded for us to walk in ; he hath 
 fent us as meflengers from him to travel this road upon his 
 errand. 
 
 They are right*, for they lead dire£lly to our great end, 
 have a tendency to our Welfare here and for wer, They 
 are the only right way to that which is the felicity of our 
 being, which we fliall certainly inifs and eomc ihort of, if 
 v'C do not v/alk in this way. 
 
 pp 
 
CyS THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 But that is not all, they are alio pleafant : " Behold, how 
 "pood and how pleafant !" Pfai. cxxxiii. i. It is the hap- 
 piiid's of thcie that ftar Gcd, that he not only teacheth 
 tlieir. in the way that lie ihall clioofe, (and we may be fiire 
 tl.at is the richt v,'ay) but alfo that their " fouls fhall dwell 
 «* at eafe," Pfah xxv, 12, 13. And juftly may they dM'eil at 
 cafe, who have infinite Wifdom itfelf to chocfe their way, 
 i\m\ guide them in it. That may be right which is not 
 pltaf.int, and that plcafant which is not right; but religion 
 is both : Therefore in the next vcrfe it is compared to the 
 tree of life. The tree of knowledge was indeed plcafant 
 to the eyes, and a tiee to be dcfired, but it wan forbidden ^ 
 and thereft)re religion is called a ** tree of life," Gen. 
 xxix. 6. which was not only plcafant, but was allowed till 
 i'm entered. 
 
 2. They are eafy and pleafant ; pleafant without the 
 rdlay of toil and difficulty, any mere than arifeth from the 
 conrption of cur own nature: That indeed makes fuch 
 cppofition, that we have need of arguments; and, blefled 
 be God, wc have good arguments to prove the practice of 
 religion eafy : But it is more than fo, it is pleafiint. 
 
 Much lefs is faid than is intended, when we are told that 
 " his commandments are not grievous," i John v. 3. 
 Tliey are not only not grievous and galling, but they are 
 gracious and pleafing. His yoke is eafy. Mat. xi. 30. The 
 rword there ufed, ChrefoSy Hgnifies more than fo, it is fweet 
 and gentle : Not only eafy as a yoke is to the ntck, when 
 jt is fo well fitted as not to hurt it ; but eafy as a pillow is to 
 tj-e head when it is weary and ileepy. It is not only tole- 
 . rrible, but very comfortable. There is not only no matter 
 <u complaint in the v»ays of God, nothing to liurt us, but 
 there is abundant matter of joy and rejoicing : It is not 
 only work which is not wearinefs, but work v»hich is its 
 own wages ; fuch a tree of life, as will not only fereen us 
 . fiom the fiorm and tempcfl, and feed us with neceOary 
 vi^vA^ but we may f;t down under the (hadow of it with 
 i;ieat dr!io|,t, ai.d the fiuit of it will be *• fweet unto our 
 '* talie," Cant, ii- 3 
 
 3. They are gaiiiful and pleafant, and liave not the allay 
 C'f expence and Jofs. That may be profitable, which yet 
 may be unpleafant.; and that plcafant, which afterwards 
 mj:y prove very i:i:profuable and prtjudicial. V»'hut fruit 
 
BF.TNG RELT GIOUS 299 
 
 have finncrs from thofe things in which yet- tlicy faid they 
 Ijad pleafuri ? Rom. vi. 21. i>ut religion brings both plca- 
 fure with it, and profit after it : The plcafurcs of religion 
 <!o.not coll us d^ar ; there is 110 lots by them, when the ac- 
 count comes to be balanced. 
 
 The gain of this vvorld is ufuil'y fetched in by toil and 
 uneafy labour, whicli is grievous to ilcfh and blood. The 
 fervants of this world are drudges to it ; " they rife up 
 ** early, fit up late, eat the bread of forrows/* Pfii. 
 cxxvii. 2. in purfuitof its wealth. fhey ** labour and be- 
 ** reave their fouls of good," Kccl. iv. 8 But the fervants 
 of God have a picafure even in the work they are to get hj^ 
 and which they Ihaii be recompenfed for. 
 
 liefides the tendency that there is in the praQice of feri- 
 ous godlinefs to our happincfs in the other life, there is 
 much in It th^t conducech to our comfort in this life. 
 David obfcrves it to the honour of religion, Pfal xix. / o, 
 that not only after keeping, but in keeping God's com- 
 nandments, there is a great reward j a prefent great re- 
 ward of obedience in obedience. A " good man is fatis- 
 ** fied in himfelf," Prov. xiv. 14. thi^t is, in that which di- 
 vine grace hath VTOught in him; and the faints are faid to 
 *^ fing in the way of the Lord," Pfal cxxxviii. 5. as thofe 
 that find them pleafant ways 
 
 And the clofer we adhere to the rules of religion, and 
 the more intimate our converfe^is with divine things, the 
 more we live with an eye to Chrill and another. world, the 
 more comfort we are likely to have in our own bofonis. 
 Great peace have they that love God's law, Pfal. c\ix, 165. 
 and the more they love it, the greater their peace is ; nay, 
 it is promifed to the church, that all her children fhall be 
 taught of the Lord, (and thofe whom he teacheth are well 
 t.iught, and taught to do, well) and then ** great ihall be 
 *' the peace of her children," Ifa. liv. 13. it ihall be en- 
 tiiled upon them ; peace like a river, gliding with the 
 eafe of a bird. 
 
 Th'.rdlyy I call it a true pleafure. As there is a fcience, 
 -falfeiy fo called, i Tim. vi. 20. fo there is a pleafure faifely fo 
 called. One of the ancients diitinguifhes between Hedonas 
 agctheist and Hedonas Pfmde\t^ Dnmafcen. Orthod. Fid. I. 2. 
 pleafures that have fome truth in them, and pleafures that 
 deceive us with a lie in their rif;ht hand. Some have faid 
 that the fchool of Epicurus, which is comnionly branded 
 
 P p 2 
 
300 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 and con(!emned for making plcafure man*s chief pood, did 
 not mean fenfual pleafure, but the pleafure of rhe mind. 
 And we fhould be willing enough to admit it, but that the 
 other principles of his philofophy were fo atheiftical aiul 
 irreligious. But this we are fure of, that it is a true plea- 
 fure which religion fecures to u? ; a pleafure that dcferves 
 the name, and anf^^ers it to the full. 
 
 It is a true pleafure : For, 
 
 I. It is real, and not counterfeit. Carnal worldlings 
 pretend a great fatisfa£lion in the enjoyments of the worlds 
 and the gratifications of fenfe ; Soul, t,^ke thine eafe, faith 
 one, Luke xii. 20. I have found me out fubftance, faith 
 another, Hofea xii. 8 even the life of my hand ; {\iith a 
 third, " 1 hive fecn the fire ^^ ^fa. Ivii. 10. The wicked 
 boafts of his heart's defire ; but Solomon aiTures us, not 
 only that the end of that mirth is heavinefs, but that e^-en 
 *' in laughter th^ heart is forroiv/iiL'" Prov. xiv. 13. Both 
 thofe that make a god of their belly, and thofe that make a 
 god of their money, find fuch a conftant pain and^uneafi- 
 nefs attending their fpiritual idolatries, that their pleafure is 
 but from the teeth outward. Difcontent at prefent, difap- 
 pointments, and fear of wprfe ungoverned paflions (which 
 leldom are made lefs turbulent by the gratifications of the 
 appetite) and above all, confeience of guilt, and dread of 
 divine wrath, thefe give them the lie, when they boaft of 
 their pleafures, which, with fuch allays, are not to be 
 boaftcd of -, they would not be thought to be difappointed 
 in that which they have chofen for their happinefs, and 
 therefore they feem to be pleafed, they feem to be pleafant, 
 when really their heart, if it knows its own wickednefs, 
 cannot but " know its own hitternefs^ Vxq\, xiv. 10. 
 
 And many of the good things of this world, of which 
 we faid, Thefe fame fhall comfort us, prove vexatious to 
 tis; and we are difappointed in that, wherein we moft 
 promifed ourfelves fatisfa£lion •, If we fay our bed fliall 
 comfort us, perhaps it is not a bed to reft: on, but a bed to 
 tofs on, as it was to poor Job, when wearifome nights were 
 ap,)ointed to him. Nay, fuch ftrangers are we to real plea- 
 sure in the things of this life, and fo oft do we deceive our- 
 felves with that which is counterfeit, that we willi to live 
 to thofe days of life which we are told will be evil day-s, and 
 thofe years of which we are affured that wc fliall fay, " /fV 
 •' have no pleafure inthemy' Eccl. xii. i. 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 3©! 
 
 But the plcafures of religion are folid» fubftantbl plea- 
 fures, anil not painted; gold, and not gilded over: Thofc 
 fons of' pleaiure inherit fubltance, Prov viii. 21. it is that 
 which is (Job kv. i i ) the foundation firm, the fuperflruc- 
 turc llrong, the conlblations of God not few, nor fmall, 
 while a vain and foolifli world " cauje their eyes to fly upon 
 " that which is not^^ Prov xxiii. 5. Worldly ptople pre- 
 tend to the joy they have not ; but godly people conceal 
 the joy they have, as he «lid that had found the treafure hid 
 in the field. They have, like their Mader, *' meat to eat^ 
 •* "which the world knovji not 5/,'' John iv. 32. 
 
 2. It is rational, and not brutifh. It is the pleafure of 
 the foul, not of fenfe ; it ijj the peculiar pleafure of a man, 
 not that which we have in common with, the inferior crea- 
 tures- The pleafures of religion are not thofe of the mere 
 animal life, which arifc from the gratifications of the fenfes 
 of the body, and its appetites ; no, " they afFe£t the foul, 
 that part of us by which we are allied to the world of fpirits, 
 that noble pnrt of us, and therefore are to be called the true 
 pleafures of a man. 
 
 The brute creatures have the fame pleafures of fenfe that 
 we have, and perhaps in fome of them the fenfes are more 
 Cxquifite, and confequcntly they have them in a much 
 higher degree, nor are their pleafures liable to the correc- 
 tives of reafon and confcience as ours arc. "Who live fuch 
 merry lives as the Leviathan, who plays in the deep \ or the 
 birds that fing among the branches ? Pfal. civ. 1 2, 26. 
 
 But what are thefe to a man who being " taught more 
 ** than the beads of the earth, and made wifer than the fowls 
 ** of heaven," Job. xxxv. 10 i i,and being dignified above the 
 beafts, not fo much by the powers of reafon, as by a capacity 
 for religion, is certainly defigned for enjoyments of a more 
 excellent nature, for fpiritual and heavenly delights ? When 
 God made man, he left him not to the enjoyments of the wide 
 world, with the other creatures, but inclofed himaParadife, a 
 garden of pleafure (fo Eden fignifies) where he fhould have 
 delights proper for him -, fignified indeed by the pleafures of a 
 garden, pleafant trees, and their fruits, but really the delights 
 of a foul, that was a ray of divine light, and a fpark of divine 
 fire, newly breathed into him from above, and on which 
 God's image and likenefs was imprinted. And we never 
 recover our felicity, wliich we loft by our firft parents in- 
 
302 THE PLHASURE OF 
 
 dulging the appetite of the body, till we come to the due re- 
 liih of thofe pleafures which man has in common with an- 
 gels, and a due contempt of thofe which he has in common 
 with the brutes. 
 
 The pleafures of wifdom's ways may at fecond-hand afFeft 
 the body, and be an advantage to that; hence it is faid, 
 Trov. iii. 8. to he " health to the navel,' and " marrow to 
 the bones ;" but its refidence is in the " hidden man of the 
 •* heart," r Pet iii 4. and its comforts " delight the foul in 
 ♦' the multitude of its thoughts," Pfal. xciv. 1*9. It is pleafant 
 to the foul, and makes that like a watered garden. Thefe 
 are pleafures which a man, by the aiTiftance of divine grace, 
 may reafon himfelf into, and not as it is with fenfual plea- 
 fures, may reafon himfelf out of. 
 
 There is no pleafure feparate from that of religion, 
 which pretends to be an intelleftual pleafure, but that of 
 learning, a!id that of honour : But a& to the pleafure of a 
 proud man in Wis dignities, and the refpefts paid him, as 
 Herod, in the acclamations of the croud, it doth but affe£t 
 the fancy •, it is vain-glory, it is not glory : It is but the folly 
 of him that receives the honour, fed by the folly of them 
 that give it •, fo that it doth not deferve to be called a rati- 
 onal pleafure ; it is a iuft of the mind that is gratified by it, 
 that is as much an indance of our degeneracy, as any of the 
 lulls of the fielh are. 
 
 And as to the pleafure of a fchoIar,abftra£ted from religion, 
 it is indeed, ratic-nal and intelle6):uai ; yet only the pleafure 
 of the mind, in knowing truth, and not its enjoying good, 
 Solomon, that had as much of this pleafure as ever any man 
 ]iad,and as nice a taflc of it, yet hath alfured vs from his own 
 experience, that in much wifdom of this kind is much grief, 
 and he that increr.feth knowledge, incrcafethforrow, lie. i. 18. 
 
 But the pleafures which a Iioly foul hath in knowing God, 
 and in communion v/ith him, are not only of a fpiritual 
 nature, but they are fatisfying, they are filling to the foul, 
 and make a happinef* adequate to its bed affections 
 
 3. It is remaining, and not flafhy and tranfitory. That is 
 true pleafure, and deferves the name, whicli will continue 
 vdth us as a tree of life, and not wither as the green herb y. 
 which will be not as the light of a candle, which is foon 
 burnt, out, but as that of tlie fun, which is a faithful witncfs 
 in heaven. Wc reckon that moil valuable, which is moll 
 durable. 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. JOj 
 
 The pleafures of fenfe are fading and pendiing-. As the 
 world palTeth away, j John ii. 1 7. fo do the lufts of it : That 
 which at fivft pleafeth and fatisfietli, after a while palls and 
 furfeits. " As the crackling of thorns under a pot," Eccl. 
 vii. 6 Avhich make a great blaze, and a great nolfe for a 
 little while, but foon end in foot and aflies ; fuch is the 
 " laughter of the fool; the end of his mirth is heavinefs." 
 Belfhazzar^s jollity is foon turned into the utraoft conUer- 
 nation -, "The night of my pleafure hath he turned into fear 
 " to me," Ifa. xxi. 4. The pleafures of hn are faid to be but 
 for a feafon, Heb. xi. 25. for the " end of that mirth is 
 " heavinefs." As they have no confiilence, fo they have no 
 continuance. 
 
 But the pleafures of religion will abide ; they wither not 
 in winter, nor tarnifl:i with time, nor doth age wrinkle their 
 beauty : Frcfts nip them not, nor do ftorms blall them •, they 
 continue through the greateft oppofition of events, and de- 
 fpife that time and chance which happens to all things un- 
 der the fun, Eccl ix. 11. Believers when they are forrow- 
 ful, appear only as forrowful, for they are always rejoicing, 
 2 Cor. vi. 10. and ii. 14. Thanks be to God who always 
 caufeth us to triumph. If an immortal foul make an eter- 
 nal God its chief joy, what iliould hinder but that it (hould 
 rejoice evermore, i ThelF. v. 16. for as the treafure, fo the 
 pleafure is laid up there, where neither moth nor rul\ can 
 corrupt, nor thieves break through and ileal. Chrift's joy, 
 wliich he gives to thofe who are his, is joy which no man 
 taketh from them, John xvi 22. for it is their heart that re- 
 joiceth. They arc the beginning of everlafting pleafures, 
 the earncft and foretalle of them ; fo that they are, in eifecl, 
 pleafures for evermore. 
 
 So then, the great truth which I defire my heart and 
 yours may be fully convinced of, is this: " Ihat a holy, 
 *' heavenly life, fptnt in the fervice of God, and in commu- 
 ** nion with him, is, without doubt, the molt pleafiuit and 
 «' comfortable life any man can live in this world." 
 
304 THE fLEAStJRE bf 
 
 C H A P. II. 
 
 T/je Fleafure of hein^ Religious ^ proved from the Na- 
 iure of True Religion y and man\ particular Injlaiiccs 
 of it, 
 
 THE doflrine tieeds no further expHcatlon, nor cari 
 have any better than our own experience of it ; but 
 the chief part of this undertaking is to prove the truth of it ; 
 And O that God, by me, would ft t it before you in a true 
 light, fo as that you may be all convinced of it, and embrace 
 it as a faithful faying^ and well worthy of all acceptation, 
 that a godly life is a pleafant life 5 fo as thatt we may be 
 Wrought upon to live fuch a life ! 
 
 Pleafure is a tempting thing : What yields delight, can- 
 not but attra£^ defire; it is next to necefTity, fo (Irongly doth 
 it urge. Surely, if we were but fully perfuaded of this, tliat 
 religion has pleafure on its fide, we would be wrought upon 
 by the allurement of that to be religious. It is certainly fo, 
 let us not be in doubt of it. Here is a bait that has no hook 
 under it, a pleafure courting you which has no pain attend- 
 ing it, no bitternefs at the latter end of it ; a pleafure which 
 God himfelf invites you to, and which will make you happy^ 
 truly and eternally happy : and ihatl not this work upon 
 you ? 
 
 But we may entertain ourfelves and our hearers long 
 enough with difcourfes of the pleafantnefs of wifdom's ways; 
 but they will not profit, unlefs they are mixed with faith- 
 O that we would all mix faith with this truth I that wc would 
 yield to the eyidence of it ! 
 
 To make way for the truth of it, I would only defire twd 
 things ; 
 
 I. That you would lay afide prejudice, and give a fair 
 and impartial hearing to this caufe, and do not prejudge it. 
 He who anfwers any matter before he hear it out, it is folly 
 and fliame to him, Prov. viii. 13, 14 efpecially if it be a 
 matter of great importance and concern to himfelf ; a mat- 
 ter of life and death. Be willing therefore to believe that 
 it is poffible there may, and then I doubt not but to make 
 out that it is certain there is true pleafure in true religion* 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. ^Og 
 
 You have got a notion, it may be, and are confirmed iii 
 it by the common cry of the multitude, that reHgion is a 
 four melancholy thing, that it is to bid farewel to all plea- 
 fure and delight, and to fpend your days in grief, and your 
 years in fighing •■ and if We olTer any thing to the con:rary, 
 that it is' a plealant thing, and the bell entertainment that 
 can be to the mind, you are ready to fay, as Ezekiel's hearers 
 did of him, Doth he not fpcak parables ? Ezek. xx. 49 Doth 
 he not fpeak paradoxes ? You ftartleat it, and fiatt from it 
 as a hard faying. Like Nathaniel, when he fald, Can any 
 good thirig come out of Nazareth ? John i. 46. fo you are 
 ready to fay, Can there be any pleafurc in religion? Believe 
 it, firs, there can be, there cannot but be pleafure in It. 
 
 Do not meafure religion by the follies of fome who pro- 
 fefs it, but do not live up to their profefliori nor adorn it: 
 Let them bear their own burden, or clear themfelves as they 
 can J but you are to Judge of things not perfonSj and there- 
 fore ought not to be prejudiced againit religion for their 
 fakes. Nor fhould you meafure by the bad opinions which 
 its adverfaries have of it, or the bad name which they endea- 
 vour to put it into, who neither know it nor love it, and 
 therefore care not what unjuft things they fay to juflify 
 themfelves in the contempt of it, and to hinder others from 
 embracing it; but think freely of this matter. 
 
 2. That you would admit this as a principle, and abide 
 i)y it, That the foul is the man. This is the demand I make 
 in order to the proof of the doflrine ; and T hope it will be 
 readily granted me. That man is principally to be confi- 
 dered as an intellectual, immortal being, endowed with fpi^ 
 ritual powers and capacities, allied to the world of fpirits, 
 and accountable to the Father of fpirlts ; that there is a fpi- 
 rit in rnan, which has^fenfations and difpofitions of its own^ 
 a£live and receptive faculties diflincfl from thofe of t^c 
 body : and that this is the part of us, w^hich we are and 
 ought to be molt concerned about ; becaufe it is really well 
 or ill with us, according as it is well or ill with our fouls. 
 
 Believe, that, in man's preferit flate, the foul and the 
 body have feparate and contefting interefts. The body 
 thinks It is its intereft to have its appetites giatiiied, and ta 
 be indulged in its pleafures ; While the foul knows it is its 
 intereft to have the appetites of the body fubdued and mor-* 
 tified, that fpiritual pleafures mav be the better relifned } 
 
3o5 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 And we are here upon our trial which of the fe two we will 
 fide with. 
 
 Be wife therefore, be refoltite, and (hew yourfeh'es men 
 \vl)o are actuated and governed by reafon, and are affected 
 with things as reafon reprefents them to you . Not reafon 
 as it is in the mere natural miin, clouded, and plunged, and 
 loft in fenfe ; but reafon elevjited and guided by divine re- 
 velation to us, and divine grace in us AValk by faith, and 
 net by fenfe -, let the God who made you, and knows you, 
 and withes you well, and from M'hom your judgement muft 
 pioceed, determin-e your fentiments in this matter, and the 
 work is done-. 
 
 Now I fliall, in the fir^ place, endeavour the proof of 
 this doctrine, by ihewing you what religion is, wherein it 
 confi;ls, and what thofe things are wVdch tonlficute ferious 
 godlinefs ; and then you may yourfc'ves judge whether it 
 be not in its own nature pleafant. If you underftand reli- 
 gion aright, you will find that it has an innate fweetnefs in 
 it, infeparable from it. Let it but fpcak for itfelf, and it 
 will recommend itfelf. The very (hewing of this beauty in 
 its own features and proportions, is enough to bring us all 
 in love with it. 
 
 You fliall fee the pleafure of religion in twelve inftances 
 of it. 
 
 r/r/?, To be religious is " to know the only true God^ 
 •* and Jefus Chrift viliom he hath fent," John xvii. 3. And 
 is not that pieafaTit ? This is the firft thing we have to do, 
 to get our underftandings rightly inform.ed, concerning both 
 the objc6t and the medium of our religious regards, to feek 
 and to receive this li^ht from heaven, to have it diffufed 
 through our fouls as the morning hght in the air, and to be 
 turned to the imprefiions of it, as the clay to the feal, Job 
 xJtxviii. 14 and this is a pleafure \o the foul that underftands 
 itfelf, and its own true interefl. ** Truly the light is fvveet, 
 ** and a pleafant thing it is for the eyes to behold the fun •/* 
 Tccl xi. 8. It ** rejoiceth the heart," Trov xv. 30 Hence 
 light is often put for joy and comfort ; but no light is com- 
 parable to that of '* the knowledge of the glory of God in 
 •* the face of Jefus Chrill," 2 Cor. iv. 6. 
 
 This is finding the knowledge wc had loft, and muft for 
 ever have defpaired of finding, 1 f God had not made it known 
 to us by his Spiritf : it is finding the knowkdge v;e are un- 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS, 307 
 
 done without, and happy, for ever happy in ; for what is^ 
 heaven but this knowledge in perfe'Slion ? it is iiiidin^ tae 
 knowledge which the foul would covet and rell in, it it nad 
 but recovered itfelf froni the delirium wh'.ch by the fall it 
 is thrown into. They who f^t in darknefs, when they be- 
 gin to be religious, begin to fee a great light, Mattl^. iv 16. 
 And it is a pleaiing furnrife to then *, it is coming into a new 
 world ; Inch a pleafnre as none could know fo well, as he 
 who had his fight given him, though he was born blind. 
 M.itth. xiii. 16. *' BlefTed are your eyes,*' faith Chrilt to 
 thofe whom he had brought into an acquaintance with hiin- 
 felf, " for they fee. Apply thy heart to my knowledge," 
 faith Svilomon, Prov. xxii. 17, 18. " for it is a pleaf^nt 
 ** thing if thou keep it within thee."r Thou wilt ** eat honey, 
 ** becaufe it is good, and the honey-comb, which is fweet 
 ** to the tafte ; lb fliall the knowledge of wifdom be to thy 
 ** foul/' Prov. xxiv. 13, 14. Could a learned man, who 
 had hit upon a demonliration in mathematics, cry out in a 
 tranfport of joy, I haife found, I have found \ and may not 
 they much more boall of the difcovery, who have found ihe 
 knowledge of the mot liigh ? 
 
 There is no pleafure in any learning like that of learning 
 Chrift and the things that belong to our everlafting peace. 
 For that which is kno.vn is not fmall and trivial, is not 
 doubtful and uncertain, is not foreign to us, and which we 
 are not concerned in ; which are things that may much di- 
 minifh the pleafure of any knowledge : but it is great and 
 fure, and of the \v\ importance to us, and the knowledge 
 of it gives us fatisfa£lion ; here we may reft our fouls, i'o 
 know the perfe£l:ions of the divine nature, the unfearchable 
 riches of divine grace, to be led into the myltery of our re- 
 demption and reconciliation by Chri't 5 this is food, fuch 
 knowledge as this is a fcafb to the foul : It is meat indeed, 
 and drink indeed j it is the knowledge of that which the 
 angels defire to look into, i Pet i 12. If the knowledge of 
 the law of God was fo fweet to David, fweeter than hon^y 
 to his tafte, Pfal xix. 10 and cxix. 103. how much more 
 (hould the knowledge of the gofpjl of Chrift be fo to us ? 
 When God gives this wifdom and knowledge, with it he 
 gives joy to him who is good in his f^ht, Eccl. ii. 26. 
 
 I wonder what pleafure or fatisfa£lion thofe can have in 
 themfelves, who are ignorant of God, and Chrift, and an- 
 
305 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 Other world, though they are told there is fuch a knowledge 
 to be hadj a^vl thefe are they who have it, and it is theit 
 continual entertainment. But thus do rnen ftand in their 
 ov.n light, wheM they *' love darknefs rather then light " 
 
 Sccondtyy To be religious, is to return to God, " and re- 
 ** pcfe in him as the reft of our fouls:" And is not that 
 pleafure ? It is not only for our underftandings to embrace 
 th<^ knowledge of him, but our affections to faiten upon the 
 enjoyment of him ? Ic is to love God as our chief good, and 
 to reft in that love; to " love him with ail our he.irt, and 
 ** fou\ and mind, and might," who is well M-orthy of all 
 that iove, and infinitely more ; amiible in himfelf, grrcious 
 to us ; who will accept our love, and return it ; who hath 
 pr' .mifed to " love thofe that love him," Prov. viii . 7. The 
 love of God reigning in.the foul (and that is true rehgion) 
 is as much a iatisfaftion to th^ foui, as the love of the 
 w^vld is a vexation to it, when it comes to be refle£ttfd 
 up n, and is found to be fo ill beftowed. 
 
 How pleafanr luft it needs be, fo far to recover ourfelves,as 
 to quit the world for a portion and Kappirefs riS it is uiterlyin- 
 fufticient to be fo, and to depenu on iiim cr/'y, who has enough 
 in 1 irri to anfwer our .>tmoft e;>;,ie£tations? when we have in 
 vain fought our latisfa(9 ion whr-re it is not to be h^d, to feek 
 it and ind it where it is ? to come from doat'i.g upon " ly- 
 *< ing vanities, and -rpendiiig our money for that which is not 
 ** bread,' Ifa. Iv. ." . to live and live plei'tifuliy upon a God 
 that i' enough, a God ail-fuflicient. and in hini to enjoy our 
 own mercies ? Did ever any thing fpeak a mind more eafy 
 and better pleafed than that of David, " Return unto thy 
 *' red, O my foul V* Pfah cxvi. 7. to God as thy reft, for in 
 him I ;im where I would be, I have what I would have : 
 Or that, Pfal. xvi. 2, 5, 6. ** O my foul, thou haft faid unto 
 ** the Lord, Thou art my Lord, the portion of my inhcri- 
 ♦* tance, and of my cup?" And then, " the lines rre fallen to 
 ** me in pleafant places, and I ijave a goodly heritage ?" Or 
 that, Vh\ kxiii 25. " Whom have I in heaven but thee ? 
 ** and th re is none upon earth that I def^re in compari- 
 ** fon of thee ; for when flefti and heart fail, thou art the 
 *' ftrength and joy of my heart, and my portion for ever ?" 
 
 Wc place not r^ ligion in raptures and tranfnoVts ; but, 
 "wilVc't doubt, ht.\ foul- that are at liomc in God, that have 
 ^ made the Moft il^gh their habit alien," Pfal. xci. 9. whofe 
 
BEINa RELIGTOUS. 309 
 
 ieftrcs arc towards him, whofe delights are in him, who arc 
 in him as their centre and element, dwell at eafe. None can 
 imagine the pleafure that a beltever has in his covenant-rela- 
 tion to God, and intefeft in him, and the affurance of his 
 love. Have I taken " thy tellimonies to be my heritage for 
 ♦* ever?" Pfal. cxix. iti. forely they are the rejoicing of 
 my heart *, I cannot be better provided for. When king 
 Afii brought his people to renew their covenant with God, 
 it is £nd, " They fware unto the Lord with a loud voice, and 
 *' with (houtings, and with trumpets," 2 Ghron-. xv. 14^ 15. 
 *' And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had fworn with 
 ** all their heart." When we come to make it our own a£l 
 and deed, to " join ourfelves to the Lord in an everlading 
 ** covenant," and are upright with him in it, we cannot but 
 be pleafed with what we have done ; it is a marriage cove- 
 nant, it is made with jo'y, Cant. ii. 16. " My beloved is 
 ** mine, and I am his." 
 
 Third 'y^ To be religious, Is to " come to God as a Father, 
 '< in and by Jefus Chrilt as mediator :" And is not this 
 pleafant ? Wc have not only the pleafure of knowing and 
 loving God, but the pleafure of drawing nigh to him, and 
 having by faith a humble freedom and intimacy with him, 
 Pfal. Ixv. 4. " Blefled are they that dwell in his courts," 
 they fliall be " latisfied with the goodnefs of his houfe, 
 ^* CTJ-en of his holy temple." Religion is defcribed by com- 
 ing to God *, and what can be more agreeable to a foul that 
 comes from him ? 
 
 It is to come to God as a child to his father, to his fa- 
 ther's houfe, to his father's arms, and to cry, abba, fa- 
 thcr. To come as a petitioner to his prince, is a privi- 
 lege ; but to come as a child to his father, is a pleafure : 
 and this pleafure have all the faints, that have re- 
 ceived the fpirit of adoption. They can look up to the God 
 that made them, as one that loves them, and has a tender 
 corHpafhon for them, ** as a father hath for his children/' 
 Pfal. ciii. 13. and delights to do them good, taking pleafure 
 in their profperity ; as one whom though they have offended, 
 yet is reconciled to them, owns them as his children, and en- 
 courages them to call him Father. When he afHi6ls them, 
 they know it is in love, and for their benefit, and that flill it 
 is " their Father's good pleafure to give them the kingdom," 
 Luke xii. 32. When Ephraim bemoaned himfelf as a bui- 
 
310 THE 'PLEASURE OF 
 
 lock unaccuftomcd to the yoke, God bemoaned hira .*'tis a 
 " detir fon, as a ple4fant child,'* Jer xxxi. i8 20 And, if 
 even prodigals whew penitents become pleafant chll.lren to 
 God, furcly they have no reafon to be unpleafant to them- 
 feives. 
 
 But this is not all ; it is not only to come to God as a 
 father, who himfelf loves us, John xvi. 27^ but it is to come 
 to him in the name of Jefus Chrift, who is our advocate 
 with the Father; that by thefe two immutable thinj^s we 
 might have ftrong confolation, that we have not only a God 
 to go to, but an advocate to introduce us to him, and to fpeak 
 for us. Believing in Chrift is fometimes exprefled by re- 
 joicing in him ; for it is a complacency of foul in the me- 
 thods which infinite wifdom has taken, of bringing God and 
 man together by a mediator. " We are the cireumcifion, 
 •' that rejoice in Chrift Jefus," Phil, iii. 3. not only rely 
 npon him, but triumph in him. Paul is not only not alhamed 
 of the crofs of Chrift, but he glories in it, Gal. vi. 14. And, 
 when the eunuch is brought to believe in Chrift with all his 
 heart, he goes on his way rejoicing, highly pleafed with what 
 he has done. 
 
 What a pleafure,'what a fatisfaftion is it, to lodge the great 
 concerns of our fouls and eternity (which, fureiy, we cannot 
 but have fome careful thoughts about) in fuch a ikilful faiths 
 ful hand as that of our Lord Jefus ? and this we do by faith. 
 To caft the burden on him who is able to fave to the utter- 
 moft, and as willing as he is able, and thus to make ourfelves 
 eafy ? How is blefled Paul elevated at the thought of this ? 
 " Who is he that condemneth ? It is Chrift that died, yea, 
 •* rather is rifen again," Rom. viii. 34. And with what 
 pleafure doth he refle£t upon the confidence he had put in 
 Jefus Chrift .? 2 Tim. i. 12. ** I know whom I have believed, 
 " and he Is able to keep that which I have committed to 
 •' him again ft that day.*' They that know what it is to be 
 in pain for fin, and in care to obtain the favour of God, can- 
 not but know what a pleafure it is to believe in Chrift as 
 the propitiation for our fins, and our intcrceflbr with God. 
 
 How can we live a more pleafant life, thaii to " live by the 
 « faith of the Son of God," Gal ii. 20, to be continually 
 depending oh him, and deriving from him, and referring all 
 to liirn ; and as we have received him, fo to walk in him } 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. ytt 
 
 It is in believing that we are filled with joy and peace, Rom« 
 XV. 13. 
 
 Fourthly y To be religious, is to enjoy God in all our crea- 
 ture- comiForts : and is not that pleafant ? It is to take the 
 common fupports and conveniences of life, be they of the 
 richeft, or be they of the meaneft, as the produces of his 
 providential care concerning us, and the gifts of his bounty 
 to us, and in them to " tafle and fee that the Lord is good,'* 
 Pfal. xxxiv. 8. good to all, good to us, It is to look above 
 fecond caufes to the firft, through the creature to the Crea- 
 tor, and to fay, concerning every thing that is agreeable and 
 ferviceable to us, this I alked, and this I have, from the 
 hand of my heavenl)^ Father. What a noble tafle and re- 
 lifli doth this put into all the blefFings with which we are 
 daily loaded, our health and eafe, our reft and fleep, our 
 food and raiment, all the fatisfac^ion we have in our rela- 
 tions, peace in our dwellings, fuccefs in our callings ? The 
 fweetnefs of thefe is more than doubled, it is highly raifed, 
 when by our religion we are taught and enabled to fee them 
 all coming to us from the goodnefs of God as our great be- 
 nefa£lor, and thus to enjoy them richly, i Tim. vi. 17. 
 while thofc who look no further than the creature, enjoy 
 them very poorly, and but as the inferior creatures do. 
 
 Carnal irreligious people, though they take a greater liberty 
 in the ufe of the delights of fenfe than good people dare take, 
 and therein think they have the advantage of them, yet I am 
 confident they have not half the true delight in them that 
 good people have ; not only becaufe all exceffes are a force 
 upon nature, and furfeits arc as painful as hunger and thirft, 
 but becaufe, though they do not thus abufe God's good 
 creatures, yet they deprive themfelves of the comfort of re- 
 ceiving them from their father's hand, becaufe they are not 
 affected to him as obedient children. " They knew not 
 ** that I gave them corn, and wine, and oil,'' Hof ii. 8. 
 They make ufe of the creature, but, as in Ifa. xxii. 11. 
 •* they have not looked unto the maker thereof, nor had 
 ** refpe£l to him that fafhioned it long ago," as good peo- 
 ple do j and fo they come lliort of the pleafure which good 
 people have. 
 
 Is it not pleafant to tafte covenant-love in common mer- 
 cies ? Very pleafant to fee the hand of oar heavenly Father 
 fpreading our table, filling our cup, making our houfes dife^ 
 
3li THE Pi.«ASURE 6r 
 
 and our beds .eafy ? This they do, that by faith have thei^ 
 eyes ever towards the Lord, that by prayer fetch in his blefling 
 lipon all their enjoyments, and by praife give the glory of 
 them to that mercy of his which endureth forever. And 
 when thus a continual regard is had to that mercy, an abun- 
 dant fweetnefs is thereby infufed into all the comforts of 
 this Hfe : for as the wrath and curfe of God is the ivcrm- 
 \vood and the gall, Lam. iii. 19. in all the ailii^Slions and 
 miferies of this life ; (0 his loving kindnefs is the honey and 
 oil in all the comforts and enjoyments of this life : that is it 
 that is better than life, Pfal. Ixiii. 3. 5. and which is abun-* 
 dantly fatisfying ; which puts gladnefs into the heart be- 
 yond the joy of harveft, Pfal iv. 6. 7. Then the nations 
 are glad, and fmg for joy, when not only the earth yields her 
 increafe, but with it God, even their own God, gives them 
 his blelTmg, Pfal. lxvii.4,6. And when the church is brought 
 to fuch a fenfe of God's grace, as to cry out, " How great 
 " is his goodnefs, and how great is his beauty !" Zech. ix* 
 17. it follows, that then corn ihall make the young men 
 cheerful ; intimating that we have no joy of our enjoyments^ 
 no true joy of them, till we are led by thefe ftreams to the 
 fountain. ** To the pure all things are pure," Tit. i. 14^ 
 and the more pure they are, the more pleafant they are. 
 
 Fifthly^ To be religious, is to " call all our cares upon 
 " God, and to commit all our ways and works to him, with 
 ** an aflurance that he will care for us :" and is not this plea- 
 fant V It is a very fenfible pleafure to be eafed of fome preflt 
 ing burden which we are ready to fink under; and care ia 
 fuch a burden : It is a " heavinefs in the heart of man, 
 ** which maketh it to ftoop " Now, true religion enables us 
 to " acknowledge God in all our ways," Prov. iii. 6. and 
 then depend upon him to direct our fteps, and follow his di- 
 reftions, not leaning to our own underftanding : It is to re- 
 fer ourfelves, and the difpofal of every thing that concerns 
 us in this world, to God, and to his will and wifdom, with 
 an entire acquiefcence in his award and arbitration; ** Here 
 '* I am, let the Lord do witli me as feemeth good in his 
 " eyes," 2 Sam. xv. 26. 
 
 To be truly godly, is to have our wills melted into tlie 
 will of God in every thing, ar.d to fay ainen to it, not only 
 as a prayer, but as a covenant ; ** Father in heaven, thy will 
 " be dune ; not a$ I will, but as thou wilt." It is to be fully 
 
BEING RELlGIOUSi 313 
 
 •. 
 re<?oncilecl to all the dlfpofals of the olivine providence, and 
 methods of divine grace* both :.:jn.j..tning others and our- 
 lelves : To be f itistje ! tluit " all is well that God doth," and 
 will appear fo at lafl:,wlien the myfttiy of God (hall be finifhed. 
 And how duth the mind enjoy itf?!f that is- come to this ! 
 liow eafy is it ! It is not only freed from rucking anxieties, 
 but filled vvith plealing profpects : Fears are hereby filenced, 
 ftnd hopes kept up and elevated. Nothing can come amifs 
 to thofc who have thus been taught by the principles of 
 their religion to make the bed of that, which is, becaufe it 
 is the will of God -, which is making a virtue of ne- 
 cellity. ^ 
 
 What uncomfortable lives do they live, who are continu- 
 ally fretting at that which cannot be helped, quarrelling 
 witli the difpofals of providence when they cannot alter 
 them, and thus, by contid S1:ing guilt as well as by indulging* 
 grief, doubling every burden ? But how pleasantly do they 
 travel through the wilderncfs of this vt^orld, who conftantly 
 follow the pillar of cloud and firs, and accommodate them- 
 felves to their lot, whatever it is ? That like Paul, through 
 Chrift ftrengthening them, have learned in every eftate to 
 be content, " know how to want and how to abound?" 
 Phil. iv. II, 12, 13. 
 
 Religion brings the mind to the condition, whatever it 
 is, and fo makes it eafy, becaufe the condition, though it be 
 not in every thing to our mind, it is accordmg to God's 
 mind, who in all occurrences " performeth the thing that 
 •* is appointed for us," Job xxiii. 14. and will make all 
 ** work for good to them that love him." When the Pfal- 
 tnifl: had dirc£led us to ** delight ourfelves always in the 
 ** Lord," Pfal. xxxvii. 4, 5 that is, to make our religion a 
 conflant pleafure to ourfelves ; he direds us, in order 
 thereunto, to commit our way unto the Lord, to truft alfo 
 in him, that he will bring it to pafs, io as that we fhall have 
 the defire of our hearts. And when Paul had encouraged 
 us to be careful for nothing, but in every thing to make our 
 requefts knovi^n to God, he affures us that, if we do fo, the 
 peace of God, which paiTeth all underftandlng, (liall keep 
 our hearts and minds, Phil. iv. 6, 7. 
 
 Sixthly y To be religious, is to rejoice in the I>ord always. 
 Phil, iii. I, & iv. 4. And is no^ that plcafant ? It is not only 
 €ne of the privileges of our rsiigion, that wc may rejoice, 
 
 R r 
 
3^4 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 but it IS made one of the duties of it : We are defe£llve m 
 our religion, if we do not live a life of complacency in God, 
 in his being, his attributes, and relations to us. It (liould 
 be a conlVant plcafure to us, to think that there is a God j 
 that lie is luch a one as the fcripiure has re\caltd him to be, 
 a being infniitely vi'irc and powerfulj holy, jull, and good •, 
 that tliis God governs the world, and gives law to all the 
 creatures ; that he is our owner and ruler ; that in his hand 
 our breath is, in his hand our times, our hearis, and all our 
 ways are. i hus certainly it is, and thus it rauft be; nnd 
 hanpy they who can pleafe themfelves with tliefe thoughts; 
 as thoie mufl needs be a conilant terror to themfelves, who 
 fould Willi ir were otherwife. 
 
 They who thus delight in God, have always fomething, 
 and fomething very commanding too, to ddight in; a foun- 
 tain of jcy that can never b'^ either exhausted or topped up, 
 and to which they may always have accefs. How few are 
 there who live many days and yet rejoice in them all! Eccl. 
 >i 8. luch a thing is fuppofed indeed, but it is never found 
 tvue in any, but thofe who make God their joy, the glad- 
 nefs of their joy, as the Pf-ilmilt expre/Tes it, Pfal. xliii. 4. 
 their exceeding joy : And in \\im it is iHttnded their joy 
 fhould terminate, when we are bid to rejoice evermore, 
 I Thefl: V. i6. 
 
 The converfion of the nations to ChriO and hh holy reli- 
 gion is often prcphefied of in the Old Teftament, under the 
 notion of their being brought into a flate of holy joy, Pfal. 
 xcvi. 11, & xcvii. I, & c. i. " Let the earth rejoice th:it the 
 " Lord reigns, and let the multitude of ilies be glad there- 
 " of; Rejoice ye gendles with his people" The gofpel i^ 
 *■* jjlad tHings of great joy to all people," Rom. xv. ic' 
 When Samaria received the gofpel, there was great joy in 
 that city, Adts viii 8 fo eflential is joy to religion. 
 
 And the converfation of thofe who are joined to the Lord, 
 when ij is as it Ihoidd be, is cliceriul and joyful : They are 
 called upon to walk in the light of the Lord, Pfal. ex \x viii. 
 5. and to fmg in the ways of tiie Lord, Ifa ii. ^. and to 
 tcrve the Lord tbeir God wi^h joyfulnefs and gladnefs of 
 heart in the abundance of all things, Deut xxviii 47. yea, 
 md in the want of all things too, Hab iii 17. though the 
 fig-tree do not blofTom, and tl-iere be no fruit in the vine. 
 Has God now accepted thee and thy works in Jcfus ChriLtr^ 
 
BEING RE.LlC?rOUS. 3I5 
 
 Go thy way, eat tliy bread wilIi joy, and drink thy wine 
 with a merry heart, Eccl. ix 7. It is the will of God tliat 
 his peo le fhould be a cheerful people, that his Ifracl Ihould 
 rejoice in every good thing which the Lord their God giveth 
 them, Deut. xxvi i 1. fo that it is their own fault if they 
 have not a continual feall, and be not made to rejoice with 
 the cut-goings of every mornin?', and every evenin<;; for the 
 companions of that Qod, in whom they rejoice, are not only 
 contlaiit, hut new and fredi daily 
 
 Seventh y , To be religious, is to make a bufinefs of praif- 
 ing God : And is not that pleafant ? It is indeed very un- 
 pleafant, and much againft the grain, to be obliged conti- 
 nually to praif./ one that is not v/orthy of praifc ; but what 
 can be more pieafant, than to praife him to whom all praife 
 is due, and ours particularly ? to whom we and all the crea- 
 tures lij under all pofiible obligations; who is worthy of, 
 and yet exalted far above all ble (hng and praife; from wriom 
 all things are, and therefore to whom all things ought to be ? 
 
 There is little pleafure in praiilng one, wdiom none praife 
 who are wife and good, but only the fools in Ifrae! ; but, 
 in praifmg God, we concur with the blelTcd ang,eli? in heii- 
 ven, and all the faints, and do it in concert with the:^, who 
 ihe more they know him, the more they praife him " Biofs 
 ** the Lord, ye his angels, and all his hofts;'' and therefore, 
 with what pleafure may I call in my mite into fuch a trea- 
 fury ! ♦« Blefs the Lord, O my foul " 
 
 There is little pleafure in praifing one, who will not re- 
 gard our praifes, nor take notice of pur exprelfions of efteem 
 and affedion : but when we otFor to God the facrifice of 
 praife continually, according to the obligation which our 
 religion lays upon us, that is, th-e " fruit of our lips, gjiving 
 " thanks to his name," Heb. xiii. 15. v^e offer it to one 
 that takes notice of it, accepts it, is well pleafed wiih it, 
 fniells a favour of reft from it. Gen. vlii. 1\ and will not 
 fail to meet thofe with his mercies, that follow^ him "ith 
 their praifes : for he hath faid, that they that offer praife 
 glorify him • fuch a favourable conftruclion doth he put 
 upon it, and fuch an Iiigh ftamp upon coarfe metal. 
 
 Now, what is it that we have to do in religion but to 
 praife God ? We are taken into covenant with God, that 
 we fhould be to him for a name, and for a praife," Jer xiii. 
 1 1, are called into his marvellous light, that we Ihould " fliew 
 
 R r 2 
 
^l6 THE PLEx\SURE OF 
 
 ** forth the pralfes of him that ca-Ied us," i Vi^t. ii. 9. and 
 how can we be more comfortably employed ? The y are 
 therefore bleflld that dwell in God's houfe, for '* they will 
 ** be flill praifmg him/' Pfai. Ixxxiv. 4- And it is a good 
 thing, good in itfelf, and good for us, it is very pjeafant, to 
 " give thanks unto the Lord^ and to Ihew forth his prajfes,'* 
 Pfal. cxxxv. 3, and xcii i. for we cannot c^o ourfelves a 
 greater honour, or fetch in a great^'r fatisfa£lion, than by 
 " giving unto tlie Lord the glory due unto his name ." it is 
 rot only a heaven upon earth, but it is a pledge and earned 
 pf a heaven in heaven too ; for if we be here every d^y blefl^ 
 ing God, Pfnl. clxv. 2. we fhall be praifing him for ever and 
 ever ; for thus all that fliall go to heaven hereafter, begin 
 their heaven now Compare the hellifh pleafure which fom.e 
 tJrUe in profaning the name of God, and the heavenly plea- 
 fure which others take in glorifying it, and tell me which is 
 preferable. 
 
 Eigbthlyy To be religious, Is " to have all our inordinate 
 ** appetites corre£led and regulated :" And is not that plea-? 
 fant ? To be eafed from pain is a fenfible pleafure ; and to 
 be eafed from that which is the difeafe and diforder of the 
 mind, is a mental pleafure. Thofe certainly live a moft un- 
 pleafant uncomfortable life, that are Haves to their appetites, 
 and indulge themfelves in the gratifications of fenfe, though 
 never fo criminal ; that lay the reins in the neck of their 
 lufts, and withhold not their hearts from any joy. The 
 drunkards and unclean, though they are faid to give them- 
 felves to their pleafures, yet really they eilrange themfelves 
 from that which is true pleafure, and fubje£l themfelves to 
 a continual pain and uneafinefs. 
 
 1 he carnal appetite is often overcharged and that is a bur- 
 den to the body, and its diilemper : when epcugh is as good 
 as a feafi:, I wonder what pleafure it can be to take more 
 than enough ; and the appetite the more it is indulged, t?c 
 more hum.ourfome and troubkfome it grows ; it is furfcited, 
 but not fatislied; it doth but grow more impetuous and 
 more imperious. It is true of the body, what Solomon fays 
 of a fervant, Prov. xxix. 21. " He that delicately bringeth 
 ' ** up his fervant from a child, {]:all have him become his 
 " fon," nay his maftcr, ** at the length." If we fuffer tl e 
 body to get dominion over the foul, fo that the interefts- 
 of tjie foul mull be danraged, to gratify the inclinations of 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 3(7 
 
 the body, it will be a tyrant, as an ufurper generally i^, and 
 will rule with rigour: and as God faid to the people, i ^>am. 
 viii. 18. when by Samuel he had (hewed them the manntr 
 of the king that they chofe, when they reje<Sled his govern- 
 ment, " You will cry out in that day becaufe of your king 
 " which ye have chofen you, and the Lord will not hear j" 
 fo it is with thofe that bring themfclves into diforders, 
 difeafes and terrors by the indulgence of their lufts, who can 
 pity them ? they are well enough ferved for " fetting fuch a 
 <* king over them. Who hath wo ? who hath forrowr" 
 Prov. xxiii. 29. None fo much as they that tarry long at 
 the wine, though they think themfclves to have the mono- 
 poly of pleafure Tlic truth is, they that live in thcfe plea- 
 fures are dead while they live, i Tim v. 6. and, while they 
 fancy themfelves to take the greateft liberty, really find 
 themfelves in the greatelt flavery ; for they are *' led captive 
 <♦ by Satan at his will/' 2 Pet. ii. 19. and of " whom a 
 ** man is overcome, of the fame is he brought in bondage." 
 
 And if the carnal appetite have not gained fuch a com- 
 plete pofTefTion, as quite to extinguiih all the remains of rea- 
 fon and confcience : thofe nf)ble powers, fince they are not 
 perr»itted to give law, will give dii^urbance: and there are 
 few that have fo full an enjoyment of the forbidden pleafures 
 of fenfe, but that they fometimes feel the checks of reafon, 
 and the terrors of confcience. which mar their mirth, as the 
 hand-writing on the wall did Belfhazzar^s, and make their 
 lives uncomfortable to them, and jultly fo, which makes 
 them the more fo. 
 
 Now, to be religious, is to have the e^iorbitant power of 
 thofe lufts and appetites broken, and, fince they will not be 
 fatisfied, to have them mortified, and brought into a quiet 
 fubmifhon to the commanding faculties of the foul, accord- 
 ing to the dire6lion of the divine law •, and thus the peace 
 is preferved, by fupporting good order and government in 
 the foul. 
 
 Thofe certainly live the moft eafy, healthful, pleafant 
 lives, that are moft fober, temperate, and chafte ; that al- 
 low not themfelves to eat of any forbidden tree, though plea- 
 fant to the eye ; that live regularly, and are the mafters, nofc 
 the fervant?, of their own bellies, 2 Cor ix. 27. that " keep 
 ** under their bodies, and bring them irto fubje<^ion," to 
 religion and right reafon ; and by laying :he axe to the roor. 
 
3l8 THE PLEASURE Ol? 
 
 and breaking vicious habits, dlfpoCtions, and dcfires, in the 
 ftrength of divine grace, have made the refraining of vici- 
 ous atls very eafy and plcafant : Rom. viii. 13. *' If through 
 ** the fpirit we mortify the deeds of the body,'* we live, we 
 live pleafantly. 
 
 Nuith!\y To hie reHgious, is " to have all our unruly paf- 
 ^* fions likewife governed and fubdued ;" and is not that 
 plcafant ? Much of our torment arifeth from our intempe- 
 rate heats, difconlent at the providence ot God, fretfuhiefs 
 at every crofs occurrence, fear of every imaginary evil, envy 
 at thofc that are in better ftate than ourfelves, malice againft 
 thcfe that have injured us, and an angry refentment of every 
 the leaft provocation : thefe are thorns and briers in the foul ; 
 thefe fpoil all our enjoyments, both of ourfelves, and of our 
 friends, and of our God too ; thefe make mens lives unplea- 
 fant, and them a terror to themfelves, and to all about 
 them. 
 
 But when, by the grace of God, thefe roots of bitternefs 
 are plucked up, which bear fo much gall and wormwood, 
 and we have learned of our Maimer to be ** meek and lowly 
 " in heart," Matth. xi. 29. w« find reft to our fouls, we enter 
 into the pleafant land. There is fcarce any of the graces 
 of a Chriftian, that have more of a prefent tranquillity and 
 fatisfa6^ion, both inherent in them, and annexed to them, 
 than this of meeknefs. ** The meek fliall eat and be fatis- 
 " fied," Pfal. xxii. 26. they fhall *< inherit the earth," Mat. y. 
 5. they fhall " delight themfelves in the abundance of 
 '• peace," Pfal xxxvii. 1 1. and they (hall " increafe their 
 '** joy in the Ix)rd," Ifa. xxix. 19. which nothing diminifh- 
 eth more than ungoverned paffion ; for that grieves the fpi- 
 rit of grace, the comforter, and provokes him to withdraw, 
 Eph. iv. 30, 31. 
 
 How pleafant is it for a man to be mafter of his own 
 thoughts, to have a calmnefs and ferenity in liis own mind, 
 as thofe havcj that have rule over their own fpirits, and 
 tliereby are kept in peace, peace ! That will break an angry 
 man's heart, that will not break a meek man's fleep. 
 
 Tenthl)>y To be religious, is to dwell in love to all our 
 bretljren, and to do all the good we can in this world : and 
 is not that pleafant ! Love is the fulfilling of the law; it is 
 the fecond great commandment, to love our neighbour as 
 tourfclvcs, Rom. >iii. 10. All our duty is fummed up in one 
 
BEING RELIGIOHrS. , 319 
 
 ». 
 word, which, as it is a fhort word, (o it is a fwect word, 
 Jcve. Behold " how good and how pleafant it is to live in 
 «* holy love,' Pfai. cxxxiii. 1. It is not only pleafing to 
 God, and amiable in the eyes of all good men, but it will 
 be very comfortable to ourfelves ; for they that " dwell in 
 <* love, dwell in God, and God in them," i John iv. 16, 
 
 Religion tcacheth us to be eafy to our relations, and to 
 pleafe them well in all things-, neither to give nor refcnt 
 provocations; to bear with their infirmities; to be courteous 
 and obliging to all with whom we converfe ; to keep our 
 temper, and the poflelFion and enjoyment of our own fouls^ 
 whatever affronts are given us : and can any thing contri- 
 bute more to our living pleafantly ? 
 
 By love we enjoy our friends, and have communion with 
 the^i in all their comforts, and fo add to our own ; " Re- 
 ** joicing with them that do i*ejoice," 1 ThefT. iii 9. By 
 love we recommend ourfelves to their love ; and what 
 more delightful than to love, and be beloved ? Love is the 
 very element of a pure and fanftified mind, the fweet aii^ it 
 breathes in, the cement of the bed fociety, which contri- 
 butes fo much to the pleafure of human Hfe. The fheep of 
 Chrift, united in flocks by the bond of holy love, lie down 
 together in the green paftures, by the ftill waters, where 
 there is not only plenty, but pleafure. The apoitle exhort- 
 ing his friends to be of good comfort, 2 Cor. xiii. 11. and 
 to go on cheerfully in their Chridian courfe, exhorts them, 
 in order to that, to ** be of one mind, and to live in peace;** 
 and then " the God of love and peace will be with them.** 
 And what pleafure comparable to that of doing good ? 
 It is fome participation of the pleafure of the eternal mind, 
 who delights to fhew mercy, and to do good : Nay, befides 
 the divinity of this pleafure, tbcre is a humanity in it ; the 
 nature of man, if it be not dcbnuched and vitiated, cannot 
 but take pleafure in making any body fafe and eafy. It wa» 
 a pleasure to Job, to think that he had ** caufed the wido\r's. 
 " heart to fing for joy, had been eves to the blind, and feet 
 *^ t;^ the lame, and a father to the poor,*' and that they had 
 been * warmed with the fliece of his fheep," Job xxix. i?, 
 15, 16. & xxxi 20. The pleafure that a good man hath 
 in doing good, confirms that faying of our Saviour*s, t*'at 
 " it Is more ble/Ted to give than to receive,'* A(!^s xx 35. 
 Eleventhly, To be religious, is to *' live a life of communi-* 
 
^20 tHE PLEASURE. 6f. 
 
 on with God :" And is not that pleafant ? Good ChriftiahSj 
 being taken into friendfirip, have ** fcllowfhip \vith thd 
 *' Father, and with his vSon Jefus Chrift," i John iiL 3 and 
 make it their bufinefs to keep up that holy convtrfe and cor- 
 refpondence. Herein confifls the life of religion, to converfe 
 with God, to receive his communications of mercy and j&jace 
 to us, and to return pious and devout affections to him ; 
 and can any life be more comfortable ? Is there any conver- 
 fation that can pofhbly be fo pleafant as this to a foul that 
 knows itfelf, and its own powers and interefts ? 
 
 In reading and meditating upon the word of God, wc 
 hear God fpeaking with a great deal of condefcenfion 
 to us and concern for us ; fpeaking freely to us, as a man 
 doth to his friend, and about our own bufuiefs ; fpeaking 
 comfortably to us in compaflion to our dillrefsful cafe : And 
 what can be more pleafant to thofe who have a value for the 
 favour of God, and are in care about the interefts of their 
 own fouls? Pfal. cxii. 6. " When their judges are over^ 
 ** throyi'n in ftony places, they fliall hear my w^ords for 
 ** they are fweet : The words of God will be very fweet to 
 thofe who fee themfelves overthrown by fin, and fo tliey 
 will be to all that love God. With what an air of pleafure 
 doth the fpoufe fay, " It is the voice of my beloved," and 
 he fpeaks to me ! Cant. ii. 8. 10. 
 
 In prayer and praife we fpeak to God, and we have 
 liberty of fpeech-, have leave to *• utter all our words before 
 ** the Lord," as Jephthah did his in Mizpeh, Judges xi. 11* 
 we fpeak to one whofe ear is open, is bowed to our 
 prayers, nay, to whom the prayer of the upright is a delight. 
 Prov. XV. 8. which cannot but make it very mucli a delight 
 to them to pray. It is not only an eafe to a burdened fpirit 
 to unbofom itfelf to fuch a friend as God is, but a pleafure 
 to a foul that knows its own e^: traction, to have fuch a bold- 
 nefs, as all believers have to enter into the holieft. 
 
 Nay, we may as truly have communion with God in pro- 
 vidences as in ordinances, and in the duties of common con- 
 verfation, as in religious excercifes ; and thus that pleafure 
 may become a ccnuinual fealt to our fouls. What can be 
 more pleafant, than to have a God to go to, whom we may 
 •* acknowledge in ail our ways," and whom our eyes are ever 
 towards ; Pfal. xxv 15. to fee all our comforts coming to 
 us from his hand, and all our croiles t©o j to refer ourfelves. 
 
iSCING RELIGIOUS. 32t 
 
 arid ^H events that are concerning us, to his difpofal, with 
 an aflurance that he will order all for the beft ? What a 
 plenfure Is it to behold the beauty of the Lord in all his 
 works, and to tafb: the goodnefs of the Lord in all his g;ifts, 
 in all our eype^lations to f^^e " every man's judgement pro- 
 ** ceedin<4 from him j" to make God our hope, and God our 
 fear, and God our joy, and God our life, and God our all ? 
 This is to live a life of communion with God. 
 
 Twelfthl)'^ To be religious, is to " keep up a conftant be- 
 ** lieving prorpe(fl: of the glory to be revealed :" It is to fet 
 eternal life before us as the mark we aim at, and the prize 
 we run for, and to " fe^k the things that are above," Col. iii. 
 1 . And is not this pleafant ? Tt is our duty to thiftk much 
 of heaven, to place our happinefs in its joys, and thither- 
 ward to dire£l our aims and purfuits ; ?vhd what fubjecl, 
 what objeft ciin be more pleafing I We have need, fome- 
 times, to frighten ourfelves from fin, with the terrors of 
 eternal death ; but it is much more a, part of pur religion, 
 to encourage ourfelves in our duty, with the hopes of that 
 eternal life which God hath given us, that " life which is in 
 ** his Son," I John v. ii, ' 
 
 What is Chriftianity, but " having our converfation in 
 *^ heaven," Phil iii. 20 trading with the new Jerufalemj 
 and keeping up a conftant correfpondence with that better 
 country, that is, the heavenly, as the country we belong to, 
 and are in e^peftation of, to which we remit our beft ef- 
 fects and belt affections ; where our head and home is, and 
 where m'C hope and long to be ^ 
 
 Then we are as we Ihould be, when our minds are in a 
 heavenly frame and temper; then we do as we ihould do, 
 when we are employed in the heavenly work, as we are ca- 
 pable of doing it in this lower world : and is not our reli- 
 gion then a heaven upon earth } If there he a fulnefs of joy" 
 and pleafure in that glory and happinefs, which is grace and 
 holinefs perfected ; there cannot but be an abundance of 
 joy and pleafure in that grace and holinefs, which is- glory 
 and happinefs begun. If there will be fuch a complete fa- 
 tisfajSlion in vifion and fruition, there cannot but be a great 
 deal in faith and hope, fo well founded, as that of the faints 
 is. Hence we are laid, " Believing to rejoice with joy un- 
 *' fpeakable," i Pet i 8. and to be " filled with joy a^Ki peace 
 ** jii believing," Rom xv. 13. 
 
 S s 
 
^Z2 THJEPLEASUREOF 
 
 It is the charafter of all God's people, that they are born 
 from heaven, and bound for heaven, and have laid up llieir 
 trcafure in h;iaven •, and they that know how great, how 
 rich, how glorious, and how well fecured that liappineis is 
 to ail believers, cannot but own, tliat, if that be their charac- 
 ter, it cannot but be their unfptakable comi'urt and de- 
 light. 
 
 Now, lay all this together, and then tell me, whether reli- 
 gion be not a pleafant thinj]; indeed, when even the duties 
 of it themfelvcs are fo nnucl) tl>e delights of it : and whether 
 we do not ferve a good mafter, who has thus made our 
 work its own wages, and has graciouHy provided tv/o heavens 
 for thofe who never deferved one. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 The pleafantrefs of. Religion proved^ from the provljton 
 that is made for the comfort of thofe that are religious y 
 and the pNvi leges they are entitled to, 
 
 WE have already found by inquiry, (O that we could 
 all fiiy we had found by experience !) -that the very 
 principles and pradlices of religion themfelves have a great 
 deal of pleafantnefs in them, and the. one half of that has 
 not been told us \ and yet tlie cohifort that attends religion, 
 and follows after it, cannot but exceed that which is in- 
 herent in it, and comes with it. If the work of righteouf- 
 nefs be peace, much more is the efFeO: of righteoufneis fo, 
 Ifa. xxxii. 17 if the precepts of religion have fuch an air 
 of fweetnefs in them, wliat then have the comforts of it ? 
 Behold, happy is the people, even in this world, whole God 
 is the Lord. 
 
 We muft conclude, that they that walk in the ways of 
 holy wifdom, have, or may have, true peace and pleafure ; 
 io\- God hath both taken care for their comfort, and given 
 tiiem caufe to be comforted : fo that, if they do not live ca* 
 (Uy and pleafantly, it is their own fault. 
 
 Firfi, The God whom they fcrve, hath, in general, taken 
 care lor their comfort, and Jus done enough to convince 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS 
 
 a 
 
 tnem, that it is his will they fliould be comforted; that he 
 not only ^Ives them leave to oc cheerful, but would have 
 them to be fo : for what could have been done more to the 
 fatlsfaclion of his family, than he has done in it ? 
 
 : . There is a purchafe mr.de of peace and pleifure for 
 them, fo that they come to it fairly, and by a j>ood title. 
 He that purchafed them a peculiar people to himfelf, took 
 care they ihould be a pleafant people, that their comforts 
 might be a credit to his caafe, and the joy of his fervants in 
 his work might be a reputation to his family. We have 
 not only " peace with God through our Lord Jefus Chrid," 
 Rom V. 1,2, 3. but peace in our own confciences too; 
 not only peace above, but peace within ; and nothing lefs 
 will pacify an offended confcience, than that which fiuisfied 
 nn offended God. Yet this is not all ; we have not only 
 inward peace, but we rejoice in the hope of the glory of 
 G©d, and triumph over, nay, we triumph in tribulation. 
 
 Think what a vaft expence (if I may fo fay) God was at, 
 of blood and trcafure, to lay up for us, and fecure to us, not 
 only a future blifs, but prefent pleafure, and the felicities 
 not only of our home, but of our way. Chrift had trouble, 
 tliat we might have peace ; pain, that we might have plea- 
 fure ; forrow, that we might have joy. He wore the crown 
 of thorns, that he might crown us with rofes, and a lafting 
 joy might be upon our heads. He put on the fpirit of 
 hcavinefs that we might be arrayed with the garments of 
 praife. The garden was the place of his agony, that it 
 might be to us a garden of Eden ; and there it was that he 
 indented with his perfecutors for the difciples, upon his fur- 
 rendering himfelf, faying in effe£l to all agonies, as he did 
 to them, " If ye feek me, let thefe go their way," Jbhn xviii. 
 8. if I be rehgned to trouble, let them depart in peace 
 
 This was that which made wifdom.*s ways pleafantnefs, 
 the everlafting righteoufnefs v/hich Chriffjbydyin;^, wrought 
 out, and brought in. This is the foundation of the treaty 
 of peace, and confequently the fountain of all thofe confo- 
 lations which believers are happy in. Then it is, tliat all 
 the feed of Ifrael glory, when they can each of them fay, 
 •** In the Lord have I righteoufnefs and ftrength," tfa. xlv. 
 24, 25. and then Ifrael iliall dwell fafely, in a holy fecurity, 
 when they have learned to call Chriil by this name, " The 
 " Lord our righteoufnefs," Jer. xxiii. 6. If ChriH had not 
 
 S S 2 
 
324 THEPLEAStrR50F' 
 
 gone to the Father, as our High Pried, with tlie blood of 
 fprinkling in his hand, we could never have rejoiced, but 
 niuft have been always trembling. 
 
 Chrift is our peace, Eph ii. 14. 17. not only as he made 
 peace for us Math God, but as he preached it to them " that 
 •^ were afar off, and to them that were nighV* and has en- 
 gaged that his people, whenever they niayhave trouble in the 
 world, fnall have peace in him, John w'l 33.uj7ontheaiT'urance 
 of v/hich they may be of good cheer, whatever happens. 
 It is obfervable, that in the clofe of that crdinance which 
 Chrift inftituted in *^ the night wherein he was betraved," 
 to be a memorial of his fufferings, he both fuiig a hymn of 
 joy, and preached a fermon of comfort ; to intimate that 
 which he defigned in dying for us, was to give us " er^r- 
 ** latling confoiation,and good hope through grace," 2 ThefT. 
 ii. i6.andthat weihould aim at, in all our commemorations 
 of his death. 
 
 Peace and ^comfort are bouglit and paid for : If any of 
 thofe who were defigned to have the bene t of this purchafe, 
 deprive themfelves of it, let them bear the blame ; but let 
 him have the praife v.ho intended them the kinJncfs, and 
 who will take care, that though his kindneis be def<^rred, 
 it fhall not be defeated : For, though his difcipks may be 
 forrowful for a time, " their forrow iliall be turned into joy," 
 John \vi. 20. 
 
 2 There are promifes made to believers of peace and 
 pleafure j tj.c benefits • hriil iiouglit for them are conveyed 
 to them, and iettled upon them in the covenanted grace, 
 which is well ordered in all things, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5."" for the 
 comfort and fatisfadlion of thok-, who have- made that cove- 
 nant " all their falvation, and ail their defire " Ihere it is 
 that light is fown for the righteous, and it will come up a- 
 gain in due time j the promifes of that covenant arc the 
 wells of falvation, out of which they draw, water with joy y 
 the brealls of conlblation, out of which, by faith, they luck, ■ 
 and are fatisfied, Ifa. xxii. 3. anti xvi. 12. 
 
 The promifes of the Old Fcltamcnt, that point at gofpel- 
 times, fpeak inolUy ot this as the blcjTing rehrvcd for thofe 
 times, that there Ibuuld be great joy and rejoicing ; if*. x> xv. 
 I. ^' Ix. I. *' ihe defert lh:-ll rejoice, and blulfom as the 
 " rofj i" Arifc, Diine, for the iiglit is come : For the defign 
 pf the goipcl was to make religion a more pleafaat thing 
 
BEING .RELIGIOUS. 3^5 
 
 ' tlir\n it ha'1 been, by freeing it both from the burden fome fer- 
 vices which the Jews were under, and from "the fupcrititious 
 . fearvS which the heathen kept themfclves andone ariuther in 
 awe with; and by enlarging the privileges of God's. people, 
 and making them tafier to come at. ^ 
 
 Every particular believet is interefl^ed in the promifes 
 made to tlie church, and may put them in fuit, arid fetch in 
 the comfort contained in them, as every citizen has the be- 
 ne (it of the charter, even the meaneft. What a pleafure 
 may one take in, applying fuch a promife as that " I will 
 " never leave thee, nor forfake -thee?" or that, " All things 
 " Ihall work for good to them that love God ?'V Thefe aid 
 fiich as thefe, " guide our feet in the vv^ays of peace ;" and 
 as they are a 'nrm foundation on which to build our hopes, 
 fo they are a full fountain from whicK to draw our joys By 
 the ** exceeding great and precious promifes, we partake of 
 ** a divine nature," 2 Pet. i. 4. of this inilance of it as 
 much as any, a comfortable enjoyment of ourfelves ; and 
 -by all the other promifes that promife .*3 fulfilled, Ifa. Ixv. 
 14, 15. ** My fervants fliall eat, but ye (hall be hungry ; 
 *' my fervants fliall drink, "but ye Ihall be thirfty ; my fer- 
 *' vants fliail rejoice, but ye fliall be afliamed ; my fervants 
 ** fliall fing for joy of heart, but ye fliall cry for forrow of 
 ^' heart :" and the encouragement given to all the church's 
 faithful friends is made good, " rejoice ye with Jerufaiem, 
 ** and be glad with her, all ye that love her," Ifa. Ixvi. t o. 
 
 3. There is provifion 'made for the application of that 
 which is purchased and promifed to the faints. What will 
 it avail that there is wine in the veflel, if it be not drawn 
 out ? that there is a cordial made up, if it be not ad- 
 minifl:ered.'' Care is therefore taken, that the people of. God 
 j be aifi 'cd in making ufe of the comforts treafured up for 
 them in the everlalling covenant. 
 
 A religious life, one may well CKpe^l:, fliould be a very 
 comfortable life ; for infinite wifdom has devifed all the 
 means that could be to make it fo. " What could have 
 " been done more for God's vineyard," Ifa. v. 4. to make 
 it flourifliihg as well as fruitful, than what he has done in 
 it ? There is not only an overflowing fulnefs of oil in the 
 good olive, but golden pipes (as in the prophet's vifion, Zeqh, 
 iv 1 2.) for the conveyance of that oil to the lamps, to keep 
 them burning. When God would himfelf furnifli a para- 
 
326 THE PLEASURE 07 
 
 dife for a beloved creature, there was nothing wanting that 
 might contribute to the comfort of it ; in it was planted 
 *' every tree that was pleafmt to the fight, and good for 
 *' food,*' Gen. ii. 8, 9. So in the gofpel there is a paradifc 
 planted for all the faithful offspring of the fecond Adam : 
 A Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey, a pleafant 
 land, a reft for all the fpiritual feed of Abraham. Now, as 
 God put Adam into paradife, and brought Ifrael into Ca- 
 naan ; fo he has provided for the giving of poffeflion to all 
 believers, of all that comfort and pleafurc that is laid up 
 for them. As, in the garden of Eden, innocency and plea- 
 fure were twilled together ; fo, in the gofpel of Chrift, grace 
 and peace, " righteoufnefs and peace have klfled each other," 
 Pfiil. Ixxxv. 10. and all is done that could be wifhed, in or- 
 der to our entering into this reft, this blelTcd fabbatifm," 
 Heb. iv. 3,9. So that, if we have not the benefit of it, we 
 may thank ourfelves ; God would have comforted us, and 
 we would not be comforted, our fouls refufed it. 
 
 Four things are done vi'ith this view, that thofe who live 
 a godly life, may live a comfortable pleafant life ; and it is 
 a pity they fliould receive the grace of God herein in vain. 
 
 (I.) The blefTed Spirit is fent to be the Comforter ; he 
 doth alfo enlighten, convince, and fan^lifyj but he hath his 
 name from this part of his office, John xiv. 16. *' he is the 
 ** Comforter " As the fon of God was fent to be ** the 
 ** Confolation of Ifrael.'* Luke ii. 25. to provide matter for 
 comfort ; fo the Spirit of God was fent to be the Comforter, 
 to apply the confolation which the Lord Jefus has provided. 
 Chrift came to make peace, and the Spirit to fpeak peace, 
 and to make us to hear joy and gladnefs, even fuch as will 
 caufe broken bones themfelves to rejoice, Pfal. Ii. 8. Chrift 
 having wrought out the falvation for us, the work of the 
 Spirit is to give us the comfort of it ; hence the joy of the 
 faints is faid to be the " joy of the Holy Ghoft," i i helT i. 6. 
 becauTe it is his office to adminifter fuch comforts as tend 
 to the filling of us with joy. 
 
 God by his Spirit moving on the face of the waters, made 
 the world according to the word of his power *, and by his 
 Spirit moving on the fouls of his people, even when they 
 are a perfecl: chaos, he " creates the fruit of the lips, peace," 
 Ifa. Ivii 19 the production of the word of his promife ; 
 and if he did not create it, it would never be : And we muft 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 327 
 
 not only attend to the word of God fpeaking to us, but fub- 
 mit to the Spirit of God working upon us with the word. 
 
 The Spirit, as a Comforter, was given not only for the 
 relief of the faints in the fuffering ages of the cliurch, but 
 to continue with the church always to the end, for the com- 
 fort of believers, in reference to their conftant forrows both 
 temporal and fpiritual ; and what a favour is this to the 
 church ! no lefs needful, no lefs advantageous than the fend- 
 ing of the Son of God to fave ua, and for which, therefore, 
 wc fhould be no lefs thankful. Let this article never be left 
 out of our fongs of praife, but let us always give thanks to 
 him, who not only fent his Son to make fatisfaftion for us, 
 for his mercy endureth for ever, but lent his Spirit to give 
 fatisfadion to us, for his mercy endureth for ever; fent his 
 Spirit not only to work in us the difpofition of children to- 
 wards him; but alfoto witnefs to our adoption, and feal us 
 to the day of redemption. 
 
 The Spirit is given to be our teacher, and to lead us into 
 all truth ; and, as fuch, he is a comforter: For by rectifying 
 our miftakes, and fetting things in a true light, he filenceth 
 our doubts and fears, and fets things in a pleafant light. The 
 Spirit is our remembrancer, to put us in mind of that which 
 we do know ; and, as fuch, he is a comforter ; for, like the 
 difciples, we diftrufl Chrift in every exigence, becaufe we 
 ** forget the miracles of the loaves," Mat* xvi. 9. The Spi- 
 rit is our f.ui£l:ifier ; by him fm is morrified, and grace 
 wrought and ftrengthened ; and, as fuch, he is our com- 
 forter ; for nothing tends fo much to make us eafy, as that 
 which tends to make us holy. The Spirit is our guide, and 
 we are faid to be led by the Spirit ; and, as fuch, he is our 
 comforter : for, under his conduft, we cannot but be led 
 into ways of pleafantnefs, to the green paftures, and ftill 
 waters. 
 
 (2.) The Scriptures are written " that our joy may be full," 
 I John i. 4. that we may have that joy which alone is fill- 
 ing, and hath that in it which wiil nil up the vacancies of 
 other joys, and make up their deficiencies *, and that we 
 may be full of that joy, may have more and more of it, may 
 be wholly taken up with it, and may come at length to the 
 full perfection of it in the kingdom of glory: ' hefe things 
 are written to you, not only that you may receive the word 
 with joy, at firit, when it is a new thin;T to you, but that 
 
328' THE PLEASURE Of 
 
 your joy maybe full and conftant. The word of God Is thf 
 main pipe, by which comfort is conveyed' from Ghri<>, the 
 fountain of life, to all the faints. Thar book ^rhich the 
 Lami), that was flain, took out of the right hand of him. 
 that fat on the throne, is that which we are by faith to feed 
 upon and digeii, and to fill our fouls with ; and we fhall 
 find that It will, like Ezekiel's roil, Ezelc. iii. 3. "be in our 
 ** mouths as honey for fweetnefs," and the opening of its 
 feals will put a ** new fonq; into our mouth," Rev. v 9. 
 
 Scripture-light is pleafant, much more fweet, more piea- 
 fant, than for the eyes to behold the fun. The mariner of 
 its conveyance is fuch, as makes it abundantly more fo ; for 
 Godfpeaks to us after the manner of men, in our own lan- 
 jjuajze. The comforts which the fcripture fpeaks to us, are 
 the fure mercies of David, fuch as wc may depend upon j 
 and it is continually fpeaking. The fctiptures we may have 
 always with us, and whenever we will, we may have recourfe 
 to them j (o that we need not b^. to feek for cordials at any 
 time. The word is nigh thee, Rom x. 8. in thy houfe, and 
 in thy hand ; and it is thy own fault if it be not in thy mouth, 
 and in thy heart. Nor is it a fpring ibut up, or a fountain 
 fealed ; thofe that compare fpiritual things with fpiritual, 
 will hnd the fcripture its own interpreter, and fpiritual plea- 
 fure to flow from it as eafily, and plentifully, to all that have 
 fpiritual fenfcs exercifed, as the honey from the comb. 
 
 All the flints have found pleafure in tlie word of God, 
 and thofe who have given' up themfelvCvS to be led and ruled 
 by it. It ^'^■as fuch a comfort to David in his dirrefs, that, 
 if he had not had that for ills deliglit he would haveperiihed 
 in his afIli6tion, Pfal. c\ix 92 Nav, he had the joy of 
 God's word to be his continu d entertainment, Pfal. cxix. 
 C4. " Thy ftatutes have been my fongs in the houfe of my 
 ** pilgrimage" — Thy words were found, faith Jeremiah, and 
 I did eat them, feaft upon them with as much pleafure, as 
 ever any hungry man did upon his neceflary food, or epicure 
 upon his dainties: I perfe6lly regaled myfelf with them ; 
 and *' thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my 
 ** heart," Jer. mv 16. And we not only come fhort of 
 their experiences, but fruflrate God's gracious intentions, 
 if wc do not find pleafure in the word of God; for, 
 *' whatfoever things were written aforetime, were written 
 '^ for our learning, that we through patience and comfort 
 *' of the fcriptures, might have hope," Rom. xv. 4. 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 329 
 
 (3.) Holy ordinances were inftituted for the furtlierancG 
 bf our comfort and to make our religion pleafant unto us. 
 The converlation of fri^^nds with each other is reckoned 
 one of the {^reateft delights of this world ; now ordinances 
 arc in(litut;:d for the keeping up of our communion with 
 God, which is the greateJli delight of the foul that is allied 
 to the other world. God appointed to the Jewifli church a 
 great many falls in the year (and but one fafV, and that but 
 for one day) on purpofe for this end, that they might re- 
 joice before the Lord thv:ir God, they and their famiUes, 
 Deut. \vi. II. 
 
 Prayer is an ordinance of God, appointed for the fetch- 
 ing in of that peace and pleafurc which is provided for us. 
 It is intended to be not only the eafe of our hearts, by call- 
 ing our burden upon God, as it was to Hannah, i Sam. i. 
 18. who, when fhe had prayed, ** went her way, and did 
 *' eat, and her countenance was no more fad ;" but to be 
 the joy of our hearts, by putting the promifes in fuit, and 
 improving our acquaintance with Heaven ; " Afk and ye 
 " fhall receive, that your joy may be full,'' John xvi. 24* 
 There is a throne of grace ere£led for us to come to ; a me- 
 diator of grace appointed, in whofe name to come ; the 
 Spirit of grace given to help our infirmities, and an anfwer of 
 peace promifed to every prayer of faith ; and all this, that 
 we might fetch in not only fan<Stifying, but comforting grace 
 in every time of need, Heb. iv. 16. God's houfc, in which 
 wifdom's children dwell, is called a houfe of prayer j and 
 thither God brings them, on purpofe to make them joyful^ 
 Ifa. Ivi. 7. 
 
 Singing of plalms U a gofpel-ordinance, that is defigned 
 to contribute to the pleafantnefs of our religion •, not only 
 to exprefs, but to excite, and to iricreafe our holy joy : in 
 fmgii^ to the Lord, we make a joyful noife to the rock 
 of our falvation, Pfal. xcv. 2 When the apollle had v^arned 
 all Chriilians to take heed of drimkennefs, be not drunk 
 with wine, wherein is excefs ; left they Ihould think that 
 thereby he reilrained them from any mirth that would do 
 them good, he dire£ls them indead of the fong of the 
 drtinkard, when the heart is merry with wine, to entertain 
 themfelves with the fongs of angels, Eph. v. 18, 19. Speak- 
 ing to yourfelves (when you are difpofed to pleafe yourfelves)' 
 in pfalms, and hymns, and fpiritual fongs, (ineing and mak- 
 
 T c 
 
330 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 ing melody in your hearts to the Lord. There is no more 
 of fubllance in this ordinance, but the word and prayer put 
 together : but the circumflance of the voice and tune behig 
 u natural means of alle^ling our hearts, both with the one 
 and with the other •, God, in conilefcenfion to our ftate, 
 hath been pleafed to make a particuhir ordinance of it, to 
 fhew how much it is his will that we fliouid be cheerful. 
 Jam V. 13. " Is any merry? let him fmg pfalms." Is 
 'any vainly merry ? let him fuppiefs the vanity and turn the 
 mirth into a right channel •, he need not banifli or abjure 
 the mirth, but let it be holy, heavenly mirth, and in that 
 mirth let them fmg pfalms. Nay, is anv afflitled, and merry 
 in his affiiclions ? let him fiicw it by finging pfalms, as Paul 
 and Silas ^.id in the {locks, Acls xvi. 25. 
 
 The Lord*s day is appointed to be a pleafant day, a day 
 of holy reft, nay, and a day of holy joy ', a thankfgiving-day, 
 Pfal. cxviii. 24. ** This is the. day which the Lord hath 
 ** made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." The pfalm and 
 fong for the Sabbath-day begins thus, " It is a good thing 
 •' to give thanks unto the Lord," Pfal. xcii. \. So far were 
 the primitive Chrilfians carried in this notion, that the Lord's 
 day was defigned for holy triumph and exultation, that they 
 thouglit it improper to kneel in any acl of worrnip on that 
 day. 
 
 The Lord's fupper is a fpiritual feaft ; and a feaft (Solo- 
 rion fai'Ii, Eccl. x. 19.) was made for laughter, and fo was 
 this for holy joy. We celebrate the memorials of his death, 
 that we may rejoice in the victories that he obtained, and 
 the purchafcs he made by his death •, and may apply to our- 
 felves the privileges and comforts, which by the covenant 
 of grace are made ours. There we cannot but be glad and 
 rejoice in him, where we " remember his love more than 
 " wine," Cant i 4. 
 
 (4 ) The miniftry is appointed for the comfort of the 
 faints-, and their guides in the ways of wifdom are inftiudcd, 
 by ail means poihble» to make tiiem ways of pleafantnefs^ 
 and to encourage them to go on pieafuntly in thofe ways. 
 The prieits of old were ordained for men, Heb. iii. 1 , 2. 
 and were therefore taken from among men, that they might 
 have compalhon upon the mourners. And the prophets 
 had this particularly in their commiflion, " Comfort ye, 
 •' comfort ye my people, faith your God,fpeak ye comfort- 
 " ably to jtruialcm/' Ifi. iL i. 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 
 
 Gofpcl-minifters, in a fpecial manner, arc appointed to 
 be the helpers of the joy of the Lord's people ; to be IV^r- 
 nabas's, fons of confolation -, to ftrengtlien the weak hands, 
 and the feeble knees, and to fay to them who are of a 
 " fearful heart, be ftrong," Ifa. XXXV. 3, 4. i" he taberna- 
 cles of the Lord of hofts being amiable, the care of all that 
 ferve in thofe tabernacles mull be to make them appear fo; 
 that they wlio compafs the altars of God, may fmd him 
 God their exceeding joy. 
 
 Thus hath God taken care for the comfort of his pe»ple, 
 ib that he is not to be blamed if they be not comforted : but 
 that is not all, 
 
 Second/y'f There are many particular benefits and privi- 
 leges which they are entitled to, who walk in the way.s of 
 religion, that contribute very much to the plea fan tnefs of 
 thofe ways. By the blood of Chriil, thofe bene^ts and pri- 
 vileges are procured for them, which fpeaks them highly 
 valuable ; and by the covenant of grace they are Iccured to 
 them, which fpeaks them unalienable 
 
 I. rhafe that walk iu wifdom's ways are " difcharged 
 ** from the debts of (in," and that is pleafant: They are pri- 
 vileged from arrefts, Rom. viii. 33. "Who dial I lay any 
 " thing to their charge ?" while it is God that ju'itifies them, 
 and will (land by his own a6l, againll hell and earth : And, 
 he is always near that juftiiies them,Ifa. 1. 8. and fo is their 
 advocate, that pleads for them nearer than their accufcr, 
 (though he (land at their right hand to refill them) and able 
 to caft him out, and all his accufations. 
 
 Surely, they put a force upon themfelves,that are merrjr and 
 pleafant under the guilt of fm; for, if confcience be awake, it 
 cannot but have a fearful looking for of wrath: But, if (in be 
 done away, the burden is removed, the wound is healed, and 
 all is well ; Son, be of good cheer, Mat. is. 2- though fick of 
 a palfy, yet be cheerful, for thy fins are forgiven thee *, a ad 
 therefore, not only they Ihall not hurt thee, but God is re- 
 conciled to thee, and will do thee good; Fhou maveil enjoy 
 the comforts of^^this life, and fear no fnare in them *, mayelt 
 bear the crofTcs of this life, and feel no Iting in them ; and 
 mayefl look forward to another life without terror or amaze- 
 ment. 
 
 The pain which true penitents have experience of, in 
 their reflections upon their lins, makes the pleafure and U- 
 tisfa£lion they have in the afTurance of llie pardon of them 
 T t 2 
 
332 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 doubly fweet *, as the for row of a wopian in travail is not an 
 allay, but rather a foil to the joy. that a child is born upon 
 it int-' the world. No pain more acute than that of brokeri 
 bones, to which the forrows of a penitent fniner are com- 
 pared ; but when they are well fet, and well knit agum, 
 they are not oniy made c\(y, but J;ey are made to rejoice, 
 to whieh the comforts of a pardr^ned fmner are compared. 
 ** Make me to hear joy and gladnefs, that the bones which 
 ** thou halt broken may rejo...c," Pfal. li. 8. Ali our bones, 
 when kept, that none of them were broken, mull fay, Lord, 
 who is like unt© thee ? But there is a more fenfible joy for 
 one difplaced bone reduced, than for the multitude of bones 
 fhat were never hurt ; as for one ioft fneep brought home, 
 than for ninety and nine that went not aftray : fuch is the 
 pleafure which they have, that know their fins are par- 
 doned. 
 
 When God's prophets muft fpeak comfortably to Jerufa- 
 lem, they muft tell her that her iniquity is pardoned, Ifa xl. 
 2 iSucl; a pleafure there is in the fenfe of the forgivenefs of 
 iins, that it enables us to make a light matter of temporal 
 affii^lions, particularly that of ficknefs, Ifa. xxxiii. 24. 
 ♦* Th.e inhabitant (hall ijot fay, I am fick j for the people 
 ^' that dwelleth therein fliall be forgiven their iniquity :" 
 And to make a great matter of temporal mercies when t/iey 
 are thus fweeteiicd and fecured, particularly that of recovery 
 ^from fpcknefs, Ifa *xxviii. 17. *• Thou haft in love to my 
 ** foul, cured my bodv; and delivered it from the pit of 
 ** conuptionj for thou haft caft all my dins behind thy 
 ^* back.'* If our fins be pardoned, and we know it, we may 
 go out and come in in peace, nothing can come amifs to us ; 
 we may lie down and rife up with pleafure, for all is clear 
 betwi]^!! us and hxaven ; Thus, ** blefled is the man whofe 
 ** ir.iquity is forgiven.'* 
 
 2. I hey have ** the Spirit of God witneffing with the'r 
 ** Ipirits, that they are the children of God," Rom. viii r6. 
 and that is pleafant. Adoption accompanies juftificaticn ; 
 and if we liave an afliirance of the '* forgivenefs of our fins 
 ** accor liiig to the richrs of God's grace," Eph. i, 5. 7. we 
 hnve an alhirnnce of this furrh-rr comfort, that we were " pre- 
 ** (^eftintuc^unto the adoption of chiklren by Jcfus Chrift." 
 The fame evidence, the fame teftimony that is. given of 
 our bcin^ pardoned, ferves as an evidence and teftimony 
 of our being preferred, our being thus preferred. Can 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 333 
 
 !the dilldren of princes and great rraen pleafe themfclves 
 with the thoughts of the honours and expe6lations that at- 
 tend that relation ? and may not the children of God think 
 with pleafure of the adoption they have received., Gal. v. 6. 
 the Spirit of adoption ? and that fpirit is witnefs to their adop-* 
 tion. And the pleafure mud be the greater, and make the 
 ilroncfer impreiFion of joy, when they remember, that they 
 Mere by nature not only llrangcrs and foreigners, but chil- 
 dren of wrath, and yet thus highly favoured. 
 
 J he comfort of relations is none of the leaft of the delights 
 of this life : But what comfort of relations comparable to 
 this of being related to God as cur father ; and to Chrift, 
 as our elder brother ; and to all the faints and angels too, 
 as belonging to the fame family, which we are happily- 
 brought into relation to ? The pleafure of claiming and owni. 
 ing this relation, is plainly intimated in our being taught 
 to cry, Abba, Father, Rom. viii. 15, Why fliould it be thus 
 doubled, and in two languages, but to intimate to us the un- 
 accountable pleafure and fatisfaclion, with which good 
 Chriftians call God Father ? it is the firing they harp upon. 
 Abb), Father. 
 
 With what pleafure doth David's own fpirit witnefs to 
 this ? " O my foul, thou haft faid unto the Lord, Thou art my 
 ■** Lord,'' Pfal. xvi. 2. and it is more to me that God is mine, 
 than if all the world were mine : But when, with our fpirits, 
 the fpirit of God witneireth this too, faying to thy foul, Yea, 
 he is thy God, and he owns thee as one of his family ; wit- 
 nefs what he has wrought both in thee, and for thee,by my hand : 
 what joy doth this fill the foul with! joy unfpeakable ! efpecially 
 confidenng that, as the propliet Ipeaks, in the place, in the 
 fame heart and confcience, where it was faid (and by the 
 fpirit too, when he convinced as a fpirit of bondage) ** Yc 
 ♦* are not my people, even there it fliall be faid unto them,'* 
 by the fpirit when he comforts as a fplnt of adoption, " Yc 
 are the fons of the living God," liof. i, 10. 
 
 3. They have an accefs with boldnefs to the throne of 
 grace, and that is pleafant. Prayer not only feteheth in peace 
 and pleafure, but it is itfelf a great privilege ; and not only 
 an b.onour, but a comfort'; one of the greatell comforts of 
 our lives, that we have a God to go to at all times, fo that 
 we need not lear con; Mg unfeafonably, or coming too often j 
 and in all places, though as Jonah in the filhcs belly, or a< 
 
334 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 David in the depths, or in the ends of the earth, Pfal. cxxx. 
 I. & Ixi. 2. 
 
 It is a pleafure to one who is full of care and grief to un- 
 bofom himfclf ; and we are welcome to pour out our com- 
 pl lint before God, and to fhew before him our trouble, 
 Pfal. cxlii. I, 2. and to one who wants, or fears wanting, to 
 jx;tition one who is able, and willing to fupply thefe wants. 
 And we have great encouragement to * make our rcquefts 
 *' known unto God;" we have an " accefs v^^ith confidence," 
 Eph. iii. J 2. not an accefs with difficulty, as we have to 
 great men, not an accefs with uncertainty of acceptance, as 
 5ie Ninevites. " Who can tell if God will return to us ?" 
 But we have an accefs with an afTurance : whatfoever we 
 alk in faith, according to his will, " we know that we hav« 
 ** the petitions that v/e defired of him," i John v. 1 5^. 
 
 It is a pleafure to talk to one we love, and that we know 
 loves us, and, though far above us, yet takes notice of what 
 we fay, and is tenderly concerned for us : What a pleafure is 
 it then to fpeak to God ? to have not only a liberty of ac- 
 cefs, but a liberty of fpeech, freedom to utter all our mind, 
 humbly, and in faith ; " boldnefs to enter into the holieft 
 " by the blood of Jefus," Heb. x 19, 20. and not with fear 
 and trembling, as the high prieft, under the law, entered 
 into the hoheft \ but boldnefs to pour out our hearts before 
 God, PfaL Ixii. 8. as one who, though he knows our cafe 
 better than we ourfelves, yet will give us the fatisfaclion of 
 knowing it from us, according to our own flicwing. Beg- 
 gars, who have good benefatlors, live as pleafantly as any 
 other people : It is the cafe of God's people ; tl-ey are beg- 
 gars, but they are beggars to a bountiful benefa<^or, who is 
 <* rich in mercy to all who call upon him." Blcffed are they 
 that " wait daily at the poflsof wifdom's doors," Prov. viii. 
 34. If the prayer of the upright be God's delight, it cannot 
 but be theirs, Cant. ii. 14. 
 
 4. They have a fan£tified ufe of all their creature com- 
 forts, and that is pleafant *• The Lord knows the way of 
 ♦* the righteous," and takes cognizance of all their concerns, 
 Pfal. xxxvii. 23. Ihe ileps, yea, and the flops too, of a good 
 man are ordered by tlie Lonl ; both his fuccelTes when he 
 goes forwards, and li» ; difappointments when he goes back- 
 wards : He " blelTcth the work of their hands," and his 
 blclling ** makes rich, and adds no forrow with it," Prov. 
 
iEING RELICIOUS. 535 
 
 X 27. more is implied than is csprefiec!, it adds joy with it, 
 infufeth a comfort into it. 
 
 What God's people have, be it little or much, they have 
 it from the love of God, and with his blefling *, and then, 
 <* behold all things are clean and five et to them," Luke x. 41. 
 They come from the hand of a Father, by the hand of a 
 Mediator, not in the channel of commpn providence, but 
 by the golden pipes of the promifes of the covenant. Even 
 the unbelieving hufband, though not fan61ified himfelf, yet 
 is "fan£lifiedby the believing wife," i Cor. vii. 14. and fa 
 is the comfort of other relations; for to thofe who pleafe 
 God, every thing is pleafing, or iliould be fo, and is made 
 fo by his favour. And hence it is, Pfal. xxxvii. 16. that a 
 •' little that a righteous man has," having a heart to be con- 
 tent with it, and the divine llcill of enjoying: God in ^t, is 
 better to him than the ** riches of many wicked" were to 
 them ; and that " a dinner of herbs where lo\e is," and the 
 " fear of the Lord," is better, and yields abundantly more 
 flitisfadlion, than '' a flailed ox, and hatred and trouble 
 " therewith," Prov. xv. » 6, 17. 
 
 5. They have the teftimony of their own confciences for 
 them in all conditions, and that is pleafant, A good con- 
 fcience is not only a brazen wall, but a continual feaft ; and 
 all the melody of Solomon's inftruments of mufic of all forts, 
 were not to be compared to that of the bird in the bofom, 
 when it fmgs fweet. If Paul has a confcience void of of- 
 fence, though he be as forrowful, yet he is always rejoicing ^ 
 nay, and even when he is " prefled above meafure," 2 Cor, 
 i. 8, 12. and has *^ received a fentence of death within hinr^ 
 *' felf, his rejoicing is this, even the teftimony of his confci- 
 *' ence" concerning his integrity. 
 
 As nothing is more painful and unpleafant, than to be 
 fmitten and reproached by our own hearts, to have our con- 
 fciences fly in. our faces, and give us our own ; fo there i£ 
 nothing more comfortable, than to be upon gooil ground* 
 reconciled to ourfelves, to " prove our own work," Gal. vl. 4. 
 by the touchftone of God's word, and to find it right ; for 
 then have we ** rejoicing in fiurfelves alone, and not in an- 
 ** other : For if our hearts condemn us not," i John iii. 2 f ^ 
 " then have we confidence towards God ; may lift up our 
 ** face without fpot" unto him, and comfortably appeal t» 
 liis omnifcience : " Thou, O Lord, knowefb me, thott 
 
2^6 THE jpLEAStJRE OF 
 
 hafl: " (een me, and tried my heart tov/arJs tliee," Jef.- 
 xii 3. 
 
 This will not only make us eafy under the cenfures ancf 
 reproaclies of men, as i^ did Job : " my heart ihall not re- 
 " preach me/' though you do ; and Paul : *' it is a very 
 " fmall thing with me to be judged of man's judgement ;" 
 But it will be a continual delight to us, to have our own 
 hearts fay, Well done. For the voice of an enlightened, 
 well informed confcience is the voice of God, it is his de- 
 puty in the foul : The thoughts of the fober heathen be- 
 tween themfelves, when they did not accufe, yet the ut- 
 moft they could do was but to excufe, which is making the 
 bed of bad •, but they who have their hearts fprinkled from 
 an evil confcience by the blood of Chrifl, Rom. ii. 15. arO 
 not only excufed, but encouraged and commended j for 
 their praife is not of men, but of God. 
 
 It is eafy to imagine the holy, humble pleafure that a good 
 man has, in the jull refle£lion upon the fuccefsful refin- 
 ance of a ftrong and threatening temptation ; the feafonablc 
 fupprefling and croffing of ail unruly appetite or pafiion, 
 and a check given to the tongue when it was about to fpeak 
 unadvifedly. What a pleafure is it to look back upon any 
 good word fpoken, or any good work done, in the ftrength 
 of God's grace, to his glory, and any way to the advantage 
 of our brethren, either for foul or body! With what a fweet 
 fatisfaOion may a good man lie down in the clofe of the 
 Lord's Day, if God has enabled him, in fome good meafure, 
 to " do the work of the day in the day, according as the 
 ** duty of the day requires ?" We may then •' e\t our 
 ** bread with joy, and drink our M'ine with a merry h^art," 
 when we have fome good ground to hope, that God aoW" 
 accepteth our works through Jefus Chrift, Ecclef. ix. 7. 
 
 6. They have the carnefts and foretaftes of eternal lif^ 
 and glory, and that is pleafant indeed. They have it not 
 only fecured to them, but dwelling in them, in the firft- 
 fruits of it, fuch as they are capable of in their prefcnt im- 
 perfect ftate, I John v. 13. " '1 hefe things are v/ritten unto 
 ** you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye 
 •* may know, not only that you Ihall have, but that you 
 ^** have eternal life ; you are fealcd with that holy fpirit of 
 ** promife," Kph.i. 1 3, 14. marked for God, whicli is the ear- 
 nell of our inheritance, not only a ratification of the granty 
 Vut yart of th^ fall payment. 
 
tEl^G RELIGIOUS. 337 
 
 Canaan, M'hen we come to it, will be a land flowing with 
 milk p.nd honey ; " In God's prefence there is a fulnefs of 
 " joy> and pleaiurcs for evermore," Pfa\ xvi. ii. But, left 
 we iliould think it long ere we come to it, the God whom 
 \ve ierve has been pleafed to fend to us, as he did to Ifrael, 
 fome cluftcrs of the grapes of that good land to meet us in 
 the wildcrnefs; which if they were fent us in excufe of the 
 full enjoyment, and we were to be put off with them, that 
 would put a oitternefs into them •, but, being fent us in 
 earneft of the full enjoyment, that puts a fweetnefs into 
 them, and makes them pleafant indeed. 
 
 A day in God's courts, an hour at his table ill commu- 
 nion with him, is very pleafant, better than a thoufand days, 
 than ten thoufand hours, in any of the enjoyments of fenfe^ 
 but this very much increafeth the pleafaiitnefs of it, that it 
 is the pledge of a bleffed eternity, which we hope to fpend 
 within the veil, in the vifion and fruition of Ood. Sabbaths 
 are fweet, as they are earners of the everlafting fabbatifm, 
 or keeping of a fabbath (as the apoftle calls it, Heb. iv. 9.) 
 which remains for the people of God. — Gofpel feafts are 
 therefore fweet, becaufe earnefts of the everUfting feaft, to 
 which we Ihall fit down with Abraham, and Ifaac, and Ja- 
 cob. The joys of the Holy Ghoft iire fweet, as they are 
 earnefts of that joy of our Lord, into which all Chrift's eood 
 and faithful fervants iliali enter. Praifmg God is fv eet, as 
 it is an earneft of that blelTcd f^atej in which we ftiall not 
 reft day or night from praifmg God. The Communion of 
 faints is fv/ect, as it is an earneft of the pleafure we hope to 
 have in the ." general aflembly, and church of the firft- 
 ** born," Heb. xii. 23. 
 
 They who travel wifdom's ways, though fdmetlmes they 
 find themfelves walking in the low and darkfome valley of 
 the (hadow of death, where they can fee but a little way be- 
 fore them, yet at other times they are led with Mofes to the 
 top of Mount Pifgah, and thence have a pleafant profpe£t 
 of the land of promife, and the glories of that ^ood land j 
 not with fuch a damp upon the pleafure of it as Mjf::s had, 
 Deut xxxiv. 4 ** Thou ftialt fee it with thine eyes, but thou 
 *' (lialt not go over thither •," but fuch an addition to the 
 pleafure of it as Abraham had, when God faid to him. Gen. 
 xiii. 14, 15, " All the land which thou fecft, to thee will 
 ** I give it " Take the pleafure of the profpe£t, as a pledge 
 
 J u 
 
33S THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 CHAT. IV. 
 The DcBrinc Jurihcr proved by Experience. 
 
 HAVING found religion in its own nature pleafant> 
 and the comforts and privileges fo with which it i» 
 attended *, we (hail next try to make this truth move evi- 
 denc, by appeahng to fuch as may be thought competent 
 witneflts in fuch a cafe. I confefs, if we appeal to the na- 
 tural man, the mere animal,' (as the word fignifies, i Cof. 
 ii. 14 ) that looks no further than the things of fenfe, and 
 judgcth by no other rule than fcnfe, and "receiveth not the 
 " things of the fpirit of God, for they are fooiiilmefs to him ;" 
 fuch a one will be fo far from confenting to this truth, and 
 concurring with it, that ,he w^ill contradict and oppofe it. 
 Our appeal mud be to thofe who have feme fpiritual fenfts 
 exercifed ; for otherwife " the brutifh man knovis not, nei- 
 " tber doih the fool underftand this," PfaL xcii. 6. 
 
 We mult therefore be allowed to look upon convinced 
 fmners, and comforted faints. Wicked people whom the 
 Spirit hath rowfed out of a finful fecurity, and godly people 
 wliom the Spirit has put to reft in a holy ferenitv, are the 
 moil competent proper witneires to give evidence in this 
 cafe *, and to their experience we appeal. 
 
 Firfty Afk thofe who have tried the ways of fin and wick- 
 edncfs, of vice and profanenefs, and begin to paufe a little, 
 and to confider whether the way they are in be right; and 
 let L'shear what are their experiences concerning thofe ways; 
 And our appeal to them is in the words of the apoftle, 
 " What fruit had ye then in thofe things, whereof ye are 
 ** nowafliamed V Rom. vi. 21. Not only, What fruit will 
 ye have atlaft, when the end of thefe things is death ? or, 
 as job xxi. 21. " What pleafure hath he in liis houfe af- 
 " ter him, when the number of his months is cut off in 
 •' the midll r" but. What fruit, what pleafure had yk3 
 ther, when ycu were in th'; enjcym.entof tlie belt of it ? 
 
 I hofe that have been running to an excefs of riot, that 
 have laid the reins in the neck of their luOs, have rejoiced 
 with the '* young man in his youth, and walked in the way 
 ** of their hearl.>, and the figlit of their eyes," have taken 
 a boundlcfs iibcrty i.i the gratiucaticns of fenfe, and have 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 3^59 
 
 made it their biifinefs to extra'(Sl out of this world, whateve ' 
 r»ay pafs under the name of pleafure : but when they be- 
 gin to think (which they could not find in their iiearts to do 
 'Vhile they were going on in their purfuit) alk th^m now 
 what they think of thofe pleafures which pretend to vie 
 with thofe of rehgion ; and they will tell you : 
 
 I. That " the pleafure of fni was painful and unf-itisfylng 
 *' in the enjoyment," and which then they liad no reafon to 
 boail of. It was a fordid pleafure, and beneath the digni- 
 ty of a man, and which could not be had, but by yielding up 
 tiie throne in the foul to the inferior facuUies of fenfe, and 
 allowing them the dominion over reafon and confcience, 
 whch ought to command and give law. It -was the grati- 
 fying of an appetite, which was the difeafe of the foul, and 
 which would not be fatisfied, but, like the daughters of 
 the horfe-leech; Itill cry, give, give 
 
 What poor pleafure harli the covetous man In the wealth 
 of the world ? It is the luft of the eye that is thereby Im- 
 moured ; for ** what good hath the owner thereof, fave the 
 ** beholding thereof with his eyes?" i John it i6 and 
 what a poor fatisfaftion is that ? And yet even that is no 
 fatisfadtion neither; for he that loveth filver, will find, that 
 the more he has, the more he would have, fo that he fliall 
 not be fatisfied with filver ; nay, it fallens upon the mind 
 a burden of care and perplexity, fo that " the abundance 
 ♦* of the rich will not fuifer him to fleep," Eccl. v. lo, 1 1, 
 
 12. 
 
 Drunkennefs pafleth for a pleafant fin, but It is a brutlfli 
 pleafure *, for it puts a f^rce upon the powers of nature, dif- 
 turbs the exercife of reafon, and puts men out of the pofTef- 
 fion and enjoyment of their fouls ; and fo.far is it from 
 yielding any true fatisfacSlion, that the gratifying of this bafe 
 appetite is but bringing oil to a flame : ** When I awake, I 
 ** will feek it yet again," is the language of the druiikard, 
 Prov. xxiii. 35 
 
 Contention and revenge pretejid to be pleafant fins too, 
 cfi vindidta. bomim znta jucundis ipfa ; but it is f© far from 
 being fo, that it is, of all other fins, the moft vexatious : It 
 kindles a fire in the foul, puts it into a hurry and diforder ^ 
 where they are, there is confufion and every evil work. 
 The lulls, from wlience not only wars and fightings come, 
 Jam. iv. I. but other fins are faid to war in the members \ 
 U U 2 
 
34<* THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 they not only waragainft the foul, i Pet ii. i r. nnd threaten 
 the deftrucHon of its true interefts, but they war in the foul, 
 and give difturbance to its prefent peace, and b\i it with con- 
 tinual alarms 
 
 They that have made themfelves flaves to their luflg, will 
 cwn, that it was the greateil drudgery in die M'orld, and 
 therefore is reprefented in the parable of the prodigal, by a 
 young gentieman hiring himfelf to ont that " fent him in- 
 " to his eld to feed fwine," Luke xv i6. where he was 
 made a fellow commoner with them, and " would fain 
 ** have filled his belly with the hufks," that they did eat j 
 fuch a difgrace, fuch a diflatisfa£lion is there in the plea- 
 fuus of fin; befides the diverfity of mailers which finners 
 are at the back of, and their difagreement among themfelves*, 
 for they that are difobedlent to that God who is one, are 
 deceived, ferving divers lufts and pleafures, and therein led 
 captive by Satan, iheir fworn enemy, at his will. Tit. 
 
 2. That the pleafure of fin was very bitter and torment* 
 ing in the reflection. We will allow that there is a pleafure 
 ' in fin for a feafon, Heb. xi. 25. but that feafon is foon over, 
 and is fucceeded by another feafon that is the reverfe of it ; 
 the fweetnefs is foon gone, and leaves the bitternefs behind 
 in the bottom of the cup ; the wine is red, and gives its 
 colour, its flavour very agreeable ; but at the laft it " bitea 
 •* like a ferpent, and llings like an adder," Prov. xxiii. 32. 
 Sin is that llrange woman, whofe flatteries are charming, 
 but ** her end bitter as wormwood," Prov. v 3, 4. 
 
 When confcience is awake, and tells the finner he is very 
 guilty ; when his fins are fet in order before him in their 
 true colour, and he fees himfelf defiled and deformed by 
 them: when his own wickednefs begins to corredl: him, 
 and his backflidings to reprove him, and his own heart 
 makes him " loath himfelf for all his abominations," Jer, 
 ii. 19. where is the pleafure of his fin then ? As the thief 
 is iifiiamed when he is difcovered to the world, fo are the 
 drunkards, the unclean, when difcovered to themfelves; and 
 fay, '' Whtre fhall I caufe my fiiame to go?" there is no 
 remedy but 1 niufl lie down in it. If the pleafure of any 
 fin would laft, furely that of ill got gain would, becaufe there 
 is fomething to fin w for it ; and yet though that wicked- 
 pcfs be fwtet in the finncr's moutli, though he " hide it un«. 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 34I 
 
 " dcf h\s tongue, yet in his bowels it is turned into the gall 
 ** of alps," Job. XV. II, &c He h.uh fwallowed dow^n 
 riches, but fhall be forced to vomit them up again. 
 
 Solomon had Ikimmed the cream of fenfual delights, and 
 pronounced not only vanity and vexation concerning them 
 all, even the beft, but concerning thofe of them that were 
 fmful, the forbidden pleafurts into which he was betrayed; 
 that the refleclion upon them filled him with horror and 
 amazement: " I applied my heart,''* faith he, '* to knew 
 ** the wickednefs of fo'ly, even of foolifhnefs and mad- 
 ** nefs *," fo he now calls the loofes he liad taken : he can- 
 not fpeak bad enough of them ; for " I find more bitter than 
 ** death, the woman whofe heart is fnarcs and nets, and her 
 ** hands as bands," Eccl. vii. 26. 
 
 And is fuch pleafure as this worthy to come in competi- 
 tion with the pleafures of religion, or to be named the fame 
 day with fhem ? What fenfelefs creatures are the fenfual, 
 that will not be perfuaded to quit the pleafures of brutes, 
 when they (hall have in exchange the delights of angels ? 
 
 Secondly^ A(k thofe that have tried the ways of wifdom, 
 what are their experiences concerning thofe ways. *' Call 
 ** now if there be any that will anfwer you, and to which 
 ** of the faints will you turn ?'' Job. v. i. Turn you to 
 which you will, and they will agree to this, that " wifdom*s 
 " ways are pleafantnefs, and her paths peace." How- 
 ever about fome things they may differ in their fentiments, 
 in this they are all of a mind, that God is a good mafter, 
 and his fervice not only perfeft freedom, but perfect plea- 
 sure. 
 
 And it is a debt which aged and experienced Chriftians 
 owe both to their ma; er and to their fellow-fervants, both 
 to Chrift and Chriftian , to bear their teftimony to this 
 truth; and the more e}<pricitly and folemnly they do it, 
 the better. Let thein tell others " what God has done for 
 « their fouls," and how they have " tafled that he is gra- 
 " cious," Pfal Ixvi 16. Let them own to the honour of 
 God and religion, that, as in ' Kings viii. 55. there "has 
 <* not failed one word of God*s good promife," by wiiich he 
 defigned to make his fervants pleafant ; that what is faid of 
 the pleafantnefs of religion, is really fo : let them •* fet to 
 " their ^eal that it is true," r John i. it Let it have their 
 f>rQbatum eji % we have found it fo. 
 
342 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 The ways of religion and godlinefs are the good old ways, 
 Jer. vi. 1 6. Now, if you would have an account of the 
 way you have to go, you muft inquire of thofe that have 
 travelled it; not thofe who have occafionally ftept into it 
 now and then, but thofe whofe bufinefs had led them to 
 frequent it. Afk the ancient travellers, whether they have 
 found reft to their fouls in this way ; and there are few 
 you ihall inquire of, but they will be ready to own thefe 
 four things from experience : 
 
 I. That they have found " the rules and dictates of rcli- 
 '* gion very agreeable both to right reafon, and to their 
 ** true intereft, ' and therefore pleafant. They have found 
 the word nigh them, and accomodated to them, and not at 
 fuch a mighty dillance as they were made to believe. They 
 have found " all God's precepts concerning all things to be 
 " right," and reafonable, and highly equitable ; apd, w^hen 
 tliey did but fhew themfelves men, they could not but con- 
 fent, and fubfc.ibe <* to the law, that it was good," Rom. 
 vii. 16. and there Is a wonderful decorum in it. 
 
 The laws of humility and meeknefs, fobriety and tem- 
 perance, contentment and patience, love and charity j 
 tliefe arc agreeable to ourfe'ves when we are in our right 
 mind : They are the rectitude of our nature, the advance- 
 ment of our powers and faculties, the eompofure of our 
 minds, and the comfort of our lives, and carry their own 
 fetters of commendation along with them. If a man uri- 
 derftood himfelf, and his own intereft, he would comport 
 with thefe rules, and govern himfelf by them, though 
 there were no authority over him to oblige him to it. AH 
 that have throughly tried them, will fay, they are fo far 
 from being chains of imprifonment to a man, and as fetters 
 to his feet, that they are as chains of ornament to him^ and 
 as the girdle to his loins. 
 
 Aik experienced Chriftians, and they will tellyou what 
 abundance of comfort and fatisfa£lIon they have had in 
 keeping fober, when they have been in temptation to ex- 
 cefs *, in doing juftly, when they might have gained by 
 difhonelly as others do, and no-body know it ; in forgiving 
 an injury, when it was in the power of their hand to re- 
 venge it ; in giving alms to the poor, when perhaps they 
 ftraitened themfelves by it ; in fubmitting to an affli<SI:ion, 
 when the circumftances of it were very aggravating -, and 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 3^^ 
 
 in bridling their pafTion untler great provocations- With 
 what comfort does Nchemiah reflect upon it, that though 
 his predeccfTors in the government had abufed their power, 
 yet fo did not J, (faith he, Neh v. 15.) bccaufe of the fear 
 of God ? And with what plenfure doth Samuel make his 
 appeal, i Sam. xii. 3. " V/hofe ox have I taken, or whom 
 " have I defrauded ?" and Paul his ; " I have coveted no 
 *' man's filver, or gold, or apparel." Jf you would have 
 a regifler of experiences to this purpofe, read the 119th 
 Pfalm, which is a colledtion of David's telli monies to the 
 fweetncfs and goodnefs of God's law, the equity and ex- 
 cellency of it, and the abundant fatisfa£lion that is to be 
 found in a conftant confcientious conformity to it. 
 
 2. That they have found the exercifes of devotion to be 
 very pleafant and comfortable ; and, if there be an heaven 
 upon earth, it is in communion with God in his ordi- 
 nances ; in hearing from him, in fpeaking to him, in re- 
 ceiving the tokens of his favour and communications of his 
 grace, and returning pious afFe6lions to him, pouring out 
 the heart before him, lifting up the foul t ) him. 
 
 All good Chriftians will fubfcribe to David's experience, 
 Pial. Ixxiii. 28. " It is good for me to draw near to God \* 
 the nearer the better ; and it will be bed of all, when I 
 come to be neared of all, within the veil, and will join 
 with him in faying, " Return unto thy reft, O my foul !" 
 Pfal. cxvi. 7. to God as to thy reft, and repofe in him. I 
 have found that fatisfaftlon in communion with God, which 
 I would not exchange for all the delights of the fons of 
 men, and the peculiar treafures of kings and provinces. 
 
 What a pleafure did thofe pious Jews in Hezekiah'stime 
 find in the folemnlties of the Paffover, who, when they 
 had kept feven days according to the law in attending on 
 God's ordinances, ** took counfel to^^ether to keep other 
 " feven days; and they kept other feven days with glad- 
 " nefs," 2 Chron. xxx. 23. And, if Chrift's hearers had 
 not found an abundant fweetncfs and fatlsfa6tion in attend- 
 ing on him, they would never have continued their attend- 
 ance three days in a defert place, as we find they did, 
 Matth. XV. 32. No wonder then that his own difciples, 
 when they were fpe6tators of his transfi8:uration, and ;!.u- 
 ditors of his difcourfe with Mofes and Elins in the holy 
 mount, faid, " Mafter, it is good for us to be here j" here 
 let us make tabsrnagles, Matth. xvii. 4, 
 
344 'T^^ J»LEASURE or 
 
 I appeal to all, that know what it is to be inward wittl 
 God in an ordinance, to worlhip him in the Spirit, whe* 
 thtr they have net found abundant fatisfai^ion in it ? They 
 will fay with the fpoufe, Cant. ii. 3 ** I fat down under 
 ** his (liadow with delight, and his fruit was fweet unto my 
 " tafte :'* And with the noble Marquis of Vico, *^ Let 
 •* their money perifh with them, that efleem all the wealth 
 ** and pleafure of this world M''orth one- hour's communion 
 ** with God in Jefus Chrift." They will own, that they 
 never had that true delight and fatisfaiStion in any of the 
 employments or enjoyments of this world, which they 
 have had in the fervice of God, and in the believing relifhes 
 of that loving-kindnefs of his, which is better than life, 
 Pfal. Ixiii. 3, 5. Thefe have put gladnefs into their hearts, 
 more than the joy of harvefl, or theirs that divide the fpoil. 
 If in their preparations for folemn ordinances they have 
 gone forth weeping, bearing precious feed ; yet they hav€ 
 ** come again with rejoicing, bringing their Iheaves with 
 " them," Pfal cxxvi. 5, 6 
 
 3. That they have found the pleafure of religion fufficient 
 to overcome the pains and trouble of fenfe, and to take out 
 the fting of them, arid take off the terror of them. This 
 is a plain evidence of the excellency of fpiritual pleafures, 
 that religious convictions will foon conquer fenfual delights, 
 and quite extinguiih them, fo that they become as fongs to 
 a heavy heart -, for a wounded fpirit who can bear? But it 
 has often been found, that the pains of fenfe have not been 
 able to cxtinguifh fpiritual delights, but have been conquer- 
 ed and quite overbalanced by them. Joy In fpirit has been 
 to many a powerful allay to trouble in the flefli. 
 
 The pleafure that holy fouls have in God, as it needs 
 not to be fupported by the delights of fenfe, fo it fears not 
 being fupprefied by the grievances of fenfe. They can re- 
 joice in the Lord, and joy in him as the God of their fal- 
 vation, even then, vidien tl.e " fig-tree doth not blofTom, 
 ** and there is no fruit in the vine," H^ib. iii. 17, 18. for even 
 then, when in the world they have tribulation, Chrift has 
 provided that in him they fhould have fatisfaftion. 
 
 For this we may appeal to the martyrs, and other fuffer- 
 ers for the name of Chriit ; How have their fpiritual joys 
 maHe their bonds for Chrift eafy, and made their prifons 
 their delccftableordiarUs, as one of the martyrs culled his ? 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 345 
 
 Animated by thefe comforts, t!)ey have nor only take" pa- 
 tiently, but *< taken joyfully thr fp..iling of their ^L'joodg, 
 ** knowing in themf(-lve8 that they have in heaven a better 
 *< and a more enduring fubftance," Heb. x 34 Afk Paul, 
 and he will tell you, 2 Cor. vi 4, 5 that even then when 
 he was troubled on every (icle, when without were fightings, 
 and within were fears, yet he was filled with comfort, and 
 was exceeding joyful in all his tribulation ; and that as his 
 fufferings for Chrift: dUl incieafe, his confolation in Chrift 
 increafed proportionably, 2 Cor i. 5. And though he ex- 
 pels no other but to finifh his courfe with blood, yet he 
 doubts not but to finiih his couvfe with joy. 
 
 Nay, we may appeal to the fick-beds and death-beds of 
 many good Chriltians for th-^ proof of this ; when weari- 
 fome nights have been appointed to them, yet God's " fta- 
 *< tutes have been their fongs, their fongs in the night,'' 
 Pfal. cxix. 54. 1 have pain faid one, but I blefs God I 
 have peace ; weak and dying, faid another but fat lucis in- 
 tus, light and comfort enough within. The delights of fenfe 
 foriake us, when vfc moft need them to be a comfort to us j 
 when a man is " chaftened with pain upon his bed, and the 
 " multitude of his bones with ftrong pain, he abborreth 
 <* bread and dainty meat," and cannot relifh it. Job. xxxiii. 
 19, 20. But then the bread of life and fpiritual dainties have 
 the fweeteft relifh of all. Many of God s people have found 
 it fo : this is my ** comfort in mine affliction, that thy word 
 " hath quickened me," Pfal. oix 50. This has made all 
 their bed in their ficknefs, and made it eafy. 
 
 The pleafantnefs of wifdom's ways hath fomctimes been 
 remarkably attefted by the joys and triumphs of dying Chrif- 
 tians, in reflefting upon that divine grace which hath carried 
 them comfortably through this world, and is then carrying 
 them more comfortably out of it to a better. <' What is 
 ** that light which I fee ?" faid an eminent divine upon his 
 death bed •, " It is the fun ihitie," faid one that was by : Nq, 
 replied he, " it is my Saviours Ihine ; O the joys ! O the 
 " comforts that I feel ! Whether in the body, or out 
 " of the body, I cannot tell ; but I fee and feel things that 
 <« are unutterable, and full of glory. O let it be preached 
 «« at my funeral, and tell it when I am d" { aiid gone, that 
 ** God deals familiarly with man. I am as full of comfort 
 
 X X 
 
34^- ^ THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 '** as my heart can hold." Mr. Jofcph Allcin's life, and 
 Mr. John Jatieway's h:;ve rem?irkable inllanccs of this. 
 
 4. They have found, that ** tlie defer they have kept to 
 <« religion's ways, and the better progrefs they have ir.ade 
 ** in thofe ways, the more pleaure they have found in them." 
 By this it appears, that the pJeafure takes its excellency 
 from the religion; that the move religion prevails, the greater 
 the pleafure is. What difquiet and difcomfort wifdom's 
 children have, is owing, not to vvifdom's ways,' thofe are 
 pjeafant, but to their deviations from thofe ways, or their 
 flotlifulnefs and trilling in thefe ways ; thofe indeed are un- 
 pleafantj and fooner or later will be found fo. 
 • If good people are fometimes drooping and in fcrrow, it 
 is not becaufe they are good, but becaufe they are not fo 
 good as they Ihould be *, they do not live up to their pro- 
 feflion andprinciples,but are too much in love with the body, 
 and hanker too much after the world : though they do not 
 turn back to Sodom, they look back towards it, and ?.re too 
 mindful of the country from which they came out •, and 
 this makes tl^^m uneafy, this forfeits their comforts, and 
 grieves their comforter, and difturbs their peace, which 
 would have been firm to them, if they had been firm to their ^ 
 engagements. But, if we turn afule out of the ways of' 
 God, we are not to think it ilrange if the confoiationsof 
 God do net follow us 
 
 But if we " cleave to the Lord M-ith full purpofe of 
 " heart," then we find the "joy of the Lord our ftrength." 
 Have we not found thofe duties, moft pleafant, in which, 
 v/e have taken moft pains, and moft care ? and that we have 
 had the moil comfortable f'.bbath-vifits made to our fouls 
 then, wlien we have been moil " in the Spirit on the Lord's 
 *' day?" Rev. i. 10 
 
 And the longer we continue, and the more we mend our 
 pa(Ce in thefe ways, the more pleafure we find in them. This 
 is^the excellency of fpiritual pleafures, and recommends 
 them greatly, that they increafe with ufe ; fo far arc they 
 from withering or going to decay. The difficulties which 
 may at firll be found in the ways of religion wear off by 
 degrees, and the vv^ork of it grows more eafy, and the joys 
 of it more fweet. 
 
 - Alk thofe. that have backflidden from.the. ways: of God, 
 have left tlieir firll love, and begin to bethink th*emfeives, 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 347 
 
 and to remember whence they are fallen, whether they had 
 not a great deal more comfort when they kept clofe to God, 
 than they have had fmce they turned afide fr»m him ; and 
 they will fay with that adulterefs, when ihe found the way 
 of her apoltacy hedged up with thorns, *' I wdl go, and re- 
 ** turn to my iirlt huiband •, for then it was better with me 
 ** than now," llof. ii 7. There is nothing got by departing 
 from God, and nothing loll by being faitiiful to liim. 
 
 C H A' P. V. 
 
 Ths doctrine illujirafed by the ft?nUitude ufed in the 
 Tcxt^ of a f leaf ant way or journey, 
 
 THE pradice of religion is often, in fcripture, fi^okcn 
 of as a way, and our walking in that way : it is the 
 way of God's commandments, it is a high-way, the king's 
 high- way, the king of kings high-way ; and thofe that are 
 religious are travelling in that way. The fchool-men 
 commonly call Chriftians in this world viatorrsy tra- 
 vellers when /they come to heaven, they are comprehi^nforesy 
 they have then attained, are at home ; here they are in their 
 journey, there at their journey's end. Now, if heaven be 
 the journey's end, the prize of our high calling, and we 
 are fure, if we fo run as we ought, that we {jiall obtain that, 
 it is enough to engage and encoui'age us in our way, though 
 it be never fo unpleafant \ but we are told ex abundantiy 
 that we have alfo a pleafant road. 
 
 Now, there are twelve things which help to make a jour- 
 ney pleafant ; and there is fomething like to each of them 
 which may be found in the way of wifdom, and thofe Vv'ho 
 walk in that way. 
 
 Firji^ It helps to m^;e a journey pleafant, to go upon a 
 good errand. He that is brought up a prifoner in the hands 
 of the minifters of juftice, whatever ccnveniences he may 
 be accommodated with, cannot have a pleafant journey, but 
 a melancholy one : and that is the cafe of a wicked man ; 
 he is going on, in this world, towards ddlrudion ; the way 
 he is in, though wide and brond, leads direftly to it ; and, 
 while he per hits in it, every Itep he takes is fo much nearer 
 hell : iind therefore he cannot have a pleafant journey ; it is 
 X X 2 
 
348 THa PLEASURE OF 
 
 abfurd and indecent to pretend to make it fo : though the 
 way may feem right to a man, yet there can be no true plea- 
 fure in it, while " the end thereof is the ways of death, and 
 <* the fteps take hold on hell," Prov. v 5. 
 
 But he that goes into a far country to receive for him- 
 felf a kingdom, whatever difEculries may attend his journey, 
 yet the errand he goes on is enough to make it pleafant : 
 And on this errand they go that travel wifdom's ways \ they 
 Jook for a kingdom which cannot he moved, ?nd are prefl- 
 ing forwards in the hopes of it. Abraham went out of his 
 own country, not knowing whither he went, Heb. xi. 8. 
 but thofe that fet out and hold on in the way of religion, 
 know whither it will bring tlem, that it leads to life, Mat. 
 vii. 14. eternal life; and therefore in the way of righteouf- 
 nefs is life, Prov. xii. 28 becaufe there is fuch a life at the 
 end of it. 
 
 . Good people g© upon a good errand, for they go on God's 
 errand, as well as on their own ; they are ferving and glorir 
 fying him, contributing fomething to his honour, and the 
 advancement of the intercfts of his kingdom among men ; 
 and this makes it pleafant : And that which puts fo great a 
 reputation upon the duties of religion, as* that by tliem God 
 is ferved and glorified, cannot but put fo much the more 
 fatisfadion into them. With what pleafurc doth Paul ap- 
 peal to God, as the God whom *^ he ferved with hisfpirit 
 ** in the gofpel of his fon ?'■ Rom i. 9. 
 
 Sccoiidly, It helps to make a journey pleafant, to have 
 flrength and ability for it. He that is weak, and fickly, and 
 lame, can find no pleafure in the pleafanteft walks ; how 
 ihould it be, when he takes every flep in pain? But a llrong 
 man rejoiceth to run a race, whil.e he that is feeble trembles 
 to fet one foot, before another. Now, this makes the ways 
 of religion pleafant, that they who walk in thofe ways are 
 riot only cured of their natural weaknefs, but are filled with 
 fpiritual ftrength ; they travel not in their own might, hut 
 in the greatnefs of his llrength, who is mighty to f^ve, Ifa. 
 Ixiii. I. 
 
 Were they to proceed in their own Orength, they would 
 have little pleafure in the journey, every little difficulty would 
 foil, them, and they would tire prefently ; but they go forth, 
 and go on in the ftrength of the Lord God, Pfal. Ixxi. 16. 
 and upon every occafion, according to his promife, he re- 
 
BFIN© RELIGIOUS. ^49 
 
 news that ftrength to them, and they " mount, up with 
 wings like eagles, " they go on with cheei fuhiels and alacrity, 
 they run and are not weary, they walk and do not faint, 
 Ifa xl. 31. God, with his comforts, enlargeth their hearts ; 
 and then they not only go but run the way of his command- 
 ments, Pfal. cxix. 32. 
 
 That which to the old nature is impracticable and un» 
 pleafant, and which therefore is declined, or gone about 
 with reluftancy, to the new nature is eafy and pleafant: 
 And this new nature is given to all the faints, which puts a 
 new life and vigour into them, ** ftrengthsns them with all 
 <* might in the inner man, Col. i. 1 1 unto all diligence in 
 doing work, patience in futfering work, and perfeverance in 
 both ; and fo all is made pleafant. They are ftrong in the 
 Lord, and in the power of his might, Kph. vi. 10. and this 
 not only keeps the fpirit willing, even then when the flefh 
 is weak, but makes even the lame man to leap as an hart, 
 and the tongue of the dumb to fing, Ifa. xxxv. 6. I can 
 do all things through Chrill Itrengthening me, Phil. iv. 13. 
 
 Thirdlyy It helps to make a journey pleafant, to have day- 
 light. It is very uncomfortable travelling in the -night, in 
 the black and dark night j '" He that walketh in darknefs," 
 fays our faviour, " knows not whither he goes," John xii. 35. 
 right or wrong, and that is uncomfortable : And in ano- 
 ther place, " If a man walk in the night, he ftumbleth, be- 
 " caufc there is no light in him," John xi. 10. And this is 
 often fpoken of as the miferable cafe of wicked people, 
 ** They know not, neither will they understand, they walk on 
 " in darknefs, Pfal. kxxii. 5. They are in continual danger, 
 and fo much the more, if they be not in continual fear. 
 
 But wifdom -s children are all " children of the light, and 
 ** of the day,'' i rhefl". v. 5. They were darknefs, but are 
 now *' light in the Lord, and walk as children of the light," 
 Eph. ii. 8. Truly. the light i§ fweet, even to one who fits 
 ftill, but much more fo to one who is in a journey ; and 
 doubly fweet to thofe who fet out in the dark, as we all 
 did. But this great light is rifen upon us, not only to pleafe 
 our eyes, but to *' guide our feet into the paths of peace," 
 Luke i 79. And then they are ind^^ed paths of peace, when 
 we are guided into them, and guided in them by the light 
 of the gofpcl of Chriil. And all that walk in the light of 
 
35^ THE rtEASURE OF 
 
 gofpel-conduiS, cannot fail to walk in the light of gofpel- 
 comforts. 
 
 And it adds to the pleafure of having day-light in our 
 .travels, if we are in no danger of lofing it, and of being be- 
 -iiighted : And this is the cafe of tliofe who walk in the light 
 of the Lord •, for the Sun of righteoufnefs, that is rifen upon 
 them with healing under his wings, ihall no more go down, 
 -but fliall be their everlafting light, Ifa. Ix. 20. 
 
 Fourthhy It helps to m?.ke a journey pleafant, to have a , 
 ^ood guide, whofe knowledge and faithfulnefs one can con- 
 i'At in. A traveller, though he has day light, yet may mifs 
 liis way, and lofe himfelf, if he have not one to fhew him 
 Jus way, and go before bim, efpecially if his way lie,. as ours 
 does, through a wildernefs, where there are fo many by- 
 paths; and though he fhould not be guilty of any fatal mif- 
 .t:\ke, yet he is in continual doubt and fear, which makes his 
 /Journey uncomfortable. 
 
 ^ But this is both the fafcty and the fatisfa£l:lon of all true 
 .Cbriftians, that they have not only the gofpel of Chrift for 
 i-heir light, both a difcovering and direding light, but the 
 Spirit of Chrift for their guide : It is promifed, " that he 
 ** ijialllead them into all truth," John xvi. 13 fhall '^guidc 
 ** them with his eye," Pfal. xxxii. 8. Hence they are faid to 
 " walk after the Spirit, and to be led by the Spirit," Rem. 
 viii. I, 14. as God's Ifrael were led through the wildernefs 
 of old by a pillar of cloud and fire, and the Lord was in it. 
 
 This is that which makes the way of religion fuch a high- 
 way, as that the way- faring men, though fools, fhall rot 
 err therein, Ifa xxxv. 8. ihere are fools indeed, wicked 
 ones, who walk after the flcfli, tliat mifs their way, and 
 wander endlefsly ; ** The labour of the foolifh wearieth 
 *' every one of them, becaufe he knoweth not how to go to 
 '* the city," liccl. x. 15 but thofe fools that fhall not err 
 tlierein are weak ones, the foolifh things of the world, who 
 in a fenfe of their own folly are fo \vife, as to give up them- 
 felves entirely to the conduct of the Spirit, both by con- 
 fcience andihe written word ; and, if they have done this 
 in fmcerity, they know whom they have depended upon to 
 •-' gtii-de them by his counfel, and afterwards to receive 
 ** them to his glory," Pfal Ixxiii. 24. Tliefe may go on 
 their journey pltafantly, who are promifed, that whenever 
 flicy are in doubt, or in danger of miitaking, cr being mif* 
 
BEING RELIOIGVS. 35I 
 
 ledi they fiiall ^* hear a voice faying to them, This is ^"^' 
 *' way, walk in it," Ifa. xxx. 2. 
 
 Fifthly, It helps to make a journey pleafnnt, to be under 
 a good guard, or convoy, that one may travel I'afely. Out 
 way lies through an enemy's country, and they are aftivc 
 fubrle enemies ; the road is infeii:d with robbers that lie in' 
 wait to Ipoil and to deftroy ; we travel by the lions dens, 
 and the mountains of the leopards ; and our danger is the 
 greater, that it arifeth not from flefli and blood, but fpirit- 
 ual wickednefles, i Pet. v. 8. batan, by the world and thr 
 fleOi, way- lays us, and feeks to devour us ; fo that we could- 
 not with any pleafure go on our way, if God himfelf had 
 not taken us under his fpecial protection. 
 
 The fame fpirit that is a guide to thefe travellers, is their 
 gtiard alfo ; for whoever are fan£lified by the Holy Ghoft, 
 are by him " preferved in Chrift Jefus," Jude i. preferved^" 
 blamelefs ; and fhall be ** preferved to the heavenly king-- 
 «* dom," 2 Tim. iv. 18 fo as that they (hall not be robbed* 
 of their graces and comforts, which are their evidences for- 
 and earnefts of eternal life ; they are kept " by the power 
 "of God, through faith unto falvation," i Pet. i. 5. and 
 therefore may go on cheerfully. 
 
 The promifes of God are a writ of prote6tion to all 
 Ghrift's good fubjc^lis in their travels, and give them fucha 
 holy fecurity, as la^s a foundation for a conftant fercnityv 
 Eternal truth itfelf hath affured them, that no evil (hall be- 
 fal th^m, Pfal. xci. 10 nothing really and deftrudively" 
 evil, no evil but what God will briiig good to them out of: 
 God himfelf hath encjaged to be their keeper, and to pre- 
 ferve their going out and coming in, from henceforth and' 
 for ever, which looks as far forwards as eternity itfelf; and' 
 by fuch promifes as thefe, and that grace which is conveyed 
 through them to all a^^ive believers, " God carries them, 
 <• as upon eagles wings, to bring them to himfelf," Deut, 
 xxxii. I . . 
 
 Good angels are appointed for a gjuard to all that walkinr 
 wifdom's ways, to bear them in their arms where they gOy. 
 Pfal. xci, II. and to pitch their t.nts round about them 
 where- they reft, Pfal. x.vxiv. 7. and {o to keep them in alt 
 their ways. How eafy may tliey be that arc thus guarded, 
 and how well pleafed under all events ! ** as Jacob was» 
 
35a THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 <* who went on his way, and the angels of God met him," 
 Gen. xxxii. i 
 
 S.xthhy It helps to make a journey pleafant, to have the 
 way tracked by thofe that have gone before in the fame 
 road, and on the fame errand. Untroden paths are uii- 
 pleafant ones ; but, in the M-ay of religion, we are both di- 
 reeled and encouraged by the good examples of thofe that 
 have chofen the way of truih before us, and have walked 
 in it. We are bidden to follow them, who are now through 
 faith and patience (thofe travelling graces of a Chriftian) in- 
 heriting the promifes, Heb. vi. 12. 
 
 It is pleafant to think that we are walking in the fame way 
 with Abraham, and Ifaac, and Jacob, with whom we hope 
 ihortly to fit down in the kingdom of God. How many 
 holy, wife, good men have governed themfelves by the fame 
 rules that wc govern ourfelvesby, with the fame views, have 
 lived by the fame faith that we live by, looking for the fame 
 blefled'hope, and have by it " obtained a good report?" 
 Heb. xi. 2. And we ** go forth by the footfteps of the flock," 
 Cant. i. 8. 
 
 Let us therefore, to make our way eafy and pleafant* 
 •' take the prophets for an example,'* Jam. v. 10. And 
 ** being compared about with fo great a cloud of witnefles,'* 
 that are like the cloud in the wildernefs that went before 
 Ifrael, not only to fliew them the way, but to fmooth it for 
 them •, let us run with patience, and cheerfuinefs, the " race 
 <* that is fet before us, looking unto Jefus," the moft en- 
 couraging pattern of all, who has " left us an example, 
 " that we fliould follow his lieps," Heb. xii. i. And what 
 more pleafant than to follow fuch a leader, whofe word of 
 command is. Follow me ! 
 
 Seventhlyy It helps to make a journey pleafant, to have 
 good company : this deceives the time, and takes off the te- 
 tiioufnefs of a journey as much as any thing •, amicus pr§ 
 vehiculo. It is the comfort of thofe who walk in wifdom's 
 ways, that though there are but few walking in thofe ways, 
 yet there are fome, and thofe the wifcft and heft, and more 
 excellent than their neighbours ; and it will be found there 
 are more ready to fay, " We will go with you, for we have 
 •* heard that God ii, with you," Zcch. viii. 23. 
 
 The communion of faints contributes much to the plea- 
 fantnefs of wifdom's ways. We have many fellow-travel- 
 
BEING RELIGtoUS. 353 
 
 if;rs, that quicken one another, by th(S feliowfhip they have 
 one with another, iis '* companions in the kingdom and 
 *' patience of Jefus Chrift,* Rev. i, 9 It was a pleafure 
 to them, who were going up to JeJ*ufalem to worfliip, that 
 tiieir numbers increafed in every town they came to, and fo 
 they went from ftrength to flrength, they grew more and 
 more numerous, ** till every one of them in Zion appeared 
 *' before God," Pfal. Ixxxiv, 7. and fo it is with God's fpi- 
 rltnal Ifrael, to which we have the pleafure of feeing daily 
 additions of fuch as (hall be faved 
 
 They that travel together make one another pleafant by 
 familiar converfe ; and it is the will of God that his people 
 fhouldby that means encourage one another, and ftrengthen 
 one another's hands •, " I'hey that fc:ir the Lord fhallfpeak 
 ** often one to another," Mai. iii 1 7. exhort one another 
 daily, and communicate their experiences; And it will add 
 much to the pleafure of this, to confider the kind notice 
 God is pleafed to take of it ; He hearkens, and hears, and 
 a book of remembrance is written for thofe that fear the 
 Lord, and think on his name. 
 
 Eighthly, It helps to make a journey pleafant, to have the 
 way lie through green paftures, and by the ftill waters; and 
 fo the ways of wifdom do. David fpeaks his experience 
 herein, Pfal. xxiii. 2. that he was led into the green paftures, 
 the verdure whereof was grateful to the eye ; and by the 
 ftill waters, whofe foft and gentle murmurs were mufic to 
 the ear: And he was not driven through thefc, but made 
 to lie down in the midft of thefe delights, a^ Ifrael vvheii 
 they encamped at Elim, where there were " twelve wells 
 ** of water, and three-fcore and ten palm trees," Exod. 
 XV. 27,. 
 
 Gofpel ordinances, in which we deal much in our way 
 to heaven, are very agreeable to all the children of God, as 
 thefe green paftures, and ftill waters ; they call the fabbath 
 a delight, and prayer a delight, and the word of God a 
 delight. Thefe are their pleafant things, Ifa. Ixiv. 1 1. 
 There is a river of comfort in gofpel ordinan^ces, the 
 ** ftreams whereof make glad the city of Gody the holy 
 " place of the tabernacles of the moft High," Pfal. xlvi. 4. 
 .and along the banks of this river their road lies. 
 
 Thofe that turn afide from the ways of God's command- 
 ments, are upbraided with the folly of it, as leaving a 
 
354 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 pleafant road for an unpleafant one. Will a man, a travef- 
 ler, be fuch a fool as to leave my fields, which are fmooth 
 and even, for a rock that is rugged and dangerous, or for the 
 the fnowy mountains of I^cbanon ? Jer. xviii. 1 4. in the margin, 
 •* Shall the running waters be forfaken for the ftrange cold 
 " waters r" Thus are men enemies to themfelves, and the 
 fooliflinefs of man pervertethhis way. 
 
 Ninthly f It adds to the pleafure of a journey, to have it 
 fair over head. . Wet and flormy weather takes off very 
 much of the pleafure of a journey; but it is pleafant tra- 
 velling when the fky is clear, and the air calm and ferene : 
 And this is the happinefs of them that walk in wifdom's 
 uays, that all is clear between them and heaven *, there are 
 no clouds of guilt to interpofe between them and the Sun 
 of righteoufnefs, and to intercept his refrefhing beams ; no 
 florms of wrath gathenng that threaten them. 
 
 Our reconciliation to God, and acceptance with him, 
 makes every thing pleafant How can we be melancholy, 
 if heaven fmile upon us ? " Being juftified by faith, we 
 *' have peace with God," Rom. v. i, 2. and peace from 
 <iod, peace made for us, and peace fpoken to us ; and then 
 we rejoice in tribulation. 1 hofe travellers cannot but re- 
 joice all the day, ** who walk in the light of God's coun- 
 •' tenance," Pfal. Ixxxix. i^, 
 
 Tenthly, It adds likewife to the pleafure of a journey, to 
 be furnifhed with all needful accommodations for travel- 
 ling. They that walk in the way of God, have where- 
 withal to bear the4r charges ; and it is promifed them that 
 they fliall w^ant no good thing, Pfal. xxxiv. jo. If they 
 have not an abundanct^f the wealth of this world, which 
 perhaps will but overload a traveller, and be an incum- 
 brance rather than any furtherance, yet they have good 
 bills ; having accefs by prayer to the throne of grace whcre- 
 tver tbey are, and a promife that they fliall receive what 
 they alk ; and accefs by faith to the covenant of grace, 
 which they may diaw upon, and draw from, as an inex- 
 hauftible tieaiury. Jehovah Jireh, The Lord w^ili pro- 
 vide. 
 
 Chrlft our " Melchizedec brings forth bread and wine,** 
 as Gen. xiv. 18. for the refrefument of the poor travellers, 
 that they rhay not faint by the way. i Kings xlx. 8. when 
 iiijah hkd along jouvney to go, \iC was vi^ualled accorc2- 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. ^§^ 
 
 Migly ; God will give grace fuIHcient to his people for all 
 their exercifcs, 2 Cor. xii 9. ** itrength according to the 
 ** day; Verily they fhall be fed." And fince travellers 
 muil have baiting places, and refting places, Chrift has 
 provided reft at noon, Cant. i. 7. in the heat of the day, for 
 thofe that are his ; and reft at night too : " Return to thy 
 « reil, Omy foul." 
 
 Eleventhly^ It adds foniething to the pleafure of a jour- 
 ney, to fmg in the way. This takes off fomething oi riie 
 fatigue of travelling, exhilarates the fpirlts ; pilgrims ufed 
 it ; and God has put a fong, a new fong, into the mouths 
 of his people, Pfal. xl. 3. even praifes to their God, and 
 comfort to themfelves. He hath given us caufe to be 
 cheerful, and leave to be cheerful, and hearts to be cheer- 
 ful, and has made it our duty to rejoice in the Lord al- 
 ways. 
 
 It is promifed to thofe, who are brought to pralfe God, 
 by hearing the words of his mouth, that they fhall fing in 
 the ways of the Lord, Pfal cvxxviii. 5. and tjood reafon, 
 for great is the glory of the Lord. How pleafantly did the 
 releafed captives return t9 their own country, when they 
 came with finging unto Zion ! Ifa. li. ii« And much 
 more Jehofliaphat's vid:orious army, when they came to 
 Jerufalem, ** with pfalteries and harps to the houfe of the 
 ** Lord ; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their 
 ** enemies," 2 Chr xx. 28. With this the travellers may 
 revive one another ; * O come, let us (mg unto the Lord." 
 
 Twe'fthly^ It helps to make a journey pleafant, to have a 
 good profpett. The travellers in wifdom's ways may look 
 about them with pleafure, fo as no travellers ever could ; for 
 they can call all about them their own, even the ** world, 
 ** and life, and death, and things prefent, and things to 
 ** come -," in this Itate, all is yours, if you be Chrifl's, i Cor. 
 iii. 22. The whole creation is not only at peace with them, 
 but at their fervice. 
 
 They can look before them with pleafure ; not with anx- 
 iety and uncertainty, but a humble alTurance •, not with ter- 
 ror, but joy. It is pleafant in a journey, to have a profpeciLt 
 of the journey's end ; to fee that the way we are in leads 
 dire6lly to it, and to fee that it cannot be far off; every ftep 
 we take is fo much nearer it, nay, and we are within a few 
 fleps of it : We have a profpe£l of being Ihortly with Chrifl 
 
 Y y 2 
 
2^^6 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 jTi paradlfe •, yet a little while, and we fhall be nt home, w* 
 fhall be at reft ; and whatever difficulties we may meet with 
 in our wviy, when we come to heaven all will be well eter- 
 nally well. 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 T/je Dodrine vindicated from what may be objeded 
 againjt it, 
 
 " P UFFER me alittie, (faith Elihu to Job, Job. xxxvi. 2.) 
 ., ^' ** alui I will fhew thee th^t I have yet to fpeak on 
 ** God's behalf/' fomcthing more to fay in defence of this 
 truth» againll t!iat which may feem to weaken the force of 
 it. W- cill oui'.iit to concern ourfeives for the vindication of 
 godlineis, anii t fpeak what we can for it ; for we know 
 that it is every where fpoken againft. And there is no truth 
 fo plain, fo cvi Jent, but there have been thcfe who have ob-* 
 je6led againft it : The prince of darknefs will raife what 
 mifts he crm to cloud a tru:h, that ftands fo directly againft 
 his intereft; but great is the trath.and wil prevail. 
 Now, as to the truth of the pleafantnefs of religion, 
 Fit , It is eafy to confront the reproaches of the enemies 
 of relis-ion, that put it into an ill name. There are thofe 
 who make it their bufinefs, having perverted their own ways, 
 to pervert the right ways of the Lord, and caft an odium 
 upoi* them ; as tlymas the force rt-r did, with defign to turn 
 awcay the deputy from the faith Acls >iii. 8, lO. They are 
 like the wicked fpies, that brought up an evil report upon 
 the prcmifed land. Numb xiii. 23 as a land that did eat up 
 the imhabitants thereof ; and neither could be conquered nor 
 •was worth conquering. 
 
 The fcoiFcrs of the latter days fpeak ill of religion, as a 
 tafk and a drudgery ; they drefs it up in frightful formi- 
 <iable colours, but very falfe ones, to deter others from piety, 
 and to juflify thenifelves in their own impiety. They fug- 
 geft, that Chriit's yoke is heavy, and his commandments 
 j^rievous, and that to be religious is to bid adieu to allplea- 
 fure and delight, and to turn tormentors to ourfeives; that 
 God is a hard mafter, " reaping where he has not fown, and 
 ** gathering where he has not Itrav/ed," Matth. xxv, 24* 
 
BEING RKLIGIOUS. 357 
 
 There were tliofe of old who thus reproached the ways of 
 God, and llandered religion ; for they faid, ** It is vain to 
 <* ferve God," M'al. iii. 13. there is neither credit nor com- 
 fort in it ; and what profit is it that we have kept his ordi- 
 nances, and (ohfervne their invidious defcription of religion) 
 that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hods ? 
 as if to be religious was to walk mournfully, whereas in- 
 deed it is to walk cheerTuUy. 
 
 Now, in anfwer to thefe calumnies, we have this to fay, 
 that the matter is not fo. They who fay thus of religion, 
 ** fpeak evil of the things which they know not," 2 Pet. ii. 
 1 2 while " what they know naturally as brute beails, ia 
 " thofe things they corrupt themfelves," Jude 10 The de- 
 vil, we know, was a liar from the beginning, and a falfe ac- 
 cufer of God and religion, and in this particularly reprefent- 
 cd God to our firil parents. Gen. iii. 5. as having dealt hard- 
 ly and unjuilly with them in tying them out from the tree 
 of knowledge •, as if he envied them the happin^fs and plea- 
 fure they would attain to by eating of that tree : and the 
 fame method he ilill takes to alienate men's' minds from the 
 life of God, and the power of godliuefs. But we know, 
 and are fure, that it is a groundlefs imputation ; for wif- 
 dom's ways are ways of pleafantnefs, and all her paths are 
 peace. 
 
 Secondly, It is eafy alfo to (ct afide the mifreprefentations 
 of religion, which are made by fome who call themfelves its 
 friends, and nrofefs kindnefs for^it. . As there arc eneinies 
 of the Lord who blafpheme, 2 Sam. xii. 14. fo there are 
 among the people of the Lord thofe who give them great 
 occafion to do fo, as David did. How many wounds doth 
 religion receive in the houfe of her friends ? falfe friends 
 they are, or foolilh ones, unworthy to be called wifdom's 
 children, for they do not juftify her as they ought ; bur, 
 through miflake and indulgence of their own weaknefs, be- 
 tray her caufe, inftead of pleading it, and witneffing to it ; 
 and confirm people's prejudices againll it, which they 
 Iliould endeavour to remove. 
 
 Some who profcfs religion arc morofe and four in their 
 profelhon, peevifh and ill humoured, and make the ever- 
 cifes of religion a burden and talk, and terror to themfelves 
 and all about them, which ought to fweeten the fpirit, and 
 
'i^^Z THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 make It eafy, and candid, and companionate to the infirmi- 
 ties of the weak and feeble of the flock. 
 
 Others arc melancholy and forrowful in their profeffion 
 and go mourning from day to day, under prevailing doubts, 
 and fears, and difquletments about their fpiritual (late. 
 We know, fome of the beft of God*s fervants have experi- 
 enced trouble of mind to a great degree. 
 
 But as to the former, It Is their fin ; and let them bear 
 their own burden, but let not religion be blamed for It : and 
 as to the latter, though there are fome very good people that 
 are of a forrowful fpirit, yet we will abide by it, that true 
 piety has true pleafure in it notwithllanding. 
 
 But, (i.) God is fometimes pleafed for wife and holy 
 ends, for a time, to fufpend the communication of his com- 
 forts to his people, and to hide his face from them, to try 
 their faith, that it may be " found to praife, and honour, 
 ** and glory at the appearing of Chrift,'"' i Pet. i. 6, 7. and 
 {o muchi the more for their being a while in heavinefs through 
 manifold temptations. Thus he correfts them for what 
 has been done amifs by them, and takes this courfe to mor- 
 tify what is amifs in them ; even winter feafons con- 
 tribute to the fruitfulnefs- of -the earth. Thus he brings 
 them to a clofer and more humble dependence upon Chrift 
 for all their comfort, and teacheth them to live entirely 
 upon him. And though for a fmall moment he thus for- 
 fakes them, Ifa. liv. 7, 8. it is but to magnify his power fo 
 much the more In fupportlng them, and to make his returns 
 the fweeter, for he will gather them with everlafting loving 
 kindnefs. Light is fown for them, and it will come up 
 again. 
 
 (2.) This, as it is tlieir affli6lion, God^s hand mud be ac- 
 knowledged in It, his righteous hand ; yet there is fm in it, 
 and that is from themfelves. Good people have not the 
 comforts they might have in their religion ; and whofe fault 
 is it ? they may thank themfelves, they run themfelves into 
 the dark, and then fliut their eyes againft the light. ** My 
 ** wounds ftink and corrupt," faith David, Pfal. xxxviii. 5. 
 The wounds of fm which I gave myfelf are unhealed, not 
 bound up, or mollified with ointment. And why? Is it 
 for want of balm in Gilend, or a phyfician there ? No, he 
 owns it is becaufe of my fooliOinefs; I did not take Uie 
 right method with them. God fpeaks joy and gladnefs to 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 359 
 
 them, but they turn a deaf ear to it ; like Ifrael In Egypt, 
 that hearkened not to Mofcs for " anguilli of fpirit and fore 
 ** bondage," Exod. vi. 9 But let not the blame be laid upon 
 religion, which has provided comfort for their fouls ♦, but 
 let them bear the blame whofe fouls refufe to be comforted, 
 or who do not take the way appointed for comfort, who do 
 not go through with their repenting and believing. David 
 owns, the reafon why he wanted comfort, and was in pain, 
 and in a tofs, was becaufe he kept filence : he was not fo 
 free with Gad as he might, and diould have been ; but when 
 he faid, " I will confefs my tranfgrefTion unto the Lord," 
 he was forgiven, and ail was well, Pfal. xxxii. 3, 4, 5. ^ 
 
 Thofe do both God andChrill, and themfelves,and others, 
 a deal of wrong, who look upon him with whom they have 
 to do in religion, as one that feeks an occafion againil them, 
 and counts them for his enemies, and is extreme to mark 
 what they think, or fay, or do amifs ; whereas he is quite 
 otherwife, is flow to anger, fwift to iliew mercy, and willing 
 to make the beft of thofe whofe hearts are upright with 
 him, though they areScompafied about with infirmity : he 
 ** will not always chide ; he doth not delight in the death 
 ** of them that die," but would rather they fhould " turn 
 ** and live," Ezek. xxxiii. 11. Nor doth he delight in the 
 tears of them that weep, doth not afflict willingly, nor 
 •* grieve the children of men," Lam. iii. 33. much lefs his 
 own children, but would rather they ihould be upon good 
 grounds comforted Religion then clears itfelf from all 
 blame, which fome may take occafion to caft upon it, from 
 the uncomfortable lives which fome lead that are reli- 
 gious. 
 
 But, thirdly, It will' require fome more pains to reconcile 
 this truth of the pleafantnefs of religion's ways, with ths:t 
 which the word of God itfelf tells us of, the difficulties 
 which the ways of religion are attended with. We value 
 not the mifapprehenfions of fome, and the mifreprefenta- 
 tions of others, concerning religion's ways ; but we are 
 fure the word of God is of a piece with itfelf, and doth not 
 contradict itfelf Our maPicr hath taught us to call the 
 way to heaven a narrow way, oJos tcthlimmeney an affli6led 
 way, a diflireflTed way.; and we have in fcripture many things 
 that fpeak it fo. And it is true ; but that doth not contra- 
 eli6l this do£trine, that the ways of wifdom are pleafant : for 
 
^6o THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 the pleafantnefs that is in wifdom's way^ is intended to be 
 a balance, and it is very much an over-balance, to that in 
 them which is any way diibdeful or incommodious. As 
 for the imaginary difficulties which the iluggard dteams of, 
 «* a lion in the way, a lion in the ftreetj" we do not regard 
 them : but there are forne real difliculties in it, as well as 
 real comforts ; for " God hath fet the one over againil the 
 *' other,'* Ecch vii. 14. that v/e might ftudy to comport 
 with both, and might fing, and fing unto God of both, 
 Pfal. ci. I. 
 
 We will not, we dare not make the matter better than it 
 is, but will allow there is that in religion which at firft view 
 may feem unpleafant ; and yet doubt not but to fhew that 
 it is reconcileabie to, and confident with, all that picafure 
 which we maintain to be in religion, and fo to take ofFall 
 exceptions agair.ft this doftrine. Arnica fcripturanim lites^ 
 vtwam 6" noftra ! It were well if we could agree with one 
 another, as well as fcripture doth with itfelf. 
 
 There are four things which feem not well to confift with 
 (Lis doctrine, and yet it is certain they do. 
 
 Firjiy It is true, that to be religious, is to live a life of re- 
 pentance ; and yet rellgion*s ways are pleafant notwith- 
 ftanding. It is true, we mud mourn for fin daily, and re- 
 fle£l: with regret upon our manifold infirmities ; lin muft be 
 bitter to us, and we muft even loath and abhor ourfelves 
 for our corruptions th;>t dwell in us, and the many actual 
 tranfgreiFions that are committed by us. We muft renew* 
 our repentance daily, and every night muft make fome for- 
 rowful reflections upon the tranfgrellions of the day. But 
 then, 
 
 I . It is not our walking in the way of wifdom that cre- 
 ates us this forrow, but our trifiing in that way, and our 
 turning afide out of it. If wc would keep clofe to thefe ways, 
 and pafs forwards in them as we ought, there would be no 
 occafion for repentance. If we were as we fhould be, wc 
 ihould be always praifing God, and rejoicing in him; but 
 we make other work for curfelvcs i)y our own folly, and 
 then complain that religion is unpleafant ; and whofc fault 
 is tliat ? If we would be aKvays loving and delighting in 
 God, and would live a life of communion with him, we 
 fhould have no occafion to repent of that ; but if we leave 
 llie fountain of livinij waters, and turn afidc to broken cif- 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS^ ^6i 
 
 terns, or the brooks In the fummer, and fee caufe, as doubt- 
 lefs wc Ihall, to repent of that, we may thank ourfelves. 
 
 What there is of bittert^cfs in repentance, is owing, not 
 to our religion, but to our (J^:fet^s and defaults irt religion 9 
 and ir proves not that there is bitternefs in the ways of God, 
 but in the ways of fin , whieh make a penitential ibrrow ne- 
 celll^ry for the preventing of a forrow a thoufand times 
 worfe, for foorter or later fin will hav^" furrww. If repent- 
 ance be bitter, we rauft: fay, not that this comes of bein^ 
 godly, but this comes of being Gnful. fer. iv* \8. ** This is 
 " thy wickednefs becaufe it is bitter/' If by fin we have 
 made forrow neceflary, it is certainly better to mourn now, 
 than mourn at the laft Prov v. 11. To contiaue impeni«^ 
 tent, is not to put away forrow from thy heart, but to put it 
 off to a worfe place. 
 
 2. Even in repentance, if it be right, there is a true plea- 
 fure, a pleafure acco^npanying it. Our Saviour hath faid 
 of them who thus mourn, not only that they (hall be com- 
 forted, but that they are bleflied, Mat. v .4. When a man 
 is confcious to himfelf that he has done an ill thing, and 
 what is unbecomiag him and may be hurtful to him, it i^ 
 incident to him to repent of it. Now religion hath found 
 a way to put afweetnefs into that bitternefs. Repentance, 
 when it is from under the influence of religion, is nothing 
 but bitternefs and horror, as Judas's was *, but repentance, 
 as it is made an aft of religion, as it is one of the laws of* 
 Chrift, is pleafmt, as it is the raifing of the fpirit, and the 
 difcharging of that which is noxious and offenfive. 
 
 Our religion has not only taken care, that penitents be 
 not overwhelmed with an excefs of forrow, 2 Cor '.f 7. and 
 fwallowed up by it ; th U the:'- forrow do not work death, 
 as the forrow of the .world doth ; but it has provided, that 
 even this bitter cap ibould be fweetened ; and therefore we 
 find that, under the law, the facrifices for Cm were com- 
 monly attended with expreffions of joy *, and while the 
 priefts were fprinkling the blood of the facrifices tn make 
 atonement, 2 Chron xxix. 24, 25 the Levites attended with 
 pfalteries and harps, for fo was the commandment ?f the 
 Lord by his prophets. Even the day to afflift the foul is the: 
 day of atonement; and when we receive the atonement, we 
 ** joy in God, through our Lord }efus Chrift," Rom. \\ i. Ir» 
 giving confent to the atoneme it we take the comfort of it. 
 
 Zz 
 
362 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 . In forrowing for the death of fome dear friend or relation, 
 thus far we have found a pleafure in it, that it hath given 
 vent to cur grief which our fpirits were full of; fo. in for- 
 row for fin, the ihedding of juft tears is fome fatisfa£lion to 
 us. If it is a pleafure to be angry, when a man thinks, with 
 Jonah, he doth well to be angry ; much more is it a plea- 
 fure to be forry, when a man is fure he doth well to be 
 forry The fame word in the Hebrew, fignifies both con* 
 folari and poenitere, both to comfort and to repent, becaufe 
 there is comfort in true repentance. 
 
 3. Much more after repentance, there Is a pleafure at- 
 tending it, and flowing from it It is a way of pleafantnefs, 
 for it is the way of pleafantnefs. To them that mourn in 
 Zion, that forrow after a godly fort, God hath appointed 
 " beauty for afties, and the oil of joy for mourning." Ifa. 
 Ixi. 3. And the more the foul is humbled under the fenfe of 
 fin, the more fenfible will the comfort of pardon be ; it is 
 wounding in order to be healed. The jubilee trumpet found- 
 ed in the clofe of the day foul-affli£tion. Lev. xxv 9. which 
 proclaimed the acceptable year of the Lord, the year of re- 
 leafe j and an acceptable year it is indeed, to thofe who find 
 themfelves tied and bound with the cords of their fms. 
 
 True penitents go weeping, it is true, but it is to fcek 
 the Lord of Hofts, Jer 1. 4, 5. To feek him as their God, 
 and to enter into covenant with him : And let their hearts 
 rejoice that feek the Lord, Pfal. cv. 3. for they fliall find 
 him, and find him their bountiful rewarder. They forrow 
 not as thofe that have nO hope, but good hope that their 
 iniquities are forgiven ; and what joy can be greater than 
 that of a pardon to one condemned ? 
 
 Secondly, It is true, that to be religious is to take care, and 
 to take pains, and to labour earneftly, Luke xiii. 25 and yet 
 wifdom's ways are wavs of pleafantnefs. It is true, we 
 muft Orive to enter into this way, muft be in an agony, fo 
 the word is. There is a violence which the kingdom of 
 heaven fuft'ers, and the violent take it by force. Mat. xi. 12. 
 And, when we are in that way, we mufl run with ptitnce, 
 Ileb. y'\\. I. 'Ihe bread of life is to be eaten in the fweet of 
 our face ; we mnO: be always upon our guard, and keep our 
 hei'^-ts with ?11 diligence Bufinefs for God and our fouls 
 is what we a'-e not ;^llowi:d to be flothful in, but fervent in 
 fpirit, ferving the Lord. Rom. xii. 11, We are foldiers of 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 363 
 
 Jefus Chrift, an^ we muft endure hardnefs, muft war tkc 
 good warfare till it be accomplilhed, 2 Tim. ii. 3. 
 
 And yet even in this contention there is comfort. It i$ 
 work indeed, and work that requires care 5 and yet it will 
 appear to be pleafant work, if we confider how we are en- 
 abled for it, and encouraged in it. 
 
 I. How we are enabled for it, and ftrengthened with 
 ftrength in our fouls to go on in it, and go through with it. 
 It would be unplcafant, and would go on very heavily, if 
 we were left to ourfelves, to travel in our own ftrength ; but 
 if we be actuated and animated in it by a better fpirit, and 
 mightier power than our own, it is pleafant. If God " work 
 " in us both to will and to do of his own good pleafure,*' 
 Phil. ii. 12, 13. we (hall have no reafon to complain of the 
 difficulty of our work ; for God ordains peace for us, true 
 peace and pleafure, by ** working all our works in us," Ifa. 
 xvi. 12. 
 
 We may fing at our work, if our minds be by the Spirit 
 of God brought to it, our hands ftrcngthened for it, and our 
 infirmities helped, Rom. viii. 26. and particularly our in- 
 firmities in prayer ; that by it we may fetch in ftrength for 
 every fervice, ftrength according to the day. Daniel at firft 
 found God s fpeakijig to him a terror, he could not bear it ; 
 but when one like ** the appearance of a man came and 
 " touched him," (who could be no other but Chrift the 
 Mediator) and put ftrength into him, faying, " Peace be 
 ** unto thee, be ftrong, yea, be ftrong," it was quite another 
 thing with him, then nothing more pleafant; ** Let my Lord 
 «* fpeak, for thou haft ftrengthcned me," Dan. x. 17, 
 18, 19 
 
 Though the way to heaven be up hill, yet, if we be car- 
 ried on in it as upon eagles wings, it will be pleafant ; and 
 thofe are fo that wait upon the I^ord, for to them it is pro- 
 mifed that they ftiall renew their ftrength. That is pleafant 
 work, though againft the grain to our corrupt natures, for 
 the doing of which we have not only a new nature given us, 
 inclining us to it, and making us habitually capable of ap- 
 plication to it, but a£lual fupplies of grace fufficient for the 
 doing of it, promifed us, 2 Cor xii. 9, lo. by one who 
 knows what ftrength we need, and what will ferve, and will 
 neither be unkind to us, nor unfaithful to his own word. 
 
 Z Z 2 
 
364 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 And it is obfervable, that when God, though he eafed not 
 Paul of the thorn in the flefh, yet fald that good word to 
 him, ** My grace is fufiicient for th^e," immediately it fol- 
 lows, therefore *^ I take pleafure in infirmities, in re- 
 «' proaches, in diftrefles for Chrill's fake ; for when I am 
 ** weak, then I am ftrong." Sufficient grace will make our 
 work pleafant, even the hardcft part of it. 
 
 2. How we are encouraged in it. It is true, we muft 
 take pains, but the work is good work, and is to be done, 
 and is done by all the faints from a principle of holy love, 
 and that makes it pleafant i John v. 3. as Jacob's fervice 
 for Rachel was to him, becaufe he loved her. It is an un- 
 fpeakabie comfort to induflrious Chriftians, that they are 
 working together with God, and he with them ; that their 
 mailer's eye is upon them, and awitnefs to their nncerity ; 
 he fees in fecret, and will reward openly, Mat. vi. 6. God 
 now accepteth their works, fmiles upon them, and his Spi- 
 rit fpeaks to them '' good words, and comfortable words," 
 Zech. i. 13. witnefTeth to their adoption. And this is very 
 encouraging to God's fervants, as it was to the fervants of 
 Boaz, to have their mafter come to them, when they were 
 hard at work reaping down his own fields, and with a plea- 
 fant countenance fay to thera, " The Lord be with you," 
 Ruth ii 4. Nay, the Spirit faith more to God's labourers, 
 ^' J he Lord is with you." 
 
 The profpe6l of the recompence of reward is in a fpecial 
 manner encoura^^ing to us in our work, and makes it plea- 
 fant, and the little difficulties we meet with in it to be as 
 nothing. It was by having an eye to this, that Mofes was 
 encouraged not only to bear the reproach of Chrift, but to 
 •* efteem it greater riches than- the treafures of Kgypt," 
 Heb. xi. 26. In all labour there is profit 4 and if fo, there 
 is pleafure alfo in the profpedl: of that profit, and according 
 to the degree of it. We muft work, but it is to work out 
 our faivation, a great falvatioii, which, when it comes, will 
 abundantly make us amends for all our toil. We muil 
 ilri\;e, but it is to enter into life, eternal life- We mud run, 
 but it is for an incorruptible crown, the prize of our high 
 calling. And we do not run at an uncertainty, nor " fight 
 •* as thofe that beat the air ;" for to him that " fows righ- 
 \f teoufnefs there is a fure ceward," Prov. xi. 18. and the 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 365 
 
 stHurance 01 that harved will make even tlie feed-time 
 pleafant. 
 
 Thirdl)-^ It is true, that to be religious, is to " deny our- 
 •' felves in many things that are pieafing to fenfe ;" and yet 
 wiiciom's ways are pltafantneiB for all that. It is indeed 
 necelfaryjthat beloved iultsihould be mortified and fubclued, 
 corrupt appttitcs crolled and difpieafed, which, to the natural 
 man, is like ■ ' piuckin;^ out a right eye, and cuttmg olFa 
 ** right hand," Mat. v. 29 .rhere are forbidden pieafures 
 that :aiil be abandonee!, and kept at a diltance from : the 
 fleih muK not bo gratified, nor provifion made to fulfil the 
 lull* of it, Rom. xiii. 14 but on the contrary we muft keep 
 under tlie body, and bring it into fubjeclion. Cor. ix. 27. 
 we mult crucify the fleili, muft kill it and put it to a painful 
 death . The firft leffon we are to learn in the fchooi of 
 Chriii, is to deny ourfelves. Mat. xvi. 24. and this muft be 
 our conftantrpradlice \ we muft ufe ourfelves to deny our- 
 felves, and thus take up our crofs daily. 
 
 Now, will not this fpoil all the pleafure of a religious life ? 
 No, it will not; for the pieafures of fenfe, which we are to 
 deny ourfelves in, are comparatively defpicable, and really 
 dangerous. 
 
 I . Thefe pieafures we are to deny ourfelves in are com- 
 paratively defpicable : How much foevcr they are valued 
 and efteemed by thofe who live by fenfe, and know no bet- 
 ter, they are looked upon with a generous contempt by thofe 
 who live by faith, and are acquainted with fpiritual and di- 
 vine pieafures. And it is no pain to deny ourfelves in thefe 
 pieafures, when we know ourfelves entitled to better, more 
 rational, and noble, and agreeable, the delights of the blefled 
 fpirits above- 
 
 The garlic and onions of Egypt were doated upon by 
 thofe that knew not how to value either the manna of the 
 wildernefs, or the milk and honey of Canaan, Numb. xi. 5. 
 So the bale and fordid pieafures of fenfe are relifiied by the 
 depraved and vicious appetites of the carnal mind ; but 
 when a man has learned to put a due eiHmate upon fpirit- 
 ual pieafures, thofe that are fenfual have 1 -ft all their fweet- 
 , nefs, and are become the moft infipid things in the world ; 
 have no pleafure in them, in comparifon with that far greater 
 pleafure which excelleth. 
 
366 THE PLEASURE Of 
 
 Is it any diminution to the pleafure of a grown man, to 
 deny hiinfelf the toys and fports which he was fond of when 
 he was a child ? No, when he became a man, he " put 
 •■*■ away thofe childilh things ;" he is now pad them, he is 
 tbove them, for he is acquainted with thofe entertainments 
 that are manly and more generous Thus mean and little 
 rio the plcaiures of fenfe appear to thofe that have learned to 
 dehght themfelvcs in the Lord. 
 
 2. They are really dangerous, they are apt to take away 
 the heart. If the heart be fet upon them, they blind the 
 mmd, debauch the underltanding and confcience, and in 
 many quench the fparks of convid^i^n, and of that holy tire, 
 which comes from heaven, and tends to heaven They are 
 in danger of drawing away tlie heart from God ♦, and the 
 more they are valued and covered, the more dangerous they 
 are of piercing us through with many forrows, and of drown- 
 ing us in detiru6tion and perdition. To deny ourfelves in 
 them, is but to avoid a rock, upon which multitudes have 
 fatally fplit thcmfelves. 
 
 "What diminution is it to the pleafure of a fafe and happy 
 way on fure ground, which will certainly bring us to our 
 journey's end, to deny ourfelves the falfe and pretended 
 fatisfaclion of walking in a fair but dangerous way, that 
 leads to deflruftion ♦, Is it not much pleafanter travelling on 
 a rough pavement, than on a fmooth quickfand ? Where 
 there is a known peril, there can be no true pleafure *, and 
 therefore the want of it is no lofs or uneannefs. 
 
 What pleafure can a wife or confiderate man take in 
 thofe entertainments, in which he has continual reafon to 
 fufpect a fnare and a defign upon him, any more than he 
 that was at a feail could reliih the dainties of it, when he was 
 aware of a naked fword hanging directly over him by a finglc 
 thread r The fooliih woman, indeed calls the ftolen watery 
 fweet, and bread eaten in fecret pleafant, Prov. v. 17, 18. 
 But thofe find no difficulty or uneafinefs in denying them, 
 who know ** that the dead are there, and her guefts are al- 
 ready in the depths of hell I herefore, however the cor- 
 rupt heart may find fome rclu£lancy in refufing thofe for- 
 bidden pleafures, we may fay of it, as Abigal did of David's 
 denying himfelf the fatisfadVion of being revenged on Nabal, 
 Afterwards this Oiall be no grief unto us> nor ollence of 
 heart, 2 Sam. xxv. 31. 
 
BEING REllGIOUS. 367 
 
 Tovrfhly, It is true, that through mary tribulatioris w« 
 ttiuft enter into the kingdom of God, A6ls xiv. 23 that we 
 muft not only deny ourlelves the pleafures of fenfe, but mqlt 
 fometimes expofe ourfelves to its pains; ve muft take up 
 our crofs when it lies in our way, and bear it after Chri<V : 
 We arc told, that all that will Tvc godly in Chrid Jefus, 
 muft fufFer perfecution. at leaft they mud expert it, and get 
 ready for it ? bonds and affli(^tions abide them lofieg ia 
 their eftates, balks in their preferment, reproaches and con- 
 tempts, baniftiments and deaths m uft be counted, upon . Aii<l 
 will not this fpoil the pleafure of religion ? No, it will ^ot j 
 for, 
 
 1. It is but light affliftion at the worft, that we arc called 
 out to fufFer, and but for a moment, compared with the far 
 more exceeding and eternal weight'of glory that is referved 
 for us. 2 Cor. iv. 1 7 with which the fufFerings of this prefent 
 time are not worthy to be compared, Rom. viii. f 8. AI! 
 thefe troubles do but touch the body, the outward man, and 
 the interefts of that, they do not at all afFecl: the foul; they 
 break the (hell, or pluck off the hulk ; but do not bruifd th<; 
 kernal. 
 
 Can the brave and courageous foldier take pleafure in the 
 toils and perils of the camp, and in jeoparding his life in the 
 high places of the field, in the eager purfuit of honour, and 
 in the fervicc of his prince and country ; and (hall not thofe 
 who have the interefts of Chrift's kingdom near their hearts, 
 and are carried on by a holy ambition of the honour that 
 Comes from God, take a delight in fufi'cring for Chrift when 
 they know that thofe fufFerings tend to his honour, and their 
 own hereafter ? They that are perfecuted for righteoufuefs 
 fake, that are reviled, and have all manner of evil fiiid 
 againft them falfely, becaufe tht-y belong to Chrifl, are bid- 
 den not only to bear it patiently, but to rejoice in it, and to 
 be exceeding glad, " for great is their reward in heaven," 
 Mat. V. 11,12. Every reproach we endure for Chrift, will 
 be a pearl in our crown (hortly. 
 
 2. As thofe affli£tions abound for Chrift, fo our <* confo- 
 «* lations in Chrift do much more abound," 2 Cor.i. 4, :;. The 
 more the waters increafed, thehi ;her was the ark lifted up; 
 the more we fufFer in God's caufc, the more we partake of 
 his comforts ; for he will not be wanting to thofe whom he 
 calls out to any hardihips more than ordinary for Iiis name's 
 
368 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 fake. The Lord was with Jofeph in the prifon, when hd 
 lay there for a good confcience •, and thofe went from the^ 
 council ** rejoicing, that were counted worthy to fuffer 
 " fhame for ChriO's name;" were honoured to be dif- 
 honoured for him, A£ls v. 41. 
 
 Thus tlie extraordinary fupports and joys which they ex- 
 perience, that patiently fufl'er for righteoufnefs fake, add 
 much more to the pleafantnefs of the ways of wifdom, than 
 the fufFerings tliemfehes do, or can derogate from it: for 
 the fufferings are human, the confolations are divine ; they 
 fuifer'.in the flefh, but they rejoice in the fpirit ; they fuiFef 
 for a time, but they rejoice evermore, and " this their joy 
 ** no man taketh from them/* 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 T/je application of the Do fir inc. 
 
 CONCERNING this doftrine of the pleafantnefs of 
 religion*s ways, 1 hope we may now fay as EHphaz 
 doth of his principle, " Lo, this, we have fearched it, fo it 
 ** Is," Job. V. 27. it is inconteftibly true *, and therefore we 
 may conclude as he doth, " Hear it, and know thou it for 
 ** thy good ;" know tliou it for thyfelf, fo the m.argin reads 
 it ; apply it to thyfelf, believe it concerning thyfelf, not only 
 that it is good, but that it is good for me to draw near to 
 God, Pful. Ixxiii. 28 And then only we hear things, and 
 know them for our good, when we hear them, and know 
 them for ourfelves. 
 
 Three inferences, by way of counfel and exhortation we 
 fliali draw from this doctrine. 
 
 Ijirjiy Let us all then be perfuaded, and prevailed with, 
 t^yenter into, and to walk in thefe paths of wifdom, that 
 are fo very pleafant. This is what I principally intend in 
 opening and proving this truth ; molt people would rather 
 be courted than threatened to their duty. Much might be 
 faid to frighten y(^u out of the ways of fin and folly, but 1 
 would hope to gaiji the fame point another way, by alluring 
 you into the ways of wifdoan ami holinefs. This comes to 
 invite you to a fcaft which the Lord of hofts hath, in the 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. ^6g 
 
 ^ornel, made to all nations, Ifa. \ry. 6 and to all in the 
 nations, and to you nmon<r the re.* (for none are excluded, 
 that do not by their unbelief exclude themfclves) a feaft of 
 fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well re- 
 fined ; delights for fouls infinitely trnnfctnding the delica- 
 cies cf fenfe. You are welcome to this feaft; come, for 
 all things are now reaHv; ** Come, eat of wifdom's bread, 
 ** and drink of the wine that fhe has mingled,",Prov. ix. 5. 
 
 Is a life of religion fuch a fweet and comFortable life, 
 why then fhould not we be religious ? If fuch as thefe be 
 the ways of wifdom, whv fhould not we be travellers in 
 thofe ways ? Let this recommend to us a life of fin cere and 
 ferious godlinefs, and engage us to conform to all its rules, 
 and £^ive up ourfelves to be ruled by them. It is not enough 
 to have a good opinion of religion, anc' to give it a good 
 word ; that will bur be a witnefs againft us, if we do not 
 fet ourfelves in good earn eft to the practice of it, and make 
 confcience'of living up to it 
 
 I would here, with a particular sind prefling Importunity, 
 addrefs myfelf to you that are young ; to perfuade you^ 
 now in the days of' your youth, now in the prefent day, to 
 make religion your choice and your bufinefs : And I aflure 
 you, if you do fo, you will f^nd it your delight, God, by 
 his grace, convince ycu of the real comforts that are to be 
 had in real godlinefs, that you may be drawn cheerfully to 
 Chri*^ with thefe cords of a man, and held faft to him with 
 thefe bands of love My fon (faith Solomon to his little 
 fcholar, Prov. xxiv, 13, 14.) eat thou honey becaufe it is 
 good ; and the honey comb, which is fweet to thy tafte j 
 (he doth not forbid him the delights of fenfe, he may ufe 
 them foberly and moderately, and with due caution ; but 
 remember that) *< fo fhall the knowledge of wifdom be to 
 *^ thy foul, when thou haft found it :" Thou haft better 
 pleafures than thefe to mind and purfue, fpiritual and ra- 
 tional ones ; and, inftead of being made indifferent to thofe, 
 we fliould rather be led to them, and quickened in our de- 
 fires after them, by thefe delights of {enicy which God 
 gives us to engage us to himfelf and his fervice 
 
 The age of youth is the age of pleafure. , You think yoU 
 may now be allowed to take your pleafure; O that ye would 
 take it, and feek it there where alone it is to be had, and 
 that is in a ftri£t obfervance of the laws of virtue and god-' 
 
 3A 
 
37© THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 liiicfs ! Would you live a pleafant life, begin betimes to 
 live a religious life ; and the fooner you begin, the more 
 pleafnnt it vi-ill be; it is belt travelling in a morning. 
 \Voulcl you rejoice, O yc^ung people, in your youth ? " and 
 ** have your hearts to cheer you in the days of your youth/' 
 Eccl. xi. 9. dg not walk in the way of your corrupt and 
 carnal hearts, but in the way of God's commandments; 
 for he knows what is good for you, better than you do your- 
 felves : Do not walk in the (ight of your eyes, for the eyes 
 are apt to fly upon tliat which is not, Prev. xxiii. 5. but 
 Jive by faith, that faith which being the fubftance of things 
 hoped for, aod the evidence of things not feen, will lead 
 , you to that which is ; " for wifdom makes thofe that love 
 ** her to inherit fubftance, and fills their treafures," Prov. 
 \iii. 21. and thence arifeth their true fatisfaclion. 
 
 That which I would perfuade you to is, to walk in the 
 way of wifdom, to be fober minded, to be thoughtful about 
 your fouls and your everlafting ftate, and get your minds ~ 
 well principled, and well affecled, and ,well inclined ; 
 •* Wifdom is the principal thing, therefore get wifdom, and, 
 ** with all thy gettings, get underllanding," Prov. iv. 7, 
 'J'hat which I would perfuade you with, is the pleafantnefs 
 of this way ; you cannot do better for youffelves than by 
 a religious courfe of life. " My fon, if thine heart be 
 *' wife, my heart fliall rejoice, even mine,'* Prov. xxiii. 
 15, 16. yea. miy reins fliall rejoice if thy lips (out of the 
 abundance of thine heart) fpeak right things : But that is 
 not all; not onlv my heart fliall rejoice, but thy own 
 iLall. 
 
 I wiflryou would fee, and fcrioufly confider, the two 
 rivals that are making court to you for your fouls, for your 
 befl afleftions, Chrift and Satan ; nnd a£l wifely in difpof- 
 icg of yourfelves, and make fuch a choice as you will after- 
 wards refle£^ upon with comfort You are now at 'the 
 turning time of life; turn right now, and you are made 
 for ever. Wifdom fiith, Prov. ix. 4, 16. Whofo is 
 fimplc, let him turn in to me, and flie will cure him of his 
 f.mplicity ; Folly feiith, Whofo is fimple, let him turn in to 
 me, and (\.e will take advantage of his fimplicity : Now let 
 l:!m come whofe rii:ht your hearts arc, and give them hini, 
 and you fhall have them again more your own. 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. .37I 
 
 That you may determine m'cII between thcfe two compe- 
 titors for the thro!)e in your fouls : 
 
 I ft, See the fol'y of carnal finful pleafures, and aban- 
 don them. You will never be in love with the pleafures of 
 religion, till you are perfuadcd to fall out with forbidden 
 plc.ifurcs. The enjoyment of the deliglits of feiif.' fuits 
 bed with that age, the appetite towards them is then nwit 
 violent: Mirth, fport, plays, dainties are the idols of yjung 
 people ; they are therefore called youthful lults. Eccl. xii. 
 J . The days will come, the evil days, when they them- 
 felves will fay they have no plea.fure in them ; like Barzillai, 
 2 Sam. xix. 35. who, when he is old, can no more reliih 
 what he eats and what he drinks O that reafon, and wif- 
 dom, and grace, might make you as dead to them now, as 
 time and days will make you after a while ! 
 
 Will you believe &i\e that tried the utmofl: of what the 
 pleafures of (Qn{Q could do towards making a man happy : 
 ** He faid of laughter. It is mad ; and of mirth, What 
 " doth it ? and that forrow is better than laughter," Eccl. 
 ii. 2. and vii 3. Mofes knew what the pleafures of the 
 court were, and yet chofe rather to fufFer alHicStlon with the 
 people of God, than to continue in the fnare of them, 
 Heb. xi. 25. And you mull make the fame choice; for 
 you will never cordially embrace the pleafures of religion, 
 till you have renounced the pleafures of fin : Covenant 
 againil them, therefore, and watch againit them. 
 
 If you would live, *' and go in the way of underftand- 
 " ing, you muft forfake the fooiifh," Prov. ix. 6- take heed 
 of the way both of t^ie evil man, and of the ftraage wo- 
 man ; " Avoid it, pafs not by it, turn from it, and pals 
 •* away>" Prcv. il. 12, \6. Look upon finful pleafures as 
 mean, and much below you ; look upon them as vile, and 
 much againlt you; and do not only defoife them, but 
 dread them, and hate even the garments fpotted with the 
 flefli. 
 
 2dly, Be convinced of the pleafure of wlfdom's ways, 
 and come and try them. You are, it may be, prejudiced 
 againft religion as a melancholy thing; but' as Philip faid to 
 Nathaniel, John i. 46. " Come and fee." Believe it 
 poflible that there may be a pleafure in religion, which you 
 have not yet thought of. When reUgion is looked upon at 
 ^ diliance, wt fee not that pleafurein it, which we fliall 
 
 '> \ 2 
 
J^2 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 certainly find when we come to be better acquainted with 
 it. Peter Mrirtyr, in a fc-rmon, illuftrated this by this corn- 
 par '-fon (and it proved a means of the converlion of the 
 M-.L4iiis of Vico) : He that looks upon perfons dancing at 
 a i"; il.ince, would think they v/ere mad; but let him come 
 ne^! T, and, obferve how they take every ftep by rule, and 
 kee,.- time with the mufic, he will not only be pleafed with 
 it, but inclined to join with them. 
 
 Come and take Chrift*s yoke upon you, and you will find 
 it eafy. Try the pleafure there is in the knowledge of God 
 and jefus Chrift, and in converfe with fpiritual and eternal 
 things ; try ihe pleafure of ferioufnefs and felf-denial, and 
 you will find it far exceeds that of vanity and felf indul- 
 gence Try the pleafure of m«;-ditation on the word of God, 
 of prayer, and piaife, and Sabbath fan0.ification, and you 
 will think you have made a happy change of the pleafure of 
 vain and carnal mirth for thefe true delights. 
 
 Make this trial by thefe four rules : 
 
 I. " That man's chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy 
 ** him." Our pleafures will be according to that which we 
 pitch upon and purfue as our chief end. If we can mif- 
 take fo far, as to think it is our chief end to enjoy the 
 world and the flefli, and our chief bufinefs to ferve them, 
 the delights of fenfe will relifli beft with us : But, if the 
 world was made for man, certainly man was made for more 
 than the M^orld ; and, if God made man, certainly he made 
 him for himfelf : God then is our chief good ; it is cur bu- 
 finefs to ferve and pleafe him, and our happincfs to be ac- 
 cepted of him. 
 
 And if fo, and we believe fo, nothing will be a greater 
 pleafure to us, th.n that which we have reafon to think will 
 be pleafing to him. If we do, indeed, look upon God as our 
 chief good, we fliall make him our chief joy, our exceeding 
 joy, PfnI. rciii. 4. If weconGder that we were made capable 
 of the pleafuie of converHng with God in this world, and fee- 
 ing him and enjoying him in another ; we cannot but think 
 that we wretchedly difparage ourfelves, when we take up 
 with the mean and fordid pleafures of fenfe as our felicity, 
 cfpecially if we forego all fpiritual and eternal pleafures for 
 thrrn 5 as rertainly wc do, and give up all our expe(!l:ations 
 of thrm, if we place our happinefs in thefe prefent delights : 
 And we are guilty of a greater abfurdity than that which 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 373 
 
 profane Efau was guilty of, who for a mefs of potta^^e fold 
 his birthright, Heb. xii. 26. 
 
 2. That the foul is the man ; and that is bed for us, that 
 is beft for our fouW. Learn to tliink meanly of this flefli, 
 by which we are allied to the earth and the inferior crea- 
 tures ; it is formed out of the dull, it is duft, and it is haften- 
 ing to the dull ; jind then the things that c:ratify it will not be 
 much efteemed as of any great moment: *• Meats for the 
 ** helW, and the bellv for meats, but God ihall deflroy both it 
 *' and them -,'* and therefore let us not make idols of them. 
 
 Bat the foul is the noble part of us, by which we are al- 
 lied to heaven and the world of fpirits -, thofe comforts there- 
 fore which delight the foul, are the comforts we fhould prize 
 mod, and give the preference to, for the foul's fake. Rati- 
 onal pleafurts are the befl for a man. 
 
 3. That the " greatefl: joy is that which a ilranger doth 
 " not intermeddle with," Prov. xiv. 10. The beft pleafure 
 is that which lies not under the 'eye and obfervation of the 
 world, but which a man has and hides in his own bofom ; 
 and by which he enjoys himfelf, and keeps not only a peace- 
 able, but a comfortable pofleflion of his own foul, though he 
 doth not by laughter, or other exprcflions of joy, tell them 
 the fatisfadion he has. Chrift had meat to eat w^hich the: 
 world knew not of, John iv 32. and fo have Chriftians to 
 whom he is the bread of life 
 
 4. That all is well that ends everLiftinirly well. That 
 pleafure ought to have the preference, which is of the long- 
 eft continuance. The pleafures of fenfe are withering and 
 fading, and leave a fling behind ;hem to thofe that placed 
 their happinefs in them ; but the pleafures of religion will 
 abide with us : In thefe is continuance, Ifa. Ixiv 5. they will 
 not turn with the wmd, nor change with the weather, btit 
 are meat which endures to everlafting life. 
 
 Reckon that the beft pleafure which will remain with you, 
 ind ftand you in ftead when you come to die ; which will 
 help to take off the terror of death, and allay its pains. The 
 remembrance of fmful pleafures will give us killing terrors, 
 but the remembrance of religious pleafures will give us living 
 comforts in dying moments. They that live over Belfliaz- 
 zar's revels, m ly expect to receive the fummons of death 
 with the fame confufion that he did, when " the joints of his 
 *^ loins were loofed, and his knees fmote one againft an- 
 
'?,74. THE PLEASURE OF^ 
 
 other,*' Dan. v. 6. but they that live over Hezekiah's devo- 
 tions, may receive them with tb.e fame compofure that he 
 did, when with a great deal of fatisfaction he looked back 
 upon a well fpent Iife^: " Now, Lord, remember how I have 
 ** walked before thee in truth, and with an upright heart," 
 Ifa. xxxviii. 3. 
 
 Second!]., " Let us, that profefs religion, Oudy to make it 
 •* more and more pleafant to ourfelves." We fee hew much 
 is done to make it fi?, let us not receive the grace of God 
 herein in vain. Let them, that walk in wifdom's ways, tafte 
 the fweetnefs of them and reliih it. Chrift's fervice ispcr- 
 fed: freedom, let us not make a drudgery of it, nor a toil of 
 fuch a pleafure. We iUouki not only be reconciled to our 
 duty, as we ought to be to our greateft affli6lions, and to 
 make the bell; of if ; but we Ihouid rejoice in our duty, and 
 fing at our work, if God intended that his fervice fhould 
 be a pleafure to his fervants, \zt them concur with him 
 herein, and not walk contrary to him. 
 
 Now, in order to the making of our religion pleafant to us, 
 more and more fo, I ihal! give feven directions. 
 
 I. " Let us always keep up good thoughts of God, and 
 ** carefully watch againll hard thoughts of him." As it is 
 the original error of many that are loofe and carelefs in re- 
 ligion, that they think God altogether fuc;h a one as them- 
 felves, Pfal. 1. 21. as much a friend to fm as themfelves, and 
 as indifferent whether his work be done or no ; fo it is the 
 error of many that are fevere in their religion that they 
 think God, like themfelves, a hard mailer •, they have fuch 
 thoui:;hts of him, as Job had in an hour of temptation, when 
 he looked upon God as " feeking occafions againil him, num- 
 ** bering his fteps, and watching over his fins, and taking 
 " him for his enemy," Job xiii. 24 and xiv. 16. as if he 
 were extreme to mark iniquities, and implacable to thofe 
 that had oflcnded, and not accepting any fervice that had 
 in it the lead defetl or imperfedion. 
 
 But tlie matter is not fo, and we do both God and our- 
 f-ilves a great deal of wrong, if we imagine it to be fo. 
 What could have been done more than God has done, to 
 convince us that he is gracious, and merciful, fiow to an- 
 ger, and ready to forgive fin vi'hen it is repented of? (1 laid, 
 ) will confcfs mine iniquity unto thee; and thou forgavett, 
 Ffal. xxxii. 5 ) and as ready to accept the fervices that 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 27 S 
 
 come from an upripjht lieart. lie will not always chide, 
 nor contend for ever. 80 fir is he from taking advantages 
 againll us, that he makes the bed of us : Where tlie fpirit 
 is willing, he accepts that, and overlooks the weaknefs of 
 the flefli. Let us deal with him accordingly : Look upon 
 God as love, and the God of love •, and then it v/ill be 
 pleafant to us to hear from hini, to fpeak to him, to convcrfe 
 with him, and t© do him any fervice. 
 
 It is true, God is great, and glorious, and jealous, and to 
 be worfliipped with reverence and holy fear j but is he not 
 our Father, a tender gracious Father ? have we not an Ad- 
 vocate with the Fatlier ? was not God, in Chrift, reconcil- 
 ing the world to himfelf, 2 Cor. v. 19. and to all his attri- 
 butes and relations to us, by (hewing himfelf willing to be 
 reconciled to us, notwithllanding our provocations ? See 
 him, therefore, upon a throne of grace, and come boldly 
 to him, and that will make your fervice of him pleafant. 
 
 2. Let us dwell much, by faith, upon the promifes of 
 God. What pleafant lives fhouid we lead, if we were but 
 more intimately acquainted with thofe declarations which 
 God has made of his good will to man, and the -alTurances 
 he has given of his favour, and all the bleiled fruits of it, 
 to thofe who ferve him faithfully ? The promifes are many, 
 and exceeding great and precious, fuited to our cafe, and 
 accommodated to every exigence ; there are not only pro- 
 mifes to grace, but promifes of grace, grace fufficient ; and 
 thefe promifes all yea and amen in Chrift. 
 
 What do thefe promifes fland in our bibles for, but to 
 be made ufe of? Come then, and let us apply them to our- 
 felves, and infert our own names in them by faith ; what 
 God faid to Abraham, .«* I am thy fliield," Gen. xv. i. I 
 am EU/hadilaiy ** a God all fufficient," Gen. xvii. i. what 
 he faid to Jofhua, " I will never fail thee nor forfake thee," 
 Jofli. i. 5. he faith to me What he faith to all that love 
 him, " that all things fliall work for good to them," Rom. 
 vlii. 28. and to all that fear him, that no go id ^hing fliali be 
 wanting to them, Pfal xxxiv. 10. he faith to me ; and why 
 "fliould net I take the comfort of it .'* 
 
 1 hefe promifes and the like, are wells of falvatlon, from 
 which we may draw water with joy; and breafts of confo- 
 lation from which we may furk, and be fitlsfied; they will 
 be both our ftrength and oui fong in the houfe of our pil- 
 
37^ 'THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 primage. So well ordered is tlie covenant cf ^t2lcc in nil 
 things, and To lure, 2 »Sam. xxiil. 5. that if having laid up 
 our portion in it, and fo made it all our falvation, we would 
 but fetch our maintenance from it, and fo make it all our 
 c'cfire and delight, we fliould have in it a continual feaft, 
 and fhould go on our way rejoicino^. See Pfal cxix i f T. 
 
 3. Let us order the airn'^-s of our relij:i;ion with difcretion. 
 l\tanv make religion unpleafant to thcmfelves, and difcou- 
 ragins toothers, by their imprudent .management of it ; 
 n^.rfking that fervice to be a burden by the circumftances of 
 it, which in itfelf would be a pleafure ; doing thi.;gs out of 
 time, or tafking themfelves above their ftrength, and under- 
 taking more than they can go through with, efpecially at 
 firlt, which is like *' putting ncv/ wins into old bottles," 
 Mat ix. 17. or like " over-driving the flocks one day," Gen. 
 xxxiii. 13. If we make the yoke of Chrift heavier than he 
 has made it, we m.ay thank ourfelves that our drawing in i; 
 becomes unpleafant. Solomon cautions us, Eccl. vii. 16. 
 againft being righteous overmuch, and making ourfelves 
 cvcrwife, as that by which we may deftroy ourfelves, and 
 put ourfelves out of conceit with our religign; there maybe 
 over-doing in well-doing, and then it becomes unpleafant. 
 
 But let us take our religion as Chrift hath fettled it, and 
 we fliall find it eafy. WheiL.the ways of our religion are 
 ways of wifdom, then they are ways of pleafantnefs •, for the 
 more wifdom, the more pleafantnefs; that wifdom which 
 dwells with prudence Wifdom will direct us to be even 
 and regular in our religion, to take care that the duties of 
 our general and .particular calling, the bufinefs of Our reli- 
 gion, and our necelfary bufmefs in the world, do not inter- 
 fere or intrench upon one another. It will direft us to time 
 duty aright-, for every thing is beautiful and pleafant in its 
 feafon, Eccl. iii. 1 1. and work is then eafy when we are in a 
 frame for it. 
 
 4. Let us live in love, and keep up Cliriftian charity, and 
 the fpiritual communion of faints ; if we would be of good 
 comfort, we muft be of one mind, 2 Cor. xiii. 11. and 
 tlierefore tlie apoflle prefTeth brotherly love upon us, with 
 ?n argument taken from the confolations in Chrift, Fhil. i» i . , 
 7" e the comfort that is in Chi i(ti mity : As ever you hope' 
 to have the comfort of your religion, fubmit to that great 
 law of it, " Walk in love ;" for behold how good and how 
 
BIIKG RELIGIOUS* 377 
 
 plcafant it Is, how good in itfelf, and pleafant to us, for 
 brethren to dwell together in unity. 
 
 The more pledfing we are to our brethren the more plea- 
 fant we ihall be to ourlelves. 
 
 Nothing makes our lives more uncomfortable than (Irlfe 
 and contention: '' Wo is me that I dwell among thole that 
 " hate peace," Pfal. cxx. 5. it is bad being amo^ig thofe thaf 
 are difpofed to quarrel and worfe having in ourielves a dif- 
 pofitioti to quarrel. The refentments of contempt put 
 upon us are uneafy enough, and contrivances to revenge it 
 much more fo And nothing makes our religion more un- 
 comfortable than Itrifes and contentions about that We 
 forfeit and lofe the pleafure of it, if we entangle oUrfelve* 
 in perverfe difputings about it. 
 
 But by holy love we enjoy our friends, which will add, 
 to the pleafure of enjoying God in this world. Love itfelf 
 fweetens the foul and revives it, and, as it is the loadftone 
 of love, it fetcheth in the further pleafure and fatisfa6liori 
 of being beloved, and fo it is a heaven upon earth; for what 
 is the happinefs and pleafure of heaven, but that there love - 
 reigns in perfe£tion ? Then we have mo^ peace in our bo- 
 foms, when we are mod peaceably difpofed towards our 
 brethren. 
 
 5. Let us be much in the exercife of holy joy, and em- 
 ploy ourfelves much in praife. Joy is the heart of praife, 
 as praife is the language of joy ; let us engage ourfelves to 
 thcfe, and quicken ourfelves in thefe. God has made thefe 
 our duty, by thefe to make all the other parts of our duty 
 pleafant to us *, and for that end we fliould abound much 
 in them, and attend upon God with joy and praife. Let 
 us not croud our fpiritual joys into a corner of ourv hearts, 
 nor our thankful praifes into a. corner of our prayers, but 
 g\vQ both fcope and vent to each. 
 
 Let us live a life of delight in God, and love to think of 
 him as we do of one whom we love and value. Let the 
 flowing in of every ftream of comfort lead us to the foun- 
 tain ; and, in every thing that is grateful to us, let us tafle 
 that the Lord is gracious. Let the drying up of every 
 ftream of comfort drive us to the fountain; and let us re- 
 joice the more in God for our being deprived of that which 
 we ufed to rejoice in. 
 
 Let us be frequent and large in our thankfgivings. It 
 
 3B 
 
37^ THE PLEASURE Of 
 
 -will be plcnfnr.t to us to recount the favours of God, and 
 thus to make fonie returns for them; though poor and 
 ir.can, yet fuch as God will gracioufly accept. We (lu.uld 
 have more pleafuie in ourrelii^ion, if we Isac! but learned in 
 everything to give thanks, i 'Iheif. v i8. for that takes out 
 HI ore than half the bitternefs of our affliclions, -that m'C 
 can fee caufe even to be thankful for them \ and it infuftth 
 more than a double fweetnefs into our enjoyments, that 
 they furnifh us with matter for that excellent heavenly 
 work of praife ; " Sing praifes unto his name, for it is 
 •* pleafant ; comfoitable, as well as comely," Pfal. 
 cxxxv. 3. 
 
 ' 6. Let tis a6l in a conftaiit dependence upon Jefiis 
 Chrift Religion would be much more pleafant, if we did 
 hut cleave more clofely to Chrift in it, apd do all iin his 
 name : The more precious Chrift is to us, the more plea- 
 fant will every part of our work be ; and tlierefore believing 
 in Chrift is often exprefted by our rejoicing in him, Phil, 
 ill. 5. We may rejoice i» God, through Chrift, as the 
 Mediator between us and Gk)d ; may rejoice in our com- 
 munion with -God, when it-is kt>pt -up through Chrift ; m.ay 
 rejoice in hope of eternal life, when we fee this life in the 
 .Son: " He that hath the Son of God, hath life,'* i. e. he 
 has comfort, i John v. 1 1, 12. 
 
 There is that in Chrift, and in his undertaking and per- 
 formances for us, which is fufticient to faiisfy all cur 
 doubts, to filence all our fears, antl to balance all cur for- 
 rows He was appointed to be th»e confolation of Ifrael, 
 and he will be fo to us, when we have learnt not to look 
 for that in ourfelves, v/hich is to be ha<i in Ivifei only, and 
 to make ufe of his mcdiattoii iii' every thing wherein wc 
 hare to do with God. When w^ rejoice in the righteouf- 
 nefs of Chrift, and in his grace and ftrength ; rej< ice in 
 his fatisfii6\ion and interceflidn j 'rejoice in his dominion 
 and univerfal agency and influence, and in the progrefs of 
 his gofpel, and the converfion cf fouls to him, and pleafc 
 ourfelves with profpcCl:s of his fecojul coming ; we hi^^'e 
 then a joy, not only which no man taketh from us, but 
 which will increafe more and moie : And of the increale 
 of Chrift's government, and thcrefxyre of that peace, there 
 fhall be no enO, Ifa. ix. 7. Our fpngsof joy are then mod 
 
BEIN© RELIGIOUS. 379 
 
 plcafant, when the burden of them is, none but Chrlfl, none 
 but Chrilt 
 
 7. Let us converfe much with the glory thit is to be re- 
 vealed. They that bv taich fend their hearts and bed af- 
 fcdions before them to heaven, while they are here on this 
 earth, mav in return fetch thence fomc of thofe joys and 
 pleafures that, are at God's riefiu hand, 'i'hat which goes up 
 >n vapours of holy defire, though inlenfible, in groanings 
 which cannot be uttered, will come down again in dew«; oi" 
 heavenly coniblations, that will make the foul as a watered 
 garden- 
 Let us look much to the end of our way, how glorious 
 it will be, and that will help to make our way pleafant. 
 This abundantly fatisfies the faints, and is the fatnefs of 
 God's houfe on earth, Pfal. xxxvi. 3, 9. This makes them 
 now to drink of the river of God's pleafures, that with hira 
 is the fountain of life, whence all thefe ftreams come, 
 and in his light they hope to fee li.;ht, everlading light. 
 By frequent meditations on that refl which remiiins for the 
 people of God, Heb. iv. 3. we now enter in^o that reft: 
 »nd partake of the comfort of it. 
 
 Our hopes of that happinefs through ^race would be 
 very much flrengthened, and our evidences for it cleared up 
 iiifenfibly, if we did but convcrfe more with it, and the 
 oifcoveries made of it in the fcripture. AVe may have fore- 
 tafles of heavenly delights while we are here on earth, 
 ciuilers from Canaan while w^ are yet in this wilder- 
 nefs; and no pleafure comparable to that which thefe adrbrd. 
 That is the fweeteft joy within uSv which is borrov/ed fron\ 
 the joy fet before us v and we deprive ourfelves very much 
 of the comfort of our religion, in not having our eye more 
 to that joy. We rejoice molt triumphantly, and with the 
 greiUeft degrees of holy glorying, when we '* rejoice in 
 ** hope of the glory of God," Ps.om vi. 2. In this our 
 heart is glad, and our glory rejoiceth," Pfal. xvi. 4. 
 
 Thirdly^ Let us make it appear, that we have, indeed^ 
 found wifdom's ways to be pleafantnefs, and her paths 
 peace. If vv'-e have experienced this truth, let us evidence; 
 our experiences, and not only in word, but in deed, bear 
 our teilimony to the truth of it. Let us live as thofe that 
 believe the fweetnefs of religion, not becaufe we are told 
 it, butbccaufe we have tailed it,. 1 Joha i i. 
 
 3 B 2 
 
380 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 If fo be then (to borrow the apoftle's words, i Pet. ii. 3.) 
 ** we have tailed that the Lord is gracious," if we have, 
 indeed, found It a pleafant thing to be religious ; 
 
 I. Let our hearts be much enlarged in all religious exer- 
 cife*, and all inftances of gofpel obedience 'Ihe more 
 pleafant the fervice of God is, the more we fliould abound 
 in it. When God enlargeth our hearts with his confola- 
 tions, he expecls that we fhould run the way of his com- 
 mandments, that we fliould exert ourfelves in our duty with 
 more vigour, and prefs forward the more earneftly towards 
 perfection. 
 
 This iKould n:ake us forward to every good work, and 
 ready to ciofe with all opportunities of ferving God, and 
 doing good That wliich we take a pleafure in, we need 
 not to be twice called to. If indeed the hearts of thofe 
 rejoice that feek the Lord, as in Pfal cv. 3. then when 
 God faith, feck ye my face, how fteadily fhould our hearts 
 anfvv er at the firll word, '< Thy face, Lord, will we feek ?" 
 Pfal. xxvii 8. and how glad will they be, when it is faid 
 unto us, ''- Let us go to the houfe of the Lord ?" Pfal. 
 cxxii I. This fliould make us forward to a£ls of charity, 
 that there is a pleafure in doing good ; and we (hall reflect 
 with comfort upon it, that we have done fomething that 
 will turn tc the honour of God, and our own account. 
 
 This ihould make us lively in our duty y the heart fixed 
 in hearing the word, and in prayer and praife. Thofe that 
 take delight in mufic, how doth it engage them ? how do 
 all the marks of a clofe application of mind appear in their 
 countenance and carriage ^ And (hall not we, by our attend- 
 ing on the Lord without diftradlion, make it to appear, 
 that we attend upon him with dellglii, and are in our ele- 
 ment when we are in Ms fervice ? Let this be my reft 
 for e-. er ; here let me dwell all the days of my life, Pfal. 
 
 This (hould keep us conftant and unwearied in the work 
 and fervice of God. What is really our delight, we are not 
 foon weary of. If we dehght in approaching to God, we 
 will feek him daily, and make it our daily work to honour 
 him. If meditation and prayer be fweet, let them be our 
 daily excercife ; and let this bind our fouls with a bond to 
 God, and the ** facrifice as with cords to the horns of the 
 '• altar." With this we ihould anfwer all temptations to 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 381 
 
 apoftacy ; Shall I quit To good a mafter, (o good a fervice ? 
 " Intreat me not to leave ChriO:, or to turn from following 
 ** after him •, for it is good to be here Here let us make 
 ** tabernacles," Matth xvii. 4. Whither clfe fliall we go, 
 but to him that has the words of eternal life ? 
 
 2. Let our whole converfatioil be cheerful, and melan- 
 choly be banifhed. Are the ways of religion pleafant ? let 
 us be pleafant in them, both to ourfelves, and to thofe about 
 us As for thofe who are yet in a ftate of fin and wrath, 
 they have reafon to be melancholy, let the finners in Zion 
 be afraid ; be afflided, joy is forbidden fruit to them, What 
 have they to do with peace ? Rejoice not. O Ifracl, for joy 
 as other people, for thou hail gone a whoring from thy God, 
 Hof. ix. I 
 
 But thofe who, through grace, are called out of darknefs 
 into a marvellous light, have caufe to be cheerful, and 
 ihould have hearts to be fo. " Arife, fhine, for thy light is 
 •* come," Ifa. h. i. Is the fun of righteoufnefs rifen upon 
 us ? let us arife and look forth as the morning with the 
 morning. That comfort which Chrift dire6ls to our fouls, 
 let us refle£l back upon others. And as our light is come, 
 fo is our liberty. Art thou " loofed from the bands of thy 
 ** neck ? O captive daughter of Zion awake, awake, put 
 ** on thy ftrength, put on thy beautiful garments, and (hake 
 " thyfelf from the dull, arife and fit down," O Jerufalem, 
 Ifa. Hi I, 2 
 
 Though vain and carnal mirth is both a great fin, and a 
 great fnarc, yet there is a holy cheerful nefs and pleafantnefs 
 of converfation which will not only confift very well with- 
 ferious godlinefs, but greatly promotes it in ourfelves, and 
 greatly adorns it, and recommends it to others. A merry heart 
 (Solomon faith) dotfi good like a medicine, Prov. xvii. 22. 
 and maketh fat the bones ; while a broken fpirit doth hurt 
 like a poi'on, and drieth the bones. ChriiUans Ihould en- 
 deavour to keep up a cheerful temper, and not indulge them- 
 felves in that which is fadning and difquieting, to the fpirit ; 
 and they (hould {hew it in all holy converfation, that thofe 
 they converfe with may fee they did not renounce pleafure, 
 when they embraced religion. 
 
 1 am furc, none have fo much reafon to rejoice as good 
 people have, nor fo much done for them to encourage their 
 joy j and therefore to allude to that of Jonadab to Amnon> 
 
382 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 " Why art thou, being the king's fon, lean from (?ay to day ?" 
 2 Sam. xiii. 4. Are we in profperity ? therefore let us be 
 cheerful, in gratitude to the God of our mercies, who ex- 
 pe61:s that we fliould ferve him with joyfulnefs, and gladnefs 
 of heart, in the abundance of all things, Deut. xxviii. 47. 
 and juftly takes it ill if we do not. 
 
 Trijiis eSf ^ falix ? fciat hocfortuna caveto^ 
 Jngratum dicet te (lupej fi fcierit Mart. 
 
 Arc we in affli£tfon ? yet let us be cheerful, that we may 
 make it appear our happinefs is not laid up in the creature, 
 nor our treafures on earth. If it is the privilege of Chrifti- 
 ans to rejoice in tribulation, let them not throw away their 
 privilege, but glory in it, and make ufe of it. Let the joy 
 of the Lord, that hath infufed itfelf into our hearts, diffufe 
 itfelf into all our converfe. Go thy way, eat thy bread with 
 joy, Eccl. ix 7. and drink thy wine, nay, if thou fliould ft be 
 reduced to that, drink fair water, with 2 merry heart, if 
 thou hafl good ground to hope that, in Chrift Jefus, God 
 now accepteth thy works ; ajid this joy of the Lord will be 
 thy flrcngth 
 
 3. Let us look with contempt upon the pleafures of fenfe, 
 and with abhorrence upon the pleafures of fin. The more 
 vre have tafted of the delights of heaven, the more our mouths 
 fhould be put out of tafte to the delights of this earth. Let 
 not thofe who have been feafted with the milk and honey 
 of Canaan, hanker after the garlic and onions of Egypt. 
 
 Let us keep at a diffance from all forbidden pleafures. 
 There is a hook under thofe baits, a fnake under the green 
 grafs 5 a rock under thofe fmooth waters, on which multi- 
 tudes have fplit. We mufl fo dread the drunkard's plea- 
 fures, as not to **look upon the wine when it is red," Prov. 
 xxiii. 31. fo dread the pleafures of the adulterer, as not to 
 •* looic upon a woman to lull after her," Mat. v. 28. for 
 iht{*i pleafures of fin not only are but for a feafon, but at 
 the lafl they " bite like a ferpent, and fting like an adder.'* 
 Either fpiritual pleafures will deaden the force of the plea- 
 fures of fin, or the pleafures of fin will fpoil the relifh of 
 fpiritual pleafures. 
 
 Let us keep up a holy indifferency even to the lawful de- 
 lights of fenfe, and take heed of loving them more than God. 
 The eye that has looked at the fun is dazzled to every 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 383 
 
 thing elfe : have we beheld the beauty of the Lord ? let us 
 lee and own, how little beauty there is in other things. If 
 we be tempted to do'any thing unbecoming us, by the al- 
 lurements of pleafure'j we may well fay, offer thefc things to 
 tliofe that know no better ; but we do, and will never 
 leave ** fountains of living waters, for cifterns of puddle 
 " water" 
 
 4. Let not our hearts envy finners. Envy arifeth from 
 an opinion that the (late of others is better than our own, 
 which we grudge and are difpleafed at, and wilh ourfelves 
 in their condition. Good people are often cautioned againft 
 this fni ; " Be not envious againft evil men, nor defire to 
 •* be with them," Prov. xxiv i. Pfal. xxxvii. i. for if there 
 be all this pleafure in religion, and wc have experienced It, 
 furely we would not exchange conditions with any finner, 
 even in his beft eftate. 
 
 Envy not finners their outward profperrty, their wealth 
 and abundance, which puts them into a capacity of havrag 
 all the delights of {cn(t wound up to the heights of pleafure- 
 ablciiefs. Though they He " upon beds of ivory," Amos 
 vi. 4, 5, 6. and " ftretch themfelves upon their couches, and 
 " eat the lambs out of the flocks, and the calves out of the 
 " midft of the ftall ; though they chant to the found of the 
 " viol, drink wine in bowls, and anoint themfelves with the 
 ** chief ointments ;" yet thofe have no reafon to en\7' 
 them, whofe fouls dwell at eafe in God, who are fed with 
 the bread of life, the true manna, angels food, and drink 
 of the water of life freely, and make melody with their 
 hearts to the Lord, and are mac.v to hear from him joy and 
 gladnefs, and have received the anointing pf the Spirit. If 
 we have reliflied the delights of religion, we will fay as 
 David, Let us not eat of their dainties, Pfal. cxli. 4. 
 
 Envy not finners the liberty they take to fin ; that they 
 can allow themfelves in the full enjoyment of thefe plea- 
 fures, which we cannot think of without horror. But have 
 we not then the enjoyment of thofe pleafures which are in- 
 fmitely better, and which they are ftrangers to ? We cannot 
 have both ; and, of the two, are not ours, without difpute, 
 preferable to theirs ? and why then fliould we envy them ? 
 Their pleafures are enflavine, ours rnlargin^r; theirs de- 
 bafing to the foul, oursennolling; tlieirs furf^-itinc^^ ours fa- 
 tis-fying; th-^irs ollenfive to God, ours pieafing to him y theirs 
 
3^4 THE PLEASURE OF 
 
 will end in pain and bitternefs, ours will be j^erfecled lit 
 endlefs joys : and what rcafon then have we to envy 
 them ? 
 
 5 Let not our fpirits fink, or be dejecled, under the af- 
 fli^ions of this prefent time. We difparage our comforts 
 in God, if we i-iy too much to heart our croiTes in the 
 world: And therefore, hereby let us evidence, that, being 
 fatisfied of God'i loving kindnefs, we are fatisfied with it. 
 Let us look upon that as fufficient to balance all the unkind- 
 nefles of men They that value themfelves upon God's 
 fmiles, ought not to vex themfelves at the world's frowns. 
 The light of God's countenance can fhine through the 
 thickeft clouds of the troubles of this prefent time •, and 
 therefore we friould walk in the li^ht of the Lord, even 
 then, when as to our outward condition we fit in dark- 
 nefs. 
 
 We manifeft that we have found true delight andfatisfac- 
 tion in the fervice of God, and communion with him, when 
 the pleafure of that will make the bittereft cup of afRidion, 
 that our Father puts into our hand, not only pafiable, but 
 pleafant; fo that, like blefled Paul, when we are as for- 
 rowful, yet we may be always rejoicing, and may take plea- 
 fure in infirmities and reproaches, becaufe, though for the 
 prefent they are not joyous but grievous, yet, when after- 
 wards they yield the peaceable fruits of righteoufnefs, they 
 become not grievous, but truly joyous. BlefTed is the man 
 wliom thou chaflencft. 
 
 6. Let the pleafure we have found in religion, difpofe us 
 to be liberal and charitable to the poor and diftrefTed. The 
 pleafing fenfe we have of God's bounty to us, by which he 
 has done (o much to make us eafy, fhould engage us boun- 
 tifully to diftribute to the necefTities of faints, according to 
 our ability ; not only to keep them from perifhing, but to 
 make them eafy •, and that they may rejoice as well as we. 
 Cheerfuinefs that enlargeth the heart, (liouldopen the hand 
 too. Paul obferves it concerning the churches of Macedonia, 
 who were ready to give {or the relief of the poor faints at 
 Jerufalem, that it was the abundance of their joy, their fpiri- 
 tual joy, their joy in GoH, that abounded unto the riches of 
 their libtrality, 2 Cor viii. 2. 
 
 When the people of Ifrael are commanded to rejoice in 
 every good thing which Cod had given tlienri, Deut. xxvi. 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 3^5 
 
 1 1, T2. they are commanded alffvto give freely to the Levlte> 
 the (irangrr, the fatbcrlt^fs, and t!)e widow, that they may 
 eat, and be filled. And when upon a partu niar occafion 
 they are dirccl^d to eat the fat, and drink the fweet, Neh. 
 viii ID. at the fame time they are dirc-£led to fend portions 
 to them for whom nothing is nrep;ired : and then the joy of 
 the Lord will be their ftrength. By our bt inc charitable, we 
 Ihould fliow tliat we are cheerful ; that we cheerfully tafte 
 God's goodnefs in what we have, and truU his goodnefs 
 for what we may hereafter want. 
 
 7 Let us do what we can, to bring otl^ers to partake o£ 
 the fame pleafures in religion that we have tafted, efpecial- 
 ly thofe that are under our charge. It adds very much to 
 the pleafure of an enjoyment, to communicate of it to 
 others j efpecially when the nature of it is fuch, that we 
 have never the lefs, but the more rather, for others fharing 
 in it. What good tidings we hear that are of common 
 concern, we defire that others may hear them, and be glad 
 too. He that has but found a loft flieep, " calls his friends 
 *' and neighbours to rejoice with him," Luke xv. 6. much 
 more he that has found Chrift, and found comfort in him ; 
 who can fay, not only, come and rejoice with me, but^ come 
 and partake with me : for yet there is room enough for all, 
 though never fo numerous ; enough foreach, though never 
 fo necefhtous and craving. 
 
 When Samfon had found honey in the carcafs of the 
 lion, Judges xiv. 8. he brought fome of it to his parents, 
 that they might partake with him : thus, v hen we have 
 found a " day in God's courts better than a thcufarid," we 
 ihould invite others into thofe courts, by telling them what 
 ** God has done for our fouls," Pfal Ixvi. i6. and how 
 w^iliing he is to dothe fame for theirs, if they in like man- 
 ner apply themfelves to him. When Andrew, with a fur- 
 prifing pleafure, had found the Meirm^, John i. 41, i\^. he 
 cannot reft till he has brought his brother Peter to him ; nor 
 Philip, till he hath brought his friend Nathaniel. They 
 that are feafted with the comforts of God's houfe, (hould not 
 covet to eat their morfel alone, but be willing to communi- 
 cate of their fpiritual things. 
 
 8. Let us be willing to die, and leave this world. We 
 have reafon to be adiamed of ourfelves, that we who have 
 not only laid up our treafure above, but fetch our pleafure» 
 
 3 c 
 
386 n^IlE ri I? A SURE OF 
 
 tliencc, y<?t nre as much in love with our piefent (izttf anil 
 as lotli to think of quitting it, r.s if cur tre-^fure, and plea- 
 fuie, and all, were wrHpt u}> in ihc things of fenfe anit 
 time. The dehiilits of fenfe tntaniile us, ?.!id liold us here ; 
 ** 1 hefc are the things that make us loth to die," as one 
 once faid, irjewing his fine houfe and gardens. And are 
 thefe things fufficient to court our flay here, when God 
 calls to " arlfe, and depart, for thi?> is> HOt our reft ?" Mic. 
 ii. 10. 
 
 Let us not be afraid to remove from a world of fenfe to 
 a world of fpirits, fincc we have found the pleafures of 
 fenfe not worthy to be compared with fpiritual pleafures> 
 AVhen in eld age, which is one of the valleys of the fna- 
 dow of death, we can no longer relifh the deligl-ts of the 
 hody, but they become faplefs and taflelefs, as they were 
 to liarziilai *, yet we need not call thofe evil days, and years 
 in which we hu\'e no pleafure, if we have walked and 
 perfcvered in wifdom's ways ; for, if fo, we may then in 
 old age, look back with pleafure on a life well fpent on 
 earth, as Hezekiah did, and look forward with more plea- 
 fure, upon a life to be better fpent in heaven. 
 
 And whrn we have received a fentence of death witKiii 
 ouvfeWes, and fee the day approaching, the pleafure we have 
 in loving God, and believing in Chrift, and in the expref- 
 fjons of holy joy and thankfulnefs, fliould make even a 
 f»ck-bed and a death-bed eafy.The fnints Ihall be joyful in 
 glory, and fliail " fing aloud upon their beds,"Pfal cxlix. 5. 
 thefe beds to which they are confined, and from which they 
 are removing to their grnves, their beds in the darknefs. 
 Our religion, if we be faithful to it, will furnifh us with 
 living comforts in dying moments, fulhcient to balance. the 
 pains of death, and take oiTthe terror of it ; and to enable 
 lis to triumph over it, " O death f where is thy fting ?'* 
 JiCt us t})tn evidence our experiences of the pleafures of re- 
 ligion, by living above the inordinate love of life, and fear 
 of death. 
 
 Ljjll\,\.tt us long for the perfciftion of thefe fpiritual 
 pleatures in the kingdom cf glory "When we come thither, 
 and not till then, they will be perfected. "While we are 
 here, as wc knew and love but in part, fo we rejoice but in 
 part; even our fpiritual joys here have their damps and 
 allays ; we mi:;, tears and trembiiniis with them : but, in 
 
BEING RELIGIOUS. 3S7 
 
 heaven, there is a fulnefs of joy without mi-(ture, and plea- 
 Aires for evermore withot period or (iiminutioii. Chrill's 
 fcrvants will thjre ciiier into the j'^y of their Lord, aful it 
 fhall be everlaihng joy, Ifa. xxxv. 10. 
 
 And what are the pleafures in the way of wifdom, com- 
 pared with thofe at the end of the way ? If a complacency 
 in the divir\e beauty and love be fo pleafant while we are in 
 the body> and arc abfent from tiie Lord ; what will it be 
 when we have put oiTthe body, and go to be prefent with 
 the Lord ? If a day in God's courts, and a few minutes 
 fpent there in his praifes, be fo pleafant ; what will an eter- 
 nity within the veil be, among them that dwell in his houfe 
 above, and are (lill praifing him ? If the earnelt of our in- 
 heritance be fo comfortable, what will the inheritance itfelf 
 be ? Now, wherever there is grace, it will he aiming at, 
 and preihng towards, its own perfection ; it is a " well of 
 ** water fpringing up to eternal life," John iv. 14. This there- 
 fore we fliould be longing for. Our love to God in this 
 world is love in motion, in heaven it will be love at red. 
 O when (hall that fabbatifm come, which remains for the 
 people of God? Here we have the pleafure of looking to- 
 wards God; O when Ihall we come, and appear before 
 htm ! Our Lord, Jefus, when at his laft paiTover, which he 
 earneflly delked to eat with >his difciples, he had drunk of 
 the fruit of the vine, he fpeaks as ane that longed to " drink 
 " it new in the kingdom of his Father," Mat. xxvi. 19. 
 It is very pleafant to ferve Chrifl here ; but to *< depart 
 *' and to be with Chrlft, is far better. Now are we the 
 << fons of God," I Johniii. 2 and it is very pleafant to think 
 of that : but it doth not yet appear what we fnall be; fome- 
 thing there is in referve,^ which v/e are kept in expectation 
 of : we are not yet at home, but Oiould long to be there, 
 a Ki keep up holy defires of that glory to be revealed, th:^t 
 we may be quickened, as long as we are here, to prefi 
 " towards the mark for the prize of the high calling." 
 
 3C2 
 
■ssa 
 
 A CHU CH IN THE HOUSE, 
 
 SERMON 
 
 CONCERNING 
 
 FAMILY RELIGION. 
 
 PUBLISHED AT THF REQUEST OF SOME WHO 
 
 HEARD THi. SUBSTANCF OF IT PREACHED 
 
 IN LONDON, APRIL l6, I704. 
 
 ttSKi^m 
 
 I Cor. xvi. 19. 
 
 — — JVith the Church that is in thine Houfe. 
 
 SOME VvTy good interpreters, I know, underftand this 
 of a '* iettled, ftated, fclemu meeting of Chriftians at 
 the houfe of Aquila ^nd Prifcilla, for public worthip \ and 
 they were glad of houfes to meet in, where they wanted 
 thole better conveniences, which the church was afterwards, 
 in her profperous days, accommodated with. When they 
 had iiot fuch places as they could wifh, they thankfully made 
 ufe ( f fuch as they could get. 
 
 But '.others t^ink it is meant only of their own family, and 
 the Itrangers within their gates •, among whom there was fo 
 mudi piety, and devotion, that it might well be called a 
 church or religious houfe. Thus the ancients generally un- 
 derlland it. Nor was it only Aquila and Prifcilla, whofe 
 
A CHURCH JN THE HOUSE. 389 
 
 honfe wn5 thus celebrated for religion here, and Rom. xvi. 
 5. but Nymphas alfo had a church in his houfe, Col. iv. i r. 
 and Philemon, verfe 2. Not but that others.* to whom and 
 from whom falutations are fcnt in PauPs epiftles, made con- 
 fcience of keeping up religion in their families ; but thefe 
 are mentioned, probably becaufe their families were more 
 numerous than moft of thofe other families were, which 
 made their family devotions m.ore folemn, and confequently 
 more taken notice of. • 
 
 In this fenfe I fhall choofe to take it ; from hence to re- 
 commend family religion to you, under the notion of a 
 church in the houfe. When we fee your public alTemblies 
 fo well filled, fo well frequented, we cannot but thank God, 
 and take courage ; your diligent attendance on the miniftry 
 of the word and prayers, is your praife, and I truft, through 
 grace, it redounds to your fpiritual comfort and benefit : 
 But my fubje(n: at this time will lead me to inquire into the 
 itate of religion in your private houfes, whtther it flourifh 
 or wither there ? whether it be upon the throne, or under 
 foot there .'' Herein I defire to deal plainly and faithfully 
 with your confciences, and I beg you will giVe them leave to 
 ^al fo with you. 
 
 •> The pious and zealous endeavours both of magiftrates 
 and minifters for the reformation of manners, znd the fun- 
 preflion of vice and prophanenefs, are the joy and encourage- 
 ment of all good people in the land, and a happy indication 
 that God hath yet mercy in llore for us : " If the Lord had 
 <* been pleafed to kill us, he would not have fhewed us fuch 
 ** things as thefe." NowA know not any thing that will con- 
 tribute more to the furtlierance of this good work, than the 
 bringing of family religion more into pradlce and reputation. 
 Here the reformation muH: begin. Other methods may 
 check the difcafe we complain of; but this, if it micjht uni- 
 verfally obtain, would cure it. Salt muft be cafl: into thefe 
 fprings, and then the waters would be healed .\ 
 
 Many a time, no doubt, you have been urged to this part 
 of your duty ; many a good fermon perhaps you have heard, 
 and many a good book has been put into your hands with 
 this defign, to perfuade you to keep up rr ligion in your fa- 
 milies, and to affifl: you therein : 15ut I hope a further at- 
 tempt to advance this good work, by one v/ho is a hearty 
 
390 A CHURCH IN THE HOU^E. 
 
 well-wiilier to it, and to tlie profpcrity of your fouls and 
 families, will not be thought altogether needkfs, and that 
 by the grace of God it will not be wholly fruitlefs ; at leaft 
 it will fcrve to remind you of what you have received and 
 heard to this purpofe, that you may hold fall what is good, 
 and repent of what is amifs, Rev. iii. 3. 
 
 The leflbn then which I would recommend to you from 
 the text is this : 
 
 That the families of Chnfiam fiould be little churches* 
 Or thus, Th^it wherever we have a houfe^ God fiould 
 have a church in it. 
 
 Unhappy conlefls there have been, and ftill are, among 
 wife and good men, about the conftitution, order, and go* 
 vernment of churches: God by his grace heal thcfe breaches, 
 lead us into all truth, and difpofe our minds to love and 
 peace ; that, while we endeavour herein to ^yalk according 
 to the light God hath given us, we may charitably believe 
 that others do fo too ; longing to be there where we fliall 
 be all of a mind 
 
 But I am now fpeaking of the churches concerning which 
 there is no fuch controverfy. All agree that mafters of fa- 
 milies, who profefs religion and the fear of God themfelvcs, 
 llK)uld, according tb the talents tliey art' entrufted with, 
 maintain aad keep up religion and the fear of God in their 
 families, as thofe that muft give account; and that families, 
 as fuch, fhould contribute to the fupport of Chriftianity in 
 a nation, whofe honour and happinefs is ft> be a Chrillian 
 jfiation. As nature makes families little kingdoms, and 
 perhaps ccconomics were the firft and mod ancient politics; 
 fo grace makes families little churches: and thofe were the 
 primitive churches of the Old Teilament, before •^* men 
 ** began to call upon the name of the Lord in folemn af- 
 " fembliesj and the fons of God came together toprefent 
 *^ themfelves" before him 
 
 Not that I would have thefe family-churches fet up and 
 kept up in competiti6n with, much lefs in contradiction to, 
 public religious aflemblie^, which ought always to liave the 
 preference : (The Lord loves the gates of Slon, more thaji 
 ail the dwellings of Jacob, Pfal- Ixxxvii. 2. and fo muft we; 
 and mull not iorfake the affembling of ourfelves together, 
 under colour of exhorting one another daily at home ;) far 
 ke it from us to oiler any thing that may countenance the 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 39! 
 
 invading of the office of the miniftry, or laying it in com- 
 mon, and the ufurping or fuperfeding of the a?lmini(lratioQ 
 of facraments: No, but thcfe -family churches (which arc 
 but figuratively fo) mud be erected and maintained in fub- 
 ordination to thofe more facred and folemn eitablifhments. 
 
 Now, that I may the more diftin£lly open to you, and 
 prefs upon you this great duty of family religion* from the 
 example of this and other texts of a church in the houfe, I 
 iliall endeavour, (i.) To (hew you what this church in the 
 houfe is, and when our famihes may be called churches. 
 And, (2.) To perfuadc you, by fome motives, thus to turn 
 your families into churches. And then, (3.) To addrefs to 
 you upon the whole matter, by way of application. 
 
 I am, in the firft place, to tell you what that family religion 
 is, which will be as a church in the houfe, and wherein 
 it doth confi.l J that you may fee what it is we are perfuad- 
 ing you to. 
 
 Churches are facred focieties, incorporated for the honour 
 and fervice of God in Chrift, devoted to God, and employed 
 for him ; fo fhould our families be. 
 
 X. Churches are focieties devoted to God, called out of 
 the world, taken in out of the common to be inclofures for 
 God : He hath fet them apart for himfelf ; and, becaufe h« 
 hath chofen them, they alfo have chofen him, and fetthem- 
 felves apart for him. The Jewilh church was feparated to 
 Cod for a peculiar people, a kingdom of priefts. 
 
 Thus our houfes muft be churches ; with ourfeWes we 
 muft give up cur houfes to tlie Lord, to be to him for a 
 name, and a people. All theintereft we have, both in oxir 
 relations; and in our pofreffions, muft be confectated to God ^ 
 as, under the law, all that the fervant had was his mafters 
 for ever, after he had confentcd to have his ear bored to the 
 door-poft. When God efFedually called Abram out of 
 Ur of the Chaldees, his family put on the face of a par- 
 ticular church ; for, in obedience to God's precept, and in 
 dependence on God's promife, they took all the fubftance 
 they had gathered, and the foids they had gotten, and put 
 themfeives and their all under a divine cf)ndu6t and go- 
 vernment, Gen xii. 5. His was a great family^ not only 
 numerous, but very confiderablc j the father of it was the 
 father of all them that believe : But even little families, 
 jointly and entirely given up to God, fo become churches. 
 
392 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 When all the members of the family yield themfelves. tof 
 God, " fubfcribe with their hands to he the Lord's," and 
 *♦ furname themfclves by the name of Ifrae!," and the maf- 
 terof the family^ with himfelf, gives up ail his right, title, 
 and intereft in his houfe, and all that belongs to it, unto 
 Godf to be ufed for him, and difpofed of by him, here is 
 a church in the houfe. 
 
 Baptifm was ordained for the difcipling of nations. Mat. 
 xxviii. 10. that the kingdoms of the world, as fuch, might, 
 by the converfion of their people to the faith of Chrift, and 
 the confecration of their powers and governments to the 
 honour of Chritl", become his kingdoms. Rev. xi. '5. Thus 
 by baptifm houfeholdslikewife are dlfcipled, as Lydia's, and 
 the Jailor's, AcVs xvi. 15, 33. and in their family-capacity 
 p.re given up to him, who is in a parti^^ular manner the 
 God of all the fam.ilies of Ifrael, Jer. xxx. i. Circumclfion 
 was at firft a family ordinance ; and in that particular, as 
 well as others, baptifm doth fomewhat fymbolize with it : 
 "When the children' of Chri.Oian parents are by baptifm ad- 
 mitted members of the univerfal church, as their right to 
 baptifm is grounded upon, fo their communion v/ith the uni- 
 verfal church, is, during their inf mcy, maintained and kept 
 up chiefly by their immediate relation to thcfe churches in 
 the houfe ; to them therefore they are firft given back, and 
 in them they are depofited, under the tuition of them, to be 
 trained up till they become capable of a place and a name 
 in particular churches of larger figure and extent. So that 
 baptized families, that own their baptifm, and adhere to it, 
 and in their joint and relative capacity iTiake profefTion of 
 the Chriflian faith, may fo fir be called little churclies 
 
 More than once, in the Old Teftament, we read of the 
 dedication of private houfes. It is fpoken of as a common 
 praclice, Deut. xx. 5. " Whatman is there that hath built 
 " a new houfe, and hath not dedicated it ?" i. e. taken pof- 
 fcffion of it : In the doing of which, it was ufual to dedicate 
 it to God by fome folemn a£ls of religious worlhip. The 
 thirtieth Tfalm is intitled, a pfalm or fong at the dedication af 
 the houfe of David. It is a good thing, when a man hath a 
 h.ouil? of his own, thus to convert it into a church, by dedicat- 
 ing it to the fervice and lionour of God, that it may beaBei- 
 the), a hcufe of God, and not a Beth-aven, a houfe of vanity 
 and ixiic]uity. Every good Chridiuir that is a houfeholder. 
 
A CHURCH lU THE HOUSE. 393 
 
 HO 'doubt, doth this habitually and virtually; having firft 
 given his own felf to the Lord, he freely furrenders all he 
 hath to him : but it may be of good ufe to do it actually and 
 exprefsly, and often to repeat this adl of refignation *, ''this 
 '' Hone which I have fet for a pillar, flvall be God's houfe," 
 Gen. xxviii. 22. Let all I have in my houfe, and all I do in 
 it, be for the glory of God *, I own him to be my great 
 landlord, and I hold all from and under him ; to him I pro- 
 mife to pay the rents, the quitrents, of daily praifes and 
 thankfgivings, and to do the fervices, the eafy fervices, of 
 gofpel obedience. Let holinefs to the Lord be written upon 
 the houfe, and all the furniture of it ; according to the word 
 which God hath fpoken, Zech. xiv. 20, 21. that every pot 
 in Jerufalem, and Judah " (hall be holinefs to the Lord of 
 ** hods." Let God by his providence difpofe of the affairs 
 of my family, and by his grace difpofe the afFeftions of all 
 in my family, according to his will, to his own praife. Let 
 me and mine be only, wholly, and for ever his. 
 
 Be perfuaded, brethren, thus to dedicate your houfes to 
 God, and beg of him to come and take polTefTion of them. 
 If you never did it, do it to-night with all poflible ferioufnefs 
 and fnicerity. ** Life up your heads, O ye gates, and be 
 •* ye lift up, ye everlalting doors, and the king of glory 
 ** (hall come in." Bring the ark of the Lord into the tent 
 you have pitched, and oblige yourfelves, and all yours, to 
 attend it. Look upon your houfes as temples for God, 
 places for worlhip, and all your pofleflions as dedicated 
 things, to be ufed for God's honour, and not to be alienated 
 or profaned. 
 
 2. Churches are focieties employed for God, purfuant to 
 the true intent and meaning of this dedication. 
 
 There are three things necelfary to the well being of a 
 church, and which are mod confiderable in the conftitu- 
 tion of it. Thofe are do£lrine, worfhip, and difcipline. 
 Where the truths of Chrift are profefTed and taught, the 
 ordinances of Chrift adminiftred and obferved, and due care 
 taken to put the laws of Chrift in execution among all that 
 profefs themfelves his fubje£ts, and this under the condudt 
 and infpeclion of a gofpcl-miniftry ; there is a church : and 
 fomething anfwerable hereunto there muft be in our fami:- 
 lies, to denominate them little churches.^ 
 
 3 D 
 
394 -A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 Maders of families, who prefide in the other affairs cf 
 the houfe, muil go before their hcufcholds in the things of 
 Goii. They mud be as prophets, priefts, and kings, in 
 their own families ; and, as fuch, they mull keep up fami- 
 ly-do6lrine, family- worflnp, and family-difcipline : then is 
 there a church in the houfe, and this is the family religion I 
 am perfuading you to. 
 
 Flrjl^ Keep up family-do61:rine.' It is not enough that 
 you and yours are baptifed into the Chriftian faith, and pjro- 
 fefs to own the truth as it is in Jefiis 5 but care mufi be 
 taken, and means ufed, that you and yours be well acquaint- 
 ed with that truth, and that you grow in that acquaintance, 
 to the honour of Chrilf, and his holyreligion, and the im- 
 ■proveir.ent of your own minds, and theirs that are under 
 your charge. You mud dwell with your families as 'men 
 iof knowledge, i Pet iii. 7. /. e, as men that defire to grow 
 :in knowledge yourfelves and to communicate your know- 
 ledge for the benefit of others, which are the two good pro- 
 "'perties of thofe that deferve to be called men of know* 
 
 That you may keep up family-do^lrine, 
 
 I. Ycu muft iread the fcriptures to your families, m a fo- 
 lemn manner, requiring their attendance on your reading," 
 :and their attention to it; and inquiring fometimes whe- 
 ther th^v underftand what you read .'' I liope, there are 
 none of you without bibles in your houfes, ftore of bibles, 
 every one a bible : thanks be to God, we have them cheap 
 .and common, in a languati^e that we underftand. The book 
 of the law is not fuch a rarity with us, as it was' in Jofiah's 
 time We need nt)t fetch this knowledge from afar,nor fend 
 from, fea to fca, and from the river to the ends of the earth, 
 'to feek the knowledge of God \ no, the word is nigh us. 
 When popery reigned in our land, Englifli bibles were 
 fearce things ; a load of hay, it is faid, was once given for 
 one torn leaf of a bible. 13ut now bibles are every one*s 
 money. You know where to buy them ; or, if not able 
 to do that, perhaps in this charitable city, you may know 
 wliere to beg them. It is better to be without bread in 
 your houfes, tlian withrmt bibles \ for the words of God's 
 mouth are, and (liould be to you, more than your necefla- 
 ry {'. od. 
 
 But what will it avail you to have bibles in your 'houfes> 
 
A CHUP.CH IN THE HOUSE. 395 
 
 if you do not ufe them? To have the great things of God's 
 law and gofpci v, ritten to you, if you count them as a ftrange 
 thing? You look daily into your Ihop-books, and perhaps 
 converfe much with the news-books j and (liall your bibles 
 be thrown by as an almanack out of date ? It is not now 
 penal to read the fcriptures in your families, as it wafe iii 
 the dawning of the day of reformation from popery, when 
 there were thofe that were accufed and profecuted for 
 reading in a certain great. heretical book, called an Englilh 
 bible. The Philidines do not now Hop up thefe wells, as Gen. 
 xxvi. 1 8 nor do the fliepherds drive awa y youf flocks from them, 
 Jixod. ii. 1,7. nor are they as a " fpring (hut up, or a fountain 
 ** fealed :" but the gifts given to men have been happily employV 
 ed in rolling away the ftone from the mouth of thefe wells. 
 Toil have great encouragements to read the fcripture ; for 
 notwithftanding the malicious endeavours of atheiilsto vi- 
 lify facred things, the knowledge of the fcripture is (till in 
 reputation with all wife and good men. You have alfo va- 
 riety of excellent lielps to underftand the fcripture, and to 
 improve your reading of it ; fo that if you or yours perilh 
 for lack of this knowledge, as you certainly will if you per- 
 iift in the negleft of it, you may thank yourfelves, the guilt 
 will lie wholly at your own doors. ' 
 
 Let mc therefore with all earned nefs prefs it upon you, 
 to make the folemn reading of the fcripture a part of your 
 daily worilnp in your famihes. When you fpeak to God 
 by prayer, be willing to hear him fpeak to you in his Word, 
 that there may be a complete communion between you and 
 God. This will add much to the folemnity of your familyf 
 worfhip, and will make the tranfaftion the more awful and 
 ferious, if it be done in a right manner jwhich^ will conduce 
 much to the honour of God, and your own and your families 
 edification It will help to make the word of God famiiiar to 
 yourfelves, and your children and fervants, that you may be 
 ready and mighty in the fcriptures, and may from thence be 
 thoroughly furnilhed for every good word and work. ' It 
 will likewife furniCi you with matter and words for prayer, 
 ?.nd fo be helpful to you in other parts of the fervice. If 
 fome parts of fcripture feem lefs edifying, let thofe be more 
 frequently read that are mod To, David's pfalms are of daily 
 ufe in devotion, and Solomon's proverbs in converfation ; it 
 will be greatly to your advantage to be well verfed in them. 
 And, I hope, I need not prefs any Chriftian to the ftudy of 
 
 3D2 
 
39^ A CHURCH IH THE HOUSE. 
 
 the New Teflament, nor any Chriflian parents to the fre* 
 quent inflruding of their children in the pleaf^int and pro- 
 fitable hiftories of the Old Tcftament. When you only hear 
 your children read the bib'e, they are tempted to look upon 
 it as no more than a fchool book; but when they hear you read 
 it to them in a folemn, religious manner, .it comes, as it 
 ought, with more authority. Thofe mafters of families who 
 make confcience of doing this daily, morning and evening, 
 reckoning it part of that which the duty of eveiy day re- 
 quires, I am fure, have comfort and fatisfa£lion in fo do- 
 ing, and find it contributes much to their own improve- 
 ment Jin Chriftian knowledge, and the edification of thofe 
 that dwell under their (hadow ; and the more, if thofe that 
 are minifters expound themfelves, and other maflers of fa^ 
 juilies read fome plain and profitable expofition of what is 
 read, or of fome part of it. 
 
 It is eafy to add, under this head, that the feafonable read- 
 ing of other good books will contribute very much to family 
 inliru£lion. In helps of this kind, we are as happy as any 
 people under the fun, if we have but hearts to ufe the helps 
 we have, as thofe that mud give an account fhortly of them^ 
 among other the talents we are intrufted with. 
 
 2. You mull alfo catechife your children and fervants, fa 
 
 long as they continue in that age of life which needs this 
 
 milk. Oblige them to learn fome good catechifm by heart, 
 
 and to keep it in remembrance, and, by familiar difcourfe 
 
 with them, help them to underftand it, as they become cap- 
 
 :ible. It is an excellent m.ethod of catechifing, which GOD 
 
 himfelf dire£Vs us to,Deut. vi. 7. Toteachour children the 
 
 things of GOD, by talking of them as we do fit in the houfe, 
 
 and go by the way, when we lie down, and when we rife 
 
 up. It is good to keep up dated times for this fervice, and 
 
 be conftant to them, as thofe that know how induftrious the 
 
 enemy is to fow tares, while men fleep. If this. good work 
 
 be not kept going forward, it will of itfelf go backward, 
 
 Wifdom alfo will dire£l: you to manage your catechifing, as 
 
 well as the other braiKhes of family religion, fo as not to 
 
 make it a tafk and a burden, but as much as may be a pleafure 
 
 to thofe under your charge, that the blame may lie wholly 
 
 upon iheir own impiety, and not at all upon your impru^ 
 
 dcnce, if they fliould fay, Behold what a weannefs is iv4 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 397 
 
 This way of infi:ru£tlon by catcchlfing, doth in a fpecial 
 manner belong to the church in the hoiife ; for that is the 
 fiurferyin which the trees of ricjhteoufnefs are reared, that 
 afterwards are planted in the courts of our God. Public 
 catcchi(in,{r will turn to little account without family catechif^ 
 ing. The labour of minifters in inftru6ting of youth, and 
 feeding the lan\bs of the flock, therefore proves to many 
 labour in vain, becaufe mailers of families do not do their 
 duty, in preparing them for public inftruflioU) and ex- 
 amining their improvement by it. As mothers are chil- 
 dren's bell nurfes, fo parents are, or fhould be, their bell 
 teachers. Solomon's father was his tutor, Prov, iv. 3. 4. 
 And he never forgot the lefibns his mother taught him* 
 Prov. xxxi. !. 
 
 The baptifm of your children, as it laid a (Irong and lad- 
 ing obligation upon them to live in the fear of God, fo it 
 brought you under the moil powerful engagements imagin- 
 able to bring them up in that fear. The child you gave up 
 to God te be dedicated to him, and admitted a member of 
 Christ's vifible church, was in God's name given back to 
 you, with the fame charge that Pharaoh's daughter gave to 
 Mofes' mother, Take this child, and nurfc it for me ; and, 
 in nurfing it for God, you nurfe it for better preferment 
 than that of being called the fon of Pharaoh's daughter, It is 
 worth obferving, that he to whom God firft did the honour 
 of entailing the fealof the covenant upon his feed, was emi- 
 nent for this part offarT;ily religion} " I know Abraham, 
 ^* faith God, that he will command his children, and his 
 '* houfehold after him, to keep the way of the Lord," Gen. 
 xviii. 19. Thofe therefore who would have the comfort of 
 God's covenant with them and their feed, and would {hire 
 in that blefling of Abraham which comes upon the Gentiles, 
 mud herein follow the example of faithful Abraham. The 
 entail of the covenant of grace is forfeited and cut off, if 
 care be not taken with it to tranfmit the means of grace. 
 To what purpofe were they difcipled, if they be not taught ^ 
 Why did you give them a Chri-tian name, if you will not 
 give them the knowledge of Chrift and Chridianity ? God 
 has owned them as his children, and born unto him, Ezek. 
 xvt. 20. and therefore he expe£l:s they diould be brought up 
 for him ; you are wnju > to your God, unkinci to your chil- 
 dren,. and iinfaithful to your trud, if having by baptifm en- 
 
39^ A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 tered yonr cliildren in Christ's School, and lifted them un- 
 der hi% banner, you do not make confcience of training 
 them tip in the learning of Christ's fcholars, and under the 
 difcipline of his -ibldiers. 
 
 - Confider what your children are now capable of, even 
 in the days of their childhood. They are capable of receiv- 
 ing impreffions now, which may abide upop them while 
 they live ; they *' are turned as clay to the feal," and now is 
 the time to apply to them the feal of the living God. They 
 nre capable of honouring God now, if they be well taught, 
 and by their joining, as they can, in religious fervices, with 
 fo much reverence and application as their age will admit, 
 God is honoured, and you in them prefent to him living fa- 
 crifices, holy and acceptable. The hofannas even of chil- 
 dren well taught, will be theperfe6ling ofpraife, and highly 
 pleafing to the Lord Jefus. - 
 
 -^ Confider what your children. are defigned for (we hope) 
 in this world : they muft be a "feed to ferve the Lord," 
 which fhall be " accounted to him for a generation." They 
 are to bear up the name of Chrift in their day, and into 
 their hands mufl be tranfmitted that good thing, which is 
 committed to us. They are to bepraifin^^ God on earth, wh^ 
 we are praifing him in heaven. Let them then be brought 
 up Accordingly, that they may anfwerthe end of their birth 
 and being. They are defigned for the fervice of their ge- 
 neration, and to do good in their day, confult the public 
 welfare then, and let, nothing be wanting on your parts to 
 qu.^lify them for ufefulnefs, according as their place and 
 cap^i-city is. , 
 
 Confider efpecially what they are defigned for in another 
 v'orld. They are made for eternity. Every child thcu 
 hal^, hath a precious ^nd immortal foul, that muft be for- 
 ever either in heaven or hell, according as it is prepared in 
 this prefent ftate; and perhaps it muft remove to that world 
 of fpirits very fhortly ; and will it not, be very fad, if, 
 through your carelefsnefs and negle£l, your children fliould 
 Jtarn the ways of fin, and perifti eternally in thofe ways .'* 
 Ciive them warning, that, if pofiible, you may deliver their 
 fouls, at Icait that you may deliver your own, and mr.ynot 
 bring their curfe and God's too, their blood and your own 
 tco, upcn ycur heads. 
 
A CHURCH. IN THE H0US2. ^99 
 
 I know you cnnnot give grace to your cliIMren, nor is a 
 religious converfcition the conftrint confequent of a l^ellgiou^ 
 education : '* the race is not always to the fwift, nor the 
 " battle to the rtrong ;" but if you make confcience of do-- 
 ing your duty, by keeping up family doclrine, if you tJach 
 them the good and the right way, and warn them 
 of by-paths if you reprove, exhort, and encourage them as 
 there is occarion, if you pray with them and for them, and 
 fet them a good example, and at laft confult their foul's wel- 
 fare in the difpofal of them, you have done your part, and 
 may comfortably leave the ilTue and fuccefs with God. 
 
 Secondly, Keep up family worfhip. You mud not only, 
 ' as prophets, teach your families, but as pricfts, mud go be- 
 fore them, in offering the fpiritual fiicrifice of praver and 
 praife Herein likeVife you mud tread in the fteps of 
 faithful Abraham j (whofe fons you are while thus vou do 
 well) you muil not only like him, inftru61: your houfehold, 
 but like him, you mult with them ^*^ call on the name of the 
 *' Lord the everlafting God," Gen. xxi. 33. Wherever he 
 pitched his teiTt, " there he built an altar unto the Lord," 
 Gen, xii. 7, 8, 13 vii. 18. Though he was yet in an un- 
 fettled ftate, but a ftranger and a fojourner ; though he was 
 among jealous and envious neighbours, for the Canaanite 
 and the Perizzite dwelled then in the lands yet u-herever 
 Abraham had a tent, God had an altar in it, and he himfelF 
 ferved at that altar. Herein he has left us an example. 
 
 Families, as fuch, have many errands at the throne of 
 *^race, which furnifh them with matter and occafion for 
 family prayer every day ; errands which cannot be done fo 
 well in fecrctor public, but are. fitted to be done by the fa- 
 mily in concert, and apart from the other families. And it 
 is good for thofe that ^o before-the red in family- devotion, 
 ordinarily to dwell mod upon the concerns of thqfe that 
 join in their family capacity, that it may indeed be a family 
 prayer, not only offered in and by the family, but fuited to 
 it. In this and other fervices, we flwuld e-ideavour not 
 only to fay fomerhing, but fomething to the purpofe. 
 
 Five things efpccially you fliould have upon your heart in 
 your family prayer» and fliould endeavour to bring fomething 
 of each, more or lefs, into every prayer with your families. 
 
 I., You ought to make family ackT-owledgements of your 
 dependence upon God and his providence, as you are a fit- 
 
4C0 A CtiiJRtk IK THE HOUSEi 
 
 mily. Our great bufinefs in all a£ls of religious worfhip i^, 
 <* to give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name-/' and 
 this we muft do in our family worlhip. Give honour to 
 God as the founder of families by his ordinance, becaufe 
 ** it was not good for man to be alone •" as the founder of 
 your families by his providence, for he it is that ** buildeta 
 " the houfe, and fetteth the folitary in families " Give ho- 
 nour to him as the owner and ruler of families ; acknow- 
 ledge that you and yours are his, under his government, and 
 at his difpofal, as the iheep of his pafture. Efpecially 
 adore him as the God of all the families of Ifrael, in cove- 
 nant-relation to them, and having a particular concern for 
 them above others, Jer. xxxi. i. Give honour to the great 
 Redeemer, as the head of all the churches, even thofe in 
 your houfe^ ; call him the matter of the family, and the 
 great upholder and benefa^^or of it ; for he it is ** in whom 
 *• all the families of the earth arebleited," Gen. xii 3. All 
 family bleflings are owing to Chrift, and come to us through 
 his hand and his blood. Own your dependence upon God, 
 and your obligations to Chrift, for all good things pertain- 
 ing both to life and godlinefs, and make coaifclence of pay-* 
 ing homage to your chief Lord, and never fet up a title to 
 any of your enjoyments in competition to his. 
 
 2. You ought to make family confeflions of your fins 
 againft God ; thofe fins you have contracted the guilt of in 
 your family capacity. We read in fcripture of the iniquity 
 of the houfe, as of Eli's, i iSam. iii. 13, 14. Iniquity vifited 
 upon the children; Sins that bring wrath upon families, 
 and a curfe that ** enters into the houfe, to confume it with 
 ** the timber thereof, and the ftones thereof, Zech. v. 4. 
 How fad is the condition of thofe families that fin together, 
 and never pray together-, that by concurring in frauds quar- 
 rels, and exceffes, by ftrengthcning one another's hands in 
 impiety and profanenefs, fill the meafure of family guilt, 
 and never agree together to do any thing to empty it ! 
 
 And even religious families that aie not polluted with 
 grofs and fcandalous fins, yet have need to join every day 
 in the folemn a£ls and exprefl^ons of repentance before 
 God for their fins of daily infirmity. Their vain words and 
 unprofitable converfe among themfelves; their manifold dc- 
 fedi^s in relative duties, provoking one another's lufis and 
 palLons, Jnflead of provoking one another to love and to 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 4oi 
 
 good works. Thefe ough: to be confefTed and bewailed by 
 the family together, that God may be glorified, and what 
 has been amifs may be aipcnded for the future. It was not 
 only in a time of great and extraordinary repentance that 
 fajnilies mourned apart, Zech. xli i i. but in the ftated re- 
 turns of tbie day of expiation the prieft was particularly to 
 ** make atonement for his houfehold," Lev. xvi. 17. In 
 many things we al! oiTend God, and one another, and a pe- 
 nitent confeflion of it in prayer together, will be the mod 
 effeilual way of reconciling ourfelves botii to God, and to 
 one another. The bell families, and thofe in which piety 
 and love prevail mod, yet in many things come fhort, and 
 do enough every day to bring them upon their knees at 
 night. 
 
 3. You ought to offer up family thankfgivlngs for the 
 bleflmgs which you, with your families, receive from God. 
 Many are the mercies which you eiijoy the fweetnefs and 
 beneiit of in common ; which, if wanting to one, all the 
 family would be fenfible of it. Hath not God " made a 
 *' hedge of protedlion about you and your houfes, and all 
 ** that you have .^" Job i. 10 Hath he not created a de- 
 fence upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion, as well as 
 upon her afiemblies ? Ifa. iv. 5. The dreadful alarms of a 
 ftorm, and the defolations made as by a iire once in an age, 
 fliould make us fenGble of our obligations to the divine 
 providence, for our prefervation from tcmpefts and fire 
 every day, and every night. It is of the Lord's mercies 
 that we are not confumed, and buried in the ruins of our 
 houfes. When the whole family comes together fafe in 
 the morning, from their refpe^live retirements, and when 
 they return fafe at night, from their refpe6live employ- 
 ments, there having been no difafter, no adverfary, no evil 
 occurrent, it is fo reafonable, and (as I may fay) fo natural 
 for them to ]mn together in folemn thankfgivlngs to their 
 greater Protestor, that I wonder how any that believe a 
 God, and a providence, can omit it. Have yoit not health 
 in your family, ficknefs kept or taken from the midfl of 
 you ? Doth not God bring plentifully into your hands, and 
 increafe your fubftance ? Have you not your table fpread, 
 and your cup running over, and manna mined about your 
 tents .? And doth not the whole family (hare in the comfort 
 •f all this ? 6hall not then the voice of ihankfgiving be in 
 
402 A CIIURCK IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 thofe tabernacles, where the voice of Tejoicing is ? PfaL 
 cxviii. 15. Is the vine by the houfe fule fruitful and flou- 
 rifhing, and the olive plants round the table green and grow- 
 ing ? Are family relations comfortable and agreeable, not 
 broken, nor imbittered ? And fhall not thaf God be ac- 
 knowledged herein, who makes every creature to be that to 
 us that it is ? Shall not the God of your mercies, your fa- 
 mily mercies, be the God of your praifes, your family 
 praifes, and that daily ? 
 
 The benefit and, honour of your being Chriftian fam.ilies, 
 your having in God's houfe, and within his walls, a place, 
 and a name, better than that of fons and daughters, and the 
 * falvation this brings to your houfe, furniflieth you with 
 abundar.t matter for joint thankfgivings. You hath he 
 known above all the families of the earth, and therefore he 
 cxpecls, in a fpecial m.anner, to be owned by you. Of all 
 houfes, 'the houfe of Ifrael, the houfe of Aaron, and the 
 houfe of Levi, have mod reafon to blefs the Lord, and to 
 fay, that his mercy endureth for ever. 
 
 4. You ought to prefent your family petitions for the 
 mercy and grace which your f^imilies ftand in need of. 
 Daily bread is received by families together, and we are 
 taught not only to pray for it every day, but to pray together 
 for it, faying. Our Father, give it us I here are affairs 
 and employments which the family is jointly concerned in 
 the fuccefs of, and therefore fliould jointly aik of God wif- 
 dom for the management of thein, and profperity therein. 
 'Jhere are family cares to be cad upon God by prayer, fa- 
 . mily comforts to be fought for, and family crolTes which 
 they fliould together beg for the fnndification and removal 
 of. Hereby your children will be more effectually pofieffed 
 with a belief of, and regard to, the divine providence, than 
 by all the inftru^lions you can give them, which will look 
 befl in their eye, when thus reduced to practice by your 
 daily acknowledging God in all your ways. 
 
 You defiie that God will give wifdom and grace to your 
 children, you travail in birth again till you fee Chrift formed 
 in them, you pray for them ; it is well, but it is not 
 enough ; you mud pray with themj let them hear you pray 
 to God for a blciling upon the ^ood inftru<Slion5 and coun- 
 fels you give them j it may perhaps put them upon praying 
 for thcmfclves, and increafe their efleem both of you, and 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 4.03 
 
 or the good Icflbns you teach them. You would have your 
 Servants diligent and faithful, and this perhaps would help 
 to make them fo. Mailers do not give to their fervants tliat 
 which is juil and equal, if they do not continue in prayer 
 with them. 
 
 There are fome temptations which families, as fuch, lie 
 open to : hufy families are in temptation to worldlinefs, 
 and neglect of religious duties ; mixed families are iii 
 temptation to difcord, and mutual jealoufies ; decaying fa- 
 milies are in temptation to diftrull, difcontent, and indi- 
 Ttcl courfes, to help themfelves •, they ihould therefore not 
 only watch but pray together, that they be not overcome by 
 the temptations they are expofed to. 
 
 . There are family bleffings which God hath promifed, 
 and for which he will be fought unto, fuch as thofe on the 
 koufe of Obed-Edcm for the Ark's fake •, " or the mercy 
 " which Paul begs for the houfe of Onefiphorus," 2 Tim. 
 i. 16. Thefe joint bleihngs muft be fued out by joint 
 prayers. There is a fpecial blefling which God commands 
 upon families that dwell together in unity, Pfal. cxxxiii. i, 
 3. which they muft feek for by prayer, and come together 
 tofeek for it, in token of that unity which qualifies for it. 
 Where Gpd commands the blefling, we mufl beg the 
 Blefling. God by promife blefleth David's houfe, and 
 therefore David by prayer blefleth it too, 2 Sam. vi. 20. 
 
 5. You ought to make family interceflTions for others 
 alfo. There are families you ftand related to, or which 
 by neighbourhood, friendfliip or acquaintance, you become 
 interefted in, and concerned for, and thefe you fliould re- 
 commend in your prayers to the grace of God, and your 
 family, that are joined with you in the alliances, fliould 
 join with you in thof^e prayers. Evil tidings perhaps are 
 received from relations at a diftance, which are the grief of 
 the family, God muft then be fought unto by the family 
 for (uccour and deliverance. Some of the branches of the 
 family are perhaps in diftant countries, and in dangerous 
 circumflances, and you are folicitous about them ; it will 
 be a comfort to yourfelves, and perhaps will be of advan- 
 tage to them, to make mention of them daily in your fa- 
 mily prayers. The benefit of prayer, will reach far, becaufe 
 he that hears prayer can extend his Hand of power and 
 - 3 E - 
 
404 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 mercy to the utmoft corners of the earth, and to them thSlt 
 are afar oft' upon the fea. 
 
 In the publiL peace likewife, we and our families have 
 peace ; and therefore, if we forget thee, O Jerufalem, we 
 are unworthy eyer to ftand in thy courts, or dwell within 
 thy walls. Our families (hould be witneffes for us, that 
 we pray daily for the land of our nativity, and the profpe- 
 rity of all its interefts ; that praying every where, we 
 niake fupplication for the King, and all in authority, 
 I Tim. ii. 2, 8 That we bear upon our hearts the con- 
 cerns of God's church abroad, efpecially the fufferlng parts 
 of it. Thus keeping up a fpiritual communion with all the 
 families that in every place call on the name of the Lor4 
 Jefus. ^ ^ , 
 
 In a word, Let us go by this rule in our family devor 
 tions ; whatever is the matter of our care, let it be the 
 matter of our prayer : and let us allow no care which we 
 cannot in faith fpread before God : and whatever is the 
 matter of our rejoicing, let it be the matter of our thankf- 
 giving •, and let us withhold our hearts from all thofe joys, 
 which do not difpofe us for the duty of praife. 
 
 Under this head of family worlhip, 1 mufl: not omit to 
 fecommend to you the fmging of pfalms in your families, 
 as a part of daily worlhip, efpecially babbath worfliip. Thid 
 is a part of religious worfliip, which participates both of 
 the word and prayer •, for therein we are not only to give 
 glory to God, but to teach and admonifli one another j it 
 js therefore very proper to make it a tranfition, from the, 
 one to the other. It will warm and quicken you, refreOi 
 and ccmfort you, and perhaps, if you have little children 
 in your houfes, they will fooner lake notice of it, than of 
 any other part of your family devotion \ and fome good 
 jmpreflions may thereby be failencd upon them infenr 
 fibly. 
 
 Thirdly^ Keep wp fajnily difcipline, that fo you have a 
 complete church in your houfe, though in little. Reafon 
 leachcth us, " that every man (hould bear rule in his own 
 ** houfc,'* Eflher i. 22. And fince that, as well as other 
 power, is of God, it ought to be employed for God j and 
 they that fo rule, muflbejufl:, ruling in his fear. Jofliua 
 looked further than the a6ls of religious worfliip, when he 
 jnade that pious refolution, ^' 3S for me and my houfe, we 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 405 
 
 ** Will ferve the Loni," Jofliua xxlv. 15 For we do not 
 fervc hiin in iliicerlty and truth (which is the fervice he 
 there fpeaks of, vcrie. 14.) if we and ours fcrve him only 
 on our knees, and do not take care to ferve him in all the 
 inftances of a religious converfation* Thofe only that 
 have clean hands and a pure heart, are accounted ** the ge- 
 ** neration of, them that feek God," Pfal. xxiv. 4, 6. And 
 without this, thofe that pretend to feek God daiJy, do but 
 mock him, Ita. Iviii. 2. 
 
 The authority God hath given you over your childreft 
 and fcrvants, is principally dcfigned for this end, that you 
 may th«:reby engage them for God and godlinefs. If you 
 ufe it only to oblige them to do your will, and fo to ferve 
 your pride, and to l\o your bufniefs, and fo to ferve your 
 worldlinefs, you do not anfwer the great end of your being 
 invefted with it : You mufl: ufe it for God's honour, by it 
 to engage them as far as you can, to do the will of God, and 
 mind the bufinefs of religion. Holy David not only blefled 
 his houfehold, but took care to keep good order in it j as ap- 
 pears by that plan of his family difcipline, which we have 
 in the ci. pfalm. A pfalm which Mr. Fox tells us» that blef- 
 fed martyr bifliop Ridley often read to his family, as the 
 rule by which he refolved to govern it. 
 
 You are made keeper of the vineyard ; be faithful to your 
 truft, and carefully watch over thefe that are under your 
 charge, knowing you muft give account. 
 
 I. Countenance every thing that is good and praife* 
 worthy in your children and fcrvants. It is as much your 
 duty to commend and encourage thofe in your family that do 
 well, ?s to reprove and admonilh thofe that do amifs ; and 
 if you take delight only in blaming that which is culpable, 
 and are backward to praife that which is laudable, you givci 
 occafion to fufpecl: fomething of an ill nature not becoming 
 a good man, much lefs a good Chriflian. It Ihould be u 
 trouble to us, when we have a reproof to give, but a plea- 
 fure to us to fay with the apoftle, i Cor. ii. 2. Now I praife 
 you. 
 
 Mod people will be eaHer led than driven, and we all love 
 to be fpoken fair : When" you fee any thing that is hopeful 
 and promifmg in your inferiors, any thing of a towardly and 
 tradlabie difpofition, much more any thing of a pious alfec- 
 zion to the things of Gud, you Ihould tlierefore contrive to 
 
4o6 A CHI^RCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 encourage It. Smile upon them when you fee them fet their 
 faces heavenwards, and take the firlt opportunity to let them 
 know you obferve it, and are well pleafed with it, and do 
 not del'piie the day of fmall things This w^il quicken them 
 to continue and abound in that which is good, it will hearten 
 them againft the diUiculties they fee in their way, and per- 
 haps may turn the wavering, trembling fcaie the right way, 
 and effectually determine their relblutions to cleave to the 
 Lord. When you fee them forward to come to family 
 wordiip, attentive to the v/ord, devout in prayer, induftrious 
 to get knowledge, afraid of fin, and careful to do their duty, 
 let them have the praife of it ; for you have the comfort of 
 k, and God mull have all the glory. Draw them with the 
 eords of a man, hold them with the bands of love, fo (hall 
 your rebukes, when they are neceffiry, be more acceptable 
 and effe£tual. The great Shepherd gathers the lambs in 
 his arms, and Carries them in his bofom, and gently leads 
 them, and fo (liould you. 
 
 2. Difcountenance every thing that is evil in your chil- 
 dren and fervants. Ufe your authority for the preventing 
 of fm, and the fuppreffing of every root of bitternefs, left it 
 fpring up, and trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. 
 Frown upon every thing that brings fin into your families, 
 and introduceth any ill words, or ill pradlices. Pride and 
 paffion, ftrife and contention, idlenefs and intemperance, ly- 
 ing and flandering, thefe arc fins which you muft not con- 
 nive at, nor fuffer to go without a rebuke. If you return to 
 the Almighty, this among other things is required of you, 
 that you put away iniquity, all iniquity, thefe and other the 
 hke iniquities, far from your tabernacles. Job xxii, 23. 
 Make it to appear, that, in the government of ypur families, 
 you are more jealous for God's honour, than for your own 
 authority and intercft *, and Ihew yourfelves more difpleafed 
 at that w!\ich is an offence to God, than at that which is 
 ©nly an affront or damage to yourfelves. 
 
 You muft indeed be careful not to provoke your children 
 to MTath, left they be difcouraged; and, as to your fervants, 
 it is your duty to forbear or moderate threatening •, yet you 
 muft alfo, with holy zeal and refolution, and the meeknefs 
 of wifdom, keep good order in your families, and fet no 
 wicked thing before your eyc^, but witnefs againft it. A 
 little lca\^cn leavencth tjie whole lump. Be afraid of hav- 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 407 
 
 ing wicked fervants in your houfes, left your children learn 
 their way, and get a fifare to their fouls. Drive away wlWi 
 an angry countenance all that evil communication which 
 corrupts good manners, that your houfes may be habitations 
 of righteoufnefs, and fm may never find flielter in them. 
 
 I come now, fecondly, to offer fome motives to pcrfuade 
 you thus to turn your families into little churches. And O 
 that I could find out acceptable words, with which to rea- 
 fon with you fo as to prevail ! *' Suffer me a little, and I will 
 ** fhew you what is to be faid on God's behalf," which is 
 worth your confideration. 
 
 Firfl, If your families be little churches, <* God will 
 " come to you, and dwell with you in them •,'* for he hath 
 faid concerning the church, *« This is my reft for ever, here 
 " will I dwell.*' It is a very defirable thing to have the gr<i- 
 cious prefence of God with us ill our families, that prefence 
 v^hich is promifed, where " two or three are gathered to- 
 ** gether in his name." This was it that David was fo de- 
 firous of, Pfal. ci. 2. " O when wilt thou come unto me!" 
 His palace, his court, would be as a prifon, as a dungeon, to 
 him, if God did not come to him, and dwell with him in 
 it ; and cannot your hearts witnefs to this defirc .^ You that 
 have houfes of your own, would you not have God to come 
 to you and dwell with you in them ? Invite him then, beg 
 his prefence, court his ftay. Nay, he invites himfelf to your 
 houfes, by the offers of his favour and grace ; " Behold he 
 ** ftands at your door and knocks :" It is the voice of your 
 beloved, open to him, and bid him welcome: meet him with 
 your hofannas ; blefTed is he who cometh. He cometh 
 peaceably, he brings a bleffing with him, a blefhng which 
 he will caufe to reil upon the habitations of the righteous, 
 Ezek. xliv. 30. He will command a bleffing which fliall 
 amount to no lefs than life for evermore, Pfal xtxiii. •:>k 
 This prefence and bleffmg of God will make your relations 
 comfortable, your affairs fuccefsful, your enjoyments fweet 
 and behold by it all things are made clean to you. This 
 will make your family comforts double comforts ; and your 
 family crofles but half crofTes ; it mmII turn a tent into a 
 temple, a cottage into a palace. Bc^autiful for fituation, the 
 joy of the whole earth, are the houfes in which God dwells. 
 
 Now the way to have God's prefence in your houfes with 
 you is, to furniih them for his entertainment. Thus the 
 
400 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 good Shunammlte invited the prophet Elifha to th.e chnm-- 
 ber fhe had prepared for him, by accommodating him there 
 with " a bed and a table, a ftool and a candleftick," 2 Kmgs 
 iv. 10. Would you furnifli your houfes for the prefence of 
 God, it is not expelled that you furnifh them as his taber- 
 nacle was of old furniflied, with blue, and purple, and fcar- 
 iet, and fine linen; but fet up and keep up for him a throne 
 and an altar, that from the altar you and yours may give 
 glory to him, and from the throne he may give kiw to you 
 and yours ; and then you may be fure of his prefence and 
 blelTmg, and may folace yourfelves from day to day in the 
 comfort of it. God will be with you in a way of mercy, 
 while you are with him in a way of duty : If you feek him 
 he will be found of you : The fecret of Qod ftiall be in your 
 tabernacle, as it was on Job's, chap xxix. 4. as it is with 
 the righteous, Pfal. xxv. 14. Prov. ili. 32, 33. 
 
 Secondly. If you make your houfes little churches, God 
 will make tliem little fanciuaries ; nay, he will himfelf be 
 to you as a little fan£luary, Ezek xi. 16. The way to be 
 fafe in your houfe is, to keep up religion and the fear of 
 God in your houfes ; fo (hall you dwell on high, and the 
 ** place of your defence Ihall be the munition of rocks,** 
 Ifa. xxxiii. 16. The law looks upon a man's houfe as his 
 caftle, religion makes it truly fo. If God*s grace be the 
 glory in the midft of the houfe, his providence will make a 
 wall of fire round about it, Zech. ii 5. Satan found it to his 
 confufion, that God made a hedge about pious Job, about 
 his houfe, and about all that he had on every fide, fo that he 
 could not find one gap by which to break in upon him. Job 
 i. 10. Every dwelling place of Mount Sion (hall be pro- 
 tedled, as the tabernacle was in the wildernefs ; for God 
 hath promifed, to " create upon it a cloud and fmoke by 
 ** day, and the fliining of a flaming fire by night, which 
 " (liall be a defence upon all the glory," Ifa. iv. 5. If we 
 thus " dwell in the houfe of the Lord all the days of our 
 •* life," by making our houfes his houfes, we fliall be •* hid 
 " in his pavilion, in the fecret of his tabernacle fliall he 
 ** hide us," Pfal. xxvii. 4, 5. 
 
 Wherever we encamp, under the banner of Chrift, the 
 :>ngels of God will encamp round about us, and pitch their 
 tents, where we pitch ours *, and wc little think how much 
 wc o^^•e it to the niiniftration of the good angels, that w-c 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSt. 4©9 
 
 and ours are preferved from tlie malice of evil angels, who 
 are continually feekinp; to do mifchief to good people. 
 There are terrors that fly by night and by day, which they 
 only tliat abide under the Ihadow of tl^e Almiij;hty can pro- 
 mife thejiifelves to be fafe from, Pfal. j:ci i, 5. Would you 
 infure your houfesby the bed policy of infurance, turn them 
 into churches, and then they Cnall be taken under the fpecial 
 prote6lion of him that keeps Ifrael, and neither fiumbers nor 
 fleeps ; and, if any damage come 10 them, it fliall be made 
 up in grace and glory The way of duty is without doubt 
 the way of fafety. 
 
 Praying families are kept from more mifchiefs than they 
 themfelves are aware of. They are not always fenfible of 
 the diflin<Slion which a kind providence makes between 
 them and others -, though God is pleafed fometimes to make 
 it remarkable, as in the itory which is 'credibly related of a 
 certain village in the canton of Bern In Switzerland, con- 
 fining of ninety houfes, which in the year 1584, was allde- 
 ftroyed by an earthquake, except one houfe, in which the 
 good-man and his family were at that time together praying. 
 That promife is fure to all the feed of faithful Abraham, 
 Fear not, I am thy ihield, Gen. xv. i wifdom herfelf hath 
 pad her word for it, Prov. i. 33. Whofo hearkeneth to me^ 
 wherever he dwells fafely, and fhall be quite from all real 
 evil itfelf, and from the amazing tormenting fear of evil.- 
 Nothing can hurt, nothing needs frighten, thofe whom^ 
 God protects. 
 
 Thirdly^ If you have not a church in your houfe, it is 
 to be feared Satan will have a feat there. If religion do 
 not rule in your families, fin and wickednefs will rule there. 
 I know where thou dwelled, (faith Chrift to the angel of 
 the church of Pergamos, Rev ii. 13.) even where Satan's 
 feat is ; that was his affliction ; but there are many whofe 
 fin it is; by their irreligion and immorality they allow Sa- 
 tan a feat in the houfes, and that feat a throne. They 
 are very willing that the ftrong man armed fhould keep his 
 palace there, and that his poods fhould be at peace ; and 
 the fured way to prevent this is by fetting up a church iii 
 the houfe. It is commonly faid, That where God hath 3 
 church, the devil will have his chapel ; but it may more 
 truly be faid in this cafe, Where God hath not a church, 
 t-he d^vil will have his chapel. If the unclean fpirit fin^l 
 
 3F 
 
 i 
 
41 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 the lioufc in this fenfe empry empty of good, though it 
 be fwept and garniflied, he tnketh to himfe'.f fcven other 
 fpirlts more wicked than himfelf, and they enter in and 
 dwell there. 
 
 Terrible ftories have beCn fold of houfes haunted by the 
 devil, and of the fear people have had of dvi^lling in fuch 
 houfes; verily thofe houfes in which rioting and drunkennefs 
 reign, in which fwearing and curling are the language of the 
 houfe, or in which the more fpiritual wickednefs of pride^ 
 malice, covetoiifnefs and deceit, have the afcendant, may 
 truly be faid to be haunted by the devil, and they arc moll 
 uncomfortable houfes for any man to live in : They are holds 
 of foul fpirits, and cages of unclean and hateful birds,- eveix 
 as Babylon the great will be when it is fallen, Rev xviii 2. 
 Now the way to keep fin out of the houfe is^ to keep up 
 religion in the houfe, which will be the moft effectual anti- 
 dote againft Satan*s poifori. When Abraham thought con- 
 cerning Abimelech's houfe, Surely the fear of God is not in 
 this place, he concluded no Icfs, but they will ilay me for my 
 wife's fake," Gen. xx. it. Where no fear of God is, nd 
 reading, no praying, no devotion, what can one expe£l but 
 all that is bad ? Where there is impiety, there wi!) be im- 
 morality ; they that reftrain prayer, cad of fear^ Jbb, xv. 
 4. But, if religious worfhip have its place in the houfe, it 
 may be hoped that vice will not have a place there. There 
 jfi much of truth in that faying of good Mr. l)od, " Either 
 ** praying will make a man give over finning, or finning 
 ** will make a man give over praying " There remains fome 
 hope concerning thofe who are otherwife bad, as long as 
 thev keep up prayer. Though there be a ftruggle between 
 Chvift and Belial in your houfes and the infults of fin and 
 Satan are daring and threatening, yet as lono^ as religion keeps 
 the fieldj and the weapons of its warfare are made ufe 
 of, we may hope the enemy will lofe ground. 
 
 Fotirthfyy A church in the houfe will make it very com*- 
 fortable to yourfelves. Nothing more agreeable to a graci- 
 ous foul, than conftant communion with a gracious God ; 
 it is the ore thing it defires, to dwell in the houfe of 
 the Lord ; here it is as in its element, it is its relt for 
 ever. If therefore our houfes be houfes of the Lord, we 
 (hall for th^t reafon love home, reckoning our daily devo- 
 tions, the fweetelt of our daily delight*; and our family- wor- 
 fliip, the molt valuable of our family comforts. This will fane- 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 411 
 
 tify to us all the conveniences of our houfe, and reconcile 
 us to the inconveniences ot it. Wiiat are Solomon's gardens 
 ;ind orchards, and ^ ools of water, and other the delij^hts of 
 the fonsof men,EccIcf. ii. ^^6^ 8. in coinparilbn with thef« 
 delights of the children of Goti ? 
 
 Family religion will help to make our family relations 
 comfortable to us, by promoting love, preventing quarrels, 
 and evtinguilliing heats that may at any time happe:i. A 
 family living in the fear of God, and joining daily in reli- 
 gious worlhip, truly enjoys itfelf ; " Behold how good, and 
 ** how pleafant a thing it is for brethren thus to dwell to* 
 ** gether;" it is not only like onitmcnt and perfume which 
 rejoice the heart, but like the holy ointment, the holy perfume, 
 wherewith Aaron, the faint of the Lord, was confecrvited : 
 Not only like the common dew to the grafs, but like the 
 dew which dcfcendeth upon the mountains of Sion, the 
 holy mountains, Pfal. cxx<iii. i, 2. The communion of 
 faints in that which is the work of faints, is without doubt 
 the moil pleafant communion here on earth, and the live- 
 liell reprefentation, ^nd fureft pledge of thofe everlafling 
 joys, which are thehappinefs of the fpirits of juft men made 
 perfeft, and the hopes of holy fouls in this imperfecb ftate. 
 
 Family religion will make the atf lirs of the family fuc- 
 cefsful ; and though they may not in every thing iHue to 
 our mind, yet vA^e may by faith forefce that they will at lad 
 iflue to our good. If this beauty of the Lord our God be 
 upon us and our families, it will profper the v/ork of our 
 hands unto us, yea the work of our hands it will eftablifli ; 
 or however it will eftablifh our hearts in that comfort which 
 makes every thing that occurs eafy, Pfal. xc. 17. cxii. 8. 
 
 We cannot fuppofe our mountain to Hand fo ftrong, but 
 that it will be moved ; trouble in the flefli we muft expect, 
 and afflidion in that from which we promife ourfelves moit 
 comfort J and when the divine providence makes our houfcs 
 houfes of mourning, then it will be comfortable to have 
 them hoafes of prayer, and to have had them fo before. 
 When ficknefs, and forrow, aod death come into our fami- 
 lies, and Iboner or later they will come, it is good that tliey 
 ihould fmd the wheels of prayer agoing, and the family ac- 
 cultomed to feek God ; for, if we are then to begin this 
 good work when dilbefs forceth us to it, we (liall drive 
 -heavily in it. They that pray conftantly when they are well, 
 may pray comfortably when they are fick. 
 
 3 F 2 
 
412 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 Fifthly A church in the houfe will be a good legacy \ 
 nay, it will be a good inheritance to be left to your children 
 after you. Reafon dire£ls us to confult the welfare of po- 
 ilerity, and to lay up in (lore a good foundation for thofe 
 thai ihall come aft^r u to build upon; and we cannot do 
 this better, than Iry ktreping up religion in our houfc^. A 
 family altar will be the bcft entail; your children Ihall for 
 this, rife up and ca'l you blelTed ; and it may be hoped, they 
 will be praifing God for you, and praifmg God like you, 
 here on earth, when you are praifing him in heaven. 
 
 You will hereby leave your children the benefit of many 
 prayers put up to heaven for them, which will be kept, as 
 It were, upon the file there, to be anfwered to their com- 
 forr when you are filent in the duft. It is true of prayer, 
 what we fay of winter, '' It never rots in the Ikies.'* The 
 feed of Jacob know they do not feek in vain, though per- 
 haps they live not to fee their prayers anfwered. Some good 
 Chriftians, that have made confcience of praying daily with 
 and for their children, have been encouraged to hope that 
 the children of fo many prayers fliould not mifcarry at laft; 
 and thus encouraged, Jofeph's dying words have been the 
 language of many a dying Chriftian's faith, ** J die, but God 
 *< will furely yifit you," Gen 1. 24. I have heard of a hope- 
 ful fon, who faid, * He valued his intereft in his pious fa- 
 <* ther's prayers, far more than his intereft in his eftate, 
 *^ though a confiderable one." 
 
 You will Jikewife hereby leave 3'^our children a good ex- 
 ample, vdiich you may hope they will follow when they 
 come into houfes of their own. The ufage and praftice of 
 families is commonly tranfmitted from one generation to 
 another; bad cuftomsare many times thus entailed : Ihey 
 who " burnt incenfe to the queen of heaven, learned it of 
 ** their fathers," Jer. xliv. \ 7. And a "vain converfation was 
 " thus received by tradition," i Pet. i. 18. And why may 
 not good cufloms be in like manner handed down to polte- 
 rity } Thus we fhould make knoM'n the ways of God to our 
 children, that they may ** arife and declare them to their 
 ** children," Pfal. Ixxviii. 6. and religion may become an 
 heir loom in our families; let your children be able to fay, 
 wher they are tempted to fit loofe to religion, ** that it was 
 •* the way of their family, the good old way in which their 
 f fathers walked, and in which they thcmfelves were edu-* 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 413 
 
 ^* cated and trained up :*' And with this tliey may an- 
 fwer him that reproacheth them. Let family worfnip, 
 hclides all its other pleas for itfdf, be able in your houfes 
 to plead prefcription. And though to the acceptablenefs of 
 the fervice requifite, that it be done from a higher and bet- 
 ter principle, tUan purely to keep up the cuftom of family, 
 yet better fo than not at all : And the form ®f go ilinefs may, 
 by the grace of God, at length prove the happy Vehicle of 
 its power ; and dry bones, while unburied, may be made 
 to live. Thus a good man leaves an inheritance to his 
 children; and the generation of the upright fliall be blefled. 
 Sixthly, A church in the houfe will contribute very much 
 to the profperity of the church of God in the nation. Family 
 religion, if that prevail, will put a face of religion upon the 
 land, and very much advance the beauty and peace of our 
 Englidi Jerufalem. This is that, which I hope we are all 
 hearty well-wifliers to; fetting afide the confideratlon of 
 parties and feparate interefls, and burying all names of dif- 
 tin^lion in the grave of Chriftian charity, we earncftly de- 
 fire to fee true catholic Chriftianlty, and ferious godlinefs, 
 in the power of it, prevailing and flouriftiing in our 
 land ; to fee knowledge filling the land, as the waters 
 cover the fea ; to fee holinefs and love giving law, 
 and triumphing over fin and ftrife ; we would fee 
 caufe to call your city a city of righteoufnefs, a faithful city, 
 , its walls falvation, and its gates praife. Now all this would 
 be effe£l:ed, if family- religion were generally fet up and 
 kept up. 
 
 When the wall was to be built about Jerufalem, it was 
 prefcntly done by this expedient, every one undertook to 
 repair over againft his own houfe. bee Neh. iii. 10, &c. 
 And, if ever the decayed walls of the gofpel Jerufalem be 
 built up, it muf\ be by the fame method. Every one muft 
 fweep before his own door, and then the ftreet will be clean. 
 If there were a church in every houfe, there wouM be fuch 
 a church in our land, as would make it a praife throughout 
 the whole earth. We cannot better ferve our country, than 
 by keeping up religion in our families. 
 
 Let families be well catechifed, and then the public 
 preaching of the word will be the more profitable, and the 
 more fuccefsful. For want of this, when we fpeak never 
 fo plainly of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, 
 to the moft we do but fpeak parables. The book o'i the 
 
414 A CHURCH IN TH^ HOUSE. 
 
 J^ord is delivered to them that are not catechifed, faying, 
 Read this, and they fay, We arc not learned; learned enough 
 in other things, but not in the one thing needful, Ifa. xxix. 
 12. But our work is eafy with thole that from their child- 
 hood have known the holy fcriptures. 
 
 If every family were a praying family, public prayers 
 would be the better joined with, more intelligently, and 
 more affectionately ; for the more we are ufed to prayer, 
 the more expert we fhall be in that holy and divine art of 
 entering into the holieit on that day And public reproofs 
 and admonitions would be as a nail in a fure place, if maf-^ 
 ters of families would .econd them with their family difci- 
 pUne, and fo clench thofe nails 
 
 Religious families are bleflings to the neighbourhood they 
 live in, at leaft by their prayers. A good man thus be- 
 comes a public goodj and it is his ambition to be fo. Though 
 lie fee his childrens children, he has fmali joy of that, if 
 he do not fee peace upon Ifrael, Pfal. cxxviii. 5, 6. And 
 therefore poftponing all his own interefts and fatisfa£lions, 
 he fets himfelf to fcek the good of Jerufalem all the days 
 x)f his life. Happy were we, if we had many fuch. That 
 which now remains is, to addrefs myfeif to you upon the 
 whole matter by way of exhortation •, and I pray you, let 
 tny counfel be acceptable to you •, and while I endeavour to 
 give every one his portion, let your confciences aihft me 
 herein, and take to yourfelves that which belongs to you. 
 
 Firfl^ Let thofe mafters of families v.dio have hitherto 
 livud in the neglc6t of family religion, be pcrfuaded now to 
 fet ic up and from henceforward to make confcience of it. 
 i know, it is hard to jierfuade people to begin even a good 
 wark that they have not been ufed to; yet if God by his 
 grace fet in with this word, who can tell but fome may be 
 wrought upon to comply with the defign of it ? We have 
 no ill defign in urging you to this pa^t of your duty : We 
 aim not at the advantage of a party, but purely at the pro- 
 fperity of your families. We are fure we have reafon on 
 our fide, and, if you will but fuffcr that to rule you, we 
 fliall gain our point, and you will all go home firmly re- 
 folved, as Jofhua was, that whatever otheis do themfcives, 
 and whatever they fay of you, you and your houfes will 
 fervc the Lord God put it into, and ketp it in the imagi- 
 nation of the thought of your heart, and e(tabliih your way 
 therein before him. 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSJK, 4\ § 
 
 Proceed in the right method*, Firft, Set up Chrift upon 
 the throne in yo^^r hearts, and then ftt up a cJiurch for 
 Chrift in your houfe. Let Chrlft dNvell in your hearts by 
 faith, and then let him dwell in your houles; you do not be- 
 gin at the riglit end of your work, if you do not f.ril give 
 your own felves unto the Lord; God had refpe£l lirft to 
 Abel, and then to his offering. Let the fear and love of 
 God rule in your hearts, and have a commanding fway and 
 empire there, and then fct up an altar for God in your tents 5 
 for you cannot do that acceptably, till you have firil confe- 
 crated yourfelves as fpiritual priefts to God, to ferve at that 
 altar. 
 
 And when your hearts, like Lydia's, are opened to ClulS:^ 
 let your houfes, like hers, be opened to him too, Afts xvi, 
 14, 15. Let there be churches in all your houfes *, let thofe 
 that have the ftatelieft, richeft, and bed furnifhed houTes, 
 reckon a church in them to be their bed ornament Let 
 thofe that have houfes of the greateft care and bufinefs, 
 reckon family religion their bed employment, and not ne- 
 glect the one thing needful, while they are careful and 
 cumbered about many things : Nor let thofe who have clofe 
 and mean habitations be difcouraged ; the ark of God long 
 dwelt in curtains. Your dwelling is not fo ftrait "but you 
 may find room for a church in it. Church- work ufes to be 
 chargeable, but you may do this church-work cheap: You 
 need not make filver (brines as they did for Diana, nor la- 
 vifh gold out of the bag, as idolaters did in the fervice of 
 their dunghill gods, (Ifa. xlvi. 6.) No, an * altar of earth 
 ** (hall you make to your God," Exod. xx. 24 and he will 
 accept it Church work ufes to be flow work, but you may 
 do this quickly Put on refolution, and you may fet up 
 'this tabernacle to-night, before to-morrow. 
 
 Would you keep up your authority in your family? you 
 Cannot do it better than by keeping up religion in your fa- 
 mily. IF ever the mailer of a family looks great, truly great. 
 It is when he is going before his houfe in the fervice of God, 
 and prefiding among them in holy things. Then he (hews 
 himfelf worthy of double honour, when he teacheth them 
 the good knowledge of the Lord, and is their mouth to 
 God in prayer, bleiling th m in the name of God. 
 
 Would you have your family relations comfortable, your 
 xiFairs fuccefsful, and give an evideace of your profcfled 
 
4l6 A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 fubjccllon to the ^ofytl of Chrift ? Would you live in God's 
 fear, and die in his favour, and efcape that curfc which 13 
 entailed on prayerlefs families ? Let religion, in the power 
 of it, have its due place ; that is, the uppermoft place in 
 your houfes. 
 
 Many cbjedlions your own corrupt hearts will make 
 againft building thefe churches, but they will appear frivo- 
 lous and trifling to a pious mind, that is ftcadfallly refolved 
 for God and godlinefs •, you will never go on in your way 
 to heaven, if you will be frightened by lions in the ftreet. 
 Whatever is the difficulty you dread, the difcouragement 
 you apprehend in it, 1 am confident it is not infuperablc, 
 it is not unanfwerable. But he that obferves the wind, fliall 
 , not fow ; and he that regards the clouds, Ihall not reap. 
 
 Be not loth to begin a new cultom, if it be a good cuf- 
 tom, efpecially if it be a duty, as certainly this is, which 
 while you continue in the negle6l of, you live in fin •, for 
 omiflions are fins and mufk come into judgement. It may 
 be you have been convinced that you ought to worfhip God 
 in your families, and that it is a good thing to do fo ; but 
 you have put it off to fome more convenient feafon. Will 
 you now at laft take occafion from this fermon to begin it ? 
 and do not defer fo good a work any longer. The prefent 
 feafon is without doubt the moft convenient feafon : Begin 
 this day ; let this be the day of your laying the foundation 
 of the Lord's temple in your houfe ; and then confider from 
 this day and upward, as God by the prophet reafons with 
 the people who negle6led to build the temple» Hag. ii. 18, 
 19. take notice whether God do not from this day re- 
 markably blefs you, in all that you have and do. 
 
 Plead not your own weaknefs and inability to perform 
 family worlhip; make ufeof the helps that are provided for 
 you : Do as well as you can, when you cannot do fo well 
 as you would, and God will accept of you. You will write 
 what is neceflTary for the carrying on of your trade, though 
 you cannot write fo fine a hand as fome others can ; and will 
 you not be as wife in the work of your Chriftian calling, to 
 do your bed, though it be far flioit of the beft, rather than 
 not do it at all ? To him that hath but one talent, and trades 
 with that, more fliall be given ; but from him that buries it, 
 it fliall be taken away. Be at fome pains to make the fcrip- 
 turcs familiar to you, efpecially David's pfalms ; and then* 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 4.\f 
 
 you cannot be to feek for a variety of apt exprefTions proper 
 to hi ufed in prayer, for they will be always at your right 
 hand. Take with you tiiofe words, words which the Holy 
 Ghofl: teaches ;.lor you cannot find more acceptable words. 
 
 And now, Ihali I prevail witli you in tliis matter ? I am. 
 loth to lt>avc you unvefolved, or butalmoib perfuaded ; I beg 
 of you, for God's fake, for Chriit's fake, for your own pre- 
 cious fouls* fake, and fcJr the childrens fake of your own 
 bodies, that you will live no longer in the neglect of fo great j 
 and neccflary, and comfortable a dury as this of family 
 worfliip is. When we prefs upon you the more inward 
 duties of faith and love, and the fear of God, it cannot be 
 fo evident that we fucceed in our errand, as it may be in 
 this. It is certain you get not good by this fermon, but it 
 is wholly loll upon you, if, after you have heard it or read 
 it, you continue in the negJe£t of family religion, and if 
 ftlll you cafl otY fear and reitraia prayer before God. Your 
 families will be witneHes againd you, that it was not for 
 want of being called to do it, but for want of a heart to dd 
 it when you were called. But I hope better things of you^ 
 my brethren, and things that accompany faivation^ though 
 I thus fpeak. 
 
 Secondly, Let thofe who have kept un family worfliip 
 formerly, but of late have left it off, be perfuaded to revive 
 it. This perhaps is the cafe. of fome of you ; you remem- 
 ber the kindnefs of your youth, and the love of your eipou- 
 fals : Time was when you fought God daily, and delighted 
 to know his ways, as families that did righteoufnefs, and 
 foifook not the ordinance* of your God ; but now it is 
 otherwife. The altar of the Lord is broken down and ne- ■ 
 giectled, tlie daily facrifice is ceafed j and God hath kept ant 
 account how many days it has ceafed, whether you have or 
 no, Dan. viii. 13, 14. Now God comes into our houfes 
 feeking fruit, but he finds none, or next to none ; you are 
 fo eager in your worldly purfuits, that you have neither 
 hearts nor time for religious exerclfes. You began at firft 
 frequently to omit the fervice, and a fmall matter, ferved 
 for an excufe to put it by, and fo by degrees it came to 
 nothing. 
 
 O that thofe who have thus left their firft love, would 
 now remember whence they are fallen, and repent, and do 
 their firft works ! Inquire how" this good work came to be 
 neglected J was it not becaufe your love to God cooled, andr 
 
 3G 
 
4]S A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 
 
 the love of the world prevailed ? H^ve not you found fl 
 mnnifcft decay in the profperity of your fouls, fince you let 
 fall this good work?, Hath not (in got ground in your hearts 
 and in^ your houfes ? And though, when you dropt your 
 family worfliip, you promifed yonrfelves that you would 
 make it up in fecret worfhip, becaufe you were not willing 
 to allow yourfeh'es time for both; yet, have you not declined 
 in that alfo ? Are you not grown lefs frequent, and lefs 
 fervent i»i your clofet devotions too ? Where is now the 
 blefiednefs you have formerly fpoken of? I befeech you lay 
 out yourfelves to retrieve it in time : Say, as that penitent 
 adukerefs, Hof. ii. 7. *' I will go and return to my lirft 
 *^ hufband, for then it was better with me than now." 
 Cleanfe the fanctuary, put away the ftrange gods : Is mo- 
 ney the god, or thy belly the god that has gained pofleflioit 
 of thy heart and houfe ? whatever it is, caft it out. Re- 
 pair the altar of the L©rd, and begin again the dally facrl- 
 fice and oblation. Light the lamps again, and burn the 
 inccnfe. Rear up the tabernacle of David which is fallen 
 down, lengthen its cords, and ftrengthen Its (lakes ; and 
 refolve it (hall never be neglefted again as It has been. 
 Perhrtps you and your families have been manifeftly under 
 the rebukes of providence fince you left off your duty, as 
 Jacob was while he neglefted to pay his vow : I befeech 
 you at length to hear the voice of the rod, and of him that 
 hath appointed it ; for it minds you of your forgotten vows, 
 faying, " Arife, go up to Bethel, and dwell there,'' Gen. 
 XXXV. I. Let the place thou dwellefl in ever be a Bethel, 
 fo fliall God dv^ell with thee thv!re. 
 
 Thirdly^ Let thofe that are remifs and negligent in their 
 family worfhip, be awakened to more zeal and conftancy* 
 Some of vou perhaps have a church in your houfe, but it is 
 not a flourlfhing church •, it is like the church of Laodicea, 
 neither cold nor hot; or like the church of Sardls, in which 
 the things that remain are ready to die : So that it hath 
 little more than a name to live. Something of this work 
 of the Lord is done for fafliion-fake, but it is done deceit- 
 fully: You have in your flock a male, but you vow and fa- 
 crihce to the Lord a corrupt thing : You grow cuftomary 
 in your accuftomed fervices, and bring the torn and the 
 blind, the lame and the fick for facrifice : And you offer 
 that to your God, which you would fcorn to offer to your 
 governor : And though it is but little you do for the church 
 
A CHURCM IN THE HOUSE* 4I9 
 
 in your houfe, you think th it too much, and fay, " Behold, 
 " wh It a wear'uiefs is it !" You put it off with a f;nall and 
 inconfiderable fcantling of your day, and that with the dregs 
 and refufe of it. You can fpare no time at all for it in the 
 morning, nor any in the evening till you are half id^ep 
 It is thruft into a corner, and almoil loft in a crowd of 
 worldly bufinefs, and carnal conA'crfe. When it is done, it 
 is done fo fli^^rhtly, in (o much hafic, and wi^h fo little reve- 
 rence, that it mikes no impreflion upon yourfelves or your 
 families The bible lies ready, but you have no time to 
 read : your fervants are otherwife employed, and you think 
 it is no matter for calling them in : Y'ou yourfelves can take 
 up with a v/ord or two of prayer, or rcil in a lifelefs, 
 heartlefs talc of words Thus it is every day, and perhaps 
 little better on the Lord's days; no repetition, nocatechiiing, 
 no finging of pfalms, or none to any purpofc. 
 
 Is it thus with any of your families ? Is this the prcfent 
 date of the church in your houfc ? My brethren, theft 
 things ought not to be fo. It is aot enough th^t you do that 
 which is good, but you mud do it well God and religion 
 have, in effect, no place in your hearts or houfcs, if they 
 have not the ianermoft and uppermoil place. Chrift will 
 come no whither to be an underling -, he is not a guefl to 
 be fet behind the door. What comfort, what benefit can 
 you promife to yourfelves from fuch trifling fervices as 
 thefe; from an empty form of godlinefs, without the power 
 of it? 
 
 I bcfeech you, firs, make a bufinefs of your family reli- 
 gion, and not a by bufinefs. Let it be your pleafure and 
 delight, and not a talk and drudgery. Contrive your af- 
 fairs fo, as that the moil convenient time may be allotted 
 both morning and evening for your family worlhip, fo as 
 that you may not be unfit for it, ordifturbed and Oraitened 
 in it ; herein wlfdom is profitable to direct. Addrefs your- 
 felves to it with reverence aiid ferioufnefs, and a folemn 
 paufe, that thofe who join with you may fee and fay, Vh^t 
 God is with you of a truth, and may be (truck thereby into 
 a like holy awe. You need not be long in the fervice, but 
 you ought to be lively in it ; not flothfu! in this bufinefs, 
 becaufe it is bufinefs for God and your fouls, but fervent in 
 fpirit, fcrving the Lord. 
 
 Fourthly^ Let thofe who have a church in their houfe, be 
 3 G 2 
 
420 A CHURCH IN THE HOUBE. 
 
 very careful to adorn and beautify it in their convcrfuion, 
 If you pray in your families, and read the fcriptures, an4 
 fing pfalms, and yet are pafFionate and froward with your 
 relations, quarrelfome and contentious with your neighr 
 hours, unjuft and deceilful in your'dealings, intemperate 
 iind given to tippling, or aFow yourfeives in any other fnir 
 ful way, you pull down M'ith one hand, what you build up 
 Avith the other. Your prayers will be an abomination to 
 God, and to good men too, if they be thus polluted. Be 
 not deceived. God is not mocked. 
 
 See that you be univerfal in your religion, that it may 
 appear you are fincere hi it. Shew that you believe a re^ 
 ality in it, by a£li:;g always under the commanding power 
 and influence of it Be not Chriftians upon your knee:-., and 
 Jews in your fhops. While you feem faints in your devor 
 tions, prove not yourfeives finners in your converfations. 
 Having begun the day in the fear of God, be in that fear all 
 the day long. Let the example you fet your families be 
 throughout good ; and by it teach them not only to read and 
 pray, for that is but hal'f their work, but by it teach them 
 to be meek and humble, fober and temperate, loving and 
 peaceable, juft and honeft : So fliall you adorn the doftrine 
 of God our Saviour ; and thofe that will not be won by the 
 v/ord, fiiall be M^on by your converfation. Your family- 
 worflilp is an honour to you ; fee to it, that neither you nor 
 yours be in any thing a difgrace to it. 
 
 Fifthly^ " Let thofe that are fetting out in the world, fet 
 ** up a church in their houfe at lirft, and not defer it.'* 
 Plead not youth and balhfulnefs ; if you have confidence 
 enough to rule a family, I hope you have confidence enough 
 to pray with a family. Say not, " the time is not come, tlie 
 •* time that the Lord's houfe ihould be built," as they did 
 that dwelt in their cieled houfes, while God's houfe lay waitc, 
 Hag. i. 2, 4. It ought to be built prcfently ; and the longer 
 you put it off, the more difficulty there will be in the doing 
 of it, and the more danger that it will never be done. 
 
 Now you are beginning the world as you call it, is it not 
 your wiiilom, as well as duty, to begin with God ? can you 
 begin better? or can you expert to profper, if you do not begin 
 thus? The fuller your heads are of care about fetting up houfe 
 and fliop, and fettling in both, the more need you have of 
 daily prayer, that by it you may caft your care on God, aiicj 
 fetch in wifdom and diredlion from on high. 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE. 421 
 
 Xixfhlyy " In all your removes, be fare you take tlie church 
 ** in your lioule along with you " Abrahann oft removed 
 his tent •, but wherever he pitched it, there the firft thing 
 he did was to build an altar. It is obfervable concerning 
 Aquila, and Prifcilla, of whofe pious family my text fpeaks, 
 that when Paul wrote his epi.ile to the Romans, they were 
 at Rome ; for he fends ialutations to them thither, and there 
 it is faid they had a church in their houfe, Rom. xvi. 5. 
 But now, when he wrote this epiftle to the Corinthians, they 
 were at Ephefus, for tlience it fliouKi feem this epiftle bore 
 date, and here he fends falutations from them •, and at Ephe- 
 fus alfo they had a church in their houfe. As wherever 
 we go ourfelves, we muft take our religion with us-, fo where- 
 ever we take our families, or part of them, we muft take 
 our family religion with us •, for in all places we need divine 
 protedlion, and experience divine goodnefs. I will there- 
 fore that men pray every where. 
 
 When you are in your city houfes, let not the bufmefs of 
 them crowd out your family religion ; nor let the diver fions 
 of your country houfes indifpofe your minds to thefe ferious 
 exercifes. That care and that pleafure are unfeafonable 
 and inordinate, which leave you not both heart and time; 
 to attend the fervice of the church in your houfe. 
 
 Let me here be an advocate alfo for thofe families whofe 
 mailers are often abfent from them, for their health or plea- 
 fure, efpecially on the Lord's day, or long abfent upon bufi- 
 nefs : And let me beg thefe abfent maflers to confider with 
 whom they leave thofe few iheep in the wildernefs, i Sam. 
 xvii. 28. and whether they do not leave them neglected 
 and expofed. Perhaps there is not a ju!!\ caufe for your ab- 
 fence fo much, nor can you give a good anfvver to that quef- 
 tion, What doft thou here, Elijah? But, if there beajuft caufe, 
 you ought to take care that the church in your houfe be not 
 neglected when you are abroad, but that the work be done 
 \vhe4i you are not at home to do it. 
 
 Sevtnithlyy '* Let inferior relations help to promote reli- 
 ** gion in the families where they are." If family worfliip 
 be not kept up in the holifes where you live, let fo much the 
 more be done in your clofets for God and your fouls : If it 
 be, yet think not that will excufe you from fecret worfliip : 
 All is little enough to keep up the life of religion in your 
 Jiearts, and help you forwards towards heaven. 
 
 hzt the childrei^ of praying parents, and the fcrvants of 
 
422 A CHURCH IN THE KOUSK. 
 
 prayings maflcrs, account it 3 great privilege to live in 
 Iioufes that have churches in them, and be careful to im^ 
 prove that privilege. Be you alfo ready to every good work ; 
 inake the reli;^lous exercifes of your family eafy and plea- 
 fant to thofe that perform them, by fliewing yourfelves for- 
 ward to attend on rhem, and careful to attend to them ; for 
 youT backwardnefs and mindlefftiefs will be their greatell 
 difcouragement. Let your lives alfo be a credit to good 
 education, and make it appear to ail with whom you con- 
 verfe, that you are every way the better for living in reli-f 
 gious families. 
 
 Eighthly-y ** Let foHtary people, that are not fet in families, 
 ** have churches in their chambers, churches in their 
 ** clofets." When every man repaired the wall of Jerufalem 
 ever ag;iinft his own houfe, rve read of one that repaired 
 ever againft his chamber, Neh. iii, 10. Thefe that live alone 
 out of the way of family worfliip, ought to take fo much 
 the more time for their fecret wordiip j and, if poffible, add 
 the more folemnity to it. You have not families to read 
 the fcriptures to; read them fo much the more to yourfelves. 
 You have not children and ferv^mf s to catechife, nor parents 
 or mafters to be catechifed by, catechife yourfelves then, that 
 you may hold faft the form of found words, which you have 
 received. Exhort one another.- — —80 we read it, Heb. iii. 
 
 13. parahaleite eautous Exhort yourfelves. So it might 
 
 as well be r*.ad. You are not made keepers of the vine- 
 yards, and therefore the greater is your fhame if your own 
 vineyard you do not keep. Y/hen you are alone, yet you 
 are not alone ; for the Father is with you, to obferve what 
 you d.Oy and to own and accept you if you do well. 
 
 Ninthly^ *' Let thofe that are tochoofe a fettlement,con- 
 «' fuU the welfare of their fouls in the choice." If a church in 
 the houfe be fo neceflary, fo comfortable, then be ye not 
 vnequally yoked with unbelievers, who will have no kindnefs 
 for the church in the houfe, nor aifdl in the fupport of it, 
 but, inftead of " building this houfe, pluck it down with 
 « their hands," Prov. xiv. i. Let apprenticefliips and other 
 fervicesbe chofen by this rule. That that is beft for us, which 
 is beft for our fouls *, and therefore it is our interelt to go with 
 thofe, and be with thofe, M'ith whom God is. When 
 3^ot was to choofe a habitation, he was determined therein 
 purely by fecular advantages, Gen. xiii. 11, 14. and God 
 juftly corre£lcdhis fenfual choice ; for he never Iiad a quiet 
 day in the Sodom he chofe, till he was fired out of it. The 
 
A CHURCH IN THE HOUSE, 423 
 
 Jewlfh writers tell of one of their devout Rabbins, who be- 
 ing courted to dwell in a place which was otherwife well 
 accommodated, but had no fyiiagogue near, he utterly re- 
 fufcd to accept the invitation, and gave that text for his 
 reafon, Pfal cxix. 27. " The Liwof thy mouth is better to 
 •* me than thoufands of gold and filver." 
 
 Tenlhlyy *' Let religious families keep up friendfliip and 
 " fellowfhip with each other, and as they have opportunity 
 *' alhit one another in doing good " The communion of 
 churches hath always been accounted their beauty, ftrenorth, 
 and comfort ; and fo is the communion of thcfe domefti^ 
 churches. We find here, and in other of Paul's epiftles, 
 kind falutations fent to and from the houfes that had 
 churches in them. Religious families fhould greet one an- 
 other, vifit one another, love one another, pray for one an- 
 other, and, as becomes houfeholds of faith, do all the good 
 they can one to another*, forafmuch as they all meet now 
 daily at the fame throne of grace, and hope to meet fhortly 
 at the fame throne of glory ; to be no more as they are now 
 divided in Jacob, and fcattered in Ifrael. 
 
 Lajtlyy Let thofe houfes that have churches in them, 
 flourifhing churches, have comfort in them. Is religion, in 
 the power of it, uppermoft in your houfes ? and are yoii 
 and yours ferving the Lord, ferving him daily ? Go on and 
 profper, for the Lord is with you, while you are with him. 
 See your houfes under the protection and blcfling of heaven, 
 and be alTured, that all things fhall work together for good 
 to you. Make it to appear by your holy cheerfulnefs, that 
 you find God a good Mafter, wifdom's ways pleafantncfs, 
 and her paths peace ; and that you {tc no reafon to envy 
 thofe that fpend their days in carnal mirth for you are ac- 
 quainted with better pleafures than any they can pretend 
 to. 
 
 Are your houses on earth God's houfes ? are they dedi- 
 cated to him, and employed for him ? Be of good comfort, 
 his houfe in heaven fhall be yours fhortly : In my Father's 
 Koufe there are many manfions ; and one you may be fure for 
 each of you, that thus, by a patient continuance in well-doinj^j 
 (feck for glory, honour, and immortality. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
SUBSCRIBERS NAMES, 
 
 WILT, 1AM Aird mafon, 
 Wigton 
 John Aiken, Kirkland 
 James Arniftror.g, Minni2;aff 
 Andrew Adam tailor, Wood of 
 
 Cree 
 John Adam, Carbynows 
 James Affleck, Barbuchany, Fcn- 
 
 ningham 
 Alex. Armour weaver, Kilmaurs 
 William Auld, Nethertonholm, 
 
 Kilmarnock 
 Robert Alexander merchant Gir- 
 
 van 
 James Alexander labourer, do. 
 Andrew Andrew, Stonykirk 
 
 parifh 
 William Affleck blackfmlth, Bar- 
 hill Colmonell 
 Walter Anderfon in Dowes 
 John Anderfon, Landbreck, 
 
 Mochrum 
 Robert Andrew whect miller, 
 
 Creek, Sorbie 
 Qiiintin Andrew herd to the 
 
 Countefs of Crawford 
 Robert Alexander dier, Air 
 Robert Allan fhoemaker, Newton 
 
 upon Air 
 Robert Anderfon overfcer, New- 
 ton Coalwork, 1 8 copies 
 Hugh Andrew, Pack Mill, Tar- 
 
 bolton 
 Adam Anderfon, parifh of Air 
 
 B 
 
 THE rev. Mr. William 
 Boyd, Minifter, Fcnwick 
 The rev. Mr. John Blair minifter, 
 
 Colmoneil 
 John Black malfter, Bladnock 
 Bruce merchant, Wigton 
 
 Hugh Baron 
 
 Jas. Black flioerrjaker, Glenturk 
 
 John Brown Craigincalie, Min- 
 
 nigafF 
 Samuel Brown, Craiginell, clo. 
 William Burnet, KiLhabbel, Pen- 
 
 ningham 
 James Broadfoot wright,Caufey- 
 
 end, do. 
 Alexander Brown 
 J'lmes Black, gardener 
 Thomas Bell, bricklayer 
 Hugh Bone labourer Barwharren 
 John Blair miller. Daily 
 David Blair, do. do. 
 
 braiden, coal cutter 
 
 Hamilton Baird, Dalquharran 
 
 coal work 
 John Bell 
 William Brown manufadurer, 
 
 Kilmarnock 
 Rob. Bowie, Kenning, Riccarton 
 James Boyd, Kamfehill, do. 
 
 — Brown labourer Kilmarnock 
 
 William Brown fhoemaker, do. 
 
 John ^ell dier, do. 
 
 John Bhiir junior, Girvan 
 
 Wal. BeUblackfmith,Corfephairn 
 
 Hugh Bone, Straiton 
 
 Charles Bell, Kirkmichael 
 
 John Blain, do. 
 
 Hugh Bell dier, do. 
 
 Thomas Beggs blackfmith. Inch 
 
 James Bennoch, Inch 
 
 Tho Baird Balnclo.-h, Ballentrae 
 
 Andrew Baird, Auchincrofh, do. 
 
 William Baird, do. 
 
 Alexander iiruce, St Quivox 
 
 John Borland, do 
 
 David Blair miller, Newton upon 
 
 Air 
 Jofeph Boyd failmaker. Air 
 Andrew Bmadtoot, Whitehora 
 John Broadfoot mafon, do. 
 
SUBSCRIBERS NAMES 
 
 435 
 
 AleY Broadff'Ot fhoemaker, do. 
 ] );ivid Br();K'fr>o; wep.ver, do. 
 Alexander Bell Glairerton 
 Ajnes Bend. P^nmirea 
 John B>»yd, Ivi^kinner 
 J^»T)es 15rown. B irwharrie, do. 
 Charles Bell, Kukini.hael 
 John Hiain, do. 
 Uv.'^h Bell dicr, do. 
 J<m V. Beattie, Dumfries 
 John Brydevi, do. 
 
 Bigfrar, do. 
 
 ' Brtiir- farmer, do. 
 
 Jin»e.«. Bowfr>Mo g3r:iencr, do 
 George Bro.uitoot (liipmafter,do. 
 Alex. 6ro vvn, Snby parilh 
 Edward Hiackwood, c3o. 
 Wi]ii::rri Broadfoot farmer in Inch 
 Ch, fles Broadfoot, WbitehilU 
 AV iliain Bdl, Smithfton 
 Laurie Bryce iDerchanC, Kirk- 
 
 mahrerk 
 John Brett farrm^r do. 
 
 B; atner failor, do. 
 
 Matthew Bn:ar farmer in Back- 
 
 hie, do. 
 George Bell fmilh, MiUon, Kir- 
 
 kinner 
 Robert Bave; lie. Baldoon 
 John Baeth, Annoth parifti' 
 Patrick B.ycUon, do. 
 John Brown, do. 
 Feier Black carrier, Kirkcud- 
 
 blight 
 Samutl Bfan flatcr, do. 
 Charles Bell, do. do 
 John Brydfon buckle niakcr, lio. 
 John Brown Rerrick 
 William Brown junior, Linhins, 
 
 do 
 Ephraim Black, Port Mary, do. 
 
 '^P'HE rev Mr John Curtis 
 
 JL Qjiarrelwond 
 Richard Cofh tail'^r, Wigton 
 David Chriiiian, Hcrvanic 
 
 3 
 
 John CoOly. Glc-ntnrk 
 
 D.ivi Chttn'^cr^ in Holm, Mini- 
 
 gwfF 
 Mr«. Cham!)"r$, Bar^al'v. do. 
 Robert Cunnin[»b?m Whitelag- 
 
 c;en, do 
 John '. :i.;'^herdie Puh, do. 
 Willi 'm CiHik. Killhabbee PcQi 
 
 ninsyh^m 
 WUliam >:hrk, Glenri'ddel, do. 
 Divid Coke, Penfioner, do. 
 Gc'orcje Campbell, do. 
 Rchcrt C'«w. dn. 
 J:ir7?s Cv Avford fhoemaker, 
 
 Kirkinner 
 T imes Clark labourer, Daily 
 Mrs. CiJrd, Kirkland 
 BHillie WUiam Cumming KIl- 
 
 mrirnock 
 Henry Crawford diftiller, bridge- 
 end, do. 
 WilUam Campbell tailor, Corfe- 
 
 phairn 
 Jimes Ciark, Glenhcad, Straiten 
 Samuel Cbrk junior, do. 
 James Clurk, Glenala, KIrk> 
 
 michatl 
 Andrew Cunningham chanmad 
 
 Inch 
 John Cumming* Ballantrae 
 Robert CarfwcU mafon, Co!- 
 
 monell 
 William Campbell, Sorbie 
 D.svid Clumpha, Sorhie 
 P?rer Clnmph*, do. 
 Jolm Cv^>-fon n-iller, Wh>thorn 
 James Cunningham tailor, do. 
 Alex Cumming merchant, 
 
 Whi • horn 
 Stewart Credie weaver, Down, do 
 Ro>)er': Citrr, Rupin, do 
 John Cair, Crachdow, Glaferton 
 Anthony Coultron, Arrock, do. 
 William Cumming meidunt. 
 
 Port William 
 John Cul^' in n:erchact. do. 
 Samuel Clark weaver, Kirklnnt? 
 
 H 
 
4^6 
 
 SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 
 
 William Cunrming, Kirkinner 
 Alex Cowan, do. 
 Eliz. Cowan, do. 
 John Cary weaver, do. 
 'i'homas Cunningham innkeeper, 
 
 Kiikmabrc'k 
 S:innucl Carlbn fj'lor, do. 
 John Crofbie, do. do. 
 John CrookOianks garc^ener do. 
 Alex. Carfon weaver Lrcetown 
 J.imes Campbell, miner 
 JohnCrecie, Garliefton 
 ii.irah lit land, Orchardtown 
 Willi;im CoLchie Callcadam 
 John Cunningham, Anwoth 
 
 pariOi 
 William Carfon, Girthon parifh 
 John Comiin mufician Kirkuij- 
 
 bright 
 Al Charters joiner, Landfida, do. 
 Thomas Cuibcrt labourer, do do, 
 Nath Cniig. Kerrick, 2 copies 
 Robert Cochran, Port Mary, do. 
 Robert Carnochan, Rerrick . 
 Robert CoUart, do. 
 James Cuthbert, Ochiltree parifh 
 John Caldcrwood wrighr,Catrine 
 Robert Campbell, Dumfries par. 
 Thomas Cowan, do. 
 William Clark, do. 
 John Curry, Daily parifh 
 — • — Chalmers, do. 
 Dav. Lulbert, Kirkland, Mayhole 
 Andrew Crawford, Daily paiiih 
 
 D 
 
 ANTHONY Drinnan ftay- 
 makcr, Wigton 
 Aruirtw Donnldfon baker 
 Genrrre D'inn, Cairndarrie 
 William Douglas Dramadaw 
 Robert Dalrymple merchant Mi 
 
 nigafF 
 Mrs Dornan,Knork.ifrreck 
 Andrew Dickie, Kilmainoi k 
 JJavid Dale, Drum muir Dreg 
 
 horn 
 
 D.ivid Davidfon tailor, Girvati 
 Robert Dempiler ihoemak<:ir 
 
 Carfephairn 
 Robert Dunn, Cadgerhole, do. 
 Mrs. Dick Dalkarnic, Straitoa 
 Serjeant James Dick, do. 
 Andrew Dick, Kirkmichael 
 Hugh Dirk, do. 
 Robert Dunlop £fq. of Dalkirk, 
 
 do. 
 John Dick weaver, Lochall do. 
 William Donnan Auchleach 
 
 Stonykirk parifh 
 Andrew Donnan Bilkar, Inch pa. 
 William Donnan A'lUorptter, do 
 Archibald Dormont, Port of 
 
 Shital do 
 Adam Douglas miller, in Under- 
 
 maie, do. 
 AnJrew Davidfon, Inch parifh 
 William Drinnan, Knochdollan, 
 
 Colmoncll 
 David Drinnan dier, KilJonando. 
 jimes Douglas, Sorby pariih 
 Hugh Benniflon, do 
 William D 'IrympleCoalnog Sor- 
 
 by parifii 
 Alex. Dt>nnan in Revans, d,o. 
 Al< X. Douglas miller in Dinncns, 
 
 Whithorn 
 John Douglas merchant Whit- 
 horn 
 Jrhn Donnan Hrtckfmiih, do. 
 Akx Dunic inChipperherring do 
 
 Dohie 
 
 Agnes Dou/lafs, Mochrum 
 J hn Dunn in Corfeduchan 
 M.iry Donald in Barwharry, 
 
 Ki;kinner, parifli 
 J^hnD(jnnan farmer invSmriesdo^ 
 Wiiiiam Diirympledo. ICirkovfrn 
 Willian Ditlryrrple wc<^ver, do. 
 John Duncan tailor, Kirkraa- 
 
 brc^ k. par'fh 
 John D )n:>hif<)n Anwoth 
 Robert D-nnifton, Girthon ri:(T, 
 James Douglas raafon, Kirkud- 
 bright 
 
SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 
 
 427 
 
 William Duncan merchant New- 
 ton upon Air 
 John Donald GlcnfiJe, Mayhole 
 Roberr Dow, Adamton mill 
 james Dinnidie, Dam Fries par. 
 Tho Dixon, D.ihon p.rrllh 
 John Donald, Slohabtrt, Kir- 
 
 kinner 
 Serjeant jam?? Dick, Straiton 
 Dtvid Dfck, Daily parilh 
 Andrew Dick, Kirkinichacl 
 Hugh Dick, do. 
 
 E 
 
 ILLIAM Erfkine Pen- 
 ningham 
 j^hn Earl in Mackerwhat, Bal- 
 
 lentra« 
 Alex. Edgar tailor, ATirkown pa. 
 
 w 
 
 ALEXANDER Fullarton 
 weaver, Wilton 
 
 Robert Fleming fherifF ofHccr, 
 VVigton 
 
 Th )s Findlay, Holm 
 
 John Fairfool cxc:ife officer Gir- 
 van 
 
 Alex. Fw*r barber, Stonykirk, pa. 
 
 Mr. John Forty comptroller at 
 Lochryan 
 
 Anthony Farmer, Mount in 
 Craigeaf 
 
 john Frazfr weaver, Kirkcolm, 
 Inch parifti 
 
 John Findlay mafon, Stranraer 
 
 David FerguiTon, tiallancrae pa. 
 
 jimes Fallows, Daily parilli 
 
 William Finlay, dor by parilh 
 
 Margaret Fleming in Billfeir, do. 
 
 james Finlny dicr, Whithorn 
 
 jr.hn Frizzle cartwright Morieth 
 
 Andrew Fleming, Bow of Raven- 
 ton 
 
 Andrew FuUarton farmer White- 
 dyke 
 
 Alex. FuUrirton weaver, Kirkm- 
 
 ner oarifli 
 john F .rgir, Ballantrae parifh 
 james F-rilh, Lochrigcj 
 Mrs Fcrgnfon, Litile Shalloch 
 John Forfyth wright, Maybole 
 
 JOHN Glkhrift, Wigton 
 Thomas Ciibfon 
 Robert Guthrie, Chapman 
 Mrs. Gordon, Cnrdarken 
 james GorAony Fintiiloch, Pen- 
 
 ninghani 
 William Graham fhoemaker . 
 William Girvan mallter, Dafh- 
 
 wood 
 james Grierfon merchant, Daily 
 Adam Grieve, Kirkmichael 
 Mr. William Grieve, Barlach 
 
 5 copies 
 Hugh Gilchrift weaver, Kilmar- 
 nock 
 Hugh Gebbie, Dikenook, do. 
 Alex. Graham 
 Thomas Glulg, Girvan 
 james Gray, Ballantrae 
 John Galloway, Smerton, do. 
 David Geddes weaver, K^lls pa. 
 Alex Gilford farmer, Burwhin- 
 
 nock, Caftle Stuart 
 Robert Gordon, ftioemaker, 
 
 Mochrnm par illi 
 M: rtin Gibfon tooper, do. 
 John Gregg, 0:hiltree parlfli 
 John Gordon labourer 
 Archibald Gibfon, do. 
 Alex. Gowrly, Anwoth 
 Mrs. Galloway, Girthon par'(h 
 j..hn Guthrie, Port Mary, Rer- 
 
 rick parifh 
 William Gowdi?, do do. 
 Robert Gibfon, Rerrick 
 George Gibfon, Air parilh 
 George Girvan, St. Q^iivox pa, 
 j(»hn Green, Ochiltree parilh 
 
 2 
 
428 
 
 SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 
 
 Georg<? Gregjr blackfrnith 
 J res GrJerfon, !Jumfri<r3 pa. 
 Robert Gon/on fhocmaker, Glen- 
 
 D^vid G' ;h:?m> Daily parifh 
 Aler. Gr^int Kilkerran, do. 
 M'illiam Gowdie, Kiikofwald 
 
 H 
 
 B/VILLIE john Hawthorn, 
 Wigton 
 William Hannah carter, do. 
 Kobcrt Hannah, Redbrae 
 John Heron merchant, Wilton 
 William Hallowday chapman 
 Alex H n'flip, do 
 WiUiam Heron merchant, N. S. 
 Pever Hannah Barvvharran 
 Mrs. Heron, Keppinock, Kirkin- 
 
 ner 
 Mr. John Hunter merchant, Air 
 ;fames Henderfon 
 ivobert Hay farm<rr Symington 
 james Henderfon fhocmaker Kil- 
 marnock 
 Adnm Harris fmith, Rjccarton 
 Wiiru.ra Hope, Girvan 
 Wilibm Haftings junior, Caftle 
 
 mady, Carfphairn 
 W;liiam Hunter Trochane,K:ik- 
 
 miciixel 
 WiUiaTii Hannah tailor., Sorhy pa. 
 3 'hn H rhert, GvirHellon* on 
 Mr' H:wthc-rn in Claimch, do. 
 Williain Haniuh, biUfmiih, 
 
 Whi'hom paiidi 
 Kobtrt Hardy 
 John Hannah farmer in Knock, 
 
 Giafenon 
 M'-iuh^w Heron 
 Teter Henm in Cafth flewart 
 J*erer Heron farmer, Kirkmabrcck 
 Alex. Hughnn, do. do. 
 3)avid H.-innah joiner, do. 
 T|oiiT> Himtrr failor, do. 
 AW-t' Hannah, Miilraofs, Sorby 
 
 pi:i(h 
 
 W<ni:^m Hannah, Inn^r':"*!! do. 
 
 Margaret Hannah, Midtovvn, do. 
 
 Robert Henning, AnwoLh 
 
 Hagh Hannay, do. 
 
 John Hyndfon wright, Newton 
 upon Air. 
 
 David Hutchifon farmer, D^l- 
 rymple 
 
 james Hutchifon in Coilton 
 
 John Hutchifon, Greenfield, Air 
 parifh 
 
 Mr. james Hall; merchant White- 
 haven 
 
 George Hendry, Sr. Quivcx par. 
 
 William Hannah, blohabert Kir- 
 kinncr 
 
 John Hunter Daily parifli 
 
 Adam Hunter, do. 
 
 T 
 
 HE rev. Mr John Inglis, 
 D. D. minifter of Kirkma- 
 breck 
 Andrew Ignue 
 Michael ignue 
 
 • Jardine, cartwright Whit- 
 horn p. 
 Tho. Jackfon, Waterhead, Corfc- 
 
 phairn purifli 
 Gilbert J.\ckfon, Kirkmichael p. 
 Janet Ignae, Sorbre p. 
 Tho. Irvine, Mochrum p. 5 cop. 
 W J ^rdine, l^ictlehills, Kirkinner 
 J.)f Irvine, Nockroon, Auchinlcck 
 8am'.iel Ingram, Sanquhar 
 Will. Ingr<^m, chapman, do, 
 James Juhnfton ihoemaker, Kirk- 
 
 mal>ieck 
 J'^hn Jolly fail or, Crertown 
 Dan. Johnfton Kirkland Kirk- 
 
 cnduright 
 Will. Johnfton merchant, do. 
 George Irvine, Whitehaven 
 Gilbert Jackfon, KirkmichacI p. 
 
 K 
 
 PETER K.-nnanof Mill park, 
 Efq. 
 
SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 
 
 429 
 
 DaviJ K^nnecy of Craia^, Kfq. 
 
 Ai X. Kavend farmer, Grange of 
 
 C ree 
 Rooert Ki:ily, BhcUagecn Mini- 
 
 WiUiaTT* A'cUy, Drtinkmorn 
 
 Helen K-vanJ, Barns 
 
 David KcTinedy weaver, Kilmar. 
 
 john Kn'd.ind labourer, do. 
 
 Wiiiiam Kennedy, Kirkmichael 
 
 janjes Kennedy, Cafgrove,Glen- 
 luce parifh 
 
 joiin Kennedy, Gicncron, Wo. 
 
 John Ki'lly, llioemaker Stony- 
 kirk parifh 
 
 Wiiiiam Kevan, Inch parifh 
 
 'J'homas Kerr labourer, do. 
 
 . K.-'.van tailor, Stranraer 
 
 Andrew Kennedy, do. 
 
 Alex. Kennedy in Drumfkcoch, 
 Colint>nell 
 
 WilHum Kevand flater, Sorby p. 
 
 Alex. Keachie do. 
 
 Anthony Keachie, do. 
 
 jamis Kennedy weaver, Whit- 
 horn parifh 
 
 Alex Kevan, Mochriim parifh 
 
 bamuel Kelly (hoeraaker, A'irkin- 
 ner parilh 
 
 james i^^lly in Ring, ATirkown p. 
 
 J )hn KAlyy do. do. 
 
 vjimon A'evand flocking maker, 
 liargUfs 
 
 j^»hn Kingzn, Garlieflon 
 
 j'^hn A'trlie, Yetton, Sorbie par. 
 
 ilobert A'crr, Kifhin, Whithorn 
 
 Thomas ATirkpatrick, Rerrick 
 
 William /Tii kpatrick, do. 
 
 joha A'eachic weaver, Air. 
 
 Mr. Thomas ATilpatrick White- 
 haven 
 
 Andrew A'ay, S^air parifh 
 
 William TiTae, Damf^rits parifh 
 ,^ J unes Aerr, do. 
 
 William ATenncdy, A'irkmichacl, 
 parilh 
 
 MR. James Laing Bookfil- 
 Ifj, ^ilnarnr.ck, 3 copies 
 Robert Lambie, A'ilminrs 
 Alex. Leith weaver, Girvan 
 Andrew Lamb dier, do. 
 J ihn Logan in Garizzle, Col- 
 
 monell 
 Edward Lewis, Sorby parifh 
 Peter Logan flioemaker, Gar- 
 
 liefton 
 Sarah Lockhart, Whithorn 
 John Lockhart, do. 8 copies 
 james Lawfon gardener 
 
 Lyon, Dalrymple, 2 cop. 
 
 Logan Wright, Alloa, Air p. 
 
 Alex. Lauder gardener, Auchin- 
 
 cruive 
 Mifs Lydia Laurie, Larg 
 A Little fannermaker, Newton S. 
 
 M 
 
 REV. Mr. James M'Kinlay, 
 one of the miniltcrs of 
 Kiimarrjock 
 The Rev. Mr. Alex. Moodie, 
 
 M'.nilter, Riccartown 
 Jimes M'Giiffag Innkeeper, 
 
 Wigton 
 William Mitchell, do. 
 
 Andrew M-Jredie, merchant do, 
 
 6 copies 
 John M- William weaver, Wigton 
 yctcT M'GufFag mafon, do. 
 
 Thomas .— , Bladnock 
 
 John M'Gown, Mill of Forry 
 
 Alex. Milroy, Newinills 
 
 Jean Milligen 
 
 Alex. M* Handles dier, Torhoufe 
 
 John M'Launachan flcinner at 
 
 Spittal 
 George' M'Gill Tanner in Bar- 
 
 rachan 
 John M'Gown, Wigton 
 J imes Murdoch Shoemaker 
 William Macadam Currier 
 
43^ 
 
 SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 
 
 Mr. James M*KI?, Pilgown Mini 
 
 g'<iff - 
 A\tx Murray Clackmallack, do. 
 John M.icmillan in Squanchando 
 James M?.kaw Killidarrach, do. 
 John M Redie Storle, do. 
 James M'Kic, do. do. 
 Alex M'Gown, 6uchan do. 
 Charles M'Cutcheon, Machsr- 
 
 more mill 
 J.imcs M'Cawl,. miner, do 
 John Marray in Kiikcallah, Pen- 
 
 nigham 
 Peter M'CuIIorh, Garthrow do, 
 — - — Murray hdjourer, do. 
 William M'Gill, Barr, do- 
 J.imesM'Clure weaver Dafliwood 
 Alex. M'Kie Fiefiicr 
 Samuel M'Kean, l5stterfon 
 James M 'Jarre w, Shallow- 
 Alex. MG-ochfhoeniaker,6cop. 
 John M'Kie, Borland 
 Robert M'ClcUand, Grange 
 — — Millmarrow, Downing 
 William M'Geoch, Crows Kir- 
 
 kinncr 
 John M'Clymont. Balaird, do. 
 Jiiiz M^Ciynjont there 
 Alex M'Car.nach.'.n weaver, do. 
 JamiTS M'Cluie weaver, Cloo- 
 
 lock, do 
 Hjgh M«CIcllan farmer do. do. 
 Alex, M*clel!ando ^'o. do. 
 John M'Gufftg, VVarerlidc do. 
 
 M'D )Nvail, C^miis 
 
 Peter M*lvinnc!, Slochabert 
 John M'Xcily 
 
 M'Aiil.'iy 
 
 Peter M Geoch 
 
 — — Murray farmer, Tacball 
 Jimcs ivl*Fadzcrn in Catildones, 
 
 MiniLafT 
 Mrs. Ml nay in Shecg irland, do. 
 J.uncs Ma:mnlclro:h xaiior 
 
 M*I)ougal, iiargrinnan 
 
 Anihony M icmuhlroch, Dalna 
 Jimes M'Cornick in Larg 
 
 Robert Millroy, Lagbees 
 
 Mrs. M'CuUochan, Borland dd. 
 
 — - Mill ken, Black Craig 
 
 Anthony M Gown do. 
 
 Thomas M'Whinnel weaver 
 
 Peter Martin ^arfe Snow 
 
 John M*Jlure weaver, Black- 
 
 craig, do. 
 El'zaberh M^ixwell 
 Agnefs M Whirter 
 Gilbert M'Kerzie weaver do. 
 Willi;»m M'Kennah do. do, 
 James M^Lauchlan blackfmith do 
 Robert Mdroy, Corfefnow 
 Hucrh Makennah, there 
 Gilaeit M'NarinMachermoredo, 
 William M'inrkk, there 
 John M* Nairn, Hrochficld 
 Thonaas M Cornair 
 John M'Carnie labourer, Daily 
 Robert Murray weaver, Lauchrie 
 Peter M'Clurg, Catrine 
 William M'Micken wrIght and 
 
 miller hi Acres mill 
 Ahx. M'Clelland 
 Mi'.tthcw Miller, Riccarfm mill 
 William Mair weaver, K:im.iur$ 
 Jan)es M Lean manutadurcr, 
 
 Kilmar-iock 
 John M*FI? cloth printer do. 
 Archd M- Fie print cutter, do. 
 John Morton lixcife officer, do. 
 William Ma farien linen printer, 
 
 do. 
 Hugh MClymont merch. Girvan 
 Plam. Macmoreland vintner, do 
 Thomao M-Uowl vvv^aver, do. 
 James MCiedie junior, do. 
 Robert M'Ctn-d mafon, do. 
 Charles Mean, do. 
 William M'Connel wright, do. 
 Hugh M Ihvraith, Frehorg, do. 
 Charles MaiJ md farmer, do. 
 Hugh M icmillan, Formichacljdo 
 David M Gill thaicher, do. 
 Abraham M Leaa weaver, do. 
 
SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 
 
 Ahxm^er M'Clymont junior, 
 
 hiackfmith, do. 
 James M Cracken, Ardwall, 60. 
 Mrs. M'llwrairh, Traweir, do. 
 Jean MMlwrairh, do. do. 
 John M'Rae, Corfeph^irn 
 William Macmillan, do. 
 James Miller, co. 
 
 See page 434, 
 
 N 
 
 ROBERT NMl 
 Alex. Neil Ton, Culgroot, 
 Stonykirk parifh 
 Benjnmin Nicholfon, baker Stran- 
 raer 
 Jimes Ncilfon nailer, Garliefton 
 
 Nicholfon, SoTbiep. 
 
 Gilbert Nairn fmith, do. 
 William Neilfon, Clov/»hill 
 Hugh Nivcn mafon, Maybole 
 
 J As. Ogilvie merchant Wigton 
 Wil drr,Whatrigs Dreghorn 
 James Orr innkeeper, Grcenhead 
 
 Corfephairn 
 Divid Owens, Anwoth parilli 
 
 DAVID Petriedier, Kilmar- 
 no.k 
 John Paul, Bargeenie Coal Work 
 . Paterfon carter, Stranr;*er 
 
 William Purie ia Whitehills, Sor- 
 
 by pariOi 
 John Peerie mafon, Glcnthriplock, 
 
 Mochrum parilh 
 Alex Paterfon, Port William 
 John Paferfon in Carferiggan, 
 
 Kirkown parifh 
 Thomas Paine, Girihon parifli 
 Jams Park weaver, Newton upon 
 
 Air 
 Thomas Phinn merchant, do. 
 
 GARNET 
 
 Onoid 
 
 43' 
 
 In Muir- 
 
 mains, Mochrum parilh 
 
 R 
 
 THE Rev. Mr Jamw Ro- 
 bertfon one of the Minidcrs 
 of KiliTjarnork 
 TheR^v, Mr Jchn Rr.fTcl, do. 
 Nfil Kobe: lion. Drungan Coal- 
 Work 
 Thos. Rar.kine dier, Kilmarnock 
 Willi^.m Pv-nkice, do. do. ' 
 Alex Robcrtfou, copperfraith, do 
 james Kankine, man'e, do. 
 
 Richmond, Ri*.carton 
 
 • Rofs Ihoemaker, Girvan 
 
 jo^n Ramfay, do. do. 
 Robert Rened we.iver, Straiton 
 Hu4 h Roddie,Gilfil!?.n,GIcnluce 
 Alex. Riggs failor, Garliefton 
 Geort^c R.rlie, Englston Sjrbyp. 
 Robert Rankin. Smithfton 
 Jymcs Rolifon, !vew I.uce 
 Mifs Harriet Reid, milliner, 
 
 Ki. kmabreck 
 Agnes Rigg, Gallouv.y houfe 
 Robert Ramfay. Anwoth r>.r.(h 
 Alex Rae, Lochfergas, Kirkud- 
 
 bright 
 John ^<ei>^ Rerrek 
 x\Ur Rofs Kirk udhriirrht 5 copies 
 .Andrew Reid Coiltown 
 John Racjfel. Daily parifh 
 Adam Rankine, ^irkland, May- 
 bole 
 
 MARGARET Sloar, 
 Kno. kgray Corfephaira 
 Aiex Sloan. G'^^rhead, do. 
 J !in Stillie, K' kmif.hael 
 J •mpi S:rvenf'-;n, do 
 VVilliam Sin liir, Gla'lrown, do. 
 Ar-hibald Stcvenfon, Glengaw, 
 Inch parifli 
 
432 
 
 SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 
 
 William Sloan In Garrery, Kells 
 
 pariih 
 Alex. Stew ?rt wr'pht, Sorhy par. 
 James hkimniing in Cornar, do. 
 John Stewart in Bal^ rofh, do. 
 
 Stevenfon, Whithorn par. 
 
 Mr Alex. Stewart Arrow, do. 
 Williym Siievenfon fhoemaker, 
 
 Ifle. do. 
 John Scam->Ie, do. 
 Ann Stuart in Urnmrid 
 Charles Stuart, Port William 
 
 Mochrum parilli 
 J^is Stuart in Drumrroddan, do. 
 — Sloan weaver in Morton, do. 
 John Simpr*n in Landljreck, do. 
 Thomas Simpfon, do. do. 
 Gi^.ert Strnyan in Eldrick A'ir- 
 
 kown pariOi 
 Robert Smith weaver, Qnarrel- 
 
 wood 
 Adam Smith, Whltcfide, Dun 
 
 CampbcUStewartmerchant K'uk- 
 
 mabreck 
 George Spark pr'^rdener, do. 
 iJavid Shaw flioeniiker, do. 
 peter Skimming, Barglafs 
 Thomas So^nce, Girlieilon 
 Alexander Scaml.ell Wigton 
 William Stewart mafon, VVigton 
 Archibald Stew.irt, do. do. 
 Mrs Stewart* A'arfedown 
 James Smith, blackfmith 
 An. Stewart, l.eneway MmiglfF 
 P. Strachan miner BI4 krraig, do 
 John Shaw, A' rfeknow, do. 
 Ardrew Stewart we'iv.r, do. 
 Tho. Srroyan, Bl,\ krack, Pen 
 
 ningham 
 Samuel Shaw, Barliill do. 
 Alexander Stroyan, Dafhwood 
 
 Simpfon 
 
 And Smith weaver, A'ilmamock 
 Thrmas Steven Crookedholm, do 
 Rrbert Stevenfon, do. 
 Peter Setoii 
 
 Mr. Nich'^lTs Siloan, preacher of 
 
 the ?jofpeI, Riccarron 
 Mr johnvSincla^r fr^hoolm^f^'r, do 
 Qniniin Sreve^nfof) m-rch Girvart 
 james Srotl llioem iker, do. 
 S. Shaw. CulV'n orh, Gorffphairn 
 Ivoberf Shaw. C<>rfeph^.irn p. 
 
 Smith we?ivcr., A'irkcud. 
 
 jvobert Shinnan, Rcrrick 
 Wiliam Sharp, do. 
 
 Stevenfon.. Air oarifh 
 
 Charles Smith. Ochilt-e? 
 j->hn Smith. Mc-kton. ^ coo'?s 
 Robert Slo.in, Dnmfri-s n iriQi 
 john Stfwar-t, Daily o irifh 
 
 ' Stiiiie, /Tirkmithael 
 
 jumcs Sievenfonj do. 
 
 JANET Tait 
 james Thonifon, Carwath 
 jean Fhomfon, Millhabbel, Pen^ 
 
 ningham 
 Andrew i'homfon, Barwhinnie 
 J 'hn Thomfon, Midciofe, Minigaff 
 jamcs Thomfon, Northcrai^, 
 
 manufac- ATilmck. 
 
 Tannahill, N^thertonholm 
 
 Paylo} Girvan 
 
 Vv'^illian) i'horburn. Inch parlfh 
 james Thor»if;^n, Lowcult, Sorbie 
 Andrew Tee, Port William 
 Wdter Thomfon gardener at 
 
 Miilrton 
 J im^ «; Traffic A'irkinner parifh 
 W. Tait, watchmaker, A'irkma- 
 
 breck 
 W. I'homfon fchoolmafter, do. 
 J IS. Tait weaver, Kirkcudbright 
 K ibert Thomfon joiner, do. 
 W Turner, Chappelton, Rerrick 
 H. Turner farmer, Dalrymple p. 
 And. Torrance, merch, Catrine 
 James Turner Dumfries parifli 
 
 . Thomfon, blackfmith, do 
 
 Todd, Gumbertrees par. 
 
Subscribers names. 
 
 433 
 
 Andrew Walker, Arwhat, Sot- 
 U by parifh 
 
 WALTER Uthers, Dumfries J^^^" ^YJV^.^^ M-^yhole 
 
 VViilun, do. parifli 
 
 '' Y 
 
 JOHN Vernon tenant, BaUoon 
 
 THOVr \S Youcg junior, wright 
 W Girvan 
 
 WILLIAM Weir, ilioe. 
 maker, Wigton 
 John White gardsner, Bladnock 
 Eben. Wiifon Miniwick, Miniguff 
 William Wilfon, Aachinleck 
 Robert Walker miner, Blackcraig 
 John WiKouy Glenhipie, Pen- 
 
 ningham 
 SamT'.el Wiifon, GlafTock, do. 
 Alex. Wiifon, Knockbrax 
 Peter Wither miner, Dalhwood 
 Robert Wiifon Ncthertonholra 
 
 Kilmarnock 
 William Wyllie, Newmills, do. 
 Thomas Walhce, Todhill, do 
 WilL Wallace diftillcr, Nether 
 
 tonholm, do. 
 Thomas Wright fmirh, Girvan 
 John Wallace, Knockgray.Corfe- 
 
 phnirn 
 JohnWilfoninUndermafonlncbp 
 
 " Wallace, fcrvant iu Half* 
 
 mark, do, 
 Edward Wallace junior, cart- 
 wright, do. 
 Mr. John Waugh watch' maker, 
 
 Stranraer 
 William White miller in Creek, 
 
 Sorby parifi^i 
 John White, Whithorn parifti 
 JKcter Wyllie, Garliefton 
 William Walker, Girthon, par. 
 Samuel Wiifon, Rcrri:-k, 7 cop. 
 John Wither, Barmore, Stony 
 
 kirk parifh 
 James Wither, Carnwell, do. 
 James Wither, Port Patrick par. 
 Peter Wither Scalegill Hall 
 
 M 
 
 JOHN M' Turk merchant 
 Corfephairn . 
 John M-Ken/.ie, Whiteburn do. 
 
 M Clymont, Strait on 
 
 Andrew M'Cofh, Corf;;kcoch,do. 
 Robert M'CauL do. 
 
 M-William, do. 
 
 Mrs M'Clymont, Glenclack, 
 
 Kirkmichael 
 Alex Murray Laight, Inch par. 
 Thos.MillinickjCarn^^arrocb, do. 
 Jas. Mount weaver in Drum- 
 
 mucloch, do. 
 James Murray, Corfeclays, Bal-- 
 
 lentrae parilh 
 T hn Murray, Backhills, Kclls p. 
 William Murray, Sorby parifh 
 Peter Mitchell, Whitehills, do. 
 William Morifon in Inch 
 Alex Marihair innkeeper, Whit- 
 horn 
 Andrew M'Cawl joiner, do. 
 J'>hn M'Cliire iliocmaker, do. 
 Alex. M'Credic in Drumaf- 
 
 ton, do. 
 John M'Clemna, farmer in Ald- 
 
 breck, do 
 John M'Clymontdo. in Prcfltrce 
 
 do 
 James M'Gill tanner, do. 
 John Muir. R')opin, do. 
 James M'Colm, fie, do 
 John M'Jerrow, Glaferioa parifij" 
 
 Mirrhell 
 
 . Muir 
 
 Margaret M'Haffic in Drunifad 
 ^ I 
 
434 
 
 SUBSCRIBERS NAMES, 
 
 Grizzcl M'Guffag 
 
 Alex. M'f^'ormack miller at 
 
 Morieth 
 Vance M*Bryde blackfmith 
 William M'Cullbch in Domes 
 Mrs. Milr.oe Barrolloch, Moch- 
 
 rum parifli 
 E Iz. Millhanch, do. 
 Alex. M'lroy, do. 
 John M'Geoch, Altiery, do. 
 Ivobert M*Geoch, Drumblair,do. 
 Pat, Mtllhanch tailor, Port Wm. 
 John Murray in Muirmains 
 John Macmeekin, Girthon parifh 
 
 Macminn, do. 
 
 Muir, do. 
 
 William Macminn, do. 
 Samuel M' Paggart, do. 
 John M'Lau cilia n Anwoth par. 
 James MU^ryde, do 28 copies 
 John Maxwell nailer, Kirkud- 
 
 bright 
 Peter M'Kellar weaver, do. 
 i>amu£l M' Naught, do. do. 
 John M Keachie mafon, do. 
 David M'Caig carpenter, do. 
 Anthony M'Kenziemerchant, do 
 Peter Macmilian, Borland, do. 
 Edward M'Clure, Farkgale, do. 
 KoViert M'Adam merchant, 
 
 Whitehxven * 
 David M'Girr tydewaiter, Rer- 
 
 rick 
 William M'Douall, Kiikcud. 
 Ja.M ClellandftoLkiiig weaver do 
 James M' a aught Port Mary, 
 
 Kerrick pariih 
 DaviJ Macminn, Rerrick 
 Alex M'-^artney, do. 
 James Mixweil, ilo. 
 Willi nm Macmeekan, do. 
 John M-C;acn'.y, do. 
 Kobrri M- Naught, do. 
 Thomas M tcmmn, do. 
 |ieii Mur?!ochfarmcr,Dalrymple 
 Alex. Millwaii) in Taornhoufe, 
 • vjionykiik parifh 
 
 Jr^.mrs M'Gcoch, Stranraer 
 William M'Clclland, Air pariOi 
 James Muckle, 
 John Morton, do. 
 Alex. Murdoch do. 
 James Macmurtrie, do. 
 James Muir tailor, do. 
 Agnes M'Clcve, tiarneil, do. 
 John M'Corman, Trowhainr, do. 
 Andrew M'Lauchlan, Gicnhole, 
 
 Glenluce 
 William M*Crofcrie, Auchen- 
 
 malg, do. 
 John M'Bridefhoemaker, do. 
 FergusMacmafter,D.ochdool do. 
 John Macmeeken dyke builder, 
 
 JNewluce 
 Thomas Macmaftcr, Maxwellanj 
 
 btonykirk parifli 
 John M*Crj:ken, Barber, do. 
 Robert M" William in Ruckle, do. 
 William MDonald, Killbran, do 
 John M'Clymont, Glack, do. 
 
 . M'Dowal, Klaick, inch p, 
 
 Mrs. M'twOrock, Lochiyan 
 Pat. M'Neily, Inch parilh 
 John MCredie, do. 
 
 M'Broati in Little tongue do 
 
 Thof. M*Bryde in Big tongue do 
 James M'Clymont inbicechando. 
 Bruce M'Wiliiara 
 James M'Coual Velvetecr, do. 
 Pat. Macmetken in Beoch, do, 
 Hugh M' Alexanderin BiiIyate,do 
 /ilex M'Wiili;.m tarmer in Loih- 
 
 wol, do. 
 John M Gill in Cornwal, do. 
 VViUum M"Gaw,do. 
 James M'Dowal, do. 
 William M'Dowal, do. 
 Mary M'iNicily 
 
 Ivobert M'Crule, fervant, do. 
 Andrew M*Credic teacher. 
 
 Cairn, do. 
 James M'Geoch wright Lochend 
 Andrew M*Cloi:h tailor in Fort, 
 
SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 
 
 435 
 
 Thomas M'Blain in bLurftiin 
 
 nock, do. 
 William M'Clelland teacher, Pt. 
 
 William 
 John M'GufFag blackfmith, Klr- 
 
 kinner parifh 
 William M*Lauchlan in mill of 
 
 Airie, do 
 Thomas M'^^'amin Barwharrie 
 Margaret M'Jvie, do do. 
 Hugh Martin in Sloh:ibert, do. 
 Wiiiiam M'Fier weaver, do. do. 
 Alex. Miiligen ip Airlefs, do. 
 John M'Loggan^ do. do. 
 
 M'Dowal in Barnefs, do. 
 
 James M'Geochin BUirmachen, 
 tjamuel M'Dowal in Barns 
 William M-Dowal, do. do. 
 
 M'Giil, do 
 
 David M'CuUoch fhoemaker, 
 
 BargTafs, do. 
 John M*Cornick, Kirkown pan 
 iSamuel M'Clyre in Dirry, do 
 Gilbert MCraken in Barnhar- 
 
 row, do. 
 John McClelland weaver, do. 
 James Maxwell, do. do. 
 Alex. M<Nairn 
 John Milroy cier, do. 
 Gilbert M*Neily, do. 
 John Macmalier Ihoemaker Stran- 
 raer 
 John M'Hiflop in Garfar, Bal- 
 
 Icntrae parilh 
 Thomas M'Crakcn fchoolmafter 
 John M'ilraitli, do. 
 Andrew M'Kiirock junior, do. 
 JohnM'^..uUo.hoiGlendnik, Lfq 
 Gilbert M'Quay in Palreoch, 
 
 Colmonell 
 Pet M'Craken in Howi^an?, do. 
 John M' WhirccriiiDrumik-och do 
 Andrew M'Cornick in Barwfiin- 
 
 nock, Colmonell parilh 
 Grizzcl M'Gaffag in Corwar, do. 
 John M Heath miller, Kildonnan 
 ' do. 
 
 Thom.is ^*Meily chapman, do. 
 
 Alex M'Kir 
 
 Robert Tl^TKiiTo^k in Tamgun- 
 
 roch, do. 
 James i'l/'Craken, Sorby parifh 
 John iI/-VVhirter, do. 
 Robert M-Crofkie lintdrefler, do. 
 J(jhn ilfKinnel, Little Acres, do. 
 TJiomas i'lf'Clelland farmer in 
 
 Orchardion, do. 
 William M'Adam junior, Town- 
 head, do. 
 Mrs. VJf'Dowal, Coalwoag, do. 
 And. il/'Keerly in Kalmaliet, do 
 Peter AIK\q weaver, do. 
 Mr. M-GuSdgy Better, do. 
 Anthony i'lf-Credie, Whithorn, p. 
 William iTfConky» Drumalk, do. 
 Alex ^<Nairn, do. 
 George ilf'^redie Broughton, do 
 William M'DowjH mafon, do. 
 
 ./I/ Gill tailor, do. 
 
 Sarah M*Kie, Broughton, do. 
 Peter M'Kiefarmer in Muroch, do 
 James M'Ghee mafon, L>miih- 
 
 fton 
 William M*Skimminia La m a ch- 
 
 lec, Morton 
 John M*Cullochof Barholm, Efq. 
 
 .-ilex. McLean ot m irk, Efq. 
 
 John Miiligen, church officer, 
 Kirkmabrejk 
 
 John M ' Do wal innkeeper, do. 
 
 Wiiliam Murray dicr, do. 
 
 S.imucl M'Kean joiner, do. 
 
 Robert Micchell failor, do. 
 
 Jimes M"Jrofkie joiner, do. 
 
 Ji^atrick M'Kdn mafon, do. 
 
 John M'Kic tyaewaiter, do. 
 
 Alex. M-Ki- 
 
 Nath. Martin teacher, do. 
 
 Alex Murray miller, Miln driggan 
 
 Anlhony M*raggart fewer 
 
 John M'Kean 
 
 Anthony M'Lurg (lioemaksr 
 
 William M'Gown, GiirlicRoa 
 
 Jofeph M'Kinch, do. 
 
436 
 
 SUBSCRIBERS NAMES. 
 
 John M^Adam, Innerwell 
 
 /ikx. Minnoch, Ironkitii 
 
 J^mes M'Cormick, Orcliardtown 
 
 'J hos. M'Nae, Anwoth parilh 
 
 J kn MiUin;eri, do. 
 
 William Murray-j do. 
 
 Alex. M'HeUclian, do. 
 
 Jean Murray, do. 
 
 James M'Nae, do. 
 
 Samuel Murphy, do. 
 Andrew M'Cl)mont,do. 
 John M'Fadzen, Alloa mill 
 Peter Mitchell, Broomberry yard 
 John M'Clure wright, Mayliole p. 
 Thomas M'Caul, JSandwith 
 William M'Credic, Auchinleck 
 Thomas M'lhvraith, Catrine 
 John M'Hutcheon wright, do. 
 — — M*Craken jerny fpinner, do 
 
 M'llwraith, Penvale 
 
 Ivy D dqnha ran 
 
 Tho. -^— — — Danmurchie 
 David M'Culloch, Lamdouchty 
 Will. Macmurtric, Knockwhine 
 John Muir, Carnfore 
 
 Alexan. Mnrray, Rountree toH 
 
 J imt-s M liarg^ Di.mfries par. 
 
 Wiiliani al/'Vitae, Co 
 
 MauHsw MitihtW, do. 
 
 Samuel x-l/arrin, do. 
 
 Robert iJ/urray. do. 
 
 G:orgt ilf'Cuiloch, Slohabcrt, 
 
 Kirkinner 
 Andrew il^/'HafHe, do. do. 
 
 yi/'Cr<rdie, do. do 
 
 Alex. yT/*Geouh, Dalieg^tl, do. 
 
 John M'Kinnel, do. 
 
 Robert M' William, Straiton, do. 
 
 M'Caul, do. 
 
 D.ivid M*Kie, Maybole 
 
 M'Clure tanner, Daily 
 
 Alex. Murdoch, Kirkmicha^l, par. 
 J.imes Muir, do. 
 
 — Macmurtrie, do. 
 
 Gilbert Mein, Daily parifh 
 John MClymont, do. 
 
 Will do. 
 
 J^mei Miickle, Kirkmichaelpar. 
 Gilbert M Clymont, do. 
 John Morton, Kirkmichael 
 
 
 As there were many Subftribers Names which were 
 not received when the Printing was finiflied, it is hoped they 
 will readily excufe the omlirion of their names, as they will 
 neverthelefs get their copies at the price Oiuulated in the Pro- 
 pofals. 
 
 S^^' 
 
'i^: