?y 0^1^^* Cibrarjp of t:he theological ^eminarjp PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY PRESENTED BY Miss Rebecca J. Johnson sec ^.*iX«*< REBECCA J. JOHNS^W 222 EASr WH£:Li.;.,vich are not feen are etern-ii. Pa^s 215 — 225 S E Fv M O N XII. The facred Impcrt of the Chriftian :Name. Acts xi. 26. The difciples loere called Chrjfihjis fir jl at A^itioch. 226— 23S SERMON XIII. The Divine Pvlercy to Mourning Penitents. Jer. xxxi. 18, 19,^0. 1 have furel-j heard Ephraim bemsanlng himf elf thus ^ Then haft chaftifed me^ and I ivas c')aftifed as a hriUoch un.iccufiomed to the yoke : ttirji then 7/ie^ and I Jhall be turnei ; for thou art the Lord };z) God. Surely after that I ivas turnedyl relented ; ani after that I -was inftrucled I finote upon my thigh : I -uas afiamedj yea^ even onfonnded^ becMtfe I did bear the reproach of my ycuth. Is E~ phrai/n my dear fon? :s he a pleafafit child ? for fttice I fpake againft him^ I do cam ft- ly remember hitn ft ill : therefore my boxuels are troubled for hivi ; Iv.iU fureiy have mercy upon him, faith the Lord. 2 3c — 2 54 S E R M O N XIV. Chrifl precious to all true Believers. I Pet. ii. 7- Viito you therefore ivhich believe^ he is precious. 254 — 2;'» S E R M O N XV. The Danger of Lukev/armnefs in Religion, Rev. iii. 15,16. I kno-u) thy -works .^ that thou art neither cold nor hot: I vculd thou vjert cold or hot. So thcn^ bccaufe thou art htkeuoarin^ and neither cold nor hot^ I 'o.ill fpue thee out of my nzziith. • 270 — 282 S E R 'M O' N XVL The Divine Government the Joy of our World. JTalm xcvii. i. The Lord reigneth^ ht the earth rejoice : let the frutitude of the :/Iex le glad thereof, ' 282—294 CONTENT S. S E M O N XVII. The Name of God proclaimed by himfelf. Exod. xxxiii. i8, 19. And he faid^ I hcfe;ch thee foevj im th-j glorj. And he faid^ I -U'lll ??take allmj gooimfs pafs before thee^ and I ivill prod.wk the name of the Lord before thee — Witli chap. xxxu'-. 6, 7. And the Lord pajfed b^ before him^ and prochiined^ The Lord, the Lord God,, mcraftd and gracious, long-fiifering, and ahimdant in goodncfs and frnih ; keeping merc-j for thoufands J forgivijig iniquity ^ andtranfgrcffion, arid fxn,, and that ivill by no means clear the guilty. Page 294 — 3-8 S E Pv M O N XVIIL God is Love. I Jchriv. . God is Love. 309—32* SERMON XIX. Tiie GeFiCral E.efT-!rre6»:ion. John V. 28, 29. The hour is coming in the -which all that are in the gmves fhall hear his r ; Vf , andfj^ll come f^rth ; they that have .done good, niito the refurreclion of life ; and they that have do7ze evil^ u7ito the refurreCtion of damnation. 3^7— "342 S E R M O N XX. F The Univerfal Judgment. A(5t=; xvii. 30, 31. And the tifnes of this igftorance God -witiked at ; but iwiv com- 7nandeth all men ever^ nbere to reP-'7!t, because he hath appointed a day in the 'uhrch he iiill jiidge the ivorll in righteoiifnefs by that -"um i- hon he hath crdaincd ; -uhereof he hatb given ajunmce nuio all tnen, in thai h: hath r.iifed hiiufrom the dead, 342-364 SERMON XXI. Th? one Thing needful. Lulce X. 41, 42. Andjefts ar/fwered and ftid unto her, Martha, Martha, thou ^rt carefil and troubled about vzany f'nng/) but one thing is needful: and Mary hath cbofen that good p. irt, -which fall mt bc'tak::: avay fravi her. 365 — 381 CONTENTS. SERMON XXII. faints faved with Difficulty, and the certain perdi- tion of Sinners. J. Pet^ iv. l". A/id if the righteous fearcelj be faved^ -where pall the ungodlj and the ^nnsr appear ? 382—394 S E R. M O N ' XXIII. IndiiFerence to Life urged from its Shortnefs and Vanity. J Cor. vii. 29,30,31. But this 1 fa^^ brethren, that the titne is Jhort : it remain- eth that they that have -wives, be as though they had none ; and they that i.veep as though they -wept not ; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not ; ajid they that buy, as though they pojfejfed 770t ; aftd they that ufe this -world, as not abufiKg 'it : for the fajhion of this -world pajf eth avjay. Page 393 — 410 SERMON XXIV. The Preaching of Chrift crucified the Mean of Sal- vation. I Cor. i. 22, 23, 24. For the Jews require a Ctgn, and the Greeks feek after -wifdo-.n : but Tve preach Chrift crucified, unto the Jeivs aftumbiing block, ajid unto the Grc-eks faolifhucfs ; but unto them ivhich are called, both ^e-ws and Greeks, Chriji the po-wer sf God and the xvifdom of God. 4 1 0-43 d- B Treface to the Jirfl Edition. AN epiflolary correfpondence commenced be- tween the llev. My. Sajnuel Davies ^nd myfeif, in the year 1752, and was continued till the time of his deceafe. When I began the intercourfe with him, I could not entertain any very probable hopes that we Ihould ever have an interview in our world, but Mr. Davies's vifit to Great-Britain^ in the year 1753, with that venera- ble man the Rev. Mr. Gilbert lennent^ cyi Philadelphia^ to folicit benefaclions for the college of New-Jerjeyy gave me a pleafiire beyond all reafonable expedlation ; 'and the friendfliip which v/as kindled at the diflance of fcveral thoufand miles from each other, was increafed by free and frequent converfes during the time, almofla year, of Mr. Z)<^i;/Wsrefidenceon this fide the Atlantic. After his departure from our country to America^ I received feveral letters from Mr. Davies^ and had the honour of being numbered among his particular friends, to whom he communicated the very fecrets of his bofom. In a letter, dated Septemher 12, 1757, Mr, Davies (at that juncture fcarce recovered from a violent and dangerous fever) thus writes to me : ''I want to live " after I am dead, not in name, but in public ufeful- " nefs : I was therefore about to order in my vv ill that " all my notes, which are tolerably full, might be fent ^' to you, to corred: and publifii fuch of them as you '' might judge conducive to the public good. Pray, " what do you think of the proje£l, if the like occafi- " on iliould return while you are among mortals ?" What anfwer I gave to my friend's propofal I can- not exactly recollect, but I am perfuaded that my af- fe£lion to him would not permit me to put a negative upon his requerc. On the 4th oi February ^ 17^19 this excellent man was by a violent fever removed from our world : and, though he died univerfally lamented, yet, as he had an uncommon intereft in m)^ affedlion while livirig, i'o his deceafe opened the fpringsof the nioftaffiidingiorrow in my bread, and perhaps I may truly apply, with av. ittle variation, the words of the Pott^ Mult is ille fiehihs cccidit^ Niilli flehilior quam ?nihi. — HoRAT. Od. Lib. I. Od. 24. But, though the prophet is afcended, his mantle is left behind. A very confiderable number of his Ser- mons has been tranfmitted to me, and thence I have feledled w hat were fufncient to compofe the eniuing vo- lumes. As the Sermons which I now lay belxn-e the public were Mr, Davies^s ufual popuk: ^ cUfcourfes, it may na- turally befuppofed that they required patient and accu- rate re vifal in order to their publication ; and that the Editor^ if he v/ould dii'charge his duty as he ought, mud find himfelf under the neceility of making fome occafional alterations and amendments as to tlie lan- p;uage, and efpecially of adjufling the pointing, Thefe liberties I have taken, and have endeavoured toexecute raj trufi: in the fame manner which I have reaibn to think Mr. Davies^ if he had been living, vv^ould have approved and commended ; and in which I Hiould wiili my own Sermons, fhould 1 leave any behind me wor- thy of the public view, mJght be corredcd and fent into the world. They v/ho knev/ and heard Mr, Davie s will no-tdv no further proof than the perufal of the difcouries them- fslves that they are the real produdlions of the author to whom they are afcribed. The iun fhews himielf to be the fun by the very beams with which he irradi- ates and enlivens mankind, and is ealily difcinguilhed from other luminaries bv his furpafili^g luftre. P H E F A C E. iii The Serinons I have chofen for publication ftridlly anfwerthe^<3fx'^r/i/ TANT Subjects ^ adapted to the Family ami Closet. The readers will meet with no difcourfes in thefe vo- lumes but what are calculated for general ufc, or fuch as relate to the common conditions, duties, and in- terefts of mankind in one form or another; and in how many of them has both the Saint and the Sinner a/?or//o;t q/'^/itr^/ provided for him.? May it prove a portion in due feafon ! and may both Che one and the other rife from thefacred feafl: divinely flrengthened and bleffed ! Amidfl an attention to the very numerous and im- portant duties of my feveral departments in life, the additional weight of a due preparation of Th^ee Vo- lumes of poflhumous difcourfes for the eye of the pub- lic, and of the careful reviews of the proof-flieets as they came from the prefs, has taken up no fmall por- tion of my time, and been no inconfiderable acceffion to my conflant labours ; but I have mofl cheerfully de- voted both my hours and my toils to the very valuable purpofes — of fulfilling the defircs of my dear friend Mr. Davies, which I own have a kind of irrefiflible power over me ; — of contributing, as I would hope, to thefpirituai benefit of my fellow-heirs of immortality, by putting into their hands a collei^ion of very pious and ufeful Sermons; — and, of aOifling and comforting the mournful widow and orphans of a friend who was as dear to me as a brother. I take the liberty of returning thanks, in the name of Mrs. Davie ^^ (for to her only the profits of the pub- lication ihall be applied) to the numerous Subscribers to the work ; and I hope they ^vill find themfelves am- ply recompenfed for their benevolence to the widow and fatherlefs, by the lacred advantage and pleafure they and tlieir families will receive in the perufai of thefe difcourfes ; in which piety and genius feem to have vied with each other which Hiould excel, and triumph in the fnperior' glory. IV PREFACE. Notwithllanding all the time and pains the prefenfe' work has colt me, and the ilrong fenfe I have that a like proportion of both would be required in the exe- cution of a like undertaking, yet I beg leave to alTure the public, that, as I have a large number of Mr. i Davie s^s manufcript Sermons ftiil in my hands, I fhall be ready (health being continued to me) to revife and publifli the Author's remaining diicourfes, whenever there fliall be an encouraging profped: of benefit to Mrs. Davies^ or her orphans, by a frefh publication. u^s tovifit^ or relieve, the fatherkfs and the widow in their affUCrion^ is an elTential branch of chriflian duty, fo it is a duty I trufl will never be wanting, v>^henever an opportunity offers for exemplifying it, from my nrfl regards and pradlice. Mr. Davies annexed to fome of his Sermons HYxMNS of his own compofition. Had this been uniformly the cafe they might have accompanied hisDifcourfes to the prefs, but as it is not, I have omitted them ; but, if death or incapacity prevent not my defigw, I intend hereafter to colled: what Hymns of his have fallen into my hands, and publifli them together with fome of my own on the like occafions. I have prefixed to thefe Volumes a Sermon upon the deathof our Author by that excellent man the Rev. Dr. Samuel Fin ley ^ Mr. Z)/^i;/Vj-'s fucceilor to the prefi- dency of New-Jerfey College: I have alio re-publifhed the Difcourfe I preached to my peoj^le the next Lord's day after I received the diftreiiing news of Mr. Davies'' ^ deceafe ; and have ventured to add an Elegiac Poem to the memory of my dear friend ; in which if the rea- der finds not a vein of poefy worthy of the fubjecl:, yet he will not, I prefume, be difpleaied at the eflbrts, however languid and inadequate, of bereaved mourn- ing friendihip to do honour to the characler of a per- {bn fo amiable and deferving. The idea I have given of our Author in my Ser- mon, and particularly in my Poem, and above all, the jufl and lively, the ftrong and elegant pidure which ^^ Jam. i. 27. P Pv K F A C E. V Dr. Finley has exhibited of him in his difcourfe upon his death, render it unnecefTary to enlarge this preface with an account of Mr. Davies's merit and accomplifh- ments ; I fhall therefore only add, that I mofl fincerely wifli that young miniflers more efpecially would pe- rufe thefe Volumes with the deepefl attention and fe- rioufnefs, and endeavour, in conjundion with earneft prayer for divine illumination and affiflance, to form their difcourfes according to the model of our Au- thor; in which if I miflake not, a critical Scrutiny into the facred Texts v/hich he choofes for his fubjeclis, a natural Eduction and clear Reprefentation of their ge- nuine meaning, an elaborate and fatisfadlory Proof of the various heads of doarine, a fteady profecution of his point, together v/ith an eafy and plain, but yet ftrong and pertinent Enlargement, and a free, anima- ted, and powerful Application and improvement, won- derfully adapted to awaken the confciences,and flrike the hearts of both faints and finners, mingle the vari- ous excellencies of learning, judgment, eloquence, piety, and feraphic zeal, in one uncommon glory ; not unlike the beams of the fim colleded by a burning glafs, that at once ihine with a mofl dazzling bright- nefs, and fet fire wherever the blaze is directed, to ob- jects fufceptive of their celelHal influence, and a trans- formation into their owji nature. THOMAS GIBBONS. EixiQiu3qmre, Nov* 14, 1765. DISINTERESTED and DEVOTED CHRISTIAN: SERMON, PREACHED AT NASSAU-HALL, PRINCETON^ MAY 2S, 1761. OCCASIONED BY THE DEATH OF THR Rev. SAMUEL DAVIE S, a. b Late Prefident of tho College ofNew-Jerfey. '' I ■ - - - ■ -1 - ■ . . f. By SAMUEL F I N L E Y, p. d,. PRESIDENT OF TPlE SAID COLLEGE. TO WHICH ARE ADDED, Some MEMOIRS of Mr. D A V I E S. BYANOTHER HAND. ^ui confiderat quails erit In Morte, femberque pavidus erit in operatione, stque inde in Ocitlis fui Conditoris vivet, nil quod tranfeat, appetit : cunaitf, Titae prefentis defidariis contradicit, et pene mortumiji fe c^|tfiierat, q^ jKioritwum fc miniane ignoi^.t. 6»«<5«x. L. 12. Meral- ipo Mrs. MARTHA DAVIE S, the Mothei-, ANtf Mrs. JEAN DAVIES, the Wido< OF THE LATE Rev. President DAVIES, deceafed» The following Sermon^^ Preached on Occafion of his lamented DeatSt^ I s With the tendereft Refpc(?h PRESENTED Bt ^kcir. fincers and affsCihnate FrUni^ and humble Servant, SAMUEL FINLEY. MM aa») ecu MM 9IC0 MO* MM eeae QSM •»» MM e*M tate »MS 4M0 «oao caoa oooe goM OMO GOM 009> t^ ROMANS, xiv. 7, S. For none of us Uveth U himfelf, and na man dieth to htmfetf* For whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; or whether we die we die unto the Lord ; whether we live, therefore or dy^ we are the Lord's. AS the very dear and reverjptid man, whofe premature and uncxpeded death, we, amonffft thoufands, this day lament, exprefled his defire, that, upon this mournful event, a Sermon fhould be preached from thefe words, he plainly intimated his expedation, that the audience Ihould be entertained, not with an Ornamented funeral Oration, but with ftich an inftrudive difcourfe as the text itfelf naturally fuggefts. The fubjed be* jng his own choice, I cannot doubt but this friendly audience will the more clofely and ferioufly attend, as conceiving hinj though deady yet f peaking, to them the folemn truths it contains* For having been admitted into the full knowledge of his religir ous principles, I may prefume on fpeaking many of the fentl- jnents he mtended ixom this text^ though not in his more fub^ lime and oratorial manner. When I rcfled on the truly chriftian, generous, yet ftri^ Cath^lidfm that diftinguilhes this whole chapter, and how deep- ly it was imprinted on Mr. Davies's ownfpirit, and influenced the courfe ofhislife, I am ready to conclude, that perhaps no text could be more aptly chofen on the occafion. It exprei^s the very temper that fliould be predominant in all, and which adually is fo in every pious breaft. That we may apprehend the fcope and genuine fenfe of the words, it is necelTary to obferve, that wai'm debates at that time arofe between the Jtwijh and Gentile converts, about the difference of raeats and days, eftablifhed by the Mofafc law ; and, fo fharp was the contention, that they were mutually difpofed to exclude each other from chriftian communion. Th,e Gentile y being under no bias from the powerful prejudices of education and cuftom, was fooner and ealier convinced of his freedom from that yoke of hmtdage, and defpifed the Jew as weak to admiration, andfcrupulousto a fault. The Jew, on the other hand, pcrfuaded that thef e ancient di- vine inftitutions v/ereftill obligatory, cenfured and condemned the Gentile as inconfcientious, and profanely regardlefs of God's awful authority. The Apoftle, in order to quell the growing ftrife, maturely determines that, though th.e Gentile held the right Tide of the quefticny- yet both parties were wrong as to their temper of :£ A Funeral Sermou mincS, and the rfianner in which they managed the controverfy y and that they laid an undue flrefs on the matters of difference, and carried their cenfures higher than the merits of the caufe %vould at alljuilify' He therefore recommends moderation to ))oth,. and fets before th-em fufiicient reafons why they Ihould Judge of each other more charitably, fmce they agreed in all thofe principal points that would juftly denominate them *' the fervants of the Lord." For if they would reckon it a bold in- .trufion to call before their tribunal, condemn, and puniih ano- ~ihcr man^s fervant, over vylxom they had no legal authority ; how much more arrogant and prefuniptuous muft it be fo to treat afervant of the Lord V^ ver^ 4. Again, let them be fo candid as to perfuade themfelves, that^ ^inlefs the contrary be evident, they who differ froi;ii them, Ifniftaken or jiot, are influenced by a confcientipus regard to the divine glory, ver* 6. This admitted, their perfoual cenfures will necelTarily be milder, even though their judgment of the points in debate continue unaltered ; and this mull be admitted, if they can charitably judge, that their refpedive opponents arc Teal chriflians : for in all fuch the governing principle is, ^^ not to live to themfelves, but to the Lord. For none of us liveth to **• himfelf, and no man dieth to himfelf. For whether we live, ^^ wc live unto the Lord ; o^* whether we die we die unto the ^- Lord ; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the *■'' Lord's." Now, if no pious perfon lives merely to pleafc himfelf, >ve ought not to judge that his averlion from, or at- tachment to certain meats and days, arifes only from a felfiih humour : but, on the contrary, fmce his whole life is govern- ed by an honeft regard to the v/ill of God, it is altogether cre- dible that, in his different condu6l refpe^ling meats and days, he ads from the fame principle ; for whatever is true of the gene- |-al, is alfo true of all the particulars contained under it. Sup- pofe a man to be a real ChrilHan, you then fuppofe him to be pf an upright heart, of a tender confciencc, and one who dares not to negled, nor live in contradiction to known duty. Kc •makes it his main bufmefsto pleafe God, and ihall we be impla- Gaply difguftedjjecaufe he docs not rather endeavour to pleale us ? God forbid. Thus, while our text affords a convincing argument for mo- deration in judging of other Chriflians, who diifer from us in eircumflantials, it teaches us what iliould be the principle and ^;?//of our life, and that both negatively and pojitrocly' We may not live nor die to ourfelver, but to the Lord. I. ^' We may not live to ourfeives." This proportion fuppofes, v.Iiat is a demonflrabie truth, that >'car€ not the abfolute proprietors, and thereibre ha^-e not the @nthe Beath of Mt\ Davjbj. x-J j)i^]itf(il difpofal of our liv^es. For fmqe we could exert no kind c^cScieiucy in bringing ourfelves from nothing into cxilltnce, ■we could not polTibly defign ourfelves for any end£)r purpofe of ,pur own. Henceit is evident, .that^ whofe property Ibever v.^ ^re, we belong not to .ourfelves ; confequently, it is the higheft indecency to behave as though -we Vv-erc accountable to none other- As rationally may we claim *felf-exiftence and indepen- .4ence' It will, therefore, fee an eternal folecifm iiv^(fl:ion to aira chiefly at our own .glory, feek only our oiu7z things ^ orpur- fue moll eagerly our ov/n ykleafures. ilight reafon itielf peremp- torily denies that the diftates of our ov/n ?ninds are our fupremc rule of condud, or that cur own will is our law ; much lefs jiiay we i\\o]eB: ourfelves to the government cf blind pairlons, ^or indulge to irreguLir appetites. We are not at liberty, nor have we any authority to employ cither the members of our bodies, or pov/ers of our fouU, at pleafure, as if we had originally defigued their ufe. YkQ-acQ. it will appear criminal,, on the oue hand, to \A'aile our tim.e, or expend our ftrength in ufelefs exercifes ; and, on the other, to allow an idle negligence of necellary bufmefs. Our tongues themfelves, thofe unruly inemhers^ muft be patient of reftraint , for it is the language only of haughty rebels to fay, " Our lips are our own, v/ho is Lord over us?'' (a) Our veiy |;houghts are to be confined within prefcribed limits, and all our rational powers ftatedly exercifed, not in merely curious and amufing refearches, but in matters the moil ufcful and impor- tant- It alfo follows, that the product of our a6livity, whatever is acquired by the exertion of thefe powers, ought not to ter- minate in ourfelves. Are we in purfuit of learning, that or- nament of human minds, it Ihould notbe with a view pnly to iliine m.ore confpicuous, but that we may ferve our generatioA' to better advantage. Has God blelTed " the hard of the dili- *^ gent'' with abundant riches, ? We are not to confider them as the means of gratifying vanity, or ^^ fulhiling the de. ^^ fu-es oftheflelh, and of the mind;" for we muft ^Mionour the Lord with our fubftance,"^/;^' Kas God clot!?ed any of us with power ? 1 'his is not a difcharge from his fervice, nor a freedom from fubjeftion to his laws, but a ftronger obrigation to duty, as it gives us an opportunity of more extenfive ur^-- fulnefs- Finaliy, fmce v/e Vv-ere not the authors of our lives, we can havenorigiit to take them a v.aj- V/e have no power to de- tcriaine, cither the time or kind of death, any more tlian v/e (<'■) Pfalm xii, 4, . (h) ProVl^iii. 9. sii A Funeral Sermon ^n ward of!^ or fufpend its blow when commilTioned to deftroy. Therefore, amidft all the miferies that can make life an infup- portable burden, and all the glorious profpefts that can make lis impatiently pant for diflblution, it muft be our determinate purpofe, that '* all the days of our appointed time, we will wait till our change come.' Yc^ . As thefe particulars, examined by the ftrifteft reafon, will all appear to be immediate confequences from felf-evident princi, pies, and muft all be confeiTed by him, who acknowledges that ^* he is not his own lord and mailer ;'' it will follow as anei'i- '^ cfcnt truth, that the evangelical duty cffelf- denial iifound- '^ ed on the everlafling reafon of things.'' Reflc6ting farther on the preceding obfervations, they force iiponusthedifagreeableconvidion, that our whole race has re- Toltedfrom the race of God, and rilen up in rebellion againft him. '* The world evidently lies in v/ickednefs ;" for the al- lowed praftice of men fuppofes principles, which, they them- Telves being judges, muftconfefs to be palpably falfe and abfurd. They a6lasifthey believe they were made for themfelves, and had no other bufmefs in life but the gratification of their refpec- tive humours. One exerts all his powers, and fpends all his time in nothing elfe but endeavouring to amafs heaps of wordly treafiire : another, by riotous living, difperfes what had been colleded with anxious care and ailiduous labour- Some live in malice and envy, whofe favourite employ is calumny and wrathful contentions, as if they had been created for no other end but to be the pefts of fociety : others blafpheme the name, ©f God, defpife his authority, mock at religion, and ridicule, ferions perfons and things. One has no other purpofe in life but fport and merriment : another eats to gluttony, and drinks to befottednefs- Yet all thefe, and nainelefs ranks of other daring ofFenderc, would be alhamed in a chriflian countrjr topoHefs it as their ferious belief, that they v/ere made by a moft wife, holy, and righteous God, preferved, bleiTed, and loaded v/ith benefits every day, on purpofe that they ^- might \\ork alj ** thefe abominations," or, in order to live juft as the}'^ do. If, then, it is confelTedly impious and unreafonable to live to turfelves^ it neccllarily follows that we are the property of another, for it will ever be *' lawful for one ** to do a hat he will with his own." And whofe can we be but /:/j who gave usexulence? Or, if ties of gratitude can more powerfully in. fiuence ingenious minds than even thofe of nature, who can fo juftly claim us as He, '* who, as we hope, loved us, and walh- ed us '* from our fms in his own blood V^d) ThJe leads me tg^ obferve^ on thi Death of Mr. Daviisi asM II. Thatweihould '' live and die to the Lord." Thi« can admit of no debate; for if our Maker and Redeemer be our rio-htfiil owner, then whatever wc arc, or have, or can do, jnuftbefor him. Being his fervants, we muft " Hiew all good fidelity'' in his bufmefs. The talents with which he has en- trufted ns, more or fewer, or of whatever kind, may not he, returned without improvement; for, as is fit and proper, he ** requires his own with ufury.'Y^^' He is our King, whofe. prerogative it is to direa our cburfe of a^ion, and propofe th^^ end at which we are to ahn ; to *' mete '' out the bounds of out habitation,'' and carve ;our portion ; and it becomes us to give the moft ready and chcarful obedience to his commands, and fubmitto allhisdifpofals. ^ ■, • r Our living thus to the Lord plainly fuppofes our being len- flble of our entire dependence on him, and that we devote our- felves to his fervice. Wc muft " prefent " our bodies a living facrifice ^VfJ without referve or hefitation ; and '^ avouch the Lord to be our God, to "walk in his ways, and to keep his. *' ftatutes, and judgments, and commandments, and to hear k- « en to his voice."^^^ We bind ourfelves to him in a firm co- venant, not for a limited term of months and years, but for ever and ever, and acquiefce in Him as our chief good. The folemnity of fuch an infinitely important trarifadlion be-- tween the glorious majefty of heaven, and fuch mean creatures' as we, who are " but duft and aihes," cannot but ftrike us with reverential awe. And what will make it yet more humbling is the conlideration of our guilt. We not only as Creatures taker iiponus to fpeak unto the Lord our Maker, but as Crlminah approach to the feat of our offended and mofl righteous Judge. Dare we then trifle, and not rather be moft ferious and deli- berate ? Refleding that we are in the prefence of the heart- fearching God will naturally make us watchful over e very- thought and motion of our fjMrits, and engage us to the great- eft fincerity in furrendering to him our all. Wc will give him our hearts therafelves ; keep nothing back ; nor except againft «ny terms he Ihall pleafe to propofe, but yield at difcretion. On this occafion a confcioufnefs of our having revolted from him, neglefted his fervice, purloined his goods, and, in eve- ry refped, behaved moft ungratefully and undutlfully, will ef- feduswith the moft genuine forrow. Therefore, when re- pentant we return to him, we fliall, covered v/ith Ihame, ap- proach with the Pro%^/'s felf abafmg ccnfeffion, " Father ! 1 ^ have finned againft heaven, and in thy fight, ind am n» (d) Rev. i. 6. (0 Matt. 33cv. 2.1- -(f) R«ffl..y-ii. I. (£J De-ot. xxw- t?- ±iV A Funeral Sermh ^^ morewcTthy tfd be called thy (o\\''*^(h) Ke will ^'furelj^ ^ hear us bemoaning oitrfelves, like Ephraim^^^ that we have too long wrought the Vvill of the fleih, and fufFered *^ other *^ ufarping lords to have dominion over us ;'^ but now we hum- bly beg forgivcrels, his gracious acceptance of our perfons, and admiii^cii into his family, ihould it be only on trial, '^ as hired ftrvants.'' But though our frus have made us vile, and the view of their odious iiature n.akes us " loathe ourfelves in *^ our own fight,^^ yet a convidlion of the free grace and mercy of God in Christ ^ill ccmr'::rt and encourage cur dejedcd and diifident hearts. The cords of love will draw us nearer and nearer, until we Ihall alTume an humble '^ boldnefs, to enter into the holieft of ^^ all by the blood of Jesus.'Y^V Sacred love, and a grateful fenfe cf the unmerited favours oi'our God will now difpofe us to, and animate us in the performance of every duty; P;.eligion. will be Gurchofencourfe, and the commandments of GoD will be fo far from being burdenfome to us, that we fliall rejoice in tiiem, and delight in " doing the things that pleafe him-'' Our v.'hole time will be confecrated to his fervice : no part of it can be fpsred for fieihly indulgencie§, or finful pleafures, but will be emplcycd either in fomiC pofitive duty, or in preparation for it in tlie proper feafon. This religious bent of mind will manifeftitfelf in all our con- duft, and give even common anions a different dired:ion. If v/fe attend our ordinary callings, we fliall be atlive and diligent, not in order to gratify an earthly temper, but from an obediental regard to fapreme authority. When our fpirits flag through ihtenfe application to builnefs, and recreation becomes nccelfary, our very diverfions will be confidered as our duty, and fo as a branch of our religion : and as they will always be innocent in their nature, fo they will be no otherwife regarded than as- means to fit us for the repetition of our v/ork. If our friends or country demand our fervice, we iliall not give place to {^\- fiihnefs and indolence, but, as lovers of Cod and men, gene- rouily exert ourfelves for the common good. 1 hus will our vvhole life be religion, upon fuch a fincere, entire, and afFedi- onatc dedication of ourfelves to the Lord- And fuch as is our courfe fo vvill be its end. When the date of time is concluded v.e ihall alfo ^* die to the Lord." I'his in general import.% our living under the rational, affecting imprellion of our diio« lutlon, and appearing before God, and our conftant endeavours after a'rcuul preparation to enjoy him for ever. Then, upon the appror.ch of death, we ih*ill coiifidently *' commit our fpi- f,'; ^''^^^e, XY. ■•- (i) Keb. x. i^. i)n the Death of Mr* Davies, xt rits into, " his hands," recommend his ways to furvivors, and glorify him with our dying breath. But, on the other hand, if our lives are not thus confecrated to our God, we cannot be fuppofed to perform any duty in an acceptable manner, as the requifite principle and end are want- ing. He, to whom the fecret fprings of adiion are all obvi- ous, will not, cannot accept pretended fervices ; nor be pleaf- ed with the <* blind and the lame for facrifice,'* when the beft are eftecmed too good for him. To comphment him with our lips, \rhen we refufe to give him our hearts, will be judged fimilar to the condud of thofe, who " bowed the knee in de- '^ rifion,'' and in derifion faid, *' Hail ! King of the Jews!^' " He, '* with whom we have to do,'' cannot be deceived, nor '^ will be mocked. He requires ^' Truth in the inward parts," v/hich cannot fubfift without an honeft and upright defign to ferve him all the days of our lives* Now to live wholly to the Lord, Will appear to be ourrf^- fonable fervtcCy if we confider, i . That *^ fuch a life is mofl '^ worthy of rational and immortal creatures." From the '^ povvers and faculties given us it may naturally be concluded that we are created for fome very important purpofe ; but what can be fo important, orbearfojuft a correfpondence to our capacities, as to live to the glory of our great Creator > This being our ultimate end, to which we refer all our aftions, and perform each of them in fuch a manner as may beft anfwer it, will influence our hearts, and frame our whole converfati- on agreeable to the divine approving will. And what can fo ennoble the foul as conformity to the pattern of perfection I But to negled this, and chiefly regard our temporal alFairs, would be infinitely unworthy of beings capable of the hip-heft purfuits, and formed for immortality. Why fhould we have been '* v/ifer than the beafl:s of the field, or the fowls ^^ of heaven,*' if we are to have no fublimer aims than they? In a word, we could never vindicate the wifdom of God in our formation, if he intended us for meaner things than thofe for which We are quahfied. Therefore, 2. " Such a life is mofl: worthy of God our Maker." No- thing can appear more condecent and proper, than that he who is the beginmng, ihouldalfo be the end; that as all are of him, all ihould be to htm* And if his glory be the mofl: excellent thing, and He the mofl perfeft Being, it will neceiTarily foUov/, that he cannot ultimately defign what is lefs excellent- There- fore the fcripture fpeaks agreeable to ever lafl:ing truth, when it aflerts, that ^^ he made ail things for himfelf;" and, that * for his pleafure they are, and were created. "/^>^yJ And can it Vol. I. ' D XVI A Funeral Sermon be rationally fuppofed, that he allows us, whom he made for his own glory, to ad for a different or oppofite end ? It can- not. We muft therefore peremptorily affirm, that he cannot, in confillency with his perfections, require lefs, than that '^ whether, we " eat or drink, or whatever we do, we ihould do all *' to his glory. ''(/) And this he does require, notbecaufe he needs our fervice, or can be happier, or more glorious in him- felfbyour praifes, but becaufe it is fit and right, and refults as our duty from the eternal reafon of things. 3. ^^ Such a life is our own happinefs :'' for, a6ling as pre- icribed, we move in our proper fphere, and tend to our native centre. We live as near the fountain of bleffednefs as our pre- fent ftate can admit, and nothing can be fo animating as the glo- rious and blifsful profpects our courfe affords. Our hearts, be- ing fixed on the chief good, are at reft, and no more tortured with anxious hefitation, and uneafy fufpence, as to w^hat we ihail chufe for our portion, nor do our defires wander in queft of amorefuitable objecl. We can wiih for no more but the full enjoyment of God^ whom we " ferve '^ with our fpirits ;'^ whofe •• peace, that paffeth all *' underftanding, rules in our hearts ;" and for wliofe glory we hope, fecure from confound- hig difappointment in the day of the Lord. Now me thinks every attentive hearer prevents my improve- ment of the fubj eft, being ready, of his own accord to make llich reflections as theie — How ferene and placid is the life, and hov/ triumphant mufl: be the death, of a true Chriftian ! — How reafonable a fervice do v/e perform, when we confecrate our- felves to the Lord, and receive him, freely offering himfelf to be our portion, our father, and our friend ! None can plaufi- bly urge, that fome things unfit, or detrimental, are required. None can pretend a confcientious fcruple about complying with "ihQ propofal, nor dare any, hov.^ever fecretly reluftant, openly avow their diffent. Every mouth is ftoppcd, and all acknov/- ledge their obligation to this plain duty. What then fhould hinder the unanimous agreement of this whole affembly to fo advantageous an overture ? Why may we not join ourfelves, ihisday, to the Lord in an everlafting covenant ? Would it not i'eem uncharitable to fuppofe, that any one in this chrifli^' an audience rejects a propofal fo infinitely juft and kind ? How piealingisthe very imagination of an univerfal concurrence ! Not only would each of our hearts who are here prefent exult, but unnumbered hofls of angels, and all " the fph'its of jufk *'■' men made perfed" would rejoice. fh) Rev-, iv. ir. (I) I Cor. x. 31, »n the Death of Mr, Bavies. xvii Since therefore all things that pertain to our prefent or fu- cure happinefs, confpire to urge this point, let us with one accord, in the moft afFedionate and reverent manner, approach the throne of our auguft Sovereign, and cheerfull}^ refign our- felvesto him for ever ; fpend our lives in his fervice, and ex- ped: his compenfating approbation at our end. In fome fuch train, but more diffufive and fublime, would our reverend and dear deceafed Friend have addrefied us on fuch a fubjedl. We may imagine how fervent his defu-e was of ^' living to the Lord" himfelf, and perfuading others to the fame courfe, when he fixed on this for the fubjeft of his Funeral Sermon. Now, as it is generally agreed that exam- ple has the moft powerful iniiuence, perhaps a few (ketches of his own Life and Charader may belt recommend the preced- ing difcourfe, as they will prove the life defcribed to be praeli- cable- And though he on whom this talk is devolved owns him- felf inferior to it_, yet he is encouraged to undertake it from a perfuafion, that a fimple and unornamented narrative of what he knows, either perfonally or by certain information, concerning Prefident Davies, wil'l fet him in a very agreeable point of light. He is now difmterefted in all the praifes and cenfures o^ mortals, and can neither receive benefit, or fulFer detriment by them ; but his example may profit the living, as it tends to excite a laudable emulation ;- and fome brief hints of the difpenfations of divine providence towards him may not be without very ufe fa 1 in ftr notion « He was an only fon, and, which is more, Vv'as a fon of prayers and vov/s ; was given in anfwer t-o fervent fupplications, :ind, in gratitude, wholly devoted to GcD from the womb by his eminently pious motlier, and named Samuel ^ on the like occafion as the ancient Prophet. The event proved, that God accepted the confecrated Boy, took him under his fpecial care, furnilhed him for, and employed him'in the fervice of his church, pr©fpered his labours with remarkable fuccefs, and not only bleiTed him, but made himfelf a bleding. The firft twelve years of his life were wafted in tlie moft en- tire negligence of God and Religion, which he often af'.erwards bitterly lamented, as having too " long " wrought the will of the flelh.'' But about that time the God to whom he was de- dicated by his Word and Spirit awakened him to folemii thoughtfulnefs, and anxious concern obout his eternal flate. He then faw fufHcient reafon to dread all the direful effeds of divine difpleafure agaii^ft fm. And fo deeply imprinted was afee rational ^(zn^Q of his danger, as to make him habitually nu^ xviii A Funeral Sermm eafy andreftlefs, uiitil he might obtain fatisfying fcriptural evi- dence of his intereft in the forgiving love of God. While thus exercifed he clearly fa w the abfolute neceflity, and certain reality of the gofpel-plan of falvation, and what a- bundant and fuitable provilion it makes for all the wants of a finner. No other folid ground of hope, or unfailing fource of comfort could he find, befides the merits and righteoufnefs of him, " whom " God fet forth to be a propitiation for fm, through faith '* in his blood" (?w) On this righteoufnefs he was enabled confidently to depend ; by this blood nis confci- cnce was purged from guilt ; and " believing, he rejoiced ^^ with joy unfpeakable, and full of glory. "(w) Yet he was af- terwards exercifed with many perplexing doubts for a long feafon, but at length, after years of impartial repeated felf- examination, he attained to a fettled confidence of his inte- reft in redeeming Gr:.ce, which he retained to the end. A diary, which he kept in the firft years of his religious life and continued to keep as long as his leifure would permit, clearly fhewshow intenfely his mind was fet on heavenly things ; how obfervant he was of the temper of his heart ; and how watchful over all his thoughts, words, and actions. Did any cenfure his foibles, or juvenile indifcretions ? They would have done it coinpafTionatety, had they knov/n how feverely he cenfured them, himfelf. The tribunal daily ereded in his own bofom was more critical in fcrutinizing, and more impartial and ievere in palFing fentence, than either his friends or enemies could be. Kis love to God, and tender concern for periHiing fmners, excited his eager defire of being in a Ikuationto ferve manldnd to the beft advantage- With this view he engaged in the pur- fuit of learning, in which, amidit many obvious inconvenien- cies, he made furprifing progrefs, and, fooner than could have been expeded, was found competently qualified for the minif- terial office. He paffed the ufuai previous trials with uncommon approbation ; having exceeded the raifed expeciations of his moil: intimate friends and admirers. When he wasiicenfedto preach the gofpel, he zealoudy de- clared the counfel of God, the truth and importance of which he knew by happy experience ; and did it in fuch a manner as excited the earnefLdefires of every vacant congregation, where he wasknovv'n, to obtain the happinefs of his ftated miniftrations. But, far from gratifying his natural inclination to the fociety of his friends, or confulting hiseafe, moved by confcience of duty, (mj Rom- in. 25. fn) 1 Pet. i. 8- on the Death of Mr, Da vies. xix he undertook the felf- denying charge of a diffenting corigrega- tion in P^irglnin, feparated from ali his brethren, and expofed to the cenfure and refentnient of many. But the more he was known in thofe parts, the more were prejudices removed ; contempt was gradually turned into reverence ; and the num- ber of his enemies daily diminiihed, and his friends increafed. Nor did he there labour in vain, or *^ fpend his ftrength for *^ nought.'' The " LoPvD, who counted him faithfLil, put- *' ting him into the miniftry," fucceeded his faithful endea- vours, fo that a great number both of whites and blacks^ were liopefully converted to the living God ; for the proof of this, I muft refer you to his own narrative, fent to the Rev. Mr. Bellamy, and by him publiihed, and to his letters to fome gen- tlemen of the Society in London Jor propagating Religion among the Poor'' As to his natural genius, it was ftrong and mafcuiine. His underftanding was clear ; his memory retentive ; his invention quick; his imagination lively and florid; his thoughts fublime ; and his language elegant, ftrong, and expreflive. And I cannot but prefume that true and candid critics will readily difcern a great degree of true poetic fire, flile, and imagery in his poetical compofitions ; and will grant that he was capa- ble to have fl-ione in that way, had his leifure permitted the •due cultivation of his natural talent- Kis appearance in company was manly and graceful his be- haviour genteel, not ceremonious ; grave, yet pleafant ; and foiid, but fprightly tec In a word he was an open, con- verfable, and entertaiaing Companion^ a polite Gentleman, and devout Chrillian, at once. In the facred Befe, zeal for GoD, and love to men anima- ted his addrelTes, and made them tender, folemn, pungent, and perfuafive ; while at the fame time they v/ere ingenious, accurate, and orator ial. A certain dignity of fentiment and ftile, a venerable prefence, a comm.anding voice, and err.nha- tical delivery, concurred both to charm his audience, and over- awe them into filence and attention. Nor was his ufefulnefs confined to the Pulpit. His compre- henfive mind could take under view the grand interefls' of his Country and of Religion at once ; and thefe interefls, as well as thofe of his Friends, he was ever ready zealioully to fen e. It is knov*'nv/hat an aftive inftrument he was in flirring up a patriot fpirjt, a fpirit of courage and refolution in Virgir.i:i, wliere he refided during the late barbarous freyich and Indian ravages. XX A Funeral Sermon His natural temper was remarkably fweet and difpaflionate *; and his heart was one of the tendereft towards the diftrelTed. His fympathetic foul could fay, " Who is weak, and I am not weak V^ Accordingly his charitable difpofition made him libe- ral to the poor, and that often beyond his ability. He was eminently obhging to all, and very fenfible of favours confer- ed ; which he could receive without fervility, and manifefl his grateful fenfe of them with proper dignity. To his friend he was voluntarily tranfparent, and fully aO:- ed up to the PoeVs advice : Thy friend put in thy bofom : wear his eyes StUl'in thy heart, that he ntey fee what's there. And perhaps none better underflood the ingenuities and deli- cacies of friendlhip, or had an higher reUlh for it, or was truer or more conllant in it than he, He was not eafdy difgulled : his knowledge of human nature in its prefent ftate, his candid heart, and enlarged foul both difpofmg and enabling him to make allowances for indifcretions, which narrower and more felfiih minds could not make. He readily and eafily forgave offences againft himfelf, v/hilft none could be more careful to a- void otTending others ; which, ifheatany time inadvertently did, he was forward and defu-ous to make the moft ample fa- tisfadion. He was amongft the firft and brighteft examples of fihalpie- ty, a very indulgent parent, and humane mafter. As an huf- band he was kind, tender, cordial, and refpeclful, with a fond- nefs that was manly and genuine. In a word, think what might rationally be expeded, in the prefent imperfed ftate, in a mature Man, a Chriilian in minority, a Minifter of Jesus of like palTions with others, in a Gentleman, Companion, and cordial Friend, and you conceive of Prefident Z)^"L';Vj-. It would hardly be expecfted, that one fo rigid with refpect to Iiis own faith and praclice, could be fo generous and catholic in Idsfentiments of thofe who differed from him in both, as he was. '■le was ftrid:, not bigoted; confcientious, notfqueamiih- ly fcrupulous. His clear and extendve knowledge of religion enabled him to difcern where the main ftrefs, fliould be laid, and to proportion his zeal to the importance of things, too gene- nerous to be confined to the interefls of a party as fuch. He * The Rev. Mr. 'johtRodgers, one of his mod intimate friends, in a let- ter to me fmce his dettth, fays, " I never faw hi:ii angry -during feveral years' <£' of unoounded intimaGy, tlao\ig}> I kave repeatedly knewn him te be ungCRjt- ii r^nfly tr»ate«i^'' m the Death of Mr* DAviej. xxi conficlered the vifible kingdom of Christ as extended beyond the bounderies oi this or that particular denomination, and ne- ver fuppofed that his declarative glory was wholly dependent on the religious community which he moft approved. Hence he gloried more in being a Chriftian, than in being a PrejViteri- arif though he was the latter from principle. His truly catholic addrefs to the eftabhlhed Clergy of Virginia is a demonftrati- on of the fmcere pleafure it would have given him, to have heard that " Christ was preached/' and iubflantial religion, common Chriftianity, promoted by thofe who ** walked not with him/' and whom he judged in other points to be miftaken. His benevolent heart could not be fo foured, nor his enlarged foul fo contrafted, as to value men from circumftantial diftindi- ons, but acccording to their perfonal worth. He fought truth for its own fake, and would profefs his fentiments with the undifguifed opennefs of an honeft Chriftian, and the inofFenfive boldnefs of a manly fpirit ; yet, without the lead apparant difficulty or helitation, he would retraft an opi- nion on fiill conviction of its being a miftake. I have never known one, who appeared to lay himfelf m»>re fully open to the reception of truth, from whatever quarter it came, than he ; for he judged the knowledge of truth only to be real learning, and that endeavouring to defend an error was bur labouring to be more ignorant. But, until fully convinced^ he was becommingly tenacious of his opinion. The unavoidable Qonfcioufnefs of native power made him bold and enterprizing. Yet the event proved that his boldnefs arofe not from a partial, groundlefs felf-conceit, but from true felf-knowledge. Upon fair and candid trial, faithful and juft to himfelf, he judged what he could do ; and what he could, when called to it, he attempted ; and what he attempted he ac- complilhed. It may here be properly obferved, that he was chcfen by the Synod of New-Tork, at the inftance of the Truilees of New-Jerfey, College, as a fit perfon to accompany the Rev. Mr. Gilbert Tennent to Great -Britain and Ireland, in order to folicit benefaftions for the faid college. As this manifefted the high opinion which both the Synod aiid Corporation enter- tained of his popular talents and fDperior.abilites,io hisready com- pliance to undertake that fervice, hazardous and diiEcult in it- felf, and precarious in its confe.quenc^^s, which required him to overlook his domeflic connections, however tender and endear- ing, manifefted his refolution and felf-denial. How well he was qualified as a folicitor, is v.itnelTed by the numerous and large benefadions he received- His fervices, as vvas meet, xxii A 'Funeral Sermon were gratefully accepted by his confHtuents ; and to the pious, generous, and piiblic-fpirited charity of the friends of Religi- on and Learning in Great-Britain^ received on that occafion, does the college of Nevj-Jerfey, in a great degree, owe its prefent fiourilhing condition. As Kis light llione, his abilites to fill the Prefident's chair in this College, then vacant, was not doubted by the honourable board of iruftees. He was accordingly chofen, and earneftly imdtedto accept the charge of the Society. Yet he once and again excufed hinifelf, not being convinced that he was called in duty to leave his then important province. But repeated application at length prevailed to make him apprehend that it was the will of Geo he fhould accept the call ; yet,, left he flionld miftake in fo important a cafe, he withheld his exprefs confent, until the Reverend Synod of Neiv-Tork and Philadelphia gave their opinion in favour of the College. This determined his dubious mind. He came, and under took the weighty charge^ And what were the confequences ? had his inceiTant labours in travelling and preaching the gofpel, hi? difadvant^geous fitu- ation, and want of opportunity for improvement made fome of hisbeft friends diffident of his capacity and acquirements for moving with honour in this unaccuftomed fphere ; He agreea- bly difappointed their friendly fears, and convinced them that ftrength of genius, joined to induftrious application, had fur- mounted all other difadvantages. Had any fuch raifed expectati- ons as feemed hard to anfwer ? they were fully fatisfied : fo that from being highly approved he came to be admired. His manner of conducing the College did honour to himfelf, and promoted itsinterefts. Whatever alterations in the plans of education he introduced were confelTedly improvements on thofe ofhispredeceiTors. Had I never had other means of in- telligence, fave only my knowledge of the man, I ihould natu- rally have expelled that all his public appearances would have been conducted with fpirit, elegance, and decorum ; that his government would be mild and gentle, tempered with wifdom and authority, and calculated to command reverence while it attracted love, and that his manner of teaching ^^•ould be agree- able and liriking. But I propofe not thefe as mere conjectures. The learned Tutors of tiic College, the partners of his counfels and deli- berations for its good, r-nd thefe young Gentlemen, once his care and charrre, vv^ho judged themfclves happy under his tuiti- on, all know more tlian I ihAl fpeak. Yon know the tendernefs and condefcenfion with v/hich he m the Dwh of Mr, Davies. xxlii VOU ; the J:elu£lance with which he at any time infiifted the prefcribed puniihment on a delinquent ; and how pleafed he was to fucceed in reforming any abufe by private and eafy me- thods- You felt yourfelves voluntarily confined by the reftraints of love, and obliged to fubjedtion, not from flavilh fear, but from principle and incHnation. You have yet freih in memory his inftrudive Lectures, andean tell with what eafe he communi- cated his fentim.ents, and imprefled his ideas on your minds, and the entertaining manner in which he w ould reprefent even a common thought. But his perfuafive voice you will hear no more. He is re- moved far from mortals, has taken hhnerial flight, and left us to lament, that *' a great man has fallen in Ifrael i'^ He Hved ** much in a little time ; " he finiflied his courfe,'' performed " fooner than many others his afligned talk, and, in that view, might be faid to have died mature. He Ihone like a light {ei in a high place, that burns out and expires. He went through every ftage of honour and ufefulnefs, compatible to his character as a diflenting Clergy-man : and while we flattered our fond hopes of eminent iervices from bimi for many year* to come, the fatal blow was flruck : our plea- fmg profpefts are all at an end, and he is cut down like a tree that had yielded much fruity and was loaden with blofToms even in its fall. This dirpenfation,how mifterioufly ! how aflonifliing ! nay^how difcou raging does it feem 1 Why was he raifed, by Divine Providence, in the prime of life, to fo important a ftation, and, kmidft ufeful labours, whilft he was faft encreafing in ilrength adapted to his bufmefs, quickly fnatched away ? This is a perplexing cafe ; and the more fo that it fo foon fucceeded the yet ihorter continunnce of the venerable Edwards. Were they fet in fo confpicuous a point of view, only that their imi- table excellencies might be m.ore obfervajble ? or, was Naffdu- Hall erefted by Divine Providence for this, among other im- portant purpofes, that it might ferve to adorn the latter end of feme eminent fervants of the living God, itfelf being adorned by them ? In this view, the ihort Prelidency of a Dickinffm, a Burr, an Edwards^ and a Davies, inftead of arguing the dif- pleafure of the Almighty, will evidence. His peculiar favour to this inflitution ; v/hich I know was planned, and has been carried on with the nioft pious, benevolent, and genercas de- iigns. Thefe defigns God's goodnefs has hitherto amazingly profpered, amidii apparent frov/ns ; and, if we may infer auy thing from v/hat he has already done, it is an encouraging ex- pedation that he will continue to blefs this Society, and make Vol. I, E xxiv A Funeral Sermn, Sec* it an honour and happinefs to this venerable Board to have beeH engaged in fo noble and fuccefsful an undertaking. Now one more ihinir^orb is fet on our world. Davies is departed, and with hi: : all that love, zeal, adivity benevo- lence, for which he was remarkable. This the Church, and this the bereaved College mourns. For this we hang our once cheerful harps, and indulge the plaintive ftrains. Ye^ we are not to lament as thofe v/ho are hopelefs, but rather with humble confidence to ^' pray the Lord of the harveft,'' with whom is '* the refidue of the Spirit,'^ that he would fend forth another Davies to alTift our labour and forward his work. Nor ihould the deceafe of ufeful labourers, the extindlion of burning and Ihining lights, only fend us to the throne of grace for fupplies, but excite us to greater diligence and adlivity in our bufmefs, as we have for the prefent the more to do» And, inftead of being difpiritedby the lofs of fuch eminent af- fiftants, we Ihould be animated b}^ their example, and hope for the fame divine aids that carried them through all the duties and dangers of life with fafety , fuccefs, and honour- Finally, this difpenfation ihould lefTen our efteem of this tran- tory difappointing world, and raife our aiFedions to Heaven^ that place and ftate of permanent bleflednefs. Thither afcends^ as to its native home, all the goodnefs that departs from earth » and the more of our pious friends that go to glory ; fo many more fecondary motives have we to excite our defires of " de* *' parting and being with Christ ; which is far better" than any ftate under the fun : for there, in addition to fuperior fe- licity, " we fhall come to the general aflembly, and church of ^^ the firft-born who are written in Heaven,— and to the fpirits of juft men made perfed."(o) Amen' 0) Heb. xiii. 23 , A N APPENDIX. HE following fads, drawn up by a gentleman, who was ^ Mr- Davies's intimate Friend, and lived in the fame town ^v-ith him, while he was Prefident of the College, were colleded partly from Mr* Daviesh private pap^; and partly from the gentleman's perfonal knowledge, and, as they illuftrate feve- ral things juft hinted in the preceding difcourfe, and contain fome anecdotes not before mentioned, may be property fub- joined to the narrative already given- . , ^ ,, The Rev. Mr- Sami^el Davies, late Prefident of tne Cpllege of Neiv-Jer/ey, was born on the 3d day of November, A- D- 1724, in the county of Neivca/lle, on Delaware. His father was a planter, who lived with great plainnefs and fimplicity, and fupport^dthe charadier of a honefl andpiou^man tp his death ; which happened about two years ago. His mother, who is ftill living*, and greasy diftinguilhed for her eminent piety, fome time before the conception of this favourite only fon, earneftly defired fuch a bleffing ; and as ihe then had only borne a daughter, who was near five years old, llie had fpecial occafion for the exercife of her faith, in waiting for the divme anfwer to her petition. In this firuation ihe took example from the mother of the prophet Samuel, and '' Vowed a vow unto '^ the Lord ; that jfhe would indeed give her a man-child, ihe « would devote him to his fervice all the days of his hfe.'Y/'^'., It may well be fuppofed that the parents received this child as from God, and that the mother efpecially, who had reafoii to look upon him as a token of the divine favour, and an exprefs anfwer to her prayers, would, w ith the greateft tenderneis, begin the rearing of this beloved plant. As there was no fchool in the neighbourhood, ilie herfelf taught him to read : and,^ al- though he was then very young, he is faid to have made fuch proficiency as furprifed every perfon who heard it. * The reader is defired to obferve that the following account was drawn tio fome years ago, fmce which time I find it has pleafed Provider.ce to re- move from our world the Mother of Mr. D.ivus, who is mentioned as livms by the writer of the Appendix. (p) I Sam.- i. II. XXVI APPENDIX. He continued at home with his parents till he was about ten years old ; during which time he appeared to have no remarka- ble impreiPiCns of a religious kind ; but behaving himfelf as is common for a fprightly towardly child, under the influence of pious example and inftru6tion. He was then fent to an Engliih fchool, at fome diftance from his father's, where he continued two years, and made great progrefs in his learning ; but, for want of the pious inftrudion with which he v^as favoured at home, he grew fomewh^t more carelefs of the things of reh- gion. > It appears, that about this time of life, carelefs as he was, he made a pradice of fecrei prayer, efpecially in the evening. The reafons (as he tells it in his diary) why he was fo pundual in the evening was, that ^^ he feared left he Ihould perhaps die before *Mnorning.'' What is farther obfervable in his prayers at this time is, that ^' he was more ardent in his fupplications for bc^ *^ ing introduced into the Gofpel-Miniftry, than for any other '' thing.^' ^ [It is here prefumed that Dr. Flnley^s Sermon, preached on occafion of his Death, by befire of the Truftees, contahis fuf- Ticient Memorials of his Life, from the time in which it pleafed God more deeply to imprefs his mind with the important reali- ties of another world, until he was elected Prelident of the Col- lege.] It may perhaps not be amifs to mention that v/hen he retuim- ed home from liis voyage to C/T^^-i?;'/^^/^, he entered again on his laborious and beloved talk of preaching the Gofpel to his fe- veral Conp^regations •, and continued in this work until the year 1759, '^^ hen he was eledied Prefident of the College of NeW'Jerfey, in the room of the Rev. Mr. Jonathan Edwards. The College, "before he cam.e, had been in an unhappy fituati- on; partly owing to the length of that mxclancholy period be- tvveen the death of Prefident Burr and his acceflion, and partly to the evil dirpofitions and practices of a few members of the Society. Prefident Burr died in September^ '^7S7 ' ^^^ ^^' though Mr. Edwards was elected a few days after, he did not take upon himfelf the government of the College till February, 1758 ; and about a fortnight after took the fmall-pox, of which he died in March following. Mr* Davies v/as not initiated in his office till the latter end of July, 1 759. So that the College lay under the obvious difadvantages of a bereaved <:ondition for almoft two years. But the prudent meafures taken by Prefident Davies foon furmounted thefe difadvantages ; fo that in a few months a fpirit of emulation in Learning and Morality, as had been ufjal, evidently charaderized the Students o^ NaJJau-Hall- APPENDIX, xxvH While he continue^ Prefident his labours were great, and his application to ftady was neceflarily more intenfe than that of his predeceflbrs. For he came to this feat of the Mufes, when its learning, by the eminent abilities of Prefident Eurr, was ad- vanced to a very confiderable degree ; and he had juft emerged from a fea of minifterial labour in various places, wherein a com- mon Genius would have been able to have made but little im- provement in academical learning. Befides, the fpeedy paflTage he made through the courfe of his ftudies, previous to his en- tering into the miniftry, made his after application the more neceliary for fo important and elevated a fituation. He was de- termined not to degrade his office, but W be in reality what his ftation fuppofed him, and accordingly exerted himfelf to the utmoft. The labours of the day fee me d to him rather an incen- tive to ftudy than to reft in the night ; for he commonly fat up till twelve o'clock, and often later, although he rofe by break of day. The fuccefs was proportionable ; for by the mio-hty efforts of his great genius, and by dint of induftry, he left the College of Neiu-Jerfey, at his death, in as high a ftate of literar ry merit as it ever had been in fince its lii-ft inftitution. It is a piece of juflice due to his memory to remark, that the few innovations he made in the academical exercifes, were cer- tainly improvements upon the plans of his predecefTors. Among other things the monthly Orations he inftituted deferve parti- cular notice. In order to give his Pupils a tafle for compolition, and to form them for pubHc fpeaking, he diretSted the members of the fenior clafs each to choofe his fubjeft, and compofe a po- pular harangue to be delivered publicly in the College-Hall be- fore the Mafters and Students, and as many of the inhabitants of the town as chofe to attend. When each had written his difcourfe, he brought it to the Prefident, who made fuch ob- fervations and corredions as he judged proper ; and, after their difcourfes were fpoken, they feverally attended him again for his remarks on their delivery. About fix of the young Gentle- men ufually delivered their Orations in the afternoon of the firft Wednefdaym. every Month, to crowded audiences; and it is hard to fay, whether the entertainment of the hearers, or the improvement of the fhidents, was the greater- There is reafon to believe, that the intenfe application with which Mr. Davies attended to the duties of his office was one great caufe of his death. The habit of his body was plethoric ; and it is not to be doubted but that his health for Ibme years had very much depended upon the exercife of riding, to which he was necellarily obliged while he lived in Virginia, though sxviii APPENDIX- cvcn then hehad feveral fevere fevers/uppofed to arife principal- ly from his application to ftudy in the intervals of riding abroad. Whenhe came to the College he Icarcely ufed any bodily exercife five what was required in going from his own houfe to Najfaii- Hallf which is a fpace about ten rods, five or fix times a day. In the latter end o^ January y A- D. 1761, a bad cold feized him, and for his relief he was bled. The fame day he tranfcri- bed for the prefs the Sermon, which was foon after published, on the death of the late King, and the day after preached twice HI the College-Hall ; by all which the arm, in which he was bled, became much inflamed, and increafed his former indifpo- iition. On the Moncla^^ormng after, at breakfaft, he was fei- zed w ith a violent cliilly fit, which was fucceeded by an inflam- Biatory fever, and in ten days brought on the period of his im- portant life. Although premonitions of Death in the prefent ftate of the world' are feldom, if ever, given to mankind ; and they who are cUfpofed to interpret ordinary occurrences into fuch premoniti- ons, when, by fomething fimilar in the event thofe occurrences would feem as if predidive, generally difcover their weaknefs ; vet the circumftances of the death of an eminent perfon are commonly very acceptable to the pubhc, and for this reafon it may not be amifs to mention an anecdote which ^Iv^Davies more than once took notice of in his laft Hcknefs* An intimate friend of his, a fesv days before the beginning of the year in which he died, in converfation told him, that a Ser- mon would be expected from him on the new-year's day ; and, among other things, happened to mention that the late Prefident Burr^ on the firfl day of the year wherein he died, preached a Sermon on Jer- xxviii. 16. Thus faith the Lord, This year thou Jbalt die ; and after his death, the people took occafion to fay !t was premonitory ; upon which Mr. Davies obferved, that ^' although it ought not to be viewed in that light, yet it was v^e- '•' ry remarkable.'' When new year's day came he preached ; when the congregation were not a little furprized at his taking the fame text of fcripture- Upon his being taken with his laft ficknefs, about three weeks after, he foon adverted to this cir- cumftance, and mentioned it as remakable that he had been un- defignedly led to preach, as it were, his own Funeral Sermon. It is much to be lamented that the violence of the diforder, cf which this excellent man died, deprived him of the regular exercife of his reafon the greater part of the time of his ficknefs, other wife the public would undoubtedly have been gratified with his remarks on the views of an approaching eternity, and would have received another evidence ©f the fuperior excellency an<^. APPENDIX. xxix power of that Religion, which alone can fupport the foul, and make the, otherwife gloomy, profped of death cheerful. For the iflues of this decifive period his life had been eminently calcu- lated from his youth. It abundantly appears, that from twelve or fourten years of age, he had continually maintained the ftrid- eft watch over his thoughts and aftions, and daily lived under a deep fenfe of his own unworthinefs, of the tranfcendent excel- lency of the Chriftian Religion, of the great importance of a public fpirit, and the neceflity of exerting it in promoting the general good. Even in his delirium his mind difcovered the fa- vourite obje<5ts of his concern, the profperity of Christ's Church and the good of mankhid. His bewildered brain was continu- ally imagining, and his faultering torigirf exprefling fome expe ^ dient for thefe important purpofes. Alas ! for us that fo great a light could no longer continue in this dark world ! DIVINE CONDUCT Vindicated; OR, THE OPERATIONS OF GOD SH©WNTOBETHK OPERATIONS OF WISDOM: IN THE SUBSTANCE OF TWO DISCOURSES, PREACHED AT HABERDASHERS- HALL, LONDON, MARCH 29, 1761. OCCASIONED BY THE DECEASE OF THE Rev. SAMUEL DAVIES, a. m. And Prefident of the College oiNa'J'au-Hall, la Neiv-Jerfey. By T H O H a S gibbons, D. D, Sive tribulemur & auguftemur, fivs laetemur, &: exultemus, Deus laud^ndus eft, qui & in Tribulationibus erudit, & in Lstkia confolatur. Laus enim Dei a Corde & Ore Chriftiani recedere non debet, non ut laudet in profperis &: maledicat in adverfis : fed quemadniodum Plabnus ille fcribit, femper Laas ejus in Ore meo. Gavjdes, agnofce Patrem blandientem: tribularis agnofee Patrem emendanteni : five blandiatur, five emendet, eum erudit, cui parat Haireditatem, AuGUSTiN. in Ffal. Hv, •too 0000 0000 0000 eOOO 0300 cow 0050 OSaO 0600 0000 0900 0000 eOOO 0000 0000 oeoq OOoe 0C« C003 C03I «O0 COOO COOO 0000 »M E P H E S. i. II. — Who works all things after the counfel of his oivn wilL THE laft week gave me the awful afTiirance of tlie fudden and unexpedled death of that moft excellent and amiable man and minifter of Jesus Christ^ the Rev. Mr. Samuel Da- vies, Prefident of the college q{ Najfau-Hall, in Nezv-Jerfey, by a moft moving and melting letter from a gentleman of Phila- delphia, an acquaintance of Mr. D^wVj-, and who well knew his worth, to a correfpondent of the gentleman's here in Lo«^o;7. A greater lofs, all things confidered, could not perhaps be- fal the church of God in the death of a fmgle perfon. The God of nature had endowed Tvlr. Davies with extraordinary ta- lents. Perhaps in fublimity and ftrength of genius there were very few, if any, who furpafTed him. To the brighteft and richeft intelle- formed me, to find in the after-accounts of them, that there was good reafon to believe that they were faints indeed : their good- nefs being by no means ^* like the grafs upon the houie tops, '* which withers afore it grows up, and with w^hich t;le rnou er *\ filieth not his hand,'' Pfal. cxxix. 6, 7, but yielding the fruits meet for repentance la an holy and well-ordered conver- fation- to be the Operations offFifcfom. xxxv Afterwards he fettled in Fit^gima, a colony \s here profane- ;ncfs and immorality called aloud for his facred labours. His patience and perfeverance, his magnanimity and piety, toge- ther with his powerful and evangehcal miniflrations, were not without fuccefs. The wildernefs and the folitary places in the courfe of his (lay there, bloomed and blolTomed before him. His trad of preaching, if I remember right, for fome time was not lefs than fixty miles, and by what I have learnt, though not from himfelf, he had but little of this world's goods to repay his zealous and indefatigable labours ; but his reward, as he well knew, w^s in Heaven; and he felt, I doubt not, the ani- mated joy that every Negro flave, which under his miniftrati. pns became the Lord's freemen, would furniih an additional jewel to his eternal crown. Upon the dece-afeof that excellent man the Rev. Mr. Jona- than Edwards, Prefident of the cpllege oiNaJfau-Hcdly in New- Jerfey, Mr- Davies writes me word, that Mr. Lockwood in JVeW'Eftgland, a gentleman of worthy charafter, waschofcn to fill up the vacancy. ^^ I have not fieard, fays Mr. Davies, whe- '^ ther he has accepted the place. The Truftees were divided '* between him, another gentleman, and myfelf, but I happily efcaped'^' But fo it was ordered, by Mr- Lockwood's not ac- cepting the invitation, that Mr. Davies was afterwards eleded Prefident of the college ; and what concern, and indeed what confternation this choice gave him, his letters to me amply tei- tiiy ; and I could particularly relate to you what views he had of things, and what fteps he took to determine what was his du- ty. At laft he accepted the call to his important office of prefid- ing in the college ; and tells me in a letter, dated Jime 6, 1759, *^ That the evidence of his duty was fo plan, that even his ^' fceptical mind was fatisfied ; and that his people faw the hand ^' of providence in it, and dared not to oppofe." Here he was fettled for about eighteen months; and as he could exercife his minillry as well as prefide over the college, great things might have been expected from that rare and re- markable union there was in him of what was great and good ; iind with pleafure I have received the information from his friends how well he fupported and adorned his character, . and v/hat high expectations were formed as to the benefit and bleihng he was likely to prove to thatfeminary of religion and learning. '^ His whole foul (fays the letter that gives the news of his '^ death) was engaged for the good of the youth under his care." *^ And again, ^^/V^^/T^rw-^^// in tears, difconfolatc, andrefuGng ^^ to be comforted." But, alas ! in the midft of his days, (little mere than thirty- fix years of age) he v/as called away from this but cpenirg fcene xxxvi The Operations of Goi^ /hoivn of large and extraordinary ufefiilnefs to the invifible world, the world of glory and blefTednefs, never to fojourn in mortal clay, or to irradiate and blefs the church militant more. He is dead, he is departed — America in groans proclaims her inexpreffible lofs, and we in Great-Britain ihare the dillrefs, and echo aroan for groan. ^ Thus ended the days on earth of this truly great and good man ; having in his Httle circle of life fhed more beams, and done more fervice than many a languid and lefs illuminated foul, even in a public fphere, in the revolution of fixty or fourfcore years. Truly great and good I may ftik him without the fufpicion of flattery, and without the flight of hyperbole- Let me call to your rem.embrance, as proofs of what I fay, the excellent difcourfes he has delivered in this pulpit, and the feveral Ser- mons of his which have been publilhed, ftrong in manly fenfe, loaden with full ideas, rich with evangelical truth, and animated %vith the moft facred jfervor for the good of fouls. And to thefe evidences of the admirable fpirit that dwelt in him., let me add a few paragraphs from the many letters with which, in the Gourfe of about nine years correipondence, he has favoured jne. Speaking in one of his letters concerning his children, he fays, *^ I am folicitous for them when I confider what a contagious ^^ world they have entered into, and the innate infection of ^' their natures. There is nothing that can wound a parent's *^ heart fo deep, as the thought that he fhould bring up chil- '^ dren to dilhonour his God here, and be miferable hereafter. '■^ I beg your prayers for mine, and you may expeft a retalia- *' tion in the fame kind.*' In another letter he fays, ^' V/e have now three fonsand two *' daughters ; whofe young minds as they open I am endea- '^ vouring to cultivate with my own hand, unwilling to truil '^ them to a Granger ; and I find the bufmefs of education much *^ more difficult than I expected— My dear little creatures fob ^^ and drop a tear nov/ and then under my inliru6tions, but I ^' am not fo happy as to fee them under deep and laliing im- ^' prefTions of religion : and this is the greateft grief they aftord '* me. Grace cannot be communicated by natural dcfcent, '^ and^ if it could, they would receive but little from me. I *' earneftl)^ beg your prayers for them." In another letter, ^^ I defu-e feriouily to devote to GoD and '^ my dear country,3li the labours di my head,my heart,m.y hand, ^' and pen ; and if he pleafcs to blefs any of rhem I hope I fhail be '^ thankful, and v/onder at his condefcending grace — Oh! my *' dear brother, could v, e fpend.and be fpent all our lives in ^•painful, diiintcreflcd, indefatigable iiervice for God and the to be the Operations oflViJdom. xxxvii " wqrld, how ferene and bright would it render the fwift ap- *^ preaching eve of life I I am labouring to do a little to favc '^ my country, and, which is of much more confequence, to '« fave fouls — from death — from that tremendous kind of death, '^ wJiich 2ifoul c2iXi die. I have but little fuccefs of late, but '^ blefTed be God, itfurpaffes my expedation, and much more *^ my defert. Some of my bretheren labour to better purpofe. ** Thepleafure of the Lord profpers in their hands." Another epiftle tells me, " As for myfelf, I am juft flriving ^^ not to live in vain. I entered the miniftry with fuch a fenfe ^' of my uniitnefs for it, that I had no fanguine expedlations of *^ fuccefs. And a condeicending God (O, how condefcend- *^ ing !) has made me much more ferviceable than I could hope. '^ But, alas 1 my brother, I have but little, very little true re- '^ ligion. My advancements in holinefs are extremely fmall : ^' I feel what I confefs, and am fure it is true, and not the rant *^ of excelTive or affected humility. It is an eafy thino- to make ^f a noife in the world, to flouriih and harangue, to dazzle the *^ crowd J and fit them all agape, but deeply to imbibe the fpirit " of chriilianity, to maintain a fecret walk with God, to be '^ holy as he is holy, this is the labour, this the work. I beg " the afliflance of your prayers in fo grand and important an en- <^ terprize — The difficulty of the minifterial work feems to " grow upon my hands. Perhaps once in three or four months " I preach in fome meafure as I could wiih ; that is, I preach as ** in the fight of God, and as if I were to ftep from the pulpit *^ to the fupreme tribunal. I feel my fubjeft. I melt into tears, '^ or I fhudder with horror, when I denounce the terrors of the ^' Lord. I glow, I foar m facred extafies, when the love of " Jesus is my theme, and, as Mr. Baxter was wont to exprefs *' it, in hues more ftriking to me than all the fine poetry in the " world, <' I preach as if I ne'er fhould preach again ; ^^ And as a dying man to dying men. <* But, alas ! my fpirits foon flag, my devotions languiih, and " my zeal cools. It is really an afflic1:ive thought, that I ferve ^* fo good a Mafter with fo much inconftancy ; but fo it is, and '^ and my foul mourns upon that account." In another letter he fays, '' I am labouring to do a httle *' good in the world. But, alas ! I find I am of httle ufe or im- '* portance. I have many defeds, but none gives me fo much '^ pani and mortification as my flow progrefs in perfonal holinefs. *^ This is the grand qualification of the office we fuftain, as well '^ as for that heaven we hope for, and I am ihocked at myfelf '' v/hen I fee how little I have of it." xxxviii 7'he Operations ofGoT^/hown In another of his letters, he acquaints me, ^' That he indeecl '' feels an union of hearts which cannot bear without pain the ^' intervention of the huge Jtianticj nor even the abfence of a ^^ week. But our condeicending Lord, adds he, calls his mi- '^ nifters Stars, and he knows beft in what part of the firmament <' cf the church to fix them : and (O the delightful thought !) *' they can never be out of the reach of his beams, though they '^ ihine in different hemifpheres with regard to each other. This ^' leads me, undefignedly, to a criticifm on Jude 13, on which '^ perhays an aftronomer would be the beft commentator, Wan* *' deringftars, te -whom is refervedthe hlacknefs of darknefs for ^^ ever- Perhaps an aftronomical critk w^ould obferve thatfalfe '^ teachers are reprefented as planetary or -ivanJenng ftars, that '^ in their eccentricities run out into an eternal Jphellon from '^ the fun of righteoufnefs, beyond the fyftem which he warms, <^ illuminates, and beatifies, and are conftantly receding from " the fountain of light, life, and blifs, and therefore muft wan- ^' der through the blacknefs of darknefs for ever ; a darknefs '^ unpierced by one ray from the great fun and center of the *' moral world — blacknefs of darknefs , an abftrad predicated of '^ an abftracT:. How gloomy and ftrong the exprclfioii V Xet me give you another quotation from his letters^ ^' I am r^ very much pkafed and affeded, fays he, with the fubjecl of ^' this week's ftudy, and next Lord's day's entertsinment^ ^< namely, A hruifed reedfhall he not break, and the frmking flux ^' flmll he not quench- Such a bridfed reed at beft am I : a ^' weak, opprelTed, ufelefs thing : a flridens ftipula that can ^^ make no agreeable melody to entertain my great Shepherd. ^< Yet this bridfed reed I have reafon to hope he will not break, " but bind up and fupport. This fhattered pipe of ftraw he '^ will not call: away, but repair and tune to join in the angelic ^^ concert on high. I am at beft but fmoking flax ; a dying '^ fnuffin the candleftick of his church ; a wick juft put out in '^ the lamp of his fanftuary. The flame of divine love, funk ^' deep into the focket of a corrupt heart, quivers, and breaks, '' and catches, and feem:. juft expiring at times. The devil and '< the world raife many ftorms to blow upon it. And yet this ^\fmoktngflax, where the leaft fpark of that facred pailion ftili *^ remains which renders it more fufceptive of his love, as a can- '' die juft put out but ftill fmoking, is eafdy rekindled — This ''\CmQklr.g flax he v/ill not quench, but blow it to a flame, which " Ihall fhine brighter and brighter till it mingle with its kindred ** flames in the pure element of love.'' I ihall conclude my extracts from his epiftolary correfpon- dence with a part of a letter, dated Hanover, September 12, 17S7' to he the Operations ofWifdom, xxxix *^ My ever dear Friend, *' I am juft beginning to creep back from the valley of the " ihadow of death, to which I made a veay near approach a *^ few days ago. I was feized with a moll violent fever, which *^ came to a crifis in a week, and now it is much abated, though *' I am ftill confined to my chamber. In this fhattered ftate my *< trembling hand can write but little to you, and what I write *^ will be languid and confufed, like its author. But as the Vir- ^^ ginia fleet is about to fail, and I know not when I fliall have ** another opportunity, I cannot avoid writing fomething. I '' would fit down on the grave's mouth, and talk awhile with *^ my favorite friend ; and from my fituation you may forefee '^ what fubjeds my converfation will turn upon — Death — Eter- ** nity — the fupreme Tribunal. " Blefled be my Mafter's name, this diforder found me em- '^ ployed in his fervice. It feized me in the pulpit, like a foldier ^^ wounded in the field. This has been a bufy fummer wit^- n?. *^ In about two months I rode about five hundred mile 5.. •. ii *^ preached about forty Sermons. This affords me foiie pieaii:- j '• in the review. But, alas ! the mixture of fm and of ra^.ny ^' namelefs imperfedions that run through and corrupt all my '^ fervices, give me ihame, forrow, and mortification. My fe- *' ver made unufual ravages upon my underftanding, and ren- '^ dered me frequently delirious, and always flupid. But, when ^' I had any little fcnfe of things, I generally felt pretty calm *^ and ferene, and death, that mighty terror, was difarmed. ** Indeed the thought of leaving my dear family deftitute, and ^' my flock fhepherdlefs, made me often flart back and cling to " life ; but in other refpecls death appeared a kind of indifFe- *^ rency to me. Formerly I have wifhed to live longer thr.t I *^ might be better prepared for Heaven, but this confideration '^ had but very little weight with me, and that for a very unu- ** fual reafon, which was this — After lono; trial I found this '* world is a place fo unfriendly to the growth of every thing '* Divine and Heavenly, that I was afraid, if I Ihould hve longer, *^ I ihould be no better fitted for Heaven than I am. Indeed I ^^ have hardly any hopes of ever making any great attainments ** in holinefs wliile in this world, though I ihould be doomed to *' flay in it as long as Methufeiuh. I fee other chriflians indeed ** around me make fome progrefsi, though they goon with but a ** fnail-like motion : but v/hen I confider that I fet out about *^ twelve years old, and what fanguine hopes I then had of my *' future progrefs, and yet that I have been almofl at a fland *^ ever fmce, I am quite difcouraged — O my good Mafler, if I ** may dare to call thee fo, I am afraid I ihall never fa^ve thee G xi The Operations of God Jhou^n •'^ much better on this fide the region of perfection. The ^* thought grieves me : it breaks my heart, but I can hardly *• hop.e better. But if I have the leaft fpark of true piety in '^ my breaft I ihall not always labour under this complaint. No, ^' my Lord, I ihall yet ferve thee — ferve thee through an im- ^^ mortal duration — with the activity, the fervor, the perfeftion '^ of the rapt feraph that adores and hums. I very much fufpe6c *^ this defponding view of the matter is wrong, and I do not ^^ mention it with approbation, but only relate it as an unufual ^^ reafon for my willingnefs to die, which I never felt before, and which I could not fupprefs. In my ficknefs I found the unfpeakable importance of a Me- *^ diator in a religion for fmners- O ! I could have given you '^ the word of a dying man for it, that that Jesus whom yon ^^ preach is indeed a necelTary, and an all-fufiicient Saviour- ^^ Indeed he is the only fupport for a departing ibul. Nojie but '^ Christ, none hut Christ. Had I as many good works as ^* Abraham or Paul, I would not have dared to build my hopes ^^ upon fuch a quickfand, but only on this firm eternal rock. *^ I am rifmg up, my brother, with a defire to recomtnend ^^ him better to my fellow-fmners, than I have done. But, *^ alas ! I hardly hope to accompliih it. He has done a great '^ deal mor" by me already than I ever expeded, and infinitely ^^ more than I deferved. But he never intended me for grear *'^ things. . He has beings both of my own, and of fuperior or- ^^ d-ers, that can perform him more worthy fervice — O ! if i ^* might but untie the latchet of his fhoes, or draw v/ater for the ^' fervice of his fan6luary, it is enough for me. I am no angel, '^ nor would I murmur becaufe I am not- ^^ My ftrength fails me, and I muft give over — pray for me- — '^ write to me — love me living and dying, on earth and in ^^ heaven." — Judge you from thefe palTages, v/ritten in the freedom of friendfhip, and to one to whom he fcrupled not to lay open the fecrets of his bofom, what a lofs the church has fuftained, and how much our world is impoverilhed by the death of Mr. Da- vies, in the vigour of his days, and in the meridian of his ufe- fulnefs! Such a blow, fuch an uncommon and diftreffing blow has been given in the death of Mr. Davies. And now what ihall we do ? to what ihall we recur, or to v.'hat quarter ihall we look for help under fuch an awful Providence ? My advice is, that we fhould ferioufly and attentively turn our minds to the paifage of facred writ which I mentioned at the beginning of my difcourfe : Who (that isp God) vjorks all things after the c^unfel of his •u»« -will. to he the Operations of U^ifdom xli Without enquiring into the context, the words may be re- garded as a diftin6t propofition. He, (that is, God) works. rie works, or he works with energy and irrefiftibl? power, in fuch a manner as none befides him either has ability or right to work. He works hke himfelf, he works with the omnipotence that belongs to him, and which is his efTential and diftinguiihed attribute*- Farther, not only does God work, but he works all things, all things done by him in heaven and earth, in all the provinces of his vaft empire, all things in Nature, Provi- dence, and Grace, all things in time, and all things in eterni- ty. And he works all things after the counfel of his own will ; that is, as he pleafes. His will is the fource of his adion. He gives an account of his matters to none. None in the army of heaven, or among the inhabitants of the earth, have any au- thority to fay unto him, What doft thou ? He depends upon none, but all, all worlds and beings depend upon him ; and therefore none are to prefume to dictate to him, or diredl him what is or what is not to be done by him. But obferve, that though he works, and works all things, and all this as he pleafes, yet it is after the counfel of his own will. We are to confider God indeed as a great fovereign, as Lord of all, higher than the higheft, fupreme and unrivalled in perfedion and glory, who is not to be called to the tribunal of his creatures, or to be queflioned by them, as to what he pleafes to perform. We are not to fnatch the fceptre or the balance from his hands. But yet this v/e may be aiTured of, that whatever the Almighty God does is done not from a kind of blind though omnipotent necelfity, neither is it by an unguided or unmeaning exertion of power ; but that he works all things after the counfel, the defio-n, or wifdom of his ovvu will.f Survey the great Jeho- vah as he is indeed in his own nature, and in the revelation he has made of himfelf to us. If he is fovereign, and not in the leaft accountable to any one, yet he is wife, and infinitely wife. * That the word ( ^nly'i\\(^) here tranHated -echo -avrks, contains in it that forcible meaning ^vhich I have here afcribed to it, we may learn from what the critics have laid upon it:—" Hac voce fignificatur aftio conjuncca " cum efficacia, Sc qnidem fumma, quae prohiberi nullo modo poflit.^ Ifaiah « xli, 4/'— LtiGHius in verb. <' At Grseca vox magis fonat, ejus cujus vi & " virtute fiunt omnia, h. e. omnia agentis ac raoderantis/'— Erasmus in loc. Could we admit of fuch an Englilh word, the original might be rendered who energizes all things, 8cC. t The word ( /BoyAsj) he tranflated counfel, may, according to the learned Stephens in the Tbefuurus Grxcs Ungux, be rendered a decree or refolutton, a ccmifel or advice, whether good or bad, or a confiiltaticn or dehberatton. \i we underfcand the word here o{ decree or resolution as applied to God, we are cer- tain that fuch a decree or refolution in Deity had its birth in wifdom, or in no wav derogatory to it. If we interpret the word of counfel or advice^ who fees not that wifdom is taken into the account? it is the counfel, it is the advice of the God of unerring wifdom. But if we take the word, -.md ^\ hat forbid ■ thu- xlii The CperaiiVns of Gon/koiun We are not to view God partially, but as far as we can com* pletely, as the fountain of all perf edion ; as containing in hi* nature an harmony of ail that is excellent and glorious. He has a right to do, and he can do whatever he pleafes in all his wide-extended dominions ; yet what he pleafes is always worthy of himfelf. He is the aggregate, the fyftem of excellence ; and one attribute never difplays itfelf to the diminution or eclipfe of another. As he is greateft, fo he is the beft of beings- Wifdom dwells eternally and eflTentially in the divine will ; and it muft be obvious, that though none can limit GoD, yet he, with reverence be it fpoken, limits himfelf by the rule v/hich infinite wifdom prefcribes to infinite power. Hear the account fcripture gives of him — He is the rock^ his works are perfei^, for all his ways are judgment ; a God of truth ^ and without ini- quity, jufl and right is he* Deut. xxxii, 4. He is wife In heart, as well as jnlghty inftrength' Job ix, 4. His judgme^its are a great deep* Pfal. xxxvi, 6, — but they are judgments, the child- ren of wifdom and counfel ftill. If clouds and elarknefs are round about him, yet rlghteoufnefs and judgment are the habitation of his throne- Pfal. xcvii. 2. His works are truth, and his ways judg- ment* Dan. iv. 37. The khMiGHTY will not pervert judgment* Jobxxxiv. 12" His ways are equal* Ezek. xviii. 25, directed by the ftraight unerring line of infinite wifdom. Be this then an eftablilhed truth with us, that, whatever perplexity and darknefsmay eucompafsthe divine proceedings, there is nothing which God does, that God who works all things after the coun- fel of his own will, but what isjuft, and right, and good ; and that his every aftion is no other than the birth of confummate counfel, or that the plan of vv'ifdom is laid as the foundation of all his government. And particularly in fuch an event as we are now confidering, the removal of fuch an excellent and wor- thy per fon as Mr. Z>^i;/V J- from our world, in the prime of life, and at fuch a junclure as this, when there are fo fewfurviving perfons of fuch ability and charafter, we are to believe and ov/n that, as the blow was unqueftionably given by God, it v/as per- fectly right, and that not the leaft ihadow or fufpicion of ^Te fhould not fo tranflate it? as denotmg confultation or deliberation, then we are led in the ftrongeli manner to conclude that the will of God proceeds upon wifdom. Not tltaf there is properly or ftriiftly any fuch thing as confulta- tion or deliberation in the divine mind : but v;e may hereby conceiv^e, fpeak- mg of God after the manner of men, that God when he wills, wills in fuch a wife manner, and upon fuch worthy reafons, as if he had firft confulted and deliberated with himfelf what was proper to be done. " Libere quidem, quia *"' ex voluntate,fed tamenetiam fapienter et jufte quia ex conlilio voluntatis/' Zanch. " But becaufe (fays the great Howe) he orders all things according *■*■ to the counfel of bis v/ill, we muft conceive fome weighty reafon did induce " hereto/^ — Howe's Redeemer's Dominion over the InvifillcWarld^ p. 72. Fsli* Edition, Vol. IL to he the Operations of IVi/dont. xliii blame or wrong is to be afcribed to the mofl high, moft holy, moft wife, moft faithful, and moft merciful God. And even though we could not difcern fo much as one reafon, one end of wifdom or goodnefs anfwered by fuch an awful Providence, yet neverthelefs we are not to doubt but that the All-wife as well as the Almighty God has proceeded upon motives, though abfo- lutely impenetrable by us, worthy ofhimfelf; that he dwells in the thickeft darknefs, and that the glories of his perfeftions are inthroned at the centre, though not a ray of Uiem pene- trates and breaks through the external veil. But perhaps, upon a careful and fteady furvey of this moft afflictive Providence, we may attain to fome difcovery of the purpofes or counfels of Dei- ty in the deceafe of fuch an excellent perfon as Mr. Davies in the prime of his days, and in the very height of his ufefulnefs. And, though we are not to call the Lord of all to our tribunal, yet perhaps we may not venture beyond our line, or deviate from the path of duty ; nay, we may, on the other hand, be glorifying God as well as compofmg and comforting ourfelves, if, with profound humihty and reverence, we make the enqui- ry. Wherefore it is that God, ivho ivorks all things after the counfel of his own will, is pleafed to call away by death the ex- cellent of the earth in the vigour of life, and in the meredian of their fervices for the glory of God, and the good of his church i Thefe hard myfteries may not upon a diligent refearch be alto- gether inexplicable ; and thefe dark paffages of Providence up- on 3 clofe furvey may appear illuminated with evident and illuf- trious beams of wifdom and love. Accordingly I ihall endeavour, I truft with a decency becoming a poor imperfeft creature exa- mining into the ways of the moft high and glorious God, to re- folve this problem of Providence, ** Why the excellent of the earth ihould be taken away in the flower or prime of their age, and from the moft enlarged fpheres of ufefulnefs, or what in- ftruftions and improvements we may gather from fuch feeming- ly unkind and undefirable difpenfations V^ (i.) In the removal of the excellent of the earth in the flower or prime of their days, and in the height of their ufefulnefs, we may be taught the wonderful Majefty and independent glories of the great God over all blelTed for ever more. ^' God will have it known, fays the venerable Mr. Howe, on an occafton not un- like that which has given rife to our difcourfe*, that though he ufes inftruments, he needs them not. It is a piece of divine royalty and magnificence, that when he hath prepared and po- lilhed fuch an utenfil, fo as to be capable of great fervice, he can c * Ho-.ve's Redeemer's Dominion over the Invifible World, on the deatk o* John Houshton, Efq. xliv 'The Operations cf God /koivn lay it by without lofs." — God can maintain and carry on his own caufe, and anfwer hiscounfels, without the interpofirion of his cr<;atures, or, if he pleafes, he may employ only meaner inflrii- ments, and call home from the vineyard the ableft and beft cf his fervants, to fhew his church he can accomplilh his pleafure with- out thern. (2.) God m.ay cutoff the excellent of the earth in the flower ©r prime of their days, and in the height of their ufefulnefs, to- endear and magnify his power and grace in unexpededly railing up others amidll: the defponding fears and forrows of his people. When God takes away the excellent of the earth, fuchaswerc jnoft eminently formed for fervice, in the midft of their days, the Church of God, the friends of Zion, are apt to link into great anxiety and diflrefs, and to fay with Zion of old, The Lord has forfaken me, and my God hath forgotten jne ; Ifa. xlix. 14. or with Jacob, Jll thefe thh:gs are agair.ft me* Gen. xlii. 36 — Now at the very juncture when the people of God are thus dejected, when their hearts are trembling for the ark of the Lord, for God then to arife and to make the time of his church's extremity the time of his mercy in raifmg up others, and pouring out his ipirit upon them in a plentiful etfufion of gifts and graces, hov/doeshe hereby moft wonderfully illuftrate his power and love ! His light, his favour towards Zion appears as it were with a double brightnefs, thus breaking out from amidft a ]!ight of thick darknefs ; and the people of God, with a mofl lively and powerful fenfe of the divine goodnefs, acknowledge that God has done great things for them, which they looked not for ; and that nothing but his own arm and his own love could have helped them in fuch a dirirelfing feafon. Hereby God is more eminently feen and glorified, and the work appears to be the Lor.d's, and is wonderful in his people's eyes. (3.) God may take away the excellent of the earth in the flower or prime of their days, and in the meridian of their ufe- fulnefs, to Ihev/ us more powerfully and afPeftingly the vanity of the prefent ftatc God fliov.s us the vanity of the prefent ftate when he takes avv'ay perfons in old age, v/hen they have reached their tlireefcore years and ten, to fourfcore years ; for by fuch inftances we are taught what a mere hand's breadth of being this life is, even in its utmoft extent, and how fcon our exigence in this world vrill be terminated, even though it is pro- traced to its fartheft limit.. But vv^hen death, ufurping, as it v»'ere, by violence the fickle from the delaying hands of time, cuts off perfons in the bloom or in the prime of life, then is the vanity of the prefent ftate preached to us in the moft ftriking, ■ affecting manner. And if with the bloom of youth or prime of manhccd, great intellectual abilities, and fupcrior acquired ac- to he the Operations of JVifdom^ xlv complilhments, diftinguiihed piety, and moft enlarged ufefulnefs are cut off, tlien, in the jnofl Iblemn awful accents,. is the vanity of the prefent ftate proclaimed to us, and our ears receive the lefibn not in foft whifpers, not in a common voice, but in peals of thunder. Then we hear the cry lounding, as it v/ ere, in an overwhelming and irrefiftible energy, All flejh is grafs^ and all the goodlinefs thereof is as the flovjer of the field : the grafs -wither Sy the floiver fades ^ becaufe the fpint of the Lord Uo-'jjs upon it- Ifai. xl. 6, 7. — I fee a man in the vigour and flrength of coniH- tution, a man ennobled beyond the common multitude by a bright and lively imagination, by a clear and piercing judgment, by a fuperior, manly, and commanding eloquence : I fee a man. fuperior to his fellow-chriflians and his fellow- miaifters, by a. moft fublime, ileady, rational, and uniform piety, and by an unextinguiihable zeal, and unwearied labour for the glory of God, and the good of fouls ; this m.an, thus richly furni][hed and quahfied, is taken away by a fudden ftroke, or after but a few days illnefs, and an end is put to all his luilre and benefit in our world. What inference relliits from ail this, but that all is vanity here below ? If the belt we meet with on earth is thus fugitive and uncertain ; if it may fo foon be gone, for ever gone from us, then verily every ir.an at his beft eft ate, and the beft of men too, are altogether vanity- Pfal. xxxix. 5. — The pearls and jewels of our Vvcrld m.ay be as foon taken from it as the dirt anddrofs. There is mortality, there is death in my choiceft en- joym.ents. I fee that the tall cedar may be cut dov/n as well as the humbk plant — Stars of the firft magnitude, as well as the lelTer orbs, may quit the f^ies, and vanif|i from my fight- Death makes no diftinclion between good and bad, between the great- eft and the meaneft, the beft and worft. Now he ftrikes his dart at the poor peafant, and now he launches it at the mo- narch on his thrtme. Now his ihaft fmites the chriftian in his private walks of life, and now his unerring ftroke lays the emi- nent genius, fcholar, and minifter in the duft — All things ^ in this fenfe, come alike to alL Eccl. ix. 2. And is this the cafe, do the hoods of death alike overwhelm the ftately and richty freighted fhip as the fmall bark or boat, then why Ihould I doat upon the creature? — If I build my fond expectations of peace and comfort upon the beft of men, I build upon the fand. My dcareft friendiliips, and richeft joys on earth may be daihed in' pieces in an hour, in a moment. All on earth is ftiadow, and v;hen I look even to the very beft it can afford. I fee the fame vanity and frailty there, which are common to lower and meaner things. (4.) God may cut ofi the excellent of the earth in the flower or pri.-ne of their days^ ind is the height of their ufefulnefs_, x i a (6.) By the death of the excellent of the earth in the flowei* or prime of their days, and in the midft of their fervices to Goii and his church, we may be led to inquire, whether there is no anger expreffed againft us by their fudden, and mrefped of the common age of man, untimely removal. . , ^ . As (i.) We may do well to confider whether there may not be fome judgments impending over us. If ambaffadors are called home, It may become the nation, where they were, to confider whether a rupture is not likely toenfue. _ Every good man that istakenaway fromourworldisa lofsto rt adeduaion from its worth, in proportion to his goodnefs* There is a lofs of his inftruaions, his example, and his prayers. And if the beft of men are cut off, the lofs grows fomuch the greater, and our apprehenfions of the divine relentment may very juftly be fo much the more awakened. Doves fly home to their windows at the coming ftorm. The righteous perlfi^es, and no man lays it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, nme conjidering that the righteous is taken away from the evUto come, Haiah Ivii. I . Lot leaves Sodom ; and when he is gone the Acodgat^ of vengeance are fet open, and the city is turned into defeudion Do not let us think lightly of the matter, tnatwe Jee the belt. of men, men that were holy wreftlerswith God, and flood in the breach to plead with him to turn away his wrath, removed from our world in the midft of their days, efpecially when I0 jtlviii "The Operations of God ^wwh few fervants and faints of God remained behind, and the world is fo generally filled with impiety, and all manner ©f wickednefs- Good Kezekiah, and after him good Joriah,*\nuft go to their graves before the deftruftion comes upon Judah and Jerufaiem. (2«) And as we know not but the deaths of the excellent of the earth in the midll: of their days, and in the midft of their ufefulnefs, may portend fome judgments from God coming up- on us, fo let us hence be excited the more earneftly to deprecate them, and pray for his merciful regards to us. If the excellent of the earth are taken away, and taken away in the midft of their ufefulnefs, and if, in fuch difpenfations of Providence we may hear, as it were, the firll alarms of the Almighty anger from his fecret place of thunder, let us be the more fervent in our fupplications that he would mrn away his anger, and not deal with us after our fms, nor reward us according to our ini- quities. The more gloomy apprehenfion, the more apparent danger, the miore iliould v/e be excited to prayer, lively and im. ortunate prayer. Let us beg of God, and beg the more earneitly, that he would have compailion upon us, and that the tokens of his judgm.ents may proceed no farther, and not con- tinue upon us in a florm of refullefs and overwhelming ven- geance. And, (3*.) As we knov/ not but the deaths of the excellent of the earth, in the midil of their days and ufefulnefs, may be the fore- runners of fome judgments from God at the door, let us pre- pare to meet our God if he ihould come out againft us in the way of his judgments. Do we hear the found of his anger, and arc there fome awful flaihes, though at prefent at a diflance, that feem to fignify an approaching tempeft, then let us prepare to meet our God. Frepareto meet thy GoYi^O JfraeU Amos iv. I2» Let us gird our chriilian armour clofe about us. Let us flrengthen ourfeivesin our GoD, and abound in the exercifes of a dependence upon him, vv'hofe grace only is ftiffcient for us, and '-Jjhcfe firength alone caii be perfe^ed in our iveaknefs, 2 Cor- xii. 9. Let us he in readinefs to follow our GoD at his call, either through the watersor fires of aiTnclion, being as willing magnanim.ouily to fuiTer for him as we are cheerfully to ferve him, and not being at all ihaken in mind or fpirit by the m.ofl: grievous calamitj^s and trials of life ; having an inviolable con- nexion with and a fure intereil; in him *' who will make all thing* work togetker for our good,'' Rom. viii. 28, and who has promifed us a better life and a better world, after we have fuf- fereda while, even an inheritance incorruptible ^ undefled, and that fades not azuay, i Peter i. 4,-'and an admiiTicn into his pa- lace and pr^icv.Z2, r/h^ire there is fuhiefs of joy , and a place at to he the Operations of IVifdom^ xlik his right handy where are pleafures for evermore* Pfal. xvi. 1 1 . (7.) By the deaths of the excellent of the earth in the flower ©r prime of their days, and in the midft of their ufefulnefs, let us be excited to exert ourfelves more vigoroufly and conftantly to glorify God, and ferve our generation, than hitherto we have done. Their removal Ihewsus that we may be removed, and fo quickens us to onr duty; and their lofs Iikewife, their lofs to the world, fiiould alfo excite us to duty,- fmce thbugli there is as much work as ever, yet there are fev/er labourers to perform it. The more the world is impoveriihed, the more let us endeavour to enrich it. If -an army is reduced of its number, let the officers, the folders that remain, not be unwilling to go through double fervice, and to exert themfelves with a double adivity aad vigour. (8.) By the removal of the excellent of the earth in the flower or prime of their days, and in the height of their ufeftil- nefs, we are fure that we have loft by their departure from our world one tie to earth, and gained one attachment more to heaven. The excellent of the earth are taken away ; our friends, our companions with whom we took^ fweet counfel. In every fuch infl^nce one or more bond to earth and time is confequent- ly broken. We are in one more degree detached from the charms of the creature, and hereby may come nearer, if we rightly im- prove the providence, to a deliverance from this world, that may have had too faft an hold of our hopes and affedions. Had oar pious and excellent friends ftayed behind us, the thought of parting from them, though but for a tim.e, might have thrown a gloom upon our expiring moments, and fnarpened the ftingof death. But they are gone, and life has loft by the departure of each of them one of its ftrongeft engagements. And as we have droptone tie to earth by their removal, fo we have gained one more argument for heaven. Heaven lets down one more attractive, and a moft fweet and powerful attractive it is, to draw up our hearts and hopes to it ; heaven, where our immor- tal treafure lies, and whether our pious friends are gone. Let us feel the attachment ; and the more heaven enlarges it-sglorii- ousand blelTed company of faints made perfed; the more let us look by faith within the veil, and the m.ore ready let us be to foliov/ our brethren that have died in Ci-iri ST to the world of glory, that we may ih are v/ith them in their eternal blefiednefs, and in the joys of an intimate, perfect, and indiiToluble friend- ship. (9.) Andlaftly, Let the removal of the excellent of the earth, in the flower or prim.e of their days, and in the meridian of their ufeftilnefs^ quicken us to importunate and inceifant prayer that I, 7 he Optrntions of God Jhoun God would pour out his fpirit upon fuch of his fe^-vants us re- main, and upon our riflng^miiuftry, and rifmg generation. The Tefidue of the fpirit is with GoD, and it is a refidue copious enough to qualify and confecrate fuch as furvive, or fuch as ar? entering into life, and fervice, with as eminent gifts and a$ eminent graces as thofe who are gone before us. O for the fpirit oftheafcending Elijahs., toreitupon our young Ehiha^! The harvefi tridy is great , but the labourers are few ; let us earneftly and incelTantly befeech the Lord of the harvejt that he \\'o\x\dfend foi'th labourers into his harvej}. Matt. ix. 37, 38t O that God would kindle by his Almighty breath, and a rich undion from himfelf, bright and burning lamps, to fill up the places of thofe which areremjoved from his fanduary below, tp ihine in his temple above ! Let the death of fuch an eminent fer- vant of Christ as Mr. Davies, in the prime of his age, and in the height of his ufefulnefs, excite us to importunate and abun- dant prayer that God would be pleafed, in compaifion to our world, to raife up like inftruments of his glory, both in our land and wherever his name is known, or there are any opportunities to preach his gofpel ! O for the defcent of a double portion of the fpirit upon furviving minifters, and upon all other nurferies of religion and learning at hom^e and abroad! " Where is the Lord God of Jllijah?'' He lives, he is flili with us, though Elijah is gone. To him therefore let us look, to him let us pray with holy importunity and zeal, that the time, even the fet time to favour his Zion, may come. Let but the Lord ^* give the word, and pour out of his fpirit, and great ihaii be the liumber of thofe that publiih it.'' Pfal. Ixviii. 11. *^ Let him but clothe his priejh -with falvatign, and his peotU ft; ail Jhout aloud for joy '^' Pfal. cxxxii- 16. And thus have 1 endeavoured, from various confiderations, to refolve this problem in providence, " Why the excellent of the earth fhould be taken away in the flower or prime of their age, and from the moft enlarged fpheres of ufefulnefs. or wha.t jnih-udion and improvement we may gather from fuch feemingly unkind and undefirable difpenfations.'' I pretend not toaflign all the reafons of fuch a condud in Deity, in that '^ God, wljo works all things after the counfel of his own will,'' but yet pof- fibly I may have ailigned fome, and fome fuch as may convince ns that even thefe atflidive, and perhaps frequently fuppofed tmpenetrabJe proceedings, are not without evident traces of the divine wifdom, righteoufnefs, and mercy upon them to a duly obfervi-ng eye, fo that we may not only zs the voice of faith, t>Ut as the confeiiion of experience fay, I know ^ OhoKDythat thy judgments are right, and that thou in falihfuincfs haft affiiited, ffiC' Pfal. exix. y^' * to be the Operations of IVifdom* fi T Aali only add, that whether we can or camiot iftveffigate the motives in the counfels of a holy, wife, and merciful God, why fuch providences fhould take place as the removal of the excellent of the earth in the flower «r prime of their days, and in the height of their ufefuJnefs ; yet two things methinks are indifpenfible duties upon us in fuch difpenfations, congratulation and fubmiflion, congratulation that our pious friends are gone to a better world ; for as ene fays, " Was net felf-lov^e too predo- minant, and our faith of invifible realities too weak, we fhould re- joice at a pious relative (or friend's) admiflioninto the focietyof the blelTed. We congratulate them on fome petty advantage, gained in this low ftate of being, and we mourn their advance- ment to the higheft degree of honour and felicity, becaufe out of our ken .'—Such aukward and prepofterous creatures are we.'^ The other duty is fubmiflion— fubmilTion to the high and holy, Aough awful will of Heai'en- Patience has its hour of exertion and effulgence in the darknefs of providence, and the feafon of t>ur greateft trials- " Father, not my will, but thine be done," how glorious, how pleafant to hear from a foul under the prefTures of the foreft afflidions ! I have often thoughl: of the noblefpeech of theArchbifhopof Caiiibray, who, when he lieard the news of the Duke of Burgundy's deadi, to whom he 1i ad been preceptor, and for whom he had tkc moii tender af- fection, burft into tears, but yet prefently faid, '' If I knew that by the turn of a ftraw I could recover him to life, and yet at the fame time wasafTured that it vras contrary to the will of <301>, I would not do it." — O for a compilacent acquid'cence in the divine difpofals ! O for the meek and cheerful furrender of our wills to the will of our God ! May this be our experience till faith is turned into fight, and hope and patience ihall be fwallowed up in boundlefs and everlailing fruition and joy. I a«M oo«e ooee ooec so«e com tM» mm mco moo mm mm mm aeM ec« som seM ecM ococ M«fi »<« ooc* 9ce« mm CHARACTER or THE AUTHOR. By the Rev. DAVID BOSTWICK, M. a. OF NEW-YORK. " TT will doubtlefs be acknowledged on all hands, that a de- X cent refped, and a proportionable tribute of honour arc due to the memory of thofe decesfed, whom the God of Na- ture and Grace had furniihed with every valuable endowment, and in his providence had advanced to an extenfive fphere of ufefulnefs while they lived : And that this was eminently the cafe of my reverened friend and brother, no one, who had the happinefs of his perfonal acquaintance, or could rely on the teflimony of univerfal fame, will pretend to difpute. ^' I am, however, truly fenfible that to exhibit a juft por- traiture of Prefident Davies, and draw the lineament of his a- miable charafter, is a talk too arduous for me, and would require a genius not inferior to his own ; but however, the friendihip with which he was pleafed to honotir me, the efteem and vene- ration I had for him while he hved, with the juft fenfe I ftill en- tertain of his uncommon worth, unitedly demand the prefent exertion of my feeble attempts, efpedally as his death has taken place in the intervening time between the preaching of the fol- lowing Difcourfe, and its publication, which was committed to my care. ** Mr. Davies was a man of fuch uncommon furniture, both of gifts and grace, and adorned with fuch an alTemblage of amia- ble and ufeful qualities, and each ihining with fucli diftinguiih- cd luftre, that it is truly hard to fay in v/hicli he moft excelled, and equally hard to mention one valuable or ufeful accomplilh- ment in which he did not excel. A large and capacious under- Handing — a folid, unbiailed, and well-regulated judgment — a quick apprehenfion — a genius truly penetrating — a fruitful in- vention— an elegant tafte, — were all happily united in him, and conftituted a real greatnefsof mind, which never failed to fU'ike €very obferver with an agreeable ftirprife. CMAHAiTER OF liii ^' To this extraordinary natural capacity were added the im- provements of a learned and polite education, whi^h, though in the early years of his fludy it was embarrafled witli»many pe- culiar difadvantages, yet by the ftrength of his genius, and dint of indefatigable application, was cultivated to fuch a degree of elegance and refinement, that attraded the notice and admira- tion of all the friends of fcience wherever he was known. *' And as the powers of his mind were enricked with every valuable human accomplishment, fo they were eminently im- proved by the influence and efficacy of fand:ifying grace ; in confe^uence of which they were all fincerely devoted to the fervice of God, and the good of mankind. In the early ftages of his life, it pleafed a Sovereign God to call him effectually from his natural alienation to the knowledge and love of himfelf, to take a powerful polTefTion of his heart, and feize all the fa- culties of his adive and capacious foul for his fervice. Upon finiihing therefore the courfe of his preparatory fludies, he en- tered into the facred employment of the gofpel-miniflry, and folemnly dedicated himfelf with all his fupcrior talents to the work of the fanchiary. '^ In the exercife of this facred office, his fervant zeal and undilTembled piety, his popular talents and engaging methods of addrefs. foon acquired him a diflinguillied charader, and ge- neral admiration. Scarce was he known as a public preacher but he was fent, on the earneft application of the people, to fome of the diftant iettlements of Virginia, where many of th?; inhabitants, in refped of religion, v/ere but a fmall removgv^ from the darknefs and ignorance of uncultivated heathenifm, and where the religion of Jefus, which he endeavoured to pro- pagate, had to encounter with all the blindnefs, prejudice, and enmity, that are natural to the heart of the moil depraved finner. Yet under all apparent difadvantnges, his labours were attended with fuch remarkable fuccefs, that dl oppofition quitted the un- equal combat, and gave way to the pcv/erful energy of the di- vine fpirit, which was gracioufly pleafed by his miniilry to add^\ many nev; fubjeds to the fpiritual kingdom of our glorious Im- maniiel. '* The workof theminiltry was Mr. Davies's great dehght ; and for it h^ v/as admirably furniihed with every valuable qua- lification of nature and grace. Divinity was a favourite fludy, in which he made a proficiency uncommon for his years, and yet; he generally preferred the moft necellary and pradical branches of It to the dark mazes of eridlefs controverfy and intricate dif- putes ; aiming ebiefiy at the converlion of fmners, and to change die hearts and lives of men by a-n affeding reprefentation of, the liv T IT £ A U T H O K^ plain, buf moft important, intcrefting truths of the law and iht gofpel. His talent at compofition, efpecially for the pulpit^ ^as equalled by few, and perhaps exceeded by none. His taftt was judicious, elegant, and polite, and yet his difcourfes wertf plain and pungent, peculiarly adapted to pierce the confciencc and aiFedt the heart. His didion was furpafTingly beautiful and comprehenfive, tending to make the moft ftupid hearer fenfibly feel, as well as clearly underftand. Sublimity and elegance, plainnefs and perfpicuity, and all the force and energy that the language of mortals could convey, were the ingredients of al- moft every compofition. His manner of delivery, as to pro- nunciation, gefture, and modulation of voice, feemed to be a perfect model of the moft moving and ftriking oratory. '' Whenever he afcended the facred delk, he feemed to hav6 not only the attention, but all the various palTions of his auditory entirely at his command. And as his perfonal appearance was auguft and venerable, yet benevolent and mild, fo he could fpeak with the moft commanding authority, or melting tendernefs, according to the variation of his fubjeft. With what majeft/ and grandeur, with what energy and ftriking folemnity, with what powerful and almoft irrefiftible eloquence would he il- lufirate the truths, and inculcate the duties of chriftdanityl Mount Sinai feemed to thunder from his lips, when he de- nounced the tremendous curfes of the law, and founded thd dreadful alarm to guilty, fecure impenitent fmners. The fo- lemn fcenes of the laft judgment feemed to rife in view, when he arraigned, tried, and convided felf- deceivers, and formal hypocrites. And how did the balm of Gilead diftii from his lips, when he exhibited a bleeding dying Saviour to fmful mortals, as a fovereign remedy for the woundfed heart, and anguished confcicnce ! In a word, vv'hatever fubject he undertook, p^- fuafive eloquence dwelt upon his tongue ; and his audience v.as all attention. He fpoke as on the borders of eternity, and as viewing the glories and terrors of an unfeen world, and con- veyed the moft grand and affecting ideas of theie important realities; realities which he then firmly believed, and which he now fees in the clcareft light of intuitive demonftration. " The unufual luftre with which he Ihone could not long be confined to that remote corner of the world, but foon attracted the notice and pleafing admiration of men of genius, or piety, far and near : and therefore, on a vacancy at the college of New- Jerfey, occaficned by the deceafe of two former Prelidents*,iR * The Rev. Mr. Aaron Burr, in 1757, and the Rev. Mr. Janatlian Ed^rards, wl)# fucce^ded I'^ir., a:: J died the ^viuter lollo^f ias;. CHARACTER OF Iv a clofe and awful fucceflion, he was eledlcd to that important oilice in the year 1 759. " Diftreffing as it was both to him and his people, united in the ftrongeft bonds of mutual afFedtion, to think of a feparation, yet a conviction of abfolute duty, refulting from the importance of the ftation, from the various concurring providences, and lallly, from the unanimous advice of his reverend brethren convened in fynod, determined him to accept the propofal. Great and pleafmg were the expedations with which we beheld him enter into that exalted fphere offervice, yet I may boldly fay that they were vafUy exceeded in every refped by the re- putable manner in which he difcharged the arduous truft. The progrefs he made in all the branches of fcience, with his capa- city and diligence to acquire new improvements, enabled him to conduct the youth with great advantage through the feverat flages of ufeful and polite literature. And, while he endeavour- ed to improve the minds, he was not lefs folicitous to reform the hearts and lives of his pupils, to make them good as well as great, and fit them for both worlds. He knew that religion was the brighteft ornament of the human, and the fairefb image of the divine nature, that all true benevolence to men muft have its foundation laid in a fupreme love to God, and that undif- fembled piety in the heart was the beftfecurity for ufefulnefs in every character of life. It was therefore his conftant endeavour to promote the eternal as well as the temporal good of the youth intrufted to his tuition, not only by his fervent preaching and exemplary life, but by inculcating at the proper feafons the v/orth of their fouls, and thevaft, the inexprefiible importance- of their everiafting interefts. ^^ In the government of the college, he had the peculiar art of mingling authority and lenity in fuch a due proportion, as feidom or never failed of the defired fuccefs. Hence he was revered and loved by every member of that collected family over which he preiided. His performances at public anniver- fary commencements, as they never failed to do honour to th? inltitution, fo they always furprifed his friends themfelves by exceeding, far exceeding their moitfanguine expectations. His poetical compofitions, and his elegant tafte for cultivating the Mufes, gave additional embelliihments to thofe performances, and greatly heightened the pleafure of his crowded auditors. ^* His acquaintance v\^ith mankind, his eafy and polite beha- viour, his affability and condefcenfion, his modefty and candor, his engaging manner of addrefs, with his fprightly and enter- taining converfation, all the genuine fruits of the melt benevo- lent heart, rendered him greatly beloved through the large circle of his acquaintance, and as greatly admired even by ftraa- IVl T H E AU T H OPw gers, whole occafional excurlions gave them only the opportunitjf of a tranfient interview. '^ His natural temper^ aaiiable in itfelf, andfweetened with, all the charms of divine grace, rendered him peculiarly dear in all the relative characters of fecial life, whether as an hulband, a father, a tutor, or a friend. " With this excellent man at the head of the college, what pleafing profpe6ls did we form of the extenfive ufefulnefs of that infant feminary, both to the church and to the common- wealth ! He was, in ihort, all ue could wiih or defire in a man, to promote the valuable interefts of learning and piety, and. render the college reputable and ufcful. ^* But, alas! all his ample furniture of gifts and graces, all the amiable qualities of the mind, with the advantages of the happieft conftitution of body, could not fecure him from the fate of mortals. He is gone ; he has quitted this inferior world amidft the unfeigned forrows of his family, liis friends, the col- lege, and our country : he has taken his flight to his native ikies, and joined with kindred fpirits in the regions of a glori- ous immortaUty,. while his remains are gathered to thofe of his- predecefibrs, in the dark and dreary repofitory of the grave. ^' O the unutterable and extenfive lofsto a diftreffed family,, to a bereaved college, to the miniftry, to the church, to the community, to the republic of letters, and ia iliort to ail tks, valuable interefls of mankind !'' ^•:r'•=:!!>C><>0•C>::::;v::^•C'OOOC^O•0>«^>OOO<>C<>O< >coc>o-::>#-:S^ -SERMON I. The divine Authority and Sufficiency of the Chrifti. an Religion. TiuKF xvi. 27-ri • rhen he/aid, I pray thee therefore father, Z^tLLuefifend him to ,ny father' s houfe for I have five hrthren, that he may teftify unto them, left they alfocome.nt. tZ Zaee of torment. Abraham faith unto hm They have Moris and the frophets ; let them hear them. And he fa.d N^y father Abrlham, hut if one v^ent unto them from the dead, they ^oould repent. And hefaidunto hm Ifhjyhea, Zmfesmdtheprophets,neither-wmtheybeperfuad,d,thoush tne rofe from the dead. WHAT Mlcah faid fuperffitioafiy, when he was robbed of his idols, ye have taken a-way my gods ; and -what have 1 ,„ore^ (Tud..iviii. 24-) ^-V^^ truly fpoken w.th regard ta thrrelilion of Jefus, If that be taken fiw us, what have we Zrlnhhe foundations he defiroyed, -'''':* fif'^ "f^:% do P Pfal. xi. i The generality of you owe all your hopes of : glorious irnmortahty ?o this ^-ven-bon. rel,g,on and iuake it the rule of your faith and pradice ; confident tha. inio 'iSt':L'!f:fe;ilyoan>ouldbe„.ifta^^^ •religion of Jefus fl^ould be an impofture;-! know you are ftrufk with horror at the thought, and P«'l='f . =!^;' " ^1 a^, «,aking fo fnocking a fupp»fition. But this ^"^9'"''"^^°' 'Jjj ^t is, L probably been fuggefted ta_ you at tnnes by mferna^ agencf ; riris fufpicion may at times have r.fen '" ^ou. ™>nds m their wanton and licentious excurUons, ^'^'^^^^'^^^^^X^^Z of a melancholy and timorous imagmat.on : and if 'h^ f^ J^^'"^^ has never been raifed in you by the fophillical -^on^^f"'"" "^ •loofe wits and affefted rationalifts, .t has been _owmg to ymir happy retirement from the polite world, wnere mfidehty inakes exLnfive conquefts, under the fcecious " J™« "^.^'f . . .^^ ^ therefore you are fubjea to an affank from luch a fuf^cion when you may not be armed ready to repel it, let me this day itart it from its ambuih, that I may try the force of a few argu- OTcnts upon it, and furnilh you with weapons to conouer it. 58 l^he divine Authmity and Sufficiency Serm. i . Let me alio tell you, that that faith in the chriflian religion which proceeds from infufficient or bad principles, is but little better than infidelity.- If you believe the chriftian religion to be divine, becaufe you hardly care whether it be true or falfe, being utterly unconcerned about religion in any fhape, and therefore never examining the matter ; — If you believe it true, bef^ufe you have been educated in it ; becaufe your parents cr miniiiers have told you fo ; or becaule it is the religion of your country ; if thefe, are the only grounds of your faith, it is not fuch a faith as conilitutes you true chriftians ; for upon the very fame grounds you would have been Mahometans in Turkey, difcipies of Confucius in China, or worfnippers of the devil among the Indians, if it had been your unhappy Jot to be born in thole countries : for a Mahometan, or a Chinefe, or an Indian, can afiign thefe grounds for his faith. Surely, I need not tell you, that the grounds of a miuaken belief in an impof- rure, are not a fufficient foundation for a laving faith in a divine revelation. I am afraid there are many fuch implicit believers among us, who are in the right only by chance : and thefe lie a prey to every temptation, and may be turned out of the Vv-ay of truth by every wind of doctrine. It is therefore neceifary to teach them the grounds of the chriftian religion, both to prevent their fedudion, and to give them a rational and well-grounded faith, infteadof that which i'^^only blind and accidental. Nay, fuch of us as have the cleareft conviction of this impor- tant truth, had need to have it inculcated upon us, that v.e may be more and more imprefled with it; for the influence of chrifti- anit}'- upon our hearts and lives will be proportioned to the realizing, affeding perfuafion of its truth and certainty in our underftandings. If I can prove that chriftianity anfwers all the ends oi a re- ligion from God ; — if I can prove that it is attended with fuiii- cient atteitations ; — if I can prove that no fufficient objections can be offered againft it ; — and that men have no reafon at all to defire another ; but that if this proves ineffectual for their re- formation and falvation, there is no ground to hope that any other would prove fuccefsful : — I fay, if I can prove thefe things, then the point in debate is carried, and we mAift all embrace the religion of Jefas as certainly true — Thefe things are alTert- ed or implied in my text, with refpect to the fcriptures then ex- tant, Tvhfes and the prophetS' My text is a parabolical dialogue between Jhraha-m and one of his wretched pofterity, once rioting in the luxuries of high life, but now tormented in infernal flames. We read of his brethren in his father's houfe. Among theie probably his eftate was divided uponliis dececfe ; from v-.-bencs Serm. I. Of the Chriftian Religion, 59 %ve may infer that he had no children ; for had he had any, it would have been more natural to reprefent him as folicitons for their reformation by a mefienger from the dead, than for that of his brothers. He feems therefore, like fome of our unhappy modern rakes, juft to have come to his eftate, and to have aban- doned himfelf to fuch a courfe of debaucheries as foon ihattered hisconftitution, and brought him dov/n to the grave, and alas ! to hell, in the bloom of life, when they* were far from his thoughts. May this be a warning to all of his age and circum- ilances ! Whether, from fome remaining afFeclion to his brethren, or (which is more likelv) from a fear that they who had ihared with him in fm w ould increafe his torment, ihould they defcend to him in the infernal prifon, he is folicitons that Lazarus might 1)6 fent as an apoftle from the dead to warn them- His petition i^ to this purpofe : *^ Since no requeft in my own favour can be granted ; iince I cannot obtain the poor favour of a drop of wa- ter to cool my flaming tongue, let me at lead make one requefb in behalf of thofe that are as yet in the land of hope, and not beyond the reach of mercy. In my father^s houfe I have five brethren, gay, thoughtlefs, young creatures, who are now ri- oting in thofe riches I v/as forced to leave, who interred my mouldering corpfe in ftate, httle apprehenfive of the doom of my imm.ortal part ; who are now treading the fame enchanting paths of pleafure I walked in ; and will, unlefs reclaimed, foon defcend, like me, thoughtlefs and unprepared, into thefe dole-- fill regions : I therefore pray, that thou wouldefl: fend Lazaru*. to alarm them in their wild c^xeer, with an account of my dread- ful doom, and iij^orm them of the reality and importance of ever- 1 ailing happinefs and mifery, that they may reform, and fo avoid this place of torment, whence I can never efcape." Abraham's anfwer may be thus paraphrafed : '^ If thy bro- thers periih, it will not be for want of means ; they enjoy the facred fcriptures of the Old Tefhament, written by Mofis and the prophets ; and thele are fufficient to inform them of the ne- ceffary truths to regulate their practice, and particularly to warn them of everlafling puniihment ! Let them therefore hear and regard, fcudy and obey, thoie wtI tings ; for they need no fur- ther means for their falvation.^* To this the wretched creature replies, ^^ Nay, father Abra- j trail, thefe means v/ill net; avail; I enjoyed them all; and yet. here I am., a loft foul ; and I am afraid they will have as little effed upon them as tHey bad upon me. Thefe m^eans are com- mon and familiar, and therefore difregarded. But if one arofc from the dead ; if an apoftle from the inviiible world was fent to them, to declare as an cye-wiiT.efs the great things he ha5 feen. jKo ne divine Authority and Sufficiency Serm. i . furely they would repent. The novelty and terror of the appa- rition would alarm them. Their fenfes would be flruck with fo unufual a mefTcnger, and they wouldbe convinced of tjie reaUty of eternal things ;^ therefore I muft renew my requefl ; fend La- zarus to them in all the pomp of heavenly fpleaidor ; Lazarus whom they once knew in fo abjed a condition, and whom they will therefore the more regard, when they fee him appear in all his prefent glory." Thus the miierable creature pleads (and it is natural for us to wiih for other m.eans, when thofe we have enjoyed are inef- fectual, though it ihould be through our own negled) ; but, alas ! he pleads in vain. Abraham continues inexorable, and gives a very good reafon for his denial : '^ If they pay no regard to the writings of M'ifes and the prophets ^ the {landing revelation God has left in his church, it would be to no purpofe to give them another ; they would not be perfuaded though one rofe from the dead ; the fame difpofition that renders them deaf to £uch melFengers as Mofes and the prophets, v/ould alfo render them imperfuafibie by a meffenger from the dead. Such a one might ftrike them with a panic, but it would foon be over, and then they would return to their ufual round of pleafures ; they would prefently think the apparition was but tiie creature of their own imagination, or fome unaccountable illufion of their fenfes. If one arofe from the dead, he could but declare the fame things fubfbantial- ]y with Mofes and the prophets ; and he could not fpeak with greater authority, or give better credentials than they ; and therefore they who are not benefited by thefe (landing means, muft be given up as defperate ; and God, for very good reafons, will not multiply new revelations to them." This anfwer of Abraham was exemplified when another La- zarus was raifed from the dead in the very fight of the Jews, and Chriflbiirfl the bands of death, and gave them inconteflible. evidences of his refiUTeclion ; and yet after all they were not perfuaded, but perfifted in invincible infidelity. This parable was fpoken before any part of the New Tefla- mcnt was written, and added to the facred canon ; and if it might be then aflerted, that the {landing revelation of God's will was fuflicient, and thtit it was needlefs to demand farther, then much more may it be afferted now, when the canon of the fcriptures is completed, and we have received fomuch additioif-/ al light from the Nev/ Teflament. V/e have not only Mofes dnd the prophets, but we have alfo Chrifl, who is a mefTengcj; from the dead, and his apoflles ; and therefore, furely '^ if we do not hear them, neither would ve be perfuaded, though ons arofe from the d^ad." The gofpel is the lafl eHbrt of the grae>£ Serm. I. Of the Chriftian Religion. . 6t of God with a guilty world ; and if this has no efFea upon us, ©Lir difeafe is incurable that refufes to be healed. I cannot infift upon all the important truths contained in this copious text, but only defign, I. To fhew the fufficiency of the ftanding revelation of God's will in the fcriptures, to bring men to repentance ; and, II. To expofe the vanity and unreafonablenefs of the objec- tions againfl this revelation, and of demanding another- I. I am to fliew the fufficiency of the ftanding revelation in the fcriptures to bring men to repentance. If the fcriptures give us fufficient inftru6lions in matters of faith, and fufficient direftions in matters of praaice,— if they are attended with fufficient evidences for our faith, — and produce fufficient excitements to influence our pradice, then they con- tain a fufficient revelation ; for it is for thefe purpofes we need a revelation, and a revelation that anfwers thefe purpofes has the diredeft tendency to make us truly religious, and bring us to an happy immortality. But that the revelation in the fcrip- tures (particularly in the New Teftament, which I Ihall more immediately confider as being the immediate foundation of Chrif- tianity) is fufficient for all thefe pm-pofes, will be evident from an indu6tion of particulars. I . The fcriptures give us fufficient inftructions what we Ihould beheve, or are a fufficient rule of faith. Religion cannot fubfift without right notions of God and di- vine things ; and entire ignorance or miftakes in its fundamental articles, muft be deftruftive of its nature ; and therefore a divine revelation muft be a colleftion of rays of light, a fyftem of divine knowledge ;— and fuch we find the chriftian revelation to be, as contained in the facred writings. In the fcriptures we find the faint difcoveries of natural rea- fon illuitrated, its uncertain conjectures determined, and itr miftakes correded ; fo that chriftianity includes natural religion in the greateft perfedion. But it does not reft here ; it brings XQ light things which eye hath not feen, nor ear heard, neither the heart of man conceived, i Corin* ii. 9, — things, which our feeble reafon could never have difcovered without the help of a fapernararal revelation ; and which yet are of the utmoft im- portance for us to know. in the fcriptures we have the cieareft and moft majeftic ac- count of the nature and perfedions of the Deity, and of his be- ing the Creator, Ruler, and Benefador of the univerfe ; to whom therefore all reafonable beings are under infinite obliga- tions. In the fcriptures we have an account of the prefent ftate of .h'-sm-.'- n2;Mr?. r:?; de^ensrate, and a more rational andeafy ac- 2 ^^he divine Authority and Sufficiency Serm. i. count of its apoftacy, than could ever be given by the light of nature. In the fcriptures too (which wound but to cure) we have the welcome account of a method of recovery from the ruins of our apollacy, through the mediation of the Son of God ; there we have the aflTurance which we could find no where eh"e, that God is reconcileable, and willing to pardon penitens upon the ac- count of the obedience and fufferings of Chrilt. There all our anxious enquiries, IVhereimth fljall I come before the Lord? or ho'UJ myf elf before the moft high GodP fhall I come before him ivith hmnt-offerings P kc- Micah vi- 6, 7, are fatisfadorily anfwer- ed ; and there the agonizing confcience can obtain relief, which might have fought it in vain among all the other religions in the world- In the fcriptures alfo, eternity and the invifible worlds are laid open to our view ; and *' life and immortahty arc brought to light by the gofpel ;'' about which the heathen fages, after all their enquii'ies, laboured under uneafy fufpicions. T here we are aiTured of the ftate of future rev/ards and puniihments, according to our conduct in this ftate of probation ; and the na- ture, perfection, and duration of the happinefs and niifery, ore defcribed with as much accuracy as arenecelTary to engage us to fcek the one and ihun the other. I particularize thefe dodrines of Chriftianity as a fpecimen, or as fo many general heads, to which many others may be re- duced ; not intending a complete enumeration, which would lead me far beyond the bounds of one fermon ; and for ^a hich my whole life is not fufficient. I therefore proceed to add, 2' The holy fcriptures give us complete direftions in matters ©f practice, or are a fufficient rule of life. A divine revelation muft not be calculated merely to amufe us, and gratify cur curiofity with fublime and refined notions and fpeculations, but adapted to dired and regulate our prac- tice, and render us better as well as wifer. Accordingly, the facred writings give us a complete fyftem. of practical religion and morahty. There, not only ail the duties of natural religion are inculcated, but feveral important duties; as love to our enemies, humility, 6c' are clearly difcovered ; which the feeble light of reafon in the heathen moralifts did either notperceive at all, or but very faintly. In iiiort, there we are informed of our duties towards God, tofor about one thoufand feven hun- dred years, though they are hated of all nations, and confequently under the ftrongeit temptation to coalefce with, and lofe them- felves among them ; and though all otlier nations have in a much fliorter time mixed in fuch a manner, that none of them can now trace their own original ; e^ g. Who can now diflinguilli the pof- terity of.the ancient Romans from the Goths and Vandals, and others that broke in upon their empire and fettled among them; or of the ancient Angli from the Danes, &c. that mingled with them ? Thefe and many other plain predidlons are interfperfed through the fcriptures, and prove. their original to be from the Father of lights, who alone knows all his works from^ the beginning, and who declares fuch diflant contingent futurities from ancient times. J/aiah-sXv. 21 • I might, as another intrinfic evidence of the truth of chriftianity, jnention its glorious energy on the minds of men, in convincing them of fin, eadng their confciences, infpiring them with unfpeak- ablejoy, fubduing their iufrs, and transforming them into its ownlikenefs; which is attefted by the daily experience of everj' ■ti'ue Chriftian. Every one that beheveth hath this witnefs in himfelf : and this is an evidence level to the meaneft: capacity, v/hich may be foon loft in a courfe of fublime reafoning. But as the Deifts declare, alas ! with too much truth, that the gofpel iath no fuch power upon them, it is not to my purpofe to iniift iipon it. I therefore proceed to mention fome of The extrlnfic evidences of the religion of Jefus, particularly the miracles with which it was confirmed, and its early propagation through the world. Miracles of this cafe are events above or contrary to the efla- bllflied law of nature, done with a profeiTed defign to atteft a re- velation ; and as they are obvious and ftrjking to the fenfes of the 2noft ignorant and unthinking, they are the moft popular and con- viftive evidences, adapted to the capacities of the generahty of mankind, who are incapable of a long train of argumentation, or of perceiving the origin of a religion from its nature and tendency. Now the religion of jefus is abundantly attefted with this kind of evidence. The hiftory of the life of Jefus, and his apoftles, is one continued feries of miracles. Sight was reftored to the Wind, the deaf were enabled to hear, the lame to walk, the maimed furniihed with nevv'-created limbs, the lick healed, the rage of \vinds andfeas controled, yea, the dead were raifed ; and all this with an air of fovereignty, fuch as became a God; the apoftles were alfo endowed with miraculous powers, enabled to fpeak with tongues, and communicate the Koly Spirit to others. Thefe miracles were done not in a corner, but in the moft public places. 6B The divine ur^Hfnority and Sufficiency Serm, i. before numerous fpeftators, friends and foes ; and the perfons that wrought them appealed to them as the evidences of then- divine miffion ; and the account of them is conveyed down to us by the befl medium, written tradition, in a hiftory that bears all the evi- dences of credibility, of which any compoitire of that kind is capa- ble. Another extrinfic evidence of the truth of (;hriftiamty is itsex- tenllve propag^ition through the world in the moft unpromifmg circmnftances. The only religion, beddts the Chriftian, ^rhich has had any very conliderable fpread in the world; isthat of Mahomet ; but we may eaiily account for this, without fuppofmg it divine, from its nature, as indulging the lulls of men ; and el'peciaily from the manner of its propagation, not by the force of evidence, but by the force of arras. But the circumftances of the propagation of chriftianity were quite otherwife, whether we confider its contra- riety to the corruptions, prejudices, and interefts of men ; — the eafmefs ofdetecl;ing it, had it been falfe ; — the violent oppofition it m.et w^ith from all the pov/ers of the earth ; — the inftruments of its propagation ; — or the lueafures they took for that purpofe. ChrijQiianity was directly contrary to the corruptions, preju- dices, and interefts of mankind. It grants no indulgence to the corrupt propenficRs of a degenerate world : but requires that uni- verfal holinefsof heart and life Vv hieh, as we find by daily obfer- vatioR, is fo ungrateful to them ; and which is the principal reafon that the religion of Jefus meets v*'ith fo much contempt and op, poll lion in every age. When chriftianity w^as firft propagated, all nations had been educated in fome other religion; the Jews were attached to Mofes, and the Gentiles to their various fyfrems of heathenifm ; and v/ere ail of them very zealous for their own religion : but chriftianity propofed a new fcheme, and could not take place with- out antiquating or exploding all other religions ; and therefore it \vas contrary to the inveterate prejudices of all mankind; and could never have been fo generally received, if it had not brought with it the moft evident credentials; efpecially coniidering that fome cfitsdoarines werefuch asfeemedtothe Jews a ftumbling block, and to the Greeks fooliihnefs ; particularly that one of ob- fcure birth and lov/ life, who was publicly executed as a flave and malefaftor, ihould be worlhipped and honoured as God, upon pain of everlafting damnation! that there iliculd be a refurreaion of the dead : the laft of which was an ohjecl of ridicule to all the vv its and philofophers of the heathen w^orld — Again, as fome religion ©r other was eftablilhed in all nations, there were many, like De- metrius and his craftfmen, whofe temporal livings and intereft de- pended upon the continuance of their religion; and if that v,-as Sernl. i . of the Chriftian Religion, 69 changed, they fell into poverty and difgrace. There was a pow- erful party in every nation, and they would exert themfelves to prevent the fpread of an innovation lb dangerous to their intereft, which we find by all hiftories of thofe times they actually did — •And yet the defpifed religion of Jefus triumphed over all their op- pofition, and maintained its credit in fpite of all their endeavours to detedit as an impofture ; and this proves it was not an impof- ture; for, . , . - In the next place, it was eafy to have detected chriftianity as an impofhire, nay, it was impolTible it fhoul-d not have been detefted, if it had been fuch ; for the great facts upon which the evidence of it relied, were faid to be obvious and public, done before thou- fands, and in all countries ; for wherever the apoftles travelled, thev carried their miraculous powers along with them- Thou- fands muft know whe^er Chrift had fed many thoufands with provifionsonlyfufficient fora few ; whether Lazarus was raifed from the dead before the admiring multitude ; whether the apoftles fpoke with tongues to thofe various nations among whom they endeavoured to propagate their religion (as indeed they muft have done, otherwife they would not have been underftood.) Thefe things, and many others, upon which the evidence of chriftianity depends, were public in their own nature ; and therefore, if they had not been matters of fad, the cheat muft have been unavoida- i>ly detected, efpecially when fo many were concerned to deted; it. Farther : chriftianity met with the moft ftrenuous oppofition from all the powers of the earth. The Jewiih rulers and moft of the populace were implacable enemies ; and as they lived on the fpot where its miraculous atteftations were faid to be given, it was in their power to crufh it in its birth, and never have fulFercd it to fpread farther, had it not been attended with invincible evi- dence. All the power of the Roman empire was alfo exerted for its extirpation ; and its propagators and difciples could expect no profit or pleafure by it, but were afTured from the pofture of af- fairs, from daily experience, and from the predictions of their mafter, that they loould meet with fhame, perfecution, and death itfclf in its moft tremendous Ihapes ; and in the next world they Qould expect nothing, even according to their own doftrine, but everlafting damnation, if tiiey were wilful impoftors : and yet, in fpite of all thefe difcouragement£,they courageoufly p^r lifted in their teftimony to the laft, thou8;h rhey might have fecured their hves, and helped their fortunes (as Judas did) by retracting it ; nay, their teftimony prevailed in dehance of all oppofition ; multitudes in all nations then known embraced the faith ; though they ex- peded tortures and death for it; and in a few centuries, the vaft and mighty Roman empire fubmitted to the religion of a crucified JefuS' And who were thofe mighty hf roes that thus triumphed over the world ? Why, rsour fnrprife, yo 7'he divine Authority and ^sufficiency Serm, i; The inftruinents of the propagationTof Chriftianity were a com= pany of poor mechanics, publicans, tent-makers, and iiiliermen, from the defpifed nation of the Jews ! And by what flrange pow- ers or arcs did they make thefe extenfive conquefls ? The meafures they took were a plain declaration of their religi- on ; and they wrought miracles for its confirmation. They did not ufe the power of the fword, no fecular terrors, or bribery; they were without learning, without the arts of reafoning and perfuaiion ; and without all the ufual artifice of feducers to gain credit to their impofture. Here I cannot but take particular notice of that matchlefs fim- plicity that appears in the hillory of Chrifl and his apoftles. The evangelifls write in that artlefs, calm, and unguarded manner, which is natural to perfons confident of the undeniable truth of v/hat theyafl'ert; they do not write with that fcrupulous caution which would argue any fear that they might be confuted. They fimpjy relate the naked fa6ts, and leave them to ftand upon their own evidence. They relate the moft amazing, the moil moving things, with the m.'ofl cool ferenity, without any pafTionate ex- clamations and warm refledions. For example, they relate the moft alloniihing miracles, as the refurreclion of Lazarus, in the anolt fimple, and, as it were, carelefs manner, without breaking out and celebrating the divine power of Chrift. In the fame man- ner they relate the moft tragical circumftances of his condemnation and death, calmly mentioning matter of fact, without any invec- tives againft the J^ws, without any high eulogies upon Chrift's innocence, without any rapturous celebrations of his grace infuf- fering all thefe things for finners, and without any tender lamen- tations over their deceafed mafter. It is impoHible for a heart fo deeply imprefTed with f uch things, as theirs undoubtedly were, t© retain this difpafTionate ferenity, unlefs laid under fupernatural re* Itraints ; and there appears very good reaibns for this reflraint up^ on them, viz* that the gofpel hiftory might carry intrinfic evi- dences of its fimplicity and artlefs impartiality ; and that it might appear adapted to convince the judgments of men, and notm.ere- ly to raife their pailions. In this refpect, the gofpel-kiitory is dif- tinguifhed from all hiltories in the world; and can v/e think {o plain, fo undifguifed, fo artlefs a compofure, the contrivance of deiigning impollors \ — Would not a confcioufnefs that they might be detected keep them more upon their guard, and make them more ready to anticipate and confine obje6tions, and take every artinte to recommend their caufe, and prepoffefs the reader in its favo'jr ? It only remains under this head, that I fhould (4.) Shew that the religion of jefus propofes fuflicient excite-^- ments XQ influence our faith and practice. Serni. i* of the Chrijlian Religion, 71 To enforce 2, fyftem of do6h'ines and precepts, two things are efpecially neceflary, — that they ihould be made duty by compe- tent authority, — -and matters of intereft by a fandlion of rewards and puniihment*. To which I may add, that the excitements are ftill -ftronger, when we are laid under the gentle obligations of gratitude. In all thefe refpefts the chriftian religion has the moll: powerful enforcements. , The authority upon which we are required to receive the doc- trines, and obierve the precepts of chriftianity, is no lefs than the authority of God, the fupreme Lawgiver and infallible Teacher; whofe wifdom to prefcribe and right to command, are indifputa- ble ; and we may fafely fubmit our underftandings to his infiruc- tions, however myfterious, and our wills to his injundions, how- ever difficult they may feem to us* This gives the religiouof Je- fus a binding authority upon the conferences of men ; which is ab- iblutely necefTary to bring piety and virtue into prad:ice in the world ; for if men are left at liberty, they will follow their Own inclinations, however wicked and pernicious. And in this refpecl chriftianity bears a glorious preference to all the fyftems of mora- lity compofed by the heathen philofophers ; for though there were many gOod things in them, yet who gave authority to So- crates, Plato, or Seneca, to aflume the province of lawgivers and didators to mankind, and prefcribe to their confciences? — All they could do was to teach, to advife, to perfuade, to reafon : but mankind were at liberty, after all, whether to take their ad- vice or not. And this ihews the necefTity of fuperniitural reve- lation, not merely to make known things beyond human appre- henfion, but to enforce with proper authority fuch duties as might be difcovered by man ; fmce without it they would not have the binding force of a law. As to the fandion of rewards and punilhments in chrlflianiry, they are fuch as became a God to annex to his majeftic law, fuch as are agreeable to creatures formed for immortahty, and fuch as would have the moft efFedual tenoency to encourage obedience, and prevent fin ; they are no lefs than the moft perfed happinefs and mifery which human nature is capable of, and that through an endlefs duration. If thefe are not fufficient to allure rational creatures to obedience, then no confiderarions that can he propof- ed can have any effect. Thefe tend to alarm our hopts and our fears, the moft vigorous Jprings of human adivit^ ; and if thefe have no effeft upon us, nothing that God can reveal, or our minds conceive, will have any efted. God, by adding the greateft fanc- tions polTible to his law, has taken the beft poliible precautions to prevent difobedience ; and fmce even thefe do not reftrain men from it, we are fure that lefs would not fuiTice.--*^If men will go ji 7he dii'hte Authority and Sufficiency Sernl, i, on in fin, though they believe the punifhment due to it vill be eternal, then much more v/ould they perlifl in it, if it were not r2ternal ; or, if they fay they will indulge themfelves in fm, be- caiife they believe it not eternal, then this proves from their own mouth, that it fhould be eternal in order to reftrain them. The prevalence of fin in the world tends to render it miferable ; and therefore, to prevent it, as well as to difplay God^s eternal re- •^ard to m.oral goodnefs, it is fit that he ihould annex the higheft degree of puniihment to difobedience in every individual ; for the indulgence of fm in one individual would be a temptation to the whole rational creation ; and, on the other hand, the threaten- ings of everiafling punifhment to allfmners indefinitely, is necelTa- ry to deter the whole rational world, and every particular perfon from difobedience. Thus in civil government, it is neceffary that robbery fliould be threatened indefinitely with death, becaufe, though one robber may take from a man but what he can very well ipare ; yet, if every man might rob and plunder his neigh- bour, the confequence would be univerfal robbery and confufion. It is therefore necelTary that the greateft punifiiment Ihould be threatened to difobedience, both to prevent it and to teftify the di\ine difpleafure againfl: it ; which is the primary defign of the threatening ; and fince the penalty was annexed with this viev/, it follov.'s, that it was primarily enaded with a view to the happi- nefs of mankind, by preventing what would naturally make them miferable, and but fecondarily with a view to be executed ; for it is to be executed only upon condition of difobedience ; which difobedience it was intended to prevent, and confequently it was not immediately intended to be executed, or enaded for the fake of the execution, as though God took a malignant pleafure in the ihifery of his creatures. But when t^e penalty has failed of its primary end, reftraining from fm, then it is fit it ihould anfwer its iecon-dary end, and be executed upon the offender, to keep the ref!: of re.dbiiable creatures in their obedience, to illuflrate the ve- racity and holinefs of the lawgiver, and prevent his government from falling into contempt. There are the fame reafons that threatening s fhould be executed v^hen denounced, as for their be- inp- denounced at firll:; for ihreatenin^s never executed, are the lame v/ith no threatenings Lt all- Let me add^ that the gofpei lays us under the flrongeft obliga- dons from gratitude. It not only clearly informs us of our obli- gations to Ccxi, as the authoi'-of our being and all our temporal bledings, which natural reJigion more faintly difcovers, but fuper- Tidds thofe more endearing ones derived from the icheme of man's redemption through the deatli of the eternal Son of God. Though ihe blefljngs of creation and Providence are grent in themfelves, Lhev '-ire fy-ujlowed up. as it vcre, and lof]t in the love of God ; Serm. I. ef the Chrijiian fiefigion, y^ which is commended to las by this matchlefs circumflaiicej *^ that while we were yet Tinners, Chrift died for us;'' and whik under the conilraints of this love, we cannot but devote ourfelves en^ tirely to God, 2 Corinth* v. 14^ 15. Thus I have hinted at a few things among the many thajt might be mentioned to prove the divinity of the religion of Jefus, and its fufhciency to bring men to repentance and faivation- And if it be fo, why Ihould it be rejeded, or another fought? — This re- minds me that I promifed, IL To expofe the vanity and unreafonableneis of the objections againft the Chriftian Religion, or of demanding another, &c. What can our ingenious infidels offer againft what has been faid I It muft be fome thing very weighty indeed to pre}x>iiderate *ill this evidence. A laugh, or a fneer, a pert witticifm, declaim- ing agalnft prieftcraft. and the prejudices of education, artful eva- 110115, and Ihallow fophifms, the ufual arguments of our pretended free-thinkers, thefe will not fuffice to banter us out of our joyful confidence of the divinity of the religion of Jefus ; and I may add, thefe will not fuiHce to indemnify them. Nothing will be fuffici^ ent for this but demonfiration : it lies upon them to prove the Chriflian religion to be certainly falfe ; otherwife, unlefs they are hardened to a prodigy, they muft be racked with anxious fears lefl they ihould find it true to their coft ; and left that difmal threat- ening fhould ftand firm againft them : — " He that helleveih not, JJjall be dajnhed*^* What mighty objection?, then, have they to oiFer ^ Vv ill they fay that the Chriftian religion contains myfleri- ous dodrines, which they cannot comprehend, which feem to them unaccountable ? As that of the Trinity, the Incarnatioo^ and Sarisfaftion of Chrift, &c. But will they advance their un- derftanding to be the uiiiv^rfal ftandard of trutli ? Will they pre • tend to comprehend die infinite God in their finite minds ? then let them go, and meafure the heavens with a fpan, and compre- hend the ocean in the hollow of their hand. Will they pretend to underftand the divine nature, when they cannot undcriland their own? when they cannot account for or explain the union betwixt their own fouls and bodies ? Will they reject myftcries in chriftianity, when they muft own them in every thing elfe? Let them firft folve all the phcenomena in nature ; let them give us a rational theory of the infinite divilibility of a piece of Hnite matter ; let them account for the fecmingly magical operation of the load- ftone ; the circulation of the blood upwards as well as downwards, contrary to all the laws of motion ; let them inform us of the caufes of the cohefion of the particles of matter ; let them tell us, hovr fpirits can receive ideas from material organs; how they hear and fee, kc' let them give us inteUigible theories of thefe things, and then they may, with fomething of abetter grace, fet up for cri- 74 The divine Authority and Sufficiency Scrm. i. tics upon God and his ways ; but, while they are myfleries to themfelves, while every particle of matter baffies their under- ftandiijgs, it is the moil impious intelleftual pride to rejeft chrif- tianity upon the account of its myfleries, and to fet up themfelves as the fupreme judges of truth. Or will they objed that there are a great many difficult and fh-ange paflages in fcripture, the meaning and propriety of which they do not fee ? And are there not many ftrange things in the book of nature, and the adminiftration of Providence, the defign and ufe of which they cannot fee, many things that to them feem wrong and ill-contrived ? Yet they own the world was created by God, and that his providence rules it : and why will they not allow that the fcriptures maybe from God, nptwithftanding thefe difficulties and feeming incongruities? When a learned man can eafily raife his difcourfe above the capacity of common people, vv'iil they notcondefcend to grant that an infinite God can eafily overihoot their little fouls ? Indeed a revelation which we could fully comprehend, vvould not appear the production of an infinite mind ; it would bear no refemblance to its Heavenly Father ; and therefore we ihould have reafon to fufped it fpuripus. It is ne- ceifary we ihould meet with diff.culties in the fcriptures to mortify our pride- But farther, will they make no allowance for the dif- ferent cufloms and pradices of different ages? It is certain, that maybe proper and graceful in one age which w^ouldbe ridiculous and abfurd in another ; and fmce the fcriptures were written fo many years ago, we may fafely make this allowance for them, v/hich will remove many feeming abfurdities. There ihould alio allowance be made for the fcriptures being rendered literally out of dead difficult languages; for we know that many expreifioris may be beautiful and fignificantin one language, which would be ridiculous and nonfenfical if literally tranilated into another. Wer^e Homer or Virgil thus tranflated into Engliih, without regard to the idiom of the languan;e, inflead of admiring their beauties, we fhould be apt to think (as Cowley expreifes it) ^^ that one madman had tranilated another madman-'^ Will they object the wicked lives of its pn')fe{rors ^gainft the holinefs and good tendency of chriftianity itfelf ? But is it chrifti"- anity, as pradifed in the world, or chriliianity as taught by Chrifl and his apoflles, and continued in the Bible, that I am pro^qng to be divine? You know it is the latter, and conlequently the poor appearance it makes in the former fenfe, is no argument againft its purity and divinity in this. Again, are the bad lives cf pro- feffors taught and enjoined by genuine chriftianity, and agreeable to it ? No ; they are quite contrary to it, and fubverfive of it ; and it is fo far from encouraging fuch profeilbrs, that it pronounces ihem iniferable hypocrites ; and their doom will be more fevere 8crm. I. ^f the Chrijlian Religion^ 75 than that of heathens. Again, are thej^e not hypocritical profef- fors of morality and natural religion, as well as of revealed I Are there not many who cry up morality and rehglon of nature, and yet boldly violate its plaineft precepts? If therefore this be a fuf- ficient objection againft chriftianity, it muft be fo too againft all religion. Further : do men grow better by renouncing the i^c- ligion of Jefus ? Obfervation afTures us quite the contrary. Final- ly, are there not fome of the profeffors of chriftianity, v.'ho live habitually according to it ? who give us the beft patterns of piety and virtue that ever were exhibited to the world ? This is fuf- ficieut to vindicate the religion they profefs, and it is highly inju- rious to involve fuch promiicuouily in the odium" and contempt due to barefaced hypocrites. Hov/ would this reafoning pleafe Clie Deifts themfelves in parallel cafes ? " Some that have no regard to chriftianity have been murderers, thieves, &c. therefore all that difregard itarefuch.^' Or ^' fome that pretended to be honeft, have been found villains ; therefore all that pretend to it are fuch; or therefore honefty is no virtviCf" Or will they change the note, and inftead of pleading that chrif- tianity leads to licentioufnefs, objeft that it bears too hard upon the pleafures of mankind, and lays them under too fevere reftramts I ♦ Or that its penalties are excelfive and cruel \ But does it rob man- , kmd of any pleafures worthy the rational nature, worthy the pur-; fuit of creatures formed for immortality, and confiftent with the good of the whole ? It rellrains them indeed ; but it is only as a phyfician reftrains his patient from poifon or an improper regimen; it reftrains men from living like beafts ; it reftrains them from thofc pleafures v/hich will ruin their fouls and bodies in the event ; it reftrains them from gratifying a private palhon at the expence of the public ; in ihort, it reftrains them from making themfelves and others miferable. Hard reftraints indeed ! and the Deifts, to be fure, are generous patrons of human liberty, who would free us from fuch grievances as thefe ! However, this objection lets us into the fecret, and informs us of the reafon why our pretended free-thinkers are fuch enemies to chriftianity ; it is becaufe it checks their lufts, and will not permit them to act, as well as to think freely, /'• e. as they pleafe. If they would content themfelves v/ith manly and rational pleafures, they would not count the re- ftraints of chriftianity intolerable ; nay, they would find in it a fet of peculiarly noble and refined pleafures, which they might feek ivi vain elfe where ; for it is fo far from being an enemy to the hap- pinefs of man, that it was defigned to promote it; and then we make ourfelves miferable when we reject it, or it becomes our in- tereft that it ftiould be falfe. As to the penalty of everlafting pu- nilhm.ent annexed tofm, which is but a temporal evil, I would aflv tliem whether they are competent judges in a matter in which 76 The divine Authority and Sufficiency Serm* I. they are parties ? Are they capable to determme \vi>at degree of puniihment ihould be inflicTted upon difobedience to the infinite Majelly of heaven, when they are not only ihortfighted creatures, but alfo concerned in the affair, and their judgments maybe per- verted by felf-intereil; ? Whether is it moft fit that the Judge of ail the earth ihould determine this point, or a company of male- factors, as they are? Is it allowed to criminals in civil courts to determine their own doom, nor pronounce the'r own fentence ? If it were, few of them would bepunilhed at all, and government would fall into contempt. Again, let me remind them, that the penalty was annexed to prevent diiobedience, and fo to render the execution neediefs; and confequently it v/as primarily intend- ed for their good. Why then will they fruftrate this defign, and, when they have rendered the execution ncceffary, complain of its feverity ? If they think the penalty fo terrible, let them watch againitfm, let them accept the falvation the gofpel offers, and fo aveid it inftead of quarrelling with its feverity, and yet rufhing upon it. Or, if they fay they will perfill: in fm becaufe they do not believe the puniihm.ent is eternal ; this gives me room to ap- peal to themfelves whether a lefs penalty than everlafting mifery would be fufficient to reftrain them from fm ; and whether God would have taken ail proper precautions to prevent fm, if he had annexed a lefs puniihm.ent to his law, fmce, by their ov/n con- feflion, nothing lefs could deter them from it. I ihall only add, that as the human foul mufb always exift, and as by indulgence in iin in the prefent ftate it contracts fuch habits as render it incppable ©fhappinefs in the holy enjoyment of the heavenly world) it murt: by a natural neceihty be forever miferable, though God ihould not exert any polkive aft for its puniihment. And if the devil fay, that puniihment for fome time \\ould reclaim offen- ders from fm and bring them to repentance, the difficulty is not removed, unlefs they can prove that mifery will bring men to io-/e that Gd who infiifts it, which they can never do ; — and it is evident, that that repentance which proceeds mere- ly from felf-love, witheut any regard to God at all, can never be plf aling to him, nor prepare them for ha^ypinefs in the enjoyment of iiim. Puniihment would produce a repentance like that of a fick-bed, forced, fervile, and tranfitory. Will they objed, that miracles are not a fufficient evidence of the truth and divinity of a revelation, becaufe infernal fpirits may alfo work miracles, as in the cafe of the magicians of Egypt, to ronnrm an impoflure ? But it is knovv'n that our free-thinkers ex- plode and laugh at the exiHence and power of evil fpirits in other cafes, and therefore muft not be allowed to admit them here to ferve a turn. However, we grant there are infernal fpirits, and that they can perform many things above Iiiiman power, whicii Riay appear tons miraculous, and yet the evidence in favour of Scrm. I . «/ the Chrijlian Religion. 77 chriftianity taken from miracles (lands unfhaken ; for (i) Can we fuppofe that thefe malignant and wicked fpirits, whofe buimefs it is to feduce men to fm and ruin, would be willing to exert their poSvcr to work miracles to confirm fo holy a religion, a religion fo contrary to their defign, and lb fubverfive of their kingdom and intereft ? This would be wretched policy indeed. Or if we fhould fuppofe them willing, yet, (2) Can we think that God, who has them all at his control, would futter them to counterfeit the great feal of heaven, and annex it to an impofture ? thdt is, to work fuch miracles as could not be diftinguilhed from thofe wrought by him to atteft an impofture? Would he permit them to impofe upon mankind in a manner that could not be detected ? This would be to deliver the world to their management, and fuffer them to lead them blindfold to hell in unavoidable delufion : for miracles are fuch dazzling and pompous evidences, that the general run of mankind could not reiift them, even though they were wrought to atteft a religion that might be demonftrated by a long train of fublime reafoning to be falfe. God may indeed fuffer the devil to mimic the miracles wrought by his immediate hand, as in the cafe of J annes and Jambres; but then, as in that cafe too, he will take care to excel them, and give fome diftin- guiihing marks of his almighty agency, which all mankind may eafily difcriminate from the utmoft exertion of infernal power* But though Satan ihould be willing, and God ihould perniit him to work miracles, yet, (3) Can we fuppofe that all the united powers of hell united, are able to work fuch aftoniihing miracles as were wrought for the confirmation of the Chriftian religion ? Can we fuppofe that they can control the laws of nature at plea* fure, and that with an air of fovereignty, and profeflTmg themfelves the lords of the univerfe, as we know Chrift did ? If we can be- lieve this, then we deny them, and may as well afcribethe creation and prefervation of the world to them. If they could exert a creating pov.'er to form new limbs for the maimed, or to multiply five loves and two fiihes into a fufficient quantity of food for five thoufand, and leave a greater quantity of fragments when that were done than the whole provifionat firft, then they might create the world, and fupport all the creatures in it- If they could ani- mate the dead and remand the feperate foul back to its former habitation, and reunite it with the body, then I fee not why they might not have given us life at firft. But to fuppofe this, would be to dethrone the K'ng of Heaven, and renounce his providence ?intirely. We therefore reft allured that the miracles related in die fcrrptures were wrought by the finger of Gcd. But our free-thinkers will urge. How do we at this diftance know that fuch miracles v/ ere actually wrought ? they are only related iu fcriptiiire-hiftory ; but to prove the truth of fcripture yS Jhe divine Authority ahd Sufficiency Serin, i ; from argunlewts that fuppofe the fcripture true, is a ridiculous method of reafoning, and only a begging of the quedion. But (i) the reality of thofe miracles were granted by the enemies of chriftianity in their writings againft it ; and they had no anfwer to make, but this forry one, that they were wrought by the power of magic They never durft deny that they were wrought ; for they knew all the world could prove it. Indeed, an honour- able teltlmony concerning them could not be expected from infidels ; for it would be utterly inconfiftent that they Ihould own thefe miracles fufficient attellations of chriftianity, and yet continue infi- dels. And this may anfwer an unreafonable demand of the Deifts, that we ihould produce fome honourable teftimony concerning thefe atteftations from Jews and Heathens, as well as from Chrii- I'ians, w'ho were parties. We ihould have much more reaibn to fufpedthe teftimony of the former as not conviclive whe-n it did not convince the perfons themfelves. But, (2.) As thefe miracles were of fo public a nature, and as fo many were concerned to detetl them, that they would unavoidably have been detected when related in words if they had not been done ; fo, for the fame reafons, they could not but have been detected when related in writing ; and this we know they never were. If thefs miracles had not been matters of undoubted fad:, they could not have beeninferted atfirft in the gofpel-hiftory ; for then many thoufands in various countries were alive to confute them ; and they could not have been introduced into it afterwards, for all the world would fee that it was then too late, and that if there had been fuch things, they ihould have heard of them before : for they were much more necelTary for the firft propagation of chriftianity than for its fupport when received. But it may be objeded. How can we at this diftance know that thefe hiftories are genuine ? May they not have been corrupted, and many additions made to them by deligning men in ages ihice ? And why is it not alfo alked, how do we know that there were iuch men as Alexander, Juhus Caefar, or King William the Third > Hov/ do we know but their hiftories are all romance and fable ? How do we knov/ that there were any generations of mankind before ourielves ? How do we know but all the ads of parliament of former reigns are corrupted, and we are ruled by impofitions ? In ihort, How can we know any thing, but what we have feen with our eyes ? We may as well make diificulties of iill thefe thing?, and fo deftroy all human teftimony, as fcruple the genuinenefs of the iacred writings; for never were any writings conveyed down with fo good evidence of their being genuine and uncorrupted as thefe. Upon their firft nubhcation they w^ere put into all hands, they were icattered into all nations, tranftated into various languages, and all peruied them ; ei^lier tcbetaugh:: Scrnii i. Of the Chrijlian Religlctii, y^ by theni, or to cavil at them. And ever fince, they have been quoted by thoofands of authors, appealed to by- all parties of cliriltians, as the fupreme judge of controverfies ; and not only the enemies of chriftianity have carefully watched them to dete^^l any alterations which jpious fraud might attempt to m^ke, but one feci: of chriftians has kept a watchful eye Over the other, left they ihould alter any thing in favour of their own caufe. And it is matter of aftonifhment as well as convidlion, that all the vari- ous copies and tranflations of the fcriptures in different nations and libraries are fubftantially the fame, and differ only in matters of fmall moment ; fo that from the worft copy of tranflation in the world, one might eafily learn the fubftance of chriftiani ty; Or will our infidels infift to be eye-witneffea of thefe fads ? Muft one arife from the dead, or new miracles be wrought to convince them by occular demonftratioii ? This is a moft unrea- fonable demand, for (i) The continuance of miracles in every age would be attended with numerous inconveniencesi For ex- ample. Multitudes muft be born blind, deaf, or dumb ; multitudes muft be afflided with incurable difeafes, and poffeffed by evil fpi- rits; multitudes muft be difturbed in the fleep of death ; and all the laws of nature muft be made precarious and fickle^ in order to leave room for miraculous operations ; and all this to humour a company of obftinate infidels, who would not believe upon lefs ftriking though entirely fufficient evidence. (2.) The continu- ance of miracles from age to age would deftfoy their very nature, to which it is effential, that they be rare and extraordinary ; for what is ordinary and frequent, we are apt to afcribe to the efta- bliihed laws of nature, however wonderful it be in itfelf. For example, if we faw dead bodies rife from their graves, as often as we fee vegetables fpring from feed rotton in the earth, we ihould be no more furprifed at the one pliaenomenon than we are at the Other, and our virtuoji would be equally bufy to affign Ibme na- tural caUfe for both. And had wc never feen the fun rife untrl this morning, we fhould juftly have accounted it as great a miracle as any recorded in the fcriptures ; but becaufe it is common, we neglect it as a thing of courfe* Indeed, it is not any thing in the event itfelf, or in the degree of power neceffary for its accomplifliment, that renders it miraculous, but its being uncommon, and out of the ordinary courfe of things ; for example, the generation of the human body is not in itfelf lefs aftoniihing ; nor does it require lefs power, than its refurreftion : the revolution of the fun in its regu- lar courfe, is as wonderful, and as much requh^es a divine power, as its ftanding ftill in tke days of Jolhua. But we acknowledge a miracle in the one cafe, but not in the other, becaufe the one is extraordinarv, while the otlier frequently occurs- Hence it fol- M g€ l^he divme Authority and Sufficiency Serin, I. lows, that the frequent repetition of miracles, as often as mien arc plcafed to plead the want of evidence to excufe their infidelity, would deflroy their very nature ; and confequently, to demand their continuance is to demand an impoiribility. But (3) Suppofc that men ihould be indulged in this requeft, it would not proba- bly bring them to believe. If they are unbelievers now, it is not for want of evidence, but through wilful bliridnefs and obftinacy ; and as they that will ihut their eyes can fee no more in meridian light than in the twilight, fo they that rejeda fufficiency of evi- dence would alfo relift a fupel-fluity of it. Thus the Jews, who were eye-witnelTes of the miracles recorded in the fcriptures, con- tinued invincible infidels ftill. They had always fome Jrifiing caval ready to objed againit the brighteft evidence. And thus our modern infidels wtDuld no doubt evade the force of the moft miraculous atteftation by fome wretched hypothcfis or other : they would look upon miracles either as magical produdions, or illufions of their fenfes ; or rather, as natural and neceiTary events, which they would indeed have fome reafon to conclude, if they w ere frequently performed before their eyes. Some have pre- tended to doubt of the exiftence and perfections of God, notwith- ftanding the evidences thereof upon this magnificent ftrudure of the univerfe ; and muft God be always creating new worlds be- fore thefe obftinate creatures for their convidion I Such perlons have as much reafon to demand it in this cafe, as our Deifts have to infill for new miracles in the other. 1 might add, that fuch glaring evidence, as, like the light of the fun, would force itfelf irrefiftibly upon the minds of the moft reludant, would not leave room for us to Ihow bur regard to God in believing, fi>r we ihould then believe from extrinfic necefiity, and not from choice. It is therefore moft correfpondent to our prefent ftate of probation, that there ihould be fomething in the evidence of a divine revela- tion to try us ; Ibmething that might fully convince the teachable and yet not remove all umbrages for cavilling from the obftinate. Thus I have anfwered as many objedions as the bounds of a fermon would admit ; and I think they are the principal ones which lie againftmy fubjed in the view I have confidered it. And as I have not defignedly ftleded the weakeft, in order to an eafy tri- umph, you may look upon the anfsvers that have been given as a ground of rational preiumption, that all other objedions may be •anfwered v/ith equal eafe. Indeed, if they could not, it vi ould not invalidate the pofitive arguments in favour of chriftianity ; for when wie have lufficieht poiitive evidence for a thing, we do not rejed it becaufe it is attended with fome difficulties which we can- not folve. My time will allow me to make but two or three fliort refledi- •ns upon the whol«. Scrm. I. tf the Chrijiian Religion^ %i I. If the religion of Jefusbe attefted with fuch full evidence, and be fufficient to condud men to everlafting felicity, then how helplefs are they that hare enjoyed it all their life wit;hout profit : who either reject it as falfc, or have not felt its power to reform their hearts and lives ? It is the laft remedy provided for a gu^y world ; and if this fails, their difcafe is incurable, and they arc not to exped better means. 2« If the religion of Jefus be true, then wo unto the wicked of all forts ; wo to infidels both pradical and fpeculative, for all the curfes of it are in full force againft them, and I need npt tell you how dreadful they are. 3. If the religion of Jefusbe true, then I congratulate fuch of you, whofe hearts and lives are habitually conformed to it, and Avho have ventured your everlafting All upon it. You build upon a fure foundation, and your hope ihall never make you aihamed. Finally, Let us all ftrive to become rational and pradical be- lievers of this heaven-born religion. Let our underftandings be more rationally and thoroughly cominced of its truth ; and our hearts and lives be more and more conformed to its purity; and ere long we fliall receive thofe glorious rewards it enfures to all its {incere difciples ; which may God grant to lis all for Jefus' fake. Amen I SERMON 11. The Method of Salvation through Jefus Chrilt. John iii. 16. F^r Godfo hved the -.votid, that he gave his only he- gotten Sony that ivhofoever heUeveih in him (huuld not perijh, bid have everlajling life* I HAVE been folicltoufly thinking in what way my life, redeem- ed from the grave, may be of moft fervice t© my dear people. And I would colled all the feeble remains of my ftrength into one vigorous effort this day to promote this benevolent end. If I knew what fubjecl has the moft dired tendency to fave your fouls, that is the fubjed to which my heart would cling with peculiar endearment, and which I would make the matter of the prefent difcourfe. And when I confider I am fpeaking to an aflcmbly of fmners, guilty, depraved, helplefs creatures, and tliat, if ever you be favcd^ 82 The Method of Salvation Serm. 2, it will be only through Jefus Chrift, in that way which the gof- pel reveals ; when I confider that your everlafting life and happi^ nefs turn upon this hinge, namely, the reception you give to this Saviour, and this way of falvation ; I fay, when I confider thefe things, I can think of no fubjed I can more properly choofe than to recommend the Lord Jefus to j^our acceptance, and to explain and inculcate the method of falvation through his mediation ; orj in other words, to preach the pure gofpel to you ; for the gofpel, in the moll proper fenfe, is nothing elfe but a revelation of a way of falvation for fmners of Adam's race. My text furni/lies me with proper materials for my purpofc. Let heaven and earth hear it wth wonder, joy, and raptures of praife ! Godfo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that w'hofoever, or that every one that believeth in himjhouldnotpe- rifiy hut have everlafting life- This is a part of the moft important evening converfation that ever was held ; I mean, that between Chrift and Nicodemus, a Pharifee and ruler of the Jews. Our Lord firft inftrufts him in the do6lrine of regeneration, that grand conftituent of a chriftiau, 5ind pre-requifite to our admiflion into the kingdom of heaven ;. and then he proceeds to. inform him of the gofpel^method of falva- tion , which contains thefe two grand articles, the death of Chrift,^ as the great foundation of bleflednefs ; and faith in him, as the j;reat qualification upon the part of the (inner* — He prefentsthis. important dodrine to us in various forms, with a very figniiicant repetition. Js Mofes lifted up the fer pent in the wildenj^fs, evenfs Jhall the Son of man be lifted up ; that is, hung on high on a crofs;^ that ijjhofoever believeth in him fhould not perifhy but have everlafting life- Then follows my text, which exprefles the fame doclrine witli great force : — Godfo loved the -world, that he gave his only he- gotteji Son y gave him up. to deaths that lahofoever believeth in him. Jhouldnot perifJ.Ty but have everlafting life' He goes on to mention a wonder. This earth is a rebellious province of Jehovah's domi- nions, and therefore if his Son ihould ever vifit it, one would think it would be as an angry judge, or as the executioner of his Father's vengeance. But, O aftqniihing ! Godfent not his Son into the world to condemn the vjorld, hut that the workl through him ?night be faved* Hence the terms of life and death are thus fixed, He that believeth in hijH is not con/Iemned : but he that believeth not is condemned al- ready , becaufe he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God' »Surc the heavenly rivers of pleafure flov/ in thefe verfes ! Never, methinks, w^.: there fo much gofpel exprelTed in fo few words ! Here take the gofpel in miniature, and bind it to your hcarts^or ever- Thefe verfes alone, methinks, are a fufficient remedy for a dying worlds Serm. 2, through Jefus Chrifi. 83 The truths I would infer from the text for prefent improvement pre thefe : — that without Chrift you are all in a perilhing conditi- on ; — that through Jefus Chrift a way is opened for your falvati> on ; that the grand pre-requifite to your being faved in this way, is faith in JefuF Chrift ; that every one, without exception, what- ever his former character has been, that is enabled to comply with this pre-requifite, ihall certainly be faved ; — and that the conftituti- pn of this method of falvation, or the mifTion of Chrift into our world, as the Saviour of fmners, is a moft ftriking and aftonilhing inftance and difplay of the love of God. I. My text implies, that without Chrift you are all in a perifliing condition. This holds true of you in particular, becaufe it holds true of the world univerfally : for the world was undoubtedly in a perifliing condition without Chrift, and none but he could relieve it, ptherwife God would never have given his only begotten Son ta f^ve it. God is not oftentatiousor prodigal of his gifts, efpecially of fo ineftimable a gift as his Son, whom he loves infinitely more than the whole creation. So great, fo dear a perfpn would not have been fent upon a miffion which could have been difchargedby any other being. Thoufands of rams muft bleed in facrifice, or ten thoufands of rivers of oil muft flow ; our firft-born muft die for our tranfgreflions, and the fruit of our body for the fm of our fouls ; or Gabriel, or fome of the upper ranks of angels, muft leave their thrones, and hang upon a crofs, if fuch methods of falvation had been fufficient. All this would have been nothing in compari- fon of the only begotten Son of God leaving his native heaven, and ^11 its glories, alTuming our degraded nature, fpending thirty-three long and tedious years in poverty^ difgrace, and perfecution, dying as a malefaftor and a Have in the midft of ignominy and torture, and lying a mangled breathlefs corpfe in the grave. We m^y be fure there was the higheft degree of necel]/.ty for it, otherwife God would not have given up his dear Son to fuch an horrid fcene of fufferings. This, then, was the true ftate of the world, and confequently yours without Chrift ; it was hopelefs and defperate in every view. In that fituation there would not have been fo much goodnels in the world as tp try the efficacy of facrifices, prayers, tears, refor- mation, and repentance, cr they would have been tried in vain. It would have been inconfiftent with the honour of the divine per- fections and government, to admit facrifices, prayers, tears, re- pentance, and r<"formation, as a fufficient atonement. What a melancholy ;iew of the world have vve now before us ! We know the ftate of mankind only under the gracious govern- ment ofa Mediator ; and wcbut feldom realize what our miferable condition would have been, had this gracious adminiftration never >een fet up. But exclude a Saviour in your thoughts for a mo- 84 7'he Method of Salvation Serm. 2* ment, and then take a view of the world — helplefs I-^^hopelefs ! under the righteous difpleafure of God; and defpairing of relief i . — the very ibburbs of hell !■ — the rajpige of malignant devils ! — the region of guilt, mifery, and defpair ! — the mouth of the infernal pit ! — the gate of hell ! — This would have been the condition of our world had it not been for that Jefus who redeemed it ; and yet in this very world he is neglecied and defpifed. But you will alk me, ** How comes it that the "^'oM was in fuch an undone, helplefs, hopelefs condition without Chrift ; or what are the reafons of all this ?" The true account of this will appear from thefe two confidera- tions, that all mankind are fmners ; and that no other method but the mediation of Chrift could render the falvation of fmners con- fillent with the honour of the divine perfeftions and government, with die public good, and even with the nature of things. All mankind are fmners. This is too evident to need proof. They are fmners, rebels ?gainft the greateft and bcft of beings, againft ilie'r Maker, their hberal Benefaftor, and their rigtt&l Sovereign, to whom they are under ftronger and more endearing obligations than they can be Under to any creature, or even to the entire fyftem of creatures ; fmners, rebels in every part of our 'guilty globe ; none righteous, no, not one ; all fmners, without exception : fmners from age to age for thoufands of years : thou- fands, millions, innumerable multitudes of fmners. What an ob- noxious race is this I There appears no difficulty in the way of juftice to puniih fuch creatures. But what f(^eming infuperable difficulties appear in the way of their falvation 1 Let me mention a few of them to recommend that blelTed Saviour who has remov- pd. them all. If fuch fmners be faved, how fliall the holinefs and juftice of God be difj^layed ? How fliall he give an honourable view of himfelf to ill worlds, as a Being ofperfect purity, and an enemy to all morai *vil ? If fuch fmners be faved, how fhall the honour of the divine go« vernment and lavv^ be fecured ? How will the dignity of the law appear, if a race of rebels may trifle with it vv'ith impunity ? What a forry law mufl that be tiiat has no fanftions, or whofe fanclions may be difpenfed with atpleafure I What a contemptible govern- ment, that may be infultedand rejecfted, and the offender admit- ted into favour without exemplary puniilimcnt ! No government can fubfift upon fuch principles of exceifive indulgence. How can fuch fmners be faved, and yet the good of the public fecured, v/hich is always the end of every wife and good ruler ? S>y the public good I do not mean the happinefs of mankind alone, but I mean the happinefs of all worlds of reafonable creatures col- lectively, in comparifon of which the happinefs of mankind alone Scrm. 2. through Jefus Chrifl, t^ may be only a private intereft, which fhould always give way ta the public good. Now fin has a diredl tendency, not only accord- ing to law, but according to the nature of things, to fcatter mifery and ruin wherever its infection reaches. Therefore the public good cannot be properly confulted without giving a loud and ef- fectual warning againft all fm, and dealing with oiFenders in fuch a manner as to deter others from offending. But how can this be done ? how can the (Inner be faved, and yet the evil of fm be dif- played, and all other beings be deterred from it for ever ? How can iin be difcouraged by pardoning it ? its ^\n\ difplayed by letting the criminal efcape punilhment I Thefe are fuch difficulties^ that nothing but divine wifdom could ever furmount them. Thefe diffixrulties lie in the way of a mere pardon and exempti- on from punilhment : but falvation includes more than this. When fmners are faved, they are not only pardo^ncd, but received into high favour, made the children, the friends, the courtiers of the King of Heaven. They are not only delivered from puniihment, but a|fo advanced to a ftate of perfed pofitive happinefs,and nothing fhort of this can render fuch creatures as we happy. Now, in this view, the difficulties rife ftill higher, and it is the more worthy of obfervation, as this is not generally the cafe in human governments ; and as men are apt to form their notions of the divine government by human, they are lefs fenfible of thefe difficulties — But this is indeed the true ftate of the eafe here ; how can the fmner be not only delivered from punilhment, but alfo advanced to a ftate of perfed happinefs ? not only efcape the difpleafure of his oifended Sovereign, but be received into full favour, and advanced to the higheft honour and dignity ? how can this be done without cafting a cloud over the purity and juftice of the Lord of all ; without link- ing his law and government into contempt; without diminifhing the evil of fm, and emboldening others to venture upon it, and fo at once injuring the charac1:er of the fupreme Ruler, and the pubHc good? How can fmners, I fay, be faved without the falvation be- ing attended with thefe bad confequences ? And here you nmft remember, that thefe confequences muft be provided againft* To fave men at random, without confidering the confequences, to diftribute happinefs to private pe'rfons with an undiftinguifhing hand, this would be at once inionfiftent with the chapader of the fupreme Magiftrate of the univerfe, and Vvith the pubhc good. Private perfons are at liberty to forgive private offences ; nay, it is their duty to forgive ; and they can hardly of- fend by way of excefs in the generous virtues of mercy and com- paihon. But the cafe is otherwife with a magiftrate ; he isobliged to confult the dignity of his government and the intereft of the public ; and he may eaiily carry his lenity to a very dangerous ex- treme, and by his.tendernefs te criminals do an eiiteniive iniury §6 7 he Method of Salvation Serin. ^* to the flate. This is particularly the cafe with regard to tlie gr6at God, the univerfal fupreme Magiftrate of all worlds. And this ought to be ferioufly conlidered by thofe men of loofe principles among us, who look upon God only under the fond character of a father, or a being of infinite mercy ; and thence conclude, they hav^e little to fear from him for all their audacious iniquities* — There is np abfolute neceffity that fmners fhbuld be faved : juflice may be fuffered to take place upon them — But there is the inoft abfolute neceflity that the Ruler of the world ihould both be, and appear to be, holy and juft- There is the moft abfolute necelTity that he fhould fupport the dignity of his government, and guard it from contempt, that he ihould ftrike all worlds with a proper horror of lin, and reprefcnt it in its genuine infernal colours, and fo confult the good of the whole, rather than a part. There is, I fay, the higheft and moft abfolute necelfity for thefe things ; and they cannot be difpenfed with as matters of arbitrary pleafure And unlefs thefe ends can be anfwered in the falvation of men, they cannot be faved at all. No, they muft all perilh, rather .than God ihould a(5t out of character, as the fupreme Magiftrate.;^ of the univerfe, or beftow private favours to criminals, to the de- triment of the public. And in this lay the diiEculty. Call a council of all the fages and wife men of the world, and they can never get over this diificulty, without borrowing alTiftance from the gofpel. Nay, this, no doubt puzzled all the angelic intelligences, who pry fo deep into the myfteries of heaven, before the gofpel was fully revealed.- — Methinks the angels, when they faw the fall of man, gave him lip as defperate. *^ Alas ! (they cried) the poor creature is gone ! he and all his numerous race are loft for ever-'' This, they knew, had been the doom of their fellow angels that fmned ; and could they hope better for man ? Then they had not feen any of the v/onders of pardoning love and mercy and could they have once thought that that glorious perfon, who filled the middle throne^ and was their Creator and Lord, would ever become a man, and die, Hkea criminal, to redeem an inferior rank of creatures? No, this thought they would probably have Ihuddered at as blafphemy. And muft we then give upourfclvesand all our race as loft be- yond recovery ? There are huge and feemingly infuperable dif- ficulties in the way ; and we have ieen that neither men nor angels can prefcribe any relief. ViWt fmg, ye heavens^ for the Lordhaih done it: fljout ye lower parts of the eat^th : break forth into firgi?igf ye mountains y for eft, and every tree therein : for the Lord hatk r ede erne d Jacob y and ghrified himfelf in JfraeU liaiah xliv. 23. Which leads me to add, II. My text implies, that through Jefiis Chrift a way is opened for your faU-ation. He, and he only wjs found equal to the nn- Serm, 2. . through Jefus Chrtfl. $7 dert^king 5 and before him all thefe mountains became a plain ; all thefe difficulties vanifh; and now God can be juft, can fecure tlis. (dignity of his charadler, as the Ruler of the world, and anfwer all the ends of government, and yet juftify and fare the fmner that believeth in Jefus. This is plainly implied in this glorious epitome of the gofpel : (jodfo hvedthe nvorld, that he gave his only begotten Son, that who^ toever believeth in him Jhould nst perijh, but have everlafltng life^ Without this gift all was loft : but now, whofoever believeth in him may be faved ; faved in a moft honourable way. This will appear more particularly if we confider the tendency the mediation , Chrift had to remove the difficulties mentioned. But I would pro- ihife two general remarks. The firft is. That God being confidered in this affair in his pub- lic charafter, as Aipreme Magiftrate, or Governor of the world, all the puniihment which he is concerned to fee infli<^ed upon fin is only fuch as anfwersthe ends of government. Private revenge muft vent itfelf on the very per fon of the offender, or be difap- pointed. But to a ruler, as fu«h, it may in fome cafes be indif- icrent, whether the puniihment be fuftained by the very perfon that offended, or by a fubfiitute fuffering in his flead. It may alfo be indifferent whether the very fame puniihment, as to kind and degree, threatened in the law, be inflided, or a puniihment equi- valent to it. If the honour of the ruler and his government be maintained, if all difobedience be properly dlfcountenanced ; if, in fhort, all the ends of government can be anfwered, fuch things a^ thefe are indifferences. Confequently, if thefe ends ihould be an- fwered by Chrift's fuffering in the flead of fmners, there would be no objedion againft it. This remark introduces another, namely, (2) That Jefus Chrift was fuch a perfon that his fuffering as the fubftitute or furety of finners, anfwered all the ends of govern- inent which could be anfwered by the execution of the puniihment upon the fmners themfelves. To impofe fuflfering upon the inno- cent, when KnA^^i^ling, is unjuft ; but Jefus was willing to under- take the dreadful taik. And befides, he was a perfon (fui juris) at his own djfpofal, his own property, and therefore he had aright to difpofe of his life as he pleafed ; and there was a merit in ^his confenting to that which he was not obliged to previous to his con- 'fent. He was alfo a perfon of infinite dignity, and infinitely be- loved by his Father ; and thefe confiderations rendered the merit of his futferings for a ihort time, and another kind of puniihment than that of hell, equal, more than equal to the everlafting fuf- ferings of fmners themfelves. Jefus Chrift was alfo above law; that is, not obliged to be fubjed to that iaw which he had made for his creatures, and confequently his obedience to the law, not bci^ig neeellary for lumfelf, might be imputed to others; whcrean^ N 8S 7' he Method of Salvation ^ Serm. fi creatures are incapable of works of fupererogation, or of doing more than they are bound to do, being obliged to obey their divine lawgiver for themfelves to the utmoft extent of their abihties, and confequently their obedience, however perfecl, can be fufficient only for themfelves, but cannot be imputed to others. Thus it appears, in general, that the ends of government areas effedhially anfwered by the fufferings of Chrifl in the room of fmners, as they could be by the everlafting punifhment of the fmners themfelves ; nay, we fhall prefently find they are anfwered in a more ftriking, and illuflrious manner. To mention particulars ; Was it necelTary that the holinefs and juftice of God fhouldbe difplayed in the falvation of fmners ? Se^ how bright they fliine in a futfering Saviour I Now it appears that fuch is the holinefs and juf- tice of God, that he will not let even his own Son efcape unpuniih- ed, when he ftands in the law-place of fmners, though guilty only by the flight ftain (may I fo fpeak) of imputation. Could the ex- ecution of everlafting puniftiment upon the hateful criminals them- felves ever give fo bright a difplay of thefe attributes ? It were impoffible. Again, Was it a difficulty to fave fmners, and yet maintain the rights of the divine government, and the honour of the law ? See how this difficulty is removed by the obedience and death of Chrift ! Now it appears, that the rights of the divine government are fo facred iind inviolable, that they muft be maintained, though the darling Son of God ihould fall a facrifice to juftice ; and that not one of- fence againft this government can be pardoned, without his mak- ing a full atonement. Now it appears, that the fupreme Ruler is not to be trifled with, but that his injured honour muft be repaired, though at the expence of his Son's blood and life. Now, the pre- cept of the law is perfectly obeyed in every part, and a full equiva- lent to its penalty endured, by a perfon of infinite dignity ; and it is only upon this footing, that is, of complete fatisfaftion to all the de- mands of the law, that any of the rebellious fons of men can be re- llored into favour. This is a fatisfaclion which Chrift alone could give : to fmners it is utterly iaipoffible, either by doing or fuffer- ing. They cannot do all the things that are written in the law ; nor can they endure ix.^ penalty, without being for ever miferable : and therefore the law has received a more complete fatisfaftion in Chrift than it woiUd ever receive from the oliendcrs themfelves. Further, Was it a difficulty how fmners might be faved, and yet the evil of fm be difplayed in all its horrors ? Go to the crofs of Chrift; there, ye fooh that make a mock of fm, there learn its malignity, audits hatefulnefs to the great God. There you may fee it is fo great an evil, that when it is but imputed to the man that is God's fellow, as the furety of fmners, it cannot efcape punifhment. No. Scrm. 2. through Jefiis Chrift, %^ \\^hen that dreadful ftain lay upon him, immediately the cammiflion. was given to divine juftice, Awake fword, againfl my Jhepherd ^ againft the man that is my feilovjj faith the Lordof hofts ; fmite the Jhepherd. Zech. xiii. 7. — When Chrift flood in the room of fin- ners, even the Father fpared not his own Son, but gave him up to death. That the criminals themfelves, who are an inferior race of creatures, (hould not efcape would not be ftrange : but what an enormous evil muft that be, which cannot be connived at even in the favourite of heaven, the only begotten Son of God ! Surely no- thing befid«s could give fo ftriking a difplay of its malignity ! Was it a difficulty how to reconcile the falvation of Imners, and the pub he good I that is, how to forgive fm, and yet give an ef- f-ed:ual warning againft it ? How to receive the fmner into favour, and advance him to the higheft honour and happinefs, and in the mean time deter all other beings from offending ? All this is pro- vided for in the fniferings of Chrifl as a furcty. Let all worlds look to his crofs, and receive the warning which his wounds, and groans, and blood, and dying agonies proclaim aloud ; and furc they can never dare to offend after the example of man. Now they may fee that the only inftance of pardon to be found in the univerfe was not brought about but by fuch means as are not like- ly to be repeated ; by the incarnation and death of the Lord of Glory. And can they flatter themfelves that he will leave his throne and hang upon a crofs, as often as any of his creatures wantonly dare to offend him I No : fuch a miracle as this, the ut- moft efort of divine grace, is not often to be renewed ; and there- fore, if they dare to fm, it is at their peril. They have.no reafon to flatter themfelves they ihall be favoured like fallen man ; but rather to exped they fhall ihare in the doom of the fallen angels. Or if fhey fhould think fm may efcape with but a flight punifli- ment, here they may be convinced of the contrary. If the Darling of Heaven, the Lordof Glory, though perfonally innocent, fuffers fo much when fm is but imputed to him, what Ihall the finners themfelves feel, who can claim no favour upon the footing of their own importance, or perfonal innoceace ? '^ If thefc things be done ^' in the green tree, what fliall be done in the dry?'' Thus, my brethren, you may fee how a way is opened through Jefus Chrift for our falvation. All the ends of government may be anfwered, and yet you pardoned, and made happy. Thofe at- tributes of the divine nature, fuch as mercy and juflice, which feemed to clafli, are now reconciled ; now they mingle their beams, and both ihine with a brighter glory in the falvation of fmner s, than either of them could apart. And muft you not acknowledge this divine God-like fcheme ? Can you look round you over the Works of the creation, and fee the divine wifdom in every objed, and caAi you not perceive the divine agency in this flill more glo- no The Method of Salvatiom Slerm, %^^ rious work of redemption ? Redemption, which gives a full view of the Deity, not as the fun in eclipfe, half dark, half bright, but ai A God all o'er, confummate, abfolute, Full orb'd, in his whole round of rays complete. Youns. And fliall not men and aagels join in wonder and praifc at the furvey of this amazing fcheme ? Angels are wrapt in wonder and praife, and will be fo to all eternity, ^ee ! how they pry into this myftery ! hark, how they fmg ! *^ Giory to God in the higheft ;" and celebrate the Lamb that was llain ! and fhall not men, who are perfonally interefted in the affair, join with them ? O ! are there none to join with them in this aflembly? Surely, none can refufe ! Now, fince all obftrudions are remov^ed on God's part, that lay in the wd}^ of our falvation, why ihould we not all be faved toge- ther ? What is there to hinder our crowding into heaven promif- cuoufly ? Or what is there requifite on our part, in order to make us partakers of this falvation I Here it is proper to pafs on to th0 next truth inferred from the text, namely, ' III. That the grand pre-requifite to your being faved in this way, is faith in Jefus Chrift- Though the obftru6lions on God's part are removed by the death of Chritt, yet there is one remain- ing in the flnner, which cannot be removed without his confcnt ; and which, while it remains, renders his falvation impoffible in the nature of things ; that is, the depravity and corruption of his na- ture. Till this is cui'cd, he cannot relilh thofe fruitions and em- ployments in v/hich the happinefsof lieaven confifts, and confequent- ly he cannot be happy there. Therefore there is a neceflity, in the very nature of things, that he iliould be made holy, in order to be faved ; na}/-, his falvation itfelf confifts in holinefs. Now, faith is the root of all holinefs in a fmner. ' Without a firm reahz- ing belief of the great truth of the gofpel, it is impolTible a fmner fhould be fanftified by their in|Lience : and without a particular faith in Jefus Chrift, he cannot ffivt from him thofe fanftifying in- fluences by which alone he can be made holy, and which are con- veyed through Jefus Chrift, and tlirongh him alone. Further : It would be highly incongruous, and indeed impofli- ble, to fave a finner againft his will, or in a way he dillikes. Now faith, as you lliall fee prefently, principally confifts in a hearty con- fent to and approbation of the Way of falvation through Jefus Chrift, the only way in which a fmner can be faved confiftently with the divine honour ; fo tliat the conftitution of the gofpel is not only juft, but as merciful asit can be, when it ordains, that on- ly he that helieveth flmll he faved ; hut that he that helkveth mt^ fjall he da7nned» Serm. 2. through J efus Chrifi 9^ Again: We cannot be faved thi*ough Jefus Chrift, till hil righteoufnefs be fo far made ours as that it will anfwer the de- mands of the law for us, and procure the favour of God to us ; but his righteoufnefs cannot be thus imputed to us, or accounted ours in law, till we are fo united to him as to be one in law, or one le- gal pei-fon with him. Now faith is the bond of union ; faith is that which interefts us in Chrift ; and therefore without faith we cannot receive any benefit from his righteoufnefs. " Here then a moft interefting inquiry prefents itfelf : *' What Is it to believe in Jefus Chrift? or what is that faith which is the grand pre-requifite to falvation?" If you are capable of attention to the moft interefting affair in all the world, attend to this with the utmoft ferioufnefs and folcmnity. Faith in Chrift includes fomething fpeculative in it ; that is, it includes a fpeculative rational belief, upon the teftimony of God, that Jefus Chrift is the only Saviour of men. Butyetitis not entii*ely afpe- culation, like the faith of multitudes among us : it is a more prac- tical experimental thing ; and that you may undcrftand its nature, you muft take notice of the following particulars. . (i.) Faith pre-fuppofes a deepfenfe of our undone, helplefs con- dition. I told you before, this is the cendition of the world with- out Chrift ; and you muft be fenfible at heart that this is your con- dition in particular, before yeu can believe in him as your Saviour* He came to be a Saviour in a jdefperate cafe, when no relief could poflibly be had from any other quarter, and you cannot receive him under that character till you feel yourfelves in fuch a cafe 5 therefore, in order to your believing, all your pleas and excufes for your fms muft be filcnced, all your high conceit of your own goodnefs muft be mortified, all your dependence upon your own righteoufnefs, upon the merit of your prayers, your repentance, and good works, muft be caft down, apd you muft feel that in- deed you lie at mercy, that God-may juftly rej eft you for ever, and that all you can do can bring him under no obligation to fave you. Thefe things you muft be deejjiy fenfible of, otherwife you can never receive the Lord Jefus in that view in which he is propofed to you, namely, as a Saviour in 2 defperate cafe. I wiih and pray you may this day fee yourfelves in this true, though mortifying light. It is the want of this fenfe of things that keeps fuch crowds of perfons unbeliei^ers among us. It is the want of this that caufes the Lord Jefus to be fo little cfteemed, ^o little fought for, fo little defired among us. In fhort, it is the want of this that is the great occallon of fo many periihing from under the gofpel, and, as it were, from between the hands of a Saviour. It is this, alasi that caufes them to periih, like the im- penitent thief oa the crofs, with a Saviour by their fide. O that 92 ne Method of Salvation Scrm. 2% you once rightly knew yourfelves, you would then foon know Jefus Chrift, and receive falvation from his hand. (2.) Faith impHes the enlightening of the underftanding to dif- cover the fuitableneis of Jefus Chrift as a Saviour, and the excel- lency of the way of falvation through him. While the fmner Hcs imdone and helplefs in himfelf, and looking about in vain for fome relief, it pleafes a gracious God to Ihine into his heart, and enable 3iim to fee his glory in the face of Jefus Chrift. Now this once iiegleciied Saviour appears not only abfolutely neceflary, but alfo all-glorious and lovely, and the fmner's heart is rapt away, and for ever captivated with his beauty : now the negle Rev. xxii. 17. He has given you more than bare words to eftabliih you in the behef of this truth : upon this principle he has afted, choofmg fome of the moft abandoned flnners to make them examples, not of his juftice, as we might exped, but of his mercy, for the encouragement of others. In the days of his flelh he was reproached by his enemies for his friendlhip to publicans and linners ; but fure it is, inftead of reproaching, we muft love him on this account. When he rofe from the dead, he did not rife with angry refentment againft his murderers ; no, but he fingles them out from a world of fmners, to make them the firft offers of pardon through the blood which they had juft ihed. He orders that repentance andremiffion of finsjhould he preached in his name to all nations y beginning at Jerufalem* Luke xxiv. 47. At Jerufalem, where he hud been crucified afewd^ays before, the^e he orders the firft publication of pardon and life to be made. You may fee v/hat monfters of fin he chofe to make the monuments of his grace in Corinth. Neither fornicators, nor ido- laters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor ahufers of theinfelves with tnankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, iirr ^t07'tioners, fhall inherit the kingdom ofGod- What a difmal ca- talogue is this ! It is no wonder fuch a crew Ihould not inherit the kingdom of heaven ; they are fit only for the infernal prifon ; and yet, aftonilhing ! it follows, yi^c/j were fome of yow, hut ye are washed, hut ye are fan6iifed, hut ye arejuffifiedin the name of the Lord J cf us, and by the fpirit of our God. 1 Cor. vi. 9 — 11. What fmner after this can defpair of mercy upon his beheving in Jefus ! St. Paul was another inftance of the fame kind .: ^- This," fays he, *■ is a faithful faying •/' a faying that may be depended on as true, ^^ and worthy of all accept^.pion," from a guilty world, that Chrif Senn. 2 . through Jejus Chyiju (vc Jefuscame into the world to fave JlnnerSf ofvihom Imn chief: how- he'ttyfor this caufe I obtained ^nercy^ that in me the chief y Jefus Chrifr might fhew forth all long-fuffering, for a pattern to them which fhould hereafter believe in him to life everlaJUng. 1 Tim. i. i^^ 16. A finner of lefs fize would not have anfwered this end fo well ; but if Saul thie perfecutor obtains mercy upon his believing, who e^kn defpair? You fee upon the whble^ my brethren, you are not excluded from Chrift and hfe by the greatnefs of your fms ; but if youpe- riih it muft be frbm another caufe ; it muft be on account of your wilfiil unbelief in not accepting of Jefus Chrift as your Saviour. If you rejed him, then indeed you muft periih, however fmall your fins, have been ; for it is only his death that can make atonement for the flighteft guilt; and if you have no intereft in that, the guilt of the fmalleft fin will fink you into ruin. Here is a door wide enough for you all, if you will but enter in by faith. Come then, enter in, you that have hitherto claimed an horrid precedence in fin, that have been ringleaders in vice, come now take the lead, and fliew others the way to Jefus Chrift ; har- lots, publicans, thieves, and murderers, if fuch be among you, there is falvation even for you, if you will but believe. O ! how aftonilhing is the love of God difcovered in this v/ay : a confidera- tion which introduces the laft inference from my text, namely, V* That the conffcitution of tliis method of falvation, or the miffion of a Saviour into our world, is a moft ftriking and aftonifli- ing difplay of the love of God : — Cod fo loved the world as to givd his only begotten Son, Sec* View the fcheme all through, and you will difcovcr love, infi- nite love, in every part of it. Confider the great God as felf-hap~ py and independent upon all his creatures, and what but love, felf-moved love, could excite him to make fuch provifion for an in- ferior part of them ! Confider the world funk in fin, not only without merit, but moil deferving of everJafiing puniihment, and what but love could move him to have mercy upon iuch a world? Confider the Saviour provided, not an angel, not the highefl crea- ture, but his Son, his only beg-otten Son ; and what but love coul/J. move him to appoint fuch a Saviour ? Confider the manner in M'hich he was fent, as a gift, a free unmerited gift ; *' God gave his only begotten Son :'^ And what but infinite love could gi\5e inch an uni'peakable gift ? Confider the blelfings conferred through ' this Saviour, deliverance from perdition and the enjc^merit <)f everlafting life, and what but the love of God could confer fitch bleflin^^s? Confider the condition upon which thefe blefilngs are offered, faith, that humble, felf-emptied .grace, fo fuitable to the 'irciviiiilances of a poor finner, that brings nothing but receives all, -d what but divine love could make fuch a gr-scious appointment ? O 9^ 77/ e Me ih od of S-a Iva tion S erm . ^, If is by faith, that it may be of grace' R.om. "iv.- i'6. • Confider tBe iudefiiiite extent^ or the univerfality of the offer, which takes in fiijners of the vileft charad€rs,.and excepts againft none : IVhofoe- ver helieveth shall not perish) kc- O what love is this ! But I muft leave it as the theme c^f your meditations, not only in the houfe of your pilgrimage, but through all eternity : eternity will be Ihort enoilgh to pry into this my fiery, and it will employ the under- ftandings oi' men and angels through tne revolutions of eternal ages. / ^ iViid now, my brethren, to draw towards a conclufion, I would hold a treaty with you this day about the reconciliation to God •through Jefus Chriil- I bave this day fet Hfe and death before you : 1 have opened to you the niethod of falvation through Jefus Chrift : the only method in which you can be faved ; the only me- thod that could afford a gleam of hope to fuch a fmner as I in my late approach to the eternal world *. And now I would bring the matter home, and prnpofe it to you all to confent to be faved in this method, or, in other words, to beheve in the only begotten Son of God ; this propofal I ferioufly make to you ; and let hea- ven and earth, and your own confciences, witnefs that it is made to you; I alfo infiftfor a determinate anfwer this day ; the matter will not admit of a delay, and the duty is fo plain, that there is no need of time to deliberate. A Roman am.baiIiidor, treating about peace with the ambaffador of a neighbouring ilate, tf I remember rightly, and finding him defirous to gain time by llmfHing and te- dious negociations, drew a circle about him, and faid, '^ I demand an anfwer before you go out of this circle.'' — 'Such a circle let the wallsof this houfe, or the extent of my voice, be to you : before you leave this houfe, or go out of hearing, I iniift on a full decifive an- fwer to this propofal, V/hether you will believe in Jefus Chriii this day or not? But before I proceed any farther, I would remove one ftumbling- block out of your way. You are apt to object, ^' You teach us that faith is the gift of God, and that we cannot believe of our- felv^es ; why then do you exhort us to it ? or how can we be con- cerned to endeavour that which it is impoHible for us to do r'' In anfwer to this, I grant the premifes are true ; and God for- bid I fiiould fo much as intimate thatiaith is the Ipontanecus growth of corrupt nature, or that you can come to Chrift without the Fa- tl>€r's drawing you : but the conclufions you draw from thefe pre- mifes are very erroneous. I exhort and perfuade you to believe in Jefus Chrifl, becaufe it is while fuch means are ufed with fmners, and by th-e nfe of them, that itpleafes God to enable themtocom- ^ply, or to work faith in them. I wculd therefore ufe thoie means * Thh fjrmon was preached a little after recovery fvom a leviire fito fick- ne:3, and it is d:\ted Hanover, Oft. 2, 1757. "S'erm. 2, through J ejiis CHrift. 9-7 which God is pieafed to blefs for this end- I exhort you to believe^ in order to iet you upon the trial j for it is putting it to trial, and that only,- which can fully convince you of your ov/n inability to believe; ^nd till you are convinced of this, you can never expe6t ifa-ength from God. I exhort you to believe, becaufe, fmful and enfeebled as you are, you are capable of ufing various preparatives to faith. You may attend upon prayer, hearing, and all the out-, ward means of grace v/ith natural ferioufnefs ; you may endeavour to get acquainted' with your own helpiefs condition, and, as it were, put yourielves in the way of divine mercy ; and though ail thefe means cannot of themfelves produce faith in you, yet it is on- ly in the uie of thefe means you are to expeft divine grace to work it in you : never was it yet produced in one foul, while lying fu- pine, lazy, and inactive. . I hope you no v/ fee good reafbns v/hy I ihould exhort you to believe, and alfo perceive my defign in it ; I therefore renew the propofal to you,, that you ihould this day, as guilty, unworthy, felf-defpainng linners, accept of the only begotten Son of God as your Savtoiu', and fall in with the gofpel-methodof falvation ; and I once more demand your anfwer. I v/ould by no means, if poffi^ ble, leave the pulpit this day till I have effeftually recommended the blelTed Jefus, my Lord and Mailer, to your acceptance. I am ilrongly bound by. the vows asd jefolutions of afick bed to recom- mend him to you ; and nov/:I Yv'ould endeavour to perform my vows. I would have us all this day, before v/e part, confent to God's covenant, that we may go away juifified to our houfes. To this J perfuade and exhort you, iii the name and by the au- thority ,of the great God, by the death of Jefus Chrift for linners, hy your 9wn,moft urgent and abfolute necellity, by the immenfe blelFings propofed in the gofpel, and by the heavy cuffe denounced againft unbelievers!. :'..-;•, ' : , : All the bleilings of the goixJel^ -pardon of fm, fandifying .grace, eternal life, and v/hatever you can v/ant, fhiall become yours this day, if you but believe in the Son of (iod : then let defolation over-run our. land,, let public and' private calamities crowd upon you, and make you fo many Jobs for poverty and affliction, ftill your main intereit is fecure ; the ftormft and waves of trouble can only bear you to heaven^ and haften your paiTage to the harbour of eternal rell. Let devils acciife you before God, let confcience indid you and bring you in guilty, let the fiery law make its de- mands upon you, you have a righteoufnefs in Jefus Chrilt that is fufficient to anfwer all demands, and, having received it by faith, you may plead it as your own in law. Happy fouls ! rejoice in hope of the glory of God, for your hope will never make you a- iliamed! But I expert, as ufual, fome of you will refufe to comply with this propofal. This^ ak-s ! has bet n the ufual fate cf the bleifad ^r^ I'he Method of Salvation Serm. 2t goipel in ill ages and in all countries ; as fome have received itj fo forae have reje^ed it. That old complaint of Ifaiah has breeii juilly repeated thoufands of times ; Whn httth believed our report ^ and to -whom is the arm of the Lord revealed <^ Ifai. liii. i. And ii there no reafon to pour it out from a broken heart over fome dt you, my dear people ! Are you all this day determined to beUe^'ts? If {Oy I pronounce you blelTed in the name of the Lord *, but if not^ I muft denounce your doom. ... Be it known to you then from the Kvrng God^- diat if you thus continue in unbelief, you fhut the door of mercy againftyourfelvesj and exclude yourfelves from eternal life. Whatever fplendid ap- pearances of virtue, whatever amiable qualities, whatever feeming good works you ha-v^e, the exprefs fentence of the gofpel lies in full force againft you. He that helieveth jiot shall be damned- Mark xvi. f6' He thctt helieveth not is cojidomned already , kecaufe he hath not Ifelieve'dm the only begotten Son of God. John iii. 1 8, He that be^ Hsveth not shall mt fee life ; but the nvrath of God ahideth upon him* John iii. 36. This is your doom repeatedly pronounced by him whom you muft own to be the beft friend of hutnan nature ; and if he condemn, who can juftify you ? . Bfe it alfo known to you, that you will not only periih, but yoU will perifh with peculiar aggravations ; you will fall with no com- mon ruin ; you will envy the lot of heathens who periihed without the law : for O ! you incur the peculiarly enormous guilt of re- jecting the gofpel, and putting contempt upon the Son of God. This is an horrid exploit of wickednefs, and this God refentsabov^ all the other crimes of which human nature is capable. Hence Chrift is come for judgment as well as for mercy into this world, and he is (et for the fall as well as the rifmg again of many in If- rael. You now enjoy the light of the gofpel, which has condu<5l€d many through this dark world to eternal day ; but remember alfo, this is the condemnation ; that is, it is the occaiion of the moll aggra- t^atcd condemnation, that light is come into the iDorldy andiyien love darkne/s rather than light. On this principle Jeius pronounced the doom of Chorazin and Bethfaida more intolerable than that of So- dom and Gomorrah. Matth. xi. 21, 11. And would it not be hard to find a place in Virginia where the doom of unbelievers '^ likely to be fo terrible as among us ? And now does not all this move you ? Are you not alarmed at the thought of periihing ; of perilhing by the hand of a Saviour re- jected and defpifed ; perifhing under the (lain of his profaned blood ; perilhirig not only under thj curfe of the law, but under that of the gofpel, -^hich is vaftly heavier? O ! are you hardy enough to venture upon fudh a doom ? This doom is unavoidable if you re- fufe to comply vvith the propofal now made to you. I nYuftnow conclude the treaty ; but for my own acquittance, I| prjuil take witnefs that I have endeavoured tp difch?rge my com^ S€rm. 2. through Jefus Chrifl^ 99 miiTicm, whatever I'eeeption ypu give it. I call heaven and earth, and your own <:onfciertces to witnefs, that life and falvation, through Jeiiis Chrift, have been offered to you on this day ; and if you re* ysd: it, remember it ; remember it whenever you fee this place ; remember it whenever you fee my face, or one another ; remem- ber it, that you may witnefs for me at the fuprcme tribunal, that 1 ^m clear of your blood. Alas 1 you will remember it among a thoufand painful refledions miUions of ages hence, w hen the re- mcinbrance of it will rend your hearts like a vulture. Many fer- mons forgotten upon earth are remembered in hell, and haunt the guilty ntind for ever. O that you would believe, and fo prevent tMs dreadful effed from the prefent fermon ! k2k:><>«j<:?<:>:::><:>^:::<>«:>::>c<>>:x:^ SERMON IIL Sihttei-$ intrea^d to be recbrieiled to God. 2 Cfelt* V. 20- We tUk'itre iimbRjff^ad(,rsfQr Chrift^ Rs'ihoughCti d'tihepnh you tyUs-: -w^ pfny ycuiit Chr'ift^s jieady ie ye n- coficU^dfoGod* •:: TO pfefidd ift the folemnities of public worihip, to direiSt your thoughts, and chbofe for yoii the fubjefts of your medit^. rioi^ m. thole f Acred hours which yoil fpend in the houfe of Gcd, and upon the right imprbvement of which your cverlafting hiip- pinefs fo much depends, this is a province of the moft tremendous impoi'taiice thlt can be devolved upon a mortal ; and every man of the facred chAra^ler, who knows what he is about> muft trem- ble at the thought^ and be often anxioufiy ptrplexed what fabjed he Ihall-choofe, what he Ihall fay uponlt^ and in what manner he ihall d'l^liver his irtelTage. His fuccefs in ii great mcailii-e depends upon his t^hbice • fbr, though th'e blcfsd S|,irit is the proper agent, and though the beft means, w^ithout his i?fEcacious concurrence, are altogether ffuitlefs, yet he is ^vent to biffs tkofe means that are bed adapted tb do good ; and after a long courfe of latiguid and fruitl^fs efforts, which Jeem to have been unuliiaily difowried by my divine Mafter, what text ihall I choof^. ottt of 'the inexhaufHblc treafure of God^s word ? In what new n^ethod ILall I fpeak upon it> What new imtfifed experiments fhali I make ? Bleffed Jefus ! my heavenly Mafter ! diredl thy poor perplfcried ferrsnt who is nt a "lofs, and knoWs nbt v/hat to do; dire^ Mhi that has tried, and tried ?gain, all the eKp^dients he could thiUkrifv Imr aiinoft in vain^ lOo Sinners intreaied to Serm. 3, and nov/ fcarcely knows what it is to hope for fuccefs ! Divine di- rediou, mv brethren, has been fought; and may I hope it ^s that which has turned my mind to addreis you this day on the impor- tant fubjedt of- your reconciliation to God, and to become an hum- ble imitator of the great St. Paul, whofe a^efting words I have read to you. We then nre ^mhciffadors for Chrijt, as though God did hefeech you by us y tui prtty you In ChrifFs fle&d^ he^yenfeconcikd to God' :•.. !j^-»;?;fr bnif^oo:> The introduction to this pafla^e you find in the foregoiiig verfes, God hath given to us (the apoflles) the minifrry of reconciliation ; the fum and fnbftance of which is, namely, '^ That God >vas in Chrift reconciling the world unto himfelf, not imputing their tref- pafles unto them-*' As if he had faid, ** The great Sovereign of the univerfe, though highly provoked, and juflly difpleafed with our rebellious world, has been fo gracious as to contrive a plan of reconciliation whereby they may not only elcape the punilhment ^hey deferve, but alfo be reilored to the favour of God, and all the privileges ofhisfav-ourite fut^jects. This plan was laid in Chrifc ; that is, it was he who was appointed, and undertook to remove all obilacles out of the v/ay of their reconciliation, {p that it might be connrrent v/ith the honour and dignity of God and his govern - Kejit- This he performed by a life of jx^rfe^t obedience^ and ai> ato.nino;death, inftead of rebellious man- Though " he knew no iln'* of his own ; yet " he made fm," that is, a fm-cffering, or a flnner by imputation ^' for us/' that v.-e mJght '^ be made the righteoufnefs of God in him..'^ Tlius all hindrances are removed on God's part. The plan of a treaty of reconciliation is form^ed, approved, and ratified in the court, of heaven ; but then it muil: be publiihed, all the terms, made known, and tiie c-onfeat of the re- bels folicited aiid gained* . It is not enough that all impediments to peace are rem.oved on God's part ; they muft alfo be removed on th? prrt of man ; the reconciliation mull be mutual ; both the par- ties muft agree. Hence ariles the neceifity of the minifky of re- concihation which v/as committed to the apollles, thofe prime mi- niilers of the kingdom of Chrift, and in a lower fphere to the or- dinary miniilers of the gofpel in every age. The great bufmefs of their office is to publilh the treaty of peace ; that is, the articles of reconciliation, and to ufe every motive to gain the confent of mankind to thefe articles- It is this oifice St. Paul is difcharging, when he Aiys, IVe are ambafflidors fer Chrifl^ astJ^ough God did be- fiech yen by us : we pray you in Chri/i^s /read, be ye reconciled lo Cad. JVe a:re ai^dmjfadors for Chrift- The proper notion of an ambaf- fador, is that of a perfon fent by a- Idng to tranfacl affairs in his nam?^,' and according to his inflruftions, with foreign ftates, or p-^rt of his fubje els, to whom he doeti not think proper to go him- Serni. 3. be reconciled to God, loi felf and treat with theni.in his own perfoii. Thus a peace is ge'- nerally concludsd between contending nations^, not by their kings in perfon, but by their plenipotentiaries ading in their nanie^ and by their authority; and, while they keep to their inftrudions, their negociation^ and agreements are as vaHd and authentic as if they were carried on and concluded by their mafters in perfbn. Thus the Lord Jefus Chrift is not perfonalty prefent in our world ta manage the treaty of peace himfelf, but he has appointed iirft his apoftleSj, and then the minifters of the gofpel through every acre, to carry it on in his name- This is their proper charader ; they are ambafladors for Chriil:; his plenipotentiaries, furniihed with a com- miffidn and inftruftions to make overtures of reconciliation to a rebel world, and treat v/irh them to gain their confent. Indeed/ afpiring eccleiiafdcs have alFumed highfounding titles merely to produce extravagant honours to themfeives. They have called themfeives am-baffadors of Chrift, melTengers from God, the plenipotentiaries and viceroys of heaven, and I know not what, not with a defignjo do- honour to their Mafter, but to keep the world in a fuperftitious awe of themfeives. This prieflly pride and infolence I utterly abhor ; and yet I humbly adventure, to piTume the title of an ambaffador of the great King of heaven, and require you to regard me in this high charader : but then you muft know, that while I am making this claim, I ov/n myfelf obliged inviolably to adhere to the inftrudrions of my divine Mafter contained in th3 Bible. I have no power over your faith; no power to didate or prefcribe; b-ut my work is only juft to pubiiih the articles of peace as my Mafter has eftabliihed and revealed them in his word, with- out the leaft addition, diminution, or alteration. I pretend to no higher power than this, and this power I muft claim, unlefs I would renounce my oitice : for who can confiftently profefs himfeif •a minifter of Chrilt without alFerting his right and power to puh- liih what his Lord has taught, ^vA com.municate his royal inftVuc- tions ? Therefore witliout ufarping an equality Vvath St. Paul, or his fellow apoftles, I muft tell you in hii, language, I appear amonn- you this day as the ambaflador of the molt high God; I am dif- charging an emhaiTy for Chrift* ; and I tell you tiiis with no other defign than to procure ycur moft ferious regard to v/hat I fay. If you confider it only as my declaration, whatever regard you. pay . to it, the end of mv miniftry v/ill not be anfvvered upon you. The end of myoiHceisnottomake m^/felf the objedt of your love and veneration, but to reconcile you to God; but you cannot be re- . conciled to God Vv'hile you conlidcr the propofal as made to you on- ly by your fellav,- mortal. You muft regard it as made to you b/ " Thi: i:: the mp;^ iiteraj tranji:.tiqn »f Ar^e7,Cu'>/if; ^j'stIo x,^'iis^ \02 SImiers mt Mated io . Scrm, 3. tii€ Lord Jcfus Cfcrift, th^ great Mediator bctwfc^ God and mwi- I not only allow, but even invite and charge you to enquire ^nd judge whether what I fay bt agreeable to my divine inftruftions, which are as open to your infpeclion as mine, and to regard it no farther than it is fo: but if I follow thefe inftruictions, aiid pro- pofe the treaty of peace to you juft as it is concluded in heaven> then I charge you to regard it as propofed by the Lord of heaven aad earth, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, though through my . unworthy lips. Conilder yourfelves this day as the hearers jam oi a preacher formed out of the clay like yourfelves, but of the hoxd Jefus Chrift. Suppofe him here in perfon treating with yoa ,abo,ut your reconciliation to God, and what regard you wouW p^y to a propofal made by liim in perfon, with all his divine royalties about him, that you Ihould now Ihew to the treaty I am to jiegoclate with yt)ii in his name and ilead. The next fentence in my text binds you ftill more itrOngly-'dto this ; as though Gad did befeech you by us. As if he had faid, *^Gx^ the Father alfo concurs in this treaty of peace, as well as Cliirift the great peacemaker ; and as we difcharge an embaify for Chrift, fo we do alfb for God ; and you are to regard our befeeching and exhorting*, as though the great God did in perfon beieech and-e-x- hort youby us." What altonifhing condefcenfion is here intima- ted ! not that the minifters of Chrift Ihould befeech you ; this v\-ould be no mighty condefcenlion : but that the fupreme Jehovah fiiould befeech you ; that he Ihould not only command you with a ftern air of authority as your Sovereign, but as a friend, nay, as a petitioner Ihould affex^onately befeech you, you defpicable, guilty worms-, obnoxious rebels! Hov/ aftoniihing, hov/ God-hke, how unpre- cedented and inimitable is this condefcenfion! Let heaven and earth admire and adore ! It is by us, indeed, by us your poor fel- low mortals, that he befeeches; butO! let not this tempt you to difregard him or his intreaty : though he employs fuchmean am/oaf^ fadors, yet confider his dignity who fends us, and then you cannot difregard his melTage even from our mouth. The apoftle, having thus prepared the way, proceeds to the actual exerciie of his office as an ambafTador for Chrift: We -pray you, fays he, in ChfiJPsftead, be ?'ec'j'nciled to Cod^ As if he had faid, ** If Chrift V. ere now prefent in perfon among you, this is Avhat he would propofe to you, and urge upon you, that you would be reconciled to God; but him the heavens muft receive till die time of the relcitution of all things ; but he has left us his poor fer- vantsto ofiiciatein his place as well as we can, and v\'e would pro- ^^ecute the fame defign, vre would urge upon you what he wouid Virge, v/ere hetofpeak; therefore we pray you, in his f.ead, be ye reconciled to God : v.-e earneftly pray you to be reconciled : tliat is the utmoft ^vvhicli fuchfe able worms as we can do : %ve can only (fi cc'j!!'..'*.\-at 'ar^rwhsz !.\:}crtim Serm, q.- be reconciled to God 103- pray and beg, but your compliance is not within the command of our power;, the compliance belongs to yon; and remember, if yourefufe, you muft take it upon, your felves, and anfwer the con- fequence.'^ Having thus explained the text, I proceed in my ])oor manner to exemplify it by negociating the treaty with you for your reconcilia- tion to God ; and you fee my bufinefs lies direclly with fuch of you as are as yet enemies to God : you are the only perfons that (land in need of reconciliation. As for fuch of you (and I doubt not but tiiere are fuch among you) wliofe innate enmity has been fubdued, and who are become the friends and fubjects of the ICing of heaven after your guilty re volt, I mult defu-e you as it were to ftand by youi'felves for the prefent hour,, and help me by your prayers, while I am fpea king to your poor brethren, who flill continue in that ftatc of hollility and rebellion againlt God, in which you once were, and the miferies of which you well know, and ilill lament and deplore. But by thispropofal I am afraid I have deprived myfelf of hear- ers on this fubjed; for have you not ail already placed yourfdves among the lovers of God, v.' ho confequently do not need to be re- conciled to him? Is not every one of you ready to fay to me, '^ If your buHnefs only lies with the enemies.of God, you have no con- cern with me in this difcourfe ? for, God forbid that I Ihould be an enemy to him. I have indeed been guilty of a great many lins, but I had no bad defign in them, and never had the leaii; enmity againfl my Maker; fo far from it, that I llmdder at the very thought!" This is the firil obftacle that I meet vvith in difcharging my embaf- fy : the embaffy itfelf is looked upon as neediefs by the performs con- cerned, hke an attempt to reconcile thofe that are good friends al- ready. This obilaclc mull be removed before v/e can proceed any farther. I am far from charging; any of you with fo horrid a crime as en- mity and rebellion againit God, who can produce fatisfacrory evi- dences to your o\yn confcience that 3'ou are* his friends. I onlv^ delire that you w^ould not flatter yourfelves, nor draw a raili and groundiefs concluiion in an aifair of fuch inhnite moment, but that you would put the matter to a fair trial, according to evidence, and then let your confcience pafs an impartial fentence as your judge, under the fup'-ertie Judge of the world. You plead '* Not guilty'-' to the charge, and alledge that you have always loved God; but if this be the cafe, whence is it that you have afforded hijn fo few of yoiu' affectionate and warm thoughts? Do not your tendereft thoughts dv/eli upon the objects of your love? But has not your mind been ihy of him wiio gave you yourpower of thinking? Have not you lived ftupidly thought;leis of hhn for days and weeks together? Nav, have not ferious P IC4 Sinncrj 2nzrc{:i:.d to Serm. 3, tliovights of him been unwelcome, and made you uneafy ? and havs you not turned every way to avoid them I Have you not often prayed to him, and concurred in other acls of religious worihip, andyethadbut very few or no devout thoughts of hhn, even at the: very time ? And is that mind well aftecled towards him that is fo averfe to him, and turns every way to ihun a glance of him? Alas ! is this your friendihip for the God that made you, whole \'cu are, and whom you ought to ferve ! Would you not have indulged the fool's wiih, that tiiere were r-o God, had not the horror and impollibility of the thing rellrained you? But, notwithftanding thisreftraint, has not this bJafphem-y ihed its mahgnant poifon at times in your hearts? If there was no God, then you would fm without con troul, and without dread of punifhment ; and how fvv'eet vras this ! Then you would liave no- thing to do with that melancholy thing, religion; and what an agreeable exemption would this be ! But is this your love for him, . to wifn the Parent of all being out of being! Alas! can the ranked enmity rife higher ! Again^ if you are reconciled to God, whence is it that you are fecrctiy, or perhaps openly difaffecled to his image, I mean the purity and ftriclnefs of his law, and the lineaments of holinefs that appear upon the unfaflnonabie religious few? If you loved God, you would of courfe love every thing that bears any refemblance to him. But are you not cpnfcious that it is ctherwife with you ; that you murmur and cavil at the reflraints of God's law, and would much rather abjure it, be free from it, and live as you lift? Are you not confcious that nothing expofes a man more to your fecret difgufh and contempt, and perhaps to your public mockery and ri- dicule, than a ilrid and holy v\^alk, and a confcientious cbfervance of the duties of devotion ? And if you catch your neighbour in any of thefe offences, do not your hearts rife againft him ? and what is this but the effect of your enmity againilGod? Do you thus diigiifh a man for v/earing the genuine image and refemblance of your friend? No ; the effect of love is quite the reverfe. Again, If you do but reflect upon the daily fenfations of your own minds, muft you not be confcious that you love other perfons and things more than God? that you love pleafure, honour, rich^ es, your relations and friends, more than the glorious and evcr- bleffed God? Look into your own hearts, and you v/ill find it i"o : you will find that this, and that, and a thoufand tilings in this world, "engrofs more of your thoughts, your cares, defires, joys, forrows, hopes, and fears, than God, or any of his conceY-ns — Now it is effential to the love of God that it be fupreme. x ou do not love him truly at all, in the leaft degree, if you do not love him above all; above all perfons and things in the whole universe- j-fe is a jealous God. and will not futTcr a rival, A lov er dcorce Senn; 3. he reconcikd to God 105 of love for fupreme excellence is an affront and indignity. Is it riot therefore evident, even to your own conviction, that you do not love God at all; and what is this but to be his enemy? To be indiiferent towards him, as though he were an infignificant being^; neither good nor evil, a mere cypher : to feel neither love nor ha-, tred tov/ards him, but to negle(it him, as if you had no concern with him one way or other; what an horrible difpofition ii this towards him, v/ho is fupremely ^nd infinitely glorious and amiable, your Creator, your Sovereign, and Benefador; who therefore deferves and demands your higheil love ; or, in the words of his, own lav/, that you Pooiild love hi?n -jjith all your heart, with all your, foul, with all your mind, and with all your ft rength* Mark xii. 30* From what can ftrcti indifferency towards him proceedbutfrom dif- affedion and enmity? It is in this v/ay that the enmity of men to-', wards God moll generally difcovers itfelf. They feel, perhaps, no pofitive workings of hatred towards him, unlefs when their in- nate corruption, like an exafperated ferpent, is irritated by con- viftion from his law ; but they feel an apathy, a iiitleiln'efsjj an in- differency towards him ; and becaufe they feel no more, they flat- ter themielves they are far from hating him ; efpecially as they may have very honourable fpeculative thoughts of him floating on the- furface of their minds. But alas ! this very thing, this indifferen- . cy, or liftlefs neutrality, is the very core of their enmity; and if they are thus indifferent to him now, vv^hile-enj oy ing fo rnariy blef- iings from his hand, and while he delays their punilhment, how. will their enmity fwell and rife to all the rage of a devil againfl him, when he puts forth his vindidive hand and touches them, and fo gives Gccalion to it to difcover its venom ! My foul iliudders to think what horrid infurrections and direct rebellion this temper vvill produce when once irritated, and all reflraints are taken off; which will be the doum of iinners in the eternal vvorld; and then they will have no more of tlie love of God in them than the moft malignant devil in hell! If therefore you generally feel fuch an indifferency towards God, be affured you are not reconciled to him, but are liis enemies in your hearts. Again, All moral evil, or fm, is contrary to God ; it is the only thing upon eartli, or in hell, that is mofl: oppofite to his holy na- ture ; and the object of his implacable and eternal indignation. He is of purer eyes than to behold it or endure it. It is his hatred to fm that has turned his heart againft any of his creatures ; and is the . caufe of all the vengeance that he has infiicTted upon the guilty inha- bitants of our world, or the fpirits of hell. There is no objeft in the \\diole compafs of the univerfe fo odious to you as every fm is to a pure and all-holy God : now it is impoffible you Ihould at once, love tw^o things fo oppofite, fo eternally irreconciieable. As much love as you have for any unlawful pleafure, jufl fo much enmity io6 Sinners iiiircatcd to Sei^m, 3, thereisinyour hearts towards Go J- Hence, fays St. Paul, ^ow '^jjere enemies in your tmnds by -wicked works. Col. i. 2 1 • Intimatino-^ that the love and practice of our ^vicked works is a plain evidence of inward enmity of rnind tov/ards God. The works of the Heih are fmful : hence, fays the fame apoftle, the carnal mind, or the mind- ing of the flejl?, ^'^ovAfAx- a-u^Ko'g Rom. viii. 7. is enmity againfi God ; it is not fuhje^ to the law of God, neither indeed can it be : fo then they that are in theflefo, or under the power of a carnal mincl, can- not pleafe Cod' R.om. viii. 8. Eecaufe, v.hatever feeming acts of obedience they perform, and whatever appearances of friendfhip they put on, they are at heart enemies to God, and therefore can- not pleafe him, who fearches their heart, and fees the fecret prin- ciple of their actions. Hence alfo St. James tells us, that if any man would he a friend to the world, he is the enemy ofGod^ hecaufe the friendfhip of the world is enmity cgainfi God' Jam. iv. 4. For the world'enflames the lulls of men, and occafions much fm ; and if Vv^e love the tempter, v,e love the fm to which it would allure us ; and if we love the fm, we are the enmies of God; and therefore the friendihip of the world is enmity againit God. Tins then is an eftablilhed maxim, without (training the matter too far, that as far as you love any fm, fo far are you enemies to God. The love, as well as the fer vice of fuch oppolite mailers, is utterly inconfiflent. Now, do not your own confciences witnefs againft you, that you have indulged, and ilill do habitually indulge the love of fome lin or other ? Whether it be covetoufnefs or fenfual pleafure, or am- bition, or fo'ue angry paiTion, or v/hatever fm it be, as far as you love it, fo far you are enemies to God ; and if you take a viev^^ of your temper and pradice, mull you not unavoidably be convicted of this dreadful guilt ? Horrible as the crime is is, it not an undenia- ble matter of facl, that you do really love fome lin, and confe- quently hate the infmitely amiable and e^.^er blelTed God I and therefore you are the perfons I have to deal with, as needing re- conciliation ^'/ith God. Farther, Take a viev/ of your general manner of ferving God in the duties of religion : your manner of praying, meditation, hear- ing the word of God, and other a6ts of devotion,. and then inquire. Do you perform this fervice as the v/illing fervants of a mailer you love? Do you not enter upon fuch fervice with reluctance or lill- lelfnefs, and perform it' with langoui' and indifferency, as a bufmefs to which you have no heart? But is this your manner of perform- ing a labour of love to a friend ? Will your own reafon fuffer you to think you would be fo luke-wanxi and heartlefs in the worihip of God if you lincerely loved him? No ; love is an active principle, a vigorous fpring of action ; and if this vvere the principle of your re- ligious ferviccs, you would infufe more Ipirit and life into them, vou would exert all your pov\-ers, and be fervent infpirit, ferving he Lord' Rom. xii. u. Scrm. 3. be reconciled to God. toy But when you Iiave performed Oifices of devotioi;i with fome de- gree of earneflnefs, v/hich no doubt you have fometimes done, what was the prmciple or fpring of your exertion? Was it the love of God ? or v/as it purely the low principle of felf-love ? Why did you pray with fuch eager importunity, and attend upon the other means of grace with fo much ferioufnefs, but becaufe you apprehended your dear felves were in danger, and you were not willing to be miferable for ever? This fervile, mercenary kind of religious earneflnefs vv ill not prove that you love God, but only that you love yourfelves; and this you may do, and yet have no more true goodnefs, or genuine love to God, than an infernal fpirit ; for there is not a fpirit in hell btit what loves himfelf. In- deed felf-love is fo far from being an evidence of tiie love of God, that the extravagant excefs of it is the fource of that wickednefs that abounds among men and devils. I do not mean by this ut- terly to exclude felf-love out of genuine religion; it muft have its place in the moft excellent and belt beings, but then it muft be kept in a proper fub ordination, and not advance the creature a- bove the Creator, and dethrone the fupreme Iving of the univerfe. — Kis love muft be uppermoft in the heart, and v/hen that has the higheft place, the indulgence of felf-love in purfuing our own hap- pinefs is lav/ful, and an important duty. Nov/, do you not find from this view of the cafe, that you are not reconciled to God, even in your moft devout and zealous hours, much lefs in the languid inadive tenour of your lives? If fo, place yourfelves among thofe that I have to do with to-day ; that is, the enemies of God* So alfo, when you perform good offices to mankind ; when you are harmlefs, obliging neighbours ; when you are charitable to the poor, or ftric1:ly juft in trade ; is the love of God, and a re- gard to his authority, the reafon and principle of your aftions? That is, do you do thefe things becaufe God commands them, and becaufe you delight to do vv'hac he commands? or rather, do you not do them merely becaufe it is your nature to perform humane and honourable actions in fuch initances ; or becaufe you may ac- quire honour, or fome felfifn advantage by them ? Alas ! that God ihquM be neglected, forgotten, and left out of the queftion, as of no importance,' even in thofe actions that are materially good ! that even what he commands Ihould be done, not becaufe he commands it, but for fome other fordid felHih reafon ! O ! if you did really love God, would you thus difregard him, and do nothing for his fake ; not only when ypu are doing what he forbids, but even when you are performing what he ha? made your duty ! Would he be fuch a cypher, a mere nothing in your practical efteem, if your hearts were reconciled to him as your God ? No ; fuch of you muft look upon yourfelves as the very pcrfons whom I am to pravj in Chrift'-s ftead, to be reconciled to Gcd. Io8 Sinners inireated to Serm. 3. I might thus, from obvious fadls, lay befcrs }'ou many more fevidences of you difafFedion to the great God : but I nmft leave foTOc room for the other part of my addrefs to you, in which I am to perfuade you to accept of the propolal of reconcihation ; and, therefore I ihall add only one more tell: of your pretended fricnd- Ihip, a tefl which is eftabhfned by the great Founder of our reli- gion, as infallibly decifive in this cafe :\md that is, obedience, or x.\\& keeping of the commandments of God. This, I fay, is efla- bliihed in the ftrongefl terms by Jefus ChrJlc himfelf, as' a decifive teftof love, Jfyou love me^ keep 7ny commandments, John >dv. 15. Then are ye my friends if ye do ivhatfotver I comma?id you. John XV. 14. If any man love me, he -jjillkeep 7ny words. He that loveih me not, keepeth not my faying. John xiv. 23, 24. This is the love ef God, fays St. John, that zue keep his co^nmandmenis ; and his commandmeyits are not grievous, i John v. 3 ; that is, they are not grievous when love is the principle of obedience. The fervice of love is always willing and plealing. Now, my brethren, bring your hearts and lives to this ftandard, and let confcience declare, Are there not fome demands and reftraints of the divine law fo difagreeable to you that you labour to keep yourfelves ignorant of them, and turn every way to avoid the painful light of conviction ? Are there not feveral duties which you know in your confcienccs to be fuch, which you do not fo much as honeftly endeavour to perform, but knowingly and wilfully neglecl ? And are there not ibme favourite Ims v/hich your confciences tell you God has for- bidden, which yet are fo pleafjng to you, that you knowingly and allowedly indulge and pra6life them ? If this be your cafe, you need not pretend to plead any thing in your own defence, or hefitate any longer; the cafe is plain, you are, beyond all doubt, enemies to God ; you are undeniably convicted of it this day by irrefiflible evidence. You perhaps glory in the profeilion of Chriflians, but you are, notv/ithflanding, enemies to God. You attend on pub- lic worihip, you pray, you read, you comjnunicate, you are perh^ips a zealous churchman or dilTenter, but you are enemies of God. You have perhaps had many fits of rehgious affection, and ferious concern about your everlafting happinefs, but norwithfrandingyou are enemies of God. You may have reformed in many things, but you are ftill enemies of God. Men may efleem you Chriftians, but the God of Heaven accounts you his enemies. In vain do you infift.upoa it, that you have never hated your Maker all your life, but even tremble at the thought, for undeniable faftsare againft you ; and thereafon why you have not feenyour enmity v/as, be- caufe you were blind, and judged upon wrong principles : but if you this day feel the force of conviction from the lavv-, and have your eyes opened, you will fee and be fhccked ar your horrid" en- mity againlt God, before yonder fun fete Serin. 3. he reconciled to Gcd, icp And now, when I have fingled out from the reft thofe I am now to befeech to reconciliation with God, have I not got the ma- jority of you to treat with? Where are the fmcere lovers of God ? Alas I how few are they ! and how imperfeft even in their love, fo that they hardly dare call themfelves lovers of God, but tremble left they ftiould ftill belong to the wretched crowd that are ftill un- reconciled to him I Ye rebels againft the Xing of Heaven 1 ye enemies againft my Lord and Mafter Jefus Chrift ! (I cannot flatter you with a foftor name) hear me ; attend to the propofal I make to 3/011, not in my' own name, but in the name and ftead of your rightful Sovereign ; and that is, that you Vv'ill this day be reconciled to God. '* I pray you in his ftead (that is all I can do) '* be ye reconciled to God.*' That you may knov/ what I mean, I will more particularly explain this overture to you. If you would be reconciled to God, you muft be deeply fenflble of the guilt, the wickednefs, the bafenefs, the inexprefTible ma- lignity of your enmity and rebellion againft him.. You m.uft return to your rightful fovereign as convicted, fe If- condemned, penitent, broken-hearted rebels, confounded and afhamed of your condu6t, loathing yourfelves becaufe you have loathed the fupreme Excel- ' lence, mourning over your unnatural difaifeftion, your bafe ingra- ' tituds, your horrid rebellion againft fo good a King. And what do you fay to this article of the treaty of peace ? Is it an hard thing, for fuch caufelefs enemies to fall upon the knee, and to mourn and weep as proftrate penitents at the feet of their injured Maker? Is it an hard thing for one that has all his life been guilty of the black- eft crime upon earth, or even in hell, 1 mean enmity againft God, to confefs " I have fmned,*' and to feel his ovvn confellion? to feel it, I fay ; for if he dees not feel it, his confeiTion is but an empty compliment, that increafes his guilt. Again, If you would be reconciled to God, you muft heartily confen tto be reconciled to him in Chrift; that is, }ou muft come in upon the footing of that ad of grace which is pubiiOied in the' gofpei through Chrift, and expeiftmg no favour at all upon the looting of your own goodnefs. The merit of what you call your good actions, of your repentance, your prayers, your ads of cha- rity and juftice, muft ail pafs for nothing in this refpect : you muft depend only and entirely upon the merit of Chrift's obedience and fafferings as the ground, of your acceptance with God ; and hope for forgiveiiefs and favour from his mere m.ercy beftowed upon you, cnly for the {iike. of Chrift, or on account of what he has done and falfered in the ftead of iinners^ The context informs you, that it is only in Chrift that. God is reconciling the world to hinifelf ; and confecjuently it is only ii; Chrift that the world muft accept of re- conciliation and pardon. It does not conftft with tlie dignity and 110 Siyintrs intr-eated to Serm. z, perfedions of the King of Heaven to receive rebels into favour up^ on any other footing. I would have you confent to every article of the overture as I go along ; and therefore here again I make a paufe to afk you, what do you think of this article ? Are you v/il- ling to comply with it^ w illing to come into favour with God, as convidled, felf-condemned rebels, upon an acl of grace procured by the righteoufnefs of Chrift alone ? Is it a mortification to creatures that never have done one action truly good in all their lives, be- caufe they have never loved God in one moment of their lives ; creatures that have always, even in what they accounted their beft difpofitions, and beft actions, been hateful to God, becaufe even in their heft difpofitions and beft adions they w^ere utterly defti- tute of his lore ? Is it a mortification to fuch creatures to renounce all their own merit, and confent to be faved only through grace, on account of the righteoufnefs of another, even of Jefus Chrift the great peace-maker ? Can it be a m.ortilication to you to renounce what you have not, and to own yourfelves guilty, and utterly un- worthy, when you are really fuch ? O ! may I not expe-flyour com- pliance with this term of reconciliation ? Again, If you w^ould be reconciled to God, you mult engage yourfelves in his fervice for the future, and devote yourfelves to do his will. His law muft be the rule of your temper and prac- tice : whatever he commands, you muil honeftly endeavour to perform, without exception of any one duty as difagreeable and laborious ; and whatever he forbids, you muft, for that reafon, abftain from, hov/ever pleaiing, advantageous, or falhionable. You muft no longer look upon yourfelves as your own, but as bought with a price, and therefore bound to glorify God with your fouls and your bodies, w^hich are his. And can you make any difficulty of complying with this term; of obeying Him, whom the happy angels in heaven obey ; of obferving that lav/ which always unites your duty and your happinefs, and forbids nothing but v/hat is itfelf injurious to you in the nature of things ; of doing the will of the wafeft and bell of beings rather than your ov/n, who are ignorant and depraved creatures? O ! can you make any difficulty of this ? If not, you will return home this day reconciled to Gcd ; an happinefs you have never yet enjoyed for one moment. Finally, If you would be reconciled to God, you muft break off all friendlhlp with his enemies; your friendlhip with the world, I mean your attachment to its wicked fafnions snd cuftoms, and your fondnefs for its rebeUious inhabitants, w^ho continue enemies to God; your love of guilty pleafures, and every form of fm, hov/ever pleaftng or gainful you might imagine it to be ; your old habits and practices, while enemies to God ; all thcfe you muft break off for ever ; for your fricndjhip with thefe isut- Serin. 3. be rccGticikd to God, ' ill terly inconfiftent wiih the love of God. As long as you ar^ reiolvecl to love the world, to keep up your fociety with your old compa- nions in Un, to retain your old pleafures and evil praclices; as long, I Aiy, as you are relblvcd upon this courfe, farewell all hope oi your reconciliation to God : it is abfolutely impoifible. And dd any of you helitate at this article ? Is fm fo noble a thing in it- felf, and fo happy in its' confequences, as that you fliould be ^o loth to part with it? Is it fo fweet a thing to you to fin againfl God, that you know not how to forbear ? Alas ! will you rather be an implacable enemy to the God that made you, than break your league with his enemies and your own \ Do you love your lins fo well, and are you fo obliged to them, that you will lay down your life, your eternal life, for their fake? I might multiply particulars, but thele are the princi{ial articles of that treaty of pe^te I am negociating with you; and a con fen t to thefe includes a compliance v.ith all the reft. And are you de- termined to comply ? Does the heaven-born purpofe nov/ rife ill your minds, *' I am detennined I will be an enemy of God nd longer ; but this very day I will be reconciled to God upon his own terms ! '' Is this your fixed purpofe ? or is there any occaiion to pray and perfuade you ? I well know, and it is fit you fhould kno\v, that you are not able of yourfelves to confent to thefe terms, but that it is the work of the power of God alone to reconcile you to himfelf ; and that all my perfuafions and intreaties will never make you either able or willing. You will then aik me, perhaps, *' Why do I propofe the terms to you, or ufe any perfualives or intreaties with you?'* I anfwer, Becaufe you never will be fenfible of your inability till you make an honeft trial, and becaufe you never will look and pray for the aid of the bleffed fpirit till you are deeply fenfible of your own infufficiency: and further, becaufe, if the bleffed fpirit ihould ever effeftually work upon you, it will be by enlightening your underflandings to fee the reafonablenefs of the terms, and the force of the perfualives ; and in this w^ay, agreeably tb your reafonable natures, fweetly couflraining your obftinate wills to yield yourfelves to God : therefore the terms raufhbe propofed tcJ you, and perfuafivcs ufed, if I would be fubfervient to this div4ne^ agent, and furnifli him with materials with which to vvork ; and I have fome little hope that he will, as it were, catch my feeble words from my lips before they vaniih into air, and bear theiri home to your hearts with a power v/hich you will not be able tCF refift. Finally, a convicftion of the true flate of your' cafe may conftrain you from felf-love and the low principles of nature to vSt the means of reconciliation with zeal and earneftnefs: this you are capable of, even with the mere flrength of degenerate nature : and it is only in this way of earnefl endeavours that vou have any err^ O Xi2 Sinners hiireait'd t9 Serm. 3, coiiragement to hope for divine aid ; therefore, notvvithftanding your utter impotence, I niufc pray, intreat, and perfuade you to be reconciled to God. I pray you, in the name of the great God ^^our heavenly Father, and of Jefus Chrili your Redeemer. If God ihould once zr.ore re- new the thunder and lightning, and darknefs and ternpeit of Sinai, and fpeak to you as he once did to the trembling Ifraelites; or if he ihould appear to you in all the amiable and alluring glories of a iin-pardoning reconcileable God, and pray you to be reconciled to him, would you not then regard the p^-opofal ? orifJeiUG, who once prayed for you from the crofs, Ihould now pray to you from his throne in heaven, and beg you with his own gr -.cious voice to be reconciled, O ! could youdifregard the intreuty':' Surely no. Now the overture of peace is as really made to you by the bleifed God and Son Jefus Chrift, as if it were expre{>Iy propofed to yoa by an immediate voice from heaven. For I befeech you, as though God did befeech you by me, and it is In Chrift^ s jiead, that I pray you he reconciled to God' Therefore, however lightly you may make of a mere propofal of mine, can you difregard an overture from the God that made you, and the Saviour that bought you w4th his blood ; in which I am but the faint echo of their voice from heaven. In the name of God I pray you ; the name of the greateft and beft of beings ; that name which angles love and adore, and which ftrikes terror through the hardieft devil in the infernal regions ; the name of your Father, the immediate Father of your fpirits, and the Author of your mortal frames ; the name of your Preferver and Benefa6lor, in whom you live, and move, and have your being; and who gives you life, and breath, and all things; the name of your rightful Sovereign and Lawgiver, who has a right to demand your love and obedience ; the name of your fupreme Judge, who will afcend the tribunal, and acquit or condemn you, as he finds you friends or foes; the name of that God, rich in goodnefs, who has replenilhed heaven ^^ith an infinite plenitude of happinefs, in which he will allow you to ihare, after all your hoftility and rebellion, if you conient to the overture of reconcili- ation; in the name of that God of terrible majefly andjuftice, who has prepared the dungeon of hell as a prifon for his enemies, where he holds in chains the mighty powers of darknefs, and thoufands of your own race, who perlifted in that enmity to him of which you are now guilty, and with whom you miill have your ever- lafting portion, if, like them, you continue hardened and incor- rigible in your rebellion ; in the name of that compaflionate God, who fent his dear Son (O the tranfporting thought !) to fatisfy divine juftice for you by his death, and the precepts of the law by his life, and thus to remove all obftrudions out. of the way of your Serm. 3. he reconciled to God, ti'^ reconciliation on the part of God ; in this great, this endearing and tremendous name, I pray you be reconciled to God. I pray you for his fake ; and has this name no weight with you ? Will you do nothing for his fake ? what, not fo reafonable and advantageous a thino- as dropping your unnatural rebellion, and being reconciled to him? Is your contempt of God rifen to that pitch that you will not do the moft reafonable and pi'ofitable thing in the world, if he intreat you to do it ? Be aftonifhed, O ye heavens ! at this. I pray you both in the name and for the fake of Jefus Chrift, the true friend of publicaHs and fmners, in his name, and for his fake, who alfumed your degraded nature, that he might dignify and fave it ; who lived aJife of labour, poverty, and perfecution upon earth, that you might enjoy a life of everlafting happinefs and glory in heaven ; who died upon a torturing crofs, that you might lit upon heavily thrones ; Vv ho was imprifoned in the gloo- my grave, that you might enjoy a glorious refurreftion ; w ho fell a victim to divine juftice, thj. t you might be let free from its dread- ful arreft; who felt trouble and agony of foul, that you might enjoy the fmiles, the pleafures of divine love ; who, in ihort, has difcovered more ardent and extenfive lovefcr you than all the friends in the world can do ; in his name, and for his fake, I pray you to be reconciled to God. And is his dear name a trifle in your efteem? Will you not do any thing fo reafonable and fo necefTary, and conducive to your happinefs for his fake ; for his fake who has done and fuffered \'o much for you ? Alas ! has the name of Jefus no more influence among the creatures he bought with his blood 1 I-t is hard indeed if I beg in vain, when I beg for the fake of Chrift, the Friend, the Saviour of perifiiing fouls. But if you have no regard for him, you certainly have for yourfelves ; therefore, for your own fakes, for the fake of your precious im.mortal fouls, for the fake of your ov.'n everlafting hap. pinefs, I pray you to be reconcikd to God. If you refufe, you degrade the honour of your nature, aflid commence incarnate de- vils. For what is the grand conilituent of a devil but enmity againft God ? Ycu become the refufe t)f the creation, fit for no apartment of the univerfe but the prifon of hell. While you are Uiireccnciled to God you can do nothing at ail to pleafe him- He that fearches the heart knows that- even your good adions do not proceed from Jove to him, and therefore he abhors them. Ten t'loufand prayers and adts of devotion and morality, as you have no principles of real holincfs, are fo many provocations to a righ- teous God. While you refufe to be reconciled, you are acceflary to, and patronize all the rebellion of men and devils ; for if you have aright to continue in your rebellion, why may not others f why may not every man upon earth ? why may not every mifera- ble ghoil: in the inf'::rnal regions ■ And are you for raifmg an unU •114 Sinners intreated^ Sec, Scrm. 3, yerfal mutiny and rebellion againft the throne of the mofl: High ! O the inexpreilible hornir of the thought 1 If you refufe t© be reconciled, you will foon weary out the mercy and patience of God towards you, and he will come forth againft you in all the terrors of an alinighty enemy. He will give death a,com_milTion to feize you, and drag you to his flaming tribunal. He will break off the treaty, and never make you one offer of reconcihation more: he will ftripyou ,ofail the enjoyments he waspleafedto lead you, while you w.ere lender a reprieve, and the treaty was not come to a final iffue ; and will leave you nothing but bare being, and an extenlive capacity of mifery, which will be filled up to the uttermoft from tlie vials of his indignation. He will treat you as his implacable enemy, and you fliallbe to him as Amalek, Exod. xvii. 16. with whom he will make war for ever and ever. He will reprove you, and fet your fnis in order before you, and tear you in pieces, and there Haall be none to deliver. He will meet you as a lion, *^ and as a bear bereaved of her Vvhelps, and will rend the caul of your hearts.*' Kof. xiii. 8, He hath for a long time held his peace, and endured your rebellion; but ere long he will go forth as a mighty man ; he fiiall flir up jealoufy like a man of war ; lie ihall cry, yea roar ; he ihall prevail againft his ene- mies. All ! he will eafe him of his adverfaries, and avenge him of nis enemies. He will give orders to the executioners of his jullice : Thefe mme eneinies, that would ?20t that I fhould reign over theniy bring them hither y and (lay them before me* Luke xix. 27. And now, if you Vv'ill not fubmit to peace, prepare to meet your God, O Imners ; gird up your loins hke men j put on all the terror of your rage, and go forth to meet your almighty adverfary, who -will fooa meet you in the field, and try your ftrength. Call the legions of hell to your aid, and ftrengthen the confederacy with all your fellovz-linners upon earth ; put briars and thorns around you to inclofe from his reach- Prepare the dry ftubble to oppoie devouring flame. AJTociate yourfelves, but ye fliall be broken in pieces ; gird yourfelves ; but, alas ! ye Ihall be broken to pieces. But O ! I muft drop this ironical challenge, and ferioudy pray you to make peace with him whom you cannot reilft : then all your paft rebellion will be forgiven ; you lliall be the favourites of your fovereign, and happy for ever ;. and earth and heaven will re- joice at the cpnclufion of this bleffed j^eace ; and my now fad heart will fliare in the joy. Therefore, for your ov/n fakes, I pray you to be reconciled to God.'* SERMON IV. The Nature and Univerfality of Spiritual Death. >x,^.^:S'=-=-.'-*- Ephes. ii. I. and 5. Who were dead in trefpaffes andjins^ — Even •when we were deadinJinS' THERE is a kind of death which we all expert to feel that car- ries terror in the very found, and all its cir^umiliances are fhocking to nature. The ghaflly countenance, the convulilve agonies, the expiring groan, the coffin, the grave, the devourino- worm, the ftupor, the infenfibility, the univerfal inadivity, theie ftrike a damp to the fpirit, and we turn pale at the thought. With fuch objeds as thefe in view, courage fails, levity looks ferious, prefumption is daflied, the cheerfully pailion link, and all is folemn, all is melancholy. The moll ftupid and hai'dy linner cannot but be moved to fee thefe things exemplified in others ; and when he cannot avoid the profped, he is iliocked to think that he himfelf mull feel them. But there is another kind of death little regarded indeed, little feared, little lamented, which is infinitely more terrible— the death, not of the body, but of the foul ; a death which does not flupify the hmbs, but the faculties of the mind : a death which does not feparate the foul and body, and confign the latter to the; grave, but that feparates the foul from God, excludes it from all the joys of his prefence, and delivers it over to everlaftino- mifery : a tremendous death indeed ! *^ A death unto death." The ex- prelfion of St. Paul is prodigiouily ftrong and llriking : &xvxl<^ e^ 0civx%v^ Death unto death, death after death, in all dreadful fuccef- iion, and the laft more terrible than the firffc, 2. Cor. ii. 16. and this is the death meant in mv text, dead in tre/pa/Jes and fins. To explain the context and Ihew you the connedion^ I fliall make two fhort i-emarks. The one is. That the apoftle had obferved in the nineteenth and twentieth verfes of the foregoing chapter, that the fame al- mighty power of God, which railed Chrift from the dead, is ex- erted to enable a fmner to believe — IVe believe, fays he, according to the working or energy 'En^yuxi of his mighty power which h.' wrought in Cbriji, when he raifed him from the dead. The one, ss v/ell as the other, is an exploit of omnipotence. The exceeding greatnefs of his mighty po- rer is exerted towards us that believe, as v/ell as it v.-as upoa the dead body of Chrift to reftore it tc life, 1x6 1 he Nature nnd Vnivcrfaliiy Serm. 4. after it had been torn and mangled upon the crofs, and lain three days and three nights in the grave. What ftrong language is this ! what a forcible illuflration! Methinks this palTage alone is fuffi- cient to confound all the vanity and felf-fufficiency of mortals, and entirely dellroy the proud fidion of a felf- fprung faith pro- duced by the efforts of degenerate nature. In my text the apoftle ^ifhgns the reafon of this. The fame exertion of the fame power isneceffaryin the one cafe and the other ; becaufe, as the body of Chrift was dead, and had no principle of life in it, fo, fays he, ye were dead in trefpaffes and fins ; and therefore could no more quicken yourfelves than a dead body can reftore itfelf to life. But Gody verfe 4th, ivholsrlch in mercy ^ for his great love vjhere- luith he loved us: that God, who raifed theentomed Redeemer to life again, that fame almighty God, by a like exertion of the fame power, hath quickened us, verfe 5th, even whenive were dead in fins ; dead, fenfelcfs, inactive, and incapable of animating ourfelves. Let any man carefully read thefe verfes, and confider their moft natural meaning, and I cannot but think common fenfe will dired him thus tounderfland them. The fcriptures were written with a defign to be underflood ; and therefore that fenfe which is the moft natural to a plain unprejudiced underftandingismoft likely to be true. The other remark is, That the apoftle having pronounced the Ephelians dead in fm, while unconverted, in the firft verfe, paffes the fame fentence upon himfelf and the whole body of the Jews, notwithftanding their high privileges, in the fifth Ytr^e* The i'tn^Q and connexion may be difcovered in the following paraphrafe : ■' Yen Ephefians were very lately Heathens, and, while you were in that ftate, you were fpirituaily dead, and all your adions were dead works. In time paft ye walked in trefpafles and fms, nor were you fmgular in your courfe : though it be infinitely per- nicious, 5^et it is the common courfe of this world, and it is alfo agreeable to the temper and inftigation of ihat gloomy prince, who has a peculiar power in the region of the air; that malignant fpirit who v/orks with dreadful efficacy in the numerous children of dif- obedience ; but this was not the cafe of you Heathens alone : we alfo who are Jews, notwithftanding our many religious advantages, and even I myfelf, notwithftanding my high privileges and unblem- lihable life as a Pharifee, we alfo, I fay, had our converfation in times paft among the children of diibbedience ; we all, as well as they, walked in the lufts of the flelh, fulfiUing the defires and in- clinations [Oix\f^ci\oi) of our fenlual fieih, and of our depraved minds ; for thefe v/ere tainted with fpiritual v/ickednefs, indepen- dent upon our animal pafiioas and appetites; and Vn e were all, even by nature, children of wrath, even as others: inthis refijed we Jews v--crcjnft like thercft ofm;ink:nd. corrupt frcir our very birth;, Senn. 4 efjpiritual Death. 11 y tranfgrefTors troui the womb, and liable to the wrath of God. Our external relation and privileges as the peculiar people of God, diftinguillied with a religion from heaven, makes no diflindion be- tween us and others in this matter- As we are all children of difobediencc by oar lives, fo we are all, without exception, chil- dren of wrath by nature : but when we are all dead in fins, when Jews and Gentiles were equally dead to God, then, even then, God, who is rich in mercy, had pity upon us: he quickened us ; '' he infpired us with a new and fpiritual life by his own almighty power, which raifed the dead body of Chrifl from the grave.'' He quickened us together -with Chr'ift : " We received our life by virtue of our union with him as our vital head,^ who v^as raifed to an immortal life, that he might quicken dead fouls by thofe influ- ences of his I'pirit, which he purchafed by his death ; and therefore by grace are ye faved. It is the purell, richeft, freefi grace, that ever fuch dead fouls as we were made alive to God, and not iuffered to remain dead for ever. This is the obvious meaning and connexion of thefe verfes ; and w^e now proceed to conlider the text, Dead in trefpajes mid fins; you dead, we dead, Jews and Gentiles, ail dead together in fref- paffts and fins. A difmal, mortifying character ! " This one place,^' faysBeza, '' like a thunder-bolt, daihes all mankind down to the duft, great and proud as they are ; for it pronounces their nature not only hurt but dead by lin, and therefore liable to wrath."* Death is a ftate of infenfibility and inadivity, and a dead man is incapable of reftoring himfelf to life ; therefore the condition of an unconverted fmner mufthavefome refemblance to fuch a ftate, in order to fupport the bold metaphor here ufed by the apoftle.^ To underftand it aright we muft take care, on the one hand, that we do not explain it away in flattery to ourfelves, or in compUment to the pride of human nature : and, on the other hand, that we do not carry the fimihtude too far, fo as to lead into abfurdities, and contradict matter of faft. The metaphor mufl be underftood with feveral limitations or ex- ceptions ; for it is certain there is a wide difference between the fpiritual death of the foul, and the natural death of the body, par- ticularly in this refpecl, that death puts an entire end to all the powers, actions, and fenfations of our animal nature univerfally, with regard to all objecls of every kind .• but a foul dead in fin is only partially dead ; that is, it is dead only with regard to a certain kind of fenfations and exercifes, but in the mean time it may be all life and aftivity about other things. It is alive, fenfible, and vi- * ^* Hoc wno loco, quafi fulmine, totus homo, qunntu"> quantus efl proftemitur. Neque enim naturau! elicit Isefam, led rnorluam, per pi2ccatvim; ideoque irac ob- ,».jxi;itri.'" 118 7'he Nature and UniverfiJity Serm. 4* goroiis about earthly objeds and purfuits; thefe raife its pafTions and eng:ige its thoughts. It has alJb a dreadful power and faculty cf linning, though this is not its life but its difeafe, its death, like the tendency of a dead Body to corruption. It can likewife exer- cife itsintelleftual powers, and make confider able improvements in icience. A fmner dead in trefpailes and fms may be a living treafu- ry of knowledge, an univerfal fcholar, a profound philofopher, and even a great divhie, as far as mere fpeculative knovv ledge can render him Inch ; nay, he is capable of many fenfations and im- prelhons from religious objects, and of performing all the ex- ternal duties of religion. He is able to read, to hear, to pray, to meditate upon divine things ; nay, he may be an inftruc- tor of others, and preach perhaps with extenfive popularity : he may have a formof godhnefs, and obtain a name to live among men : heisin Tome meafure able, and it is his duty to attend upon the means God has inftituted for quickening him with fpiritual life, and God deals with him'as with a rational creature, by laws, fanc- tions, promifes, expoflulations, and invitations: thefe conceilions I make, not only to give you the fenfe of the text, but alfo to pre- vent the abufe of the dodh'ine, and anticipate fome objeclions a- gainft it, as though it were an encouragement to continue idle, and ufe no means to obtain fpiritual life : or as though \i rendered all the means of grace needlefs and abfurd, like arguments to the dead, to reftore themfelves to life. But, notwithflandin g ail thefe -conceflions, it is a melancholy truth that an unregenerate linner is dead. Though he can commit {in with greedinefs, though he is capable of animal actions and fecular purfuits, nay, though he can employ his mind even about intellectual and fpiritual things, and is capable of performing the external duties of religion, yet there is Ibmething in religion with regard to which he is en- tirely dead : there is a kind of fpiritual life of which he is entirely deftitute ; he is habitually infenfible with regard to things divine 'and eternal: he has no activity, no vigour in the pure, fpiritual, and vital exercifes of religion : he has no prevailing bent of mind towards them : he has not thofe views and apprehenfions of things which a foul fpiritu ally alive would necelTarily receive and enter- tain : he is deftitute of thofe facred alFeftions, that joy, that love, that defire, that hope, that fear, that forrow, which are, as it were, the innate palfions of the new man. In iliort, he isfo in- active, fo liitlefs, fo infenfible in thefe refpeds, that death, which puts an end to all action and fenfation, is a proper emblem of his Hate; and this is the meaning of the apoflle in my text- He is al- fo utterly unable to quicken himfelf. He may indeed ufe means in fome fort ; but to implant a vital principle in his foul, but to give himfelf vivid fenfations of divine things, and make himlelf alive towards God, this is entirely beyond his utmoft ability : tliis is as pe- culiarly the work of almighty power as the refurre^tlon ol a d~au S^rm. 4 of fpiriiual Death. 119 body from the grave. As to this death it is brought upon him by and confifts in trefpajfes and fins. The innate depravity and cor- ruption of the he'art, and the habits of fin contraded and confirm- ed by repeated indulgences of inbred corruption, thefe are the poi- fonous, deadly things that have flain the foul ; thefe have entirely indifpofed and difabled it for living religion. Trefpajfes mdjhh are the grave, the corrupt effluvia, the malignant damps, the rottennefs of a dead foul ; it lies dead, fenfelefs, inaftive, buried in trefpa(Jes and fins. Trefpajfes and fins render it ghaftly, odious, abominable, a noifome putrefaftion before an holy God, like a rotten carcafs, or a mere mafs of corruption : the vileft lufls, like worms, riot upon and devour it, but it feels them not, nor can it lift a hand to drive the venom off. Such mortifying ideas as thefc may be contained in the ftriking metaphor, dead in trefpajfes and fins ; and I hope you now underftand its general meanmg. If you would know what has turned my thoughts to this fubjeft, I will candidly tell you, though with a forrowful heart. I am fure, if any objeds within the compafs of human knowledge have a ten- dency to make the deepeft impreihons upon our minds, they are thofe things which chriftianity teaches us concerning God, con- cerning ourfelves, and a future ftate ; and if there be any exer- cifes which fliould call forth all the life and powers of our fouls into aAion, they are thofe of a religious nature : but, alas ! I often find a ftrange, aftonilhing ftupor and liftleflhefs about thefe things. In this I am not (ingular ; the beft among us complain of the fame thing ; the moft lively Chriflians feel this unaccountable langour and infenfibility ; and the generality are evidently deftitute of all habitual concern about them : they are all alive in the purfuit of plcafure, riches, or honours ; their thoughts are eafily engaged, and their affedions raifed by fuch things as thefe : but the con- cerns of religion, which, above all other things are adapted to make impremons upon them, and ftir up all the life within them, fecm to have little or no effed. When I have made this obferva- tion With refped to others, and felt the melancholy confirmation of it in my own bread, I have really been (truck with amazement, and ready to cry out, '^ Lord, what is this that has befallen me, and the reft of my fellow mortals ? what can be the caufe of fuch a condud in rational nature, to be active and eager about trifles, and ftupid and carelefs about matters of infinite importance ? O whence is thisftraiige infatuation !" Thus I have been fiiocked at thi^ afto- nilhing fad, and I could account for it in no other way but by re- fleding that we have all been dead in trefpajfes and fim* — In fuch a folemn hour the apoftle's exprefiion does not feem at all too flrong- I have no fcruple at all to pronounce, not only from the authority ofanapoftle, but from the evidence of the thing, that I, and all around rae, vea, and all the fons of men have been dead ; in t^e R i::o The Nature atid Universality Serm. 4, ipiritual fenfe, utterly dead. Multitudes among us, yea^ the ge- nerality are dead ftill ; hence the ftillnefs about religion among us 5 hence theilupor, the carelelFneis about eternal things, the thought- lels negled: of Cod, the infenribility under his providential difpen- fyrions, the impenitence, the prefumption that fo much prevail. God has indeed, out of the great love wherewith he loved us, quickened Torn e of us, even when we were dead in fins j and we have a little life, fonie vital fenfations and impreilions r.t times, but O ! how little, how fuperficial, how much of a deadly ftupcM? yet remains ! how little life in prayer, m hearing, or in the neareft approach to the hving God! The refiedion is ihocking, but, alas f it is too true ; confult your own hearts andyau will hnd it even fo. Animal life feems to be a gradual thing ; it gradually grows in an infant, it is perfed in mature age, and in old. age it gradually de- cays, till all is gone ; but how fmall is the degree of life when the foetus is juft animated, or the infant born into the world ! but lit- tle fuperior to that of a plant or an oyfter. What faint fenfation«, what obfcure and languid perceptions, what feeble motions! Such ^re the children of grace in the prefent ftate. Spiritual life is gradual; it is infufed in regeneration ; but O ! how far from per- fection while on this fide heaven ! Alas i the beft of us are like the- poor traveller that fell among thieves, and was left half dead : hovv ever, it is an unfpeakable mercy to kave the leaft principle of ipirituallife ; and we ihould prize it more than crowns and em- pires. • If you would know my defign in choofing this fubjeft, itispartly for the convidion of finn6i*s, that they may be alarmed with their deplorable condition, which is the firvi: ftep towards their being quickened ; parti)' toroufe the children of grace to feek more life from their vital head ; and partly to difplay the rich grace of God in quickening fuch dead finners, and beftowing upon them a fpiri- tual and immortal life ; andfurely nothing can inflame our grati- tude and raife our wonder more than the confideration that we were dead in trefpafles and fins ! If I may but anfwer thefe ends, it will bean unfpeakable blefhng to us all. And O that divine grace may honour tliis humble attempt of a poor creature, at beft but half alive, with fuccefs! I hope, my brethren, you will hear ferioufly, for itisreally a moflferious fubjecl. ^ You have feen tiiat the metaphorical expreflion in my text is intended to reprefent the ftupidity, inactivity, and impotence of unregenerate finners about divine things. This truth I might confirm by argument and fcripture-authority ; but I think it may be a better method for popular conviction to prove and iilufirate it from plain inlbnces of the temper and condudl of finners about the concer :is of rehglon, as this may force the convidion vipon ihcza from undoubted matters of fad and their own experience- 5ferpat*.4^ effpirifual Death, 121 This, ithcfefore, is the method J intepd to purfue ; andmytime -will ajlow me to particularize only the following inftances. I. Contider the excellency of i:he divine Being, the fum total, the great original of all perfections. How infinitely worthy is he of the adoration of all his creatures;! how defer ving of their moll intenfe thoughts andmoft ardent alFedions ! If uiajefty and glory canflrikeus with awe and veneration, does not Jehovah demand them, who is clothed with majefty and glory as with a garment, and before whom all the inhabitants of the earth are as grafs-hop- pers, as nothing, as lefs than nothing, and vanity ? If uiidora excites our plealing wonder, here is an unfathomable depth. O the depth of the riches of the wifdom and knowledge of God ! If goodnefs, grace, and mercy attract our love and gratitude, here thefe amiable perfections ihine in their mofl alluring glories. If juftice ftrikes a damp to the guilty, here is juftice in all its tremen- dous majefty. If veracity, if candour, if any, or all of the moral- virtues engage our efteem, here they all center in their iiighsll. perfedion. If the prefence of a king ftrikes a reverence ; if the ^ eye of his judge awes the criminal, and reftrain? him from >ofFend- ing, certainly we fliould fear before the Lord all die day^ for we . are furrounded with his omniprefence, and he is the Infpedor and Judge of all our thoughts and a6tions. If riches excite dcfire, here are unfearchable riches : if happinefs has charms that drav/ all the world after it, here is an unbounded ocean of happinefs ; here is the only complete portion for an immortal mind. Men are ■ affeded with thefe things in one another, though found in a very imperfect degree. Power awes and commands ; virtue and good- nefs pleafe ; beauty charms ; juftice ftrikes with folemnity and terror; a bright genius is admired ; a benevolent merciful temper is loved : thus men are affeded with created excellencies. V/hence is it then they are fo ftupidly unaffeded with the fuprem.e. original excellencies of Jehovah? Here, my brethren, turn your eyes in- ward upon yourfclves, and enquire, are not feveral of you con- fcious that, thoughyou have pallions for fuch objeds as thefe, aad you are eafily moved by them, yet, v/ith regard to the perfedions of the fu^.reme and beft of beings, your heans arc habitually fenfe- lefs and unaifeded. It is not an eafy thing to make imprellions upon you by them ; and what increafes the wonder, and ag- gravates your guilt, is, that you are thus fenfelefs and un- afFeded, when you believe and profefs that thefe perfedions are really in God, and that in the higheft degree polnble. In other cafes you can love what appears amiable, you revere vv^hat is great and majeftic, you eagerly defire and purine what is valuable, and tends to your happinefs ; and all this you do freely, f]wntan€- oufly, vigoroully, by the innate inclination and tendency cf your nature, without reludance, without comp^^lfion, nay, vitbout perfualion ; but as to God and xW his perfedions, yon arc ftrangely I2C The Nature and Univ erf all ty Serm. 4. infenfible, backward, and averfe. Where is there one being that has any confefied excellency in the compafs of human knowledge, that does not engage more of the thoughts and afFedions of man- kind than the glorious and ever bleffed Gr)d ? The fun, moon, and ftars, have had more worihippers than the uncreated fountain of light from which they derive their luftre. Kings, and minifters of Hate, have more punctual homage and frequent applications Kiade to them than the King of kiwgs, and Lord of lords. Created enjoyments are more eagerly purkied than the fupreme Good. Search all the world over, and you will find but very little mo- tions of heart towards God ; little love, little delire, httle fearch- ing after him. You will often, indeed, fee him honoured with the comphmentpf a bended knee, and a few hear tlefs words, un- der the name of a prayer ; but. where is the heart, or where are the thoughts, where the aifedions ? Thefe run wild through the world, and are fcattered among a thoufand other objects. The heart has no prevailing tendency toward God, the thoughts are fhyofhim, the afFettions have no innate propenfity to him. In fhort, in this refped: the whole man is out of order : here he does not at all aftlike himfelf ; here are no affeftionate thoughts, no delightful meditations, no ardent defires, no eager purfuits a»d vigorous endeavours, but all is liftlefs, ftupid, indifpofed, inactive, and averfe ; and what is the matter ? — " Lord ! what is this that has feized the fouls of thine own offspring, that they are thus ut- terly difordered towards thee !" The reafon is, they are dead, flead in trefpajfes and fms. It is impollible a hving foul fhould be fo ftupid and unaffected with fuch ari objed : it muft be a dead foul that has ho feelhig. Yes, Tinners, this is the melancholy reafon why you are fo thoughtiefs, fo unconcerned, fo fenfelefs about the God that made you ; you are dead. And what is the reaibn that you \Tho have been begotten again to a fpiritual life, and who are united to Chrift as your vital head, what is the reaibn that you fo often feel fuch languiihments; that the pulfe of fpiritual life beats fo faint and irregular, and that its motions are fb feeble and flow ? All this you feel and lament, but how comes it to pafs ? what can be the caufe that you who have indeed tailed that the I^o'rd is gracious, and are fenfible that he is all -glorious and love- ly, an^ your only happinefs? O! what can be the caufe, that you, of all men in the world, fhould be fo little engaged to him ? Alas ! the caufe is, you have been dead, and the deadly ftupor has not yet left you : you have (bleiled be the quickening Ipirit of Chrift!) yon have received a little hfe ; but, alas! it is a feeble fpark ; it finds the principles of death ftill fbong in your conftituti- on ; thefe it muft ftruggle with, and by them it is often borne down, fupprefTed, and juft expiring. Walk humbly, then, and r(?:r:embt:ryGur ihame, that you we're once dead, and children of .Scrm. 4. of fpiritiial Death, 123 wrath, even as others. The careleffnefs and indifpofitioij of the foul towards the fupreme excellence will appear yet more evident and aftonifhing, if we confider. II. The auguft and endearing relations the great and blelTed God fuftains to us, and the many ways he has taken to make duti- ful and grateful imprefTions upon our hearts. What tender en- dearments are there contained in the relation of a Father ! This he bears to us : he made us, and not we our/elves. Our bodies in- deed are produced in a fucceffion from Adam by generati on, but who was it that began the feries? It was the Almighty, who formed the firft man of the duft ; it was he who firft put the fuccef- fion of caufes in motion ; and therefore he is the grand original caufe, and the whole chain depends upon him. Who was it that firft eftabhlhedthe laws of generation, and ftill continues them in force ? It is the all-creating Parent of nature ; and without him men would have been no more able to produce one another than ftones or clods of earth* As to our fouls, the principal part of our perfons, God is their immediate author, without the leaft concur- rence of lecondary caufes. Hence he is called the Fathej of your fpirits in a peculiar fenfe Heb* xii. 9. and he afTum'es the endearing name of " the God of the fpirits of all fleih.'' Numb- xvi. 22- Now the name of a father is wont to carry fome endearment and authority. Children, efpeciallyin their young and helplefs years, are fond of their father : their little hearts beat with a thoufand grateful palTions towards him ; they love to be dandled on his knees, and fondled in his arms : and they fly to him upon every appearance of danger ; but if God be a father, where is his ho- nour : here, alas ! the filial palFions are fenfelefs and immoveable. It is but a little time fmce we came from his creating hand, and yet we have forgotten him. It feems unnatural for his own off- Ipring to enquire " where is God my Maker ?*' They fhew no fondnefsfor him, no affedionate veneration, and no humble con- fidence ; their hearts are dead towards him, as though there were no fuch being, or no fuch near relation fubfifting between them. In childhood a rattle, or a ftraw, or any trifle, is more thought of than their heavenly Father; in riper years their vain plea- ftires and fecular purfuits command more of their aflections than their divine original and only happinefs. Compare your natural temper towards your heavenly Father, and towards your earthly parents, and how wide is the difference ! Nature works ftrong in your hearts towards them, but towards him all the filial pailions are dull and dead ; and why ? alas ! the reafon is, you are dead in trefpajfes and fins. But this relation of a Father is not the only relation our God fuftains to you; he is your fupreme Iving, to whom you owe allegiance ; your Lawgi- ver, whofe will is the rule of your conduft ; and your Judge, wh# J 24 ^he Na.ty^K^[.andUniv^i^ality Sen>i,-4;^ WJ}! ^all you to an account, and reward or punifh you accordin** $oyour works; but how unnatural is it to men to revere the inoft high God under thefe auguft chara^ersl Where is there a king upon earth, how-ever weak or tyrannical, but is more regarded t)y his fubjecls ,than the King of heaven by the ;generality of m^n ? Were ever fuch excellent laws contemned and violated ? Did ever criminals treat their judge with To much negled and contempt ? And are thefe 'fouls alive to God who thus treat him \ No. Alas ! " they are dead in trefpalTes and fms ;" however lively they are to wards.other things^ yet in -this refped they are feized v/ith a dead- ly ftupor. God is alfo our Guardian and Deliverer ; and from how many dangers lias he prefer ved us! from how many calamities has he delivered us I Dangers, diftrelFes^ and deaths crowd upon us, and furround us in ever}'^ age and every place ; the air, the earth, the fea, and every element are pregnant wkh numberlefs principles of pain and death ready to feizeand deftroyus^ ficknefs and death fwarm ar€>und us : nay, they lie in ambuih iri our own conilit^tiGn, and are perpetually undermining our lives, and yet ©ur divine Guardian preferves us for months and year^ unhurt, un- touched ; or, if he fulFers the calamity to fall, or death to threa- ten, he flies to our deliverance ; and how many falvations of this kind has he wrought for us ; falvations from accidents, from fidv- nelTes, from pain, from forrows, from death ; falvations for oiu" perfons and our pofleflions, for ourfelves, and for our friends and relations* falvations from dangers feen and unfeen ; falvations in infancy, in youth, and in maturer j^ears ! Thefe things we can- not deny without the moft fhipid ignorance, and an atheiftical dif- belief of divine Providence. Now, fuch repeated, fuch long-con- tinued, fuch unmerited favours as thefe would not pafs for no- thing between man and man. 'We have hearts to feel fuch obli- gations ; nay, the ten thoufandth, the millionth part of fuch gra- cious care and goodnefs would be gratefully refented, and thank- fSlty acknowledged. Indeed it is impoHible we fhould receive even this fmall, this very fmall proportion of favours from men in comparifon of what we receive from God ^ and even when they are the inftruments of our deliverance, he is the original Author- But. after all, is there a natural aptitudl^ in the hearts of men to thinkof their gracious Guardian and Saviour ? Does the principle pf gratitude naturally lead them to love him, and to make thank- ful acknowledgments to him ? Alas! no. They may indeed feel fon?C tranfient, fqiieriiciahvorkings of gratitude when under the fredi fenfe of fome remarkable deliverance ; but thefe impreifions foonwear off, and they become as thoughtlefs and ftupid as ever. But let a man, like yourfelves, fave you from fome great diflrds, you will always gratefully remember him, think of him often with plpafure, and take ail opportunities of returning his kindnefs, ef- Sierin. 4* of fpiritual Death, 1^5 pecially if your deliverer was mnch your ftipcrior, and indepen- dent upon you, if you bad forfeited his favour, provoked him, and incurred his difpleafure : great favours from fuch an one would make imprefTions upon the moft obdurate heart. But though God be infinitely fuperior to us, and it isndthing to him what becomes of us, though we have rebelled againft him, and defirve his vengeance, yet ten thoufand deliverances fromi his hands have little or no effeftupon the hearts of men : all thefe cannot bring them to think of him, cr love him as much as they do a friend, or a common benefadlor of their &wn fpecies : and does fuch ftupid ingratitude difc over any' fpiritual life in them? No : they are dead in this refpecl, though they are all alive to thof^ paifions that terminate upon created objeds. Farther, God is the BenefaSlQi- of mankind, not only in delivering them from dangers and calaniities, but in bellowing unnumbered pofi- tive bleffings upon thei^ Here I cannot pretend to be particular, for the lift of bleflings is endlefs j and it will be the happy em- ployment of an eternity to recollect and enumerate them. What an extenfive and well furniihed world has our God formed for our accommodation ! For us he has enriched the fun with ligh^ and heat, and the earth with fruitfulnefs. The numerous inha- bitants of every element, the plants, minerals, andbeafts of the earth, the fifhes of the fea, the fowls of the air, are all render-- i-ng their fervice to man ; fome afford him focKl, and others work, for him : the winds and feas, fire and water, ftones and trees, all confpire to be ufeful to him. Our divine Benefuftor crowns u» with the bleffmgs of liberty, of fociety, of friendihip, and the moft endearing relations : he prefervesour health, gives us '* rain from heaven, and fruitful feafons, and fills our hearts with food and gladnefs." In Hiort, he gives us life, and breath, and all things ; every day, every hour, every moment has arrived to us richly freighted with bleffmgs ; bleffmgs have refided with us athom.e, and attended us abroad ; bleffmgs prefented themfelves ready for our enjoyment as foon as v. e entered into the world ; then God provided hands to receive us, knees to fuppoirt us, breafts to fuckle us, and parents to guard and cherilli us ; blef- fmgs have grown up v/ith us, and given fuch conflant attendance, that they are become familiar to us, and are the infeparable com- panions of our lives. It is no new or ufeful thing to us to fee an iiluftrious fun rifmg to give us the day, to enjoy repofe in the night, to rife refrelhed and vio-orous in the morning, to fee our tables fpread with plenty, the trees covered ^^'ith fruit, the fields witb grain, and various forms of animals growing up for our fupport or fervice. Thefe are fuch familiar bleffngs to us, that they too often feem things of courfe, or neceffary appendages of our being. What a- cr-owd of bleffmgs have .crowned the prefent morning !• 126 The Nature and Univerfality Serm. 4* You and yours are alive and well, you have not come hither ghaftly and pining with hunger, or agonizing with pain. How many refrelliing draughts of air have you drawn this morning ! how many fprightly and regular pulfes have beat through your frame ! how many eafy motions have you performed with hands, feet, eyes, tongue, and other members of your body ! and arc not all thefe favours from God ? Yes, undoubtedly ; and thus has he gone on blelhng you all your days, without any interruption at all in many of thefe particulars of kindnefs, and with but very little in the reft. Sinful and mifcrable as this world is, it is a treafury rich in blelhngs, a ftore-houfe full of provifions, a dwel- ling well furnilhed for the accommodation of mortals, and all by the care, and at the expence of that gracious God who firft made and ftill preferves it what it is. '^ Lord, whence is it then that the inhabitants forget and negled thee, as though they were not at all obliged to thee ? O ! whence is it«that they love ^thy gifts, and yet difregard the Giver ? that they think lefs of tliec tlian of an earthly father or friend, ol- an human benefaftor; that there fiiould be fo little gratitude towards thee, that of all benefactors thou ihouldeft be the leaft acknowledged ; that the benefactors of nations, andevenof private per fons, in inftances unworthy to be mentioned with thofe of thy goodnefs, ihould be celebrated, and even adored, while thou art neglected, thine agency overlooked, and thy goodnefs forgotten ? O ! whence is this ftrange phaeno- menon, this unaccountable, unprecedented ftupidity and ingrati- tude in reafonable creatures ? Surely, if they had any hfe, any fenfation in this refpe(5l, they would not be capable of fuch a con- duct ; but they are dead, dead to all the generous fenfations of gratitude to God ; and as a dead corpfe feels no gratitude to thofe that perform the laft friendly office, and cover it with earth, fo a (iz^iA foul ftands unmoved under all the profulion of blelTmgs which Heaven pours upon It. The blellings I have mentioned, which are confined to the pre- fent ftate, are great, and deferve our wonder and thankfgiving, efpecially confidering that they are beftowed upon a race of rebel- lious, ungrateful creatures, who deferve the fevereft vengeance j but there is a fet of blelfings yet unmentioned, of infinitely greater importance, in which all others are fwallowed up, by the glory of which they are obfcured, like the ftars of night by the rifnig fun. To fome of our race God has given crowns and kingdoms. For Ifracl Jehovah wrought the moft aftonifning miracles ; feas and rivers opened to make w^ay for them ; rocks burfl into fprings of water to quench their thirft ; the clouds poured down manna, and fed them with bread from heaven : their God delivered Daniel from the jaws of hungry lions, and his three companions from the burning fiery furnaces He has rellored health to the Tick, fight to Serm. 4- cffplritual Death, 127 the blind, and life to the dead. Thefe bleifmo-s and d^livei-ances ... " have .foniething majeflic and ftriking m them ; and had we been the ilibjeds of them, we could not but have regarded them as grejit and Imgular ; but what are thefe in comparifon of God's gift of his So!i, and the blellings he has purchased ! his Son, who is of greater value, and dearer to him than ten thoufand vvorlds; his beloved Son, in whom he is well pleafed ; him has he given for us, given up to three and thirty years of the moft mortifying abafe- ment, and an inceffant conflid with the feverefl trials ; given up to death, and all the ignominy and agonies of crucifixion. Thus has God loved our world ! and never was there fuch a difplay of love in heaven or on earth. You can no more find love equal to this among creatures, than you can find among them the innnite power thai, formed tiicnniverfe out of nothing. This will ftand upon record to all eternity, as the unprecedented, unparalleled, i nimitable love of God. 'And it appears the more illuftrious when we confider that this unfpeakable gift was given to finners, to rebels^ to enemies, that were fo far from deferving it, ~th at, oa the other hand, it is a miracle of mercy that they are not all grgaijir, ing for ever imder the tremendous weight of his juflice. OI th'^t I could f ly fomething becoming this love ; fomething that might do honour to it ! but, alas ! the language of mortals was fcrm.ed for lower fnbjedls. This love pafTes all defcription and all know- ledge Coniider alfo what rich blefiings Chrift has purchafed for us : purchafed net with ftirh corruptible things as fih^er and gold, but with his own precious blood : the price recommends and en- dears the blefnngs, though they are fo great in themfelves as to need no fuch recommendation. What can be greater or mere fuitable bleffmgs to perfons in our circumftances, than pardon for the guilty, redem.ptions for flaves, righteoufnefs and juftification for the condemned, fanclification for the unholy, reft for the weary, com.fort for mourners, the favour of God for rebels and exiles, flrength for the impotent, protection for the helplefs, everlalHng happinefs for the heirs of hell, and, to fum up all, grace and glory, and every good thing, and all the unlearchable riches of Chrift for the wretched and mlferable, the poor, the blind, and naked ! Thefe are blcHings indeed, and, in cojnparilon of tliem, all the riches of the world are impo- veriOied, and vaiiiih to nothing; and all thefe blellings are pub- lifhed, offered freely, indefinitely oifered to you, to, me, to the greateft fmner on earth, in the gofpel ; and we are allowed,— allowed did I fay ? ve are invited with the utmoft importunity, intreatedwith the moft rompafljonate tendernefs and condefccnii- on, and commanded by the higheft authority, upon pain of eternal damnation, to accept the blelUngsprefentedto us ! And v, hat re- ception does all this love meet with in our world ! i tren/ble to think of it. It is plain, ihefc things are propofed to a vvorlddeuJ 128 TJie Nature and Univerjallty Serm. 4. in fm ; for they are all ftill, all umnoved, ali fenfelefs under fuch a revelation of infinite grace ; mankind know not what it is to be moved, melted, transported with the love of a crucified Saviour, till divine grace viiits their hearts, and forms them into new crea- tures : they feel no eager folicitude, nay, notfo much as a willing- nefs to receive thefe bieliings, till they become willing by almigh- ty power: and judge ye, my brethren, v/hether they are not dead fouls that are proof even againft the love of God in Chrift, that are not moved and melted by the agonies of his crofs, that are carelefs about fuch iueftimable bleirmgs as thefe ? Has that foul any fpiritual life in it that can fit fenfelefs under the crofs of Jefus, that can forget him, neglecl him, dilhonour him,afterall his love and all his fuli'erings ; that feels a prevailing indifferency and langour to- wards him ; that loves him lefs than an earthly friend, and feeks him with lefs eagernefs than gold and filver? Is not every gene- rous palfion, every principle of gratitude quite extinct in fuch a fpirit ? It may be alive to other objeds, but towards this it is dead, and alas ! is not this the common cafe ! O look round the world, and what do you fee but a general neglect of the bleffed Jefus, and all the bleifings of his gofpel ? How cold, how untoward, how reluctant, how averfe are the hearts of men towards him? how hard to pcrfuade them to think of him and love him? Try to per- fuade men to give over their fins which grieve him dilhonour him, and were the caufe of his death; try to engage them to devote themfelves entirely to him, and live to his glory, alas ! you try in vain ; their hearts ilill continue cold and hard as a flone ; try to perfuade them, to murder or robbery, and you are more likely to prevail. Suffer me, in my afconiihrnent, to repeat this molt me- lancholy truth again; the generality of mankind are habitually carelefs about the blelTed Jefus ; they will not feek him, nor give . their hearts and aftedions, though they mnft periih for ever by . their neglect of him ! Allonilhing, and moft lamentable, that ever fuch perverfenefs and fiupidity fnould feize the foul of man ! Me- thinks I could here take up a lamentation over human nature, and fall on my knees witii this prayer for my fellow-men, ** Father of I'pirits, and Lord of life, quicken, O quicken thefe- dead fouls !'^ O, Sirs, while v/e fee death ail around us, and feel it benumbing our own fouls, who can helpi the moft bitter wailing and lamenta- tion ! who can reftrain hirafelf from crying to the great Author of life for a happy refurredion iWhile the valley of dry boneslies he- tore me, while the carnage, the charnel-houfe of immortal fouls ftrikes my fight all around me far and wide, how can I forbear crying. Come from the finr ivhids, breath ; breathe upon ihefs fldn, that they may l:v^ P But to turn from this digreilion, into v/hich I was unavoidably hurried by the horror of the fubjed, I vvould obfcrve farther, that kind ufiige and pleafmg treatment Scrm, 4. offpiritual Death 129 may not be. always beft for fuch creatures as we are : fatherly fe- verities and challifements, though not agreeable to us, yet may be neceflary and conducive to our greateft good. Accordingly^ God has tried the force of chaitifements to make imprefhons on our hearts: thefe indeed have been but few in compariion.of his more agreeable difpenfations ; yet recoiled whether you have not fre- quently felt his rod. Have you not languiihed under licknefs and pain, and been brought within a near viev/ of the king of terrors ? Have you not fuiFered the bereavement of friends and relations, and met with loiTes, adverfity, and difappointments ! Others have felt flill greater calamities in a clofer fucceliion, and with fewer mercies intermixed. Thefe things, one would think, would im- mediately bring men to regard the hand that fmites them, and make them feniible of their undutiful condud, which has procured the correction ; thefe are like the application of fire to one in a le- thargy, to awaken him to life ; but alas! under all thefe affiidlions, the flupor and infeniibility flill remain. Sinners groan by reafon of oppreifion, but it is not natural for them to inquire, M^here is God my Maker y that givethfongs in the night? It is not natural for them to repent of their undutiful conduct and amend; or if they are awakened to fome little fenfe, while the painful rod of the Almighty is yet upon them, as foon as it is removed they become as hardened and fenfelefs as ever. And is not a ftate of death avery proper re- : prefentation of fuch fuUen, incorrigible ftupidity ? Living fouls ; have very tender fenfations ; one touch of their heavenly Father's hand makesdeepimprelFions upon them; they tremble at his frown, they fall and weep at his feet, they confefs their offences, and mourn over them ; they fly to the arms of mercy to efcape the im- pending blow; and thus would all do were they not quite deflitute of fpiritual life. I have materials fufficient for a difcourfe of fome hours ; but at prefent I muft abruptly drop the fubjed : however, I cannot dif- mifs you without making a few reflections. And, I. What aflrange aiFeding view does this fubjed give us of this aifembly ! I doubt not but I may accommodate the text to fome of you with this agreeable addition, " Yoii hath he quickened, though you were once dead in trefpalFes and fnis.'^ Though the vital pull'e beats faint and irregular, and your fpiritual life is but very low, yet, bleffed be God, you are not entirety dead ; you have fome living fenfations, foine lively and vigorous exercifes in re- ligion. Oil the other hand, I doubt not but fome of you not on- ly were, but flill are dead in trefpajfcs and fins. It is not to be ex- pelled in our world, at leaft not before the millennium, that we ihall fee fuch i mixed company together, and all living fouls — Here then is the diiference between you ; fome of you are fpiritu- ally alive, and fome of you are fpiritually dead ; here the living 130 The Nature andUnlrerjulity, Scnu. 4. and the dead are blended together iii the fame aiTembly, on the fame feat,_ and united' m the neareil relations : here Iks a d^QeA foul, there anotiier, and there another, and afewhving fouls are fcattered here and there among them : here is a dead parent and a living child, or a dead child and a • living parent 5 here life ard death (O ihockingl) are united in the bonus of conjugal love, ard dwell under the iame roof : here is a dead fervant and a living mafler ; and there a dead mailer (O terrible !) commands a living fervant. Should I trace the diitindion beyond this afi'embly into the world, we ilialiiind a famJly here and there that have a little hfe ; perhaps one, perliaps tw o, difcover fome vital fymptom.s ; but O what crowds of dead families i ail dead together, and no endeavours ufed to bring one another to life; a death-like filence about eternal things ; a deadly llupor and infmlibility reign auiong them ; they breathe outnodefires and prayers after God, nor does the vital pulfe of love beat in their hearts towards him ; but, on the contrary, their fouls are putrifying in fni, which is very em- phatically called ror/x'/'/fcT^ by the facred writers; they are over- run and devoured by their lulls, as vvorms iniult and dtiiroy the dead body. Call to them, th^y will not awake ; thunder the ter- rors of the Lord in their ears, they vvili nothejr ; offer them, all theblelhngs of the goipe]^ they will not itretch out the hand cf faitti to receive them : lay the word of God, the bread of life, be- fore them, they have no appetite for it. In ilort, the plain fyrrp- toms of death are upon them : the animal is alive, but alas ! the ipirit is dead towards Cod. And v hat an aitCting, melancholy view does this give of this alTembly, and of the world in general ! that my headi'jerL^ waters ^ and ?}une eyes fount aitis oj tears y that 1 might -.veep day and night for the flam of the daighler of my people ! Weep not for the afliicted, weep not over ghaitly corpfes dilTolv- ing into their original duil, but O ! weep for dead foul>. hhould God now ilrike all thofe perfons dead in thisaflembly wliofe ion Is are dead intrefprjfes andjms^ ihould he lay them all in pale corpfes before lis, like Ananias and Sapphira at the apofde's feet, v. hat nnnibers of you would riCvcr return, from tluo houie mere, and Z what lamentations would there be among the iurviving few ! Cne ^ would lofe a huiband or a Avife, another a Ion or a daughter, ano- ' thcr a father or a mother ; alas ! w culd not ibme whole fannlies ^ be fwept off together, all blended in one promii'cuous death ! buch 5 a light as this would ilrike terror into the hardieit heart ?n:o]:g I you. But what is this to a com.pany of rational fpirits llain and ^ dead in tr--frafies and tins? Bow deplorable and inexpreflibly me- V- lancholy a fight- this! Therefore, 1. /hvoke. thnu that fleepeft, and. otife from th dead^ thct Chnfi maj give thee light' Vhis cal> is directed to you dead thineri : wiiich it a iufiicient V. arrant for mt to tivhort and periu.ide you. Serai. 4. ej spiritual Death 13I The principle of reafcn is ftill alive in you ; you are alfo fenfible of v your own intereit, and l^el die workings of felf-love. It is God y alone that can quicken you, but lie eifecls this by a power that /^ , does not exclude, but attends rational inilrudions and perluafions ^ to your underftanding. Therefore, though 1 am fure you will A continue dead ftill if left to yourfelves, yet with fome trembling hopes thai his power may accompany my feeble words, andimpreg- ? nate them with life> I call upon, I intreat, I charge you lumers to roufe yourlelves out of your dead fleep, and feek to obtain fpiri- tual kfe. Now, while m.y voice founds in your ears, now, this moment, waft up this prayer, ^* Lord, pity a dead foul, a foul that has been dead for ten, twenty, thirty, forty years, or more, and lain corrupting in fin, and fay unto me, " Live : from this mo- ment kt me live unto tliee.^^ Let this prayer be ftill upon your hearts : keep your fouls alwciysin a fupplicating pollure, and wha knows but that he, Vv-ho raiied Lazarus from the grave, may give you afpiritual refurreclion to a more important hfe ? But if yovi wilfully continue your fecurity, exped: in a little time to fufrer the fecond death ;• the mortilication will become incurable ; and then, though you will be ililldead to God, yet you will be " trembling- ly aUve all o/er*' to the fenlations of pain and torture* O that I coiild gain but this one requeft of you, which your own intereft fo ftrongly enforces ! but alas ! it has been fo often refufed, that to expedl to prevail is to hope againlt hope. 3. Let the children of God be fenfible of their great happinefs in being m^ide fpirituallyalive. Life is a principle, a capacity ne- cellary for enjoyments of any kind. Without animal life you would be as incapable of animal pleafures as a (tone or a clod ; and without fpiritual life you can no more enjoy the happinefs of hea- ven than a bead or a devil. This therefore is a preparative, a previous qualification, and a fure pledge and earneft of everlafting life. How highly then are you dillinguillied, and what caufe have you for gratitude and praife ! 4. Let us all be fenfible of this important truth, that it is entire- ly by grace we are faved- This is the inference the apoftle ex- prefsly makes from this dojftrine ; and he is fo full of it, that he- throws it into a parenthe(is(verfe the 5th) though it breaks the con-. ned:ion of his difcourfe; and as foon as he has room he refumes it a- gain (verfe Sth) and repeats it over and over, in various forms, in- thecompafs of a few verfes. By grace ye arefaved* — By grace are you faved through faith — // Is the gift of God ; — not ofyourfelves, — not of works (verfe 9th.) This, you fee, is an inference that feemed of great importance to the apoftle ; and what can more na- turally follow from Uiepremifes? If we were once dead in fm, certainly it is owing to the freefr grace that v/e have been quicken- ed ; therefore, when we furvey the change, let us cry, '^ Grace, grace unto it.-' :<>0<>C^0-::>C--C--0<>::::::-<>;:?-::>!;;><:;r:-:::4. <>C'<>c=<:=< SERMON V. The Nature and Proccfs of Sniritiial Life. Ephes. ii. 4, 5. But Cod, who is rich i?i mercy, for his great love wherewith he hved us, even when we were dead in jins, hath quickened us together with Chrijt. IT is not my ufual metbod to weary your attention by a long confiiieiiient to one i object; and our religion furnifhes us with fuch a boundiefs variety of important topics, that a minillcr who makes thern his Jftndy will iind no temptation to cloy you with re- petitions, butrather finds it dilticult to ipeak fo conciiely on one fubjecl, as to leave room for others of equal importance ; howe- ver the fubjecl of my lafr difcourfe was fo copious and iuterefiing, that I cannot difmifs it without a fupplement. I there Ihewed you fome of the fymptoms of fpiritual death; but I would not leave you dead as I found you ; and therefore I intend now to confidtr the counterpart of that fubject, and fhew you the nature and fymptoms of fpiritual life. 1 doubt not but a number of you have been made alive to God by h:,s quickening fpirit ; but many, 1 fear, flill continue dead in trefpaffes and fins ; and, while fuch eire around me, I cannot help inYagining vaj fituation fomething like that of the prophet Ezekiei (cli. xxxvii.) in the midfl of the valley full of dry bones, fpread far and wide around him : and fhould I be afked. Can thejc dry hones, can thefe dead fouls live P I mull; anfwer with him, — Lord God, tnou k^iowejt. *' Lord, I fee no fymptoms of life in them, no tendency towards it. I know, nothing is impolTible to thee ; I iirmly believe thou canft infpire them v/ith kfe, dry and dead as they are : and v.hat thy defigns are towards them, whether thouintendeftto exert thy ail-quickening power upon them, thou only knoweft, and I would not prefume to determine ; but this I know that, if they are left to themfelves, they will continue dead to all eternity ; for, O Lord, the experiment has been repeatedly tried ; thy fervant has over and over made thofe quickening appli- cations to them which thy Word, tjiat h.QVt^j. difpeniary, preicribes; but all in vain ; they flill continue dead towards thee, and lie pu- trifymg more and more in trefpafies iind llns : however, at thy command, I vvould attempt the mofc unpromifing undertaking ; I jSerm. 5. The A'ature dnM^Prcccfs cfJpirituaiUfc. 133 I would proclaim even unto dry bones and dead ibuls, ye dry hones ^ O ye dead ibuls, hear the ivordofthe Lord* Ezek. xxxvii. 4. I would alio cry aloud for the animating breath of the holy Spirit, Come from the four winds and breathe ; breathe upon thefejlain, that they may live*, v. 9. Ye dead fmners, I world make one attempt more in the name of the Lord to bring you to life ; and if I have the leafl: hopeof fuc- cefs, it is entirely owing to the encouraging peradventure that the quickening fpirit of Chriflmay work upon your hearts Vvhile I am addrefTing m.yfelf to your ears. And, O Sirs, let us all keep our fouls in a praying pollure, throughout this difcourfe. If one of you ihould fall into a fwoon or an apoplexy, how would all about you beftir them.felves to bring you to hfe again ! And alas ! ihall dead fouls lie fo thick among us, in every aitembly, in every fami- ly ; and fhall no means be ufed for their recovery ? Did Martha and Mary apply to Jefus with all the arts of importunity in behalf of their lick and deceafed brother, and are there not fome of you that have dead relations, dead friends and neighbours, I mean dead in the worft fenfe, " dead in trefpaiFesandfms?'' and will you not apply to Jefus, the Lord of life, and follow him with your impor- tunate cries, till he come and call them to life ? Now let parents turn intercelTors for their children, children for their parents, friend for friend, neighbour for neighbour, yea enemy for enemy. O I ihould we all take this method, we might foon exped to fee the valley of dry bones full of living fouls, an exceeding great army^ Ezek. xxxvii. 10. In praying for this great and glorious event, you do not pray for an impoilibihty. Thoufimds, as dead as they, have obtained a joyful refurreclion by the power of God. Here in my text you have an inilance of a promilcuous crowd of Je\^s and Gentiles that had lain dead in iin together, and even St. Paul among them, who were recovered to life, and are now enjoying an immortal life in the heavenly regions ; and, bleifed by God, this fpiritual life is not entirely extincT: am.ong us. Among the multitudes of dead fouls that we every v/here meetv^'Ith, v/e iindhere and there a foul that has very different fymptoms : once indeed it was like the reft ; but now, while they are quite lenfelefs of divine things^ and have no vital afplrations after God, this foul cnnnot be content with the richeft: afPiuence of created enjoyments ; it pants and breathes after God ; it feeds upon his word, it feels an almighty energy in eter- nal things, and receives vital fenfations from them. It difcovers life and vigour in devotion, and ferves the living God with plea- fure, though it is alfo fubjed to iits of languiihment, and at times feems jufl expiring, and to lofe all fenfatjon. And whence is this vaft difference ? Why is this foul fo different from what it once was, and what tli©ufand4 arcv.nd ftill are ? Why can it not, like 134 ^^'^ Nature and Procep Scrni. r, •them, and like itfelf formerly, lie dead and fenfelefs in fm, without any vital impreOions or experiences from God or divine things I Tliereafon is, the happy reafon, my brethren, is, this is a living foul : '^ God, out of the great love wherev/ith he loved it, hath quickened it together v/ith Chrift," and hence it is alive to him. My prefent deiign is to explain the nature and properties of this divine life, and to ihtw you the manner in which it is ufually be- gun in the foul : I fhail open with the confideratioh of the lall par- ticular. Here yon mufl: obferve, that, though fpiritual life is inflantane- oudy infufed, yet God prepares the foul for its reception by a courfe of previous operations. He fpent fix days in the creation of the world, though he might have fpokenit into being in an inflant- — Thus he ufually creates the foul anew after a gradual procefs of preparatory actions. In forming the firft man, he frll created chaos out of nothing, then he digefted it into earth ; on the lixth day he formed and organized the earth into a bod^, with all its endlefs variety of members, juices, mufcles, fibres, veins, ai;d ar- teries ; and then, after this procefs, he infpired it v.ith a living foul ; and what was but a lump of clay, fprung up a perfect inan. Thus alfo the fcctus in tho v» omb is for fome months in formation before the foul or the principle of lii'e is infufed. In like manner the Almi_ghty proceeds in quickening Uf \\\x\\ fpiritual life : v e i.U pafs thrcSugh a courfe of preparation, though fon;e ti'.rough a lon- ger, and fonie ihorter. And as one reafon why the great Creator took up fo much time in the creation of the vorld yrobabkjwas, that he might allow the angels time for leifurely fiirveys of the ailo- niihing procefs, fo hejuay advance thus grddually in the new cre- ation, that we may obferve the various Iteps of the operation, and make proper refieftions upon it in future lii'e. Pvly prefent dcbgn is to trace thefe ileps to their grand refult, that you may know whether ever divine grace has carried you through this gracious proems. And that you may not fall into needlefs perplexities, it may be neccilary for nie to prtmife farther, that there is a great variety in thefe preparatory operations, and in the degrees of ipiritual life. Indeed the diifcrence is only circumflantial, for the work is fubftantially the fame, and fpiriraal hfe is fubllantially the fan.e in all ; but then, in luch eircumilances as the length of time, the pa,rticular external means, the degree of previous terror, and of fvi!ifequent joy and vitality, &c. God exercifes a fovereign free- dom, and iiiews that he has a variety of ways by which toaccom- plifli his end ; and it is no matter how we obtain it, if we have but ipiritual lire . I faali therefore endeavour to confine myfelf to the fiibftanCe of this v/on:, \\r:;hout its peculiarities, in different lub- jccti ; kiid^ Vrhe>i i cuiinot avoid a^fcei-diiio^ to particulars, I ihaii S er m . 5 . of fpiritual Life . 135 endeavoQi" fo to diverfify them, as that they may be eafily adapted to the various cafes of different Chriftians. To draw their com- mon lineaments, whereby they may be diflinguiihed from all others, is fufficient to my prefent purpofe ; whereas, to draw the particular lineaments, or peculiar features, whereby they may b»^ diiflinguilhed from one another, is a very difficult talk, and cannot be of any great fervice to what I have no\y in defign. I have only one thing more to premife, and that is, that the way by which divine grace prepares a linr»:r for fpiritual life, is by working upon all the principles of the rational life, and exciting him to exert them to the utmoft to obtain it. Kere it is proper foi- you to recolle and nothing v/iil be done to propofe till God ftir them up to exert their natural abilities : and this he performs as a preparative for fpiritual life. He brings the fmner to exert all his active powers' in feeking this divine principle : nature does her utmoft, and' ail outward means are tried before a fupernatural principle is im- planted. The evangelilt John has given us the hiftory of the refurre<^ion of the dead body of Lazarus after it had been four days in the T 136 The Nature and Procefs Serm. 5, grave ; and I would now give you the hiflory of a more glorious refurrection, the refurredion of a foul that had lain dead for months and years, and yet is at lafl quickened by the fame almighty power with a divine and immortal life. Should I exem.plify it by a particular inftance, I might fix upon this or that perfon in this affembly, and remind you, and inform others, of the procefs of this work in your fouls. And O ! how happy are fuch of you, that you may be produced as inflances in this cafe ! You lay for ten, twenty, thirty years, or more, dead in tref- pafles and fms ; you did not breathe and pant like a living foul after God and holinefs ; you had httle more fenfe of the burden of fm than a corpfe of the preffure of a mountain ; you had no appetite for the living bread that came down from heaven ; the vital pulfe of facred pailions did not beat in your hearts towards God and di- vine things, but you lay putrifying in fm ; filthy lufts preyed upon you like worms on the bodies of the dead; you fpread the contagion of fm around you by your converfation and example, like the flench and corrupt effluvia of a rotten carcafs ; you were odious and abominable to God, fit to be Ihut up in the infernal pit out of his fight ; and you were objeds of horror and lamentation to all that knew and daily confidered your cafe, your deplorable cafe. During this time many quickening applications were made to you ; you had friends that ufed all means to bring you to life again ; but alas ! all in vain ; confcience proved your friend, and pierced and chafed you, to bring you to feme feeling, but you remained ftill fenfelefs, or the fymptoms of life foon vaniihed — God did not cafl you away as irrecoverably dead, but ftirred and agitated you within, and ftruggled long with the principles of death tofubdue them : and if it was your happy lot to live under a faithful miniftry, the living oracles that contain the feeds of the divine life were ap- plied to you with care and folicitude. The terrors of the Lord Vv'ere thundered in your ears to awaken you. The experiment of a Saviour's dying love, and the rich grace of the gofpel, were re- peatedly tried upon you ; now you were carried within hearing of the heavenly mufic, and within fight of the glories of Paradife, to try if thefe v/ould charm you ; now you were, as it were, held over the flames of hell, that they might by their pungent pains fcorch and ftartle you into life. Providence alfo concurred with thefe applications, and tried to recover you by mercies and judg- ments, ficknefs and health, loffes and poiTefTions, difappointments and fuccelTes, threatenings and deliverances. If it was your un- happy lot to lie among dead fouls like yourfelf, you had indeed but little pity from them, nay, they and Satan were plying you with their opiates and poifon to confirm the deadly fleep. And O ! how alloniiliing is it that you Ihould be quickened in a charnel- Serm. 5. of fpirihial Life . 137 houfe, in the manfions of the dead, with dead fouls lying all round you ! But if it was your happinefs to be in the lociety of the living, they pitied you, they ftirred and agitated you with their warnings and perfuafions, they, like Martha and Mary in behalf of their deceafed brother, went to Jefus with their cries and importuni- ties, " Lord, my child, my parent, my fervant, my neighbour is dead, O come and reftore him to life ! Lord, if thou hadil been here, he would not have died ; but even now I know it is not too late for thee to raife him.'' Thus, when one is dead in our heavenly Father's family, the whple houfe Ihould be alarmed, and all the domeftics be bufy in trying to bring him to life again. But O ! reflect with ihame and forrow how long all thefe quicken- ing applications were in vain ; you flill lay in a dead fleep, or, if at times you feemed to move, and gave us hopes you were coming to life again, you foon relapfed, and grew as fenfelefs as ever. And alas ! are there not" fome of you in this condition to this very moment I O deplorable fight ! May the hour come, and O that this may be the hour, in which fuch dead {oyAsJhall hear the voice of the Son of God and live * John v. 25 • But as to fuch of you in whom I would exemplify this hiftory of a fpiritual refurrection when your cafe was thus deplorable, and feemingly helplefs, the happy hour, the time of love came, vvhen you muft live. When all thefe apphcations had been un- fuccefsful, the all-quickening fpirit of God determined to exert more of his energy, and work more eifedlually upon you. Per- haps a verfe in your Bible, a fentence in a fermon, an alarming Providence, the converfation of a pious friend, or fomething that unexpectedly occurred to your own thoughts, fir ft ftruck your minds with unufual force ; you found you could not harden your- felves againft it as you were wont to do ; it was attended with a power Vou never before had felt, and which you could not refift : this made you thoughtful and penfive, and turned your minds to objects that you were wont to negled ; this made you ftand and paufe, and think of the ftate of your negleded fouls : you began to fear matters w^ere wrong with you ; *^ What will become of me when I leave this world ? Where fhall I refide for ever ? Am I prepared for the eternal world? How have I fpentmyhfe?" Thefe, and the like inquiries put you to a ftand, and you could not pafs over them fo fuperficially as you were wont to do ; your lins now appeared to you in a new light ; you were Ihocked and furprifed at their malignant nature, their number, their aggrava- tions, and their dreadful confequences. The great God, whom you were wont to negled, appeared to you as a Being that de- manded your regard ; you faw he was indeed a venerable, awful, majeftic Being, with whom you had the moft important concern : in (hort, you faw that fuch a life as you had led \vould never bring 1^38 'li't^e Nature and Procep Serin. 5. you to heaven : you faw you mufl make religion more your bufi- nefs than you had ever done, and hereupon you altered your former courfe ; you broke off from feveral of your vices, you deferted your extravagant company, and you began to frequent the throne of grace, to ftudy religion, and to attend upon its inflitutions ; and this you did with fome degree of earneftnefs and folicitude. When you were thus reformed, you began to flatter your- felves that you had efcaped out of your dangerous condition, and fecured the divine favour ; now you began to view yourfelves with fecret felf-appiaufe as true Chriftians ; but all this time the Feformation was only outward, and there was no new principle of a divine fupernatural life implanted in your hearts : you had not the generous paiTions and fenfations of living fouls towards God, but aded entirely from natural, fellilh principles : you had no clear heart- aifefting views of the intrinfic evil, and odious na- ture of fm, conlidered in itfelf, nor of the entire univerfal cor- ruption of your nature, and the necelTity not only of adorning your outer man by an external reformation, but of an inward change of heart by the almighty power of God : you were not deeply fenfible of the extent and fpirituality of the divine law, nor of the infinite purity and inexorable jufdce of the Deity : you had no love for religion and virtue for their own fakes, but only on account of their happy confequences* Indeed your love of no- velty and a regard to your ov/n happinefs might fo work upon you, for a time, that you might have very raifed and delightful paflions in religious duties ; but all your religion at that time was a mere fyflem of felfiihnefs, and you had no generous difinterefled delight in holinefs for its own excellency, nor did you heartily reiilh the ftridnefs of pure, living religion : you were alfo under the go- vernment of a felf-righteous fpirit : your own good worfe were the ground of your hopes, and you had no reliih for the mortify- ing docisrine of falvation through the mere mercy of God and the righteoufnefs of Jefus Ciiriil : though your education taught you to acknowledge Ghrifl as the only Saviour, and afcribe all your hopes to his death, yet in reality he was of very little importance in your religion ; • he had but little place in your heart and affec- tions, even when you urged his name as your only plea at the throne of grace : in Ihort, you had not the fpirit of the gofpel, nor any fpiritual life within you. And this is all the religion with which multitudes are contented : with this they obtain a name that they Hye ; but in the light of God, and in reality, they are dead ; and had you been fuffered to reft here, according to your own defire, you would have been dead ftili. But God, who'ip rich (O how inconceivably rich !) in mercy, for the great love wherewith he loved you, refoived to carry on his Serm. 5. of fpiritual Life, 139 work in you ; and therefore, while you were flattering yourfelves, and elated with a proud conceit of a happy change in your conditi- on, he furprizedyou with a very different view of your caie ; he opened your eyes farther, and then you faw, you felt thofe things Qf which till then you had little fenfe or apprehenfion ; fuch as the corruption of your hearts, the awful ftridnefs of the divine law, your utter inability to yield perfed obedience, and the necefiity of an inward change of the inclinations and rehflies of your foul. Thefe, and a great many other things of a like nature, broke in upon your minds with ftriking evidence, and a kind of almighty energy ; and now you faw you were ftill *^ dead in fm," weak, in- difpofed, averfe towards fpiritual things, aKd '■'■ dead in law," con- demned to everlafting death and mifery by its righteous fentence : now you fet about the duties of religion with more earneilnefs than ever j now you prayed, you heard, and ufed the other means of grace as for your life, for you faw that your eternal life was indeed at ftake ; and now, when you put the matter to a thorough trial, you were more fenfible than ever of your own weaknefs, and the difficulties in your way. " O ! v/ho would have thought my heart had been fo depraved that it ihould thus fly off from God, and ftruggle and relu6late againft returning to him?'' fuch was then your language. Alas ! you found yourfelves quite helplefs, and all your efforts feeble and ineffedlual ; then you perceived your- felves really dead in fm, and that you muft continue fo to all eter- nity, unlefs quickened by a power infinitely fuperior to your own : not that you lay flothful and inadive at this time ; no, never did you exert yourfelves fo vigoroufly in all your hfe, never did you beflege the throne of grace with fuch earneft importunity, never did you hear and read with fuch eager attention, or make fuch a vigorous refiflance againfl: fm and temptation ; all your natural powers were exerted to the higheft pitch, for now you faw your cafe reqr.ired it : but you found all your moft: vigorous endeavours infufficient, and you were fenfible that, without the affiftance of a fuperior power, the work of religion could never be effefted. Now you were reduced very low indeed. While you imagin- ed you could render yourfelves fafe by a reformation in your own power, you were not much alarmed at your condition, though you faw it bad. But O ! to feel yourfelves dead in fm, and that you cannot help yourfelves ; to fee yourfelves in a ftate of condemnati- on, liable to execution every moment, and yet to find all your own endeavour? utterly infufficient to relieve you ; to be obhged, after all you had done, to lie at mercy, and confefs that you w^ere as de- ferving of everlafling puniihment as ever the moft notorious cri- minal was of the itroke of public juftice : this was afiate of ex- treme dejedion, terror, and anxiety indeed. The proud, felf-con- fident creature was nev^er thoroughly mortified and humbled till 140 ^The I^ature and Procejs Serm. 5. now, when he is flainby the law, and entirely cut off from all hopes from himfelf. And now, finding you could not fave yourfelvcs, you began to caft about you, and look out for another to fave you: now you were more feniible than ever of the abfoiute need of Jefus ; and you cried and reached after him, and Itirred up yourfelves to take hold of him. The gofpel brought the free offer of him to your ears, and you would fain have accepted of him ; but here new dif- ficulties arofe. Alas ! you did not think yourfelves good enough to accept of him, and hence you took a great deal of fruitlefs pains to make yourfelves better : you alfo found your hearts flrang'cly averfe to the gofpel-method of falvation, and, though a fenfe of your neceffity made you try to work up yourfelves to an approbation of it^ yet you could not aiFeftionately acquiefce in it, and cordially reliih it. And now, how melancholy v/as 3'our fituation ! you \'^'ere ^* ihut up to the faith,'' Gal. iii. 23. there v/as no other poiTible way of efcape, and yet, alas ! you could not take this way : now you V'cre ready to cry, ^^ I am cut oif : my ilrength and my hope are perlfhed from the Lord;" but, blelTed be God, he did not leave you in this condition. Man's extremity of diflrefs is God's opportunit}^ for relief and falvation ; and fo you found it. Now the procefs of preparatory operations- is juft cc»ne to a refuk. Now it is time for God to v.'ork, for nature has done her utmxOit, and has been found utterly infuiiicient ; now it is proper a divine fupernatural principle Ihould be infufed, for all the principles of nature have failed, and the proud fmner is obliged to own it, and Hand ftill, and fee the falvation of God. In tiiis iituation you wanted nothing but fuch a divine principle to make you living chriiHans indeed. Thefe preparatives were like the taldng avv'ay the iione from the fepulchre of Lazarus, which was a prelude of that almighty voice which called him from the dead. Now you appear to me like the dry bones in Ezekiel's vifio-i, in one ftage of the operation. After there had been a noife, and a fnaking among them, and the bones had come toge- ther, bone to his bone ; I beheld, fays he, and lo, the jinews and the fle.jh came up upon them, and the jkin co-n^^ed them above ; hut there was no bveaih in them ; Ezek. xxxvii.^8. this was all that was Vv'anting to make them living men- In like manner you at this time had the external appearance of chriiiians, but you had no divine fupernatural life in you ; you were but the fair carcafes of clirMlians ; your re]ic;ion had a body completely formed, but it had no foul in it ; and, liad the holy fpirit now given over his work, you ^- ould have continued dead iiill. Buu now the important crilis is come, when he who ftood over the grave of Laziaru>, and pvonoitnced . the life-reftoring ¥ Serm. 5. offpiritualUfe, 141 mandate, Lazari'.s, come firth ; when he who breathed into Adam the breath of life, and made him a Hving foul ; I fay, now the cri- lis is come, when he will implant the principles of life in your fouls ; fuddenly you feel the amazing change, and find you are acting from principles entirely new to you ; for now your hearts that were wont to relucT;ate, and ftart back from God, rife to him with the ftrongcft afpirations : now the way of falvation through Chrift, which you could never reliih before, appears all amJable and glorious, and captivates your whole fouls. Holinefs has lovely and powerful charms, which captivate you to the moft willing obedience, notwithftanding your former difguft to it ; and, though once you were enamoured wnth fm, or diiliked it on- ly becaufe you could not indulge it with impunity, it now appears to you a m.ere mafs of corruption and deformity, an abominable thing, which you hate above all other things on earth or in hell. At this jundure you were animated with a new hfe in every facult}- of your fouls, and hereupon you felt the infiinfts, the appetites, the fympathies and antipathies of a new life, a divine life, jullly fliled by the apoille the lifi of God ; the life of God in the foul of man- The puife of facred paflions began to beat towards fpiritual ob- jects ; the vital warmth of love fpread itfelf through your whole frame ; you breathed out your defuses and prayers before God ; like a new-born infant you began to cry after him, and at times you have learned to lifp his name with filial endearment, and cry Ahha, Father ; you hungered and thirfled after righte- oufnefs, and as every kind of life mufl have its proper noiiriih- ment, fo your fpiritual life fed upon Chrift, the living bread, and the fmcere milk of his word. You alfo felt a new fet ©f fenfa- tions ; divine things now made deep and tender imiprelTions upon you ; the great realities of religion and eternity now affected you in a manner unknown before ; you likewife found your fouls actu- ated with life and vigour in the fervice of God, and in the duties you owed to mankind. This ftrange alteration, no doubt, niled you with furprife and amazement, fomething like that of Adam when he found himfelf ftart into life out of his eternal non-exift- ence. With thefe new fenfations every thing appeared to you in a quite different light, and you could not but wonder that you had never perceived them in that manner before. Thus, my dear brethren, when you were even dead in fm, God quickened you together with Chrift, It is true, the princi- ple of life might be very v/eak at firft, like the life of a new-born infant, or a fcetusjuft -animated in the womb ; nay, it may be but very weak ftill, and at times may languilh, and feem juft expiring in the agonies of death ; but, bleffed be the quickening fpirit of Chrift, lincc'the happy hour of your refurrection you have never been, and you never will be to all eternity, what you once v/ere, 142 7'he Nature and P roc ejs Serm. 5* ** dead in trefpafTes and fms.'^ Should I give you your ownhlf- tory lince that time, it would be to this purpofe, and you will difcern many Jymptoms of life in it. You have often known what ficknefs of foul is, as well as of body ; and fometimes it has rifen to fuch a height as to endanger your fpiritual life. The feeds of fm, that ilill lurk in your conftitution, like the principles of death, or a deadly poifon circulating through your veins, have often ftrug- gled for the maftery, and call you intolanguifhing or violent difor- ders ; then was the divine life opprelTed, and you could not freely 4fcaw the breath of prayer and pious defires ; you lofl: the appetite for the word of God, and what you received did not digeft well and turn to kindly nourilhment ; the pulfe of facred paiilons beat faint and irregular, the vital heat decayed, and you felt a death-like cold creeping upon you and benumbing you- Sometimes you have been afflided, perhaps, with convuHlons of violent and outrageous paf- fions, with the dropfy of infatiable defires after things below, with the lethargy of carnal fecurity, or the fever of lull: at other tim.es you have felt an univerfal dii order through your whole frame, and you hardly knew what ailed you, only you were fare your fouls were not well ; but perhaps your moft common diforder that feiz- es you is a kind of confumption, a lownefs of fpirits, a langour arid weaknefs, the want of appetite for your fpiritual food, or perhaps a naufea and difgull towards it ; you alfo live in a country very un- wholefome to living fouls ; you dwell among the dead, and catch contagion from the converfation of thcfc around you, and this heightens the diforder ; add further, that old lerpent the d-evil labours to infecl you with his deadly poifon, and increafe the pec- cant humours by his temptations : at fuch times you can hardly feel any workings of fpiritual life in you, and you fear you are entirely dead ; but exaniine ftriclly, and you will difcover fome vital fymp- toms even in this bad habit of foul ; for does not your new nature exert itfelf to work off the diforder > Are not your fpirits in a ferment, and do yoixx not feel yourfe-lves in exquidte pain, or at leafl greatly uneafy ? Give all the world to a Tick man, and he defpifes it all : *^ O give me my health,*' fays he," ^* or you give me nothing.'' So it is with you ; nothing can content you while your fouls are thus out of order. Do ycu not long for their re- covery, that you may go about your bufmefs again ; I mean that ■you may engage in the fervice of God with all the vigour of health ? and do you not apply to Chriil as your only phyfician in this condi. tlon ? Aiid O ! what an healing balm is his blood i what a reviv- ing cordial is his love ! and how kindly docs his fpirit purge oft the- corrupt humours, and fubdue the principles of lin and death ! Has not experience tnught you the meaning of the apoftle, when he fays, Ckr'ijt is our lift .• and 7 Hve, yet ?iot 7, hut Chrijt liveth in me^ Gai. ii. 2C* Do you not perceive that Chriil is your vital head. Serm. 5. ofJpiritualLifc. 143 r and that you revive or languilh juft as he communicates or with- holds his influence ? And have you not been taught in the fame way what is the meaning of that expreflion fo often repeated, The juji-jh all live by his fuith ? Hab. ii. 4. Do you not find that faith is, as it were, the grand artery by which you derive hfe from Chrift, and by which it is circulated through your whole frame ; and that when faith languiihes, then you weaken, pine away, and perhaps fall into a fwoon, as though you were quite dead ? Are you not careful of the health of your fouls ? You endeavour to keep them warm with the love of God ; you ihun thofe lickly regions as far as you can, where the example and converfation of the wicked fpread their deadly infection, and you love to» dwell among living fouls, and breathe in their wholefome air. Upon the whole, it is evident, notwithilanding your frequent indifpofitions, you have Ibme life v/ithin you : life takes occafion to fhew itfelf, even from your diforders. It is a plain fymptom of it, that you have fome- thing within you that makes fuch a vigorous refiftance againft the principles of fin and death, and throws your whole frame into a ferment, till it has wrought off the diftemper. In fhort, you have the fenfations, the fympathies and antipatliies, the pleasures and pains of living fouls. And is it lb indeed? Then from this moment begin to rejoice and blefs the Lord, who raifed you to fpiritual life. O let the hearts he has quickened beat with his love; let the lips he has opened, when quivering in death, fpeak hispraife, and devote that life to him which he has given you, and which he ftill fupports ! Confider what a divine and noble kind of life he has given you. It is a capacity and aptitude for the moft exalted and divine fervic- es and enjoyments. Now you have a relilh for the Supreme Good as your happinefs, the only proper food for your immortal fouls, and he will not fufFer you to hunger and thirft in vain, but will fa- tisfy the appetites he has implanted in your nature. You have fome fpirit and life in his fervice, and are not like the dead fouls a- round you, that are all alive towards other objects, but abfolutely dead towards him : you have alfo noble and exalted fenfations ; you are capable of a fet of pleafures of a more refined and fublime nature than what are relilhed by groveling fmners. From your inmoft fouls you detefl and naufeate whatever is mean, bafe, and abominable, and you can feaft on what is pure, amiable, excellent, and worthy of your love. Your vitiated tafte for trafh and poifon is cured, and you feed upon heavenly bread, upon food agreeable to the conftitution of your fpiritual nature ; and hence you may infer your meetnefs for the heavenly world, that region of per- fed vitality. You have a difpofirion for its enjoyments and fer- vice^, and this is the grand preparative. God will not encumber tlie heaven of his glorv with dead fouls, nor inferide and grandeur to overlook or difdain their dependents. We ihould be ready in hopelefs an^ciety to fay, '' Is all this earth which to us appears fo vafl, and which is parcelled into a thoufand mighty kingdoms, as we caH them, is k alLbut the humble foot- ftool of X^od ? hardly wortliy to hear his feet ? What then am I ? iin atom of an-atom.-v/orld, a trifling individual of a-triiling race. Cs^n I expect he will take any notice of fuch an mlignilicant thing as I > The vaft affairs of heaven and earth lie upon his hand, and be is employed m tlie concerns of the' wide univerie, and can he firid leifure to concern himfeif ^4th me, and my little iaterefts ? Will a king, deliberating ujx^n the concerns. of nationa, intcreit Serin. 6. ihs Objeds cf Divine Favour. 149 liimfelf in favour of the worm that crawls at his footftool ? If the magnificent temple of Solomon was unworthy of the divine inha- bitant, will he admit me into his prefence, and give me audience ? how can I exped it? It feems daring and prefumptuous to hope for fuch condefcenfion. And ihall I then defpair of the graciouc regard of niy Maker ?" No, defponding creature ! mean and unvrorthy as thou art, hear the voice of divine condefcenfion, as well as of Majefty : T& this man loill I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite fpirit^ and that trembleth at my ivord. Though God d'welleth not va temples made with hands, though he pours contempt upon princes, and fcorns them in all their haughty glory and affected m3je%, 5^et there are perfons whom his gracious eye willregard. The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, and dvvelleth in the high and holy place, he will look down through all the Ihining ranks of angeJsupon — whom? Not on the proud^ the haughty and prefumptuous, but upon him that is poor, and of a contrite Spirit, and trembleth at his -juord. To this man will he look from the throne of his majeily, however low, hovs'ever mean he may be. This man is an object that can, as it were, attraft his eyes from all the glories of the heavenly world, fo as to regard a hum- ble felf-abalirig worm. This man can never be loft or overlooked among the multitude of creatures, but the eyes of the Lord will difcover him in the grearefl crowd, his eyes will gracioufly fix up- on this man, this particular man, though there w ere but one fuch in the compafs of the creation, or though he were banifhed into the remoteft corner of the univerfe, like a diamond in a heap of rubbilli, or at the bottom of the ocean. Do you hear this, you that are poor and contrite in fpirit, and that tremble at his word ? ye that, above all others, are mofl apt to fear you fhali be difregarded by hina, becaufeyou, of all others, are mofb deeply fenfible how unworthy you are of his gracious no- tice : God, the great, the glorious, the terrible God, looks down upon you with eyes of love, and by fo much the more aifedion- ately, by how much the lower you are in your own efteem. Does not your heart fpring within you at the found ? Are you not loft in pleafing w^onder and gratitude, and crying out, " Can it be ? can it be ? is it indeed pofTible ? is it true :'* Yes, you have his own word for it, and do not think it too good news to be true, but believe, and rejoice, and give glory to his name ; and fear not what men or devils can do unto you. This, my brethren, is a matter of univerfal concern- It is the intereft of each of us to know whether we are thus gracioufly re- garded by that God on whom our very being and all our happi- nefs entirely depend. Andhow Ihall we know this? In no other way than by difcoverino- whether sve have the characters of that happr 150 Poor and co7it-rite spirits Serm, 6* man to whom he cohdercends to look. Thefe are not pompoas and high characters, they are not formed by earthly riches, learn, ^"gj Z^^^Yf ^"^^ power : But to this man will I look, iaith the Lorjd, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite fpirit, and that tremhleth at my ivord. Let us inquire into the import of each of the characters. I. It is the poor man to whom the Majefty of heaven conde- fcends to look. This does not principally refer to thofe that are poor in this world ; for, though it be very common that ** the poor of this world are chofcn to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom/* James ii. 5. yet this is not an univerfal rule ; fo^ many, alas i that are poor in this world are not rich towards God, nor rich in good works, and therefore Ihall famifh through eternity in reme- dilefs want and wretchednefs. But the poor here figniiics fuch as Chrift charad:eri2es more fully by the poor in fpirit* Matt. v. 3. And this charajfter implies the following ingredients : (i .) The poor fnan to whom Jehovah looks is deeply fcHliblc of his own infufficiency, and that nothing but the enjoyment of God can make him happy. The poor man feels that he is not formed felf-fufficient, but a dependent upon God. He is fenlible of the weaknefs and poverty of his nature, and that he was not endowed with a fufficient flock of riches in his creation to fupport him through the endiefs dura- tion for which he was formed, or even for a lingle day. The feeble vine does not more clofely adhere to the ehn than he does to his God. He is not more fenlible of the infulSciency of his body to fubfifb without air, or the produftions of the earth, than of that of his foul v."ithout his God, and the enjoyment of his love. In ihort, he is reduced into his proper place in the fyflem of the vmiverfe, low and mean in comparifon with fuperior beings of the angelic order, and efpecially in comparifon v\'ith the great Parent and fupport of nature. He feels himfelf to be, what he really is, a poor impotent dependent creature, that can neither live, nor move, nor exifl: v/ithout God. He is fenfible that msfufficiency /r of Cod, 2 Cor. iii. 5. *^ and that all the fprings of his happinefs are in him.^' This fenfe of his dependence upon God is attended with a fenfe of tlie inability of all eartkly enjoyments to make hini happy, and fill tlie vaft capacities of his foul, which v/ere formed for the enjoyment of an infinite good. He has a reliPn for the bleinngs of this life, but it is attended with a fenfe of their infufficiency, and does not exclude a llronger reliih for the fuperior plea fures of religion* He is not a precife hermit, or a four afcetic, on the one hand ; and, on the other, he Is not a lover ofpkafure more than a kvcr of Cod' Serm. 6. th3 OhjeCls of Divine Favour^ 151 If he enjoys no great fhare of the comfiorts of this Hfe, he does not labour, nor fo much as wifli for them as his fupreme happinefs : he is well afTured they can never anfwer this end in their greateft affluence. It is for God, it is for the living God, that his foul moft eagerly thirfts. In the greateft extremity he is fenfible that the enjoyment of his love is more necelTary to his fehcity than the poiFeirion of earthly blelfmgs ; nay, he is fenfible, that if he is miferable in the abfence of thefe, the principal caufe is the abfence of his God. O ! if he were bleft with the perfed en- joyment of God, he could fay with Kabakkuk, Though the fig- tree Jloould not bhlfoniy and there fhould he no fruit in the vine ; though the labour of the olive fhould fall, and the fields yield no meat ; though the flock fhould be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the /}■ all ; thou^ univerfal famine ihould ftrip me of all my earthly blellings, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, as my complete happinefs; I-willjoyintheGodofmyfalvation' Hab. iii. 17, i8- If he enjoys an affluence of earthly bleffings, he ftill retains a fenfe of his need of the enjoyment of God. To be difcontenc and diifatisfied is the common fate of the rich as well as the poor ; they are ftill craving, craving an unknown fomething to complete their blifs. The foul, being formed for the fruition of the Su- preme Good, fecretly languilhes and pines away in the midft of other enjoyments, without knowing its cure. It is the enjoy- ment of God only that can fatisfy its unbounded defires ; but, alas ! it has no relifh for him, no thirft after him ; it is ftill cry- ing, *^ More, more of the dehghts of the world ;'' like a man iii a burning fever, that calls for cold water, that will but inflame his difeafe, and occafion a more painful return of thirft. But the poor in fpirit know where their cure lies. They do not alk with uncertainty, Who 'willfljew us any fort o^ goodP but their petitions centre in this, as the grand constituent of their happinels. Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us ; and this puts more gladnefs into their hearts than the abundance of corn and wine- Pfahu iv. 6, 7. This was the language of the Pfalmift, There is none upon earth that I defire bejides thee* My fefo and my heart faileth ; but thou art the Jirength of my heart, and my portion for ever' Pfalm Ixxiii. 25, 26. And as this difpofition extends to all earthly things, fo it does to all created enjoyments whatfoever, even to thofe of the heavenly world ; the poor man is fenfible that he could not be happy even there without the enjoyment of God. His language is, whom have I in heaven hut thee ? It is beholding thy face in righteoufnefs, and awaking in thy likenefs^ that alone can fatisfy me* Pfalm xvii. 15. ' ' (i-) This fpiritual poverty implies deep humility and felf-abafe^ ment. J ^2 Poor and contrite Spirits Serm. 6, The poor man on whom th^ God of heaven condefcends to look, is mean in his own apprehenfions ; he accounts himfelf not a being 6f mighty importance. He has no high efleem of his own good qualities, but is httle in his own eyes. He is not apt to give himfelf the preference to others, but is ready to give way to them as his fuperiors. He has a generous fagacity to behold their good qualities, and a commendable blindnefs towards their imperfec- tions : but he is not quick to difcern his own excellencies, nor fparing to his own frailties. Inftead of being dazzled with the fplendor of his own endow- ments or acquifitions, he' is apt to overlook them with a noble neglechl, and is fenfible of the weaknefs and defects of his nature. And as to his gracious qualities, they appear fmall, exceeding fmall to him : when he confiders how much they fall iliort of what they fhould be, they as it w^re vaniili and ihrink into no- thing. How cold does his love appear to him in its greateft fer- vour ! How feeble hisfaith in its greateftconfldence ! How fuperficial his repentance in its greateil depth ! How proud his lowefl humi- lity ! And as for the good adions he has performed, alas! how few, how poorly done, how ihort of his duty do they appear ! After he has done all, he counts himfelf an unprofitable fervant. After he has done all, he is more apt to adopt the language of the publican than the pharifee, God be ynerclful to me a firmer, In his higheft attainments he is not apt to admire himfelf; fo far is he from it, that it is much more natural to him to fall into the op- pofite extreme, and to account himfelf the leafl, yea, lefs than the leaft of all other faints upon the face of the earth : and if he contends for any preference, it is for the loweft place in the lift of chriftians. This difpofition was remarkably exemplified in St. Paul, who probably had made greater advancements in holi- nefs than any faint that was ever received to heaven from this guiltj^ world. He that is poor in fpirit has alfo a humbhng fenfe of his own fin- fulnefs. His memory is quick to recoiled his paft fms, and he i^ very iharp-iighted to difcover the remaining corruptions of his heart, and the imperfections of Lisbeft duties. He is not ingeni- ous to excufe them, but views them impartially in all their defor- mity and aggravations. He fmcerely doubts whether there be a faint upon earth fo exceeding corrupt ; and, though he may bo convinced that the Lord has begun a work of grace in him, and confequently, that he is in a better ftate than luch as are under the prevailing dominion of fm, yet be really quelHons whether there be fuch a depraved creature in the world as he fees he has been. He is apt t^ count himfelf the chief of iinners, and more indebted to free grace than any of the fons of men. He rs inti^ mately acquainted with himfelf; but he {^t^ only the out-fide of others, and hence he concludes himfelf fo much v/orfe than others ; Scrm. 6. the ObjtCls of Divine Favour, 1^3 hence he loaths himfelf in his own , fight for all his abominations. Ezek. xxxvi. 31. Self-abafement is pleafmg to him ; his humility- is not forced ; he does not think it a great thing for him to fink thus Jow. He plainly fees himfelf to be a mean, fmful, exceeding fm- ful creature, and therefore is fure that it is no condefcenfion, but the moft reafonable thing in the world for him to think meanly of himfelf, and to humble and abafe himfelf. It is unnatural for one that efteems himfelf a being of great importance to ftoop : but it is eafy, and appears no felf-denial for a poor mean creature to do fo, who looks upon himfelf, and feels himfelf, to be fuch. Finally, the poor man is deeply fenfible of his own unworthi- nefs. He ^tes that in himfelf he deferves no favour from God for all the good he has ever done, but that he may after all juftly re- j ed him. He makes no proud boafts of his good heart, or good life, but falls in the dull: before God, and cafts all his dependence upon his free grace .-—which leads me to obferve, (3.) That he who is poor in fpirit is fenfible of his need of the influences of divine grace to fandify him, and enrich him with thq graces of the fpirit. He is fenfible of the want of holinefs ; this nece flTarily flows from his fenfe of his corruption, and the imperfection of all his graces. Holinefs is the one thing needful with him, which he defires and longs for above all others ; and he is deeply fenfible that he cannot work it in his own heart by his own ftrength ; he feels that without Chrifl he can do nothing, and that it is God who muft: work in him both to will and to do. Hence, like a poor man that cannot fubfifl: upon his flock, he depends entirely upon the grace of God to work all his works in him, and to enable him to work out his falvation with fear and trembling. (4.) He is deeply fenfible of the abfolute neceflity of the righ- teoufiiefs ofChriftfor hisjuftification. He does not think himfelf rich in good works to bribe his judge, and procure acquittance, but, hke a poor criminal that, having nothing to purchafe a pardon, nothing to plead in his own defence, cafl:s himfelf upon the mercy of the court, he places his whole de- pendence upon the free grace of God through Jefus Chrifl:. He pleads his righteoufnefs only, and trufl:s in it alone. The rich fcorn to be obliged ; but the poor, that cannot fubfifl: of them- felves, will cheerfully receive. So the felf-righteous will not fub- mit to the righteoufnefs of God, but the poor in fpirit will cheer- fufly receive it. (5.) And laftly, the man that i? poor in fpirit is an importunate beggar at the throne of grace. He lives upon charity ; he lives upon the bounties of heaven ; and, as thefe are not to be obtained without begging, he is fre- quently lifting up his cries to the Father of all his mercies for them. He attends upon the ordinances of God, as Bartitneus by the way 154 Peorand contrite Spirits Serm. 6. fide, to afk the charity of palTengers. Prayer is the natural lan- guage of fpiritual poverty ; Thepojr, faith Solomon, ufeth intrea- ties: Prov. xviii. 23. whereas they that are rich in their own conceit can live without prayer, or content themfelves with the carelefs formal performance of it. This is the habitual charad:er of that poor man to whom the Majefty of heaven vouchfafes the looks of his love. At times in- deed he has but little fenfe of thefe things ; but then he is uneafy, and he labours to re-obtain it, and fometimes is actually blefled with it. And is there no fuch poor man or woman in this alTembly? I hope there is. Where are ye poor creatures ? ftand forth, and receive the blelfrngs of your Redeemer, BleJJed are the poor infptrit, Sec He who has his throne in the height of heaven, and to whom this vaft earth is but a footftool, locks upon you with eyes of love. This fpiritual poverty is greater riches than the treasures of the iiniverfe. Be net alhamed therefore to own yourfelves poor men, if fuch you are. May God thus impoverilh us all ! may he ftrip us of all our imaginary grandeur and riches, and reduce us to poor beggars at his door ! But it is time to confider the other character of the happy man upon whom the Lord of heaven will gracioufly look : and that is, II. Contrition of l}:>irit. To this 'man willl looky that is of a con- tntefpirlt. The word contrite fignifies one that is beaten or bruifed with hard blovvs, or an heavv burden. And it belono;s to rhe mourn- ing penitent whofe heart is broken and wounded for Tin. Sin is an intolerable burden that cruOies and bruifes liim, and he feels him- iclf pained and fore under ir. His iloney heart, which could not be imprefTed, but rather repelled the blow, is taken away ; and now he has an heart of ?Lt?n, eailly bruifed and wounded. His heart is not always hard and fenfelefs, light and trifling ; but it has tender fenfations ; he is eauly fufceptive of forrow for fm, is humbled under a fenfe of his imperfections, and il^ really pained and diftrefled becaufe he can ferve his God no better, but daily fins againif him. Thischarader may alfo agree to the poor anx- ious foul that is broken with cruel fears of itsliate. The ftout- hearted can venture their eternal all upon uncertainty, and in- dulge plesling hopeswithout anxioudy examining their for.ndation ;* but he that is of a contrite fpirit is tenderly fenlibie of the impor- tance of the matter, and cannot be eafy without fome good evi- dence of fafety. Sucii j'hocking fvippoii lions as thefe frequently ftartle him, and pierce his very heart : '^ VV hat if I fiiould be de- ceived at laft? What if after all I ihouldbe baniihed fi-om that God in Vv'homlies all my happinefs,'' dr<:. The^e rre fuppolitions full of infupportable terror,' when they appear but barely rolfible ; and much more v.hen there- feeras to be reafon for them. Such an Serm. 6. the OhjeCts of Divine Favour. 155 habitual pious jealoufy as this, is a good fymptom ; and to your pleafing furprize, ye doubtful chriftians, I may tell you that that Majefly, who you are afraid difregards you, looks down upon you with pity. Therefore lift up your eyes to him in wonder and joyful confidence. You are not fuch iieglefted things as you y think. The Majefty of heaven thinf^r beneath him to lookZS^^ down through all the glorious orders of angels, and through m- terpofmg worlds, down, down even upon you in the depth of your feif- abhorrence. Let us, III. Confider the remaining chara»5ler of the happy man to whom the Lord will look : Him that tremhleth at my word* 1 This character implies a tender fenfe of the great things of the I worH, and an heart ealily impreffed with them as the moll impor- tant realities. This was remarkably exemplified in tender-hearted Jofiah. 2- Chron^xiv. 19, 20, 27- To one that trembles at the divine word, the threatenings of it do not appear vain terrors, nor great fweliing words of vanity, but the moll tremendous re- alities. Such an one cannot bear up under them, but would trem- ble, and fall, and die away, if not relieved by fome happy promife of deliverance. He that trembles at the word of God is not a ftupid hearer or reader of it. It reaches and pierces his heart as a iharp two-edged fword ; it carries power along with it, and he feels that it is the word of God, and not of men, even when it is fpoken by feeble mortals. Thus he not only trembles at the ter- ror, but at the authority of the word ; — which leads me to obferve fiirther, that he trembles with filial veneration of the majefly of God fpeaking in his word. Ke confiders it as his voice who fpake all things into being, and wliofe glory is fuch, that a deep folem- nity mull feize thofe that are admitted to hear him fpeak. How oppofite is this to the temper of multitudes VN/ho regard the word of God no more than (with horror I exprefs it) the v/ord of a child or a fool- They will have their own way, let him fay what he will. They perfift in ^m, in defiance of his threatenings. " They fit as carelefs and ftupid under his v/ord, as though it were fome old, dull, trifling ftory, It feldom makes any imprefiions upon their ftony heart?. Thefe are the brave, undaunted men of the world, who harden themfelves againil the fear of futurity, But, unhappy creatures! the God of heaven difdains to give them a gracious look, while he fixes his e es upon the man that ^^ is contrite, and that trembles at his v/ord.'* And where is that happy man ? Where in this aflembly, where is the contrite fpirit ? Where the man that trembleth at the word ? You are all ready'^to catch at the charader, but be not prelump- tuous on the one hand, nor excerffively timorous on the other. In| quire whether this be your prevailing charafter. If fo, the claim it, and rejoice in it, though you have it not in pcrfeclioa. 156 Poor and contrite spirits Scrm. 6. But if you have it not prevailingly, do not feize it as your own. Though you have been at times diflrefled with a fenfe of fm and danger, and the word ftrikes a terror to your hearts, yet, unlefs you are habitually of a tender and contrite fpirit, you are not to claim the charafter- But let fuch of youSs^are poor and contrite in fpirit, and that tremble at the word of the Lord, enter deeply into the meaning of this expreflion, that the Lord looks to you. He does not look on you as a carelefs fpedator, not concerning himfelf with you, or caring what will beconxe of you, but he looks upon you as a father, a friend, a benefactor : his looks are efficacious for your good. He looks upon you with acceptance. He is pleafed with the fight. He loves to fee you labouring towards him. He looks up- on you as the objects of his everlafting love, 'and purchafed by the blood of his Son, and he is well pleafed with you for his righteouf- nefs fake. Hence his looking upon him that is poor, ^c* is op- pofed to his hating the wicked and their facrifices, ver. 3. And is he whom you have fo grievoufly offended, he whofe wrath you fear above all other things, is he indeed reconciled to you, and does he delight in you ? what caufe of joy, and praife, and won- der is here ? Again, he looks to you fo as to take particular notice of you. He fees all the workings of your hearts towards him. He fees and pities you in your honeft, though feeble conflids with in- dwelling fin. He obferves all your faithful though weak endea- vours to Jerve him. His eyes pierce your very hearts, and the leaft motion there cannot efcape his not'ce. This indeed might make you tremble, if he looked upon you with the eyes of a judge, for O how many abominations muft he fee in you ! But be of good cheer, he looks upon you with the eyes of a friend, and with that love which covers a multitude of iins. He looks upon you with the eyes of compalhon in all your calamities. He looks upon you to fee that you be not overborne and cruihed. David, v/ho pafTed through as many hardlhips and afHlftions as any of you, could fay from happy experience, the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry* Pfal. xxxiv. 15. Finally, he looks to you fo as to look after you, as we do after the lick and weak. He looks to you fo as to provide for you : and he will give you grace and glory, and no good thtng will he held from you* Pfal. Ixxxiv. 1 1. And are you not iafe and happy under the infpection of a father and a friend ? Let a little humble courage then animate you amid your many dejections, and confide in that care of which you feel yourfeif to be fo unv/orthy. Here it may not be amifs to cbferve, what muft give you n» Scrm. 6, the ObjeCfs of Divine Favour, i ^y fmall pleafure, that thofe very perfons who according to the efti- mate of men are the moft hkely to be overlooked, are thofe whom God gracioufly regards. The perfons themfelves are> apt to cry << Happy I, could I believe that the God of heaven thus gracioufly regards me; but, alas! I feel myfelfa poor unworthy creature ; I am a trembling bi oken-hearted thing, beneath the notice of fo great a Majefty.'' And art thou fo indeed ? then I may convert thy objediion into an encouragement. Thou art the very perfon upon whom God looks. His eyes are running to and fro through the earth in queft of fuch as thou art ; and he will find thee out among the innumerable multitudes of mankind. Wert thou fur- rounded with crowds of kings and nobles, his e}'es would pafs by h em all to fix upon thee. What a glorious artifice, if I may fo fpeak, is this to catch at and convert the perfon's difcouragement as a ground of courage ! to make that the charader of the favour- ites of heaven, which they themfelves look upon as marks of his negled of them ! " Alas !'' fays the poor man, '^ if I was the bbjed of divine notice, he would not fuffer me to continue thus poor and broken-hearted." But you may reafon diredly the reverfe, he makes you thus poor in fpirit, fenfible of your fmful- nefs and imperfedions, becaufe that he gracioufly regards you. He will not fulFer you to be puffed up with your imaginary good- nefs, like the refl of the world, becaufe he loves you more than he loves them. However unaccountable this procedure feems, thereis very good f eafon for it. The poor are the only perfons that would relifh the enjoyment of God, and prize his love : they alone are capable of the happinefs of heaven, which confifts in the perfection of holi- nefs. To conclude. Let us view the perfedion and condefcenfion of God as illuftrated by this fubjecl. Confider, ye poor in fpirit, who He is ihat floops to look upon fuch little things as you. It is He whofe throne is in the higheft heaven, furrounded with myriads of angels and archangels ; it is he whofe footftool is the earth, who fupports every creature upon it; it is he who is exalted above the blelfing andoraifeof all the celeftial armies, and who cannot with- out condelctnfion behold the things that are done in heaven ; it is He that looks down upon fuch poor worms as you. And what a iloop is this ? It is he that looks upon you in particular, who looks after all the worlds he has made. He manages all the affairs of the univerfe ; he takes care of every individual in his v?9i family ; he provides for all his creatures, and yet he is at leifure to regard you. He takes as particular notice of you as if you were his only creatures- What perfedion is this ! what an infinite grafp of thought ! what unbound^ power ! and what, condefcenfion too !— Do but conii- 15^ Poor and contrite Spirits Sec, Scrm. 6, der what a fmall figure you make in the univerfe of beings. You are not fo much in comparifon with the infinite multitude of crea. tures in the compafs of nature, as a grain of fand to all the fands upon the fea-ihore, or as a mote to the vaft globe of earth? and yet he, that has the care of the whole univerfe, takes particular notice of you — yo\^ who are but trifles, compared with your fellow- creatures ; andwho,:f you were annihilated, would hardly leave a blank in the creation. Confider this and wonder at the conde- fcenfion of God ; confider this, and acknowledge your own mean- nefs; you are but nothing not only compared with God, but you are as nothing in the fyftem of creation. I (hall add but this one natural refleftion : If it be fo great a happinefs to have the great God for our patron, then what is it to be out of his favour ? to be difregarded by him ? methinks an uni- verf al tremour may feize this alTembly at the very fuppolition. And is there a creature in the univerfe in this wretched condition? methinks all the creation befides mull pity him. Where is the wretched being to be found ? muft we defcend to hell to find him ? No, alas ! there are many fuch on this earth ? nay, I muft come nearer you ftill, there are many fuch probably in this affembly : all among you are luch who are :::ot poor and contrite in fpirit, and do not tremble at the word of the Lord- And art thou not one of the miferable number, O man ? What ! difregarded by the God that made thee ! not favoured with one look of love by the Author of all happinefs ! He looks on thee indeed, but it is with eyes of indignation, marking thee out for vengeance; and canft thou be eafy in fuch a cafe ? wilt thou not labour to impove- riih thyfelf, and have thy heart broken, that thou mayeft become the cbjeft of his gracious regard ? <;-o<;;>i:;;:<:x>::::o<>o;D<:>::>=5f--;>v>=o would they read and think of thefe things as they do ? I profefs I have been ready to wonder when I have heard fuch weighty things delivered, how people can forbear crying out in the congregation, and much m.cre do I wonder how they can reft, till they have gone to their minifters and learned v/lu t they fli all do fo be l\ived, that this great buflnefs ihould be put out of doubt. O" that heaven and hell Ihould work no more upon men ! O that eternitv- Ihould work no more ! O how can you forbear when you are alone to think with yourfelves what it is to be everlaft- inglv in joy or torment ! I wonder that fuch thoughts do not break your fteep, and .that they' do net crowd into your minds v hen you Serm. 7« making light of Chrift , 1 67 t^re about your labour 1 I wonder how you can almoft do any thing elfe I How can you have any quietnefs in your minds \ how can you eat or drink, or reft, till you have got fome ground of everlafting confolations ? Is that a man or a corpfe that is not affected with matters of this moment? that can be readier tofleep than to tremble, when he hears how he muft ftand at the bar of God ? Is that a man or a qlod of clay that can rife up and lie down without being deeply affeded with his everlafting ftate ? that can follow his worldly bufmefs, and make nothing of the great bufmefs of falvation or damnation, and that when he knows it is fo hard at hand ? Truly, Sirs, when I think of the weight of the matter, I wonder at the beft faints upon earth, that they are no better, and do no more in fo weighty a cafe. I wonder at thofe whom the world accounts more holy than needs, and fcorns for mak»ij,g^ too much ado, that they can put ofFChrift and their fouls with fo little ; that they do not pour out their fouls in every prayer ; that they are not more taken up with God ; that their thoughts are not more ferious in preparation for their laft account. I wonder that they are not a thoufand times more ftrift in their lives, and more laborious and unwearied for the crown than they are. And for myfelf (fays that zealous, flaming, and indefatigable preacher) as I am aihamed of my dull and carelefs heart, and of my flow and unprofitable courfe of life, fo the Lord knows I am aihamed of every fermon that I preach : when I think what I am, and who fent me, and how .much the falvation and damnation of men is concerned in it, I am ready to tremble, left God fhould judge me as a (lighter of his truth and the fouls of men, and left in my beft fermon I ihould be guilty of their blood. Methinks we Ihould not fpeak a word to men in matters of fuch confequence without tears, or the greateft earneftnefs that poffibly wc can. Where we not too much guilty of the fin which we reprove, it would be fo. Whether wc are alone or in company, methinks our end, and fuch an end, fhould ftill be in our mind, and as before our eyes ; and we fhould fooner forget any thing, or fet light by any thing, or by all things, than by this." And now, my brethren, if fuch a man as this viewed thefc things in thishght, O what fhall we, we languifhing carelefs crea- tures, what fhall we think of ourfelves \ Into what a dead (leep are we fallen ! O let tl^ moft active and zealous among us awake, and be a thoufand timfes more earneft : and ye frozen-hearted, carelefs finners, for God's fake awake, and exert yourfelves tg good purpofe in the purfuit of falvation, or yoii are loft to all eter- nity. II I. Confider whofe falvation it is you make light of. It is your own. And do you not care what becomes of Jrour own felvcs? Is it nothing to you whether you be faved or damned for ever? 1 68 Ths Nature and Danger of Serm. ^, Is the natural principle of felf-love extindl in you ? Have you no concern for your own prefervation? Arc you commenced your own enemies ? If you flight Chrift and love fin, you virtually love death. Prov. viii. 36. You may as well fay, <* 1 will hve^ and yet neither eat nor drink," as fay, " I will go to heaveii, and yet make light of Chrift.'' And you may as well fay this in words as by your pradice. IV. Confider your fin is aggravated by profeffing to believe that gofpel which you make light of. For a profelfed infidel, that does not believe the fcripture-revelation concerning Chrift, and a future ftate of rewards and punilhments, for fuch a one to be carelefs about thefe things, would not be fo ftrange ; but for you that make thefe things your creed, and a part of your religion, for you that call yourfelves chriftians, and have been baptized mto this faith; for you, I fay, to make light of them, how aftoniih- ing ! how utterly inexcufable ! What ! believe that you Ihall live for ever in the moft perfeft happinefs or exquifite mifery, and yet take no more pains to obtain the one, and efcape the other I What ! believe that the great and dreadful God will fiiortly be your judge, and yet make no more preparation for it ? Either fay plainly, ^^ I am no chriftian, I do not befiere thefe things ;*' or clfe let your hearts be aifedcd with your belief, and let it influ- ence and govern your lives. V. Confider what thofe things are which engrofs your affedi- ons, and which tempt you to neglect Chrift and your falvation. Have you found out a better friend, or a more fubftantial, and lafting happinefs than his falvation? O! what trifles and vanities, what dreams and ihadows are men purfuing, while they negledt the important reahties of the eternal world ! If crowns and king- doms, if all the riches, glories, and pleafures of the world were infured to you as a reward for making light of Chrift, you would even then make the moft foolifh bargain poiTible ; for what are thefe in the fcale to eternal joy or eternal tempeft? and luhat shall It profit a man if he gain even the ivhole ivorU, and lofe his own foul P Matt. xvi. 26. But you cannot hope for the ten thoufandth part ; and \vill you caft away your fouls for this ? You that think it fuch a great thing to live in riches, pleafures, and honours, confider, is it fuch a mighty happinefs to die rich? to die after a life of plea- fure and honour ? Will it be fuch a great happinefs to give an account for the life of a rich fenfualift, rather than of a poor mor- tified creature ? Will Dives then be fo much happier than Laza- rus ? Alas ! what does the richeft, the higheft, the moft volup- tuous finner, what does he do, but lay up treafures of wrath againft the day of wrath ? O how will the unhappy creatures torture themfelves for ever with the moft cutting refiection^for felling their Saviour and their fouls for fuch trifles ! Let your fins Serm. 7* making light of Chrijl , - 169 ind earthly cnjojTuents fa ve you then, if they can; let them' then do that for you which Chrift would have done for you if you had chofen him. Then go and cry to the gods you have chofen : let them deliver you in the day of your tribulation. VI. Your making light of Chrift and falvation is a cer- tain evidence that ycu have no intereft in them. — Chrift will not throw himfelf and his bleffings away upon thofe that do not value them. ** Thofe that honour him he will honour ; but they that defpife him iliall be lightly efteemed.'^ i Sam. ii. 30. There is a day coming, when you will feel you cannot do with- out him ; when you will feel yourfelves perilhing for want of a Sa- viour ; and then you may go and look for a Saviour where you will ; then you may ihift for yourfelves as you can ; he will have no* thing to do with you ; the Saviour of Sinners will caft you off for ever. I tell you, Sirs, whatever eftimate you form of all thefe things, God thinks very highly of the blood of his Son, and the bleiTmgs of hispurchafe; and if ever you obtain them, he will have you think highly of them too. If you continue to make light of them, all the world cannot fave you. And can you find fault with God for denying you that which was fo little in your accounts VII. And lallly, the time is haftening when you will not think fo flightly of Chrift and falvation. O, Sirs, when God fhall commiflion death to tear your guilty fouls out of your bodies^ when devils Ihall drag you away to the place .of torment, when you find yourfelves condemned to everlafting fire by that Saviour whom you now negled, what would you theft give for a Saviour? When divine juftice brings in its heavy charges againft you, and you have nothing to anfwer, how will you then cry, ** O if I had chofen Jefus for my Saviour, he would have anfwered all !" When you fee that the world has deferted you, that your com.t panions in fm have deceived themfelves and you, and all your merry days are over for ever, would you not then give ten thou- fand worlds for Chrift ? And will you not now think him worthy of your efteem and earneft purfuit? Why will ye judge of things now quite the reverfe of what you will do then, when you will be more capable of judging rightly ! And now dear immortal fouls ! I have difcovered the nature and danger of this common but unfufpeded and unlamented fm, making light of Chrift. I have delivered my melfage, and now I muft leave it with you, imploring the blefling of God upon it. I cannot follow you home to your houfes to fee what effed it has upon you, or to make application of it to each of you in par- ticular ; but, O may ycHir confciences undertake this office ! Whenever you fpend another prayerlefs, thoughtlefs day, whenever you give yourfelves up to fmful pleafures, or an Qver-eager purfuit of the world, may your confcience become r.;^o The Compaffion of Chrift Serm. 8^ your preacher, and fling you with this expoftulation : ** Alas 1 is this the efFed of all 1 have heard ? Do I ftill make light of Chrift aud the concerns of religion ? O what will be the end of fuchacondud!'' I cannot but fear after all, that fome of y©u, as ufual, will continue carelefs and impenitent. Well, when you are fuffering the punifliment of this (in in hell, remember that you were warn- ed, and acquit me from being accellary to your ruin. And when we all appear before the fupreme Judge, and I am called to give an account of my miniftry; when I am aiked, ^* Did you Vv-arn thefe creatures of their danger ? Did you lay before them their p-uilt in making light of thefe things ?'* you will allow me to an- Aver, '* Yes, Lord, I warned them in the beft manner I could but they would not believe me ; they would not regard what I faid, though enforced by the authority of thy aw ful name, and confirmed by thine own word.'' O Sirs ! muft I give in. this accu- fation againft any of you ? No, rather have mercy upon your- felves, and have mercy upon me, that I may give an account of you with joy, and not with grief, SERMON VIII. The Compaflion of Chrifl: to weak Believers. . MatTH* xii. 20^ Ahrit'ifedreedJhaUhemthreah, and fmoJdng flax Jh all he mt quench - THE Lord Jrfus pofTefTes alHhofe virtues in the higheft per- fection, vvhich render him mfinitely amiable, and qualify him for the adminiftration of a juft^and gracious government over the world. The virtues of mortals, when carried to a high de- gree, very often run into thofe vices v/hich have a kind of affinity to them, f* Right, too rigidj hardens into vvTong." Strid juf- tice fteels itfelf into excellive feverity ; and the man is Icll in the judge. Goodnefs and mercy fometimes degenerate into foftnefs and an irrational compaffion inconliftent with government. But in Jefus Chrifl thefe feemingly oppolite virtues center and har* Jiionize.in the higheft perfection, without running into extremes. Hence he is at once chaiadcrized as a Lamb, and as the Lion of the tribe of Judah : a Lamb for gentlenejs tov/ards humble peni- tents, and a Lion tq tear his enemies in pieces. Chrift is fsid to Scrm. 8. to weak Believers, i^t judge and make luar, Rev. xix. 1 1. and yet he is called Ti:e Prince of Peace* If a. ix. 6. He will at length fliew himfelf terrible to the workers of iniquity ; and the terrors of the Lord are a very proper topic whence to perfuade men ; but now he is patient to- wards ^11 men, and he is all love and tendernefs towards the meaneft penitent- The meeknefs and gentlcnefs of Chrift is to be the pleafmg entertainment of this day ; and I enter upon it with a particular view to thofe mourning defponding fouls among us, whofe weaknefs renders them in great need of lirong confolation. To fuch in particular I addrefs the words of my text, ^ bruifed recdfhall he not break, and fmoking flax Jh all he not quench* This is a part of the Redeemer's character, as delineated near three thoui'and yedrs ago by the evangehcal prophet Ifaiah, Ifa. ^lii. 1 — 4. and it is exprefsly applied to him by St. Matthew : Beholdy Aiys the Father, my fervant -whom I have chofen for the important undertaking of faving the guilty Tons of men ; *\ my beloved, in whom my foul is well pleafed ;'' my very foul is well pleafed with his faithful difcharge of the important office he has undertaken. / will put my fpirit upon hitn ; that Is, I will com- pletely furnifh him by the gifts of my fpirit for his high ch-^rader ; and he fljalljhe-w judgment to the Gentiles : to the poor benighted Gentiles he ihall ihew the light of falvation ; by revealing the golpel to them ; which, in the ftyle of the Old Teftament, may- be called his judgments. Or he will Ihew and execute the judg- ment of this world by cafting out its infernal prince^, who had fo long exercifed an extenfive cruel tyranny over it. He shall not Jt?-ive nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the ftreets ; that is, though he enters the world as a mighty prince and conqueror to eftablifh a kingdom of righteoufnefs, and overthrow the kingdom of darknefs, yet he will not introduce it with the noify terrors and thunders of war, but ihall fhew himfelf mild and gentle as the prince of peace. Or the connection may lead us t© underiland thefe words in a different fenfe, namely, He Ihall do nothing \'?ith clamorous oftentation, nor proclaim his wonderftil works, when it Ihall anfwer no valuable end. Accordingly the vcrfe of our text flands thus conneded : Great multitudes followed khn ; and he healed them all, and charged them that they should not make him known* That it might be fulfilled which was fpoken by Jfaiah the prophet, faying, -^He shall not cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the ftreets ; that is, he fhall not publifh his miracles with noify triumpk in the ftreets, and other public places. And when it is faid. He shall not ftrive, it may refer to his inof- fenfive pallive behaviour towards, his enemies that were plotting his death. For thus we may conned this quotation from Ifaiah with the preceding hiftory in the chapter of our text : Then the Pbarifces wept out, and held a council againft him, how they might 172 The Cojfipajfion df Chrifl Serffl. 8. deftfoy hhn. But when Jefus krtsio it, inftead of praying to hii Father for a guard of angels, or employing his own miraculous ^ower to deftroy them, he "mthdreiu himfelf fr^m thence ;-— thai it might he fulfilled -which ivasfpoken by the prophet Jfaiah, faying,—* He shall notfirivc The genvf al meaning of my text feems to be contained in this dbferv^ation : " That the Lord Jefus has the tenderefl and moft cfom.pafTionate regard to the feebiefl penitent, however opprelTed and defponding ; and that he will approve and cherilh the lea^ fpark of true love towards himfelf. The bruifed reed feems naturally to reprefent a foul at once leeble in itfelf, and cruihed with a burden ; a foul both weak and tjpprefied. The reed is a (lender frail vegetable in itfelf, and therefore a very proper image to reprefent a foul that is feeble and weak. A bruifed reed is flill more frail, hangs its head, and is unable to ftand without fome prop. And what can be a more lively emblem of a poor foul, not only weak in itfelf, but bowed down and broken under a load of fm and forrow, that droops and finks, and is unable to fiand without divine fupport > Strength may bear up under a burden, or liruggle with it, till it has thrown it off; but oppreiled weaknefs, frailty under a burden, what can be more pitiable ? and yet this is the cafe of iriany a poor penitent. He is weak in himfelf, and in the meai time cruihed under an heavy weight of guilt and diftrefs. And what would become of fuch a frail of prefTed creature, if, mftead of rainng him up and fupportingliim, jefus fliould tread and cruih him under the foot of his indignation ? But though a reed^ e'pecially a bruifed reed, is an infignificarit thing, of little or no ufe, yet, *' a bruii'ed reeA he will not break," but he raifes it up with a gentle hand, and enables it to itand, though weak in itfelf, and ealily cruihed in ruin. Perhaps the imagery, when drawn at length, may be this : ••^ The Lord Jefus is an almighty conqueror, marches in ftate through our world ; and here and there a bruifed reed hes in his ^vay. But inftead of difregarding it, or trampling it under foot, he takes care not to break it : he raifes up the drooping ftrav/, trifling as it is, and fupports it with his gentle hand,'' Thus, poor liroken-hearted penitents, thus he takes care of you, and fupports ydu, worthlefsand trifling as you are. Though you feem to lie in tYie way of his juliice, and it might tread you with its heavy foot, yet he not only does not crulh you, but takes you up, and infpires you with ftrength to bear your burden, and flourilh a'o^in. ' Or fierhaps the imagery may be^dcrived from the practice of the tintient fhepherds, v/ho v/ere wont to amufe themfe Ives w-ith the jnu<'eak in knowledge ; a fnnple child in the knowledge of God and divine things. He is weak in love ; the facred flame does not rife with a perpetual fervor, and diffufe itfelf through all his devotions, but at times it lanauilhes and dies away into a fmoking fnuff. He is weak in faith ; he can- not keep a ftrong hold of the Almighty, cannot fufpend his all upon liis promifes with cheerful confidence, nor build a firm im- moveable fabric of hope upon the rock Jefus Chrift. He is weak in hope ; his hope is daihed with rifing billows of fears andjea- loufies, and fometimes juft overfet. He is weak in joy ; he can- not extract the fweets of chriftianity, nor tafte the comforts of ^erm, 8. to weak Believers, 17 his religion. He is weak in zeal for C06. and the intercfts of his kingdom ; he would wilh himfelf always a flaming feraph, always glowing with zeal, always unwearied in ferving his God, and promoting the defigns of redeeming love in the world; butv alas ! at times his zeal with his love,languii]ies and dies away into a fmoking fnulF. He is weakinrepentance ; troubled with thatplague^ of plagues, an hard heart. He is weakinthe conflid with indwelling fin, that is perpetually making infurredions within him. ' He is; weal; in refifting temptations 5 whijch crowd upon him from with- out, and are often likely to overwhelm him. He is weak in cou- rage to eacounter the king of terrors, and venture through the valley of the Ihadow of death. He is weak in prayer, in impor- tunity, in filial boldnefs in approaching the mercy-feat. He is weak in abilities to endeavour the converfion of linners, and fave fouls from death. In fliort, he is weak in every thing hi which he ihould be ftrong. He has indeed, like the church cf Philadelphia, a little flrength; Rev. iii. 8. and at times he feels it; butO! it feems to him much too little for the work he has to broken-hearted ; and thefe are peculiarly the objects of his mediatorial office. The Lord hath anointed me, fays he, to preach good tidi?igs to the meek ; he hathfent me all the way from my native heaven down to earth, upon this compalfion- ate errand, to hind up the broken-hearted, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ajhes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praife for thefpirit of heuviyiefs* I fa. Ixi. I — 3. Thus faith the Lord, in {trains of majefty that become him, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footJ}ool : -where is the houfe that ye build unto 7ne ? and -where is the place of my reft ? For all thefe things hath my hand ?nade, faith the Lord* Had he fpoken uniformly in this majeftic language to us guilty worms, the decla- ration might have overwhelmed us with awe, but could not have Jnfpired us with hope. But he advances himfelf thus high, on pur- pofe to let us fee how low he can ftoop. Hear the encouraging fequel of this hismajeiiic fpeech : To this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of a contrite fpirit, and trembleth at ?ny -word' Let heaven and earth v/onder that he v/ill look down through all the ihining ranks of angels, and look by princes and nobles, to fix his eye upon this man, this poor man, this contrite, broken-hear:~ ed, trembling creature. Jfi' Ixvi. i, 2* He loves to dwell upon this fubjecl, aiid therefore you hear it again in the fame prophecy : *'* Thus faith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whoie name is holy, — " what does he fay ? — / d-wellin the high and holy places Ifa. Ivii. 15. This is faid in character. This is i. civ, elling in fome meafure worthy the inhabitant. But O.' will he Hoop to dv.eli in a lower manfion, or pitch his tent among mortals? yes, he dwells not only in his high and holy place, but alfo with him that is of a contrite and Inanble fpirit, to revive the fpirit of the htmihle, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. He charges Peter to feed his lambs as well vl^ his fiieep ; that is, to take the tenderefb care even of the v/eakeft in his iiock. Johri xxh J 5. And he feverely rebukes the ihepherds of Ifrael, Becaufe, lays he, ye havenotfirengthenedthe difeafed, neither have ye healed that luhichvjasfick, neither have yc bound up that -which -was broken* i:/,ek. xxxiv. 4. But what an amiable reverfe is the character of the great Shepherd and Biihop of fouls ! Behold,^ lays Ifaiah, the Lord -will come -with aftrong hayid, and his arm shall ride for him .♦ hehold his re-ward is with him, and his -work before him- ^ How jullly niay we tremble at th's proclamation ohtht approaching God 1 for who can ftand when he appeareth ? But how agree;ibly are our fears difappcmied in what follows l' If he comes to take vea- Serm. 8, to weak Believers, i8l geance on his enemies, he alfo comes to ihew meicy to the meaneft of his people. He shall feed his fiock like a shepherds he shall ga- ther the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bofom, andskall gently lead thofe that Are with young ; Ifa. xl. lo, ii. that is, he ihall exercile the tcndereft and mofl compalTionate care towards the meaneft and weakeft of his flock.. He hoked doivrif fays ther Pfahnift, from the height ofhisfandf^uaiy; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth ; not to view the grandeur and pride of courts and kings, nor the heroic exploits of conquerors, but/o hear the groan- ing of the prifoner , toloofe thofe that are appointed to die* He will regard the prayer of the deftititte, and not defpife their prayer* This fhall be written for the generation to come^ Pfalm cii. 17 — ao. It was written for your encouragement, my brethren. Above three thoufand years ago this encouraging paffage was entered into thg facred records for the fupport of poor defponding fouls in Virgi- nia, in the ends of the earth. O what an early provident care does God fhew for his people ! There are none of the fevcrx churches of i^ia fo highly commended by Chriftasthat of Phila- delphia; and yet in commending her, all he can fay is, *'Thou haft a little ftrength." / know thy work f ; hehold I havefet before thee an open door, and no man can shut it, for thou haft a little Jirength. Rev. iii. 8. O how acceptable is a little flrength t© Jefus Chrift, and how ready is he to improve it ! He giveth power to the faint, fays Ifaiah, and to them that have no 7night he increafeth flrength' Ifa. xl. 29. Hear farther what words of grace and truth flowed from the lips of Jefus : Come unto me all ye that la- bour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rejl ; for lam meek and lowly inhe^rt* Matt, xi- 28, 29* Hifn that cometh unto me, I willin n") wi/e c a ft out - John vi. c^j* Jf any man thirfl, let him come unto me and drinks Jt>hn vii. 37. Let him that is athirfl come ; and whofoever will, let him co?ne and take of the water of life freely- Rev. xxii. 17. O what fl:rong confolation is here ! what exceed- ing great and preciou" promifes are thefe ! I might eafily add to the catalogue, but thefe may fuffice. Let us now fee how his people in every age have ever found thefe promifes made good. Here David may be confulted, infiar minium, and he will tell you, pointing to himfelf. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard and delivered him out of all his troubles- Pfalm xxxiv. 6. St. Paul, in the niidfl: of affliftion, calls God the Father <}f mercies, and God of all comfort, who comfoT'teih us in fill our tribulation- 2 Cor. i. 3, 4. 6^0^, fays he, that comforteth thofe that are call down, comforteth us. 2 Cor. vii. 6- What a fweetly emphatical declaration is this! ** God the comforter of the humble, comforted us*.** He is not only the Lord of hofts, the This is the mofl literal tranflation of— 0' ~:ct^ct,KX>.ocv t»; T«rrj;; irfc^KciMrtv l82 7 he Compajjhn ofChrlfi Serin. 8. King oi kings, the Creator of the v/orld, but among his more augull charafters he aiTumes this tide, *' The Comforter of the humbk." Such Saint Paul found hiai in an hour of temptation, -when he had this fupporting anfwer to his repeated prayer for deh'verance, My grace isfufficlentfor thee ; fir niy/irength is 77iade perfect in -meaknefs, 2 Cor. xii. 9. Since this was the cafe, nnce his weaknefs was more than fupplied by the ftrength of Chrift, and was a foil to fet it off, St. Paul feems quite regardlefs what infir- mities he laboured under. Nay, mofi gladly, fays he, -wilt I ra^ iherghry in my infirmities, that the po^dJer of Chrift may reft upon me* Therefore I takepleafure in infirmities — for ivhen I am weaky then ayn I firong. He could take no pleafure in feeling hirafelf weak ; but the mortification was made up by the pleafure he found in leaning upon this almighty fupport. His wounds were painful to him ; but, O ! the pleafure he found in feeling this di- vine phyfician drefTmg his wounds, in fome meafure fwallowed up the pain. It was probably experience, as well as infpiration, that di<^ated to the apoftle that amiable charader of Chrift, that he is a mercifiul and faithful high -pri eft, vjho being himfe If tempted, knows how tofuccour them that are tempted. Heb. ii. 17,18. And we have not an high-prieft which cajinot be touched with the feeling iifour infirmities, hut was in all points tempted like as we are, yd Without fin- Heb. iv. 1/;. But why need I multiply arguments ? Go to his crofs, and there learn his love and compaflion, from his groans and wounds, and blood, and death. Would he hang there in fuch agony for fmners if he were not willing to fave them, and cheriih every good principle in them ? There yon may have much the fame evidence of his compaiTion as Thom.ashad of his refurredion ; you may look into his hands, and fee the print of the nails ; and into his fide, and fee the fear of the fpear ; which loudly proclaim his readinefs to pity and help you. And now, poor trembling doubting fouls, what hinders but you ihould rife up your drooping head, and take courage ? May you not venture your fouls into fuch compaifionate and faithful hands? Why ftiould the bruifed reed shrink from him, when he comes not to tread it down, but raife it up ? As I am really felicitous that impenitentfliearts among us ihould be pierced with the medicinal anguiih and forrov/ of convidion and repentance, and the moft friendly heart cannot form a kinder v.ifh for them, fo I am truly folicitous that every honeft foul, in which there is the leaft fpark of true piety, ihould enjoy the plea- Cure of it. It is indeed to be lamented that they who have a title to fo much happinefs ihould enjoy fo little of it ; it is very inconr gruous that they fhould go bowing the head in their way tov/ards heaven, as if they were haftening to tlie place of execution, and Serm. 8* to weak Believers ^ 183 that they ihould ferve ,fo good a mafter with fuch heavy hearts. O lift lip the h.mds that hang down, and flrengrhen the feeble knee&! Comfort yi^, comfort ye i7iy people y faith y cur Goch Be flrong iu'iheLordy and in the power of his 777/V/;/. Trull: in your all- fuf- ficieat Redeemer, truftin him though he ihould flay you. And d^ not indulge caufelefs doubts and fears concerning 5^our fmcerity. When they arife in your minds examine them, and fearch whether there be any fuHicient reafon for them ; and if you difcover there is not, then rejecl them and fet them at defi- ance, and entertain your hopes in fpite of them, and fay with th& Pfalmift, M^hy art thou cafl down, 77iy foul, ard luhy art thou dtf- qiiieted within me? Hope thou in God, for Ijhall yet praife him, the health of my countenance, and my God* Pfalm xliii. 1 1. >^>c:X>OC>x>=:>C^^:>:::>:::>-0<::>=00'0<:f>C;':::>::>:><>'^:-0-=:1^-=::>CK:> SERMON IX. The Connexion between Prefent Holinefs and Futiird Felicity* Heb. xii* 14. Follow — holinefs ; without which _ no man fmll fer the Lord- AS the human foul was originally defigned for the enjoyment of no lefsa portion than the ever-blelTed God, it was formed with a flrong innate tendency towards happinefs. It has not only an eager fondnefs for exiftence, but for fome good to render its exiftence happy. And the privation of being itfelf is not more terrible than the privation of all its blelTmgs. It is true, in the prefent degeneracy of human nature, this vehement defire is mi- ferably perverted and mifplaced : man feeks his fupreme happi- nefs in fmful, or at beft in created enjoyments, forgetful of the uncreated fountain of blifs ; but yet ffill he feeks happinefs ; ftill this innate impetus is predominant, and though he miftakes the means, yet he ftill retains a general aim at the end-. Hence he ranlacks this lower world in queft of felicity ; climbs in fearch of it the flippery afcent of honour ; hunts for it in the treafures of gold and filver ; or plunges for it in the foul ftreams of fenfual plea- fures. But fmce all the fordid fatisfadion refulting from thefe things are not adequate to the unbounded cravings of the mind, and fince the fatisfadion is tranfitory and perilhing, or we may be wretched from it by the inexorable hand of death, the mind breaks B b 184 The Conney:ion between Serni. through the limits ot the prefent enjoyments, and even of the lower creation, and ranges through the unknown fcenes of futu- rify in queft of fome untried good. Hope makes excurfions into the dark duration between the prefent yirnu and the grave, and forms to itfelf pleafmg images of approaching blelTuigs, whjcH often vanifli in the embrace, like delufive phantoms. Nay, it launches into the vaft unknown world that lies beyond the grave, and roves through the regions of immenlity after fome complete feli- city to fupply the defects of fublunary enjoyments. Hence, though men, till their fpirits are refined by regenerating grace, have no relilh for celelfial joys, but pant for the poor pleamres of time and fenfe, yet, as they cannot avoid the unwelcome confcioufnefs that death will ere long rend them from thefe fordid and momentary enjoyments, are conftrained to indulge the hope of bhfs in a future ftate : and they promife themfelves happinefs in another world when they can no longer enjoy any in thij. And as reafon and revelation unitedly aifure them that this felicity cannot then con- fifl: in fenfual indulgences, they generally exped it will be of a more refined and fpiritual nature, and flow more immediately from the great Father of fpirits. He mufl indeed be miferable that abandons all hope of this blef- fednefs. The chriftian religion affords him no other profped but that of eternal, intolerable mifery in the regions of darknefs and defpair ; and if he flies to infidehty as a refuge, it can afford him no comfort but the ihockino; profped of annihilation. Now, if men were preiled into heaven by an unavoidable fata- lity, if happinefs was prom ifcuoully promifed to them all without diftindlion of characters, then they might indulge a blind unex- amined hope, and never perplex themfelves with anxious enqui- ries about it. And he might juftly be deemed a malignant dilturber of the repofe of mankind that would attempt to Ihock their hope, and frighten them with caufelefs fcruples. But if the light of nature intimates, and the voice of fcripture proclaims aloud, that this eternal fehcity is referved only for per- fons of particular characters, and that multitudes, multitudes who entertained pleating hopes of it, are confounded with an eternal difappointment, and ihall fulFer an endlefs duration in the moft terrible miferies, we ought each of us to take the alarm, and ex- amine the grounds of our hope, that, if they appear fufficient, we may allow ourfelves a rational fatisfadlion in them ; and, if they are found delufiv^e, we may abandon them and feek for a hope which will bear the tefl: now while it may be obtained. And hew- ever difagreeable the tafic be to give our fellow-creatures even profitable unealinefs, yet he mufl: appear to the impartial a friend to the befl: interefts of mankind, who points out the evidences and foundation of a rational and fcriptural hope, and expofes the vari- ous mifl:akes to which we are fubjed in fo impcrtant a cafe? Serin. 9' Holinefs and Felkity. 185 And if, when we look around us, we find perfons full of the hopes of heaven, who can give no fcriptural evidences of them to themfelves or others ; if we find many indulging this pleafmg de- lufion, whofe pradticesare mentioned by God himfelf as the cer- tain marks of periihing fumers ; and if perfons are fo tenacious of thefe hopes, that they will retain them to their everlafting ruin, unlefs the mod convidive methods are taken to undeceive them ; then it is high time for thofe to whom the care of fouls (a weigh- tier charge than that of kingdoms) is intrufled, to ufe the greateft plainnefs for this purpofe. This is my chief defign at prefent, and to this my text naturally leads me. It contains thefe doctrines : Firit, That without holinefs here it is impofTible for us to enjoy heavenly happinefs in the future world. To fee the Lord, is here put for enjoying him; fee Rom. viii. 24. and the metaphor figni- lies the happinefs of the future ftate in general ; and more particu- larly intimates that the knowledge of God will be a fpecial ingredi. en t therein. See a parallel exprellion in Matt. v. 8. Secondly, That this confideration ihould induce us to ufe the moft earnell endeavours to obtain the heavenly happinefs. Pur- fue holinefs, becaufe without it ne man can fee the Lord* Hence I am naturally led, I. To explain the nature of that holinefs, without which no man ihallfee the Lord' II. To Ihew what endeavours fliould he ufed to obtain it. And, III. To urge you to ufe them by the confideration of the abfo- lute neceflity of holinefs. I. I am to explain the nature of holinefs. And I fliall give you a brief definition of it, and then mention fome of thofe difpofitions and practices which naturally flow from it. The mofl intelligible defcription of holinefs, as it is inherent in n?, maybe this, *' It is a conformity in heart aad pradlice to the revealed will of God." As the Supreme Being is the flandard of ail perfedion, his holinefs in particular is the iiandard of ours. Then we are holy when his image is ftamped upon our hearts and reflected in our lives ; fo the apoftle defines it, Jnd that ye put on the nexu man, which after God is created in righteoufnefs and true holinefs* Eph. iv. 24. Whom he did predefiinate to be conformed to the image of his Son* Rom. viii. 29. Hence holinefs may be de- fined, '* A conformity to God in his moral perfedions." But as we cannot have a diflinct knowledge of thefe perfedions but as they are manifefled by the revealed will of God, I choofe to define ho- linefs, as above, " A conformity to his revealed will." Now his revealed will comprizes both the law^ and the gofpel : the law in- forms us of the duty wliich we as creatures owe to God as a being Ao6" Tfi'3 Connexion between Serm. o. of fuprenie excellency, as our Creator and B-?r.efacl:or, and tQ men as our fellow-creatures; and the gofpel informs us of rhe duty which as Imners we owe to God as reconcileable through a Mediator. Our obedience to the former im.plies the whole of nicralic)^, and to the latter the whole of evangelical graces, as faith in a Mediator, repentance, &:c. From thi."^ definition ofholmefs it appears, on the one hand, that it is abfolutely necefTary to fee the Lord ; for unlefs our difpofiti- onsare conformed to him, we cannot be happy in the enjoyment o^ him : and, on the other hand, that they who are made thus ho- ly, are prepared for the vifion and fruition of his face, as they can reiiih the divineft pleafur*^. But as a concife definition .of holinefs may give an auditory but very imperfeft ideas of it, I Ihail expatiate upon the difpofitions and pracM:ices in which it confii^s, or which naturally refult from it ; and they are fuch as follow : I . A delight in God for his holinefs. Self-love may prompt u£ to love him for his goodnefs to us ; and fo many unre generate men may have a felfifn love to God on this account. But to love CqA becaufe he is infinitely holy, becaule he bears an infinite de- teflation to all fm, and will not indulge his creatures in the negled of the lead inftance of holinefs, but commands them to be holy as he is holy, this is a difpofition connatural to a rejiewed foul only, and argues a conformity to his image. Every nature is mofl a^ greeabie to itfelf, and a holy nature is moil: agreeable to an holy nature. Here I would make a remark, which may God deeply imprefs on your hearts, and which for thatpurpofe I Ihali fiibjoin to each par- ticular, that holinefs in fallen man is fupernatural ; I mean, we are not born vrith it, vre give no difcoveries of it, till w^e have ex- perienced a great change. Thus we find it in the prefent cafe ; we have no natural love to God becaule of his infinite purity and hatred to all Im ; nay, we would love him more did he give us greater indulgences ; and lam afraid the love of fome perfons is founded upon a miftake ; they love him becaufe they imagine he does not hate fin, nor them for it, fo much as he really does ; be- caufe they think he will bring them to hcaven'at lait, let them live as they lift ; and becaufe they do not expeft he is fo inexorably jufi: in his dealings with the fmner. It is no wonder they love fuch a foft, eafy, pallive being as this imaginary deity ; but did they fee the luftre of that holinefs of God which dazzles the celeftial armies ; did they but know the terrors of his juftice, and his implacable in- dignation againftlin, their innate enmity would Ihew itspoifon, 2nd their hearts v/ould rife againft God in all thofe horrible blaf- phemies with which awakened Tinners are fo frequently fliocked- Such love as this is fo far from being acceptable^, that it is th& Serm. 9. HoHncfs and Felicity, t^y greatcll affront to the Supreme Being, as, if a profligate loved you , on the miibken fuppofition that you were fuch a libertine as him- ' felf, it would rather inflame your indignation than procure your refped. But to a regenerate mind how ftrong, how tranfporting are tlie charms of holinefs ! Such a mind joins the anthem of feraphs with the divineft complacency. Rev. iv. 8. and anticipates the fong of glorified faints, Who -would not fear thee, Lord, and glorify thy r.ame, for thou only art holy P He v. xv. 4. The perfections of God lofe their luflre, orfnik into objefts of terror or contempt, if this glorious attribute be abfh-aded. Without holinefs power be- comes tyranny, omnifcience craft, jufHce revenge and cruelty, -and even the amiable attribute of goodnefs lofesits charms, and dege- jierates into a blind promifcuous prodigality, or foolijh undifcern- ing fondnefs : but when thefe perfections are clothed in the beau- ties of holinefs, how Godlike, how majeflic, how lovely and at- tractive do they appear ! and with what complacence does a mind faihioned after the divine image acquiefce in them ! It may appear amiable even to an unholy finner that the exertions of almighty- power fhould be regulated by the mofl confummate wifdom ; that juflice fhould not without diftinction punifh the guilty and the in- nocent ; but an lioly foul only can rejoice that divine goodnefs will not communicate happinefs to the difgrace of holinefs ; and that, rather than it ihould overflow in a bhnd prom/ifcuous manner, the whole human race Ihould be miferable. A felfiih finner has no- thing in view but his own happinefs ; and if this be obtained, he has no anxiety about the illuflration of the divine purity ; but it recommends happinefs itfelf to a fanftified foul, that it cannot be communicated in a way inconfiitent with the beauty of holinefs. ■2. Holinefs confifls in an hearty complacence in the law of God, becaufe of its purity. The law is the tranfcript of the moral per- fections of (Tod • and if we love the original we Ihalllove the copy. Accordingly it is natural to a renewed mind to love the divine law, becaufe it is perfectly holy ; becaufe it makes no allov.ance for the leaft fm, and requires every duty that it becomes us to per- form towards God. Pfalm cxix. 14c. and vix. 7 — 10. Ro- mans vii. 12, compared with 22. But is this our natural difpofition ? Is this the difpofition of the generahty ? Do they not, on the contrary, fecretly find fault with the law, becauie it is fo flri^l? And their common ob- jeclion againft that holinefs of life v>'hich it enjoins is, that they connot bear to be ih precife. Hence they are always for abating the rigour of the law, for bringing it down to fome imaginary ftandard of their ow^n, to their prefent ability, to fms of pradice without regard to the finfiil difpofitions of the heart ; or to the prevailing difpofitions cf the heart without regard to the fu'il work. 1 88 TJie Connexion between Serm. 9. angsof concnpifcence, thofe embryos of iniquity ; and if they love ■the law at all, as they profefs to do, it is upon fuppofition that it is not fo Urid: as it really is, but grants them greater indulgences. Rom. vii. 7. Hence it appears that, if we are made holy at all, it muft be by a lupernatural change ; and when that is effected, what a llrange and happy alteratioi.1 doe.^ the iiiiner perceive ? with what pleafure does he refign himfelf a willing fubjecl to that law to which he was once fo averfe ? And when he fails (as, alas ! he does in ma- ny things) how is he humbled ! he does not lay the fault upon the law as requiring impoffibilities, but lays the whole fault upon him- felf as a corrupt linner. 3. Holinefs coniiils in an heartv conplacence in the gofpel-me- thod of falvation, becaufe it tends toilluRrate the moral perfedi- ons of the Deity, and to diicover the beauties of holinefs. The gofpel informs us of two grand pre-requifites to the falva- tion of the fallen fonsofmen, namely, The fatisfadion of divine juflice by the obedience andpaliion of Chrift, that God might be reconciled to them connftently with his perfedions ; and the fane* tification of imners by the efficacy of the Holy Ghoft, that they might be capablq of enjoying God, and that he might maintain intimate communion with ihem without any ftain to his holinefs. Thefe two grand articles contain the fubitance of the gofpel ; and our acquiefcence in them is the fubft mce of that avangelical obedi- ence which it requires of us, and which is elTential to holinefs in a fallen creature. Now, it is evident, that without either of thefe the moral per- fections of the Deity, particularly Ids holinefs, could not be illuf- trated, or even fecured in the falvation of a (inner. Had he re- ceived an apofbate race into favour, who had confpired in the moli unnatural rebellion againft him, without any fatisfadion, his ho- linefs would have been eclipfed ; it would not have appeared that he had fo invincible an abhorrence of fm, fo zealous a regard for the vindication of his own holy law ; or to his veracity, which had threatened condign puniihment to offenders. But by the fatisfac- tion of Chrift, his holinefs is illuftrated in the moll confpicuous manner ; nov/ it appears, that God would upon no terms fave a fmner but that of adequate fatisfadion, and that no other was fuf- iicient but the fuffering of his co-equal Son, otherwife he would not have appointed him to fuftain the character of Mediator ; and now it apj^ears that his hatred of fm is fuch that he would not let n pafs unpuniihed even in his own Son, when only imputed to him. In like manner, if imners, while unholy, were admitted into communion ^vith God in heaven, it would obfcure the glory of his holinefs, and it would not then appear that fuch was the pu- rity of his nature that he could have no fellowihip with fm. But Serin. 9. Holinefs and Felicity. j8g now it is evident, that even the blood of Immanuel cannot pur- chafe heaven to be enjoyed by a finner while unholy, but that every one that arrives at heaven muft firft be i'anctified. An un- holy finner can be no more faved, while fuch, by the gofpel than by the law ; but here lie? the diiference, that the gofpel makes provifion for his fandification, which is gradually carried on here, and perfected at death, before his admifTion into the heavenly glory. Now it is the genius of true holinefs to acquiefce in both thefc articles. A fanAiiied foul places all its dependence on the righte- oufnefs of Chriilfor acceptance. It would be difagreeable to it to have the leaft concurrence in its own juftification. It is net only willing, but delights to renounce all its own righteoufnefs, and to glory in Chrift alone. Phil. iii. 3. Free g3'ace to fuch fouls h^ a charming theme, and falvation is more acceptable, becaufe con- veyed in this way. It would render heaven itfelf difagreeable, and wither all its joys, were they brought thither in a v/ay that degrades or does not illuftrate the glory of God's holinefs ; but O hov/ agreeable the thought, that he that glorieth muft glory in the Lord, and that the pride of all flelh ihall be abaled ! So an holy perfon rejoices that the way of holinefs is the ap- pointed way to heaven. He is not forced to be holy merely by the fervile conlideration that he muft be fo or perilh, and fo un- v/illingly fubmits to the neceffity which he cannot avoid, when in the mean time, were it put to his choice, he would choofe to re- ferve fome fins, and neglect fome painful duties. So far from this, that he delights in the gofpel-conftitution, becaufe it requires univerfal holinefs, and heaven would be lefs agreeable, were he to carry even the leaft fin thither. He thinks it no hardfhip that he muft deny himfelf in his finful pleafures, and habituate himfelf to fo much ftrictnefs in religion ; no, but he blefles the Lord for obliging him to it, and where he fails he charges himfelf with it, and is felf-abafed upon the account. This is folid rational religion,fit to be depended upon,in oppofition to the antinomian licentioufnefs, the freaks of enthufiafm, and the irrational fliglits of padion and imagination on the one hand ; and in oppofitioM to formality, mere formality, and the felf-fprung re- ligion of nature on the other. And is it not evident we are defti- tute of thic by nature ? Men naturally are averie to this gofpel- tiiethod of falvation ; they will not fubmit to the righteoufnefs of God, but fix their dependence, in part at leaft, upon their own merit. Their proud hearts cannot bear the thought that all their performances muft go for juft nothing in their juftification. They are alfo averfe to the way of holinefs ; hence they will either abandon the expectation of heaven, and, fince they cannot obtain n in their finful ways, defperately conclude to go oa in fin come ipo The Connexion between Serni. 9. what will ; or, with all the httle fophiftry thev are capable of, they will endeavour to widen the way to heaven, and peri'uade themfelves they fliall attain it, notwithftanding their continuance in foiP.e known iniquity, and though their hearts have never been thoroughly fanctihed. Alas ! how evident is tliis all around us ! How many either give up their hopes of heaven rather than part with fin, or vainly hold them, while their difpofitions and pradices prove them groundlefs ? And muil not inch degenerate creatures be renewed ere they can be holy, or fee the Lord ? 4. Kolinefs confrlls in an habitual delight in -all the duties of ho- linefs towards God and man, and an earneft deiire for commu- nion with God in tlie/n. This is the natural refult of all the fore- going particulars. If we love God for his liolinefs, we iliall de- light in that fervice in which our conformity to him confifts ; if we love his law, we lliall delight in that obedience which it enjoins ; and if we take complacence in the evangelical method of falvation, we fnall take delight in that holinefs, without vvhich we cannot enioy it. The fervice of God is the element, the pleafure of an holy forj ; while otliers delight in the riches, the honours, or the pleafures of this world, the holy fgul defires one thing of the Lord, that it may behold his beauty while enquiring in his tem- fle. Pfal. xxvm. 4. Such a perfon delights in retired converfe with heaven, in meditation and prayer. Pfal. cxxxix. 17. and Ixiii. 5, 6. and Ixxiii. 28. He alfo takes pleafure in juftice, bene- volence, and charity towards men, Pfal. cxii. 5, 9. and in the ftrifteft temperance and fobriety. i Cor. ix. 27- Moreover, the mere form.aUty of performing religious duties does not fatisfy the true faint, unlefs he enjoys a divine freedom therein, receives comimunications of grace from heaven, and hnds his graces quickened. Pfalm xlii. i, 2- This coniideration alfo ihews us that holinefs in us muft be fu- pernatural ; for do we naturally thus delight in the fervice of God ? or do you all now thus delight in it ? is it not rather a weari- nefs to you, and do you not find more pleafures in other things? Surely you muft be changed, or you can have no relilh fcr the enjoyment of heavenly happinefs. 5. To conftitute us faints indeed there muft be univerfal holi- nefs in practice. This naturally follows from the laft, for as the body obeys the ftronger volitions of the will, fo when the heart is prevailingly difpofed to the fervice of God, the man will habitu- ally pradife'it. This is generally mentioned m fcripture as the grand characteriftic of real religion, without which all our pre- tenfions are vain, i John iii. 3 — lo- and v. 3. Johnxv. 14. True chriftians are far from being perfect: in praftice, yet they are pre- vailingly holy in all manner of converfation ; they do not live habitually in any one known fm, or wilfully neglect any one know 11 duty. Pfalm cxix. 6. Serm. 9» Holinefs and Felicity^ loi Without this practical holinefs no man ihall fee the Lord ; and ff fo, how great a change muft be wrought on moft before they can fee him, for how few are thus adorned with a life of univerfal holinefs \ Many profefs the name of Chrift, but how few of thejn depart from iniquity? But to what purpofe do they call him Maf- ter and Lord, while they do not the things which he commands them ? Thus I have, as plainly as I could, defcribed the nature and properties of that holinefs, without which no man fhall fee the Lord ; and they who are poffelTed of it may lift of their heads with joy, alTured that God has begun a good work in them, and that he will carry it on ; and on the other hand, they that are deftitute of it may be aifured, that, unlefs they are made new creatures, they cannot fee the Lord. I come, n. To fliew you the endeavours we Ihould ufe to obtain this ho- linefs. And they are fuch as thefe : I . Endeavour to know whether you are holy or not by clofe ex- amination. It is hard indeed for fome to know pofitively that they are holy, as they are perplexed with the appearances of realities, and the fears of counterfeits ; but it is then eafy for many to con- clude negatively that they are not holy, as they have not the Jike- nefs of it. To determine this point is of great ufe to our fuccefs- ful feeking after holinefs. That an unregenerate fmner fliould at- tend on the means of grace with other aims than one that has reafon to believe himfelf fanclified. The anxieties, forrows, de- fires, and endeavours of the one fhould run in a very different channel fr@m thofe of the other. The one ihould look upon him- felf as a guilty and condemned {inner ; the other Ihould allow himfelf the pleafure of a juftified flate ; the one ihould purfue af- ter the implantation ; the other after the increafe of holinefs : the one fhould indulge a feafonable concern about his loft condi- tion ; the other repofe an humble confidence in God as reconciled to him : the one Ihould look upon the threatenings of God as his doom ; the other embrace the promifes as his portion. Hence it follows that, while we are miftaken about our flate, we cannot ufe endeavours after holinefs in a proper manner. We a6l like a phyfician that applies medicines at random, without knowing the difeafe. It is a certain conclufion that the moft generous charity, under fcriptural limitations, cannot avoid, that multitudes are deftitute of holinefs, and ought not we to enquire with proper anxiety whether we belong to that number ? Let us be impartial^ and proceed according to evidence. If we find thofe marks of holinefs in heart and life v/hich have been mentioned, let not an exceifive fcrupulofity frighten us from drawing the happy conclu- fion : and, if we find them nQt, let us exercife fo much wholeforae feverity againft ourfelves, as honeftly to conclude we are unholy Cc 1^2 " The Connexion between Serm. o Tinners, and mufl be renewed before we can fee the Lord. The conckiiion no doubt will give you painful anxiety ; but if you was my deareft friend, I could Kot form a kinder wiih for you than that you might be incelTantly diftrelfed with it till you are born again. This conclufion will not be always av^oidable ; the light of eter- nity will force you upon it ; and whether it is better to give way to it now, when it may be to your advantage, or be forced to ad- mit it then, ^^'hen it will be only a torment ? 2. Awake, arife, and betake yourfelf in earneft to all the means of grace. \our life, your eternal life is concerned, and therefore it calls for all the ardor and earneftnefs you are capable of exerting^ Accuftom yourfelf to meditation, converfe with yourfelves in re- tirement, and live no longer ftrangers at home. Read the word of God and other good books, with diligence, attention, and felf- application. Attend on the public miniffcrations of the gofpel, not as a trifler, but as one that fees his eternal All concerned. Shun the tents of fm, the rendezvous of fmners, and aflbciate with thofe that have experienced the change you want, and can give you proper direftions. Proftrate yourfelf before the God of heaven, confefs your fin, implore his mercy, cry to him night and day, and give him no reft, till the importunity prevail, and you take the kingdom of heaven by violence. But after all, acknowledge that it is God that muft work in you both to will and to do, and that when you have done all thefe things you are but unprofitable ferv^ants. I do not prefcribe thefe directions 3s though thefe means could effe<^ holinefs in you; no, they can no more do it than a pen can write without a hand. It is the holy Spirit's province alone to fandify a degenerate Tinner, hut he is wont to do it while we are waiting upon him in the ufe of theTs means, though our beft endeavours give us no title to his grace! but he may juftly leave us after all in that ftate of con- dem.nation and corruption into which we have voluntarily brought ourfelves* I go on, III. And laiily, to urge you to the ufe of thefe means from the confideration mentioned in the text, the abfolute necefTity of holinefs to the enjoyment of heavenly happinefs. Here I would ihew that holinefs is abfolutely neceflary, and that the coniideration of its necefllty may ftrongly enforce the purfuit of it. The necelTity of holinefs appears from the unchangeable appoint- ment of heaven, and the nature of things. 1. 'i he unchangeable appointment of God excludes aU the un- holy from the kingdom of heaven ; fee i Cor. ix. 6. Rev. xxi. 27. Pfalm V. 4, ^. 2 Cor. v. 17. Gal. vi. 15. It is moft aftoniih- ing that many who profefs to believe the divine authority of the fcriptures, will yet iadulge vain hopes of heaven in oppofition to Serm, 9. Holinefs and Felicity, i^^ the plainefl declarations of ct;ernal truth. But though there were no pofitive conllitution excluding the unholy from heaVen, yet, 2« The very nature of things excludes Tinners from heaven ; that is, it is impolTible in the nature of things, that while they ^re unholy, they could receive happinefs from the employments and entertainments of the heavenly world. If thefe confifted in the affluence of thofe things which fmner sidelight in here ; if its ' enjoyments were earthly riches, pleafures and honours ; if its employments were the amufements of the prefent life, then they might be happy there, as far as their fordid natures are capable of happinefs. But thefe trifles have no place in heaven. The felicity of that Hate confifts in the contemplation of the divine perfections, and there difplays in the works of creation, provi- dence, and redemption; hence it is defcribed by feeing the Lord^ Matt. v. 8. and as a ftate of knowledge, i Cor. xiii. 10 — 12. in the fatisfadtion refulting thence, Pfalm xvii. 15. and a compla- cency in God as a portion, Pfalm Ixxiii. 25, 26. and in perpetual ferving and praifmg the Lord ; and hence adoration is generally mentioned as the employ of all the hofts of heaven. Thefe are the entertainments of heaven, and they that cannot find fupreme happinefs in thefe, cannot find it in heaven. But it is evident thefe things could afford no fatisfaftion to an unholy perfon. He would pine away at the heavenly feaft, for want of appetite for the entertainment ; an holy Gcd would be an object of horror rather than delight to him, and his fervice would be a wearinefs, as it is now. Hence it appears, that if we do not place our fu- preme delight in thefe things here, we cannot be happy hereafter ; for there will be no change of difpofitions in a future ftate, but only the perfection of thofe predominant in us here, whether good or evil. Either heaven muft be changed, ©r the finner, before he can be happy there. Hence alfo it appears, that God's excluding fuch from heaven is no more an ad of cruel- ty than our not admitting a fick man to a feaft, who has no relifh for the entertainments ; or not bringing a blind man into the light of the fun, or to view a beautiful profpedt. We fee then that holinefs is abfolutely neceffary ; and what a great inducement fhould this confideration be to purfue it? If we do not fee the Lord, we ihall never fee good. We are cut off at death from all earthly enjoyments, and can no longer make expe- riments to fatisfy our unbounded defires with them ; and we have no God to fupply their room. We are banifted from all the joys of heaven, and how vaft, how inconceivably vaft is the lofs ! We are doomed to the regions of darknefs for ever, to bear the ven- geance of eternal fire, to feel the lafhes of a guilty confcience, and to fpend an eternal in an horrid intimacy with infernal ghofts! and will we not then rather follow holinefs, than incur fo dread- J 94 The Mediatorial Khigdo7n and Serm. lo. ful a doom ? By the terrors of the Lord, then be perfuaded to break ofFyour fins by righteoufneis, and follow holinefs ; -dJithout -i.vhicb no manjhallfee the Lord- SERMON X. The Mediatorial Kingdom and Glories of Jefus Chrifl. John xviii. 37. PUate therefore fald unto him^ Art thou a King theuF Jefus anftueredy Thou fayejt that 1 am a King. '1 this end was I horn, and for this caufe came I into the wor/dy that I floQidd bear luitnefs unto the truth. KINGS and kingdoms are the moft majeftic founds in the lan- guage of mortals, and have filled the world with noife, con- fufions, and blood, fince mankind firfl left the ftate of nature, and formed themfelves into focieties. The difputesof kingdoms for fuperiority have fet the world in arms from age to age, and de- (Iroyed or enflaved a coniiderable part of the human race; and the conteft is not yet decided. Our country has been a region of peace and tranquility for a long tim.e, but it has not been becaufe the luft of power and riches is extind: in the world, but becaufe we had no near neighbours, whofe intereft might claih withours,or who were able to difturb us. The abfence of an enemy was our fole defence. 3ut now, when the colonies of the fundry Euro- pean nations on this continent begin X.^ enlarge, and approach towards each other, the fcene is changed : now encroachments, depredations, barbarities, and all the terrors of war begin to fur- round and alarm us. Now our country is invaded and ravaged, and bleeds in a thoufand veins. We have ah*eady,* fo early in the year, received alarm upon alarm : and we may exped the alarms to grow louder and louder as the feafon advances. Thefe commotions and perturbations have had one good efFed; upon me, and that is, they have carried away my thoughts of late into a ferene and peaceful region, a region beyond the reach of confulion and violence ; I mean the kingdom of the Prince of Peace. And thither, my brethren, I would alfo tranfport your minds this day, as the beft refuge from this boifterous world, and the moft agreeable manfionfor the lovers of peace and tranquility. ^ This fermon was preached in Hanover, Virginia, May 9, il5^' Serm. lo. Glories ofjepus Chriji, ip^ I find it advantageous both to you and myfelf, to entertain you with thofe fubjects that have made the de epe ft im predion upon my own mind : and this is the reafon why I chooie the prefent fubjed. In my text you hear one entering a claim to a kingdom, whom yon would conclude, if you regarded only his outward appearance, to be the nieaneft and vileft of mankind. To hear a powerful prince, at the head of a vidorious army, attended with all the royalties of his charader, to hear fuch an one claim the kingdom he had acquir- ed by force of arms, would not be ftrange. But here the defpifed Nazarene, rejeded by his n: tion, forfaken by his followers, ac- cuf^d as the worfh of criminals, {landing defencelefs at Pilate's bar, juft about to be condemned and hung on a crofs, like a rAalefacT:or and a Have, here he fpeaks in a rOya-l ftyle, even to his judge, / wn a King .• for this purpofe was I born ; and for this caufe came I into the world. Strange language indeed to proceed from his lips in thefe circumftances ! But the truth is, a great, a divine pcrfon- age is concealed under this difguife > and his kingdom is of fuch a nature, that his abafement and crucifixion were fo far from being a hindrance to it, that they were the only way to acquire it. Thefe fuiFerings were meritorious ; and by thefe he purchafed his fub- jeds, and a right to rule them. The occafion of thefe words was this : the unbelieving Jews were determined to put Jefus to death as an importer. I he true reafon of their oppofition to ]T;.>j;f.« ^vy^ec'u ecr/ (r:^r9?.5. Serm. 10. Glories of J ejus Chrijl. 197 ©ur Lord witnefied before Pontius Pilate. Neither the hopes of deliverance, nor the terrors of death, could caufe him to retracl it, or renounce his claim. In proiecuting this fubjec^ I intend only to inquire into the na- ture and properties of the kingdom ofChrift. And in order to render my difcourfe the more familiar, and to adapt it to the pre- fent ftate of our country, I ihall conlider this kingdom in contrafl; with the kingdoms of the earth, with which we are better ac- quainted. The fcriptures reprefent the Lord Jefus under a great variety of charaifters, which, though fuflicient fully to reprefent him, yet in conjunction aflift us to form fuch exalted ideas of this great per- fonage, as mortals can reach. He is a Surety, that undertook and paid the dreadful debt of obedience and fuffering, which iinners owed to the divine juftice and law : He is a Prieft, a great High Pried, that once offered himfelf as a facrifice for fin ; and now dwells in his native heaven, at his Father's right hand, as the advocate and intercelTor of his people : He is a Prophet, who teaches his church in all ages by his word and fpirit : He is the fuprerae and univerfal Judge, to whom men and angels are ac- countable ; and his name is Jefus, a Saviour, becaufe he faves his people from their lins. Under thefe auguft and endearing cha- racters he is often reprefented. But there is one character under which he is uniformly reprefented, both in the Old and Nev*- Tef- tament, and that is, that of a King, a great King, invefted with univerfal authority. And upon his appearance in the flefli, all nature, and efpecially the gofpel-church, is reprefented as placed nnder him, as his kingdom. Under this idea the Jews were taught by their prophets to lv5ok for him ; and it was their underftanding thefe predidlions of fome illuftrious king that ihould rife from the houfe of David, in a hteral and carnal fenfe, that occafionedtheir unhappy prejudices concerning the Mefliah as a fecular prince and conqueror. Under this idea the Lord Jefus reprefented hmfelf while upon earth, and under this idea he was publilhed to the world by his apoftles. The greatefl: kings of the Jewifh nation, particularly David and Solomon, were types of him ; and many things are primarily applied to them, which have their complete and final accompliihment in him alone. It is to him ultimately we are to apT?ly the fecond pfalm : / havefet my h'lng^ fays Jehovah, up07i J7iy holy hill of /ion, AJk of me, and 1 ivill give thee the hea- theti for thy inheritance, and the utmof parts of the earth for thy pof feffion. Pfalm ii. 6, 8. If we read the feventy-fecond pfalm we fhill eafilv perceive that one greater than Solomon is there. In his days fjall the righteous fourifj ; and ahmdance of peace fo long as the tnoon endureth. All kijigs flj all fall down before hitii ; all na^ t'tpns Jlmll ferve him<. His name Jhall continue fr ever i his name 198 ^ he Mediatorial Kingdom and Serm. 10, jhall endwe as long as the fun : a?id menjhall he blejfed in him ; and all nations Jhall call him blejpd. Ffaliii Ixxii. 7, n, 17. 1 he hundred and tenth piahn is throughout a celebration of the kingly and prieltly office of Chrift united. The Lord^ fays David, /aid 2mto my Lord^ unto that divine perfon who is ipy Lord, and will alio be my Son, ^t thou at my right hand, in the higheft honour and authority, until i make thine e7iemies thy footjlml Rule thou in the midil of thine enemies. 7'hy people fiall he willing in the day of thypoiver, and fubmit to thee in crowds as numerous as the drops of morning dew. Pfalm ex. i — 3. The evangelical prophet Ifaiah is often tranfported with the forefight of his illuftri- ous king, and the glorious kingdom of his grace -.—-Unto us a child is horn imto us a fon is given ; and the govermnent fljall he upon his fioulder ; and he. fljall he called- — the Prince of Peace » Of the increofe of his government and peace there fl J all he no endy upon the throne of L avid and upon his kingdom^ to order and to eflahlifh it luith jtiJgfneni and with jiflice, from henceforth even for ever. Ifa. ix. 6, 7. This is he who is defcribed as another David in EzekiePs prophecy J Thus faith the Lord, I luill take the children of frael frojn among the heathen. A^id J will make them one nation — and one ki?ig jhall be king to thein all even David my fervant fhall he king over then , Ezek. xxxvii. 21, 22, 24. This is the kingdom reprefented to Nebuchadnezzar in his dream, as a flone cut out without hands y which became a great mouiitain, and filed the whole earth. And Da- niel, in expounding the dream, having defcribed the Babylonian, the Periian, the Grecian, and Roman empires, fubjoins, /// the days ofthfe kings, that is, of the Roman emperors, f. all the Cod of heaven fet up a kingdom, which [hall never be deflroyed : 'and the king- dom liall not, like the former, he left to othe. ■ people ; hut it shall break in pieces and confume all thefe kingdoms) and it shall f and for ever. Dan. ii. 34, 35, 44. There is no character which our Lord fo often aifumed in the days of his flefh as that of the Son of Man ; and he no doubt alludes to a majeftic viiion in Daniel, the only place where this character is given him in the Old Teftament : ■J faw in the night vifions y fays Daniel, and behold, one like the Sofi of Man came to the Jnciefit of Days, and there was given to him dominion y and glor\], and a kitigdom, that all people, natiofis and languages, should ferve him : his dominion is an ever lof ling dofuinion, which shall fiot pafs away, and his kingdom that which shall ?iot he defroyed, Dan. vii. 13, 14^ like the tottering kingdoms of the earth, which are perpetually rifmg and falling. ^This is the king that Zechariah refers to wlien, in profped of his triumphant entrance inlo Jerufalcm, he calls the inhabitants to give a proper reception to fo great a Prince Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion ; fhout, daughter of Jerufahm : behold thy King coming unto thee, &c. 'Jbx:^^u i::. 9. Thu: rlie prophets confpire to afcribe royal titles Serm. lO. Glories of Jefus Chrift. ipo and a glorious kingdom to the MefTiah. And thefe early and plain notices of him raifed a general expedation of him under this royal charafter. It was from thefe prophecies concerning him as a king, that the Jews took occaiion, as I obferved, to look for the Mefliah as a temporal prince ; and it was a long time before the apoltles themfelves were delivered from thefe carnal prejudi- ces. They were folicitous about pofts of honour in that temporal kingdom which they expeded he would fet up : and even after his refurreclion they cannot forbear alking him, Lord^ ivilt thou at this time rejlore again the kingdom to Ifrael ? A6ts i. 6. that is, " Wilt thou now reflore the Jews to their former liberty and in- dependency, and deliver them from their prefent fubjedion to the Romans ?'* It was under this view that Herod was alarmed at his birth, and ihed the blood of fo many innocents, that he might not efcape. He was afraid of him as the heir of David's family and crown, who might difpolTefs him of the government ; nay, he was expected by other nations under the charader of a mighty king ; and they no doubt learned this notion of him from the Jew- iih prophecies, as well as their converfation with that people- Hence the Magi, or eaftern wifemen, when they came to pay ho- mage to him upon his birth, inquired after him in this language, — *^ Where is he that is born King of the Jews?'' Matt. ii. 2- And what is ftill more remarkable, we are told by two heathen hiflorians, that about the time of his appearance a general expec- tation of him under this charader prevailed through the world. ^' Many," fays Tacitus, " had a perfualion that it was contained in the ancient writings of the priefts, that at that very time the eaft ihould prevail, and that fome defcendant from Judah Ihould obtain the univerfal government."* Suetonius ipeaks to the fame purpofe : " An old and conftant opinion," fays he, '' commonly prevailed through all the eaft, that it was in the fates, that ibme Ihould rife out of Judea who ihould obtain the government of the world."* This royal character Chrift himfelf alTuraed, even when he converfed among mortals in the humble form of a fervanr. ^^ The Father y fays he, has given me power over all Jlejh. ^ohU' xvii. 2» Yea, all poiver in heaven and earth is given to me. Matt, xxviii. 1 3 . The gofpel-church which he erected is moft commonly called * FlurJbus perfuafio inerat, antiquis facerdotum Uteris contineri, eo ipfo • tempore tore, ut valefcerat oriens, profe clique Judea rcnun potirentur. Tacit. Hifl. 1. 5- p. 621, * Percrebuerat oriente toto vetus Sc conftans opinio, efle in fatis, ut eo tem- pore Judea profefti rerum potirentnr. Suet, in Vefp. c. 4. Tiie famenefs of the e-xpeftatlon is remarkably evident, from the famenefs of the words in which thefe two hiftorians exprefs it. Jttdea profeili rerum fotircn- tur. It was not o.nly a common eKpe:T:ation, but it was comjoiouly es;preCed ki the fame laHguage. D d 200 The Mediatorial Kingdom and Serm. ic> the kingdom of heaven or of God, in the evangelifts : and when he was about to introduce it, this was the proclamation : 'I he king- dom of heaven is at hand. Under this character alfo his fervants and difciples celebrated and preached him. Gabriel led the fong in foreteUing his birth to his mother. Fe shall be great, and the Lord shall give unto him the throfie of his father ^ avid : and he shall reign over the houfe of Jacob for ever : and of his kingdo?n there shall be fio end- Luke i. 32, 33. St. Peter boldly tells the murderers ofChrill, Cod hath tnade that fatne j efus ivhom you erncfed, both Lord and Chri/l, Ads ii. 36. and exalted him ^ luith his own right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour. Ads v. 31. And St. Paul repeatedly repreieats him as advanced j^r above principality, and poiver and might, and dominion^ and every name that is named, not only in this world, but alfo in that ivhich is to cotne : and that God hath put all things under his feet ^ and given him to be head over all things to his church. Eph. i. 21, 22- Phil- ii. 9 — 11. Yea, to him all the hofts of hea^^en, and even the whole creation in concert,- afcribe power and Jlrength, and honour and glory. Rev. v. 12. Pilate the heathen was over-ruled to give a kind of accidental tef- timony to this truth, and to publilh it to different nations, by thg rnfcription upon the crofs in the three languages then moft in ufe, the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew^ : 7 his is Jefus of Nazareth, King of the Jews ; and all the remonftrances of the Jews could not pre- vail upon him to alter it. Finally, it is he that wears upon his veflure, and upon his thigh ^ this name writen. King of kings ^ and Lord of lords y Rev. xix. 16. and as his name is, fo is he. l"hus you fee, my brethren, by thefe inftances, ieleded out of many, that the kingly charader and dominion of our Lord Jefus runs through the w hole Bible. 1 hat of a king is his fa- vourite charader in which he glories, and which is the rnoft ex- preilive of his office. And this ccniideration aloHC may convince you that this character is of the greateft importance, and worthy of your moll attentive regard. It is the mediatorial kingdom of Chrift that is here intended not that which as God he exerrifes over all the works of his hands : it is that kingdom which is an empire of grace, an ad- miniltration of mercy over our guilty Vvorld. It is ihe difpeniarion intended for the falvation of fallen llnners of our race by the gofpel ; and on this account the gofpel is often called the king- dom of heaven; becaufe its happy confequences are not confined to this earth, but appear in heaven in the higheft perfedion, and kill: through all eternity. Hence, not only the church of Chrilt on earth, and the difpenfation of the goipel, bur all the faints in heaven, and that more finilhed ceconomy under 'a Inch they are placed, are all included in the kingdom of Chrifi:. Here his kbgdom is i>^ its infancy, but in heaven is arrived to per fee- ^erm. 10. Glories of Jefus Chrift, 20 1 tion ; but it is fubftantially the fame. Though the immediate defign of this kingdom is the fal.v^ation of behevers of the guilty- race of man, and fuch are its fubjed:s in a pecuhar fenfe ; yet it extends to all worlds, to heaven, and earth, and hell. The whole univerfe is put under a mediatorial head ; but then, as the .apoflle obfervcs, he is made head over all things to his churchy Eph- i. 22- that is, for the benefit and fnlvation of his church. As Mediator he is carrying on a glorious fcheme for the recov^erj^ of man, and all parts of the univerfe are intereited or concern rhemfelves in this grand event ; and therefore they are all fub- j€ded to him, that he may fo manage them as to promote this end, and baffle and overwhelm all oppoiitbn. The elect angels re- joice in fo benevolent a defign for peopling tiieir manfions, left vacant by the fall of fo many of their fellow-angels with colo- nies tranfplanted from our world, from a race of creatures that they had given up for loft. And therefore Chrift, as a Mediator, is made the head of all the heavenly armies, and he employs them as his minij}eritigfpirits, to minijler to them that are heirs offalvation* Heb. i. 14. 'Ihefe glorious creatures are always on the wing .ready to difcharge his orders in any part of his vaft empire, and delight to be employed in the fervices of his mediatorial kingdom- This is alfo an event in Vhich the fallen angels deeply intereft themfelves ; they have united all their force and art for near fix thoufand years to difturb and fubvert his kingdom, and blaft the defigns of redeeming love ; they therefore are all fubjeded to the controul of Chrift, and he fliortens and lengthens their chains as he pleafes, and they cannot go an hair's breadth beyond his permif- lion. The fcriptures reprefent our world in its ftate of guilt and mifery as the kingdom of Satan ; fmners, while flaves to Tm, are hisfubjed:s ; and every act of difobedience againft God is an acl of homage to this infernal prince. Hence Satan is called the God of this world, 2 Cor. iv. 4. the prince of this luorldy John xii. 31. thepoiv?r of dark fiefs , Luke xxii. 53 . thepritice of the power of the air, the Spirit that tjowworheth in the children of difobedience. Eph. ii. 3. And fmners are faid to be taken captive by him at his luill. 2- Tim. ii. 26. Hence alfo the minilters of Chrift, who .ire em- ployed to recover rin^% a ftate of holinefs and happinefs, arc reprefented as foldiers armed for war ; not ijideed with carnal weapons, but with thofe which are fpiritual, plain truth argu- ments, and miracles; and thefe are made mighty through Ood to the pulling do-wn offtrong holds, cafting doivn imaginations, and every high thing that exalt eth itfelf againfl the knoivkdgeofGod, and hringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of ChrifL 2 Cor. X. 3, 4, 5. And chriftians in general are reprefented as "jjrefHing, not luithflefh and blood, but againft principalities, againft poivers, againft the rulers of the darknefs of this world, againft 202 The Mediatorial Kingdojn and Serni. lo. fpiritualwickedneffes in high places. Eph. vi. 12, Hence alfo in particular it is that the death of Chrift is reprelented not as a de- feat, but as an illuftrious conqueft gained over the powers of hell ; becaufe, by this means a way was opened for the deliverance of Tinners from under their power, and reftoring them into liberty and the favour of God. By that ftrange contemptible weapon, the crofs, and by the glorious refurreclion of Jefus, he/poiled principalities and powers, and made a Jloew of them openly , tri- umphing over them. Col. ii. 15. Tln'ough death, fays the apof- tle, he deftroyed him that had the poiuer of death ; that is, the devil* Heb. ii. 14. Had not Chrift by his death offered a propitiatory facrifice for the fms of men, they would have continued for ever under the tyranny of Satan ; but he has purchafed liberty, life, and falvation for them ; and thus he hath deftroyed the kingdom of darknefs, and tranflated multitudes from it into his own gra- cious and glorious kingdom. Hence, upon the right of redemption, his mediatorial autho- rity extends to the infernal regions, and he controuls and re- ftrains thofe malignant, mighty, and turbulent potentates, according to his pleafure. Farther, the inanimate world is con- ilecled with our Lord's defign to lave finners, and therefore i§ fubjcded t o him as Mediator. He caufes the fun to rife, the rain to fall, and the earth to yield her increafe, to furniih pro- viftonfor the iiibjeds of his grace, and to raife, fupport and ac- commodate heirs for his heavenly kingdom. As for the fons of men, who are mone immediately concerned in this kingdom, and forwhofe fake it was eredted, they are all its fubjecls; but theji they are cf different forts, according to their characters. Mul- titudes are rebels againft his government ; that is, they do not voluntarily fubmit to his authority, nrr chufe they to do his fer- vicc : they will not obey his laws. But they are his fubjefts notwithftanding ; that is, he rules and manages them as he pleafes, whether they will or not. This pov/er is neccffary to carry on fuccefsfuUy his gracious defign towards his people ; for imlefs he had the management of his enemies, they might bafilQ his undertaking, and fuccefsfuUy counteract the purpofes of his love. The kings of the earth, as well as vulgar rebels of a pri- vate charader, have often fet themfelves againft his kingdom, and fometimes they have flattered themfelves they had entirely demolifiied it.* But Jefus reigns abfolute and fupreme over the kings of the earth, and over-rules and controuls them as he thinks proper ; and he difpofes all the revolutions, the riles and falls of kingdoms and empires, fo as to be fubfervient to the great defigns * In the loth and laft Roman perfecution, Dioch-ftan had a medal ftrud with this infcription, " The chriftian name demoliflied, and the vvorfnip of the gods reftored." S€rm. 10. Glories of J efus Chrijl. 203 of his mediation ; and their united policies and powers cannot fruftrate the work which he has undertaken. But befides thefe rebeUious invokintary fubjedts, he has (blelTed be his name !) gain- ed the confent of thoufands, and they have become his wiUing fubjeds by their own choice. They regard his authority, they Jove his government, they make it their ftudy to pleafe him, and to do his wijl. Over thefe he exercifes a government of fpecial grace here, and he will make them the happy fubjeds of the kingdom of his glory hereafter. And it is his government over thefe that I intend more particularly to confider. Once more, the kingdom of Jefus is not confined to this world, but all the millions of mankind in the invifible world are under his dominion, and will continue fo to everlafting ages. He is the Lord of the dead and the living, Rom. xiv. 9. and has the keys of Hades, the vaft invifible world (including heaven as well as hell) and of death. Rev. i. 18. It is he that turns the key, and opens the door of death for mortals to pafs from world to world : it is he that opens the gates of heaven, and welcomes and admits the nations that keep the commandments of God: and it is he that opens the prifon of hell, and locks it faft upon the prifoners of divine juftice. He will for ever exercife authority over the vaft regionsof the unfeen world, and the unnumbered multitudes of fpirits with which they are peopled. You hence fee, my bre- thren, the univerfal extent of the Redeemer's kingdom ; and in this refped how much does it differ from all the kingdoms of the earth? The kingdoms of Great-Britain, France, China, Perfia, are but little fpots of the globe. Our world has indeed been op- prefled in former times with what mortals call univerfal monar- chies ; fuch v/ere the Babylonian, the Perfian, the Grecian, and cfpecially the Roman. But in truth, thefe were fofar from be- ing ftridly univerfal, that a confiderable part of the habitable earth waj^ not fo much as known to them. But this is%n empire ftridly unr/erfal. It extends over land and fea ; it reaches be- yond the planetary worlds, and all the luminaries of heaven ; nay, beyond the throne of the moft exdted archangels, and downward to the loweft abyfs in hell. An univerfal empire in the hands of a mortal is an huge, unwieldy thing ; an heap of confufion ; a burthen to mankind ; and it has always ruflied head* long from its glory, and fallen to pieces by its own weight. But Jefus is equaUo the iminenfe province of an empire ftridly uni- verfal : his hand is able to hold the reins ; and it is the blemng of our world to be under his adminiftration. He will turn what appears to usfcenes of confufion into perfect order, and convince all worlds that he has not taken one wrong ilep in the v/hole plan of his infinite government. The kingdoms of the world have their laws and ordinances^ 204 ^'^^ Mediatorial Kingdom and Serin, i o* andfo has the kingdom ofChrift. Look into your Bibles, and there you will find the laws of this kingdom, from its firft foun- xiation immediately upon the fall of man. The laws of human governments are often defedive or unrighteous ; but thefe are perfect, holy, jufl, and good. Human laws are enforced with landions ; but the rewards and punilhments can only eifed our mortal bodies, and cannot reach beyond the prefent life : but the fanclions of thefe divine laws are eternal, and there never fliall be an end to their execution. Everlafling happinefs and ti^'erlailing mifery, of the fnoll exquifite kind and the higheft .degree, are the rewards and puniihments whicti the immortal -King diftributes among his immortal fubjeds ; and they become his charader, 'and are adapted to their nature. Human laws extend only to outward adions, but thefe laws reach the heart, and the principle ofadion within. Not afecret thought, not a motion of the foul, is exempted from them. If the fubjedsof earthly kings obferve a decorum in their outward condud, and give no viiible evidence of dilloyalty, they are treated as good fubjeds, though they fhould be enemies in their hearts. '^ But Jefus is the Lord of fouls;" he makes his fubjeds bow -their hearts as well as the knee to him. He fweetly com- mands their thoughts ai>d atfedions as well as their external prac- tice, and makes himfelf inwardly beloved as well as outwardly obeyed. His fubjeds are fuch on whom he may depend: they are all ready to lay down their lives for him. Love, cordial, unfeigned, ardent love, is the principle of all their obedience ; and hence it is that his commandments are not grievous, but de- lightful to them. Other kings have their minifters and officers of ftate. In iik^ manner Jefus employs the armies of heaven as m'miftering fpirits in his mediatorial kingdom : befides thefe he has minifters, of an Immbler ^rm, whonegociate more iinmediately in his name with mankind. Thefe are intruded with the mJniftry of reconciliation, to befeech men, in his ftead, to be reconciled to God. Thefe are .ippointed to preach his word, to adminifter his ordinances, and to manage the affairs of Iiis kingdom. This view gives a peculiar dignity and importance to this olfice- Thefe fliould be adorned, njt like the minifters of earthly courts, with tlife trappings of gold z.rA filver, but with the beauties of holinefs, the ornament of a meek and quiet, zealous and faithful fplrit, and a life becoming the gofpel of Chrift. Other kings have their foldiers : fo all the legions of the eled .'iugels, the -armies of heaven, are the foldiers of Jefus Chrift, and under his command. This he alferted when he was in fuch de- fencelefs circumftances, that he feemed to be abandoned by heaven • Tid earth. " Ico^ukl pray to my Father, fiiys he, and he would Sernir 10 Glories of J efus Chrifl, 205 fend Wf more than tiuelve legions ofangtls. Matt. xxvi. 53. I cannot forbear reading toyou one of the moft majcftic defcriptions • of this all-conquering hero and his army, which the language of mortality is capable of. Rev. xix. 11. 16. I faxo heaven open, fays St. John, and behold a ivhlte horfe, an emblem of vidory and triumph, and he that fat upon him was called Faithful and True »- How different a character from that of mortal conquerors ! ''And in righteoufnefs he doth judge and make war." War is general'- ly a icene of injufiice and lawlefs violence ; and thofe plagues of mankind we call heroes and warriors, ufe their arms to gratify their own avarice or ambition, and make encroachments upon others. Jefus, the Prince of peace, makes war too, but it is in righteoufnefs ; it is in the caufe of righteoufnefs he takes up arms* The divine defcription proceeds : His eyes were as a flame of fire ; and on his head were many crowns, emblems of hismar jfold autho- rity over the various kingdoms of the world, and the various re- gions of the univerfe. And he was clothed with a vefture dipt in blood, in the blood of his enemies ; and his name was called, The r/ord of God : and the armies ivhich were in heaven, followed him up- on white horfes, clothed in fine linen, white and clean : the whiteft innocence and purity, and the beauties of holinefs are, as it were, the uniform, the regimentals of thefe celeftial armies. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp fword, that with it he should finite the nations .- and he shall rule thein with a rod of iron ; and he treadeth the wine prefsofthefiercenefs and wrath of Almighty God ; and he hath on his vejlure and on his thigh a nc.mc written, Ki?ig of kings, and Lord of lords. In what manner the v/ar is carried on between the ar- mies of heaven and the powers of hell, we know not ; but that there is really fomething of this kind, we may infer from Rev. xii- 7, 9. There was war in heaven : Michael a?id his angels fought again fi the dragon ; aJid the dragon fought and his angels, arid prevailed not, ^ neither was there place found any more in heaven. And the Meat dra-> gon was caji out, that oldfrp&nt called the Devil aiidSatf^'^ -, ^^'f* y°^ '^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^'^^^ of heaven are volunteers under the Captam of our falvation. Nay, he marlhals the ftars, and calls them by their names. 7 he ftars in their couiifes, fays the fublime Deborah, * fought againjl Sifera, the enemy of God's people. Judg^ fs V. 20. Every part of the creation ferves under hira, and he can com million a gnat, or a %, or the meancft infeft, to be the executioner of his enemies. Fire and water, hurricanes and Earthquakes ^ earthquakes which have fo lately iliattered fo great ti part of our globe, now tottering with age, and ready to fall to' pieces, and bury the guilty inhabitants in its ruins, all thefe light j under Lsni, and confpire to avenge his quaTrel with the guilty fons I of men. The fubj;ects of his grace in papticular are all fo many Toidier? ; their life Is .1 conftant warfare ; mid they are inceffantly 2o6 T/ie Mediatorial Kiitgdom and Serm. lo engaged in hard conflid with temptations from without, and the infurreclions of fin from within. Sometimes, alas ! they fall ; but their General lifts them up again, and infpires them with ftrength to renew the fight. They fight moft fuccefsfully upon their knees. This is the raoft advantageous pofture for the foldi- crs of Jefus Chrifl ; for prayer brings down recruits from heaven in the hour of difficulty. They are indeed but poor wealdings and invahds ; and yet they overcome, through the blood of the Lamb ; and he makes them conquerors, yea more than conquerors. It is the mihtary character of chriftians that gives the apoflle occafion to addrefs them in the mihtary ftile, like a general at the head of his army. Eph. vi. lo — 18. Bejlrong m the Lord, and in the ponver of his might' Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may he able to fiand againfi the wiles of the devil' Stand therefore, having your loins girt about luith truth, and having on the hreaf plate of righteoufnefs , and your feet shod with the preparation of the gofpel of peace ; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Jnd take the helmet of falvation^ and the fword of the fpirit, which is the word of God, praying always with alt prayer and fupplication. The minifters of the gofpel in particular, and efpecially the apoflles, are foldiers, or officers, in this fpiri- tual army. Hence St. Paul fpeaks of his office, in the military flile ; / have, fays he, fought the good fight' 2 Tim. iv. 7. V/e war, fays he, though it be not after the flesh. The humble doc- trines of the crofs are our weapons, and thefe are mighty through God, to demolish the firong holds of the prince of darhiefs , and to hriyig every thought i?2to a joyful captivity to the obedience of faith, 2 Cor. X. 3 — 5. Fight the good fight Wy she to Timothy- i Tim. vi. 12. And again, thou therefore endure hardnefs , as a good f oldie f of Jefus Chrifl' 2 Tim. ii. 3. The great defign of the gofpel- /piniltry is to refcue enflaved fouls from the tyranny of fm and Sa- tan, ancJj|to recover them into a flate of liberty and loyalty to Jefus Chrill ; or, in the words of the apoftle, to turn them from darhiejs to light , and from the power cf Satan unto God. Acls xxvi. 18. Mortals indeed are very unequal for the conflict ; but their fuccefs more confpiciK)n{ly ihews that the excelleticy of the power is of Cod: and many have they fubdued, through his ftrength, to the obedience of faith, and made the willing captives of the crofs of our divine Immanuel. Other kingdonjs are often founded in blood, and many lives are loft on both fides in acquiring them. The kingdom of Chrifl, too, was fonnded in blood ; but it was the blood of his own heart: life was lofl in the conflid; but it was his own; his own life lofl, to purchafe life for his people. Others have waded to empire through the blood of mankind, and even of their own fubjed:s, but Chriil fned only his own blood to fpare that of his foldiers. The general devates his hfe as a facri- Serm. lo. Glories of ye/us Chrift, 207 fice to fave his army. The Fabii and Decii of Rome, who devo- ted themfelves for their country, were but faint (hadows of this divine bravery. O ! the generous patriotifm, the ardent love of the Captain of our falvation ! How amiable does his charafter ap- pear, in contrail with that of the kings of the earth ! They of- ten facrifice the lives of their fubjeds, while they keep themfelves out of danger, or perhaps are rioting at eafe in the pleafures and luxuries of a court ; but Jefus engaged in the conflidl with death and hell alone. He ftood a fmgle champion in a field of blood* He conquered for his people by falling himfelf : he fubdued his and their enemies by reiigning himfelf to the power. Worthy is fuch a general to be Commander in Chief of the hofts of God, and to lead the armies of heaven and earth ! Indeed much blood has been Ihed in carrying on this kingdom. The earth has been foak- ed with the blood of the faints ; and millions have refifled evea unto blood, ftriving againft fin, and nobly laid down their lives for the fake of Chrift and a good confcience. Rome has been re- markably the feat of perfecution ; both formerly under the Hea* then Emperors, and in latter times, under a fucceflion of Popes, ftill more bloody and tyrannical. There were no lefs than ten general perfeeutions under the Heathen Emperors, through the vafl Roman empire, in a little more than two hundred year-s which followed one another in a clofe fuccelTion ; in which innu- merable multitudes of chriftians loft their lives by an endlefs va* riety of tortures. And fmce the church of Rome has ufurped her authority, the blood of the faints has hardly ever ceafed running in fome country or other ; though, bielFed be God, many king- doms ihook off the yoke at the ever-memorable period of the Re- formation, above two hundred years ago : which has greatly weakened that perfecuting power. This is that myftical Babylon which was reprefented to St* John as drunken with the blood of the faints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jefus. Rev. xvii. 6. In her was found the blood of the prophets, and of the faints, and of all that were (lain upon the earth, c/;. xviii. 24. And thefe fcenes of blood are ftill perpetrated in France, that plague of Europe, that has of late ftretched her murderous arm acrofs the wide ocean to difturb us in thefe region^ of peace. There the Proteftants are ftill plundered, chained to the gallies, broken aliv8 upon the torturing wheel, denied the poor favour of abandoning their country and their all, and flying naked to beg their bread in other nations. Thus the harmlefs fubje(5ts of the Prince of Peace Iiave ever been (laughtered from age to age, and yet they are re- prefented as triumphant conquerors. Hear a poor perfecuted Paul on this head ; In tribulation, in diflrefs, in perfecution, in nakednefsy in peril and fword, we are conquerors, lue are more than conquerors, through hi?7i that lovej us* Rom. viii. 36, 37. E e 2o8 Tiie Mediatorial Kingdom and Serm. lo, 'Thanks he to God who ahuays canfeth us to triumph in Chrijl . 2 Cor. ii' i4» Whatfoeveris bornofGody fays the evangelilt, over- coineth the world, i John v. 4. Whence came that glorious ar- my which we To often fee in the Revelation? We are told, they came out of great tribulation^* ch' v\u 14- j^nd they overcame by the blood of the La?nb, and by the word of their tejttmony ; and ihey loved not their lives unto the death- ch. xii. 1 1. They that fuffered tortures and death under the beail, are faid to have gotten the vict'yry over him' ch. xv. 2- Victory and triumph foand ftrange w hen rlius afcribed ; — but the gofpel helps us to under- hand this myflery. By tbefe iuiierings they obtained the illuftri- ous ci own of martyrdom, and peculiar degrees of glory ^nd hap- pinefs through an endlefs duration. Their death was but a ihort tranfition from the loweft and more remote regions of their Re- deemer's kingdom into hts immediate prefence and glorious court in heaven- A tempora) death is rewarded with an immortal life ; and their light affii'Siions ^ which were but for a moment, wrought out for them a far more exceeding and eternal wtight of glory » 2 Cor. iv. 17' Even in the agonies of torture their fouls were often filled with fuch delightful fenfations of the love of God, aft fwallowed up the fenfations of bodily pain ; and a bed of flames was fweeter to them than a bed of rcrfes- Their fouls were be- yond the reach of all theinilruments of torment ; and as to their bo- dies they ihall yet have a glorious refunded:! on to a blelTed immor= taiity. And now I leave you to j^idge, whether they or their enemies got the vidory in this conflict ; and v.hich had moft caufe to triumph' Like their Mailer, they rofe by falling; they tri- umphed over their enemies by fubmitting, like lambs, to their power. If the Ibldiers of other generals die in the field, it is not in the power of their commando^rs to reward them. But the fol- diers of Jefus Chrift, fc-. dying, are, as it were, carried in tn= umph from the iield of blood into the prefence of their Mailer, to receive his approbation, anti a glorious crown^ Death puts them into a capacity of receiving and enjoying greater rewards than they are capable of in the prefent Hate. xAnd thus it appears, that his foldiers ahvays win the day ; or, as the apoille expreifes it, he ccufts them always to triumph ; and not one of them has ever been or ever Ihall be defeated, however weak and helplefs in him- felf, and however terrible the power of his enemies — And O ' when all thefe warriors meet at length from every corner of the earth, and, as it were, pafs in review before their General in the fields of heaven, with their robes waihed in his blood, with palms of victory in their hands, and crowns of glory on their head<^^, all drelfed in uniform with garments of falvation, what a glorious army will they make ! and how will they caufe heaven to ring with ihouts of joy and triumph ! Scrm. !©• dories of y ejus Chri ft. 209 The founders of earthly kingdoms are famous for their heroic a/iii he put an end to the prefent courfe of nature, and the prefent form of adminiflration. Then ihall heaven and hell be filled with their refpective inhabiiants : then will time clofe, and .eternity run on in one uniform tenor, without end. But the kingdom of Chrift, though altered in its fituation and form of go- vernment, will not tlien come to a conclufion. His kingdom is Serm. i o. Glories' of Jefits Chrijl. 5 1 5 ftrid:ly the kingdom of heaven ; and at the end of this world, his fubje<5ts will only be removed from thefe lower regions into a more gldrious country, where they and their King fhall live together for ever in the moft endearing intimacy ; where the noife and com- motions of this reftlefs world, the revolutions and perturbations of kingdoms, the terrors of war and perfeeution, ihall no more reach them ; but all will be perfedl peace, love, atid happinefs, through immeafurable duration. This is the laft and moft illuf- trious ftate of the kingdom of Chrift, now fo fmall' and weak in ap- pearance : this is the final grand refult of his admlniftration : and it will appear to admiring worlds wifely planned^ glorioufly exe^ cuted, and perfectly finiihed. What conqueror ever ereded fuch a kingdom ! What fubjeds fo completely, fo laftingly happy, as thofe of the^blefTed Jefus ! Sermon xl Things unfeen to be preferred to Things feen* 2 Cor. iv. 1 8. J^hile we look not at the Things which are feen, but at the Things which are not feen ; for the Things which arefeen are temporal : hut the Things which are not feen are eternal* AMONG all the caiifes of the ftupid unconcernednefs of fmners about religion, and the feeble endeavours of faints to improve in it, there is none more common or more effectual, than their not forming a due eftimate of the things of time in comparifon of thofe of eternity. Our prefent affairs engrofs all our thoughts, and ex- haiift all cur aftivity, though they are but tranfitory trifles ; while the awful realities of the future v. orld are hid from our eyes by the Veil of fleih and the clouds of ignorance. Did thefe break in up- on our minds in all their almighty evidence and tremendous im- portance, they would annihilate the moft majeftic vanities of th« prefent ftate, obfcure the glare of earthly glory, render all its pleafures infipid, and give us a noble infenfibility under all its for- rows. A realizing view of thefe would ihock the libertine in his thoughtlefs career, tear oft* the hypocrlte^s mailv, and inflame the devotion of languiihirig faints. The concern of mankiiid would thtw be how they might make a fafe exit out of this world, and not how they may live happy in it. Prefent pleafure and pain woujd be fwallowed up in the profpedlof evcrlafting happinefs or mifery F f 2i6 'Things unjeen to he Serm. ii, hereafter. Eternity, awful eternity, would then be our ferious contemplation. The pleafures of tin would {b'ike us w.th horror, if they iiTueni eternal pain, and our prefent afflidions, however te- dious and fevere, would appear but light and momentary, if they work out for ijs a far more exceeding and eternal weight ofglor) . Thefe were the views the apollle had of things, and thefe their effects upon him. He hiformsus in this chapter of his unwearied zeal to propagate the gofpel amidft all the hardihips and dangers that attended the painful difcharge of his minillry. T hough he bore about in his body the dying of the Lord Jefus, though he waj always delivered unto death for Jefus' fake, yet he fainted not ; and this was the profpect that animated him, that his light affH^i- onSf ni!nch was hut for a mo?nerit, would work for him afar more ex^ ceedirig and eicrnal weight of glory* WheifSve view his fufr&rings abfolutely, without any reference to eternity, they were very hea- vy and of many years co\Titinuance ; and when he reprefents them in this view, hov/ moving is the relation ! fee 2* Cor. xi. 23 — 29* But when he views them in the light of eternity, and compared with their glorious ilFues, they link mto nothing : then fcourging, fconlng, imprifbnment, and all the various deaths to which he was daily expofed, are but light, trifling affiiclions, hardly worth nam- ing ; then a feries of uninterrupted fufferJngs for many years are but afSidions that endure for a moment. And when he views a, glorious futurity, human language cannot exprefs the ideas he has of thehappinefs referved for him ; it is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; a noble fentiment ! and exprefiin the fu- blimeft m/anner the language of mortals can admit of. It is glory, in oppofition to affliclion ; a weight of glory, in op- pofition to light affliction ; a mafiy oppreilive bleifednefs, which it requires all the powers in the foul, in their full exertion, to fuppcrt : and in oppofition to affliction for a moment, it is eternal glory : to finiih all, it is a far more exceeding glory^. What greater idea can be grafped by the human mind, or exprelTed in the feeble lan- guage of mortality ! Nothing but feehng that weight of glory could enlarge his conception ; and nothing but the dialed of hea- ven could better exprefs it. No wonder that, v/ith this view of things;, he fooidd reckon that tlefufferings of the prefejit life are not VJ01 thy to be compared with the glory that fhall be revealed* RoiH" viii. 18. The apoftle obferves, that he formed this eftimate of things^ while he looked not at the " things which are feen, but at thofe which are not feen." By the things that are feen, are meant the prefent life, and all the things of time ; all the pleafures and pains, • The original far furpafTes the beft tranllation. Tlie adjective abfohite (t* sXacjcc'.' TJ1C ^'^i'\.u'i','. i> very figaificant ; anJ Jtc-S-' :/7refCoX«y «;; t;T$fC'Any i", h.- imitable in our language. Serm, ir. - preferred to Things feen^ 2\y all the labours, purfuits, and amufements of the prefent ftate. By the things that are not feen, are intended all the invifible realities «f the eternal world ; all the beings, the enjoynitencs and fuffer'ngs that lie beyond the reach of human light ; as the great Father of fplrits, the joys of paradife, and the punifliments of hell. We look on thefe hivilible things, and not on thofe that are feen. This feems like a contradidiion ; but it is eafily folved by under- ftanding this aft, defcribed by looking, to be the aft not of the bo- dily eye, but of faith and enlightened reafon. Faith is defined by this apoitle to be ihefuhjtance of things hoped for ^ and the evidence 9f thifT-gs not feen- Heb. xi. i. And it is the apoftle^s chief de- fign in that chapter, to give inftances of the furpriling efficacy of fuch a realizing belief of eternal invilible things; fee particularly ver. lo, 13, 14, 16, 25, 26, 27. Hence to look not at vifible, but invilible things, fignilies that tha-apoftle made the latter the chief ohj?ft:s of his contemplations, that he was governed in the \\ hole of hi' conduft by the iirpreffion of eternal things, and not by the prefent ; that he formed his maxims and fchemes from a compre- heuii X furvey of futurities, and not from a partial view of things preieat ; and, in ii;oi t, that he afted as an expeftant of eternity, and not as an everlailing inhabitant of this wretched w orld. This he elfewhere exprelfes in equivalent terms, We walk by faith, and not by fight. 2 Cor. v. 7. Further, he affigns a reafon why he had a greater regard to in- vifible things than vifible in the regulating of his conduft: ; for the things zvhich are feen are temporal ; but the things which are not feen, fays he, are eternaU An important reafon indeed ! Eternity an- nexed to a trifle would advance it into infinite importance, but vv'hen it is tht- attribute of the moft perfeft happinefs, or of the moft cxquifite mifery, then it tranfcends all comparifon : then all tem- poral happinefs and mifery, however great and long continued, ihrink into nothing, is drowned ^nd loft, like the fmall drop of a bucket in the boundlefs ocean. My prefent defign, and the contents of the text, prefcribe to me the following method : L I fhall give you a comparative view of vifible and invifible things, that you may fee the trifling nature of the one, and the importance of the other. This I choofe to do under one head, be- caufe by placing thefe two claiTes of things in an immediate oppofi- tion, we may the more eafily compare them, and fee their infinite difparity. And, II. I Ihali fhew you the great and happy influence a fuitable rmprelTion of the fuperior importance of invifible to vifible things would have upon us. I. I fhall give you a comparative view of vifible and ipvifible things; and we may compare vifible and invifible things, as to their iutrinlic value, and as t© their duration. 2iS "Things uy^feen to be Serm. ii. I. As to their in trinlic value ; and in thisrefpeft the difparity is inconceivable. This I ihall illuftrate in the two comprehenfive inftances of pleafure and pain. To ihun the one, and obtain the other, is the natural effort of the human mind. This is its aim in all its endeavours and purfuit^. The innate defire of happinefs and averfion to mi- fery are the two great fprings of all human adivity ; and, were thefe fprings relaxed or broken, all bufmefs would ceafe, all acli- %aty would flagnate, and univerfal torpor would feize the world. And thefe principles are co-exiftent with the foul itfelf, and will continue in full vigour in a future flate. Nay, as the foul will then be matured, and all its powers arrived to their complete per- fection, this eagernefs after happinefs, and averfion to iiiifery, will be alfo more quick and vigorous. The foul in its prefent flate of infancy, like a young child, or a man enfeebled and ftupi- lied by ficknefs, is incapable of very deep fenfations of pleafurc and pain ; and hence an excefs of joy^ as well as forrow, has fometimes dilfolved its feeble union with the body. On this ac- count we are incapable of fuch degrees of happinefs or mifery from iihe things of this world as beings of more lively fenfations might receive from them : and much more are we incapable of the hap- pinefs or mifery of the future world, until we have put on immor- tality. We cannot fee God and live. Should the glory of hea- ven blaze upon us in all its infuperable fplendour, it would over- whelm our feeble nature ; we could not fupport fuch a weight of glory. And one twinge of the agonies of hell would dillodge the ioul from its earthly manfion : one pang would convulfe and ftu- pify it, were not its powers flrengthened by the feparation from the body. But in the future world all the powers of the foul will be mature and ftrong, and the body will be clothed with immor- tahty ; the union between them after the refurretlion will be in- separable, and able to fupport the moft oppreffive weight of glo- ry, or the moft intolerable lead of torment. Hence it follows that pleafure and pain include all that we can defire or fear in the prefent or future world ; and therefore a comparative view of prefent and future pleafure and pain is fufficient to enable us to form a due eftimate of vifible and invifible things. By prefent pleafure, I mean all the happinefs we can receive from prefent things, as from riches, honours, fenfual gratifications, learning, and intellevTtual improvements, and 4II the amufements and exer- cifes of this life. And by future pleafure, or the pleafure which refults from invifible things, I mean all the fruitions and enjoy- ments in which heavenly happinefs confifls. By prefent pain, I intend all the uneafinefs which we can receive from the things of rhe prefent life; as poverty, loifes, difappointments, bereave- laents, ri(;knefs, and bodily pains. And by future pain, I mean Serm. ii. prefimd to Things feen. 219 all the punifiiments of hell ; as baniihment from God, and a pri* vation of all created bleffings, the agonizing reflections of a guilty confcience, the horrid company and exprobations of infernal ghofts, and the torture of infernal flames. Now let us put thefe in the balance, aad the one will fink into nothing, and the other rife into infinite importance. Temporal things are of a contradted nature, and not adequate to the capacities of the human foul ; but eternal things are great, and capable of communicating all the happinefs and mifery which it can receive. The foul in its prefent Hate is not capable of fuch degrees of happinefs and mifery as it will be in the future, when it dwells among invifible realities. All that pleafure and pam which we receive from things that are feen, is intermingled with fome ingredients of a contrary nature ; but thofe proceeding from things that are not feen, are pure and unmingled. I . Vifible things are not equal to the capacities of the human foul. This Httle fpark of being, the foul, which lies obfcured in this prifon of fle/h, gives frequent difcoveries of furprifing powers : its defiresin particular have a kind of infinity. But all temporary objedtsare inean and contradled ; they cannot afford it a happinefs equal to its capacity, nor render it as miferable as its capacity of futFering will bear. Hence, in the greatefl affluence of temporal enjoyments, in the midfl: of honours, pleafures, riches, friends, &c. it (till feels a painful void within, and finds an unknown fome- thing wanting to complete its happinefs. Kings have been unhap- py upon their thrones, and all their grandeur have been but ma- jeftic mifery. So Solomon found it, who had opportunity and curiofity to make the experiment ; and this is his verdict upon all earthly enjoyments, after the mpft impartial trial, " Vanity of vanities,^' faith the preacher, ^* Vanity of vanities; all is vanity and vexation of fpirit.'' On the other hand, the foul may pof- fefs fome degree of happinefs, under all the miferies it is capable of fufFering from external and temporal things. Guilt indeed de- nies it this fupport ; but if there be no intefHne broils, no anguilh refulting from its own refledlions, not all the vifible things can render it perfectly miferable ; its capacity of fufFering is not put to its utmoll ftretch. This lias been attefled by the experience of multitudes who have fuiFered for righteoufnefs fake. But, O,. when we take afurvey of invifible things, v/e find them all great and majeftic, not only equal but infinitely fuperior to the moft en- Jarged powers the human and even of the angelic nature. In the eternal world the great Invifible dwells, cind there he acts with his own immediate hand. It is he that immediately communicates happinefs through the heavenly regions ; and it is his immediate breath that, like a flream of brimftone, kindles the flames of hell : whereas in the prefent world he rarely communicates happinefs. 2 20 Ihings iinjeen tohe Serm. ii, and inflids paniiliment, but by the inftrumentality of creatures ; and it is impofTible the extremes of either Ihould be communicated through this channel. This the infinite God alone can do, and, though in the future world he will ufe his creatures to heighten the liappinefs or mifery of each other, yet he will have a more immediate agency in them himfblf. He will communicate happi- nefs immediately from himfelf, the infinite fountain of it, into the yelFels of mercy : and he wiji immediately Ihew his wrath, and make his power known upon the velfels of wrath. I may add, that thofe creatures, angels and devils, which will be the inftru. jnents of happinefs or mifery to the human foul in the invifible world, are incomparably more powerful than any in this; and confequently capable of contributing more to our pleafure or paiu' And let me alfo obfeive, that all the objects about which cur fa- culties willbe employed then, will be great and majeftic; whereas, at prelent, we grovel among little fordid things. The objed? of our contemplation will then be either the unveiled glories of the divine nature, and the naked wonders of creation, providence, and redemption ; or the terrors of divine juftice, the dreadful na- ture and aggravations of our lin, the horrors of everlafting puniih- jTient, &:c. And fmce this is the cafe, how little ihould we re- gard the things that are feen, in comparifon of them that are not feen ? But though vifible things were adequate to our prefent ca- pacities, yet they are not to be compared with the things that are not feen, becaufe, 2* The foul is at prefent in a flate of infancy, and incapable of fuch degrees of pleafure or pain as it can bear in the future world. The enjoyments of this life are like the play-things of children ; and none but childilh fouls would trifle with them, or fret and ve:: themfelves or one another about them ; hut the inviiible realities before us are manly and great, and fuch as an adult foul ought to concern itfelf with. The foul in another world can no more be hajjpy or miferable from fuch toys, than men can be happy or wretched in the pofleiTion or iofs of the baubles pf children ; it will then demand great things to give it pleafure or pain. The apof- tle illuilrates this matter in this manner, i. Cor. xiii. 9, lo, 11. How fooliih is it then to be chiefly governed by thefe puerilities, while we negledthe manly concern of eternity, that can make our fouls perfectly happy or miferable, when their powers are come to perfeclion! ,3f. And laftly, All the happinefs and rnifery of the prefent ilate, refnitingfroni things that are feen, are intermingled with contrary ingredients. Vvc are never fo happy in this world, as to have no UJieafmcfi, ; in the greateft affiuence we ianguiin for v. ant of fome abfent good, or .grieve under fome incumbent evil- On the other •hand, we are never fo miferable as to have no ingredient of hap- Serm. 1 1 . preferred to Things fe en, 2 21 pinefs. When we labonr under a thoufand calamities, we may ilill fee ourfelves furrounded with, perhaps, an equal number of bleflings. And where is there a wretch fo miferable as to endure fimple unmingled mifery without one comfortable ingredient? But hi the invifible \\ orld there is an eternal feparation made between good and evil, pleafure and pain : and they ihall never mingle more. In heaven the rivers of pleafures flow untroubled with a drop of forrow 5 in hell, there is not a drop of water to mitigate the fury of the flame. And who then would not prefer the things that are not feen to th<«/fe that are feen ? £fpecially, if we conti- der, 2. The infinite difparity between them as to duration. This is the diiference particularly intended in the text ; the things that are feen are temporal ; but the things that are not feen are eternal' The tranfitorinefs of vifible things, implies, both that the things themfelves are periihable, and they may foon leave us ; and chat our refidence among them is temporary, and we mull foon leave them. . And :he eternity of invifible things implies the quite contrary, that the things themfelves are of endlefs duration ; and that we fhall always exift to receive happinefs or mifery from them. Before we illuftrate thefe inftaiices of difparity, let us take a view of Time and Eternity in themfelves, ami as compared to one another. Time is the duration of creatures in the prefent ftate. It com.- menced at the creation, and near 6oco years of it are fince elap- fed ; and how much of it yet remains we know not. But this we know, that the duration of the world itfelf is as nothing in com- parifon of eternity. But what is our duration compared with the duration even of this world > It is but a fpan, an hair's breadth ; fixty, feventy, or eighty years, is generally the highefl: flandard of human life, and it is by far the fm.allefl: number of mankind that arrives to thefe periods. The moft of them die like a flower bkifl:. ed in the morning, or at noon ; and we have more reafon to ex- pedit vvill be our fate than to hope the contrary. Nov/ the fpan of time we enjoy in life is all our time ; we have no more property in the reft of it than in the years before the flood. All befide is eternity. << Eternity V We are alarmed at the found ! Lofl: in the profpedi: ! Eternity with refped to God, is a duration without beginning as well as without end: Eternity, as it is the attri- bute of human nature, is a duration that bad a beginning but iliall never have an end. This is inalienably entailed up= on us poor dying worms : and let us furvey our inheritance. Eternity i it is a duration that excludes all number and computa- tion ; days, and months, and years, yea, and ages are lofl: in it, hke drops in the ocean. Millions of millions of years, as many years a« there are lands on the fea ihore, or particles of duft in the Z22 Things unfeen to be Serm. 1 1 ^ globe of the earth, and thefe multiplied to the highefl reach of number, all thefe are nothing to eternity. They do not bear the leait imaginable proportion to it; for thefe will come to an end^ ascertain as day ; but eternity will never, never come to an end. It is a Fme without end; it is an ocean without a fhore. Alas ■ what fhall I fay of it ! It is an infinite unknown fomething, that neither human thought can grafp, nor human language defcribe^ Now place time in comparifon v.'ith eternity, and what is it? It Ihrinks into nothing, and lefs than nothing- What then is that little fpan of time in which we have any property? Alas ! it is too diminutive a point to be conceived. Indeed, properly fpeak- ing, we can call no part of time our own feut the prefent moment, this fleeting no^jj : future time is uncertain, and we may never enjoy it ; the breath we now refpire may be our laft ; and as to our pafi time, it is gone, and will never be ours again. Our pafl days are dead and buried, though perhaps guilt, their ghoft, may haunt us ftill. And what is a moment to eternity ? The difparity is too great to admit of comparifon. Let me now refUme the former particulars, imphed in the tran- fitorinefs of vifible and eternity of invifible things. Vifible things are periihable, and may foon leave us. When we think they are ours, they often fly from our embrace. Riches may vanilh into fmoke and alhes by an accidental fire. We may be thrown down from the pinnacle of honour, and fmk the lower into difgrace. Senfual pleafures often end in fatiety and difguft, or in licknefs and death. Our friends are tore from our bleeding hearts by the inexorable hand of death. Our liberty and pro- perty may be wreftedfrom Us by the hand of tyranny, oppreffion, or fraud. In a word, what do we enjoy but we may lofe ? On the other hand, our miferies here are temporary ; the heart re- ceives many a wound, but it heals again. Poverty may end in riches ? a clouded chnra6ter may clear up, and from difgrace we may rife to honour; we may recover from ficknefs ; and if we lofe one comfort, we may obtain another. But in eternity every thing is everla,fting and unchangeable. Happinefs and mifery are both of thcinwitL-outend ; and the fiibjc£l:s of both well know that thi'i i^the cafe. It is this perpetuity that finiihes that happinefs of the inhabitants of heaven; the,leafl: fufpicion of an end would inter^ mingle itfelf with all their cnjoymea;^ts, and embitter them ; and the greater tU-^ happinefs, the greater the anxiety at the expecta- tion of loiing it. But, O how tranfporting for the fiiints on high to look forw^ird through the fuccefTion of eternal ages, with an af- fnrance that they ihall be happy through them all, and diat they fliall Tcel no change but from glory to glory ! On the other hand, this is thebittereftmgredientin the cup of divine diipleafure in the future ibtc, that the mifery is eternal. O with what horror does that defpairing cry, Forever, ferever, forever ! echo through the Serm. ii. preferred to Things feen 223 vaults of hell ! Eternity is fuch an important attribute, that it gives infinite weight to things that would be infignificant, were they temporary. A fmall degree of happinefs, if it be eternal, exceeds the greateft degree that is tranfitory ; and a fmall de- gree of mifery that is everlafting, of greater importance than the greateft degree that foon comes to an end. Would you rather endure the moft painful tortures that nature can bear for a mo- ment, than an eternal tooth-ach or head-ach? Again, fhouldwe confider all the ingredients and caufes of future happinefs and mifery, we ihould find them all everlafting. The bleffed God is an inexhauftible perennial fountain of bhfs-, his image can never be erafed from the hearts of glorified fpirits ; the great contem- plation will always lie obvious to them ; and they will always exift as the partakers and promoters of mutual bhfs. On the o- ther hand, in hell the worm of confcience diethnot, and the fire is not quenched ; divine juftice is immortal ; malignant fpirits will always exift as mutual tormentors, and their wicked habits will never be extirpated. And now, need I offer any thing farther to convince you of the fuperior importance of invifible and eternal to vifible and tem- porary things ? Can a rational creature be at a lofs to choofe in fo plain a cafe ? Can you need any arguments to convince you that an eternity of the moft perfed happinefs is rather to be chofen than a few years of fordid unfatisfying delight ? Or that the for- mer Ihould not be forfeited for the fake of the latter ? Have you any remaining fcruples, whether the little anxieties and mortifica- tions of a pious life are more intolerable than everlafting punifh- ment ? O ! it is a plain cafe : what then mean an infatuated world, who lay out all their concern on temporal things, and ne- gled the important affairs of eternity ; Let us illuftrate this mat- ter by a fuppofition. Suppofe a bird were to pick up and carry away a grain of fand or duft from the globe of the earth once in. a thoufand years, till it ihould be at length wholly carried away ; the duration which this would take up appears a kind of eternity to us. Now fuppofe it were put to our choice, either to be hap- py during this time, and miferable ever after, or to be miferable during this time, and happy ever after, which would you choofe ? Why, though this duration feems endlefs, yet he would be a fool that would not make the latter choice ; for, O ! behind this vaft duration, there lies an eternity, which exceeds it infinitely more than this duration exceeds a moment. But we have no fuch feem- ingly puzzling choice as this ; the matter with us ftands thus — Will you choofe the Httle fordid pleafures of fm that may perhaps not laft an hour, at moft not many years, rather than everlafting pleafure of the fublimeft kind ? Will you rather< endure intolera- ble torment forever, than painfully endeavour to be holy ! What e g 2 24 Things unjc en to be Scrm. ii. does your conduct, my brethern, anfwer to thefe queftions ? If your tongues reply, they will perhaps for your credit give a right anfwer; but what fay your prevailing difpofition and common pradice ? Are you not more thoughtful for time than eternity ? more concerned about vifible vanities than invifible realities ? If fo, you make a fooPs choice indeed. But let it be further confidered, that the tranfitorinefs of invi- fible things may imply that we muft ere long be removed from them, lliough they were immortal it would be nothing to us, fmce we are not fo in our prefent ftate. Within a few years, at moft, we fliall be beyond the reach of all happinefs and mifery from temporal things. But when we pafs out of this tranfitory flate, we enter upon an everlafting flate. Our fouls will always exift ; exift in a fiatc of unchangeable, boundlefs happinefs or mifery. It is but a little while fince we came in to being out of a flate of eternal non-exifl- cnce ; but we fhall never relapfe into that flate again. Thefe little fparks of being fhall never be extinguifhed ; they will fur- vive the ruins of the world, and kindle into immortality. When millions of millions of ages are pafl, we fliall flill be in exiflence ; and O ! in what unknown region ? In that of endlefs blifs, or of interminable mifery ! — Be this the moft anxious inquiry of our lives ! Seeing then we mufl foon leave this world, and all its joys and forrows, and feeing we mufl enter on an unchangeable everlaft- ing flate of happinefs or mifery, be it our chief concern to end our prefent pilgrimage well. It matters but little whether w^e lie ea- fy or not during this night of exiflence, if fo be we awake in e- ternal day. It is but a trifle, hardly worth a thought, whether We be happy or miferable here, if we be happy for ever hereafter. What then mean the buflle and noife of mankind about the things of time ? O, firs ! eternity, awful all-important eternity, is the only thing that deferves a thought. I come, II. To ihew the great and happy influence a fuitable imprefli- on of the fuperior importance of invifible to vifible things would have upon us. This I might exemplify in a variety of inflances with refpecl to faints and fmners. When we are tempted to any unlawful pleafures, how would we fhrink away with horror from the purfuit, had we a due fenfe of the mifery incurred, and the happinefs forfeited by it ! V/hen we find our hearts excellively eager after things below, had we a fuitabk view of eternal things, all thefe things would ihrink into trifles hardly worth a thought, much lefs our princi- pal concern. When the fmner, for the fake of a little prefent eafe, and to avoid a little prefent uneafmefs, flifles his confcience, refufest«. Serm, ii. preferred to Things fcen* 225 examine his condition, cafts the thoughts of eternity out of his mind, and thirJcs it too hard to attend painfully on all the means .of grace, has he then a due eftimate of eternal things ? Alas ! no ; he only looks at the things that are feen. Were*^ the mouth of hell open before him, that he might behold its torments, and had he a fight of the joys of paradife, they would harden him into a generous infenfibility of all the forrows and anxieties of this life, and his inquiry would not be. Whether thefe things required of him are eafy ? but, Whether they are necelTary to obtain eternal happinefs, and avoid everlafiing mifery ? When we fuffer any reproach or contempt on a religious ac- count, how would a due eftimate of eternal things fortify us with undaunted courage, and makes us willing to climb to heaven through difgrace, rather than fmk to hell with general applaufe ! How would a realizing view of eternal things animate us in our devotions ? Were this thought imprefled on our hearts when in the fecret or fecial duties of religion, '^ I am now ading for eter- nity," do you think \ve iiiould pray, read, or hear with fomuch inditFerency and languor ? O no ; it would roufe us out of our dead frames, and call forth all the vigour of our fouls. With what unweai'Ied importunity Ihould we cry to God ! with what eagernefs hear the word of falvation ! How powerful an influence would a view of futurity have to a- larm the fecure fniner that has thought httle of eternity all his hfe, though it be the only thing worth thinking of! How would it haften the determination of the lingering, wa- vering linner, and Ihock him at the thought of living one day un- prepared on the very brink of eternity 1 In a word, a fuitable imprefiion of this would quite alter the afpecl of things in the world, and would turn the concern and ac- tivity of the world into another channel. Eternity then would be the principal concern. Our inquiries would not be. Who will ihew us any temporal good ? What fhall we eat, or what ihall we drink ? But, What fhall we do to be faved ? How fhall we efcape the wrath to come ? Let us then endeavour to imprefs our hearts with invifible things, and for that purpofe confider, that We ihall, ere long, be ingulphed in this awful eternity, whe- ther we think of it or not. A few days or years will lanuch us there ; and O, the furprifmg fcenes that will then open to us ! — Without deep impreffions of eternity on our hearts, and fre- quent though tfulnefs about it, we cannot be prepared for it. And if we are not prepared for it, O, how inconceivably mife- rable our cafe ! But if prepared, how inconceivably happy ! Look not then at the things "which arejeen, hut at the things ivhich Ate mt feen ; for the things -which are feen are temporal: but tl^e things -which are not feen are eternaU 26 lire facred Impor-t of Serm. 12 ::<>D-c<:^<;:--<:-><>o=:!!^<::::::><:::-ovs,, that the very name chriflian, as well as the thmg, was a diyine oriffina] ; alTunied not by a private agreement of the dii- cipi^s among themielves, but by the appomtment of God. And in this view it is a remarkable accompliihment of an old prophecy of Ifaiah, chapter Ixii. I' The Gentiles Jhall fee thy righteoufnefsy and all Kings thy glory, and thou shalt be called by a new name^ ivhi.h the mouth of the Lord shall name* So I/aiah lxv» 15. The Lord shall call hisfervants by another name* This name was at firfl confined to fev/ ; but it foon had a fur- priiingly extenfive propagation thro' the world. In many coun- tries, indeed, it was loft, and miferably exchanged for that of Heathen, Mahometan, or MuiTelman. Yet the European nati- ons flill retain the honor of wearing it. A few fcattered chrif- tians are alfo ftill to be found here and there in Afia and Africa, though crulhed under the opprellions of Mahometans and Pagans. This name has likewife crofl'ed the wide ocean to the wildernefs of America, and is worn by the fundry European colonies on this continent. We, in particular, call ourfelves chriftians, and ihould take it ill to be denied the honour of that diftinclion. But do we not know the meaning and facred import of that name ? Do we not know what it is to be chriftans indeed ? That is, to be in reality what w^e are in name : certainly it is time for us to confider the matter ; and it is my prefent defign that we ihould do fo. New we may confider this name in various views : particu- larly as a name of diftinclion from the reft of the world, who know not the Lord Jefus, or reje^l him as an impoftor ; — as a pa- tronymic name, pointing out the Father and Founder of our holy religion and the chriftain church ;— as a badge of our relation to Chrjft as his fervants, his children, his bride; — as intimating our unclion by the holy fpirit, or our beiiig the fubjecls of his influ- ences ; as Chrift was anointed by the holy fpirit, or replenilhed with his gifts above meafure (for you are to obferve that anointed is the Engliih of the Greek name Chrifi and of the Hebrew, Mef- fiah^y. and as a name of appropriation, fignifying that we are the property of Chrift, and his peculiar people. Each of thefe parti- ed the anfwerof God. Rom. vii. 3. -^^^-AfxefrnTu^ flie flaall be called, (-y/'z^by the divine law) an adultrefs. Lukeii. 26, ^oii[xtiTKru^'i, it was revealed to him by the Holy Ghoft. A^s x. 22. txfx/^artS-i was warned from God. Heb. viii. 5) Kixf^y-tfism Maxrug^ Mofes was admonifned of God. Heb. xi. 7- Noah be- ing warned of God, ^iHf^nriS-nc Heb. xii. 25. Tf they efcapednot, who refufed Him that fpak^on earth ; viz. by divine infpiration. Thefe are all the places perhaps in which the word is ufed in the New Teftament ; and in all thefe it feems to mean a revelation from God, orfomething oracular. And this is'aftrong prefumption that the word is to be fo underllood in the text. * Pfalm cv. 15, Touch notmrChrifts; that is, my anointed people. — So 228 The facrcd Import of Serni. i::. culars might be prolitably iiluftrated.* But my prafent defign confines me to confider the Chriftian name only in two views ; j^iamely, as a cathohc name, intended to bury all party denomina- tions^ and as a name of obligation upon all that ^vear it to be chrif- tians indeed, or to form then* temper and pradice upon the facred iKodei of chriftianity- I. Let us coniider the chriftian name as a catholic name, in- tended to bury all party denominations. The name Gentile was odious to the Jews, and the name Jew was odious to the Gentiles. The name chriitian fwallows up both in one common and agreeable appellation. He that hath taken down the partiiion-wall, has taken away partitton-nam.es, and united all his followers in liis own name, as a common denomina- tion. For now-, fays Paul, the^^e is neither Greek nor Jew, cir- cumcifion nor imcircumcifiony barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free ; hut Ckrift is all and in alL Col. iii. ii- And ye are all one In Chrlftjefus. Gal. iii- 28. According to a prophecy of Zechari- ali The Lord fhall be king over ail the earth ; and in that day there fial! he one Lord, and his name one* Zech- xiv- 9- It is but a due honour to Jefus Chrift, the founder of cliriftia- nity, that aU who profefs his religion ihould wear his name ; and they pay an extravagant and even idolatrous compliment to his fubordinate officers and miniilers, when they take their denomi- nation from them. Had this hum.our prevailed in the primitive <:hurch, inflead of the comm.on name chriflians, there would have been as many party-names as ther:^ v/ere apofdes or eminent mini- flers. There v/ould have been Paulites from Paul; Peterites from Peter; Johnites from John ; Barnabires from Barnabas, Sec* Faui took p^.ins to crufli the tiril rifiugs of this p:]rty-rpirit in thole churhes which he planted ; particularly in Corinth, where it mort prevailed. While they where faying, I aiizofPaul; and I efJpoUos ; and I of Cephas ; and I ofChrijt, he puts this pungent ;q;^eiiion to them : " Is Chrift divided ? Are his fervants the ring- leaders of fo many parties? Was Paul crucified for you ? or vv-ere ye baptized in or into the name of Paul, that ye fliould be fo fond to t;ike your name from him ? He counted it a happineis that pro- vidence had directed him to fuch a conduft as gave no umbrage of encouragement to fuch a humour. / thank God, fays he that I ■baptized none of you, but Crifpm and Gaius : left any fould take 'ecc^ifjon to fay, I baptized into my own name, and zuas gathering a party for -myf If . i Cor. i. 12 — 15- But alas ! how little has this convictive reafoningt)f the apoftle been resrarded in the future ares of the church ? What an endieis o o * Set' vi fine illuftratioix of them in Dr. Grofv-enor's excellent Eliay on the ^brifdan Name ; f, c^ i.'.-h6iii I am not alliamcd to borrc*:',' fever al amiable fen- liment;. Serm. 12. the Chrijlian Na7ne. 22^ variety of denominations taken from fome men of chara This, as fpoken by Ephraim, had a par- ticular reference to the Babylonilh captivity ; but we may natural- ly take occafion from it to fpeak of thofe calamities in general, whether outward or inward, that are made the means cf alarming the fecure linner. There are m.any ways which our heavenly Father takes to cor- rect his undutiful children until they return to him. Sometimes he kindly takes away their health, the abufed occaiion of their wantonnefs and fecurity, and reftrains them from their lulls with fetters of aftiidion. 1 his is beautifully deicribed by Elihu : He is chafiened with pain upon his bed, and the multliude of his bones with Jirong pain ; fo that his life abhorretb bread^ and his foul dainty meat- His flesh is confujnedaway, that it camiot befeen^ and his bones, that were notfeen,fiick out ; yea, his foul draioeth /tear unto the grave, and his life unto the deftroyers, J f there be a rneffenger with hi?n, a peculiarly fkilful interpreter, one among a thoifand, to stew unto man his uprightnefs, then he is gracious unto him, and faith. Deliver him from going down to the pit ; — I have found a ranfom. Job xxxiii. 19, &c. Sometimes God awakens the fmner to bethink himfelf, by firipping him of his earthly fupports and comforts, his eftate, or his relatives, which drew away his heart from eternal things, and thus brings him to fee the neceffity of turning to God, the fountain of blifs, upon the failure of the Itreams. Thus he dealt with profligate Manalfeh. 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11, 12. He was taken in thorns, and hound in fetters, and carried to Babylon ; and when he was in affliction he befought the Lord, and humbled himfelf greatly before him, and prayed imto him, &c. Thus alfo God pro- mifes to do with his chofen ; I willcaufe you to pafs under my rod, and bring you into the bond of ?ny covenant- Ezek. xx- 37. Pfal. Ixxxix- 32. Pro^^ xxii- 15. xxix. 15. But the principal means of correction which God ufesfor the end of return to him is that of confcience ; and indeed without this, all the reil are in vain- Outward aflliftions are of fervice owly as they tend to awaken the confcience from its lethargy to a faith- ful difcharge ofitstruft. It is confcience that makes the fmner fenf/ble of his mifery, and fcourges him till he return to his duty. This is a chaflifement the mo^ fevere that human nature can en- dure- The lailies of a guilty confcience are intolerable; and fome under them have chofen ftrangling and death rather than life. The fpirit of a man may bear him up under outward infir- mities ; but when the fpirit itfelf is wounded, who can bear it? Prov. xviii. 14. Confcience is a ferpent in its breaft, which bites and gnav/s his heart ; and he can no more avoid it than he can fly from himfelf. Its force is fo great and univerfal that even the hea. then poet Juvenal, net famous for the delicacy of his morals, taught Serm. I3» to mourning Penitents. 243 by experience, could fpeak feelingly of its fccret blows, and ojf agonizing Tweats under its tortures*. *\ Let not fuch of you as have never been tortured with its re- \ morfe, congratulate yourfelves upon your happinefs, for you are \ not innocents ; and therefore confcience will not always fleep ; it \ will not always lie torpid and inadive, like a fnake benumbed with cold, m your breaft. It will awaken you either to your con- verfion or condemnation. Either the fire of God's wrath flaming from his law will enliven it in this world to fting you with midici- nal anguifli ; or the unquenihable iire of his vengence in the lake of fire and brimftone will thaw it into life, and then it will horri- bly rage in your breafl, and difFufe its tormenting poifon through your whole frame : and then it will become a never-dying worm, and prey upon your hearts for ever. But if you now fuller it to pain you with falutary remorfe, and awaken you to a tender fen- iibility of your danger, this intefline enemy will in the end be- come your bofom friend, will fupport you under every calamity, and be your faithful companion and guardian through the nioft dangerous paths of life. Therefore now fubmit to its wholefome fe verities, now yield to its chaftifements. Such of you as have fubmitted to its authority, and obeyed its faithful admonitions, find it your befl friend ; and you may blefs the day in which you com- plied with its demands though before divine grace renewed your heart, your wills were flubborn and reludant ; and you might fay with Ephraim, / was chajlifed as a bullock unacciijiomed to the yoke ; that is, " As a wild young ox, unbroken from the herd, is unmanageable, • refufes the yoke, becomes outrageous at the whip or goad, and wearies himfelf in efFedual fkruggles to throw off the burden clapt upon him, and regain his favage liberty, and never will fubmit untill wearied out, and unable to refift any longer ; fo has my flubborn heart unaccuftomed to obey, refufed the yoke of thy law, O my God, and flruggled with fullen obftinacy under thy chaf- tifements. Inftead of calmly fubmitting to thy rod, and imme- diately reforming under corredion, inftead of turning to thee, and flying to thy arms to av^oid the falling blow, I was unyielding and outrageous, like a wild bull in a net- Ifaiah h. 2q. I weari- ed myfelf in defperate fb'uggles to free myfelf from thy chaftifmg hand; or vainly tried to harden myfelf to bear it with obdurate Frigida mens eft Criminibus, tacita fudant praecordia culpa. — ~ Cur tamen hos tu Erafiffe putes, quos diri confcia fafti Mens habet attonitos, &: furdo verbere caedit, Cccultum quatifnte animo tortore fiagellum? JuvEN. Sat. I. Id. Sat. Xni. 244 TJie Divine Mercy Serm. 13. infenfibility. I tried to break the rod of confciencc that I might no more groan under its lailies, and my heart reluctated and re- belled againft the gracious defign of thy correction, which was to •bring me back to thee my heavenly Father. But now I am wea- ried out, now I am feniible I muft fubmit, or periih, and that my confcience is too ilrong for me, and muft prevail.'' You fee, my brethren, the obflinate reludance of an awakened fniner to return to God* Like a wild young bullock, he would range at large, and is impatient of the yoke of the law, and the reflraints of confcience. He loves his fin and cannot bear to part with it. He has no reliih for the exercifes of dev-otion and afcetic mortification ; and therefore -will not fubmit to them. The way of holinefs is difagreeable to his depraved heart, and he vv'ill not turn his feet to it- He loves to be Itupidly eafy and ferene in mind^ and cannot bear to be checked iii his purfuit of bufmefs or pleafure by anxieties of heart, and therefore he is impatient of the honcil warnings of his confcience, and ufcs a variety of wretched expedi- ents to lilence its clamorous remcnftrances- In Ihort, he will do any thing, he will turn to any thing rather than turn to God. If his confcience will be but i'atisfied, he v/ill forfake many of his fms ? he will, like Herod, Mark vi. 20. do many things, and walk in the whole round of cutward duties. All this he will do, if his confciencc will be but bribed by it. But if confcience enlarges its demands, and, after he has reformed his life, requires him to make him a new heart, requires him to turn not only from the out- ward practice of grofs vices, but from the love of all fm ; not on- ly to turn to the obfervance of religious duties, but to turn to the Lord with all his heart, and furrender himfelf entirely to him, and make it the mainbufinefs of life" toferve him ; if confcience, I iay, carries its demands thus far, he cannot bear it, he ftruggles to throw off the yoke. And feme arc curfed with horrid fuccels in the attempt : they are permitted to reft content in a partial refor- mation, or external religion, as fuiiicient, and fo go down to the grave iv'ith a lie in their right hand. But the happy foul, on \\'hora divine grace is determined to finiih its v.orlc in fpite of all oppofiti- OS;, is fuifered to weary itfelf out in a vain reiiiiance of the chaf- tife^nents of confcience, till it is obliged to yield, and fubmit to the yoke. And then with Ephraim it v/ill cr/, Turn thou me, and I finill he turned^ This is the mourning iin- ner's language, when convinced that he muft fubmit and turn to God, and in the mean time finds himfelf utterly unable to turn. Many cllays he makes to give himfelf to the Lord ; but O ! his Iiean (tarts back, andlhrinks away, as though he were ruihing into flames, when he is but flying to the gracious embraces of his Fa- ther- He ftrives, and ftrives to drag it along, but all in vain. And what ihail he do in tliis extremity, but cry, . *^ Lord^ turn thou jne. Serm. 13 to mourning Penitents, 245 and I /hall he turned ; draw mCy and Ijhallrun after thee* Work in me to ivill and to do, and then I jhail work nut my ozun falvation ! Lord, though I am ienfible of the necefTity of turning to thee^ though I exert my Teeble llrength in many a languid effort to come, yet I cannot ; I cannot fo much as creep towards thee, though I Ihould die on the fpot. Not only thy word, but my own experience now convinces me that I cannot come unto thee, unlefs thou draw me. John vi. 44. Others vainly boail of their imagi- nary power, as though, when they fet themfelves about it they could perform fome great achievements. Thus I once flattered myfelf, but now, when I am mofl capable of judging, that is, when I come to the trial, all my boafls are humbled, fiere I lie, an helplefs creature, unable to go to the phyfician, unable to accept of pardon and life on the eafy terms of the gofpel, and unable to free myfelf from the bondage of fin : and thus I mufl lie for ever^ unlefs that God from whom I have revolted, draws me back to himfelf. Turn me, O thou that haft the hearts of all men in thy hands, and canft turn them whitherfoever thou pleafeft, turn me ; and then, Aveak and reluctant as I am, I ihall be turned ; this backward heart v/ill yield to the almighty attraction of thy grace. ** Here am las paUive clay in the hand of the potter ; incapa- ble to fafhion myfelf into a veffel fit for thy houfe ; but thou canft form me as thou pleafeft. This hard and ftubborn heart will be dudile and pliable to thine irreliftible power. ^' Thus you fee the awakened finner is driven to earneft prayer in his exigence. Ne- ver did a drowning man call for help, or a condemned malefactor plead for pardon with more fincerity and ardour. If the finner had negleded prayer all his life before now he files to it as the on- ly expedient left, or if he formerly ran it over in a carelefs un- thinking manner, as an infignificant form, now he exerts ail the importunity of his foul ; now he prays as for his life, and cannot reft till his defires are anfwered. The finner ventures to enforce his petition by pleading his. relation to God ; Turn me^ — for thou art the Lord my God* There is a fenfe in which a finner in his unregenerate ftate cannot call' God his God ; that is, he cannot claim a fpecial intereft in him as. his portion, nor cry '^ Abba, Father," with the fpirit of adopti- on, as reconciled to God. But even an unregenerate finner may call him my God in other fenfes, he is his God by right, that is^ though he has idolatroufly yielded himfelf to other gods, yet by right he fhould have acknowledged him only. He is his God, as- that name denotes authority and power, to which all Ihould be fubjedl : his God, as he w^ould now choofe him to be his God,, his portion, and his all, which is implied in turning to him ; he is his God by anticipation and hope, as upon his turning to him he will become his reconciled God in covenant ; and "he is hi*; 246 The Divine Mercy ' Serm. 13, God by outward profeflion and vifible relation. The force of this argument to urge his petition for converting grace, may be view- ed in various lights. It may be underftood thus : ^^ Turn thou me, for thou only, who art the Lord of the univerfe, and haft all the creation at thy controul ; thou only, who art my God and ruler, and in whofe hand my heart is, art able to turn fo obftinate a creature. In vain do I feek for help elfev/here. Not all the means upon earth, not all the perfuafions, exortations, invitations, and terrors that can be ufed with me, can turn this heart ; it is a work becoming the Lord God Almighty, and it is thou alone canft efFeclit." Or we may underftand the plea thus : ** Turn thou mie, and I lliall turn to thee ; to thee who art the Lord my God, and to v/hom I am under the moft facned obligations to return. I would refign thine own right to thee ; I would fubmit to thee who alone haft a juft claim to me as thy fervant.'' Or the words may be wnderftood as an abjuration of all the idol- lufts to which the fmner was enflaved before. *' 1 will turn to thee ; for to whom fliould I turn but to the Lord my God ; What have I to do any more ivhh idols? Hofea xiv. 8. Why ihould I any longer fubmit to other Lords, who have no right to me ? I would renounce them all ; I would throw off all fubjedion to them, and avouch thee alone for the Lord my God." Thus the Jews renounced their f^ilfe gods upon their return from Baby- ion. Or we may underftand the words as an encouragement to hope for converting grace, lince it is allied from a God of infinite power and goodnefs. *^ Though I have moft grievoufly offended, and had I done the thoufandth part fo much againft my fellow crea- tures, I could never expect a favourable admiffion into their pre- fence ; yet I dare afk fo great a favour of thee, for thou art God, and not m.an : thy power and thy grace are all divine, fuch as be- come a God. I therefore ^.are to hope for that from thy hands, which I might defpair of from all the univerfe of beings befides." Or finally, the paffage may be looked upon as a plea drawn from the fmner's external relation to God, as a member of his vi- iible church, and as dedicated to him. ** Turn me, and I will turn to thee, whofe name I bear, and to whom I have been early devoted. I would now of my own choice acknowledge the God of my fathers, and return to the guide of my youth. And, fmce thou haft honoured me vvith a place in thy vifible church, I hum- bly hope thou wilt not rejedt me now, when I would fmcerely confecrate myfelf to thee, and become thy fervant in reality, as well as in appearance." In this fenfe the plea might be ufed with peculiar propriety by the Jews, who had been nationally adopted astlie peculiar people of God. Serm. 13. to mouhiing Penitents » 247 In whatever fenfe we underfland the words, thej convey to us this important truth, that the awakened fmner is obliged to take all his encouragement from God, and not from himfelf. All his truft is in the divine mercy, and he is brought to an happy felf- defpair. Having viewed Ephraim under the preparatory work of legal •convidion, and the dawn of evangelical repentance, let us view him, II. As reflefting upon the furprifmg efficacy of grace he had fought, and which was beftowed upon him in anfwer to his pray- er. We left him juft now crying. Turn thou me, atid I shall be turn- ed ; here we find him actually turned. Surely after that I was turnedy I repented' When the Lord exerts his power to fubdue the ftubbornnefs of the fmner, and fweetly to allure him to him- felf, then the fmner repents ; then his heart dilTolves in ingenuous difinterefled relentings. His forrow and concern before converfion are forced and mercenary ; they are occalioned only by a felfifh fear of puniihment, and he would willingly get rid of them, but now his grief is free and fpontaneous ; it flows from his heart as freely as ftreams from a fountain ; and he takes pleafure in ten- der relentings before the Lord for his lin ; he delights to be hum- ble, and to feel his heart dilTolve within him. An heart of flelh, foft and fufceptive of imprefhons, is his choice, and a flony infen- fible heart his greateft burden ; the more penitent the more hap- py, and the more fenfelefs, the more miferable he finds himfelf. Now alfo his heart is a6luated with a generous concern for the glory of God ; and he fees the horrid evil of fm as contrary to the holinefs of God, and an ungrateful requital of his uninterrupt- ed beneficence. We learn from this palTage, that the true penitent is fenfible of a mighty turn in his temper and inclinations. Surely after that 1 1X3 as turned, I repented^ His whole foul is turned from what he formerly delighted in, and turned to what he had no relilh for before. Particularly his thoughts, his will, and affedions are turned to God ; there is an heavenly bias communicated to them which draws them to holinefs, like the law of gravitation in the material world. There is indeed a new turn given to his out- ward praftice ; the world may in fome meafure fee that he is a new man; but this is not all; the firfl fpring that turns all the wheels of the foul and adions of life is the heart, and this is firfl fet right. The change within is as evident as that without, could our eyes penetrate the heart. In fhort, If any man he In Chr'ifl y he is throughout a new creature ; old thing are pajjed aiuay, and behold, all things are become new* Kk 2 48 The Divine Mercy Serm. 13. Apply this touchftone to your hearts, my brethren, and fee if they will ftand the teft. The penitent proceeds, Jfter that I was Infl rubied ^ Ifmote up- on my thigh* The fame grace that turns him does alfo inftrudl him ; nay, it is by difcovering to him the beauty of holinefs, and the glory of God in the face of Jefus Chrift, that it draws him. He is brought out of darknefs into marvellous and afloniihing light, that furprifes him with new difcoveries of things : he is inflru6led particularly, as to the neceflity of turning to God, as to the horrid ingratitude, vilenefs, and deformity of fin, and as to his folly and wickednefs in continuing fo long alienated from God. By the way, have you ever been let into thefe fecrets, my hear- ers? And when inftrudted in thefe, *^ He fmites upon his thigh." This gefture denotes confler- nation and amazement ; and nature directs us thus to exprefs thefe pafTions. Ezekiel is enjoined to ufe this gefture as a prophetic adion fignifying the horror and aftoniihment of his mind. Ezekiel xxi. 12. This action, therefore, of the penitent, intimates what confternation and amazement he is caft into, when thefe new difcoveries fla'h upon his foul. He ftands amazed at himfelf. He is ftruck with'horror to think what an ungrateful, ignorant, ftu- pid wretch he has been all his life till this happy moment. ^^ A- las! what have I been doing ? abufmg all my days in ruining my own foul, and diihonouring the God of all my mercies! content- edly eftranged from him, and not feeking to return ! Where were my eyes, that I never before faw the horrid evil of my con- dud, and the Ihocking deformity of fm, which now opens to me in all its hideous colours ! Amazing ! that divine vengeance has not broken out upon me before now ; Can it be that 1 am yet a- live ! in the land of hope too ! yea, alive, an humble pardoned penitent ! Let heaven and earth wonder at this, for furely the fun never ihonc upon a wretch fo undeferving ! fo great a monument of mercy !'* The pardoned penitent proceeds, — I was ojhamed, yea, even confounded, becaufe I did hear the reproach of my youth* We are aihamed when we are caught in a mean, bafe and fcandalous action ; we bluili, and are confounded, and know not where to look, or v/hat to fay, Thus the penitent is heartily aihamed of himfelf, when he refleds upon the fordid difpofitions he has in^ dulged, and the bafe and fcandalous adions he has committed. He bluihes at his own infpedion ; he is confounded at his own tri- bunal. He appears to himfelf, a mean, bafe, contemptible wretch; and, rhough the world may honour him, he loaths him- felf, as viler than the earth he treads on ; and is fecretly aihamed to fee the face of man. And how then iliall he appear before God ? how ihall he hold up his face in the prefence of his injured Serm. 13. to mourning Penitents, 249 Father ? He conies to him alhamed, and covering his head* He knows not what to fay to him ; he knows not how to look him in the face, but he falls down abalhed and confounded at his feet. Thus \\ as penitent Ezra aihamed before God. He fell upon his knees, and lifted up his hands (his eyes, like the publican, he durft not lift up) unto the heavens, and he fays, my Cod, I am ajloamedy and hlush to lift up my face to thee, my God ; for our iniquities are increafed over our heads , and our trefpaffes are groxvn up unto the heavens. — And now, our God, what shall we fay after this ? for ive have broken thy commandments^ Ezra ix. 5 — 10. Thus it was foretold concerning the repenting Jews. Then thou shalt remember thy evil ways and be ashamed" Thou shalt he confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, hecaufe of thy shame* Ezek. xvi. 61, 6y There is good reafon for this confcious Ihame, and therefore it is enjoined as a duty: Not for your fakes do I this unto you, faith the Lord Cod, be it known unto you : be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, houfe of IfraeU Ezek. xxxvi. 32. And what is the caufe of this Ihame in the mourning penitent > '"' O (fays he) it is becaufe I bear the reproach of my youth*^^ " I carry upon me (as the original word fignifies) the brand of infamy. My youth, alas! was fpent in a thoughtlefs negled of God and the duties I owed him ; my vigorous days were wafted in fenfual extravagances, and gratifying my criminal inclinations. My prime of life, which fliould have been facred to the Author of my exift- ence, was fpent in rebellion againft him. Alas ! my firft thoughts, my virgin- love, did not afpire to him ; nor did my young defires, as foon as fledged, wing their flight to heaven. In Ihort, the temper of my heart, and my courfe of life, from the firft exercifes of reafon to this happy hour of my converiion, were a difgrace to my rational nature ; I have degraded myfelf beneath the beafts that perifh.'' Behold, lam vile ! I loath andabhw myfelf for all my flthinefs and abominations, Ezek. xxxvi. 3 1. *' And how amazing the grace of God, to honour fo bafe a wretch with a place among the children of his love !'' Thus I have delineated the heart of penitent Ephraim ; and let me aik you my brethren, is this your picture ? Have you ever felt fuch ingenuous relentings, fuch juft confternation, fnch holy fliame and confufion ? There can be no tranfition from natui*e to grace without previous concern &c. You all bear the reproach of that youth, you hive all fpent fome unhappy days in the fcandalous ways offm, and your confciences ftill bear the brand of infamy. And have you ever been made deeply fenfible of it ? Has God ever heard you bemoaning yourfelves thus in fome mournful folitude, '* Thou haft chaftifed me, and I was chaftifed, as a bullock unac- cuftomed to the yoke-'' Is there any fiich mourner here this day ? 250 fhe Divine Mercy Serm. 13. then lifien to the gracious voice of your heavenly Father, while, III. I am illuftrating the laft, the fvveeteft part of the text, which exprelTes the tender compaiTion of God towards mourning penitents. While they are bemoaning their cafe, and confcious that they do not deferve one look of love from God, he is reprefented as at- tentively liilening to catch the firfl penitential groan that breaks from their hearts. Ephraim, in the depth of his defpondency, pro- bably did hardly hope that God took any notice of his fecret for- rows, which he fupprelTed as much as poflible from the public view : but God heard him, God was watching to hear the iirft mournful cry ; and he repeats all his complaints, to let him know (after the manner of men) what particular notice he had taken of them. " / have fur ely heard, or hearing I have heard ;" that is, ^^ I have at- tentively heard Ephraim bemoaning himfelf thus." 1 What flrong confolation may this give to defponding mourners, who think themfelves neglected by that God to whom they are pouring out their weeping fupplications ! He hears your fecret groans, he courts your lighs, and puts your tears into his bottle. His eyes penetrate all the fecrets of your heart, and he obferves all their feeble flruggles to turn to himfelf ; and he beholds you not as an unconcerned fpedator, but with all the tender emotions of fatherly compaffion : for. While he is liftening to Ephraim^s mournful complaints, he ab- ruptly breaks in upon him, and fv^ eetly furprifes him with the warmeft declarations of pity and grace. '^ Is this Ephraim, my dear fon, whofe mourning voice I hear ? Is this my pleafant child, or (?s it might be rendered) the child of my dehghts, ^vho thus wounds my ear Vv'ith his heart-rending groans?'' What ftrange language this to an ungrateful, unjaelding rebel, that continued obftinate till he v. as wearied out ; that would not turn till drawn ; that deferved to fail a vic1:im to jufbice ! This is the language of compalTion all divine, of grace that becomes a God. This paflage contains a moii encouraging truth, that, however vile and abandoned a fmner has been, yet, upon his repentance, he becomes God's dear fon, his favourite child. He will, from that moment regard him, prov'-de for him, proted him, and bring him to his heavenly inheritance, as his fon and heir ; for Neither death, nor life, nor angels, -nor principalities, yior povoers,,mr things prefenty nor things to come, &c. Rom. viii. 38, &:c. fiallfeparate him fro'tJi his Father^ s love ; but h^ shall Inherit all things. Rev.-xxi. 7. Yea, all thingsnire his already in title, and he iliall be made greater than the kings of the earth ; he Ihall be made fuch as becomes fo dignified a relation ao that of a Son to the King of kings, and Lord oflords. Serm. 13. to mourning Penitents* '251 And is not this magnet fufficient to attrad all this aflembly to their Father's houfe ? Can you refift the almighty energy of fuch companion ? Return, ye perilhing prodigals ! Return ; though youhsivefimed agai7ift Heaven, and before your father, and are no more -worthy to be called his fons, yet return, and you Ihall be made his dear fons, his pleafant children. Are none of you in need of fuch ftrong confolation as this ? Do you want encouragement to return, and are you ready to fpring up and run to your father's arms, upon the firft alTurance of ac- ceptance ? If this be what you want, you have an abundance for your fupply. Are all your fouls then in motion to return ? Does that eye which darts through the whole creation at once, now be- hold your hearts moving towards God ? Or am I wafting thefe gracious encouragements upon ftupid creatures, void offenfation, that do not care for them, or that are fo conceited of their ow n worth, as not to need them ? If fo, I retrad thefe confolations, with refped to you, and ihall prefently tell you your doom. But let us farther purfue thefe melting ftrains of paternal pity. ** For fmce I fpake againft him, I do earneftly remember him ftill.'' Many and dreadful were the threatenings denounced a- gainft the fmner, while impenitent ; and, had he continued impe- nitent, they would certainly have been executed upon him — But the primary and ipimediate defign of the threatenings are to make men happy, and not to make them miferable ; they are defigned to deter them from difobedience, which is naturally productive of mi- fery, or to reclaim them from it, which is but to reftrain them in their career to ruin. And confequently thefe threatenings pro- ceed from love as well as the promifesof our God, from love to the perfon, though from hatred to fm. So the fame love which prompts a parent to promifea reward to his fon for obedience, will prompt him alfo to threaten him, if he takes fome dangerous weapon to play with : or, to choofe a more pertinent illuftration, for God \& the moral ruler as well as father of the rational world ; the fame regard to the public weal, which induces a lawgiver to annex a re- ward to obedience, will alfo prompt him to add penalties to his law to deter from difobedience ; and his immediate defign .is not to make any of his fubjeds miferable, but to keep them from mak- ing themfelves and others miferable by difobedience ; though, when the threatening is once denounced, it isnecelTary it ihould be executed, to vindicate the veracity of the lawgiver, and fecure his government from infult and contempt. Thus when the primary end of the divine threatenings, namely, the deterring and reclaim- ing men from difobedience is not obtained, then it becomes necelTa. ry that they ihould be executed upon the impenitent in all their dreadful extent ; but when the fmner is brought to repentance, and to fubmit to the divine government, then all thefe threaten- 252 The Divine Mercy Serm. 13. ings are repealed, and they ihall not hurt one hair of his head. And the Tinner himielf will acknowledge that thefe threatenings proved necelTary mercies ro him, and that the denunciation of ever- lafling puniihment w'as one means of bringing him to everlafting happinefs, and that divine vengeance in this fenfe confpired w ith divine grace to fave him. Coniider this, ye defoonding penitents, and allay your terrors. That God, who has written fuch hitter things againft you in his word, earneftly and aiFeclionately remembers you ftill, and it was with a kind intent to you that he thundered out thefe terror sat which you tremble. Thefe acids, this bitter phy lie, were necelTa- ry for your recovery. Thefe coals of fire were necelTciry to awak- en you out of your k'thargy. Therefore read the love of your Father, even in thefe folemn warnings. Kc affeclionately remem- bers you flill ; he cannot put you out of his thoughts. Therefore my bowels (adds the all-gracious Jehovah) are troubled for him. Aflonifliing beyond conception ! How can we bear up under fuch w^ords as thefe ? Surely they mufl break our hearts, and overvvdielm our fpirit ! Here is the great God, who has mil- lions of fnperior beings to ferve him, and whoisabfolutely indepen- dent vipon them all, troubled, his very bov/els troubled, for a rebellious, ufelefs, trilling worm ! Be aftonillied at tiiis, ye an- gels of light, who are the witneiTes of fuch amazing, fuch un- bounded compafhon I and wonder at it, O ye fons of men, who are more intimately concerned in it, (land and adore, as it were, ill llatues of admiration ! It is true thefe words are not to be ta- ken literally, as though the Deity w'ere capable of forrow, "or any of the human pallions ; but he here condefcends to adnpt himfelf to the language of mortals, and to borrow fuch images as will con- vev to us the mofi hvely ideas of his orace and tendernefs to mourning penitents ; and no image can anfwer this end better than that of a Father, whofe bowels are yearning over his mourn- ing child, proftrate at his feet, and who, with eager embraces, raifes him up, alluring him of pardon and acceptance. If any of you now know what it is to receive a penitent child in this manner, while all the father is tenderly working within you, you may form fome aifecting ideas of the readinefs of our heavenly Father to re- ceive returning Tinners from this tender illuftration- The Lord concludes this moving fpeech with a promife that in- cludes in it more than we can a(k or think, fealed with his own facred name. I v:'llfhre!y have 'rnercy^ or (according to the more emphatical original) with Mercy, Izi'il! havernercy upojthhny faith the lord : that is, 1 v/ill ihew^ abundant mercy to him, I will give him all the blefhngs that infinite mercy can bellow ; and what can be needed miOre? This promife includes pardon, acceptance, ianuificacion, joy in the Iloly Ghoft, peace of confcience, and Serm. 13. to mourning Penitents, 253 W immortal life and glory in the future world. O firs ! what a God, what a Father is this ! Who is a Cod like imto thee, that pardoneth iniquity y kc» Micuh vii- 18. And can you, ye mourners in Zion, can you fear a rejeftion from fuch a tender Father ? Can you dread to venture upon fuch abundant mercies ? Is there a mourning Ephraim in this alTembiy? I may call you, as God did Adam, Ephraim, where art thou? Let the word of God find you out, and force a little encouragement upon you : your heavenly Father, whofe angry hand you fear, is liftening to your groans, and will meafure you out a mercy for every groan, a blelfing for every figh, a drop, a draught of con- folation, for every tear. His bowels are moving over you, and he addrelTes you in fuch language as this, " Is this my dear fon ? is this my pleafant child V &:c. And as to you, ye hardy impenitents, ye abandoned profligates, ye carelefs formahfts, ye almoft chriftians, can you hear thefe things, and not begin now to relent ? Do you not find your fro- zen hearts begin to thaw within you ? Can you refift fuch alluring grace ? Can you bear the thoughts of continuing enemies to fo good, fo forgiving a Father ? Does not Ephraim's petition now rife in your hearts, Turn thou me, and I pall he turned? then I congratulate you upon this happy day ; you are this day become God's dear fons, the children of his delights, &c. Is there a wretch fo fenfelefs, fo wicked, fo abandoned, as to refufe to return ? Where art thou, hardy rebel ? Stand forth, and meet the terrors of thy doom. To thee I muft change my voice, and, inftead of reprefenting the tender compaffions of a father, mull denounce the terrors of an angry judge. Thy doom is declared and fixt by the fame lips that fpeak to penitents in fuch encouraging ftrains ; by thofe gracious lips that never uttered an harlh cenfure. God is angry nvith thee every day. Pfalm vii. 11. Except thou repentejl, thou Jl) alt fur ely peiijlj. Luke xiii. 3. The example of Chrilt authorifes me to repeat it again ; Except thou repentejl, thou Jhalt furely pefijtj, ver. 5. The Cod that made thee luill dejlroy thee ; and he that formed thee ivitljheiv thee no favour. Ifa. xxvi. 1 1 . Thou art treafuring up wrath in horrid affluence againjl the day of ivrath. Rom ii. 5. Cod is jealous, and reveng- eth ', the Lord revengeth, and is furious ; the Lord will take vefi- geance on his adverfaries ; and he referveth wrath for his efiemies. The mountains quake at him : the hills melt ; the earth is burnt at his prefe7ice : yea, the world, and they that dwell therein. Who canjland before his indignation ? Who can endure in the fierceJiefs of his anger ? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. Nahum i. 2 — 6. Thefe flaming thunder-bolts, fmner, are aim- ed at thy heart, and, if thou canfl harden thyfelf againft their terror, let me read thee thy doom before we part. You have it 254 Ckriji precious to Serm. 14. pronounced by God hirafelf in Deuteronomy, the twenty-ninth chapter, at the nineteenth and following verfes. If it cotne to pafs that when he heareth the words oj this courfe^ that he hlefs himfdf in his heart, faying, I fhall have peace, though I walk in the imaginati- on of my heart — The Lord will notfpare him ; but then the anger of the Lord and his jealoufy fhall faioke againfl that man, and all the curfes that are written in this book fhall lie upon him, and the Lord fhall blot out his name from wider heaven ; and the Lord fall fepar ate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Ifrael^ according to all the curfes of the co- venant that are written in this hook of the law^ And now finner, if thou canft return home carelefs and feiifelefs with this heavy curfe upon thee, expeft not a word of comfort, expeft no blefTmg till thou art made truly penitent ; for " how Ihall I blefs whom God has not blefTed ?" The minifterial blefTmg falls upon one on thy right hand, and one on thy left, but it lights not upon thee- The curfe is thy lot, and this muft thou have at the hand of God, if thou continueft hardened and infolent in lin. Thou mufl lie down in forrow. Ifai. 1. 11. Conftder thisy all ye that forget Gody lejl he tear you in pieces , and there he none to deliver^ Pfalm 1. 22 • x:::oo<>xX:x:;x>:::::>::>:::>:oo<:>o<>::x:>c>o<>:D<>o<:;x:;>o<>::>< :::-<>::x SERMON XIV. Chrift precious to all true Believers. I Peter ii- 7. Unto you therefore which believe y He is precious ^"^ YES ; blelTed be God ! though a great part of the creation is difafFefted to Jefus Chrift ; though fallen fpirits, both in flefli and without fleih, both upon earth and in hell, negleft him, or profefs themfeives open eifemies to him, yet he is precious ; precious, not only in himfelf, not only to his Father, not only to the choirs of Heaven, who beheld his full glory without a veil, but precious to fome even in our guilty world ; precious to a fort of perfons of our fmful race, who make no great figure in mortal eyes, who have no idea of their own goodnefs, who are mean unwor- thy creatures in their own view, and who are generally defpicable in the view of others ; I mean he is precious to all true believers. And though they are but few comparatively in our world ; though there are, I am afraid, but few additions made tg them from * Or prccioufncfs in the abftrad, riy.Y,. Serm. 14. all true Believers, ^ 255 among us ; yet, bleiTed be God, there are fome believers even up- on our guilty globe ; and, I doubt not, but lam now fpeaking to fome i'uch. My believing brethren (if I may venture to claim kindred with you) I am now entering upon a defign, which I know you have much at heart ; and that is, to make the blelTed Jefus more pre- cious to you, and if poiTible, to recommend him to the alFedions of the crowed that negledt him- You know, alas 1 you love him but little ; but very little, compared to his infinite excellency and your obligations to him ; and you know that multitudes love him not at all. Whatever they profefs, their pradice fliew^s that their carnal minds is enmity againfi: him. This you often fee, and the fight aifeds your hearts. It deeply affects you to think fo much excellenc;/ ihould be neglected and defpifed, and fo much love meet with fuch bafe returns of ingratitude. And you cannot bur pi*y your poor fellow-iinners, that they are fo blind to the bright- eft glory and their own higheftiiiterefl, and that they fhould pe- riih, through wilful neglecl'of their deliverer ; perilh, as it were, within reach of the hancTftretched out to fave them. This is in- deed a very aifeding, very lamentable, and alas ! a very common fight. And will you not then bid me God fpeed this day in my attempt to recommend this precious, though negleded, Jefus ? Will you not contribute your ihare towards my fuccefs in fo pious and benevolent a defign by your earneft prayers ? Now, ihall not the interceding figh rife to Heaven from every heart, and every foul be caft into a praying pofture ? I fhall hope to difcharge my duty with more comfort and advantage, if you afford me this aflift- ance. And furely fuch of you cannot deny me this aid, who de- fire that Jefus may become ftill more precious to your own hearts- and that he may be the object of univerfal love from all the fons of men, who are nov/ difaffected to him ! To you that believe^ he is preclciis — He ? — Who ? Is it Mammon, the God of the world > Is it pleafure, or honour ? No ; none of thefe is the darling of the believing heart. But it is he who is the uppermoft in every pious heart ; he, who is firft in the thoughts and affections ; he whom every friend of his muft know, even without a name ; if it be but faid of him, he is precious, this is enough to diftinguiih him from all ©thers. ^^ If it be he the apof- ^'^ tie means, may every believer fay, who is moft precious to my *^ foul, then I can eafily point him out, though without a name. *' It muft be Jefus, for O ! it is he that is moft precious tome.'^ The connection alfo of the text directs us to the fame perfon. It is he the apoftle means, whom he had juft defcribed as a living ftone, chofen ofGoj, andthe precious; the chief corner-ftone, the great foundation of the church, that fpiritual temple of God, foftately and glorious, and reaching from earth to heaven; it is L i 256 Chrift precious to Serm. 14. this precious flone, this heavenly jewel, that is precious to believ- ers. ^* To you that believe ^ he is precious ;" i. e. He is highly valued by you. You efteem him one of infinite worth, and he has the highefl: place in your affection?. He is dearer to your hearts than all other perfons and things. The word t/^j) requires aftill ilron- ger tranilation : " To you that believe, he is precioufnefs ;'' pre- cioufnefs in the abftract ; all precioufnefs, and nothing but preci- oufnefs ; a precious flone without one blemifh. Or it may be translated with a little variation, " To you that believe, he is ho- nour." It confers the higheft honour upon you to be related to him ; and you efleem it your higheft honour to fuftain that relati- on. Though Jefus and his crofs are names of reproach in the unbelieving v/orld, you glory in them, and they reflect a real glo- ry upon you. Or, '^ To you that believe there is honour."* Honour is now conferred upon you in your being built as living ftones in the temple of God upon this precious foundation ; and honour is refervedfor you in heaven, v/here the crown of righte- oufnefs awaits you. '^ To you which believe, he is precious ;" that is to fay, the value of this precious ftone is, alas ! unknown to the crowd. It is fo far from being precious, that it is a ftone of flumbling, and a rock of offence ; a ftone difallovvcd of men (v. 4.)reje6ted even by the builders (v. 7.) ; but you believers, ye happy few, have another eftimate of it. Faith enables you to fee the glories of the bleiled Jefus ; and, when you know him through this medium, you cannot but love him. The blind world neglect the Lord of Glo- ry, becaufe they know him not : but you believers know him, riid therefore to you he is precious. Faith prefents him t« your view in a juft light, and dired:s you to form a proper eftimate of him. It is truly lamentable thatfuch real excellency Ihouldbe defpifed ; but fo it will be with the world till they believe. The mere fpe- culative recommendation of their reafon, the prepoffeff ons of edu- cation, in his favour, and the beft Imman means, are not fufficient to render Jefus precious to them- Nothing but faving faith can effed; this. To you therefore ivhich balieve. he Is precious. The illative par- ticle therefore Ihews this paffige is an inference from vvhat went before ; and the reafoning feems to be this : *' This ftone is preci- ous to God, therefore it is precious to you that believe- You have the fame eftimate of jefus Chrift which God the Father has ; and for that very reafon he is precious to you, becaufe he is precious to him.'^ That this is the connection, will appear if you look back to the 4th and 6th verfes ; where you find Jefus defcribed as ^' a * The pronoun he, is not in the original ; tut the jxiluge reach thus ; To'}ou •who believe, honour. Serm. 14. all true Believers^ 257 chief corner (tone, laid in Zion, ele6l or chofen, and precious — dif- allowed indeed of" men, but chofen of God, and precious.''* Men wickedly difapprove this ftone, and even many of the profeiled builders of his church reject him. This, fays the apoftle, muft be granted. But this is no objedicn to his real worth. He is pre- cious to God, who knows him beft, and who is a perfe6t judge of real excellency ; and for that very reafon he is precious to you that believe. Faith teaches you to look upon perfons and things in the fame light in which God views them ; it m^akes your fenti- ments conformed to his. Chrift is the Father's beloved Son, in whom he is well pleafed ; and he is your beloved Saviour, in whom you are well pleafed. Is it any wonder that Jefus fliould be precious to believers, when he is fo precious in himfelf and in his offices, fo precious to the angelic armies, and fo precious to his Father? * I. He is precious in himlelf. He is Immanuel, God-man ; and confequefitly, whatever excellencies belong either to the divine or human nature, center in him. If wifdom, power, and goodnefs, divine or human, created or uncreated, can render him worthy of the highefl affection, he has a juft claim to it — Whatever excel- lencies, natural or moral, appear in any part of the vaft univerfe, they are but faint ihadows of his beauty and glory. All things were created by him and for him ; and through him all things conffi. Col. i. 16, 17. and w\hatever excellencies are in the cffed muft be eminently in the caufe. You do not wonder nor cenfure, when you fee men delighted with the glories of the fun, and the various luminaries of the fky • you do not wonder nor blame when they take pleafure in the beautiful profpefts of nature, or in that rich variety of good things, v/hich earth and fea, and every ele^ mentfurniihes for the fupport of man, or the gratification of his fenfes : you do not wonder and blame, when they are ftruck with mori-al beauty, when you fee them admire and approve wifdom, benevolence, juftice, veracity, mecknefs, and mercy : you ne- ver think it ftrange much lefs cenfurable, that men ihould love thsfe things, and count them precious ; and can you be aftonifh- ed, can you ridicule or find fault that Jefus is precious to poor be- lievers ? If the copy be fo fair and lovely, who would not love the original, that has eyes tp behold it ? Believers fee fo much of the worth of Chrift as is fuincient to captivate their hearts, and convince them of their guilt in loving him no more ; and the clearer their views are of him, the more are they mortified at the criminal defefts of their love ; for O ! they fee he deferves infi- nirely more ! 2- The Lord Jefus is precious in his offices. His mediatorial * Th? word ufed in ver. 4 and 6, is a compound, rendered precious in the tc?ft..4cd this is an. intimation that the text is an inference from the above vsrfes. 258 Chrifl precious to Scrm, 14. office is generally fubdivided into three parts ; namely, that of a prophet, of a prieft, and of a king : and how precious is Chrift in each of thefe ! As a prophet, how fweet are his inftru6lions to a bewildered foul I Kow precious the words of his lips, which are the words of eternal life ! How delightful to fit and hear him teach the way of duty and happinefs, revealing the father, and the wonders of the inviiible ftate ! How tranfporting to hear him declare upon what terms an offended God may be reconciled ! a difcovery be- yond the fearches of all the fages and philofophers of the heathen world ! How reviving is it to lillen to his gracious promifes and invitations ! promifes and invitations to the poor, the v/eary, and heavy laden, the broken-hearted, and even to the chief of fm- ners ! The v/ord of Chrill has been the treafure, the fupport, and joy of believers in all ages. / have ejletmed the ivords of his mouth, fays Job, more than my necejjary food, job- xxiii. I2- It is this precious v/ord the Pfalmift, io often and fo highly celebrates. He celebrates it as more to he dcfired than gold ; yea, than much fine gold : fweeter alfo than honey ^ and the ho7iey-comh. Pfalm. xix. 10. how I love thy laiu / fays he ; it is my meditation all the day. Pf. cxix. 97. Hoivfnveet are thy ivords unto my tafie! yea, fiueeter than honey to my ni'juth. ver- 103- 7 he law of thy mouth is better than thou- fands of gold and fiver, ver- 72* Behold, J have longed after thy pre- cepts, ver. 40. 7hy flatutes had been my fong in the houfe of my pilgrim- age, ver. 54. In my afjiiclion thy ivord hath quickened me. ver. ^p. Unlefs thy laiv hath been my delight, Jjhould then have perifhed in my affii'Slion. ver. 92. 1 his is the language of David, in honour of this divine Prophet, near three thouiand years ago, when Chrifl had not revealed the full gofpel to the world, but only fome rays of it Ihone through the veil of the Mofaic difpenfation. And muft not believers now, who live under the more complete and clear inftrudiions of this great Prophet, entertain the fame fentiments of him? Yes, to fuch of you as believe, even in this age, he is moft precious. But this external objective inftruction is not all that Chrift as a prophet communicates ; and indeed, did he do no more than this, it would anfwer no valuable end- I'he mind of man, in his pre- f^it fallen ftate, like a difordcrcd eye, is incapable of perceiving divine things in a proper light, however clearly they are reveal- ed ; and therefore, till the perceiving faculty be rectified, all ex- ternal revelation is in vain, and is only like opening a fair profped: to a blind eye. Hence this great Prophet carries his inftru6lionS' farther, not only by propoliiig divine things in a clear objective lig^t by his word, but inwardly enlightening the mind, and ena- blmg it to perceive what is revealed by his Spirit. And hov/ pre- cious are thefe internal fubjedive inftruclions ! Hov>' fweet to feel Scrm. 14. all true Believers. 259 a difordered dark mind opening to admit the fninings of heavenly- day ; to perceive the glory of God in the face of JeJus Chrilt, the beauties of holinefs, and the majeftic v/onders of the ei-enial world! Speak, ye that know by happy experience, and tell how precious Jefus appears to you, when byhis own blefied Spirit he fcatters the cloud that benighted your underilandings, and lets in the rays of his glory upon your adminng fouls; when he opens your eyes to fee the wonders contained in his law, and the glorious myileries ot his gofpel. What a divine glory does then ipread upon every page of the facred volume ! Then it indeed appears the Book of God, God-like, and worthy its Author- O precious Jefus ! let us all this day feel thine enlightening influences, that experience may teach us bow fweet they are ! Come, great Prophet ! come, and make thine own fpirit our teacher, and then iliali we be di- vinely wife ! Again, the Lord Jefus is precious to believers as a great High Prieil. As an high prieft,he made a complete atonement for fm by hispropitiatoryfacritice on the crofs? and he ftill makes intercclhon for the tranfgrelfors on his throne in heaven. It was his facri- fice that fatished the demands of the law, and jufdce of God, and rendered him reconcileable to the guilty, upon terms conlifLent with his honour and the rights of his government. It was by virtue of this facrifice that he procured pardon of (in, the fiivour of God, freedom from hell, and eternal life for condemned ob- noxious rebels. And fuch of you v.dio have ever felt the pangs of a guilty confcience, and obtained relief from Jefus Chriit, you can tell how precious his atoning facrifice. Hov/ did it eafe your felf- tormenting confciences, and heal your broken hearts ! How did it change the frowns of an angry God into fmiles of love, and your trembling apprehenfions of vengeance into delightful hopes of mercy ! How precious did Jefus appear, with a pardon in his hand, with atoning blood gulhing from his opened veins, and making his crofs, as it were, the key to open the gates of heaven for your admilFion ! BlelTed Saviour ! our p-reat Hi<:h Prieft, thus appear to us in all thy pontifical robes dyed in thine own blood', and caufe us all to feel the efficacy of thy propitiation ! Let us next turn our eyes upwards, and viev/ this great High Prieft as our inter ceffor in the pre'fence of God. There he ap- pears as a iamb that was flain, bearing the memorials of his facri- fice, and putting the Father in remembrance of the blellings pur- chafed for his people. There he urges it as his pleafure, as hi . authoritative will, that thefe blellings ihould in due time be cor.^ ferred upon ihofe for whom they were purchafed. In this' authori- tative manner he could intercede even in the days of his humilintion upon earth, becaufe of the Father's covenant-engagement.^ witli him^ the accomphjhment of v\/hich he has a right to demand, i 26 o C/ir:j} precioiLS to Serm. 14. vvcU as liiimbly 4:0 petition : Father^ I ivV.l^ 1 vSill that thofe 'whom thou hcj} given to me, may he nv'ith me, Sec John xvii. 24. Now how precious miiil Chriil appear in the character of Inter- celFor ! That the friendleis iinner ihouid have an all-prevaihng advocate in the court of heaven to undertake his caufe ! th^t the great High Prieli: ihouid olier up the grateful iucenfe of his own merit, with the prayers of the faints ! that he ihouid add the fanc- tion of his authoritative will to the humble petitions of faith ! that he fnould urge the claiins of his people, as his o\\ n claims, founded upon an unchangeable covenant with his Father, of vrhich he has fully perfoniied the conditions required ! that he ihouid not intercede occaiionally, but always appear in the holy of holies as the conftant ever-living- Interceflor, and maintain the iame inter- eft, the fame importunity at all times, even v/hen the petitions of jiis people languiih upon their lips ! ¥/hat delightful reflections are thefe ! and how warmly may they recommend the Lord Jefus to the hearts of believers ! How juit is the apcftle's inference. Having ati High Vricft over the houfe of Cod, let z/r draiv ?i£ar ivith a trns heart, in full cjfurance of faith ; and lei us holdfaji the profeffwn of our faith luithout ^wavering' Heb x. 21 — 23. He is able to fave to the iittermoft all that come unto God hy him ; for this realbn, be- caufe he ever liveth to male inter ceffizn for thejn. Heb. vii. 25* May each of us intrult his caufe to this all-prevaihng Advocate, and we ihall certainly gain it ! The unchangeable promife has paifed liislips, that ivhatfoever ive afk the Father in faith and in his name, he luill givs it iiS' John xvi. 23- Let me add, the kintriy office of Chrift is precious to believers. As King he gives lavv's,lavv's perfectly wife and good, and enforced with the moil important fanftions, everlailing rewards and punifii- mcnts. And how delightful, how advantageous, to live under fucli a governmentv] to have our duty difcovcred with fo much clearnefs and certainty, which frees us from fo many painful anxi- eties, and to have fuch powerful motives, to obedience, which have a tendency to infufe vigour and Ipirit into our endeavours ! As King, he appoirits ordinances of woriliip. And how iweet to con- verie with him in thefe ordinances, and to be ireed from perplexi- ty about that manner of worfnip which God will accept, v^-ithout being expofcd to. that queftion, ibconfounding to will-worihippers, JVho hath required this at your hands P As King, he is head over all Things tu his church, and manages the whole creation, as is moft fubfervientto her good. The various rruiks of creatures in hea- ven, earth, and hell, are iubjed to his direction and controul ; ;;.'^c; they muft all co-operate for the good of his people. Ke re- claims, confounds, iubdues, or dcftroys their enemies, according to liio pleafure. And how precious muilhe be in this auguft cha- racter to die feeble helplel's believtT ! To have an almighty friend Serm. 14. all true Believers. 261 fitting at the helm of the univerfe, with the fupreine management of all things \\\ his hands ; to be aihir^'d that even the mofl injuri- ous enemy cai'i do the believer no real or lafting injury, but ihaii at length concur to work his greatell good ; and tliat, comft what will, it ihali givj^well with him, and he ihall atlaft be made|:rium- phant over all difficulty and oppofition. O! what tranfpbrting conliderations are here I But this is not the whole exercife ^ the royal power of Chrifi:. Pie not only makes laws and ordmahces, and reirrains the enemies of his people, but he exercifes his power inwardly upon their hearts. He is the King of fouls; he reigns in the hearts of hisfubjeds; and how infmitely dear and precious is he in this view i To feel him fubdue the rebellion within, fweet- ly bending the ilubborn heart into Vv'illing obedience, and reducing every thought into a cheerful captivity to himfelf, VvTiting his Li'>v upon the heart, making the difpofitions of his fubjefts a tranicript of his will, correfponding to it, like v,^ax to the leal, how delight- ful is all this ! O the pleafures of humble fubmiiTion I How piea-- fant to he as fubjed:s at the feet of this mediatorial King without arrogating the fovereignty ourfelves, for which we are utterly in- fufficient! BlelTed Jefus ! thus reign in our hearts! thus fubdue the nations to the obedience of faith ! Gird thy fivord iipoti thy thigh^ mojl mighty! a?id ride profperoujly, attendtd ixjith majejly, truth ^ meeknefs^ and right eonfnefs. Pfalm xlv. v^, 4. Send the rod of thy jlreiigth out ofSion : rule thou in the midfl of thine enemies^ Plalm ex- 2. rule us, and lubdue the rebel in our hearts. Thus you fee the Lord Jefus is precious to believers in all the views of his mediatorial office. But he is notprecious' to thern alone ; he is beloved as far as known, and the m.ore known ti"ie more be- loved ; which leads me to add, 3. He is precious to all the angels of heaven. St. Peter tells us that the things now reported to us by the gof- pel are things vjhich the angels deftre to look into, i Pet. i. 12- Jefus is the wonder of angels now in heaven ; and he was fo even when he appeared in the form of a fervant upon earth. St. Paul men- tions it as one part of the great myfrry of godiinefs, that Cod ma- nifejtedin thejlefh luasfeen of angels, i Tim- iii. 16. Angels faw him and admired and loved him in the various llages of his life, from his birth to his return to his native heaven. Hear the man- ner in v/hich angels celebrated his entrance into our world. One of them fpread his wings, and flew with joyful hafte.to a company of poor IhepherJs that kept their midnight watches in the held, and .j^ abruptly tells the news, of which his heart was full: Behold, 1 :'i Irmgyou goodX^dings of great joy, ivhich fiall he to all people :, for to ' * you is horn this day, in the city of David, a Saviour^ which is Chrifr the Lord: and fuddenly there was nvith the angel i: multitude of the heavenly hojl. Crowds of angels left their ilations hi the celcPdnl 262 Chrift precious to Serm. 14, court In that memorable hour, and hovered over the place where their incarnate God lay in a manger : Jefus, their darhng, was gone down to earth, and they muft follow him ; for who would not be where Jefus is ? Men, ungrateful men, were filent upon that occafion, but angels tuned their fong of praife- The aftonilh- ed ihepherds heard them fnig. Glory to God m the h'lghejl ; 071 earth peace ; good-ivill to men. Luke ii. 10 — 14. When he bringethhis tirfi: born into the world, the Father faith. Let all the angels of God ijoorjlj'ip hhu' Heb. i. 6. This feems to intimate that all the angels crowded round the manger, where the infant God lay, and paid him their humble worlhip. We are told, that when the Devil had finiihed his long procefs of temptations, after forty days, and had left him, the angels came and minijlered unto him. Matt. iv. 1 1 . When this diiagreeable companion kad left him, his old attendants were fond of renewing their fervice to him. In every hour of dif- ficulty they were ready to fly to his aid. He was feen of angels, in his hard conflift, in the garden of Gethfemane ; and one of them appeared u?ito him from heaven, frcngthenir'ig him. Luke xxii. 43. With what wonder, f) mpathy, and readinefs did this angelic af- fiitant raifehis proftrate Lord from the cold ground, wipe, off his bloody fweat, and fupport his fmking fpirit with divine encourage- ments ! But, O ! ye bleifed angels, ye ufual fpeftators, and adorers of the divine glories of our Redeemer, w^itli what aftonifn- ment and horror were you ilruck, when you faw him expire on th e crofs ! " Around the bloody tree *' Ye prels'dwith ftrong defire. *' That v/ondrdu" (i^ht: to fee, *< The Lord of life eripire! ** And, could your eyes *' Have knov.-n a tear, " Haddrootitthee " In fad farprize/'* Ye alfo hovered round his tomb, while he lay in the prifon of the grave. The weepinvr women and his other friends found you Intloned there in their early impatient vihts to the fepulchre- O what w^onders, then appeared to your aftonifned minds ! Could you, that pry fo deep into the fecrets of heaven, you that know fo well what divine lo'*'e can do, could you have thought that even divine love could have gone fo far? could have laid the Lord of Glory a pale. mangled, fenfelefs ccrpfe in the manfions of the dead ? Was not this a ftrange furprize even to you? And, v;hen the ar^.pointed day began to draw, with what eagar and joyful hafie flid ye roll awav the ftone, and fct open the prifon doors, that the rifmg conqueror might march forth ! * Doddrido;c. Serm. 14. all true Believers, 263 *' And when arrayM in light, ** The fhining conqueror rode, *' Ye hail'd his rapt'rous flight " Up to the throne of God ; ** And wav'd around *' Your golden wings. ** And ftruck your firings « Of fweeteft found/'t When he afcended on high, he was attended *v^ith the chariots of Cody luhich are twenty thoufandy even thoiifands of angels* Pfalm Ixviii. 17, 18. And now, when he is returned to dwell among them, Jefus is ftill the darling of angels. His name founds from all their harps, and his love is the fubject of theii* everlafting fong. St. John once heard them, and I hope we Ihall ere long hear them, faying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was /lain, to receive power J a?id riches y and wifdowy andjlrengthy and honour, and glory, and hlejjmg' Rev. v. 11, 12 — This is the fong of an- gels, as well as of the redeemed from among men : " Jefus, the Lord, their harps employs ; " Jefus, my love, they fing ; * *' Jefns, the name of both our joys, *' Sounds fwect from ev'ry firing."* O my brethren, could we fee what is doing in heaven at this inftant, how would it furprize, aftonilh, and confound us ! Do you think the name of Jefus is of as little importance there as in our world? Do you think there is one lukewarm or difafFefted heart there among ten thoufand times ten thoufand, of thou- fands of thoufands l O no ! there his love is the ruling paflion of every heart, and the favourite theme of every fong. And is he fo precious to angels ? to angels, who are lefs interefted in him, and lefs indebted to him ? And muft he not be precious to poor believers bought with his blood, and entitled to life by his death ? Yes, you that believe have an angelic fpirit in this ref- pect ; you love Jefus, though unfeen, as well as they who fee him as he is, though, alas ! in a far lefs degree. But to bring his worth to the higheft ftandard of all, I add, 4. He is infinitely precious to his Father, who thoroughly knows him, and is an infallible Judge of real worth. He pro- claimed more than once from the excellent glory. This is my he- loved Son, in whom I am pleafed ; hear ye him* Beholdy fays he, my fervant whom I uphold ; mine eleEly in whon my foul delighteth, Ifa. xhi. I. He is called by the names of the tendereft endear- ment ; his Son, his own Son, his dear Son, the Son of his love. ■^ An excellesit hymn of Dr. Doddridge's on i Tim. iU. l6s— §fgnof Ang^ * Watt's HOr. LyriG\ M m 2^4 Chrijl precious to Serm, 14, Heisaftone, difallovved indeed of men ; if their approbation were the true ftandard of merit, he miift be looked upon as a very worthlefs, infigniiicant being, unworthy of their thoughts and affections. But let men form what eftimate of him they pleafe, he IS chofen of Cod, and precious. And ihall not the love of tlie omnifcient God have weight with believers to love him too > Yes, the apoftle exprefsly draws the conl'equence ; he is precious to God, therefore to you that beheve, he is precious. It is tlie characleriflic of even the meaneft behever, that he is God-like. He is a partaker of the divine nature, and therefore views things, in fome meafure,as God does ; and is affeded towards them as God is, though there be an infinite difference as to the degree. He prevailingly loves what God loves, and thatbecaufe God loves it. And now, my hearers, what think you of Chrift? Will you not think of him as believers do ? If fo, he will be precious to your hearts above all things for the future. Or if you difregard this ftandard of excellence, as being but the eftimate of fallible creatures, will you not think of him as angels do ; angels, thofe bright inteUigences, to whom he rpiveals his unveiled glories, who are more capable of perceiving and judging of him, and who therefor** muft know him better than you ; angels, who have had a long acquaintance with him at home, if I may fo fpeak, for near frx thoufand years, as God, i. e. ever fmce their creation, and for near two thoufand years as God-man ? Since angels then, who know him fo thoroughly, love him fo highly, certainly you may fafely venture to love him ; you might fafely venture tolove him implicitly, upon their word. He died for you, which is more than ever he did for them, and will you not love him after all this love? It is not the mode to think much of him in our world, but it is the mode in heaven. Yes, blelTed be God, if he be def- pifed and rejected of men, he is not defpifed and rejected of angels. Angels, that know him beft, love hmi above all, and, as far as their capacity will allow, do juftice to his merit : and this is a very comfortable thought to a heart broken with a fenfe of the negled and contempt he meets with among men. - BlciTed Jefus 1 may not one congregation be got together, even upon our guilty earth, thit Ihall in this refped: be hke the angels, all lovers of thee ? O ! why Ihould this be impoiiible, while they are all fo much in need of thee, all fo much obliged to thee, and .thou art fo lovely in thyfelf ! Why, n^y brethren, ihould not this congregatioii be UKide up of fuch, and fuch only as are lovers of Jefus? Why lliould he not be precious to every one of you, rich and poor, old and young, white and black? What reafon can any one of you give why you in particular Ihould negled him ? 1 am fure 3'ou tan give none. And will you, without any reafon, dilTe'nt from all the angels in heaven, in point of which they muft be the moft Scrm* 14. all true Believers. .265 ^ competent judges ? Will you differ from them, and agree in your fentinients of Chrift with the ghofts of hell, his implacable, but conquered and miferable enemies ? If all this has no weight with you, let me alkyou farther, Will you not agree to that eftimate of Jefus which his Father has of him? Will you run counter to the fupreme reafon ? Will you fet up yourfelves as wifer than omnifcience ? How muft Jehovah ,re- fent it to fee a worm at his foot-ltool daring to defpife him, whom h^ loves fo highly ? O let him be precious to you, becaufe he is lo to God, who knows him beft. But I am lliocked at my own attempt — O precious Jefus ! are matters come to that pafs in our world, that creatures bought with thy blood, creatures that owe all their hopes to thee, ihould ftand in need of perfuafions to love thee? What horrors attend the thought ! However, blelFed be God, there are fome, even among men, to whom he is precious. This world is not entirely peopled with the defpifers of Chrift. To as many of you as be- lieve, he is precious, though to none elfe. Would you know the reafon of this ; I will tell you ; none but behevers have eyes to fee his glory, none but they are fenfible of their need of him, and none but they have learned from experi- ence how precious he is. ► I. None but believers have eyes to fee the glory of Chrift. As the knowledge of Chrift is entirely from revelation, an avow- ed unbeliever, who rejects that revelation, can have no right knowledge of him, and therefore muft be entirely indifferent to- wards him, as one unknown, or muft defpife and abhor him as an enthufiaft or impoftor. But one, who is not an unbehever in pro- feifion or fpeculation, may yet be deftitute of that faith which con- flitutes a true believer, and w^hich renders Jefus precious to the foul. Even devils are very orthodox in fpeculation : Devils be- lieve, and tremble ; and they could cry out. What have we to do with thecy Jefus of Nazareth ? We know thee, who thou art; even the Holy One of God, Mark i. 24. And there are crowds among us who beliex^e, after a faihion, that Chrift is the true Meffiah, who yet ihew by their pradices that they negled him in their hearts, and are not believers in the full import of the charader. True faith includes not only a fpeculative knowledge and belief, but a clear, aifeding, reahzing view, and an hearty approbation of the things known and believed concerning Jefus Chrift ; and fuch a view, fuch an approbation, cannot be produced by any hu- man means, but only by the enlightening influence of the holy Spirit ihining into the heart — Without fuch a, faith as this, the mind is all dark and blind as to the glory of Jefus Chrift ; it can fee no beauty in him, that he fhould be defired. Honourable and fublime fpeculations concerning him way hover in the under- 266 Chrifl precious to Serm. 14. Sanding, and the tongue may pronounce many pompous panegy- rics in hispraife, but the underftanding has no realizing, afFecling views of his excellency ; nor does the heart delight in him and love him as infinitely precious and lovely. The God of this world, the prince of darknefs, has blinded the minds of them that beheve not, left the hght of the glorious gofpel of Chrift Ihould Ihine into them. But as to the enlightened believer, God, who firft com- manded light to fiiine out of darknefs, has Ihined into his heart, to give him the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jefus Chrift. This divine illumination pierces the cloud that obfcured his underftanding, and enables him to view the Lord Jefus in a ftrong and ftriking light ; a light entirely different from that of the crowd around him ; a light, in which it is impoflible to view this glorious objed without loving him. A behever and an unbehever may be equally orthodox in fpeculation, and have the fame notions in theory concerning Jefus Chrift, and yet it is cer- tainly true, that their views of him are vaftly different. Be- lievers ! do you think that, if the Chrift. defpifmg multitude around you had the fame views of his worth and precioufhefs which you have, they could neglecl: him as they do I It is impoflible. You could once neglecl him, as others do now ; you were no more charmed with his beauty than they. But O ! when you were brought out of darknefs into God's marvellous light, when the glories of the neglected Saviour broke in upon your aftonilhed minds, then was it polTible for you to withhold yv)ur love from him? Were not your hearts captivated with delightful violence? You could no more refift. Did not your hearts then as naturally and freely love him, whom they had once difgufted, as ever they loved a dear child or a friend, or the fweeteft created enjoym.ent ? The improving your reafon into faith is fetting the difordered eye of the mind right, that it may be a- ble to fee this object ; and when once you viewed it with this eye of reafon reftored and improved, how did the precious ftone fpar- kle before you, and charm you with its briUiancy and excellence ^ Chrift is one of thofe things unfcen and hoped for, of which St." Paul fays. Faith is the fuhfrance and evidence- Heb. xi.x i . Faith gives Chrift a prefent fubfiftence in the mind, not as a ma- jellic phantom, but as the moft glorious and important reality ; and this faith is a clear affevfting demonftration, oV convi^^ion, of his exiftence, and of his being in reality what his word reprefents him. It is by inch a faith, that is, under its habitual influence, that the behever lives ; and hence, while he hves, Jefus is Itill precious to him. 2. None but believers are properly fenfible of their need of Chrift. They are deeply fenfible of their ignorance and the diforder of their underftanding, and therefore ihey are fenfible of Serm. 14, all true Believers, 26 j their want of both the external and internal inftruclions of this diWne Prophet. But as to others, they are pulled up with inttl- le6lual pride, and apprehend themfelves in very httle need of reli- gious inftruclions ; and therefore they think but very flightly of him. Behevers feel themfelves guilty, deftitute of all righteoul- nefs, and incapable of making attonement for their fins, or recom- mending themfelves to God, and therefore the fatisfu6lion iiudrigh- teoufnefs of Jefus Chrifl: are moft precious to them, and they rejoice in hini as their all-prevaihng Interceffor. But as to tlie unbe- lieving crowd, they have no fuch mortifying thouglits of them- felves : they have fo many excufes to make for their fms, that they bring down their guilt to a very trifling thing, hardly wor- thy of divine refentment ; and they magnify their good w^orks to fuch an height, that they imagine they wall nearly balance their bad, and procure them fome favour at leafh from God, and there- fore they muft look upon this High Prieft as needlcfs. They al- fo love to be free from the reftraints of religion, and to have the command of themfelves. They would ufurp the power of felf- government, and make their own pleafure their rule ; and there- fore the Lord Jefus Chriffc, as a King, is fo far from bemg precious, that he is very unacceptable to fuch obftinate, head-ftrong rebels. They choofe to have no lawgiver, but their own wills ; and there- fore they trample upon his laws, and, as it were, form infurretfti- ons againft his government. But the poor believer, fenfible of his incapacity for felf-government, loves to be under direction, and delights to feel the dependent, fubmiilive, pliant fpirit of a fubjecl. He counts it a mercy not to have the management of himfelf, aiid feels his need of this mediatoral King to rule him. He hates the rebel within, hates every infurredion of lin, and longs to have it entirely fubdued, and every thought, every motion of his foul,, brought into captivity to the obedience of Chrift ; and therefore^ he feels the need of his royal power to make an entire conquefl: of his hoftile fpirit. His commands are not uneafy impolitions, but moft acceptable and friendly directions to him ; and the prohibiti- ons of his law are not painful reftraints, but a kind of privileges in his eftecm. The language of his heart is, " Precious Jefus ! bt^ thou my King. I love to Hve in humble fubjeftion to thee. I would voluntarily fubmit myfelf to thy coiitroul and direftion- Thy will, not mine, be done ! O fubdue every rebellious princi- ple within, and make me all relignation and cheerful obedience to thee !" To fuch a foul it is no wonder Jefus fhould be exceeding precious : but O how different is this fpirit from that which gene- rally prevails in the world ? Let me add but one reafon more why Jefus is precious to behevers, and them only ; namely, 3. None but believers have known by experience how pre(*JO'js he is. They, and only they, can refled upon the glorious vic^s ^68 * Chrijl precious to . Serm. 14, of him, which themfe Ives have had^ to captivate their hearts for- ever to him. They, and only they, have knov/n \^ hat it is to feel a bleeding he?.rt healed by his gentle hand ; and a clamourous lan- guifliing confcience pacified by his atoning blood. They, and only they, know by experience hov/ iweet it is to feel his love ilied abroad in their hearts, to feel an. heart, ravilhed with his glory, pant, and long, and breathe after hmi, and exerting the various acts of faith, defire, joy, and hope towards him* They, and only they, know by experience how pleafant it ii to con verfe, with him in his ordinances, and to fpend an hour of devotion in fome retire- ment, as it were, in his company. They, and only they have ex- perienced the exertions of his royal power, conquering their migh- ti eft litis, and fweetly fubduing them to himfelf. Ihefe are, in fome meafure, matters of experience with every true believer, and therefore it is no wonder Jefus ihould be precious to them. But as to the unbelieving multitude, poor creatures I they are entire Grangers to thcfe things. They, may have fome fuperficial noti- ons of them floating in their heads, but they have never felt them in their hearts, and therefore the infinitely precious Lord ]efus is a worthlefs, infigniiicant Being to them : and thus alas ! it vvill be wuth the unhappy creatures, until experience becomes their teach- er ; until they tafle for themfeIves/Z^a^/Z'^Zor<^/V gracious^ i Pe- ter ii. 3- . . . There is an interefting queftion, wnich, I doubt not, has rifen in the minds of fuch of you as have heard v/hat has been faid with a particular application to yourfelves, and keeps you in a painful fufpence : v.ith an anfwer to which I ihall conclude : " Am I indeed a true believer ? may fome of you fay ; and is Chrifl pre- cious to me ? My fatisfaclion in this Aveet fubjed is vaftly abated, till this queftion is folved. Sometimes, I humbly think, the evi- dence is in my favour, and I begin to hope that he is indeed pre- cious to my foul ; but alas my love for him fooa languiihf s, and then my doubts and fears return, and I know not v/hat to do, nor what to think of my felf.^' Do not fome of you, my brethren, long to have this perplexing cafe cleared up ? O what would you FiOt give, if you might return home this evening fully fatisfied in tliis point ? W^ell, I would willingly help you, for experience has taught me to fympathize with you under this difficulty. O my iieart ! how often haft thou been fufpicious of thyfelf in this ref- pecl ? The readieft way I can now take to clear up the matter is to anAvf r another queftion, naturally refulting from m.y fubjeft ; and. that is, *' How does that high eft.eem which a believer has for Jefus Chrift difcover itfelf? For how does he ihew that Chriftis indeed precious to him ?" I anfwer, he Ihews it in various ways, particu- larly by liis afFedionate thoughts of him, which often rife in his mind, and always find weicon^e there. He difcovers that Jefus is Scrm. 14. all trite Believers^ .269 precious to him by hating and refifting whatever is difpleanng to him, and by parting with every thing that comes in competition with him* He will let all go rather than part with Chrilt. Ho- nour, reputation, eafe, riches, pleafure, and even life itfelf, are nothing to him in companion of Chrift, and he will run the rifquc ©fall ; nay, will adtually lofe ail, if he may but win Chrift. He difcovers this high efteem for him by the pleafure he takes in feel- ing his heart fuitably affeded towards him, and by his uneafmefs when it isotherwife. O! when he can love Jefus, when his thoi^ghts affedlionately clafp around him, and whem he has an heart to ferve him, then he is happy, his foul is well, and he is hvely and cheerful. But alas ! when it is otherwife w ith him, w^hen his love languilhes, when his heart hardens, when it becomes out of order for his fervice, then he grows uneafy and difcon tent- ed, and cannot be at reft. When Jefus favours him with his gra- cious prefence, and revives him with his influence, how does he rejoice ! But when his beloved withdraws himfelf and is gone, how does he lament his abfence, and long for his return ! He weeps and cries like a bereaved, deferted orphan, and moans like a loving turtle in the ablence of its mate. Becaufe Chrift is fo pre- cious to him, he cannot bear the thought of parting with him, and the leaft jealoufy of his love pierces his very heart. Becaufe he loves him belongs for the full enjoyment of him, and is raviihed with the profpect of it. Becaufe Chrift is precious to him, his in- terefts are fo too, and he longs to fee his kingdom fiourilli, and all men flourilh, and all men fired with his love. Becaufe he loves him, he loves his ordinances ; loves to here, becaufe it is the word of Jefus ? loves to pray, becaufe it is maintaining intercourfe with Jefus ; loves to fit at his table, becaufe it is a memorial of Jefus ; and loves his people, becaufe they love Jefus. Whatever has a relation to his precious Saviour is for that reafon precious to him ; and when he feels any thing of a contrary difpofition, alas ! it grieves him, and makes him abhor himfelf. Tliele things are fufficie7:tto Ihew that the Lord Jefus has his heart, and is indeed precious to him ; and is not this the very pifture of fome trembling doubting fouls among you? If it be, take courage. After fo many- vain fearches, you have at length difcovered the welcome fecret, that Chrift is indeed precious to you : and if fo, you may be fure that you are precious to him. TouJJjall he mine, faith the Lord, in the day that Imake up my je-ivels* Mai. iii. 17. Ifyouare now fatisfied, after thorough trial of the cafe, retain your hope, and let not every difcouraging appearance renew your jealoufies again : labour to be fteady and firm Chriftians and do not ftagger through junbelief. But alas ! I fear that many of you know nothing experimentally of the exercifes of a believing heart, v/hich I have been defcribing. 270 The Danger of Serm. 15 and confequently that Chrift is not precious to yoM. If this is the cafe, you may be fure indeed you are hateful to him. He is angry M'ith the wicked every day. '^ Thofe that honour him he will honour ; but they that defpife him fhall be hghtly efteemed.'' I Sam. ii. 30. And what will you do if Chriii; Jhould become your enemy and fight againft you > If this precious ftone ihould become a irone of ilumbhng and a rock of offence to you, over vv^hich you will f^dl into ruin, O how dreadful muft the fall be ! What muft you exped but to lie down in unutterable and everlaft- incT forrow I SERMON XV. The Danger of Lukewarmnefs in Pveligion. Revf,l\TI0\ iii. \^, 16. I know thy luorhj that thou art neither cold nor hot : I would, thou ivert cold or hot. So then, becaufe thou art luheivcirm, and neither' cold 7m' hot, I will Jpue thee out of my mouth. HE foul of man is endowed with fuch adrive powers, that it cannot be idle ; and, if we look round the world, we fee it all alive and bufy in feme pnrluit or other. What vigorous action, \\hat labour and toil, what hurry, noife, and commotion about the neceflaries of life, about riches and honours! Here men are in earnelt : here there is no diifimulation, no indifferency about the event. They fmccrely deiire, and eagerly ftrive for thefe traiiiient delights, or vain embelliihments of a moral life. And may we infer farther, that creatures, thus formed for ac- tion, and thus laborious and unwearied in thefe inferior purfuits, areproportionably vigorons4nd in earneft in matters of infinitely greater importance? May we conclude, that they proportion their labour and aftivity to the nature of things, and that they are moit in earnefl: where they are moit concerned ? A flranger to o ir world, that could conclude nothing concerning the conducl of iT>a.nkind but from the generous prefumptions of his own charitable heart, might pcrfuade himfelf that this is the cafe. But one that iias been but a little while converfant with them, and taken the ieall: notice of their temper and pra«flice with regard to that'moft interelttiVT thing, Religion, muii know it is quite otherwife. For look round you, and what do you fee? Here and there indeed Srerm. 15. Luk^war?nnt/s in Religion, 271 you may fee a few unfalhionable creaturies, who aft as if they look- ed upon religion to be the moll interefling concern ; and who fcem determined, let others do as they will, to make fure of fal- vation, whatever becomes of them in other refpefts : but as to the generality, they are very indifferent about it. They will not in- deed renounce all religion entirely ; they will make fome little profeflion of the religion that happens to be moft modilh and re- putable in their country, and they will conform to fome of its in- llitutions ; but it is a matter of indifferency with them, and they are but little concerned about it ; or, in the language of my text, they are lukeiuann, and neither cold nor hot'. This threatening, / will fpue thee out of my mouth, has been long ago executed with a dreadful feverity upon the Laodicean church ; and it is now fucceeded by a as loathfome to him as lukewarm water to the ftoma.ch, and he cha.- rafteriles her as '• wretched, and miferable, and poor, apd bivid, ^.ad naketk'^ What condition wn be more deplorable and diingerpus ? . ■ N a 272 1' he Danger of Serm. 15. Thou doft not entirely renounce and opertly difregard the chriftian religion, and thoudoft not make it a ferious bufinefs, and mind it as thy grand concern. Thou haft a form of godlinefs, but denieft the power. All thy religion is a dull, languid thing, a mere in- difFerency; thine heart is not in it ; it is not animated with the fervour of thy fpirit. 1 hou haft neither the coldnefs of the pro- fligate llnner, nor the facred fire and life of the true chriftian ; but tffou keepeft in a fort of medium between them. In fome things thou refembleft the one, in other things the other; as luke- warmnefs partakes of the nature both of heat and cold. Now fuch a lukewarmnefs is an eternal folecifm in religion ; it is the moft abfurd and inconfiftent thing imaginable ; more fo than avowed impiety, or a profelfed rejedion of all religion : there- fore, {^iys ChTi^, I woidd thou werm:old or hot, — u e. '* You might be any thing more confiftently than what you are. If you looked upon religion as a cheat, and openly rejected the profelRon of it, it would not be ftrange that you ihould be carelefs about it, and dif- regard it in pra6lice. But to own it true, and make a profeflion of it, and yet be lukewarm and indifferent about it, this is the moft abfurd condu(9- that can be conceived ; for, if it be true, it is certainly the moft important and interefting truth in all the world, and requires the utmoft exertion of all your powers." When Chrift expreifes his abhorrence ef lukewarmnefs in the form of a wiih, / would thou luert cold or hot, we are not to fup- pofe his meaning to be, that coldnefs or fervour in religion are equally acceptable, or that coldnefs is at all acceptable to him ; for reafon and revelation concur to allure us, that the open rejedion a^nd avowed contempt of religion is an aggravated wickednefs, as well as an hypocritical profeilion. But our Lord's defign is to ex- prefsin the ftrongeft manner polable, how odious and abominable their lukewarmnefs was to him ; as if he Ihould fay, *' Your ftate is fobad, that vou cannot chano-e for the worfe ; I would rather you were any thing than what you are." You are ready to ob- ferve, that the lukewarm profeflbr is in reality wicked and corrupt at heart, a flave to fin, and an enemy to God, as well as the avowed fmner ; and therefore they are both hateful in the fight of God, and both in a ftate of condemnation. But there are fome aggravations peculiar to the lukewarm profeffor that render him peculiarly odious ; as, i. Ke adds the fm of an hypocritical profef- lion to his other fins. The wickednefs of real irreligion, and the wickednefs of fallely pretending to be religious, meet and center in him at once. 2* To all this he adds the guilt of prefumption, pride, and felf-flattery, imagining he is in a fafe ftate and in fa- vour with God ; whereas he that makes no pretenfions to religion, has no fuch umbrage for this conceit and deluiion. Thus the mi- ferable Laodiceans '^ thought themfelves rich, and increafed in goods, and in need of nothing." 3* Kence it follows, that the Serm, 15. Lukewarmnefs in Religion. 273 lukewarm profeflbr is in the mod dangerous condition, as he is not liable to convidion, nor fo likely to be brought to repentance. Thus publicans and harlots received the gofpel more readily than the felf-righteous Pharifees. 4. The honour of God and religion is more injured by the negligent, unconfcientious behaviour of thefe Laodiceans, than by the vices of thofe who make no preten- fions to religion ; with whom therefore its honour has no connexi- on. On thefe accounts you fee lukewarmnefs is more aggravatedly linful and dangerous than entire coldnefs about rehgion. So then, fays Chriil, Becaufe thou art lukeivarniy and neither cold nor hot, Iwillfpiie thee out of my mouth : this is their doom; as if he ihouldfay, '* As lukewarm water is more difagree able to. the ftomach than either cold or hot, fo you, of all others, are the mofl abominable to me. ^I am quite lick of fuch profeflbrs, and I will cad them out of my church, and rejed; them for ever.'' My prefent defign is to expofe the peculiar abfurdity and wickednefs of lukewarmnefs or indifferency in religion ; a diffeafe that has fpread its deadly contagion fai' and wide among us, and calls for a Ipeedy cure. And let me previoufly obferve to you, that, if I do not otfer you fufficient arguments to convince your own reafoa of the abfurdity and wickednefs of fuch a temper, then you may ftill indulge it ; but that if my arguments are fuffi- cient, then ihake off your (loth, and be fervent in fpirit ; and if yoa negleft your duty, be it at your peril. Ill illuftratiag this point I Ihall proceed upon this plain principle. That religion is, of all things, the mifi important in itf elf , and the mofi interefiing to us. This we cannot deny, without openly pro- nouncing it an impofture. If there be a God, as religion teaches us, he is the mofl- glorious, the moft venerable, and the moft lovely Being ; and nothing can be fo important to us as his favour, and nothing fo terrible as his difpleafure. If he be our Maker, our Benefactor, our Lawgiver and Judge, it muft be our greateft concern to ferve him with all our might. If JefusChrift be fuch a Saviour as our rehgion reprefents, and we profefs to believe, he demands our warmell love and moft lively fervices. If eter- nity, if heaven and hell, and the final judgment, are realities, they are certainly the moft auguft, the moft awful, important, and interefting realities ; and, in comparifon of them, the moft weighty concerns of the prefent life are but trifles, dreams, and Ihadows. If prayer and other religious exercifes are our duty, certainly they require all the vigour of our fouls ; and nothing can be more abfurd or incongruous than to perform them in a lan- guid, fpiritlefs manner, as if we knew not what we were about. If there be^any life within us, thefe are proper objeds to call it forth : if our fouls are endowed with adive powers, here are ob- jefts that demand their utmoft exertion. Here we can never be fo much in earneft as the cafe requires. Trifle about any thing, 274 The Danger of Serin. 15. but O do not trifle here ! Be carclefs and indifferent about crowns and kingdoms, about health, hfe, and all the world, but O be not carelefs and indifferent about fuch immenfe concerns as thefe ! But to be more particular: let us take a view of a lukewarm temper in various attitudes, or with refpeft to feveral objefts, particularly towards God — towards Jefus Chrift — a future Hate of happinefs or mifery — and in the duties of religion ; and in eat h of thefe views we cannot but be fliocked at fo monftrous a temj^er , efpecially if we confider our difficulties and dangers in a religious life, and the eagernefs and adivity of mankind in inferior pur- fuits. I. Confider who and what God is. He is the original uncre- ated beauty, the fum total of all natural and moral perfeftions, the origin of all the excellencies that are fcattered through this glorious uni'verfe ; he is the fupreme good, and the only proper portion for our immortal fpirits. He alfo fuftains the moft ma- jeflic and endearing relations to us 5 our Father, our Prefer ver and Benefactor, our Lawgiver, and our Judge. And is fuch a Being to be put off with heartlefs, lukewarm fervices? "What can be more abfurd or impious then to difhonour fupreme excellen- cy and beauty with a languid love and elfeem ; to trifle in the prefence of the moft venerable Majefty ; treat the bed of Beings with indifferency ; to be carelefs about our duty to fuch a Father ; to return fuch a Benefador only infipid complimental exprefTions of gratitude ; to be dull and fpiritlefs in obedience to fuch a Law- giver ; and to be indifferent about the favour or difpleafure of fuch a Judge ! I appeal to Heaven and earth, if this be not the mofl fhocking conduct imaginable. Does not your reafon pro- nounce it horrid and moft daringly wicked ? And yet thus is the great and blefled God treated by the generality of mankind. It is moft affonifhing that he fhould bear with fuch treatment lb long, and that mankind themfelves are not fliocked at it : but fuch the cafe really is. And are there not fome lukewarm Laodiceans in this affembly? Jefus knows your works, that you are neither cold not hot; and it is fit you fhould alfo know them. May you not be convinced, upon a little inquiry, that your hearts are ha. bitually indifferent towards God? You may indeed entertain a fpeculative efteem or a good opinion of him, but are your fouls alive towards him ? Do they burn with his love ? And are you fervent in fpirit when you are ferving him ? Some of you, I hope, amid all your infirmities, can give comfortable anfwers to thefe inquiries. But alas! how few ! But yet as to fuch of you as are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, you are the moft, abomina- ble creatures upon earth to an holy God. — Be zealous ^ be warm, •therefore J ^md repents (ver. 19.) Serm. 1 5. Lukeivannnefs in Religion, ^zy^ 2* Is lukewarmnefs a proper temper towards Jelus Chrift ? Is this a fultable return for that love which brought ]iim down from his native paradife into our wretched world ? That love which kept his mind for thirty-three painful and tedious years intent up- on this one objed:, the falvation of fmners ? That love which rendered him cheerfully patient of the ihame, the curfe, the tor^ tures of crucifixion, and all the agonies of the moft paintul death.? That love which makes him the linner's friend ftill in the cotirts of Heaven, where he appears as our prevailing Advocate and In- terceifor ? Blefled Jefus ! is lukewarmnefs a proper return to thee for all this kindnefs ? No ; methinks devils cannot treat thee worfe. My fellow-mortals, my fellow-linners, who are the ob- jeds of all this love, can you put him otF with languid devotions and faint fervices ? Then every graceful and generous palTion is extinft in your fouls, and you are qualified to venture upon every form of ingratitude and bafenefs. O was Chrift indiiferent about your falvation ? Was his love lukewarm towards you ? No ; your falvation was the objed of his moft intenfe application night and'day through the whole courfe of his life, and it lay nearcfl his heart in the agonies of death. For this he had a haptifm to he lyip- tized luHJof a baptifm, an immerlion in tears and blood ; andhoiu am IJlraitejied^ fays he, till it he accompl'ifhed ! For this, with de^ fire he defired to eat his la/l pajover, becaufe it introduced the lafl feene of his fufFerings. His love ! what fhall I fay of it? What language can defcribc its ftrength and ardor ? His love luasjlvong as death ; the coals thereof were coals of fire ^ which had a moft vehe- ment flame : many waters could not quench ity ?Jof the floods drown it. Cant. viii. 6, 7. Never did a tender mother love her fucking child with a love equal to his. Never was a father more earneft to refcue an only fon from the hands of a murderer, or to pluck him out of the fire, than Jefus was to fav^e perilhing finners. Now to neglecT: him after all ; to forget him ; or to think of him with mdifferency, as though he were a being of but little importance, and v^e but little obhged to him, what is all this but the'moff un- natural, barbarous ingratitude, and the mofl ihocking wickednefs? Do you not expecTieverlallinghappinefsfrom him purchafed at the expence of his blood? And can you hope for fiich an immcnfe bleifrng from him without feeling yourfelves mod fenfibly obliged to him ? Can you hope he will do fo much for you, and can you be content to do nothing for him, or to go through his fervice with lukewarmnefs and langour, as if you cared not how you hurried through it, or how little you had to Ao with it ? Can any thing be more abfurd or impious than this ? Methinks you may defylielJ. to fhew a worfe temper. May not Chrift jultly wilh you were either cold or hot ; wifh you were any thing, rather than thus lukewarm towards him under a profefTion of friendfaip ? Alas I my brethren, if this be your habitual temper, inflead of being 276 The Danger of . Serm. 15^ Ikved by him you may expect he will rejed you with the moft naufeating difgull and abhorrence. But, 3. Is lukewarnmels and indifferency a fuitable temper with rejpect to a future flate of happincis or mii'ery ? Is ita fuitable tem- per with refpect to an happincfs far exceeding the utmoil bounds of our prefent thoughts and wiihes ; an happinefs equal to thelarg- eftcapacitesof our fouls in their mofl: improved and perfected ftate ; an happinefs beyond the grav^, Vvhen all ilie enjoyments of this tranlitory life have taken an eternal flight from us, and leave us hungry and fa mifliing for ever^ if thefe be our only portion; an liappinefs that will lad aslong as our immortal I'pirits, and never fade cr fly from us ? Or are lukewarmnefs and indiiterency a fuitable temper Vvith refpedt to a mifery beyond exprelfion, beyond con- ception dreadful ; a m.ifery inhifted by a God of almighty power and inexorable juftice upon a number of obilinatc, incorrigible rebels for numberlefs, wilful, and daring provocations, infiicled on purpofe to ihew his wrath and make his power known ; a mifery proceeding from the united fury of divine indignation, of turbulent paffions, of a guilty confcience, of nialiccus, tormenting devils ; a mifery (who can bear up under the horror of the thought I) that ihali lad as long as the eternal God ihall Uve toirdiicl it ; as long as lin fhall continue evil to deferve it ; as long as an immortal fpirit ihall endure to bear it ; a mifery that ihall never be nntigated, never intermitted, never, never, never fee an end? And remem- ber, that a itate of happinefs or mifery is not far remote from us, but near us, jufi before us ; the next year, the next hour, er the next moment, VvC may enter into it ; isailatefoi' which we are no\v candidates, now upon trial ; now our eternal ail lies at flake r and, O hrs, does an inactive, carelefs poflure become us in fuch a iltuation ? Is a itnte of inch happinefs, or fuch miiery ; is iuch a Itatt juH — iuil before us, a matter of iriditferency to us I O can you be lukewarm about fuch matters ? Was ever fuch prodigious flupidity feen under the canopy of lieaven, or even in the regions of hell, which abound with monitrous and horrid difpoiitions ? No ; the hardefl ghoil below cannot make light of thefe things. Mortals ! canyon triiie about them ? Well trifle a little longer, and your trifling will be over for ever. You may be indifferent about the improving of your time ; but time is not indifterent whether to pafsby or not ; it is determined to continue its rapid courie, and hurry you into the ocean of eternity, though you ihould continue fleeping and dreaming through all the palTage. Therefore awake, arife ; exert yourfelves before your doom be unchangeably fixed. If you have any tire within you, here let it I'iirn ; if you have any active powers, here let them be exerted ; h:re or no where, and on no occalion. Be active, be in earnefl V here} on fhould be; or de-bafe and fmk yourfelves into flocks and ilouc::. and efcf^ne the curie cf benui reafbnable and aftive Serm. 15. Luhewarmnrfs in Religion, zjj creatures. Let the criminal condemned to die to-morrow, be in- dilFerent about a reprieve or a pardon ; let a drowning man be carelefs about catching at the only plank that can fave him ; but O do not be carelels and indifferent about eternity, and fuch amazing realities as heaven and hell. If y6u bifbelieve thefe things, you are infidels : if you believe thefe things, and yet are unaffect- ed with them, you are worfe than infidels : you are a fort of Ihock- ing llngularities, and prodigies in nature. Not hell itfelf can find a precedent of fuch a conduct. The devils believe, and tremble ; 5^ou believe, and trifle with things w.hofe very name ilrike folem- nity and awe through heaven and hell. But, 4. Let us fee how this lukewarm temper agrees v/ith the du- ties of religion. And as I cannot particularize them all, I ihall on- ly mention an inftance or two. View a lukewarm profeiTor in prayer ; he pays to an omnifcient God the compliment of a bend- ed knee, as though he could impofe upon him with fuch an empty pretence. When he is addrefTmg the Supreme Majefty of Heaven and earth he hardly ever recol lefts in whofe presence he is, or whom he is fpeaking to, but feems as if he were worihipping v.'ith- out an objeft , or pouring out empty words into the air : perhaps through the whole prayer he had not fo much as one folemn, af- fcding thougiit of that God whofe name he fo often invoked. Kere is a criminal petitioning for pardon fo carelcfsly, that he fcarcely knows what he is about. Here is a needy familhing beg- gar pleading for fuch im.menfe biefUngs as everlafling falvation, and all the joys of heaven, fo lukewarmly and thoughtlefsly as if he cared not whether his requefts were granted or not. He is an obnoxious offender confeirmo; his Cms with an heart untouched with forrow ; worihipping the living God with a dead heart; makmg great requefts, but he forgets them as foon as he rifes from, his knees, and is not at all inquiiitive what become of them, and whe- ther they were accepted or not. And can there be a more block- ing, impious, and daring condud; than this ? To trifle in the royal prefence would not be fuch an audacious affront. For a criminal to catch flies or fport with a feather when pleading with his judg^ for his pardon, would be but a faint iliadow of fuch religious tri- fling ! What are fuch prayers but folemn mockeries and difguifed infults ? And yet, is not this the ufual method in which many of you addrefs the great God ! The words proceed no further than from your tongue : you do not pour them out from the bottom of your hearts ; they have no life or fpirit in them, and you h?.rdly ever refleft upon their meaning. And when you have talked away to God in this manner, you will have it to pafs for a prayer* But furely fuch prayers muft bring down a curfe upon you inf^ead of a bleffmg : fuch facrifices muft be an ahomimit'ion to the Lord, Prov. XV. 8. and it is aftonifhing that he has not mingled your Ijiood with your facrifices, and fent you from your knees to hellj, 278 The Danger cf Scrm. i c« from though tlefs, unmecining prayer to real blafpheiiiy and tor- ture. 1 he next inftance I ihall mention is with regard to the word of God. You own it divine you profefs it the flandard of your religion, and the moft excellent book in the world. Now, if this be the cafe, it is God that fpeaks to you ; it is God that fends you an epiftle when you are reading or hearing his word. How impi- ous and provoking then niuft it be to negled it, to let it lie by you as an antiquated, ufelcfs book, or to read it in a carelefs, fuperfi- cial manner, and hear it with an inattentive, wandering mind ? How would you take it, if, when you fpoke to your fervant about his own intereft, he fliould turn away from you, and not regard you? Or if you ihould write a letter to your fon, and he ihould not fo much as carefully read it, or labour to underftand it ? And do not fome of you treat the facred oracles in this manner ? You make but httle ufe of 3 our Bible, but to teack-your children to Tead : Or if you read or hear its contents yourfelves, are you not unaffeclited with them ? One would think you would be all atten- tion and reverence to every v/ord ; you would drink it in, and thirfi: for it as new-born babes for their mother's milk ; you would teel its energy, and acquire the character of that happy man to whom the God of heaven vouchfafes to look ; you v/ould tremble at his word. It reveals the only method of your falvation : it contains the only character of all your bleilings. In fnort, you have the neareil perfonal inrereftin it, and can you be unconcerned hearers of it ? I am lure your region and confcience muft condemn fuch flupidity imd indiiferency as incongrucus, and outrageoully \vicked. And novv^ let me remind you of the obfervation I made upon entering upon this fubjecl, that if I fliould not ofter fufficient mat- ter of conviction, you might go on in your lukewarmnefs ; but if your ov/n reafon ihould be fully convinced that fuch a temper is moft wicked and unreafonable, then you might indulge it at your peril. Wliat do you fnv now in the iiTue ? Ye modern Laodi- ceans, are you not yet iiruck with horror at the thought of that infipid, formal, fpiritlcfs religion you have-hitherto been content- e:'\ ^vith \ And do you not fee the n^cellity of follovving the advice of Chrift to the Laodicean church, he zealous^ be fervent for the future, a?!drcpc7!i, bitterly repent of what is pafl: ? To urge this the more, I have two confiderations in referve, of no fmall weight. I. Coniider the dilncuhies and dangers in your way. O firs, if ynu knew the difficuUy of the work of your falvation, and the great danger of iiiifcarrying in it, you could not.be fo indifferent about it, nor could you' flatter yoin-felves fuch languid endeavours v^ ill ever fuccecd* It is a labour, a ftriving, a race, a warfare ; fp it is called in the facred writings : but would there be any pro^ Serm. 15. Lukewarmnefs in Religion, 270 priety in thefe exprelTions if it were a courfe of floth and inaaivity ? Conlider, you have flrong kifts to be fubdued, an hard heart to be broken, a variety of graces which you are entirely deftitute of to be implanted and cheriihed, and that in an unnatural foil where they will not grow without careful cultivation, and that you have many temptations to be encountered and refifted. In ihort, you muft be made new men, quite other creatures than you now are. And O ! can this work be fuccefsfully performed while you make fuch faint and feeble efforts ? Indeed God is the Agent, and all your beft endeavours can never eifecl: the blelTed revolution without him. Buthisallilianceisnotto be expeded in the neglec% or carelefs ufe of means, nor is it intended to encourage idlenefs, but adivi- ty and labour ; and when he comes to work, he will foon inflame your hearts, and put an end to your lukewarmnefs. Again, your dangers are alfo great and numerous ; you are in danger from pre- fumption and from defpondency ; from coldnefs, from lukewarm- nefs, and from falfe fires and enthufiaftic heats ; in dano-er from felf-righteoufnefs, and then open wickednels, from your own cor- rupt hearts, from this enfnaring world, and from the temptations of the devil : you are in great danger of fleeping on in fecurity without ever being thoroughly awakened; or, if you Ihouldbe a- wakened, you are in danger of refting ihort of vital religion ; and m either of thefe cafes you are undone for ever. In a word dangers crowd thick around you on every hand, from every quar* ter; dangers, into which thoufands, millions of your fellow-men have fallen and never recovered. Indeed, all things confidered It is very doubtful whether ever you will be laved who are now lukewarm and fecure : I do not mean that your fuccefs is uncer- tain if you be brought to ufe means with proper earneftnefs ; but alas ! it is awfully uncertain whether ever you will be brouo-ht to ufe them in this manner. And, O firs, can you continue fecure and maclive when you have luch difficulties to encounter with in a work of abfolute neceffity, and when you are furrounded with fo many and fo great dangers ? Alas ! are you capable of fuch de- ftruclive madnefs? O that you knew the true Hate of the cafe ! Such a knowledge would foon fire you with the greateft ardor, and make you all life and vigour in this important work. 2. Confider how earneft and adive men are in other purfuits. Should we form a judgment of the faculties of human nature by the conducT; of the generality in rehgion, we ihould be apt to con- clude that men are mere fnails, and that they have no adive pow- ers belonging to them. But view them about other affairs, and you find they are all life, fire, and hurry. What labour and toil ! what fchemes and contrivances ! what folicitude about fuccefs \ what fears of dif appointment ! hands, heads, hearts, all bufyi O o 280 ^he Danger of Serm. 1 5. And all tliis to procure thofe enjoyments which at beft they cannot long retain, and which the next hour may tear from them. To acquire a name or a diadem, to obtain riches or honours, what hardiliips are undergone I what dangers dared ! what rivers of blood ihed ! how many millions of lives have been loft ! and how many more endangered ! In ihort, the world is all alive, all in motion with bulineis. On fea and land, at home and abroad, you will find men eagerly purfuing ibme temporal good. They grow grey-headed, and die in the attempt without reaching their end ; but this difappointment does not difcourage the furvivors and fucceffors; ifill they will continue, or renew the endeavour. Now here men aft like themfelves ; and they iliew they are alive, and endowed with powers of great activity. And ihall they be thus zealous and laborious in the purfuit of earthly vanities, and be quite indifferent and fluggifli in the infinitely more important concerns of eternity ? What, folicitous about a mortal body, but carelefs about an inmiortal foul ! Eager in purfuit of joys of a fev/ years, but carelefs and remifs in fecking an immortality of perfeft happinefs ! Anxious to avoid poverty, lliame, ficknefs, pain, and all the evils, real or imaginary, of the prefent life ; but indiffer- ent about an whole eternity of the moft intolerable mifery ! O the deftrucTiive folly, the daring wickednefs of fuch a conduft ! My brethern, is religion the only thing w hich demands the utmofl ex- ertion of all your powers, and alas ! is that the onh^ thing in which you will be dull and inadive? Is everlafting happinefs the only thing about which you will be remifs ? Is eternal punilliment the only mifery which you are indifferent whether you efcape or not? Is God tJie only good which 3'ou purfue with faint and lazy de- Sre3 ? How prepoiterous ! how abfurd is this ! You can love the world ; you can love a father, a child, or a friend ; nay, you can love that abominable, hateful thing, iin : thefe you can love with ardor, ferve with pleafure, purfue with eagernefs, and with all your might ; but the ever-blelTed God, and the Lord Jefus, your beft friend, you put off with a lukewarm heart and fpiritlefs fervi- ces. O inexpreliibly monftrous ! Lord, what is this that has be- fallen thine ov;n offspring, that they are fo difaffected towards thee ? BlefTed Jefus, w hat haff thou done that thou Ihouldeft be treated thus ? O fmners I what will be the confequence of fuch a condud: ? Will that God take you into the bofom of his love ? will that Jefus fave you by his blood, whom you make ^o light of? No, you may go and feek a heaven where you can find it ; for God will give you none. Go, Ihift for yourfelves, or look out for a Saviour where you will ; Jefus will have nothing to do with you, except to take care to inflicl proper punifliment upon you if you retain this lukewarm tem.per towards him. Hence, by way ':'• improvement, learn^ Scrm, 15. Lukewarmnefs in Religion, 281 1. The vanity and wickednefsof a lukewarm religion. Though you ihould profefs the heft religion that ever came from heaven, it will not lave you ; nay, it will condemn you with peculiar ag- gravations if you are lukewarm in it. This fpirit of indiiferency dilFufed through it, turns it all into deadly poifon- Your religi- ous duties are all abominable to God while the vigour of your ipi- rits is not exerted in them. Your prayers are inliilts, and he will anfwer them as fuch by terrible things in righteoufnefs. And do any of you hope to be faved by fuch a religion ? I tell you from the God of truth, it will be fo far from faving you, that it will certainly ruin you for ever : continue as you are till the laft, and you will be as certainly damned to all eternity as Judas, or Beel- zebub, or any ghofl in hell. But alas ! 2. How common, how falhionable is this lukewarm religion ! This is the prevailing, epidemical Tin of our age and country ; and it is well if it has not the fame fatal elfect upon us as it had upon Laodicea : Laodicea loft its libertv, its reliirion, and its all. Therefore let Virginia hear and fear, and do no more fo wicked- ly. We have thoufands of chriflians, fuch as they are ; as many chriftians as white men ; but alas ! they are generally of the Lao- dicean ftamp ; they are neither cold nor hot. But it is our iii'it concern to know how it is with ourfelves ; therefore let this in- quiry go round this congregation : Are you not fuch lukewann chriftians ? Is there any fire and life in your devotions ? Or are not all your active powers engroifed by other purfuits? — ^Imparti- ally make the inquiry, for infinitely more depends upon it thaii upon your temporal life. 3 . If you have hitherto been poffefled with this Laodicean ipirir, I befeech you indulge it no longer. You have feen that it mars all your religion, and will end in your eternal ruin : and I hope you are notfo hardened a:s to be proof againft the energy of this confideration. Why halt you fo long between two opinions? / would you were cold 0?^ hot* Either make thorough work of reli- gion, or do not pretend to it. Why Ihould you profefs a rehgioa which is but an infipid indiiferency with you ? Such a religion is good for nothing. Therefore awake, arife, exert yourfelves. Strive to enter in at the ftrait gate \ ftrive earneftly, " or you are fhut out for ever. Infufe heart and fpirit into your religion. " Whatever your hand findeth to do, do it with your might." Now, this mon>cnt, while my voice founds in your ears, now be- gin the vigorous enterprize. Now collect all the vigour of your fouls, and breathe it out in fuch a prayer as this, *' Lord, fire this heart with thy love.'' Prayer is a proper introdudion : for let me remind you of what I iliould never forget, that God is the only Author of this facred fire ; it is only he that can quicken you ; therefore, ye poor carelefs creatures, fly to him in an agony (»f importunity, and never deliil, never grow weary till you prevail- tBz T/ie Divine Govermnent Serm. i6. 4. And laftly, Let the beft of us lament our lukewarmne fs, and earncltly feek more fervour of fpirit. Some of you have a httle hfe ; you enjoy fome warm and vigorous moments ; O ! they are divmely fweet. But reflect how ibon your fpirits flag, your de- votion cools, and your zeal Innguifhes- Think of this, and be humble : think of this, and apply for more life. You know where to apply. Chrilt is your hfe .- therefore cry to him for the com- munications of it. '^ Lord Jefus ! a little more life, a little more vital heat to a languilbing foul-'' Take this method, and jo« fnall run, and not be iveary : you fliall '•ojalk and not faint' Ifaiah xl. 31. SERMON XVI. The Divine Government the Joy of our World. Psalm xcvii. i- The Lord reigneth, let the earth .rejoice ; let the- multitude of the ifles be glad thereof Wl ISE and good rulers are juftly accounted an extenfive blef- / V fing to their fubjeds. In a government where wifdom fits at the helm ; and iuftice, tempered with clem.ency, holds the bal- jance of retribution, liberty and property are fecured, encroach- ing ambition is checked, helplefs innocence is protected, and uni- verfal order is eiiabhJlied, and confequently peace and happinefs diftufe their ftreams through the land. In fuch a lituation every heart mufl rejoice, every countenance look cheerful, and every bofom glow with gratitude to the happy inflruments of fuch ex- tended beneficence. But, on the other hand, IVo to thee, land, when thy king is a child' Ecclef. X. 16. wenk, injudicious, humourfome, and peeviih. This is the denunciation of Solomon, a fage philofopher, and an opulent king, whofe fcation, capacity, and inclination, confpired to give him the deepefl fKill in politics : and this denun- ciation has been acccmpliihed in every age. Empires have fallen, liberty has been fettered, property has been Invaded, the lives of ^rien have been arbitrarily taken away, and mifery and defolation have broken in like a flood, when the government has been intrud- ed in the hands of tyranny, o •' luxyry, or raflmefs ; and the ad- vantages of climate and foil,^ and all others which nature could be- flov/, have not been able to. make the fubjecfls happy under the baleful influence of fuch an adminifi:ratron. Serm. i6. the Joy efourPForld. 253 It has frequently been the unhappy fate of nations to be en- flavedto fuch rulers ; but iuch is the unavoidable imperfection of ail human governments, that when, like our own, they are ma- naged by the bell hands, they are attended with many calamities, and cannot anfw^r feveral valuable ends ; and from both thefe conliderations we may infer the neceflity of a divine government over the whole univerfe, and particularly over the ea^b, in which we are more efpecially concerned. AV ithout this fupreme uni- verfal Monarch, the affairs of this world would fall into confuii- on ; and the concerns of the next could not be managed at all. The capacities of the wifeft of men are fcanty, and not equal to all the purpofes of government ; and hence many affairs of im- portance will be unavoidably mifconduded ; and dangerous plots and aggravated crimes may be undifcovered for want of know- ledge, or pafs unpunilhed for want of power. A wife and good ruler may be diffufmg among hisfubjects all that happinefs which can refalt from the imperfect adminiftration of mortals, but he may be tumbled from his throne, and his government thrown in- to the greateft diforder by a more powerful invader ; fo that the beft ruler could not make his fubjecls laflingly happy, unlefs he were univerfal monarch of the globe (a province too great for a- ny mortal) and above the reach of the ambitious power of others. Further, Human dominion cannot extend to the fouls and con- fciences of men : civil rulers can neither know nor govern them ; and yet thefe muft be governed and brought into fubjedion to the eternal laws of reaion, otherwife tranquility cannot fubiift on earth ; and efpecially the great purpofes of religion, which re- gard a future ftate, cannot be anfwered. Men are placed here to be formed by a proper education for another world, for another clafs, and other employments ; but civil rulers cannot form them for thefe important ends, and there- fore they muft be under the government of one who has axcels to their fpirits, and can manage them as he pleafes. Deeply impreft with theie and other confiderations, which Ihall be prefently mentioned, the Plalmift is tranfported into this refledion, The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice ; let the multi- tude of the ijles he glad thereof The Pfalmift feems to have the mediatorial empire of grace ereded by Immanuel more immediately in view ; and this indeed deferves our fpecial notice ; but no doubt he included the divine government in general, which is a juft ground of univerfal joy i and in this latitude I ihall confider the text. Perfons in a tranfport are apt to fpeak abruptly, and omit the particles of connexion and inference ufual in calm reafon^^g- Thus the Pfalmift cries out, The Lordreigneth, let the earth rejoice ; kt the multitude.- of the ifies be glad thereof! but if we reduce the 84 7/ze Divine Govemmeyit Serm. i6, paflage into an argumentative form, it will Hand thus, ^' The Lord reigneth, therefore let the earth rejoice ; and let the mnl- titLide of the iiles be glad upon this account.'' The earth may here lignify, by an ufuai metonymy, the rati- onal inhabitants of the earth, Vvho are efpecially concerned in the divine government ; or, by a beautiful poetical profopopceia, it may fignify the inanimate globe of the earth ; and then it inti- mates that the divine government is fo important a blelling, that even the inanimate and fenfelefs creation would rejoice in it, were it capable of fuch pafiions*. The illes may likewiie be taken fi- guratively for their inhabitants, particularly the Gentiles, who f efided in them ; or literally for trads of land furrounded v/ith water. My prefent deilgn is. To illuftrate this glorious truth, that Jehovah's fupreme go- vernment is a jufl cauie of univerfal jov- For that end I Ihall confider the divine governmeint in various views, as legiflative, providential, mediatorial, and judicial ; and fliew that in each of thefe views the divine government is matter of univerfal joy. I. The Lord reigneth upon a throne of legiflation, let the earth rejoice ; let the miUtilude ofthelfles be glad thereof. He is the one fupreme Lawgiver, J^/w. iv. i2- and is perfectly qualified for that important truft. Nothing tends more to the advantage of civil fociety than to have good laws efiablilhcd, ac- cording to which mankind are to condud themfclvcs, and accord- ing to which their rulers will deal with them. Kow the i'uprem.e and univerfal King has ereded and publiihed the beft laws for the government of the moral world, and of the human race in parti- cular. Let the earth then rejoice that God has clearly revealed his will to us, and not left us in inextricable perplexities about our duty to hmi and mankind. Human reafon, or the light of nature, gives usfome intimations of the duties of morality, even in our degene- rate ftate, and for this information we Ihould blefs God ; but a- las ! thefe difcoveries are very imperfed, and we need fuperna* tufal revelation to make known to us the v/ay of life. Accord- ingly, the Lord has favoured us with the fircred oracles as afup- plement to the feeble light of nature ; and in them we are fully ** taught what is good, and what the Lord requireth of us." And what caufe of joy is this ! How painful are the anxieties that at- tend uncertainty about matters of duty ! How diflreifing a doubt- ful, fiuduating mind in an affair of fuch tremendous importance ! * By the fame figure the inanimate parts of the creation are called upon to^ praife the Lord, Pfahn cxlvlii. and are faia to travel and groan uxder the fin of TKun. Ko77i. viii. 22. Scrm, 1 6. the Joy of our PF arid. 285 This, no doubt, fome of you that are confcientious have had the experience of, in particular cafes, when 3'ou were at a lofs to ap- ply to them the general directions in facred fcripture. Again, Let the earth rejoice ; let the multitude of the tfles he glad that thefe laws are fuitably enforced with proper fandions. The fanClions are fuch as become a God of infinite wifdom, almighty power, inexorable juilice, untainted holinefs,and unbounded good- nefs and grace, and fuch as are agreeable to the nature of reafon- able creatures formed for an immortal duration. The rewards of obedience in the divine legillation are not fuch toys as polls of ho- nour and profit, crowns and empires, which are the higheft re- wards that civil rulers can promife or beftow ; but rational peace and ferenity of mind, imdaunted bravery under the frowns ofad- verfity, a cheerful confidence in the divine guardianfliip under all the calamities of life, and in the future world an entire exempti- on from all forrow, and from fm, the fruitful fource of all our af- fections ; the pofTeffion of every good, the enjoyment of the di- vine prefence, of the fociety of angels and the fpirits of juft men made perfe6l ; in Ihort, the fruition of an happinefs above our prefent wiihes, and equal to our then mature faculties, and all this for ever : thefe are the rewards of evangelical obedience, not indeed for its own fake, but upon account of righteoufnefs of the blelTed Jefus ; and if thefe fail to allure men to obedience, what can prevail ? And how happy is it to live under a government, where virtue and religion, which in their own nature tend to our happinefs, are enforced with fuch rdiftlefs arguments ! On the other hand, the penalty annext by the divine Lawgiver to difobe- dience is proportionably dreadful. To pine and languifh under the fecret curfe of angry Heaven, which, hke a contagious poifon, difFufes itfelf through all the enjoyments of the wicked, MaL h. 2. to fweat under the agonies of a guilty confcience in this world, and in the future world to be baniihed from the beatific prefence of God and ail the joys of heaven ; to feel the anguifh and remorfe of guilty reflections ; to burn in unquenchable fire, to confume a miferable eternity in the horrid fociety of malignant ghofts ; and all this without the leaff rational expectation ; nay, withoHt fo much as a deluded hope of deliverance, or the mitigation of tor- ture, through the revolutions of endlefs ages, all this is a faint re- prefentation of the penalty annext to difobedience ; and it is a pe- nalty worthy a God to infliCt, and equal to the infinite malignity offm. And /d"/ the earth rejoice; let the inultitude of the ijles br glad J on account not only of the promiflbry fanCtion of the law, but alfo of this tremendous penalty ; for it flows not only from juftice, but from goodnefs, as well as its promife. The penalty i« not annext to the law, nor will it be executed from a mahgnant pleafurc in the jnifery of il^ creature, |)ut it \% annext from a re- 286 The Divine Government Serm. i6. gard to the happinefs of mankind, and will be executed upon indi- viduals for the extenfive good of the whole as well as for the ho- nourable difplay of the divine purity and juflice. A penalty is pri- marily intended todeter menfrom difobedience- Now difobedience tends in its own nature to make us miferable ; it renders it impofli- ble, in the nature of things, that we fiiould be happy in the enjoy- ment of God and the employments of heaven, which are eternally and immutably contrary to fmful depofitions ; and it nils us with thofe malignant and unruly paihons which cannot but make us un- eafy. Hence it follows, that,4ince the penalty tends todeter us from fm, and ilnce fni naturally tends to make us miferable, there- fore the penalty is a kind of gracious inclofure round the pit of mi- fery, to keep us from falling into it : it is a friendly admonition not to drink poifon ; it is, in a word, a kind of reftraint upon us in our career to ruin ; and indeed it is a bleilmg we could not fpare ; for we hnd, that, notwithilanding the terror of the threatening, men will run on in fni ; and with how much more horrid alacri- ty and infernal zeal would they continue their courfe if there Vv'erc no divine threatening to check and withhold them ? The earth may alfo rejoice for the execution of the penalty of the divine law a- trainft iin ; for the conipicuous puniihment of the difobedient may ierve as a loud warning to all rational beings that now exift, or that may hereafter be created, not to offend againft God; and thus it may be the means of preferving them in obedience, and fo promote the general good ; and it may be that th e number of thofe that Ihall be puniHied of the human and angelic natures, when compared to the immber of reafonable beings that fhall be confirm- ed in holinefs and happinefs by obferving tiieir doom, may bear no more proportion than the number of criminals executed in a go- vernment as public examples, does to all the fubjefts of it ; and confequently fuch punifhment may be vindicated on the fame principles. Farther, J ultice is an amiable attribute in itfelf, and it appears fb to all rational beings but criminals, whofe intcreil: it is, that it fhould not be difpiayed ; and therefore the infiiction of juft puniihment ihouid be matter of general joy, lince it is amiable in itfelf. So it h in human governments ; while we are innocent, \\Q approve of the conducl of our magiftrates in inflid:ing capital })innlhment upon notorious malefactors, though the malefactors tliemfelves vie\'r it with horror. But to proceed : Let the earth rejoice ; ht the multitude cf the ijles he glad^ that the di\'ine laws reach the inner man, and have power upon the hearts and confciencesof men- Human laws can only fmooth our exter- nal conducl at beft, but the heart in the mean time may bedifloyal and wicked. Now this defc^ is fupplied by the laws of the King of heaven, which are fpiritual. They require a complete uniformi- ty and felf-conriilcncy in us, that heart and ^\iit may agree ; and Serm. i6. the Joy of our World. 287 therefore they are wifely framed to make us entirely good. They have alfo an inimitable power upon the confciences of men. Should iill the world acquit us, yet we cannot acquit ourfelveswhen we violate them. The confcioufnefs of a crime has made many an hardy offender fweat and agonize with remorfe, though no human eye could witnefs to his offence. Now what caufe of joy is it that thefelaws are quick and powerful, and that they are attended with almighty energy, which in fome meafure intimidates and reftrains the moft audacious, and infpircs the confcientious with a pious fear of offending! II. ^' The Lord reigneth by his Providence, let the earth, therefore rejoice ; and the multitude of the ifles be glad thereof.'* The Providence of God is well defcribed in our Shorter Cathe- chifm : *^ It is hismofl holy, wife, and powerful preferving and governing all his creatures, and all their aftions*" To particu- larize all the inftances of providential government which may be matter of joy to the earth would be endlefs, therefore I fhall only mention the following : Let the earth rejoice ; and the multitude of the ijfes be glad, that the Lord reigneth over the kingdoms of the earth, and manages all their affairs according to his fovereign and wife pleafure. We fometimes hear of wars, and rumours of wars, of thrqnes tottering, and kingdoms falling, of the nations tumultuoufly raging and dalh- ing in angry conflict, like the waves of the boifterous ocean- In fuch a juncture we may fay. The foods have lifted up^ Lord, the floods have lifted up their voicC' The floods lift up their waves* But the Lord reigneth ^ therefore the world /hall be eflahlifljed that it cannot be moved. — The Lordon high is mightier than the noife of many waters i yea^ than the mighty waves ofthefea* Pfalm xciii. Sometimes the ambition of foreign power, or the encroachments of doraelHc ty- ranny, may threaten our liberties, and perfecution may feem rea- dy to difcharge its artillery againft the church of God, while eve- ry pious heart trembles for the ark, left it Ihould be carried into the land of its enemies. But the Lord reigneth ! let the earth, let the church rejoice ; the eternal Cod is her refuge , and underneath her are the everlaflifig arms. I^eut. xxxiii. 27 • He will over-rule the various revolutions of the world for her good ; he will give kings for her ranfom, ^Ethiopia and Seba for her ; and the united powers of earth and hell /hall not prevail againft her. Though the frame of Nature iliould be tmhinged, we may find refuge in our God. Yet it muft be owned, that the Lord for the chaftife- ment of his people may fuffer their enemies to break in upon them, and may caft them hito the furnace of affliction. But let the earth rejoice, let the church be glad that the Lord reigneth over her moft powerful enemies, and that they are but executing his will even when they have no regard to it, but are gratifying their pp 288 The Divine Govcrmnent Serm. i6. own ambition. They are but a rod in the hand of a tender fa- ther, who corrects only to amend : and \\'hen he has uled the t/7^ ^or this gracious purpole, he wiii then lay it aiide. In this lan- guage the Almighty fpeaks of the haughty Aifyrian monarch who had pulhed his conquefts fo far and wide. Ifaiah x. 5, 6, 7. Ajfyriaiiy the rod of mine anger , &c. I will give him my commijfiony and fend him againj} the Jews, my favourite people ; hecaife they are degenerated into an hypocritical nation^ and he fhall execute my orders. — <^ Howbeit, he meaneth not fo -, it is far from his heart to obey my will in this expedition ; but his only defign is to aggrandize hinjfelf, and 10 deftroy and cut off nations not a few.'' And wh&i this inftrument of the divine vengeance arrogates to himfelf the honour of his own fucceffes, with what juft infult and difdain does the King of kings fpeak of him ! ver. 12 — 15. Shall the ax hoafi itfelf againfl him that heiveth therewith ? As if the rod fjjould fiahe itfelf againfl him tlrnt lifteth it up, &c. The delign of God in thefe chaftilements is to purge away the iniquity of his peo- ple ; and this is all the fruit of them to take away their fm ; and when this gracious defign is anfwered, they ihall be removed ; ^nd the rod of the wicked ftmll 7iot always lie upon the lot of the righte- ous, Pfalm cxxv. 3. Now what caufe of univerfal jey is this, that One infinitely wife fits at the helm, and can fteer the feeble vedel of his phurch through all the outrageous ftorms of this un- friendly cliniate and tempeftuous ocean ! He may feem at times to lie aileep, but in the article of extreme danger he will awake and ilill the winds and the fea with his fovereign mandate, Peace, be jltlU Men may form deep and politic fchemes, and purpofe their • accomphlhment in defiance of Heaven, hut God difappointeth the de- vices of the crafty^ fo that their hands can7iot perform their etiterprife* he taheth the wife in their own craftinefs, and the counfel of the fro- wardis carried headlong. Job v. 12, 13. This was exemplified in the cafe of Ahithophel, i Sam. xvii. 14. The hearts of men, yea of kings, are in the hand of the Lord, and he turneth them whither^ foe^^er he wilU Prov. xxi. i, (fee alfo chap. Kvi. i, 9. and xix. 21.) And how joyful a thought this, that we are not at the arbitrary dilpof:-il of our fellow -mortals, and that affairs are liot managed according to their capricious pleafure, but that our God is in the heaven, and doth whatfoever he pleafeth ! Pfalm cxv. 3. Again, the church may be endangered l3y inteftine divilions and offences, Theprofeffors of religion may Humble and fall, and fo wound the hearts of the friends of Zion, and give matter of tri- umph and infult to its enemies. Some, may apoilatize, and return like the dog to his vomit. A general lukewarmnefs may diffufe itfelf through the church, and even thofe who retain their integri- ty in the main feel the contagion. Divifions and animofities may be inflamed, mutual love may be extinguiflied, and a fpirit of dif- Serm. i6, the Joy of our Worlds 289 cord fucceed in its place. A moft melancholy cafe this, and too much like our own ; and our hearts fmk at times beneath the bur- den. But the Lord reigneth ; let the earth he glad. He can reduce this confufion into order, and make the wrath of man to praife him, and reftrain the remainder of it. Pfalm Ixxvi. ic It is the peculiarity of divine wifdom to educe good out of evil, and let us rejoice in it. God is fupreme, and therefore can controul all the wicked paiTions of the mind. He has the refidue of the fpirit, and can rekindle the languiihing flame of devotion. And O let us apply to him with the moft vigorous and unwearied importu- nity for fo necelfary a blefTmg ! Again, we are expofed to numberlefs accidental and unforefeen dangers, which we cannot prevent nor encounter. Sicknefs and death may proceed from a thoufand unfufpedled caufes. Our friends, our eftates, and, in Ihort, all our earthly enjoyments, may be torn from us by a variety of accidents. We walk, as it were, in the dark, and may tread on remedilefs dangers ere we are aware. But the Lord reigneth ; let the earth be glad ! Contin- gent events are at his difpofal, and neceihty at his controul. The fmalleft things are not beneath the notice of his providence, and the greateft are not above it. Difeafes and misfortunes that feem to happen by chance, are commiifioned by the Lord of all ; and they that refult evidently from natural caufes are fent by his al- mighty will. He fays to one, go, and it goeth ; and to another come, and it cometh ; he orders the devaftations that are made by the moft outrageous elements. If flames lay our houfes in aih- es, they are kindled by his breath. If hurricanes fweep through our land, and carry defolation along with tliem, they perform his will, and can do nothing beyond it ; his hand hurls the thunder, and directs it where to ftrike. An arrow or a bullet fhot at a ven- ture in the heat of battle, is carried, to its mark by divine directi- on. How wretched a world would this be were it not under the wife management of divine Providence I If chance or blind fate were its rulers, what defolations would croud upon us every mo- ment ! we fhould foon be crulhed in the ruins of a fallen world. Every wind that blows might blaft us with death, and fire and water wduld mingle in a blended chaos, and bury us in their de- ftru6lion. But lo extenfive is the care of Providence, that even the fparrows may find fafety in it ; and we cannot lofe fo much as an hair of our heads without its permifiion. Matt* x. 29, 30, 3i» And how much more then are our perfons and our affairs of im- portance under its guardianlhip and diredion 1 Again, we are in perpetual danger from the malignant agency of infernal fpirits, who watch all opportunities to ruin the fouls, bodies, and eftates of men. Thefe fubtile fpirits can inje6l infnar- ing thoughts into our minds, and prefent fucK images to the fancy 290 "11^^ e Divine Goverwrncnt Serm. 16. as may allure the foul to fin. This is repeatedly afferted in fcrip- turc, and attefted by the melancholy experience of multitudes in all ages. That they have power alfo in the material world to raile (iorms and tempefts, and to ruin men's eftates, and infiici: dif- eafes on their bodies, is plain from the cafe of Job, and many in our Saviour's time, and from Satan's being called the prince of the power of the air', and his ^{^ociitesfpiritual wickednejfes in high pla- ces. And what hoi^rid devailations would thefe powerful and ma- licious beings fpread through the w^orld if they were not under the controul of divine Providence ! They would perpetually haunt our minds with infnaring or terrifying images, would meet us with temptations at every turn, and lead us willing captives to hell. They would alfo ftrip us entirely of all tem.poral enjoyments, tor- ture our bodies wdth grievous pains, or moulder them into duft with confuming and loathlome difeafes. But the Lord reigneth ; let the earth be glad. He keeps the infernallions in chains, and reftrains their rage. He fees all their fubtle plots and machinations againft his feeble iheep, and baffles them all, *^ He will not fuffer his people to be tempted above what they are able to bear ; but with the temptation will alfo make away to efcape. i Cor. x. 13. And when he fufFers them to be buifetted, his grace Ihall be fuf- ficient for them, &c. 2 Cor. xii. 7, 9. He hath alfo (as Saltan himfelf confelled v/ith regard to Job)made an hedge about us about our houfes, and about all that we have on every fide, Job. i. 10. and hence we live and enjoy the blelhngs of life. What caufe of greatful joy is this ! Who would not rather die than live in a world ungoverned by divine Providence ! This earth would foon be turned into a liell, if the infernal armies were let loofe upon it. III. The Lord reigneth upon a throne of grace ! ^^ let the earth rejoice, and the multitude of the ifles be glad." It is the mediatoral government of the Melliah which the Pfalmift had more immediately in view ; and this is the principal, caufe. of joy to the earth and its guilty inhabitants. This is a kind of government peculiar to the human race : the upright angels do not need it, and the fallen angles are not favoured with it. This is invelled in the perfon of Immanuel, ^' who is made head over all things to his church,'^ Fphef. i. 22- *^ to whom all power in heaven and earth is given." Matt. xi. 27- and xxviii. 18. This is the kingdom defcribed in fuch auguft language in Dan. ii ver- 44, 4«;. and vii. 14. Luke \. 32,33. Hence that Jefus who was mocked with a crown of thorns, and condemned as a criminal at Pilate's bar, wears on his vefture and on his thigh this majeftic in- fcriplion, King of kings, and Lord of lords. Rev. xix. 16. And behold I bring you glad tidings; this kingdom of God is come unto you, and you aiT called to become its fubjeds, and fnare in its blelTings. AVherever the gofpel is preached, there Jehovah lits Serm. i6. the Joy of our World, 291 upon a mercy-feat in majefty tempered witk condel^:enrIing grace- From thence he invites rebels that had rejected his government to return to their allegiance, and palTes an ad of grace upon all that comply with the invitation. To his throne of grace he invites all to come, and offers them the richeft bleiiings. From thence he publiihes peace on earth, and good will towards men. From thence he ofFers pardon to all that will fubmit to his government, and renounce their lins, thofe weapons of rebellion. From thence he diftributes the influences of his Spirit to I'ubdue obftinate hearts into cheerful fubmillion, to fupport his fubjcds under every bur- den and furniih them with ftrength for the fpiritual warfare. He fubdwes their rebellious corruptions, animates their languiihing graces, and protects them from their fpiritual enemies.* He en- acts laws for the regulation of his church, appoints ordinances for her edification, and qualifies miniflers to difpence them* He hath afcended up on high ; he hath received gifts for men ; and thefehe hath diftributed, and cnvenfo??ie prophets ; and fome, apo/tks ; and fome, evangelijls ; andfotne, paj%rs and teachers ; for the terfedlion of the faints ffor the ivorh of the mtniJlry,for the edifying of the body of Chrijl. Ephef* iv. 8, 11, I2« Audit is by virtue of authority derived from him that his minifters now officiate, and you receive his ordinances at their hands. Now how happy are we, that we live under the mediatorial adminiftration ! under the empiij-e of grace I— Let the earth rejoice : let the multitude of the ifes he glad upon this account. And let us pray that all nations may become the willing fubjefts of our gracious fovereign. If this adminiftrati- on of grace had not yet been erefted, in w^hat a miferable iltuati- on fhould we have been ! guilty, miferable, and hopelefs ! Let us rejoice that the King of heaven, from whom we \\?A revolted, has not fuffered us to perifn without remedy in our unnatural re- bellion, but holds out the fceptre of his grace to us, that we may touch it and live. IV. And laftly, the Lord will reign ere long upon a throne of univerfal judgment con^icuous to the affembled univerfe, let the earth therefore rejoice ^ and the multitude of the ifles he glad' Here I may borrow the inimitable language of the Pfalmifl, Pfalmxcvi. 10,13, The Lord Jhall judge the people righteoufy. Let the heavens rejoice^ and let the earth he glad : let the fea roar, and the julnefs thereof : let the fields he joyful^ and all that is therein ; then fijall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lordy for he cometh I for he cometh to judge the earth. " He ihall judge the world with righteoufnefs and the people with his truth." This will indeed be a day ofinfupportable terror to his enemies, Rev. vi. 15, 16. but, on many accounts, it will prove a day of joy and triumph. * See his reign moft beautifully defcribed under the type oiSohin^n. Pfalm Ixxii. £92 . The Divine Govern'ment Serm. i6. This clay will unfold all the m3^fteries of divine Providence, \vhich are now unlearchable. There are many difpeniations now for which we cannot account. Many blelfmgs are beftowed, ma- ny calamities fail, and many events happen, of which mortals can- not fee the realbn- Profperityis the lotoffome v/ho feem the peculiar objects of divine vengeance ; and many groan under af- fli(ftions who feem n^jore proper objeds of providential beneficence. We are often letlinto ways, the end of which we cannot fee, and are bewildered in various perplexities about the defigns of divine Providence tovv^ards u£. Hence alfo impiety takes occafion to cavil at the ways of God as not equal, and to cenfure.his government as weakly admjnirtered. But in that day all his '^ays will appear to be judgment. The clouds and darknefs that now furround them will vanifli, and the beams of Vv'ifdom, gotodnefs, andjuftice, will ihine illuflricus before the whole univerje, and every crea- ture Ih all join the plaudit, He hath done ail things -vjell! Nov/ we can at beft but fee a few hnks in the chain of providence, but then we ihall fee it all entire and complete ; then the whole fyflem will be expofed to view at once, which will difcover the ftrange fyiri- metry, connections, dependencies, and references of all the parts, without which we can no more judge of the excellency of the pro- cedure than a ruftic could tell the ufe of the feveral parts of a watch, ii he law them jcattered in various places. Let the earth therefore be glad in expectation of this glorious difcovery. Again,, let the earth rejoice that in that day the prefent unequal dilTributions of Providence will be for ever adjufted, and regulat- ed according to the ftricleft juilice. This is not the place or leaibn fot retribution, and therefore we need not be furprifed that the bieiiings and calamities of this life are not difpofed according to men's real characters ; but then man ihall be dealt with according to his works. OpprelTed innocence will be redrelTed, and infolence for ever mcrtiiied : calumny will be confuted, and flattery expof- ed ; Lazarus fliall be comforted, and Dives tormented : impious kings Ihall be driven into the infernal pit, wliile pious beggars fliall be advanced to the heights of happinefs. In fnort, all matters will then be fet right, and therefore let the earth rejoice. Again, let the earth rejoice that in that day the righteousfhall he completely delivered from all fin and forrow, and advanced to the perfedion of heavenly happinefs. T hen they Ihall enter upon the lull fruition of that blifs, which is now the objed of all their anxious hopes and earnci't labour?. But wemuft change the fcene into tragedy, and take a view^ of trnnbling criminals hearing their dreadful doom, and finking to hell v.'irh horrible anguifli. And muft the earth rejoice in this too? \ es, hut with a folep.m tremendous joy. Even the condemnati- on and everlafdng mifery of theie is right and juflj is aaiiable and Serm. i6. the yoy of our TV or Id, 293 glorious ; and God, angels, and faints, will at the great day re- . joice in it. The awful grandeur of juftice will be illuftrated in it ; and this is matter of joy. The puniihment of irreclaimable impe* nitents will be an eifcdual warn«ig to all reafonable beings, and to all future creations, as has been obferved ; and by it they will be deterred from difobedience ; and this is the caufe of joy. Thefe criminals will then be beyond repentance and reformation, and therefore it is impoffiblein the nature of things they Ihould be hap- py ; and why then Ihould Heaven be encumbered with then ? Is it not caufe of joy that they ihould be confined in prifon who have made themfelves unfit for fociety ? In the prefent ftate fmners are objed:s of our compafiion and forrow, and the whole creation mourns for them. Ptom. viii. 22* But God will then rejoice in their ruin, and laugh at their calamity, Prov. i. 26. and all duti- ful creatures will join in his joy. Thus you fee that the Lord reigneth. And who, poor feeble faints, who is this that fuftains this univerfal government, and rules the whole creation according to his pleafure ? It is your Father, your Saviour, your Friend ! It is he that entertains a tenderer re- gard for you than ever glowed in an human breaft. And can you be fo fooliih as to regard the furmifes of unbelief ? Can you fores yourfelves to fear that he will ever leave or forfake you ? Can you fufped: that he will fuffer you to fall an helplefs prey to your'ene- mies ? No, your Lord reignetli, therefore rejoice. Rejoice In the Lord always ; and again I fay rejoice* While he keeps the throne of the univerfe, you ihall be iafe and happy. Your Father is great- er than all, and none can pluck you out of his hands.Remember he (its upon a throne of grace, therefore come to him with boldnefs. You may fmile at calamity and confufion, and rejoice amid the ru- ins of the world : you may borrow the language of David, Pfalm xlvi. or of Habbakuk, ch. iii. ver. 17, 18. Remember alfo, that as he is a king he demands your cheerful obedience, and therefore make his fervice the bufmefs of your life. And, unhappy fmners ! let me a{k you. Who is this that reigns King of the univerfe ? Why, it is he whom you have rejected from being King over you ; it is he againft whom you have rebelled, and who is therefore your juft enemy. And are you able to make good your caufe againft him who has univerfal nature at his nod ? How xlreadful is your fiituation ! That which may make the earth rejoice, may make you fear and tremble. The Lord reigneth, let fmners tremble. You muft fall before him, if you will not cheer- fidly fubmit to his government. Let me therefore renew the ufu- al negleded declaration, '' He fits upon a throne of grace.'' Let me once more in his name proclaim reconciliation ! reconciliation i in your ears, and invite you to return to your allegiance. Lay down your arms^ forfake your Hn^ Haften^ haften to him. The 294 The Name of God Serm. 1.7. fword of his juftice now hangs over your heads while I am manag- ing the treaty with you ; and therefore delay not. Yield ! yield, or die ; furrender, or perifh ; for you have no other alternative. Submit, and you may join the general joy at his government. You upon earth, and devils and damned ghofts in hell, are the only be- ings that are forry for it ; but upon your fubmiffion your forrow iliall be turned into joy, and you Ihall exult "jjhen the Lord of all comes to judge the world -with right eoufnefr, and the people with his- truth' Pfalmxcvi. 13. SERMON XVIL The Name of Gpd proclaimed by himfelf. ExoD. xxxiii. 18, 19. And he f aid y I hefeech thee, f jew me thy glory, Andhefaid, 1 will make all my goodnefi pi-y's before thee^ and I will proclairn the name of the Lord before thee — ^\^ I T H 'Chap, xxxiv. 6, 7. And the Lord paffed by before him, and pro- claimed, The Lord, The Lord Cod, merciful and gracious, long -ft f- fering, and abundant in goodnefs and truth ; keeping mercy for thoifands, forgiving iniquity and tranfgrejjlon and fn, and that will by no means clear the guilty • IT is a very natural and proper inquiry for a creature, '^ Where is God my Maker?" And an heart that loves him muft long to know more of him, and is ever ready to join with Moles in his petition, Sheiv me, I pray thee, thy glory ; or, *^ Reveal thyfelf to me." That thou art, I infer from my own exiftence, and from t'ly numerous Vv orks all around me ; and that theu art glorious, I learn from the difplay of thy perfedions in thy vafl creation, and in the government of the world thou halt made. But, alas ! how fmall a portion of God is known in the earth ? How faintly does thv gbry lliine in the feeble eyes of mortals ? My knowledge of things in the prefent llate of fleih and blood depends in a great mea- fure upon the fenfcs ; but God is a fpirit invifible to eyes of fleih, and iniperceptible through the grofs medium of fenfation. How and when ihall I know thee as thou art, thou great, thou dearun- kno^vn? In v.hat a ilrange fituation am I ! I am furroundedwith ;hy omnipreTence, yet I caanot perceive thee : thou art as near me Serm, 17. proclaimed by hwife If, 295 as I am to myfelf ; *' thou knoweft my rifmg up and my fitting down ; thou underitandeft my thoughts afar off; thou penetiatefl my very eflence, and knoweft me altogether. Pfalm cxxxix. 2, &c." But to me thou dwelleft in impervious darknefs, or, which is the fame, in fight inaccelfible. that I kmio where l7ntghtjind him / Behold I go forward, hut he is not there ; and fjachvard, hut I cannot perceive hi?n : oti the left hand, where he doth work, hut I cannot be- hold him : he hideth himfelfon the right hand, that I cannot fee him- Job xxiii. 3, 8, 9. I fee his perfeftions beaming upon me from all his works, and his providence ever-active ruling the vail univerfe, and diffuling Hfe, motion, and vigour through the whole : the virtue of his wifdom, power, and goodnefs, Wannn in the fun, refrefhes in the breeze ; Glows in the ftars, and bloflbms in the trees ; Lives in all life, extends through all extent ; Spreads undivided, operates unfpent ; Iufpires our foul, informs our vital part— Pope. But where is the great Agent himfelf ? Thefe arc his works, and they are glorious ; " in wifdom has he made them all,'' but Vv'here is the divine Artificer? From thefe difplays of his glory, which ftrike my fenfes, I derive fome ideas of him ; but O i how faint and glimrxiering ! how unlike to the all-perfedt Archetype and Original ! I havealfo heard of him by the hearing of the ear : I read his own defcriptions of himfelf in his word ; I contemplate the reprefentations he has given of himfelf in his ordinances ; and thefe are truly glorious, but they are adapted to the dark and groveling minds of mortals in this obfcure region, and fall infinite- ly Ihort of the original glory, lean think of him; lean love him ; I can converfe and carry on a fpiritual intercourfe with him ; I feel him working in my heart ; I receiv^e fenlible communicati- ons of love and grace from him ; I dwell at times with unknown delight in the contemplation of his glory, and am tranfported with the furvey : but, alas ! I cannot fully knov/ him ; I cannot dive deep into this myftery of glory : my fenfes cannot perceive him ; and my intellectual povv'ers in the prefentflate are not qualified to converfe with fpiritual objects, and form a full acquaintance with them. O ! if it would pleafe my God to ihew me his glory in its ■fullluftre ! O that he would reveal himfelf to mefo as that my fenfes may affiftmy mind ; if fuch a manner of revelation be poffi- ble ! Such thoughts as thefe may naturally rife in our minds ; and probably fome fucli thoughts polTeilcd the- mind of Mofes, and were the occafion of his requeft, J hffechtheefljewmc thy glory. Thefe chapters whence we have taken our fubjec't of difcourfe, prefent us with tranfaciions thatmuftfeQin verv ilrange and incre- 296 *The Name of God Serni. 17. dible to a mind that knows nothing of communion with the Father of Spirits, and that is furniihed only with modern ideas. Here is, not an angel, but a man ; not a creature only but a Tin- ner, a linner once as depraved as ourfelves, in intimate audience with the Deity. Jehovah fpeaks to him face to face, as a man rpeaketh to his friend. Mofes ufes his interelt in favour of a rebel- lious people, and it was fo great that he prevailed ; nay, to Ihew the force of his intercelTions, and to give him an encouragement to ufe them, God condefcends to reprel'ent himfelf as reftrained by this importunate petitioner, and unable to punifli the ungrateful Ifraelites, while Mofes pleaded for them, Let ?ne alone, lays he, that my lurath may wax hot again]} this -people, that I may confumt them. Exod. xxxii. 10. Mofes urges petition upon petition ; and he obtains blelhng upon blefling,as though God could deny nothing to fuch a favourite. He firfl deprecates the divine wrath, that it ^might not immediately break out upon the IfraeUtes, and cut them off, verfes 1 1 — 14. When he has gained this point, he advances farther, and pleads that God would be their Conductor through the wildernels, as he had been till that time, and lead them into the promifed land. In this article God feems to put him off, and to devolve the work of conducting them upon himfelf; but Mofes, fenfible that he was not equal to it, infills upon the requeft, and with a lacred dexterity, urges the divine promifes to enforce it. Jehovah at length appears, as it were, partly prevailed upon, and promifes to fend his angel before him as his guide* Chap, xxxii. 34. and xxxiii. 2- But alas ! an angel cannot fill up his place ; and Mofes renews his petition to the Lord, and humbly tells him that he had rather liay, or even die where they were in the wil- dernels, than go up to the promifed land without him. Jfthy pre- fence go not with me, cany us not up hence, chap, xxxiii. 15. ** alas ! the company of an angel, and the poireihoii of a land flowing with milk and lioney will not fatisfy us without thyfclf.'' His prayers prevail for this blelfing alfo, and Jehovah will not deny him any thing. O the furpriiing prevalency of faith I O the efficacy of the fervent prayer of a righteous man ! And now, when hi-5 people are reflored unto the divine favour, and God has engaged to go v/ith tliem, has Mofes any thing more itQ aik,^ Yes, he found he had indeed great interell with God, and O ! he loved him, and longed, and languiilied for a clearer know- ledge of him : he found that after all his friendly interviews and conferences he kne v/ but little of his glory ; and now, thought he, vit is a proper time to put in a petition fof this manifeftation ; who '-knows but it may be granted I . Accprdingly he prays with a mix- ture of filial- boldnefs and trembling modelty, / hefeech thee, fhev^ me thy g^lory r that is to fay, " Now I am in converfe with thee, J perceive thou art the mofl gloriotis of all beings ; but it is but S^rin. I7» proclaimed hy him fe If. 2^J little of thy glory I as yet know. O ! is it poflible for a guilty mortal to receive clearer difcoveries of it \ If fo, I pray thee fa- vour me with a more full and bright view." This petition is al- fo granted, and the Lord promifes him, l\mll make all my gmdnefs pajs before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee- That you may the better underftand this ftrange hiftory, I woul4 have you obfcrve a few things. I ft. In the earlieft ages of the world it was a very common thin^ for God to afliime fome vifible form, and in it to converfe freely with his fervants. Of this you frequently read in the hiftory pf the patriarchs, particularly of Adam, Abraham, Jacob, &c. It is alfo a tradition almoft univerfally received in all ages, and among all nations, that God has fometimes appeared in a fenfible form to mortals. You can hardly meet with one heathen writer but wh^t you will find in him fome traces of this tradition. Upon this, m particular, are founded the many extravagant ftories of the poets concerning the appearances of their gods. Had there been r^ original truth in fome appearances of the true G^d to men, there would have been no colour for fuch fables ; for they would have evidently appeared groundlefs and unnatural to every reader. This tradition therefore was no doubt originally derived from the appearances of the Deity in a corporeal form in early ages*. Some- times God alTumed an human ihape, and appeared as a man. Thus he appeared to Abraham, in company with two angels. Gen. xviii. and that good patriarch entertained them with food as tra- vellers ; yet one of them is repeatedly ftiled the Lord, or Jeho- vah, the incommunicable name of God ; fee verfes 13, 20, 22, 26, &c. and fpeaksin a language proper to him only, verfes 14, 21, &:c. Sometimes he appeared as a vifible brightnefe, or a body of light, or in fome other fenfible form of majefty and glory. Thus he was feen by Mofes in the buih as a burning fire ; thus he at- tended the Ifraelites through the wildernefs, in the fymbol of fire by night, and a cloud by day ; and thus he often appeared in the tabernacle, and at the dedication of Solomon's temple, in fome fenfible form of glorious brightnefs, which the Jews called the Schechinah ; and looked upon as a certain fymbol of the divine pre- fence. 2ndly, You are to obferve that God, who is a fpirit, cannot be perceived by the fenfes ; nor were thefe fenfible forms intended * Thefe appearances were probably made in the perfon of the Son, and might be intended as a prelude or earneft of his afluming human nature, i^ the fulnefs of time, and his dwelling among mortals. He was the immediate Agent in the oreation of the wobM ; and the Father devolved upon Jiim the whole (Economy of Providence from the beginning ; and hence he had frequent occafvons to appear on fome grand defign. It cannot feem incredible that he (hould thus aflume fome vifible form, to fuch as believe that God was at length really manifejied in thcfiefrj for this temporary apparent incarnation cannot be d€eaa«4 m«re ftrapg* than his really being madefiejh. end divdlin^ among us. cpS The Name of God Serm. 17. to rcprefent the divine eiTence, which is wholly immaterial. You can no more fee God thsn you can fee your own foul ; and a bo- dily form can no more reprefent his nature than ihape or colour can rcprefent a thought, or the .^ffecl:ion of love- Yet, 3dly, It muflbe allo\\ ed that majeflic and glorious emblems, or reprefeutations of God exhibited to the fenfes, may help to raife our ideas of him- When the fenfes and the iniaginstion aiTift the power of pure underftanding, its ideas arc? more li\ely and impref- five : and though no feniible repenfentations can bear any flrid refemblance to the divine nature, yet they may ftrike our minds deeply, and fill them with images of grandeur and majefly. When I fee a magnificent palace, it naturally tends' to give me a great idea of the owner or builder- The retinue and pomp of kings, their glittering crowns, fceptres, and other regalia, tend to infpire us with ideas of majefty. In like manner, thofe fenfible repre- ientations of Deity, efpecially when attended with fome rational defcriptions of the divine nature, may help us to form higher con- ceptions of the gl«ry of God : and the want of fuch reprefeutations may occalion lefs reverence and awe. For inftance, had the de- ftriplion of the Deity, the lord Ccd iiienifiil and graucus, kc been only fuggefted to the mind of Mofes as an object of calm con- templation, it would not have ftruck him with fuch profound re- verence, nor given him fuch clear or imprelfive ideas as when it was proclaimed with a loud, majeftic voice, and attended with a vifible glory too bright for mortal eyes, t^uman nature is of fuch a make, that it cannot but be affected with things of this nature. Gonfider the matter well in the light v hich 1 have fet it, and you may fee fomething of the propriety and good tendency of thefe appearances, and at the fame time gui-ird yourfelvcs againfl mif- takes. Let me now give you what I apprehend the true hiftory of this remarkable and illuftrious appearance of God to Mofes. Mofes had enjoyed frequent interviev.s with God, and feen many fymbols of his prefence and reprefentations of his glory ; but he ftill finds his knowledge of him very dcfeclive, and appre- hends that God might give him Ibme reprefentation of his glory more flriking and illnltrious than any he had feen. Theiefore, iinding that now he was in great favour with him, he humbly moves this petition, J hcfce.h ihce fl.K-iv me thy glory ; '^ give me fome more full and inajeilic rcpreicniation of thy glory than I have hitherto feen. '^ The Lord anfwcrshim, *M will caufe ali my goodnef^,'' that is, a glorious, vifible reprefentation of my good- nefs, which is, " my glory, to pafs before thee," which may ftrike thy fenfes, and make them the medium of conveying to thy mind more ilhiflrious and majeftic ideas of my glory. And as no fenfible iorms can fully ]-eprefent the: fpiritual ciience and perfecti- on:; of my nature, while I caufe a \ifiblc rcpreftntaticnof my olo> Serm. 17. ^ proclaimed by hi mfe if, 299 rj'' to pafs before thee, I will at the fame time proclaim the name of the Lord,'^ and defcribe fome ot the principal perfediohs which conftitiite my glory and goodnefs. But fo bright will be the luf- tre of that form which I Ihall ailume, that thou art not able to fee my face, or the molt fplendid part of the reprefentation ; the glory is too bright to be beheld by any mortal, ver- 20. But there is a place in a rock where thou mayeft wait, and I will call darknefs over it till the brightelt part of the form of glory in which I ihall appear is palfed by, and then I will open a medium of light, and thou ihalt lee my back parts ; that is, thofe parts of the repre- fentation which are lefs illuflrious, and which pafs by lail; the glo- ry of thefe thou Ihalt be enabled to bear, but my face ihall not be feen.'^ .Ver. 2 — 23* Thus God condefcended to promife ; and when matters were duly prepared, he performs his engagement. The Lord aiTumed a vilible form of glory, and pajjed by before him, ajjd proclaifned his name, which includes his perfections. Things are known by their iiames, and God is known by his attributes, therefore his nsme includes his attributes- The proclamation ran in thisaugull ityle. The Loi'd, the Lord God, merciful cuid gracious , long-fuffering^ abundant in goodnefs and truth, keeping mercy for thoufands, forgiving iniquity, tranfgreffion, and fin. Mofes was ftruck with reverence and admiration, and bowed and worlhipped. My prefent defign is to explain the feveral names and perfecti- ons here afcribed to God, and Ihew that they all concur to confti- tute his goodnefs. For you muit obferve this is the conne(5tion- Mofes prays for a view of God's glor}'', God promifes him a view of his goodnefs, which intimates that his goodnefs is his glory ; and when he defcribeshis goodnefs, what is the defcription ? It is the Lordy the Lord Cod, mercifid and gracious, long-fufftringy abun- dant in goodnefs and truth, keeping* mercy for thoufands, forgiving iniquity, tranfgreffion, and fin. That thefe attributes belong to his goodnefs we eafily and naturally conceive ; but what ihall v.e think of his punitive juf^ice, that awful and tremendous attribute, the objects of terror and averfion to fmners ? Is that a part of his goodnefs too ? Yes, when God caufes his goodnefs to pafs before Moles, he proclaims as one part of it, that he will by no means char " The LXX render the pafTage, I will c.ill by tKy namCj the Lord ^ before thse. And this is the moft literal tranflation of the Hebrew : they are rendered, Inch- mabo nomimitiin Jehova ajite ficic77i tuuin^ by Junius and TremelUous. According to this verfion the fenfe feems to be, " When the fymbol of my glory is pafling by, I will give thee notice, and call by my name the Lord, that I may not pafs bv unobferved-'' f The Hebrews obferve, that the firfl lette: of the word trahflated keepings is much larger than ufual ; v/hich fnews tliat a particular emphafis is to be laid upon it; as if he fhould lay, " I moft ftriclly and richly keep mercy for thou- fands ; the treafurc is immenfe, and can never be exhanfted/' 300 The Name of God Serm* 1 7« the guilty ; and that he vijtts the iniquities qfibe fathers ufmt the children to the third and four t to generation' This awful attribute is , an important part of his goodnefs, and without it he could not be good, amiable, or glorious. I am ROW about to enter upon a fubjcd-the moft fublime, auguft, yrid. important, that can cbme within the compafsof huraanor an- gelic minds, the name and perfeftions of the infinite and ever-glo- rious God. I attempt it with trembling and reverence, and I forefee I fhall finiih it with ihame and confulion : for -djho by fe arch- ing can find out God ? who can find out the Jimighty unto pcrfeBian ? Job xi. 7. The queftlon of Agar mortifies the pride ot human knowledge; fVhatis his name, or what is his fan's namcy if thou canjl tell? Prov- XXX. 4. Such knoivledge is too ivonderful for me ; it is highy I cannot attain unto it. Pfalm cxxxix. 6. Jt is as high as Heaven, *mkat can I know ? deeper than hell, •what can I do r tlx nieafure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than thefea- Job xi. I, 9^ Lend me \ our ilvill, ye angels, who have feen his face wJthoutintermiirionfrom the firft moment of your happy exiflence; or yc i'aints above, tliat fee him as he is, and knew cuen as you are known, infpire me with, your exalted ideas, and teach me your celeilial language, while I attempt to bring Heaven down to earth, and reveal its glories to the eyes of mortals. In vain I aik ; their knowledge is incommunicable to the inhabitants of fiefh, and none but immortals can learn the language of immortahty. But why do I afiv of them ? O thou Father of angels and of men, wh^ can ft pcrfe^ thy praife even out of the mouths of babes andfucklings, and who canll open all the avenues of knowledge and pour thy glory upon created minds, do, thou (idne into my heart, to give the light of the knowledge of thy glory : / hcfeech thee few inethy glory ; caufe it to ihine upon my underftanding, while I try to difplay it to thy people, that they may behold, adore, and love. As to you, my brethren, I foiicit your molt folemn and reveren- tial attention, while I would lead you into the knovvledge of the Lord your Maker. One would think a kind of filial curiofity vould infpire you with eager deiires to be acquainred with your divine Parent and original. You \^ ouid not be willmg to worfiiip you know not Avhat, or, ^vith the Athenians, adore an unknown God. Do you net long to know the greateft and beft of beings, file the glimmerings of whofe glory ihine upon you from heaven and earth r WouW you not know him in -whofe prefence you hope to d**/en .kTiiS. be happy for ever and ever ? Come then, be all awe ■'i^:d artention, while I pi-oclaim to you his name and perfedions, The Lord, The Lord God, ?nerciful and gracious, long fufft ring, ^yid ^4Mm4aKt in goodnefs and truth ; ksepivg mercy for thouf and s, for - ^i'^dftginifuiiy, iranfgrffjlt}%, and fin,- S e 1' m . 17. P roc laimed by him/elf. 301 We maybe fure God has aflumed to himfelffuch names as are beft adapted to defcribe his nature, as far as mortal language can reach. And every thing belonging to him is fo dear and impor- fant, that his very name deferves a particular confideratioii. This is not to make empty criticifms upon an arbitrary, unmeaning found, but to derive ufeful knowledge from a word of the greatei^ emphafis and lignificancy. The firft name, in the order of the text, and in its own dignity, i$, thi Lordy or Jehovah ; a name here twice repeated, to Ihew its importance, the Lord, the Lordy or Jehovah, Jehovah. This is a name peculiar to God, and incommunicable to the moft exalted creature. The apoftle tells us, 7 here are Cods manyy and Lords ma» My. I Cor. viii. 5. Magiftrates in particular arefo called, becaufe their authority is fome fhadow of the divine authority. But the name Jehovah, which is rendered Lord in my text, and in all thofe places in the Bible where it is written in capitals, I fay, this name Jehovah is appropriated to the Supreme Being, and never applied to any other. He claims it to himfelf, as his peculiar glory. Thus in Pfalm Ixxxiii. ver. 1 8. Thouy ivhofe name aloyje is Jehovah ^ art the Moft High over all the earth* And in Ifaiah, xlii. ver. 8. / am the Lord, or (as it is in^ the original) Jehovah ; tllat is my name, ihy proper incommunicable name, and ?ny glory will I ttot give tiy anather ; that is, I will not allow another to Ihare with me in the glory of wearing this name. Thus alfo in Amos vi. ver. 13. Lo, he that for meth the mountains ^ and createth the -wind, that declareth to man luhat is in his thoughts, &c. the Lord, the God ofHofts, is ki^ fidmey his diftinguifliing, appropriated name. There muft there- fore be fomething pecuharly facred and fignificant in this name, fince it is thus incommunicably appropriated to the only one God. The Jews had fuch a prodigious veneration for this name as a- mounted to a fuperftitious excefs. They call it *' That name,'' by way of diftindion, '^ The great name, the glorious name, the appropriated name,theunutterablename, the expounded name*,'*^ becaufe tliey never pronounced it, except in one inflance, which I fhall mention prefently, but always expounded it by fome other : thuswhen the name Jehovah occurred in the Old Teftament, they always read it Adonaiy or Elohiniy the ufual and lefs facred names^ which we tranflate Lord God. It was never pronounced by the Jews in reading, prayer, or the moft folemn ad of woriliip, much, lefs in common converfation, except once a year, on the great day of atonement, and then only by the high prieft in the fanduary . in pronouncing the benedidion ; but at all other times, places and occafions, and to all other perfons, the pronunciation was deemed * They alfo diftinguifh it by the name of the four letters that composed \r^ jodhy he J vaty he; and hence the Greeks o^We^ it the four- htt:re gracious to thee.- Jehovah lift up the light of his countenance upon thee, and give thee pe ace > When this venerable name was pronounced upon this occafion, we are told by the Jewilh rabbie.^, '' that ^11 the vail congregation then prefent bowed the knee, and fell down iu the humblelt proilrati- on, crying out, Blejfedbe his glorious name for ever and ever. They fuppofed this name had a miraculous virtue in it, and that by it Mofes and others \^ rought fuch wonders : nay, fo great was their fuperflition, that they thought it a kind of charm or magical word, and that he that had it about him, and knew its true pronunciati- on and virtue, could perform the moflfurprifmg things, and even fhake heaven and earth. "'^ I donot mention thefe things with approbation, but only to Ihew that there is fomething peciiliarly {^.gnificant, important, and fa- credin this name, from v.- hence the ]pv/stook occaiion for fuch ex- travagant notions : and this will appear from its etymology. You know it is not my ufual method to carry a great quantity -of learn- ed difquiiition with me into the pulpit, or to fpend your time in trifling, pedantic criticifms upon words, which may indeed have a ihew of literature, and amufe thofe Vvho admire what they do not underlland, but can anfwer no ^^aluable end in a popular audience. However, at prefent I mull take che liberty of Ihev/ing you the original meaning of the w^mc Jehovah, that I may thoroughly ex- plain my text, and that you may know the import of a. name that will occur lo often to you in readino- your bibles ; for, as I told you, wherever you meet v/ith the word Lordin large letters, it is always Jehovah in the original. The name Jehovah is derived from the Hebrew verb, to be; and therefore the meaning of the word Jehovah is. The e^ijtent, the being, or. He that is. Thus it feems explained in Exodus iii. ver.^14. ^ ^-'^ that I am, or, ** I am becaufe I am ;" that is, I ex- iil, and have being in and of my felf vvithout dependence upon any caufe ; and my exiifence or being is always the fame, unchange- able and eternal. St. John well explains Ihis name by the IfJ^o is, ivhoiuas, and who is to come; or, as the palTage might be rei\- dered, *' The prefent Being, the pall Being, and the future Be- ing ;** or, The Being that is, the Being that was, and the Being that vv'ill be ; that is, the perpetual, the eternal, and unchangea- * This name fecms not to have been uiiknown among other nations. Hence probubly i> derived the nariie Jov!s^ 'j^'^'-'> ^"^ L.itin nume for the lupreme God. And it is prob-ibly in aliuriog to this th^it Vavro iiys, '' Deum Judaeorum elfe Jovan." The Moors ulfo call God Jaiiuh, and the Mahometans Hou; which in their li.nguage fignifie-? the fame with Jehovah, najiiclvy Hf 'd'}o is. Ses Univ^ Kilt. Vol. III. p. 257, coti I. Serm. 17, proclaimed by himfelf. 303 ble Being. I (hall only obferve farther, that Jehovah is not a re- lative, but an abfolute name : there is no pronoun or relative word that is ever joined with it : we can fay, My Lord, our Lord, our God, &c. but the Hebrews never fay or write. My Jehovah, our Jehovah, &c. fo t!Krt-t|iis name reprefents him as he is in himfelf, without any relation to his creatures, as he would 'have been if they had never exifled. He would ftill have been the Being, the abfolute, independent exiftent, in which view he has nothing to do with his creatures, and can fuitain no relation to them. From this name, thus explained, we learn the following glori- ous, incommunicable perfeftions of God ; that he is felf-exiftent and independent ; that his being is necelTary ; that he is eternal ; and that he is unchangeable. While I am about to enter upon thefe fubjeds, I feem to (land upon the brink of an unbounded, fathomlefs ocean, and tremble to launch into it ; but, under the condudof fcripture and humble reafon, let us make the adventure ; for it is an happinefs to be loft and fvvallowed up in fuch an ocean of perfection. L The name Jehovah implies that God \^f elf -exiftent and in- dependent. I do not mean by this that he produced himfelf, for that would be a direct contradiction, and fuppofehim to exift, and not to exift at the fame time : but I mean that the reafon and ground of his exiftence is in his own nature, and does not at all depend upon any thing befides. Being is effential to him. He contains an infinite fulnefs of being in himfelf, and no other being has contributed in the leaft towards his exiftence ; and hence with great propriety he aflum^s that ftfange name, I am^ He is Being throughout, perfectly and univerfally vital ; and the reafon of this is entn-ely within his own nature. How glorious is he diftinguiihed in this refpeft from all other beings, even the moft illuftrious and powerful ! Time was, when they were nothing. Angels and archangels, men and beafts, fun, moon, and ftars ; in fhort, the whole univerfe befides were once nothing, had no being at all : and what was the reafon that they ever came into being ? Certainly it was not in them : when they v>ere nothing there was no reafon at all in them why they fliould ever be fomething ; for in not being, they can be no reafon or ground for being. The mere pleafure of God, the fiat of this lelf-exifting Jehovah, is the only reafon and fole caufe of their exiftence. If it had not been for him, they would have continu- ed nothing as they were : their being therefore is entirely preca- rious, dependent, and v? holly proceeds from a caufe without themfelves. But Jehovah glories in an unborrowed, underived, independent being. Whatever he is, it is his own ; he owes it on- ly to himfelf. What a glorious Being is this! how infinitely differ- R r 304 The Name of God Serm. I7» ent from and fuperior to the whole fyftem of crea.t^3res ! Are you not already conftrained to bow the knee before him, and wonder, adore, and love \ But, II. Hence it follows that his exigence is neceffary ; that is, it is impoflible for him not to he- His being does not depend upon any thing without him, nor does it depend upon his own arbirra- ry will, but it is elTential to his nature. That he fliould not be is as great an impolTibihty as that two and two ihould not make tour. It is irapolhble that any thing Ihould be more ciofely connected with any thing than being is with his elTence, and it is impoflible any thing fliould be more oppofite to any thing than he is to non- exiftence. Since he received his being from nothing without him- felf, andfmce the leafon of his exiflence is not derived from any other, it follows, that unlefs he exifts by the neceffity of his own nature, he mufl exift without any neceliity ; th^t is, without any reafon at all, which is the fame as to fay that nothing is the caufe or ground of his exigence ; and what imagination can be more abfurd ? His being therefore muil exift by an abfolute, indepen- dent neceinty. What a glorious Being is this ! how infinitely diflant from no- thing, ot a poflibility of not being ! What an unbounded fund of exiltence, what an immenfe ocean of Being is here ! Alas ! what are we, Vv'hat is the whole univerfe befides in this comparifon ? They are nothings lefs than nothing, and vanity ^ Cur being is not onl}'- derived but arbitrary, depending entirely upon the mere plealure of Jehovah. There was no neceflity from our nature that we Ihould he at all ; and now there is no necelFity that we Ihould continue to he* If we exift, it is not owing to us. '^ He made us, and not we ourfelves ;'' and if we fhall continue to be for ever, it is not owing to a fund of being within ourfelves, but to the fame God who firft formed us. It is but lately fmce we fprung from nothing, and how near are we ftill to the confines of nothing ! We hang over the dreadful gulph of annihilation by a flender thread of being, fuftained by the felf-originated Jehovah. P.emove him, take away his agency, and univerfal nature finks in- to nothing at once, lake away the root, and the branches wi- ther : dry up the fountain, and the ftreams ceafe. If any of you are fuch fools a? to wilh in your hearts there were no God, you imprecate annihilation upon the whole univerfe ; you wifli total deflruction to yourfelf and every thing elfe ; you wiih the ex- tinction of all being. All depend upon God, theamcaufcd caufe, the only neceflary Being. Sutfer me here to make a digreifion. Is this the God whom the daring fons of men fo much forget, dif- honour, apd difobey ? Are they fo entirely dependent upon him, and yet carelefs how they behave towards him, carelefs whether they love and pleafe him \ Do they owe their being awd their all Serm. I7« proclaimsdhy hinijelf. 305 entirely to him ? And are they wholly in his hand ? What theA do they mean by withhokling their thoughts and afFeftions from him, breaking his laws and negleding his gofpel ? Can you find a name for fuch a condud I Would it not be entirely incredible did we not fee it with our eyes all around us ? Sinners, what mean you by this condud ? Let the infant rend the womb that con- ceived it, or tear the breafts that cheriih it ; go, poifon or deftroy the bread that ihould feed you ; dry up the ftreams that ihould allay your thirft ; flop the breath ihat keeps you in life : do thefe things, or do any thing, but O ! do rfet forget, difobey, and pro- voke the very Father of your being, to whom you owe it that you are not as much nothing now as you were ten thoufand years ago, and on whom you depend, not only for this and that mercy, but for your very being, every moment of your exiftence, in time and eternity. He can do very well without you, but O what are you without him I a ftream without a fountain, a branch without a root, an efFed without a caufe, a mere blank, a nothing. He in- deed is felf-fuincient and felf-exiftent. It is nothing to him, as to his exiftence, whether creation exifts or not. Let men and angels and every creature fink to nothing, from \vhence they came,, his being is ilill fecure : he enjoys an unprecarious being of his own, necelTarily, unchangeably, and eternally exiftent. Men and an- gels bow the knee, fall proftrate and adore before this Being of beings. How mean are you in his prefence ! what poor, arbitra- ry, dependent, perilhing creatures ! what fhadows of exiftence ! what mere nothings T And is it not fit you ihould humbly acknow- ledge it ? Can there be any thing more unnatural, any thing more fooliih, any thing more audacioully wicked, than to negled or con- temn fuch a Being, the Being of beings, the Being that includes all being ? I can hardly bear up under the horror of the thought. in. The name Jehovah implies that God is eternal ; that is^ he always was, is, and ever will be. From everlaffing to ever- Ittfting he is God' Pfalm xc 2* This is his grand peculiar, he only hath immortality, 2 Tim. vi. 16. in a full and abfolute fenfe. Men and angels indeed are immortal, but it is but a kind of half- eternity they enjoy. They once were nothing, and con- tinued in that ftate through an eternal duration. But as Jehovah never will have an end, fo he never had a beginning. This fol- lows from his neceifary felf-exiftence. If the reafon of his exi- ftence be in himfelf, then unlefs he always exifted he never could exift, for nothing without himfelf could caufe him to exift. And if he exifts by abfolute necefTity, he muft always exift, for abfolute neceiTity is always the fame, without any relation to time or place. Therefore he always was and ever will be. And what a wonderful Being is this! a Being unbegun, and that can never have an end ! a Being poirelTed of a complete, en- entire eternity. Here, my brethren, let yom- thoughts take 3o6 I'he Name of God Serm. 17. wing, and fly backward and forward, and fee if you can trace his exiftence. Hy back in thought about fix thoufand years, and all nature, as far as appears to us, was a mere blank ; no heaven nor earth no men nor angels. But ftill the great Eternal lived, Hved alone, felf-fufficient and felf-happy. Jly forward in thought as far as the conflagration, and you will fee the heavens dijfohwgy and the earth and the things that are therein burnt up ■• but ftill Je- hovah hves unchangeable, and abfolutely independent. Exert all the powers of number, add centuries to centuries, thoufands to thoufands, milhons to millions, fly back, back, back as far as thought can pofTibly carry you, fl:ill Jehovah exifis ; nay, you are even then as far from the firft moment of his exiftence as you are now, or ever can be. Take the fame profpeft before you, and you will find the King eternal and immortal ftill the fame : he is then no nearer an end than at the creation, or millions of age-s be- fore it. What a glorious Being is this! Here again, let men and angels, and all the offspring of time bow the knee and adore. Let them lofe themfelves in this ocean, and fpend their eternity in extatic admiration and love of this eternal Jehovah. O ! what a glorious portion is he to his people ! Your earthly enjoyments may pafs away like a Ihadow ; yo\ir friends die, your- felves muft die, and heaven and earth may vaniih like a dream, but your God lives ! he Hves for ever, to give you an happinefs equal to your immortal duration. Therefore, blejjedj hlejfed is the people whofe God is the Lord ! But O ! let linners, let wicked men and devils tremble before him, for how dreadful an enemy is an eternal God ! He lives for ever to punilh you. He hves for ever to hate your fm, to refent your rebellion, and to difplay his juftice ; and while he lives you muft be miferable. What a difmal fituatian are you in, when the eternal exiftence of Jehovah is an inexhauftible fund of terror to you ! O how have you inverted the order of things, when you have made it your intereft that the Fountain of being fliould ceafe to be, and that with him yourfelves and all other creatures jliould vanifh hito nothing ! What a mahgnant thing is fm, that makes exiftence a curfe, and univerfal annihilation a blefling ! What a ftrange region is hell, where being, fo fweet in itfelf, and the ca- pacity of all enjoyments, is become the moft intolerable burden, and every wiih is an impiecation of univerfal annihilation I Sin- ners, you have now time to confider thefe miferies and avoid them, and will you be fo fenfelefs and fool-hardy as to mill headlong into them ? O ! if you were but fcnfible what will be the confequen- ces of your condud in a few years, you would not need perfuafions to reform it : but O the fatal bhndnefs and ftupidity of mortals, who will not be convinced of thefe things till the convidion be to» late J Serm, 1 7. proclaimed by hi7nfelf. 307 IV. The name Jehovah implies chat God is unchangeable, or always the fame. If he exifts necefiarily, he muft always necefla- rily be what he is, and cannot be any thing elle. He is depen- dent upon none, and therefore he can be fubjeft to no change from another ; and he is infinitely perfecl, and therefore cannot defu-e to change himfelf. So that he muft be always the fame through all duration, from eternity to eternity : the fame not only as to his being, but as to his perfections ; the fame in power, wifdom, goodnefs, juftice, and happinefs. Thus he reprefents himfelf in his word, :is the Father of lights y ivith ivhorn there isnovar'iahknefs, nor Jbadow of turn-ng, J:-imes. i. 17. the fanid yejlerday. to-day ^ endforevtr, lieb. xiii. 8 — -What a diflinguiihing perfection is this ! and indeed it is in Jehovah only that immiUtabiiity can be a perfedion. The moft excellent creature is capable of progrefTive improvements, and feems intended for it ; and to fix fuch a crea- ture at firfl in an immutable flate, would be to limit and rellrain it from higher degrees of perfedion, and keep it always in a ftate of infancy. But Jehovah is abfolutely, completly, and infinitel3'' perfed, at the higheil fummit of all polFible excellency, infinitely beyond any addition to his perfe(rtion, and abfolutely incapable cf improvement ; and confequently as there is no room for, fo rhere is no need of a change in him ;* and his immutability is a perpetual, invariable continuance in the higheft degree of excellency, and therefore the higheft perfection. He is the caufe and the fpecta- tor of an endlefs variety of changes in the univerfe, without the leaft change in himfelf. He fees v»orlds fpringing into being, exifting a while, and then dilTolving. He fees kingdoms and em- pires forming, rifing, and ruihing headlong to ruin. He change the times and the feafons; removeth kings ^ and hefettethup kings, Dan. ii. 2i» and he fees the ficklenefs and vicillitudes of mortals; he fees generations upon generations vaniihing like fucceiTive iha- dows ; he ^ecs them now- wife, now foolilh ; novv in purfuit of one thing, now of another ; now happy, now miferable, and in a thoufand different forms. He fees the revolutions in nature, the fucceffions of the feafons, and of night and day. Thefe and a thoufand other alterations he beholds, and they are all produced or permitted by his all-ruling Providence ; but all thefe make no change in him ; his being, his perfections, his counfels, and his laappinefs are invariably and eternally the fame. He is not wife, good, juft, or happy only at times, but he is equally, fteadily, and immutably fo through the whole of his infinite duration. O how unlike the fleeting offspring of time, and efpecially the chang- ing race of man ! Since Jehovah is thus conftant and unchangeable, how worthy is he to be chofen as our beft friend ! You that love him need fear no change in hiin. They are not fmall matters that will turn his 3o8 TheNcnneGfCodScc, Serm. 17. heart from you ; his love is fixed with judgment, and he never will fee reai'on to reverie it : it is not a traniient fit offondnefs, but it is deliberate, calm, and fteady. You may fafely truftyour all in his hands, for he cannot deceive you ; and whatever or who- ever fail you, he will not. You live in a fickle, uncertain world ; your beil friends may prove treacherous or cool towards you ; all your earthly comforts may wither and die around you ; yea, hea- ven and earth may pafs away ; but your God is flill the fame. He has affured you of it with his own mouth, and pointed out to you the happy confequence uf it. 1 am the lord Jehovah, fays he, / change not ; therefere ye fans of Jacob are not confiimed- Mai. iii. 6. What a complete happmefs is this Jehovah to thofe who have chofen him for their pt^^rtion ! If an infinite God is now fufficient to fatisfy your utmoft defires, he will be ib to all eternity. Ke is an ocean of communicative happinefs that never ebbs or flows, and therefore completely bleiTed will you ever be who have an intereft in him. But O ! how miferable are they who are the enemies of this Je- hovah ! Sinners, lie is unchangeable, and can never lay afide his refentments againli: fin, or abate in the lead degree in his love of virtue and holinefs. Ke will never recede from his purpofe to pu- nilh impenitent rebels, nor loofe his power to accompliih it. His hatred of all moral evil is not a tranfient pafiion, but a fixed, inva- riable, deep-rooed hatred. Therefore, if ev^er you be happy, there iimft be a change in you. As you are fo oppofite to him, there muft be an alteration in the one or the other : you fee it cannot be in him, and therefore it muft be in you ; and this you ought to labour for above all other things- Let us then have grace, iv, erely ivc may ferve God acceptahly ivith reverence and godly fear, for our God is a co? fuming fire (Heb. xii. 28, 29.) to his impe- nitent and implacable enemies.* * Our author has evidently not finifiied his fubjeft, and I do not find it profecut- cd in any of the difcourfes that are come to my hands ; but yet I determined to publifli the Sermon, not only for its own (if I miftake not) fukftantial worth, but the rather as the Sermon that next follows in order, may be confidered as a pro- fecution, if not a completion of the great and glorious fubjeft he has undertaken, particularly of his profefled defign in this Sermon, *' of explaining the feveral perfediions here afcribed to God, and fl^ewing that they all concur to conflitute Lisgoodnefs.'' The Editor- [ 3^9 ] x::<><:<>D<:xx:>c<>o<:^o<>::::^<:>=:>o<:x>:D<>c:'<:><>c>o^ SERMON XVIII. God is Love. I John iv. 8. Cod is Love* LOVE is a gentle, pleafing theme, the noblefl pafTion of the human breaft, and the fairefl ornament of the rational nature. Love is the cement of fociety, and the fource of focial happinefs ; and without it the great community of the rational univerfe would diflblve, and men and angels would turn favages, and roam apart in barbarous folitude. Love is the fpring of eve- ry pleafure ; for v/ho could take pleafure in the pofTeifion of what he does not love ! Love is the foundation of rehgion and morali- ty ; for what is more monftrous than religion without love to that God who is the object of it ! Or who can perform focial duties without feeling the endearments of thofe relations to which they belong ! Love is the foftener and pohlher of human minds, and transforms barbarians into men ; its pleafures are refined and de- licate, and even its pains and anxieties have fomething in them foothing and pleafing. In a word, love is the brighteft beam of divinity that has ever irradiated the creation? the neareft refem- blance to the ever-blclfed God ; for Cod is Love* God is love- There is an unfathomable depth in this concife la- conic fentence, which even the penetration of an angePs mind can- not reach ; an ineffable excellence, which even celeftial eloquence cannot fully reprefent. Cod is love; not only lovely and loving, but love itfelf; pure,, unmixed love, nothing but love ; love in his nature and in his operations ; the object, fource, and quin- telTence of all love. My prefent defign is to recommend the Deity to your alfeflions under the amiable idea of Love, and for that end to ihew that his ether perfedions are but various modifications of love. I. Love comprehends the various forms of divine nature benefi- cence. Goodnefs, that extends its bounties to innumerable ranks of creatures, and diffufes happinefs through the various regions of the univerfe, except that which is fet apart for the dreadful, but falutary and benevolent purpofe of confining and puniihmg incor- rigible malefactors ; Grace, which fo richly ihowers its blefhngs upon the undeferving, without paft merit of the profpeiH: of future compenfation ; Mercy, that commiferates tlvA relieves the mifer- 3IO Cod is Love. Serm. i8. able as well as the undeierving ; Patience and Long-ruifering, which To long tolerate infolent and pro\^oking ofFenders ; whatis all this beneficence in all thefe its difterent forms towards different objects, what but Love nn'>r various names ? It is gracious, mer- ciful, patient and long fuffering love ! love variegated, overflow- ing, and unbounded ! what but love was the Creator of fuch a v/orld as this, fo well accommodated, fo ricbJy iurnill^ed for the fuflenance and comfort of its inhabitants? and what but love has planted it fo thick with an endlefs variety of beings, all capable of recei\^ing fome l>ream of happinefs from that imnienfe fountain of it, the divine goodnefs ? Is it not love that preferves fuch an huge unwieldy vv-orld as this in order and harmony from age to age, and fupphej:. all its numerous inhabitants with every good? and O! was it not love, free, rich, unmerited love, that provided a Savi- our for the guilty children of men? It v.as becaufe Cod loved the nvorld, that he gave his only begotten Son^ that luhofcever belitveth in him JJjoidd not peril h, hut have eve^lajling life ! John iii. t6. O love ! what hai't thou done ! what wonders hail thou wrought ! It was tkou, almighty love, thathroughte^rdo^^•n the Lord of glory from his ceieiliai throne to die upon a crofsan atoning facrifice for the lins of the world. And what but love is it that peoples the heavenly world with colonies tra]:)rpianted from this rebellious province of Jehovah's dominions ; that forms fuch miracles of glory ai d hsp- pinefs out of the dull, and the fliattered polhued fragnients of hu- man nature ! and wliat but eternal love perpetuates their blifs through an|^.ernal duratic n ? but it is fo evident, that theie in- ftances of divine goodnefs -are only the effeds of love, that it is needlefs to attempt any farther illuftration. II. What is divine wifdom but a modification of divine love, planning the bell adapted fchemes for communicating itfelf in the moft advantageous beneficent, and honourable manner, \o as to promote the good of the great whole or colleftive fyflem of crea- tures by the happinefs of individuals ; or to render the punilh- ment and mifery of individuals, which for important reaibns of ftate may be fometimes neceffarv in a good government, fubfer- vient to the fame benevolent end ? Whatever traces of divine wifdom we fee in creation ; as the order and harmony of the great fyftem of nature, its rich and various furniture, and the confpi- racy of all its parts to produce the good of each other and the whole ; whatever divine v^ifdom appears in conducting the great fcheme of providence through the various ages of time ; or in the more attoniihing and godhke v.'ork of redemption : in a word, whatever difplays of divine wifdo'.n appear in any part of the univerfe, they are only the fignatures of divine love. Why was yonder fun hxed where he is, and enriched with fuch extenfive vital influences, but becaufe divine love fav/ it was befl and ftom Scrm. i8. God is Love, 311 conducive to the good of the fyftem ? Why were our bodies fo wonderfully and fearfully made, and all their parts fo well fitted foradtion and enjoyment, but becaufe divine love drew the plan, andftamped its own amiable image upon them? Why was the manifold wifdom of God dilplayed, not only to mortals, but alfo to angelic principalities af id powers, Ephef. iii. 10. in the fcheme of redemption, which advances at once the honours of the,divine perfections and goxprnment, and the happinefsof rebelHous and ruined creatures, by an expe-dient which nothing but infinite wif- dom could ever devife the incarnation, the obedience, and paffion of the co-equal fon of God ? Why, I fay, but becaufe divine love would otherwife be under reftraint, and incapable of giving full icope to its kind propenfions in a manner honourable to itfelf and conducive to the public good ? In ihort, divine wifdom appears to be nothing eKe but the fagacity of love, to difcover ways and means to exercife itfelf to the greateft advantage; or, which* is the fame, divine wifdom always ads under the benign determi- nation and condud of love : it is the counfellor of love to projed fchemes fubfervient to its gracious purpofes ; and in all its councils lo\»e prefides. III. What is divine power but the omnipotence of love ! Why- did omnipotence exert itfelf in the produdion of this vaft amazing world out of nothing ? It was to open a channel in which the overflowing ocean of love might extend itfelf, and difFufe its ftreams from creature to creature, upwards as high as the moft exalted archangel, and downwards as low as the mcaneft vital particle of being, and extenfive as the remoteft limits of the uiii- verfe, and all the innumerable intermediate ranks of exiftences in the endlefs chain of nature. And why does divine power ftill fupport this prodigious frame, but to keep the channel of love open from age to age ? and for this purpofe it will be exerted to all eternity. Perhaps I ihould aflift your ideas of Divine Power, if I ihould call it the acTiing hand, the inftrument, the fervant of love, to perform its orders, and execute its gracious de- figns. IV. WhatisthehoHnefs of God but love? Pure, refined, and honourable love. What is it but the love of excellence, redi- tude, and moral goodnefs ? Holinefs, in its own nature, has a tendency to promote the happinefs of the univerfe : it is the health, the good confl:itution of a reafonable being ; without which it has no capacity of reliihing thofe enjoyments which are fuitable to its nature. It is no arbitrary mandate of heaven that has eftabhfh- ed the infeparable connedion between holinefs and happinefs, between vice and mifery. The connedion is as neceffary, as im- mutable, and as much founded in the nature of things, as that bi'tween health of body and a capacity of animal enjoyments, or S s 312 God is Love* Scrm, i8. between ficknefs and a difrelifli for the nioft agreeable food. Eve- ry creature in the univerfe, as far as he is holy is happy ; and as far as he is unholy he is miferable- Therefore, by how much the more holy Jehovah is, by fo much the more fit he is to com- municate happinefsto all that enjoy him; and confequently he is an intinite happinefs, for he is infinitely holy. His taking fo much care to promote hoHnefs is but taking care of the public good. The ftricl exaftions of his law, which contains every ingredient of the moft perfect hohnefs, and admits of no difpenfation, are but ftricl injunclions to his fubjeds to purfue that courfe which infallibly leads them to the moft confummate happinefs ; and eve- ry abatement in his demands of obedience would be a licence to them to dedu6l fo much from their happinefs, and render them- felves fo far miferable with his confent. That mitigation of the rigor of his law, which fome imagine he has made to bring it down to a level with the abilities of degenerate creatures, difa- bled by their voluntary wickednefs, would no more contribute to their felicity than the allowing a fick man to gratify his vitiated tafte by mixing a little deadly poifon in his food would contribute to the recovery of his health, or the prefervation of his life. The penal fanftions of the divine law are but friendly warnings againft danger and milery, and honeft admonitions of the de- ftrudrive confequences of lin, according to the unchangeable na- ture of things ; they are threatnings which difcover no malignity or ill-nature, as fmners are apt to imagine, but the infinite bene- volence of the heart of God: threa^enings which are not prima- rily and unconditionally intended to be executed, but to prevent all occafion of their being executed, by preventing fm, the natu- ral fource, as well as the meritorious caufe of every mifery : threat- cnings Vv'hich are not executed, but as the only expedient left in a defperate cafe, when all other means have been ufed in vain, and no other method can fecure the public good, or render a worthlefs criminal a vejj el of wrath fitted for defiruEl'ion, and fit for nothing elfe ; of no other fervice to the great community of ra- tional beings. Thefc are fome of the ingredients and difplays of the holinefs of God : and what are thefe but fo many exertions of pure love and benevolence ? It is becaufe he loves his creatures fo much that he requires them to be fo holy ; and that very thing, againft which there are fo many cavils and objections, as too fe- vere and oppreflive, and a rigid reftraint from the purfuit of pleafure, is the higheft inftance of the love of God for them, and his regard for their happinefs. Let me therefore commence advocate for God with my fellow- men, though it ftrikes me with horror to think there fliould be any occafion for it. Ye children of the moft tender Father, ye fubjeftsof the moft gracious and righteous Sovereign, ye benefi- Serin, i8. God is Lovs. 313 ciaries of divine love, why do you harbour hard thoughts of him \ Is it becaufe his laws are fo drift, and tolerate you in no guilty pleafure ? This appointment is the kind reftraint of love : the love of fo good a being will not allow him to difpenfe with your obfervance of any thing that may contribute to your improvement and advantage, nor indulge you in any thing that is in its own na- ture deadly and deftruftive, no more than a father will fuffer a favourite child to play with a \'iper, or a good government per- mit a madman to run at large armed with weapons to deftroy him- felf and others. Do you think hard of God becaufe he hates all moral evil to fuch a degree, that he has annexed to it everlafting mifery of the moft exquifite kind ? But what is this but an expref- fion of his infinite hatred to every thing that is hurtful to his crea- tures, and his infinite regard to whatever tends to their benefit ? Or has he been too rigid in exafting holinefs as a neceffary pre- requifite to the happinefs of heaven ? You may as well complain of the conflitution of nature, that renders abflinence from poifon neceffary to the prefer vation of health, or that does not allow you to quench your thirftin a fever with cold water. Let me remind you once more, that holinefs is elfential to the happinefs of hea- ven, and that without it you labour under a moral incapacity of enjoyment ; and a moral incapacity will as inevitably deprive you of the pleafures of enjoyment as if it were natural- While unholy,- you can no more be happy even in the region of happinefs than a llone can enjoy the pleafures of animal life, or a mere animal thofe of reafon. *^ But why,'' yoii will perhaps murmur and objeft, " why has God formed fuch an heaven as cannot be univerfally enjoyed ? Why has he not provided an happinefs for every tafle?'' You may as well afk why he has not created a light that would be equally agreeable to every eye ; to the mole and the owl, as well as to man and the eagle ? Or why has he not formed light with all the properties of darknefs ; that is, why has he not performed contradiftions ? You may as well query, why has he not given us equal capacities of enjoyment in ficknefs and in health, and for- nilhed us with equal pleafures in both ? I tell you that, in the na- ture of things, the lo\v and impure pleafures which would fuit the depraved taile of the wicked, would be naufeous and painful to pure minds refined and fanftified ; and they cannot mingle, they cannot approach each other without being deftroyed. The element of water may as well be converted into a fit refidence for the inhabitants of dry land, and yet retain all its properties that are fui table to itsprefent natives ; or the folid earth become a fit receptacle for fifhes, and yet both it and the fiihes retain theh* ufu- al qualities. In fhort, men, beads, birds, fiihes, infefts, angles, devils, the inhabitants of every zone and climate, of every planet, or any other region of the univ^rfe, may as well form one fociety 314 Cod is Love, Serm. iP, . in one and the fame place, and mingle their refpeflive food and pleafures, as an heaven of happinefs be prep i,ed that would fuit every tafte. God lias prepared the only kind of heaven that is in its own nature polfible ; the only one that would be an expreifion of love, or aiford real and extenfive happinefs to fuch of his crea- tures as are capable of it- The heaven of iinners would be a nui- fance to all other beings in the univerfe ; a private good only to malefadtors, at the expence of the public ; an open reward of wick- ednefs, and a public difcountenancing of all moral goodnefs. This would be the cafe upon the fuppofitioa that the heaven of finners were poilible. But the fuppclition is infinitely abfurd ; it is as impollible as the pleafupes of ficknefs, the fenfibility of a ftone, or the meridian fplendors of midnight. Therefore acknowledge, admire, and love the beauty of the Lord, hisholinefs. Give thqu^Sy [ays the Pfalmift, dt the rnne?n- hrafice of his hoUiiefs, Pfalm'-xcvii. i2« of his holinefs, as well as of his goodnefs and love ; for it is the brighteft modification of his love and goodnefs. An unholy being, in the character of fupreme magiitrate of the univerfe, cannot be all love, or communicate no- thing but what is pleafmg to all ; nay, as f^ as he is unholy he muft have a malignant difpolition towards the public happinefs, and be eiTentially deficient in benevolence. V. What is the juflice, even the punitive juftice of God, but a modification of love and goodnefs ! As there is no divine perfeclion which appears fo terrible to of- fenders as this, which therefore they toil and fvveat to difapprove or explain away, I Ihall dwell the longer upon it. And I hope to convince you that juflice is not that grim, flern, tremendous at- tribute which is dehneated by the guilty partial imagmation of fin- ners, vho have made it their intereft that there ihould be no fuch :r:bir ^ in Deity, but that it is infinite, amiable and lovely, as well 2.C, awful and majeltic ; nay, that it is love and benevo- lence itfelf. By the punitive juffcice of God, I mean that perfeclion of his na- ture'which executes the fentencc of his law upon offenders, or in- flicts upon them the ponifhment he had threatened to difobedience, cxaiftly according to his own denunciation. The prefent world, which is a flate of trial and difcipli-ne, and not of final rewards and punilhmonts, is not the proper theatre of vindictive jutlice, but of a promifcuous ]}rovidence ; /ill things come alike to all, and no man can know the love or hatred of the Ruler of the world towards him, hy ail that is before him. Ecclef. ix. 1,2. Yet fometimes, even in this life, juflice arreils the gtiilty, and difplays its illuflrious ter- rors upon them, efpecially upon guilty nations that have no exifl- ence in a national capacity in the eternal world, and therefore can be puniflied in that capacity in t\s only. It was vindidive juflice Serm. i8. God is Lofvi5, 315 that deluged the whole world in a flood of vengeance ! that kind- led the flames of Sodom and Gomorrah ; and that cut off the na- tions of Canaan when they had filled up the meafure of their iniquities. It is jufl:ice that arms kingdoms from age to age, and makes them the executioners of divine wrath upon one an&ther, while they are gratifying their own ambition, avarice, or revenge. The devaflati- ons of earthquakes, inundations, plagues, epidemical licknelles, famines, and the vai-ious calamities in which mankind have been involved, are fo many difplays of divine juftice ; and their being brought on the world according to the courfe of nature, and by means of fecondary caufes, will by no means prove that they r.re not fo, but only that the very make and confl:itution of this world are fo planned and formed by divine wiidom as to admit of the ex- ecution of jufl:ice at proper periods, and that all its parts are the inftruments of juftice to accompliih its defigns. But thefe and all the other judgments of Heaven upon our world are only preludes and fpecimens of the moft perfect adminiftration of it in a future ftate. There the penalty of the law v/ill be executed upon impe- nitent offenders witii the utmoft impartiality. And Revelation af- fures us that the pnnilliment will be endlefs in duration, and of as exquifite a kind and high degree as tljjs utmoft capacity of the fub- jefts will admit ; and confequently that it will not, like fatherly chaftifements,have any tendency to their reformation or advantage, but to their entire and everlafting deftrudion. Now it is this dif- play of punitive juftice that appears fo terrible and cruel to the guilty children of men : and therefore this is what I fliall princi- pally endeavour to vindicate and to clothe with all the gentle and amiable glories of Love and public Benevolence. For this end I beg you would confider, that whatever has a ten- dency to prevent fm tends to prevent mifery alfo, and tapromot© the happinefs of the world and of all the individuals in it ; that good laws are abfolutely neceflary for the prevention of fm ; that penal fandlions are elTentialto good laws ; and that the execution of the penal fanclions upon offenders is abfolutely neceffary to their efficacy and good tendency ; and confequently the execution of them is a difplay of love and benevolence. Confider alfo, that many are excited to feek everlafting happi- nefs, and deterred from the ways that lead down to deftruclion, by- means of the threatenings of the law ; that even thofe on whom they are finally executed were once in a capacity of receiving im- mortal advantage from them, but defeated their good influence and tendency by their own wilful obftinacy : and that the righte- ous execution of thefe threatenings upon the incorrigible, may pro- mote the common good of the univerfe. Confider farther, that criminals are incompetent judges of vin- dictive juftice, becaufe they are parties ; and therefore we Ihould 3'i6 God is Love, Serm. i8, not form an eflimate of it by their prejudices, but from the judg- ment of the difinterefled and iniparrial part of the creation. Finally conllder, that proceedings fimilar to thofe of the divine government, are not only approved of asjuftin all human govern- juentSjbut alfo loved and admired as amiable and praife-\vorthy,and eifential to the goodnefs and benevolence of a ruler. Let us briefly illuitrate thefe feveral claiies of proportions. I. ** Whatever has a tendency to prevent iin, tends to prevent inifery alfo, and to promote the happinefs of the univerfe and of all the individuals in it : good laws are abfolutely necelfary for the prevention of fm : penal fanctions are eflential to good laws ; and the feafonable executions of thofe fanclions is abfolutely necelTary to their efiicacy and good tendency ; and confequently the execu- tion of them is a difplay or love and benevolence. '^ "Whatever has a tendAy to prev^ent fm, tends to prevent mifery alfo,-' and that for th^eafon, becaufe lin is neceffarily pro- tluclive of mifery, and dePiinidive of happinefs. Can a rational creature be happy thnt is diiaffeded to the fupreme good, the only fource of that kind of happinefs which is adapted to a rational na- nire ? This is as impoiiible as that you Ihould enjoy animal plea- fures while you abhor all animal enjoyments. Can a focial crea- ture be happy in eternal fohtude, or in a ftate of fociety, while ill- affected towards the other members of fociety, or while they are ill-alfecled towards him and he to them, hateful, and haiivg one another f Can a creature, formed capable of felicity fuperior to what any good can communicate, be happy in the eager purfuit of bubbles ; that is, of its higheil happinefs in inferior enjoyments ? All thofe difpofitions of heart, and the practices refulting from them, in which lin confifts, enmity to God, uneafy murmurings and infurreftions againfl: his perfections, and the government of his law and Providence ; a churliih, malignant, envious temper towards mankind ; an anxious, exceiiive eagernefs of defire after vain, unfatisfaclory enjoyments ; a difreliih for the exalted plea- fures of holinefs and benevolence ; what are thefe and the like dii- poiitions, but fo many ingredients of mifery, and fo many abate- ments of happinefs \ and confequently all meafure^ that are ta- ken for the prevention of \m are fo many bene\'olent expedients for the prevention of mifery and the increafe of happinefs. I add, '■'■ Good laws are abfolutely necefTary for the prev^ention ©f fm." Indeed thofe difpofitions and actions which are fmful and forbidden by the divine law would be of a deadly nature to the foul even if they were not forbidden, ^s a (tab to the heart would prove mortal to the body, although there were no laws againft it, and for that very reafon laws have been m.ade againfl it. Therefore the laws of God do not properly conftitute the deftruc- tive nature of frii, but on^v point out and warn us againit what i^ Serm. 18. Cod is Love. 317 deftrudive in its own nature previous to all explicit law. And is itnot abfolutely neceilary, and an acl of the highelt benevolence, that the fupreme Lav/giver ihould warn us againit this pernicious evil, and plainly inform us what it is ? This is the deiign of his laws both natural and revealed. And without them, what iiire inftrudor, what unerring guide, or what ftrong inducements to a proper conduft could we have in this moft important cafe \ Is it not neceffary, is it not kind, that the fupreme Legiilator Ihould interpofe his authority, and lay us under the ftrcngeft obligation to avoid our own ruin ? And if good laws are neceffary, fo are penal fandions ; for, '^ penal fanftions are ellential to good laws.'* Laws without penalties would be only the advices of aw equal or an inferior, and not the obligatory commands of authority. They might be obferved or not, according to pleafure, and confequent- ly would anfwer no valuable purpofe. They would alfo be infi- nitely abfurd in their own nature ; for if what the law enjoins be reafonable, neceilary, and of good tendency, is it not neceffary and fit that they who do not deferve it ihould feel the bad effedla of their omiffion ? And what is this but a penalty ? But on a point fo plain I need not multiply words ; I appeal to the common fenfe of mankind, I appeal to the univerfal pradice of all governments- Have there ever been, or can there poifibly be any laws without penal fandtions : would not fuch laws be expofed to perpetual in- fult and contempt, and be deftitute of all force and energy ? The common fenfe and univerfal pradice of all the world, in all ages, remonftrate againfh fuch an abfurdity. But if penal fandionsare effential to good laws, then fo is their execution ; for, " The feafonable execution of penal fancdons is abiblutely ne- ceffary to their efficacy and good tendency." Penalties denounced can have no efficacy upon the fubjeds of the law ; that is, they cannot excite fear, and by that means deter them from difobedi- ence, unleis they are believed, and their execution expe6led. But they could foon ceafe to be beheved, and their execution would no longer be expected, if in feveral inftances they ihould be difpenfed with, and aiucceffion of fmners ihould pafs with impu- nity* Other fmners, judging of future events by paft fads, would exped the fame indulgence, and therefore venture upon difobence without any reftraint from the penalty of the law. Here again I ihall bring the matter to a quick deciiion, by appealing to the common reafon and univerfal pradice of mankind- Would human laws have any force if the penalty was hung up as an emp- ty terror and never executed ? Would not fuch laws be liable to perpetual violation and infult, and become the fport of daring offenders ? Would not the efcapes of former offenders encourage all future generations to give themfelves a-loofe, in hopes of the fame exemption ? Is it not neceffary in all governments that pub- 3i8 God is Love. Ikrm, licjufticefliould make examples of fome, to warn and deter others? Have not all nations, eipecially the more civilized, made fiich ex- amples ? And have not all the impartial v/orld commended their proceedings as necelTary to the fafety and happinefs of fociety, and expreihve of their regard to the public good I View ail theie thmgs together, and methinks I may bid defi- ance to common fenfe to draw any other concluiion than that the juiHce of God in executing the penalties of his law upon impenitent offenders, is the height of goodnefs and love. If love requires that all proper expedients be ufed for the prevention of lin ; if good laws are ncceffary for this end; if penalties are eflential to good laws ; and if the feafonable execution of penalties be ablo- lutely necelTary to give them their benevolent force and good ten- dency, does it not unavoidably follow, that love itfelf requires both the enading of penal fanctions to the law of God, and the execution of them upon proper fubjefts ? Without this wholeiome ieverity, the divine laws would be lefs fecure frcmx contempt,, and the divine governm.ent would be the lefs favour^ible to the peace and happinefs of the fubjefts than the laws and governments of mortals in all civilized nations. *^ But why does the penalty rife fo high ? Why i* the executi- on lengthened out through everlafting ages? Why might not a gentler punilhmentfuffice ?" This is the grand objection ; and in fuch language as this the enmity of the rebellious heart againfl the juftice of God generally exprelles itfelf. But if the original de- lign and natural tendency of the threatened penalty be to prevent lin, then by ho v.- much ieverer the penalty, by fo much the more effectual tendency has it to anlwer this kind deCgn ? Ko puniih- ments can rife higher than thofe which a righteous God has an- nexed to difobedience, the natural iource of every mifery ; and w hat is this but to fay that no methods more effedual can be taken tc prevent it than ^^ hat he has adually taken ? We may therefore inler jhe ardor of the love of God from the terror of his threaten- ir.'gs. He has denounced the greatefl mifery againfl fm, in order torefrrain liis creatures from running into that very mifery ; and threatens the lofs of heaven, in order to prevent his creatures from iolincr it. o I muft alio here repeat the common argument, v\hich appears to rue as valid as common ; ^^ that as the elTence of fm conhlfs in the breach of an obligation, the evil' of fm mufl.be exaftly propor- tioned to the itrength of the obligation :*' that as v e are undoubt- edly under inhnite obligations to a God of inhnite excellency, our Maker, Kuler, and Benefaclor, the evil of lin, which violates thofe obligations, nniil be infinite alfo ; and that no puniiLmer! ihort of v\hat is infinite can be adequate to the demerit of an infinite evil and cofifequently- fmn^rs ought to fuffer r finite punifhment through i Serm. i8. God is Love, 319 an infinite duration, becaufe that is the only way in which they are able to bear an infinite pnnilhment. But on this common topic a few hints may fuifice. I proceed to the next fet of propofitions. II. ^' That many are excited to the pnrfuit of everlafting hap- pinsfs, and deterred from the ways of deilruilion, by means of threatenings of the divine law; that even thofe unhappy crea- tures on whom they are finally executed were once in a capacity of receiving immortal advantage from them, but defeated their good influence and tendency by their own v.'ilful obilinacy ; and that the righteous execution of thefe threatenings upon the incor- ricrible may promote the common good of the univerfe." "Many are excited to the purfuit of everlafting happinefs, and deterred from the ways of deflrudion, by means of the threaten- ino-s of the divine law." I appeal to experience and obfervation, whether the terrors of the Lord are not the very firll thing that gives a check to linners in their headlong career to ruin ? It is t/De law that ivorketh wrath ^ Rom. iv. 15. that is^ an alarming ap- prehenlion of the wrath of God againll fm, and conilrains them, to ufe the inllituted means of deliverance. Thus even the ter- rors of the law are made fubfervient to divine law, in turning Jin- ners from the error of their way^ and favlng fouls from death* And could we confult the glorious alfembly of the fpirits of juftmen made perfed, they would all own that if their heavenly Father had not threatened them fo feverely, they would always have con- tinued undutiful, and confequently rendered themfelves mifera- ble ; and that they were faved from hell by being honeflly warn- ed of the danger of falling into it. It is true there are multitudes who do not receive this advantage by the penal fandions of the divine law, but are made miferable for ever by the execution of them ; yet it may be added, ^* That even thofe unhappy creatures on Vv'hom they are exe- cuted, were once in a capacity of receiving infinite advantage from them, but defeated their good infliuence and tendency in their own wilful obilinacy. '' The threatenings of the divine law had the fame good tendency in their own nature with refpedt to them, to deter them from difobedience, and urge their purfuit of happinefs, as with refpecl to others ; and thefe were fome of the meano Ood appointed for their falvation. But they hardened themfelves againil them, and thus defeated their good tendency, and obftinately ruined themfelves in defiance of warning : they even forced a paffage into the infernal pit through the ftrongeft enclofures. But if they had not been thus warned, they not only would not have been faved in the event, but they would not have enjoyed the means of falvation. Now their enjoying thefe means was in itfelf an inexprefiible blefling, though in the iiTue it only Tt 320 God is Love, Serm. i8. aggravates their mifery ; and confequently the enacllng thofe pe- nalties to the divine law was really an adi: of kindneis even to them ; and their abufc of the bleiiino; does not alter its nature. Tlie primary and direcl end of a penalty is not the puniihment of the fubjeds, but to rcflrain them from things injurious to them- felves and others, and urge them to purfue their own intereft. But when this good end is not anfwered, by reafon of their wil- ful folly and difobedience, then, ajid not till then, the execution is necellary for the good of others ;* which leads nie to add, '* That the righteous execution of the threatened penalty up- on the incorrigible may promote the common good of the uni- verfe*" This world is a public theatre, furrounded with nume- rous fpeftators, v/ho are interefted in its aifairs. Angels in par- ticular, are witneffes of the proceedings of Providence towards mankind, and thence learn the perfections of God, and the max- ims of his government. Hell is alfo a region dreadfully ccnfpi- cuous to them ; and there, no doubt, the offended Judge intends to ihew his wrath, and make his pov.'er knovv'n to them as well as to mankind. Novv' they are held in obedience by rational mo- tives, and not by mechanical compuKlon. And, among other mo- tives of a gentler kind, no doubt this is one of nofmall v/eight ; namely, their obferving the deftruclive confequences of fm upon men and angels, and the terrible difpleafure of God againft it. It is not at all inconiiflent with their dignity and purity to fuppofe them fwayed by this motive in a proper connedion with others of a more diimterefled and generous nature. Therefore the confir- mation of the elecT: angels in holinefs, and their everlafling happi- nefs, is no doubt not a little fecured and promoted by the execu- tion of righteous puniihment upon fome notorious hardened male- fadors, both of their own order and of the human race. The fame thing may be faid of the fpirzts »f ji^Jl men made per- fe^ ; they are happily incapable of linning, and confequently of becoming miferable ; but their incapacity arifes from the clear ronvidion of their underiLanding, which has the conduct of their will ; and_, while fm appears to them fo deadly and deflrudive an evil, it is impolTible, according to the make of a rational nature, that they lliould choofe it. But the confequences of fm upon the * Penalties operate, ii.1:e finr.l canfes, by a kind of retrofpeelive influence ; that is, whilfl they are only threate«ied, and the fiilje'ft expe<5ls they will be exe- cuted, fiioiild he turn difobedient, they ha\ e a powerful tendency to deter him frora difobedience. But they could not have tliis benevolent tendency, unlefs* tbiey be executed upon thofe, on whom their primary r-.nd chief def.gn is not ob- tainec ; namely, the retraining of them from fin. It is enough that the offenders themielves once had an opportunity of taking warning, and reaping the advantage of tlie threatened penalty, while they were in a Hate of trial, and candidates tor eternity. But it is abfurd that they ihould receive any benefit from it, when, after fuiRcient trial, it appears they will take no v>-arning, but are relolve^ t« perffft in iin, iw deJiance of the moft tremendous penalties. Serm. i8. God is Love, 321 wretched creatures on whom the penalty denounced againft it is executed; is no doubt one thing that affords them this convi6lion ; and fo it contributes to their perfeverance in obedience and hap- pinels. Thus the joys of heaven are fecured by the pains of hell, and even the moft noxious criminals, the enemies of God and his creatures, are not ufelefs in the univcrfe, but anfwer the terrible but benevolent end of warnino- all other creatures a^rainfl diiobe- dience ; which Vv ould involve them in the fame mifery, juft as the execution of a few malefactors in human governments is of ex- tenuve fervice to the reft of the iubjecls. But as the greater part of mankind periih, it may be queried, *^ How is it confiftent v.-ith love and goodnefs, that the majority fiiould be puniihed and ma^de monuments cf juilice, for the benefit of the fmaller number V^ To this I reply, that though it be equal- ly evident from fcripture and obfervation, that the greater part of mankind go down to deftruclion in the fmcoth, broad, defcend- ing road of fin, in the ordinary ages of the vvorld; and though revelation aifures us that the number of the apoftate angels is very great, yet I think VvC have no reafon to conclude that the greater part cf the rational creation ihali he miferable ; nay, it is pollible the number of thofe on whom the penalty of the divine law is inflicted, may bear no more proportion to that of the innu- merable ranks of creatures- that may be retained in obedience and happinefs by means of their confpicuous and exemplary punilh- iiient, than the number of criminals executed in our government for the warning of others bears to the reft of the fubjects. If we confider that thofe v/ho have been redeemed from the earth, even in the ordinary ages of the world, though comparatively but few, yet abfolutely are a multitude which no ma?i can nmnher, out of ^-^ery k'.ndrjd, and people, and language, Rev. viii. 9. and that the elect angels are an innumerable company,"^ Heb. xii. 29* perhaps much greater than the legions of hell; if to thefe we add the prodigi- ous numbers that fhall be converted in that long and bleffed fea- fon when Satan fhall be bound, when the Prince of peace fhall reign, and when the kingdom and dominion, and the greatnefs of tJ.e kingdo7n under the whole heazeu fhall be given to the people of the faints cfthe mojt high, Dan- vii. 27- in which not only the greater number of the generations that fhall live in that glorious millenni- um fliallbe faved, but perhaps a greater number than all that pe- rllhed in former generations, which is very probable if we confi- der the long continuance of that time, and that the world will then be under the peculiar blefling of Heaven, and confequently mankind will multiply fafter, and not be diminifhed as they now * I do not forget that the original is wj/'/Wj o<:x>c<>:::><>o-:::xx><>c:<>o-o<>-ck:>oo-:>o-c- 51, ^2. 'this is all the difference, they f jail be raifed, and wejhallhe changed. This awful prelude of the trumpet is alfo mentioned in I Their, iv. 15, 16. We -which are alive, and remain unto the com- ing oftheLordJjhall mt prevent them which are afleep ; that is, we ihall not be beforehand w ith them in meeting our defcending Lord, for the Lord him/elf fJjall defc end from heaven with a fhout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of Cod ; thai is, with a godlike trump, fuch as it becomes his majefty to found, and the dead in Chriftfhall rife firft ; that is, before the living fhall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air ; and when they are rifen, and the living transformed, they ihall afcend togetht;r to the place of judgment. My brethren, realize the majefty and terror of this univerfal alarm. Vv'"hen the dead are Sleeping in the alent grave • when the living are thoughtlefs and UTiappreherx7ive of the grand event, or intent on other purfuits ; fome of them afleep in the dead of night ; fome of them dilfolved iri fenfual pleafures, eating and drmking, marrying and givirig in marriage ; fome of them plan- ning or executing fcheme:;, for riches or honours ; fome in the ve- ry act of fm ; the generality ftupid and carelefs about the concerns of eternity, and tht; dreadful day juft at hand ; and a few here and there converfmg with their God, and looking for the glorious ap- pearance of their Lord and Saviour,; when the courfe of nature runs on uniform and regular as ufual, and infidel fcoffers are tak- ing umbrage from thence to aik. Where is thepromife of his coming P forfmce the fathers fell afleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation* i Pet. iii. 4. In ihort, when there are no more vifible appearances of this approaching day, than of the deftruclion of Sodom on that fine clear morning in which Lot fled away ; or of the deluge, when Noah entered into the ark : then in that hour of unapprehenfive fecurity, then fuddenly fliall the heavens open over the aftoniihed world; then ihall the all- alarming clangour break over their heads like a clap of thunder in a clear fl^y. Immediately the living turn their gazing eyes upon the amazing phaenomenon : a few hear the long-expefted found with rapture, and lift up their heads with joy, afTured that the day of their redemption is cotne, while the thoughtlefs world are ftruck with the wildefl horror and confternation. In the fame inflant 3^0 The General RefurreCfi 071* Serm. 19, the found reaches all the manfions of the dead, and in a moment, m the twinkUng of an eye, they are raifed, and the livmg are changed. This call will be as animating to all the fons of men as that call to a fmglc perfcn, Lazarus, co7ne forth* O what a fur- prife will this be to the thouglitlefs world ! Should this alarm burft over our heads this moment, into what a terror would it ftrike many in this afiembly ? Such will be the terror, fuch the conilernation, when it actually comes to pafs. Sinners will be the fame timorous, felf-condei.:ned creatures then as they are now. And then they will not be able to ftop their ears, who are deaf to all the gentler calls of the gofpel now. Then the trump of God will conilrain them to hear and fear, to whom the minifters of Chrift now preach in vain. Then they muft all hear, for, II. My text tells you, all that are in the graves, all withou^t exception, JJmll hear his voice. Now the voice of mercy calls, reafon pleads, confcience warns, but multitudes will not hear- JBut this is a veice which Ihall, which muft reach every one of the millions of mankind, and not one of them will be able to ftop his ears. Infants and giants, kings and fubjeds, all ranks, IH ages of mankind fhall hear the call. The living ihall ftart and be changed, and the dead rife at the found. The duft that was once alive and formed a human body, whether it flies in the air, fioats in the ocean, or vegetates on earth, ihall hear the nevv-creating fiat. \V herever the fragments of the human frame are fcattered, this all-penetrating call ihall reach and fpeak them into life. We may confider this voice as a fummons not only to dead bodies to rife, but to the fouls that once ani- mated them, to appear and be re-united to them, whether in heaven or hell. To the grave the call will be, Arife, ye dead,, and come to judgment ; to heaven, ye fpirits of juji men 7nade perfe6i ; *' defcend to the world whence you originally came ; and affume your new-formed bodies •/' to hell, ^* Come forth and appear, ye damned ghofts, ye prifoners of darknefs, and be again united to the bodies in which you once ftnned, that in them ye may now^ fuffer.'^ Thus will this fummons fpread through every corner of the univerfe ; and Heaven, Earth and Kell, and all their inhabitants, ihall hear and obey. Devils, as well as the fmners of our race, will tremble at the found ; for now they know they can plead no more as they once did. Torment us not before the time ; for the time is come, and they muft mingle with the prifoners at the bar. And now when all ^hat are in the graves hear this all-quickening voice, III. They foall come forth. Now methinks I fee, I hear the earth heaving, charnel-houfes rattling, tombs burfting, graves opening. Now the nations under ground begin to ftir. There is a noife and a fhaking among the dry bones. The duft is all Scrm. 19, The General Refurredion, 331 alive, and ii) motion, and the globe breaks and trembles, as with an earthquake, while this vaft army is working its way- through and burfting into life. The ruins of human bodies are fcattered far and wide, and have palled through many and fur- prifing transformations. A limb in one country, and another in another ; here the head and there the trunk, and the^cean rolling between*. Multitudes have funk in a watery grave, been iwallowed up by the monfters of the deep, and trans- formed into a part of their fielh. Multitudes have been c-aten by hearts and birds of prey, and incorporated with them ; and forae have been devoured by their fellow-men in the rage of a defperate hunger, or of unnatural cannibal appetite, and digeft- ed into a part of them. Multitudes have mouldered into duft, and this dull has been blown about by winds, and walhed away with water, or it has petrified into ftone, or been burnt into brick to form dwellings for their pofterity ; or it has grown up in grain, trees, plants, and other vegetables, which are the fup- port of man and beaft, and are transformed into their fleih and blood. But through all thefe various transformations and changes, not a particle that was elTential to one human body has been loft, or incorporated with another human body, fo as to become an elTential part of it. And as to thofe particles that were not elTential, they are not neceffary to the identity of the body or of the perfon ; and therefore we need not think they will be raifed again. The omnifcient God knows how to colled, diftinguilh, and compound all thofe fcattered and mingled feeds of our mortal bodies. And now, at the found of the trum- pet, they fhall all be collected, wherever they were fcattered ; all propei'ly forted and united, . however they were confufed ; atom to its fellow-atom, bone to its fellow-bone. Now me- thinks you may fee the air darkened with fragments of bodies flying from country to country, to meet and join their proper parts : " ScatterM limbs, and all The various bones obfequious to the call, Self-mov'd, advance ; the neck perhaps to meet The diftant head, the diftant legs, the feet. Dreadful to view, fee through the dufky fky Fragments of bodies in confufion fly, To diftant regions journeying, there to claim Deferted members, and complete the frame — The feverM head and trunk fhall join once more, Tho' realms now rife betv/een, and oceans roar. The trumpet's found each vagrant mote fhall hear, Or fixt in earth, or if afloat in air, * This was the fate of Pompey, who was flain on the African fhore. Hw body was teft there, and his head earried over the Mediterranean to Julius Cafar. 33 3 The General Refurre^ion, Seriii, 19. Obey the fignal, wafted iii the wind, And uot one fleeping atom lag behind." — * All hear ; and now, in fairer profJDeft fhewn, iiinb clings to limb, and bone rejoins its bone. — f Then, my brethren, your duft and mine lliall be re-animated and organized ; and though after our J kin -worms defiroy thefe bodies^ yet In our (le/hfoall we fee God. Job xix. 16. And what a vafl improvement will the frail nature of man then receive ? Our bodies will then be fubllantially the fame ; but hov/ different in qualities, in ftrength, 'in agility, in capaci- ties for pleafure or pain, in beauty or deformity, in glory or terror, according to the moral character of the perfons to w horn they belong ? Matter, we know, is capable of prodigious altera- tions and refinements ; and there it will appear in the highell: perfeftion. The bodies of the faints will be formed glorious, incorruptible, without the feeds of iicknefs and death. The glorihed body of Cbriil, which is undoubtedly carried to the liiaheft perfection that matter is capable of, will be the pattern after which they fliall be formed. He -will change our vile body, fays St. Paul, that it may hs fashioned like unto his glorious body. Phil. iii. 21. Flesh and blood, in their prefent ftate of groffnefs and frailty, cannot inherit the kingdom of God ; neither doth cor- ruption inherit incorrupiion. But ti/is corruptible body muft put on incorruption : aud this mortal mufi put on immortality- Cor. xv. 50, 53. And how vafl the change, hov/ high the improvement from its prefent flate ! it was fo"wn in corruption, it shall be raifed in incorruption ; it wasfoivn in dishonour, it shall be raifed in glory ; it was f own in weaknefs, it shall be raifed in power, verfe 42, 43, &c. Then v.ill the body be able to bear up under the exceed- ing great and eternal weight of glory : it will no longer be a clog or an incumbrance to the foul, but a proper inltrument and affiftant in all the exalte-d fer vices and enjoyments of the heavenly ilate. * Younr/s Laft Day, Book II. f Thefe two laft lines are taken from a poera, which is a lively imitation of Dr. Young, entitled. The Day of Judgmcrd, afcribed to Mr. Ogilvie, a promifmg young genius of Aberdeen, in Scotland, not above nineteen years of age, as I was informed, when he compofed this poem. The lines precedmg thefe quoted are as follow ; O'er boiling waves the fevered members fwim, Each breeze is loaded with a broken limb : The living atoms, with peculiar care, 'Dravvn from their cells, come flying thro' the air. Where'er they lurkM, thro' ages undecay'd, Deep in the rock, or cloth'd fome fmiling mead ; Or in the lily's fnov/y bofom grew. Or ting'd the faphire with its lovely blue ; Serm. lo. ^he General RefurrecTwn, 333 The bodies of the wicked will alfo be impfoved, but their im- provements will all be terrible and vindidive. Their capacities will be thoroughly enlarged, but then it will be that they may be made capable of greater mifery : they will be ftrengthened, but it will be that they may bear the heavier load of torment. Their fenfations will be more quick and flrong, but it will be that they may feel the more exquifite pain* They will be raifed immortal, that they may not be confmned by everlafting fire, or efcape pu- nifiiment by difTolution or annihilation. In ihort, their augment- ed ftrength, their enlarged capacities, and their immortality will be their eternal curfe ; and tiiey would willingly exchange them for the fleeting duration of a fading flower, or the faint fenfations of an infant. The only power they would rejoice in is, that of felf-annihilation. And now when the bodies are completely formed and fit to be inhabited, the fouls that once animated them, being coUecled from Heaven and Hell, re-enter and take polFeffion of their old manfions. They are united in bonds which iliall never more be diffolved; and the moulderhig tabernacles are now become ever- lailinor habitations. And with what joy will the fpirits of the righteous welcome their old companions from their long fleep in the dull, and congra- tulate their glorious refurredtion ! How will they rejoice to re- enter their old habitations, now fo completely repaired and highly improved ? to find thofe bodies which were once their incumbrance, once frail and mortal, in which they were imprifoned and lan- guilhed, once their temptation, tainted with the feeds of fin, now their afllfl:ants and co-partners in the bufmefs of Heaven, now vi- gorous, incorruptible, and immortal, now free from all corrupt mixtures, and Ihining in all the beauties of perfed hohntfs? In thefe bodies they once ferved their God with honed though feeble efforts, conflided with fm and temptation, and paifed through all the united trials andhardlhips of mortality and the chriffian life. Or in fome purling fl-ream refrefh'd the plains ; Or formM the mountain's adamantine veins ; Or gaily fporting in the breathing fpring, PerfumM the whifp'ring Zephyr's balmy wing. All hear, &c. The thought feems to be borrowed from Mr. Addifon's fine Latin poem on the R,efurreo<>cx::=<>o<::>c>o<>c;>c<::^'::><:::<>o<::<><:x::::<>::::k;::<:^<;:>c-=.^ SERMON XX. The Univerfal Judgment. — x:?<>o-o-::;x— Acts xvii. 30, 31- And the times of this ignor n 71c e God winked at ; hut now comnmndeth all men every where io repent, hecaufe, he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the worldm, righteoufnefs by that Man whom he hath ordained ; whereof ht hath given affurance unto all men^ in that he hath raifed him froirk^ the dead' TH E prefent ftate is the infancy of human nature ; and all the events of time, even thofe that make fuch ncife, and determine the fate ot kingdoms, are but the little afFars of child- ren. But if we look forwards and trace human nature to matu- rity, we meet with events vaft, interefting and majeftic ; and fuch as nothing but divine authority can render credible to us who are fo apt to judge of things by what we fee. To one of thofe fcehes I would dired your attention tbJs day ; I mean the folemn^ tremendous, and glorious fcene of the uaiverfal jutlg- ment. Serm. 20. 7'he Univerfal Judgment. 343 You have fometimes feen a ftately building in ruins ; come now and view the ruins of a demoHlhed world. You have often feen a feeble mortal ftrugghng in the agonies of death, and his ihattered frame dilFolved ; come now and view univerfal nature feverely labouring and agonizing in her laft convulfions, and her well-compafted fyftem diffolved. You have heard of earth- quakes here and there that have laid Liibon, Palermo, and a few other cities in ruins ; come now and feel the tremors and convulfions of the whole globe, that blend cities and countries, oceans and continents, mountains, plains and vallies, in one promifcuous heap. You have a thoufand times beheld the moon walking in brightnefs, and the fun fliining in his ftrength ; now look and fee the fun turned into darknefs, and the moon into blood. It is our lot to live in an age of confufion, blood, and flaugh- ter ; an age in which our attention is engaged by the claih of arms, the clangor of trumpets, the roar of artillery, and the dubious fate of kingdoms ; but draw off your thoughts from thefe objeds for an hour, and fix them on objedls more folema and interefling : come view " A fcene that yields A louder trumpet, and more dreadful fields; The World alarm'd, both Earth and Heav'n o'erthrowa, And ^fping Nature's laft tremendous groan ; DeathPI ancient fceptre broke, the teeming Tomb, The righteous Judge, and man's eternal Doom/' Young. Such a fcene there certainly is before us ; for St. Paul tells us that God hath given affUrance to all men he will judge the world in righteoufnefs by that Man whom he hath ordained ; and that his re- furredion, the refurreftion of him who is God and man,, is a demonftrative proof of it. < K7% ^y ^^^^ ^s the conclufion^f St. Paul's defence or iermon be-^ fore the famous court of Areopagus, in the learned andphilofo- . phical city of Athens. In this auguft and polite affembly he ' fpeaks with the boldnefs, and in the evangelical ftrain, of an *"' apoftle of Chrift. He firft inculcates upon them the great truths of natural rehgion, and labours faithfully, though in a very gen- # tie and inoffenfive manner, to reform them from that ftupid idolatry and fuperftition into which even this learlied and philo. fophical city was funk, though a Socrates, a Plato, and the moft celebrated fages and morahfts of pagan antiquity had lived and taught in it. Afterwards, in the clofe of his difcourfe, he in- troduces the glorious peculiarities of Chriftianity, particularly the great duty of repentance, from evangeli 2 Theff. i. 7, 8. And not only with the angels, thofe illuftrious miuifters of the court of Heaven, attend upon that folemn occafion, but alfo all the faints who left the v/orld from Adam to that day ; for thofe that fleep in Jefus, fays St. Paul, will God bring with Imn* i ThelT. iv. 14. The grand imagery in Daniel's vifion is applicable to this day : and perhaps to this it primarily refers : / beheld till the thrones were cafi doMn, or rather fet up,* and the Ancient of Bays did fit, w h of e garment was white as fnow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool' His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery fh'ea?n i[fued, and came forth from before him : thoufahds thoifands minijieredunto him, and ten thoufand times ten thotfand ftood before him. Dan. vii. 9, io» Perhaps our Lord may exhibit himfelf to the whole world upon this grand occafion, in the fame glorious form in which he was feen by his favourite John, cloathed with a garment doivn to the foot, and girt about the brerjls with a golden girdle : his head u7id his hairs luhite like wool.as luiite asfnoiu : his eyes as a flame of fire : his feet like unto fine brafs, as if they burned in a furna: e : his voice as the found of ma?iy waters, and his countenance as the fun shining in his firength. Rev. i. 13, &:c. Another image of inimitable majefty and terror * This fenfe is moft agreeable to the conneftion, and the original word will bear ir J \w\\\c\\^\n^x{\^c% to pitch dov:n, or p hid;, 3.s \ve]\ q^ to tbroro douti, or dcnio- hjh. And the LXX ti;anllate it, the thrones -were put up, or fixed. Scrm. 20. 1 he Univerfal Judgments 347 the fame writer gives us, when he fays, Ifavj a great 'white throne y and him that fat on it, from ivhofe face the earth and the heazen fled away, and there was found no place for them* Afloniihing ! what an image is this ! the flable earth and heaven cannot bear the majefty and terror pf his look : ■ they hy away affrighted, and feek a place to hide themfelves, but no place is found to Ihelter them ; every region through the immenfity of fpace lies open be- fore him.* Rev. XX. II. This is the Judge before whom we mufl ftand ; and this is the manner of his appearance. But is this the babe of Bethlehem that lay and wept in the manger ? Is this the fuppofed fon of the car- penter, the defpifed Galilean ? Is this the man offorrows? Is this he that was arrefted, was condemned, was buftetted, was fpit up- on, was crooned vv^ith thorns, was executed as a flave and a cri- minal upon the crofs? Yes, it is he ; the very fame Jefus of Na- zareth. But O how changed ! how defervedly exalted ! Let heaven and earth congratulate his advancement. Now let his ene- mies appear, and fliew their ufual contempt and mahgnity. Now, Pilate, condemn the King of the Jews as ^n ufurper. Now ye Jews, raife the clamour, crucify kim, crucify him* " Now bow the knee in fcorn, prefent the reed ; " Now tell the fcourg'd Impoftor he muft bleed/' Young. Now, ye Deifts and Infidels, difpute his divinity and the truth of his religion if you can. Now, ye hypocritical chriftians, try to impofe upon him with your idle pretences. Now defpife his grace^ laugh at his threatenings, and make light of his difpleafiireifyou are able. Ah ! now their courage fails, and terror furronnd them like armed men. Now they hide themfelves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains ; and fay to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, * This is the pidlure drawn by the pencil of infpiratien. We may now contem- plate the imagery of a fine human pen. From his great abode Full on a whirlwind rides the dreadful God : The tempett's rattling winds, the fiery car, Ten thoufand hofts his minifters of war, The flaming Cherubim, attend his flight, And Heaven's foundations groan beneath the weight. Thro' all the Ikies the forky lightnings play, And radiant fplendors round his head difplay. From his bright eyes affrighted worlds retire : He fpeaks in thunder and he breathes in fire. Garment of heavenly light array the God ; His throne a bright confolidated cloud — Support me, Heaven, I ftiudder with affright ; I (juake, I fink with terror at the fight ! The Day of Judgment ^ a Foem^ rt littk varied. 34S l^ke Univerfal Judgment, Serm. 20. and hide us from the face of him thatfitteth on the throne^ and from the 'ivrathofthe Lamb ; for the lamb that once bled as a iacrifice for lin now appears in all the terrors of a lion ; and the great day of bis ivrath is come^ and ivho fmllhe able tofandP Pcev. vi. 15. O ! could they hide themfelves in the bottom of the ocean, or in fome jrock that bears the weight of the mountains, how happy T/ould they think themfelves. But, alas ! *' Seas caft the monfi:ers forth to meet their doom, ^* And rocks butprilon up forv/rath to come/' Youkg. YV^hile the Judge is defcending, the parties to be judged will be fummoned to appear. But where are they > They are all afleep in their dufly beds, except the then generation. And how ihall they be rouled from thejr long fleep of thoufands of years ? Why the Lo'd himf f shall dcf end from heaven with a shout ^ with the voice of the archangel an., with the truryip of God^ i riieff. jv. 16. The trumpet shah found, and they that are then alive iliall not pafs into eternity through the beaten road of death, but at the lajl trumpet they shall he changed, changed into immortals in a moment^ in the tivinkl ngof an eye. i Cor. xv. ^i, ^2* Now all the millions of mankind, ot whatever country and nation, whether they expect this tremendous day or not, all feel a Ihock through their whole firames, while they are inftantaneoufiy metamorphofed in every limb, and the pulfe of immortality begins to beat ftrcng in every part. Now alfo the (lumberers under ground begin to ftir, to roufe and fpring to life. Now fee graves opening, tombs burft- ing, charnei houfes rattling, the earth heaving, and all alive, while thefe fubterranean armies a4.'e burfting their way through. See clouds of human dufland broken bones darkening the air, and flying from country to country over intervening continents and oceans to meet their kindred fragments, and repair the ihattered frame with pieces collected from a thoufand different quarters, whither they were blown away by winds, or waihed by waters. See what milhons ftart up in company in the fpots where Nmeveh, Babylon, Jernfalem, Rome, and Lc.idon, once ftood ! Whole ar- mies fpring to life in fields v^here they once lolt their lives in bat- lie, and were left unburied ; in fields which fattened with their blood, produced a thoufand harveils, and now produce a crop of Kien. See a fucceilion of thounmds of years riling in crowds from grave-yards round the places where they opce attended, in order to prepare for this dccifive day. Nay, graves yawn, and fwarms barit into life under palaces and buildings of pride and pleafure, in fiekis and foreils, in thoufands of places Vvhcre graves were never fBfpected. How are the living furprifed to find men ftarting into lifeander their feet, or jult belide them ; fomc beginning to ftir. Serm. 20, The Univerfal Judgment, 340 and heave the ground ; others half-rifen, and others quite difen- gagedfrom the incwmbrance of earth, and (landing upright before them ! What vaft multitudes that had llept in a watery grave, now emerge from rivers, and leas, and oceans, and throw them into a tumult I Now appear to the view of all the world the Goliaths, the Anakims, and the other giants of ancient times ; and now the mil- lions of infants, thofe little particles of hfe, flart up at once, per- haps in full maturity, or perhaps in the loweft clafs of mankind, dwarfs of imm.ortality. 7 he dead,fmall afid great ^ will arife tojland before God ; and the fea ihall give up the dead ivhich ivere in it. Re\'. XX, 12, 13. Now the many that Jleep in the dujl shall awake and come forth ; fome to everlafiing life, andfome to shame and ever lofting contempt. Dan. xii- 2» Now the hour is come ivhen all that are hi the grave shall hear the voice of the Son of Cod, and shall come forth ; they that have done good^ to the refurreBion of life ; and they that have dofie evil, to the repiirre£iion of damnation. John v. 28. 7 hough after our fkiti luorms deflroy this hody^ y£t in our flesh shall we fee Cody whom we shall fee for ourfelves ; and thefe eyes shall behold him, and not another. Job xix. 26, 27. Then this corruptible [body] shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, i Cor. XV. 53. As the chara6lers, and confequently the doom of mankind will be very different, fo we may reafonably fuppofe they will rife iji very diiFerent forms of glory or difhonour, of beauty or deformity. Their bodies indeed will all be improved to the highefl degree, and all made vigorous, capacious and immortal. But here lies the difference : the bodies of the righteous will be ftrengthened to bear an ep^ceeding great and eternal iveight of ghry^ but thofe of the wicked will be ftrengthened to fuftain an heavier load of mifery ; their ftrength will be but mere ftrength to fuller an horrid capaci- ty of greater pain. The immortality of the righteous will be the duration of their happinefs, but that of the wicked of their mifery : their immortality, the higheft privilege of their nature, will be their heavieft curfe ; and they would willingly exchange their du- ration with an infed: of a day, or a fading flower. The bodies of the righteous will shine as the fun, and as the fiars in the firmameyit for ever and ever ; but thofe of the wicked will be grim and ihock- ing, and ugly, and hateful as hell. The bodies of the righteous wall be fit manfions for their heavenly fpirits to inhabit, and every feature will fpeak the delightful pafTions that agreeably work with- in ; but the wicked will be but fpirits of hell clothed in the mate- rial bodies ; and malice, rage, defpair, and all the infernal pafTions will lower in their countenances, and cafl a difmal gloom around - them. O ! they will then be nothing elfe but fhapcs of deformi- 3 50 The Unlverjal Judgment, Serm. 20. ty and terror ! they will look like the natives of hell, and fpread horror around them with every look*. With what reluctance may we fuppofe will the fouls of the wicked enter again into a ftate of union with thefe ^hocking forms, that will be everlafting engines of torture to them, as they once ^^ ere iiiftruments of fin ! But O ! with what joy will the fouls of the righteous return to their old habitations, in which they once ferved their God with honeft, though feeble endeavours, now fo gloriouil/ repaired and improved ! How will they congratulate the reiarredion of their old companions from their long ileep in death, now made lit to iliare wath them in the fublime employ- ments and fruitions of heaven ! Every organ will be an inftrument of fervice and an inlet of pleafure, and the foul fliall no loiiger be encumbered but aflified by this union to the body. O w hat fur- priiing creatures can Omnipotence raife from the duft ! To what an high degree of beauty can the Almighty refine the offspring of the earth ! and into what miracles of glory and bleifednefs can he form them !f Now the Judge is come, the judgm.ent feat is erefted, the dead are raifed. And what follows ? Why the univerfal convention of all the fons of men before the judgment-feat. The place of judg- ment will probably be the extenfive region of the air, the moft ca- pacious for the reception of fuch a multitude ; for St. Paul tells us, the faints ihall he caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. i Theff. iv. 17. And that the air will be the place of judicature, perhaps, may be intimated when our Lord is reprefent- ed as coming in the clouds, and fitting upon a cloudy throne. Thefe exprelfions can hardly be underflood literally, for clouds which confiil of vapours ancl rariiied particles of water, feem very impro- per materials for a chariot of ilate, or a throne of judgment ; but they may very properly intimate that Chrift will make his appear- ance, and hold his court in the region of the clouds ; that is, in the air ; and perhaps that the rays of hght and majeltic darknefs ihall * How weak, how pale, how haggard, ho^v obfcene, What more than death in every face and mien ! With whatdillrefs, and glarings of affright They ftiock the heart, and turn away the fight '. In gloomy orbs their trembling eye-balls roll. And tell the horrid fecrets of the foul. Each gefture mourns, each look is black with caje : And every groan is loaden with defpair. YoUNG. t Mark, on the right, hov/ amiable a gra<:e ! Their Maker's image frelh in every face ! What purple bloom my ravilhM foul admires, And their eyes fparkling with immortal fires ! Triumphant beauty ! charms that rife above This world, and in blell angels kindle love 1— — O 1 the tranfcendent glories of thejuft! Young,. Serm. 20, The Univerfal Judg7nent^ 351 be ^Q blended around him as to form the appearance of a cloud to the view of the wondering and gazing world. To this upper region, from whence our globe will lie open to view far and wide, will all the fons of men be convened. And they will be gathered together by the miniitry of angels, the offi- cers of this grand court. The Son of man, ivhen he comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory ^ shall fend forth his angels with a great found of the trumpet ; and they shall gather together his eb£i from the four winds ^ and from one end of heaven to the other > Matt, xxiv. 30, 31. Their miniftry alfo extends to the wicked, whom they will drag away to Judgment and execution, and feparate from the rip-hteous. For in the end of the world, fays Chrift, the Son of man shall fend forth his a?igels, and they shall gather out of his king- dom all things that offend^ and them that work iniquity ^ atid shall caji them into a furnace of fire : there shall he wailing and gnashing of teethe Matt. xiii. 40, 41, 42. What an auguft convocation, what a vafl affembly is this ! See flights of angels darting round the globe from eaft to weft, from pole to pole, gathering up here and there the fcattered faints, choofmg them out from among the crowd of the ungodly, and bearing them aloft on their wings to meet their Lord in the air ! while the v/retched crowd look and gaze, and ftretch their hands> and would mount up along with them ; but, alas ! they mufl be left behind^ and wait for another kind of convoy ; a convoy of cruel, unrelenting devils, who Ihall fnatch them up as their prey with mahgnant joy, and place them before the flaming tribunal. Now all the fons of men meet in one immenfe afTembly. Adanj beholds the long line of his poflerity, and they behold their com- mon father. Now Europeans and Afutics, the fwarthy fons of Africa and the favages of America, mingle together. Chnftians, Jews, Mahometans, and Pagans, the learned and the ignorant, kings and fubjeds, rich and poor, free and bond, form one promif- cuous crcv/d. Now all the vaft armies that conquered or fell un- tier Xerxes, Dariifs, Alexander, Caefar, Scipio, Tamerlane, Marl- borough, and other illuftrious warriors, unite in one vaft army. There, in fhort, all the fucceiTive inhabitants of the earth for thou- fands of years appear in one afleipbly. And how inconceivably great muft the number be ! Wlien the inhabitants of but one country are met together, you are ftruck with the furvey. Were sU the inhabitants of a kingdom convened in one place, how much more ftriking would be the fight ! Were all the inhabitants of all the kingdoms of the earth convened in one general r^ndezvous^ how aftonilhing and vaft would be the multitude ! But what is even this vaft multitude compared with the long fuccefiion of ge- nerations that have peopled the globe, in all ages, and in all couur tries^ from the firft com^mencement of tim.e to the iaft day 1 Here Z z 352 The Univerfal Judgment, Serm, 20 numbers fail, and our thoughts are loft in the immenfe furvey* The extenfive region of the air is very properly chofen as the place of judgment ; for this globe would not be fufficient for fuch a mul- titude to ftand upon. In that prodigious afTembly, my brethren, you and I muft mingle. And we Ihall not be loft in the crowd, nor efcape the notice of our Judge ; but his eye will be as particu- larly fixed upon every one as though there were but one before him. To increafe the number, and add a majefty and terror to the afTembly, the fallen angels alfo make their appearance at the bar. This they have long expected with horror, as the period when their confummate mifery is to commence. W hen Chrift, in the form of a fervant, exercifed a God-like power over them in the days of his relidence upon earth, they almoft miftook his firft com- ing as a Saviour for his fecond coming as their Judge ; and there- fore they expoftulated. Art thou ccme to torment us htfjrrx^he time ? Matt. viii. 29. That is to fay, We exped thou wilt at laft ap- pear to torment us, but \^e did not expe(ft thy coming fo foon. Agreeable to this, St. Peter tells us, Godfpared not the angels that finned, hut coft them down to hell, and delivered them as prifoners into chains ofdarknefs, to be referved unto judgfnent- 2 Peter ii» 4. To the fame purpofe St. Jude fpeaks : The angels ivhich kept not their firft eft ate, hut left their own habitation, he hath refcrv- e d in everla fling chains under d&rknefs, unto the judgment of the great day* Jude 6. What horribly majeftic figures will thefe be ! and what a dreadful appearance will they make at the bar! angels and archangels, thrones, and dominions, and principalities, and powers blafted, ftripped of their primaeval glories, and lying in ruins; yet majeftic even in ruins, gigantic forms of terror and deformity ; great though degraded, horribly illuftrious, angels fallen, gods undefied and depofed.* Now the Judge is feated, and anxious millions ftand before him waiting for iheir doom. As yet there is no feperation made between them : but men and devils, faints and finners, are pro- mifcuoufly blended together. But fee ! at the order of the Judge, the crowd is all in motion ; they part, they fort together accord- ing to their character, and divide to the right and left. IVhcn all nations are gathered before the Son of man, himfelf has told us, he shall feper ate them onefrsjn another, as a shcpjjcrd divideth his sheep the foe of God and man. From his dark den, blafpheming, drags his chain, And rears his brazen front, with thunder fcarrM ; Receives his fsntence, and begins his hell. All vengeance paft, now feems abundant grace ! Like meteors in a ftormy iky, hcv roll »v; His baleful eyes ! he curfes Avhom he dreads, V Aad deems it the firft moment of his ftilh You\''«. Scrm. 20. The Univ erf al Judgment, 353 from the goats \ and he shall fet the sheep on his right hand, hut the goats on the left* Matt. xxv. 32, 33* And, O! what Ib'ange ie- perationsare now made! what multitudes that once ranked them- feives among the faints, and were highly efteemed for their piety by others as well as themfelves, are now baniflied from among them, and placed with the trembling criminals on the left hand ! and how many poor, honeft-hcarted, doubting, defponding fouls, whole foreboding fears had often placed them there, now find themfelves, to their agreeable furprife, ftationed on the right hand of their Judge, who fmiles upon them ! What conne6ci- ons are now broken ! what hearts toi'n afunder ! what intimate companions, what dear relations, parted forever ! neighbour from neighbour, mafters from fervants, friend from friend, pa- rents from children, huiband from wife ; thofe vvho were but one fleih, and who lay in one another's bofoms, muft part for ever. Thofe that lived in the fame country, who fuftained the fame de- nomination, who worlhipped in the fame place, who Hved under one roof, who lay in the fame womb, and fucked the fame brealls, mufl: now part for ever. And is there no fcperation likely to be made then in our families or in our congregation ? Is it likely we ihall all be placed in a body upon the right hand ? Are all the mem- bers of our families prepared for that glorious ftation ? Alas ! are there not fome families among us who, it is to be feared, ihall all be fent off to the left hand, without fo much as one exception ? for who are thofe miferable multitudes on the left h?.nd ? There, through the medium of revelation, I fee the drunkard, the fwear- cr, the whoremonger, the liar, the defrauder, and the various clalTes of profane, profligate finners. There I fee the unbeliever, the impenitent the lukewarm formalift, and the various clalTes of hypocrites and half-chriftians. There I fee the families that call not upon God^s name, and v> hole nations that forget him. And, O I what vail: muldtudes, what millions of millions of millions do all thefe make ! And do not fome, alas ! do not many of you belong, to one or other of thefe claffes of fniners whom God, and Chrift, and fcripture, and confcience confpire to condemn ? If fo, to the left hand you muft depart among devils and trembling criminals, whofe guilty minds forbode their doom before the judicial procefs begins. But who are thofe glorious immortals upon the right hand ? They are thofe who now mourn over their fms, refift and forfake them ; they are thofe who have furrendered them- felves entirely to God, tlu'ough Jefus Chrill, who have heartily complied with the method of falvation revealed in the gofpel ; who have been formed new creatures by the almighty power of God ; who make it the inoft earneftperfevering endeavour of their lives to \\ork out their own falvat!>3n, and to live righteoully, foberly, and godly in the world. Thefe are fome of the principal Une;^» 354 ^^"^^ Univo'faiyii.dgment, Serm, 20. ments of their char after who fhall have their fafe and honourable ftation at the right hand of the fovereign Judge. And is not this the prevailing character of fome of you ? I hope and believe it is. Through the medium of fcripture- revelation then I fee you in that blelfed ftation. And, O ! I would make an appointment with you this day to meet you there. Yes, let us this day appoint the time and place where v/e ihall meet after the feperation anddifper- fion that death will make among us: and let it be at the right hand of the Judge at the lafcday. If I be fo happy as to obtain fbme Immble place there, I ihall look out for you, my dear peo- ple. There I flidl exped j^our coirpany, that w^e may afcend together to join in the more e-xaked ffrvices and enjoyments of heaven, as we have frequently in the humbler forms of w^orfliip in the church on earth. But, O ! when I think what unexpecled feperations wall then be made, I tremble left linould mi^fs fome of you there. And are you not afraid left you Ihould mifs fom.e of your friends-, or fome of your families there ? or that you ihoukl then fee them move olf to the left hand, and looking back wath eagernefs upon you as if they would fay, *^ This is my doom through your carelelTnefs ; had you but aded a faithful part to- wards me, while converfant wdth you or under your care, I might now have had my place among the faints.'' O ! how could you bear fuch fignificant piercing looks from a child, a fer- vant, or a friend ? Therefore now do all in your power to convert finners fi'Qjn the error of their luay^ a?:d to fave their fouls from death » V'/hen we entered upon this pradical digreiuon, we left all things ready for the judicial procefs. And now the trials be- gins. Now God judges thefecrets of men by J ejus Chr'ifl, Rom. ii. 1 6. All the works of all the fons of r^en will then be tried ; fory fays St. PaHl, we mujl all appear hfore the judgment- feat of Chrijly that every mnn may receive the things done in the body according to what he hath done, ivhether it be good, or whether it be evil, 2 Cor. V. 10. St. John in his vifiony^-u; the dec d judged accordi-ng to their luorks. Rev. xx. 12, 13. Thefe works immediately refer to the anions of the life, but they may alfo include the inward tem- per, and thoughts of the foul, and the words of the lips; for all thefe fhall be brought into judgment. Gsd, fays Solomon, loill bring every work intojudgmer