'to 
 
 
 | THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, | 
 
 * 
 
 «* 
 
 . # 
 # 
 
 Princeton, N. J. 
 
 #■ 
 
 
 >3 Sc 
 
 ? 
 
 - ya-eg^ e^ 
 
 BT 790 .D6 1829 
 Doddridge, Philip 
 
 Practical discourses on 
 regeneration 
 
•1' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 f 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SELECT 
 
 CHRISTIAN AUTHORS 
 
 WITH 
 
 INTRODUCTORY ESSAYS. 
 

 
 
 
 

 EuBLLSHE'D HY AVTHLIAM COLLINS GLASGrOYT. 
 
 
 
PRACTICAL. DISCOURSES 
 
 ON 
 
 REGENERATION, 
 
 AND ON THE 
 
 % 
 
 SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION 
 
 BY FAITH. 
 
 / 
 
 BY 
 
 P. DODDRIDGE, D.D. 
 
 WITH 
 
 AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY, 
 
 BY 
 
 RALPH WARDLAW, D.D. 
 
 GLASGOW'. 
 
 GLASGOW: 
 
 PRINTED FOR WILLIAM COLLINS; 
 
 WILLIAM WHYTE & CO. AND WILLIAM OLIPHANT, EDINBURGH; 
 W. F. WAKEMAN; AND WM. CURltY, JUN. & CO. DUBLIN ; 
 WHITTAKER, TREACHER, & ARNOT; HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO. 
 SIMPKIN AND MARSHALL ; BALDWIN & CRADOCK; 
 
 AND HURST, CHANCE, & CO. LONDON. 
 
 MDCCCXXIX. 
 
rrinted \v* W. Collins & Co. 
 Glasgow. 
 

 •\sUrt 
 
 P & IE CE TOIT 
 
 kTHEOLOGICiL 
 
 %-^Spr^ 
 
 KTN&BS 
 
 - k , h(v v ---r * 
 
 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 The word Salvation necessarily suggests the idea 
 of some existing evil, from which deliverance has 
 either been effected, or is required. In its simple 
 primary meaning, it has no exclusive reference to 
 one description of evil or of deliverance more than 
 to another. But in general use, it has become so 
 very much appropriated to the deliverance revealed 
 by the gospel, that we are apt to feel as if it were 
 desecrated when we hear it applied to any preserva¬ 
 tion or rescue, whether personal or national, of a 
 merely secular and temporary nature. 
 
 But, even when it is understood to be used in its 
 highest acceptation, the conceptions associated with 
 it by multitudes are exceedingly partial and un¬ 
 worthy. The idea which it most immediately, and 
 often, it is to be feared, exclusively, suggests, is that 
 of deliverance from suffering,—from the penal con¬ 
 sequences of sin,—from hell. That this is included 
 in salvation,—and a part of it which no considerate 
 mind, properly impressed with the deserts of trans¬ 
 gression, will lightly estim£fte,‘—we freely and thank¬ 
 fully admit. But there is a sadly prevailing dispo- 
 
VI 
 
 sition to dwell upon it, to give it an undue promi¬ 
 nence, so as to throw into the back ground, and 
 almost out of view, another part of the blessing in¬ 
 comparably more elevated and excellent. The source 
 of this disposition is to be found in the selfish cor¬ 
 ruption of our nature. As depraved creatures, we 
 are naturally fond of sin; but we are naturally 
 no less unfond of its punishment. We need not 
 the grace of God, that we may be taught to dislike 
 and deprecate suffering. The nature which we pos¬ 
 sess in common, not only with all intelligent, but 
 with all sensitive existence, teaches us this with 
 irresistible energy. It has all the force of an in¬ 
 stinctive principle. The salvation which our fallen 
 nature would choose for itself, would be, deliverance 
 from the punishment, and from all apprehension of it, 
 along with a plenary indulgence to the commission of 
 the sin. There is no indigenous desire in our nature 
 ‘ of deliverance from sin itself. An eternity of un¬ 
 punished sin, is the salvation it would like; a salva¬ 
 tion unworthy of the name, and which it is a moral 
 impossibility that God should bestow. 
 
 To the mind of an angel,—of one of those spirits 
 of light who retain the blessedness of sinless intimacy 
 with the uncreated purity of the Godhead, and draw 
 their untainted joy from the fountain of divine love, 
 —who feel that their glory and their happiness lie 
 in their likeness to that infinite Being whose nature 
 is the archetype of all that is excellent and lovely in 
 the moral universe,—to the mind of an angel, the 
 word salvation , we cannot doubt, would primarily 
 and instantly suggest the thought of deliverance 
 from sin. This would hold the first place. Con- 
 
• « 
 
 Vll 
 
 sequences would stand secondaryexcept indeed 
 the consequence of sin’s unfitting the subject of it 
 for the enjoyment of God,—breaking off that holy 
 fellowship which is to themselves the very zest and 
 relish of their being,—the life of life. And this 
 could hardly be called a consequence. So insepar¬ 
 ably associated would it be in their minds with sin, 
 that it might be considered as involved in their very 
 conception of it,—sin being, in its spirit and essence, 
 alienation from God. And to such minds, alienation 
 from God would express the very essence of misery. 
 Simple pain, could they abstract it in their imagina¬ 
 tions from the consciousness of this, would be as no¬ 
 thing. They would be ashamed to speak or to think 
 of it. Oh ! what amount of mere physical suffering 
 would not a holy creature be willing to endure, could 
 it be allowed to retain, in the midst of it, conscious 
 purity and conscious union of spirit with God ! 
 
 And if such would be the light in which sin and 
 suffering would be viewed by a holy creature, how 
 much more by that God himself whose purity and 
 wisdom and love are alike infinite !-*—Yet, when we 
 speak of holiness ranking first in his estimate of 
 every intelligent creature’s condition, still we must 
 consider, as associated with this, the tendency of holi¬ 
 ness to that creature’s happiness.—“ God is light 
 and £t God is love.” The purity and the benevo¬ 
 lence of his nature are its glory and felicity :—in 
 the infinitude of both he is infinitely blessed. And 
 throughout the intelligent universe, he has associ¬ 
 ated happiness with holiness and love by an indis¬ 
 soluble bond. In the establishment of this associ¬ 
 ation, he has manifested equally the love and the 
 
Vlll 
 
 holiness of his own character. His love, or his 
 benevolent regard to happiness, is displayed, in his 
 bringing creatures into being possessed of the char¬ 
 acter with which his own blessedness is connected. 
 —All that God himself is, he is by an inherent and 
 immutable necessity of his moral nature. He can¬ 
 not but be holy; he cannot but be good; he cannot 
 but be happy. Whenever the idea enters our minds 
 of any thing short of perfect holiness, perfect good¬ 
 ness, and perfect happiness,—we have lost our con¬ 
 ception of Godhead. The same necessity which 
 fixes in unsullied immutability the rectitude of his 
 moral nature, connects that rectitude with the in¬ 
 finite fulness of bliss. The cause and the effect are 
 alike necessary. The creature that could fancy God 
 to cease to be holy, and yet continue to be happy, 
 would possess, in the very capacity of forming such 
 an association, a sufficient evidence of its own de¬ 
 pravity. No rightly constituted mind can possibly 
 associate the ideas of deficient holiness and perfect 
 happiness. 
 
 When God makes a holy creature, he neces¬ 
 sarily makes a happy creature:—and in this, we 
 have said, he shows his benevolence . He, at the 
 same time, manifests his regard to holiness , by 
 the very circumstance of his uniting happiness 
 with it; and so determining, by a fixed principle, 
 the whole moral constitution of the universe, that 
 happiness shall not be enjoyed by any rational 
 creature of his without it.—This is a settled law 
 of his administration ; from which, we may be well 
 assured, there is no departure. We honour God, 
 when we say of him, as his own word teaches us 
 
IX 
 
 to say, that “ it is impossible for him to lie. 5> On 
 the same principle, we equally honour him when we 
 affirm that he cannot ,—that it is morally impossible 
 for him, to make a happy creature, otherwise than 
 by making a holy creature. 
 
 We mean not to enter into the mystery of the 
 origin of evil , in the universe of a Being whose 
 character is Light and Love ;—a mystery which, 
 after all the attempts that have been made to clear 
 it of perplexing questions, remains a mystery still. 
 —We would simply remind our readers, that the 
 existence of moral evil is a matter of fact , inde¬ 
 pendent of all religions, and of all systems of doc¬ 
 trine and of morals. It is i)ot a doctrine of revela¬ 
 tion ; it is a fact in providence. It was a fact before 
 revelation existed ; and even before human beings 
 existed: for there were fallen angels before there 
 were fallen men. The entrance of sin into our 
 world was not the origin of evil; it was only the 
 extension of it,—the communication of it from one 
 race of creatures to another. So that the same fact 
 would have existed, and the same difficulties in con¬ 
 nexion with it, had our globe itself never been called 
 into being. These difficulties attach to every system. 
 The rejection of revelation brings not the infidel one 
 step nearer to a solution of them ; nay, it removes 
 him many steps further from it. The man who 
 should reject the Bible because he cannot, satisfac¬ 
 torily to himself, account for the existence of moral 
 evil, must necessarily, on the same principle, discard 
 natural religion. Lie has no consistent halting- 
 place, indeed, till he reaches atheism. And there,-— 
 he will only have solved one difficulty by adopting 
 
 a 3 
 
X 
 
 another infinitely greater. Another, did we say ? 
 We should rather say, by embracing a scheme which 
 involves in it all other possibilities of inconsistency 
 and contradiction imaginable by the human mind. 
 Let a man conceive the Scripture statement of the 
 manner of sin’s entrance into our world to be as ab¬ 
 surd as he pleases; let him reject as fabulous, the 
 very existence of evil angels, to whose temptation it 
 is ascribed ; and let him adopt any' other account of 
 its origin he may choose to feign to himself:—still 
 the fact remains. The difficulties arising from it 
 are entirely unaffected by any hypothesis whatever 
 about the mode of its actual origination.—Evil 
 exists :—it was in the power of God to prevent it:— 
 he has not done so. Such being the simple state 
 of the case, which conclusion is the more reasonable, 
 which the most in harmony with the humble-mind— 
 edness becoming a frail and fallible creature—This 
 must be wrong, for I cannot reconcile it with my 
 conceptions of rightor, “ There are, indepen¬ 
 dently of this perplexing fact, grounds abundantly 
 sufficient for a firm belief in the divine goodness 
 and holiness : whether, therefore, I can perceive a 
 principle of reconciliation or not, this must be con¬ 
 sistent with holiness and goodness, for it actually 
 has place under the administration of a good and 
 holy Being?” Surely the former must be felt, by 
 every well-ordered mind, to be the dictate of pre¬ 
 sumption, and the latter, not of weakness, but of 
 becoming self-diffidence. 
 
 But we cannot satisfy ourselves with saying, that 
 the rejection of Christianity, or rather, of revelation 
 in general, on account of a fact which exists inde- 
 
XI 
 
 pendently of it, and with which it can in no con¬ 
 ceivable way be chargeable, is in itself absurd. We 
 must go further. The man who is in earnest in 
 lamenting the fact, should rather have a predilection 
 for whatever professes to furnish a remedy, or an 
 alleviation- of it. To the mind of such a man, 
 revelation should, on this ground, have a powerful 
 attraction. It presents the only mitigation, the only 
 cure. Other systems find the fact, and leave it as 
 they found it. They furnish no mitigation of the 
 mischief. They leave the ruin a ruin still; the 
 moral waste as barren and dreary as before; the 
 spiritual distemper in all its deadly virulence. Not 
 so the word of the living God. It provides means 
 of recovery for diseased and dying souls. It reclaims 
 the unsightly wilderness, clears it of its briars and 
 thorns, and covers it with the fruits of righteousness. 
 It rears on the ruins of human nature a magnificent 
 and lovely temple, where Deity delights to dwell, 
 and where he is worshipped in the beauty of holi¬ 
 ness.’ ’ By its sublime discoveries, the very ad¬ 
 mission of moral evil into the universe, is made the 
 occasion of a more brilliant manifestation than ever 
 could have been given without it, of both the light 
 and the love of the divine character; presenting us 
 with proofs the most convincing, interesting, and 
 overwhelming, that its admission arose from no light 
 estimate of its turpitude—no approbation, no indif¬ 
 ference. The means proposed there, for restoring 
 the subjects of it in our world from its power and 
 prevalence, and from the misery which it has en¬ 
 tailed upon them, are such as, at the same time, to 
 affix to it the indelible brand of divine reprobation, 
 
XU 
 
 as u the abominable thing which he hates.” Every 
 man, therefore, we repeat, who sincerely laments the 
 existence of moral evil, ought, if he would be con¬ 
 sistent with himself, to delight in the discoveries of 
 revelation. The man who, in words, deplores the 
 woes of slavery, and compassionates its hapless vic¬ 
 tims, must, if he be in earnest, rejoice in the adop¬ 
 tion, and prosecution, and success of all measures 
 for alleviating the amount of wrong and suffering. 
 If he shows no satisfaction in the mitigation of the 
 lamented evils, we are warranted to conclude that 
 his horrors are feigned, that his pity is a mere pre¬ 
 text, and that his real wish is, that they may remain, 
 to furnish him with a theme for malicious declama¬ 
 tion against slave-traders and slave-holders, the ob¬ 
 jects of some selfish and unworthy antipathy. In 
 like manner, the man who professes to lament moral 
 evil, and yet gives no heed to revelation, when it 
 proposes a divinely efficacious remedy—a means of 
 renovation and blessing to the sinner, and of glory 
 to his dishonoured God—gives good ground for 
 suspicion, that, after all, he has secretly no dislike 
 to it, but, amidst his hypocritical regrets, enjoys the 
 occasion furnished by it, of irreligious opposition to 
 God. 
 
 The damsel, possessed with the spirit of divina¬ 
 tion, who followed Paul and Silas, during their stay 
 at Philippi, crying after them, “ These men are the 
 servants of the most high God, who show unto 
 us THE WAY or salvation,” uttered in these words, 
 the great end, not only of the apostolic ministry, 
 but of divine revelation in general. Salvation is 
 its glorious and merciful purpose; and we have 
 
Xlll 
 
 already hinted at the two leading parts of this salva¬ 
 tion. They are pardon and purity ;—the restora¬ 
 tion of the two great blessings which constituted the 
 original glory and happiness of our nature, but 
 which were lost together by the entrance of sin— 
 the favour and the image of God. These blessings 
 are inseparable; so inseparable, that in no one in¬ 
 stance since the beginning of the world, has the 
 one been possessed without the other; and they 
 may be considered as including in them, or drawing 
 after them, all other spiritual blessings in this life, 
 and the £< fulness of joy, and pleasures for ever¬ 
 more,” in which salvation is consummated in the 
 life to come. Under the government of the “righ¬ 
 teous Lord, who loveth righteousness,” we cannot 
 form to ourselves the conception of a pardoned sin¬ 
 ner remaining unsanctified, or of a sanctified sinner 
 remaining unpardoned. Deliverance from sin in 
 judicial charge , and deliverance from sin in personal 
 character , are alike indispensable to happiness. Nei¬ 
 ther forgiveness without sanctity, nor (could we 
 connect ideas so incongruous and contradictory) 
 sanctity without forgiveness, could make a sinful 
 and guilty creature happy. 
 
 Pardon without sanctity, or the remission of 
 .punishment without a change of character, is a 
 thing not only in itself abstractly conceivable—it is 
 not unfrequently realized in the administration of 
 human governments. A prisoner may be dismissed 
 from the bar, with a full pardon of the crime for 
 which he has been tried ; or, after receiving sen¬ 
 tence of death, and lying for a time under it, he 
 may obtain, from his prince’s clemency, a plenary 
 
XIV 
 
 remission of his sentence, and have his fetters struck 
 from his limbs, and the door of his cell thrown open 
 to him : but he may leave the place of his confine¬ 
 ment with a heart entirely unchanged; with all his 
 wicked dispositions and propensities to crime as 
 unsubdued and powerful as ever. His condition is 
 thus altered ; but his character is the same. He 
 is pardoned, but he is not reformed. One act of 
 theft, or robbery, or murder, has been forgiven him; 
 but he is, in principle, a thief, a robber, a murderer 
 still. But what thus, of necessity, takes place under 
 human governments, is, in no case, exemplified under 
 the divine. When a sinner obtains forgiveness, or, 
 as the Scripture expresses it, is “justified by faith,” 
 there is a provision made by the gospel, forming a 
 part of its very constitution, and admitting of no ex¬ 
 ception—that the faith of the same truth which con¬ 
 veys to him the message of mercy, and imparts a sense 
 * of divine forgiveness to his conscience, becomes si¬ 
 multaneously the principle of his inward purification. 
 So uniform is this provision—so firmly and unalter¬ 
 ably ratified this connexion—that in the soul which 
 the truth, professedly believed, has not renewed and 
 purified, the sense of pardon and of peace with God 
 which it has communicated, must be a wretched 
 delusion. 
 
 The purpose of God by the gospel is, to restore 
 fallen men to honour and to happiness. But to 
 true honour and true happiness they never can be 
 restored, by jiardon alone. Were sin still to re¬ 
 main, in its pollution and power, there would re¬ 
 main an insuperable bar to all true glory and true 
 joy. There would remain cleaving to the soul, that 
 
XV 
 
 which must ever be its curse and infamy;—that which, 
 even amidst the incense of human adulation, and 
 the splendours of the “ honour that cometh from 
 men,” must ever render it vile, and abject, and 
 loathsome in the sight of God : and there would 
 remain, moreover, that which, by a native and ne¬ 
 cessary tendency, severs th.e soul from God, unfits 
 it for fellowship with him, incapacitates it for the 
 chief happiness of every intelligent nature, shuts it 
 out from the Fountain of joy;—an exclusion which 
 is not the effect of any arbitrary mandate, or prohi¬ 
 bitory decree, but which arises from the nature of 
 things—from the moral incapacity of a sinful soul 
 to have any enjoyment in holiness. 
 
 Wherein consist the glory and the blessedness of 
 Deity himself? Certainly, as has already been said, 
 in his moral perfections. He is glorious, because 
 he islioly:—he is happy, because he is holy. His 
 glory and his happiness are infinite and immutable, 
 because he is infinitely and immutably holy. His 
 eternity, omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipo¬ 
 tence, would be divested of their true glory, could 
 they by any possibility be dissevered from holiness 
 and love, and associated with impurity or malevo¬ 
 lence:—nor, thus associated, could any such perfec¬ 
 tions ever render their possessor happy. Awful they 
 would render Him,—unspeakably awful,—the dread 
 of a trembling universe:—-but happiness would be a 
 name for nothing existing,—for nothing, indeed, of 
 which the creatures of such a Being, if even the 
 Being himself, could form the imagination. It is 
 the union of light and love, as comprehending all 
 
XVI 
 
 the excellencies of moral perfection:—it is this 
 union, associated with unlimited knowledge, and 
 power, and presence, for enabling him to carry into 
 certain and full effect all his holy and benevolent de¬ 
 signs,—that constitutes the true honour and the 
 true felicity of the divine nature. 
 
 Likeness to God in his moral excellencies consti¬ 
 tuted the glory and the happiness of the human na¬ 
 ture, when it came originally from his own creative 
 hand. When God said, 66 Let us make man in our 
 image, after our likeness,” he could not have said 
 more emphatically, Let us make man a glorious and 
 happy creature. And this moral conformity to the 
 divine character is the substantial glory and happi¬ 
 ness of the whole rational creation. We are far too 
 little impressed with this; and the lightness and in¬ 
 constancy of the impression are owing to the natural 
 earthliness of our minds. When we form to our 
 imaginations the idea of Paradise, and of primeval 
 enjoyment, the picture that is most apt to present it¬ 
 self is that of a fine garden, stored and adorned with 
 all the possible varieties of beauty, and fragrance, 
 and convenience, and provision ; whatever could con¬ 
 tribute to give to every sense its full measure of gra¬ 
 tification. Nor would we, while we say this, forget, 
 that the place prepared by their kind Creator for the 
 abode of the first parents of our race during the short 
 period of happy innocence, (the only real golden age 
 of our history,) ivas such a garden; which “ the 
 Lord God planted,” and in which he “ made to 
 grow every tree that was pleasant to the sight and 
 good for food.” The creature he had formed pos¬ 
 sessed a complex constitution of body and soul, an 
 
XVII 
 
 animal nature as well as an intellectual and moral; 
 and the provision made for him was adapted to all 
 his capacities and modes of enjoyment. This is true. 
 But what we mean is, that our minds are too prone 
 to be captivated by the external and physical delights. 
 We are too sensual, too Mahometan. We think 
 too much of locality, and too little of character; too 
 much of what is outward and adventitious, and too 
 little of what is spiritual and essential; too much of 
 the creature, and too little of the Creator; too much 
 of the gifts, and too little of the Giver. The beau¬ 
 ties, and fruits, and balm-breathing airs of Eden, 
 were not the happiness of sinless man. They were 
 subordinate accessories to his enjoyment; but un¬ 
 worthy of being named with the essential springs of 
 his bliss. It was the light of divine knowledge in 
 the understanding, and the light of divine purity in 
 the heart, perfectly fitting and delightfully disposing 
 him for communion with the holiness and the love of 
 God, that formed the essential elements of his un¬ 
 mingled felicity. This was Paradise :—and Eden, 
 “ the garden of the Lord,” even if it had retained 
 all its sweets in undiminished richness, and all its 
 beauties in unblighted loveliness, must have ceased 
 to be Paradise when it became the abode of sin. The 
 place might have remained the same; but innocence 
 alone would make it the residence of true joy. When 
 that was lost,—when the conscience was defiled, and 
 the heart estranged, and the presence and the bless¬ 
 ing of Jehovah were withdrawn, the name of the 
 garden was no longer Eden, but Ichabod. t{ The 
 glory was departed,” the light of joy extinguished. 
 Man the sinner could not enjoy Paradise,—for he 
 could not enjoy God. 
 
XV111 
 
 And that which is true of our thoughts of Para¬ 
 dise, is too true also of our thoughts of heaven. 
 They are too earthly. Such ideas as unrenewed 
 nature forms of the place are entirely sensual. 
 They cannot be otherwise. It has no relish for 
 joys of a higher order. The vague conception, 
 therefore, which it forms, (and very vague it gene¬ 
 rally is,) is that merely of freedom from the sufferings 
 of the present life, and of enjoyments, more gross or 
 more refined according to the tastes and habits of dif¬ 
 ferent minds,—but none of them more than intellec¬ 
 tual, none of them centering in God. In its very 
 conceptions of heaven itself, the depraved heart <£ for¬ 
 sakes the Fountain of living water, and hews out for 
 itself broken cisterns that can hold no water.”—But 
 even of the renewed mind, the views and contempla¬ 
 tions are- often not sufficiently spiritual. There is 
 too much of the sights that are to charm our eyes, 
 and the sounds that are to ravish our ears. The 
 splendours of the heavenly city, as seen in mystic 
 vision,—the gold, and the precious stones, and the 
 pearls, the effulgent light, the white throne, the river 
 of the water of life, and the trees of life on its banks, 
 are apt to leave on our earthly and carnal minds too 
 literal and worldly impressions. We think too little 
 of what is purely spiritual; of what we are to be , in 
 holy character; and of that, as fitting us for the im¬ 
 mediate, and perfect, and uninterrupted fruition of 
 God ;—of the sanctified soul, freed from every ves¬ 
 tige of moral defilement, coming into contact and in¬ 
 timacy with the untainted purity of the Godhead, 
 and drawing from that perennial fountain its fulness 
 of joy. 
 
XIX 
 
 Let us not be mistaken. With our Bibles be¬ 
 fore us, we cannot but think it extravagant to speak 
 of heaven and hell as no more than names for oppo¬ 
 site descriptions of character. They are places, or 
 regions. Where they respectively are, we cannot 
 tell. But that they have a locality, and an adapta¬ 
 tion to their respective purposes of enjoyment and of 
 suffering, we entertain no doubt. Heaven is a 
 place. The body of the glorified Redeemer is 
 there. The bodies of Enoch and Elijah, the two 
 favoured exceptions to the common sentence of 
 mortality, are there. The bodies of all the re¬ 
 deemed people of God, whether raised from their 
 graves or found alive at the coming of the Lord, 
 shall be there. And these bodies, although refined 
 from all that is gross, and earthly, and corruptible, 
 shall still he bodies;—spiritual, when compared with 
 the present animal frame, but not divested of mate¬ 
 riality, not identified with spirit; and to the modes 
 of enjoyment and of service of which these bodies 
 may be susceptible, the materialism of heaven will be 
 in all respects adapted. And all the images of glory 
 and beauty are exhausted in the description of it. 
 
 But oh ! if our hearts be rightly disposed,—to b.e 
 like God will be the supreme object of our unceas¬ 
 ing and fervent aspiration. Perfect holiness will be 
 looked up to by us, as the summit of honour and of 
 joy—the highest point of the soul’s attainment. 
 All that is external, whatever it may be, will be dis¬ 
 regarded in comparison with this. It will have (i no 
 glory, by reason of the glory that excelleth.” There 
 will be no beauty in our eyes like the “ beauty of 
 holiness.” This will be the pearl of great price, for 
 

 XX 
 
 which we would willingly part with every thing be¬ 
 sides. With nothing short of this will our souls be 
 satisfied. By the degree in which it is subservient 
 to this will the value of every thing else be esti¬ 
 mated. This will be the main object of all our 
 prayers and of all our efforts. And the full enjoy¬ 
 ment of this will be the chief recommendation of 
 heaven. The renewed soul, burdened with remain¬ 
 ing corruption, and surrounded and distressed by the 
 sights and sounds of iniquity, will long and sigh for 
 a sinless world ! a world, where all shall be light,— 
 pure untainted light,—the light of God !—a world, 
 where, holy as God is holy, it shall be happy as God 
 is happy ! 
 
 This, we think, is the interesting light in which 
 things are viewed by the blessed God himself. Ho¬ 
 liness is the grand aim of the whole mediation of 
 his Son. The atonement of the Redeemer, it is 
 true, was more immediately designed as a manifesta¬ 
 tion of the righteousness of God, and a means of se¬ 
 curing its glory, in the forgiveness of sin ,—in order 
 that, as the Apostle expresses it, 66 he might be just, 
 and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus;’’— 
 that he might give free and honourable exercise to the 
 mercy wherein he delightetb, in the dispensation of 
 pardon to the guilty.—But still, we are satisfied 
 that this, although the immediate, was not the ulti¬ 
 mate intention,—that there was something beyond, 
 something above it. We cannot for a moment ima- 
 gine the purpose to stop here,—to stop with pardon. 
 No; there is another and a higher end; an end, to 
 which pardon itself, precious, inestimably precious as 
 it is, is subordinate and subservient. Does any sin- 
 
XXI 
 
 ner, awakened to a sense of guilt, and trembling un¬ 
 der an apprehension of wrath, wonder what that can 
 be? We answer,— the production of holi¬ 
 ness. —What is the effect designed to be produced 
 on sinners by the manifestation in the cross of God’s 
 <c delight in mercy?” For what purpose does that 
 mercy give itself indulgence and gratification in 
 “ pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin ?” Does 
 the forgiveness alone exhaust its benevolent design ? 
 Is not the intention of the whole system of pardoning 
 mercy to subdue*the heart to God ?—to slay its en¬ 
 mity ; to inspire it with love ; to purify it from sin ; to 
 make it holy; to fit it, by likeness to God, for the enjoy¬ 
 ment of Him ? If this end were not gained, would not 
 the entire scheme of Christ’s mediation, with all its 
 wonderful provisions, prove abortive? Would not 
 the sinner be without his salvation, and God with¬ 
 out his glory ? Pardon is a part, an essential and 
 most valuable part, of salvation. It is the first ob¬ 
 ject of the atonement; and the first of its results to 
 all who through grace believe. While a sinner con¬ 
 tinues in unbelief, he continues in condemnation. “ As 
 many as are of the works of the law”—(that is, as 
 many as persist in seeking justification by such works, 
 and refuse the grace of the gospel) 6i are under the 
 curse .” <£ He that believeth on the Son of God is 
 
 not condemned: he that believeth not is condemned 
 already , because he hath not believed in the only- 
 begotten Son of God.” e< Verily, verily, I say unto 
 you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him 
 that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not 
 come into condemnation , but is passed from death 
 unto life.” The entire phraseology of this last quo- 
 
XX1L 
 
 tation shows, that sinners remain in a state of con¬ 
 demnation till they 44 hear Christ’s word, and believe 
 on Him that sent him;” and that they pass from this 
 state to a state of life,—that is, of freedom from the 
 sentence of death,—upon their believing. It is true 
 that they pass, at the same time, from a state of spi¬ 
 ritual death to a state of spiritual life; but this, al¬ 
 though it may be included along with the other, is 
 evidently not the transition particularly mentioned. 
 —In all possible lights, indeed, pardon is repre¬ 
 sented in the divine word as belonging properly to 
 salvation. It is one' of the blessings which sin¬ 
 ners obtain on their returning to God :— 44 Let the 
 wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his 
 thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and he 
 voill have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he 
 uu//abundantly pardon.” The encouragement thus 
 held out is not God’s having pardoned , but his 
 readiness to pardon .—It is an essential part of re¬ 
 demption by the blood of Christ, and one of the 
 blessings belonging peculiarly to God’s chosen and 
 adopted children: 44 Blessed be the God and Father 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with 
 all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; 
 according as he hath chosen us in him before the 
 foundation of the world, that we should be holy and 
 without blame before him in love: having predesti¬ 
 nated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus 
 Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of 
 his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, 
 wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved : 
 in whom we have redemption through his blood, the 
 forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his 
 
XX1U 
 
 grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all 
 wisdom and prudence.”—In God, through Christ, 
 there is pardoning mercy for the whole world; but 
 the actual participation of forgiveness is invariably 
 connected with the faith of the gospel: “ Be it 
 known, therefore, unto you, men and brethren, that 
 through this man is preached unto you the forgive¬ 
 ness of sins; and through him all who believe are 
 justified from all things, from which ye could not be 
 justified by the law of Moses.” Being justified 
 freely by his grace, through the redemption that is 
 in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a 
 propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his 
 righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, 
 through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, 
 at this time his righteousness ; that he might be just, 
 and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” 
 
 But still it is true, that a sinner would not be 
 saved , if he were only pardoned . He would want 
 the principal part of his blessing. His very forgive¬ 
 ness is in order to holiness.—This sentiment may 
 be well illustrated from the case of the “ woman who 
 was a sinner,” recorded in so interesting a manner by 
 the Evangelist Luke: “ And one of the Pharisees 
 desired him that he would eat with him. And he 
 went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat. 
 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sin¬ 
 ner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the 
 Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster-box of oint¬ 
 ment, and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and 
 began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them 
 with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and 
 anointed them with the ointment. Now when the 
 
XXIV 
 
 Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake 
 within himself, saying, This man, if he were a pro¬ 
 phet, would have known who and what manner of 
 woman this is that toucheth him ; for she is a sin¬ 
 ner. And Jesus answering, said unto him, Simon, 
 1 have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, 
 Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which 
 had two debtors; the one owed five hundred pence, 
 and the other fifty. And when they .had nothing to 
 pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me there¬ 
 fore, which of them will love him most? Simon 
 answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he 
 forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast 
 rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and 
 said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman ? I entered 
 into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my 
 feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and 
 wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gav¬ 
 est me no kiss: but this woman, since the time I 
 came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head 
 with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath 
 anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore, I say 
 unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; 
 for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, 
 the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy 
 sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with 
 him began to say within themselves, Who is this 
 that forgiveth sins also ? And he said to the wo¬ 
 man, Thy faith hath saved thee: go in peace.” 
 
 Here was a broken and a contrite spirit: and 
 here w T as the exercise, the declaration, and the en¬ 
 joyment, of divine forgiveness. Happy penitent ! 
 i( Blessed was she, whose iniquities were thus for- 
 
XXV 
 
 given, whose sins were covered, to whom the Lord 
 did not impute transgression !”—But there is some¬ 
 thing more than forgiveness. There is a heart filled 
 with love; and the love is the effect of the forgiveness. 
 And is not this incomparably the most important 
 part of the change experienced by this poor sinner? 
 There was a transition from a state of guilt and con¬ 
 demnation to a state of pardon and acceptance; and 
 it was a happy transition. But this transition was 
 subordinate to another, still higher and still happier, 
 —the transition from a state of enmity against God, 
 to a state of love. Her rebel spirit was subdued by 
 kindness. The mercy that forgave her multiplied 
 and grievous transgressions, won her recreant and 
 alienated affections—“ turned her heart back again;” 
 so that she became a new creature, and began a new 
 life. This was the end, of which her forgiveness 
 was the means. She loved, because she was for¬ 
 given ; and surely it is not too much for us to say, 
 that, on the Lord’s part, she was forgiven, that she 
 might love. The gaining of her affections to God 
 was the great end; the softening of the heart of 
 stone, and giving her a heart of flesh. The Psal¬ 
 mist seems to express the same sentiment in other 
 terms, when he says, <fi If thou, Lord, shouldst mark 
 iniquity, O Lord, who should stand? But there is 
 forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest he feared .” 
 The “ fear of the Lord” is the common designation 
 in Scripture, for the religious principle in general. 
 It is an affectionate fear, inseparable from love, and 
 invariably proportioned to it. And forgiving mercy 
 is here represented as pertaining, in all fulness and 
 freeness, to the divine character, in order to the pro- 
 
 B ' 44 
 
XXVI 
 
 duction in the heart of these gracious affections— 
 the affections of fear and love. 
 
 While the purification of sinners from the pollu¬ 
 tion of sin, the restoration of apostate souls to the 
 holy beauties of the divine image, is the grand end 
 of the exhibition of God’s love in the gospel,—the 
 same end continues to be followed out by his entire 
 
 V 
 
 word, by all his ordinances, and by the administra¬ 
 tion of his providence. All are subservient to its 
 progress and completion.—The word of the Lord is 
 pure; and its end is to purify. Its influence cor¬ 
 responds with its nature. It is the instrumental 
 means of the Holy Spirit’s work in regeneration; 
 and it subsequently abides in the heart, as a princi¬ 
 ple of progressive holiness, a pure and purifying 
 fountain—a (i well of water springing up unto 
 everlasting life.”—“ Sanctify them,” said the Re¬ 
 deemer, “ by thy truth; thy word is truth.” “ He 
 that is born of God,” says the ^cloved disciple, 
 e< doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in 
 him ; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” 
 The i6 seed” which “ remaineth in him” is the 
 word of God; the same word which Peter represents 
 as the seminal principle of the spiritual life : “ be¬ 
 ing born again, not of corruptible seed, but of in¬ 
 corruptible, by the word of God which liveth and 
 abideth for ever.” The language of John is very 
 strong, “ He that is born of God sinnetk not ” he 
 “ does not commit sin he “ cannot sin , because 
 he is born of God.” Such terms seem to be too 
 feebly interpreted, when they are paraphrased, 4 He 
 cannot sin wilfully, or habitually ,’ 6 he cannot in - 
 dulge in sin.’ They mean what they naturally and 
 
XXV11 
 
 literally express, that he cannot sin at all; that is, 
 in as far as he comes under the influence of the 
 principles of the new life, to which he is begotten by 
 the incorruptible seed of God’s word. No sin what¬ 
 ever can be the product of these principles. From the 
 seed of God’s own word, nothing can spring but 
 what is holy. Sin pertains not to the new man, 
 but to the old. The corrupt nature remains; and 
 from its remaining “ root of bitterness ” proceeds 
 whatever is evil. In proportion as the indwelling 
 word of the living God operates, sin is eradicated, 
 and the heart cleared of all its weeds and poisons. 
 And wherein will the holiness of heaven consist, but 
 in the entire removal of all the principles of the old 
 nature, and in the perfected and uncounteracted in¬ 
 fluence of the principles of the new? The divine life 
 in the soul, then, produced by the regenerating word 
 of God, is, in its nature, a sinless life. The child 
 of God, as such , <s cannot sin.” As a child of God, 
 he is a “ partaker of the divine nature,”—the na¬ 
 ture of “ Him who is light, and in whom there is no 
 darkness at all.” The principles of this new spiri¬ 
 tual and heavenly life, having the decided ascen¬ 
 dency, and habitual predominance, in the government 
 of his conduct, come to form the character by which 
 he is distinguished and identified. So that, in the 
 same way as when a person, who is known to be a 
 man of high honour and sterling integrity, is led, by 
 any temptation, to do a mean thing, we say, with 
 incredulous surprise, “ that was not like himself 
 or even more strongly, “ he was not himself when 
 he did that:” so may we say, with regard to the 
 “ spiritual man,” the child of God, the subject of 
 
 B 2 
 
XXV111 
 
 the Spirit’s renewing and indwelling power, when 
 he commits sin, he does not then act like himself. 
 The act is not in harmony with the great ruling prin¬ 
 ciples of his character, with the ordinary bent or in¬ 
 clination of his mind, and the consequent regular 
 tenor of his behaviour. And such appears to be 
 the import of Paul’s remarkable expression, “ It is 
 no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me/’ 
 The same end, which is thus answered by the 
 word of God,—namely, the production and promo¬ 
 tion of holiness,—it is hardly necessary to say, is 
 the design of all the outward ordinances of his wor¬ 
 ship. What good end have prayer and praise 
 answered, if the heart has not been elevated by 
 them to their great and gracious Object, and its 
 affections more hallowed, and refined, and fixed 
 above? And as to institutions of a symbolical 
 nature,—their influence resolves itself into the in¬ 
 fluence of the word. For what are they but 
 
 remembrancers of truth,—embodied exhibitions of 
 it to the mind, and means of deepening its im¬ 
 pression, and quickening its energy ! They pro¬ 
 duce their appropriate effect, just in proportion 
 as they thus bring divine discoveries vividly be¬ 
 fore the understanding, refresh the memory, and 
 impart a new animation to the principles of holy 
 sensibility and holy living. They are simply the 
 truths of God represented in significant emblems. 
 And when God sanctifies his people by means of 
 them, he in reality i( sanctifies them by the truth” 
 All their purifying virtue necessarily springs from 
 this. Apart from the Gospel facts which they 
 commemorate, and the Gospel doctrines which they 
 
XXIX 
 
 exhibit and impress, they might be classed with 
 “ carnal ordinances” and “ beggarly elements.” 
 
 And Holiness is the end, too, of all divine dis¬ 
 cipline . Our heavenly Father leaves his children 
 at no loss to discover for what purpose he corrects 
 them. His statements are explicit; his assurances 
 precious, and full of comfort. “ By this, therefore, 
 shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged ; and this is 
 all the fruit,” (and what more, or what better, could 
 Jacob desire?) <£ to take away his sin.” (i We 
 have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, 
 and we gave them reverence : shall we not much 
 rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, 
 and live ? For they verily for a few days chastened 
 us after their own pleasure ; but he for our profit, 
 that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now, 
 no chastening for the present seemeth to be joy¬ 
 ous, but grievous : nevertheless afterward it yieldeth 
 the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them who 
 are exercised thereby.” The chastisements of God 
 are thus only another means for the same end;— 
 not so pleasant a means, certainly, as the former 
 two; but a means which his wisdom sees necessary, 
 which his love never employs willingly, but which 
 his faithfulness binds him to use when the purposes 
 of his love require it. The value of the end should 
 reconcile his children to the means:—and when 
 they are detained from the 6i Courts of God’s 
 House,” in the chamber of sickness, and on the bed 
 of languishing, the recollection should sooth their 
 troubled souls, that no higher end could be effected 
 by their attendance there, than that which their wise 
 and merciful Father is working out in them by the dis- 
 
XXX 
 
 cipline of his paternal rod. Can all his ordinances, 
 can his word itself, do more for them, than to make 
 them 44 partakers of his holiness ?” 
 
 In this way, the blessed God appears ordering 
 every thing for one end j and that end is Holiness t 
 the bringing back of his apostate creatures to 
 conformity with his own character,—making them 
 44 holy as he is holy.” It is to this he chooses his 
 people from eternity:— 44 According as he hath 
 chosen us in him (Christ) before the foundation of 
 the world, that we should be holy , and without blame 
 before him in love.” This is what th e covenant, 
 ratified by the Redeemer’s blood, specially promises 
 to accomplish;— 44 Then will I sprinkle clean water 
 upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your 
 filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you: 
 - —a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit 
 will I put within you ; and I will take away the 
 stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a 
 heart of flesh ; and I will put my Spirit within you, 
 and ye shall walk in my statutes, and keep my judg¬ 
 ments, and do them.” This is what all the operations 
 of the promised Spirit are accordingly employed to 
 effect:— 44 God, who knoweth the hearts, bare them 
 witness, giving them the Holy Ghost even as he did 
 unto us ; and put no difference between us and them, 
 purifying their hearts by faith.” 44 x\fter that the 
 kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man 
 appeared, not by works of righteousness which we 
 have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, 
 by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the 
 Holy Ghost , which he shed on us abundantly through 
 Jesus Christ our Saviour ; that, being justified by 
 
XXXI 
 
 his grace, we should be made heirs according to the 
 hope of eternal life.” Regeneration is incipient 
 holiness. It is the germ, in the soul, of the tree of 
 life. Those principles are then implanted, which are 
 afterwards to be nourished, and developed, and 
 brought out in practical exemplification. The new 
 life then commences, which consists in the inward 
 operation of spiritual principles, and exercise of holy 
 affections. This new life, it is the grand purpose 
 of God, by means of the Gospel, to impart. And 
 he has appointed means for its subsequent establish¬ 
 ment and growth, which it is equally the duty and 
 the interest of his people diligently and perseveringly 
 to use. It is of salvation as already, in the princi¬ 
 ples of it, possessed, and as consisting in progressive 
 holiness, that the Apostle speaks when he exhorts 
 believers—‘ 6 Work out your own salvation with 
 fear and trembling; for it is God that worketh in 
 you, both to will and to do, of his good pleasure.” 
 The renovation of our nature is not perfected below; 
 not till we quit the world, and exchange earth for 
 heaven. The close of life is to every man the time 
 of final and irreversible decision. Death stamps 
 the seal of immutable permanence upon the character 
 with which each individual dies. There are no 
 changes of heart effected, any more than acts of 
 pardon passed, beyond the grave. <c He that is un¬ 
 just, let him be unjust still; and he that is filthy, 
 let him be filthy still : and he that is righteous, let 
 him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him 
 be holy still.” To every renewed sinner,—to every 
 child of God, the moment of departure from the 
 world is the moment of entrance on the perfection 
 
xxxu 
 
 of holy character, and holy service, and holy enjoy¬ 
 ment. It is then that 
 
 “ The sou}, from sin for ever free, 
 
 Shall mourn its power no more; 
 
 But, clothed in spotless purity, 
 
 Redeeming love adore 1” 
 
 The saints of God are commanded to “ give 
 thanks at the remembrance of his holiness;” If 
 there be any aspect of the divine character that is, 
 more than others, fitted to fill the breast of a con¬ 
 sciously guilty sinner with trembling,—it is its 
 holiness. 66 Who shall stand before the Holy 
 Lord God ?” But in the cross the believer sees 
 this holiness so delightfully blended and incorpo¬ 
 rated with love, and with love to man ; that, instead 
 of alarm, the view overpowers his heart with grati¬ 
 tude and joy. Yet it is not merely for the peace 
 diffused through his soul, by the believing contem¬ 
 plation of this union of purity and grace, that he is 
 thankful. He gives thanks at the remembrance of 
 God’s holiness, because in his holiness he sees a 
 pledge and security for the perfect accomplishment 
 of the highest of the purposes of his love. It assures 
 him, that He will not leave the sanctification of his 
 people incomplete. A holy God, whose holiness is 
 his happiness, will not stop short in the process of 
 purification, till every spot of defilement has been 
 taken away. Loving his people, and hating sin, 
 he will leave nothing in them of that which he hates. 
 He will make them such, that he shall be able to 
 look upon them for ever with an unmingled com¬ 
 placency,—the complacency of holy love:—and 
 
XXX1U 
 
 were the slightest vestige of moral pollution to re¬ 
 main in them, this could not be. But they cannot 
 think of his holiness, and retain a doubt of the ulti¬ 
 mate perfection of their own . 
 
 Such, then, being the great end which the God 
 of holiness and love has it in view by the Gospel to 
 effect; in proportion to the importance of this end, 
 —and its importance is beyond human or angelic 
 calculation—must be the importance of not con¬ 
 founding it with any thing that is merely external. 
 Here lay the prevailing and deadly error of the Jews. 
 They trusted in their circumcision,—in their out¬ 
 ward privileges and distinctions. And there is 
 ground for more than fear—(nothing indeed can be 
 more evident and certain)—that the same kind of 
 delusion is hardly, if at all, less prevalent in countries 
 like our own, denominated Christian. The inhabi¬ 
 tants of such countries are, perhaps, as numerously 
 misled by dependence on their baptism, as the 
 Jews were by dependence on their circumcision. 
 And this natural propensity, to a delusive confidence, 
 has been helped forward, in many instances, by an 
 unscriptural use of particular terms. Baptism is 
 not regeneration ; but, in consequence of a natural 
 enough association, arising both from the emblematic 
 significance of the rite, and from the fact of its ad- 
 ministration to converts, considered as partakers of 
 regenerating grace, it unhappily came to be so called 
 —the sign being put, according to no uncommon 
 figure, for the thing signified. But surely it is a 
 matter of comparatively very trivial consequence, in 
 what sense particular terms were used by- one or 
 another, or most, or all, of the early fathers. Our 
 
 b 3 
 
XX XIV 
 
 chief, perhaps our only question ought to be, what 
 their acceptation is in the usage of the inspired 
 writers themselves. It is an exceedingly perilous 
 thing, on such subjects, to affix to Bible terms a 
 sense of our own, different from that in which they 
 are there used ; especially when the affixing of such 
 a sense contributes to encourage and strengthen the 
 disposition, so deeply seated in our fallen nature, 
 to place a ruinous dependence on what is outward. 
 Instead of giving any countenance and aid to such a 
 propensity, every means in our power should be 
 employed to counteract and restrain it. When 
 persons have been led by a habitual association, to 
 connect the idea of regeneration with their baptism, 
 and by the identification of the terms, and the modes 
 of speech to which they are accustomed, to imagine 
 some kind of virtue in the rite, whereby it commu¬ 
 nicates, they cannot tell how, what is meant by re¬ 
 generation in the Bible ;—the consequence is, that, 
 in the naturally indolent thoughtlessness of their 
 minds as to all that regards their spiritual interests, 
 they settle down in the easy imperturbable quietude 
 of nominal Christianity. They have been made 
 Christians by their baptism. This has been, in their 
 eyes, the washing of regeneration. They think no 
 further about the matter ; but regard all beyond as 
 enthusiasm. They are like their neighbours ; and 
 they desire no more. 
 
 On this subject of baptismal regeneration , the 
 reader will find some scriptural and critical strictures 
 in the Appendix to this work. For our own parts, 
 we are of opinion, that nothing needed ever to have 
 been written on the subject beyond the statements 
 
XXXV 
 
 which close the first Sermon in this Volume, to which 
 we refer our readers. They are distinguished; by 
 the amiable and excellent Author’s wonted clearness 
 of statement, and affectionate earnestness of per¬ 
 suasion. He 44 served God with his spirit in the 
 Gospel of his Son;” and all his addresses to his 
 fellow-sinners, breathed at once the ardour of piety, 
 and the tenderness of benevolence, by which that 
 spirit, under the guidance of a sound and divinely 
 enlightened understanding, was ever animated. 
 
 There can be no subject whatever of deeper in¬ 
 terest than that to which the following Sermons are 
 devoted. It is the peremptory declaration of Christ 
 himself, uttered by his own lips when introducing 
 the gospel dispensation— t4 Ye must be born 
 again.” And the necessity of the change expressed 
 by the figure, is founded in the natural incapacity 
 of every man, as he is born into the world, for enjoy¬ 
 ing the blessings of his spiritual kingdom:— 44 Verily, 
 verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, 
 he cannot see the kingdom of God.” To see , means 
 to enjoy ; or rather, I should say, (for it is applied 
 to evil as well as to good,) to experience: — 44 He 
 that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; he 
 that believeth not the Son shall not see life , but the 
 wrath of God abideth on him.” 44 Verily, verily, 
 I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall 
 never see death” 44 He cannot see the kingdom 
 of God,” means, that without a change of heart, the 
 sinner is not in a capacity to participate in its bless¬ 
 ings:—He can have no relish for them, no enjoy¬ 
 ment of them, either on earth or in heaven. It is 
 not a mere arbitrary appointment, a sovereign de- 
 
XXXVI 
 
 termination and dictate of authority, that no man 
 shall enter the kingdom of heaven, or be admitted 
 to share its joys, unless he be born again. The 
 exclusion arises from the nature of the thing. The 
 unregenerate man cannot share its joys. They are 
 of such a kind, that without a new heart they cannot 
 be tasted. On the deaf man, or on the man who 
 has no ear to distinguish musical sounds, the sweetest 
 melodies and the richest harmonies of the best 
 masters would be lost, and every effort to charm him 
 thrown away. While the souls of others around 
 him were 44 imprisoned” and 44 lapt in Elysium,” he 
 would sit in listless vacancy, or possibly even in fret¬ 
 ful annoyance, and wonder at their unaccountable 
 raptures. Set down a blind man, or a man without 
 taste and sensibility, in the midst of the loveliest or 
 the sublimest of nature’s landscapes; no emotion of 
 fender delight, or of joyous ecstasy, or of lofty and 
 awful veneration, would visit his bosom. He wants 
 the organ that is necessary to his perceiving, or the 
 state of mind and heart that is indispensable to his 
 enjoying, with any appropriate zest, the scenes 
 around him. Thus it is with the unregenerate man, 
 in regard to the blessings of the kingdom of heaven. 
 The natural state of his mind and heart unfits him 
 for either appreciating their excellence, or relishing 
 their sweetness. In order to either the one or the 
 other, he 44 must be born again.” This sentiment 
 the reader will find largely and finely amplified in 
 the fifth of the following Sermons. And, indeed, 
 we feel it difficult to introduce the all-important 
 subject to the notice of our readers, without antici¬ 
 pating sentiments which may be found better illus- 
 
XXXV11 
 
 trated and enforced in the very work we are recom¬ 
 mending. We shall therefore draw this Essay to 
 a close, with an earnest entreaty to all, not to lay 
 the work aside, and not to satisfy themselves with a 
 superficial and hasty glance of its contents. This 
 would neither be doingjustice to truth, to themselves, 
 nor to God. If what the Son of God hath said be 
 true, then the question whether he has been £< born 
 again” is, with regard to every sinner on earth, the 
 turning point for eternity. “ Without holiness, no 
 man shall see the Lord —and being born again, 
 is the beginning of holiness. It is then that the 
 sinner is set apart for God, and fitted for his service 
 and fellowship, both here and hereafter. The figure 
 used to express the change is natural and appropriate. 
 Others not less so, are also employed. It is a re¬ 
 surrection from death. It is a new ereation. And 
 all these representations convey strongly the senti¬ 
 ment, that the change represented by them is not 
 external, superficial, and partial; but inward, radical, 
 and total. “ If any man be in Christ, he is a new 
 creature.”—Of all figures, the new birth is most 
 easily made the subject of profane and heartless 
 ridicule. But it is not a subject for jesting. It is 
 insanity so to treat it. And one hardly knows 
 whether most to pity the folly, or to censure the 
 moral delinquency, of the man who can put off, with 
 a drivelling joke, the all-absorbing interests of eter¬ 
 nity, and barter his immortal soul for the credit of a 
 witticism. All the evidence by which the Bible is 
 proved to be the word of God, bears in full force on 
 every saying which it contains. And all and every part 
 of that evidence,—external, internal, and experimen- 
 
XXXV111 
 
 tal, must be fairly met and entirely set aside,—nay, 
 every likelihood , and every possibility of the truth 
 and divine authority of the Bible, must be put out 
 of the question,—before a man can wisely or safely 
 make light of the solemn assurance—“ Except a 
 
 o 
 
 MAN BE BORN AGAIN, HE CANNOT SEE THE KING¬ 
 DOM of God.” 
 
 The two Sermons on the doctrine of c Salvation 
 by Grace through Faith,’ are very appropriately as¬ 
 sociated in this Volume with those on Regenera¬ 
 tion. It is especially this doctrine that is the in¬ 
 strumental means, by which the Holy Spirit operates 
 in regenerating the souls of men : ct Being born 
 again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, 
 by the word of God, which Iiveth and abideth for 
 ever:—and this is the word, which, by the gos¬ 
 pel, is preached unto you.” It is by the cross,— 
 by the testimony of the everlasting love and free 
 grace of God to sinners, through Christ Jesus, that 
 that enmity of the heart is slain, which is the essence 
 of spiritual death, and that holy love introduced 
 in its stead, which is the grand elemental principle 
 of spiritual life. Of the doctrine itself, of * salva¬ 
 tion by grace,’ most truly does the Author say, 
 “ This glorious doctrine has been the joy of the 
 church, in all ages, on earth; and it will be the song 
 of all who have received it in truth, throughout the 
 ages of eternity, and be pursued in the heavenly 
 regions with ever-growing admiration and delight.” 
 
 R. W. 
 
 Glasgow, March> 1829. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 SERMON I, 
 
 OF THE CHARACTER OF THE UNREGENERATE. 
 
 Ephesians ii. 1, 2.—“ And you hath he quickened, who were 
 dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked 
 according to the course of this world, according to the prince 
 of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the 
 children of disobedience,” ..... 49 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 OF THE NATURE OF REGENERATION, AND PARTICU¬ 
 LARLY OF THE CHANGE IT PRODUCES IN MENS 
 APPREHENSIONS. 
 
 2 Corinthians v. 17.—“If any man be in Christ, he is a new 
 creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are 
 become new,” ....... 72 
 
 SERMON Hi; 
 
 OF THE NATURE OF REGENERATION, WITH RESPECT 
 TO THE CHANGE IT PRODUCES IN MEN’S AFFECTIONS, 
 RESOLUTIONS, LABOURS, ENJOYMENTS AND HOPES. 
 
 From the same text, ....... 94 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION, ARGUED FROM 
 
 THE IMMUTABLE CONSTITUTION OF GOD. 
 
 John iii. 3.—“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, 
 I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see 
 the kingdom of God,” ...... 120 
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 OF THE INCAPACITY OF AN UNREGENERATE PERSON 
 FOR RELISHING THE ENJOYMENTS OF THE HEA¬ 
 
 VENLY WORLD, 
 From the same text, 
 
 148 
 
xl 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 OF THE IMPORTANCE OF ENTERING INTO THE KING¬ 
 DOM OF HEAVEN. 
 
 From the same text,.172 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 OF THE NECESSITY OF DIVINE INFLUENCES TO PRO¬ 
 DUCE REGENERATION IN THE SOUL. 
 
 Titus iii. 5, 6.—“ Not by works of righteousness which we have 
 done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing 
 of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he 
 shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour,” 197 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 OF THE VARIOUS METHODS OF THE DIVINE OPERATION 
 IN THE PRODUCTION OF THIS SAVING CHANGE. 
 
 1 Corinthians xii. 6.—“ There are diversities of operations, but 
 it is the same God which worketh all in all,” . . 224 
 
 SERMON IX. 
 
 DIRECTIONS TO AWAKENED SINNERS. 
 
 Acts ix. 6.—“ And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, 
 what wilt thou have me to do ?” . . . 2o8 
 
 SERMON X. 
 
 AN ADDRESS TO THE REGENERATE, FOUNDED ON THE 
 PRECEDING DISCOURSES. 
 
 James i. 18.—“Of his own will begat he us with the word of 
 truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his crea¬ 
 tures,” .278 
 
 THE SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION BY 
 GRACE THROUGH FAITH. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 Ephesians ii. 8.—“ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and 
 that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,” . . 305 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 o 
 
 O 
 
 28 
 
 From the same text, . 
 

 DISCOURSES 
 
 ON 
 
 regeneration. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 It is undoubtedly the duty of every wise and good 
 man, to be forming schemes for the service of God 
 and his fellow-creatures in future years, if he be 
 continued to them; and it will be his prudence to 
 do it early in life, that he may be gradually prepar¬ 
 ing to execute them in the most advantageous man¬ 
 ner he can. But while a man’s heart is thus devis¬ 
 ing his way, the Lord directeth his steps. And as 
 many such schemes will probably be left unfinished 
 at death, #which will quickly come to break off our 
 purposes and the thoughts of our hearts; so it is not 
 improbable that they who humbly and obediently 
 follow the leadings of Divine Providence and Grace, 
 may often find themselves called out, on a sudden, 
 to services which, but a little before, were quite un¬ 
 thought of by them. 
 
 This has been the case with me in most of the 
 Sermons I have published, of which very few were 
 composed with any view to the press; and it is most 
 remarkably so with respect to these on Regeneration. 
 Besides many other excellent persons, my much 
 honoured friend, Dr. Wright, has handled the sub¬ 
 ject in so judicious and lively a manner, and, through 
 the great goodness of God to us, so many thousands 
 
44 
 
 of his treatise are dispersed in all parts of our land, 
 that I could hardly have believed any one who had 
 told me I should thus have resumed it; nor had I 
 the least intention of doing it, when I began that 
 course of Lectures which I now offer to my reader’s 
 
 I did indeed think it necessary, last year, to treat 
 the subject more largely than I had ever done before, 
 knowing in the general how important it is, and ob¬ 
 serving that several controversies had about that time 
 been raised concerning it, which, (though I do not 
 judge it necessary to mention the particulars of them,) 
 
 I was ready to fear, might have had an evil influence 
 to unsettle men’s minds, and either to lead them into 
 some particular errors, or into a general apprehension 
 that it was a mere point of speculation, about which 
 it was not necessary to form any judgment at all.* 
 
 That these Discourses might be more generally 
 useful, I determined to preach them on Lord’s-day 
 evenings, that those of my neighbours, who were 
 not my stated hearers, might, if they thought proper, 
 have an opportunity of attending them : and, accor- 
 dinglvj they were attended to the last with uncom¬ 
 mon diligence; a great many persons, of different 
 persuasions and communions, making up a part of 
 the auditory. As practical instruction and improve¬ 
 ment was the main thing I had in view, I knew it 
 was necessary to make my discourses .as plain, as 
 free, and as serious as I could. But before I had 
 finished half of my scheme, several of my hearers 
 earnestly requested that the Sermons might be pub- 
 
 * See Mr. Hebden’s Appendix to his late Discourse on Re¬ 
 generation. 
 
45 
 
 lished: and the request grew more extensive and 
 importunate every week, with this additional circum¬ 
 stance, (which I much regarded,) that some very 
 pious and judicious friends at a distance, being pro¬ 
 videntially brought to the hearing of some of these 
 Lectures, strongly concurred in the desire; express¬ 
 ing a very cheerful hope, that the reading of what 
 they had heard might be useful in distant parts of 
 the land, to which, they assured me, they would en¬ 
 deavour to spread them, as opportunity might offer. 
 As the advice of several of my brethren in the minis¬ 
 try was joined with all this, I thought myself bound 
 in duty at length to comply; which I was the rather 
 encouraged to do, from the several instances in which 
 I had reason to believe the Divine blessing had, in 
 some measure, attended these Sermons from the pul¬ 
 pit, and had made them the means of producing aud 
 advancing the change they described and enforced. 
 
 On these considerations, I applied myself to re¬ 
 collect the substance of them as well as I could, 
 from the short hints I had written of them, with the 
 assistance of those notes which some of my friends 
 had taken. Some things are perhaps omitted, though 
 I believe but very few; some contracted, and some 
 enlarged; but my hearers will find them, in the main, 
 what they heard. It cost me more labour than I 
 was aware, from such materials, to reduce them into 
 their present form. 
 
 I shall leave it to my reader to observe for him¬ 
 self the manner and method in w'hich I have handled 
 my subject, without giving him a particular view of 
 it here; only must beg leave to tell him, in the gen¬ 
 eral, that I hope he will find I have not presumed so 
 
46 
 
 far on the sublimity of my subject, as to talk with¬ 
 out determinate ideas; for which reason I have omit¬ 
 ted many phrases, used particularly of late by some 
 pious and worthy persons, because I freely own, that 
 as Lcannot find them in my Bible, so neither can I 
 understand their exact meaning; and it seems very 
 improper to embarrass such plain discourses as these 
 with a language, which, not being thoroughly mas¬ 
 ter of, I may chance to misapply, supposing those 
 phrases to be really more proper than I can at pre¬ 
 sent apprehend they are. I have endeavoured to 
 keep to one idea of Regeneration, which I take to 
 be that which the Scripture suggests: by Regenera¬ 
 tion I mean ‘ a prevailing disposition of the soul 
 to universal holiness, produced and cherished by the 
 influences of God’s Spirit on our hearts, operating 
 in a manner suitable to the constitution of our na¬ 
 ture, as rational and accountable creatures.’ If 
 this be (as I think I have proved at large that it is) 
 the Scriptural notion of it, it will follow, that no¬ 
 thing which may be found where this is not, or 
 which may not be found where this is, can be Re¬ 
 generation in the Scripture sense, which is that 
 sense in which we are much more concerned, than 
 we are in that to which any human writers, whether 
 ancient or modern, may think proper to apply it. 
 
 If the doctrine which I have endeavoured, in the 
 whole course of these Sermons, to confirm and illus¬ 
 trate by the word of God, be in one form or another 
 generally taught by my brethren in the ministry, of 
 whatever denomination, I rejoice in it for their own 
 sakes, as well as for that of the people under their 
 care. I am very little inclined to contend about 
 
47 
 
 technical phrases of human invention, which have, 
 with equal frailty, been idolized by some, and ana¬ 
 thematized by others. We shall, I hope, learn 
 more and more to bear one another’s burdens, and 
 to study the kindest interpretations which the words 
 of each other will admit. But I must take the 
 liberty to say, I am, in my conscience, persuaded, 
 that this view of things which is here proposed, 
 though perhaps not very fashionable, is, in the 
 general, so edifying, and so naturally leads to the 
 frequent review of many other important doctrines 
 of Christianity, which are closely connected with it, 
 that I am well satisfied it will be our wisdom to 
 adhere to it, and to make it very familiar to our own 
 minds, and to those of our hearers. Nor can I 
 imagine, that any variety in the idioms of different 
 languages, or the customs of different ages and na¬ 
 tions, can be a sufficient reason for bringing Scrip¬ 
 ture phrases into disuse, while we keep to the ori¬ 
 ginal ideas signified by them. There seems to be 
 a peculiar felicity in them to express divine truth ; 
 and they will undoubtedly be found the safest 
 vehicle of religious knowledge, and the surest bond 
 of union among Christians; while, however we may 
 differ in other matters, we so generally agree in ac¬ 
 knowledging that our Bibles contain the oracles of 
 God. 
 
 Let us, therefore, who, under different denomi¬ 
 nations, are honoured with the ministry of the ever¬ 
 lasting gospel, agree, for a while at least, to suspend 
 our debates upon less necessary subjects, that we 
 may, with united efforts, concur in prosecuting that 
 great design for which the gospel was revealed, the 
 
48 
 
 Spirit given, and our office instituted. And since 
 it is so evident that irreligion has grown upon us, 
 while we have been attending to other, and, to be 
 sure, smaller matters, let us, by a plain, serious, 
 and zealous way of preaching the most vital truths 
 of Christianity, joined with a diligent inspection of 
 the souls committed to our care, try what can be 
 done towards preventing the progress of this grow¬ 
 ing apostacy, and recovering the ground we have 
 already lost. Ignorant and prejudiced people may 
 perhaps accuse us of bigotry or enthusiasm; but 
 let us do our best to convince them of their error 
 by the candour of our temper, and the prudence of 
 our conduct; and remember, that, as Chrysostom 
 excellently speaks in those lively words, “ It is a 
 sufficient consolation for our labours, and far more 
 than an equivalent for all, if we may have a testi¬ 
 mony in our consciences, that we compose and regu¬ 
 late our discourses in such a manner as may be ap¬ 
 proved by God, in whose name we speak.” 
 
 Northampton, Nov. 7 , 1741 . 
 
REGENERATION. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 OF THE CHARACTER OF THE UNREGENERATE. 
 
 Ephesians ii. 1, 2. 
 
 “ And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and 
 sins ; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course 
 of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, 
 the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” 
 
 Among all the various trusts which men can repose 
 on each other, hardly any appears to me more so¬ 
 lemn and tremendous than the direction of their 
 sacred time, and especially of those hours which they 
 spend in the exercise of public devotion. These 
 seasons take up so small a part of our lives, when 
 compared with that which the labours and recrea¬ 
 tions of them demand, and so much depends upon 
 their being managed aright, that we who are called 
 to assist you in the employment and improvement of 
 them, can hardly be too solicitous that we discharge 
 the trust in a manner which we may answer to God 
 
 C 44 
 
50 
 
 and to you. If this thought dwell upon the mind 
 with due weight, it will have some sensible influence 
 upon our discourses to you, as well as on the strain 
 of those addresses which we present to the throne 
 of grace in your name, and on your account. We 
 shall not be over-anxious about the order of words, 
 the elegance of expression, or the little graces of 
 composition, or delivery; but shall study to speak 
 on the most important subjects, and to handle them 
 with such gravity and seriousness, with such solem¬ 
 nity and spirit, as may, through the divine blessing, 
 be most likely to penetrate the hearts of our hearers; 
 to awaken those that are entirely unconcerned about 
 religion, and to animate and assist those, who, being 
 already acquainted with it, desire to make continual 
 advances, which will be the case of every truly good 
 man. 
 
 It is my earnest prayer for myself, and for my 
 brethren in the ministry, of all denominations, that 
 we may, in this respect, approve our wisdom and 
 integrity to God, and 6t commend ourselves to the 
 consciences of all men.” It is our charge, as we 
 shall answer it another day to <£ the God of the 
 spirits of all flesh,” to use our prudent and zealous 
 endeavours to make men truly wise and good, vir¬ 
 tuous and happy.- But, to this purpose, it is by 
 no means sufficient to content ourselves merely with 
 attempting to reform the immoralities and irregu¬ 
 larities of their lives, and to bring them to an exter¬ 
 nal behaviour, decent, honourable, and useful. An 
 undertaking like this, while the inward temper is 
 neglected, even when it may seem most effectual, 
 will be but like painting the face of one who is ready 
 
51 
 
 to die, or labouring to repair a ruinous house by 
 plastering and adorning its walls, while its founda¬ 
 tions are decayed. There is an awful passage in 
 Ezekiel to this purpose, which I hope we shall often 
 recollect: <e Woe to the foolish prophets, because 
 they have seduced my people, saying, Peace, when 
 there was no peace: and one built up a wall, and, 
 lo, others daubed it with' untempered mortar : say 
 unto them that daub it with untempered mortar, that 
 it shall fall. Thus saith the Lord God, I will even 
 rend it with a stormy wind in my fury; and there 
 shall be an overflowing shower in mine anger, and 
 great hailstones in my fury, to consume it. So will 
 I break down the wall that ye have daubed with 
 untempered mortar, and bring it down to the ground, 
 so that the foundation thereof shall be discovered ; 
 and it shall fall, and ye shall be consumed in the 
 midst thereof; and ye shall know that I am the 
 Lord.” 
 
 If there be any, in one body of Christians or 
 another, that abet men’s natural disposition to flatter 
 themselves, “ in a way that is not good,” by en¬ 
 couraging them to hope for salvation, because they 
 were regularly baptized in their infancy, because they 
 have diligently attended on public worship, in its 
 established, or its separate forms, or merely because 
 they do nobody any harm, but are rather kind and 
 helpful to others; or because their faith is orthodox, 
 their transports of affection warm, or their assurance 
 confident; I pray God to awaken them by the power 
 of his grace, before they are consumed, with their 
 hearers, in the ruins of their deceitful building. 
 Those of you who are my stated hearers can witness 
 
 c 2 
 
52 
 
 for me, that, in this respect, <c I have delivered my 
 own soul.” It has been the steady tenor of my 
 doctrine among you, that our hope and confidence 
 must be in Christ, and not in ourselves; and that, 
 if we desire to be interested in the righteousness he 
 has wrought out, and in the blessings he has purchased 
 by his sacred blood, we must be experimentally ac¬ 
 quainted with the work of God’s renewing grace 
 upon our souls, curing the inward distempers of our 
 degenerate hearts, and transforming us into the 
 image of his holiness. That is what we are taught 
 in Scripture to call by the name of Regeneration ; 
 and, considering how much the subject is neglected 
 by some, and I fear I may add, misrepresented and 
 disguised by others, I apprehend I shall profitably 
 employ an evening-hour, for several succeeding 
 sabbaths, in giving a larger account than I have yet 
 done of the Scripture doctrine on this important 
 subject, in its various parts. It shall be my care, 
 in the series of these Discourses, as God shall enable 
 me, to 6i speak the words of truth and soberness;” 
 and I entreat you to have recourse “ to the law and 
 to the testimony,” that you may judge of the truth 
 and weight of what I say. I desire not to be re¬ 
 garded any farther than I produce evidence from 
 reason and Scripture : but so far as we are disregard¬ 
 ed, while we have the concurrent testimony of both, 
 our hearers must see to it; and their danger will then 
 be proportionable to the importance of those truths 
 which their negligence, or their prejudice, engage 
 them either to reject or to overlook. 
 
 The plan on which I intend to proceed in the 
 course of these Lectures is this:— 
 
53 
 
 I. I will endeavour to describe the character of 
 those whom we may properly call persons in an un¬ 
 regenerate state. 
 
 II. I will describe the nature of that change 
 which may properly be called Regeneration, or Con¬ 
 version. 
 
 III. I will show at large, the absolute necessity 
 of this change, and the consequent misery of those 
 that are strangers to it. 
 
 IV. I shall endeavour to prove the reality and 
 necessity of the divine influences on the mind, in the 
 production of such a change. 
 
 V. I shall describe some of those various methods 
 by which God is pleased to operate in the production 
 of this holy and important work. 
 
 VI. I shall propose some advices to those who 
 are already awakened, as to the method in which 
 they are to seek renewing and converting grace. 
 After which, 
 
 VII. I shall conclude those Discourses with an 
 address to those who have experienced this happy 
 change, as to the manner in which they ought to be 
 affected with such a series of Sermons as this, and 
 the improvement they should make of what they are 
 to hear, and what they have felt agreeable to it. 
 
 I should be peculiarly inexcusable, if I entered 
 upon such a subject, without earnest and importu¬ 
 nate prayers to the Fountain of Light, Grace, and 
 Holiness, that while you hear of this important doc¬ 
 trine, you may have that experimental knowledge of 
 it, without which such Discourses will indeed seem 
 obscure and enthusiastical, according to the degree in 
 which they are rational and spiritual. I shall only add, 
 
54 
 
 that these Lectures will take their rise from a 
 variety of texts, which I shall not, according to my 
 usual method, largely open and dilate upon ; but 
 only touch on them as so many mottos to the re¬ 
 spective Sermons to which they are prefixed. 
 
 As I intend not philosophical essays, but plain, 
 practical, and popular addresses, I shall begin, 
 
 First, With describing the character of those 
 whom we may properly call Unconverted and Unre¬ 
 generated persons. 
 
 It is absolutely necessary that I should do this, 
 that you may respectively know your own personal 
 concern in what is further to be laid before you in 
 the process of these Lectures. 
 
 Now, you have the general character of such, in 
 - the words of my text; and a very sad one it is. 
 They are represented, as <{ dead in trespasses and 
 sins,” utterly indisposed both for the actions and 
 enjoyments of the spiritual and divine life; as €< walk¬ 
 ing according to the course of this world,” a sad 
 intimation that it was the state of the generality of 
 mankind; nay, £< according to the prince of the power 
 of the air,” that impure and wicked spirit, who works, 
 or exerts his energy, u in the children of disobe¬ 
 dience that is, in those who reject and despise the 
 gospel; in which it is implied, (and a dreadful im¬ 
 plication it is,) that the course and conduct of those 
 who reject the gospel is according to the desire and 
 instigation of c< the prince of darknessthey are 
 going on as the devil himself would have them, and 
 choose that path for themselves, which he chooses 
 for them, as leading them to most certain and most 
 aggravated ruin. 
 
55 
 
 And who are these unhappy persons? Surely 
 there must be some of them among us; for who can 
 flatter himself, that, in so numerous an assembly, 
 the course of all is different from that of the world; 
 and that all have happily triumphed over the arti¬ 
 fices of that accursed spirit, who is, by God’s right¬ 
 eous permission, become its prince, while it continues 
 in its apostate state? I shall, however, think it a 
 very happy point gained, if I could convince any of 
 you, who are justly liable to that conviction, that 
 you are the men; if I could, as it were, render visi¬ 
 ble to your eyes those subtle, yet strongly compli¬ 
 cated chains, in which Satan is binding you, and by 
 which he is drawing you on to eternal ruin; that 
 you might 6£ recover yourselves out of the snare of 
 the devil, who are led captive by him at his pleasure.” 
 
 I am this evening to describe the character of an 
 unregenerate man : but I cannot pretend to do it in 
 all the variety of circumstances which may attend it. 
 I shall therefore mention only some particulars which 
 are most important, and which most certainly demon¬ 
 strate a person to be of that wretched number. 
 There are a great variety of countenances in the 
 human species ; yet the principal features in all are 
 the same, though their proportion and lineaments 
 may differ; and I apprehend the characters which I 
 am now to lay down, will most of them suit every 
 unregenerate person, though they may appear in 
 various persons in different degrees and different in¬ 
 stances. I shall chiefly lay down these characters in 
 negatives, as I apprehend it is the safest way; and 
 only would observe, what you may easily imagine, 
 that I speak only of the adult; for 1 would cautiously 
 
56 
 
 avoid entangling this Discourse, with what relates 
 purely to the case of infants, lest “ Satan should 
 get an advantage over us,” and turn that into an 
 occasion to amuse curiosity, which I humbly hope, 
 under the influence of the Spirit of God, will be the 
 means of awakening conviction, and of breaking that 
 delusive peace in which, like the strong armed man, 
 he keeps his vassals, till the fatal hour comes which 
 is to complete their ruin. 
 
 To waive theformality of laboured demonstrations, 
 in a case which admits of such easy evidence, I shall 
 go upon this obvious principle in the whole of my 
 reasoning; 6 That to be regenerate , and to be born 
 of God , are in Scripture terms of the same import; 
 and, consequently, that whatever temper and dispo¬ 
 sition is in Scripture declared to be inconsistent with 
 the character of a child of God, must necessarily de¬ 
 nominate a man an unregenerate person/ And 
 one would think this principle could hardly be dis¬ 
 puted, since all that allow of regeneration at all in a 
 Christian sense, seem to understand by it that change, 
 whatever it is, by which a person is made a child of 
 God, and, by consequence, an heir of heaven. 
 
 Now, on this principle, you may take the marks 
 of an unregenerate person in such particulars as 
 these, and let those whose conscience own them hear 
 and tremble. 
 
 1. The soul ‘that never seriously inquired into 
 its spiritual state/ is, beyond all doubt, an unregene¬ 
 rate soul. 
 
 The Apostle earnestly presses it upon the Chris¬ 
 tians to whom he wrote, that they should diligently 
 “ examine themselves whether they were in the 
 
57 
 
 faith and he who has entirely neglected to do it, 
 seems to express, not merely a forgetfulness of re¬ 
 ligion, but even a contempt of it too. Nevertheless 
 be it known unto you, sirs, that an humble return 
 to God, and a cordial dedication of soul to his ser¬ 
 vice, is not so slight an act of a man’s life, that it 
 should pass without any observation in doing it, or 
 any serious reflection on having done it. Religion 
 is a deliberate thing; it brings a man seriously to 
 “ consider his ways, that he may turn his feet to 
 God’s commandments“ to search and try them, 
 that he may turn again unto the Lord.” A good 
 man is so impressed with the thoughts of God, and 
 of eternity, that perhaps he is rather ready to be over 
 anxiously afraid and suspicious in a matter of so 
 great importance ; and, therefore, will review on the 
 one hand, the plan of salvation that God has laid 
 down in his word, and on the other, the correspon¬ 
 dency to it that he may discover in his own soul. 
 And if there are any of you that have never been 
 thus employed—any that have never separated your¬ 
 selves a while from other employments, that you 
 mieht “seek and intermeddle with this divine wis- 
 dom,” you are assuredly strangers to it. If there 
 are any of you that have never studied God’s word, 
 to learn his will from thence, that have never at¬ 
 tended to sermons, that you might try yourselves by 
 them, and, if possible, carry home something of the 
 chief of what you hear, to assist your retired and 
 more diligeilt inquiries ; you may now come to a very 
 quick conclusion, and before you leave this place, 
 yea, before I proceed to any further particulars, you 
 may set it down as the memorable beginning of these 
 
 c 3 
 
58 
 
 Lectures, and of this discourse, { I am already 
 proved to be an unregenerate creature ; I am in the 
 gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.’ 
 Nay, you may add, that there are perhaps thousands 
 of those that are yet unregenerate sinners, who have 
 not been so careless and so insensible as you. For 
 indeed, sirs, a man may begin an examination, and 
 start back from the prosecution of it before it is 
 brought to any important issue ; or, trying himself 
 by false characters, he may come to a conclusion, 
 which will he so much the more dangerous as it has 
 been the more deliberate. For the sake of such, 
 therefore, I add, 
 
 2. The soul ‘ that is not deeply convinced of its 
 guilt before God, and desirous to seek deliverance 
 from it by the Lord Jesus Christ,’ is still in an un¬ 
 regenerate state. 
 
 All the promises of God’s paternal favour do cer¬ 
 tainly imply the promise of forgiveness ; and you 
 well know that these are appropriated to such as 
 humble themselves before God ; and that humbling 
 which is merely external, and implies no deep sense 
 of inward guilt, can pass for very little with that God 
 <£ who searches the heart, and tries the reins of the 
 children of men.” 
 
 The Scriptures assure us, that “ whosoever be¬ 
 lieves that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God 
 and nothing can be more certain, from the whole 
 tenor of it, than that “ he that believes not shall be 
 damned and surely a state of damnation is not, and 
 cannot be, a state of regeneration. But what is 
 this faith in Christ? Is it no more than a bare no¬ 
 tional persuasion that he is the Son of God ? If 
 
59 
 
 this were all, the devils themselves believe; and 
 many were the instances in which you know that 
 they confessed it, and trembled before him. You 
 cannot then be ignorant, that the faith to which the 
 promises of salvation are made, is a faith which {( re¬ 
 ceives the Lord Jesus Christ in all his offices;” 
 which trusts his atonement, as well as admits his 
 revelation; and flies to him for righteousness and 
 life. And how can that man seek righteousness 
 from Christ, who is insensible of his own guilt? or 
 how can he depend upon him for life, who is not 
 aware that he is under a sentence of death and con¬ 
 demnation ? 
 
 But imagine not that you are secure, because you 
 acknowledge yourselves to be sinners. If that ac¬ 
 knowledgment be slight and formal, it shows you 
 are strangers to the operation of that Spirit, whose 
 office it is to convince men of sin. If you have not 
 been made sensible of the pollution of your hearts, 
 as well as the rebellion of your lives; if you have 
 not received, as it were, a sentence of death in your¬ 
 selves, and submitted to that sentence as righteous, 
 though ever so dreadful; if you have not been made 
 to “ loathe and abhor yourselves, and to repent in 
 dust and ashes—if you have not laid your hand oil 
 your mouth, and your mouth in the dust, crying 
 out, Unclean, uncleanand, in this sense at least, 
 adopted that pathetic complaint, (C O wretched man 
 that I am, who shall deliver me !” it is a certain 
 sign that sin still reigns in your mortal bodies, and 
 is unto this day bringing forth fruit unto death. 
 
 3. The soul 6 that is unconcerned about the 
 favour of God, and communion with him/ is still in 
 an unregenerate state. 
 
60 
 
 Common reason may tell you, that a soul desti¬ 
 tute of the love of God, can never be the object 
 of his complacential regards; and that it is impos¬ 
 sible you should love him, while you are uncon¬ 
 cerned about his favour, and habitually indifferent to 
 converse with him. You believe there is a God; 
 you acknowledge that he is the great benefactor of 
 the whole world; you know your happiness depends 
 upon his favour; you wish, therefore, that you may 
 enjoy it; that is, you wish that, some way or other, 
 you may be happy, rather than miserable. But let 
 conscience say, whether you have ever felt that in 
 his favour is life ? whether you have ever known 
 what it is to cry out with intenseness and ardour of 
 soul, (i Lord, lift up the light of thy countenance 
 upon me !” Alas ! sirs, had you been sons, God 
 would have sent the Spirit of his Son into your 
 hearts: and if this be not the sincere, if it be not 
 the habitual language of your soul; if you do not 
 thus earnestly desire to live under the manifestations 
 of the divine love, and to be able to say, <£ Truly 
 our communion is with the Father, and with his 
 Son Jesus Christ;” you are spiritually dead, and 
 under the fatal influences of that carnal mind, which, 
 being enmity against God, engages men to live con¬ 
 tented without God in the world, so long as their 
 corn and their wine increase. A heart thus alie¬ 
 nated from God was never savingly turned to him, 
 and can have no just reason to imagine itself the ob¬ 
 ject of his paternal favour. 
 
 4. The soul f that is destitute of a sincere love 
 to mankind,’ has reason to consider itself as in an 
 unregenerate state. 
 
61 
 
 You may, perhaps, think it unnecessary to men¬ 
 tion this; but the Apostle was undoubtedly a much 
 better judge, and his own words suggest this par¬ 
 ticular to me: fiC Beloved, let us love one another : 
 for love is of God; and every one that loveth is # 
 born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth 
 not, knoweth not God,” and consequently cannot be 
 born of him, <c for God is love.” And our Lord 
 strongly intimates the same thought, when he ex¬ 
 horts his disciples to the most universal and un¬ 
 limited benevolence by this argument, that ye may 
 be the children of your Father which is in heaven;” 
 plainly implying, that otherwise they could not 
 really be born of God, or claim him for their Father. 
 Regeneration is to form a man for intimate com¬ 
 munion with the general assembly and church of the 
 first-born, and to prepare him for the region of com¬ 
 plete and everlasting love; and the first-fruits of it 
 are to appear, and to be manifested here. (( It is a 
 faithful saying, that they who have believed in God 
 should be careful to maintain good works;” and un¬ 
 feigned love is to be the root of them; so that, if 
 you cannot stand this trial, your religious hopes are 
 all delusive and vain. 
 
 Let me entreat you, therefore, that you would 
 now look into your lives and hearts. Do any of 
 the malignant passions harbour there ? Ask your¬ 
 selves, 6 Is there any of my fellow-creatures whom 
 I wish to see miserable; or would make so, if it 
 were in my power to do it by the secret act of my 
 will, so that no mortal on earth should ever know 
 me to be the cause of the calamity ?’ If it be so, 
 and this be your settled temper, (( you hate your 
 
62 
 
 brethren, and are murderers; and, therefore, are 
 the children of the devil, who was a murderer from 
 the beginning and we may thus say of you, in 
 the very words of our Lord, who never uttered a 
 
 • rash censure, 66 You are of your father the devil,” 
 for his passions you cherish, and his lusts you would 
 do. 
 
 But reflect farther, if you wish others no harm, 
 do you really wish them well? and that so really, 
 and so sincerely, as to be ready to do them good ? 
 For merely to say unto them, (( Depart in peace, 
 be ye warmed and filled,” when you have it in your 
 power to help them, is at once to mock the poor, 
 and to despise him that made him. You that are 
 conscious of a mean selfish temper, and wrap your- 
 
 * selves up, as it were, in your own separate interests, 
 or in those of your own families, and can feel a con¬ 
 cern for no others; you that devise what you may 
 imagine shrewd and prudent things, but none that 
 are liberal and compassionate; you whose eyes do 
 not affect your heart, when you ({ see the distresses 
 of your brethren, while you have this world’s good, 
 how dwelleth the love of God in you ?” How can 
 you imagine you are the children of him, whom you 
 so little resemble? 
 
 Nay, permit me to add once more upon this 
 head, that if all your compassion is only moved by 
 men’s temporal calamities, and works not in any de¬ 
 gree with respect to their spiritual and eternal in¬ 
 terests, you have reason to fear, that it is no better 
 than an unsanctified humanity; and indeed, that 
 you never have learned the worth of your own souls, 
 while you set so little value on the souls of others, 
 
63 
 
 even of those to whom you profess and intend friend¬ 
 ship. And this concluding hint, is of importance to 
 prevent a dangerous mistake, in which too many 
 good-natured sinners are ready to flatter themselves, 
 and in which, perhaps, others are too ready to join 
 in flattering them. 
 
 5. He 4 that does not know what it is to struggle 
 with indwelling sin, and heartily to resolve against 
 indulging it in any kind or degree/ is undoubtedly 
 still in an unregenerate state. 
 
 You will observe, I do not say, 4 that every one 
 who knows what it is to feel a struggle in his own 
 mind, when assaulted by temptations to sin, is a truly 
 good man:’ the contrary is dreadfully apparent. 
 A principle of natural conscience often makes very 
 strong remonstrances against sin, and sends out 
 bitter cries when subjected to its violence; and this 
 is so far from denominating a man a real Christian, 
 that it rather illustrates the power of sin, and aggra¬ 
 vates its guilt. But when a man’s inclinations run 
 entirely one way, and when he gives a swing to his 
 natural passions, without any guard or restraint; 
 when he is a stranger to any inward conflict with 
 himself, and any victory over his own lusts, and his 
 corrupted will; it is a certain sign he is yet under 
 the dominion of Satan, and is even to be numbered 
 among the tamest of his slaves. For 44 they that 
 are Christ’s have crucified the flesh, with the affec¬ 
 tions and lusts—have learned to deny themselves— 
 and to mortify their members upon earth.” 
 
 It is also of great importance to add, that there 
 must be 4 a resolution to oppose sin in every kind, 
 and in every degree;’ for he 44 that is born of God 
 
64 
 
 sinneth not;” nay, it is likewise said, he cannot 
 commit sin : and though it is too visibly true in fact, 
 and apparent from several other passages in the very 
 Epistle whence these words are taken, that this ex¬ 
 pression is to be interpreted with 4 some limitation ; 
 yet the least that it can be imagined to signify is this, 
 that he does not wilfully allow himself in the practice 
 of any sin. . He has learned to hate every false way, 
 and to esteem all God’s precepts, concerning all 
 things, to be right; so that, upon the whole, if he 
 might have his request, and God would grant him 
 the thing he longs for,’ it would be this, to sin no 
 more, and to get rid of every sentiment, desire, and 
 affection, in any degree contrary to the purity of God’s 
 nature and law. If therefore there be any of you 
 that spare one accursed thing, though you should 
 seem eager on destroying all the rest; if it be the 
 secret language of your soul, 4 There is but one lust 
 that I will indulge; there is but one temptation that 
 I will comply with;’ I perceive 44 your hearts are 
 not right in the sight of God:” for though you 
 could, according to your pretended purpose, 44 keep 
 all the rest of the law, and yet offend in this one 
 point alone, you would, in effect, be a transgressor 
 of all.” In short, 44 He that committeth sin is of 
 the devil; but he that is begotten of God keepeth 
 himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.” 
 
 6. He 4 that does not know what it is to over¬ 
 come this world, and to place his happiness in an¬ 
 other,’ is yet in an unregenerate state. 
 
 This is another of those certain marks which God 
 has given us of his own children. 44 Whatsoever 
 is born of God” (as it is very emphatically expressed 
 
65 
 
 in the original) u overcomeih the world.” It is not, 
 you see, the extraordinary attainment of a few more 
 eminent Christians, but it is an essential branch of 
 every good man’s character; for he is 6( begotten 
 again into a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus 
 Christ from the dead, even to the hope of an inheri¬ 
 tance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth 
 not away.” You have reason, therefore, to judge 
 very uncomfortably concerning your state, if you are 
 strangers to this lively hope; which is a very different 
 thing from that hope to be saved, of which some 
 people talk in so indolent, not to say in so profane a 
 manner, as to show, that it is <c the hope of the 
 hypocrite, which will perish, when God takes away 
 his soul.” If you are conscious to yourselves that 
 you mind earthly things, your end will be destruc¬ 
 tion; for having your heart on earth, it is plain your 
 only treasure is here; and if you govern yourselves 
 by worldly maxims alone, and your great care be to 
 obtain those riches and honours which the children 
 of the world pursue; if the importance of eternity 
 has never appeared in such a light as to make you 
 judge every thing trifling that can come in competi¬ 
 tion with it; nay, whatever your views of eternity 
 have been, if you are not practically carrying on a 
 scheme for it, and if you cannot, and do not, deny 
 your worldly interest, when it cannot be secured 
 without hazarding your eternal hopes, it is plain you 
 are friends of the world, in such a sense as none 
 can be, but he must be “an enemy of God.” If in¬ 
 deed you were £< dead to the world, and your life hid 
 with Christ in God, you would set your affections 
 on things above, on those things which are there, 
 
66 
 
 where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God 
 but the want of this temper shows that you are 
 44 carnally minded, which it is death to be,” and that 
 the redeeming love of Christ has never exerted its 
 influence upon your souls, nor his cross had any due 
 efficacy upon you; for if it had, 44 the world would 
 have been crucified to you, and you to the world.” 
 
 7. The soul 4 that does not long for greater im¬ 
 provements in the divine life/ is still a stranger to 
 the first principles of it. 
 
 You know that we are called, 44 as Christians, 
 with an high and holy calling ; and as he that is the 
 author of this calling is holy, so are we to be holy in 
 all manner of conversation, and to be perfect, even as 
 our Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Here will 
 therefore be room for improvement, not only during 
 our continuance in the present life, but through all 
 the ages of a glorious eternity; and it is the ardent 
 desire of every good man, that in this sense, above all 
 others, 44 his path may be like the shining light that 
 shineth more and more until the perfect day.” And 
 this is the one thing that he does, or that in which 
 all his labours centre; being conscious to himself 
 how far he is from 44 having already attained, or be¬ 
 ing already perfect, forgetting the things that are 
 behind, he reacheth forth unto those things that are 
 before, and presses toward the mark, for the prize 
 of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” In 
 this view he seriously considers the circumstances of 
 life in which providence has placed him, that he may 
 observe the advantages which these circumstances 
 give him for religious improvements ; and it is de¬ 
 lightful to him to discover such advantages. 
 
6? 
 
 Now, if there be any of you who know no¬ 
 thing of this temper, you are certainly in an unre¬ 
 generate state; for none can be born of God that 
 do not love him; and none can truly love him, that 
 does not earnestly desire more and more to resemble 
 him. So that if your hearts can indulge such a 
 thought as this, ‘ I wish I knew how much religion 
 would be just sufficient to save me, and I would go 
 so far, and stop there;’ your conscience must tell you, 
 that you secretly hate religion, and are unwillingly 
 dragged toward the form of it by an unnatural and 
 external violence—the fear of misery and ruin in 
 neglecting it; and that you are not acted by the 
 free and liberal principle of a nature savingly re¬ 
 newed. 
 
 8. The soul i that does not know what it is to 
 live by faith in Christ, and in dependence on his 
 Spirit,’ is still in an unregenerate state. 
 
 We “ are all the children of God by faith in 
 Christ Jesus,” if indeed we are so at all; and 66 he 
 that is joined to the Lord” in this sense, is one spirit 
 with him. But if “any man have not the Spirit of 
 Christ, he is none of his ;” for as “ God has predesti¬ 
 nated us to the adoption of children, by Jesus Christ, 
 to himself,” so of his fulness it is that all believers do 
 “ receive even grace for grace,” or an abundance and 
 variety of grace, by virtue of their union with him, 
 “ who is the head; from whom the whole body, be¬ 
 ing fitly joined together, and strengthened by what 
 every joint supplies, by an energy proportionable to 
 every part, increases to the edifying of itself in love.” 
 Th ese things, as you see, are not only hinted in 
 Scripture, but are copiously insisted upon, as very 
 
68 
 
 material points: and though I readily acknowledge, 
 good men may apprehend and consider them very 
 differently, and may express those apprehensions in 
 different phrases, yet as experience makes it plain, 
 that those souls generally flourish most, who have 
 the most distinct conceptions of them, and the most 
 habitual regard to them; so 1 think it is plain, from 
 these Scriptures, that there can be no religion at all, 
 where there is a total insensibility of them. If, 
 therefore, there are any of you that apprehend it is 
 enthusiasm to talk of the assistances of the Spirit; 
 nay, I will add, if there are any of you that do not 
 earnestly desire these assistances, and do not seek 
 them daily from the hand of Christ, as the great 
 covenant-head of his people, you are, I fear, stran¬ 
 gers to some of i( the first principles of the oracles 
 of God,—and are sensual, not having the Spirit.” 
 And though you may now and then form a hasty, 
 and perhaps a warm resolution in religion, you will 
 quickly, with the proud youth, that are conceited of 
 their own sufficiency, faint and be weary, and with 
 “ the young men you will utterly fail; while they 
 only that wait upon the Lord shall renew their 
 strength, shall mount up as on eagles’ wings,” and, 
 pressing on with an unwearied pace, according to 
 the different degrees of vigour which the different 
 parts of their course may require, “ shall run and 
 not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.” In 
 short, if you do not thirst after “ the water of life,” 
 that is, (as the Evangelist himself explains it,) <£ the 
 Spirit, which they that believe on Christ shall re¬ 
 ceive,” however bountiful he is, he makes no pro¬ 
 mise to impart it to you; and if you never receive it, 
 
69 
 
 all your other sources of comfort will soon be dried 
 up, and the miserable condition of the creature, that 
 asked in vain for one drop of water to cool his tor¬ 
 mented tongue, will certainly be yours. 
 
 Here I apprehend multitudes will miscarry, who 
 have made a fair show in the eyes of men; and if 
 you are condemned by this mark, I am sure you will 
 not be acquitted by any of the preceding. For all 
 the branches of a holy temper have such a connec¬ 
 tion with this, and such a dependence upon it, that 
 a man, who is destitute of this, can have only the 
 semblance of the rest. 
 
 And thus, Sirs, I have, with all playmess and 
 faithfulness, as in the sight of God, and sensible of 
 my account to him, laid before you a variety of hints, 
 by which I think you may safely and truly judge, 
 whether you be, or be not, in an unregenerate state; 
 and I shall now beg leave to conclude this discourse 
 with one plain,inference from the whole, namely, 
 
 That baptism is not regeneration, in the scrip¬ 
 tural and most important sense of the word. 
 
 To prove this as a corollary from the preceding 
 discourse, I shall only assume this most reasonable 
 concession with which you may remember I at first 
 set out: 4 That regeneration and being born of God, 
 signify the same thing.’ Now I have shown you, 
 from a variety of Scriptures, under the former heads, 
 that every one whom the sacred oracles represent 
 as 44 born of God,” receiveth Christ, overcometh the 
 world, and sinneth not. But it is too plain, that these 
 characters do not agree to every one that is baptized; 
 and consequently it evidently follows, that every one 
 who is baptized, is not, of course, born of God, or 
 
70 
 
 regenerate; and, therefore, that baptism is not 
 Scripture regeneration. 
 
 I think no mathematical demonstration plainer 
 and more certain than this conclusion; and there¬ 
 fore, whatever great and ancient names may be urged 
 on the other side of the question, I shall rest the mat¬ 
 ter here, without leading you into the niceties of a 
 controversy so easily decided. I would only further 
 observe, that they who most vigorously contend for 
 the other manner of speaking, (for, after all, it is 
 only a dispute about a word,) acknowledge expressly, 
 that a man may be saved without what they call re¬ 
 generation, and that he may perish with it. And 
 though persons are taught to speak of their state, 
 in consequence of baptism, in very high, and I fear, 
 dangerous terms, yet, when wise and good men come 
 to explain those terms, it evidently appears, that many 
 of whom they are used, are so in a state of salvation, 
 as to be daily obnoxious to damnation ; so the chil¬ 
 dren of God, as also to he the children of the devil; 
 and so inheritors of the kingdom of heaven, as to be 
 children of wrath, and on the brink of hell. 
 
 Where persons of real piety apprehend themselves 
 under a necessity of using such phrases, with respect 
 to all that are baptized, we cannot blame them for 
 endeavouring to bring down their signification as 
 low as possible ; but they will, I hope, excuse those 
 who choose to speak in what they apprehend to be a 
 more scriptural, rational, and edifying language. 
 
 It was matter of conscience with me to state the 
 matter as you have heard. - I do therefore earnestly 
 entreat you, my dearly beloved, in the name of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and for the sake of your own 
 
71 
 
 immortal souls, that you deceive not yourselves with 
 vain words; but that, where your eternal salvation 
 is so plainly concerned, you bring the cause, the im¬ 
 portant cause, to an immediate trial; and if you are 
 convinced, as I suppose many of you quickly may 
 be, that you are at present ct dead in trespasses and 
 sins,” then let me beseech you to reflect on what the 
 most transient survey of the Scripture may teach 
 you, as to the danger of such a case. For though 
 it will be my business, in the process of these dis¬ 
 courses, more largely to represent it, when I come 
 to speak of the necessity of the new birth, God only 
 knows whether your lives may be continued till we 
 advance so far in the subject: and where a case of 
 this kind is in question, the delay of a week, or even 
 of a day, may be inevitable and eternal ruin. 
 
72 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 OF THE NATURE OF REGENERATION, AND PARTICU¬ 
 LARLY OF THE CHANGE IT PRODUCES IN MEN’S 
 APPREHENSIONS. 
 
 2 Corinthians v. 17. 
 
 “ If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : old things are 
 passed away ; behold, all things are become new.” 
 
 The knowledge of our true state in religion is at 
 once a matter of so great importance, and so great 
 difficulty, that, in order to obtain it, it is necessary 
 we should have line upon line, and precept upon 
 precept. The plain discourse which you heard last 
 Lord’s day was intended to lead you into it; and I 
 question not but I then said enough to convince 
 many that they were in an unregenerate condition. 
 Nevertheless, as there are various approaches to¬ 
 ward regeneration and conversion, which, on the 
 whole, fall short of it, I think it very expedient now 
 to give you what I may properly enough call the 
 counterpart of this view; which I shall, by divine 
 assistance, attempt from the words I have now been 
 reading. The Apostle who wrote them was trans¬ 
 ported to such a zeal for Christ, and for the souls of 
 men, that some thought him beside himselfand, 
 no doubt, many would represent him as the greatest 
 enthusiast upon the face of the earth. But as it 
 was 66 a very small thing to him to be judged of 
 
73 
 
 man’s judgment,” he calmly vindicates himself by de¬ 
 claring, that there was a cause for all this warmth, as 
 the honour of God and the Redeemer, and the eter¬ 
 nal salvation of men, were so intimately concerned 
 in the affair. “ The love of Christ,” says he, “ con¬ 
 strains us,” or, as the word properly signifies, “it 
 hears us away with it,” like a mighty torrent, which 
 we are not able to resist; “because we thus judge, 
 that if one died for all, then were all dead,” under 
 the sentence of God’s righteous law,-or they would 
 not have needed such an atonement as the blood of 
 his Son ; and we farther judge, “ that he died for 
 all, that they who novo live,” only in consequence of 
 his dying love, “ should not henceforth live unto 
 themselves, but unto him that died for them.” We 
 therefore live to this Jesus ; we consecrate our lives 
 and labours to this purpose; and, in consequence of 
 it, “ we henceforth know no man after the flesh ;” 
 that is, we do not regard our temporal interests, nor 
 consider how we may most effectually obtain the 
 favour and friendship of those who may be useful to 
 us in life; “ yea, though we have known Christ 
 after the flesh,” or have expected a temporal Messiah, 
 who should make our nation triumphant over the 
 Gentiles, and enrich it with the spoils of other na¬ 
 tions, “ yet now henceforth we know him no more” 
 under such a character. And, in this respect, the 
 same temper will prevail in the heart of every real 
 Christian ; and therefore, that is, in consequence of 
 what was said before of his Redeemer’s love, “if 
 any man be in Christ,” if he be really one of his 
 faithful servants, united to him by a lively faith, and, 
 in consequence of that union, interested in his sal- 
 
 D U 
 
74 
 
 vation, te he is a new creaturehis views and sen¬ 
 timents, his affections and pursuits, are so entirely 
 changed, that he seems, as it were, to be come 
 into a new world, and to be transformed quite into 
 another person from what he formerly was; 66 old 
 things are passed away, and, (behold the astonishing 
 transformation !) all things are become new.” This 
 is the thought that I am now to illustrate; and you 
 cannot but see how proper a foundation it will be 
 for our discourse on the second general I proposed, 
 which is, 
 
 Secondly, Particularly to describe the nature of 
 that great change which passes on every soul that is 
 truly regenerate, in the scriptural and most impor¬ 
 tant sense of the word. # 
 
 And here it may hardly seem necessary to tell 
 you, that I do not mean to assert, that the substance 
 of the soul, in its natural faculties, are, in a strict 
 and proper sense, changed: a man might as reason¬ 
 ably assert, from such a scripture, that the former 
 body was annihilated, and a new one produced; and 
 common sense and decency will not allow us to ima¬ 
 gine that the Apostle meant any thing of this na¬ 
 ture by the general terms he uses here. But the 
 plain meaning is, that when a man becomes a real 
 Christian, the whole temper and character of his 
 
 * Some choose to call the change here described renovation, 
 rather than regeneration. I have given my reasons before, why I 
 use the words promiscuously; but I shall endeavour, through the 
 whole of these discourses, so to state the nature of this change, 
 as to have no controversy with good men of any persuasion, 
 about any thing but the name of it; concerning which I hope 
 they will not contend with me, as I am sure I will not quarrel 
 with them. 
 
75 
 
 mind is so changed as to become different from that 
 of the generality of mankind, and different from what 
 it formerly was, while in an unenlightened and un- 
 renewed state. It is not merely a little circumstan¬ 
 tial alteration; it is not assuming a new name, pro¬ 
 fessing new speculative opinions, or practising some 
 new rites and forms: but it is becoming, (as we fre¬ 
 quently say in our usual forms of speech,) a different 
 creature, or a new man. And thus the sacred writers 
 express themselves in many other passages, which 
 very happily serve to illustrate this. They, in par¬ 
 ticular, represent God as promising, with relation to 
 this work, “ A new heart will I give them ; and a 
 new spirit will I put within them; and I will take 
 away the heart of stone,” the stubborn, obstinate, 
 impenetrable disposition they once had, “ and will 
 give them an heart of flesh,” a tender, compliant 
 temper, which shall incline them to submit to my 
 will with humility, and to obey it with delight. 
 And thus, when the Apostle had exhorted the Ephe¬ 
 sians 6( to put off, with respect to their former con¬ 
 versation, the old man, which is corrupt according 
 to its deceitful lusts;” he adds, “ And be renewed 
 in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, 
 which, after God,” or in conformity to his image, 
 “ is created in righteousness and true holiness 
 which is further illustrated by his important exhor¬ 
 tation to the Romans, “ Be not conformed to this 
 world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of 
 your mind.” And on the same principles, what, in 
 one place, he calls et the new creature,” in another 
 parallel place, he expresses by “ faith that works by 
 love,” and by “ keeping the commandments of God;” 
 
 d 2 
 
76 
 
 for all these, as equivalent characters, he opposes to 
 circumcision and uncircumcision, or to the mere ex¬ 
 ternals of a religious profession ; declaring the utter 
 insufficiency of the latter, and absolute necessity of 
 the former. 
 
 The general nature of this change may then be 
 understood, by an attentive consideration of such 
 scriptures as those mentioned above; which indeed 
 contain what is most essential on this subject. But 
 for the more complete illustration of the matter, I 
 shall particularly show you, that where there is rea¬ 
 son to speak of a man, as one of those who are in 
 Christ Jesus, or who are truly regenerate, there will 
 be ‘ new apprehensions, new affections, new resolu¬ 
 tions, new labours, new enjoyments, and new hopes:’ 
 
 ‘ and perhaps there are few important branches of the 
 Christian character, which may not be introduced, 
 as illustrating one or other of these remarks. 
 
 The former of them is indeed the foundation of 
 the rest ; because, as religion is a reasonable service, 
 all the change which is made in the affections and 
 resolutions, in the pursuits, enjoyments, and hopes 
 of a good man, arises from that different view, in 
 which he is now taught to look on those objects, the 
 nature of which is to direct his choice, to determine 
 his conduct, and regulate his passions : it will there¬ 
 fore be the business of this evening’s discourse to 
 show you, 
 
 I. That wherever there is a real principle of re¬ 
 generation, there will be new apprehensions of 
 things. 
 
 When God created the natural world, he said, in 
 the very beginning of his work, “ Let there be light, 
 
and there was lightand thus he deals in this new 
 creation, which raises the soul from a chaos, to such 
 a beautiful, well-ordered, and well-furnished frame. 
 “God,” says the Apostle, “who commanded the light 
 to shine out of darkness, has shined into our hearts, to 
 give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, 
 in the face of Jesus Christwhereas before, “the 
 understanding was darkened, being alienated from the 
 life of God, through the ignorance that wasdn them, 
 because of the blindness or perverseness of their 
 hearts.” 
 
 Now this illumination, of which I am speaking, 
 does not so much refer to a speculative, as to a prac¬ 
 tical and heart-impressing knowledge. It is true, 
 that when a man once comes to be in good earnest 
 in religion, he generally arrives at a clearer and 
 fuller knowledge, even of the doctrines of Chris¬ 
 tianity, than he had before; for he then sets him¬ 
 self to inquire with greater diligence, and to seek 
 light of the great Father of lights with greater ear¬ 
 nestness ; he gets clear of many evil affections, that 
 put a corrupt bias upon his judgment; and he comes 
 within the reach of those promises : “ Then shall 
 we know, if we follow on to know the Lord and 
 “ if any man will do his will, he shall know of the 
 doctrine, whether it be of God.” Yet, I think, I 
 may very properly say, that, at various times, when 
 our judgment of any object is the same, our appre¬ 
 hensions of it are very different. It is one thing, 
 for instance, to believe that God is the omnipotent, 
 all-wise, and all-gracious governor of the world; 
 and another, and very different thing, to have the 
 heart powerfully impressed with an apprehension of 
 
his ability and readiness to help us. I will, there¬ 
 fore, a little more particularly illustrate those respects, 
 in which the apprehensions of such as are really re¬ 
 generate, differ from those which they formerly had; 
 and I hope you will do yourselves the justice to re¬ 
 flect, as we go along, how far you have ever felt 
 these apprehensions which you hear me describe; 
 and 1 have a pleasing persuasion, that many of you 
 have felt them, in a much livelier manner than they 
 can be described. I would observe then to you, 
 that a regenerate soul has new apprehensions of 
 4 God—of itself—of Christ—of eternity—and of 
 the way and method that God has marked out for its 
 being happy there.’ 
 
 1. A regenerate soul has new apprehensions c of 
 ' the blessed God.’ 
 
 There are very few who pretend so much as to 
 doubt of the being of a God; and fewer yet, that 
 will venture to deny it: and even among those who 
 have denied it, and disputed against it, some, by their 
 own confession, have felt their hearts give them the 
 lie, and upbraid them for using the powers of reason 
 and speech against the Giver and Preserver of both. 
 I persuade myself at least, there are none that hear 
 me this day, who would not look upon a professed 
 atheist as a monster, unworthy to be a member of 
 human society, and little to be trusted in any of its 
 relations. Yet, after all, while the being of the 
 blessed God is warmly asserted, his nature is so 
 little understood and considered, that there are thou¬ 
 sands who may still properly be said to be 66 without 
 God in the world,” or in practice and temper, though 
 not in notion, to be atheists in it. Wicked men, 
 
79 
 
 therefore, in general, are described as those that 
 “know not God:” but where God has determined 
 to glorify his mercy, in the salvation of a sinner, he 
 “ shines into the heart,” for this blessed purpose, 
 “ to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of 
 God.” And thus the glories of the divine Being 
 are known to the regenerate soul in such a manner, 
 as they are not to the most acute metaphysician, or 
 the sublimest philosopher, who is himself a stranger 
 to the spiritual life. 
 
 The person of whom we now speak, has new ap¬ 
 prehensions of the spirituality and omnipresence of 
 God,—of his majesty and purity,—of his power 
 and patience,—of his goodness, and his intimate 
 access to men’s spirits, with the reality and impor¬ 
 tance of his operations upon them. Permit me a 
 little to represent the views of each, both to direct 
 your inquiries, and also to impress your minds and 
 my own, with truths in which we have all so inti¬ 
 mate a concern. 
 
 The divine spirituality and omnipresence is ap¬ 
 prehended by the good man in a peculiar manner. 
 That there is some immaterial substance, and that 
 matter is moved by his active power continually im¬ 
 pressed upon it, according to stated laws, is indeed 
 so plain a dictate of reason, that I question not but 
 the thought influences the mind of some, who have 
 not so much acquaintance with language as to be 
 able properly to express it: but, alas! it easily 
 passes through, as if no way important. It is quite 
 a different thing to feel, as it were, the presence of 
 an infinitely intelligent and all-observing Deity, ac¬ 
 tually surrounding us at all times, and in all places ; 
 
80 
 
 —to say from the heart, i( O Lord, thou hast 
 searched me, and known me, so that thou under- 
 standest my thoughts afar off; whither shall I go 
 from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy pre¬ 
 sence? Thou hast beset me behind and before, 
 and laid thine hand upon me;”—to feel, as it were, 
 the hand of God, which indeed we may feel, if we 
 duly attend to it, in all the impressions made on our 
 bodily senses, and on the powers of our mind,—to 
 feel ourselves even now supported by it, and to argue 
 from the constant support of his hand, the never- 
 failing notice of his eye. 66 He reads my present 
 thoughts; he knows, even now, all the seerets of 
 my soul, and has always known them ; has always 
 observed my conduct in every the minutest particu¬ 
 lar: and recorded, in permanent characters, the 
 whole history of my life, and of my heart: of this 
 depraved sinful life, of this vain, this treacherous, 
 this rebellious heart.’ 
 
 With this conception of the Divine observance, 
 are closely and intimately connected, new apprehen¬ 
 sions of the purity of God, and of his infinite Ma¬ 
 jesty : views, which mutually assist and illustrate 
 each other. The irreverence with which the gene- 
 rality of men behave in the presence of God, and 
 the easiness with which they admit the slightest 
 temptation to sin against him, plainly show what low 
 notions they have of him : but God does, as it were? 
 appear to the eye of a renewed mind, arrayed in his 
 robes of light and majesty, so that he is ready te cry 
 out, “ I have heard of thee by the hearing of the 
 ear, but now mine eye seeth thee;” 6 1 see the 
 eternal, self-existent, self-sufficient God, who sits 
 
81 
 
 upon the circle of the earth, and beholds the inhabi¬ 
 tants thereof as grasshoppers; who, spreadeth out 
 the heavens as a tent to dwell in, and looks down on 
 the nations as the drop of a bucket, and counts them 
 as the small dust of the balance; who would not 
 fear before him ? who would not tremble at his pre¬ 
 sence ? who would not revere that God, who is of 
 purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look upon 
 iniquity ; who cannot be tempted with evil, but must 
 see it, and hate it, even in all its forms ?’ 
 
 And such too, are the views it has of his almighty 
 power, that the enlightened mind will further add, 
 
 6 A God of almighty power, who could speak a 
 whole world into ruin (undoubtedly he could, for he 
 spoke it into existence); who, by one single thought, 
 by one silent volition, could easily abase the proudest 
 creature in the universe : must have it in his power 
 to bring me in a moment to the dust of death, and 
 to the flames of hell; to lay me as low in misery, 
 and to hold me as long in it, as he should please: 
 This, O my soul, this is the God against whom such 
 feeble worms as we are daily offending, and whom 
 we madly presume to make our enemy.’ 
 
 This gives the regenerate man a further sense of 
 the patience of God, than ever he had before. 
 Others may look round upon the world, and wonder 
 there is so much penal evil in it; but the renewed 
 soul wonders there is not a thousand times more. 
 When he sees how the world lieth in wickedness ; 
 when he observes how poor impotent mortals are, 
 many of them perhaps, in words blaspheming the 
 God of heaven; many more of them most pre¬ 
 sumptuously violating all the plainest and most im- 
 
 i)3 
 
82 
 
 portant precepts of his law: and most of the rest, 
 living in a perpetual forgetfulness of him, as if he 
 were not at all, or were not so considerable, as to be 
 any way worth their notice : such a one cannot but 
 wonder, that the Almighty Majesty of heaven does 
 not, in a moment, make himself known by the thun¬ 
 der of his power, and confound all their madness 
 and folly, by crushing the world, with its inhabi¬ 
 tants, into ruin. He often sees the rising sun, and 
 the descending rain, with astonishment that it 
 should be sent down on such a world as ours. 
 
 He has, also, more affecting views than ever of 
 the divine goodness. Most men speculatively be¬ 
 lieve it: and they take occasion, even from that be¬ 
 lief, to affront it: but a good man views it at once 
 . as a delightful and a venerable thing : e< he fears 
 the Lord and his goodness;” and while it encourages 
 him, guilty as he is, to repose himself upon it as his 
 hope, it awakens a generous kind of confusion at 
 the thought of ever having offended him, and fills 
 his very soul with indignation at the thought of re¬ 
 peating such offences. 
 
 And once more, the regenerate man has quite 
 different notions than before, of the intimate access 
 which God has to the spirits of men, and his im¬ 
 portant power of operating upon them. The great¬ 
 est part of men, indeed, consider not, as they ought, 
 how the whole material world perpetually depends 
 upon a divine agency, and is no other than one 
 grand machine, on which the great artificer con¬ 
 tinually acts, to make it an instrument of mercy to 
 his sensitive and intelligent creatures. But there 
 are yet fewer who seriously consider how entirely 
 
83 
 
 <c the hearts of men are in the hand of the Lord,” 
 and how much depends on his influences upon them. 
 Nevertheless, experience teaches the renewed soul, 
 that “ he is the God of the spirits of all flesh;” and 
 that he not only views, but manages them as he 
 pleases. 6 Lord,’ does he say, 6 this spirit of 
 mine is shaded with thick darkness, but thou canst 
 illuminate it; it is diseased, but thou canst cure it; 
 it is unstable as water, and lighter than a feather, 
 yet thou canst fix and establish it; and whatever 
 thou wouldest have me to be, and to do, for thy 
 glory, and mine own happiness, thou canst work in 
 me both to will and to perform it, so that all I need, 
 to the rectitude and felicity of my nature, is only 
 this, that I may have more of thine inward, vital, 
 operative presence/ It is not easy to conceive 
 what efficacy this thought has, for the transforma¬ 
 tion of the soul. But again, 
 
 2. New apprehensions are connected with these 
 sentiments in the regenerate soul, 4 concerning it¬ 
 self, and its own state/ 
 
 It is surprising to think how many run through 
 successive years in life, without ever turning the 
 eye of his mind inward, that the soul may survey 
 itself. I speak not of a philosophical survey of the 
 faculties of the mind; which, though indeed in its 
 place it be useful and entertaining, is no more ne¬ 
 cessary in its refinements to a well ordered state, 
 than skill in anatomy is to a healthful constitution; 
 but I speak of those views of the mind which are in 
 the reach of all, how low soever their genius or their 
 education may have been. 
 
 As all true happiness is an internal thing, wher- 
 
84 
 
 ever God intends to produce it in the heart of a re¬ 
 volted corrupted creature (and such, alas ! we all 
 naturally are), he leads it into a view of itself; and 
 shows it, if I may be allowed the expression, a mix¬ 
 ture of grandeur and misery, that lies within : which 
 yet the greatest part of mankind live and die without 
 ever observing. * I am here,’ does the awakened 
 creature say, 6 an intelligent being, far superior to 
 this well-wrought frame of flesh and blood, which 
 God has given me for a little while to command, 
 and which I must quickly drop in the dust. I am 
 made capable of determining my own choice, of 
 directing my own actions, of judging concerning the 
 importance of ends, and the propriety of means in 
 subserviency to them : and while I see a vast variety 
 of creatures in different forms beneath me, I see no 
 rank of creatures above me, nothing nobler than 
 man, here on earth, where I dwell. Yet I see man, 
 in the midst of his glory, a feeble, dependent, mor¬ 
 tal creature, who cannot possibly be his own end, 
 nor can of himself alone, by any means, command 
 or insure his own happiness. Every thing tells 
 me, that he is the creature of God; and that it is 
 his greatest honour and felicity to know, and prac¬ 
 tically to acknowledge himself to be so; every thing 
 tells me, that it is most reasonable that God, who 
 is the great original of man, should also be the end 
 of his being: but have I made him the end of mine? 
 My soul, thou art conscious to thyself, thou hast 
 lived, in many instances, 66 without him in the 
 world.” He has given thee, even in the system of 
 thine own nature, and of the visible beings that are 
 round about thee, compared with his providential in- 
 
85 
 
 terposition in the management of them, the intima¬ 
 tions of his holy and righteous will; he has ex¬ 
 pressed these dictates far more plainly in his written 
 word ; and when thou comest to examine them, how 
 art thou condemned by them? When thou comest 
 to think of the spirituality and purity of his being 
 and his law, how shameful does thy temper and thy 
 life appear to have been ? What an infinite dis¬ 
 proportion is there between that and its perfect rule ! 
 And whom, O my soul, hast thou offended? whose 
 law hast thou broken ? whose grace hast thou de¬ 
 spised ? The law, the grace of that eternal God of 
 whom I have now been hearing; who is here present 
 with me, who is even within me, and who sees, oh 
 my heart! more distinctly than thou canst see, all 
 thy guilt, and all its aggravations. O Lord, I 
 abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes ! I 
 have talked of sin, and of the sentence of God 
 against it, as a thing of course; but, oh, my soul ! 
 is it thine own concern? The guilt, the stain of 
 sin, is still upon thee ; the sentence of God is pro¬ 
 nounced against thee, and it must be reversed, or 
 thou art undone for ever. These irregular habits 
 and dispositions that prevail in thee must be cor¬ 
 rected, or they will prove thy mortal disease and 
 everlasting torment. Thou art a poor, weak, irre¬ 
 solute creature: the experience of every past day of 
 life, since I began to think of religion at all, proves 
 it: yet thou must, by some means or other, attain 
 to inward strength and inward purity, or thou art 
 lost, and all these great capacities and glorious fa¬ 
 culties will but make thy ruin so much the more 
 distinguished. O how weighty the care ! O how 
 
86 
 
 great the charge ! What shall I do, that thought, 
 that reason, that immortality, may not be my de¬ 
 struction ? Where shall 1 find a rock that will be 
 firm enough for my support and safety? Where 
 shall I find the means to build the fabric of such a 
 happiness, as thine, oh my soul! must be, if ever I 
 am happy at all?’ 
 
 Thus does God teach the mind, by its inward 
 reviews and reflections, this important lesson of its 
 own impotence and guilt, of its depravity and ruin; 
 and so prepares it for those new apprehensions of 
 Christ which I mentioned as the third particular. 
 
 3. 4 The regenerate soul has new apprehensions 
 concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, considered as a 
 Mediator in general, and as such a particular Me¬ 
 diator as he is exhibited in the word of God/ 
 
 That affecting view which the regenerate soul 
 has of the majesty, glory, power, and purity of the 
 blessed God, will undoubtedly convince him how 
 unfit he is in himself to appear before his awful 
 presence. He is ready to sink down in the dust at 
 the very thought, and to say, 4 Who is able to 
 stand before such a great and holy God as thou 
 art ? If I were in all the original rectitude and 
 glory of my nature, I could not do it: how much 
 less, surrounded as I am with so much guilt, with 
 so much pollution ! I need, as it were, 44 a days¬ 
 man betwixt us, who might lay his hand upon us 
 both,” who should transact affairs in my name with 
 God, and bring the peaceful messages of God to 
 me. Let such a one speak ^with me, and I will 
 hear; but let not God speak with me, lest I die/ 
 
 And when he comes to take a more near and in- 
 
timate view of this Mediator which God has ex¬ 
 hibited in the gospel, the renewed soul is even 
 charmed and transported with the view; and that 
 Jesus, whose name he before pronounced with so\ 
 much coldness, that the very mention of it was a 
 kind of profanation, now is regarded by him as 
 “ the chiefest among ten thousand.” He t6 be¬ 
 holds his glory, as that of the only begotten of the 
 Father, full of grace and truth.” The union of 
 the divine and human nature in the person of 
 Christ, though it appears indeed a mystery which 
 he cannot fully explain, is nevertheless a glorious 
 certainty, which, in the general, he most cordially 
 believes. He sees Emmanuel, God dwelling with 
 us in human flesh, and acquiesces in the sight; 
 while the rays of divine glory are attempered by 
 passing “ through the vail, that is to say, his flesh.” 
 He considers Christ as tc made of God unto him\ 
 wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and 
 redemption:” and each of these views rejoices him 
 to the very heart. ‘ Ignorant as 1 am, I shall be 
 taught and instructed by him, that great Prophet, 
 whom God sent into the world; by him, who is in¬ 
 carnate wisdom, as well as incarnate love; whose 
 words resound in the gospel, and whose Spirit seals 
 the instructions of his word. Guilty as I am, my 
 crimes shall be expiated; for there is redemption in 
 his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: there is an 
 everlasting righteousness that be has introduced: 
 and, oh, how richly will it adorn my soul!—This 
 pollution of mine shall not for ever exclude me from 
 a comfortable intercourse with the pure Majesty of 
 heaven; for Christ is come to be my sanctification; 
 
88 
 
 and he can cleanse me by his Spirit, and transform 
 me into that divine, delightful image which I have 
 lost.—Victorious Lord, how easily canst thou re¬ 
 deem me from that state of servitude in which I 
 have been kept so long complaining ! How easily, 
 and how powerfully, canst thou vindicate me into 
 the glorious liberty of the children of God ! Blessed 
 Jesus, thou art my light and my strength, my hope 
 and my joy ! Thou art just such a Saviour as my 
 necessity requires; thou fillest up all my wants, and 
 all my wishes; thou art all in all to me ! I would 
 not be ignorant of thee for ten thousand worlds; I 
 would not live a day, nor an hour, without recollect¬ 
 ing who, and what thou art, and maintaining that 
 intercourse with thee which is the life of my soul/ 
 
 4. The regenerate soul has also new apprehen¬ 
 sions ‘ of the importance of eternity, when compared 
 with time and all its concerns/ 
 
 It is, indeed, a most pitiable thing, and awakens 
 our astonishment, grief, and indignation, to observe 
 how the things of this world press down immortal 
 spirits, and reduce them almost, indeed, to a state 
 of brutality. Most deplorable it is, to see the 
 power and energy of those motives, which are taken 
 merely from this earth, and its little concerns; so 
 that if a man did but know what was the favourite 
 vanity, he might almost predict, from the knowledge . 
 of circumstances, how a man’s actions would be or¬ 
 dered ; and might almost be sure that he would fol¬ 
 low, whithersoever this interest, or that pleasure, 
 this ambitious, or that mercenary view, called him; 
 though all the prospects of an eternal world pleaded 
 the contrary way. Such is the folly and madness 
 
89 
 
 that is in men’s hearts while they live; and after 
 that, <c they go down to the dead,” and spend that im¬ 
 mortal duration, which they have despised, in fruit¬ 
 less lamentations. Fatal delusion ! which it is the 
 great design of the gospel to cure. 
 
 But when a soul becomes wise to salvation, it is 
 taught to “ look not at the things which are seen, 
 but at the things which are not seen;” because it 
 has now a full sense of what before it only notionally 
 confessed, that i( the things which are seen are 
 temporal, but the things which are not seen are 
 eternal.”— Eternity ! it is impossible I should tell 
 you, how much an eye, that is enlightened by God, 
 sees, and reads, as it were, in that one word; while 
 one scene beyond another is still opening on the 
 mind, till its sight and its thoughts are swallowed 
 up; and as the creatures are as nothing wuth respect 
 to God, so all the interests of time, with respect to 
 eternity, appear u as less than nothing and vanity.” 
 To be made for an everlasting existence, appears in 
 so awful a view, that while it has some pleasing 
 hope, it rejoices with trembling; and every remain¬ 
 ing fear, with relation to this great interest, seems 
 a greater evil, than the certainty of any temporal 
 calamity. 
 
 I might add upon this head, that the regenerate 
 soul has not only new view’s of the importance, but 
 likewise of the nature of the invisible and eternal 
 state; and particularly of the nature of the celestial 
 happiness. It does not consider it merely, or 
 chiefly, as a state of corporeal enjoyment, formed to 
 gratify and delight the senses; but as a state of per¬ 
 fect conformity to God, and most endearing inter* 
 
90 
 
 course with him; of which, as it begins already by 
 divine grace to taste the pleasures, so it most ar¬ 
 dently thirsts after them; and would be heartily 
 willing to lose this body for ever, and to bid an 
 eternal adieu to every object capable of giving it de¬ 
 light, rather than it would consent to lose, in a per¬ 
 petual succession of such objects, the sight of the 
 Father of spirits, and that sensibility of his love, 
 which adds the most substantial solidity, and ex¬ 
 alted relish, to every inferior good that can be de¬ 
 sired from it. 
 
 5. A regenerate man has also new apprehensions 
 * of the way which God has marked out to this hap¬ 
 piness.’ 
 
 Nothing is more common than for carnal and ig¬ 
 norant men to imagine, that it is a very easy thing 
 to get to heaven; and upon this presumption, they 
 6i hew out to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, 
 that can hold no water;” and often live and die with 
 a lie in their right hand. But the renewed soul, 
 having such awful notions of the blessed God, and 
 such apprehensions of the excellency and glory of 
 the heavenly state, as you have heard, deeply feels 
 how absolutely necessary it is, that something of a 
 very great and important change should pass in the 
 mind of that sinful creature, that ever hopes to be 
 a partaker of it. He sees that it is impossible, any 
 external profession, or external rite, should secure 
 so great an end; impossible, that baptism should be 
 regeneration, in that sense in which the Scripture 
 uses the word, or that by this alone, though ever so 
 regularly administered, a man’s eternal happiness 
 should be secured. He sees, that to be associated 
 
91 
 
 to this or that party of Christians, to join with es¬ 
 tablished, or with separate churches, and to be ever 
 so zealous for their respective order, worship, and 
 discipline, is a thing quite of foreign consideration 
 here; and that the best, or the worst of men may 
 be, and probably are, on one side, and on another; 
 nay, that ignorance, pride, and bigotry may take 
 occasion from hence, to render men farther from 
 the kingdom of God, than any mistake in judgment 
 or practice, on these disputed points, could have set 
 them. 
 
 No, my brethren, when a man’s eyes are en¬ 
 lightened by God’s renewing Spirit, he sees and 
 feels that, in the language of Scripture, he must be 
 created anew in Christ Jesus: he sees, that holiness 
 is a character without which no man shall see the 
 Lord; and he is, perhaps, little anxious, whether 
 this, or the faith that produces it, shall be called a 
 condition, or a qualification, or an instrument, while 
 he sees he must perish without it; he sees, that as 
 it is absolutely necessary, so it is very extensive, as 
 the commandment, which is its rule, is exceeding 
 broad: he sees that it must not only effectually re¬ 
 gulate the actions of his life, but control all the 
 sentiments of his heart: nay, he sees it must not 
 only be submitted to as a necessary, but be chosen 
 as a most amiable thing: and, accordingly, he does 
 choose it as such.—The unregenerate soul, when he 
 hears of repentance and reformation, though he un¬ 
 derstands not half that it means, nor is aware of 
 what will, in fact, be the greatest difficulty of it, 
 looks upon it, at best, as a nauseous medicine, 
 which he must take, or die: but the regenerate 
 
92 
 
 man finds bis heart so wonderfully and so happily 
 changed, that he regards it for itself, as the food, 
 the health, and the life of his soul; as that which 
 necessarily brings its own pleasures, and, in a con¬ 
 siderable degree, its own reward along with it; so 
 that now, as David beautifully expresses it, “ He 
 openeth his mouth, and pantetb, because he longs 
 for God’s commandments.” 
 
 And I will add once more, the good man is also 
 made sensible of the place which faith and holiness 
 hold in the scheme which God has laid for our jus¬ 
 tification before him, and our acceptance with him. 
 
 I do not say that all Christians conceive of this with 
 equal perspicuity, or express their conceptions with 
 equal exactness: the most candid allowance should 
 here be made for the different ideas they fix to the 
 same phrases, as they have been used to look upon 
 them with veneration or with suspicion. But this I 
 will venture to say, because I am persuaded the Scrip¬ 
 ture will bear me out in it, 6 that the confidence of 
 a regenerate soul is not fixed on his own holiness or 
 faith, as the meritorious cause of his acceptance with 
 God.’ He is deeply and cordially sensible, that he 
 is made accepted in the Beloved ; and, seeing nothing 
 but guilt, and weakness, and ruin in himself, he 
 ascribes to the blessed Jesus, and to the riches of 
 God’s free grace in him, his righteousness, his 
 strength, and his salvation. And where a man is thus 
 persuaded, I think he must, in effect, believe, even 
 though, he might scruple, in words, expressly to own it, 
 “ that Christ, as our great surety, having perfectly 
 obeyed the law of God himself, and by his blood 
 having fully satisfied the divine justice for the breach 
 
93 
 
 of it, we, on our believing in him by a vital faith, are 
 justified before God, by the imputation of his perfect 
 righteousness.” This latter way of stating it, when 
 rightly explained, appears just equivalent to the for-* 
 mer; and it is a manner of conceiving and expressing 
 it, which, when rightly understood, seems extremely 
 suitable to that deep humility and poverty of spirit 
 to which the renewed soul is brought, when, “like a 
 new-born babe, it desires the sincere milk of the 
 word, that it may grow thereby.” But as the mind, 
 at such a time, finds little inclination to contend 
 about words and phrases, it would be much less pro¬ 
 per for me to enter into any controversy about them 
 here. 
 
 Let it suffice, for the present, that I have given 
 you this plain representation of that change which is 
 wrought in a man’s apprehensions, when he is made 
 a new creature. When old things are passed away, 
 he has new apprehensions of God, of himself, of 
 Christ, of eternity, and of the way to obtain the 
 happiness of it; and as, at this happy time, all things 
 are become new, there are “ new affections, new re¬ 
 solutions, new labours, new enjoyments, and new 
 hopes,” which are the result of the change already 
 described. But it will be much more difficult to 
 reduce what I have to offer on these heads within 
 the bounds of the next discourse, than proper to at¬ 
 tempt any of them in this. Go home, my friends, 
 and try yourselves by what you have already heard; 
 and be assured, that if you are condemned by this 
 part of the description, it is impossible you should 
 be approved by any that will follow, since they have 
 all their foundation in this. 
 
94 
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 OF THE NATURE OF REGENERATION, WITH RESPECT 
 TO THE CHANGE IT PRODUCES IN MEN’S AFFEC¬ 
 TIONS, RESOLUTIONS, LABOURS, ENJOYMENTS, 
 AND HOPES. 
 
 2 Corinthians v. 17. 
 
 « If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are 
 passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 
 
 Among the various subjects which exercise the 
 thoughts and tongues of men, few are more talked 
 of than religion. But it is melancholy to think how 
 little it is understood, and how much it is mistaken 
 and misrepresented in the world. The text before 
 us gives us a very instructive view of it; such a 
 view, that, I am sure, an experimental knowledge of 
 its sense would be infinitely preferable to the most 
 critical and exact knowledge of all the most curious 
 passages, both of the Old Testament and the New. 
 From it, you know, I have begun to describe that 
 great change which the word of God teaches us to 
 represent under the notion of regeneration, or, accord¬ 
 ing to the language of St. Paul, in this passage of 
 his writings, by a new creation. I know I am ex¬ 
 plaining it before many who have been much longer 
 acquainted with it than myself, and, it becomes me to 
 believe, before many that have attained much higher 
 advancements in it; but I fear also, at the same time, 
 
95 
 
 I speak of it before many who are yet strangers to it: 
 and I am labouring, by the plainest addresses that I 
 can, to give them, at least, some just ideas of it. 
 Oh, that to all the descriptions that either have, or 
 shall he given, God may, by his grace, add that un¬ 
 derstanding which arises from feeling correspondent 
 impressions on the mind ! 
 
 I have already endeavoured to illustrate those new 
 apprehensions which arise in the regenerate mind; 
 apprehensions of the blessed God, of itself, of Christ, 
 of the eternal world, and of the way to obtain the 
 happiness of it. It now remains that I consider 
 those c new affections, resolutions, labours, enjoy¬ 
 ments, and hopes,’ which result from them. I ob¬ 
 serve, therefore, 
 
 II. That these new apprehensions will be attended 
 
 with NEW AFFECTIONS. 
 
 I readily acknowledge, that the degree in which 
 the affections operate, may, and will be, different in 
 different persons, according to their natural constitu¬ 
 tion; but as, in some degree or another, they make 
 an essential part of our frame, it is impossible but 
 they must be impressed with a matter of such infinite 
 importance as religion will appear: and the appre¬ 
 hensions described above must awaken the exercise 
 of correspondent affections, and direct them to objects 
 very different from those by which they were before 
 excited, and on which they were fixed. And here now, 
 
 1. This may be especially illustrated in love. 
 
 Love is, indeed, the ruling passion of the mind, 
 and has all the rest in an avowed and real subjection 
 to it. And here lies the very root of human misery, 
 in our fallen and degenerate state: we are naturally 
 
06 
 
 lovers of ourselves, in a very irregular degree; “lov¬ 
 ers of pleasures, more than lovers of God.” But, on 
 the contrary, the first and great commandment of the 
 law is written in the breast of every regenerate 
 man: <£ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
 thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
 mind.” It is true, indeed, that if his soul were 
 perfectly delivered into this mould, and his attain¬ 
 ments in divine love were complete, there would be 
 an end of all sin, and almost of all calamity too; for 
 what evil could assail or impress a mind entirely and 
 unchangeably fixed upon God? Yet, that the love 
 of God should be the prevailing affection, is not 
 nverely a circumstance, but an essential part of true 
 religion. While the good man “ sees him who is 
 invisible,” as infinitely perfect in himself, and as the 
 Author of being and happiness to the whole creation, 
 he cannot but acknowledge that he is, beyond compa¬ 
 rison, the most amiable of all objects. And though 
 it is certain that nothing can so much induce and in¬ 
 flame our love to God, as a well-grounded assurance 
 that he is become our God and our Father in Christ; 
 yet, before the regenerate soul has attained to this, 
 a sense of those favours which he receives from God, 
 in common with the whole human race, and more 
 especially of those which are inseparable from a 
 Christian profession, together with the apprehension 
 of his being accessible through a Mediator, and re¬ 
 concilable to sinful men, will diffuse some delight- 
 ful sense of God over the mind, which will grow 
 sweeter in proportion to the degree in which his own 
 hopes brighten and settle, while they are growing 
 toward the full assurance of faith. 
 
97 
 
 And, as the real Christian “ loves him that be¬ 
 gat, he loves him also that is begotten of him.” 
 He <c loves the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity;” 
 viewing him not in a cold and insensible manner, as 
 he once did, but with inflamed affections, tc as the 
 chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely.” 
 If he knows, in any degree, <c the grace of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ,” in becoming incarnate for the salva¬ 
 tion of his people, in making himself a sacrifice for 
 their sins, and paying his life for the ransom of their 
 lives; he feels himself drawn toward “ Jesus, thus 
 lifted up on the cross; and the love of Christ con¬ 
 strains him” to such a degree, that he longs to find 
 out some acceptable method to express his inward 
 and overbearing sense of it. How divided soever 
 true Christians may be in other respects, they all 
 agree in this, in loving that “ Jesus whom they 
 have not seen.” 
 
 We may further recollect on this head, that the 
 Apostle, in a solemn manner, adjures Christians 
 (( by the love of the Spirit;” thereby plainly imply¬ 
 ing, that such a love to him is an important branch 
 of their character; and it must be so in all those who 
 regard him, as every regenerate soul does, as the 
 Author of divine light and life, and as the source of 
 love and happiness, by whom this “ love of God is 
 shed abroad in the heart,” while it is enlarged with 
 sacred delight to “ run the way of his command¬ 
 ments;” as that Spirit “ by whom we are sealed to 
 the day of redemption;” and who brings down the 
 foretastes of heaven to the heart in which he dwells; 
 and which, by his presence, he consecrates as the 
 temple of God.” 
 
 E 
 
 44 
 
98 
 
 And most natural is it, that a soul, filled with 
 these impressions and views, should overflow with 
 unutterable joy; and, feeling itself thus happy in 
 an intercourse with its God, should be enlarged 
 in love to man: for, says the Apostle, “ Ye are 
 taught of God to love one another.’’ Those whom 
 
 O 
 
 he apprehends as his brethren by regenerating grace, 
 he knows are, with him, beloved of the Lord; and, 
 as he hopes to dwell with them for ever in glory, he 
 must love them so far as he knows them now. And, 
 though a narrow education, and that bigotry which 
 sometimes conceals itself under very honourable and 
 pious names, may perhaps influence even a sanctified 
 heart, so far as to entertain unkind suspicions as to 
 those whose religious sentiments may differ from his 
 own, and, it may be, to pass some rash censures 
 upon them; yet, as his acquaintance with them in¬ 
 creases, and he discerns, under their different forms, 
 the traces of their common Father, his prejudices 
 wear off, and that sometimes by very sensible de¬ 
 grees, and Christians “ receive one another, as 
 Christ has received” them all. And where the 
 good man cannot love others with a love of compla¬ 
 cency and esteem, he at least beholds them with a 
 love of compassion and pity; and remembers the re¬ 
 lation of fellow-creatures, where he sees no reason to 
 hope that they are fellow-heirs with him. In a 
 word, the heart is melted down into tenderness; it is 
 warmed with generous sentiments; it longs for op¬ 
 portunities of diffusing good of all kinds, both tem¬ 
 poral and spiritual, wide as its influence can reach ; 
 it beats with an ardour which sometimes painfully 
 recoils upon a man’s self, for want of ability to help 
 
99 
 
 others in proportion to his desire to do it; and that 
 God, who knows all the inmost workings of his 
 mind, hears many an importunate intercession for 
 others in the hours of solemn devotion, and many a 
 compassionate ejaculation, which he is occasionally 
 sending up to heaven from time to time, as he passes 
 through so sinful and so calamitous a world. 
 
 These are the ruling affections in the heart of a 
 good man; and, though it is neither reasonable nor 
 possible that he should entirely divest himself of 
 self-love, yet he endeavours to regulate it so, that it 
 may not interfere with the more important considera¬ 
 tion of general good. Self has the lowest place in 
 his regards, nor does he limit his affection to a 
 party ; but, aiming at extensive usefulness, he guards 
 those immoderate attachments to particular friend¬ 
 ships, and those extravagant sallies of personal fond¬ 
 ness, which are often no more than self-love under 
 a specious disguise, which at once alienate the heart 
 from God, and contract the social affections within 
 very narrow, and those very irregular bounds, and so 
 prove almost as fatal to the health of the mind, as an 
 excessive flow of blood into one part would be to that 
 of the body. 
 
 I have enlarged so copiously on this change in 
 the leading affection of the mind, that I must touch, 
 in a more transient manner, on the rest, I add, 
 therefore, 
 
 2. That a regenerate soul has new aversions. 
 
 He once <s hated knowledge, and did not choose 
 the fear of the Lord.” He hated the light, which 
 disclosed to the aching eye of his conscience the be¬ 
 loved and indulged irregularities of his heart. He 
 
 e 2 
 
100 
 
 hated every thing that laid an embargo upon his 
 lusts; and was ready to count those for his enemies 
 that plainly admonished him, and secretly to dislike 
 those whose conduct even silently reproved him. But 
 now all these things are amiable to him; and those 
 are esteemed his most valuable friends, whose ex¬ 
 ample may be most edifying, whose instructions may 
 be most useful, and whose admonitions may be most 
 faithful. For he now “ hates every false way,” yea, 
 and every vain thought too. He looks upon every 
 irregular desire as an enemy, which he longs utterly 
 to subdue; and especially strives against that sin 
 which does most easily beset him, and abhors it 
 more than he ever delighted in it. And though he 
 rather pities than hates the persons of the most 
 wretched and mischievous transgressors, yet he can 
 no longer continue an endearing friendship with 
 those who were once his seducers to sin, and his 
 companions in it. In this sense, like David, he 
 <e hates the congregation of evil-doers, and will not 
 sit with the wicked;” and if they will not be wrought 
 upon by his compassionate endeavours to reclaim 
 them, he will soon break off their infectious inter¬ 
 course, and say, 66 Depart from me, ye evil-doers : 
 for I determine that I will keep the commandments 
 of my God.” 
 
 3. The regenerate man has also new desires. 
 
 There was a time, when sinful passions, as the 
 Apostle expresses it, <c did work in his members to 
 bring forth fruit unto death.” He was “ fulfilling 
 the desires of the flesh, and of the mind,” and 
 <c making provision to fulfil the lusts” of both. But 
 now he earnestly “ desires a conformity to God,” 
 
101 
 
 as his highest happiness; and can look up to him, 
 and say, 4 O Lord, the desire of my soul is to thy 
 name, and to the remembrance of thee; to maintain 
 such a sense of thy presence at all times, as may in¬ 
 fluence my heart to think, my lips to speak, and my 
 hands to act, in a manner suitable to that remem¬ 
 brance, and agreeable to thy wise and holy will/ 
 He now “ hungers and thirsts after righteousness;” 
 feels as real an appetite after more advanced degrees 
 of piety and holiness, as he ever felt toward the gra¬ 
 tification of his senses; and esteems the proper me¬ 
 thods of attaining these advanced degrees even 
 tC more than his necessary food.” Instead of desir¬ 
 ing to run through a long course of animal enjoy¬ 
 ments, he desires to get above them; longs to be a 
 pure and triumphant spirit in the refined regions of 
 immortality; and “is willing rather to be absent 
 from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 
 
 But I waive the further illustration of this, till I 
 come to consider the new hopes which inspire him. 
 I therefore add, as a necessary consequence of these 
 new desires, 
 
 4. That the regenerate man has new fears. 
 
 Pain and sorrow, disappointment and affliction, 
 he naturally feared; and the forebodings of his own 
 mind would sometimes awaken the fears of future 
 punishment, according to the righteous judgment of 
 an offended God; but now he fears not merely 
 punishment, but guilt; fears the remonstrance of an 
 injured conscience; for he reverences conscience as 
 God’s vicegerent in his bosom. He, therefore, 
 fears the most secret sins, as well as those which 
 might occasion public disgrace; yea, he fears lest, by a 
 
102 
 
 precipitate and inconsiderate conduct, he should con¬ 
 tract guilt before he is aware. He fears lest he 
 should inadvertently injure and grieve others, even 
 the weakest and the meanest. He fears using, his 
 liberty in a manner that might ensnare his brethren, 
 or might occasion any scandal to a Christian profes¬ 
 sion; for, such is the sensibility of his heart in this 
 respect, that he would be more deeply concerned for 
 the dishonour brought to God, and the reproach 
 which might be thrown on religion by any unsuitable 
 conduct of his, than merely for that part of the 
 shame that might immediately and directly fall upon 
 himself. But again, 
 
 5. The regenerate man has new joys. 
 
 These arise chiefly from an intercourse with God 
 through Jesus Christ; and from a review of himself, 
 as under the sanctifying influences of his grace, and 
 as brought into a state of favour with him, in propor- 
 . tion to the degree in which he can discern himself 
 in this character and state. 
 
 You know David, speaking of God, calls him 
 “ his exceeding joy,” and declares “ the gladness he 
 had put into his heart, by lifting up the light of his 
 countenance upon him, to be far beyond what they 
 could have whose corn and wine increased.” And 
 the Apostle Paul speaks of Christians as “joying in 
 God through Jesus Christ,” and as “ rejoicing in 
 Christ Jesus;” and Peter also describes them as 
 those who, “ believing in him, though unseen, re¬ 
 joice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” 
 
 Perhaps there was a time when the good man 
 censured all pretences of this kind, now, at least, in 
 these latter days of Christianity, as an empty enthu- 
 
103 
 
 siastic pretence; but since he has <e tasted that the 
 Lord is gracious,” he has that experimental know¬ 
 ledge of their reality and excellence, which he can 
 confidently oppose to all the most artful and sophis¬ 
 tical cavils; and could as soon doubt whether the 
 sun enlightens his eyes and warms his body, as he 
 could question whether God has ways of manifesting 
 himself to souls when it is felt with unutterable de¬ 
 light ; and when thus entertained, he can adopt Da¬ 
 vid’s words, and say, that his soul is satisfied as 
 with marrow and fatness, so that with joyful lips he 
 praises God,” when “ his meditation of him is thus 
 sweet,” and “ God says unto his soul, I am thy sal¬ 
 vation.” 
 
 The survey of the Lord Jesus Christ gives him 
 also unutterable joy ; while he reflects on that ample 
 provision which God has made by him for the sup¬ 
 ply of all his necessities, and that firm security 
 which is given to his soul by a believing union with 
 Christ, whereby his life is connected with that of 
 his Saviour. In his constant presence, in his faith¬ 
 ful care, he can boast all the day long; and that 
 friendship which establishes a community of inter¬ 
 ests between him and his Lord, engages him to 
 rejoice in that salvation and happiness to which he 
 is advanced at the right hand of God, and gives 
 him, by joyful sympathy, his part with Christ in 
 glory, before he personally arrives at the full posses¬ 
 sion of it. 
 
 I add, that he also rejoices in the consciousness 
 of God’s gracious work upon his own soul, so far 
 as he can discern the traces of it there. He de¬ 
 lights to feel himself, as it were, cured of the mor- 
 
104 . 
 
 tal disease with which he once saw himself infected; 
 to find himself in health and vigour of mind, re¬ 
 newed to a conformity with the divine image. He 
 delights to look inward, and see that transformation 
 of soul which has made t£ the wilderness like the 
 garden of the Lord,” so that “ instead of the thorn 
 there shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the 
 briar the myrtle.” Thus the good man is satisfied 
 from himself; and though he humbly refers the 
 ultimate glory of all to that God, “ by whose grace 
 he is what he is,” he enters with pleasure into his 
 own mind, and reckons it a part of gratitude to his 
 great Benefactor, to enjoy, with as high a relish as 
 he can, the present workings of divine grace within 
 him, as well as the pleasing prospect of what it will 
 farther do. 
 
 But this head has so near a resemblance to some 
 that are to follow, that were I to enlarge upon it, as 
 '1 easily might, I should leave room for nothing dif¬ 
 ferent to be said upon them. I will only add, 
 
 6. That as the counterpart of this, new sorrows 
 will arise in the mind of a regenerate man. 
 
 These are particularly such as spring from the 
 withdrawings of God’s presence, from the remainder 
 of sin in the soul, and from the prevalence of it in 
 the world about him. 
 
 The regenerate man will mourn, c when the re¬ 
 viving manifestations of God’s presence are with¬ 
 drawn from his soul.’ It seems very absurd to in¬ 
 terpret the numberless passages in the sacred writers, 
 in which they complain of the “ hidings of God’s 
 face from them,” as if they merely referred to the 
 want of temporal enjoyments, or to the pressure of 
 
105 
 
 temporal calamities. If the light of God’s counte¬ 
 nance, which they so expressly oppose to temporal 
 blessings, signify a spiritual enjoyment, the want of 
 it must relate to spiritual desertion. And I believe 
 there are few Christians in the world who are en¬ 
 tirely unacquainted with this. They have most of 
 them their seasons, when they walk in darkness, and 
 see little or no light; and this, not only when 
 anxious fears arise with relation to their own spiri¬ 
 tual state, but at some other times, when, though 
 they can in the main call God their Father, yet he 
 seems, as it were, to stand afar offj and to continue 
 them at a distance, which wears the face of unkind¬ 
 ness, especially under temptations and other afflic¬ 
 tions, in which they lose their lively sense of God’s 
 presence, and that endearing freedom of converse 
 with him, which, through the influence of the spirit 
 of adoption on their souls, they have sometimes 
 known. If this be mysterious and unintelligible to 
 some of you, I am heartily sorry for it; but I do 
 not remember that I was ever intimately acquainted 
 with anv one w r ho seemed to me a real Christian, 
 that has not, upon mentioning the case, acknow¬ 
 ledged that he has felt something of it; at least, I 
 will boldly venture to say this, that if you are truly 
 regenerate, and do not know what I mean by it, 
 it is because you have hitherto been kept in a con¬ 
 tinual flow of holy joy, or, at least, in a calm and 
 cheerful persuasion of your interest in the divine fa¬ 
 vour; and even such may see the day, when, strong 
 as their mountain seems to stand, God may hide his 
 face to their trouble; or, however, they will infer, 
 from what they now feel, that it must be a mournful 
 
 e 3 
 
106 
 
 case whenever it occurs; and that sorrow, in such a 
 circumstance, will soon strike on a truly sanctified 
 heart, and wound it very deep. 
 
 The sorrow of a good man also arises 6 from the 
 remainder of sin in his soul.’ Though he is up¬ 
 right before God, and proves it by “ keeping him¬ 
 self from his iniquity;” yet he cries out, 44 who can 
 understand his errors ?” (< Who can say, I have 
 
 made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin ?” A 
 sense of the sinfulness of his nature humbles him 
 in the dust; and the first risings of irregular inclina¬ 
 tions and passions give him a tender pain, with 
 which a carnal heart is unacquainted, even when sin 
 is domineering within him. 
 
 And once more, 6 The prevalence of sin in the 
 world around him’ is a grief to one that is born of 
 God. It pierces him to the heart to see men dis¬ 
 honouring God, and ruining themselves ; he beholds 
 ’ transgressors, as D avid well expresses it, with a 
 mixture of indignation and sorrow ; and when he 
 seriously considers how common, and yet how sad a 
 case it is, he can perhaps borrow the words of the same 
 prophet, so far as to say, that (( rivers of waters run 
 down his eyes, because men keep not the law of 
 God.” Now, as these are sorrows that seldom do 
 at all affect the heart of an unregenerate man, I 
 thought it the more proper to mention them, to assist 
 you in your inquiries into your own state. 
 
 Such are the affections of love and aversion, of 
 desire and fear, of joy and sorrow, which fill the 
 breast of the regenerate man, and naturally arise 
 from those new apprehensions which are described 
 under the former head. I add, 
 
 III. That he has also new resolutions. 
 
107 
 
 You will easily apprehend I speak of those that 
 are formed for the service of God, and against sin. 
 
 I readily acknowledge, that there are often in un¬ 
 regenerate men some resolutions of this kind, and 
 perhaps those very warm, and for the present, very 
 sincere; yet there is considerable difference between 
 them and those we are now to represent; as the 
 resolutions of the truly good man are 6 more uni¬ 
 versal, more immediate, and more humble.’ 
 
 1. The resolutions which he now forms are more 
 universal than they ever were before. 
 
 He does not now resolve against this or that sin, 
 but against all; against sin, as sin, as opposite to 
 the holiness of God, and destructive of the honour 
 and happiness of the rational creation. He does 
 not say with Naaman, concerning this or that more 
 convenient iniquity, u the Lord pardon thy servant 
 in this thing;” nor does he resolve to excuse him¬ 
 self in an indulgence, even to “ that sin which does 
 most easily beset him ;” but rather, in his general 
 determination against sin, and in those solemn en¬ 
 gagements with which such determinations may be 
 attended, he fixes especially upon those sins which 
 he might before have been most ready to accept. 
 
 2. The resolutions of the regenerate man are 
 more immediate. 
 
 It very frequently happens, that while others are 
 under awakening impressions, as they see a necessity 
 for parting with their sins, and engaging in what 
 they may call religious life, they resolve upon it; 
 but then they think it may be delayed a little longer; 
 perhaps a few years, or at least a few weeks or days; 
 or they, perhaps, refer it to some remarkable period 
 
108 
 
 which is approaching, which they flatter themselves 
 they shall make yet more remarkable, as the era of their 
 reformation: but, in the mean time, they will take their 
 farewell of their lusts by a few more indulgences; and 
 thus they delude themselves, and rivet on their chains 
 faster than before. But the good man, with David, 
 ‘ £ makes haste, and delays not to keep the command¬ 
 ments of God.” H e is like the prodigal, who, as soon 
 as ever he said, <e I will arise and go to my father,” im¬ 
 mediately arose and came to him. He reckons the 
 time he has already spent in the service of sin may 
 suffice, and that indeed it is far more than enough : 
 he wishes he could call back that which is past; but 
 he determines, that he will not take one step further 
 in this unhappy path. He fully purposes, that he 
 will never once more deliberately and presumptuously 
 offend God, in any matter, great or small; if any 
 thing can be called small, which is a deliberate and 
 apprehended offence : and he determines, that, from 
 this moment, he will “ yield himself to God, as alive 
 from the dead, and employ his members as instru¬ 
 ments of righteousness.” But then, 
 
 3. His resolutions are more modest and humble 
 than they have ever been before. 
 
 And this, indeed, is the great circumstance that 
 renders them more effectual.— When an awakened 
 sinner feels himself most enslaved to his vices, he 
 pleases himself with this thought, that there is a 
 secret kind of spring in his mind, which, when he 
 pleases to exert, he can break through all at once, 
 and commence, whenever that unhappy necessity 
 comes upon him, a very religious man in a moment. 
 And, when conscience presses him with the memory 
 
109 
 
 of past guilt, and the representation of future danger, 
 he cuts off these remonstrances with a hasty resolve, 
 4 I will do so no more.’ But then, perhaps, the 
 effect of this may not last a day ; though possibly it 
 may, at other times, continue a few weeks or months, 
 where the grosser acts of sin are concerned : and 
 indeed his resolutions seldom reach farther than 
 these] for the necessity of a sanctified heart is a 
 mystery which he has never yet learned. But a 
 truly regenerate man has learned wisdom from this 
 experience of his own, and the observation of other 
 men’s frailty. He feels his own weakness, and is 
 so thoroughly aware of the treachery of his own 
 heart, that he is almost afraid to express in words 
 the purpose which his very soul is forming : he is 
 almost afraid to turn that purpose into a vow before 
 God, lest the breach of that vow should increase his 
 guilt; but this he can say, with repenting Ephraim, 
 44 Lord, turn thou me, and I shall be turned;” and 
 with David, 44 Hold up my goings in thy paths, 
 that my footsteps slip not.” 4 I am exceeding 
 frail; but, Lord, 44 be thou surety for thy servant for 
 good,” and then I shall be safe ! Do thou rescue 
 me from temptations, and I shall be delivered ! Do 
 thou fill my heart with holy sentiments, and I will 
 breathe them out before thee ! Do thou excite 
 and maintain a zeal for thy service, and then I will 
 exert myself in it!’ And when once a man is come 
 to such a distrust of himself; when, like a little 
 child, he stretches out his hand to be led by his 
 heavenly Father, and trusts in his guardian care 
 alone for his security and comfort; then out of 
 weakness he is made strong, and goes on safe, though 
 
110 
 
 perhaps trembling ; and sees those that made the 
 loudest boasts, and placed the greatest confidence 
 in themselves, falling on the right hand and on the 
 left, and all their bravery melting away like snow 
 before the sun. 
 
 IV. The regenerate man has new labours and 
 employments. 
 
 Not that his former employment in secular life is 
 laid aside; it would ordinarily be a very dangerous 
 snare for a man to imagine that God requires this. 
 On the contrary, the Apostle gives it in charge to 
 Christian converts, that in what calling soever a 
 man is found when he is called into the profession 
 of the gospel, he should therein abide with God. 
 But when he becomes a real Christian, he prosecutes 
 this calling, whatever it be, with a new spirit and 
 temper, from new principles, and to new purposes. 
 While his hands are labouring in the world, his 
 • heart is often rising to God; he consecrates his 
 work to the divine honour, and to the credit of re¬ 
 ligion, and desires that his merchandise and his gain 
 may, in this sense, be holiness to the Lord, by em¬ 
 ploying it to support the family which providence 
 has committed to his charge, and to relieve the poor 
 which Christ recommends to his pity; and as he 
 depends upon God to give him wisdom and success 
 in the conduct of his affairs, he ascribes the glory of 
 that success to him; not sacrificing to his own net, 
 nor burning incense to his own drag. 
 
 And I will further add, that regeneration intro¬ 
 duces a set of new labours, added to the former, 
 with which the man was before utterly unacquainted. 
 We may consider, as the principal and chief of these, 
 
Ill 
 
 the great labour of purifying the heart, of conquer¬ 
 ing sinful inclinations and affections, and of approach¬ 
 ing God by a more intimate access, and more endeared 
 converse. Now, they that imagine this to be any 
 easy matter, know little of the human heart, little of 
 the spirituality of God’s nature and his law. Give 
 me leave to say, that the labours of the body in cul¬ 
 tivating the earth, are much more easily performed 
 than this spiritual husbandry. To weed a soil so 
 luxuriant in evil productions, and to raise a plentiful 
 harvest of holy affections and actions in a soil so 
 barren of good; to regulate appetites and passions 
 so exorbitant as those of the human heart naturally 
 are, and to awaken in it suitable affections; to be 
 abundant in the fruits of righteousness, and to con¬ 
 verse with God in the exercise of devotion :—these 
 are no little things; nor will a little resolution, 
 watchfulness, and activity suffice, in order to the 
 discharge of such a business. It is comparatively 
 easy to go through the forms of prayer and praise, 
 whatever they are; to read, or, from present concep¬ 
 tion, to utter a few words before God; “but to 
 unite the heart in God’s service, to wrestle with him 
 for a blessing, to pour out the heart before him, to 
 speak to him as searching the very heartso that 
 he should say, c this is prayer ;’-—this, my brethren, 
 is a work indeed; and he that is conscientious in the 
 discharge of it, will find that it is not to be despatched 
 in a few hasty moments, nor without serious re¬ 
 flection, and a resolute watch maintained over the 
 spirit. 
 
 New labours also arise to the regenerate soul, in 
 consequence of the concern it has to promote reli- 
 
112 
 
 gion in the world.—The heart of the good man 
 being possessed, as I formerly showed you, with an 
 unfeigned love to his fellow-creatures, and knowing 
 of how great importance religion is to the happiness 
 of men, he pleads earnestly with God for the pro¬ 
 pagation and success of the gospel; and he endea- 
 vours, according to his ability and opportunity, to 
 promote it; to promote pure and undefiled religion in 
 his family and his neighbourhood, even in all around 
 him. And this requires observation and applica¬ 
 tion, that this attempt may be prudently conducted ; 
 and great resolution, in order to its being rendered 
 effectual. It requires great diligence in watching 
 over ourselves, lest our examples prove inconsistent 
 with our precepts ; and no small degree of courage, 
 considering how averse the generality of mankind 
 are to admonitions and reproofs : in consequence of 
 which, a person can hardly act the part of a faithful 
 friend, without exposing himself to the hazard of 
 being accounted an enemy. 
 
 Such are the new labours of the real Christian ; 
 let any man try to perform them, and he will not 
 find them light. But to encourage the attempt, 
 let me further add, 
 
 V. That the regenerate soul has its ;ne\v en¬ 
 tertainments too. 
 
 He has pleasures “ which a stranger intermeddles 
 not with, and which the world can neither give nor 
 take away;” pleasures which a thousand times over¬ 
 balance the most painful labours, and the most pain¬ 
 ful sufferings too; and which, sweetly mingling 
 themselves with the various circumstances of life 
 through which the Christian passes, do, as it were, 
 
113 
 
 gild all the scene, and make all the fatigues and 
 self-denial of his life far more agreeable, than any 
 of those delights the worldling or the sensualist can 
 find in the midst of his unbounded and studied in¬ 
 dulgences. But here I shall be in great danger of 
 repeating what I said under a former head, when I 
 was speaking of the new joys which the Christian 
 feels, in consequence of the great change that re¬ 
 generation makes in his soul; and, therefore, omit¬ 
 ting what I then observed concerning the pleasure 
 of communion with God through Christ, and of 
 perceiving a work of divine grace upon the soul, I 
 shall now touch upon some other sources of exalted 
 entertainment, which did not so directly fall under 
 that head. 
 
 1. The Christian finds new pleasures in the word 
 of God. 
 
 You know with what relish the saints of old 
 spake of it.— ££ Thy words were found,” says the 
 Prophet, ££ and I did eat them; and thy word was 
 unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.” <£ Thy 
 statutes,” says the Psalmist, ££ are more to be de¬ 
 sired than gold, yea, than much fine gold ; they 
 are sweeter also than honey, and the honey-comb.” 
 The apostle Peter beautifully represents this, when 
 he exhorts the saints to whom he wrote, ££ as new¬ 
 born babes to desire the sincere milk of the word, 
 that they might grow thereby.” And the infant 
 that smiles on the breast, and with such eagerness 
 and delight draws its nourishment from it, seems 
 an amiable image of the humble Christian who re¬ 
 ceives the kingdom of God, and the word of that 
 kingdom, as ££ a little child;” who lays up Scripture 
 
114 
 
 in his heart, and draws forth the sweetness of it, 
 with a firm persuasion that it is indeed the word of 
 God, and was appointed by him for the food of his 
 soul. 
 
 2. He also finds new pleasures in the ordinances 
 of divine worship. 
 
 He is fi£ glad when it is said unto him, Let us 
 go into the house of the Lord.” He indeed es¬ 
 teems the tabernacles of the Lord as amiable, and 
 regards “ a day in his courts as better than a thou¬ 
 sand elsewhere.” And this pleasure arises, not 
 merely from any thing peculiar in the administra¬ 
 tions of this or that man who officiates in holy 
 things; but from the nature of the exercise in gen¬ 
 eral, and from a regard to the divine authority of 
 those institutions which are there observed. He 
 feels a secret delight in an intercourse with God in 
 those solemnities; in comparison of which all the 
 ‘ graces of composition and delivery appear as little 
 as the harmony of instruments, or the perfume of 
 incense, to one of the Old Testament saints, when 
 compared with the light of God’s countenance, 
 which was lifted up on the pious worshipper under 
 the Mosaic forms, when in his temple every one 
 spake of his glory. “ One thing has he desired of 
 the Lord, and that he seeks after ; that he may dwell 
 in the house of the Lord all the days of his life:” 
 not to amuse his vain imagination ; not to gratify 
 his ear; not to indulge his curiosity with useless 
 inquiries, nor merely to exercise his understanding 
 with sublime speculations; but “ to behold the 
 beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.” 
 
115 
 
 3. He likewise finds a new entertainment in the 
 conversation of Christian friends. 
 
 He now knows what it is to have fellowship with 
 those whose communion is with the Father and with 
 his Son Jesus Christ. His delight is now in them 
 that are truly the excellent of the earth. He de¬ 
 lights to dismiss the usual topics of modern conver¬ 
 sation, that some religious subject may be assumed, 
 not as matter of dispute, but as matter of devout 
 recollection ; and loves to hear the plainest Chris¬ 
 tian express his experimental sense of divine things. 
 Those sentiments of piety and love, which come 
 warm from a gracious heart, are always pleasing to 
 him; and those appear the dearest bands of friend¬ 
 ship which may draw him nearer to his heavenly 
 Father, and unite his soul in ties of more ardent 
 love to his Redeemer. A society of such friends 
 is indeed a kind of anticipation of heaven ; and to 
 choose and delight in such, is no contemptible token 
 that the soul has attained to some considerable de¬ 
 gree of preparation for it. I only add, 
 
 VI. That, in consequence of all this, the regen¬ 
 erate soul has new hopes and prospects. 
 
 Men might be very much assisted in judging of 
 their true state, if they would seriously reflect what 
 it is they hope and wish for : what are those ex¬ 
 pectations and desires that most strongly impress 
 their minds. A vain mortal, untaught and un¬ 
 changed by divine grace, is always dressing up to 
 himself some empty phantom of earthly happiness, 
 which he looks after and pursues: and foolishly 
 imagines, 4 Could I grasp it, and keep it, I should 
 be happy.’ But divine grace teaches the real 
 
116 
 
 Christian to give up these empty schemes : £ God,’ 
 does he say, 6 never intended this world for my 
 happiness ; he will make it tolerable to me; he will 
 give me so much of it as he sees consistent with my 
 highest interest; he will enable me to derive in¬ 
 struction, and it may be consolation, out of its dis¬ 
 appointments and distresses; but he reserves my in¬ 
 heritance for the eternal world. £< I am begotten 
 again to a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus 
 Christ from the dead, even to the hope of an in¬ 
 heritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fad- 
 eth not awayand though it be, for the present, 
 reserved in heaven, it is so safe, and so great, that 
 it is well worth my waiting for, though ever so long, 
 “ for the things that are not seen are eternal.” ’ 
 And this indeed is the character of a good man. 
 Eternity fills his thoughts : and growing sensible, 
 in another manner than he ever was before, of the 
 'importance of it, he pants for the enjoyment of 
 eternal happiness. Assign any limited duration to 
 his enjoyment of God, in the regions of glory, and 
 you would overwhelm him with disappointment; 
 talk of hundreds of thousands of millions of years, 
 the disappointment is almost equal; periods like 
 these seem scarce distinguishable from each other, 
 when compared with an eternal hope. To eternity 
 his desires and expectations are raised; and he can 
 be contented with nothing less than eternity: per¬ 
 fect holiness and perfect happiness, for ever and 
 ever, without any mixture of sin, or any alloy of 
 sorrow. This he firmly expects, this he ardently 
 breathes after ;—a felicity which an immortal soul 
 shall never outlive, and which an eternal God shall 
 
117 
 
 never cease to communicate. This heavenly coun¬ 
 try he seeks ; he considers himself as a citizen of it, 
 and endeavours to maintain his conversation there ,* 
 to carry on, as it were, a daily trade for heaven, and 
 to lay up a treasure there; in which he may be rich 
 and great, when all the pomp of this earth is passed 
 away as a dream, and all its most precious metals 
 and gems are melted down and consumed among its 
 vilest materials, in the last universal burning. 
 
 This is the change, the glorious change, which 
 regeneration' makes in a man’s character and views; 
 and who shall dare to speak, or to think, contemp¬ 
 tibly of it ? Were we indeed to represent it as a 
 kind of charm, depending on an external ceremony, 
 which it was the peculiar prerogative of a certain 
 order of men to perform, and yet on which eternal 
 life was suspended, one might easily apprehend that 
 it would be brought into much suspicion. Or, 
 should we place it in any mechanical transports of 
 animal nature, in any blind impulse, in any strong 
 feelings, not to be described, or accounted for, or 
 argued upon, but known by some inward inexpli¬ 
 cable sensation to be divine; we could not wonder 
 if calm and prudent men were slow to admit the 
 pretension to it, and were fearful it might end in the 
 most dangerous enthusiasm, made impious by ex¬ 
 cessive appearances of piety. But when it is de¬ 
 lineated by such fair and bright characters as those 
 that have now been drawn; when these divine 
 lineaments on the soul, by which it bears the image 
 of its Maker’s rectitude and sanctity, are considered 
 as its necessary consequence, or rather as its very 
 essence; one would imagine, that every rational 
 
118 
 
 creature, instead of cavilling at it, should pay an 
 immediate homage to it, and earnestly desire, and 
 labour, and pray, to experience the change; espe¬ 
 cially as it is a change so desirable for itself; as we 
 acknowledge health to be, though a man were not 
 to be rewarded for being well; nor punished, any 
 farther than with the malady he contracts, for any 
 negligence in this respect. 
 
 Where is there any thing that can be more orna¬ 
 mental to our natures than to have all the powers of 
 the mind thus changed by grace, and our pursuits 
 directed to such objects as are worthy of the best 
 attention and regard ;—to have our apprehensions 
 of divine and spiritual things enlarged, and to have 
 right conceptions of the most important matters;— 
 to have the stream of our affections turned from 
 empty vanities to objects that are proper to excite 
 ‘ and fix them ;—to have our resolutions set against 
 all. sin, and a full purpose formed within us of an 
 immediate reformation and return to God, with a 
 dependence on his grace to help us both to will and 
 to do;—to have our labours steadfastly applied to 
 conquer sin, and to promote religion in ourselves 
 and others ;—to have our entertainments founded 
 in a religious life, and flowing in upon us from the 
 sweet intercourse we have with God in his word and 
 ordinances, and the delightful conversation that we 
 sometimes have with Christian friends ;—and, finally, 
 to have our hopes drawn off from earthly things, 
 and fixed upon eternity ? Where is there any 
 thing that can be more honourable to us, than thus to 
 be 66 renewed after the image of him that created 
 us, and to put on the new man, which after God is 
 
119 
 
 created in righteousness and true holiness ?” And 
 where is any thing that can be more desirable than 
 thus to have the darkness of our understandings 
 cured, and the disorders rectified that sin had 
 brought upon our nature ? Who is there that is 
 so insensible of his depravity, as that he would not 
 long for such a happy change ? Or who is there 
 that knows how excellent a work it is to be “ trans¬ 
 formed by the renewing of the mind, ,, that would 
 not, with the greatest thankfulness, adore the riches 
 of divine grace, if it appear that he is thus become 
 a new creature ; that “ old things are passed away, 
 and, behold, all things are become new?” 
 
 But I shall quickly show you, that regeneration 
 is not only ornamental, honourable, and desirable, 
 but absolutely necessary, as ever we would hope to 
 share the blessings of God’s heavenly kingdom, and 
 to escape the horrors of those that are finally and 
 irrevocably excluded from it. This argument will 
 employ several succeeding discourses : but I would 
 dismiss you at present with an earnest request, that 
 you would, in the meantime, renew your inquiries 
 as to the truth of regeneration in your own souls ; 
 which, after all that I have been saying, it will be 
 very inexcusable for you to neglect, as probably 
 you will hear few discourses, in the whole course of 
 your lives, which centre more directly in this point, 
 or are more industriously calculated to give you the 
 safest and clearest assistance in it. May God abase 
 the arrogance and presumption of every self-deceiv¬ 
 ing sinner, and awaken the confidence and joy of 
 the feeblest soul in whom this new creation is be- 
 gun ! 
 
120 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION ARGUED FROM 
 THE IMMUTABLE CONSTITUTION OF GOD. 
 
 John iii. 3. 
 
 ** Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto 
 thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom 
 of God.” 
 
 While the ministers of Christ are discoursing 
 of such a subject as I have before me in the course 
 of these Lectures, and particularly in this branch of 
 them which I am now entering upon, we may surely, 
 
 ' with the utmost reason, address our hearers in those 
 words of Moses to Israel, in the conclusion of his 
 dying discourse : “ Set your hearts unto all the 
 words which I testify among you this day, which ye 
 shall command your children to observe and do, 
 even all the words of this law : for it is not a vain 
 thing for you ; because it is your life.” That must 
 undoubtedly be your life, concerning which the 
 Lord Jesus Christ himself, the incarnate wisdom of 
 God, the faithful and true witness, has said, and 
 said it with a solemn repeated asseveration, that 
 without it “ a man cannot see the kingdom of God.” 
 
 The occasion of his saying it, deserves our no¬ 
 tice ; though the niceties of the context must be 
 waived in such a series of sermons as this. He said 
 it to a Jew of considerable rank, and, as it appears, 
 
m 
 
 one of the grand Sanhedrim, or chief council of the 
 nation ; who came not only for his own private 
 satisfaction, but in the name of several of his breth¬ 
 ren, to discourse with Christ concerning his doc¬ 
 trine, at the first passover he attended at Jerusalem, 
 after he had entered on his public ministry. Our 
 Lord would, to be sure, be peculiarly careful what 
 answer he returned to such an inquiry; and this is 
 his answer—“ Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Ex¬ 
 cept a man be born again, he cannot see the king¬ 
 dom of Godas if he should have said, 4 If the 
 princes of Israel inquire after my character, let them 
 know that I came to be a preacher of regeneration ; 
 and that the blessings of that kingdom which I am 
 come to reveal and erect, are to be peculiar to re¬ 
 newed and sanctified souls, who may, by an easy, 
 a natural figure, be said to be born again.’ And 
 the figure appears very intelligible, and very instruc¬ 
 tive, to those that will seriously consider it; and 
 might lead us into a variety of pertinent and use¬ 
 ful remarks. 
 
 You easily perceive, that to be born again, must 
 intimate a very great change; coming, as it were, 
 into a new world, as an infant does; when, after 
 having lived a while a kind of vegetative life, in the 
 darkness and confinement of the womb, it is born 
 into open day; feels the vital air rushing in on its 
 lungs, and light forcing itself upon the awakened 
 eyes; hears sounds before unknown ; opens its mouth 
 to receive a yet untastcd food, and every day becomes 
 acquainted with new objects, and exerts new powers, 
 till it grows up to the maturity of a perfect man. 
 Such, and, in some respects, greater and nobler 
 
 F 44 
 
122 
 
 than this, is the change which regeneration makes 
 in a heart, before unacquainted with religion; as 
 you may have seen at large from the preceding dis¬ 
 courses. 
 
 But I might further observe, that the phrase in 
 the text, may also express the humbling nature of this 
 change, as well as the greatness of it. Erasmus 
 gives this turn to the words; and it is so edifying, 
 that I should have mentioned it at least, though I 
 had not thought it so just, as it appears. To be 
 born again, must signify to become as a little child ; 
 and our Lord expressly and frequently assures us, 
 that without this we cannot enter into the kingdom 
 of heaven. He has pronounced the very first of his 
 blessings on poverty of spirit; and where this is 
 wanting, the soul will never be entitled to the rest. 
 A mild and humble, a docile and tractable temper, 
 a freedom from avarice and ambition, and an indif¬ 
 ference to those great toys of which men are gene¬ 
 rally so fond, are all essential parts of the Christian 
 character ; and they have all, in one view or another, 
 been touched upon in the preceding discourses. Let 
 it he forgiven, however, if, considering the impor¬ 
 tance of the case, you are told again, that in malice 
 ye must he children ; and that if any man think 
 himself wise, he must become a child, and even a 
 fool, that he may be wise indeed. 
 
 I might observe, once more, that these words in¬ 
 timate the divine power, by which this great and 
 humbling change is effected. Our first formation 
 and birth is the work of God, and no less really so 
 in the succeeding generations of men, than the first 
 production of Adam was, when “ God formed him 
 
123 
 
 of the dust of the earth, and breathed into his nos¬ 
 trils the breath of life.” We may each of us say, 
 with respect to the natural birth, and in an accom¬ 
 modated sense with respect to the spiritual too, 
 <s thine eyes did see my substance, being as yet im¬ 
 perfect, and in thy book all my members, which in 
 continuance of time were fashioned, were written, 
 when as yet there was none of them.” All the first 
 gracious impressions that were made upon the mind, 
 and all the gradual advances of them, till Christ was 
 formed in the heart, and the new creature animated, 
 must (as I shall hereafter show at large) be ulti¬ 
 mately and principally referred into a divine opera¬ 
 tion ; and, in this sense, it is God that brings every 
 good purpose in the mind to the birth, and God that 
 gives strength to bring forth. 
 
 But I omit the farther prosecution of these re¬ 
 marks at present, because they coincide with what I 
 have said in former discourses, or what will occur in 
 those which are yet to come : and shall only further 
 consider the words, as they are a confirmation of, 
 and, therefore a proper introduction to, what I am 
 to lay before you under the third general head of 
 these discourses ; in which (as I have already shown, 
 who may be said to be in an unregenerate state, and 
 how great that change is which regeneration makes 
 in the soul), I shall now proceed, 
 
 Thirdly, To show the high importance, yea, the 
 absolute necessity, of this change. 
 
 Our Lord expresses it in a very lively and awak¬ 
 ening manner, in these few determinate words which 
 are here before us : “ Verily, verily, I say unto thee, 
 except a man be born again, he cannot see the king- 
 
 f 2 
 
124 
 
 dom of God.” You see how emphatical the words 
 are. He who is himself invariable truth, the same 
 yesterday, to-day, and for ever, repeats it again and 
 again, with as much solemnity as he ever uses upon 
 any occasion, repeats it to us, as he did to Nicode- 
 mus, “ Verily, verily, I say unto you,” that is, I 
 seriously deliver it as a truth of infinite moment; “ Ex¬ 
 cept a man,” that is, any man, whatever his profes¬ 
 sion, whatever his knowledge, or whatever his privi¬ 
 leges may be; though he be a Jew r , though he be a 
 Pharisee, though he be, as thou Nicodemus art, a 
 ruler or a senator; except he “be born again,” and 
 have that great change, so often described in the 
 word of God, wrought by the operation of the Spirit 
 in his mind, 66 he cannot see the kingdom of God;” he 
 cannot by any means approach it, so as to enter into 
 it, or have any share in the important blessings 
 . which it contains. 
 
 That we may more fully understand and enter 
 into this weighty argument, I shall, from these 
 words, 
 
 I. Briefly consider what it is to see the kingdom 
 of God. 
 
 II. Sh ow how absolutely impossible it is that any 
 unregenerate man should see it. And, 
 
 III. How wretched a thing it is to be deprived of 
 the sight and enjoyment of it. 
 
 And I am well persuaded, that if you diligently at¬ 
 tend to these things, you will be inwardly and power¬ 
 fully convinced, that no argument could be more 
 proper to demonstrate the importance and necessity 
 of regeneration, than this which our Lord has sug¬ 
 gested in these awful, emphatical, and comprehen¬ 
 sive words. 
 
125 
 
 I. I am to show you what it is to 44 see the king¬ 
 dom of God.” 
 
 And, for the explication of it, it will be necessary 
 to consider what we are to understand by this king¬ 
 dom, and what is meant by seeing it. 
 
 (1.) I would show you what you are to under¬ 
 stand by the kingdom of God. 
 
 And you will pardon me, if I state the matter 
 pretty largely, because the phrase is used in Scrip¬ 
 ture in different senses, and the true interpretation 
 of many passages in it depends on a proper distinc¬ 
 tion between them. You may observe, then, for 
 the explication of this phrase, that the kingdom of 
 God in general signifies 4 the society of those who 
 profess themselves the servants and subjects of Christ;’ 
 and, in consequence of this, that there are some pas¬ 
 sages in which it peculiarly relates to 4 the imperfect 
 dispensation of this kingdom, and the beginning of 
 it in the world;’ and others in which it relates to 
 4 the more perfect form which this society is to bear 
 in the world of glory.’ 
 
 1. The kingdom of God, or the kingdom of 
 heaven, (for they are synonymous phrases,) does in 
 general signify 4 the society of those who profess 
 themselves the servants and subjects of Christ.’ 
 
 You well know that this was a phrase used among 
 the Jews ; and, therefore, the original of it is to be 
 traced from the Old Testament; and I apprehend it 
 to be this:—Almost every Christian is aware, that 
 in the early days of the Jewish commonwealth, as 
 Samuel, with great propriety, expresses it, God was 
 their king, Jehovah was not only the great object of 
 their religious regard, as the Creator and supporter 
 
1 ‘26 
 
 of the whole world; but he was also their supreme 
 civil magistrate, settling the forms of their political 
 government, and reserving to himself some of the 
 chief acts of royal authority. They did indeed af¬ 
 terwards desire another king, like the other nations 
 round about them. But still those kings, being ap¬ 
 pointed by God, were indeed to be looked upon as 
 no other than his vicegerents, though another kind 
 of governors than he had originally instituted. By 
 degrees, their peculiar regard to the civil authority 
 of God among them, as well as to his religious au¬ 
 thority, which was nearly connected with it, in a 
 great measure wore out; and their government went 
 through a great many different forms, which it would 
 be unnecessary here particularly to describe. Never¬ 
 theless God was pleased to declare by king David, 
 and by many others of his holy prophets, that he 
 would in due time interpose to erect another, and a 
 far more extensive kingdom in the world: not, in¬ 
 deed, upon the same political principles with that 
 which he exercised over the Jews; which principles 
 would by no means have suited this extensive design ; 
 but it should be a kingdom in which the authority 
 of the God of heaven should be acknowledged, and 
 his laws of universal righteousness observed with 
 greater care, and to nobler purposes, as well as by a 
 vastly greater number of subjects than ever before. 
 Th is kingdom he determined to commit to the go¬ 
 vernment of the Messiah, who, with regard to this, 
 was called st the Lord’s anointed, his king whom he 
 set upon his holy hill of Zion;” and to whom, in¬ 
 deed, he would give all power, not only on earth, 
 but in heaven too ; so that, having trained up his 
 
127 
 
 subjects here, in the discipline of holiness and obe¬ 
 dience, he should at length translate them to another 
 and a better country, that is, a heavenly, where they 
 should see his glory, and should reign with him in 
 eternal life. 
 
 This plainly appears, from the whole tenor of the 
 Old and New Testament, to have been the grand 
 plan of God, with respect to the Messiah’s kingdom : 
 and you will easily see, that coming from God as its 
 great author, and referring to him as its end, it may, 
 with great propriety, be called the kingdom of God ; 
 and ultimately terminating in the heavenly state, it 
 may also properly be called the kingdom of heaven. 
 These were phrases which prevailed in the Jewish 
 nation, before Christ or his immediate forerunner 
 appeared ; and, indeed, they were used by Daniel in 
 a very remarkable manner, which probably made 
 them so familiar to the Jews, who had some peculiar 
 reasons for studying his writings, even more than 
 those of some other prophets. After that prophet 
 had foretold the rise and fall of several great empires 
 of the world, he adds, “ And in the days of these 
 last kings,” that is, of the Romans, “ shall the God 
 of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall not be de¬ 
 stroyed, but shall stand for ever.” And the person 
 whom the Ancient of days, that is, the eternal and 
 ever-blessed God, should fix on the throne of this 
 kingdom, from his appearing in the human nature, is 
 called the Son of man : “ I saw in the night visions, 
 and behold one like the Son of man came with the 
 clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, 
 and they brought him near before him ; and there 
 was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, 
 
128 
 
 that all people, nations, and languages, should serve 
 him ; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which 
 shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which 
 shall not be destroyed.” 
 
 In allusion to this, when our Lord Jesus Christ 
 appeared, he called himself the Son of man ; and he 
 particularly used this phrase ; and it was exceedingly 
 proper that he should, in this conference with Nico- 
 demus, again and again. And all those who, being 1 * 
 convinced of the divine commission he bore, sub¬ 
 mitted themselves to him, might, in this respect, be 
 said to enter into the kingdom of God, or of heaven ; 
 that is, into the society which had so long been fore¬ 
 told and expected under that title. This kingdom, 
 as the above-mentioned prophecy declared, was to 
 be raised from very low beginnings, and under the 
 personal ministry of Christ and his apostles, till at 
 ‘ last it should extend through very distant regions 
 of the world, and kings and princes should submit 
 themselves to it, and reckon it their glory to enrol 
 themselves among his subjects. 
 
 Agreeably to this meaning of the phrase, and to 
 this view with respect to the establishment of his 
 kingdom, our Lord opened his ministry with preach¬ 
 ing, as John the Baptist had done, the kingdom of 
 heaven. And you will see, that in most places of 
 the gospel, where the phrase occurs, it is to he taken 
 in this sense. Thus our Lord says, u Blessed are 
 the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of 
 heaven that is, they are fit to be members of this 
 society, and to receive the blessings of it. “ Seek 
 first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness 
 that is, labour to serve the interest of this society 
 
129 
 
 that I am erecting, and to obtain and promote that 
 righteousness which it recommends, and is intended 
 to establish in the world. And again, “ Suffer little 
 children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for 
 of such is the kingdom of Godpersons with such 
 a disposition are most fit to become my subjects, and 
 to enter into this holy and spiritual society. And 
 when our Lord says to the Pharisees, 66 publicans, 
 and harlots, go into the kingdom of God before 
 you he means, no doubt, they are more ready 
 than you to join themselves to the society of those 
 who profess themselves my subjects. And once 
 more, when he speaks of some who chose the severi¬ 
 ties of a single life, that with less entanglements they 
 might serve the interests of his church, he expresses 
 it, by their “ making themselves eunuchs for the 
 kingdom of heaven’s sake.” 
 
 I shall only add, that the phrase, by a near con¬ 
 nection with this sense, sometimes signifies the char¬ 
 ter of this society, or the privileges which it affords 
 to its members; as when our Lord says, “ Whoso¬ 
 ever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little 
 child, shall in nowise enter therein.” 
 
 Th is, then, is the general sense of this phrase :— 
 it signifies ‘ the society of those who should submit 
 themselves to the government of Christ, as appointed 
 by God to rule over them ; who are thereby to be 
 considered as God’s people and subjects.’ In con¬ 
 sequence of this, you will easily apprehend, 
 
 2. That it comprehends ‘ the more imperfect dis¬ 
 pensation, under which the members of this society 
 are, during their abode in the present world.’ 
 
 All that passes here, is indeed but the opening of 
 
 f 3 
 
130 
 
 Christ’s kingdom : nevertheless, the phrase does 
 sometimes more particularly refer to this opening; 
 and there are several passages, in which it would be 
 apparently absurd to suppose it comprehended the 
 glories of the invisible state, to which Christ intend¬ 
 ed finally to conduct his faithful servants. This our 
 Lord tells the Pharisees, 66 The kingdom of God is 
 come unto youthat is, that gracious dispensation 
 under the Messiah, by which God is gathering sub¬ 
 jects to his Son. And elsewhere he says to them, 
 “ The kingdom of God cometh not with observa¬ 
 tion that is, not with such outward show and gran¬ 
 deur as you expect: but “behold, it is within, or 
 (as it might be rendered) among you God has be¬ 
 gun to open and establish it, though you know it 
 not; and has actually brought many poor sinners 
 into it, whom you proudly deride as ignorant and 
 * accursed. Thus also, when our Lord says to Peter, 
 “ I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of 
 heaven,” it would be most absurd to suppose, he 
 meant to grant to him the power of admitting into, 
 or excluding from, the world of glory; but the plain 
 meaning is, that he should bear a distinguished office 
 in the church upon earth, and be the means of ad¬ 
 mitting Jews and Gentiles into it. Here, as in 
 many other instances, the kingdom of God, or of 
 heaven, means much the same with the professing 
 church of Christ, during its settlement in this im¬ 
 perfect state ; as it undoubtedly does when Christ 
 threatens his hearers, that “ the kingdom of God 
 should be taken away from them and when he 
 represents it, as consisting of good and bad, of tares 
 and wheat; but declares, that at the last day he 
 
131 
 
 44 will gather out of his kingdom all things that of¬ 
 fend, and them that do iniquity;” whereas nothing 
 of that kind shall ever enter into the kingdom of 
 glory. But yet, 
 
 3. It ultimately relates to 4 the more perfect form 
 and state of this society in the kingdom of glory.’ 
 
 You very well know, that the design of God in 
 his gospel was not to establish a temporal kingdom, 
 as the Jews expected; nor merely to form a body of 
 men, who should live upon earth with some peculiar 
 forms of worship, under very excellent rules, and 
 with distinguished privileges of a spiritual nature; 
 but that all these ultimately referred to the invisible 
 world. Thither the Son of man was removed when 
 he had finished the scenes of his labour and suffer¬ 
 ings upon earth; and thither all the true and faith¬ 
 ful members of the kingdom were sooner or later to 
 be brought, and there were to have their final settle- 
 merit and everlasting abode, in a far more splendid 
 and happy state than the greatest monarch on earth 
 has ever known ; they shall there, as the Apostle 
 most properly expresses it, 44 reign in life by Jesus 
 Christ.” Now, as 44 the kingdom of God upon 
 earth,” is to be considered with a leading view to 
 this, so we sometimes find, that this glorious state 
 of its members, or (which will come much to the 
 same thing) the society of the faithful in this glori¬ 
 ous state is, by way of eminence, called the kingdom 
 of God ; and with regard to this, they whose charac¬ 
 ters are such that they shall be excluded from thence, 
 are represented as having 44 no part in the kingdom 
 of heaven,” though they have been by profession 
 members of the church of Christ on earth. Of this, 
 
132 
 
 you have a remarkable instance, where our Lord 
 says, “ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, 
 Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but 
 he that doeth the will of my Father which is in 
 heaven;” now it was calling Christ Lord, or profess¬ 
 ing a regard to him as a divine teacher and gover¬ 
 nor, which was the very circumstance that distin¬ 
 guished the members of his kingdom on earth from 
 the rest of mankind; yet as they who do this insin¬ 
 cerely shall be excluded from final glory, it is said, 
 “they shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”— 
 So also the Apostle tells us, that “ flesh and blood,” 
 that is, such gross machines of animal nature as those 
 in which we now dwell, “ cannot inherit the kingdom 
 of God;” they cannot dwell in so pure a region; 
 and, therefore, it is necessary, that before they enter 
 upon it, those who are found alive at the illustrious 
 * day of Christ’s appearance, should undergo a mira¬ 
 culous change to fit them for such an abode.—In 
 reference to this we are likewise told, that then, that 
 is, at the great resurrection* day, “ the righteous shall 
 shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their 
 Father.” And this is what our Lord most certainly 
 had in view when he tells the impenitent Jews, that 
 “ there should be weeping and gnashing of teeth 
 when they should see Abraham, and Isaac, and Ja¬ 
 cob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, 
 and they themselves thrust out;” which could not 
 be meant of the privileges of the Christian church 
 upon earth, in which the patriarchs had no share ; 
 nor did the Jews at all envy those professing Chris¬ 
 tians, who most evidently had. It must undoubt¬ 
 edly, therefore, be numbered among those passages 
 
133 
 
 in which the kingdom of heaven chiefly refers to the 
 state of glory. And I apprehend the text here be¬ 
 fore us may be added to that catalogue, which leads 
 us to show : 
 
 (2.) What we are to understand by seeing the 
 kingdom of God. 
 
 Now, in general, you will easily apprehend, that 
 to <c see the kingdom,” is to enjoy the blessings of 
 it. There is no need of enumerating many passages 
 of Scripture, where to see properly signifies to enjoy . 
 This is apparently the sense of it, when Christ de¬ 
 clares, “ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall 
 see God;” for the Deity cannot be the object of 
 sight; but the promise is, that such souls (oh, that 
 we may be in their number !) shall for ever enjoy the 
 most delightful communications from him. And 
 thus again we are to understand it, where it is 
 said, “ What man is he that desireth life, and loveth 
 many days, that he may see,” that is, that he may 
 “ enjoy good?” For, otherwise, to see it without 
 enjoying it, would be a great aggravation of misery 
 and distress. And in this sense it is most evident, 
 that seeing the kingdom of God must here be put 
 for enjoying the chief and most important blessings 
 appropriated to this happy state ; because, as I have 
 just been observing, condemned sinners are repre¬ 
 sented in another sense, as seeing that kingdom and 
 the glorified saints in it; but viewing it only at an 
 unapproachable distance, as a spectacle that fills them 
 with horror and despair. 
 
 This, therefore, is, upon the whole, the meaning 
 of this passage : 6 That no unregenerate soul shall 
 finally have any part in the glory and happiness 
 
134 
 
 which Christ has prepared for his faithful subjects; 
 nor can any that appear to be such, according to the 
 tenor and constitution of the gospel, be admitted into 
 the number even of professing Christians/ It is 
 true, indeed, a man may appear under such a dis¬ 
 guise, that those who are in this sense 44 the stewards 
 of the mysteries of God,” may, in the judgment of 
 charity, be obliged to think well of him, and to ad¬ 
 mit him : but Christ, who intimately knows him, 
 does even now discern him. The present external 
 privileges he enjoys, are such as he has no just right 
 to : and in a little time, Christ will root him out of 
 this kingdom with a vengeance, and he shall be openly 
 declared a rebel, and one whom the Lord of it never 
 knew, or never approved. So that, upon the whole, 
 it is so little a part that he had in the kingdom, and 
 that for so short a time, that it may, in the free 
 ' language of Scripture, be said that he has 44 never 
 seen the kingdom of God at allthat he has 
 44 neither part nor lot in this matter,” has no part 
 with God’s chosen, nor anv lot with his inheritance. 
 
 Having thus largely explained the meaning of 
 this phrase, I now proceed, 
 
 II. To show how certain this declaration of our 
 Lord in the text is, or how absolutely impossible it is, 
 that any unregenerate man should thus see the king¬ 
 dom of God. 
 
 Now this I shall argue,—partly 4 from the im¬ 
 mutable constitution of God, whose kingdom it is;’ 
 —and partly 4 from the nature of its blessings, 
 which are such, that no unregenerate man, while he 
 continues in that state, can have any fitness or capa¬ 
 city to enjoy them/ 
 
135 
 
 The first of these considerations is copious and 
 important enough, to furnish out abundant matter for 
 the remainder of this discourse; and it will be diffi¬ 
 cult to despatch it within these limits. 
 
 (1.) The impossibility there is, that any unregen¬ 
 erate man should enter into the kingdom of God, 
 appears, 6 from the immutable constitution of that 
 God whose kingdom it is.’ 
 
 This might be sufficiently argued, from the ex¬ 
 press and emphatical words of our Lord Jesus Christ 
 in the text. For he bore his Father’s commission 
 to preach the gospel of the kingdom, to publish the 
 good news of its erection and success, and likewise 
 to declare its nature, and the method of admittance 
 into it. And he is himself the great Sovereign of 
 that kingdom ; and, consequently, cannot but per¬ 
 fectly, and beyond all comparison with any other, 
 know the whole of its constitution. But God has 
 repeated the declaration by him, and by his other 
 messengers to the children of men, in different ages, 
 and under different dispensations, in such a manner 
 as suited its infinite importance.—And, therefore, 
 for the further illustration of the argument, I shall 
 enumerate a great variety of Scriptures that speak 
 the same language ; not so much aiming therein at 
 the speculative proof of the point, as attempting to 
 impress the consciences of my hearers with a sense 
 of its certainty ; and humbly hoping that some of 
 those sharp-pointed arrows, which I am now drawing 
 out of the quiver of God, may, by the direction of 
 his Spirit, enter the reins of some against whom they 
 are levelled, and convince them of the absolute ne¬ 
 cessity of an entire change in their hearts, as well as 
 
136 
 
 their lives, or of the vanity of all those hopes which 
 they entertain, while that change is wanting. And 
 let me bespeak your attention, not to the conjectures 
 or reasonings of a frail mortal man, but to the solemn 
 admonitions and declarations of the eternal God ; 
 and be assured, that in one sense or another, “ his 
 word shall take hold on you,’’ as it hath done on 
 sinners of former generations, either for conviction, 
 or condemnation. 
 
 That I may not be confounded in the multipli¬ 
 city of my own proofs, I shall range them under these 
 three distinct heads :—The prophets of the Old 
 Testament were commissioned to make this declara¬ 
 tion ;—it was renewed by the preaching of Christ; 
 —and was supported by the testimony of the apostles, 
 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 1. The prophets of the Old Testament were com¬ 
 missioned, in effect, to make this declaration, that 
 no unregenerate sinners should enter into the king¬ 
 dom of God. 
 
 Well might our Lord say to Nicodemus, “ Art 
 thou a teacher in Israel, and knowest not these 
 things ?” For to this, in effect, all the prophets bear 
 witness, and it might be learned from almost every 
 page of their writings. It is true, the particular 
 phrase of being born again, or regenerated, does not 
 occur there; nor is it expressly said, that an unre¬ 
 generate man shall not be admitted into God’s king¬ 
 dom. But then the prophets every where assert, 
 what is in effect the same, that no wicked man, who 
 does not heartily repent of his sins, and turn from 
 them to God, must expect the divine favour. Now, 
 if you consider what we mean by an unregenerate 
 
137 
 
 man, according to the description I have given be¬ 
 fore, you will find it is just the same as an impenitent 
 sinner : and if it be declared that such are not to 
 expect the Divine favour, nay, that they must cer¬ 
 tainly prove the objects of his displeasure, this 
 must certainly imply an exclusion from his king¬ 
 dom, and must intend a great deal more than being 
 deprived of everlasting happiness. And thus you 
 see, that all those Scriptures, which speak of the 
 irreconcilable hatred of God against sin, and against 
 all impenitent sinners, come in to do service here, 
 and are equivalent to the declaration in the text. 
 And I may hereafter show you, that there are many 
 Scriptures in the Old Testament, which lead men 
 to consider that change, said to be so necessary, as 
 what must be effected by a divine operation on their 
 souls. But, as that will more properly come in 
 under a following head, I shall at present content 
 myself with selecting a few Scriptures, as a specimen 
 of many hundreds more, in proof of the main point 
 before us ; and I beseech you that you would en¬ 
 deavour to enter, not only into the sense, but into 
 the spirit of them. 
 
 You well know that unregenerate sinners are 
 wicked men; and of such it is said, “ God is angry 
 with the wicked every day;” or, all the day long, as 
 the original imports. The sinner lies down and 
 rises up, goes out and comes in, under the Divine 
 displeasure; and, though with great patience God 
 bears with him for a while, he is described as preparing 
 his dreadful artillery against him, to smite him even 
 with a mortal wound: so far will he be from admit¬ 
 ting him into his kingdom, that, as it is there added, 
 
138 
 
 c< if he turn not, he will whet his sword; he lias 
 bent his bow and made it ready; he has also pre¬ 
 pared for him the instruments of death.” And in 
 another place, he describes the dreadful consequence 
 of that preparation, in most lively terms : “ If I whet 
 my glittering sword, and my hand take hold on 
 judgment, I will render vengeance to mine enemies, 
 and will reward them that hate me : I will make 
 mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall 
 devour flesh from the beginning of revenges on the 
 enemy that is, as soon as I begin this awful work. 
 And elsewhere, he compares the destruction which 
 he will bring upon sinners at last, to that which he 
 executed on Sodom and Gomorrah; when he scat¬ 
 tered fire and brimstone on their habitations, and 
 reduced their pleasant country to a burning lake. 
 (( Upon the wicked he will rain snares, fire and 
 brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this will be the 
 portion of their cup and oh ! how unlike the state 
 and abode of those who are the happy subjects of 
 his kingdom. 
 
 None of the prophets speak in milder and more 
 gentle language to returning penitents than Isaiah; 
 yet he declares, 6i There is no peace, saith my God, 
 to the wicked.” Yea, he does, as it were, call in 
 the concurrence of all who feared God, and who 
 loved their country, to echo back and enforce the 
 admonition: “ Say ye to the righteous that it shall 
 be well with him ; but on the other hand, woe to 
 the wicked, it shall be ill with him ; for the reward 
 of his hands shall be o;iven him.” 
 
 The enumeration would be endless ; and it would 
 require more than the time of a whole discourse, 
 
139 
 
 ouly to read over, without any comment or remark, 
 one half of the passages which might properly be 
 introduced on this occasion. I will, therefore, only 
 mention two more, which, though some of you may 
 hear with indifference, I confess I cannot read with¬ 
 out a very sensible inward commotion. 
 
 The one is that passage in the Mosaic law, where 
 God directs his servants to say, “ If there be among 
 you a root that beareth gall and wormwood,” or any 
 unregenerate soul, “ who, when he hears the words of 
 this curse, shall bless himself in his heart, saying, I 
 shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination 
 of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst,” and 
 run into one debauchery and sin after another; “the 
 Lord will not spare him, but the anger of the Lord, 
 and his jealousy, shall smoke and be inflamed against 
 that man; and the Lord shall separate him unto 
 evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all 
 the curses of the covenant that are written in the 
 book of the law.” There is a terrible emphasis, of 
 which we cannot but take notice here : God declares, 
 that if, among all the thousands of Israel, there was 
 but one such presumptuous sinner that thus flattered 
 himself in the way of his own heart, he would make 
 a terrible example of him, and separate that one 
 man to evil, out of thousands and ten thousands of 
 his faithful and obedient servants. 
 
 This, therefore, is a passage full of apparent 
 terror: the other is indeed a language of mercy; 
 but it contains a most awful insinuation, which ap¬ 
 pears, as good Archbishop Tillotson expresses it, 
 “ like a razor set in oil, which wounds with so much 
 the keener edge.” “ As I live, saith the Lord 
 
140 
 
 4 
 
 God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, 
 but that the wicked turn from his way and live : 
 turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways ; for why will 
 ye die, O house of Israel ?” thereby plainly intimat¬ 
 ing, that notwithstanding all that gentleness of the 
 divine nature, which he expresses in a most tender 
 invitation, which he confirms even with the solemnity 
 of an oath, yet if sinners did not turn from their 
 evil ways, there was no remedy, but they must die 
 for it. 
 
 And how, sirs, will any of you that continue in 
 an unregenerate state, arm yourselves against these 
 terrors ? Is it by saying, 4 that these are the 
 thunders of Mount Sinai; that these are denuncia¬ 
 tions of the Old Testament; whereas the New speaks 
 in milder language?’ You may easily know the 
 contrary; and to this purpose I am further to show 
 you, 
 
 2 . That this declaration was renewed by the 
 preaching of Christ. 
 
 It is true, indeed, that 44 grace and truth came 
 by Jesus Christ:” yet all the grace and gentleness 
 of that administration he brought, did not contradict 
 those awful threatenings; nay, it obliged him to set 
 them in a stronger light. He presently repeats to 
 Nicodemus what he had just before asserted in the 
 text; and declares, “Verily, verily, Isay unto thee, 
 except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he 
 cannot enter the kingdom of God;” that is, 4 As he 
 must be baptized with water, in order to a regular en¬ 
 trance into the society of my people, so he must also 
 be sanctified and transformed by the cleansing and 
 renewing influences of the Spirit, signified by the 
 
141 
 
 water there used, or he can have no part in the 
 blessings which my gospel brings/ And that this 
 must produce a universal change in the life as well as 
 the heart, and a faithful subjection to the will of God, 
 without which no profession will stand a man in any 
 stead, our Lord solemnly declares, in the conclusion 
 of his incomparable discourse on the Mount: u Not 
 every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall 
 enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth 
 the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many 
 will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we 
 not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast 
 out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful 
 works? And then will I profess unto them, I never 
 knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” 
 And shall you, sirs, merely for having a name and 
 place in this house, escape: when those that have 
 preached his gospel, and wrought miracles in con¬ 
 firmation of it; when those that personally conversed 
 with Christ, and those that ministered unto him, 
 shall perish, if destitute of a holy temper of heart, 
 and of its solid fruit in their lives? Has not our 
 Lord expressly said, that u he will gather out of his 
 kingdom all things that offend, and them that do 
 iniquity; and will cast them into a furnace of fire; 
 there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth ?” Nay, 
 in his infinite compassion, he has given to sinners, 
 as it were, a copy of the sentence that will another 
 day be pronounced upon them, that they may medi¬ 
 tate upon it, and review it, and judge whether they 
 can bear the terror of its execution. Hear it atten¬ 
 tively, and then say whether unregenerate sinners 
 shall enter into his kingdom. The dreadful doom 
 
142 
 
 is this: “ Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlast¬ 
 ing fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” And 
 what now will you say to this ? Can any soul of you 
 imagine that the Lord Jesus Christ did not know 
 what would pass in this day in which he is appointed 
 to preside? or that, knowing it, and knowing it 
 would be something different from this, he would, 
 on any consideration whatsoever, make a false re¬ 
 presentation, and lay so much stress upon it? Yet 
 one or other of these things you must secretly 
 imagine; or must own, that every unregenerate sin¬ 
 ner, and you among the rest, must not only be ex¬ 
 cluded from his presence, but be condemned to suffer 
 all the fury of his wrath, in company with devils and 
 damned spirits, in final darkness and everlasting burn¬ 
 ings. It only remains that I show you, 
 
 3. That the same testimony was renewed by the 
 apostles, under the influence of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 You know that they were authorised by their great 
 Master to declare, in an authentic manner, the con¬ 
 stitution of this kingdom; and that he who despises 
 them, despises Christ. Now I would fain persuade 
 you all to consider this argument as it lies in Scrip¬ 
 ture; to read over the epistolary parts of the New 
 Testament in this view, to observe what encourage¬ 
 ment they, any of them, give to an unregenerate sin¬ 
 ner to expect any part of the kingdom of heaven. 
 In the meantime, permit me to present you with a 
 few texts, as a specimen of the rest. 
 
 The apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, 
 does indeed speak of God’s justifying the ungodly; 
 but lest any should vainly imagine that he encourages 
 the hope of those that continue so, he expressly tells 
 
ns 
 
 us, in the very same Epistle, that “ the wrath of 
 God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness 
 and unrighteousness of men and that, ere long, this 
 wrath shall be executed, even in the day of the more 
 ample “ revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 
 who will render to every man according to his deeds : 
 to them that do not obey the truth, but obey un¬ 
 righteousness,” which is the character of every un¬ 
 regenerate sinner, “indignation and wrath, tribula¬ 
 tion and anguish upon every soul of man that doth 
 evil; of the Jew first,” as having had the most signal 
 advantages, though advantages inferior to yours, ‘‘and 
 also of the Gentile.” And, farther, he assures us, 
 that “to be carnally minded is death and that “ the 
 carnal mind,” which universally prevails in men, till 
 by regenerating grace they are made spiritual, “is 
 enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of 
 God, neither indeed can be.” In another Epistle, 
 he mentions it as a first principle, in which, it might 
 rationally be supposed, no Christian was uninstruct¬ 
 ed : “ Know ye not,” says he, “ that the unrighteous 
 shall not inherit the kingdom of God?” And else- 
 where he declares, that all external modes of religion, 
 separate from that entire change of soul which I have 
 described, are worthless and vain. “ In Christ Je¬ 
 sus,” says he, or to those that desire any part in 
 him and his kingdom, “ neither circumcision availeth 
 any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.”/' 
 He likewise tells us to this purpose in another place, 
 that his “grace, which has appeared unto all men, 
 teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, 
 and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this 
 present world,” and yet, after all, to acknowledge, 
 
144 
 
 that it is ts not by works of righteousness which we 
 have done, but according to his mercy he saves us, by 
 the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the 
 Holy Ghost, which he has shed on us abundantly, 
 through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” And without 
 holiness, which is the effect of those sacred opera¬ 
 tions upon the soul, he expressly tells us in another 
 place, “ no man shall see the Lord.” And to allege 
 but one more passage from him; as it is evident that 
 all unregenerate sinners, and only they, are ignorant 
 of God, and disobedient to the gospel; he solemnly 
 assures us, that instead of receiving such at last into 
 this kingdom, 66 the Lord Jesus shall be revealed 
 from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming Are 
 taking vengeance on them that know not God, and 
 that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; 
 who shall be punished with everlasting destruction 
 from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory 
 of his power.” This is the testimony of the apostle 
 Paul, in his own emphatical words, zealous as he was 
 for the doctrine of free grace, which such declarations 
 as these do not in the least degree contradict. 
 
 Let us now hear his brethren, the other apostles 
 of the Lord. James urges sinners, if they ever de¬ 
 sire to draw nigh to God, and to have him draw 
 nigh to them, te to cleanse their hands, and purify 
 their hearts.” And yet more expressly he says, 
 when he speaks of those who should <s receive the 
 crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them 
 that love him—of his own will begat he us with the 
 word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits 
 of his creatures.” Tlie apostle Peter describes Chris¬ 
 tians as those “ whose souls were purified in obeying 
 
145 
 
 the truth through the Spirit, being born again, not 
 of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible and as those 
 e< who were made partakers of the divine nature, hav¬ 
 ing escaped the corruption that is in the world through 
 lust?” Again John, the beloved disciple, tells us, 
 that 4< every one that doeth righteousness is born of 
 God; but he that committeth sin is of the devil:” 
 and that every one that has a well-grounded hope of 
 being like Christ, and seeing him as he is, when he 
 appears, purifies himself, even as he is pure. And 
 once more, the apostle Jude, as he describes those 
 who are sensual, and have not the Spirit, as men 
 that, if they were saved at all, must be “ plucked 
 out of the fire;” so he echoes back that awful pro¬ 
 phecy, which Enoch had so long since delivered, that 
 “ the Lord will come with ten thousand of his saints, 
 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all that 
 are ungodly, of all those ungodly deeds and words” 
 by which they have violated this law. 
 
 This then appears, from the whole tenor of the 
 Scriptures, to he the positive and immutable consti¬ 
 tution of the great God, ‘ that none who are unre¬ 
 generate shall be admitted to enjoy the happiness of 
 heaven.’ And from the view that we have taken 
 of the sacred writings, it is manifest that this, in 
 every age, has been the language of the word of 
 God; aud under every dispensation, we have suffi¬ 
 cient evidence of this important truth. This is the 
 doctrine of the Old Testament; and many are the 
 passages that I have offered from the law of Moses, 
 and from the Prophets, and the Psalms, that show 
 it is impossible an unrenewed soul should enter into 
 heaven. And the same also is asserted in the 
 
 G 41 
 
146 
 
 strongest terms in the New Testament; and when 
 Christ came to set the gospel of the kingdom in a 
 clearer light, the purport of the declaration that he 
 makes to Nicodemus in the text, was frequently re¬ 
 peated by him in the course of his preaching, and 
 represented as the rule he would regard at the last 
 day. And the inspired apostles speak the same 
 thing with a united voice, and testify at large in 
 their epistles, that it is absolutely necessary we 
 should be born again, if ever we would hope to see 
 the kingdom of God. 
 
 So that now, sirs, I may say, Call, if there be 
 any that will answer; and to which of the saints will 
 you turn, to encourage your vain and presumptuous 
 hope, of finding your lot among God’s people in the 
 kingdom of glory, if you are strangers to that im- 
 . portant and universal change, which we before de¬ 
 scribed as regeneration, in the Scripture sense of the 
 word? The prophets under the Old Testament, 
 and Christ and his apostles under the New, concur, 
 in all the variety of the most awful language, to ex¬ 
 pose so presumptuous a hope. And is it not auda¬ 
 cious madness in any to venture their souls upon it? 
 Thus you would undoubtedly judge of any man, who 
 should strike a dagger into his breast, or discharge 
 a pistol at his head, on this presumption, that the 
 almighty power of God could prevent his death, 
 though the heart or the brain were pierced. But it 
 is much greater folly for a man, while he continues 
 in an unregenerate state, to promise himself a part 
 in the kingdom of heaven. For though there would 
 be no reason in the world to expect a miraculous 
 interposition, to save a life which a man was so re- 
 
147 
 
 solutely bent to destroy, yet none can say that such 
 an interposition would contradict any of the express 
 engagements of God’s word; whereas, to admit an 
 unregenerate sinner into the regions of glory, would 
 be violating not this or that single declaration, but 
 the whole series and tenor of it; and we shall far¬ 
 ther show, in the next discourse, that it would also 
 be in effect altering the very nature of the heavenly 
 kingdom itself, as well as its constitution. Now, 
 what hope can be more desperate, than that which 
 can have no support, but in the subversion of the 
 Redeemer’s kingdom, and even of the eternal throne 
 of God, the foundations of which are righteousness 
 and truth ! 
 
148 
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 OF THE INCAPACITY OF AN UNREGENERATE PER¬ 
 SON FOR RELISHING THE ENJOYMENTS OF THE 
 HEAVENLY WORLD. 
 
 John iii. 3. 
 
 -“ Except a man be born again, be cannot see the 
 
 kingdom of God.” 
 
 In order to demonstrate the necessity of regenera¬ 
 tion, of which I would fain convince, not only your 
 understandings, but your consciences, I am now prov¬ 
 ing to you, that without it, it is impossible to enter 
 into the kingdom of God ; and how weighty a con¬ 
 sideration that is, I am afterwards to represent. 
 
 That it is thus impossible, the words in the text 
 do indeed sufficiently prove; but for the further illus¬ 
 tration of the subject, I have proposed to consider it 
 under two distinct views. 
 
 I have already shown it is impossible, because 
 6 the constitution of the kingdom of heaven is such, 
 that God has solemnly declared, and this under dif¬ 
 ferent dispensations, and more or less plainly in all 
 ages of his church, that no unregenerate person, 
 that is, no impenitent sinner, shall have any part in 
 it.’ And I am now further to show, 
 
 (2.) That 4 the nature of the future happiness,’ 
 which is here chiefly signified by the 44 kingdom of 
 
149 
 
 God,” 6 is such, that an unregenerate person would 
 be incapable of relishing it, even upon a supposition 
 of his being admitted into it.’ 
 
 This is a thought of so great importance, and so 
 seldom represented in its full strength, that I shall 
 at present confine my discourse entirely to it. 
 
 I know, sinners, it will be one of the most diffi¬ 
 cult things in the world, to bring you to a serious 
 persuasion of this truth. You think heaven is so 
 lovely and so glorious a place, that if you could pos¬ 
 sibly get an admittance thither, you should certainly 
 be happy. But I would now set myself, if possible, 
 to convince you, that this is a rash and ill-grounded 
 persuasion ; and that, on the contrary, if you were 
 now in the regions of glory, and in the society of 
 those blessed inhabitants, that unrenewed nature, 
 and unsanctified heart of yours, would give you a 
 disrelish for all the sublimest entertainments of that 
 blissful place, and turn heaven itself into a kind of 
 hell to you. 
 
 Now, for the demonstration of this, it is only 
 necessary for you seriously to consider, ‘ what a 
 kind of happiness that of heaven is, as it is repre¬ 
 sented to us in the word of Godfor from thence, 
 undoubtedly, we are to take our notions of it. 
 
 You might, to be sure, sit down and imagine a ' 
 happiness to yourselves, which would perfectly suit 
 your degenerate taste ; a happiness which, the more 
 entirely you were enslaved to flesh and sense, the 
 more exquisitely you would be able to enter into it. 
 If God would assign you a region in that beautiful 
 world, where you should dwell in fine houses, mag¬ 
 nificently furnished and gaily adorned, where the 
 
150 
 
 most harmonious music should sooth your ear, and 
 delicious food and generous wines, in a rich variety, 
 should regale your taste ; if he should give you a 
 splendid retinue of people, to caress and attend you, 
 offering you their humblest services, and acknow¬ 
 ledging the most servile dependence upon your fa¬ 
 vour : especially if with all this he should furnish 
 you with a set of companions just of your own tem¬ 
 per and disposition, with whom you might spend 
 what proportion of time you pleased, in gaming and 
 jollity, in riot and debauchery, without any inter¬ 
 ruption from the reproof, or even the example of 
 the children of God, or from indispositions of body, 
 or remorse of conscience. This you would be ready 
 to call life and happiness indeed ; and if the great 
 disposer of all things were but to add perpetuity to 
 such a situation, you would not envy persons of a 
 more refined taste ;—the heaven you lost for such a 
 paradise as this. 
 
 Such indeed was the happiness which Mahomet 
 promised to his followers: flowery shades and gay 
 dresses, luxurious fare and beautiful women, are de¬ 
 scribed, with all the pomp of language, in almost 
 every page of his Koran, as the glorious and 
 charming rewards which were to be bestowed on the 
 faithful after the resurrection. And if this were 
 the felicity which the gospel promised, extortioners 
 and idolaters, whoremongers and drunkards, would 
 be much fitter to inherit the kingdom of God, than 
 the most pious and mortified saint that ever appeared 
 on earth. But here, as almost every where else, 
 the Bible and the Koran speak a very different 
 language; and far from leading us into such gross 
 
151 
 
 and sensual expectations, our Lord Jesus Christ 
 has told us, that “ the children of the resurrection 
 neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are 
 like the angels of God in heaven,” and enjoy such 
 pure and spiritual delights as are suited to such 
 holy and excellent creatures. 
 
 It is true, that, in the book of Revelation, 
 stately palaces and shining habits, delicious fruit 
 and harmonious music, are all mentioned, as con¬ 
 tributing to the happiness of those who have the 
 honour to inhabit the New Jerusalem. But then, 
 the style of that obscure and prophetical book natu¬ 
 rally leads us to consider these merely as figurative 
 phrases, which are made use of to express the hap¬ 
 piness that divine wisdom and love has prepared for 
 the righteous, in a manner accommodated to the 
 weakness of our conceptions; or at least, if in any 
 of these respects provision be made for the enter¬ 
 tainment of a glorified body, whatever its methods 
 of sensation and perception may be, all will be tem¬ 
 perate and regular; and, after all, this is even there 
 represented but as the least considerable part of our 
 happiness, the height of which is made to consist in 
 the most elevated strains of devotion, and in an en¬ 
 tire and everlasting devotedness to the service of 
 God and of the Lamb. 
 
 Let us therefore immediately proceed to settle 
 the point in question, by a more particular survey 
 of the several branches of the celestial felicity, as 
 represented to us in the word of God ; and from 
 thence it will undeniably appear, that were an unre¬ 
 generate soul in the same place with the blessed, 
 and surrounded with the same external circumstances, 
 
1 52 
 
 the temper of his mind would not by any means al¬ 
 low him to participate of their happiness. For it is 
 plain the Scripture represents the happiness of hea¬ 
 ven, as consisting—in the perfection of our minds 
 in knowledge and holiness ; in the sight and service 
 of the ever-blessed God ; in beholding the glory of 
 our exalted Redeemer, and enjoying the society of 
 glorious angels and perfected saints, through an 
 endless eternity. Now, sinners, it is impossible you 
 should enter into any such delights as these, while 
 you continue in an unregenerate state. 
 
 1. One very considerable part of the happiness 
 of heaven consists, ( in that perfection of know¬ 
 ledge and holiness to which the blessed shall be 
 there exalted,’ in which the unregenerate soul can 
 have no pleasure. 
 
 Thus we are told, that the spirits of just men 
 shall there be made perfect; for nothing that de¬ 
 files, as every degree of moral imperfection does, 
 shall enter into the New Jerusalem. An Old Tes¬ 
 tament saint conceived of future happiness as con¬ 
 sisting in i( being satisfied with the likeness of 
 God a character that is manifestly most agreeable 
 to the view of it, which the beloved disciple gives 
 us, where he says, that “ when Christ shall appear, 
 we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is 
 which must certainly refer to the glories of the 
 mind, which are of infinitely greater importance than 
 the highest imaginable beauty and ornament that 
 can be put upon the corporeal part of our nature, in 
 its most illustrious state. 
 
 Now, from this perfection of holiness, which shall 
 then be wrought in the soul, there will naturally 
 
153 
 
 arise an unspeakable complacency and joy, some¬ 
 thing resembling that which the blessed God him- 
 self possesses, in the survey of the infinite and un¬ 
 spotted rectitude of his own most holy nature. And 
 in proportion to the degree in which the eyes of our 
 understandings are enlightened to discern wherein 
 true excellency consists, will the soul be delighted 
 in the consciousness of such considerable degrees of 
 it in itself. 
 
 But surely it will be superfluous for me to under¬ 
 take to demonstrate, that an unregenerate soul can 
 have no part in this divine pleasure, which implies 
 the complete renewal of the mind as its very foun¬ 
 dation. For, to imagine that he might, would be 
 supposing him regenerate and unregenerate at the 
 same time. As Mr. Baxter very well expresses it, 
 u The happiness of heaven is holiness; and to talk 
 of being happy without it, is as apparent nonsense 
 as to talk of being well without health, or being 
 saved without salvation.” 
 
 I would only add on this head, That the highest 
 improvement of our intellectual faculties could not 
 make us happy, without such a change in the affec¬ 
 tions and the will, as I have before described under 
 the former general head. For the more clear and 
 distinct the knowledge of true excellence and per¬ 
 fection is, the greater would be your anguish and 
 horror to see and feel yourselves entirely destitute 
 of it: and it is exceeding probable, that spirits of 
 the most elevated genius have the keenest sensation 
 of that infamy and misery, which is inseparable from 
 the prevalence of sinful dispositions in such minds 
 as these. 
 
 g 3 
 
154 
 
 2. Another very considerable branch of the celes¬ 
 tial happiness, is that which arises 4 from the contem¬ 
 plation and enjoyment of the ever blessed God;’ but 
 of this, likewise, an unregenerate sinner is incapable. 
 
 As our own reason assures us that God is the 
 greatest and best of beings, and the most deserving 
 object of our inquiries and regards, one would think 
 it would naturally lead us to imagine, that the per¬ 
 fection and happiness of the human soul consists in 
 the knowledge and enjoyment of him ; and that when 
 it arrives at the seat of complete felicity, it must in¬ 
 timately know him, and converse with him. And 
 in this view, I have sometimes been surprised that 
 men of such distinguished abilities,, as some of the 
 Heathen poets and philosophers appear to have been, 
 should have had no greater regard to the Supreme 
 'Being, in the descriptions which they give us of the 
 future happiness. That sort of friendship for them 
 which an acquaintance with their writings must give 
 to a person of any relish for the beauties of compo¬ 
 sition, makes one almost unwilling to expose the low 
 and despicable ideas which they often give of the 
 state of their greatest heroes in the regions of im¬ 
 mortality. But the word of God speaks a very 
 different language. Our Lord represents the re¬ 
 wards to be bestowed on the pure in heart, by telling 
 us that they shall see, that is, contemplate and enjoy 
 God : and virtuous souls, who overcome the tempta¬ 
 tions with which they are here surrounded, shall be 
 i 44 made as pillars in the house of their God, and 
 ' shall go no more out;” and it is elsewhere said, that 
 44 his servants shall serve him, and shall see his 
 face.” And David’s views under a darker dispen- 
 
155 
 
 sation, rose to such a degree of refinement, as to 
 say, “ As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteous¬ 
 ness which he mentions as a felicity infinitely 
 superior to all the delights of the most prosperous 
 sinner. 
 
 But now, sinner, it is utterly impossible that, 
 while you continue in an unregenerate state, you 
 should behold the face of God with pleasure. The 
 unutterable delight which the blessed inhabitants of 
 heaven find in it, arises not merely from the abstract 
 ideas of his essential perfections, but from a sense 
 of his favour and love to them. It is this that gives 
 a relish to the whole survey, and rejoices the hearts 
 of all the saints, both in heaven and on earth. He 
 is a God of awful majesty and irresistible power, of 
 infinite wisdom and unspotted holiness, of unerring 
 justice, invariable fidelity, and inexhaustible good¬ 
 ness; and “ this God is our God, he will be our 
 guide and our portion for ever.” And were it not 
 for this view, let a creature think of God with ever 
 so much spirit and propriety, he must 66 think of 
 him and be troubledyea, he must be filled with 
 unutterable horror and confusion, as the devil is at 
 the thought of an infinitely perfect being, in whom 
 he has no interest, from whom he has nothing friend¬ 
 ly to expect; and if nothing friendly, then every 
 thing dreadful. 
 
 Now it is certain, sinners, that while you conti¬ 
 nue in an unregenerate state, under the influence 
 of that carnal mind, which is enmity against God, 
 and full of unconquerable rebellion against his law, 
 there can be no foundation for a friendship between 
 him and your souls ; nor for any persuasion, or any ap- 
 
1 56 
 
 prehension of your interest in his favour and love. 
 Friendship, you know, supposes something of a si¬ 
 militude of nature and sentiment; for, as God him¬ 
 self argues, 44 How can two walk together except 
 they be agreed ?” Now, I have before observed to 
 you at large, that God being 44 of purer eyes than 
 to behold evil,” must necessarily 44 hate all the work¬ 
 ers of iniquity: the foolish, therefore, shall not stand 
 in his sight,” or shall not be admitted to such a 
 situation; nor would they indeed be able to endure 
 it. Let conscience judge what satisfaction you could 
 find in the presence of a God that you knew scorned 
 and hated you, even while he suffered you to con¬ 
 tinue among the crowd of his children and servants. 
 The more lively ideas you had of the beauty and 
 perfection of the divine nature, the more you must 
 loathe yourselves for being so unlike him, and so 
 abominable to him; and w'hat pleasure do you think 
 consistent with such self-contempt and abhorrence? 
 Or rather, w’ould not the wretched degeneracy of 
 your nature lead you another way; and a kind of 
 unconquerable self-love, joined even with this con¬ 
 sciousness of deformity and vileness, lead you to 
 hate God himself? It is described as the fatal 
 effect of prevailing wickedness in the heart, 44 my 
 soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me.” 
 And thus would it probably work in you, and pro¬ 
 duce in your wretched breasts a mortal hatred against 
 him, and an envious rage at the thought of his 
 perfect happiness; a state of mind of all others that 
 can be imagined, the most odious, and the most 
 tormenting. How, sirs, could your hearts, pos¬ 
 sessed with these diabolical passions, bear to see the 
 
15 ? 
 
 beams of liis glory surrounding you on every side ? 
 How could you bear to hear the songs and adorations, 
 that were continually addressed to his throne; and 
 to observe the humble attendance of all the hosts of 
 heaven about it, who perpetually reckon it their 
 honour and happiness to be employed in obedience 
 to his commands? Such a sight of the glory and 
 felicity of your divine enemy would make you, so 
 far as your limited nature was capable of it, miser¬ 
 able, even in proportion to the degree in which he 
 is happy. This was, no doubt, the torment of the 
 devils, as soon as they had harboured a thought of 
 hostility against God; and the remembrance of that 
 glory in which they once saw him, and which they 
 know he still invariably possesses, is surely an ever¬ 
 lasting vexation to them ; and it would be so to you, 
 if you were within the sight of it. 
 
 But farther, the blessed in heaven find their ever¬ 
 lasting entertainment in the service of God. 45 They 
 rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, 
 Lord God Almighty;” that is, they are continually 
 employed, either in the immediate acts of devotion, 
 or in other services, in which they still maintain a 
 devotional temper, and are breathing out their souls 
 in holy affections, while their active powers are em¬ 
 ployed in the execution of his commands. But as 
 I have already shown you that, while in an unregen¬ 
 erate state, you could have no sense of his favour 
 to you, it is very apparent that you could have no 
 sentiments of gratitude and love towards him. So 
 
 u 
 
 that while angels and glorified saints were breathing 
 out their souls in the most delightful and rapturous 
 praises, you must keep a sullen kind of silence; or, 
 
158 
 
 if it were possible that your harps and voices should 
 sound as melodiously as theirs, it would he all cere¬ 
 mony and show ; the music of the heart would be 
 wanting; and you would look on all the external 
 forms of service but as a tedious task, and count it 
 your misfortune that the customs of the place obliged 
 you to attend them. You may the more easily 
 apprehend and believe this, when you consider what 
 little relish you now have for those solemnities of 
 divine worship in which sincere Christians have the 
 most lively foretastes of heaven. You know, in 
 your own consciences, that short and interrupted as 
 our public services are, they are the burden of your 
 lives. You know that you say, in your hearts at 
 least, (i When will the Sabbath be past, and the 
 new moon be gone?” Judge then how insupport¬ 
 able it would be to you, to spend an everlasting 
 Sabbath thus. I question not, but to your wretch¬ 
 ed spirits annihilation would appear vastly preferable 
 to an eternal existence so employed. 
 
 3. Another very considerable branch of the hap¬ 
 piness of heaven, is that which arises 6 from the 
 sight of the glory of an exalted Redeemerbut 
 for this likewise, no unconverted sinner can have any 
 relish. 
 
 This is a view of the future happiness, which our 
 Lord gives us, when he prays for his people in these 
 memorable words, engraven, as I hope, upon many 
 of our hearts: “ Father, I will that they whom thou 
 hast given me, be with me where I am, that they 
 may behold my glory which thou hast given me.” 
 And he elsewhere promises it as the great reward 
 he would bestow upon his people: “ If any man 
 
159 
 
 serve me, let him follow me ; and where I am, there 
 also shall my servant be.” And, agreeable to this, 
 the Apostle Paul represents it as the transporting 
 view in which he considered the happiness of the 
 future world : 44 I desire,” says he, 44 to depart, and 
 to be with Christ, which is far better; incomparably 
 beyond any of the enjoyments of the present world 
 which can come into competition with it. But for 
 this part of the happiness of angels, and of the 
 spirits of just men made perfect, it is also evident, 
 that you, sinners, can have no relish. 
 
 The sight of Christ will afford holy souls a tran¬ 
 sporting delight, because they will regard it as the 
 glory of their Redeemer and their friend, and as a 
 pledge and security of their own glory. But whatfoun- 
 dation can you, sinners, find for such a joyful sympathy 
 with Christ, and such a comfortable conclusion with 
 regard to yourselves ? Such is the wretched degen¬ 
 eracy of your nature, that though Christ be indeed 
 44 the chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether 
 lovely,” being 44 the brightness of his Father’s glory, 
 and the express image of his person,” possessed of 
 every divine perfection and excellence; yet you now 
 slight and neglect him, and discern in him 44 no form 
 nor comeliness, for which he is to be desired:” and 
 were you unregenerate in heaven, the same princi¬ 
 ple would prevail. Now, where there is no love to 
 a person, there can be no delight in his converse, 
 nor any pleasure in his happiness. Nay, the con¬ 
 trariety of your nature to his would rather occasion 
 aversion and terror. You could not but know, that 
 the blessed Jesus is holy and undefiled, and separate 
 from sinners; that he abhors all moral evil to such 
 
160 
 
 a degree, that he laid aside all the glory and enter¬ 
 tainments of heaven, that he might destroy the in¬ 
 terest of sin in this world of ours, and might purify 
 to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works;” 
 and when you should recollect, at the same time, that 
 sinfulness that continued to reign in your hearts, and 
 made you to (i every good work reprobate,” you 
 could not but know that you must be hateful to him, 
 and therefore could not but fear, lest his Almighty 
 power should be exercised for your punishment and 
 destruction; and thus your terror must rise in pro¬ 
 portion to the sensible evidence you had of his 
 dignity and authority. In a word, you would stand 
 like guilty rebels in the presence chamber of their 
 injured and displeased Sovereign : his throne and 
 his sceptre, his robe and his crown, his courtiers and 
 his guards, though in themselves splendid and mag¬ 
 nificent objects, only serve to terrify and amaze them, 
 while they display the grandeur and power of their 
 enemy. 
 
 4. Another very considerable branch of the celes¬ 
 tial happiness, will be ‘ the society of angels and 
 glorified saints;’ but for this likewise an unregener¬ 
 ate sinner must be unfit. 
 
 You know, that when the Apostle speaks of our 
 alliance to the heavenly world, he represents it as'a 
 social state; where excellent spirits dwell together, 
 and converse with each other with mutual esteem 
 and endearment; <s Ye are come,” says he, <{ to the 
 heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company 
 of angels, to the general assembly and church of the 
 first born, which are written in heaven, and to the 
 spirits of just men made perfect.” It is sitting down 
 
161 
 
 with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with all the patri¬ 
 archs and prophets, all the apostles and martyrs “ in 
 the kingdom of heaven and perhaps you think 
 you shall want nothing more to complete your hap¬ 
 piness, than to be admitted to a place among them. 
 But reflect a little more attentively upon the circum¬ 
 stances of things, and I am persuaded you will form 
 a different judgment. 
 
 There is no reason to doubt, but that at your first 
 entrance in the regions of glory, you would be agree¬ 
 ably struck with the view of those inhabitants. As 
 for those beauties of their character, which consist 
 in love to God, and in zeal for his honour and inter¬ 
 est, it is certain, that you would be insensible of them, 
 and pay but little regard to them : but the humanity 
 and benevolence of their temper would, no doubt, 
 render them agreeable to you ; and so much the more, 
 as self-love, might lead you to expect some personal 
 advantage by it. And it is more than possible, that 
 you would be much prejudiced in their favour by 
 those resplendent and attractive forms in which they 
 appear; forms, no doubt, far more beautiful and en- 
 gaging than any which the children of men ever saw 
 upon earth. On both these accounts, it might be 
 natural enough for you, at first, to address them with 
 an air of respect, as persons that you could be glad 
 to be upon.good terms with, and in whose friendship 
 you could desire to share. 
 
 But how do you think that any such proposal of 
 friendship would be received by an angel, or a glo¬ 
 rified saint ? No doubt, if there were any prospect 
 of converting you, or any hope you might be brought 
 to a devout and holy temper, they would imme- 
 
162 
 
 diately become preachers of righteousness to you: and 
 endeavour, by the most rational, the most pathetic, and 
 the most insinuating address, to awaken and alarm 
 you to a sense of religion, and so to form you to a 
 capacity of happiness. But they would know, that 
 according to the eternal constitution of God, there 
 could be no room to entertain such a hope ; but, 
 that being filthy, you must be filthy still; and, 
 therefore, as they would know you to be incorrigi¬ 
 ble, their love to God, and their concern to be 
 approved and accepted by him, would prevent their 
 forming any intimate friendship with persons whose 
 natures were so contrary to him, and on whom he 
 looked with such irreconcilable abhorrence. And 
 besides this, their own personal sanctity of character 
 would give them an aversion to such corrupt and 
 degenerate creatures: so that how much soever they 
 might pity your condition, they would turn away 
 from you, as objects whose presence and converse 
 were not to be endured. 
 
 And do you not easily apprehend, that such a 
 refusal on their part would be both shameful and 
 very provoking to you ! For which way could you 
 bear it, to be thus rejected and dishonoured by the 
 most excellent part of the creation ; by those whom 
 perhaps you once intimately knew, and with whom 
 you conversed upon equal terms; nay, by many who 
 were once much your inferiors, and whom, perhaps, in 
 the pride of your hearts, you would not condescend 
 to regard? The natural effect of this must surely 
 be, that you would soon be proportionably displeased 
 and enraged with the refusal, as you were at first 
 charmed at their appearance; and when you saw that 
 
163 
 
 transporting pleasure which they took in the affec¬ 
 tion and friendship of each other, and the joy which 
 the Divine favour poured into their souls, while you, 
 in the very same place, were excluded from these 
 rich entertainments, your heart would soon burn 
 with envy and indignation ; and as much as you be¬ 
 fore admired them, you, upon this, would come to 
 hate them. And, perhaps, that hatred would put 
 you upon some attempt to interrupt, or even, if it 
 were possible, to destroy that happiness which you 
 were not allowed to share. But then, when you 
 saw them* continually under the Divine protection, 
 and “ compassed with his favour as with a shield,” 
 so that your malice could not reach them, all the 
 keenness and rancour of your spirit would recoil upon 
 itself; you would fly from their presence, as insup¬ 
 portable ; and would be glad to retire to some meaner 
 apartment, or to hide yourselves in the shades of 
 darkness ; so that you might but get rid of the sight 
 of so many dazzling objects, whose lustre, instead of 
 cheering your vitiated eye, would pain and over¬ 
 power it. 
 
 But if you should not be transported to this dia¬ 
 bolical excess ; if it were possible for you to behold 
 the glorified saints, and to live among them, without 
 these envious and tormenting passions; yet surely 
 you would want a relish for the most entertaining 
 part of their conversation. Had you indeed a good 
 natural genius, which, to be sure, many unconverted 
 sinners have, it might be very agreeable to hear them 
 discoursing of the wonders of nature; and that curi- 
 
 O 
 
 osity, which is, in some measure, incident even to 
 persons of the meanest capacities, would make it 
 
164 
 
 pleasant to hear them recount the important history 
 relating to the revolutions of the angelic world, which 
 we on this earth are entirely strangers to, or at least 
 have been very little acquainted with them. But 
 surely the most delightful topics of conversation, 
 which heaven itself can furnish out, must be those 
 which are religious and divine: the infinite perfec¬ 
 tions of the ever-blessed God; the personal glories 
 and incomparable love of his condescending, but ex¬ 
 alted Son; and the sanctifying operations of the 
 blessed Spirit on the soul, transforming it into the 
 divine image, and making it meet for eternal glory. 
 Yea, even when the blessed spirits above are handling 
 philosophical or historical subjects, they still consider 
 them with a regard to God, as his perfections are 
 displayed andfllustrated in the works of his hands, 
 and in the conduct of his providence. And here 
 their pleasure flows, not merely from a set of rational 
 ideas, which arise in their own minds, or are sug¬ 
 gested to them by others, but from the exercise of 
 those devout affections upon the blessed God, which 
 are correspondent to these several subjects of dis¬ 
 course. 
 
 And can you, sirs, who are alienated from the 
 divine life, and accustomed to'live in a continual 
 neglect and forgetfulness of the Great Parent of 
 universal nature, can you relish such subjects as 
 these? You would, no doubt, be discontented and 
 uneasy in such a scene; the heavenly oratory of this 
 holy society would have no charms for you, but you 
 would be longing for some of those vain and worth¬ 
 less companions, which you were so fond of here 
 upon earth, to hear a merry story, or a song, or to 
 join with them in the pleasures of a debauch. 
 
165 
 
 ft* Another considerable branch of the happiness 
 of heaven, arises from the assured prospect of the 
 6 everlasting continuance of this felicity;’ but if an 
 unregenerate soul could find any entertainment at 
 all in heaven, he certainly could have no ground for 
 such an expectation of its continuance. 
 
 When the children of God on earth think of the 
 happiness of heaven, the eternity of it makes a very 
 deep impression on their hearts, and even swallows 
 up their souls with ardent desire and unutterable 
 joy ; it raises their esteem, and animates their hope, 
 while they reflect on that u exceeding and eternal 
 weight of glory ; that house not made with hands, 
 eternal in the heavens ; and that inheritance incor¬ 
 ruptible and undefiled, and which fadeth not away.” 
 And no doubt but the blessed in heaven regard it 
 in the same view, and all the pleasures they enjoy 
 are vastly increased by the prospect of their endless 
 duration; so that by the anticipation of an eternity 
 still to come, they do, as it were, every moment en¬ 
 joy an infinite satisfaction. But as for you, sinners, 
 while you are so ill-tempered to the happiness of 
 heaven, the prospect of an eternal abode there 
 would not, on the principles I have laid down above, 
 he a prospect of eternal happiness, but rather, on 
 the whole, of eternal uneasiness to you. 
 
 But suffer me a little to discourse upon another 
 supposition; and let me now, for argument sake, 
 waive what I have been so long insisting upon, and 
 suppose that you could so far command the tur¬ 
 bulent passions of your own heart, and so unite, as 
 it were, the whole powers of you soul, to attend to 
 the beauty of the place, the harmony of music, and 
 
166 
 
 whatever else may be supposed capable of regaling 
 the senses or the imagination; as upon the whole, 
 to find heaven a pleasing and delightful abode, and 
 to wish, that though some of its entertainments 
 were above your taste and capacity, yet you might 
 be allowed an eternal enjoyment of the rest; could 
 there be any room for you to expect a perpetual 
 abode in these blissful seats? No, sinners, you 
 would not be able so much as to hope it. The 
 good itself is so great, and perpetual enjoyment, 
 even in any degree, has such a kind of infinite 
 value, that I know not how the purest and noblest 
 spirits in heaven, could absolutely have been secure 
 of it, separate from the engagement of a divine pro¬ 
 mise. And what divine promise would you be able 
 to have recourse to in such a circumstance as we 
 now suppose? Where could you find it in all the 
 book of God, that persons of your character should 
 ever enter into heaven at all, much less that you 
 should for ever continue there?—You could have 
 therefore no security of the continuance of your 
 abode in heaven, if it were possible that you should 
 enter on the possession of it; but when you should 
 consider the unsullied holiness of the ever-blessed 
 God, the sovereign of this sacred province, and the 
 spotless purity of that gracious Redeemer, to whom 
 the government of it is committed, you could not 
 but fear that you should quickly be seized by the 
 hand of vengeance, be hurled from the battlements 
 of heaven, and plunged low into the pit of destruc¬ 
 tion. You know this was the condemnation of the 
 rebel angels, and your guilt, compared with that 
 dreadful event, which makes so considerable a scene 
 
167 
 
 of the history of heaven, would, I doubt not, be suf¬ 
 ficient to create everlasting jealousy and uneasiness, 
 and to turn every pleasurable circumstance into a 
 source of horror, in the apprehensions of being de¬ 
 prived eternally of it. 
 
 Thus you see, sirs, from a particular survey of 
 the various lights in which heaven is represented, 
 and of the various branches of which its happiness 
 consists, an unregenerate sinner is incapable of it, 
 even though we should suppose that he was actually 
 admitted to it. Let me entreat you to reflect on 
 all these things, and you will see the reasonableness 
 of that one remark, with which I shall conclude 
 this discourse. 
 
 How vain are all those hopes of heaven, which, 
 in your present condition, you are ready to enter¬ 
 tain ! 
 
 I have been proving at large, that if God were 
 to admit you to the possession of heaven, which it 
 is certain he never will, you would be incapable of 
 relishing the enjoyments of it; nay, that there 
 would be a solid foundation in your own hearts, for 
 many of the most tumultuous and disquieting pas¬ 
 sions. Envy and grief, fear and rage, those roots 
 of bitterness, would spring up even in the paradise 
 of God, and turn the fertility of that blessed soil 
 into their own nourishment. And do you imagine, 
 that any external accommodations or ornaments could 
 make you easy and comfortable under the transports 
 of such hellish passions ? What if you were to 
 take a man that was tormented with a violent fit of 
 the stone or gout, and to place him in a most deli¬ 
 cious garden, or in a palace of marble and cedar, to 
 
168 
 
 set him on a throne of gold, under a canopy of 
 purple, to clothe him with robes of velvet and em¬ 
 broidery, regaling him with the most delicious fruits 
 and generous wines, and at the same time soothing 
 his ear with all the harmony of sound which the 
 most melodious symphony of instruments and voices 
 could afford! Would all this magnificence and 
 luxury make him insensible of that anguish which 
 was racking his very vitals? Or would not that 
 inward torture rather render him insensible of this 
 association of pleasurable impressions from without ? 
 Yea, would it not incline him to suspect, that you 
 intended all these pompous preparations only to de¬ 
 ride and insult him ? As little would your distem¬ 
 pered and unholy souls be capable of relishing the 
 • entertainments of heaven, while these entertain¬ 
 ments and these souls of yours continue what they 
 are at present. 
 
 There must be therefore a change; and will you 
 consider where that change must be made? If you 
 continue still in your present character and circum¬ 
 stances, there must be a vast change in heaven it¬ 
 self before you can be happy in it. The whole 
 temper, character, and disposition of every saint and 
 angel there must be changed from what it now is, 
 before they can be capable of any friendly and com¬ 
 placent conversation with you. Yea, our Lord 
 Je sus Christ, who is (i the same yesterday, to-day, 
 and for ever,” must divest himself of those beauties 
 of holiness, which are infinitely dearer to him than 
 any external grandeur or authority, before he can 
 receive you into his kingdom. Nay, the very 
 “ Father of lights, with whom there is no variable- 
 
169 
 
 ness, neither shadow of turning,” must be entirely 
 changed. He must lay aside that holiness which, 
 is essential to his nature, and which is the bright¬ 
 ness and glory of it; he must love that which he 
 now hates, and be indifferent to that which he most 
 affectionately loves, before he can open his arms to 
 you, and smile upon your souls. And can you dare 
 to hope for such an unaccountable, such an incon¬ 
 ceivable revolution as this. No, sirs, infinitely 
 sooner would God change earth into hell, and bury 
 you, and all of your character, under the ruins of 
 this world, which you inhabit and pollute, than he 
 would thus tarnish the beauties of heaven, and di¬ 
 vest himself of the brightest glory of his own 
 divinity. 66 God,” says Archbishop Tillotson, “ has 
 condescended to take our nature upon him, that he 
 might make us capable of happiness; but if this will 
 not do, he will not put off his own nature to make 
 us happy.” 
 
 What then do you imagine ? Do you think 
 that God will prepare some separate apartments in 
 heaven, furnished with a variety of sensual plea¬ 
 sures, for the entertainment of persons of your 
 character? some apartments from whence the tokens 
 of his presence shall be withdrawn, from whence the 
 exercise of his worship shall be banished, from 
 whence saints and angels shall retire to make way 
 for those inhabitants, who, like you, have sinned 
 themselves beyond a capacity of enjoying God, or 
 of being fit companions for any of bis most excel¬ 
 lent creatures ? This were to suppose the Chris¬ 
 tian religion false, and to contradict the light of 
 natural reason too, which not only shows such a 
 
 II 41 
 
170 
 
 disposition of things to be unworthy the divine sanc¬ 
 tity and majesty, and also shows, that if there be a 
 future state, it must be a state of misery to wicked 
 men, in whose minds those vicious habits prevail, 
 which are even now the beginnings of hell; which 
 therefore they must carry along with them wherever 
 they are, in proportion to the degree in which they 
 are predominant. 
 
 Upon the whole, then, you must evidently see, 
 that it is absolutely necessary that you, sinners, 
 should be changed, if ever you expect to have any 
 part or lot in the future happiness. And when do 
 you expect that change should be wrought? Do you 
 expect it when death has done its dreadful office 
 upon you, and your soul arrives at the invisible 
 'World? Is the air of it, (if I may be allowed the 
 expression,) so refined that it will immediately purify 
 and transform every polluted sinner that comes into 
 it? You cannot but know that the whole tenor 
 of Scripture forbids that presumptuous destructive 
 hope. It assures us, that <£ there is no work, nor 
 device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave;” 
 but that we must be judged according to what we 
 have done in the body, and not according to what 
 has passed in any separate state, whether the actions 
 we have done be good, or whether they be evil. 
 
 If ever, therefore, you are regenerate at all, it 
 must be while you are here below, in this state of 
 education and trial; and if you continue in your 
 sins till death surprise you, your souls will be for 
 ever sealed up under an irreversible sentence, and 
 by the decree of God, and the constitution of things, 
 will be excluded from happiness, as by no means 
 
171 
 
 either entitled to it or prepared for it. So evident 
 is the truth of this assertion in the text, that i( ex¬ 
 cept a man be born again, he cannot see the king¬ 
 dom of God.” 
 
 And will you then sit down contentedly under 
 such a conclusion as this — 6 I shall be excluded 
 from this kingdom, as accursed and profane ? J 
 Alas, sirs ! the conclusion is big with unutterable 
 terror and death; as I shall now proceed to show 
 you at large, if my time would allow: for I am next 
 to represent the infinite importance of entering into 
 that kingdom, and consequently of that entire change 
 which has been proved to be necessary to that en¬ 
 trance. But I must reserve that to the next op¬ 
 portunity of this kind. In the mean time, let me 
 add, that I doubt not but there are many present 
 who have heard this description of the heavenly 
 world with delight, and who are saying, in their 
 hearts, “ This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell, 
 for I have desired it: this is the felicity to which 
 my heart aspires with the most ardent breathing.” 
 Such may, with the utmost reason, regard it as a 
 token for good, and may go on in a cheerful assur¬ 
 ance, that the grace that has “ made them meet to 
 be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in 
 light,” will at length conduct them to it in perfect 
 safety and everlasting triumph. Amen. 
 
172 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 OF THE IMPORTANCE OF ENTERING INTO THE 
 KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. 
 
 John iii. 3. 
 
 ... Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom 
 
 of God.” 
 
 How impossible it is that an unregenerate sinner 
 should see, that is, enjoy the kingdom of God, and 
 that future blessedness to which the gospel is in¬ 
 tended to lead its professors, I have shown you at 
 large. I have appealed to the testimony of God’s 
 holy prophets and apostles, in concurrence with that 
 of his incarnate Son, to prove, that persons of such 
 a character are, by the inviolable constitution of 
 that kingdom, excluded from it. And I have 
 farther, in my last discourse, proved, that if they 
 were actually admitted to it, they would be incapable 
 of relishing its pleasures; that their vitiated palate 
 would have a distaste to the choicest fruits of the 
 paradise of God; yea, that in these blissful regions, 
 thorns and briars would spring up in their paths, 
 and make them wretched in the very seat of happi¬ 
 ness. 
 
 I doubt not but you are in your consciences 
 generally convinced, that the truth of these things 
 
173 
 
 cannot be contested. You are inwardly persuaded 
 that it is indeed so; and, I fear, many of you have 
 also reason to apprehend that you are of this un¬ 
 happy number, who are hitherto strangers to regen¬ 
 erating grace. But how are your minds impressed 
 with this apprehension ? Do I wrong you, sirs, 
 when I suspect that some of them are hardly im¬ 
 pressed at all? Do I wrong you, when I suspect 
 there are those of you who have spent the last week 
 with very little reflection upon what you have heard ? 
 The cares and amusements of life have been pur¬ 
 sued as before, and you have not taken one hour to 
 enter into the thought with self-application, and 
 seriously to consider, fi I am one of those concerning 
 whom eternal wisdom and truth has pronounced, 
 that, if they continue such as at present they are, 
 they shall not see the kingdom of God.’ You 
 have not paused at all upon the awful thought; you 
 have not offered one lively petition to God, to beg 
 that you may be recovered from this unhappy state, 
 and brought to a meetness for his kingdom, and a 
 title to it. For your sakes, therefore, and for the 
 sakes of others in your state, having already ex¬ 
 plained, illustrated, and confirmed the proposition in 
 my text, I proceed, 
 
 III. To represent to you the importance of the 
 argument suggested here; or to show you, how 
 much every unregenerate sinner ought to be alarmed 
 to hear, that while he continues in his present state, 
 he cannot see the kingdom of God. 
 
 And oh! that while I endeavour to illustrate 
 this, my words might enter into your minds as 
 goads, and might fix there as nails fastened in a 
 
174 
 
 sure place ! The substance of my argument is 
 given forth by “ the one great Shepherd.” May the 
 prosecution of it be blessed, as the means of induc¬ 
 ing some wandering sheep to return into his fold ! 
 
 Now, in order to illustrate the force of this argu¬ 
 ment, I beseech you seriously to consider what this 
 kingdom is, from which you are in danger of being 
 for ever excluded, and what will be the condition of 
 all those who shall be finally cut off from any interest 
 in it. 
 
 (1.) Consider ‘what that kingdom is, from which 
 the unregenerate, or those who are not born again, 
 shall be excluded. , 
 
 And here you are not to expect a complete re¬ 
 presentation of it; for that is an attempt in which 
 the tongues of angels, as well as men, might fail; 
 or how proper soever their language might be in it¬ 
 self, to us it would be unintelligible; for “ eye hath 
 not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into 
 the heart of man, the things which God hath pre¬ 
 pared for them that love him.” And surely these 
 final and most illustrious preparations of his love 
 must, beyond all others, exceed our description and 
 conception. A minister that, with the Apostle 
 Paul, had been caught up into the third heaven, if 
 he would attempt to speak of the glorious scenes 
 which were there opened to him, must say, they 
 were unutterable things ; and one that, with John, 
 had lain in the bosom of Christ himself, must say, 
 as that Apostle did, “ It does not yet appear what 
 we shall be.” And indeed, when we go about to 
 discourse of it, I doubt not but the blessed angels 
 pity the weakness of our apprehensions and expres- 
 
175 
 
 sions, and know that we do but debase the subject 
 when we attempt the most to exalt and adorn it. 
 
 Yet there are just and striking representations of 
 this kingdom made in the word of God; and we are 
 there often told in general, wherein it shall consist. 
 You no doubt remember, that I was, in the last of 
 these lectures, going over several important views 
 of it. I then told you, it will consist in the per¬ 
 fection of our souls in knowledge and holiness, in 
 the sight of God, and our blessed Redeemer; in 
 exercising the most delightful affections towards 
 them, and in being for ever employed in rendering 
 them the most honourable services; in conversing 
 with saints and glorious angels ; and in the assured 
 expectation of the eternal continuance of this bless¬ 
 edness, in all its branches. That this is the scrip¬ 
 tural representation of the matter, I proved to you 
 from many express testimonies in the word of God; 
 and I doubt not but you have often heard the ex¬ 
 cellency of each of these views represented at large, 
 in distinct discourses on each. 
 
 I will not, therefore, now repeat what has been 
 said upon such occasions ; but will rather direct you 
 to some general considerations, which may convince 
 you of the excellency of that state and world, from 
 which, if you continue unregenerate, you must for 
 ever be excluded; for I would fain fix it upon your 
 minds, that it is in this connexion, and for this pur¬ 
 pose, that the representation is made. And oh ! 
 that you might so review it, as no longer to neglect 
 so great salvation, nor act as if you judged ever¬ 
 lasting life to be beneath your attention, and un¬ 
 worthy your care and regard ! You cannot think 
 
176 
 
 it so when you consider, that it is represented in 
 Scripture, under the most magnificent images, that 
 it is the state which God has prepared for the dis¬ 
 play of his glory, and the entertainment of his most 
 favourite creatures; that it is the great purchase of 
 the blood of his eternal Son; that it is the main 
 work of his sacred Spirit to prepare men’s hearts for 
 it; and the great business of our inveterate enemy, 
 the devil, by all possible means, to prevent our ob¬ 
 taining it. . Each of these considerations may much 
 illustrate the excellency of it, and all taken together, 
 yield a most convincing demonstration. 
 
 1. Consider, £ by what a variety of beautiful 
 and magnificent images this happiness is represented 
 in the word of Godand that may convince you 
 of its excellency. 
 
 When the blessed God himself would raise our 
 conceptions of a state of being, so much superior to 
 any thing we have ever seen or known, unless he 
 intended a personal and miraculous revelation of it, 
 he must borrow our language, and in painting the 
 glory of heaven, must take his colours from earth. 
 And here the magnificence of a city, the sweetness 
 of a garden, the solemn pomp of a temple, the lustre 
 of a crown, and the dignity of a kingdom, strike 
 powerfully on the human mind, and fill it with ve¬ 
 neration and delight. But when such figures as 
 these are borrowed from this low world of ours, 
 faintly to shadow out that which is above, there is 
 always the addition of some important circumstance, 
 to intimate how far the celestial original exceeds the 
 brightest earthly glory, by which the divine conde¬ 
 scension has vouchsafed to describe it. 
 
177 
 
 The enumeration of a variety of scriptural de¬ 
 scriptions will set these remarks in the strongest 
 light. If, therefore, heaven be described as a city, 
 it is 6( the New Jerusalem, the city of our God, 
 that cometh down from God out of heaven : the 
 pavement of its streets is all of pure gold, its gates 
 are pearl, and its foundation jewels.” If it be a 
 garden, it is the paradise of God, and so far supe¬ 
 rior to that which he at first prepared and furnished 
 out for the entertainment of Adam in his state of 
 innocence, that it is planted on every side with the 
 tree of life, of which there was but one alone in the 
 garden of Eden; and is watered, not with such 
 common rivers as the Tigris and Euphrates, but 
 with that living, copious, inexhausted stream, the 
 river of the water of life, which proceeds from the 
 throne of God, and gently glides along through all 
 its borders. When it is represented as a temple, 
 we are told that, instead of a golden ark placed in 
 the remotest recess, to which only the high priest 
 might once a-year approach, and on which he might 
 not to be allowed to gaze, the throne of God is 
 erected there, perpetually surrounded with myriads 
 of worshippers, who see his face, and, like the high 
 priest, when clothed in his richest robes, have his 
 name written in their foreheads ;—instead of the 
 feeble rays of that golden candlestick, whose lamps 
 shone in the holy place, the heavenly temple is il¬ 
 luminated in a more glorious manner, and needs no 
 candle, neither light of the sun, for the glory of 
 God continually enlightens it, and the Lamb is the 
 light thereof. Nay, we are assured that its sacred 
 ministers are made kings as well as priests unto 
 
 h 3 
 
178 
 
 God ; and, accordingly, being clothed in white rai¬ 
 ment, they have crowns of gold on their heads, as 
 well as harps and golden vials, or censers full of in¬ 
 cense in their hands; and lest we should think 
 these pompous services are only the entertainments 
 of some peculiarly sacred seasons, we are told that 
 they rest not day nor night, adoring him that sits 
 upon the throne, and are fixed as pillars in his tem¬ 
 ple, to go out no more. Again, if it be spoken of 
 as a crown, it is represented as incorruptible: a 
 crown of glory that fadeth not away. And when it 
 is called a kingdom, the Scripture does not only 
 add, as here in the text, that it is the kingdom of 
 God, which must certainly exalt the idea of it; but 
 that it is a kingdom which cannot be moved, an 
 everlasting kingdom ; nay, to carry our thoughts to 
 the highest degree of dignity and glory, it is spoken 
 of as a sitting down with Christ on his throne. 
 
 But further, the value of these illustrious repre¬ 
 sentations is much enhanced, if we consider the 
 character of the persons by whom they are made. 
 They were persons well acquainted with these things, 
 having received their information from a divine reve¬ 
 lation, and from the immediate visions of God. 
 They were also persons of such sublime and elevated 
 sentiments, that they had a sovereign contempt for 
 all the enjoyments of time and sense, even those 
 which the generality of mankind set the greatest 
 value upon ; and 4< counted all things but loss for 
 the knowledge of Christ, and the testimony of a 
 good conscience, while they looked not at temporal, 
 but at eternal things.” They could deliberately, 
 constantly, and even cheerfully resign all the riches 
 
179 
 
 and honours, and carnal pleasures, which they might 
 have purchased by their apostacy from religion; and 
 were ready to embrace bonds, imprisonments, or 
 death itself, when it met them in the way of their 
 duty. Now certainly a glory, with which such 
 holy, wise, and heroic persons were so passionately 
 enamoured, and which they describe with such pa¬ 
 thos of language, and such ecstacy of delight, while 
 they were trampling with so generous a disdain on 
 every thing which earth calls good and great, must 
 deserve our very attentive regard. And this it yet 
 more evidently will appear to do, if we consider, 
 
 2. ( It is the state and world which God has 
 prepared for the display of his glory, and the enter¬ 
 tainment of the most favoured of his creatures.’ 
 
 This argument seems to be hinted at, when it is 
 said (as in the place I referred to before,) “ eye 
 hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered 
 into the heart of man, the things which God hath 
 prepared for them that love him.” God well knows 
 the capacity of his creatures, and how much happi¬ 
 ness they are able and fit to receive; and he can fill 
 their capacities to the utmost; nay, he can farther 
 enlarge them to what degree he pleases, that they 
 may admit superior degrees of glory and felicity. A 
 happiness, therefore, which he has prepared on pur¬ 
 pose to display the riches of his magnificence and 
 love, and to show what he can do to delight his 
 creatures, must certainly be in some measure pro¬ 
 portionable, if I may so express it, to the infinity of 
 his own sacred perfections. Let us then seriously 
 consider who God is; and attentively dwell in our 
 meditation on the extent of his power, and the riches 
 
180 
 
 of his bounty; and our conception of the happiness 
 of heaven must be raised to something more glo¬ 
 rious, than the most emphatical words can perfectly 
 describe. 
 
 And here, to assist our imagination in some de¬ 
 gree, let us look round us, and take a survey of this 
 visible world. This earth, how conveniently has 
 he furnished it, how beautifully has he disposed it, 
 how richly has he adorned it! What various and 
 abundant provision has he made for the subsistence, 
 the accommodation, and the entertainment of the 
 creatures that inhabit it! and especially of man, in 
 whom this scheme.and system of things appear to 
 centre, and to whom it is all most wisely and gra¬ 
 ciously referred ! Yet earth is the habitation of a 
 race of mean and degenerate creatures, who are but 
 in a state of trial; nay, it is the habitation of thou¬ 
 sands and ten thousands of God’s incorrigible ene¬ 
 mies, with whom he is angry every day. Already 
 it is marked with some awful characters of the Di¬ 
 vine displeasure ; and the Scripture assures us, that 
 it is 66 reserved unto fire, against the day of judg¬ 
 ment and perdition of ungodly men.” Yet even 
 this earth is not a spectacle unworthy of our regard; 
 nor can we, if we allow ourselves to survey it with 
 becoming attention, behold it without an affecting 
 mixture of admiration, of love, and of joy: passions 
 that will strike us yet more powerfully, if from this 
 earth of ours we raise our eyes to the visible hea¬ 
 vens ; and there behold the glory of the sun, the 
 brightness of the moon, and all the numerous hosts 
 of heaven that attend on her train. Who that con¬ 
 siders, with any degree of attention, their magni- 
 
181 
 
 tude, their lustre, their motion, and their influence, 
 can forbear crying out, “ O Lord our Lord, how 
 excellent is thy name in all the earth ! who hast set 
 thy glory above the heavens.” And when, with 
 even these in our view, we further reflect, that there 
 is another apartment, as yet invisible, of which this 
 spangled firmament is but, as it were, the shining 
 veil; an apartment, where the great Creator and 
 Governor of all has fixed his stated residence, and 
 erected the throne of his glory; even that throne 
 which is for ever surrounded by all the most holy 
 and excellent of his creatures; we must be con¬ 
 vinced, it is something more beautiful and more 
 magnificent than this harmonious system itself. 
 And, methinks, when we have said more beautiful 
 and more magnificent than this, imagination is ready 
 to fail us, and to leave the mind dazzled and over¬ 
 whelmed with an effulgency of lustre which it can¬ 
 not delineate, and can scarce sustain. Yet will our 
 venerable apprehensions of it be farther assisted, if 
 we consider, 
 
 3. That the kingdom of heaven is 4 the great 
 purchase of the blood of God’s only begotten Son ;’ 
 and therefore, to be sure, it must be inconceivably 
 valuable. 
 
 If you are at all acquainted with your Bibles, 
 you must know, that we are, by sin, in a state of 
 alienation from God; that we have forfeited all our 
 title to his love, and stood justly exposed to his se¬ 
 vere displeasure; and that it is “ Jesus who delivers 
 us from the wrath to come.” Now, if we owe it to 
 his merit and atonement that we live, much more are 
 we to ascribe it to him, if we are raised to any superior 
 
182 
 
 degree of happiness. If God could not, with hon¬ 
 our to his justice, have suffered us, without such a 
 propitiation, to have passed off with impunity ; much 
 less could he, without it, have received us to his 
 embraces, and have advanced us to <e sit with him 
 on his throne.” Accordingly, it is said of the bles¬ 
 sed martyrs in the heavenly world, even of those 
 who had so gloriously distinguished themselves by 
 their fidelity and zeal, (i and loved not their lives 
 unto the death that they had 66 washed their robes, 
 and made them white in the blood of the Lamb;” 
 and they gratefully acknowledge it in their hymns 
 of praise, that 66 Christ had redeemed them to God 
 by his blood, and had made them kings and priests 
 .unto God.” 
 
 Now, let us seriously reflect, and consider what 
 this blood of the Lamb is. The apostle Peter tells 
 us, that silver and gold, and all the peculiar treasures 
 of kings and princes, are but corruptible things, or 
 perishing and worthless trifles, when compared with 
 it. And no wonder it is represented in such exalted 
 language, when we consider it was 6i the blood of 
 the only begotten Son of God, who is the bright¬ 
 ness of his Father’s glory, and the express image of 
 his person,” and indeed £ ‘ one with him,” being pos¬ 
 sessed of a nature truly and properly divine; so that 
 it is called “ the blood of God.” We may well 
 argue, even from these transient surveys, that it 
 was some important happiness which he came to 
 procure at so expensive a rate. Had an angel been 
 sent down from heaven, we should naturally have 
 concluded it must have been upon some momentous 
 errand; surely then, when the Lord of angels comes 
 
183 
 
 down, not only to live on earth, but to expire in 
 bitter agonies on the cross, to purchase a benefit 
 for us, we may be well assured, that this benefit 
 must be very considerable. Our Lord Jesus Christ 
 must certainly set a very great value upon it, or he 
 would not have purchased it at such a price; and we 
 are sure, the value that he apprehended in it, must 
 be its true value. He could not be imposed upon 
 by any false appearance of glory and splendour; he 
 despised, with a just and generous contempt, 44 all 
 the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;” 
 and he was also well acquainted with the celestial 
 kingdom, having so long dwelt in it, and so long 
 presided over it; yet so highly does he esteem it, 
 that he speaks of it upon all occasions, as the 
 highest possible gift of divine bounty, the richest 
 preparation, and noblest contrivance, of divine love; 
 yea, he regards it as a felicity so great, that when 
 he conducts his people into it, with the last solemn 
 pomp of the judgment day, it is said, 44 he shall see 
 of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied,” allowing 
 it to be a just equivalent for all he has done, and all 
 he has suffered in so glorious a cause. 
 
 4. The excellency of the heavenly kingdom will 
 further appear, if we consider, that 4 it is the main 
 work of the Spirit of God upon men’s hearts, to 
 prepare them for an admittance into it.’ 
 
 You well know, that the blessed Spirit of God 
 is spoken of as that Divine Agent, by whom all the 
 hosts of heaven were created, and all God’s various 
 works produced; and it is he that knows the things 
 of God, even as the 4 human spirit knows the things 
 of a man/ Now it is his peculiar office in the eco- 
 
184 
 
 noray of our redemption, to form the soul to a meet- 
 ness for glory. Accordingly, when the Apostle 
 Paul had been reminding the Corinthians, that 
 while they continued in their sinful state, they were 
 unfit for the kingdom of God; he adds, ££ But ye 
 are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justi¬ 
 fied, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the 
 Spirit of our God.” 
 
 That the Spirit should condescend to engage at 
 all in such a work, must give us a very sublime idea 
 of the end at which it aims. But much more will 
 that idea be raised, when we consider with what a 
 variety, and what a constancy of operations he be¬ 
 gins, continues, and perfects it. He attempts it, 
 (as we shall hereafter more particularly show you) 
 sometimes by convictions of terror, and sometimes 
 by insinuations of love; and by one method or an¬ 
 other, in the hearts of all the heirs of this glory, he 
 works so great a change, that it is represented by 
 £t turning a heart of stone into a heart of flesh,” by 
 £s raising the dead from their graves,” yea, by ££ pro¬ 
 ducing a new creation.” For this does he watch 
 over the soul with the tenderest care, and continues 
 his friendly offices, to recover it from relapses, and 
 gradually to form it to advancing degrees of sanc¬ 
 tity, till at length it be enabled to t£ perfect holiness 
 in the fear of God.” Nay, so intent is this Sacred 
 Agent on the important work, that when sinners 
 most insolently and ungratefully reject him, and by 
 resisting him, oppose their own happiness, he does 
 not immediately leave them; he strikes them again 
 and again; and waits upon them for succeeding days, 
 and months, and years ; and when, perhaps, the 
 
185 
 
 sincere convert makes the most ungrateful return 
 for the experience of his goodness, even after he 
 has acknowledged, and at length obeyed it; when, 
 under the fatal transport of some ungoverned pas¬ 
 sion, and the influence of some strong temptation, 
 he acts as if he were intent upon tearing down the 
 work of the Spirit of God upon his soul, and driving 
 him for ever away; yet, in how many instances does 
 he return again, after all these injuries, pleading the 
 cause of God with a sweetly prevailing eloquence, 
 and thus healing the wound, and repairing the 
 breach, and making it perhaps stronger than before ? 
 And all this, for what ? That the happy subject 
 of all these kind operations may be formed to a fit¬ 
 ness for the kingdom of heaven. And are we to 
 regard this blessed Spirit as an unmeaning agent, or 
 as incapable of judging of the importance of this 
 end for which he acts? Is that almighty energy 
 of his employed in an insignificant manner ? Surely 
 Nicodemus, slow of understanding as he was, must 
 apprehend the importance of entering into the king¬ 
 dom of heaven, when he heard, that, in order to be 
 admitted to it, a man must be born of the Spirit. 
 And let me add once more, 
 
 5. That the excellency of the heavenly kingdom 
 may further be argued, ‘ from the eagerness with 
 which the enemy of souls is endeavouring to prevent 
 our entrance into it/ 
 
 You know the devil is always represented as the 
 inveterate enemy of our happiness. His rage is 
 expressed by that of 66 a roaring lion, that walks 
 about seeking whom he may devour; and with un¬ 
 wearied diligence he is continually employed in form- 
 
186 
 
 ing and pursuing his temptations; and this is the 
 grand design of all, that he may exclude us from 
 the promised felicity. While sinners are in their 
 unregenerate state, he endeavours to engage all their 
 regards to the objects of time and sense; and for 
 that purpose he continually presents them with a 
 variety of entertainments and amusements, suited to 
 their respective tempers and circumstances. If they 
 are awakened to any serious concern about their 
 eternal salvation, he uses his utmost address to di¬ 
 vert their minds from an attendance to it; and for 
 this purpose, he displays before them all the allure¬ 
 ments of sin, in its most engaging forms : and if 
 they are not captivated with these, he often puts on 
 * a face of terror, and endeavours to affright them 
 from religion by the most gloomy representations of 
 it, or by horrible and distracting suggestions, £ that it 
 is now for ever too late to attain it.’ Or, if divine 
 grace surmount all this opposition, and the sinner 
 resolutely chooses his portion in heaven, and puts his 
 soul into the hands of Christ to be conducted to it, 
 the malice of Satan pursues him even to that sacred 
 retreat, which he has sought in the arms of his Sa¬ 
 viour; and if he cannot prevent the soul from enter¬ 
 ing into heaven, he will at least labour to bring it 
 into such a state of negligence, and to seduce it into 
 these delays and relapses, which may divert its re¬ 
 gards to that blessed world, which may cloud its 
 evidences of it, and may, at least as much as possible, 
 diminish the degree of its glory there. 
 
 Now permit me, in this instance, to turn the ar¬ 
 tillery of this cunning enemy against himself, and 
 to argue the excellency of this kingdom, from the 
 
187 
 
 zeal and attachment with which he endeavours to ob¬ 
 struct your attaining it. Though Satan be now 
 a very degenerate creature, he was once an angel of 
 light, and still retains much of the knowledge, 
 though he has lost the rectitude and integrity of the 
 angelic nature. And he particularly knows what 
 heaven is, because he was once an inhabitant there : 
 and while he is endeavouring to persuade the sinner 
 to prefer earth before it, he does, by that very en¬ 
 deavour, incontestibly prove, that he himself knows 
 the contrary, and is fully apprized that there is 
 nothing here to be compared with the felicity of the 
 future state. And, therefore, while he seeks the 
 destruction of the soul, he can leave it in the enjoy¬ 
 ment of all its worldly prosperity; nay, he will at¬ 
 tempt to lead him into methods by which this pros¬ 
 perity may be promoted and increased. 
 
 And thus, sirs, I have endeavoured a little to re¬ 
 present to you what this kingdom of heaven is, from 
 which we are assured that unconverted sinners shall 
 for ever be excluded. I have argued its excellency 
 —from the representations which are made of it in 
 the word of God—from its being the preparation of 
 divine love—from its being the purchase of a Re¬ 
 deemer’s blood—and the end to which, on the one 
 hand, the glorious operations of the blessed Spirit 
 lead—and of which, on the other hand, all the stra¬ 
 tagems and assaults of the prince of darkness are in¬ 
 tended to deprive us. If, therefore, there be truth 
 in Scripture, if there be wisdom in heaven, or policy 
 in hell, it must surely be infinitely important. And 
 will any of you be such mean-spirited creatures, as 
 when this happiness is proposed to you, basely to re- 
 
188 
 
 linquish the pursuit of it, and to sacrifice this blessed 
 hope to any perishing trifle of mortal life ? Surely 
 it would be madness ; though nothing more were to 
 be apprehended than the loss of it; and though, 
 when heaven were lost, all that earth can give, should 
 remain, if not to counterbalance the loss, yet at least 
 to make you less sensible of it. But the weight of 
 the argument will much more evidently appear, if 
 you consider, 
 
 (2.) What will at last become of all those who 
 are excluded from this heavenly kingdom. 
 
 And here, I beseech you, to ask your own con¬ 
 sciences, whether they be not inwardly persuaded— 
 that those who are excluded from heaven will remain 
 in a state of existence, in which they will be ever 
 sensible of their loss,—and will be delivered over by 
 divine vengeance into that state of torment, which 
 God has prepared for the punishment of his impla¬ 
 cable and incorrigible enemies. This many of you 
 do undoubtedly believe of such persons in general; 
 believe it, therefore, of yourselves, if you are, and 
 continue in an unregenerate state. 
 
 1. c You will continue in a state of existence, in 
 which you will be ever sensible of your loss/ 
 
 It might afford some wretched kind of consolation 
 to you, if, as soon as you died out of this world, your 
 being, or your apprehensive powers were immediately 
 to cease. Then the loss of heaven would only be 
 an affliction to you in your dying moments, when 
 you saw the enjoyments of heaven were come to an 
 end, and that you must have no part in any future 
 happiness. But, alas, sirs, you cannot but know, 
 that when your bodies are dead and consumed in 
 
189 
 
 their graves, your thinking faculties will still be con» 
 tinued to you ; and oh, that you would seriously re¬ 
 flect, how they will then be employed ! You will 
 then be thinking what you have done in life, what 
 you have chose for your happiness, and what has 
 been the consequence of that choice. You will look 
 round in vain for such accommodations and pleasures 
 as you were once most fond of; but they will be no 
 more: and when you perceive them vanished, like 
 the visionary amusements of a dream, you will lift 
 up your astonished eyes towards the regions of 
 glory. And you, indeed, will have a lively view of 
 them; but to what purpose will that view serve? 
 Only, through the righteous vengeance of God, to 
 aggravate your misery and despair. ( Alas !’ will 
 you think, ‘ there are millions of creatures yonder 
 in heaven, who are rejoicing in the sight and favour 
 of God, and are as full of happiness as their natures 
 can contain, and shall be so for ever ; while I am 
 cut off from all share in the divine bounty. Rivers 
 of pleasure are flowing in upon them, while not one 
 drop is sent down to me; nor could I obtain it, 
 though I were to ask the favour from the least of 
 Christ’s servants there. I am cast out as an accursed 
 wretch, with whom God and his holy and blessed 
 creatures will have no further intercourse or com¬ 
 munion. And why am I thus cast out ? and why 
 am I thus cast off from God’s favour, and driven 
 from his presence, while so many that dwelt with me 
 on earth are admitted to it ? My nature was ori¬ 
 ginally as capable of happiness as theirs ; and, though 
 it was sadly degenerate, it might, like theirs, have 
 been renewed. God was once offering me that 
 
190 
 
 grace, by which my disordered soul might have 
 been transformed, and I might have been fitted for 
 the regions of glory ; but I despised all these offers, 
 and gave the preference to those fading vanities, 
 which, alas ! have for ever forsaken me. And now 
 they that were ready are gone into the delightful 
 banquet, ** and the door is shutthe everlasting 
 gates are shut for ever, and barred against me. And 
 here I must lie at this miserable distance, envying 
 and raging at their happiness, of which, whatever 
 sight or knowledge I may have of it, I must never, 
 never, never partake.’ 
 
 Such reflections as these, sirs, will cut deep into 
 your souls; and, accordingly, our Lord declares to 
 impenitent sinners in his own days, “ There shall be 
 weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see others 
 sitting down in the kingdom of God, and you your¬ 
 selves thrust out.” And, if you would reflect, you 
 might easily apprehend this. How would you be 
 enraged at yourselves, if, by your folly, you had ne¬ 
 glected securing a plentiful estate, when it was offered 
 to you on the most easy terms; and you actually 
 saw others, once your equals, and perhaps your in¬ 
 feriors, in the possession of it, in consequence of 
 having taken those methods which you stupidly ne¬ 
 glected ? The reflection, I doubt not, would very 
 much impair the pleasure you might find in other 
 comfortable and agreeable circumstances. How much 
 more insupportable then will the loss of heaven ap¬ 
 pear to you, when you come to see and know what 
 it is you have lost, and have nothing to relieve or 
 support you under the painful recollection. 
 
 It is to no purpose to object, that, upon the prin- 
 
191 
 
 ciples of my last discourse, there will be no room to 
 lament your exclusion from those entertainments 
 which you will be incapable of relishing, if you were 
 admitted to them ; for you will then see, and lament 
 that incapacity, as a very great misery. As if a 
 man, who was naturally fond of feasting and mirth, 
 should see a great many regaling themselves, and 
 revelling about him, while he was languishing under 
 some painful distemper, which made him incapable 
 of joining in the entertainment, he would yet grieve 
 that he had no part in it; and it would be the in¬ 
 crease, rather than the alleviation of his uneasiness, 
 that it was his sickness which unfitted him for it; 
 especially if, as in your case, it was a sickness which 
 he had brought upon himself by his own folly, and 
 for which he had been offered an easy, pleasant, and 
 infallible remedy, which he had refused to use, till 
 the malady was grown utterly incurable. One would 
 imagine this thought would be enough to impress 
 you; but if it do not, let me entreat, and even charge 
 you, to consider, 
 
 2 . That if you are excluded from the kingdom of 
 heaven, 6 you will be consigned over to those regions 
 of darkness, despair, and misery, which God has 
 prepared for those unhappy criminals, who are the 
 objects of his final displeasure, and whom he will 
 render everlasting monuments of his wrath/ 
 
 There is something in human nature, that starts 
 back at the thoughts of annihilation with strong re¬ 
 luctance; and yet how many thousands are there in 
 this miserable world, who would, with all their souls, 
 fly to it as a refuge ? “ They shall seek death,” 
 
 as an inspired writer strongly expresses it, “ and 
 
192 
 
 shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death 
 shall flee from them.” I will not attempt to enter 
 into a detail of the horrors attending the place and 
 state, into which all who are excluded from the 
 glories of the heavenly w r orld shall be cast, and in 
 which they shall be fixed. Let that one awful 
 scripture suffice for a specimen of many more ; in 
 which we are told, that <c every one whose name was 
 not found written in the book of life,” or who was 
 not registered in the number of those who were to 
 inhabit the New Jerusalem, or the kingdom of hea¬ 
 ven, “ was cast into the lake of fire,” or, as it is 
 afterwards expressed, “ into the lake that burns with 
 fire and brimstone.” Think of this, and ask your 
 own hearts, you that are so impatient of the little 
 evils of mortal life, whether you can endure to take 
 up your abode for ever in devouring fire, or whether 
 you can dwell with everlasting burnings ? Yet 
 these are the images by which the word of God re¬ 
 presents it: to be plunged as in a sea of liquid fire, 
 whose flames are exasperated and heightened, by 
 being fed with brimstone; nay, as the prophet speaks, 
 by a copious stream of brimstone, so expressly ap¬ 
 pointed by God himself, that this, as well as the 
 “ river of the water of life,” is represented as pro¬ 
 ceeding immediately from him: <s He has made 
 Tophet deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and 
 much wood; and the breath of the Lord, like a 
 stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.” 
 
 It is painful to a tender mind to think of this, as 
 what its fellow-creatures are obnoxious to; it is 
 grievous to speak of it in these dreadful terms. But 
 who are we, that we should be more merciful than 
 
193 
 
 God ? Or rather, how can we imagine it is mercy 
 to avoid speaking of the appointment of infinite wis¬ 
 dom, for the punishment of impenitent sinners ? 
 What mercy were that, sirs, to avoid to mention 
 these terrors to you, and to neglect to warn you of 
 them, because they are great ? which is indeed the 
 very reason why the Scripture thus pathetically 
 describes them. 
 
 Away, therefore, with this foolish, this treacher¬ 
 ous compassion, which chooses rather to leave men 
 to be consumed, than to disturb their slumbers ! 
 Think, sirs, of that wretched glutton, whom Christ 
 describes as “ lifting up his eyes in hell, being in 
 torments seeing the regions of the blessed at an 
 unapproachable distance, and begging in vain that 
 one drop of water might be sent to cool his tongue, 
 amidst all the raging thirst with which he was tor¬ 
 mented in this flame. Regard it attentively; for 
 as God lives, and as your soul lives, if you continue 
 in an unrenewed state, you see in that wretch the 
 very image and representation of yourselves. Yes, 
 sinners, I testify it to you this day, that intolerable 
 as it seems, it will, on that supposition, be your own 
 certain fate; or, to speak much more properly, your 
 righteous, but inevitable doom. Heaven and earth 
 will desert you in that dreadful hour; or if the in¬ 
 habitants of both were to join to intercede for you, 
 it would be in vain. Sentence will be past, and 
 execution done : hell will open its mouth to receive 
 you, and shut it again for ever to enclose you, with 
 thousands and ten thousands more, among whom you 
 will not find one to comfort you, but every one ready 
 to afflict you. Then shall you know the value which 
 
 I 44 
 
194 
 
 God sets upon his heavenly kingdom, by the judg¬ 
 ments he inflicts upon you for neglecting and de¬ 
 spising it; and then shall you know the importance 
 of being born again, that only means by which hell 
 can be avoided, and heaven secured. 
 
 And let me further add, that conviction will 
 quickly come in this terrible way, if you are not 
 now prevailed upon to consider these things; things 
 which, if you have the least regard to the word of 
 God, you cannot but notionally believe. Do not 
 then go about to annihilate, as it were, these pros¬ 
 pects to your mind, by placing them at a long dis¬ 
 tance. The distance is not so great as to deserve 
 being mentioned. The patience of God will not 
 wait upon you for thousands, or even hundreds of 
 years. You have a few mortal days in which to 
 consider of the matter; or rather, you have the pre¬ 
 sent moment to consider of it. And if you improve 
 the opportunity, it is well; but if not, the just and 
 uniform methods of the divine administration shall 
 proceed, though it should be to your ruin. God 
 has vindicated the honours of his violated law and 
 despised gospel upon millions, who, with the rebel 
 angels, by whom they have been seduced, are, even 
 now, u reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, 
 unto the judgment of the great day ;” and he will as 
 surely vindicate them upon you. “ If you do not 
 repent,” if you are not regenerate, <£ you shall all 
 likewise perish,” and not one of you shall escape. 
 
 And thus I close this copious and important ar¬ 
 gument; this argument in which life and death, 
 salvation and damnation, are concerned. View it, 
 my friends, in all its connections, and see in what 
 
195 
 
 part of it the chain can be broken. Will you say, 
 that without regeneration you can secure an interest 
 in the kingdom of heaven, though the constitution 
 of heaven oppose it, and all the declarations of God’s 
 word stand directly against it; and though nature 
 itself reclaim, and conscience testify your incapacity to 
 enjoy it ? Or will you say, that being excluded from 
 it, you shall suffer no considerable damage, though 
 you lose so glorious a state, the noblest preparation 
 of divine love, the purchase of redeeming blood, 
 and the end of the Spirit’s operation on the soul ; 
 though you ever remain sensible of your loss, and 
 be consigned over to dwell in that flaming prison, 
 which God has prepared for the devil and his angels, 
 and where all the terrors of his righteous judgments 
 are made known ? 
 
 But if you are indeed inwardly convinced of the 
 truth and importance of these things, and will go 
 away, and act as before, without any regard to them, 
 
 I can say no more. The reason of man, and the 
 word of God, can point out no stronger arguments 
 than an infinite good on the one hand, and an infinite 
 evil on the other. 
 
 Hear, therefore, O heavens, and give ear, O 
 earth ! and let angels and devils join their astonish¬ 
 ment ! that creatures who would strenuously con¬ 
 tend, and warmly exert themselves, 1 will not say 
 merely for an earthly kingdom, but in an affair 
 where only a few pounds, or perhaps a few shillings 
 or pence were concerned, are indifferent here, where, 
 by their own confession, a happy or miserable 
 eternity is in question ! For indifferent, I fear, 
 some of you are, and will continue. I have repre- 
 
 i 2 
 
196 
 
 sented these things in the integrity of my heart, as 
 in the sight of God; not in artful forms of speech, 
 but in the genuine language which the strong emo¬ 
 tions of my own soul, in the views of them, natu¬ 
 rally dictated. Yet I think it not at all improbable 
 that some of you, and some, perhaps, who do not 
 now imagine it, will, as soon as you return home, 
 divert your thoughts and discourses to other objects; 
 and may, perhaps, as heretofore, lie down upon your 
 beds, without spending one quarter of an hour, or 
 even one serious minute, in lamenting your miserable 
 state before God, and seeking that help and deliver¬ 
 ance which his grace alone can give. But if you 
 thus lie down, make, if you can, a covenant with 
 , death, that it may not break in upon your slumbers; 
 and an agreement with hell, that before the return 
 of the morning, it may not flash in upon your care¬ 
 less souls another kind of conviction, than they will 
 now receive from the voice of reason and the word 
 of God. 
 
197 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 OF THE NECESSITY OF DIVINE INFLUENCES TO 
 PRODUCE REGENERATION IN THE SOUL. 
 
 Titus iii. 5, 6. 
 
 “ Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but accord¬ 
 ing to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, 
 and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us 
 abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour.” 
 
 If my business were to explain and illustrate this 
 scripture at large, it would yield an ample field for 
 accurate criticism and useful discourse, and more es¬ 
 pecially would lead us into a variety of practical re¬ 
 marks, on which it would be pleasant to dilate in 
 our meditations. It evidently implies, ‘ that those 
 who are the saved of the Lord are brought to the 
 practice of good works,’ without which faith is 
 dead, and all pretences to a saving change are not 
 only vain, but insolent. Yet it plainly testifies to 
 us, ‘that our salvation and acceptance with God is 
 not to be ascribed to these, but to the divine mercy; 
 which mercy operates by sanctifying our hearts, 
 through the renewing influence of the Holy Spirit;’ 
 and ‘ that there is an abundant effusion of this Spirit 
 under the gospel,” which is, therefore, with great 
 propriety, called “the ministration of the Sprit,” and 
 “ the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” 
 
 But I must necessarily, in pursuance of my gene- 
 
198 
 
 ral scheme, waive several of these remarks, that I 
 may leave myself room to insist on the grand topic 
 I intend from the words. 
 
 I have already shown you who may be said to be 
 in an unregenerate state: 1 have also described the 
 change which regeneration makes in the soul; and 
 
 o O 9 
 
 have largely shown you, in the three last discourses, 
 the absolute necessity and importance of it. And 
 now I proceed, 
 
 Fourthly, To show the necessity there is of the 
 agency of the divine power, in order to produce this 
 great and important change. 
 
 This is strongly implied in the words of the text; 
 in which the Apostle, speaking of the method God 
 has been pleased to take for the display of his good¬ 
 ness, in the salvation and happiness of fallen men, 
 gives thus this affecting view of it,—that it is u not 
 by works of righteousness which we,” (that is, any of 
 us Christians,) u have done, but according to his free 
 grace and mercy, that he has saved us, by the wash¬ 
 ing,” or, as might be rendered, the laver u of regen¬ 
 eration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.” 
 
 I shall be ready to acknowledge, with the gener¬ 
 ality of ancient and modern interpreters, that baptism 
 may probably here be called the laver of regenera¬ 
 tion: God having appointed, that as new-born chil¬ 
 dren are washed, so they, who, by the influences of 
 his grace on their hearts, are born again, should, in 
 token of their repentance for the sins of their past 
 life, be washed with baptismal water, supposing 
 (which was here apparently the case in this early age 
 of Christianity,) they had not received that ordinance 
 in their infancy. Nevertheless, lest any should 
 
199 
 
 imagine that an external ceremony was sufficient, or 
 that it was the chief thing intended, the Apostle 
 takes the matter higher. And as the apostle Peter 
 tells us, that the baptism which saves us is not 
 merely “ the putting away the filth of the flesh, but 
 the answer of a good conscience towards Godso 
 the apostle Paul here adds, that we are saved by the 
 renewing of the Holy Ghost: by which I can by no 
 means understand something entirely distinct from, 
 and subsequent to, his regenerating influences; for, 
 according to the view of regeneration stated in our 
 former discourses, none can be regenerated who are 
 not renewed; but it seems to explain the former 
 clause, and to refer to the more positive effect pro¬ 
 duced by Divine grace on the soul, whereby Chris¬ 
 tians are not only purified from sin, but disposed to, 
 and quickened in, a course of holy obedience. And 
 then further tells us, that this Spirit is the gift of 
 God, and is plentifully communicated to us in the 
 name, and through the hands of the blessed Re¬ 
 deemer, being shed on us abundantly by God, 
 through Jesus Christ our Saviour. 
 
 Agreeably, therefore, to the general design and 
 purport of these words, I shall go on to demonstrate 
 the absolute necessity of a divine agency and opera¬ 
 tion, in this great work of our regeneration; which 
 I shall do from a variety of topics. And here I 
 shall studiously waive many controversies, with which 
 the Christian world has been afflicted, and the 
 soundest part of it disturbed, with relation to the 
 kind and manner of this influence. I will not so 
 much as mention them, and much less discuss them; 
 lest Satan should take an advantage of us, to divert 
 
200 
 
 our minds from what is essential in this doctrine, to 
 what is merely circumstantial. Only let it be ob¬ 
 served in general, that I speak of 4 such an agency 
 of God on our minds, as offers no violence to the 
 rational and active nature which God has given us, 
 nor does by any means supersede our obligation to 
 those duties which his word requires; but, on the 
 contrary, cures and perfects our nature, and disposes 
 the soul to a regard to such incumbent duties, and 
 strengthens it in the discharge of them.' 1 With 
 this only preliminary, which appears to me highly 
 important, I proceed to show the reasonableness of 
 ascribing this change to a divine agency, rather than 
 to any thing else, which may be supposed to have 
 any share in producing it. And we infer this, 
 
 (1.) 6 From the general and necessary dependence 
 of the whole created world upon God/ 
 
 There was a philosophical, as well as divine truth, 
 in that observation of the apostle Paul at Athens, 
 which was well worthy the most learned assembly :• 
 44 In him,” that is, in God, 44 we live, and move, and 
 have our being.’ 5 Such is the innate weakness of 
 created nature, that it continually depends on a 
 divine support. The very idea of its being created, 
 supposes, that it had no cause of its existence, but 
 tbe divine will, in the first moment of it: and if it 
 could not then subsist without that will, in the first 
 moment of its existence, it neither could subsist with¬ 
 out it in the second, or in any future moment of it: 
 since to have been dependent for a while, can never 
 be supposed to render any thing for the future inde¬ 
 pendent. The continued existence then of all the 
 creatures, no less of angels, than of worms, or trees, 
 
201 
 
 or stones, does properly depend upon the divine 
 energy which bears them up, and holds those of 
 them in life which live, and those of them in being, 
 which are inanimate, or without life. 
 
 And if their being be dependent, then surely it 
 will follow, that all their preceptive and active powers, 
 whatsoever they are, must continually depend upon 
 God: for to exist with such powers is evidently more 
 than simply to exist: and if a divine agency be ne¬ 
 cessary for the latter, much more must we allow it 
 to be necessary for the former. 
 
 The human mind, therefore, with all its capacities 
 and improvements, must acknowledge itself perpetu¬ 
 ally indebted to God, who is the fountain of truth 
 and wisdom, as well as of being: accordingly we are 
 told, it is “ he that teacheth man knowledge.” All 
 the skill of the husbandman, in one passage of Scrip¬ 
 ture, and all the wisdom of the artificer, in another, 
 is ascribed to his influence: and if the improvement 
 of the sciences, and any other discovery which ren¬ 
 ders human life in any degree more commodious and 
 agreeable, is to be ascribed to the divine illumination 
 and influence, then surely it is from hence this art 
 of living wisely and well must also be derived. All 
 the views upon which good resolutions are formed, 
 all the strong impressions upon the mind arising 
 from these views, and all the steadiness and deter¬ 
 mination of spirit, which does not only form such 
 purposes, but carries them into execution, are plainly 
 the effect of the divine agency on the mind; without 
 which no secular affairs could be clearly understood, 
 strenuously pursued, or successfully accomplished. 
 And how peculiarly reasonable it is, to apply this 
 
 i 3 
 
Q0<2 
 
 remark to the point now in view, will appear by at¬ 
 tending, 
 
 (2.) To 6 the greatness and excellency of this 
 change,’ which speaks it aloud to be the divine work. 
 
 I must, upon this occasion, desire you to recollect 
 what I laid before you in several of the former Dis¬ 
 courses. Think of the new light that breaks in 
 upon the understanding—of the new affections that 
 are enkindled in the heart—of the new resolutions, 
 by which the will is sweetly and powerfully, though 
 most freely influenced;—and think of the degree of 
 vigour attending these resolutions, and introducing 
 a series of new labours and pursuits;—and surely 
 you must confess, that it is the finger of God; espe¬ 
 cially when you consider—how beautiful and excel¬ 
 lent, as well as how great the work is. 
 
 Do we acknowledge that it was the voice of God 
 that first commanded the light to shine out of dark¬ 
 ness, and that it was worthy of a divine agency to 
 produce so beautiful an object as the sun, to gild the 
 whole face of our world, and to dress the different 
 objects around us in such a various and vivid assem¬ 
 blage of colours? And shall we not allow it to be 
 much more worthy of him, to lighten up a benighted 
 soul, and to reduce its chaos into harmony and 
 order? Was it worthy of God to form the first 
 principles even of the vegetative life, in the lowest 
 plant or herb, and to visit with the refreshing influ¬ 
 ences of the rain and sun the earth wherein these 
 seeds are sown? And is it not much more worthy 
 of him to implant the seed of the divine life, and to 
 nourish it from time to time by the influence of his 
 Spirit ? Did it suit the divine wisdom and mercy 
 
203 
 
 to provide for sustaining our mortal lives, for healing 
 our wounds, and recovering us from our diseases ? 
 And shall it not much more suit him, to act as the 
 great physician of souls, in restoring them to ease, 
 to health, and vigour ? 
 
 They must be dead indeed to all sense of spiritual 
 excellency, who do not see how much more illus¬ 
 triously God appears, when considered as the Author 
 of grace, than merely as the Author of nature. For 
 indeed all the works of nature, and all the instances 
 of divine interposition to maintain its order and har¬ 
 mony, will chiefly appear valuable and important, 
 when considered in subserviency to the gracious de¬ 
 sign of recovering apostate man from the ruin of 
 that degenerate state, without which it had been far 
 better for him never to have known being, and 
 never to have inhabited a world so liberally furnished 
 with a variety of good. And, therefore, I would 
 appeal to every Christian, whether he does not find 
 a much more ardent gratitude glowing in his heart, 
 when he considers God as the Author of the reli¬ 
 gious and divine, than merely of the animal or the 
 rational life. 
 
 And permit me here to remark, that, agreeably 
 to these reasonings, some of the Pagan philosophers 
 have said very serious and remarkable things con¬ 
 cerning the reality and the need of divine influences 
 on the mind, for the production of virtue and piety 
 there. Thus Seneca, when he is speaking of a re¬ 
 semblance to the Deity in character, ascribes it to the 
 influence of God upon the mind: <e Are you sur¬ 
 prised,” says he, “ that man should approach to the 
 Gods? It is God that comes to men; nay, which 
 
204 
 
 is yet more, he enters into them; for no mind be¬ 
 comes virtuous but by his assistance.” Simplicius 
 also was so sensible of the necessity of such an in¬ 
 fluence, that he “ prays to God, as the father and 
 guide of reason, so to co-operate with us, as to purge 
 us from all carnal and brutish affections, that we 
 may be enabled to act according to the dictates of 
 reason, and to attain to the true knowledge of him¬ 
 self.” And Maximus Tyrius argues, agreeably to 
 what was said above, that “if skill in the professions 
 and sciences is insinuated into men’s minds by a 
 divine influence, we can much less imagine that a 
 thing so much more excellent as virtue is, can be 
 - the work of any mortal art; for strange must be the 
 notion that we have of God, to think that he is 
 liberal and free in matters of less moment, and spar¬ 
 ing in the greatest.” And in the same discourse 
 he tells us, “ that even the best disposed minds, as 
 they are seated in the midst, between the highest 
 virtue and extreme wickedness, need the assistance 
 and the help of God, to incline and lead them to the 
 better side.” I am sensible that all these philoso¬ 
 phers, with many more who speak to the same pur¬ 
 pose, living after Christ’s time, may be said to have 
 learned such language from Christians; and if they 
 did so, I wish all who have since borne the name 
 had been equally teachable; but some who appeared 
 much earlier, speak much in the same manner,* 
 
 * It is here remarkable, that Xenophon represents Cyrus with 
 his dying breath, “ as humbly ascribing it to a divine influence 
 on his mind, that he had been taught to acknowledge the care 
 of Providence, and to bear his prosperity with a becoming mo¬ 
 deration.” And Socrates is introduced by Plato, as declaring 
 
20 5 
 
 as I might easily show you, if it were not already 
 more than time to observe, 
 
 (3.) That we may further argue the divine agency 
 in this blessed work, 4 from the violent opposition 
 over which it prevails in its rise and progress.’ 
 
 The awakened soul, when labouring towards God$ 
 and aspiring after further communications of his 
 grace to form it for his service, may justly say with 
 David, 44 Lord how are they increased that trouble 
 me? How many are they that rise up against me?” 
 With how many threatening dangers are we con¬ 
 tinually surrounded, and what a numerous host of 
 enemies are ready to oppose us ? 44 The law of sin 
 
 that wars in our members,” and concerning whose 
 forces it may well be said, 44 Their name is legion, 
 for they are many:” the evil influence of a degenerate 
 world, whose corrupt examples press like a torrent, 
 and require the most vigorous efforts to bear up 
 against them; and in confederacy with these, and at 
 the head of all, the prince of darkness, whose coun¬ 
 sels and efforts, with relation to this world of ours, 
 do, as it were, centre in this one thing, to prevent 
 men’s regeneration ; because it is by means of this, 
 that those are 44 recovered out of the snare of the 
 devil, who were before led captive by him at his will.” 
 
 I persuade myself, that when I am speaking on 
 
 “ that wheresoever virtue comes, it is apparently the fruit of a 
 divine dispensation” And to this purpose Plato has observed, 
 “ that virtue is not to be taught but by divine assistance;” and 
 elsewhere he declares, “ that if any man escape the temptations 
 of life, and behave himself as becomes a worthy member of society, 
 as the laws of it are generally settled,” which, by the way, is 
 something very far short of religion, “ he has reason to own, that 
 it is God that saves, him.” 
 
206 
 
 this head, though some may imagine it to be mere 
 empty harangue, and common-place declamation, 
 the experienced soul will attest the truth of what I 
 say. It may be some of you, who, by what of these 
 sermons you have already heard, have come under 
 some serious convictions, and been awakened in good 
 earnest to be thoughtful about being born again, 
 have felt such a struggle in your own minds, that 
 you may say, you never knew before what the flesh, 
 the world, and the devil were, nor could have 
 imagined that their opposition to this work was so 
 forcible and violent as you now find it. To reform 
 the irregularities of the life is comparatively easy; 
 but to root sin out of the soul, to consecrate the 
 whole heart to God, and demolish those idols that 
 have been set up, as it were, in the secret chambers 
 of imagery, is difficult indeed: all the corruptions of 
 the heart, in such a case, are ready to exert them¬ 
 selves; and it is natural for the lusts of the flesh to 
 unite against that which is set upon destroying them 
 all; nor did you ever know before, that there was 
 such a world of sin within you. With violence, 
 also, does the strong man armed exert himself, when 
 his goods are about to be taken from him by one 
 stronger than himself, as our Lord, with an unerring 
 propriety and wisdom, represents it; and indeed it 
 seems as if, through the violence of his malignity, 
 and the righteous judgment of God, who, whenever 
 he pleases, can “ take the wise in his own craftiness,” 
 that Satan sometimes over-shoots his mark, and 
 raises so sensible an opposition against the cause of 
 God in the soul, that an argument might be drawn, 
 even from that very opposition, to prove the truth 
 
20 ? 
 
 and excellency of what he sets himself so directly 
 against. And you have now perhaps experienced 
 too, more than you ever did before, the inveterate 
 opposition of the seed of the serpent to that of the 
 woman; you have found, that since you began to 
 think of religion in good earnest, some have derided 
 you, others, it may be, have reviled you, and enemies 
 have sprung up out of your own house; though the 
 impressions you have felt tend to make you more 
 amiable, more kind, and more useful, and therefore, 
 one would think would conciliate their friendship; 
 but this is a memorable instance, in which self-love 
 seems to make, as it were, a sacrifice of itself to the 
 hatred of God. Now, therefore, to accomplish such 
 a mighty change in the midst of such opposition, 
 must evidently speak a divine interposition. And 
 surely the Christian, when thus recovered and re¬ 
 stored, has reason to declare as Israel did, “ If it 
 had not been the Lord who was on our side, when 
 these confederate enemies rose up against us, then 
 they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath 
 was kindled against us: then the waters had over¬ 
 whelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: 
 then the proud waters had gone over our soul,” and 
 would have quenched and buried every spark that 
 looked like divine life, and have borne away every 
 purpose of reformation and holiness. The remark 
 will be further illustrated, if we consider, 
 
 (4.) fi By what feeble means this change is ac¬ 
 complished. J 
 
 The Apostle observes, that in his day, they had 
 the treasure of the gospel lodged in earthen vessels, 
 that the excellency of the power which rendered it 
 
208 
 
 successful might appear to be of God and not of 
 man. And it is still, in a great measure, apparent, 
 that the same method is made use of, from the 
 same principle. The weapons of our warfare are 
 not carnal; and if at any time they are mighty and 
 effectual, it must he only through God. It is not 
 by secular might or power that this great work is 
 accomplished; no, nor by the refinements of learning, 
 or the charms of eloquence. These things, indeed, 
 have their use; the understanding may sometimes 
 be convinced by the one, and the affections moved 
 by the other: yet where both these have been done, 
 the work often drops short; and, it may be, the 
 * plainest addresses from a weak, and almost trembling 
 tongue, shall perform that which the far superior 
 talents of many have not been able to effect. A 
 multitude of such instances have been found, and 
 perhaps seldom in these latter ages more observable 
 than in the compass of our own observation. 
 
 Now, whenever this work is accomplished by the 
 preaching of the gospel in a Christian country, there 
 is generally some circumstance that shows it is a 
 divine, and not a human work. It is not the 
 novelty of the doctrine which strikes; for all the 
 main truths, on which the conviction and impression 
 turns, have been known even from early infancy. 
 No miracles awaken the attention, no new discoveries 
 astonish the mind; but what has a thousand times 
 been heard, and as often neglected, breaks in upon 
 the mind with an almost irresistible energy, and 
 strikes it as if it had never been heard of before. 
 They seem, as it were, 66 when the Lord turneth 
 again their captivity, to awaken out of a dream,” and 
 
209 
 
 wonder at the accident that has awakened them. 
 The ministry of the word may seem but feeble, when 
 compared to such an event; and yet sometimes even 
 less solemn methods than that shall be effectual. 
 One single text of Scripture accidentally occurring 
 to the sight or thought, one serious hint dropped in 
 conversation, shall strike the mind, and pierce it 
 through with an energy that plainly shows, that from 
 whatever feeble hand it might seem to come, it was 
 shot out of the quiver of God, and intended by him 
 that made the heart to reach it: since there is almost 
 as much disproportion between the cause and the 
 effect, as between Moses lifting up his rod and the 
 dividing of the water of the sea before Israel. In 
 many instances, remarkable providences, which one 
 would have thought should have struck the soul as 
 it were to the centre, have produced no effect; and 
 yet a word, or a thought, has accomplished it: and 
 after the whirlwind, the earthquake, and the fire 
 have made their successive efforts in vain, it has 
 appeared that 66 the Lord has been in the still small 
 voice.” On the whole, a variety of circumstances 
 may illustrate the matter in different degrees ; but, 
 taking it in a general view, the remark appears to 
 be well-founded, “ that the weakness of the means 
 by which the saving change is wrought, argues 
 plainly that the hand of God is in it;” as when 
 “ anointing the eyes with spittle gave sight to the 
 blind,” it was evidently the exertion of a miraculous 
 power.—But now, agreeably to what has been 
 advanced under these several heads, I shall proceed 
 to show at large, 
 
 (5.) 6 That the Scripture teaches us to ascribe 
 
no 
 
 this great change on the mind, to a divine agency 
 and operation.’ 
 
 And here you will see, that it does not merely 
 drop here and there an expression which is capable 
 of such an interpretation, but that the whole tenor 
 of the word of God leads to such a conclusion; and 
 surely if we own the word to be divine, we need no 
 more convincing argument of the truth of this re¬ 
 mark. The only difficulty I shall here find, will be 
 like that which occurred under the former head, and 
 proceeds from the variety and multiplicity of texts 
 which offer themselves to me while reflecting on this 
 subject; however, I will endeavour to rank them in 
 the plainest and best order I can, under the following 
 particulars :—We find God sometimes promises to 
 produce such a change in men’s minds;—and at 
 other times he speaks of it as his own work, when 
 it has been already produced;—the Scripture repre¬ 
 sents even the increase of piety in a regenerate heart, 
 as the effect of a divine power; and how much more 
 must the first implanting of it be so?—nay, it goes 
 yet further than this, and expresses the necessity as 
 well as the reality of a divine influence on the mind 
 to make it truly religious, and resolves the want of 
 true religion into this, that God withholds his in¬ 
 fluence.—If, therefore, any one, and much more if 
 all these particulars can be made out, I think it 
 must force a conviction on your judgments at least, 
 that what we are endeavouring to confirm in this 
 discourse is the doctrine of Scripture. 
 
 1. There are various places in Scripture wherein 
 ‘ God promises to produce such a change in men’s 
 minds as we have before described;’ which plainly 
 shows that it is to be acknowledged as his work. 
 
211 
 
 Thus Moses says to Israel, without all doubt by 
 the divine direction, “ The Lord thy God will cir¬ 
 cumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to 
 love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with 
 all thy soul, that thou mayest live.” And this cir¬ 
 cumcision of the heart must surely be the removal 
 of some insensibility and pollution adhering to it, 
 and bringing it to a more orderly, regular, obedient 
 state; which, as it is sometimes made matter of ex¬ 
 hortation, and thus, indeed, proves that there is a 
 view in which it may he considered as a duty in¬ 
 cumbent upon us, as when Moses said, “ circumcise 
 the foreskin of your heart;” and Jeremiah, in imita¬ 
 tion of him, “ circumcise yourselves to the Lord, 
 and take away the foreskin of your heart;” so here 
 it is put in the form of a promise, to signify that 
 wherever it was done, it was in consequence of God’s 
 preventing and assisting grace;—on the same prin¬ 
 ciple, the Father promises to Christ, u thy people 
 shall be willing in the day of thy power;” and if any 
 pretend that these words may possibly admit of 
 another version, though I know none more just than 
 this, there are many other parallel places which are 
 not attended with any ambiguity at all.—Such, in 
 particular, is that gracious promise, which, though 
 it was immediately made to the house of Israel, is 
 nevertheless quoted by the apostles, as expressive of 
 God’s gospel covenant with all believers: 6t After 
 those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in 
 their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and 
 I will be their God, and they shall be my people:” 
 or, as it is elsewhere expressed by the same prophet, 
 Jeremiah, “ I will give them one heart, and one way. 
 
212 
 
 that they may fear me for ever; and I will put my 
 fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from 
 me.” And Ezekiel echoes back the same language 
 by the same spirit: “ I will give them one heart, and 
 I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take 
 awav the stony heart out of their flesh, and will 
 give them an heart of flesh; that they may walk in 
 my statutes, and keep my ordinances, and do them 
 which is afterwards repeated again almost in the 
 same words; 44 A new heart also will I give you, 
 and a new spirit will I put within you ; and I will 
 take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I 
 will give you an heart of flesh; and I will put my 
 spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my 
 statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do 
 them.”—-Now, such a transformation of the heart 
 and spirit as may be represented by a thorough re¬ 
 novation, or by changing stone into flesh, speaks 
 the doctrine I am asserting in as plain terms as we 
 could contrive or express; and beautifully points out 
 at once the greatness and excellency of the change, 
 and the Almighty power by which it is effected; for 
 we may assure ourselves, God would never promise 
 such influences, if he did not really mean to impart 
 them. But again, 
 
 2. Agreeably to the tenor of these promises, the 
 ‘ Scripture also ascribes this work to a divine agency, 
 when it is effected.’ 
 
 Ihus the apostle John, when he is speaking of 
 those who, on receiving Christ, become the sons 
 of God, declares concerning them, that they 44 were 
 born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor 
 of the will of man, but of God;” plainly intimating, 
 
213 
 
 that it was to him, and not only or chiefly to them¬ 
 selves or others, that this happy change was to be 
 ascribed; which is well explained by those words of 
 St. James, in which he says, <£ Of his own will 
 begat he us with the word of truth, that we should 
 be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.” Accord¬ 
 ingly, our Lord, as you have heard at large, insists 
 upon it as absolutely necessary to a man’s ££ entering 
 into the kingdom of God,” not only that he should 
 be born again, but, more particularly, that he should 
 be born of the Spirit; that is, by the sanctifying in¬ 
 fluence of the Spirit of God operating upon his 
 soul, to purify and cleanse it. And as this great 
 work of regeneration chiefly consists in being brought 
 to faith and repentance, you may observe, that each 
 of these are spoken of as a divine production in the 
 mind, or as the gift of God to it. Thus the be¬ 
 lieving Jews, with one consent, expressed their con¬ 
 viction, when they heard the story of Cornelius, and 
 declare, ££ then has God also to the Gentiles granted 
 repentance unto life.” And so the apostle Paul 
 expresses it, when speaking of the possibility that 
 some might be e£ recovered out of the snare of the 
 devil,” he says, ££ if God, peradventure, will give 
 them repentance to the acknowledging of the trnth.” 
 That very attention to the gospel, which is the first 
 step towards the production of faith in the soul, is 
 resolved into this, when it is said, that ££ the Lord 
 opened Lydia’s heart, that she attended to the things 
 which were spoken by Paul.” And with regard to 
 the progress of it, it is not only said, in general, 
 ££ you hath he quickened, who were dead in tres¬ 
 passes and sins;” but faith is expressly declared to 
 
214 
 
 be <e the gift of God;” and the Apostle says to the 
 Philippians, that it was given to them to believe; nay, 
 it is represented as a most glorious and illustrious 
 effort of divine power, and ascribed to “ the exceeding 
 greatness of his power towards them that believe, 
 according to the working of his mighty power, 
 which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him 
 from the dead.” And in this view it is, that this 
 change is called anew creation; plainly implying, as 
 a celebrated writer well expresses it, “ that some¬ 
 thing must here be done in us, and for us, which 
 cannot be done by us.” Wherefore it is said, that 
 6; the new man is renewed in knowledge, after the 
 image of him that created him; and we are his 
 workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good 
 works:” not to insist upon the great variety of 
 parallel passages, in which the same thoughts are 
 expressed, almost in the very same words. But 
 he, indeed, who would reckon up all the Scriptures, 
 both in the Old and New Testaments, which, di¬ 
 rectly or indirectly, refer to this, must transcribe a 
 larger part of both than would be convenient to read 
 at one time in a worshipping assembly. But we 
 may further, by a very strong consequence, infer the 
 doctrine I am now maintaining, from those various 
 passages of the sacred writers, in which, 
 
 3. e The increase of piety, in a heart already re¬ 
 generated, is spoken of as the work of God/ 
 
 Thus David, even when he felt himself disposed 
 to the most vigorous prosecution of religion, so¬ 
 lemnly declares his dependence upon continued 
 divine influences, to enable him to execute the holy 
 purpose he was then most affectionately forming: 
 
215 
 
 
 61 I will run the way of thy commandments,” says 
 he, “ when thou shalt enlarge my heart;” or when 
 thou shalt influence it with a steady principle of 
 zeal, and with those devout passions which make 
 every branch of my duty easy and delightful. And 
 the apostle Paul declares his persuasion, that God 
 would continue those gracious influences which he 
 had already imparted: “ He that has begun a good 
 work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus 
 Christ.” And when he speaks of the ardent de¬ 
 sire with which Christians were aspiring towards a 
 better world, be adds, “ He that hath wrought us 
 for the self-same thing is God.” Thus also he 
 ascribes his continued fidelity in the ministry to the 
 grace of God that was with him, as being one that 
 had obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful; and 
 “ by the grace of God,” says he, 6i I am what I am : 
 and if I have laboured more abundantly than others, 
 it is not I, but tbe grace of God which was with me.” 
 On the same principle, he acknowledges, that the 
 success of Apollos in watering, as well as his own in 
 planting, was to be referred to this, that God gave 
 the increase in the one case as well as the other. 
 And he concludes his Epistle to the Hebrews with 
 this remarkable prayer : “ The God of peace make 
 you perfect in every good work to do his will, work¬ 
 ing in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, 
 through Jesus Christ.” But indeed, as every prayer 
 that the apostles offer for any of their Christian 
 brethren and friends, that they may grow in grace, 
 might be urged for the illustration of this head, I 
 
 o o 
 
 choose rather to refer the rest to your own observa¬ 
 tion on this general hint, than to enter into a more 
 
216 
 
 particular enumeration. I shall only add, to com¬ 
 plete the argument, 
 
 4. That the Scripture often declares 4 the neces¬ 
 sity, as well as the reality of such influences ; and 
 refers the ruin of man to this circumstance, that 
 God in his righteous judgment hath withheld, or 
 withdrawn them/ 
 
 When Moses would upbraid the obstinacy of the 
 Israelites, that all the profusion of wonders wrought 
 for them in Egypt and in the wilderness had not 
 produced any suitable impressions, so much was he 
 accustomed to think of every thing good, in the 
 moral, as well as in the natural world, as the gift of 
 God, that he uses this remarkable expression: 44 Yet 
 the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, 
 and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.” 
 And our Lord, the propriety of whose expressions 
 surely none can arraign, speaks to the same purpose, 
 when, adoring the divine conduct with respect to the 
 dispensation of saving light and gospel blessings, he 
 says, 44 1 thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and 
 earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise 
 and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: 
 even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.” 
 If some of the plainest and lowest of the people, 
 who were, in comparison to others, but as little chil¬ 
 dren, understood and received the gospel, while the 
 learned men and politicians of the age despised it, 
 God revealed it to the former, while he suffered the 
 veil of prejudice to remain on the mind of the latter, 
 though his almighty hand could easily have removed 
 it. Th ose other words of our Lord must not be 
 omitted here, in which he says, 44 No man can come 
 
217 
 
 unto me, except the Father, which hath sent me, 
 draw him :” and what this drawing of the Father 
 means, he himself has explained by saying, “ No 
 man can come unto me, except it be given him of 
 my Father;” and elsewhere he expresses it by “learn¬ 
 ing of the Father:” all which must undoubtedly sig¬ 
 nify a divine agency and influence on the mind.—* 
 Nay, a more forcible expression than this is made 
 use of by the Evangelist, where he takes notice 
 of the unbelief of those that saw the miracles of 
 Christ: “ Therefore they could not believe, because 
 that Esaias said, he has blinded their eyes, and 
 hardened their heartswhich is agreeable to that 
 expression of the apostle Paul, “ Fie has mercy on 
 whom he will have mercy, and whom he will, he 
 hardeneth —a thought which the Apostle pursues 
 at large through the following verses. 
 
 These, to be sure, are very emphatical Scriptures; 
 and though it is necessary to understand them in 
 such a qualified sense as to make them consistent 
 with other Scriptures which charge men’s destruc¬ 
 tion, not on any necessitating decree of God, but 
 upon themselves, and the abuse of their own facul¬ 
 ties ; yet still these expressions must stand for some¬ 
 thing; and, in the most moderate sense that can be 
 put upon them, they directly confirm what I have 
 here brought them to prove. So that, on the whole, 
 the matter must come to this, £ That the cause of 
 men’s final and everlasting ruin may be referred, in 
 one view of it, to God’s withholding those gracious 
 influences, which, if they had been imparted, would 
 indeed have subdued the greatest perverseness; but 
 
 his withholding these influences is not merely an 
 
 K 44 
 
ns 
 
 arbitrary act, but the just punishment of men’s 
 wickedness, and of their obstinate folly in trifling 
 with the means of his grace, and grieving his Spirit, 
 till it was provoked to withdraw.’ This thought, 
 which I might largely prove to you to be a compen¬ 
 dium of the Scripture scheme, reconciles all; and 
 any consequences drawn from one part of that scheme 
 to the denial of the other, how plausible soever, 
 must certainly be false. * 
 
 I hope what I have here said may be sufficient 
 to fix a conviction in your judgments and con¬ 
 sciences, that i regeneration is ultimately to be re¬ 
 ferred to a divine influence upon the soul;’ or, as 
 the Apostle expresses it in the text, that <£ God 
 saves us of his mercy, by the washing of regenera¬ 
 tion, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he 
 shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our 
 Saviour.” 
 
 I shall conclude with two or three reflections, 
 which, though so exceeding obvious, I shall touch 
 upon, in regard to their great importance, without 
 offering, as I might, to dilate on each of them at 
 large. 
 
 (1.) Let those who have experienced this divine 
 change in their souls give God the glory of it. 
 
 Perhaps there are many of you who may see pe¬ 
 culiar reason to do it; perhaps you may be conscious 
 to yourselves, that the arm of the Lord was remark¬ 
 ably revealed in conquering every sensible opposition, 
 and getting itself the victory, even when you seemed 
 as if you had been resolutely bent upon your own 
 destruction, to struggle to the utmost against the 
 operation of his grace on your soul. Others may 
 
219 
 
 perhaps have perceived the strength of the divine 
 agency in the slightness of the occasion, or in the 
 weakness of the means by which he wrought; which 
 indeed is often matters of astonishment to those that 
 seriously reflect upon it. But whatever your in¬ 
 clinations may have appeared, and whatever means 
 or instruments were used, give God the glory of all. 
 
 If you have found yourselves, from your early 
 years, inclined to attend to divine things, and sus¬ 
 ceptible of tender impressions from them, that at¬ 
 tention and those impressions were to be resolved 
 into this, that God presented you with the blessings 
 of his goodness. If you have enjoyed the most 
 excellent public ordinances, even with all the con¬ 
 current advantages that the most pressing exhorta¬ 
 tions, and the most edifying example of parents, 
 ministers, and companions could give, it was divine 
 providence that furnished you with those advan¬ 
 tages, and divine grace that added efficacy to them, 
 else they had only served to display their own weak¬ 
 ness, even where they might have appeared most 
 powerful, and to illustrate that insensibility or ob¬ 
 stinacy of heart which would have rendered you 
 proof against all. You do well indeed to honour 
 those whom God has blessed as the means of your 
 spiritual edification; but if they think aright, it 
 would grieve them to the very heart to have those 
 applauses given, and those acknowledgments made 
 to them, which are due to God alone. All they 
 have done is so little, that it deserves not the men¬ 
 tion ; and the greater attainments they have made 
 in religion, the more cordially will they join with 
 the holy Apostle in saying, “ Neither is he that 
 
 k 2 
 
220 
 
 planteth any thing, neither he that watereth, but 
 God that giveth the increase.” 
 
 (2.) We may further infer, that they who at¬ 
 tempt the conversion of sinners, should do it with 
 an humble dependence on the co-operation of divine 
 grace. 
 
 Otherwise they will probably find themselves fa¬ 
 tally disappointed ; and after their most skilful or 
 most laborious attempts, they will complain that 
 they fit have laboured in vain, and spent their 
 strength for nought;” and find reason to say— 
 “ The bellows are burnt, and the lead is consumed 
 of the fire, yet the dross is not taken away.” A 
 dependence upon God, in all the common affairs of 
 life, becomes us, as we are creatures; and it is most 
 necessary that we should, in all our ways, acknow¬ 
 ledge him, as we expect or desire that he should 
 direct or prosper our paths: but the greater the un¬ 
 dertaking is, the more solemn should the acknow¬ 
 ledgment of God be. 
 
 Let me, therefore, especially recommend this to 
 those who are coming forth as young officers in the 
 army of Christ. See to it, my brethren, that “ in 
 the name of your God you set up your banners;” 
 that you apply, from time to time, to your public 
 work, with a deep conviction upon your minds, that 
 no strength of reason will effectually convince, that 
 no eloquence will effectually persuade, unless He 
 that made men’s hearts will plead his own cause, 
 and bow those hearts in humble subjection. With 
 these views I have often known the feeblest attempts 
 successful; and the meek and lowly have, out of 
 weakness, been made strong; while, for want of 
 
221 
 
 this, all the charms of composition and delivery have 
 been, at best, but like (i the lovely song of one that 
 has a pleasant voice, or the art of one that can play 
 well on an instrument.” It is those that honour 
 God by the most cordial dependence upon him that 
 he delights to honour ; and 1 will presume to say, 
 that it is the inward conviction of this important 
 truth, which I feel upon my soul while I am con¬ 
 firming it in you, that encourages me to hope, that 
 u this labour shall not be in vain in the Lord,” but 
 that a divine blessing shall evidently attend what 
 has already been delivered, and what shall further 
 be spoke. Only let me conclude my present dis¬ 
 course with this one necessary caution, 
 
 (3.) That you do not abuse this doctrine of the 
 necessity of divine influences, which, from the word 
 of God, has been so abundantly confirmed. 
 
 God does indeed act upon us, in order to pro¬ 
 duce this happy change; but he acts upon us in a 
 manner suitable to our rational nature, and not as if 
 we were mere machines. He saves us, as the Scrip¬ 
 ture expresses it, by awaking us to save ourselves: 
 a new heart does he give us, and a new spirit does 
 he put within us, to stir us up to be solicitous to 
 make ourselves a new heart and a new spirit; he 
 circumcises our heart to love him, by engaging us 
 to take away the foreskin of our hearts. You see 
 the correspondency of the phrases, and it is of great 
 importance that you attend to it. If any therefore 
 say, £ I will sit still, and attempt nothing for my own 
 recovery, till God irresistibly compels me to ithe 
 seems as like to perish, as that man would be, who, 
 seeing the house in flames about him, should not at- 
 
tempt to make his escape, till he felt himself moved 
 by a miracle. Sirs, the dependence of the creature 
 on God, though it be especially, yet it is not only, 
 in spiritual affairs ; it runs through all our interests 
 and concerns. We as really depend upon his in¬ 
 fluence to stretch out our hands, as we do to raise 
 our hearts toward him in prayer. .Your fields could 
 no more produce their fruit without his agency, 
 than his word could, without it, become fruitful in 
 your hearts: yet you plough and sow; and would 
 look upon him as a madman, that, upon this prin¬ 
 ciple, should decline it, urging, that no crop could 
 be expected if God did not produce it; and that if 
 he pleased to produce it, it would come up without 
 any human labour. The argument is just the same 
 in that case, as when men plead for the neglect of 
 means or endeavours, from the reality and necessity 
 of a divine concurrence. And if they apply this 
 argument to the concerns of their souls, when they 
 do not apply it to those of their bodies, it plainly 
 shows, that they regard their bodies more than their 
 souls; and that, in pretending to make these ex¬ 
 cuses, they belie their conscience, and act against 
 the secret conviction of their own heart. Such per¬ 
 sons do not deserve to be disputed with, but rather 
 should be solemnly admonished of the danger of 
 such egregious trifling, where eternity is at stake. 
 And sure I am, that it is offering a great affront to 
 the memory of the blessed Paul, when men pretend 
 to encourage themselves in this perverse temper from 
 any thing he has said. For when he gives us, as 
 it were, the substance of all I have now been say¬ 
 ing, in those comprehensive words, “ It is God that 
 
223 
 
 worketh in you, both to will and to do, of his good 
 pleasurehe is so far from mentioning it as any 
 excuse for remissness and sloth, that he introduces 
 it professedly in the very contrary view, as engaging 
 us to exert ourselves with the utmost vigour in a de¬ 
 pendence upon that divine operation. And there¬ 
 fore, as he there expresses it, I say with him, 
 “ Work out your own salvation with fear and trem¬ 
 bling and if you will not do it, you have reason 
 to tremble in the prospect of a final condemnation 
 from God, aggravated by your having thus irra¬ 
 tionally and ungratefully abused the revelation of 
 his grace. 
 
224 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 OF THE VARIOUS METHODS OF THE DIVINE OPE¬ 
 RATION IN THE PRODUCTION OF THIS SAVING 
 CHANGE. 
 
 1 Cor. xii. 6. 
 
 •-There are diversities of operations, but it is the same 
 
 God which worketh all in all.” 
 
 Whatever the original sense of these words 
 was, and how peculiarly soever they may relate to 
 the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, the whole 
 tenor of the discourse now intended will show, 
 with how much propriety they may, at least, be 
 accommodated to the operations of his grace. I 
 have proved to you, in the last of these Lectures, 
 that wherever regeneration is produced, it is ulti¬ 
 mately to be ascribed to a divine agency; and 
 though I cannot say it is equally important, yet I 
 apprehend it may be both agreeable and useful to 
 
 5 
 
 Fifthly, To survey the variety of those methods, 
 which God is pleased to take in producing this 
 happy change ; or, to borrow the language of the 
 text, to consider the diversity of operations, by 
 which the same God, who worketh all in all, (that 
 is, who produces all the virtues and graces of the 
 Christian character, in some degree, in all his 
 
225 
 
 people,) is pleased, according to his own wise and 
 gracious purposes, to proceed in his agency on those 
 whom he regenerates and saves. 
 
 And this survey will not be matter of mere cu¬ 
 riosity, but may probably revive the hearts of some 
 amongst you, by the recollection of your own expe¬ 
 rience ; and it may be a caution to others, who, for 
 want of due compass and extent of thought and 
 knowledge, are ready to argue, as if God had but 
 one way to work on the human heart, and that one 
 the particular manner by which he recovered them. 
 Of this I shall speak more largely hereafter. In 
 the meantime, I judged it necessary to premise this 
 hint, to direct us as to the temper with which this 
 discourse should be heard, as well as to the purpose 
 to which it is to be improved. 
 
 Now what I have to offer on this subject will be 
 ranged under these three heads :—There is a diver¬ 
 sity and variety observable—in the time—the occa¬ 
 sion—and the manner of the divine operations on 
 the soul. 
 
 I. There is an observable variety, 6 as to the 
 time of God’s gracious operations on different per¬ 
 sons.’ 
 
 Some are called in their infancy; others, and 
 these perhaps the greatest part, are wrought upon 
 in youth ; and some very few in the advance, and 
 even in the decline of life. 
 
 1. Some are wrought upon by divine grace c in 
 their infancy.’ 
 
 This is often the case ; and I doubt not, but if 
 parents were to do their duty, it would much more 
 frequently be so. And it is an honour which God 
 
 k 3 
 
226 
 
 is pleased, in some instances, remarkably to confer 
 on a good education ; which is indeed so important 
 a duty on one side, and so great a privilege on the 
 other, that it is the less to be wondered at, that he 
 so mercifully encourages Christian parents in the 
 discharge of it; thus granting, as it were, an imme¬ 
 diate reward for this labour of love. And I must 
 here take the freedom, on my own observation, to 
 say, that God seems especially to own the faithful 
 endeavours of pious mothers in this respect. He 
 has wisely and graciously given that sex a peculiar 
 tenderness of address, and an easy and insinuating 
 manner, which is admirably adapted to this great 
 end, (for which, no doubt, he especially intended it,) 
 that of conveying knowledge to children, and mak¬ 
 ing tender impressions on their minds; and there is 
 hardly any view in which the importance of the sex 
 more evidently appears. 
 
 We have encouragement to believe, there are a 
 considerable number who are, as it were, sanctified 
 from the womb, and in whom the seeds of divine 
 grace are sown, before they grow up to a capacity of 
 understanding .the public preaching of the word; a 
 remark which Mr. Baxter carries so far as to say, 
 t£ that he believes, if the duties of religious educa¬ 
 tion were conscientiously discharged, preaching would 
 not be God’s ordinary method of converting souls; 
 but the greater part would be wrought upon before 
 they were capable of entering into the design of a 
 sermon.” And indeed it seems to me, that children 
 may early come to have some apprehensions of what 
 is most important in religion. They may have a 
 reverence for God, and a love for him, as that great 
 
Father who made them, and that kind Friend who 
 gives them every thing that they have,—they may 
 have a fear of doing any thing that would displease 
 him : and though it is not so easy for them to un¬ 
 derstand the doctrines peculiar to a Redeemer, when 
 they hear of Christ as the Son of God, who came 
 down from heaven to teach men and children the 
 way thither; who loved them, and did them good 
 every day, and at last died to deliver them from 
 death and hell; their little hearts may well be im¬ 
 pressed with such thoughts as these, and they may 
 find a growing desire to be instructed in what Christ 
 is, and \yhat he taught and did, and to do what 
 shall appear to be his will. And wherever this is 
 the prevailing disposition, it seems to me that the 
 seeds of holiness are sown in that soul, though but 
 small proficiency may be made in knowledge, and 
 though the capacities for service may be very low. 
 
 I will add, that some remarkably pertinent and 
 solid things, which little children have said concern¬ 
 ing religion, seem to me plainly to evidence that 
 they have been, in many instances, under some un¬ 
 common teachings of the divine Spirit; and it seems 
 perfectly suitable to the genius of Christianity, that 
 in this sense God should (( ordain strength out of 
 the mouth of babes and sucklings,” and should re¬ 
 veal to them what he has suffered to be “ hidden 
 from the wise and prudent.” Nor can I suppose 
 it hard for any who have been for a considerable 
 time acquainted with the state of religion in Chris¬ 
 tian societies, to recollect various instances in which 
 persons thus early taught of God, who have heard, 
 and known, and loved the Scriptures, and delighted 
 
228 
 
 in ordinances and serious discourse from their child¬ 
 hood, have been, in some measure, like Samuel, 
 Gbadiah, Jeremiah, Josiah, and Timothy? honoured 
 with eminent usefulness in the church, and have 
 happily filled some of its most important stations of 
 service. Almost every age has afforded instances of 
 this; and, I am persuaded, many are now growing 
 up amongst us who will be instances of it in ages 
 yet to come. 
 
 2. Others, and these perhaps the greatest part of 
 real Christians, are wrought upon in their 4 youth¬ 
 ful days/ 
 
 Many parents are very deficient in a due care to 
 * cultivate the infant minds of their little ones; or the 
 feeble and general impressions then made, are, per¬ 
 haps, worn out and lost, in the growing vanities of 
 childhood and youth. They begin to be drawn away 
 by evil inclinations and examples, and by the delu¬ 
 sions of a flattering world, which then puts on its 
 most attractive charms, to gain upon their inex¬ 
 perienced minds: and hereupon, they 44 follow after 
 vanity, and become vain; of the rock which begat 
 them they grow unmindful, and forget the God that 
 formed them.” But, by one method or another, 
 God often stops them in this dangerous career; and 
 awakening ordinances, or more awakening provi¬ 
 dences, bring them to a stand, and turn them the 
 contrary way. 44 The terrors of the Lord set them¬ 
 selves in array” against them; or his mercy melts 
 their souls, and they yield themselves its willing 
 captives. They consecrate their hearts, warm as 
 they are with youthful vigour, to be the sacrifices 
 of divine love; and enter, it may be, very early into 
 
229 
 
 the bonds of God’s covenant; and so prove such a 
 seed to serve him, as is accounted to the Lord for a 
 most honourable and useful generation. Blessed be 
 God, I speak to many who know this by experience ! 
 By far the greater part of those who have been ad¬ 
 mitted to your communion, since I settled among 
 you, have been, as I apprehend, under the age of 
 twenty-four years; and several of those, who were 
 farther advanced in life when they first approached 
 the table of the Lord, had been brought to real re¬ 
 ligion in their much earlier years, though parti¬ 
 cular circumstances, or some mistaken apprehensions, 
 might prevent their giving up their names publicly 
 to the Lord, so soon as they might, and as they 
 ought to have done it. 
 
 3. Some few are wrought upon by divine grace, 
 6 in the advance, and even in the decline of life.’ 
 
 I confess that the number of these is compara¬ 
 tively small; and it is not to be wondered at that it 
 is so. They are not many who arrive to what can 
 properly be called old age; and of them but a very 
 inconsiderable part are then brought to any thing 
 which looks like a saving change. Nor shall we be 
 much surprised at this, if we consider the inveterate 
 nature of bad habits, which render it almost as hard 
 for them that are accustomed to do evil to learn to 
 do good, as it is for tc the Ethiopian to change his 
 skin, or the leopard his spots.” To such a degree 
 are prejudices rivetted in the mind, so sensible is it 
 rendered of tender and generous impressions, so 
 cold are the affections, and the memory, if the phrase 
 may be allowed, so rigid, that, humanly speaking, 
 there is much less probability of their being impressed 
 
Q30 
 
 with religion, than there was when they were in the 
 bloom of life; notwithstanding all the seeming ad¬ 
 vantages which might arise from riper reason, deeper 
 experience, and a nearer prospect of eternity. In 
 all these things, it is in vain to reason against ob¬ 
 servation of fact, since we evidently see how uncom¬ 
 mon a thing it is for persons to be awakened and 
 reformed in old age; especially if they have been 
 educated in the principles of religion, and have made 
 a florid profession of it in their youth; from which 
 they have afterwards apostatized, out of a love to 
 the wealth or honours of the world, or a relish for 
 sensual delights. Such persons generally live and 
 die monuments of divine wrath, bearing, as it were, 
 in characters dreadfully legible, the sad inscription 
 of those 44 who, having forsaken God, are finally 
 forsaken of him.” They appear as dry trees, twice 
 dead, and fit for nothing but to 44 be plucked up by 
 the roots, and cast into the fire.” 
 
 Nevertheless, to prove the infinite energy and 
 sovereignty of divine grace, God is sometimes pleased 
 to work even on such. He touches the rock which 
 has stood for ages unmoved, and the waters flow 
 forth ; he says to the dry bones, live, and they obey; 
 they are clothed with beauty, they are animated with 
 life; and stand up as with the vigour of a renewed 
 youth, to pursue the labours of religion, and to fight 
 the battles of the Lord. Such instances, in which 
 aged sinners have been thus wrought upon, I have 
 read and heard, though (I grieve to say it,) I can 
 recollect very few, if any, that have occurred to me 
 within the sphere of my own personal observation 
 and acquaintance. 
 
231 
 
 But besides this variety in the time, there is also, 
 
 II. An observable diversity, 6 in the occasion, 
 which divine grace takes to operate upon different 
 persons.’ 
 
 The occasions are indeed so various, that it would 
 be impossible to enumerate them; I shall, however, 
 just touch on some of the chief. 
 
 And here I might particularly consider a religious 
 education in this view, and that daily converse with 
 pious friends, which is of course connected with it. 
 But though, perhaps, there may be no occasion more 
 considerable in itself, and none that has been more 
 eminently honoured of God, yet it is proper to waive 
 it here, as having been mentioned under the former 
 head, as well as much more largely illustrated in my 
 Sermons on that subject, which are in most of your 
 houses, and which, l hope, you will often review. 
 
 I proceed, therefore, farther to observe,—that 
 some are wrought upon by the word of God,—others 
 by some remarkable providences;—some by little 
 incidents, which, inconsiderable as they seem in 
 themselves, grow memorable by the noble effects 
 they are made to produce,—-and others by secret 
 and immediate impressions of God upon their spirits, 
 which cannot be resolved into any external cause, 
 or any visible occasion at all. 
 
 1. e The administration of divine ordinances, and 
 especially the word of God and prayer,’ is an occa¬ 
 sion, which he most frequently takes, to work upon 
 men’s hearts by his grace. 
 
 I do not mention the administration of the sacra¬ 
 ments upon this occasion; because, though they 
 have so noble and effectual a tendency to improve 
 
232 
 
 men’s minds in piety, and to promote Christian 
 edification, yet I do not remember to have heard of 
 any instance, in which they have been the means of 
 men’s conversion; which is the less to be wondered 
 at, as they are appointed for a very different end. 
 
 There are many however, that have been wrought 
 upon in prayer; as there are many things concur in 
 this to awaken and impress the mind. The solemn 
 acknowledgments then made of the Divine perfec¬ 
 tions, the praises offered to his tremendous Majesty, 
 the deep and humble confession of our various and 
 aggravated guilt in his holy presence, the lamenta¬ 
 tions over it, the importunate pleadings for a variety 
 of blessings, both for time and eternity: in a word, 
 all the overflowings of pious affections in the breast 
 of him that leads the devotion, and especially the 
 earnest entreaties then offered for unconverted sin¬ 
 ners, the genuine expressions of an undissembled 
 apprehension of their danger, and the fervent breath¬ 
 ings after divine grace, to be communicated to them 
 for their spiritual life : all these things, I say, and 
 many more, which occur in prayer, when it is managed 
 aright, may, by the divine blessing, be singularly 
 useful. And I am well assured, there have been 
 happy instances, in which, while God’s people have 
 yet been speaking to him on this head, he has gra¬ 
 ciously heard, and signally answered them. 
 
 But the reading, and especially the preaching of 
 the word, is the grand occasion and instrument in 
 the conversion of souls. <£ Of his own will he be¬ 
 gets them with the word of truthand it is admi¬ 
 rably suited to those saving impressions, which it is 
 intended to make on the heart, “ being quick and 
 
233 
 
 powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” It 
 was while Paul was preaching, that “ the Lord opened 
 Lydia’s heart, so that she attended to the things 
 which were spoken by him and it was while 
 Peter was thus employed, that such vast multitudes 
 (i were pricked in their hearts, and said to him, and 
 to the rest of the apostles present, Men and brethren, 
 what shall we do ?” And I am well persuaded, that 
 various and lamentable as the instances are, in which 
 men stop their ears, and harden their hearts against 
 it, God does not, even to this day, leave it without 
 witness; but the terrors of the Lord, as displayed 
 by his faithful ministers, have subdued their thou¬ 
 sands, and the riches of his grace their ten thousands, 
 when illustrated by those who have not only heard, 
 but have themselves tasted of their sweetness. The 
 preaching of the cross may indeed to them that 
 perish be foolishness; but blessed be his name who 
 died upon it, there is still a happy remnant, to whom 
 it appears to be u the power of God, and the wisdom 
 of God.” Evangelical subjects, when opened with 
 perspicuity, and enforced with vigour and tenderness, 
 by tb ose that have experienced the transforming 
 energy of them on their own hearts ; and desire, 
 above all things, to be wise to win the souls of others, 
 are generally the occasion of producing the most im¬ 
 mediate and the most important change; as I doubt 
 not, but many now present have seen and felt. And 
 the observation of every year of life convinces me 
 more and more, that they who desire to be signally 
 instrumental in this good work; this work, of all 
 others the most benevolent and important, must, in 
 the account of a vain world, “ become fools, that 
 
234 
 
 they may be wise.” How contemptuously soever 
 it may be fashionable to treat such preaching, we 
 must make these subjects familiar to our hearers, 
 and must treat them with all plainness of speech, and 
 all seriousness of address, or we shall generally (S la¬ 
 bour in vain, and spend our strength for nought.” 
 Would to God, that the teachers of our Israel may 
 consider the importance of it, and grow wise by such 
 experiments as these ! that they may act the part of 
 prudent physicians, who prescribe the medicine they 
 find in fact most useful, and those concerning which 
 the finest speculations may be framed. Till then, 
 whatever their learning, politeness, and parade may 
 be, it cannot be expected that our health should be 
 generally recovered; but we are like to continue, 
 what we have long been, a vicious people amidst the 
 finest encomiums of virtue, that are any where to be 
 found ; nor will there be much room to wonder, if 
 some of its most eloquent advocates should appear, 
 even in their own practice, insensible of those charms 
 which they so gracefully recommend to others, and 
 sink in their character below those heathen moralists, 
 whom they may choose to imitate, rather than Christ 
 and his apostles. Nevertheless, I am persuaded 
 that if God intend mercy for us as a people, he will 
 support among us a succession of those who shall 
 dispense his ordinances in such a manner, as he has 
 generally chosen to honour with success. But though 
 the greater part of sincere converts are reduced by 
 these, I am to add, 
 
 2. That 6 remarkable providences, whether mer¬ 
 ciful or afflictive,’ are occasions which God takes to 
 work upon the hearts of many others. 
 
<235 
 
 When ordinances have long been attended in 
 vain, God perhaps interposes, by other more peculiar 
 and signal methods, to pluck the trifling and lethargic 
 sinner “ as a fire-brand out of the burning.” 
 
 Sometimes remarkable mercies and deliverances 
 accomplish the work. An appearance of God in 
 their favour, when they are conscious to themselves 
 that they are the unworthiest of all his creatures, 
 shall shame and melt them, and powerfully prevail 
 on their minds to “ turn unto the Lord, who daily 
 loadeth them with his benefits,” and thus seems, in 
 more senses than one, to send from heaven to save 
 them, and to draw them out of many waters, in 
 which they had otherwise been lost. 
 
 But we more frequently see, that afflictions are 
 the means of performing this happy work. By a 
 gracious severity, God is pleased to lay hold on 
 many, and to give them reason to bless the hand, 
 which, though by a rough motion, delivers them 
 from the flames that were kindling around them, 
 and shows the Lord to be merciful to them. Like 
 Jonah in the ship, they are awakened by a storm, 
 to call upon their God; like Manasseh, they are 
 taken among the thorns, and laid in fetters, that 
 they may be brought to know the Lord; like the 
 jailor, they are shaken with an earthquake, and 
 trembling and astonished they fall down, and inquire 
 what they shall do to be saved ?” The terrifying 
 fear of the approach of death, or the distressing 
 weight of some calamity, which threatens every 
 moment to swallow them in destruction, rouses their 
 consciences to an attention to those divine truths 
 which they had long forgotten, and opens those re¬ 
 cords of guilt which they had studiously sealed up. 
 
236 
 
 And there seems to be no affliction by which 
 God more frequently works upon men than by sick¬ 
 ness. When he weakens their capacity for the 
 business of life, and spoils their relish for its enjoy¬ 
 ments; when he confines them to their chambers, 
 or even to their beds, and 6i makes their chain strait 
 and heavy; when he threatens to take them away in 
 the midst of their days, to deprive them of the 
 residue of their years,” and immediately to bring 
 them before that awful tribunal, for which they 
 know, in their own consciences, they are so ill pre¬ 
 pared; then do we often see the accomplishment of 
 that observation which Eiibu made so many ages 
 ago: “ He chasteneth a man with pain upon his 
 bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong 
 pain, so that his life abhorreth bread, and his soul 
 dainty meat. His flesh is consumed away, that it 
 cannot be seen ; and his bones, that were not seen, 
 stick out. Yea, his soul draweth near to the grave, 
 and his life to the destroyers; but sending him an 
 interpreter, one among a thousand, to show unto 
 man his uprightness, then he is gracious to him, and 
 saith,” in a spiritual as well as a literal sense, “ De¬ 
 liver him from going down to the pit, I have found 
 a ransom.’—Blessed be God, instances of this kind 
 have been known, and known among us, in which 
 the sickness of the body has wrought the cure of the 
 soul, under the conduct of the great Physician of 
 both; and so has proved eminently to the glory of 
 God , and the good of those who, “ for a while, have 
 been in heaviness.” , 
 
 Yet it must be acknowledged, that, in other in¬ 
 stances, the remorse which a man expresses upon a 
 
237 
 
 sick-bed, and in the near views of eternity, proves 
 but like that of some condemned malefactor, who, 
 when he has obtained a pardon, throws off all those 
 appearances of repentance with which he had once 
 deceived himself, and perhaps deceived others too, 
 and plunges himself anew into capital crimes; it may 
 be, into crimes for which he afterwards suffers death, 
 without those compunctions of conscience which he 
 before felt, being hardened by a return into sin, at¬ 
 tended with such dreadful aggravations.—This has 
 been the case of many; and I pray God it may not 
 be thus with any of you. But if there be any 
 among you that were once under powerful awaken¬ 
 ings; any that have cried out of terrors on every 
 side; that have confessed your sins, it may be, with 
 greater freedom, and a more particular detail of cir¬ 
 cumstances, than the minister who attended you could 
 have desired, and have resolved against them with 
 all the appearances of the most determinate purpose; 
 and yet, after all, have “ returned with the sow that 
 was washed to her wallowing in the mire;” such have 
 peculiar reason to be alarmed and terrified. Every 
 day of divine patience towards such is astonishing. 
 And if to all this have been added the returns of 
 danger, and signal interpositions of Providence for 
 your deliverance, and yet there be no kindly impres¬ 
 sions of penitence and gratitude on your hearts, 
 they who know the particulars of the case, must 
 surely look upon you with horror, as well as with 
 wonder: for what can one imagine of such, but that 
 they are given over by God to a darkness, which 
 nothing but the flames of hell can enlighten, and a 
 hardness, which nothing can penetrate but the 
 
238 
 
 sharpness of unquenchable fire, and the gnawings of 
 the never-dying worm ? 
 
 But to return from a digression, into which com¬ 
 passion towards such a deplorable case has insensi¬ 
 bly led me, I would farther observe, that as these 
 various interpositions of a remarkable Providence, 
 are often the means of working saving impressions 
 on men’s minds, so, 
 
 3. God is sometimes pleased to over-rule c little 
 and inconsiderable incidents in life,’ as the occasion 
 of accomplishing this happy change. 
 
 As the treasure of the gospel was at first put 
 into earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power 
 might appear to be of God, and not of man; so 
 God, to make his own praise glorious, is sometimes 
 pleased to produce the most important effects, by 
 causes which seem in themselves least considerable. 
 And it is astonishing to see, from how small and 
 seemingly unpromising a seed this plant of paradise 
 springs up, and with how little cultivation too in 
 some instances, after Paul had long attempted in 
 vain to plant, and Apollos to water. A few lines 
 in the Bible, or any other good book, perhaps taken 
 up by chance, shall be the instrument; and a pas¬ 
 sage, on which the eye glances without expectation 
 or design, shall strike to the heart, like an arrow 
 from the bow of God himself, after quivers of the 
 most pointed and polished shafts have been ex¬ 
 hausted in vain, though such shafts were most skil¬ 
 fully aimed, and most vigorously discharged. In 
 other instances, a word dropped in conversation, and 
 that perhaps no way remarkable either for its spirit 
 or propriety, shall do that which the most solemn 
 
239 
 
 ordinances have not been capable of doing. An 
 important encouragement, by the way, to abound in 
 religious discourse, which God has sometimes been 
 pleased to honour as the happy means of saving a 
 soul from death, and laying a foundation for the de¬ 
 lights of an everlasting friendship with those who 
 have been so recovered. 
 
 4. Sometimes this great work is accomplished 
 c by secret and immediate impressions from God 
 upon the mind,’ without any visible means, instru¬ 
 ments, or occasions at all. 
 
 These things do not frequently happen; nor does 
 it seem fit they should, lest any should be en¬ 
 couraged to expect them in the neglect of the ap¬ 
 pointed means. Nevertheless, it is plain, in fact, 
 that God is sometimes pleased to go out of the 
 common way; and his mighty hand is to be ac¬ 
 knowledged in it. The reasons are known to him¬ 
 self, and the praise is humbly to be ascribed to him, 
 “ who giveth not account of any of his matters.” 
 
 It is not, to he sure, so common now as it was 
 in the days of Eiihu, that ec God should speak to 
 men in a dream, or seal instructions to them in 
 slumberings on their bed:” yet I have myself known 
 several who have ascribed their first religious 
 awakenings to some awful dream, in which the 
 solemnity of the judgment-day, or a view of the in¬ 
 visible world, has been represented to them with 
 unspeakable terror; and others to whom, when 
 they have waked in the night, some words of Scrip¬ 
 ture have occurred with such power, that they have 
 not been able to divert their thoughts to any thing 
 else; and that when they themselves have not cer¬ 
 tainly known whether they were in the Bible or not. 
 
240 
 
 I have known those that, in the circle of their 
 vain companions, and in the midst of their sensual de¬ 
 lights, have been struck to the very heart with some 
 such Scripture as this—“ To be carnally-minded 
 is death or such a text as this has on a sudden 
 darted into their minds — (( The wrath of God is re¬ 
 vealed from heaven against all ungodliness and un¬ 
 righteousness of men.” Such passages have seemed 
 to ring and thunder in their ears, till the sound of 
 their music, and the noise of their mirth have been 
 quite overpowered, so that they have been driven 
 from their revels to their knees, and have returned 
 no more into the paths of the destroyer. 
 
 Yea, to add no more instances of this kind, I 
 have known those of distinguished genius, polite 
 manners, and great experience in human affairs, who, 
 after having outgrown all the impressions of a reli¬ 
 gious education; after having been hardened, rather 
 than subdued, by the most singular mercies, even 
 various, repeated, and astonishing deliverances, which 
 have appeared to themselves no less than miraculous; 
 after having lived for years without God in the 
 world, notoriously corrupt themselves, and labour¬ 
 ing to the utmost to corrupt others; have been 
 stopped on a sudden in the full career of their sin, 
 and have felt such rays of the divine presence, and 
 of redeeming love, darting in upon their minds, al¬ 
 most like lightning from heaven, as have at once 
 roused, overpowered, and transformed them: so 
 that they have come out of their secret chambers 
 with an irreconcilable enmity to those vices, to 
 which, when they entered them, they were the 
 tamest and most abandoned slaves; and have ap- 
 
241 
 
 peared, from that very hour, the votaries, the pa¬ 
 trons, the champions of religion ; and, after a course 
 of the most resolute attachment to it, in spite of all 
 the reasonings or the railleries, the importunities or 
 the reproaches of its enemies, they have continued 
 to this day some of its brightest ornaments; a change 
 which I behold with equal wonder and delight, and 
 which, if a nation should join in deriding it, I would 
 adore as the finger of God. 
 
 In mentioning these things thus publicly, I do 
 indeed take an uncommon freedom, which some 
 may perhaps censure; but, so far as human testi¬ 
 mony can give an assurance of truth, I may justly 
 say, that I speak what I know, and testify what, in 
 its genuine and powerful effects, I have myself seen. 
 And since the possibility of abusing such conde¬ 
 scensions of divine mercy did not prevent their being 
 granted, I cannot think it ought to engage me to 
 be silent, when so natural an opportunity offered of 
 declaring them, i( to the glory of Him who worketh 
 all things according to the counsel of his own will.” 
 Yet I must repeat the caution which I before sug¬ 
 gested, that it would be madness for any to neglect 
 God’s appointed means of operation, on presump¬ 
 tion that they shall be added to the small list of 
 those who have been such uncommon and astonishing 
 trophies of the efficacy and sovereignty of divine 
 grace. 
 
 These remarks must, for the present, suffice, with 
 regard to the various occasions by which God works 
 upon men’s minds; and I hope you will excuse me, 
 if, in illustrating some of them, I have a little an- 
 
 L 44 
 
242 
 
 ticipated some things which might have been men¬ 
 tioned under the third head, in which I proposed, 
 
 III. To consider some varieties observable in 
 the manner in which divine grace operates on the 
 mind. 
 
 And this variety, by the way, will be observable 
 in many instances where the occasions are, in general, 
 the same. Thus, among those that are awakened 
 by the word of God, or by his providence, some are 
 shaken by strong terrors; some are melted down 
 into deep sorrow ; others are astonished, as it were, 
 and captivated at once, by the discovery of the love 
 of God in Christ ; and others are led on by such 
 gentle and gradual impressions, that they can hardly 
 recollect any remarkable circumstance at all, relating 
 to the manner in which this blessed work was begun 
 or conducted in their souls. 
 
 1. Some converts are * awakened by strong 
 terrors.’ 
 
 It is obvious, that conviction of sin, in some de¬ 
 gree or another, is absolutely necessary to make way 
 for the entrance of the gospel into -the soul. But 
 the degrees are various in different persons; and as 
 for those of whom we now speak, God <c reproves 
 them aloud, and sets their sins in order before them,” 
 marshals them in dreadful array, as the expression 
 imports; so that they seem like defenceless crea¬ 
 tures, surrounded with a whole host of enemies, 
 whose weapons are raised for their destruction. 
 Yea, God himself, the great, the terrible, the eter¬ 
 nal, and omnipotent God, seems to “ set them up 
 as a mark for those arrows, the poison of which 
 drinketh up their spiritsand, as he himself ex- 
 
243 
 
 presses it, 66 he is unto them as a bear, or a lion, 
 ready to tear and rend the very caul of their heart.” 
 They come, as it were, to the trembling and terri¬ 
 fying mountain of Sinai, to “ blackness, and dark¬ 
 ness, and tempest.” The conviction of guilt is 
 attended with such a sense of the demerit of sin, as 
 fills them with horror and astonishment, and engages 
 them to wish, in the bitterness of their souls, that 
 they had never been born. They are left for a 
 time, and that, perhaps, for weeks and months, to 
 be, as it were, deafened with the loud thunders of 
 the law; a dreadful sound, as Eliphaz expresses it, 
 is in their ears, even the sentence of their own dam¬ 
 nation; and the awful curse of an almighty sin- 
 avenging God <c comes into their bowels like water, 
 and like oil into their bones.” They are filled with 
 such deep remorse for their past sins, that they verily 
 think no iniquity was ever like theirs, and that no 
 punishment will be like theirs. They hardly see a 
 glimmering of hope that they shall obtain deliver¬ 
 ance ; but expect, in a very little while, to be 
 sealed up under wrath, if they are not already so. 
 When they hear the offers and the promises of the 
 gospel, they can apply none of them to themselves, 
 and find comfort in none: but every threatening 
 and every curse of the book of God seems to have 
 been written as their intended portion. And thus, 
 perhaps, they continue for weeks, or for months to¬ 
 gether, expecting every day and every night, that 
 destruction from God, which is now a terror to 
 them, should utterly swallow them up, and leave 
 them neither root nor branch, neither comfort nor 
 hope. The law is a schoolmaster to bring them to 
 
 L 2 
 
244 
 
 Christ, and it scourges them with most rigorous 
 discipline; yea, the infernal lion roars over them, 
 though he is not permitted to devour them; he par¬ 
 ticularly terrifies them when they think of approach¬ 
 ing God, as if they were to meet with some peculiar 
 danger there, where alone they can find their relief; 
 or, if they do in broken accents utter their prayer be¬ 
 fore God, it seems to be shut out, and they are ap¬ 
 prehensive that it is turned into sin. Yet there is 
 one thing to be observed in the midst of this scene 
 of horror, and it is a circumstance of great impor¬ 
 tance ; 4 that they justify God when he seems most 
 inexorable, and subscribe to that sentence as righ¬ 
 teous which dooms them to eternal ruin.’ 
 
 2. Others are 4 melted into deep sorrows/ 
 
 Their eyes run down with tears ; and they are 
 ready to wish that their head were waters, and their 
 eyes fountains, that they might continue to weep day 
 and night. They see the evil of sin, and the mi¬ 
 sery to which it has reduced them, in a most deplor¬ 
 able view; and, it may be, while those described 
 under the former head are ready to tremble because 
 they cannot weep, these are ready to weep, because 
 they cannot tremble. They lament, among other 
 things, the want of those strong horrors which some 
 have felt; they cry out, 4 Woe is me, for I am un¬ 
 done ; I have destroyed myself, and in myself is not 
 my help found ;’ and, it may be, they are a con¬ 
 siderable time before they can persuade themselves 
 there is any help for them, even in God. They 
 know there is help in him, through Christ, for peni¬ 
 tent and believing sinners ; but they cannot easily 
 be convinced that they believe, because they do not 
 
245 
 
 feel that confident trust, which some others have 
 much sooner been brought to; and they are afraid, 
 lest whatever they experience, which looks like re¬ 
 pentance, should be only the false appearance of it, 
 proceeding from mere self-love and a natural dread 
 of future misery. They dwell perpetually on the 
 dark side of things : they read over the catalogue of 
 their iniquities again and again, and attend to those 
 passages in which 6i the wrath of God is revealed 
 from heaven against every kind and degree of sin 
 while they are slow of heart to admit those reviving 
 consolations which the various rich and precious pro¬ 
 mises of the gospel are so admirably well calculated 
 to administer. 
 
 The state of such souls, when they are first sav¬ 
 ingly enlightened, is like that of the earth, when 
 fogs and mists have veiled the face of the sun after 
 it is risen. But it very often happens, with respect 
 to such souls, that when these mists are at length dis¬ 
 persed, a very bright and cheerful day opens: they 
 are comforted by the warmer beams of the Sun of 
 righteousness, according to the hours in which they 
 have been beclouded, and are made glad, according 
 to the days in which they were afflicted : and going 
 on to fear the Lord, and to obey the voice of his 
 servant, though they have long walked in darkness, 
 and seen no light, they are at length encouraged, by 
 his Spirit enforcing the exhortations of his word, to 
 <c trust in the name of the Lord,, and stay themselves 
 upon their God.” 
 
 3. Some are 6 captivated with astonishing and de¬ 
 lightful views of the love of God in Christ/ 
 
 There is always, as we observed before, in the 
 
246 
 
 awakened soul, some conviction of sin and apprehen¬ 
 sion of danger ; nevertheless, there are instances in 
 which God heals almost as soon as he wounds, and 
 speaks peace almost as soon as he speaks trouble. 
 He graciously shortens, to some souls, the “ pangs 
 of the new birth, and gives them beauty for ashes, 
 the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of 
 praise for the spirit of heaviness.” The news of 
 salvation, by the blood, and righteousness, and 
 grace of Christ, is received with so thankful a sense, 
 with so joyful a compliance, that the soul, feeling 
 beyond all doubt, the cordial sincerity with which it 
 embraces the offer, is filled with joy unspeakable, and 
 full of glory: the heart “does magnify the Lord, 
 and the spirit rejoices in God its Saviour.” 
 
 This was remarkably the case of the jailor, who in 
 the very night in which he was converted, that same 
 night in which the foundation of his house had 
 been shaken, and his own soul too shaken by air 
 earthquake, so that he had endeavoured to lay violent 
 hands on himself; yet, I say, that very night, be¬ 
 fore the day appeared, having been directed to be¬ 
 lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, that he might be 
 saved, and been enabled, by divine grace, to comply 
 with the exhortation, it is added concerning him, that 
 “ he rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” 
 —Thus, too, the Thessalonians, though they re¬ 
 ceived the word in much affliction, and ran the risk 
 of losing their possessions and their lives in adher¬ 
 ing to it, yet received it with joy of the Holy Ghost. 
 And though I cannot say this is God’s most ordi¬ 
 nary way of dealing, and though I fear the counter¬ 
 feit appearance of such a work as this, often leaves 
 
247 
 
 men in the number of those whom our Lord repre¬ 
 sents by 44 stony-ground hearersyet it is certain, 
 some instances of this kind are still to be found. 
 But then I must observe, this is a joy attended with 
 the deepest humility, and animates the soul to the 
 most ardent and affectionate resolution of 44 walking 
 worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being strength¬ 
 ened with all might, according to his glorious power, 
 unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness.” 
 
 4. Others, and these perhaps the greatest part of 
 such as are religiously educated, are 4 led on by such 
 gentle and insensible degrees, that they can hardly 
 recollect any remarkable circumstances that have at¬ 
 tended their conversion, nor can certainly fix on the 
 particular time of it/ 
 
 God is sometimes, as in the preceding instances, 
 in the whirlwind, the earthquake, and the fire, but 
 he is also frequently in the 44 still small voice.” The 
 'operations of the Holy Spirit on the soul are often, 
 and perhaps generally, of such a nature, that it is 
 difficult exactly to distinguish them from the rational 
 exercise of our own thoughts, because the Spirit 
 operates by suggesting rational views of things, and 
 awakening rational affections. For whatever some 
 have vainly and dangerously insinuated, nothing is 
 so rational as the sentiments and temper which pre¬ 
 vail in renewed souls, and to which it is the work of 
 God’s regenerating Spirit to bring them. 
 
 These operations, where there is a religious edu¬ 
 cation, often begin very early ; but then, in some 
 degree, the impressions wear off from the weak and 
 flexible mind; and perhaps there are various in¬ 
 stances in which they alternately revive and decay 
 
248 
 
 again. And this vicissitude of affectionate applica¬ 
 tions to religion, (under moving ordinances, afflictions, 
 or deliverances,) and of backslidings and remissness 
 in it, may be permitted, with respect to many, to 
 continue for a long time. At length, under the 
 various methods of providence and grace, the soul 
 arrives to greater steadiness, and a more habitual 
 victory over the remainders of indwelling sin : but it 
 may be exceeding hard, and perhaps absolutely im¬ 
 possible, to determine concerning some remarkable 
 scenes through which it has passed, whether such a 
 one in particular, perhaps the last which strikes the 
 memory, were the season of its new birth; or whe¬ 
 ther it were merely a recovery from such a degree 
 ' of negligence and remissness, as may possibly be con¬ 
 sistent with real religion, and be found in a regene¬ 
 rate soul. * 
 
 These balancings of backslidings and recovery 
 often occasion very great perplexity ; and such sort 
 of converts are frequently very much discouraged, 
 because they cannot give the history of their reli¬ 
 gious experiences in so clear and distinct a manner 
 as others; and, particularly, because they have not 
 passed through such violent terrors and agitations of 
 mind as many, who were perhaps once sunk into 
 much deeper degeneracy, have done. Nevertheless, 
 where there is a consciousness of an undissembled 
 love to God, an unreserved devotedness to his ser¬ 
 vice, a cordial trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and a 
 sincere affection to mankind in general, and espe¬ 
 cially to those of the household of faith, a man ought 
 not to perplex himself on this account. For, as 
 every man knows he was born into the world, by a 
 
249 
 
 consciousness that he now lives and acts here, 
 though it is impossible he should remember any 
 thing of the time or circumstances in which he was 
 first produced into it: so may a Christian be assured, 
 that, some way or another, he was born of the Spi¬ 
 rit, if he can trace its genuine fruits and efficacious 
 influences in a renewed heart and life. 
 
 I have thus laid down several particulars, which 
 appeared to me important, in order to illustrate that 
 diversity which is observable in the methods of the 
 divine operation on the heart: and they will natu¬ 
 rally lead us to these three reflections, with which I 
 shall conclude my present discourse.—Let us not 
 make our own experiences a standard for others 
 nor the experiences of others a standard for our¬ 
 selves;—nor let us be unwilling, in a prudent man¬ 
 ner, to communicate our spiritual experiences to each 
 other. 
 
 (1.) Let us not make our own experiences a 
 standard for others. 
 
 Let us remember that there is, as we have heard, 
 a diversity of operations ; and that many a person 
 may be a dear child of God, who was not born just 
 with those circumstances which attended our own 
 regeneration. Others may not so particularly have 
 discerned the time, the occasion, the progress of the 
 change; they may not have felt all that we felt, 
 either in the way of extraordinary terror or extraor¬ 
 dinary comfort; and yet, perhaps, may equal, or even 
 exceed us in that holy temper, to which it was the 
 great intention of our heavenly Father, by one me¬ 
 thod or another, to bring all his children. Nay, I 
 will add, that Christians of a very amiable and hon- 
 
 l3 
 
%5Q 
 
 ourable character may express themselves but in a 
 dark, and something of an improper manner, con¬ 
 cerning the doctrine of regeneration, and may, in 
 conscience, scruple the use of some phrases relating 
 to it, which we judge to be exceeding suitable; and 
 yet, that very scruple which displeases us, may pro¬ 
 ceed from a reverence for God and truth, and from 
 such a tenderness of heart, as is the effect of his re¬ 
 newing grace. We should, therefore, be very cau¬ 
 tious how we judge each other, and take upon us to 
 reject those whom perhaps God has received. 
 
 I remember good Dr. Owen, whose candour was, 
 in many respects, very remarkable, carries this so 
 - far, as somewhere to say, <£ that some may, perhaps, 
 have experienced the saving influences of the Holy 
 Spirit on their hearts, who do not in words acknow¬ 
 ledge the necessity, or even the reality of those 
 influences.” Judging men’s hearts, and judging 
 their states, is a work for which we are so ill quali¬ 
 fied, that we have reason to be exceeding thankful 
 it is not assigned to us. And when we are entering 
 into such an examination of their character, as our 
 duty may, in some particular circumstances, seem to 
 require, we should be very solicitous that we do not 
 lay down arbitrary and precarious rules. It seems, 
 indeed, that so far as we can learn it, we may more 
 safely judge by their present temper and conduct, 
 than by the history of any thing which has formerly 
 passed in their minds. 
 
 And let me add it as a necessary caution here, 
 that they who never felt any of the extraordinary 
 emotions of the mind, which have been described 
 under some former heads, but have been brought to 
 
251 
 
 religion by less observable methods, perhaps by calm 
 rational views of it, (of whom I believe there are 
 great numbers,) should be very cautious that they do 
 not rashly censure such things as I have now been 
 representing, as if they were mere enthusiasm. I 
 cannot but think this a criminal limiting the Holy 
 One of Israel, and fear it will be found a boldness 
 highly displeasing to him, and very injurious to the 
 souls of those who allow themselves in it, and of 
 others too, if they be such as are employed in the 
 ministerial work; not now to insist on what, in com¬ 
 parison of this is but a small matter, the apparent 
 rudeness and petulancy of contradicting facts so well 
 attested as many of this kind have been, and running 
 counter to the solid effects which such impressions 
 have produced. The rashness which prevails under 
 different forms, among men of the most opposite 
 sentiments, is too obvious; but if we would give our¬ 
 selves leave calmly to weigh and consider matters, 
 our spirits would be rendered on all sides more 
 moderate, and many harsh and hasty censures would 
 be suspended, which at present prove very little more 
 than the ignorance, pride, and folly of those that 
 pass them. 
 
 (2.) Let us not make the experiences of others a 
 standard for ourselves. 
 
 This is frequently the case, and especially with 
 those who are naturally of an humble and tender 
 temper; for whose peace and comfort, therefore, one 
 cannot but be peculiarly solicitous. Having heard 
 of some extraordinary experiences of others, they are 
 ready to imagine, because they can trace nothing 
 correspondent to these in their own minds, that they 
 
252 
 
 are utter strangers to real regeneration, and have 
 nothing more than such religious notions and forms, 
 as natural men may easily learn of each other. 
 
 But what I have now been saying of the variety 
 of the divine operations on the heart, affords a solid 
 answer to such scruples when they arise in a pious 
 mind. Reflect, on this occasion, how it is in the 
 works of nature: there we know that God works in 
 all, so that he is the life and existence of the whole 
 creation; and yet, as an excellent writer expresses it, 
 “ He alone seems not to work his agency is so 
 invisible and secret, that did not reason and Scripture 
 join to teach it, one might live a great many years 
 in the world without knowing any thing more, than 
 that such and such effects are produced by corre¬ 
 spondent second causes: though, in strict propriety of 
 speech, they are no causes at all, but owe all their 
 efficacy to the divine presence and operation. Sense 
 tells us that the sun enlightens the earth, and warms 
 it; that the rain waters it, the seeds produce vege¬ 
 tables, and the animals continue their proper race : 
 but that God is the Father of Lights, that he has 
 prepared the light and the sun; that he visits the 
 earth, and causes rain to descend into the furrows 
 thereof, so as to make the grass to grow for cattle, 
 and corn and herb for the service of man; that he 
 sends forth his Spirit, and the animal race is created, 
 and the face of the earth renewed; this, I say, is what 
 multitudes of the human race are not aware of; be¬ 
 cause, in all these things, he acts in a gentle, stated, 
 and regular manner, and employs inferior agents as 
 the instruments of his providence. And just thus 
 gentle, silent, and regular are the influences of his 
 
258 
 
 Spirit upon men’s souls; and it is often impossible 
 exactly to distinguish them from the teachings of 
 parents and ministers, and from those reflections 
 which seem to spring from our own minds, though 
 it is he that gives us counsel, while our reins instruct 
 us in our secret musings, and that teaches us to 
 profit by the lessons which others give us. 
 
 Be not therefore surprised, and be not dejected, 
 though you cannot assign the place, the time, the 
 manner, in which your conversion began; and though 
 you are strangers to the terrors, the sorrows, or the 
 transports of joy, which you have heard another 
 express. The wind hloweth where it listeth, and 
 the Spirit dispenses his influences where, and when, 
 and in what measure and degree he pleases; but 
 while the way and manner of his operation may be 
 secret and unknown, the effects of it are sensible 
 and evident; and as, with regard to the wind, “ thou 
 hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence 
 it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one 
 that is born of the Spirit.” You may not certainly 
 know when to fix the precise time of your conversion, 
 or how to trace the particular steps by which it has 
 been brought to pass: for “ as thou knowest not 
 what is the way of the Spirit, nor how the bones do 
 grow in the womb of her that is with child; even 
 so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh 
 all.” But though you cannot trace the process of 
 the operation, the effects of it are such as you may 
 feel within you, and by its fruits it will be known. 
 It is indeed desirable to be able to give an account 
 of the beginning and the progress of the works of 
 God upon your souls, as some that are regenerate 
 
&54 
 
 can do: but this is not necessary to evidence the 
 truth of grace. Happy is he who, in this case, can 
 say, as the blind man in the gospel, “ One thing I 
 know, that whereas I was blind, now I see.” For 
 as you know that there is fire when you see the 
 flame, though you know not how or when it began: 
 so also it may be discerned, that you have really 
 undergone a saving change, though you know not 
 how or when it was wrought in your hearts. If 
 you answer the characters I laid down in the pre¬ 
 ceding discourses, as essential to the truly regenerate, 
 (which are all comprehended in repentance and faith, 
 producing an unfeigned love and uniform obedience,) 
 you may trace the cause from the effect with far 
 greater certainty than you could have traced such an 
 effect, as what would infallibly follow from any cause 
 which you could have perceived in your minds pre¬ 
 vious to it. There may be great awakenings, 
 violent terrors, and ecstatic joys, where there is no 
 saving work of God on the soul: but where the 
 divine image is produced, and the soul is actually 
 renewed, we are sure (as was before observed,) that 
 grace has been working though we know not when, 
 or where, or how.—And therefore on the whole, 
 guarding against both these extremes, and to cure 
 them both, 
 
 (3.) Let Christians, in a prudent and humble 
 manner, be ready to communicate their religious 
 experiences to each other. 
 
 God undoubtedly intended that the variety of his 
 operations should be observed and owned in the 
 world of grace, as well as in that of nature; and as 
 these things pass in the secret recesses of men’s 
 
c 255 
 
 hearts, how should they be known, unless they will 
 themselves communicate and declare them? And 
 let me caution you against that strange averseness to 
 all freedoms of this kind, which, especially in persons 
 of a reserved temper, is so ready to prevail. Let 
 not any think it beneath them to do it. You well 
 know that David, who was not only a man of an 
 admirable genius, but a mighty prince too, was far 
 from thinking it so; on the contrary, deeply impressed 
 with the divine condescension in all the gracious 
 visits he had received from him, he calls, as it were, 
 the whole pious world around him, that they might 
 be edified and comforted by the relation: fi< Come,” 
 says he, “ and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will 
 declare what he hath done for my soul.” He pro¬ 
 claimed it, not with his voice and harp alone, but 
 with his immortal pen; and many other noble and 
 excellent persons concurred with him; and the in¬ 
 valuable treasure of their experiences, in as great a 
 variety of circumstances as we can well imagine, is 
 transmitted to us in the book of Psalms. Can any 
 just reason then be assigned, why they who live 
 under a nobler dispensation, and a more abundant 
 communication of the Spirit, should be entirely 
 silent on this subject ? 
 
 There may indeed be an over-forwardness, which 
 is the apparent effect of pride and self-conceit, and 
 which, with thinking people, may bring even the 
 sincerity of the speaker into question, or put his 
 indiscretion beyond all possibility of being questioned; 
 but it would be very unreasonable to argue, that 
 because a thing may be done ill, it cannot possibly 
 be done well. 
 
256 
 
 Why may not intimate friends open their hearts 
 to each other on such delightful topics ? Why 
 may not they who have met with any thing peculiar 
 of this kind, communicate it to their minister? 
 And though I must, in conscience, declare against 
 making it absolutely and universally a term of com¬ 
 munion, yet I am well assured, that, in some in¬ 
 stances, a prudent and serious communication of 
 these things to a Christian society, when a person 
 is to be admitted into fellowship with it, has often 
 answered very valuable ends. By this means, God 
 has the honour of his own work; and others have 
 the pleasure of sympathizing with the relator, both 
 in his sorrows and his joys; they derive from hence 
 such additional satisfaction as to his fitness for an 
 approach to the Lord’s table; they learn with plea¬ 
 sure, the divine blessing which attends the adminis¬ 
 tration of ordinances among them; and make ob¬ 
 servations and remarks which may assist them in 
 offering their addresses to God, and in giving proper 
 advices to others who are in circumstances like those 
 related. To all which we may add, that the 
 ministers of Christ do, in particular, learn what may 
 be a means of forming them to a more experimental 
 manner of preaching, as well as, in many instances, 
 discover those before unknown tokens of success 
 which may strengthen their hands in the work of 
 their great Master. 
 
 It is by frequent conversations of this kind, that 
 I have learned many of the particulars on which I 
 have grounded the preceding discourse. I hope, 
 therefore, you will excuse me, if, on so natural an . 
 occasion, I have borne my public testimony to what 
 
257 
 
 has been so edifying to me, both as a minister and a 
 Christian. And the tender regard which I have 
 for young persons, training up for the work of the 
 ministry, and my ardent desire that they may learn 
 the language of Sion, and have 4 those peculiar ad¬ 
 vantages which nothing but an acquaintance with 
 cases, and an observation on facts can give,’ has 
 been a farther inducement to me to add this reflec¬ 
 tion, with which I conclude my discourse; humbly 
 hoping that what you have heard upon this occasion 
 will, by the divine blessing, furnish out agreeable 
 matter for such conversation as I have now romec- 
 mended, to the glory of God, and to the advance¬ 
 ment of religion among you. Amen. 
 
258 
 
 4*''- ' 
 
 ¥ »• 
 
 SERMON IX. 
 
 DIRECTIONS TO AWAKENED SINNERS. 
 
 Acts ix. 6. 
 
 -“ And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt 
 
 thou have me to do?” 
 
 These are the words of Saul, who also is called 
 Paul, when he was stricken to the ground as he was 
 going to Damascus: and any one who had looked 
 upon him in his present circumstances, and know 
 nothing more of him than that view, in comparison 
 with his past life, could have given, would have 
 imagined him one of the most miserable creatures 
 that ever lived upon earth, and would have expected 
 that he should very soon have been numbered 
 amongst the most miserable of those in hell. He 
 was engaged in a course of such savage cruelty, as 
 can, upon no principle of common morality, be vin¬ 
 dicated, even though the Christians had been as 
 much mistaken as he rashly and foolishly concluded 
 they were. After having 6i dragged many of them 
 into prison, and giving his voice against some that 
 were put to death, he persecuted others into strange 
 cities:” and had now obtained a commission from 
 the Sanhedrim at Jerusalem, to carry this holy, or 
 rather this impious war into Damascus, and to bring 
 all the proselytes to the religion of the blessed Jesus 
 bound from thence to Jerusalem; probably that 
 
259 
 
 they might there be animadverted upon with greater 
 severity than could safely have been attempted by 
 the Jews, in so distant a city, under a foreign 
 governor. 
 
 But behold, as he was in the way, Jesus inter¬ 
 poses, 6i clothed with a lustre exceeding that of the 
 sun at noon.” He lays him prostrate on the 
 ground, calling to him, with a voice far more dread¬ 
 ful than that of thunder, “ Saul, Saul, why perse- 
 cutest thou me ?” 
 
 Any one would have imagined, from the circum¬ 
 stances in which we now beheld Saul, that divine 
 vengeance had already begun to seize him, and that 
 full execution would quickly have been done. But 
 “ God’s ways are not as our ways, nor are his thoughts 
 as our thoughts.” Christ laid him almost as low as 
 hell, that he might raise him as high as the third 
 heaven: of which he afterwards gave him a view in 
 vision, to anticipate his reception into it. This day 
 of his terror and astonishment was, in a nobler sense 
 than any other, the day of his birth; for he is brought 
 to bow himself at the foot of an injured Saviour, to 
 offer him, as it were, a blank upon which to write 
 his own terms of peace; and as soon as he heard that 
 this glorious person was Jesus, whom, in his mem¬ 
 bers he had so long persecuted, he makes his sub¬ 
 mission in these lively comprehensive words, “ Lord, 
 what wilt thou have me to do?”—This was not a 
 time for a long speech ; but he that discerns all the 
 secret recesses of the spirit, knew these few words 
 were full of a most important meaning, and expressed 
 not only a grief of heart, for all that he had before 
 been doing against Christ and his kingdom, but the 
 
260 
 
 sincerest resolution for the future to employ himself 
 in his service, waiting only the intimations of his 
 wise and gracious will, as to the most proper and 
 acceptable manner of beginning the attempt. 
 
 There is, methinks, a poignant kind of eloquence 
 in this short expression, far beyond what any para¬ 
 phrase upon it can give; and our compassionate Lord 
 accepted this surrender. All his former rebellions 
 were no more remembered against him; and before 
 he rose from the ground, to which he fell on so ter¬ 
 rible an occasion, Christ gave him an intimation, not 
 only that his forfeited life should be spared, so that 
 he should get safe into the city to which he was 
 ' bound, but that he should there be instructed in that 
 service, which Jesus, whom he had persecuted, would 
 now condescend to receive at his hands. 
 
 I represent the case thus largely, because I hope 
 it is a case which, in some measure, suits the expe¬ 
 rience of some that hear me this evening. Paul tells 
 us, it was for this reason, among others, that he 
 himself obtained mercy, though he was “ the chief 
 of sinners, that in him, as the chief, Jesus Christ 
 might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to 
 them who should afterwards believe.” 
 
 Is there then, in this assembly, any awakened 
 and convinced sinner; any one that, apprised of his 
 folly, and sensible of his misery, is desirous to fall 
 at the foot of Christ, and say with Saul, “ Lord, 
 what wilt thou have me to do? That which I see 
 not, teach thou me; and wherein I have done ini¬ 
 quity, I will do so no more!”—To such would I 
 now especially address; and while I put the question, 
 
 Is there any such among us? I would fain persuade 
 
261 
 
 myself, there are several; for I humbly hope, that 
 all the labours that have been bestowed in the pre¬ 
 ceding discourses are not in vain, nor all the prayers 
 that have been offered for their success in vain; 
 prayers which, I doubt not, have been carried by many 
 of you into your families and your closets, as well 
 as jointly presented to God, in this public assembly. 
 Trusting therefore that it is thus with some, and 
 praying that it may be a more frequent case, I proceed, 
 
 Sixthly, To give some directions to such who are 
 awakened by a divine grace to a sense of their misery 
 in an unregenerate state, and are brought to desire 
 recovery from it. 
 
 To such I propose to give directions: and to what 
 purpose would it be to undertake to offer them to 
 any others ? Who would pretend to teach those 
 who are unconcerned about their salvation, what 
 methods they are to take in order to their becoming 
 truly regenerate? This, methinks, would be like 
 giving directions how those might learn to write who 
 do not desire it, and will not take a pen into their 
 hands. All I could say to such, while they con¬ 
 tinue in this character, would vanish into empty air: 
 it would not, probably, be so much as observed and 
 remembered. I speak therefore into awakened souls, 
 and to such it is pleasant to address on this head. 
 Ananias undoubtedly undertook this message to Saul 
 with cheerfulness, to tell him what Christ would 
 have him to do; and I would with pleasure and 
 cheerfulness engage in the like work; humbly hoping 
 that some will hear with observation and attention, 
 will hear for themselves, and so hear for their good. 
 And to this purpose let me advise you—to attend 
 
262 
 
 to the impressions that have been made upon you 
 with great seriousness—to break off every thing that 
 is contrary to them—to seek for further knowledge 
 in religious matters—to pour out your souls before 
 God in earnest prayer—to communicate the state of 
 your case to some experienced Christian—to ac¬ 
 quaint yourselves with such as are much in your own 
 circumstances—to fly immediately to Christ, as 
 ready to receive all that come to him—to dedicate 
 yourselves to him, and to his service, in the most 
 solemn manner—to arm yourselves to encounter with 
 the greatest difficulties in your Christian course— 
 and finally, to take every step in this attempt with a 
 deep sense of your own weakness, and a humble de¬ 
 pendence upon divine grace, to be communicated to 
 you as the matter requires.—These are the several 
 directions I would offer to you; and may they be im¬ 
 pressed in such a manner on your souls, that none 
 of you may a lose the things that have been wrought, 
 but by the effectual writing of the mighty power of 
 God,” such as he graciously has been pleased to bring 
 to the birth, may be brought forth, and such as are 
 awakened may be savingly renewed! 
 
 1. I would advise you to c attend to the impres¬ 
 sions made upon you with great seriousness. , 
 
 They may perhaps take you a little off the world 
 and its concerns; and some will blame you for suffer¬ 
 ing such an interruption : but regard not that cen¬ 
 sure. The time will come, if you pursue these 
 things aright, when renewed diligence, prudence, and 
 the divine blessing, will amply make amends for any 
 present hindrance which these impressions may oc¬ 
 casion. And if it should be otherwise, were there 
 
263 
 
 not a cause? If a man, seized with a threatening 
 distemper, should choose, for a little while, to lay 
 aside his usual business, that he might attend to the 
 care of his health, before the symptoms grew incur¬ 
 able, would any body blame him for this ? On the 
 contrary, would it not be looked upon as acting a 
 very wise, prudent, and necessary part? Much 
 more may be said here: <£ It is not a light thing for 
 you, because it is your life: and if the life is more 
 than meat, and the body than raiment,” then surely 
 the soul is more to be regarded than either. And 
 therefore what you do in your worldly affairs, do 
 moderately; and do not grudge that retirement which 
 is so necessary in such a tender circumstance as this. 
 I may apply to you, on this occasion, those words 
 of Solomon: “ Through desire a man, having se¬ 
 parated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all 
 wisdom.” If you desire to attain divine wisdom, 
 you must separate yourself from all other things to 
 pursue it. And it is the more necessary to attend 
 to this now, because the tempter may probably con¬ 
 trive to lay some more than ordinary avocation in your 
 way, at a time when the interest of his kingdom re¬ 
 quires you should be diverted from prosecuting those 
 views which are presenting themselves to you, and 
 by which you may so probably be rescued out of his 
 hands, and put for ever out of his power. 
 
 2. Let me advise you to ‘ break off every thing 
 which is contrary to such impressions as these.’ 
 
 Sin will immediately appear to have been your 
 disease and your ruin : and therefore, if ever you 
 hope for recovery, you must resolutely break with 
 that; not merely with this or that particular evil, 
 
264 
 
 but with every sin; and that not only for a little 
 while, but entirely and for ever. A mortal irrecon¬ 
 cilable war must be declared against it. Every 
 fleshly lust must be denied; every immoral practice, 
 for which your heart may at any time smite you, 
 must be reformed; and if ever you expect to reap 
 mercy and life, you must, as the prophet expresses 
 it, s< break up your fallow ground, and not sow among 
 thorns; for righteousness has no fellowship with un¬ 
 righteousness, and light no communion with dark¬ 
 ness.” And you may be assured, that as all sin 
 grieves the Spirit of God, and strengthens the heavy 
 fetters which lie upon the soul; so those sins which 
 are committed after these awakenings and convictions, 
 have a peculiar guilt attending them, and do greater 
 despite to the Spirit of grace, in proportion to the 
 degree in which his motions on the soul have been 
 vigorous and warm. 
 
 3. 6 Seek further knowledge,’ especially from the 
 word and ordinances of God. 
 
 The influences of divine grace are not to be con¬ 
 sidered as a blind impulse; but God’s Spirit works 
 on the spirit of man, as one rational being on an¬ 
 other. The Apostle therefore puts the question 
 with great reason, “ How shall they believe in him, 
 of whom they have not heard?” And as some 
 knowledge is the foundation on which the Spirit of 
 God ordinarily operates in men’s hearts; so in pro¬ 
 portion to the degree in which you attain further 
 light into the scheme of the gospel, and of salvation 
 by Christ, it may be expected you will be more im¬ 
 pressed by it. The mention of this is so much the 
 more neeessary, as mistaken notions of religion often 
 
26 5 
 
 expose people on the one hand, to great perplexities, 
 and on the other, betray them into a false peace, 
 which one way or another will be bitterness in the 
 end. Come therefore to the house of God, and 
 attend spiritual preaching. The question is not 
 about forms, but things. Be not therefore over- 
 scrupulous about what is merely circumstantial in reli¬ 
 gion, on the one hand or the other; but where you 
 find most spiritual light and improvement, there 
 choose generally to attend; not confining religion to 
 any particular party, nor judging those who differ 
 from you in their sentiments and practice; but calmly 
 and humbly seeking your own edification, leaving 
 others to see theirs where they are persuaded, in the 
 sight of God, they may most probably find it.— 
 Above all, remember, in this circumstance, to make 
 “ the word of God the man of your counsel,” and 
 to judge of what you read and hear by the tenor of 
 that as the oracle of eternal truth; always attending 
 the reading of it with earnest prayer to God for the 
 illumination of his Spirit, as I shall afterward more 
 particularly direct. No other books are to be set 
 up in opposition to this, or in comparison with it; 
 yet let it be your care, in subordination to Scripture, 
 to study the writings of those faithful servants of 
 God in later ages, who themselves manifest a sense 
 of practical religion. Especially endeavour to find 
 out and peruse those writings which treat of conver¬ 
 sion and regeneration, and which contain advice suited 
 to your case. Blessed be God, our language abounds 
 with such; and every truly Christian minister will be 
 glad to direct you to them, and, so far as he has a 
 convenient opportunity, to furnish you with them. 
 
 M 44 
 
266 
 
 4. 6 Pour out your soul before God in earnest 
 prayer/ 
 
 You cannot be unacquainted with the many pro¬ 
 mises God has made in Scripture, for the encourage¬ 
 ment of those who desire to pray to him in the sin¬ 
 cerity of their hearts. You know into how little a 
 compass Christ has crowded together three equivalent 
 promises: “ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, 
 and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened 
 unto you. ,, And you cannot but remember the 
 three-fold encouragement, from the success of those 
 who have recourse to this expedient, which he has 
 added, in the most express and general terms: 
 <s For every one that asketh receiveth ; and he that 
 seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall 
 be opened.” Go, therefore, in a cheerful depen¬ 
 dence upon this promise; go, and try the truth of 
 it. Whither should a creature, in such circum¬ 
 stances, go, but to that God who has the hearts of 
 all in his hand, tc as the rivers of water, and turns 
 them whithersoever he will ?” And who should go 
 to him rather than you ? And in what circum¬ 
 stances should a distressed creature rather think of 
 looking and crying to him, than in these, where it 
 sees itself surrounded with so much danger, and yet 
 feels an inward earnest desire, not only of deliver¬ 
 ance, but of holiness too? Go, therefore, and cast 
 yourself at the feet of God this very evening; do it 
 as soon as you return to your habitations; and if 
 you cannot put your thoughts and desires into words, 
 at least sigh and groan before the Lord. Mourn, 
 if you cannot pray; and mourn that you cannot; 
 or rather be assured, that unutterable groanings 
 
267 
 
 have sometimes the greatest efficacy, and prove the 
 most prevailing eloquence. 
 
 It will be no wonder at all, if, in these circum- 
 stances, Satan should endeavour to terrify you. It 
 is his common practice. So many souls have van¬ 
 quished him upon their knees, that he dreads and 
 hates the posture: but draw an argument from that 
 very opposition, to make you so much the more 
 eager and importunate; i and when your heart is 
 overwhelmed within you, fly unto the rock that is 
 higher than you/ 
 
 I will add, be not discouraged though help be 
 not immediately imparted. Though you may seem 
 to be cast out of God’s sight, yet look again towards 
 his holy temple: though you seem to cry from the 
 deeps, and almost from the belly of hell, the bowels 
 of a heavenly Father will yearn over you, as return¬ 
 ing prodigals; and I doubt not you will meet with 
 the reception that Ephraim found, when God saw 
 him bemoaning and humbling himself, because he 
 had been as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: 
 when he cried, 66 Turn thou me, and I shall be 
 turned; for thou art the Lord my God,” his hea¬ 
 venly Father answers him in these most affectionate 
 words,—attend to them, O thou returning sinner, 
 for thy comfort in this hour of distress !— u Is 
 Ephraim my dear son ? Is he a pleasant child ? 
 For since I spake against him, I do earnestly re¬ 
 member him still; therefore my bowels are troubled 
 for him, and I will surely have mercy upon him, 
 saith the Lord.” 
 
 5. I would advise you farther, that you 6 imme- 
 
 m 2 
 
268 
 
 diately communicate the state of your case to some 
 experienced Christian.’ 
 
 I know there is a backwardness in persons of 
 your circumstances to do it; and it has been sur¬ 
 prising to me to learn, from the converse of some, 
 who in this respect have afterwards grown wiser, 
 how long they have been pining away in their sor¬ 
 rows before they could be persuaded to consult their 
 ministers or Christian fiiends. It is a stratagem of 
 Satan, against which I would by all means caution 
 you. And, one would think, your own reason 
 would suggest some very obvious advantages attend¬ 
 ing the method I propose, of opening your case 
 freely to those whom you think to be more expe¬ 
 rienced in these things. The impression may be 
 revived upon your own souls, even by the account 
 you give them ; and their advice may be exceeding 
 useful to you, to guard you against the wiles of the 
 enemy, which they have known, though hitherto 
 you are strangers to them ; and to guide you into 
 such methods as, by the divine blessing, may further 
 promote that good work which seems in any measure 
 to have been begun within you. You may also 
 depend upon it, that it will engage their prayers for 
 you; which, in this case, may have great prevalency. 
 And it will also naturally lead them to inspect your 
 conduct; and if they see you afterwards in danger 
 of being drawn aside, they may remind you of the 
 hopes once entertained, and the impressions once 
 made upon your mind. In this respect you may 
 hope, that, by “ walking with wise men, you will be 
 yet wiser;” and will soon find how happy an ex¬ 
 change you make, when you give up your vain, 
 
269 
 
 and, perhaps, wicked companions, that you may be¬ 
 come the companion of them that fear God, and that 
 keep his precepts; and may have your delight in 
 them who, in the judgment of God, are the excel¬ 
 lent of the earth, however they may be despised and 
 derided by men. 
 
 6. I would also advise, that you 4 endeavour to 
 search out those, if there be any such about or near 
 you, who are much in your own circumstances.’ 
 
 Observe, especially among young people, whether 
 there are any that seem of late to have grown more 
 serious than ordinary ; and, particularly, more con¬ 
 stant in attending the ordinances of God, and more 
 cautious in venturing on occasions and temptations 
 to sin ; and if you can discover such, endeavour to 
 form an acquaintance with them. Try, by proper 
 hints, how far their circumstances resemble yours ; 
 and, as you find encouragement, enter into a stricter 
 friendship with them, founded on religion, and in¬ 
 tended to promote it in each other’s hearts. Asso¬ 
 ciate yourselves in little bands for Christian converse 
 and prayer; and by this means you will quicken and 
 strengthen the hearts of each other: for, on the one 
 hand, what they tell you of their own experience, 
 will much confirm you in a persuasion, that what 
 you find in yourselves is not a mere fancy, but is 
 really a divine work begun on your hearts, and will 
 give you encouragement to pursue it as such : for 
 as face answers to face in water, so does the heart of 
 man to man : and, on the other hand, the observa¬ 
 tion of your pious zeal will quicken others, and may 
 occasion the revival of religion in the hearts of elder 
 Christians; as, I bless God, I have found some 
 
270 
 
 tilings of this kind have done; and hope, and through 
 the divine blessing expect, to find it more and more. 
 Therefore, “ exhort one another daily, while it is 
 called to-day, lest any of you should be hardened 
 through the deceitfulness of sin.—Strengthen ye the 
 weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees;” and be 
 assured, that while you are endeavouring to help 
 others, you will find in yourselves the first-fruits of 
 this happy attempt; and while you “ water others, 
 you will be watered also yourselves.” 
 
 7. It is an advice of the highest importance, that, 
 6 whoever you are, you should immediately fly to 
 Christ, and repose the confidence of your souls upon 
 him/ 
 
 Observe that I urge you, whoever you are, to 
 fly immediately to Christ; and this I do, to guard 
 against a strange notion which some are ready to 
 entertain, as if we were to bring something of our 
 own righteousness and obedience to him, to render 
 us worthy of being accepted by him. But this is a 
 grand mistake. The blessings of the Gospel are 
 not to be considered as matter of bargain and sale ; 
 no, if we come to buy wine and milk, it must be 
 without money and without price;” and (( whoever 
 will take of the water of life, must do it freely.” If 
 he pretend to offer an equivalent, he forfeits his 
 share in the invitation; and must be made to know, 
 that the price he offers is a great affront to the value 
 of the blessings for which he would thus barter. 
 Let this then be your language: c Lord, I have 
 undone myself, and in me is no help: I see nothing 
 in myself which makes me worthy of thy regard; 
 but this I know, that where sin has abounded, grace 
 
271 
 
 does much more abound, and reigns through righ¬ 
 teousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ: through 
 whom thou hast assured me, in thy word, that eter¬ 
 nal life is the gift of God. As such, let me receive 
 it; and by how much the more undeserving I have 
 been, by so much the more will I celebrate the rich¬ 
 ness of thy grace, in making me a vessel of mercy, 
 and a monument of love, throughout all eternity. 
 Blessed Jesus, thou hast said, that him who comes 
 unto thee thou wilt in nowise cast out; behold, I 
 come, and cast myself at thy feet; receive me, and 
 put me among the children, though I deserve not 
 the very crumbs that fall from thy table/ 
 
 You will not, I hope, imagine, that when I give 
 such advice as this, I mean to insinuate, that a per¬ 
 son, purposing to continue in his sins, may never¬ 
 theless come and receive the blessings of the gospel ; 
 for that would be no other than in the grossest man¬ 
 ner to pervert and contradict the whole tenor of it. 
 But this I say, and repeat it, that when once a sin¬ 
 ner finds himself, by divine grace, disposed to turn 
 from his sins to God, and made willing to accept 
 the mercy tendered in the gospel, of which a deliver¬ 
 ance from sin, and a renovation of nature, are a great, 
 important, and essential part: he may with cheerful¬ 
 ness apply himself to the great Redeemer, as one of 
 those whom he came on purpose to deliver; and in 
 proportion to the degree in which he can discern the 
 sincerity of his sentiments, he may open his heart 
 to comfort, how great soever his former unworthiness 
 has been, and how lately soever such impressions 
 may have been made upon his heart. 
 
 8. ‘ Make the dedication of yourselves to Christ, 
 and his service, as solemn a thing as you can/ 
 
< 2?2 
 
 We read in the Acts of some that were baptized, 
 and publicly received into the church, the very same 
 day in which they were converted; and though a 
 change of circumstances may at present render it 
 convenient to defer doing it for some time, with the 
 solemnity of the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, 
 which is peculiarly intended for that purpose ; be¬ 
 cause it is proper that the efficacy of your repentance 
 and conversion, should first of all be so far seen, as, 
 in the judgment of charity, to approve the sincerity 
 of it; yet, I think, when you feel your hearts absor 
 lutely determined for God, you should, in a solemn 
 manner, lay hold of his covenant, in secret at least, 
 as soon as possible, and declare, as before him that 
 searcheth all hearts, the sincerity of that acceptance. 
 Some have recommended the doing this in a writ¬ 
 ten engagement; and there are several very affecting 
 forms of this kind, in books on this subject, which 
 may very profitably be used. But I hope the fulness 
 of your hearts will dictate something of this kind, 
 if such helps should be wanting, or if any peculiar 
 consideration should prevent their being used.— 
 And surely, if you feel the love of the blessed Jesus 
 glowing in your hearts as you ought, you will need 
 no other engagement to yield yourselves to him; 
 that love will be instead of ten thousand arguments; 
 and you will see a secret charm in the view of serv¬ 
 ing him, which will engage your very soul to spring- 
 forward with vigour, and eagerness, to every proper 
 instance of it. The dread of future punishment 
 lias certainly its use to restrain from the commission 
 of sin, especially in an hour of pressing temptation; 
 and the hope of that exceeding and eternal weight 
 
27 3 
 
 of glory, which the gospel promises, will have a 
 greater efficacy upon a generous mind; yet I will 
 venture to say, that a heart powerfully impressed with 
 the love of Jesus, will have a yet stronger influence 
 than either of these. Cordial friendship needs not 
 to be hired to perform its proper office. Love is a 
 law to itself: it adds a delightful relish to every at¬ 
 tempt, for the service of its object: and it is most 
 evidently thus in the present case. 4 Lord,’ will the 
 Christian say, 4 wilt thou do me the honour to accept 
 any feeble attempt for thy service which I can form ? 
 I thank thee for it; and bow my head before thee 
 in the most grateful acknowledgments, that thou 
 favourest me with an ability to discharge, in any 
 degree, the fulness of my grateful heart in presenting 
 them : Oh that my whole soul might daily rise be¬ 
 fore thee as an acceptable sacrifice in the flame of 
 love ! Oh that I might always feel my heart enlarged 
 to run the way of thy commandments ! Were the de¬ 
 gree of my future happiness from this moment in¬ 
 variably fixed, I would still pursue this delightful 
 business; for there is no other in which my soul 
 could find a pleasure, equal or comparable to it.’ 
 If you feel such thoughts as these rising in your 
 mind, breathe them out before the throne from day 
 to day; and when you have done it, recollect fre¬ 
 quently 44 the vows of God that are upon you;” and 
 see, that 44 having sworn, you perform it,” and main¬ 
 tain, in the whole of your lives, a conduct agreeable 
 to such a profession as this. 
 
 9. 4 Gird up the loins of your mind, to encoun¬ 
 ter with a great deal of difficulty in your Christian 
 course/ 
 
 m 3 
 
27 4f 
 
 Many are the difficulties that you must expect; 
 great, and possibly, for a while, increasing difficul¬ 
 ties. It is commonly said indeed, that those diffi¬ 
 culties which attend the entrance on a religious life, 
 are the greatest; and, in themselves considered, no 
 doubt but they are so; they arise from many quar¬ 
 ters, and unite all together in the same design of 
 keeping you from a believing application to Christ, 
 and a resolute closure with him. In this respect, 
 evil sometimes arises to a man in his own house; 
 and those whose near relation should rather engage 
 them to give the young convert the best assistance, 
 where his most important interests are concerned, 
 are, on the contrary, ready to lay a stumbling-block 
 ‘ in his way; and perhaps act as if they had rather 
 he should have no religion at all, than change a few 
 circumstances in the outward profession of it. Worldly 
 interest, too, is perhaps to be sacrificed; and con¬ 
 science cannot be preserved without giving up the 
 friendship of those whom, at any other expense but 
 conscience, a man would gladly oblige. And it is 
 • no wonder if Satan make his utmost efforts, and 
 those very unwearied too, that he may prevent the 
 revolt of* these subjects, or rather the escape of his 
 prisoners. The Christian is therefore called upon 
 by the Apostle to arm himself as for a combat, and 
 that at all points, to t£ put on the whole armour of 
 God, that he may be able to withstand in the evil 
 day, and having done all to stand.” 
 
 Nor must yon, my friends, though as soon as you 
 have put on your harness you gain some important 
 victory, boast as if you might securely put it off. 
 \ our whole life must be a series of exercise. Through 
 
275 
 
 much opposition, as well as “much tribulation, you 
 must enter into the kingdom of God;” and though 
 your difficulties may generally be greatest at first, 
 yet your encouragements then may perhaps be so 
 peculiarly great, and your spirits under their first 
 religious impressions so warm, that other difficulties, 
 in themselves smaller, may press more sensibly upon 
 you. Endeavour, therefore, to keep yourselves in 
 a prepared posture: put on a steady resolution; and 
 to support it, sit down and count the cost, lest, hav- 
 ing begun to build, you shamefully desist, and 44 be 
 not able to finish it;” or having put your hand to 
 the plough, you should look back, and become “ un¬ 
 fit for the kingdom of God and therefore, 
 
 10. 4 Let every step in this attempt be taken with 
 a deep sense of your own weakness, and an humble 
 dependence upon divine grace to be communicated 
 to you as the matter requires/ 
 
 Recollect seriously what I was telling you in a 
 former discourse of the necessity of the divine agency 
 and interposition; and remember, it depends upon 
 God, not only to begin the good work, but also to 
 carry it on, and 44 perform it until the day of Jesus 
 Christ.” If we trust in our own hearts, especially after 
 this solemn admonition, this plain instruction, added 
 to such frequent experience, we are fools indeed. 
 Let us therefore 44 trust in the Lord, and not lean 
 to our own understanding.” And do you, my friends, 
 who have but just listed yourselves in this holy war, 
 every one of you say, with an humble yet cheerful 
 heart, 44 In the name of our God will we set up our 
 banners.” And if thus you wait on the Lord, you 
 shall renew your strength; and even the feeblest 
 
<276 
 
 soul shall be enabled, by divine grace, to mount up 
 with wings as eagles, and to press on from one de¬ 
 gree of religious improvement to another, while 44 the 
 youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men 
 shall utterly fall.” The Apostle expresses, in the 
 liveliest manner, his dependence on the divine Re¬ 
 deemer to communicate this grace in a proper degree, 
 when he says, 44 Let us come boldly to the throne of 
 grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to 
 help in time of need;” plainly implying, that it may 
 be obtained if we have but hearts to seek for it; 
 which, as on the one hand, it effectually takes off all 
 idle excuses for the neglect of our duty, pleaded 
 from our own acknowledged weakness, any further 
 than we are supported by the divine power; so, on 
 the other hand, it animates the heart, that, sensible 
 of its various infirmities, desires nevertheless to go 
 forth to the work of God, and to consecrate all its 
 faculties to his service, using them, such as they are, 
 for God, and humbly seeking from him the enlarge¬ 
 ment of them. 
 
 Go, therefore, my friends, into the divine pre¬ 
 sence; and, while under a sense of this, be not dis¬ 
 couraged, though mountains of opposition may lie in 
 your way. Those mountains shall be made low, and 
 spread themselves into a plain before you ; while you 
 go forth under the influences of the Spirit of the 
 Lord, who is able to make all grace abound to his 
 people. Of this, Paul, in our text, was a most cele¬ 
 brated instance; who not only received, as was here 
 promised, directions, what he should do, hut had 
 strength also given him to perform it; a strength 
 which was made perfect and illustrious in his weak- 
 
277 
 
 ness; and when, in consequence of this, he had at¬ 
 tained to very distinguishing improvements in reli¬ 
 gion, and had been enabled to act up, in the most 
 honourable manner, not only to the Christian char¬ 
 acter in general, but to that of a minister and an 
 apostle, he acknowledges, in all his abundant labours, 
 that it was not 44 he, but the grace of God that was 
 with him.” 
 
 If it be thus with you, my brethren, you will be 
 44 established and built up in your most holy faith.” 
 The most agreeable hopes we form concerning you, 
 when we see you under such serious impressions as 
 this discourse supposes, will be answered; and they 
 who have spoken to you the word of God, on such 
 occasions as these, will have the pleasure to think 
 that they have not run in vain. 
 
 And now, if these directions, which I have of¬ 
 fered to you with great plainness and freedom, but 
 with the sincerest desire of your edification and 
 establishment in religion, be seriously pursued, I 
 shall have the satisfaction of thinking, that though 
 I might find you in the number of the unregenerate 
 when I began these Lectures, 1 shall carry you on 
 along with me through the only head that yet re¬ 
 mains to be handled ; and shall indeed address my¬ 
 self to you, as those who 44 were sometimes dark¬ 
 ness, but are now light in the Lord,” when I 
 proceed to address those who have been renewed 
 by divine grace, which I promised as my last gen¬ 
 eral, and with which I shall conclude my discourses 
 on this important subject. 
 
Ti 8 
 
 SERMON X. 
 
 AN ADDRESS TO THE REGENERATE, FOUNDED ON 
 THE PRECEDING DISCOURSES. 
 
 James i. 18. 
 
 ——“ Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that 
 vve should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.” 
 
 I intend the words, which I have now been 
 reading, only as an introduction to that address to 
 the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, with 
 which I am now to conclude these Lectures; and, 
 therefore, shall not enter into any critical discussion, 
 either of them, or of the context. I hope God has 
 made the series of these discourses, in some measure 
 useful to those for whose service they were imme¬ 
 diately intended; but if they have not been so to 
 all, and if with relation to many, I have laboured in 
 vain, from Sabbath to Sabbath, I cannot be surprised 
 at it. “ What am I better than my fathers ?” It 
 has, in every age, been their complaint, that they 
 “ have stretched out their hands all the day to a 
 disobedient and gainsaying people;” that the bellows 
 have been burnt, and the lead consumed of the fire, 
 but the dross has not been taken away; such repro¬ 
 bate silver have multitudes been found. Yea, the 
 Lord Jesus Christ himself, who spake with such 
 unequalled eloquence, vVith such divine energy, yet 
 
279 
 
 met with multitudes, who were like the deaf adder, 
 that would not hearken to the voice of the wisest 
 charmer: and surely the disciple is not above his 
 master, nor the servant above his-lord. « 
 
 When, indeed, we consider the infinite importance 
 of the message we address to you, oh, ye perishing 
 sinners ! we hardly know how to give over, or to 
 take a denial. We feel a strong impulse on our 
 hearts to give line upon line, and precept upon pre¬ 
 cept: as a physician that loves his patient, when he 
 sees the distemper prevailing, and has run through 
 the whole range of medicines, is ready, while life 
 yet remains, not entirely to give over, but to repeat 
 again what he had prescribed unsuccessfully before. 
 And if God spares our lives, no doubt many of those 
 things which I have before been urging, must, in 
 substance, be repeated. But at present I will de¬ 
 sist: I know not what more or farther to say; and 
 if you are utterly unimpressed with what I have al¬ 
 ready laid before you, especially with regard to the 
 character of the unregenerate—the nature of regen-* 
 eration—the absolute necessity of it—and of the 
 divine agency in producing it;—I know not what 
 further to urge, and must leave you either to the 
 grace or the judgment of God. The time will cer¬ 
 tainly come, when you will see and own the impor- - 
 tance of these things. The word of God will, in 
 one sense or another, take hold of every soul that 
 hears it, and perhaps on some of you in a very ter¬ 
 rible manner, and in a very little time. But if it 
 do, I may say with the apostle Paul, when, in token 
 of the solemnity with which he spoke, he shook his 
 raiment, and took leave of his obstinate hearers, 1 
 
280 
 
 am clean from your blood; and since you refuse to 
 be instructed, I turn to those who will regard what 
 I say. And thus, according to the method I at 
 first proposed, I proceed, 
 
 Seventhly , To conclude these discourses with an 
 address to those who, by divine grace, are experi¬ 
 mentally acquainted with this great work of regen¬ 
 eration ; to show them how they ought to be affected 
 with the consideration of the truths that have been 
 offered, and what improvement they should make of 
 such a course of sermons as you have lately been 
 attending. 
 
 Out of a general regard to the glory of God, and 
 the good of souls, you have attended on what has 
 hitherto been spoken to persons of a very different 
 ‘ character; and I hope not altogether without some 
 sensible refreshment and advantage; but now hear 
 more immediately for yourselves, and suffer a word 
 of exhortation in such particulars as these. Be 
 thankful to God for what you have experienced;— 
 improve it as an engagement to behave in a suitable 
 manner;—study to promote the work of God upon 
 the hearts of others;—and long for that blessed 
 world, where the change that is now begun, and is 
 gradually advancing in your souls, shall be universal 
 and complete. Your own wisdom and piety have, 
 no doubt, prevented me in each of these particulars; 
 but you will be glad to enter more fully into the re¬ 
 flection than you could do, while it was intermingling 
 itself with other thoughts. 
 
 (1.) Return the most affectionate acknowledg¬ 
 ments of praise to the God of all mercy, for the ex¬ 
 perience you have had of a regenerating change. 
 
281 
 
 I would now address this exhortation and charge 
 
 b 
 
 to every one of you, who, through divine grace, 
 hope you can say, that you are born again; to all 
 who can say that “ God has, of his own will, be¬ 
 gotten you with the word of truth, that you may be 
 a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.” To you 
 I would say, “ Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of 
 his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holi¬ 
 ness and goodness. Give thanks to the Father, 
 who has made you meet to be partakers of the in¬ 
 heritance of the saints in light. Join your voices 
 and your hearts in the most cheerful hymns of 
 praise,” whatever your different circumstances are. 
 Let the young and the old, the rich and the poor, 
 the honourable and the mean, rejoice together; if 
 any may be called poor, who are thus enriched; if 
 any may be accounted mean, who are thus honoured. 
 “ Bless the Lord at all times; let his praise be con¬ 
 tinually in your mouths:” and endeavour to carry 
 along with you, through the darkest road you travel, 
 and the bitterest sorrows you taste, cheerfulness in 
 your hearts, and praise on your tongues; consider¬ 
 ing—how important the blessing is with which the 
 Lord has favoured you—how few there are who 
 partake of it—and in the midst of how much op¬ 
 position the divine grace has taken hold of your 
 souls, and wrought its wonders of love there. 
 
 1. Consider, my Christian friends, how impor¬ 
 tant this favour is which God has bestowed upon 
 you, in thus begetting you as a kind of first-fruits of 
 his creatures. 
 
 Justly indeed may I say, “ Behold what manner 
 of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,” that we 
 
282 
 
 should be regenerated by his grace; and so be called, 
 and that with propriety, “ the sons of God \” Justly 
 may I say to you, now you are assembled in the 
 courts of the Lord, in those emphatical words of 
 David, <c O come, let us worship and bow down ; 
 let us kneel before the Lord our Maker: for it is he 
 that has made us, and not we ourselves,” with regard 
 to this second, as well as the first creation; and we, 
 in consequence of it, are in the noblest sense “ his 
 people, and the sheep of his pasture: enter there¬ 
 fore into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his 
 courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless 
 his name.” 
 
 My brethren, it is a favour in which the salvation 
 of your souls is concerned; and can that be small? 
 or ought it ever to be thought of but with the highest 
 emotion and enlargedness of heart? The gracious 
 purposes of God towards his children, are, to make 
 every one of them higher than the kings of the 
 earth; to give them more solid satisfaction than 
 crowns and kingdoms can afford; and at length to 
 raise them to a diadem of immortal glory. O what 
 reason have you, with the Apostle, to say, u Blessed 
 be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 who, according to his abundant mercy, has begotten 
 us again to a lively hope, by the resurrection of 
 Jesus Christ from the dead; even to the hope of an 
 inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, and that 
 fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us who are 
 kept by the power of God, through faith unto salva¬ 
 tion !” Survey this great privilege which God has 
 already given you; this high security, these glorious 
 hopes. Has he not brought the beginning of glory 
 
283 
 
 already into your souls? Has he not wrought you 
 to a filial temper, and taught you to cry, Abba, 
 Father? Has he not, in some measure, formed 
 and fashioned your minds to a meetness to dwell 
 with angels and perfected spirits in heaven? So 
 that you can now say, even with relation to that 
 which you already feel, “ that you are no more 
 strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the 
 saints, and of the household of God.” You are 
 even now “the sons of God, and it doth not yet ap¬ 
 pear what you shall be;” but there is enough ap¬ 
 pears, and enough known at present, of what you 
 shall be, and of what you are, to revive, to delight, 
 to transport the heart. 
 
 And is not this too, O thou afflicted soul, who 
 art called to encounter with the most painful diffi¬ 
 culties, enough to be the means of thy support, and 
 to afford thee matter for thy strong consolation ? 
 You that are tossed with tempests, and obliged to 
 struggle under various and long-continued burdens, 
 have you not here a joy that the world can neither 
 bestow nor impair, a pleasure in public and in secret 
 duties, and a hope which is “ as the anchor of the 
 soul, both sure and steadfast, entering into that 
 within the veil;” and so enabling you to outride 
 these storms and tempests? How glorious does 
 your lot appear, when viewed in the light of Scrip¬ 
 ture ! You are expressly told, “ All things are 
 yours:—the Lord will give grace and glory, and no 
 good thing will he withhold from you ;—all the paths 
 of the Lord are mercy and truth to you;” and ere 
 long you shall see how they are so. You have a 
 sight, by faith, of the inheritance appointed for his 
 
284 
 
 children; but he does not intend merely a distant 
 prospect for you; you shall go in, and possess that 
 good land, and shall ere long “ be absent from the 
 body, and present with the Lord.” Yea, the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, ere long, ii shall come to be glorified 
 in his saints, and to be admired in all them that be¬ 
 lieve,” to be glorified and admired in and by you 
 in particular; when bearing the image of your hea¬ 
 venly Father, you shall rise far beyond this earth, 
 and all its vain anxieties, and vainer amusements, to 
 dwell for ever in his presence. And what is there 
 in this world that you imagine you want, which is 
 by any means to be compared with these enjoyments 
 and hopes ? Surely, sirs, in such a view, you should 
 be much more than content; and should feel your 
 inward admiration, love, and joy, bursting the bonds 
 of silence, and tuning your voices, that have been 
 broken by sighs, into the most cheerful and exalted 
 anthems of praise; especially when you consider, 
 
 2. How few there are that partake of this im¬ 
 portant favour which God has extended to you. 
 
 I hope I need not, after all I have said, remind 
 you at large, that I intend not by any means to 
 speak, as excluding those of different forms and 
 different experiences; as if, in consequence of that 
 diversity, they had neither part nor lot in this mat¬ 
 ter. I hope that many who are not so ready as it 
 were to be wished to receive one another, are never¬ 
 theless, in this respect, received by Christ to the 
 glory of God. Yet the temper and conduct of the 
 generality of mankind, even under a Christian pro¬ 
 fession, too plainly shows, that they have the marks 
 of eternal ruin upon them : and one can form no 
 
28 5 
 
 hope concerning them, consistent with the tenor of 
 the whole word of God, any other than this, that 
 possibly they may hereafter be changed into some¬ 
 thing contrary to what they are, and in that change 
 be happy. 
 
 Now, that you are not left among the wide ex¬ 
 tended ruins of mankind, but are set as pillars in the 
 building of God, is what you have been taught by 
 the preceding discourses to refer to the grace of 
 God, which has taken and polished you to the form 
 you now bear: or, as the Evangelist expresses it, in 
 language more suitable to the subject before us, 
 6i The power, or privilege to become the sons of 
 God, is what he gives to as many as receive him ; 
 and it is manifest as to your regeneration, that you 
 are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 
 nor of the will of man, but of God : for we love him 
 because he first loved us;” and whatsoever our at¬ 
 tainments be, there is no true believer but will be 
 ready, with the apostle Paul, to say, 46 By the grace 
 of God, I am what I am.” 
 
 And now, when these two thoughts are taken in 
 this comparison with each other, how deeply should 
 they impress our minds! and how should it ex¬ 
 cite us to the most lively gratitude, to consider, that 
 when so many of our fellow-creatures perish, even 
 under the sound of the gospel; that when they live 
 and die under the power of a corrupt and degenerate 
 nature, despising all the means which God has given 
 them of becoming better, and turning them into the 
 occasion of greater mischief; God should graciously 
 incline our hearts to a wiser and better choice ! It 
 is indeed a melancholy reflection, that the number 
 
286 
 
 of those who are made wise to salvation should be so 
 small; yet it is an endearing circumstance in the 
 divine goodness to us, that when it is so small, we 
 should be included in it; as no doubt it would ap¬ 
 pear to every truly religious person in the ark, that 
 when but eight souls were saved from the deluge, he 
 should be one. There is now a remnant, says the 
 Apostle, according to the election of grace: to that 
 grace, therefore, should we render the praise. We 
 have, indeed, chosen him : but it is in consequence 
 of his choosing us. We have said, “ The Lord is 
 my portion;” but let us remember to bless him, that 
 he has given us that counsel, in consequence of 
 which we have been inclined to do it. Again, 
 
 3. Consider in the midst of how much opposition 
 the grace of God has laid hold of your souls, and 
 wrought its wonders of love there. 
 
 Christians, look into your own hearts ; yea, look 
 back upon your own lives, and see whether many of 
 you have not reason to say, with the great Apostle, 
 “ It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all accepta¬ 
 tion, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
 sinners, of whom I am chief;—and yet to me, who 
 am less than the least of all saints, is this grace 
 given,” that I should be a regenerate adopted child of 
 God, u begotten to an inheritance of eternal glory.” 
 
 ( Oh,’ may one Christian say, 4 how obstinately 
 did I strive against my own happiness; like a poor 
 creature, that, having received some dangerous 
 wound, and being delirious with a fever attending 
 it, struggles with the hand that is stretched out to 
 heal him. How did I draw back from the yoke of 
 God ! How did I trifle with convictions, and put 
 
28 ? 
 
 them off from one time to another! so that God 
 might most righteously have awakened any heart 
 rather than mine. He admonished me by his word, 
 and by his providence: he sent afflictions ; he wrought 
 out deliverances for me ; and yet I went on to har¬ 
 den my heart, as if I had been afflicted and deliv¬ 
 ered, that I might work greater abominations; till 
 the Lord, being merciful unto me, laid hold upon 
 me, and drew me out of Sodom/ 
 
 And here another Christian will be ready to say 
 within himself, ‘ If the grace of God wrought sooner 
 upon me, when my soul was more pliant, when my 
 heart was comparatively tender, in infancy, or child¬ 
 hood, or in early youth; yet what ungrateful returns 
 have I since made for his mercy ! How defective 
 have I been in those fruits of holiness which might 
 reasonably have been expected from me, who have 
 so long a time been planted in the house of the Lord ! 
 Alas for me ! that I have flourished no more in the 
 courts of my God. How often have I forgotten 
 and forsaken him ! How cold and negligent has my 
 spirit been ! How inconstant my walk, how indo¬ 
 lent my behaviour, for these many years that have 
 passed, since I was first brought into his family ! 
 Ho w little have I done in his service, in proportion 
 to the advantages I have enjoyed ! All this he 
 foresaw; all the instances in which my goodness 
 would be as a morning cloud, and as the early dew; 
 all the instances in which this perverse heart of 
 mine, so prone to backslide, should turn aside, and 
 start back from him like a deceitful bow; and yet 
 he has mercy upon me, I know not why; I cannot 
 pretend to account for it any otherwise than by 
 
28S 
 
 saying, tc Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in 
 thy sight: thou hast mercy on whom thou wilt have 
 mercy, and thou hast compassion on whom thou wilt 
 have compassion.” I have revolted deeply from 
 thee again and again ; yet thou sufferest me not to 
 be lost to this very day, nor wilt thou ever suffer it: 
 “ Thou restorest my soul; thou leadest me in the 
 paths of righteousness for thy name’s sake.” Hav¬ 
 ing, therefore, obtained help of God, I continue to 
 this day;—and “ surely goodness and mercy shall 
 follow me all the days of my life ;” and unworthy 
 as I am, so much as to enter into thine house be¬ 
 low, <£ I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for 
 ever above.” Thus, Lord, thou makest me, as it 
 were, a wonder to myself; and I hope to express my 
 admiration and my gratitude throughout eternal 
 ages; and if I can vie with the rest of thy redeemed 
 ones in nothing else, I will at least do it in bowing 
 low before thy throne, and acknowledging that I am 
 of the number of the most unworthy in whom my 
 Lord has been pleased to glorify the riches of his 
 mercy, and the freedom of his grace.’ 
 
 In the meantime, Christians, I call you often to 
 entertain yourselves with such views as these; often 
 to excite your hearts by such lively considerations. 
 
 I call you, in the name of your Father and your Sa¬ 
 viour, to a whole life of gratitude and praise. And 
 this leads me to add, 
 
 (2.) Improve those experiences you have had of 
 divine grace, as an engagement to behave in a suit¬ 
 able manner. 
 
 Remember the lively admonition of the text, that 
 you were begotten by him for this very purpose, 
 
£8 9 
 
 that you should be a kind of first-fruits of his crea¬ 
 tures. See, therefore, that you be entirely conse¬ 
 crated to him, and behave as becomes the children 
 of God in the midst of <e a crooked and perverse 
 generation being not only harmless and blameless 
 among them, but shining <s as lights in the world, 
 and holding forth that word of life,” by which he 
 has begotten you to himself, and “ quickened you 
 when you were dead in trespasses and sins.” God 
 has now brought you into a most honourable rela¬ 
 tion ; he may therefore well expect more, much more 
 from you than from others. He has made you 
 priests to himself, and you are therefore to offer up 
 spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 
 You were darkness, e< but now are ye light in the 
 Lord; walk therefore as children of light.” Re¬ 
 member you are not your own; your time, your 
 possessions, and all your capacities for service, are 
 the property of your heavenly Father. And per¬ 
 mit me to remind you, that, if you desire to see 
 this doctrine of regeneration prevail, you who pre¬ 
 tend to be experimentally acquainted with it, must 
 take great care that your behaviour may not only 
 be innocent, but exemplary; otherwise many will be 
 ready to blaspheme the holy name of that God, 
 whom you call your Father; and you are like to 
 bring a reproach upon the household of faith, which, 
 probably, you will never be able to roll away. 
 
 Christians, the dignity of our birth and our hopes 
 is too little considered and regarded; and the rea¬ 
 son why the world thinks so meanly of it, is be¬ 
 cause we ourselves are so insensible of its excellency. 
 Did we apprehend it more, we should surely be 
 
 N 44 
 
290 
 
 more solicitous to “ walk worthy of that calling 
 wherewith we are called,” that high and holy calling. 
 Let me, therefore, exhort you to endeavour to loosen 
 your affections more from these entanglements of 
 time and sense, which so much debase our minds, 
 and dishonour our lives. t( Yield yourselves unto 
 God, as those that are alive from the dead ;”—em¬ 
 ploy, with a growing zeal to the honour of God, 
 that renewed life which he has given you ;—“ be 
 not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed 
 by the renewing of your minds;” and let your con¬ 
 versation and behaviour be like those who feel the 
 constraining influences of divine love; who are, not 
 - in form, but in reality, devoted to God; and who 
 w T ould be continually waiting for his salvation, with 
 that temper in which you could most desire that 
 
 salvation to fiud vou when it comes. 
 
 •/ 
 
 (3.) Let those who have experienced the power of 
 divine grace themselves, ‘ study to promote the 
 work of God upon the hearts of others/ 
 
 Labour, as much as possible, to spread this 
 temper which God has wrought in your hearts: 
 for you cannot but know, that with it you spread 
 true happiness, which alone is to be found in that 
 intercourse with the great Author of our being, for 
 which this lays a foundation, and in the regular ex¬ 
 ercise of those powers which are thus sanctified. 
 No sooner was Paul converted himself, but he pre¬ 
 sently set himself to bring others to Christ, and to 
 preach the faith which once he destroyed. And 
 David speaks of it as the effect of God’s pardoning 
 love to him : u Then will I teach transgressors thy 
 \yays, and sinners shall be converted unto thee.” 
 
291 
 
 If, therefore, God has called us to the office of 
 the ministry, as the experience of this change on 
 our own hearts, will be our best qualification for our 
 public work, (and indeed such a qualification, that 
 nothing else can supply the want of it,) so it will 
 surely excite us, in a very powerful manner, to apply 
 vigorously to this care. That which we have not 
 only heard, but ii seen with our eyes, and looked 
 upon, and handled of the word of life, let us declare 
 to others; that their fellowship-also may be with 
 the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” Let 
 us declare it in our public discourses, and never be 
 ashamed to bear our testimony to that grace to 
 which we are so much indebted; to that grace by 
 which we are what we are. Let us warn every man, 
 and teach every man the absolute necessity of re¬ 
 generation ; and expose the vanity of all those hopes 
 which are built upon any fair outside, on any moral 
 decency of behaviour, on any humane turn of temper, 
 on any warm flight of imagination or emotion of 
 passions, while the soul continues unrenewed and 
 unsanctified. Let us endeavour to save men with 
 fear, <fi pulling them out of the fire,” which, if they 
 are yet unregenerate, is just ready to kindle upon 
 them. And let us be often reviewing our respective 
 flocks, that we may see who they are concerning 
 whom there is reason to entertain this fear; that 
 proper applications may be made to them in private, 
 as well as in public; that, joining our admonitions 
 to our sermons, and our prayers and examples to 
 both, we may at least deliver our own souls, if we 
 cannot deliver theirs. But, in proportion to the 
 degree that such a spirit prevails in us, there is very 
 
 N 2 
 
292 
 
 great encouragement to hope it will be propagated 
 to them, and that our 6< labour shall not be in vain 
 in the Lord.” 
 
 And let me beseech you, ray beloved hearers, in 
 other stations of life, that you would not imagine 
 the work is so entirely ours, that you have nothing 
 to do with it. Are we alone redeemed by the 
 blood of the Son of God ? Are w ? e alone renewed 
 and sanctified by his grace? Are we alone the 
 brethren and friends of mankind, that the generous 
 care and endeavour to promote their eternal happi¬ 
 ness should be entirely devolved upon us? We 
 wish so well to the world, and, permit us to say, we 
 wish so well to yon, to your own religious consola¬ 
 tion and establishment, to your comfortable account, 
 to your eternal reward, that we cannot but earnestly 
 exhort you all, even as many as have “ tasted that 
 the Lord is gracious,” that, in this respect, you join 
 not only, as I trust you do, your prayers with ours, 
 but that you also join your endeavours. 
 
 Let me, particularly, address this exhortation to 
 those of you who bear any distinguished office in 
 the society, to whom, therefore, its religious inter¬ 
 ests are dear by additional ties. Let me address 
 to those of you, whose age and experience, in the 
 human and the divine life, give you something of a 
 natural authority in your application, and command 
 a distinguished regard. Look round about you, 
 and observe the state of religion in your neighbour¬ 
 hood; and labour to the utmost to propagate, not so 
 much this or that particular opinion, or form of 
 worship, but real vital Christianity in the w’orld. 
 Bear your testimony to it on all proper occasions; 
 
293 
 
 be not ashamed of it in your familiar discourse; and 
 above all, labour to adorn it by your actions. And 
 when you see any under serious impressions, as it 
 is certain they will have a great deal discouraging 
 and difficult to break through; and as the devil and 
 his instruments, among whom I must necessarily 
 reckon licentious company, will be doing their ut¬ 
 most to draw them back into the snare of the fowler ; 
 let me exhort and charge you to be as solicitous 
 to save, as others are to destroy. I know how many 
 excuses our cowardly and indolent hearts are ready 
 to find out upon such an occasion; but I think 
 thpse words of Solomon are a sufficient answer to 
 all, and I beg you would seriously revolve them : 
 
 66 If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn 
 unto death, and those that are ready to be slain ; 
 if thou sayest, Behold we knew it not; doth not he 
 that pondereth the heart consider it ? and he that 
 keepeth thy soul, (thine, O Christian, with such 
 peculiar and gracious care,) doth not he know it? 
 and shall not he render to every man according to his 
 works?” He will assuredly remember, and will 
 abundantly reward, every work of faith, and every 
 labour of love ; and we are insensible of our own 
 truest interest, if we do not see how much it is con¬ 
 cerned here. 
 
 Let me, especially, leave this exhortation with 
 you who are parents and heads of families. And 
 one would imagine, there should need but little im¬ 
 portunity in such a case as this: one would think 
 your own hearts should speak to you, upon such an 
 occasion, in very pathetic language. Look upon 
 your dear children, to whom you have conveyed a 
 
294 
 
 nature which you know to be degenerate and cor¬ 
 rupt ; and be earnest in your prayers before God, 
 and your endeavours with them, that it may be re¬ 
 newed. And take care that you do not, in this 
 sense, despise the soul of your man-servant, or of 
 your maid-servant. God has brought them under 
 your care, it may be in those years of life, in which, 
 on the one hand, they are most capable of being in¬ 
 structed and seriously impressed ; and in which, on 
 the other hand, they are also most in danger of be¬ 
 ing corrupted. Perhaps their relation to you, and 
 abode with you, is the most advantageous circum¬ 
 stance which may occur in their whole lives ; see, 
 therefore, that you seize it with a holy eagerness; 
 and, amidst all the charges you give them relating 
 to your ow’n business, neglect not that of the one 
 thing needful; and labour heartily to bring them to 
 the honour and happiness which is common to all 
 God’s servants, and peculiar to them alone. 
 
 Let me conclude this part of my address, with 
 entreating you all to express your concern for the 
 souls of others, by your importunate prayers to God 
 for them. Pray for the success of gospel ordinan¬ 
 ces ; and for a blessing on the labours of all God’s 
 faithful servants, throughout our whole land, of one 
 or another denomination in religion. Yea, pray 
 that, throughout the whole world, God would “ re¬ 
 vive his work in the midst of the years;” that the 
 religion of his Son, by which so many souls have been 
 regenerated, refined, and saved, may be universally 
 propagated ; and that all who are vigorously engaged 
 in so important, though so self-denying a work, 
 may find that the hand of the Lord is with them, 
 
2Q5 
 
 and so “ multitudes believe and turn unto the 
 Lord; so that “ his sons may be brought from far, 
 and his daughters from the ends of the earth;”— 
 that the barren may rejoice, and she that did not 
 travail with child, may break forth into singing, and 
 cry aloud, that the children of nations, now strangers 
 to Christ, may be more than of those that are al¬ 
 ready espoused to him. And then, 
 
 (4.) Let all who are born again 4 long for that 
 blessed world where the work of God shall be com¬ 
 pleted, and we shall appear with a dignity and glory 
 becoming his children/ 
 
 As for “ God, his work is perfect:” and the time, 
 the happy time is approaching, when we shall know, 
 and the whole world shall know, in another manner 
 than we now do, what our heavenly Father has in¬ 
 tended for us in begetting us to himself. What¬ 
 ever our attainments here may be, we know at pre¬ 
 sent but in part; and with whatever integrity of soul 
 we now walk before God, we are sanctified but in 
 part; and hereupon we find, and must expect to find, 
 the flesh striving against the spirit, as well as the 
 spirit against the flesh; so that, in many respects, 
 “ we cannot do the things that we would;” and in 
 proportion to the degree in which our nature is re¬ 
 fined and brightened, we are more sensible of the evil 
 of these corruptions that remain within us; so that 
 though we are not, in a strict propriety of speech, 
 “ carnal and sold under sin, but do indeed delight 
 in the law of God after the inward man,” yet, in the 
 humility of our hearts, we are often borrowing that 
 pathetic complaint, 66 O, wretched man that I am, 
 who shall deliver me from the body of this death 1” 
 
296 
 
 But let it be remembered, Christians, as the matter 
 of your joy, that the struggle shall not be perpetual, 
 that it shall not indeed be long. Look up with 
 pleasure, then, and lift up your heads, for your 
 redemption draweth nigh:” the time is approaching, 
 <c when that which is perfect shall come, and that 
 which is in part shall be done away.” You are now 
 the children of God; but it does not appear to every 
 eye that you are so: the world knows us not; nor 
 are we to wonder at it; for even Christ our Lord 
 was once unknown, and appeared in so much mean¬ 
 ness, and so much calamity, that an undiscerning and 
 carnal eye could not have discovered who and what 
 he was. But there is a day appointed for cc the 
 manifestation of the sons of God,” (as the Apostle 
 most happily expresses it,} when he will manifest 
 them to each other, and manifest them also to the 
 whole world. They shall not always live thus at a 
 distance from their Father’s house, and under those 
 dispensations of providence that look so much like 
 disregard and neglect; but he will take them home, 
 and gather them to himself. Ere long, Christians, 
 he will call these heaven-born spirits of yours, that 
 are now aspiring towards him, to dwell in his imme¬ 
 diate presence: he will receive you to himself; and 
 you shall stand where no sinner shall have a place, 
 in “ the congregation of the righteous;” and shall 
 have an inheritance among the saints in light, the 
 saints in holiness and glory. O happy day ! when, 
 dropping this body in the grave, we shall ascend 
 pure and joyful spirits to that triumphant assembly, 
 where there is not one vitiated affection, not one 
 foolish thought, to be found among the thousands 
 
297 
 
 and ten thousands of God’s Israel! O blessed period 
 of a regenerate state ! Though all the schemes of 
 the divine love were to rest here, and these bodies 
 were for ever to be laid aside, and utterly to be lost 
 in the grave, the rejoicing soul might say, “ Lord, 
 it is enough !” And it might be indeed enough for 
 us; but it is not enough to answer the gracious pur¬ 
 poses of God’s paternal love. God will show, in 
 the most conspicuous manner, what a family he has 
 raised to himself among the children of men; and 
 therefore he will assemble them all in their complete 
 persons, and will do it with solemn pomp, and mag¬ 
 nificent parade. He will, for this purpose, send “ his 
 own Son, with all his holy angels;” and will cause 
 the bodies of millions of his children, that have loii£ 
 dwelt in the dust, to spring out of it at once, in forms 
 of beauty and lustre, worthy their relation to him. 
 This, therefore, is, with beautiful propriety, called • 
 by the Apostle “ the adoption, even the redemption 
 of our bodyalluding to the public ceremony with 
 which adoptions among the ancients were solemnly 
 confirmed and declared, after they had been more 
 privately transacted between the parties immediately 
 concerned. 
 
 Oh, Christians, how reasonable is it that our souls 
 should be rising with a secret ardour towards this 
 blessed hope, this glorious abode! It is pleasant 
 for the children of God to meet and converse with 
 one another upon earth: so pleasant, that I wonder 
 they do not more frequently form themselves into 
 little societies, in which, under that character, they 
 should join their discourses and their prayers. It is 
 delightful to address to those that, we trust, through 
 
 n 3 
 
298 
 
 grace, are born of God. No discourses are more 
 pleasant than those that suit them: and could we, 
 
 ' that are the ministers of Christ, reasonably hope 
 that we had none but such to attend our labours, 
 we should joyfully confine our discourses to such 
 subjects. Yet while we are here, we see imperfec¬ 
 tions in others; we feel them yet more painfully in 
 ourselves: and as there is no pure unmixed society, 
 no fellowship on earth that is completely holy and 
 without blemish, so there is now no pure delight, 
 no perfect pleasure to be met with here. Oh, when 
 shall I depart from this mixed society, and reach 
 that state where all is good, all is glorious ! where 
 I shall see my heavenly Father, and all my brethren 
 in the Lord; and shall behold them all for ever act¬ 
 ing up to the character ! All 6S giving thanks to the 
 Father, who has made us meet to be partakers of the 
 inheritance of the saints in light !” All for ever 
 blessing and serving the great Redeemer; and with¬ 
 out one ungenerous action* one reflecting word, one 
 suspicious thought, for ever serving each other in 
 love, rejoicing in each other’s happiness, and, with 
 the most prudent and steadfast application, for ever 
 studying and labouring to improve it ! 
 
 With the most earnest desire that you, my dear 
 brethren and friends, may at length attain to this 
 state of perfection and glory, and with a cheerful 
 expectation, through divine grace, that I shall, ere 
 long, meet many of you in it, I close this sermon, 
 and these discourses : not without an humble hope, 
 that, when we arrive at this blessed world, these 
 hours which we have spent together in the house of 
 God, in attending them, will come into a pleasant 
 
I 
 
 299 
 
 remembrance; and that the God of all grace, to 
 whose glory they are faithfully devoted, and to whose 
 blessing they are humbly committed, will honour 
 them as the means of increasing his family, as well 
 as of feeding and quickening those who are already 
 his regenerate children. Amen. 
 
 rii 
 

 t 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ’ 
 
 • 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 '■ ; 0 • » ■ ■ 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 v 
 
 f 
 
 - 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 l-a ■’ 
 
 
 /_ 
 
 to 
 
 
 £ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
THE 
 
 SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE 
 
 OF 
 
 SALTATION 
 
 BY 
 
 GRACE THROUGH FAITH: 
 
 ILLUSTRATED AND IMPROVED 
 
 TWO SERMONS. 
 
TO THE 
 
 i 
 
 CHURCH AND CONGREGATION 
 
 OF 
 
 PROTESTANT DISSENTERS AT ROWELL. 
 
 My dear Brethren and Friends, beloved in our common Lord, 
 
 When I first preached these plain sermons to my 
 own congregation, I was much surprised at the re¬ 
 quest which several of them made, that they might 
 be printed; but I was yet more surprised, when, 
 after having delivered the substance of them in one 
 discourse at Rowell, some time after, you so unani¬ 
 mously and affectionately made that request your 
 own. I apprehend, that though the many excellent 
 treatises we have on this subject already, might ex¬ 
 cuse my backwardness to comply ; yet absolutely to 
 have refused your repeated solicitation, might have 
 appeared disrespectful to my good friends, and perhaps 
 have looked like some unwillingness to bear my tes¬ 
 timony to this great and important doctrine, in an 
 age in which the credit of many evangelical truths 
 seem to be fallen very low. 
 
 I am really sorry I have delayed this little service 
 so long; but it was chiefly owing to my desire of 
 finishing my Sermons on Regeneration. I send out 
 these discourses as a kind of supplement to them. 
 The delay is more excusable, as salvation by grace 
 is not a subject which grows out of date in a few 
 months. This glorious doctrine has been the joy of 
 the church, in all ages, on earth ; and it will be the 
 song of all that have received it in truth, throughout 
 the ages of eternity, and be pursued in the heavenly 
 regions, with ever-growing admiration and delight. 
 
304 
 
 I cannot conclude this short address, without con¬ 
 gratulating you on the abundant goodness of God to 
 you as a church, in bringing among you that worthy 
 and excellent person, under whose pastoral care you 
 are now so happily placed. I know he is a faithful, 
 witness to the truths of the gospel; and rejoice in 
 that rich abundance of gifts and graces, which ren¬ 
 der him so fit to state and improve theta in the most 
 advantageous, as well as most agreeable and delight¬ 
 ful manner. I hope and believe, that the grace he 
 so humbly owns his dependence upon, will add 
 happy success to his labours: and I heartily pray, 
 that you and neighbouring churches may long be 
 happy in him; and that God, who has, by such 
 various and gracious interpositions in your favour, 
 expressed his paternal care of you, may still delight 
 . to dwell among you. May he multiply you with 
 men like a flock, daily adding to his church among 
 you such as shall be saved ! May your souls con¬ 
 tinually rejoice in his salvation ! And may you 
 ever walk worthy of the Lord; and prove, by the 
 integrity and purity, the spirituality and usefulness 
 of your whole behaviour, that this grace of God, 
 which brings salvation, has entered with power into 
 your hearts; and that it is your care and delight to 
 improve it, as well as to hear of it ! To contribute 
 to this blessed end, by this or any other attempt of 
 cordial love and faithful respect, will be an unspeak¬ 
 able pleasure to, 
 
 Your very affectionate servant, 
 
 P. DODDRIDGE. 
 
 Northampton, Sept. 1, 1741. 
 
THE 
 
 SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE 
 
 OF 
 
 SALTATION 
 
 BY 
 
 GRACE THROUGH FAITH. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 Ejphesians ii. 8. 
 
 “ For by grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not of 
 yourselves : it is the gift of God.” 
 
 You are often, my dear brethren and friends, hear¬ 
 ing of the duties of a religious life; and it cannot 
 but be a pleasure to every faithful minister of Christ 
 to observe, how willing, nay, how glad you are to 
 hear of them ; and with respect to many of you, 
 how ready you are to practise them. But I am now 
 coming to you with a renewed admonition on another 
 head, which is always to be taken in connexion with 
 the former; and which, 1 persuade myself, will, in 
 that view, be welcome to you all. I am to inculcate 
 it upon you, that when you have done your utmost, 
 how much soever that be, you should still say, that 
 you are unprofitable servants; and endeavour to 
 
306 
 
 maintain a deep sense of it upon your hearts, that, 
 as the Apostle admonishes the believing Ephesians, 
 in the words of the text, “ By grace are ye saved 
 through faith ; and that not of yourselves : it is the 
 gift of God.” 
 
 The Apostle, in his preceding discourse, speaks 
 of the happy change which the gospel had made in 
 the state of these poor heathens. He freely ac¬ 
 knowledges, on this occasion, that the Jews were 
 likewise in a very bad state, and if not entirely sunk 
 into the same enormities, yet “ were by nature 
 children of wrath, even as others.” So that, on the 
 whole, both were (as it might be expressed by an 
 easy and very proper figure) dead in trespasses and 
 sins, indisposed for any religious sensations and 
 ‘ actions, and far more odious to God than a putrid 
 carcass is to men. But he adds, that God by his 
 grace had saved them; thatEis unmerited goodness 
 had begun their salvation, and, having thus far car¬ 
 ried it on, would undoubtedly complete it: and that 
 he might impress their minds the more deeply with 
 it, he repeats it again : “ By grace are ye saved.” 
 So much was the apostle Paul concerned to inculcate 
 a doctrine, which some are ready to look upon as 
 unnecessary, and others perhaps as dangerous. But 
 the Apostle’s authority is abundant enough to out¬ 
 weigh all that can be laid in the opposite scale. 
 And it will appear, from what I have further to offer, 
 that if it had not in this view so direct a sanction 
 from his express testimony, the conclusion would fol¬ 
 low by the justest deduction of argument, from prin¬ 
 ciples so fundamental to the gospel, that they cannot 
 be denied without subverting its whole superstructure. 
 
307 
 
 And here, if I would treat the subject in its full 
 extent, I might consider what w 7 e mean by gospel 
 salvation : but I content myself at present with tell¬ 
 ing you, in a few words, that it implies 6 a deliver¬ 
 ance from that ruinous and calamitous condition into 
 which, by our apostacy from God, we are fallen;’ 
 and also includes i our being restored to the divine 
 favour, and all the happy effects of it, as extending 
 not only to time but to eternity/ 
 
 I might also consider at large the nature of that 
 faith to which the promises of salvation are made. 
 But that is a subject you have heard so frequently 
 explained, that I shall only remind you of that gene¬ 
 ral account of it which has often been illustrated 
 among you. ‘ Saving faith,’ for of that we are now 
 speaking, ‘ is such a persuasion, that Christ is the 
 great Messiah, the Son of God, and the Saviour of 
 men;’ and such a desire and expectation of the 
 blessings be has procured under that character; as 
 shall engage us cheerfully to commit our souls to him 
 in his appointed method of salvation, with a disposi¬ 
 tion cordially to devote ourselves to his service in all 
 the ways of holy and evangelical obedience.’ The 
 several branches of this definition are to be taken in 
 their connexion with each other; and then there 
 would be no difficulty in showing, from the whole 
 tenor of Scripture, that as nothing short of this can 
 be acceptable to God, so wherever such a principle 
 really is, the soul in which it is found is entitled to 
 all the blessings of the covenant of grace, and has 
 all the security for eternal happiness which the pro¬ 
 mise and oath of God can give. I might also easily 
 show you, that this is such a description of faith, as 
 
308 
 
 effectually secures the interest of practical religion, 
 and guards against every presumptuous hope which 
 may be formed in a soul destitute of a principle of 
 universal holiness. 
 
 But, waiving the further prosecution of these pre¬ 
 liminaries to our subject, which we have occasion so 
 often to dilate upon, I shall make it my present 
 business, 
 
 I. To consider how we may be saved through 
 faith. 
 
 II. How it appears that, in consequence of this, 
 we are saved by grace. 
 
 III. I shall examine the force of the Apostle’s 
 additional argument, which is drawn from the con¬ 
 sideration, that faith is the gift of God. And then, 
 
 IV. I shall collect some inferences from the 
 whole.—And may God write on your hearts, as 
 with the point of a diamond, them, and the premises 
 on which they are founded ! 
 
 I. We are to consider in what sense it may be 
 said, that Christians are saved through faith. 
 
 Ye are, says the Apostle, the saved ones,—the 
 persons who have already received the beginnings of 
 salvation, and the certain pledge of its complete ac¬ 
 complishment, through, or by means of faith. 
 
 Now, I apprehend, we shall take in the full sense 
 of the Apostle’s assertion, and of all that is most ne¬ 
 cessary to believe and- know on this subject, if we 
 acknowledge and remember, that faith is absolutely 
 necessary in order to our salvation, so that we can¬ 
 not possibly be saved without it; and also, that 
 every one who hath this faith shall undoubtedly ob¬ 
 tain salvation: but yet, that, after all, a Christian is 
 
309 
 
 not to ascribe his salvation to the merit of his faith, 
 but entirely to that of the Lord Jesus Christ, the 
 great Author and Finisher of it. These are three 
 very obvious remarks: none is so weak, but he may 
 easily understand them : and yet I speak very seri¬ 
 ously, when I say, they seem to me to contain the 
 sum of all that is most important in the many large 
 volumes which have been written on the subject. 
 
 ]. Faith is so absolutely necessary to our salva¬ 
 tion, that we cannot possibly be saved without it. 
 
 So our Lords tells us, in the most express and 
 emphatical forms of speech : 44 If ye believe not that 
 I am he, ye shall die in your sins which most cer¬ 
 tainly implies the loss of salvation, and indeed much 
 more. And elsewhere the incarnate wisdom and 
 truth of God saith, 44 He that believeth not shall be 
 damned.” He shall not, as the Baptist says, 44 see 
 life:” Nay, as our Lord himself expresses it in 
 the strongest terms, 44 Fie that believeth not is con¬ 
 demned already;” not only on account of all those 
 other sins, for which the wrath of God, to which he 
 became immediately obnoxious, still abideth upon 
 him, hut for this additional reason of dreadful provo¬ 
 cation, 44 because he hath not believed in the name 
 of the only begotten Son of God.” 
 
 Without this faith, there is no knowledge that 
 will save a man, though it should be the most vari¬ 
 ous and the most exact knowledge of the most divine 
 and important subjects which ever entered into a 
 human mind. So far is it from this, that one need 
 not scruple to say, a man might as reasonably expect 
 to be saved by skill in the mathematics, or in music, 
 as by skill in polemical divinity, though it were in 
 
310 
 
 its most essential branches, if, after all, it were no 
 more than mere speculation. 
 
 And it is no less certain, that without this faith, 
 morality will not save a man, be it ever so unexcep¬ 
 tionable, be it ever so exemplary. This is indeed 
 much better than the former; but if there be nothing 
 more, it will be fatally ineffectual to the great pur¬ 
 pose which we have now in view. 1 speak not now, 
 as you may easily imagine, of such a continual and 
 uniform obedience to the divine will, as perfectly 
 answers the demands of God’s original law ; for no 
 man ever has attained to this, or will ever, in fact, 
 attain to it in this world; but I speak of what the 
 world generally calls morality,—a freedom from 
 gross impiety and scandalous vice,—yea, though 
 * attended with the practice of the human and social 
 virtues. This is indeed amiable and honourable, so 
 far as it goes ; and will undoubtedly have its reward, 
 in the pleasure of such a conduct, in the esteem and 
 love of mankind, and in the possession of many tem¬ 
 poral advantages and blessings, which, in the com¬ 
 mon course of providence, are connected with it. 
 But, alas ! it is, after all, a very partial and imperfect 
 thing. And as a man may be temperate in himself, 
 just, faithful, and benevolent to men, without having 
 any appearance of religion towards God, or making 
 any pretence to it; so he may have some sense of 
 God upon his spirit, (which, one would think, none 
 but an atheist could entirely avoid,) while, for the 
 neglect, or, it may be, the rejection of the gospel, he 
 stands exposed to its sentence of condemnation. If 
 Christ be not regarded as the rock on which we 
 build our hopes, the foundation is sandy, and will be 
 
311 
 
 ruinous: and if we do not receive Christ by such a 
 faith as I described above, we offer him a most inso¬ 
 lent affront, by pretending to put our unsanctified 
 and rebellious hearts under his patronage. 
 
 We see, then, that without this faith we cannot 
 possibly be saved. It is the counterpart of this 
 important truth, which we now add, when we ob¬ 
 serve, 
 
 2. That every one who hath this faith shall un¬ 
 doubtedly be saved. 
 
 You will here be sure to observe, that I say, 
 6 every one who hath this faith,’—meaning the 
 faith described above; which includes in it, our de¬ 
 voting ourselves to Christ in the way of holy obe¬ 
 dience, as an essential part of it; and, consequently, 
 there can be no reason to say, as some have wildly 
 represented the matter, ‘ A believer shall be saved, 
 let him live as he willwhich is either a most no¬ 
 torious and mischievous falsehood, or an express 
 contradiction in terms. If the word believer be 
 supposed to signify one who merely assents to the 
 truth of the gospel in speculation, nothing can be 
 more false; and the whole Epistle of James, to 
 omit a thousand particular passages of other scrip¬ 
 tures, is a demonstration of the contrary : but if it 
 be meant, as I suppose it generally is, of a true be¬ 
 liever, it is an express contradiction ; and is as ab¬ 
 surd as it would be to say, ‘ a really good man should 
 be saved, though he should, at the same time, be a 
 very bad one.’ For no one can, in the sense de¬ 
 scribed above, which is the scriptural sense, be a 
 true believer, but one who wills to live in a holy 
 manner; since the same operation of God upon the 
 
312 
 
 soul, which disposes it to believe, sanctifies the will, 
 and though freely, yet effectually leads it into a 
 prevailing determination to make the service of 
 God the business of life ; or, in other words, it is 
 plain, from the whole tenor of Scripture, that a saving 
 is also a sanctifying faith : but there cannot be a 
 sanctifying faith in an unholy heart; neither can 
 there be a holy heart, where there is a wicked life ; 
 for the tree is known by its fruits : and when we 
 speak of the heart, we mean not merely the affections 
 but the will, the determinations of which are indeed 
 the very actions of which we speak, so far as they 
 are properly ours. There cannot, therefore, be a 
 more insolent falsehood, than the pretence to holi¬ 
 ness of heart, where that of the life is wanting, or 
 to saving faith in the absence of both. There may, 
 indeed, be an error in the understanding as to some 
 precepts of Christ, or a false judgment as to some 
 circumstances attending ourselves; and that may 
 produce some error in practice : there may be in¬ 
 stances in which the infirmity of human nature, and 
 the surprise or force of a temptation, may betray a 
 man into particular miscarriages, contrary to the 
 general bent and tenor of his heart and life; but 
 there cannot possibly be, in the conduct of any true 
 believer, an habitual, allowed, and customary dis¬ 
 obedience to any one commandment of our blessed 
 Redeemer. 
 
 This you must first admit as a necessary pre¬ 
 liminary ; and, when it is admitted, you may very 
 securely build upon it this great truth—that 6 who¬ 
 soever hath such a faith as this, shall certainly be 
 saved.’ Whatever his former guilt may have been, 
 
313 
 
 though ever so various, ever so long continued, ever 
 so aggravated; though crimes had been committed 
 “ from which he could never have been justified by 
 the law of Moses,” but would have been doomed 
 by it to an infamous death without mercy: yet, on 
 exerting such an act of faith in Christ, the believer 
 immediately stands a justified person before God, 
 previous to any good works of his own ; yea, though 
 he should die before he have an opportunity of per¬ 
 forming any, in this case (which, if ever it happen, 
 is, by the way, the only case in which good works 
 are not, according to the gospel covenant, necessary 
 to an actual admission into heaven,) an omniscient 
 God “ calls the things that are not, as if they were;” 
 and accepts those fruits of holiness which he dis¬ 
 cerned in . their root, or their bud, though he did 
 not afford time for their coming to maturity. And, 
 if life be spared, the believer continuing such, con¬ 
 tinues in a state of favour and acceptance with God, 
 though there may be remaining imperfections in 
 him; and though he may see reason to complain 
 that “ he cannot do the things which he would,” 
 but that the law in his members struggles against 
 the law of his mind; yet he shall finally be saved, 
 whatever difficulties are to be broken through, and 
 how long soever his trials may continue; and his 
 salvation, as a believer, is as certain, from the whole 
 current of the word of God, as the condemnation of 
 the unbeliever, which we proved above. “ He that 
 believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life;” 
 he hath it already in its beginnings and earnests, 
 and he shall, ere long, rise to the complete posses¬ 
 sion of it. For Christ “gives unto his sheep eter- 
 
 O 44 
 
314 
 
 nal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall 
 any pluck them out of his hand.” But it is of im¬ 
 portance that I add, 
 
 3. That, ‘after all, a believer is not to ascribe 
 his salvation to the merit and excellency of this faith 
 itself; but entirely to the merit and righteousness 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the free grace of 
 God, as manifested in it.’ 
 
 We know it is the constant doctrine of the New 
 Testament, that “ God hath made us accepted in 
 the Beloved—and that of him we are in Christ 
 Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and 
 righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption— 
 so that we are justified freely by his grace, through 
 the redemption that is in him.” And if we should 
 ♦ pretend to say, that we are accepted of God for 
 faith, as the meritorious cause of that acceptance, 
 we must contradict the whole course of the apostle 
 Paul’s argument, especially in the fourth chapter of 
 his Epistle to the Romans, where he strongly con¬ 
 tends that “ Abraham was not justified by works 
 because, if he were, he would have something to 
 glory in before God. Now, if he had been justified 
 by faith, as his own meritorious act, there would 
 have been as much room for him to have gloried in 
 that, as in any work whether of ceremonial or moral 
 obedience. And, in the same Epistle, he declares 
 again, where he is speaking of the salvation of God’s 
 chosen remnant, that “if it be of works, then it is 
 no more grace; otherwise work is no more work 
 the meaning of which plainly is, that no man can at 
 once be justified by grace, and by works ; and, on 
 the same principles, we may also say, no man can 
 
315 
 
 be justified by the merit of faith, and yet by grace. 
 If, therefore, it evidently appear from the text, and 
 our farther reasoning upon it, that our justification 
 and acceptance with God is to be ascribed to grace, 
 all pretence of merit in the act of believing must, of 
 course, be given up. 
 
 •This will indeed farther appear, if we consider 
 what it is that faith does, in order to our being jus¬ 
 tified. You very well know, it is represented in 
 Scripture as receiving Christ; “ To as many as re¬ 
 ceived him, to them gave he power,” or privilege, 
 “to become the sons of God, even to them that be¬ 
 lieve on his name.” Now, it must be flagrantly 
 absurd to talk of resting upon an act, whereby we 
 do indeed receive and rest upon another. And, 
 therefore, however inaccurately some may have ex¬ 
 pressed themselves upon this head, I cannot suppose 
 that any wise and considerate Christian ever meant 
 to assert the contrary to what I am now endeavour¬ 
 ing to prove. We do indeed find the Apostle 
 speaking of faith as imputed for righteousness; but 
 it seems to me that the most natural sense of that 
 expression may be fixed, and tbe propriety of it 
 may be admitted, upon the principles I have now 
 been laying down. 
 
 All manner of imputation seems to be a metaphor 
 taken from books of account between creditor and 
 debtor.* To impute any act of sin, or of obedience, 
 is therefore properly no other than to set it down to 
 
 * From mercantile affairs the metaphor is sometimes applied 
 to judicial; as crimes to be accounted for are also sometimes 
 called debts : but when the matter is well understood in one 
 view, it is easy to apply it to the other. 
 
 o 2 
 
316 
 
 his account: the great God of heaven and earth is 
 represented in Scripture, with humble condescension 
 to our manner of acting and conceiving things, as 
 keeping a most exact book of records and accounts, 
 in which those things are registered concerning 
 every one of us, which he will bring into that final 
 review and survey, by which our characters and 
 states shall be finally determined. And as the most 
 exact and perfect obedience is a debt which we owe 
 him, as our great Creator, Benefactor, and Gover¬ 
 nor ; so, on the breach of his law, we owe him some 
 proper satisfaction for it. In this view, we are all 
 charged as debtors, poor, miserable, insolvent debt¬ 
 ors, in the book of God: innumerable sins are im¬ 
 puted or set down to our account: and were things 
 to go on in this course, we should ere long be ar¬ 
 rested by the divine justice; and, being found inca¬ 
 pable of payment, should be cast into the prison of 
 hell, to come out no more. But God, in pity to 
 this our calamitous state, has found out a surety 
 and a ransom for us, and has provided a satisfaction, 
 in the obedience and sufferings of his Son; which 
 is what we mean by the righteousness of Christ, or 
 his active and passive obedience. It is with a gra¬ 
 cious regard to this, to express his high complacency 
 in it, and (if I may so speak) his pleasing remem¬ 
 brance of it, that all who are finally justified and 
 saved, meet with divine acceptance and favour: 
 or, to pursue the metaphors opened above, the righ¬ 
 teous of Christ is, in the book of God, imputed or 
 set down to their account, as that by which the 
 debt is balanced, and they are entitled to such fa¬ 
 vours as righteous persons might expect from God. 
 
317 
 
 But then, it is an invariable rule in the divine pro¬ 
 ceedings, that this righteousness, or this atonement 
 and satisfaction of Christ, (for I think it matters but 
 little by which of these names it shall be called,) be 
 a means of delivering those, and only those that be¬ 
 lieve. Pursuant, therefore, to the aforesaid meta¬ 
 phor, when any particular person believes, this is 
 set down to his account, as a most important article, 
 or as a memorandum (if I may so express it) in the 
 book of God’s remembrance, that such a one is now 
 actually become a believer, and, therefore, is now 
 entitled to justification and life by Christ. In this 
 sense his faith is imputed for righteousness. Yet 
 it is not regarded by God as the grand consideration 
 which balances the account, or indeed as paying any 
 of the former debt, which it is impossible it should: 
 but only as that which, according to the gracious 
 constitution of the gospel, gives a man a claim to 
 that which Christ has paid, and which God has gra¬ 
 ciously allowed as a valuable consideration, in regard 
 to which he may honourably pardon and accept all 
 who shall apply to him in his appointed way, or in 
 the way of humble believing, as faith was described 
 above. 
 
 This appears to me a just and easy view of the 
 gospel doctrine on this head; and it is so important 
 distinctly to understand it, that I hope you will ex¬ 
 cuse my having represented it in so many words. 
 And this is, on the whole, the sense in which we 
 may be said to be saved through faith. None can 
 be saved without it—and every one who has it is 
 entitled to salvation ; but not in virtue of the-merit 
 and excellency of faith itself, but entirely for the 
 
318 
 
 sake of what Christ has done and suffered; or, in 
 other words, by the imputation of his perfect righ¬ 
 teousness, the merit of which is graciously applied 
 to this or that particular person upon his believing, 
 so that upon this he is justified; and by the general 
 tenor of the gospel, is to be looked on as a righteous 
 person; or as one who shall, on the whole, be treated 
 as such, and shall, ere long, be publicly declared 
 righteous before the assembled world, and be freed 
 from all the remainders of that penalty which sin 
 has brought upon us; and though, for wise and 
 good reasons, he be, for a while, continued under 
 some of them, the time of that continuance is so 
 short, and his succeeding happiness so lasting, that 
 the former being, as it were, swallowed up by the 
 latter, in the ali-eomprehending views of God, he is 
 spoken of by him as if his justification and salvation 
 were already complete. “ Ye are saved through 
 faith.” But having stated this, the method I pro¬ 
 posed leads me, 
 
 II. To show, that in consequence of our being 
 thus saved through faith, we may properly be said 
 to be saved by grace. 
 
 Now the connection between these will appear 
 very evident, if we consider, that faith cannot make 
 any atonement to the offended justice of God, so as 
 to give us any legal claim even to the pardon of our 
 sins upon the account of it; much less can it confer 
 any obligation upon God, to bestow on us eternal 
 blessedness; nor would there indeed have been any 
 room to mention faith in this whole affair, if God 
 had not contrived such a method of salvation, and 
 
319 
 
 4 
 
 done that to effect it, which none but himself could 
 have done. 
 
 1. Faith cannot make any atonement to the of¬ 
 fended justice of God, so as to give us any legal 
 claim, even to the pardon of our sins, upon the ac¬ 
 count of it; so that if we are saved through faith, 
 we must, in this view, acknowledge it to be by grace. 
 
 The law of so wise, so great, and so venerable a 
 Sovereign as the blessed God is, must, of course, 
 suppose some awful sanctions, some solemn denun¬ 
 ciations of wrath and vengeance, on those who pre¬ 
 sumptuously transgress it. And it is certainly the 
 part of God, as a wise, holy, and gracious Legislator, 
 to maintain its honour when it has been violated: 
 and not to treat an offending creature as innocent 
 and righteous, without some provision made for the 
 satisfaction of his injured justice: in the demand of 
 which satisfaction, God does not express any thing 
 of a sanguinary and revengeful disposition; far be 
 so blasphemous a thought from us; but he displays a 
 steady regard to that order, which, as the Great 
 Sovereign, it becomes him, for the benefit of his 
 subjects, as well as for the glory of his own name 
 and government, to preserve in the moral world, 
 that is, among his reasonable creatures. Some 
 ample and honourable amends must therefore be 
 made, in order to the discharge of a guilty and con¬ 
 demned criminal. And is faith such an amends? 
 Take it in its utmost extent, as an assent to what¬ 
 ever he proposes, and a submission to whatever he 
 demands, to the very utmost of our capacity; this, in 
 our present circumstances, is but our duty, and 
 would have been so, had we never offended him. 
 
320 
 
 And the performance of it, with whatever readiness, 
 exactness, and constancy, cannot possibly atone for 
 the violation of it in times past; as the payment of 
 what, for the future, becomes due to any creditor, 
 cannot discharge a debt formerly contracted, and re¬ 
 maining unbalanced upon account; therefore it is 
 that we read of “ Christ’s being made a sin-offering 
 for us, though he himself knew no sin, that we 
 might be made the righteousness of God in him;” 
 that is, that we might be accepted of God as righ¬ 
 teous, being considered, as by faith united to him, 
 and interested in his righteousness and grace. In 
 testimony of which, God expressly requires, that 
 every sinner should sue out his pardon in Christ’s 
 name; and should present himself before him as one 
 that has obtained redemption through Christ’s blood, 
 and is 6i accepted in the beloved, who of God is 
 made unto us righteousness;” a scheme utterly in¬ 
 consistent with that of our being justified and saved 
 by any merit or excellence in faith, considered as an 
 act of atonement made by us, by which the guilt of 
 our offences is cancelled, and our pardon bought by 
 us. It is yet more apparent, 
 
 2. That faith can confer no obligation upon God 
 to bestow on us eternal blessedness; in which view 
 also, our salvation through it must appear to be by 
 grace. 
 
 That eternal blessedness is designed for every 
 believing soul, is, through the divine goodness, as 
 apparent, as that faith itself is ever required in 
 Scripture. But can we say of eternal life, that it 
 is the wages of faith ? I much question whether 
 it could have been claimed as wages due to us, on 
 
321 
 
 account of our obedience, had that obedience been 
 perfect in its kind and degree: nor do I think it 
 could, with any confidence, have beeu expected, 
 unless God had been pleased, by a gracious cove¬ 
 nant, to promise it: otherwise, all that the com- 
 pletest obedience could have claimed, would only 
 have been favour continued, or, at most, favour in¬ 
 creasing, during the time in which we continued to 
 behave ourselves well. Much less then can we 
 imagine, that when we had once broken the law of 
 God, faith, though, for the future, attended with 
 the most perfect efficacy, and productive of the most 
 steady course of obedience, in all after instances, 
 could give us any such claim. Least of all then, 
 can we have any room to pretend it, on account of a 
 faith which operates in so imperfect a manner, and 
 produces a holiness so sadly defective in many in¬ 
 stances, as we must acknowledge our own to be. 
 That we should be admitted into the glorious pre¬ 
 sence of God, and be fixed in a state of immutable 
 security and felicity, where sin and sorrow shall no 
 more invade us, but where God will appoint for us 
 salvation itself 44 for walls and bulwarks,’' is so glo¬ 
 rious a triumph of the divine goodness, that the soul 
 which knows itself, and attentively looks on this 
 44 far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,” 
 is astonished and humbled in the views of it, and 
 finds it no small stretch of faith, to be able to be¬ 
 lieve that God does indeed intend it for so sinful a 
 creature: so far is the believer from arrogating any 
 thing of this kind to himself, as if his own faith had 
 any degree of merit or excellence proportionable to 
 
 o 3 
 
32<2 
 
 it. But we must observe once more, to complete 
 the argument, 
 
 3. That there had been no room to mention faith 
 at all in this affair, had not God graciously con¬ 
 trived such a method of salvation, and done that to 
 effect it, which none but himself could do. 
 
 ( Faith receives our Lord Jesus Christ;’ it is its 
 great office, and its great glory to do it. But how 
 could it have received him, unless he had been 
 given ? and how could he have been given in this 
 view, but by the appointment of the Father, in con¬ 
 currence with his own free and most gracious con¬ 
 sent? Faith apprehends and submits to the gospel 
 plan of salvation, by the obedience and sufferings of 
 the Son of God; yea, it not only submits to it, but 
 rejoices and glories in it. But who could have ex¬ 
 hibited, who could have contrived, who could have 
 executed such a plan, unless it had been formed and 
 determined in the counsels of eternal love? Admit 
 faith to be ever so voluntary, and, so far as is pos¬ 
 sible to a creature, ever so independent an act, can 
 we any of us say, that there was so much merit and 
 excellency in that act, or in any of its subsequent 
 fruits, that God, upon the foresight of it, should 
 say, 6 These creatures, guilty and condemned as 
 they appear, will be so ready to receive the intima¬ 
 tions of my will, that they wilfully deserve that I 
 should save them at any rate; they will deserve even 
 that my Son should become incarnate, and die as a 
 sacrifice, to make way for their happiness.’ Can 
 any of you, sirs, imagine this to have been the case? 
 Or can you hear it even supposed, without finding 
 something shocking in the very representation of it? 
 
3Q3 
 
 The blessed Paul, I am sure, had very different 
 views when he said, “ God hath predestinated us to 
 the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto him¬ 
 self, according to the good pleasure of his will, to 
 the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath 
 made us accepted in the beloved.” And the 
 apostle John hath other notions of it when he said, 
 full as his gracious heart was of the most lively sen¬ 
 timents of gratitude and zeal, i6 Herein is love, not 
 that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent 
 his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 
 
 These arguments would prove, that our salvation 
 through faith is by grace, even though it could not 
 be added, that this faith is the gift of God. How 
 much more convincing, then, must the conclusion 
 be, when that consideration is added to the rest! 
 
 But, as the illustration of this, which was the 
 third general we mentioned, will require more time 
 than can properly be allowed to the remainder of 
 this discourse, I will reserve it to another; and con¬ 
 clude, for the present, with exhorting you seriously 
 to examine, whether you have this principle of faith 
 in your hearts; without which, your salvation is, in 
 present circumstances* an impossible thing, and with 
 which it is inviolably secure. 
 
 It is a melancholy, but most obvious truth, that 
 all men have not faith. There are thousands and 
 ten thousands under the gospel, with regard to whom 
 its ministers have reason to complain, “ Who hath 
 believed our report, and to whom hath the arm of 
 the Lord been revealed?” On whom has its 
 power been so exerted, as to conquer the natural 
 incredulity and obstinacy of their hearts? Are 
 
324 
 
 you, sirs, of that number, or of the number of those 
 who, as the Scripture expresses it, have believed 
 through grace? It is the question on which your 
 eternal state will turn at last; and therefore you 
 would do well to examine it now. And I would 
 beseech you to endeavour to trace it in its produc¬ 
 tion, and in its effects; or, in other words, to in¬ 
 quire how it has been introduced into your minds, 
 and how it has wrought there. You may- surely 
 discover it in the one or in the other, if it be your 
 prevailing character; and I hope many of you will 
 be able to discover it in both. 
 
 (1.) Can you trace faith in its production and 
 advance in your souls? 
 
 Do you recollect any time in which you had no 
 thoughts of the Lord Jesus Christ, and no workings 
 of affection towards him? And has there been any 
 alteration in your minds in this respect ? All true 
 faith in Christ is founded on a conviction of sin, 
 and of the misery to which you are exposed by it. 
 Have you indeed been brought to this conviction? 
 Have you heard, and, if I may be allowed the ex¬ 
 pression, have you felt yourselves condemned by the 
 sentence of a righteous, a holy, yea, a merciful 
 God ? And have you, by that apprehension, been 
 stirred up to cry for pardon and deliverance? You 
 have heard of Christ under the character of a Sa¬ 
 viour: but I put it to your consciences, have you 
 seriously viewed him under that character? And, 
 from a full persuasion of his correspondency, when 
 considered in this view, to all the^ necessities of your 
 case, and all the exigencies of your souls, have you 
 entered into any treaty with him? Recollect it 
 
325 
 
 seriously. Have you ever presented yourselves 
 before God, with an humble and cordial regard to 
 Christ ? And do you know what it is, secretly and 
 sincerely to repose your souls upon the merit of his 
 obedience, and the efficacy of his blood, with humble 
 acknowledgment of your own guilt, with entire re¬ 
 signation of your own righteousness, as utterly un¬ 
 worthy of being mentioned before God, and with a 
 cordial and joyful resolution to devote yourselves to 
 his service as long as you have any being, and 
 through time and eternity to testify your gratitude 
 by a constant series of obedience? 
 
 If you can trace such a process of thought and 
 experience as this, you have great reason to con¬ 
 clude, that you experimentally know what faith is, 
 and that through faith you are in the way to salva¬ 
 tion. Yet it is always to be remembered, that faith 
 is to be shown by its works. Give me leave, there¬ 
 fore, farther to inquire, 
 
 (2.) Whether you can trace the genuine effects of 
 it in your hearts and lives? 
 
 You believe in Christ: but has that faith in 
 him produced a continued and habitual intercourse 
 with him? I speak not of an intercourse absolutely 
 uninterrupted; for that the present state of human 
 life will not admit. But has it produced frequently 
 repeated and direct acts of application to him, and 
 converse with him ? One can hardly imagine how 
 it is possible for a true believer to suffer these to be 
 long and often intermitted; especially to such a 
 degree, that days, and weeks, and months should 
 pass, as if all the business between Christ and his 
 soul were quite finished, and he and his Lord were 
 
3%6 
 
 parted by consent, till death, or some very urgent 
 and extraordinary circumstance, renewed the inter¬ 
 views between them. I would ask farther, has this 
 faith to which you pretend, produced a resemblance 
 to Christ’s example, and an obedience to his pre¬ 
 cepts, in the course of your lives ? You know that 
 true faith is operative; and you know, in the gene¬ 
 ral, the genius and design of Christianity. I would 
 demand of your consciences, how far you cqpiply 
 with it. Is your temper and conduct, in the main, 
 such as, you well know, our Lord intended that the 
 temper and conduct of his people should be? Is it 
 devout and spiritual, just and charitable, sober and 
 temperate, humble and cautious ? Is religion your 
 care, and do you maintain a habitual watchfulness 
 over yourselves, that your behaviour may be agree¬ 
 able and honourable to your profession ? Once 
 more, are you ardently pursuing c greater attain¬ 
 ments in the Christian temper and life, so that you 
 may be spoken of as hungering and thirsting after 
 righteousness ?’ 
 
 If you can answer such inquiries as these in the 
 affirmative, you have a great deal of reason to hope 
 that faith is yours, and salvation is yours. But if 
 you cannot so answer them, a confident assurance 
 that you shall be saved, is so far from being faith, 
 that it is presumption and folly, and, far from being 
 any security to you, will only prove adding sin to 
 sin. That confidence, by whatever name you may 
 affect to call it, is indeed unbelief: unbelief of God’s 
 threatenings, while it vainly pretends to trust his 
 promises: for he hath not more expressly said, that 
 “ he who believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life;” 
 
327 
 
 than he has added, that <( he who is disobedient to 
 the Son, shall not see life.” While sin reigns in 
 your life, and thereby appears to reign in your heart, 
 did you pretend a revelation from heaven as to the 
 truth of your faith, every wise man would conclude 
 that pretended revelation was a delusion ; and that, 
 how solemnly soever it might be ascribed to the 
 Spirit of truth and holiness, it really proceeded from 
 the father of lies. 
 
 Excuse the plainness with which fidelity to God, 
 and to you, obliges me to speak on this head, and 
 be assured, that it proceeds from a real concern to 
 secure the honour of that glorious doctrine of Sal¬ 
 vation by Grace, which I have now been labouring 
 to establish, and the demonstration and improvement 
 of which I shall further pursue in the ensuing dis¬ 
 courses. 
 
328 
 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 f 
 
 FAITH TS THE GIFT OF GOD* 
 
 Ephesians ii. 8. 
 
 “ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of 
 yourselves; it is the gift of God.” 
 
 In the works of nature, many of those things which, 
 to a superficial eye, may appear as defects, will, on 
 a careful inquiry, be found to be marks of consum¬ 
 mate wisdom, and kind contrivance. And on the 
 same principle, I confess, I have often thought there 
 is reason to be thankful for the very inaccuracies of 
 Scripture. The haste in which the apostle Paul 
 was, by the multiplicity of his affairs, obliged to 
 write, has given us an opportunity of viewing more 
 of his heart in his Epistles, than we might perhaps 
 have seen if he had frequently reviewed and cor¬ 
 rected them. Those parentheses in particular, and 
 those repetitions, which render the style less elegant, 
 and the sense sometimes less conspicuous, do never¬ 
 theless show to greater advantage, how deeply those 
 thoughts were impressed upon his mind, which he 
 introduces in such a manner. And of this, the 
 words which I have now been reading are an in¬ 
 stance. In the course of his preceding argument, 
 a few verses before, while he is telling the Ephe¬ 
 sians, the God who is rich in mercy, for his great 
 love wherewith he loved them, even when they were 
 
329 
 
 dead in sins, had quickened them together with 
 Christ; he adds, by way of parenthesis, <e By grace 
 ye are savedand when he goes on to say, they 
 were raised up together, and made to sit together in 
 heavenly places in Christ Jesus, he further tells 
 them, that this was with an intention, that, in the 
 ages to come, God might show the exceeding riches 
 of h is grace, in his kindness towards us, through 
 Jesus Christ: nay, his heart was so full of the sub¬ 
 ject of grace, free and astonishing grace, that, as if 
 all this was not enough, by a most glorious and edi¬ 
 fying tautology, (if I may be allowed so to speak,) 
 he inserts the words of my text, “ By grace are ye 
 saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it 
 is the gift of God.” 
 
 I have already shown you, from these words, in 
 what sense we may be said to be saved through 
 faith : and I have also proved, that, in consequence 
 of this, it is evident we must be saved by grace; 
 since faith, being incapable of satisfying the demands 
 of God’s injured justice, can much less merit such a 
 recompence as eternal life; nor can it indeed have 
 any efficacy, or any place at all in this affair, other¬ 
 wise than by God’s free constitution, and gracious 
 appointment. I then conclude with observing, that 
 this argument would have a convincing force, even 
 though faith were ever so entirely an act of our 
 own; or that we had no more support or assistance 
 from God in forming and exerting it, than we have 
 in any of the common actions of natural life. But 
 I am now to show, that even this is not the case ; 
 but that a new proof of our being saved by grace 
 arises from considering, 
 
330 
 
 III. The argument which the Apostle suggests 
 in the close of the text, that even “ this faith is not 
 of ourselves;’’ but “it is the gift of God.” 
 
 I am sensible, that some endeavour to invalidate 
 and supersede all this part of the argument, by giv¬ 
 ing another turn to this last clause, referring it in 
 general to our salvation by faith ; as if it had been 
 said, ‘ our being thus saved by grace through faith 
 (as I have just now said) is not of ourselves, but it 
 is the gift of God.’ But I apprehend that an im¬ 
 partial reader would not be willing to allow of this 
 interpretation ; which makes the latter clause a mere 
 repetition of what was said before, and a repetition 
 of it in less proper and expressive words. None 
 could imagine, that our being saved through faith 
 ' was of ourselves; or that we ever could, ourselves, 
 constitute and appoint such a way of salvation, which 
 was indeed fixed so long before we had a being. 
 But faith being really our own act, it was highly 
 pertinent to observe, that the excellency of this act 
 is not to be arrogated to ourselves, but is to be 
 ascribed to God. All that are acquainted with the 
 genius of the original, must acknowledge this is a 
 construction which it will very fairly admit. And 
 we shall prove, in the process of this argument, that 
 other scriptures expressly declare the truth, which 
 this interpretation makes to be the meaning of the 
 words. 
 
 Faith may be called the gift of God—as it is 
 God that reveals the great objects of faith—that 
 brings the mind to attend to them—that conquers our 
 natural aversion to the gospel method of salvation, 
 and so implants faith in the souland also, as it is 
 
331 
 
 he that carries it on to more perfect degrees, and 
 improves its vigour and activity. 
 
 1. Faith may be called the gift of God, ‘as it is 
 God who reveals the great objects of faith/ 
 
 Human reason is but weak and imperfect, and has 
 indeed interwoven the traces of its own weakness 
 with many of the fairest monuments of its strength. 
 Even in its most advanced state, among the most 
 learned and polite nations of antiquity, it is deplora¬ 
 bly evident, how far it was from discovering the 
 several branches of natural religion in its purity, ex¬ 
 tent, and order. And, to speak freely, it shone 
 more brightly in almost every other view than in that 
 which is its noblest end : I mean what relates to 
 God and immortality. It has indeed produced 
 many admirable poems, and composed many moving 
 orations; it has woven many exquisite threads of ar¬ 
 gument, with which the subtilest disputants have 
 entangled each other, and have often entangled 
 themselves; and much more useful it has been, in 
 adorning the face of the earth, in subduing the sea, 
 in managingthe winds, and meting out the heavens. 
 But this rich vein of knowledge, this mine of holy 
 and divine treasure, lies too deep for human dis¬ 
 covery. If any ask, Where shall this wisdom be 
 found, and where is the place of this our understand¬ 
 ing ? It must be granted, that it is a path which 
 the vulture’s eye hath not seen : ‘ man knoweth not 
 the price thereof, neither is it found in the land of 
 the living. The depth of human science says, It is 
 not in me; and the sea, with all the most improved 
 countries that lie upon it, must say, It is not with 
 me :—for eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
 
S32 
 
 hath it entered into the heart of man, the things 
 which God hath prepared for them that love him.’ 
 There were no principles on which to proceed, in the 
 investigation of this important knowledge: none 
 could ever have learned, that God had formed coun¬ 
 sels of mercy and peace towards apostate creatures ; 
 none could ever, on natural principles, have dis¬ 
 covered the very existence of the Son and the Spirit. 
 How much less, then, could they have known, or 
 imagined, that the Son of God should have under¬ 
 taken to redeem us with his own precious blood ; 
 and the Spirit be sent to manage affairs, as the great 
 agent of the Redeemer’s kingdom : in consequence 
 of whose gracious acts and influences the soul 
 should be savingly renewed and transformed, and 
 then carried on with a growing pace in the way 
 to Heaven, till it was received to the separate state 
 of holy and triumphant spirits at death, and to com¬ 
 plete glory at the resurrection of the dead. All the 
 men upon earth could never, by their own natural 
 sagacity, have discovered these particulars; how 
 much less, then, could the whole system have been 
 discovered? But God himself has graciously re¬ 
 vealed them by his Spirit; and as he was pleased 
 miraculously to interpose to give this revelation to 
 the world ; so he has interposed, by remarkable pro¬ 
 vidences, to send to us such clear notices of it; and to 
 send these notices so early too, as to throw the pre¬ 
 judice of education among us this way, rather than 
 the contrary. And considering how powerful those 
 prejudices are, and how many have fallen into ruin 
 by them, this will appear no small matter to a con¬ 
 siderate person; especially when he surveys the 
 
333 
 
 state of the world in general, and considers how few 
 nations and countries there are in which this is the 
 case; and in what various forms of most pernicious 
 and destructive errors the generality of mankind are 
 trained up from their tenderest infancy. I would 
 conclude this head with observing, that ‘ whatever 
 particular advantages we have enjoyed, they are all 
 to be traced up to the distinguishing goodness of 
 God to us.’ If wise and pious parents, if skilful, 
 sealous, and faithful ministers, have been the instru¬ 
 ments of working faith in our souls, this also cometh 
 forth from the Lord of Hosts; who taught their 
 minds to conceive, and their lips to speak, and who 
 opened our hearts to receive instruction. And this 
 leads me to add, 
 
 2. That as God reveals the great objects of faith, 
 so e it is he also that inclines the mind to attend to 
 them; on which account faith may be further said 
 to be the gift of God/ 
 
 The great objects of faith are, and by their na¬ 
 ture must be, to us invisible; while those of sense 
 strike so strongly on the mind, that it is no wonder 
 we are apt often to forget the other. And when a 
 man is conscious to himself that the first recollection 
 and acquaintance with them must be painful, and 
 must be attended with remorse and fear, how neces¬ 
 sary soever that pain may be, it is too natural to 
 draw back from it. And we may easily conceive 
 that Satan, the great enemy of men’s eternal happi¬ 
 ness, will exert all his artifices to prejudice them 
 against it, and to divert them from it. 
 
 Accordingly, I make no doubt but that many of 
 you, and especially young persons, have experienced 
 
33 4 
 
 this. You have found, that when you first began 
 to be sensible you were in a lost and miserable state; » 
 when you began first to hearken to the tidings of 
 deliverance by Christ, and to inquire into the way of 
 salvation exhibited in the gospel; many circum¬ 
 stances arose to take off your attention from them. 
 You found Satan endeavouring to steal away the 
 good seed out of your hearts, lest you should believe 
 and be saved: and, joining the efforts of various of 
 his instruments, to allure, or to terrify you from re¬ 
 ligion. To what then will you ascribe it, that you 
 have been able to break through all these snares? 
 To what Will you ascribe it, that when you had per¬ 
 haps laboured to stifle convictions in your own 
 hearts, they have returned upon you with greater 
 . power than before? and though you have endea¬ 
 voured all you could to shift them off, yet you have 
 found them every where pursuing you; keeping 
 your eyes from sleep during the watches of the night, 
 or breaking in upon you in the morning with the re¬ 
 turning light; or following you perhaps into those 
 scenes of business, or of vain conversation, to which 
 you have fled as a refuge from them? You must 
 undoubtedly ascribe it to the God of the spirits of 
 all flesh, that you have thus been taught to consider 
 your ways; and that your spirits have been so deeply 
 impressed with concerns, which multitudes, whom 
 the world reckons among the wisest of mankind, are 
 entirely thoughtless about, and which, perhaps, you 
 yourselves were once among the first to despise. 
 
 3. Faith may be further called the gift of God, 
 as £ it is he that conquers the natural aversion which 
 there is in men’s hearts to the gospel method of 
 
335 
 
 salvation, when it comes to be understood and ap¬ 
 prehended/ 
 
 That method is so wise, so rational, and so gra¬ 
 cious, that one would imagine every reasonable crea¬ 
 ture should embrace it with delight. Yet the de¬ 
 generate heart of man draws its strongest objections 
 against it, from those things which are really its 
 greatest glory. 
 
 It is the way of humility, and of holiness; and a 
 haughty and licentious heart rises against it in each 
 of these views. To be stripped of all the pride of 
 human nature, to stand guilty and helpless before 
 God, and, in an entire renunciation of all self-depen¬ 
 dence, to seek righteousness and strength in another, 
 is, to spirits naturally so arrogant as ours, a hard 
 saying scarcely to be borne: to give up our own wills, 
 to be checked and controled in all things by the 
 divine authority, to engage in a habitual course of 
 self-denial, to crucify the flesh with its affections 
 and lusts, is hard indeed. No wonder, therefore, if 
 we are taught in Scripture to acknowledge the agency 
 and interposition of a divine hand, when this is 
 wrought in us; when we not only feel some ten¬ 
 dency of soul towards it, some transient and ineffec¬ 
 tual purpose, but when a permanent principle of this 
 kind is implanted in our hearts, so that our lives are 
 governed by it. Hence the Scripture speaks of 
 those to whom it is given, not merely to hear of 
 Christ, but to believe in him; and pathetically de¬ 
 scribes c the exceeding greatness of his power to us- 
 ward who believe, as an energy of mighty power, 
 like that which wrought in Christ when God raised 
 him from the dead/ when he lay a cold corpse in 
 
336 
 
 the grave, his blood drained out, and his side pierced 
 to the very heart, think of that mighty energy which 
 then re-animated your Lord; and you see an em¬ 
 blem of that which raises us to a divine life, and 
 enables us to act that life in faith on a crucified and 
 a risen Redeemer. Thus, as it is said in one place, 
 that “ God gave to the Gentiles repentance unto 
 life;” it is also said in another, that he tc purifies 
 their hearts by faith;” plainly implying, that there 
 is in both an interposition of divine power. Now 
 certainly, if he implants this principle in our hearts, 
 that salvation, which he has con' acted with it, must 
 be entirely of grace; which will further appear, if 
 we consider, 
 
 4. That i it is God who carries on this blessed 
 work, and maintains this divine principle/ 
 
 It is through much tribulation and danger, 
 through much opposition and difficulty, that the 
 “ Christian must enter into the kingdom of God.” 
 When he begins to set sail heaven-ward, the prince 
 of the power of the air endeavours to raise those 
 storms, which shall, if possible, oblige him to make 
 shipwreck of faith, and of a good conscience : never¬ 
 theless he must endure to the end, or he cannot be 
 saved. And how is he enabled thus to persevere ? 
 Surely it is through the continued communications 
 of divine grace to him; or, as the Apostle with ad¬ 
 mirable propriety expresses it, he obtains mercy of 
 the Lord to be faithful. It is by this means that 
 he obtains the victory; and while he overcomes the 
 world, and conquers the remaining corruptions of 
 his heart, he must still humbly own, that, in the one 
 and the other instance, he is <s more than a con- 
 
337 
 
 queror through him that loved him.” In short, he 
 will be ready to acknowledge, that 6i having ob¬ 
 tained help of God, he continues to this day; and 
 will mark out, as it were, the several stages of his 
 journey, by erecting at the end of each a stone of re¬ 
 membrance and thankfulness, and saying, “ Hitherto 
 the Lord has helped me.” 
 
 And now, my friends, you may see the evidence 
 of this great truth, that by grace we are saved 
 through faith, appearing in its complete light: and 
 permit me once more to repeat the summary of the 
 whole argument, that it may be more deeply and more 
 distinctly impressed upon your minds. How much 
 soever faith may be supposed to be our own unas¬ 
 sisted act, so far as the act of any creature is unas¬ 
 sisted, it could make no atonement to the injured 
 justice of God,—and much less confer any obliga¬ 
 tion upon him to bestow on us eternal life;—nor had 
 there been any room to mention it at all in the whole 
 affair, if God had not contrived such a method of 
 salvation, and done that to effect it which none but 
 himself could do:—-much more will it appear to be 
 of grace, when we add, that faith itself is the gift of 
 God,—as he reveals the great objects of it; as he 
 brings the mind to attend to them ; as he conquers the 
 natural aversion of the heart to the gospel method of 
 salvation ; and carries on the work of faith in the soul, 
 till it ends in complete salvation. It now remains, 
 
 IV. That I conclude with some obvious but use¬ 
 ful inferences from the whole. 
 
 And here now, if it is by grace that we are saved 
 through faith, then certainly we may infer from 
 hence,—that we have no reason to glory, but should 
 
 P 44 
 
 % 
 
338 
 
 be thankful for the grace by which we are saved; 
 that we must wholly be without excuse if we ne¬ 
 glect this method of salvation ; that we should la¬ 
 bour therefore, that our faith may be increased and 
 strengthened ; that even the weakest have encour¬ 
 agement to seek and to hope for salvation in this 
 way; and, finally, that we should take great heed 
 that we do not bring a reproach upon this doctrine, 
 by an irregular and licentious behaviour. 
 
 1. If we are “ saved by grace, through faith,” 
 then it is certain that { we have no reason to glory.’ 
 
 If it were possible a person should perform the 
 most complete and perfect obedience, and so were 
 justified by works, it is but only in a limited sense 
 he would have any thing of which to glory before 
 God ; since even he must acknowledge that it is 
 God who works in him, both to will and to do, and 
 by his gracious influences renders him capable of 
 both: however he, in such a case, may in some 
 measure glory that he has done his best; and that 
 his behaviour has all that merit, or all that excellence, 
 which the behaviour of a creature in his circum¬ 
 stances could possibly have. But when the un¬ 
 godly are justified—when we, who have been trans¬ 
 gressors in ten thousand aggravated instances, are 
 saved by grace through faith, of what shall we 
 glory? Shall any of us glory that we are saved by 
 another, when even our receiving that other is what 
 God hath brought us to by the renewing and sanc¬ 
 tifying influences of his grace upon our hearts ? 
 When we had corrupted and undone ourselves, and 
 were under a sentence of condemnation and wrath, 
 we have embraced the gospel; that is, we have ac- 
 
33 9 
 
 cepted the riches of the divine liberality and good¬ 
 ness exhibited in it: but shall a beggar glory in 
 having stretched out his hand to receive an alms ? 
 especially if it were given him by a generous and 
 skilful physician, who, before he bestowed that alms, 
 had cured him of a disease, by which that very hand, 
 now stretched out to him, had been benumbed and 
 disabled. Let us rather enter into that just and 
 amiable reasoning of the apostle Paul, and say as he 
 does, “ Of him,” that is, of God, “ are we in Christ 
 Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and 
 righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption : 
 let no flesh, therefore, glory in his presence ; but he 
 that glories, let him glory in the Lord.” And this 
 leads me to infer, , 
 
 2. That we have a great deal of reason to be 
 thankful, and to adore the grace by which we are 
 saved. 
 
 If it is “God who commandeth the light to shine 
 out of darkness, that has shined in our hearts, to 
 give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of 
 God in the face of Jesus Christ,” let us bless the 
 Lord who has showed us this light, and with a 
 cheerful gratitude let us bind the sacrifice, as it 
 were, with cords unto the horns of the altar. Let 
 us bless the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all 
 comfort, who has blessed us with all spiritual bless¬ 
 ings in heavenly things in Christ: according as he 
 hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the 
 world, that we should be holy and without blame 
 before him in love. I would call upon you this day 
 to do it; to join with me, and with each other in 
 
 p 2 
 
340 
 
 it. Praise the Lord all ye his saints; be thankful 
 unto him, and bless his name. Praise him, who 
 graciously purposed your salvation, and predestinated 
 you to the adoption of children, by Jesus Christ, 
 unto himself. Praise him, who rendered this pur¬ 
 pose effectual, and wrought it out by a high hand 
 and outstretched arm. Praise him, who gave his 
 own to be a sacrifice for you, and to bring in ever¬ 
 lasting righteousness. Praise him, who sent his 
 Spirit, as the great agent in his Son’s kingdom, to 
 bring the hearts of sinners to a subjection to the 
 gospel, and gently to captivate them to the obedience 
 of faith. Praise him, who has revealed this glori¬ 
 ous gospel to you, at so great a distance of time and 
 place. Praise him, who has impressed your hearts 
 with a disposition to regard it. Praise him, who 
 has subdued your prejudices against it. Praise him, 
 who, having implanted faith in your souls, continues 
 even to this day to animate and support it. Let all 
 ranks and ages join in this cheerful song. Praise 
 ye the Lord, you that are rich in temporal posses¬ 
 sions, if you have been enabled to renounce the 
 world as your portion, and to triumph over it by 
 this divine principle. Praise him, you that are poor 
 in this world, if you are rich in faith, and heirs of 
 the kingdom which God has promised to them that 
 love him. Praise him, you that are cheerful and 
 vigorous, and capable of rendering him that active 
 service which may speak the gratitude of your hearts 
 towards him. Praise him, you that are weak and 
 languishing, since his strength is made perfect in 
 your weakness, and your infirmities illustrate the 
 force of that faith which he has wrought in you. 
 
34,1 
 
 Praise him, ye youths, who, with this guide and 
 companion of your way, are setting forth in the 
 journey of life with courage, and lifting up your 
 feet in his paths. Praise him, ye aged saints, who 
 stand on the borders of eternity, and live in a daily 
 expectation that you shall receive the end of your 
 faith, in the salvation of your souls. Begin that 
 work now in wdiich you are all so soon to join. 
 Break forth into one joyful anthem and sing, 44 Not 
 unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to thy name be 
 all the praise of that salvation which thou hast al¬ 
 ready begun in our souls, and wdiich thy faithfulness 
 has engaged to complete.” Again, 
 
 3. If we are saved by grace through faith, then 
 certainly they who neglect ^.ich a method of salva¬ 
 tion are highly inexcusable. 
 
 To be not only delivered from everlasting con¬ 
 demnation and ruin, but raised to the presence and 
 enjoyment of God above, is so glorious an exchange, 
 so important a prize, that it would be worth while 
 to secure it at any imaginable rate, whatever was to 
 be resigned, whatever to be endured for it. But it 
 is certain, that the more gracious the proposal and 
 offer is, the baser and more criminal will the refusal 
 be. Had some hard matter been proposed, should 
 we not have done it ? And how much rather, when 
 the divine oracle only says, 44 Wash and be clean. 
 Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
 saved. To you, my brethren, even to all that hear 
 me this day, is the word of this salvation sent and 
 brought.” Let me address you, therefore, in the 
 language of the Apostle, and say, 44 Take heed that 
 you receive not the grace of God in vain :” and let 
 
342 
 
 me add, cs Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, 
 now is the day of salvation.” Dare not to trifle 
 in a bu siness of such consequence; lest, if you should 
 neglect it, even till to-morrow, there should be no 
 room to repeat that declaration then. That God 
 should ever offer salvation at all, and especially in 
 such a method, is astonishing condescension and 
 love : and every instance in which that offer is re¬ 
 newed, is a renewed miracle of mercy. But the 
 day of the divine patience has its limits ; and if you 
 trifle beyond those limits, and know not that the 
 goodness and long-suffering of God lead to repent¬ 
 ance, this injured mercy will plead against ‘you, and 
 it will appear you have treasured up to yourselves 
 wrath against the day $f wrath, and revelation of 
 the righteous judgment of God. 
 
 4. If we are saved through faith, then surely we 
 should labour that this blessed principle may be 
 strengthened in our souls. 
 
 The greater evidence we have of the sincerity of 
 our faith, the greater assurance may we justly have 
 of our interest in the gospel salvation; and the 
 stronger our faith is, the clearer will the evidence of 
 its truth be. Let us, therefore, emulate the char¬ 
 acter of our father Abraham; and make it our care, 
 like him, to be strong in faith, thereby giving glory 
 to God. To this purpose let me address you, my 
 Christian brethren, to be diligent and serious in 
 attending the ordinances of divine institution, and 
 especially that of hearing the word; for, as the 
 Apostle observes, (i faith comes by hearing, and 
 hearing by the word of God.” And it is certain, 
 the better we are acquainted with the word of God, 
 
343 
 
 the more shall we trace of its evidence ; and it is 
 probable we shall also feel so much the more of its 
 energy, awaking and confirming those internal acts 
 of faith which it is our duty, with increasing vigour, 
 daily to renew : and I doubt not but the experience 
 of many that hear me, attests the reasonableness of 
 this address. Let me also exhort you to seek after 
 greater strength of faith, by fervent application to 
 God in prayer, as the disciples that came unto Jesus, 
 and said, “ Lord, increase our faith.” Plead that your 
 faith, in its original, and in its progress, is the word 
 of God ; and earnestly entreat that his word may be 
 perfected. And, to add efficacy to all, labour to the 
 utmost to bring forth the genuine fruits of true faith, 
 in all the branches of a holy temper, and exemplary 
 life. Thus show to all that are about you, your 
 faith by your works: walking worthy of the vocation 
 wherewith you are called, worthy of him that has 
 called you to his kingdom and glory. For, in pro¬ 
 portion to the degree with which these fruits appear, 
 it will be evident there is life at the root; and you 
 will find, that as the vigour of our limbs, so also 
 that of our virtues and graces will grow by use and 
 exercise. And, in this view, let me observe, 
 
 5. That if we are saved by grace through faith, 
 then there is encouragement, even for the weakest 
 soul, to seek after this gospel salvation, and to hope 
 it shall obtain it. 
 
 Give me leave here to address myself to those 
 whose hearts are impressed with their eternal con¬ 
 cerns, but then feel their manifold weakness ; and 
 perhaps may be discouraged (as young persons very 
 frequently are) with observing the difficulty of re- 
 
344 * 
 
 ligion. My brethren, if your hopes of justification 
 were by the works of the law, whether the ceremo¬ 
 nial or the moral law, these discouragements were 
 just: since, were all the sins of your former life for¬ 
 given upon your return to God, yet, through the 
 infirmities of human nature, and the temptations of 
 life, you would no doubt quickly fall into some new 
 transgression ; and this one, even the least, would 
 be sufficient to ruin you, and to bring you into con¬ 
 demnation again. But the righteousness of faith 
 speaks an easier and more gracious language, when 
 it says, “ Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou 
 shalt be saved.” You know of whom it was said, 
 “ A bruised reed will he not break, and smoking 
 flax will he not quench.” Why should you not, 
 then, enter into a treaty with so mild, so gracious, 
 so compassionate a Saviour ? Nay, I will add, 
 Why should you not be saved by him ? Are you 
 willing to accept his grace ? Methinks, I hear one 
 and another reply, £ What do I desire so much as 
 to accept it ? Feeble and guilty as I am, I would 
 at least bow as low as any of thy servants, in a 
 thankful acknowledgment of the riches and freedom 
 of thy grace ; and I would ascribe my salvation to 
 it, in as entire a renunciation of all self-dependence 
 as anv of them all should do/ And when I ask, 
 (as it is necessary I should ask,) are you also will¬ 
 ing to bow to his yoke ? I persuade myself there 
 are those of you whose conscience answers, ‘ Lord, 
 I would take it upon me with a most thankful con¬ 
 sent ; I desire nothing so much as to serve thee ; 
 but I suspect this treacherous and inconstant heart, 
 that is so ready to forsake thee.’ My brethren, 
 
345 
 
 this desire of serving him, if you know what you 
 say when you express it, is the effect of his grace; 
 and it is a comfortable token that he will give more 
 grace. Set yourselves, therefore, with a cheerful 
 courage, to oppose those difficulties that lie in the 
 way, and to 4 work out your own salvation with hope 
 and joy, as well as with fear and trembling ; for it is 
 God that even now is working in you, both to will 
 and to do, of his good pleasure : and you have 
 abundant reason to hope he will not forsake the 
 work of his own hands.’ 
 
 6. If the doctrine of salvation by grace through 
 faith, be so divine and important as we have heard, 
 then let us take great heed that we do not bring a 
 reproach upon it, by an irregular and licentious be¬ 
 haviour. 
 
 Let the holy Apostle, who is the great assertor 
 of this doctrine, be heard, as the guardian of its 
 honour, when he says, 44 Shall we continue in sin, 
 that grace may abound? God forbid!” You 
 plainly see, that this doctrine, when scripturally ex¬ 
 plained as above, gives no rational foundation, no, 
 nor even any plausible excuse, for such an inference, 
 however the corruption of men’s hearts may take 
 occasion from it. And it would be far more reason¬ 
 able, and much less detrimental to mankind, to en¬ 
 deavour to root up all the vines in the world, and 
 destroy all the animals intended for food, because 
 wine and flesh are sometimes the occasions and in¬ 
 struments of luxurious riot, than to deny this im¬ 
 portant doctrine, because it may be perverted to 
 purposes unfriendly to practical religion. But see 
 you to it, my friends, that you, if you are persuaded 
 
 p 3 
 
346 
 
 this is the doctrine of God, behave in such a man¬ 
 ner as to show that you perceive it to be, what in¬ 
 deed it is, s( a doctrine according to godliness.” 
 Woe to that man by whom, in this instance, the 
 offence comes! It had been better for him that a 
 millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he 
 were drowned in the depth of the sea, than that he 
 should occasion such dishonour to God, and bring 
 such a reproach upon his truths and his ways. And, 
 give me leave to say, there is hardly any considera¬ 
 tion in the world that should cut deeper into the 
 heart of the truly good man, of one who has 4£ tasted 
 that the Lord is gracious,” and has t( believed 
 through grace,” than the reflections of having made 
 such unworthy and ungrateful returns to God, for 
 that singular mercy which he has obtained from him, 
 in the provision which the gospel has made for his 
 salvation, in so gracious and so endearing a way. 
 
 Let me, therefore, conclude with charging you, 
 in the most solemn manner, before God and the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and by the honour of that gos¬ 
 pel you so strenuously profess, that you exercise a 
 holy watchfulness over yourselves in this respect. 
 Consider, my brethren, how many eyes are upon you 
 for evil. It is true, indeed, that charity, that 
 boasted name, that divine principle, would teach men 
 another lesson; it would teach them to mourn, 
 rather than to triumph over the faults of them that 
 call themselves Christians. But there is very little 
 of that to he found; and, on the contrary, a great 
 deal of that carnal, sensual, and diabolical zeal, 
 which rejoices in iniqujty, and takes the greatest 
 pleasure in the irregularities of those whose failings 
 
34 ? 
 
 ought most to be lamented ; that is, of those who 
 are most signalized by a Christian profession. Re¬ 
 member, therefore, and consider, my friends, that it 
 would 4 be far better for you to die, than to lay a 
 stumbling-block’ in the way of the souls of men, 
 and to give them any just cause for representing the 
 ‘gospel as a doctrine of licentiousness, or speaking 
 of Christ as the minister of sin.’ 
 
 You solemnly renounce all dependence upon your 
 own righteousness before God; and in-professing to 
 do it, and to express salvation by his grace alone, 
 you do well. But give me leave to say, that if, in 
 the meantime, you yourselves are found sinners, al¬ 
 lowing yourselves habitually in any thing contrary to 
 the divine will, the renunciation of such a righteous¬ 
 ness as is consistent with that, will be a very unwor¬ 
 thy kind of sacrifice before God, and do very little 
 credit to your profession before men. And by these 
 declarations, when compared with so bad a conduct, 
 you will run a great risk of bringing your religious 
 notions themselves into disgrace, and will probably 
 build again that which you seem most solicitous to 
 destroy. Let it, therefore, evidently appear, that 
 the “ grace of God, which appears unto all men, has 
 effectually taught you to deny all ungodliness and 
 worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and 
 godly in this present world.” Let the whole world 
 about you see that the divine goodness to you, in 
 which you rejoice and glory, has had its efficacy to 
 purify and humanize your hearts, to fill them with 
 humility and universal love, and to inspire them with 
 a most friendly, benevolent, generous care for the 
 happiness of all around you, as well as with a gene- 
 
348 
 
 rous concern to 66 make your own calling and elec¬ 
 tion sure.” Nothing will so powerfully plead for 
 the gospel, as such a care to adorn it, and to seek 
 that salvation which is entirely of grace, through 
 sanctification of the Spirit, as well as the belief of 
 the truth. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 To what I have said in the conclusion of the First Sermon con¬ 
 cerning the proper import of the word Regeneration, I beg 
 leave to add the following remarks, for the further satisfaction of 
 some worthy persons, who think it may be convenient to state 
 the matter a little more particularly. 
 
 I acknowledge that many learned and pious divines have taught 
 and contended, that Regeneration does, in the strictest propri¬ 
 ety of speech, signify Baptism. So that no unbaptized person, 
 how well disposed soever, can properly be said to be regenerated ; 
 whereas that title may justly be given to all who have been bap¬ 
 tized, how destitute soever they might have been of Christian 
 faith and holiness when they received the ordinance, or how 
 grossly soever they may since have forfeited the final blessings of 
 a regenerate state. Dr. Waterland has stated this matter at large 
 in his laboured and ingenious treatise on the subject, which is the 
 best I know on this side of the question. And though this would 
 be a very improper place to enter on a critical examination of 
 that piece, I will briefly touch on the chief arguments which he, 
 or others in his sentiments, have urged in vindication of this fa¬ 
 vourite notion. So far as I can recollect, what they say is capable 
 of being reduced to two heads;—that Christian antiquity uses the 
 w r ord in this sense and that there are passages of Scripture 
 which authorize such an application of it. 
 
 As to the first of these, I readily own that the word has this 
 sense in the generality of the Christian writers, from about the 
 middle of the second century, though I think not so universally 
 as some have concluded :* but I think it easy to account for such 
 
 * Clemens Alexandrinus, so often, and to be sure reasonably 
 quoted on the other side, plainly uses the word for a change of 
 character by true repentance; (Strom, lib. ii. page 425.) where 
 speaking of a penitent harlot, he says, “ that being born again by 
 conversion, or a change in her temper and behaviour, she has the 
 regeneration of life.” 
 
350 
 
 a use of it among them. For, in the earliest ages of the church, 
 persons were generally baptized as soon as they were converted 
 to the cordial belief of Christianity; and therefore the time of 
 their conversion, and that of their baptism, might naturally enough 
 be spoken of as one: and as this was a period when they did, as 
 it were, come into a new world, it is no wonder that the action 
 by which they testified a change so lately made, should be put for 
 that change itself. Just as illumination also among the ancients 
 signifies baptism; not to intimate that the grand illumination of 
 the mind was made by this rite, or at the time of it; for that 
 would be supposing the person in darkness when he embraced 
 the gospel, and determined to be baptized; but because it was 
 taken for granted, and that very justly in those days, that every 
 one savingly enlightened would soon be baptized, that so he might 
 be regularly joined to the society of enlightened or regenerated 
 persons, that is, to the Christian church; which, no doubt, had 
 the best right of any body of men in the world to that title, 
 though in its purest state it contained some ignorant and wicked, 
 members. In a word, a man by baptism solemnly professed 
 himself a Christian; and as it was generally the first overt act by 
 which his believing the gospel could be publicly and generally 
 known, and was also supposed to be very near the time of his in¬ 
 ward conversion, they dated his regeneration, that is, his happy 
 change, (as that word used to signify even among the heathen,*) 
 from that time. We own, therefore, that these ancient Chris¬ 
 tians (of whom I always think and speak with great respect) had 
 a very good excuse for this method of speaking; but whether 
 they were perfectly accurate in this, and whether they did not 
 recede from the Scripture use of the word, may be matter of 
 farther inquiry. 
 
 * It is well known that Cicero expresses the happy change 
 made, in his state, when restored from his banishment by this 
 word. (Cic. ad Attic, lib. vi. Epist. 6.) The Greeks expressed 
 by it the doctrine of the Brachmans, in which they affirmed our 
 entering on a new state of being after death. (Clem. Alex. 
 Strom, lib. iii. page 451.) And the Stoics used it to denote their 
 expected renovation of the world after successive conflagrations. 
 (Marc. Antonin. Medit. lib. xi. § 1. v. 13. x. 7.) And so the 
 fathers often use it to signify the resurrection which Christians 
 expect. (See Euseb. Eccl. Hist. lib. v. chap. 1. in fin. Com¬ 
 pare Matth. xix. 28. and the note there. Fam. Expos, vol. ii. 
 page 238.) 
 
351 
 
 As to the arguments from Scripture in support of the interpre¬ 
 tation I oppose, they are taken partly from particular places; but 
 chiefly, as I apprehend, from the general tenor of it, in which 
 Christians are spoken of as regenerated. 
 
 The particular texts are, John iii. 5. and Tit. iii. 5. on which 
 much of the stress of this controversy is laid ; but on considering 
 them attentively, I find nothing in either of them to lead us to 
 think baptism the regeneration spoken of there. 
 
 As to the former of them, John iii. 5. when our Lord says, 
 “ Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot 
 enter into the kingdom of God ;” it is (after all the contempt 
 with which that interpretation has been treated) very possible he 
 may mean, by a well-known figure, to express one idea by both 
 those clauses, that is, the purifying influences of the Spirit cleans¬ 
 ing the mind, as water does the body ; as elsewhere, to be “ bap¬ 
 tized with the Holy Ghost and with fire,” (Matt. iii. 11.) signi¬ 
 fies to be baptized by the Spirit operating like fire. But if there 
 is indeed a reference to baptism in these words, (which I own I 
 am much inclined to believe,) it will by no means follow that 
 baptism is Regeneration. On that supposition, I still think the 
 sense of the passage must be that which I have given in my 
 paraphrase on it, (Earn. Expos, vol. 1. page 148.) “Whosoever 
 would become a regular member of the kingdom of God, must 
 not only be baptized, but as ever he desires to share in its spiri¬ 
 tual and eternal blessings, must experience the renewing and 
 sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit on his soul, to cleanse it 
 from the power of corruption, and to animate and quicken it to a 
 spiritual and divine life.” It is granted, therefore, that how ex¬ 
 cellent soever any man’s character is, he must be baptized before 
 he can be looked upon as completely a member of the church of 
 Christ; and that, in general, being born of the Spirit, he will also 
 be solicitous that he may be born of water, and so fulfil all righ¬ 
 teousness. But it will never follow from hence, that being born 
 of water and born of the Spirit are the same thing. The text 
 rather implies they are different; and I think everybody must 
 own they may be actually separate. Nothing, therefore, can 
 be more absurd than to infer from this text, that if there bo two 
 persons, one of which is born of the Spirit, and not of water; 
 another of water, and not of the Spirit; the latter, that is, the 
 wicked man, who has perhaps with some iniquitous design been 
 
35 ® 
 
 baptized, may properly be said to be regenerated, or born of God, 
 and, consequently, to be an heir of God, (Romans viii. 17.) 
 rather than a truly religious man who has not yet been baptized, 
 either through want of opportunity, or through some unhappy 
 mistake, as to the nature and design, or the perpetuity and obli¬ 
 gations of that ordinance. Now this I take to be precisely the 
 question, and must declare, that when a baptized person is desti¬ 
 tute of true religion, that birth which he had by water seems to 
 me, as it were, an evanescent thing, or a thing which disappears 
 as unworthy the mention; and that it must be therefore most 
 safe and advisable, as well as most agreeable to the Scripture 
 sense, to appropriate the title of regenerate persons to those 
 sanctified by divine grace, rather than to use it of all who are 
 baptized. 
 
 As to the text in Titus (chap. iii. 5.) where God is said to 
 “ save us by the washing of regeneration,” or, as some earnestly 
 . contend it should be rendered, by the laver of regeneration ; I 
 might answer, that as that interpretation is by no means neces¬ 
 sary, it cannot be proved that baptism is here designed, though 
 I acknowledge there may be a graceful allusion to it. The Apostle 
 may mean, we are saved “ by God’s washing our hearts by his 
 sanctifying Spirit, (a phrase so often used in the Old Testament,) 
 and thereby making us his childrenand in this sense it might 
 have been used, though baptism had never been instituted. But, 
 granting (as I have done in the beginning of the seventh-Sermon,) 
 that xar^ov may be rendered laver, and that baptism may be the 
 laver referred to, and that “ there is indeed an allusion to the 
 washing new-born children;” (as Mr. Mede, in his diatribe on 
 this text, contends,) I think this text will be so fur from proving, 
 that St. Paul meant to call baptism Regeneration, that it will 
 prove the contrary: for regeneration itself, and the laver of re¬ 
 generation, cannot be the same thing: and whatever Tertullian 
 and other ancients may fancifully talk of our being generated like 
 fishes in the water, in a weak allusion to the technical word 
 IX0T2, common sense will see how absurd it would be to apply 
 this to a child, and will teach us rather to argue, that as children 
 must be born before they can be washed, so they must be regene¬ 
 rated before the washing of regeneration (that is, the washing which 
 belongs to their new birth) can be applied to them. But, on the 
 whole, as washing an infant refers to its pollution, and no pollu- 
 
353 
 
 tion attends our regeneration as such, I am more and more in¬ 
 clined to think, there is no reference at all here to a laver, or to 
 the washing new-born children ; and, therefore, that this wash¬ 
 ing, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, are exegetical, and 
 that the latter clause might be rendered, Even the renewing, &c. 
 which makes the text decisive for the sense in which I use the 
 word. 
 
 After all, then, if any argument can be deduced from Scrip¬ 
 ture in favour of the manner of speaking now in debate, it must 
 be from the general tenor of it; according to which it seems* 
 that all who are members of the visible church are spoken of 
 as regenerate; from which it may be inferred, with some plau¬ 
 sible probability at least, that baptism, by which they are admit¬ 
 ted into that society, may be called Regeneration: and I am 
 ready to believe, as I hinted above, that this was the chief reason 
 why the ancients so often used the word in the sense I am now 
 opposing. 
 
 Now, with relation to this, I desire it may be recollected, 
 that when Christianity first appeared in the world, it was at¬ 
 tended with such discouragements, as made the very profession 
 of it, in a great measure, a test of men’s characters. The 
 apostles, therefore, knowing the number of hypocrites to be com¬ 
 paratively very small, generally take no notice of them, but ad¬ 
 dress themselves to whole bodies of Christians, as if they were 
 truly what they professed to be. Just as our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 though he knew the wickedness of Judas, often addresses him¬ 
 self to the whole body of his apostles, as if they were all his faith¬ 
 ful servants, and makes gracious declarations and promises to the 
 whole society, which could by no means be applicable to this one 
 corrupt and wretched member of it; telling them, for instance, 
 that they should share in his final triumph, and “sit on twelve 
 thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” 
 
 This is, therefore, the true key to all those passages in which 
 Christians are, in the general, said to be adopted, sanctified, justi¬ 
 fied, &c. as well as regenerated. The apostles had reason, in the 
 judgment of charity, to think thus of by far the greatest part of 
 them ; and, therefore, they speak to them all as in such a happy 
 state. And, agreeably to this, we find not only such privileges, 
 but also such characters ascribed to Christians in general, as were 
 only applicable to such of them as were Christians indeed. Thus 
 
354 
 
 all the Corinthians are spoken of by the apostle Paul as “ wait¬ 
 ing for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christand all the Ephe¬ 
 sians, and all the Colossians, as having “ faith in the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and love to all the saints and all the Philippians, as 
 having a good work begun in them, which Paul was persuaded 
 God would perfect; and all the Thessalonians, as remarkable for 
 “ their work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope;” 
 though it evidently appears there were persons in several of these 
 churches who behaved much amiss, and to whom, had he been 
 particularly addressing to each of them alone, he could not, by 
 any means, have used such language. On the like principles, 
 Peter, when addressing to all the Christians in Pontus, Galatia, 
 Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, speaks of the whole aggregate of 
 them as loving an unseen Saviour, and, amidst all theft tribula¬ 
 tions, “ rejoicing in him, with joy unspeakable and full of glory ;” 
 though probably there were some weak and dejected Christians 
 among them, and undoubtedly, in so large an extent of country, 
 in which there were such a s r ast number of churches, not a few, 
 who (as our Lord afterwards expresses it of some of them) “ had 
 only a name to live, while they were dead ;” in which passage, by 
 the way, our Lord uses the same figure, and describes the whole 
 body by the character of those who made the greater part of it. 
 
 I state the matter thus particularly, because I think this ob¬ 
 vious remark is a sufficient answer to what is most peculiar and 
 important in a late Discourse, consisting of nearly one hundred 
 and thirty quarto pages, and entitled, “ A Key to the Apostolic 
 Writings,” &c. prefixed by the Rev. Mr. Taylor of Norwich, to 
 his late Paraphrase and Notes on the Romans. I think what I 
 have briefly advanced here, will much more effectually answer the 
 end of fixing the true sense of the Scripture phrases in question. 
 And I cannot forbear saying, that to determine the sense of the 
 words called , redeemed , sanctified , <J(c. when applied to the Chris¬ 
 tian church, by that in which they are used in Moses and the 
 prophets, with respect to the whole people of Israel, seems to me 
 as unreasonable as it would be to maintain, that the dimensions, 
 the strength, and the beauty of a body, are to be most exactly 
 estimated by looking on its shadow. 
 
 Yet, on this evidently weak and mistaken principle, the learned 
 and ingenious author referred to above, ventures not only to at¬ 
 tempt an entire alteration in the generally received strain of theo- 
 
355 
 
 logical discourses, but to throw out a censure, which, considering 
 its extent and its severity, must either be very terrible, or very 
 pitiable. He not only seems to think, if I understand him right, 
 that we were all regenerated (if at all) as well as justified, in 
 those of our parents who were first converted from idolatry to 
 Christianity, (Key, § 81, 82, and 246.) as indeed he expressly 
 says, “that we are born in a justified,” and therefore, undoubtedly, 
 (if the word is to be retained,) in a regenerate “state but he 
 presumes to say, that such doctrines as have been almost univer¬ 
 sally taught and received among Christians, concerning “ Justifi¬ 
 cation, regeneration, redemption, &c. have quite taken away the 
 very ground of the Christian life, the grace of God, and have left 
 no object for the faith of a sinner to work upon,” (§ 357.) And 
 hereupon, lest it should be forgot, he repeats it in the same sec¬ 
 tion, that to represent it as “ the subject of doubtful inquiry, trial, 
 and examination, whether we have an interest in Christ, whether 
 we are in a state of pardon, whether we be adopted;” (and by 
 consequence, to be sure whether we be regenerated) “ is,” (as 
 the Antinomians, I imagine, would also say,) “ to make our jus¬ 
 tification, as it invests us in those blessings, to be of works, and 
 not by faith alone :” and (as was just before said in the same 
 words) “to take away the very ground of the Christian life, the 
 grace of God, and to leave no object for the faith of a sinner to 
 act upon.” And this way of stating things, which has so gene¬ 
 rally prevailed, is joined with the wickedness and contentions of 
 professing Christians, as a third cause of that disregard to the 
 gospel which is so common in the present day. 
 
 Now, as no book can fall more directly under this censure, than 
 this of mine, in which it is the business of the three first Sermons 
 to direct professing Christians in an inquiry, whether they be or 
 be not in a regenerate state; I thought it not improper, in this 
 Appendix, briefly to acquaint my reader with the principles on 
 which I continue to think the view in which I have put the 
 matter, to be rational and scriptural,* and do still in my con- 
 
 * For the full proof of this, that it is the most scriptural sense, 
 I must desire the reader diligently to examine, and seriously to 
 consider, the several texts which are quoted in the preceding 
 discourses j for it would swell this Appendix too much to enu¬ 
 merate them all here, and to give them a critical examination. 
 Let it still be remembered, that to be regenerated, and to be born 
 
356 
 
 science judge it far preferable to what the advocates of baptismal 
 regeneration on the one hand, or Mr. Taylor on the other, would 
 introduce. It seems to me, that the points in dispute with him 
 are much more important than our debates with them, as a much 
 greater number of scriptures are concerned, and the whole tenor 
 of our ministerial addresses would be much more sensibly af¬ 
 fected. Had I leisure to discuss the matter more largely with 
 this gentleman, I should think it might be an important service 
 to the gospel of Christ. I hope it will be undertaken by some 
 abler hand; and shall, in the meantime, go on preaching and 
 writing in the manner so solemnly condemned, with no appre¬ 
 hension from the discharge of all this overloaded artillery, except 
 it be what I feel for the zealous engineer himself, and a few other 
 friends, who may chance to stand nearer him than in prudence 
 they ought. 
 
 Northampton , June 13, 1745. 
 
 of God, are equivalent phrases: and with this remark, let any 
 one that can do it paraphrase all the passages referred to, in two 
 different views; first, putting the word baptism for regeneration, 
 and baptized persons for born of God ; and then substituting our 
 definition of regeneration, or of a regenerate person, instead of 
 the words themselves; and I cannot but think he will be struck 
 with that demonstration, which will (as it were) emerge of itself 
 upon such a trial. And I must add, that if he looks into the 
 context of many of these passages, he will at the same time see 
 how utterly ungrounded it is to assert, as some have done, “that 
 regeneration is only used when applied to Jewish converts to 
 Christianity, referring to their former birth from Abraham ;” a 
 notion so fully confuted by our Lord’s discourse with Nicode- 
 mus, John iii. 3. el seq. by Tit. iii. 5. and by 1 Pet. i. 3, 23. ii. 
 2. when compared with 1 Pet. i. 14. iv. 3. (which proves that 
 the Apostle there wrote to societies, of which the greater part 
 had before been idolatrous Gentiles,) that I think it quite super- 
 fiuous to discuss it more largely here. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 Printed by W. Collins & Co. 
 Glasgow, 
 
Theological Seminary Libraries 
 
 012 01197 4195 
 
 Date Due