^^'^^^-^-^^- -^^ Fk' ^ fl'^, •^W»' .^-> SERMONS, BY THE REV. JOHN EWING, D. D. LATE PASTOR OF THE riRST PRESBYTERIAN CONGREGA TlOJf IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA. SELECTED FROM HIS MANUSCRIPTS BY THE REV. JAMES P. WILSON, 0/ t/ie mi^ of PhiladeJpliia, D. D. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, A LIFE OF THE ArTHOR. EASTON, PENN. J'RINTED BY THOMAS J. ROGERS* 1812. Dlstnct 0/ Pennsylvania, to nvit : Be it remembered, That on the twenty-second \ : clay of January, in the thirty-sixth year of the Indepen- : '.* dence of the United States of America, a. d. one thou- sand eight hundred and twelve, John Easing of the said District, hath deposited in this office, the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words following^ to wit : « " Sermcns 'rmc7iSy V^S^ ^^j^«/<: John Riving, D. D. late Pastor 05 igregation in the Cit Selected from his mannscrijits by the Rev. James of the City of Philadelphia, D. D. To ivhich is prefixed, a Life of the Author. in conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, intituled '* An Act for the encouragement of learning, by secu- ring the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned." And also to the Act, entitled " An Act supplementary to an Act, entitled ' Ar Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing Ihe copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and pro- prietors of such copies, during the time therein mentioned,' and e^itending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engra- ving, and etching historical and other prints." D.CALDWELL, Clerk of the District of PennsylvaKitL- CONTENTS. Page. Life of the Author ^ , . . . yii SERMON I. Ji particular Divine Providence, explained and provedy 1 MAT. X, 29, 30, 31, r^ SERMON IT. The same subject continued, . , .20 SERMON III. Knowing the God of our Fathers, , . 41 1. CnRQBT. XXVIII, 9. SERMON IV. Christ the Saviour of lost Sinners, . .66 MAT. XVIII, 11. SERMON V. The Holij Spirit the Comforter, JOHN XIV, 16. SERMON YI. ChrisVs dominion over both worlds, . Iji REV. I, 18. SERMON TIT. T/ie happy tendency of Christianiltjf . « 433 IXKE IX, 56, CONTENTS. ^4^ IV f SERMON Yin. *^ ' ^,. Thejutal iendency of licentious Pleasure , • • ^. iV^W 1. TIM. y, 6. SERMON IX. The ijrosperity of fools, their desiriictioiif . 169 PROV. I, 32. SERMON X. The advantages of aJJUctioUf . . 190 PSA. cxix, 7i. V' % SERMON XI. ^ The Graci of Christ sufficient for nsy . ^^21 2 2. COR. XII, 9. SERMON XII. Tlie path of the Just is as the morning light, 236 PRO. IV, 18. SERMON XIII. Train up a Child in the way he should go, . 255 PROV. XXII, 6. SERMON XIV. IVe are the Temples of God, . , 276 1. COR. Ill, 16. SERMON XV. Receive jnot the Grace of God in vain, - 294. **^^ 2. COR. VI, 1. SERMON XW. Reasonableness of serving God, . . 312 ROM. XII, 1. '' /• •»*•-. V • CONTENTS. SERMON XYII. ThNtrddm life of a Christian, ♦ , 335 COL. Ill, 3. SERMON XYin. Entering in at the straight gate, . . 352 LUKE XIII, 23, 2^. SERMON XIX. Preparation for Death, . , . 372 MAT. XXIV, 4*. SERMON XX. Death ; its nature and consequences, . . 391 nEB. IX, 27. LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. The following life is an eminent example of thel)e- neficial results of persevering industry ; and the object of recording it will have been attained, if it shall (each the timid, a proper confidence in his own efforts, and the presumptuous, an humble confidence in his God. Dr. John Ewing was born on the 22d day of June, 1732, in the township of Nottingham, in Coecil county, Maryland, near to the line which separates that state from Pennsylvania. Of his ancestors little is known.— They emigrated from Ireland at an early period of the settlement of our country, and fixed themselves on the banks of the Susquehanna, near to the spot where he was born. They were farmers, who, if they did not extend their names beyond their immediate neighbourhood, yet maintained within it that degree of reputation, which their descendants can speak of without a blush. His father w as enabled by his industry, to support his family* from the produce of his farm, and to give to his children that degree of education, which country schools at that time had to offer. This indeed was little, but it was all that was necessary to such a mind as Dr. * There were five brothers: William, George, AlexaDdei, John, and his twin brother James, who is the only one no^ living. VIU IIFE or THE AUTHOR. E wing's. It was sufficient to furnish the rudiments of science, which, however early they are lost hy ordinary minds in tlie distractions of a life of business, only serve to fan the fire of ambition in stronger intellects, and to direct and guide their possessors to fame. The school-house at which Dr. Ewing was taught the elements of his native language, and the first rules of arithmetic, was at a considerable distance from his father's residence. The daily exercises of walking thi- ther in his youth, tended to invigorate a constitution na- turally strong, and enabled him to acquire a stock of health, which carried him through sixty years without sickness.* At this school it cannot be supposed that he learned much : but he was soon removed from it and placed under the superintendance of Dr. Alison, a cler- * Dr. Ewing has been heard to state a fact which he witnes- sed at this period of his life, and which I cannot resist relating, since, established by his character for veracity, it may shed some light on a question in natural history, hitherto involved in some obscurity. As he went to his school one morning at an early hour, he observed a bird in extreme agitation, flying repeatedly across the road, but never going beyond the fence on either side, on which it constantly alighted. It would rest there for a mo- ment and then return to the opposite fence, always descending in its flight, until it nearly touched the ground. Its agitation ar- rested his attention, and he stood to observe the cause. On the spot where it seemed disposed to alight in its flight, he observed a snake, which had evidently fixed on its victim, and fascinated it beyond the power of escaping by its own efforts. He frightened the snake away by throwing at it a stone, when the bird instantly flew oft' with evident symptoms of joy. iirH OE THE AUTHOK. IS gyman eminent for his erudition and piety, %vho then directed a school at New London cross roads, in the state of Pennsylvania. After having finished those stu- dies usualJy taught in his school, he remained with him three years as a tutor. To this he %yas led, not merely by inclination, but by necessity'. His father died about this tiuie, and left his small property to be distributed according to the laws of the state of Maryland, in which that of primogeniture prevailed. The eldest son inhe- rited the patrimonial estate, and left Dr. Ewing and his remaining bvothers, to struggle in the world with twenty pounds each. At this distribution of his father's pro- perty he did not repine, for he then felt a confidence in his own powers which did not deceive him, which, po- verty could not diminish, and which enabled him subse- quently to attain that honorable elevation, which he adorned by his virtues as VtcII as his talents. Under tlie kind care of Dr. Alison, he made consi- derable progress in his favourite pursuit, the study of mathematics. Books of science were not at that time easily obtained in America, especially in places remote from cities : but such was his thirst for knowledge, that he frequently rode thirty or forty miles to obtain the loan of a book, which might aficTd him some information on the subject of his favourite speculations. Those au- thors who were safe guides, could not always be obtained. Incorrect writings sometimes fell into his hands, the errors of Avhich did not escape the detection of his pene- trating and original genius. It often occurs, that diffi- culties only quicken the eagerness of the mind in its pursuits, and bring into action its latent energies. Such b X IJt^JB OF THA ALTHOlt* tvas the result of difficulties on Dr. E>ving, at this early period of his life. His mind did not shrink from intel- lectual conflict, but gathered vigor from hindrance, and bade defiance to difficulty. At this period he certainly learned much^from books, and miieli from the conver- sation of Dr. Alison, of whom indeed he ahvays spoko with kindness, but he acquired more from the habits of close thinking in which he early indulged. To the two former he was much indebted, but if we allow to those sources of information all that they merit, it will yet not be hazardous to say, that in the science of mathe- matics he was seif-tavight, and could never have reach- ed that station which he afterwards adorned^ struggling as he Avas with poverty and harassed with difficulties, without receiving from other than human aid tlie im- pulse which carried him forward. In the year 1754^ he left the school of Dr. Alison, and removed to Princeton for the purpose of entering the college. Mr. Burr, the father of the late vice -pre sident of the United States, was then President of that institution, and of that great and celebrated man he was a favourite pupil. He joined the senior class, and impelled by pecuniary embarrassments, engaged at the «ame time as teacher of the grammar school, which was connected Avith the college. His intention Avas to graduate, and for this purpose it Avas necessary that he should study in private some branches of learning to which he had previously been unable to attend.— These causes made his labour greater tJian that of his classmates. His studies Avere arduous and multiplied ; but he brought to the contest a mind Avluch difficuKiej? iirE or THE AUTHOR. xi did not easily subdue. He graduated Avitli his class in the year 1755, and finding that he had still to toil for a subsistanee, he immediately accepted the appointment of tutor in the college. At this period he resolved to choose his profession ; and feeling the study of theology congenial with his wishes, and calculated to permit him to mingle with it scientific researches, he adopted it with his usual promptitude and his usual zeal. In pursuance of this design, he returned to Dr. Ali- son, his former tutor and friend, and, after the usual period of preparatory study, he was licensed to preach the gospel by the presbytery of Newcastle, in the state of Delaware. At the age of twenty-six, before he un- dertook the pastoral charge of an3^ congregation, he was selected to instruct the philosophical classes in the col- lege of Philadelphia, during the absence of the Provost, the late Dr. William Smith. Whilst he was engaged in the discharge of this honorable office, he received an invitation from the pre sbyterian congregation of his na- tive place to settle himself among them as their pastor. This was an invitation on which he deliberated, before he declined it. To be selected by the friends of his youth as their spiritual guide ; to fix himself Avith a de- cent stipend on his native spot among his relations and former associates, was a temptation calculated to win a man who Avas social in his affections, and who Ava^; little troubled with the unquiet spirit of ambition. But he was by this time married, and having early known the value of a liberal education, he v/ished to give his offspring the opportunity of possessing those instruc- tions Avhich he himself had so long toiled to acquire ; Xll I'lJE or TUE ALTHOK. which, during Lis life, he praised as more valuable than wealth, and recommended to the attention of his cliil- dren by all the persuasions of paternal aifoction. — Whilst, however, he was deliberating, he received, in the year 1759, an unanimous invitation from the first Presbyterian congregation in the city of Philadelphia to undertake their pastoral charge. This he did not feel himself at liberty to decline, but accepted it, and fixed himself for life. From this period until the year 1773, he continued to discharge his duties with a diligence and zeal seldom surpassed. In the bosom of big congregation he found affection and friendship, and learned that life has lew stations to offer to an unambitious heart more valuable than that of a pastor beloved by his lloclv. New scenes now opened upon his view. In the year 1773 he was commissioned, with the consent of his con- gregation, in conjunction with Dr. Hugh Williamson, late a member of Congress from the state of Nortli Carolina, to solicit subscriptions in Great Britain for the academy of Newark in the state of Delaware. He took with him letters of recommendation from men of science and respectability to several eminent characters. These, aided by his own reputation for mathematical science, his general information, and his virtues, pro- cured for him the intimacy and friendship of several persons, who at that period and since held the highest stations of literature. Among these were the celebra- ted historian Dr. Robertson, Dr. Webster, Mr. Balfour, and Dr. Blacklock, the blind poet of Scotland. He LIFE OP THE AUTHOU. X1J> visited every i)lace of importance in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and in all of them was received with that attention and respect which arc due to the man of science and the minister of God. The cities of Glasgow, Montrose, Dundee and Perth, presented to him their freedom, and from the university of Edinburgh, of which Dr. Robertson was then the principal, he received ^vithout application, the degree of Doctor of Divinity, Dr. Robertson, on presenting his diploma, declared that lie had never before conferred a degree with greater pleasure. The acquaintance, thus commenced with this celebrated personage, ripened into intimacy, and until the death of the latter, in 1793, he made constant and afTectionate inquiries about Dr. Ewing from travelling Americans who visited him at Edinburgh. A few days before his deatli, some young American gentlemen waited upon him, to wht^m he spoke of his friend *« as a man of great talents for 'ivhom he enleriaincd a great jier- sonal regard,'' and his last words at parting were, " I)o not forget to present my Idnd regards to Dr. Ewing.'^ Such a testimonial from such a man as the historian of Charles the fiftli, the descendants of Dr. Ewing may be permitted to remember and to speak of to the world. AVhen he iirst visited England, the approaching con- test with his native land was a topic of conversation in every society. He was warmly and uniformly the friend of his country, and although he had frequent offers of reward from men, high in power, if he would remain in ipngland, yet liis knowledge of the causes of tlic revo MV J.IFK OF THE ALTHOll, liition ; his acquaintance with the spirit and resources of his countrymen, and his integrity forhade him to lis-^ ten to them. He held frequent conversations with tlif, minister, lord North, to whom, with that frankness and independence of sentiment, which characterised him, he Gommunicated all his information respecting the resour- ces and power of the people of the united colonies. To the minister he predicted the issue of the contest, and urged him to pause before he alienated irretrievably from the mother country the affections of loyal subjects. These conversations he was in the habit of repeating to his friends on his return from England, not without some degree of surprise that the minister should have involv- ed his country in a war with a people, of whose charac- ter, numbers, spirit and resources, he was utterly igno- rant. ■M Among the eminent literary characters whom Dr. Ewing met at the hospitable table of Mr. Billy, th© London bookseller, was the truly great Dr. Johnson.— He loved to speak to his friends of this interview, which serves to illustrate the character of a man, of whom everyone, who has read, knows something. When Mr. Dilly invited Dr. Ewing to dine with him, he added, ** You Avill meet the great Dr. Johnson, but you must not contradict him ,• w s never contradict him." The day arrived, and Dr. Ewing, on entering the parlour of Mr. Dilly, found several eminent literary characters engaged in easy conversation, which liowever, was in- stantly suspended when Dr. Johnson entered the room. There was a general silence. He scarcely noticed any one, but seizing a book which lay on^the table, read in LIFE OF THE AUTHOK. Xf it attentively until dinner was announced. Here, every one seemed to forget himself, and anxious to please him by the most assiduous attentions. He attended how- ever to nothing but his plate. He did not seem to know that any one was present, until, having eaten voraciously without exhibiting many of those graces which consti- tuted so great a portion of Chesterfield's morality, he raised his head slowly, and looking around the table, surveyed the guests for the first time. They were then engaged in a discussion of the expected contro- versy with America, and as Dr. Ewing had lately left his native country, he, with his usual frankness, and without adverting to, or regarding the prejudices of Dr. Johnson, began to defend tlie cause of the colonies. — Johnson looked at him with sternness, and said, ^« What do you knoiVf SiVf on that subject T' Mr. Dilly's caution was forgotten, and Dr. Ewing calmly replied, that ha- ving resided in America during his life, he thought him- self qualified to deliver his opinions on the subject un- der discussion. This produced an animated conversa- tion. Johnson's prejudices against the Americans were strong ; he considered them, as lie always termed them, rebels and scoundrels, and these epithets were now by no means sparingly used. It is difficult to say how far he might have been provoked, by opposition in argu- ment, if a fortunate turn had not been given to the dis- pute. Johnson had rudely said, " Sir, what do you know in America ? You never read. You have no book* there." " Pardon me. Sir," replied Dr. Ewing, " we have read the Uainbler,'' This civility instantly paci- fied him, and after the rest of the company had retired, he sat with Dr. Ewing until midnight, speaking ari^icn XVI JLIFK Ot THE AtTIIOE hly and eloquently, and uttering such wisdom as seldom falls from the lips of man. In the summer of 1775, Dr. Ewing returned to his native land, with a mind li ghly improved by his travels. He had directed his inquiries to the study of man, in all the varieties which Great Britain and Ireland afforded. He had collected much information and many anecdotes, which, on his return, were reserved for the amusement and instruction of that social circle, which he loved to collect at his own fireside. His parlour Avas always the scene of cheerfulness and hospitality. His finances in- deed were never more than moderate, hut he Avas al- ways able to furnish for his guests something more va- luable than the delicacies of the season, or the wines of France. War had now commenced between the United States and Great Britain, and he adhered to the cause of his country with steadiness and zeal. When the British army was expected in Philadelphia in 1777, he removed his family to his native place, where he continued to reside until the city was evacuated by CUntonf immedi- ately before his retreat through the state of New Jer- sey to New York. He then returned to his congrega- tion, and in 1779, was elected to the provostship of the University of Pennsylvania, which station he filled until his death. To this station he was fully competent. In all the branches of learning and science usually taught in colle- ges, he was uncommonly accurate, and in his mode of lIFE or THE ALTHOR. XVll instruction and of communicating information, he Avas probably never surpassed. On his appointment he pre* pared a course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy, Avhich have been published since his decease, and which he delivered to his pupils during a period of twenty years* They will be found to contain all that is necessary for the mere student ; written in a plain and simple style, and arranged with great method and perspicuity. As a teacher, perhaps no one was ever more beloved. His authority over his pupils was that of a parent, and Avhile he maintained that discipline, without which genhis will be wasted and diligence useless, he won their affection hy the mildest manners. All his hours were now occupied. He attended at the University during the mornings and afternoons of every day, and devoted his remaining time to the duties of his pastoral charge, and a necessary attention to his private affairs. These were arduous and multiplied.—* Visiting the sick^ and interchanging Avith his parish on- ers the visits of friendship, occupied much of his time. And when from the performance of these duties, he re- tired to his closet, he was obliged to prepare, usually two, but always at least one discourse for the approach- ing Sabbath. But these difficulties yielded to his love of method and untiring diligence. He rose with the sun and retired to rest at a late hour in the night ; yet his constitution was naturally so robust, and the care of his health so judicious, that during a period of forty years, he was never prevented by sickness, from attending to his pastoral duties. c :vas limi- ted to the meaner and less excellent part of them. The worst they could do ^> as only to kill the hody ; for the soul >\ us heyond tiic reach of their power and malice. Hands of violence and instruments of death have no- thin.i; to do with thought and perception. I'he only possi- ble destruction of the soul is its final separation from God; and therefore we should rather fear his displea- sure, wiio is ahle to destroy botli soul and body in hell. Secondhjy Our Lord encouraged his disciples under the prospect of persecution from the care and inspection of divine providence. This he suggests in our text, where he argues fi'om the less to the greater. '* Are not two *erish without the notice of the universal parent of all. Vnd r^urely tliat God, who takes such a particular care of h-parrows, Avill miLch more take care of you, w ho are his children, and are engaged in his immediate service. Nay, lie takes notice of, and interests himself in, your minutest concerns : for the very hairs of your head :»rc all numbered by him. " Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." From tliis passage of sacred writ, it appears aji unqucstionalile truth, in the judgment of our Saviour, that there is not only a general but also a particular providence exercised over the creation. I am not insensible Uiat this doc- trine is attended with difficulties, of wliich we, who can see but a very small part of the grand scheme ofdiviju- j)rovidcnee, can render but unsatisfactory solutions. — Yet Me arc sure frora the perfections of God, tirat he is holy and just hi all his way«; and that all the dispensa* EXPLAINED AND PEOVED. «^ irfons of his providence are conducted so as to ans"\ver pur- poses, greait and important in themselves, and wortliy of the supreme ruler of tlic universe. For the judge of all ihe earth can do nothing, but what is riglit ; however mysterious his dealings may appear to short- siglited ig- norant creatures. Therefore that we may proceed with safety and as much precision as we can upon this diiTicuU suhjeet, we propose, through divine assistance, T. To make some observations necessary to the riglit stating and explaining the doctrine of a general and particular i)rovidence. II, To prove the doctrine asserted in our text. III. To consider the principal acts and properties of divine providence. I. We shall make some observations necessary to the right stating and explaining the doctrine of a general and particular providence exercised about the whole creation. .1. God usually effects his gracious purposes 7vithoiit dij- tiirhiug the settled order of J\*ature, By the order of nature, we mean the original laws by which the universe is governed ; in consequence of which, one part of tlie creation depends upon another, anj.natu> val causes produce their proper effects, and events hap« pen punctually as God intended they should happen. The world we inhabit is a beautiful and magnificent sys«< tern, in which much of tlie divine wisdom and goodness is displayed, in the mutual dependence of its parts, and theii* • A FARTICULAE DIVINE PROYIDEXCJi evident subserviency to the grand design of the m]io1(*. Thus the sun revolves from day to day, and from year to year, to enlighten and cherish the earth, and to exhale the vapours, which are again returned in fruitful show- ers. The earth receives the several seeds committei^ to it, and in a plentiful return of fruit at its proper sea- son richly repays the labor of the sower. Summer and winter, seed-time and harvest, day and night, keep their regular succession, according to the laws and appoint- ments of the great disposer of all things. The several gpecies of animals propagate their kind without mixture cr confusion : some objects are calculated to give us pain and others pleasure ; some to w ound, and some to heal us. Now the same almighty pow ei-, and inlinite wisdom, who at first established this order and mutual subser- viency of one part of his w orks to another, not only maintains it, but in general governs the w orld by the same original laws. And in this appears his tender re- gard for our happiness. For was there no settled or- der by which the w orld was governed, the utmost reach and compass of thought could avail no more than child- hood and ignorance. All human industry and foresight, which depend upon things going on in a stated track, would be at a stand. There could be no room for coun- sel and deliberation, where there was no orderly con sti» tution of things. On this supposition, it would not sig- nify to cultivate the ground as there could be no foim- dation to hope for harvest. Nay, we could not support our animal lives, if we have no security, that what is healthful and proper for us to day, may not be poison to morrow. So that God usually governs the world by those stated laws and ordinances, which he has appcint^ EXPLAINED AND PROVED. 5 ed ill the beginning. Therefore by the doctrine of a particular providence, Ave are not to understand, that God will depart from the established laws of nature to gratify the wishes and importunity of particular per- sons, as this would be inconsistent with the good of fa? whole, and would introduce confusion and anarchy in hi? moral government. But still it is to be remembered that God in his wisdom sometimes sees fit to go out of the usual y>ay, and he either retards or quickens the springs of nature, or weakens and controuis their po^\ - er in bringing about some extraordinary events ; to s]iev/ that he is not confined to instruments and visible causes. This has been so remarkably the case in some instances, that tlie most careless observers of divine providence have been eo-nstrained to say, '* who knoweth not by all these, that the hand of the Lord hath Avi^ought this?"^ Biit still when God proceeds according to the ordinary course of things, and we observe no such remarkable interposition, causes being left to operate according to their proper natures : even in these instances, there is no more reason to conclude that he does not superintend and conduct every particular action and motion in the universe, than for a man to conclude that there is no spring or weight that gives motion to a clock, merely because he does not see it. We observe farther, %. That nothing is casual or accidental with God. That there is such a thing as chance with respect to us is JNE I'KOVIDENCE Bucji oeeuiTciiccs happen, as proceed from causes ua- known or unforeseen, or sucli as produce eftccts unex fleeted l)Y us ; such a notion of cliance or fortune i-s to be allowed. For in this sense Solomon observes, " tliat time and chance happen to all men." But this cannot ta!vc place with regard to the divine mind, which is full of wisdom and boundless penetration, incapable of re- sistance or disappointment, conducting every event to its final issue, and serving himself of all the power and miction in the creation. So that what we call acciden- tal cffocts, that frequently disconcert the best laid hu* man schemes, can create no disorder in the plan of his government, nor hinder the execution of any of his de- signs. For he who made and governs the w oild, must ( ompreliend at one view the whole course of things, and be perfectly acquainted with the nature, the pow- er, and influence of every agent and of every action in tfic universe. " He that made the eye, shall he not see ; and lie that made the ear, shall he not hear ; and he ihvd teacheth man kno^vledge, shall he not know.'* (an we stupidly imagine that w hat Ave think and know can possibly be concealed from him who invested us witli the power of thought ? He searches the heart and kuowetli all the thoughts and intentions of men before they ai'c cloathed in words or expressed in actions. So tiiai what we call chance or accident with respect to our limited knowledge, is in reality the wise dispensa- tions of an all directing providence, and is as entirely iubject to his dii-cction and controul as any other neces- sary cllects of necessary causes. Thus the scripture teaches us to refer, what appears a casualty to us, to the Fupremc disposer of all things. The frame royal tlxl^LAI^^aD and proteu. f i)i'eaciiei', that says, ** time and eliance happen to all men,-' says also, that "the lot is cast into the lap, ]>ut tlie >vhole disposing thereof is of the Lord."'^ By Avliich he plainly intimates, that what is ehanee with respect to us, is design and contrivanee with respect to God. When the eleven apostles chose by lot another in the i'oom of Judas ; the whole affair is referred to the unerring providence of God* " Thou Lord, wiio knowest the hearts of ail men, shew whetlier of these two thou hast cliosen."| Nothing could appear more for* tuitous than Joseph's being sold into Egypt, and all the steps of his humiliation and advancement there. Yet he afterwards told his brethren ; " as for you, ye thought oil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring to pass as it is tliis day, to save much people alive.'':|: The wrath of Ahasiierus against the queen Yashti 5 tjie ad- vancement of Esther to the royal crown; jMordecai's discovering a treason against the king ; tliat being re- gistered in the chronicles of the empire 5 the king's cal- ling for that book on a uight when he could not sleep 5 his fixing upon that particular record, &c. were a chain of the most accidental and foii^uitous events ; but yet evidently directed by the hand of pi^midence to make way for the preferment of JMordecai, the destruction of Haman, and the preservation of the Jewish nation. In- stances of this kind might be easily enumei'titcd ; and indeed every person, who is careful to consider tlie dis- pensations of divine providence with regard to the pros- perity, or destruction of states and kingdoms, or to him * Ed. ix. 1 1, and Prov. xvi, 33. f Act6 i, ^4, 4 Geji. L, 20. » A TARTICULAll DIVIKE PROtlDENCE 8eif> may soon see how many accidental events have been overruled by God, to bring about important purposes, 3. Gffd exercises his Providence in perfect consistence vjitli the liherty of moral agents. The liberty of the will is essentially necessary to constitute the morality or immorality of an actioft. Foi' if we suppose that the human will is necessarily determined without a rational freedom of choice ; it must follow that we are not free agents, but arc unfit to be thd subjects of moral government, and so neither entitled to rewards, nor deserving of punishment* But nothing is more certain, than that man is a reasonable and accountable creature, and placed here in a state of probation and discipline, to be trained up for a state of perfection and happiness. And on the other hand it ap- pears equally certain, that there is a providence, which some way or other, superintends and overrules the con- duct even of free agents, so aj^ to secure a certainty of events. But perhaps we can no more reconcile these two propositions, than we can deny either of them.— But if they are both undeniable, they must in themselves be reeoncilcable, whether we are able to reconcile tliem or not. And this is only one, among a thousand in- stances, that demonstrates the imperfection of our li- mited reason, which constrains us to acknowledge that as a certainty, which we cannot comprehend or account for. The ways of God's providence have their myste- ries, as well as the works of his hands ; and therefore, after our most painful researches, we must leave many EXPIAINED AND PROVED* 9 truths to be fully discovered in that state of light and per* fection, which God has given us the pleasure to expects But some may say ; is it not more rational to deny the particular interposition of providence influencing the actions of free agents ; than to assert such a doc- trine, as appears to destroy the freedom of the human mind ? To which it may be ansAvered 5 that it is beyond all reasonable contradiction, that the supreme being may have an immediate access to the human mind when- soever he pleases. As he originally formed it, he must be perfectly acquainted with its internal frame, with the strength of its faculties, with all the various ways, in which it may be impressed, and T^ ith what degree of force impressions may be made upon it, consistently with the natural and regular exercise of its moral pow*, ers and its use and design in the creation. There is iherefore no difficulty in admittting that God may in* fluence tlie human mind consistently with its natural freedom. But the only question is, whether he ever does act in this manner. And that he does so, appears both from reason and scripture. " The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, and as the rivers of water, he 1»urneth it, whithersoever he will."^ " He taketh the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the fro- ward is carried headlong.''! And nothing can be so suitable to the character of God, as the creator, govern- or, father and friend of mankind, as the supposal of such a particular interposition in their affairs. Nothing can be so exactly agreeable to his concern for the happir * Prov. XXI. L t Job. v. L5, ii) A I'AKTICULAR DIVINE PROVIDENCE ness of his creatures, and liis peculiar deliglit ami com- placency in virtue, as that scheme, which supposes him., by a gracious communication with tlic mind, to engaj^c the attention to vii-tuc and goodness, to lay restraints on intemperate passions, and to divert from limlful pur- poses ; to assist the penitent in reforming vicious habits 5 to strengthen the resolutions of the good and virtuous ; to render duty easy and delightful ; to supply inward strength for extraordinary trials, and inward consola- tion in particular straits and troubles. And all this, lie has given us reason to expect from him, when he promises to change and sanctify our heails, to take away the hard and stony heart out of our flesh, and to give us hearts of flesh, susceptible of divine impres- sions ; to draw^ us unto liimself, to give us that repent- ance and faith, w liicli is the operation of his spirit 5 to work in us to will and to do of his own good pleasure : and to lead us in the w ay everlasting. And tliis may be done, without offLiring any violence to our rational na- ture, but by ii:^esting proper thoughts to the mind, hy setting the motives and arguments of the gospel in a striking and convincing point of light, and v;ith such a degree of evixlence as is necessary to flx the attention mul to cGunlerbalanec contrary prejudices and passions. A fid tliis v.e know to be analogous to the eonnnon course of things and the original constitution of God; that mankind should mutually offer arguments, suggest powerfid and determining motives, inform, persuade and convince each other ; and that such occurrences should frequently Imppcn, as Avill engage our attention and con- strain us to reflect, notwithstanding our reluctance and aversion to it. And this is done daily without ofleriiig EXriAINED AND PROVKD, j,j \ioieiiee to our rational freedom by men : and siivciy4t may also be doite by the operation of God upon eiu' minds, j^nd this ^yill form a pailieular providence (if prodigious extent. For an influence that is entirely personal, and Avliere the subject of it is an obscure cha- racter, may have a considerable share in forming the tempers, the manners, and states of others, may dilate and expand itself to great multitudes, and at last settle in grand events, that are of the utmost consequence to v/hole societies. — AYe may further oliserve, ;4. That the doctrine of divine jn'ovidence does not supers cede the use of means on our pari. From what has been said, it appears, that men ar^ free agents, the subjects of moral government. And ivhile God can never be at an uncertainty with regard to the final issue of things, but overrules the actions of men, and by an amazing conciHrrence of various mean? and instruments brings about his own wise and graciouB purposes ; he at the same time allows us to act agree- ably to our rational natures and rank in the ereation,^ and has made it our duty to make use of the various means put into our hands for accomplishing our designs. And it is in concurrence with our own endeavours, thai the providence of God co-operates with us in producing the desired eifect, which he rarely produces without them. It is as great presumption to pretend to trust divine providence without the use of means, as it is im- piety to trust to the use of means without a dependence on divine providence. l;i A PARTICULAR UIVIXE PROVIDENCE 5. The ijrovidence of God is so exercised about the actions office agentSf as not to make him the author of sin. If it be asked liow far it may be rationally supposed tliaf the providence of God is conces'ned in our evil and sinful actions ? To this i t may be answered, tlrat nothing can happen witliout his permission. For if he who is perfectly wise, and has all nature at his command, does not see fit to permit any designs of his creatures to be executed, he can easily prevent them. But this permis- sion of events is not to be considered as the indolence and carelessness of one, who is unconcerned about the state of the universe, and the course of its affairs ; but as his suffering tilings to proceed in such a particular channel because it is Upon the Avhole wise and fit, and agreeing with the plan of his government. Nor does this make God the author of sin. For he is a being of the most untainted purity and holiness, and he cannot look iipon sin with approbation and complacency. But men being free agents, tlieir sin is to be imputed to them- selves, who commit it freely, and not to God, who provi- dentially permits it. Upon the whole, God made man innocent, and endowed him with reason, liberty and ac- tive powers : he abused his liberty, lost his innocence, and brought upon himself sin and misery. But God still rules in the world that he made, and maintains his do- minion over it. He governs his creatures in a way sui- table to his ow n perfections and their respective natures ; he takes a particular notice of the actions and purposes of men, and overrules them for his own glory ; he still preserves them as free agents, and continues to do ^very thing that is becoming his perfections to deliver EXPLAINED AND PROVED. 13 them from sin and misery, and to restore tliem to life and itapinness. ■(.- 'o. Tlw ijvesent prosperity of the wicked and the affikiion^ of the right eons are not inconsistent ivith the doctrine of a particular providence. All, that the assertors of a particular providence eon- tend for, is, that if God does not think fit to prevent the calamities of the righteous, he will either support them under their troubles, deliver them out of them at a seasonable time, or make all things, at the last wind- ing up of tlie drama, w ork together for good to them, who love him. This life w ould not be a state of pro- bation and trial, if there were no troubles, no tempta- tions to draw us aside from duty, but every advantage lay on the side of virtue. But still it cannot be denied, that the wicked often share in the richest bounties of pro- vidence, while his own children are in want and distress. And this at first sight appears a strange paradox ,* that if there is a wise and good God, who loves virtue and hates vice, and who governs the world with wisdom and goodness ; he should nevertheless heap his favors upon his enemies, and treat his own children with so much 'seeming severity and neglect. But upon a more close examination of this matter, it does not appear to liavc so much weight in it, as we might at first imagine. For this is not thje case universally. Some good men have a great share of external peace and pleasure, health and ease, honor and riches ; while some wicked men are in the lowest and most wretched circumstances of life. But the foundation of the objection is built upon a false 14. A PARTICULAU DIVINE niOYIDEXCE principle; viz. that ^vordly prosperity is in itself a gr(,at blessing, and always to be desired, and that poverty and diffieulties in this life arc an indication of the divine displeasure and inconsistent with his love to his children. How many persons are born with an healthy constitu- tion, to a plentiful fortune, and hereditary honours, who arc thereby exposed to many and strong temptations, which prove too powerful for them to corrupt and de- baiR'h their minds ; so that it had been an advantage to them neyer to have enjoyed sucli things, as laid them open to such temptations as ruined them at last. And how nmny, in the midst of riches, power and dignity, have by their sinful excesses, (which tiiey could not otherwise be guilty of,) rendered themselves the most miserable of all men, insomuch that the poor lieaKhy and peaceful peasant has been the object of their envy ? So that in this view, the unequal distribution of exter- nal things is so far from being a proper objection against the providence of God, that we have reason to adore his v\isdom and goodness, in thus delivering us from many temptations that would ruin our souls, and in tiuis con- vincing us of the emptiness of mere earthly enjoyments ]»y conferring tliem so freely on the worst of men. Again, although good men may not some times possess so much of this world as the wicked, yet they have more -.atisfaclion in what they possess. They have a truer enjoyment of their small pittance, than the wicked world- ling has of his abundance. " Better is a little, which the righteous maw hath, than ihc riches of many wick- c']:*^' If his enjoyments are plain, they are pure ; if *Ps. 37, 16. EXPLAINED AND PROVED^ 1^ few, they are sweet ; tliey are not attended witli a snare, followed with a sting, and loaded with a curse. If h^ has not a superfluity of earthly comforts, he has a good conscience and a contented mind, wisdom and religion for his guide and support, peace and serenity within^ and a glorious prospect before him. And to crown all, he has the favour and protection of Almighty God, which secures to him tliat rceompenee of glory, which shall be revealed. And as to the afflictions of the righteous, they are designed by their heavenly father, to work for tliem the peaceable fruits of rigliteousncss, to awaken their attention to the great concerns of their souls, when they grow remiss in duty ; to reclaim their vv anderings to mortify their pride, the natural grow th of prosperity, to strengthen their graces ; to train tliera up for more distinguished usefulness, and the sublimer duties of elu'istianity. And at the same time that this severe dis*^. eipline hardens our spirits, and teaches us firmness and fortitude of mind, it melts us into commiseration and tenderness for the distressed, and teaches us to sympa- tliize with the afflicted. So that we have frequently reason to say w ith David — *• It is good for me to be af- Hietcd." And lastly, the objection against a particu- lar providence taken from the present administration, entirely vanishes upon the consideration cf a future state, and of that glory that shall be revealed, with wliich the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared. Tliis was a tliought that quieted the Psalmist's mind under his perplexity, when he consi- dered tlic prosperity of the wicked. VVere this the only state of our existence, there might be more force in the o])jection against a particular pfovidenee : but as tliis i? 16 A rAHTICUXAR DIVINE PIIOVIBEXCE only a state of preparation for an eternal one, and as Urn sufferings of the righteous are a necessary discipline to train them up for virtue and happiness ; that conside- ration removes the ohjection entirely. In the coming world, all the inequalities of the present administration shall be compleatly recj:iiied ; and all shall he treated, not according to their places and stations in this >v oriel, feut according to their real character. APPEICATIOIV. 1, From this discoursp. we are Ipd to fniertain the most migust apprehensions of the Supreme Governor of the Unh'erse, This spacious earth on which we live, is hut a small province of God's universal empire, one little wheel in the vast machine. How astonishingly great then must that power he, which sets every wheel in motion, and how incomprehensihlc that wisdom which regulates the whole circumference of the creation ! It is the almighty power of God, which wields the rolling worlds ahove, and continues them in their destined rounds. It is his wisdom which adjusts such an unknown variety of move- ments without the least confusion, through ihv. whole creation. And it is his goodness which has enriched the universe with such a profusion of mercies, that has heau- tilled it with the strictest order and harmony, and t]iat has enohled it with inconceiveahle magnificence and grandeur. Yet this earth and these worlds ahove, far jnore than tlie eye or even the most lively imagination can reach, are hcfore tlie supreme governor of all things, << as the small drop of the hucket, or the incyn- EXPLAINED AND PEOVED, 17 siderabie dust of tlie balance." And what are we, that we should be the care of such a glorious Being ; that he should extend his providential regards to us, *• who are less than nothing and vanity in his presence ?" But vet such is the condescension of the incomprehensible Jelio- vah, that no person is so little or insignificant, as to be disregarded or overlooked amongst all the works of creation and providence. "We have been preserved by him " in our going out and coming in," comforted in our troubles, assisted in our difficulties, directed in our perplexities, saved from innumerable dangers on every hand, and followed with unremitting instances of love and mercy. O ! how shoidd this constrain us to che- rish in our minds, the most exalted apprehensions of all his adorable perfections, and the warmest sentiments of devotion and gratitude ? Have we been the care of a kind and indulgent providence ? and shall we not devote ourselves to his service, ^* in whom we live, and move, and have our being ?" 2. Let the superintending Providence of God support n^ under the wars and conninotions that are in the -ttorUL The idea of a fatherless world, without any uner- ring council to direct in the government of the universe, but where all things were left to the guidance of blind chance or necessity, must fill a thinking mind with hor- ror and distraction. But it is matter of cei*solation and joy to us, that " the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, that his counsel standeth forever, and the thoughts of his heart to all generations ;" that amidst all the confusion and madness of the world, men cannot faster perplex D XS A PARTICULAR DJPVINE PROVIDENeE and embroil the uorld, than he can bring order out oi' confusion ; and that the wicked are under the sacred council ol* his providcrice, and that lie can make their evil designs the accidental occasion of good, and serve his gnicious purposes in opposition to theirs. i, Boes God exercise a particular Providence over the Miglitcons, so that the very hairs of their head are 7iuinbcred^ Let us endeavour to Jive so as not to for- feit his protection* Let us ever consider, how vain are all s^chemes of happiness, out of which he is left, who alone is the foun- tain of all good, who can dash the joys of prosperity with such bitter ingredients, as will render them no joys at all, and who can qualify the bitterness of poverty and trouble with such infusions of gladness and conso> lation, as will render them easy and tolerable. "Wliile we enjoy the light of liis countenance, we need not be dejected at the frowns of the whole world. For if that God be for us, who cDntroiils universal nature by his so- vereign will, it is but of little conscquetice. Who be a- gainst us. Our communication and intercourse Avith our dearest relatives are often interrupted; but out- intercourse with that glorious being, that eternal father and friend, who takes care of us^ can never be interrupt- od but by our vices. " He is found of them that seek him ;" and he never forsakes us, until we forsake him and his service. Let us then be careful to walk in his ways to seek his favor and assistance, to comply with his will in all things and to cultivate every branch of real and substantia! goodness and virtiic. Then may we 5XPLAINED AND PROVEB^ 19 vsafely confide in his wise and gracious providence, and trust that he will make all external things work togetlir er for our good, and that he will conduct us with safe- ty through all the troubles and peiT;)lexities of life, and bring us at last to dwell mthhiui in unfading glory and blessedness-. SERMON IL A PARTICULAR DIYINE PROYIDEjN CE EX- PLAINED AND PROVED, MAT. X. 29, 30, 31. J.re not hvo Sparrows soidfor a farthing^ *.lnd one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father* But the very hairs of your head are all nuinbered. Fear ye notf therefore, tje are of more value than many Spar- rows, In the context our saviour eneourages his disciples to preach the gospel puhlicly, notwithstanding the op- position and persecution to which it would expose them. And for this purpose he assures them, that they are the care of a kind and indulgent providence, which is inter- ested in their minutest concerns. For their lieavenly father, who talies care of the sparrows, which are of so little value that two of them are sold for a farthing, numhers the very hairs of their head, and will much more preserve them who are of more value than many sparrows, and who are engaged in his immediate ser- vice. The doctrine of a general and particular provi- dence, which is evidently contained in these words of our saviour, has heen the suhject of a preceding dis- course, in which we endeavoured to state and explain it, and to remove some ohjections that have been made ligainst it. For this purpose we observed, that God A PARTICULAR DIVIDE PROVIDEXCE, 6ce. 21 usually effects his gi^acioHs purposes in the moral go- vernment of the world, v> itliout disturbing the settled order of nature. So that we ai'e not to expect, that he will reverse the original laws which he has established in the world, when he interposes in favour of any parti- cular person ; as this would be inconsistent vdtli the good of the whole. Again, we observed that nothing was casual or acci- dental Avith respect to God ; but that as he created all things, he must be perfectly acquainted with their na- tures, their powers, and with ail the effects that could be produced in his creation ,• and that what was fortui- tous or accidental with regard to us, was the effect of design and contrivance with respect to God. We far- ther took notice, that God governed the world in per- fect consistence Avith the liberty of free agents ; that he kncAV lioAV far impressions might be made upon their minds, Avithout offering any violence to tlicir rational freedom, by proposing the various motives and argu- ments that arc adapted to Avork upon the human under- standing, in a striking and convincing point of light; that to suggest such arguments in favour of virtue and piety, was agreeable to his character as the father and friend of mankind, and the lover of virtue ; and was, Avhat he has given us ground to expect from him, Avhen he promises to AVork in us, to Avill and to do, and to change and rencAV our hearts ; and Avas agreeable to his OAvn constitution, in Avhicli he originally provided, that Ave should mutually inform, persuade, and convince each other, Avitliout any Aiolence done to our rational freedom. Again Ave observed, that the dactrine of a di- ?e A PAUTICULAR DIVINE PROVIDENCE vine proyidcnce was not so lo be uiitlerstood, as to ml- persede the use of means on our part. For Avhile God effected liis own purposes, he has made it our duty to use the means which he has appointed for the execution of any design, and lias given us encouragement to ex- pect Ills assistance in concurrence with our own endea- vours. Another difliculty, which we took notice of on this subject, was, bow far it was rational to suppose that the providence of God was concerned about the evil ac-^ tioiis of free agents ? To which we answered, that the least we can suppose, was that he permits them, not through carelessness or indifference, but because it was wise and fit to do so, and agreeable to the design and scheme of his moral government : But that he was not therefore the author of sin, which is inconsistent with the rectitude of his nature ; but that we being free agents, and left to act according to our own natures, were chargeable with the sins which we voluntarily commit. And lastly, we observed that the prosperity of the wick- ant of it might intro- duce the desolations and horrors of war, which might be succeeded by a gradual declension, and at last by the utter extirpation of tlie most ilourishing states and em- pires. A single man may be raised from the lowest ob- scurity and by inconsiderable occurrences at last gain such an extensive influence as to make a surprising change in the face of public affairs. So that we ougln to be perfectly acquainted with all the connections and mutual dependencies of things through the unbounded universe, and all the possible methods by which grand events of the utmost consequence may be brought about, before we take upon us to deny a particular providence,, which may have such a prodigious extent. For cveiy wise end, that is best promoted by such a particular pro- vidence, is a reason why it should take place ; since, if God governs the moral world at all, he must govern it in the most perfect manner. So that the doctrine both of a general and of a particular providence, depends upon the perfections of God ; and tlie contrary supposi- tion would be inconsistent v. ilh any worthy and hecomr ing apprehensions that \vc couid form of him. What ! is God omnipotent, and yet tlie worhl independent of his power ? All-wise, and yet the whole creation in perpe- tual danger of running into confusion and disorder? Most just and righteous, and yet unconcerned for the welfiirc of any individual of his creatures ? Omnipresent, and yet regardless of transactions and events, that fall uncler his immediate inspection ? The fountain of love and mercTj and yet without compassion and a particular regard to the persons that love and adore him ? All this t»an never be imputed to a being of matchless perfection. Nay the very supposition implies a contradiction : for how could he be the wisest and best of beings, and yet be ex- ceeded in benevolence and goodness by his own creatures ? 2, The doctrine qf a general and pariieiilar Providence isfarllier coiffirmed by the order and harmony qf the tvorldo Can we view the magnificent structure of the uni- verse, not only created in number, weight and measure, but also preserved and supported in the same harmony and proportion for almost six thousand years, without acknowledging a superintending providence ? It is as ab- surd to ascribe the continued preservation of tliat order and subserviency of one part of the creation to another, to an unintelligent, unmeaning chance or blind necessity ; as it is to suppose, that some happy concourse of jum- bled atoms might at first have produced that infinite variety, that awful grandeur, that mathematical ex- EXPI.AI]?r]^lD AND FROYED. 29 aetness, that surprising beauty and harmony, AvMch strikes the attentive observer of the works of God. Is it only accidental, that the planetary v/orlds should so long travel their mazy rounds throiLgh tlie trackless sky, and perform their stated revolutions with mathe- matical exactness; that we have the constant succession of day and night, of summer and winter, of seed time and harvest, of heat and cold ? It is God alone, " that binds up the sweet influences of Pleiades, and looses the bands of Orion, that brings forth Mazaroth in his sea- son, and guides Arcturus with his sons. He givcth the former and the latter rain, and stayeth tlie bottles of heaven, until the dust groweth into hardness, and the clods cleave fast together." It is by his secret direction and energy, that the vegetable tribes put forth their opening leaves and ripen into maturity ; and it is by his fatherly care that the animal creation, with all the va- riety of their different species, are preserved. <* For the beasts of the forest are his, and the cattle upon a thou- sand hills." What is it but his liberality that supplies them with food, that directs them ^vhcre to find suste- nance proper to their various natures? What is it but his secret operation, that teaches them how to construct their habitations, how to nourish their helpless young, and to resign their care when the grown oifspring can provide for themselves ? And shall the parent of univer- sal nature govern the inanimate and take care of the animal creation, and yet neglect one of the human race ? And does not this prove a particular as well as a general providence ? Tliis is the very argument of our Saviour in the text. He, whose overflowing bounty daily sup- plies the birds of the air tyid the beasts of the field, with I 30 A PARTICULAR DIVI>E PROTIDEXCE ^vhatcver is suitable to their nature, ^vill surely provide lor muu, tlic head and lord of the visible creation. 3. Jf there is a general Providence^ there must also he u particular one. All llie arguments that prove, that God governs the ^vorld in general, in a manner which suits best with rea- son, prove also, that he takes care of particular cases in the same manncp. For God can no more act contrary to reason in any particular case, than he can do so in general. The time, tlie maimer, and the condition of every man must be determined by that God, on whom every man's existence depends, which cannot be done without descending to particulars. Besides, generals are nothing but a collection of particulars, the sum total of individuals ; and consequently, as generals include particulars, a general must imply a particular provi- dence. If the whole of worldly affairs be the universal chain of providence, then each man's private concerns are a link of tliat chain, that is supported by the hand of God. The supreme law, by which the universe is go- verned, must be the good of the whole, which cannot be promoted but by a constant regard to all the particular parts that compose the whole. So that if there be a general, there must of necessity also be a particular providence. ib. The prediclions of future events, with their punctual accomplishment, prove both a general and particular Frovidence. if God did not hold the reins of government, and EXPIAINED AND PROVED. ^1 overrule even the minutest occurrences by an almighty hand, a thousand incidents might intervene, which Vr ould render the accomplishment of all prophecies precarious and uncertain. For what else but a particular provi- dence could so manage the actions of free agents, could so order a continued series of events for hundreds of years, or could make use of such a chain of intermedi- ate causes and effects, as to secure a certainty of any foretold event? If therefore, predictions of future events are verified by their punctual accomplishment, a^s is evident from the whole word of God, there must be a particular providence that takes notice of, and overrules every transaction in the creation. Was there time or necessity for it, ^, We might appeal to matter of fact and nniversa} e.c- periencefor the proof of a general and particular Pre- cMenae, Wliat is the language of all those occurrences, which have happened contrary to tlie established laws of na.- ture, and beyond the power of created beings to per- form ? The sun- s standing still, and returning back i^n degrees on the dial -, the preservation of Daniel in the lion's den, and of the three children in the fiery furnace ; the raising persons from the dead, and such like effects of an almighty power, all must be ascribed to an over- ruling providence. AVhat else could restrain the ene- mies of Israel from making a descent upon a naked and (defenceless country, when their frontiers Vy ere left un- guarded, by their males going three times every year to Jerusalem? '\S\i^ could do this, but that God^ who m 3^ A PARTICUtAR DIVINE PROVIDENCE the language of scripture, <• bowetli the hearts of a whole nation, as the heart of one man ?" And indeed there are thousands, who have felt a sudden check or restraint upon them, when they were Just on the point of perpetrating a had action. Trembling and fear has come upon them, that were strangers to fear, and an un- usual damp has overcast the soul, that was inured to hardy attempts. And how often has a good tliought, we know not how, been suggested to tlie mind, without any antecedent train of ideas ? And what is this but a beam of light darting in upon our minds from the fatlier of lights ? We proceed, III. To consider the principal acts and properties of divine providence. / 1. The jn'OTidcnce of God is exercised In the preservatloa of all things, and in governing them according to their natures. If God did not preserve the whole frame of nature, it would soon run into confusion, and be reduced into that state in which it was before " the spirit of God moved upon the waters." If this was not the case, the world miglit be said to exist independent on God, which is as absurd and contrary both to reason and scripture, as to say, that it might liave produced itself at first from nothing. To tliis we must ascribe our continued exis- tence : for he has preserved us from innumera])le dan- gers, which we could neither foresee nor Avard off. — '' Hitherto hr^th the Lord helped us," and held us up from the wojub, and fed us all our life long. <* He is EXPIiAINED AXD PKOVED. 3.> l]ie preserver of man and beast;" so that we are not the sole objects of his providential care. The common pa- tent of the universe provides for the subsistence of his large and numerous family. <* He heareth the young lions roaring for their prey, and the young ravens when they cry." Nay, " he opencth his liberal hand, and satis- fies the desires'of every living^thing ; for they all wait upon him, that he might give them their food in due season." But the providence of God is not only concerned in preserving, but also in goreiming all things, according to their various natui^es^ directing them to their proper ends, and making them subservient to the purposes of his wisdom. The inanimate creation move and act accord- ing to established laws wrought in their very frame. The animal tribes are governed by instinct and appe- tite, which lead them effectually to answer the end of their creation. But man, who is a free, active, and ra- tional creature, is addressed by arguments and motives, adapted to convince his judgment, to engage his affec- tions, and to influence his conduct, without offering any violence to our rational natures, or destroying our liber- ty ; as we endeavoured to prove in a former discourse.-^ '* But the most high, not only rides among the inhabi- tants of the earth, but also over the armies of Heaven," and all the various ranks of other rational beings through the boundless universe. "The angels that kept not their first habitation," are under his absolute controul, " and are reserved by his sovereign power in chains of darkness, unto the judgment of the great day;" and the good angels, that constantly behold the face of their heavenly father Avith ineffable delight, are also the sub- iS-i A PAR'LltlLAR DIVIME PllOVIDENCE jccts of his government, and are ** sent forth as minis- tering spirits to the lieirs oT salvation/' They constantly perform the >vill of our heavenly father, are commis- aioncd to proelaim the good will of God, and " encamp round them that fear him" to preserve them from dan- ;;er, " and to bear them up, lest at any time tliey dash their feet against a stone." How many good offices they perform for us, Ave cannot tell ; but we are sure that they wait upon our departing spirits to convey them in safety to Abraham's bosom, and shall at last gather the elect from the four winds of tlie earth. In a word, there is not a single being through the whole creation, but what owes its continued preservation to his constant care, and is governed and conducted by hi.- almighty arm. 3. Weiiroposcd also to mention someoftheinrlnci'paljp'C' j)Ci'ties of divine iirovidence. These are agreeable to the essential attributes of liis nature ; and from what has been already said, we are led to conceive of it, as sovereign and incontroulable,-- * wise and regular, — holy and just. The governor of the world is *" the I^ord God omnijW' /I'nf."* Povrcr belongs to him hi sucli an absolute manner, that none can resist Ids wiil.f " Arrest tlie sui! in liis race ; turn tlie }>lanets out of their orbits ; and bid tlie raging sea subside into a calm; all tliis is not as impossible, as to obstruct the coursj^ or to frustrate *Rev. 19, 6. EXPLAINED AND PROVED. 35 the scheme of the di>4^ providence. \i ho can disan- mil his judgment ; who lias >n arm like God, or can thunder Avith a voice like him ? ** The voice of the Lord is full of majesty : he uttereth his voice and the earth melteth, the pillars of heaven tremble, and are astonished at his reproof."* But the sovereignty of God's providence is not the unmeaning ftitaiity of tlie Pagan or Stoic, but is founded on this, that his design^^. are formed upon the most accurate kno'»Yledge of the nature and capacities of all his creatures. So that his government does not destroy liberty and free-agency, but proceeds according to his own wise establishmeiil, which no created power can controul or confound. Which leads me to add, that The divine providence is most wise and regular. He h '-a rock, his work is perfect, arjl all his ways are judgment."! All his administrations are as wise and regular, as if they had been the effect of the most ma- ture deliberation. For the intuitive knowledge of the iiU-wise God, who is intimately acquainted with all the secrets of nature, and at one view comprehends the qualities and powers of the whole creation, infmitely more effectually secures wisdom and regularity in all his administrations, than the closest debate and considei^.- lion of his wisest creatures can in the plainest instanec. And the scheme of divine providence is as regularly conducted as it is wisely contrived. EzekiePs wheels, full of eyes, are an emblem of divine providence, whicli looks every way and is never liable to mistake or snr- ■ *Job, 26, 11. tDeut. 32, 4. S6 A TAETICtXAH riMKE rBO^iBE^LI prize. Yet to us, \vlio kno^w but in part, and ^vlio \ie>v the Avhctls Avitliin the Avliccls, without being able to comprehend the design of the Avhole or to understand the neecssai^y connection and dependence of one pari upon anotlier, the ways of providence must appear dark and mysterious. But we are sure from the perfections of God, that he is carrying on some wise and regular design through the whole, worthy of himself. Again, the providence of God is most holy and just. His judgments indeed are often inscrutable ; his way is frequently in the sea, so that his footsteps are not to be traced by the most piercing eye, nor his designs to bo fathomed by tlie most penetrating mind. Yet certain it is, that " God is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." Though sentence against an evil woi'k is not speedily executed ; though the wicked are some- times cloathed in purple, while the righteous mourn : though ambition sometimes treads down the humble, and avarice grinds the poor ; though cruelty sometimes op- presses tlie^ innocent, and revenge riots in blood ; yet in the day of firsal retribution, it will be found, that " the judge of all the earth hath done right," and *^ that the eyes of the Lord hath run to and fro througliout the wholiB earth, to shew himself strong in behialf of them* wb^se heart is perfect towards him.** AITXICATION. i. Is there then not only ageneraJ, hut also a parlicnlar Frovidence exer^cised over the world *? How reasonahk and becoming is prayer to the Governor of the unirerse'J Whatever conviction we might liave of the glory and HXPIiAIXED AND PllO Villi. 37 perfections of God, yet we could have no sufiieient eii- CQiiragenient to prayer, witliout a belief of liis provi- dence. For to what purpose should we ask the bles- sing and assistance of a being, however great and power- ful, if lie did not concern himself with the affairs of oui* world ? But on the other hand, if a being of the most perfect wisdom, power, and goodness, the maker and Lord of heaven and earth, be also the constant director, and never-failing guardian of every creature he lias formed, to whom should they fly for relief in seasons of distress, but to this almighty friend? Prayer is a duty of naturai as well as of revealed religion, and the means tliat God has appointed for deriving from him the vari- ous blessings that we need. It never was designed io inform God of what he did not know before, or to pre- vail with him to alter his immutable determinations. *< For known unto God are all his woi'ks from the be- ginning; and he is of one miad, and who can turn Inm ?"* But duty is ours, and while we are found in the Avay of God's appointment, we have reason to expect tlie divine concurrence and assistance. So that the doc- trine of a divine providence enforces our obligations to prayer, by discovering the use and propriety of it. It is a proper expression of our dependence and gratitude, it promotes the noblest sentiments and dispositions, rai- ses our thoughts and affections to heaven, unites our spirits to God, is the evident means of peace and hap- piness to our souls, and has been the perpetual delight and practice of every pious person in all ages of the world, auvl what no good man dares or desires to restraiji. ,>8 A PARTICliAK DIVINE PROVIDENCE :. The doctrine of divine providence rebukes the anxious solicilndc of good men about future events, and lays a firm foundation for trust and cortfidence in God, Tliat good rrtcn, vvlio believe that God governs the world, that all things are under his immediate eye, and that he takes care of his children, and will do what is best for them, should nevertheless be perplexed Avith anxious fears about future events, is indeed unworthy their character, a sinful distrust of divine providence^ and dishonorable to God and their profession of Chris- tianity. For what more solid considerations^an be ur- ged, to fortify and confirm the mind under the appre liension of approaching evil, tiian this, that in all the mazes and changes of life, they are under a divine di- rection, that the most gloomy and threatening dispensa- fions are v*isely ordered to promote their best interests upon the whole ; •* and tliai all tilings shall w ork to- gether for their good ?-' Let us then leave the govern- ment of the world to liim, who alone is equal to the mighty work, and cast the care of our souls and our bodies on him, who careth for us. .>. Let us he exhorted to review rvith grut'iLude the 'parti- cular instances cf the divine favor in the dispensation!^ of hi3 providence towards ns. Let us consider the several stages of o^r life, and the particular mercies we have received in each. Who, my friends, nursed our helpless infancy, directed ou)' -iddy youth, or supports the feeble age ? who, but that God, who gave us being, and who is willing to be our -uide till death ? Let us recollort the mercies that have EXPiALVED AXD ]?HOVEU. 39 crowned our endeavors to do good, that have been con- ferred in ausAver to our prayers, either for the removal of some sore affliction, or for the obtaining some wish- ed for blessing. Let us call to mind the extraordinary occurrences that we have met with, on which our great- est comfort and usefulness possibly depends. Let us review the supports and consolations we have received under pressing difficulties, and the circumstances of al- leviation that have attended our sorrows. Let us also consider how rich, how free, hoAV suitable, how season-^ able the mercies of our prosperity have been ', and let us not despise our present blessings, because they are. common or long enjoyed. And above all, let us not for- get our spiritual mercies 5 the kind and gracious things that God has done for our souls. Let us review, with devout gratitude and high delight, the means, the time, the instruments, or the happy occasions, that first awa- kened us into consideration, and that led us to God. In a word, let us make wise reflections on these things, at- tend to the voice of God in all his i)rovidential dispen- sations, submit to his will in all things, and aspire ^fter that state of light and perfection, where the mysteries of providence shall never more perplex us. i. And let Its ever rememher, that *• Jesus Christ is exalt- ed to he head over all thivgs for the church,' Tht adminlstvation of the Mngdoms of nature and of grace is committed into his hands as a reward of his volun- tary sufferings. *• Ail power is given him in heaven and in earth, and he rules with universal dominion over all his crea tures." Angels, men and devils are under his absolute iU A PAKTlt'LlAR DIVIDE PIlOVlDE]St.E controiil. Let us then submit to him as our Loid and governor, and trust in liis almighty protection. He tliat triumphed over all his enemies, av hen he hung up on the accursed tree, cannot want power to save to the uttermost, all (hat come unto God through him; and he that died to save us from ruin, cannot want a dispo- sition to communicate to his children those gifts, which he received a power to bestow upon his triumphant as- cension to heaven. Let us then constantly depend on his prevalent intercession for every necessary blessing, and guard against every thing that might provoke him to withdraw his protection. Let us be persuaded to adhere to his cause and interest in every circumstance of life, and approve ourselves as his faithful servants until death. For happy are those who arc the care of this almighty and compassionate Saviour. And let those, who will not have him to reign over tltem, who persist in their rebellion against him, who neglect his wise and good commands and who are at no pains to bring down every high thought that exalteth itself against the do- minion of Christ, remember their perilous situation and their dreadful doom, when this universal king shall de- scend in clouded majesty, " to take vengeant^e on all them that know not God and obey not the gospel of his Son.'' And let us all bow to hh supreme authority and subnut to (he sceptre of his grace, complying witli the equitable terms of the gospel covenant, imitating his exemplary conduct, depending upon his grace and protection, and paying an unreserved subjection and universal regard to all his injunctions. Thus we uiay depend upon his protection through all the storms o^ life, until we arc brought to reigu with him in glory. SERMON III. KNOWING THE GOD OF OUR FATHERSc i. CHRON. XXVIII, 9. ^itid tilou Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thj father, and serve him with a perfect heart and a ivil- ling mind : for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and un- derstandcth all the imaginations of the thoughts : if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; hut if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever. The -works of creation, and especially the sacred oracles of truth, represent the adorable God to us, as a being infinitely perfect and all-sufficient, and the unwast- ing source of life and happiness. And he has assured us, that an interest in his favour, through the merits of the blessed Redeemer, is the only safe foundation, on which we may build our hopes of happiness both here and hereafter. And further to encourage us in the quest of that happiness, for which we so ardently thirst, he has not only directed us how Ave shall seek his favor, but also excited us by many powerful arguments, addressed to the Yarious springs of human action. When David, on his approaching dissolution, was about to lay down the bur- den of life and government, he addressed his son in the emphatical words which we have read. He had done much for Iho honor of God and the benefit of his poo- Ii2 KXOWIXG THE GOD Ot OUR lATIIEIl?r pIc, in the active part of his life : and amidst the dis- tractions of government, the cares of a crown, and the grandeur of a coui't, he maintained such a suhlime spirit of piety and devout intercourse Avith God continually, as is scarcely to he found under all the adtantages of a pri- vate life. This is evident from those exalted strains of devotion, which are transmitted to us in the hook of the Psalms, for the comfort and instruction of every chris- tian. This he maintained till the last, and resolved to close his life with that signal act of piety, the huilding an house to the Lord, which the immense wealth he had acquired, and the tranquility he then enjoyed, gave hiia a favourahle opportunity of accomplishing. And aeeord- iiigly, he prepared materials for the work in great ahun- danee : but the Lord assured him, that although he approved of his pious resolution, yet the honor of huild- ing the temple should he reserved for his son ; because he was a man of war, and had shed blood. However, his heart was so much set upon the work, that lie as- semlded the princes of Israel, and addressed them with ihe greatest condescension and aifection on the impor- tant affairs of religion and government ; and then in the hearing of the multitude, he turned to his son, and deli- vered his last solemn charge to him in the words of th© text. " And thou Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him w ith a perfect heart and a willing mind;" and then he enforces the solemn exhor- tation with the folloAving arguments : ** For the Lord seareheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imagina- tions of the tlioughts : if thou seek him he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him,. h« will cast thee ofi^* forever/* KNOWIJSTG THE GOD 0¥ OL'R FATHEr.3. 43 jVow, altlioiigli this judicious and Aveighty advice was given to Solomon, yet, '* because Avliatsoever was writ- ten afore time, was written for our instruction," it may with equal propriety be addressed to every one of us in this assembly. We shall therefore, in improving this portion of sacred Avrit for our advantage, endeavour, through divine assistance^ to sliew, I. What we are to imderstand by knoAving the Lord. XI. AVhat is implied in serving the Lord. JIL In what manner Ave shall serve him. lY, The force of the arguments mentioned in the text, to excite us to comply Avith tlie advice to knoAV and serve the Lord. I. What is implied in knoAving the Lord, 1. To know God implies in it a firm and nnslia'kcn hdicf of his existence. This lies at the foimdation of all religion : " for ayIio- Boever comes imto him must belicAe, that he is;-* that there is such a glorious being as God in the uniAcrse, Avho is the original cause of ca ery other being ; and is therefore uncreated, eternal and independent. Witliout the supposition of such a being, there ncAcr could ha^e been any other existence ; unless it could be said, that something could make itself, or act before it had any existence, or Avas in a capacity of acting. But this is such ii KNOWING THE liOD «!' OLE FATilEKS. a glaring absurdity to reason and comiuoii sense, that it cannot be admitted ; and therefore, there must be some being who is the original cause of all otliers, and must of consequence be eternal and independent, as he could not make himself. The whole creation around us teach us this fundamental point ; and a divine rcAcla- tion supposes and confirms the belief of it. As the apos- tle justly reasons,* " The invisible things of God from the creation of the world, arc clearly seen, being under- stood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and godhead." Would avc then know God, we must have our minds deeply impressed Avitli a sense of this fundamental article, that there is an original cause of all tilings, who has made, and still superintends the affairs of the universe. And we must not have only a bare speculative belief of this important and essential truth, but also such a lirm and steady persuasion of it, as shall powerfully affect our hearts and lead us to such practical regards to him, as the relation in which we stand to him requires. This brings me to add, that, 3. To know God implies in it, that wc endeavour to form just a7id hecoming apprehensions of his adorahle per- fections. And in order to this, we must be careful, tliat we do not think of him in a manner unworthy of him, or in- jurious to his perfections ; and should diligently attend to the discoveries he has made of himself, in creation, providence, and the revelation of his will. It is but too *Iiom. I, ^0. KNOWING THE GOD OF OUR rATUEESc 45 common with christians, Avho, notwithstanding acknow- ledge, tiiat God is possessed of all possible perfection, to represent him in such a light, and to speak of him in suc]i a manner as is Jionorahle to his nature, andineoii- sistent witli his perfections. But to avoid this, we ought always to remember, that whatsoever argues imperfec- tion in man, should never in the most distant resem- blance, be ascribed to tlie ever blessed God. For in- stance, a fondness for show or external pomp and gran- deur, is a weakness in man, which we should never as- cribe to God, by imagining that he is more acceptably worshipped in statel/ temples and magnificent edillces, than in any other place ; or with costly rites and cere- monies, or pompous forms, than in any other manner. As if the supreme maker of heaven and earth, and only -proprietor of the universe, delighted in a beautiful and elegant structure, and was therefore best pleased with the worship performed there, when he has assured us, that he is acceptably worshipped only in spirit and truth, and that his proper temple is an humble heart. Again* cruelty, rigor, and injustice, are criminal and detestable qualities in men ; and tlierefore we cannot, without trem- bling, hear others attribute to the best of beings, any thing that has the least appearance of that which is so contrary to his nature ; especially when we consider in how many amazing instances he has magnified his amiable attributes of benignity, love and mercy. Those, who murmur and repine, when they are involved in trouble and calamity of any kind, or are discontented with the condition, in which his providence has placed them, should seriously consider, whether they are not forming unworthy conceptions of God, and representing hini as •i6 K.\OWiXG THE GOD OF OVE FATHERS. if he had cast ofT all paternal afTcction lor thciii. Awl thus also, do tliosc form injurious and dishonorable ap- prehensions of God, Avho secretly complain of the rigor and severity of his holy and goodf^law, or imagine that lie has laid them under unnecessary restraints. And on the other hand, we must not dare to imagine, that tlie righteous judge of all the earth, is so imobservant and regardless of the affronts and dishonors that are done to his name by his creatures, that he >viil always hear with their prcfaneness and provocations. His mercy and pa- tience are indeed amazingly great, and infinitely beyond any thing we can see in man ; yet they arc always ex- ercised in conjunction with the honor of his wisdom and the rectitude of his government. And therefore, how- ever sinners may deceive themselves, and take encou- ragement to proceed or to continue in sin, from the un- bounded compassion and mercy of God: jct they may certainly expect a punishment adequate to their offences, if they do not repent and amend their ways. Therefore, if Ave would know God, all such injurious apprehensions of liim ought particularly to be avoided. Villi this is not all ; we should ever maintain on our jiiinds such honorable and exalted sentiments of him, as should naturally arise from a steady attention to the discoveries he has made of iiimself in creation, and pro- vidence', and in the revelation of his will. A diligent and attentive survey of the wonderful works of God, tends to lead our minds to the great uncreated original of ail, and to fill us with admiring and adoring thoughts of his unlimited power, his incomprehensible wisdom, and unbounded goodness. This brought the enraptured KlfOWING THE GOD Or OUR FATHERS. 47 Psalmist (viii, 1.) to cry out, " O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth, who hast set thy glory ahove the heavens." Again, the conduct of divine providence is another open volume in which we may read mucli of the adorable attri- butes of God. He often discovers himself, not only in his severer dispensations, and in the judgments which he executes, but also in the mercies and blessings which he dispenses with a liberal hand among his creatures. And did wc carefully observe the nature, importance, and seasonableness of these, together w ith the manner in which they are conveyed tons, we should often disco- ver very plain and aifecting marks of a divine hand, to excite, assist, and direct our devotion. But the most clear and comprehensive method, in which God has eon- descended to discover his adorable perfections to us, is the revelation of his will, and particularly of the gospel. There they are displayed in the most perfect harmony ; there tliey shine with the fairest and most attractive lustre. This is the glorious scheme in which the de- mands of unbounded mercy and goodness are satisfied, ruth and fidelity ^ who ^\ill certainly fulfil all the gra KNOWING THE GOD OF OUE FATHERS. ^l em, and with the most determinate reso- lutions in the strength of Christ ; to forsake every false and wicked way, and to turn unto the Lord with all our heart. For as sin, in the nature of things, separates between God and us, and obstructs our progress in tlic spiritual life, we should mourn before him for our daily imperfections and miscarriages, and determine to ab- stain from every appearance of evil, and to have no more to do with the unfruitful works of darkness. — And let prayer to God always attend these exercises of private devotion. He is the autlior of every good and perfect gift, and he bestows that holy spirit, without whose sacred influences, all our attempts to serve him will be in vain : for ** without him we can do nothing'* to purpose in religion. We should therefore look to him ft>r the communications of his grace, to change and re- new OUT tempers, to suhdue our corruptions, to conquer niiv enemies, to strengthen us ibr every incumbent du^y^ Ki?f OWING THE GOD OF OUR FATHERS. 59 and to animate us to " fight the good fight of faith, that vfc may at last obtain a cro\Mi of life and glory." For it is remarkable, that after some of the most absolute promises of the new covenant recorded,-^ " to take away the stony heart, and to give us hearts of flesh,*' &e. thi^: solemn declaration follows : " Thus saith the Lord God^ I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them,'^ As to the matter of o\ir private- prayers, it seems proper to make that tlie principal sub jeet of our prayer, wliich most affected our hearts in our previous reading or meditation. For this will have an happy tendency to engage the heart further, and to make our prayers more fervent, devout, and profitable. As to the fm^m or expressions, in which our prayers are cloathed ; we are not to be solicitous about it, if per- formed in secret or in our closets. It is the language of the heart and the inward frame of the soul, which God principally regards; and our holy and devout desires he will graciously answer, however poorly expressed, or if they cannot be expressed at all. We read of prayers in scTipture, wliich consist of *' groans that cannot be ut- tered ;" and we ar^ told that such proceed from the holy spirit, " who helps our infirmities.' ^f But if the prayer is to be performed in the family, and the master of the family is not so happy as to have that freedom, propri- ety, and enlargement, which is suited to edification, without a form ; it ought by all means to be performed with one. And a judicious well composed form (of which there are many to be had) seriously and devoutly re^- m the family, is the least that is required ; and I can- * Ezek. XXXVI, 26. t Rf>ii"- '^'i^i- ^^ 60 iv:V0\VlNG THE GOD OF OLR rATHERS. not see how it can be dispensed witli, by any bead of a family, who is sincerely desirous of serving God him- self, and of engaging otbei's under his care to the same laudable practice, by his pious example. And here I would beg Icaye in one word, to recommend the impor- tance of this duty, particularly to those, who by thepro- '♦ idence of God have been lately called, or soon may be called to appear in this character at the head of a family. Because a neglect of it at first will render the i^erfor- manee of it much more difficult hereafter, and by de- grees wear off a sense of its importance ; though a total neglect of it is an unknown prejudice to the low er branch- es of the family, and diffuses its fatal effects far and wide into posterity. And the christian, when his heart is once habitually engaged in these devotional exercises of reculing, mcditatioUf and praijer, in his closet and fa- mily, will find that these stated seasons of retirement to converse with God and his own soul, are the most useful and delightful part of his time. But besides these private duties of piety and devotion, there are others of a more piiMic nature, wherein it is required of us to serve the Lord. He that sincerely desires to serve the Lord, will readily afford his attend- ance upon the public ordinances of his house, the word, sacraments and prayer, not only to give a public testi- mony of his ready obedience to all the commands of God, but also to engage others to it by his example. — Every truly pious man has a relish for divine ordinances, and finds delight and satisfaction in his attendance upon them. They are so far from being a tiresome burden to him, that he will encounter many difficulties, rather KNOWING THE GOD OF OUli FATHliliS. 61 tlian be deprived of the benefit of them. He will endea- voiir to stir up liis heart and to guard his thoughts, that he may worship God in spirit and in truth, as he requires. He will take heed hov/ he hears the sacred oraeles, re- membering that he must be either the better or the worse for his attendance upon them, and that he must hereafter give an account of all these sacred opportu- nities, Avhieh are so graciously afforded him for his spi- ritual improYement. It is necessary just to observe further, tlmt ue ought to engage in all these duties of piety, whether private or public, with a special regard to Jesus Christ, who is th« head of divine influences, who can make them bene- ficial and advantageous to our souls, and through Avhom alone we are allowed, by the constitution of the gospel, to approach the father. 2. To serve the Lord implies further a careful discharge of all those duties, which we owe more immediately to our neighhour and ourselves. TVhile we are endeavouring to promote and cultivate the human and social virtues in their proper extent and influence, we are as really serving God, as when we arc engaged in the more immediate acts of worship. We are serving the Lord, when we endeavour to exemplify in ourselves and cultivate in others, a temper of peace, unanimity, meekness, moderation, candor, charity, be- nevolence, lenity, justice, and equity, which are the great duties enjoined on us as christians towards others ; and when we are industrious in our several callings,. 62 KNO>VIKG THE OOD OF OUR TATHEKS. \igilaiit and sober in our christian conversation, tempe- rate in the use of lawful pleasures, luurible in our thoughts, patient in tribulation, contented with our lot, and daily strivnig to improve in every virtuous and elivistian disposition. For God has wisely appointed die various connections and relations which we stand in to one another? and he has given us rational iintl immor- tal souls, the provision for which he has made the one ihing needful; and therefore, while we are endeavour- ing to fill up the duties arising from these relations, and are preparing by a course of holy living, for an endless happiness in heaven, we are acting agreeable to the wise constitution of God, and are of consequence, serving him. So that it is a very great and dangei'ous mistake, to tliink that religion consists wholely in the exercises of piety and devotion, or on tlie other hand, to confine it to them : For we are honoring the religion we rjrofess and adorning the doctrines of the gospel, when we are serving our generation, by employing our time and talents for the benefit of mankind, and by promo- tiijg the interests of religion and virtue in the world, as well as when we attesid upon tlie solenmities of public or ^irivate devotion ; and the pious christian will carefully rndeavour to have a due regard to both. Arri;i CATION^ J . Is it Ihen ^o important and so ext^nsh'c a duly to know the Lord'J We arc therffore called at iMs time hy the Frovidence of God, to examine ourselves tvith serious- ness and solemnity coni^erning this matter. And it is to be feared, that upon such a scrutiny, ^e shall iind ourselves much more defective in this first KNOWING THE GOD OF OUR TATHERS. 6^y principle of all religion, than we might well imagine. — Wc believe that there is a God, and we profess to know him. We are persuaded that he is a being of almighty power and untainted holiness, of unsearchable wisdom and inviolable truth, of impartial justice and unbounded merey and goodness. But let us examine ourselves, and ask our consciences, as in his tremendous presence, do we lind in ourselves that temper and beha\'iour, which such sentiments of his adorable perfections demand? Does his power engage our trust in him, and his holiness excite our desires *• to be holy as he is holy ?** Does his wisdom encourage our resignation to all his provi- dential dispensations, and his fidelity, our dependence upon the accomplishment of all his gracious promises : Does his justice make us afraid to offend against him, and his goodness and mercy powerfully constrain us to love and serve him ? If not, alas ! what good does oiu' pretended knowledge of him do to us ? Wherein does our knowledge of him differ from mere ignorance, unless it be in this, that it makes our future condemnation the more aggravated and intolerable. O let us then often recollect our notions of God, and think what m e believe and profess to know of that tremendous being, who will either make us happy or miserable, according as we serve or disobey hira. Let us often meditate on his glo- rious perfections, choose him for our God and portion » and with entire homan^ and devotion of soul, glorifj liim as Cxod. But, 64* KNOWING THE GOD OF OUR TATHERS. %, Suffer me to urge the exiiortation to know and to serve the Lord, upon all, and more esjjecialhj on young persons, who must soon appear on the busy stage of life. Be persiiade<3 then to take the solemn advice, which the pious father gave to his son Solomon in like circum- stances. Whatever be the object of your ambition and pursuit, take care that you do not neglect religion, and live and die unacquainted with God. Whatever you desire to know, or be, or do in the world, be sure to know the God of your fathers and to serve him. Above all things, maintain and cultivate a constant intercourse and correspondence with that almighty being, who is the author of yours, who has the disposal of those comforts and conveniences of life, which you most desire, and who can bestow them upon you, or take them from you, when, and howsoever he pleases. Whatever you do, dare not to step aside from the path of duty for the sake of atiy Avordly profit or pleasure, those fatal snares that have ruined thousands of immortal souls. Be faithful to your God and conscience, and you Avill find these to be your best friends, that will never forsake you in ad- versity. Fear not, tliat you will be a loser even in your wordly interest, by a study adherence to the obligations of truth and integrity. Despise therefore all tlie little low arts of fraud and dissimu]a#on, as Avell as open in- justice. They wiU but lessen your characters, make you. more suspected, and are indeed unworthy of a man and a christian. Be it your" first concern to approve your heart and conduct to God, and tlien to man, and endeavour to keep " a conscience void of offence both to- KNOWING THE GOt) OT OUR FATHER*. 6^ wards God and man." In a word, would you be lored and esteemed by God and man ; would you live usefully and comfortably in the world, under the elieering pros- pect of immortal glory ; would you prosper in this world and be prepared for heaven ; cultivate that god« iiness, which has the promise of the life that now h, and of that which is to come. Remember your pious ancestors, v/ho have trod the same dangerous paths of life, upon which you are now entering, and have been preserved and conducted through all the snares of earth and hell. Be solicitous for the same grace and direc- tion to bring you safe to glory. Imitate their pious ex- amples, " who through faith and patience have inherited the promises ;" and their God will be your God and guide even unto death ; and after a short passage through this troublesome wilderness, you will be brought to their father and your father, to their God and your God, and be made unspeakably happy and glorious in his presence for ever and ever. SERMON IV. CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF LOST SINNERS, MAT. XVIII, 11. For the Son of *Man is coine to save that which waf* lost. That the human race arc in a state of i*uin and de- generacy, with respect to religion and morals, will be readily acknowledged by all, who have consulted the history of ages that are passed, or who attentively con- sider the conduct of mankind around them. The vices wliich have prevailed and still subsist in the world ; the predominent lusts and passions of men, which have often drenched the world in blood ; the crimes they are daily committing ; the distempers under which they are con- tinually groaning, and the trophies which the king of terrors is daily erecting over them, arc melancholy proofs rtiat the human race are in a ruinous and degenerate ytate. Was this the whole of our case, it would be a pitiable consideration indeed ! or v. ere we ruined beyond the hope of redemption ; who could bear the melari- choly sight ! to see ourselves, our children, our dear- est connections, nay, our whole species involved in one general destruction, and lost forever without a reme- dy. ^xYg miglit then sit down upon the ground, and v.cep with one another over our miserable condition. CHRIST THE SAVIOUR Of tOST SINNERS. 67 The eyes of thoughtful persons might well become fountains of water, and the whole world one mournful valley of tears. But this, my friends, though it is in part, is not the whole of our case. " Glory to God in the highest,^' there is yet hope concerning us. In this wc glory, and on this account is the voice of joy and salva- tion heard in our tabernacles, our families and public assemblies, where otherwise we should have been condemned to hear only the voice of " lamentation mourning and woe.-' Blessed be God ; for ** the son of man is come to save that which was lost." The whole world were involved in ignorance and folly, guilt and bondage. They had blinded their minds and obscured their understandings by the darkening influence of un- ruly passions and appetites, corrupted themselves, of- fended their supreme Lord and their best friend, and thereby lost the way to heaven and happiness. No con- duct can be more foolish and mad than to neglect our eternal interests, and to forfeit the friendship of him, whose loving kindness is better than life and whose dis- pleasure is worse than death. When Clirist made his appearance in the world, they all, like lost sheep, had gone astray, living as if they knew not God, effacing tJie original law of righteousness, which he had written on their hearts, offering him a corrupted worship, un- worthy of his acceptance, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another, and wronging their own souls, by an universal neglect of them. Hereby they had degraded their natures, corrupted their principles of action, contracted vicious habits and spoiled the beauty and harmony of their moral constitution. This polluted and disjointed state of the mind must be neces- ^S CHRIST THE SAYIOUlt OF LOST SIK3«ERS. sarily attended with an alienation of heart from God, from his laws and service and a conse«iuential devotion of heart to the service of Satan> hy promoting his dread- ful interest. And when men have departed from God, and cast off the restraints of his law s and government, they subject themselves to divers lusts of the flesli and mind, and yield themselves servants to sin and Satan, to obey his will as their master. Hereby they become guilty before God, stand liable to condemnation, are de- livered up to Satan, the executioner of the divine ven- geance, to receive from his merciless hands the just w ages of sin, even death in all its formidable extent. This w as the mournful situation of man, when the father of mercies beheld him with an eye of compassion, when his bowels yearned over the ruined w orknianship of his hands, and v/hen he sent the son of his love into our de- generate w orld, to ** rescue us from the bondage of sin and Satan, and to proclaim liberty to the captives, and tlie opening of the prison doors to them that were bound," << that the ransomed of the Lord might return with joy upon their heads." The great and ever blessed God, who might have glorified his justice and power in our deserved destruction is the author of this salvation. ii For he so loved the world, that he gave his only be- gotten son, that whosoever believes on him might not perish, but have everlasting life." Accordingly, in the fuUnes of time, the divine Re- deemer came, to accomplish the eternal purposes of the father's love, by saving them that were lost. He came to cure our ignorance and blindness, to give us under- standing in our most important concerns, to reclaim us CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF LOST SINNERS. 69 from OUT wanderings, to rectify our errors of judg- iiient and practice, and to make us wise to salvation. Knowing that it was impossible for us, wlien revolted from God and grown averse to his service, and disalTect- ed to liis government, to be reconciled to his laws and restored to his friendship, until the moral disorders of our souls were rectified. He came as the great physi- eian to heal our spiritual maladies, to cure our depraved natures, *• to make us holy as God is holy," and thereby unite us to the author of our beings and the fountain of our happiness. He came to strike off the fetters of our slavery, and to release us from the captivity and bon- dage of Satan. He has broken into the house of the strong man armed, by the amazing force of gospel light and truth, and put a stop to his progress in blinding and bewitching the minds of men. He has entered his strong hold and bound him in chains ; he has called to the prisoners with an awakening voice, and sent forth his powerful word to break the chains of their captivity and to bid them go forth. He came to publish and seal by his blood, a pardoning proclamation and a covenant of grace. *^ He came to conquer death, and him that had the power of death, that is the devil," and to give us the prospect of a glorious resurrection to eternal life. " Thus the son of man came to save that which was lost." But I design not to leave this important arti- cle, which contains the foundation of all our hopes, thus generally explained ; but to descend to a few particu- lars, by which it will more fully appear. How Jesus Christ saves those that were lost* 70 CHRIST Tna SAVIOLB 0? XOST SIJTPfEKS. 1. Jesus Ckrist saves us by making a complete atcncmtiit for our sins " In the fulness of time, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made mider the law to redeem them that were under the laAV." He voluntarily submitted to the law of God, and paid an unsinning obedience to it in its most extensive requisitions, and thereby fulfilled all righte- ousness for us. So complete and perfect was his obe- dicntie to the law, that one of the apostles says, <* he was holy, harmless, undefikd, and separate from sin- ners ;" and he himself appeals to his most inveterato enemies for the purity and integrity of his life. " Which of yoii eonvineeth me of sin.'' He is every where rc- prcscpJcd as Oiie, wlio was absolutely innocent and per- fectly rigliteoiis in the whole of his conversation ; " who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." But he not (M:ilj obeyed the law in our stead, but with equal ciiceruilness lie submitted to the penally and paid down his life as a ransom for sinners. Hence he is said ** to he wounded for our iniquities, bruised for our trans- j^ressions, to be delivered u}f for our offences, to bear our sins in his own body on the tree, to make his life an of- fering for sin, to die iho just for the unjust, that we niiglit live through him ; to be made a curse for us, that he might redeem us from the curse or penally of tlic law, and to have the iniquity of us all laid upon him by God, so that by liis stripes we arc healed." The most plain and obvious meaning of ail which phrases is, that Jesus Christ suffered the punishment that v, as due for our olfences, and that he died in our stead as a substitute for us, that we might be delivered from the penalty of a CHRIST THE SAVIOUK OF lOST SINNERS. 7i broken law, and obtain justification througli tiie redemp- tion that is in him. Now this doctrine of the vicarious sufferings of Christ in our room, is suiRciently confirmed in scripture by his being so often called " a sacrifice for sin,'* and <• the lamb of God who taketh away the sins of tlie world 5" as the great antitype of the propitiatory sacrifices under the laAv, which had their complete ac- complishment only in him. These piacular victims were of divine appointment, and although they could not take away sin or expiate its guilt, yet they were instituted as the types or figures of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, whose blood eleanseth from all sin. Now this was the proper notion of a sin offering ; the guilty person laid his hands on the head of the devoted victim, confessed liis sin and prayed that the life of the innocent creature might be accepted instead of his own. Hereby the sin ner acknowledged the justice of God in punishing sin by his death, at the same time that he expressed his hope in the mercy of his judge. Accordingly, when Christ appeared in the end of the world, " to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself," he Avas cut off, bnt not for him- self, but died " the just for the luijust.*' For the sa orifices which prefigured his death, were substituted in the room of the offender, and died instead of the sinner.^ Tor whom they were offered. Tliis notion of sacrifice^ prevailed over the whole world, both Jews and Gentiles, And therefore, as they could not purge the conscience nor expiate the guilt of sin, but were emblems of the aton ing sacrifice of Christ, we must conclude, that he died in the room of sinners, that they might be released from their obligations to punishment and be entitled to eter- ?jal life throudi the merits of his death. r^ CHRIST THE SAVIOUR 6F XOST SINGERS* Now, the son of God did not make liimself an offering for sin in order to move and incite the father to enter* tain thoughts of pity and compassion for sinners, as though he had no tenderness for us, until he was pre* vailed upon hy the atonement and intercession of Christ, to forgive our offences and receive us into favor : for he first loved us and gave his son to die for us. His com- passion for the human race was the reason of his provi- ding the ransomer in his own hosom, and it was his love to us which engaged him not to " spare his own son," " hut to lay on him the iniquity of us all." But we are to consi- der this wonderful exertion of love, as a wise and just consultation for the honor of his perfections and moral government of the world, and at the same time a neces- sary provision for the display of his pardoning mercy and grace, in consistence with the claims of justice and government. It does not suppose him cruel and implaca- ble, until he is appeased hy blood or softened by sacririce, for goodness and compassion arc essential to his nature : ]>ut as he is an holy God and the righteous governor of the world, ihe honor of his attributes, the wisdom of his government, and the authority of his laws, must be sup- ported, while mercy and grace are exercised to his guilty subjects. The atonement of Christ is therefore to be considered as a glorious contrivance, of infinite mercy and grace, to open a way for the exercise of pardon in such a manner as would at the same time awahcn in tlie minds of his rational creatures, an awful sense of his aversion to sin, and preserve a becoming reverence for his laws. And what could liavc a greater tendency to shew his abhorrence of sin, and his holy jealousy for the honor of his laws, and his regard to the happiness of his i CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF 105T SINNERS. 73 moral creation, than that he would not forgive sin upon less difficult terms, than the son of God's giving himself a ransom for the world. We know not how far it might affect the state of other rational heings, give them dis- advantageous ideas of the supreme lawgiver, and coun- tenance a rehellion among them ; to see a whole world of offenders, how long or how greatly soever they have sinned, admitted to his favor without any satisfaction or atonement. But to prevent these ill impressions, God has shewn that he so hated sin, tliat he gave his only begotten son, rather than not condemn sin in the flesh ; that wlien man had sinned, nothing that mere man could do, was of sufficient efficacy to restore him again to the forfeited friendship of his Maker. He has laid tlie plan of our redemption in so amazing a manner, that crea- tures of another order could have no grounds to expect such favor, if they revolted from their allegiance to him ; at the same time, that we liave reason to admire and adore the condescension and mercy of our offended so- vereign, who has accepted the sacrifice and atonement of his son for us, when he might have insisted on our suffer- ing the penalty of his hroken law, in our own persons* 2. Jesus Christ came to sare his people hy shedding his blood on the cross, to confirm the truth of his doctrines and to seal a pardoning and justifying covenants He sealed a covenant by his death, which frees, from eternal condemnation, ^^ all, who are in Christ Jesus, wlio walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit ;" all who are renewed by the spirit of grace, and consequently walk before him in newness of life. God hath made 4'i> CHRIST THE sJAtlOUR OF XOST SINNERS. m accepted in the beloved ; " in whom Ave have redemp- tion through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to tlic riches of his grace."* This was the great power and right, with which Christ was invested at his resur- rection. " For God hath exalted him to he a prince and a saviour, to grant repentance and remission of sins.t In this sense we are to understand, the sacri- ficial phrases, ** our being washed from our sins in the blood of the lamb,*' and " his blood cleansing us from all sin." A free and full pardon may be obtained accord- ing to the tenor of the gospel covenant, which w as rati- fied and confirmed by the blood of Christ. The au- tliority of Christ to forgive sins is a plain and intelligi- ble doctrine ; as every king has the prerogative of for- giving offences against his government. But how the exercise of this power is ascribed to the blood of Christ, ^ve may learn from what he himself says of it in the in- stitution of his supper : ^< This is my blood of the new covenant, shed for the remission of the sins of many ;"i in evident allusion to the confirmation of the covenant between God and the children of Israel by the media- tion of Moses.§ Moses having repeated the laws and judgments of God in the hearing of the people, and re- ceirag their consent to obey them, wrote them in a book ; and after sacrifices of praise and friendship were offered, he proceeds to confirm the covenant, by dividing tlic blood of the sacrifices, and with the one half sprink- ling the altar, to signify the confirmation of tlie cove- nant on the part of G od, and w ith the other half sprlnk - *Eph. 1,7. tAct. V, 31. |Mat. xxvi, 28. §Exod. XXIV, 8. CHRIST THE SATIOm OF LOST SINNERS. 75 ling the people, or the lieads of the twelve tribes, to signify their consent to it ; he then proclaimed ^vilh a loud voice ; ^* behold the blood of tlie covenant, Jeiio- vah hath made with you." To this solemn transaction ratified by the blood of sprinkling, our Lord alludes, when he calls liis own blood, the blood of the new^ cove- nant, which was ratified and confirmed by his death. So that the remission of sins is ascribed to the blood of Christ, as by the shedding of it, that gracious cove- nant was confirmed which ensures pardon and forgive- ness to those that repent of their sins and turn from them to God and their duty. And when upon their repen- tance and conversion, theii' sins are pardoned, they are said " to be washed and made clean through the blood of the lamb, which taketh away the sins of the world.'* But as the scriptures often represent this invaluable privilege of christians, the remission of sins under the notion of justification ; we shall add that christ sealed a justifying covenant by his blood ; by which Ave are delivered from our obligations to punishment, and are treated a»if we had not sinned, ^' Being justified freely by liis grace, through tlie redemption that is in Jesus Christ : whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins."* Justification supposes that a person is charged with a crime in court, and that a plea is entered on his behalf, either by himself or his advocate. If he is not guilty of the charge, he is jus- tified and not pardoned ; if he is found guilty, he may *Rom. iiij 25, 76 CHRIST THE SAYIOLK OF XOST SINNEES. be pardoned, but cannot be properly and strictly justi- iied. This is easily applied in the aifair of our justifi- cation before God. ^Vhen charged by God or our own consciences with the violations of the divine law, we cannot deny the charge and plead not guily, but must rely on the mercy of the judge for pardon and delive- rance from condemnation. But, though we Hy to mer- cy for protection from the sentence of the righteous law of God ; yet this is not the whole of our plea. No : we plead an atonement made, a sacrifice appointed and ac- cepted, a new covenant established by the son of God and sealed with his blood ; and upon this plea pardon is dispensed through a mediator, who died for our sins and rose again for our justification. So that gospel par- don is forgiveness upon a plea, upon a covenant and in a way that is honorable to the justice, wisdom and righteousness of God, and therefore is justification as well as pardon while a Avicked man is unreformed by the methods of divine grace, perseveres in his wicked ways and is not brought to repentance and a cordial compli- ance with the gospel covenant, he cannot deny the charge brought against him by the law of Gdd, nor can he be justified or pardoned by the tenor of that cove- nant, while he continues in his sins. But the reformed and penitent sinner can plead his repentance and com- pliance with the new covenant and the atonement that w as made for his sins hj the blood of Christ ; and is therefore justified and pardoned. For when God, through Jesus Christ, has pardoned a sinner, on the terms of the gospel ; he is in the eye of God and of the law a righteous person and will be treated as' such, being free from condemnation and having obtained a CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF XOST SIKNEHS. 77 right to the justification of life. In a word, the son of God has so pleased the father by his active and passive obedience, that he has in consequence of what he has done and suffered, ** exalted him on high, to be a prince and a saviour, to grant repentance and remission of sins ;" and has given him authority to pardon repenting sin- ners and to justify tlie ungodly, upon their conversion to God, and to bestow upon tliem eternal life, as the free and gracioxis reward of their fidelity to him till the close of life. 3, Jesus Christ came to save those that were lost, hy de- .^ livering them from the dominion of sin and Satan, hy Jus xvord and spirit. He employs his gospel to break the power of sin ia the soul, and to turn the heart from the love and prac- tice of sin, to the love and practice of holiness by a thorough conversion to God, AV'hen the gospel, that divine word of trutli and power, enters the heart and changes its principles and temper, it escapes frtm the dominion of sin, and being made free from the law of sin and the bondage of Satan, the man becomes a ser- vant of righteousness ; and subjects himself to the laws and service of God ! Now the truths of the gospel are calculated to efiect this glorious change, as they are the most important and interesting truths with which we can be acquainted; and such as have a tendency to open the blinded eyes and to make us wise unto salva- tion. The gospel of Christ sets before us, in the most striking point of light, the method by which alone we may escape from that destruction, which hangs over our 178 /^ CUIIIST THE SAYIOUH OF LOST SINNERS. guilty heqids ', together >vitli tiic most alarming motives aiul considerations to engage us to fly from the ^vrath to come. And >vhcn the truths of the gospel enlighten the mind and ehange the heart, Jesus Clirist thereby de- livers the soul from the bondage of corruption to serve God in newness of life. Such persons are then said ** to know the , truth, and to be made free by it.'' "If the son make you free, then arc yc free indeed." '^- Thls is certainly the noblest freedom and the most ho- norable liberty that any of tlic fallen sons of Adam can boast, by which a man is delivered from the power of evil incliaalions and vicious habits, through the in- strumentality of the gospel shining in the heart and transforming it into the divine image. But to render the word of God eifectual to our salvation, Jesus Christ has also purchased the iioly spirit to be poured out upon us, that he may bring the truths of the gospel home to Ike conscience witli divine power. It is the office of the holy spirit in tlie (economy of redemption " to take of the things of Christ," his precepts and doctrines, " and to shew them unto us" in such a clear and aifecting point #f light, that they may prosper to tlic end, where- to they are sent, pulling dovrn the strong holds of sin and Satan, and bringing our hearts and lives into the obedience of the gospel. "When men's eyes are opened by the spirit of God attending tlie truths of the gospel they arc by the sacred influence of it turned from dark- ness unto light and from the power of Satan to serve the living and true God. And that this was the gracious design of Christ's appearing in the character of a pro- *Joh. VIII, 36. CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF lOST SIj^I^-E^ls. 79 phet and teacher sent from God with the words of sal- vation in his mouth is evident from -'^ ^* the grace of God, that is the gospel, which bringeth salvation, hath appeared unto all men, teaching them, that denying all ungodliness and wordly lusts, they should live godly, soberly and righteously in the present evil world, look- ing for that blessed hope, the glorious appearance of the great God and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify us to himself a peculiar people, zea- lous of good works." 4^. But Christ also came to save those that were lost with an eternal salraiion. All his sufferings in life and at his death, together with all the methods of his providence and grace, have their full and final accompKshment in the salvation of our immortal souls. As it is his efficacious and holy will, that those whom the father hath given him, should be with him where he is, that they may behold his glory and be happy in the manifestation of his eternal love, lie has promised that he will come again and receive them to himself, when he has sanctified them by his grace and made them " meet for an inheritance with the saints in light ;" and that their salvation might be com- plete, he has also promised to unseal the prison of the grave, to call forth their sleeping dust from the house of corruption, ^nd rebuild the whole man in a glorious im- Tuortality and ineifable joy. Wlien he expired on the *Tit. II, \-. so CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF lOST SINNERS. cross he conquered ** death and him that has the pov» el* of death, tliat is the devil." And hence, at the appoint- ed hour, wlien he will come in the glory of the father, with his holy angels, he will issue the sovereign orders which shall he heard through all the silent repositories of the dead ; ^' and he shall send forth his angels to ga- ther his elect from the four Avinds of heaven." Cloathed with the Redeemer's spotless righteousness and made perfect in his glorious image, their mortal part shall put on immortality, and they shall hear the transporting sen- tence pronounced by the mouth of their judge, " Come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world." And when the grand solemnity is ennrluded, he Avill lead them for- ward amidst the joyful acclamations of their elder bre- thren, to those mansions of joy and rest, which he has purchased for them with his blood. Millions, and mil- lions of ages shall roll on, while they are continuing to enjoy the smiles of his countenance, and when they are past and gone, their happiness is but beginning, is as far from a period as it was at the first moment of their in- troduction into the paradise of God. " Eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man to conceive either the dignity or duration of their future inheritance." It is a portion large as their most extensive wishes, durable as their immortal souls, and worthy of a G od to bestow. This is the salvation which the son of man came to procure, for the degenerate posterity of Adam. APPLICATIOX. Sec now, my friends, and behold and admire tlic stu- pendous scheme of divine mercy and grace through a CHRIST THE SAVIOUR 0¥ LOST SINNERS. Si Redeemer. A world of rational and imnioii:al beings rescued from overwiielming misery and distress, a w orld made happy — everlastingly happy, if tlieir own impeni- tence and incorrigibleness in sin prevent it not. And say, what sentiments it ought to inspire. AVhy, sentiments of gratitude too big to be uttered, too fervent to be con- cealed ! We think no language too harsh, no usage too severe for the degenerate person who could be guilty of base ingratitude to a generous friend and father of his country, who only lives to serve and would gladly die to save it from destruction. But what are all the heroes and patriots that ever lived, in comparison with the great dclivei^r of mankind ? Or what are all the blessings wliich they have procured for their generation, in comparison with <* glory, honor, and immortality?*' Lighter than vanity and nothing, when laid in the ba- lance with a *• far more exceeding and eternal weight ©f glory ^" the greatest blessing that man could receive or even God bestow. Behold with an eye of faith, a spectacle, worthy to be beheld by God with pleasure, and by angels with wonder and astonishment ; a specta- cle more august and awfully glorious, than was ever exhibited on the theatre of nature before. Behold the adorable son of God, whom angels and arch angels are commanded to Avorship, pouring out his sacred blood for rebels to his crown and dignity ; bearing the insults of the wretches he came to save, expiating the sins of an ungrateful world, and procuring the happiness of a rank of beings involved in ruin and misery, beyond the power of language to express ! Behold him bleeding a sacred victim on the accursed tree, to make an atonement for our sins, and groaning under the weight of his father's M S^ CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF 1>0S»T SINNEftS. wrath, which wc had deserved to feci in our own per- sons, until at last he hows his sacred head, and shuts up the solemn scene with these comprehensive words : — « Father it is finished;" the great, the stupendous work is done ; the universal sacrifice is completed, wliose vir- tue and efficacy extends from the foundations of the world to the final conflagration, from the hirth of time to its period ; and which hoth angels and men shall con- template throughout eternity with awful joy and grati- tude. And can wc, my friends, tlie favored subjects of these astonishing endearment, hear of this prodigious^ expence of goodness, with a cold insensibility and a stu- pid indifference ? Can we ever turn our thoughts to this marvellous contrivance of wisdom and grace, without hearts overflowing with gratitude and love to him, whose howels of mercy yearned over us with divine compassion and provided the Saviour ; and to him, wlio being in the form of God, humbled himself unto death, even the death of the cross, to raise us to the exalted privilege of becoming tlie sons and daughters of the most high God. If we And ourselves aftected witli endearing senti- ments of love tovi ards virtuous characters, whicli we read of in ancient history ; if, wiiiletlieir story is represented in our view, we feel our hearts interested in their favor, if wc honor and esteem even the distant patriot, with whom we have no connection, and from whom we can derive no advantage, how much more should we esteem and honor and love the great Redeemer, the beneflt of whose actions and sufferings reaches to all ages and all nations I ^Vliat are the heroes of antiquity to us, or we to them, ^\ho luight have been an honor to the age in ^\}uth they lived, but are of no service to us ; like the CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF LOST SINNERS. 83 sparkling stars in the midnight sky, wliich are the sources of light and heat to their own systems, hut ^vhose feehle rays do scarcely reach this distant v»orld, to give us notice of their existence. But our Saviour was a person horn for the whole world ; and his hirth was " glad tidings of great joy to all people, a light to the Gentiles and the glory of his people Israel." " O ! the height and the depth, the length and thehreadth of the love of God in Christ Jesus, which passeth knowledge !** Hard and ohdurate indeed must that heart he, which can attentively meditate on this amazing scene, the re- demption of our ruined world hy Jesus Christ, Avitiiout feeling the most lively emotions of gratitude, witliout being constrained by the powerful efficacy of his love to live to him, " who first loved us and gave himself for us ; that he might purify us to himself, a peculiar peo- ple zealous of good works." Let us, my friends, ever remember that our Saviour came into the world to save us from our sins, as well as from the penal consequences of tiiem in the future state. In vain do Ave expect to be saved by his death, as a com- plete satisfaction for sin, unless we are sanctified by his spirit and made holy as he is holy. He came not to make our repentance and obedience to the divine laws unne^ cessary, but to make them accepted of God. "We are not our own, we are bought with a price, even the pre- cious blood of the son of God. Let us therefore serve him with our souls and our bodies, which are his. And now, my friends, suffer me in the conclusion, to nrge it upon your eonsciencee, with all the earnestness Si tniiisi* Tiii; ftA^ioiK ht jlh^t sinkers. and importunity Avbich a matter of so much importanckt demands, to cnfiuirc with impartiality, whether the de- sign of Clirist's coming into the worUl, has taken place witli respect to your souls ; whether the birth of a Savi- our has been ^* glad tidings of great joy to you :" or whether liis labors and sufferings have convinced you of your need of a Saviour and brought you to a cordial com- pliance with the gospel covenant. No doubt, you hope favorably concerning yourselves : but do your tempers and lives lay a solid foundation for your hopes. Re- member, that it is the idlest dream that ever imposed upon the human understanding, to hope that you may he interested in his death and sufferings, while you do not imitate his example nor live by his gospel. How inexcusable therefore must we be, if, under all the glo- rious advantages we enjoy by the coming of a Saviour, we nevertheless continue impenitent and die in our sin at last. Shall the blessed Jesus set so high a value on an immortal soul, as to think it worth all his labor and pains to rescue it from eternal destruction? And shall we, notwithstanding, plunge ourselves into remediless ruin, by our neglect of this great salvation, and a foolish attachment to things, which in this comparative view, are lighter than vanity ? Shall we thus requite " the God that made us and the Lord that redeemed us with his own blood." Yoii may indeed think of these things as you have often done, with a cold indifference and neglect : but believe it, you must one day appear in the presence of that Saviour, who came to save them that were lost, to account for all your delays and carelessness, your mis- CHRIST THE SAVIOVK OF LOST SINNERS, 83 pent Sabbaths, your abused ordir.anees, your slighted calls and broken covenants : for " he will be revealed in fiaming lire, to take a dreadful vengeance on all them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of his son." These arc uot visionary notions, this is not an empty harrangue : there is a glorious reality in the gospel to all those who cordially comply with the design of Christ's coming into the w orld, and it is full of amazing terror to all that neglect this great salvation. Let us then labor above all things, to secure an interest in that great salvation, Avhich he came to purchase for us with his blood. Let us depend on the merits of his atonement for the pardon of our sins, and on the grace of his spirit, to enable us to comply with the gospel covenant ; and let us make it the constant business of our lives, to adorn the doctrines of God, our Saviour in all things, " walk- ing as becomes those that are redeemed by the blood of Christ," • SERMON Y. TVi: HOLY SPIRIT THE CO^n^ORTEK. JOHN, XIV, 16, Jind I ivill praij ilic father , and he shall give you anu- thcr comforter, that he may abide ivitli you forever ^ Crvcii ihc spirit of truth, &c, Upon a slight survey of ouv situation and circum- stances in the present world, tlic liglit of nature alone is sufficient to shew, that we are weak and indigent creatures, surrounded witli innumerable wants and in- iirFiiiti'js, and e>:po3ed to dangers of every kind, and from cTcry quarter. "We are neither able to supply our returning wants, nor sagacious enough to foresee ap- proaching dangers, nor powerful enough to ward them off. So blinded are our minds by prejudices, and so enslaved by the darkening influences of various contend- ing passions, tliat " it is not in man that walketh to di- rect his steps,-' Notwithstanding all the boasted rc- iinements of philosophy, so sensible were the wiser Heathens of their weakness and ignorance, that tliey earnestly desired divine iiluminatjon and assistance from above, and acknowledged that their situation was such, that it was worthy of a God to interpose for their re- lief. The feeble light of nature, when cultivated by THE HOIY SPIRIT THE COMFORTER. 87 the most sedulous eare, they found insufficient to pre- serve them from daily errors in sentiment and pi'actice, or to support the mind under the various troubles and perplexhicrs of life. — But it is a glory peculiar to the ehrisliau religion, that it is capable of yielding light and direction in the path of duty, and even joy and U'iumph to the mind, in the midst of calamities, in which the strength of nature and philosophy can hardly afford arguments for patience. These boasted aids are like a candle in a tempestuous night which is frequently extinguished iu the midst of the storm, and instead of directing and cheering the weary traveller, leaves him on a sudden in darkness, horror and fear. But the gos- pel is « a light to our feet and a lamp to our paths.'* It directs us where we may find an ample provision for all our v/ants of a spiritual kind, and at the same time excites us by the most convincing arguments to repair to that unwasting fountain for that purpose. It teaches us, that in our blessed redeemer are lodged all the rich treasures of wisdom and grace, and gives us en- couragement from the unbounded compassions of his heart, to expect from him all that gracious supply^ .vhich our various cases require. He has purchased the holy spirit, with all those sanctifying, comforting, and strengthening infiucnces, which are necessary to subdue our corruptions, to support us under trouble, to assist us ia the performance of duty, and to prepare u i for the joys of a happy immortality. And as all fulness dwells in him, whereby he is able to satisfy the largest desires of his children, such also is his tenderness fop ihem, and his continual desire to promote their happi- Jioss, that he ever manifests the ercatest readiness to c^ $8 THE HOLY SPIRIT THE C«MFORTEK. eommunicatc of liis fulness, to answer the various pur- poses of the spiritual life. These observations are abundantly verified by the consideration of the circumstances in which he made the encouraging promise in our text, to his disconsolate disciples. In the context, touched with the most ten- der concern for their comfort, he is preparing them to bear his removal from them, which was now approach- ing, with patience and resignation. He informs them, that he was going before them to prepare a place for their reception in the mansions of his father's house^* and that " he would come again and receive them imto' himself, that where he w as, they might also be." This was one ground of consolation, which he afforded tliem. Another was, that although he was necessarily absent from them, for a little time, yet they should not want any supply of wisdom and strength, which their circum- stances required ; for whatsoever they should ask in his name, he would procure it for them from his heavenly father. And in the last place, to shew them that he could not be unmindful of them, when surrounded with all the glories of liis exaltation at the right hand of the majesty on high, he assures them that he would "pray the father, and he would give them another comforter, that lie might abide with them forever, even the spirit of truth." The presence of this comforter was of so much consequence to them, that he tells them in ano- ther place, that it was expedient for them, tliat it was for their interest, that he should go away from them, for otherwise the comforter would not come to them. By this he signified to them, that his own presence with THE flOXY SPIRIT THE COMPORTER» 89 them would not counterbalance tlie loss they should sus- tain by the absence of this comforter* In this consolatary discourse with his disciples, vre •behold not only the general care which the blessed Re- deemer exercises over ail liis children, wliich is sufficient to engage them cheerfully to trust him for providential supplies, while they are engaged in his service : but also the most alFectionate discoveries of his very heart, over- flowing in every sentence with the kindest concern, not only for the safety but also for the comfort of all his peo- ple, who, through the preaching of his word in the suc- ceeding ages of his church, should believe on his name. Herein we see a lively image of that tenderness with which he will another day, ^< wipe away all tears from their eyes;" and particularly from the gracious promise of our text, the disconsolate believer who is mourning un- der a sense of his remaining corruptions, and the conse- quent apprehensions of his heavenly father's displeasure, J^ may derive abundant support through the tiresome pil-^ grimage of life, and encouragemnct to hope, that being sealed by the spirit of promise he shall be safely conducted through all the troubles and storms of the present state, and brought at last to the mansions of his father's house above. For surely when he spoke these reviving words^ ^^ he was also solicitous that our hearts should not be ^ troubled, and therefore provided a noble ct)rdial, the strength of which shall continue to the remotest ages : for this comforter shall abide with his children forever* As we propose, this day, in humble obedience to the command of Christ, to sit down at the Lord's table, amt N 0 § 'i'' iH) THE IIOLl SPIRIT THE COMFORTEB, to coiimiemorate the death and love of our absent Re- deemer, Mc could not fix upon a more proper way of employing your attention on this solemn occasion, than hj leading your thoughts into a particular survey of this gracious promise, Avliich he designed for the comforSf and encouragement of all his children. ^Vhilc we are i discoursing on this refreshing subject, we hope that you will accompany us with your ardent aspirations to hea- ven, that this sacred comforter Avould draw near to us by his gracious influences, that we may know and feel the rich import and glorious extent of this animating promise. For the sake of your memories, we propose, through divine assistance, to throw our thoughts on this subject into the following method. We shall consider, 1. AVho this Comforter is who is sent by the father and the son ? n. For what purposes he is given ? III. What is our duty in consequence of such a gift? I. WIio is this Comforter who is sent by the fathev and the son ? There can be no doubt, but that the third person of the adorable trinllT, is liere intended as the oiBcc as eribed to him in our text, is the part which the sacred oracles ascribe to liim in the crconomy of our redeinp- fion. lie is described under various characters in scrip- THE HOLY SPIRIT THE COMTORTES. 9i ture, such as " the holy spirit,' ^the holy ghost,' < the eternal spirit,' < the spirit of God,' « the spirit of Christ,' < the spirit of truth," of grace, " of glory and of power." He is stiled the spirit of God, not only because he is sent by the father, but also in a sense more sublime and peculiar. He is the spirit of God in as intimate a sense, as the si)irit of a man is the man ; as is plain from the apostle's comparison : ^< the spirit searches all thingSj, even the deep things of God : for what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him ; even so the things of God knoweth none, but the spirit of God."^ This makes it evident, that there is such a close and intimate union subsisting between God and the spirit of God, as that he is privy to his most abstruse and hidden counsels, in the same manner as the humaii spirit is conscious of all the thoughts and intentions of the man. The incommunicable perfections of the adora- ble God, are frequently ascribed to him in sacred writ, such as eternity, omniscience, omnipresence. ^^ Whi- . ther shall I fly from thy spirit," says the Psalmist. f It cannot be easily conceived, how all christians through the world could be directed to expect his influences^ without supposing him to be possessed of that divine perfection, omnipresence. We can by no means appre- hend it possible, that a finite being could have access to all minds at once. These things shew that he is God equal with the father and the son, and the third person of the sacred trinity, the great object of the christian worship. How he has obtained the peculiar title of the holy spirit, in contradistinction from the father and the * 1. Cor. xi. + Ps. cxxxjx, 7. J% THE HOLT SriRIT THE CO^IFonTElS. son, ^^^c may learn from considering, that lie is described every where in scripture, as conversant >vith human minds, assisting them >vith his divine and holy inspira- tions, invigorating ami empowering them by his streng- thening inlluenecs, and ena!)ling them to think and act w ith more energy and power, in tlie knowledge of truth and the practice of lioliness, than what belongs to thp spirit of a man or a mind purely human. But it is in a very different sense that he is stilcd th« spirit of Christ. We know that Jesus Christ is said to be " full of the holy ghost," to be " anointed with the holy ghost,'* and to have the " spirit without measure." — Whatever he did is said to be done by tlie holy ghost : he w as led by the spirit, cast out devils, and did other mi- racles by the spirit of God : he gave commandments to his disciples through the hoJy ghost, and offered himself upon the cross through the eternal spirit. This may seem a sufficient foundation for his being stilcd the spirit of Christ : but if we stop here, we shall come far short of the scripture notion of this appellation. Christians arc also said to be *^ born of the spirit," to be << led by liim," to be ** full of the holy ghost," to work miracles, speak divers tongues, prophesy, and to do all good and holy actions, by the spirit of God ; and yet this sacred person is ncTcr called the spirit of David, of Peter, or Paul. To comprehend this more fully, let its consider thw character which Jesus Christ sustained on earth, viz. the representative of the wliole human race, the great f^xcmplar of the human uaturc restored to its primitive* THE HOLT SPIRIT THE COMroHTEIL 9*5 integrity. According to this, it is familiar with the upostle Paul, to consider the whole assemhlage of chiis tians through the world, as his hody, and individually as members of this body, doing whatsoever they do, and receiving whatsoever they receive in him. Hence, we are chosen, adopted, sanctified, crucified to the worlds raised from the dead in liim. Hence is the edifying of his body, till we come to a perfect man, '^ to the mea- sure of the stature of the fullness of Christ j" that is^ till the christian body be compleated by the union of all its members, which will then be commensurate to the fulness of Christ ; so that the loss of a single christian would be the loss of a member of Christ's body, which would render it imperfect* As the whole assembly of christians therefore, is represented as the body of Christ, and as they are all actuated and led by the holy ghost, this sacred agent, for this reason, is called the spirit of Christ, He is also stiled the spirit of Christ, becausoH, hy his meritorious death and sufferings, he purchased the sacred influences of the spirit, Avliich were thcreiore treasured up in his hands, to be communicated by Iiim to his members, for their support and refrcsiiment ia t\\i>. spiritual life. This serves to explain what our Saviour says to his disciples, when conversing with them concerning the «oming of this comforter, and concerning the necessity «f his own ascension to heaven, previous to their receiv- ing this promise of the father. " If I go not away, the comforter will not come unto you : but if I go I will send him unto yoiu'^ For fiinee the holy ghost was the Oh THE nOLY SPliUT TilK COMfORTEIi, spirit of Christ, Avho possessed liim ^vitli all his sacred influences, in fulness and >vithout measure, to be after- wards diffused by him in various measures and propor- tions, through his mystical body 5 it seems at least pro- bable, from the whole oeconomy of redemption, that while our blessed Redeemer remained on earth, and tlie work assigned him was not yet compleated, the influen- ces of the holy spirit Avere in a great measure confined to his sacred person, and no farther communicated by him, but occasionally and in a certain degree, to his apostles and disciples, for particular purposes. Hence the evangelist observes, that " the holy ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."* But when the w;ork of redemption was compleated, and he ascended up on liigli, to enter into his glory, then he dis- ti'ibuted the several gifts of the spirit to his disciples, to qualify them for the propagation of the gospel through the world; and larger measures of the sanctifying and illuminating influences of the spirit, were imparted to chrij?tians for the various purposes of the spiritual life. For we are not to imagine, that the extraordinary and miraculous powers, wliich appeared in the first ages of Christianity, Avcrc tlie only influences of the holy ghost : for there is no grace, no virtue, not even so much as a good thought or pious resolution, but what in the scrip- ture account of things, is owing to the kindly sugges- tions and efiicacious operations of the spirit of grace.— This brings me to consider, II. For whit purposes the holy spirit is given. / *Job. vn.G9. ^ ■■■' ■tjv THE HOLT SPIRIT THE COMFORTER. 95 1. The miraculous gifts of the spirit ivere tlesigned to give sufficient attestations of the truth of a divine revda- tian. This sacred agent acted as a spirit of prophecy un- der the first dispensation. <» Holy men of God spake as they were moved hy the spirit of God.'*=^ " The spirit of Christ was in them testifying the things which they delivered/*! In the primitive ages of Christianity, Iiis extraordinary influences were very surpi^ising and ex- tensive. By him the apostles and first publishers of thii the will of God for the salvation of the world, being endowed with such supernatural qualifications for the services to which they were called, that their enemies " were not able to resist the spirit by which they 8poke.'':|: The holy spirit gave many miraculous attestations to the truth of Christianity, by the gift of tongues and by many other signs and wonders. These were peculiar to the first age of Christianity and necessary for the laying tlie foundations of the gospel church, but not designed to be continued in after times, as the revelation of tlie divine will was then completed, and sufficient provision made for conveying the same down to the succeeding ages of the church. But altliough tiiese miraculous operations of the spirit ceased, when there was no further occasion for them, yet there are the common and sanctifying influences of grace, Avhich are absolutely necessai^' for the beginning ^2.Pet.j,21. fl.Pet.i, 11. fAct.vj.IO ■i)6 THE HOLY SriiaT THE COMrOKT4iK. aud progress of tlie spiritual life in the soul, which arc still bestowed upon (^liristians in various proportions. — Therefore we add, that 2. Tlie spirit of God is given to illuminate the mind in the knowledge of Christy and to renetv and change the heart. The melancholy condition of all men by nature is, that ail llie powers and faculties of the soul are miserably perverted by sin. Our understandings are darkened, our wills stubborn and refractory to the divine com- mands, our consciences are hardened, our affectior. sand passions arc set upon wrong objects, and our resolutions and attempts for a reformation are too often weak and inefTectuai. But the influences of the holy spirit are communicated to remedy this fatal disorder of the soul. He enlightens the darkened understanding and brings Viie truth of the gospel home to our consciences, with divine power and energy, by representing them in such a strik- ing point of light, and engaging our attention to them, that our hearts are brought under the influence of them. Thus he " takes of the things of Christ and shews them xinto us,' < shining into our minds to give us the light of the knowledge of the glorious God in the face of Jes; s Christ.' • Thus he gives us new apprehensions of the ador- able God, as being of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, and yet as exercising tlirough a Kedeemer the unsearcha- ble riches of his grace and mercy to our degenerate race, in perfect consistence with the various claims of his jus- tice, wisdom and truth, and with the rights of his moral government of the world. Thus he convinces us that we THE HOLT SPIRIT THE COMFORTEH. 97 have ruined ourselves, that we have exposed ourselves to the just resentment of an offended God, and that avc are unahle to recover ourselves from the ruins of our fall, or from the guilt and bondage of sin. Thus lie persuades us tliat we stand in need of the interposition of the great Redeemer of mankind, and that he is both able and willing to save. By the sacred influences of the holy spirit, the soul is brought to see the suitableness of the Redeemer's cha- racters and offices to its own condition, and to value an interest in his death and righteousness, above every worldly consideration, as a miserable captive would prize a deliverance, or a condemned malefactor v^ould esteem a pardon. By these means the stubbornness of the will is removed, so that every high thought that ex- alteth itself against the knowledge of Christ, is brought into subjection to him, and we are made willing in a day of his power, to accept of him in all his characters and offices, on the terms of the gospel. Hereby w^e arc brought to choose God for our portion and happiness, Jesus Christ for our saviour and redeemer, and tlie holy spirit for our sanetifyer and comforter. By this sacred agent our hard and stony hearts are melted dov, n into a penetential sorrow for sin, and a cheerful readi- ness to comply with every commanded duty. Our affec- tions which are too much engrossed by lying vanities and empty shadows, are in some good degree disengaged from worldly attachments and set upon things above. — It is he alone that strengthens our weak resolutions to forsake evei^ false and wicked way, and animates our feeble endeavours to turn unto the Lord our God, with ys THE HOLY sniiiT Tiir4 comfortek. all our hearts. In a word, it is by his continued influ- ences that Avc are cnahled to die unto sin and to live unto holiness. Thus we arc said " to be horn of the spirit, to be renewed in the temper of our minds, to be trans* formed into the divine imngc, from glory to gloi'}', even as by the spirit of the Lord." Thus the soul experi- ences that saving change, whereby all old things are passed away and all things arc become new. But this is not all* 3. The spirit of Vod is also given to make us fruilful iiud progrcssirc in holiness, "We arc indebted to (he spirit of grace not only for the implantation of graee in tlie soul, but our progress in the road to eternal life is also to be ascribed to the operations of the same almighty agent. When his di- vine influences are communicated to the christian, they enable him to bring Ibrtli tlic fruits of holiness ; and the soul, which was before justly compared to a bar- ren Wilderness, which produces nothing but thorns and briars and other useless shrubs, is now like a watered garden, which abounds sxlVa a rich variety of the most ttseful and agreeable productions. By our vital union to Jesus Christ, which Is ei^ected by the operations of the spirit of grace, v. orking fiiith in us, we are enabled to bear much fnut. <• I am the vine,*' says our Saviour, •^ and ye ai'c the branches. He that abideth in mc and f in him, the same bjingeth forth much fruit, for v/ith- out mc ye can do nothing," '^i'hc christian, that is hi any eminent degree actuated by the spirit of grace, is dally growing hi grace, adding something t© his spi- THE HOLY SPIRIT THE tOMrOKTEK. 1)9 ritual stature, and making advances in tlic various branches of the christian character. Far from resting contented ^vith former attainments, he " forgets the things that are behind, and presses toward the mark, for the prize of the higli calling of God in Christ Jesus.'* Daily aspiring after perfection and going on from strength to strength, he studies to have his passions more mortified, his corruptions more subdued, his graces more confirmed, and himself made more active and cheer- ful in religion. Although all do not arrive at the same perfection in holiness, yet, because it is essential to the nature of true grace to grow, all true christians will make more or less proficiency in the road to eternal glory in proportion to the measure of grace bestowed upon them, and to their own activity and diligence in the spi- ritual life. This will more fully appear by attending to the following particulars. 4 llie holij spirit is given to assist lis in the 'perfor- mance of the various duties incnviibcnt upon ns. He enables us to discern and recollect what is our duty in the various circumstances of life, and how it may be acceptably performed. How many of our du- ties lie in the middle between the culpable extremes on both sides, which perplex our judgment and practice. In the duty of self examination, for instance, hov. difii- cult is it to set the marks of true grace neither too high nor too low, that we may pass an impartial judg- ment upon our own spiritual state, without too much favour towards, or unreasonable prejudices against our- selves. Into this duty, in particular, the apostle intro- duces the agency of the holy spirit^ «^ witnessing with 100 THE HOLY SPIRIT THE COMrOltT«R. our spirits, that wc fire the eliiWren of God," if indeed Ave have passed from death unto life. Does not the ex- tensive and difficult duty of pi'^yer require such intense* ness of mind, such fervour of affection, and such dili- gent preparation, that tlie most experienced christians iind it a matter of ,e;rcat difficulty to collect their scat- tered thoughts, to restrain their ifvandering affections and to maintain upon their spirits that solemn awe and reverence, which becomes us, when we approach the throne of the most hig]i God ? And does not the inspired apostle make the regular and acceptable discharge of this solemn duty to depend upon the spirit's helping our infirmities, and making " intercession for us with groans that cannot be uttered ;" in as much as " we know not what we sliould pray for, as we ought." Is not the path of duty often embarrassed with many perplexities and intricate circumstances, so tliat it is extremely difficult to discern the will of God in various dispensations of liis providence ? Is not human wisdom often at a loss to discover the time and place, the nature and kind, the jncasure and method of each duty arising from our va- rious connections in the social life, wliere providence has allotted us an extensive sphere of usefulness. Puz- zled with these difficulties, do not the wisest of men of- ten wish for and earnestly seek a superior direction from above ? Acknowledging that " it is not in man that Wiilkcth to direct his steps ;" do tliey not often breatlic out their ardent desires in the language of tlie pious Psalmist, '* shew me thy ways O Lord, teacli me thy paths." Now, is it not the express office of the spirit fit* truth in the CRconomy of redemption, to take of the iiiiiigs of Christ, and to sliew them unto us, and to lead fHE HOLY SPIRIT THE COMFORTER. 101 US in the way everlasting, and to bring to our remem- brance the things that Christ has said for our direction in the intricate mazes of life. And can we not appeal to the comfortable experience of many cliristians, that in many seasons of life, when surrounded with perplexi- ties and involved in darkness, they have found counsel and direction from God? Can they not recollect the time, when they found a ray of divine light darting into their minds on a sudden, or a surprising and unexpected concurrence of circumstances, conspiring together to point out the way of duty A\ith comfortable satisfaction and evidence? Have they not often in this manner heard, as it were a word behind them, saying, *^ this is the way, walk in it.'* How often will the observant christian find reason to acknowledge himself indebted to the sacred agency of tlie spirit of truth, for many seasonable hints, and pious suggestions, enlarging the mind with a clear and easy perception, of what belongs to the due performance of many duties, when his views before had been much confused and contracted, and his attempts clogged with discouraging difficulties. But besides the knowledge of our duty, the holy spirit assists us in the performance of it, by affording a practi- cal experimental knowledge, and a lively and abiding sense of those divine truths that are the grand motives to all duty. How frequent are the complaints of exer- cised christians, that the great and wonderful tilings contained in the law and gospel of Christ, appeiir to them strange and insipid, that after all their endca-vors to quicken their attention and to engage all the active powers of their souls in religious duties^ yet they can 103 THE HOLY SPIRIT THE COMFORTEK* derive but little or no vital warmth of affection from them. They hear and read of them, they converse with them in their devotions in private, and meditate on them in public ; but alas ! it is without any clear views of their transcendent lustre and glory, without any heart-felt relishes of their sweetness, and without any powerful impressions left on their minds. But at other tim^s when the spirit of God opens their eyes to behold the wonderful truths of his word, the same di- vine truths, whose force was so feeble and languid be- fore, now break into the mind with such marvellous light and glory, as to fill the burdened soul with holy rapture and wonder, and spread their quickening influ- ence over all the powers of their nature. It would be injustice to the sacred agency of the holy spirit, not to ascribe this blessed effect^ to his bringing the truths of the gospel Avith power and energy to the conscience, and liis shining into our minds to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Thus it is that he inspires us with readiness and alacrity in the performance of duty. It is God, by his spirit that w orks in us to will and to do, of his own good pleasure, quickening us to the several duties of our respective callings and employments in life, and disposing and preparing our hearts for religious exer- cises. It is he, who excites holy motions, inspires with humble, yet lively resolutions, and preserves them warm and steady in the soul, thereby effectually inclining us to the appointed work by the sweet and powerful con- straints of his marvellous grace. And many christians can testify to tlic honor of free grace, that wlien they have found their good dispositions wear off, and a list- THE HOIiY SPIRIT THE COMroHTEK, IQa iess inactivity overspreading their souls, tliey have ex* perienced this sacred agent aAvakeniiig their drooping spirits, reviving their languid aifections, and maintain- ing in them a suitable frame for patient continuance in well doing. Tliis he effects by impressing the mind ■with appropriating views of the great and precious pro- mises of the gospel, with the comfortable assurance of his upholding and strengthening presence, by reviving the recollection of former manifestations of his love in the ordinances of the gospel, and by affording immediate foretastes of that glorious state, where we shall be able to serve our God without heaviness or distraction. It is the spirit of God, by his wonderful working in the hearts of his people, that suppresses evil inclinations, that wea- kens the power of evil habits, that lays our lawless pas- sions and appetites under the restraints of his grace, that quickens those holy affections and gracious princi- ples into lively exercise, which ought to accompany the performance of every religious duty. It is the spirit of faith, of love, and joy, which helps our infirmities in all our comfortable approaches to God in the ordinances of his hause. When we are enabled to pour out our hearts before God, in awful yet delightful adorations of his sublime and incomprehensible glories, in a lively flow of penitent affections and genuine contrition for our siiis, in warm and fervent breatliings after spiritual bicssings, in an easy resignation of all our temporal concerns to his Avill, in the various pleadings of faith, and in tlio lively emotions of love, of gratitude and joy, when wc acknowledge his benefits ; the spirit of grace and suppli- oation has been previously poured out upon us, has been moving upon our hearts, and affording this glorious liber- 10 i THE IIOJLY SPIRIT THE COMFORTEE. ty, and enlarged emanation of spiritual affections and graces. Tims " he makes his cliildren perfect in every good work, to do his will, working in us that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ."* We might easily go on in expatiating upon this copi- ous and delightful subject, until the very design of preaching would he defeated by the length of the dis- course. IrVe shall therefore be contented to mention another particular, at present, viz. that 5. The Hohj Spirit is given to comfort us under tlit various troubles of the civil or religious life. The mourning christian experiences an holy joy and triumph in the communications of grace, in the instan- ces already mentioned : for what can be more refreshing to the weary traveller, fainting under the scorching rays of the sun, or ready to die for thirst in the sandy de- sert, than a draught of cold water ? And yet this is but a faint emblem of that spiritual refreshment which the humble christian derives from the spirit of God, who raises his views to the eternal Jehovah and enables him to consider him as his indulgent father and his everlasting friend. It is the spirit of God who strengthens his faith, and leads him to see that his Redeemer liveth and reign- eth at the riglit hand of the majesty on high, conduct- ing all tlie operations in the kingdoms of nature and grace for the benefit of his children. It is by the in- ward witnessing of the holy spirit, that he is led to see *Heb. xiij., 21. THE HOLT SPIRIT THE COMrORTES. 105 his sins pardoned throiigli the atonement of tlie son of God, himself rescued from hell and destruction, and in- terested in the great and precious promises of the gospel^ and all the glorious blessings of the new covenant that was ratified in the Redeemer's Wood. Storms of temp- tation may indeed arise and threaten to overwhelm his soul ; they may assault him with such violence as to shake his confidence in God, and almost reduce him to despair. Principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world, may associate their comhined legions and lead him for a season captive at their plea- sure ; the world may spread her alluring charms hefore him to captivate his affections, and the great remainders of corruption that still lodge in his bosom, may through his neglect, lead him astray from God and his duty ; and in righteous displeasure, the spirit of God may with- hold the comfortable manifestations of his presence, so that he will go mourning under the hidings of his fa- ther's face. Yet his heavenly father remembers the co- venant of his love, and although he corrects him for his transgressions, <•' his loving kindness he will not utterly take from him, nor suifer his faithlessness to fail." He sends his spirit to awaken him to repentance, to give him the victory over his spiritual enemies, and to re- vive his drooping spirits with such gracious consolations as these : « Son, daughter, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee ;" for " in a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.'^ Thus does the spirit of God afford him joy and peace in believing. And what can be a more sound foundation for "joy, unspeakable and full of glorv ?" The pleasure O iOG THE HOLY si'lillT THE COMrORa'EIl. ami (lclig;]it Avliicli arises from tlie comimmications of grace, are a fiiiul of liappiness which is independent of the body and all the vicissitudes of this changing scene, and which the world, with all its enjoyments^ can never equal.' What calamity or affliction can hefal the ehris- tiim, that can roh him of this liappiness ? In what trou- ble of body, mind, or estate, can he he involved, in which this sacred comforter cannot have access to him, to sup- port him with his refreshing influences ? In poverty, Ihcsc can enrich his soul, in sickness they can relieve Mm, in solitude they can cheer him, nay, they can make him smile at the persecutor's lawless rage^ and triumph oven in the midst of surrounding flames. For having the witness within himself, the earnest of the spirit of grace, ** by whom he is sealed unto the day of re- demption,"^ he can look beyond the grave to his glorious inheritance among them that arc sanctified. APrilCATIOX. 1. Is Uie spirit of grace sent hy the father and the son for all these gracious and important purposes ^ 1 hope, my friends, you have been endeavoring to ex- ainiiie your own hearts, to see whether you have expe- rienced these saving and sanctifying influences of grace, transforming you intd the divine image and preparing you for glory and happiness. What has been said is sufficient to alarm the thoughtless sinner, Avho has no grounds to believe that he is led by the spirit, but has been striving against his kindly influences all his life. It should give him an awful conviction of his utter ina- bility to do any thing tiiat is truly pleasing to God, 1*HE HOLT SPIRIT THE COMPORTER. lOT whatever professions he may make, or whatever religious services he may attend. Sensible therefore of your danger, while destitute of the saving operations of the spirit of grace, let me heseecli and entreat you, as you value an interest in tlie blessings of the redeemer's pur- chase, and as you prize the salvation of your ow n souls, that you suffer yourselves to go no longer in a round of dead and spiritless duties, but earnestly implore the gift of the spirit, from tliat God who gives it with in- finitely more readiness, than thc^most indulgent earthly parent w ould give bread to a starving child. Is he not even now striving with your consciences ? and can you still persist in rejecting his salutary suggestions, until lie is provoked in righteous displeasure, to withdraw from you, and you hear from him no more. But charity forbids me to suppose this to be the miserable condition of you ail. Tliere are many of you, I trust, who have rational grounds to conclude, from the fruits of holiness discoverable in your hearts and lives, that you have experienced the renewing and sanctifying operations of the spirit of grace. I hope w^e shall ever retain grateful sentiments and apprehensions of that adorable God and redeemer, who have sent this sacred agent to '' w ork in us, to will and to do of his own good pleasure." I hope we shall endeavor to ex- press our gratitude by consecrating ourselves to his ser- vice, '"walking in the spirit in newness of life." Sen- sible of our remaining corruptions, and persuaded that of ourselves we can do notliing that is spiritually good, let us daily look to the great head of divine iniluences for renewed communications of grace and strength, f^r 108 ran uoLY sPiiar the gomfortek. the various purposes of the spiritual life. Let us be diligent in our attendance upon all those sacred ordin- ances, in Avhieh >ve have encouragement to expect his renewing and sanctifying grace. Particularly let the consideration, that the l-oiy spirit Avith ail his divine and salutary operations, were procured for us by the death and suffering of our divine redeemer, engage us to approach him at his table, which h'e lias appointed lor the comfort and refreshment of his children in their tiresome pilgrimage of life. Are you desirous of the tokens of the redeemer's love, and of the influences of his grace ? Behold, he is now inviting you in the lan- guage of tenderness and love, to come to him in that sacred ordinance for the supply of ail your wants. <<* Eat, O my friends, drink, yea drink abundantly, O my beloved." " Wisdom liath built licr house, hath mingled her wine and furnislied her table, she hath also sent her ambassadors to you, saying, come eat of my bread, and drink of my Avine, tliat I have mingled." He is now inviting you, who is your saviour and your friend, who loved you and gave lys soul a ransom for you, and who now remembers you with the tenderest affection at the right hand of the throne of God. Con- sider the glorious provision that is here made for your support and comfort. ^« It a feast of fat things, full of marrow, and of wine on tlic Lees well refined." It is a spiritual entertainment for enkindling in your breasts the sacred flame of devotion and love to your God and Kedeemer, for promoting your joy and comfort in this valley of tears. Many a christian can testify to the honor of tliis sacred institution, that while he was ad- !iniring the wonders of redeeming grace, and commemo- THE HOiY SPIRIT THE COMFORTER. 109 rating the dying love of Ms divine redeemer at liis ta- ble, he has been comforted and refreshed i^'itli the influ- enees of his grace. Many a christian, v*ho has sat dowai at the Lord's table ^vith a cold iniaifcctcd heart, who has poured out his soul to God in the most bitter complaints, that he loves him no more, that his faith is so weak and feeble, that he is so soon tired with spir- itual exercises, that he is so much borne do\yn with re- maining corruptions, has, notwithstanding, met with Christ in that holy ordinance, and has experienced di- vine refreshment and strength before the sacred so- lemnity was concluded. Let me therefore charge it upon your consciences as your duty, as well as your pri- vilege, to do this in remembrance of your absent Savi- our, depending on his grace, that he will come into you, and sup with you, and you with him in all the holy en- dearments of mutual love and friendship. Give not way to unseasonable scruples and fears ; be not afraid of your unfitness, nor wait for the full assurance of faith before- hand, but come with sincere and humble desires to re- member your dying Saviour, and you may depend upon a hearty Avelcome. Survey the multitude of your wants and complaints, and spread them before him at his ta- ble and be assured that he, " who is able to save to the uttermost, is also able to do exceeding abundantly above what you are able to ask or think.'^ Extend your de- sires to the utmost bounds, that are consistent with rea- son and religion, and in him you will find a copious sup- ply. Thousands have been refreshed at this overflowing fountain in all ages of the church, and yet there is room for the most needy and weakest of all his humble fol- lowers; and a gracious welcome " to come and take of 110 THE HOLT SPIRIT THE COMrORTER. the waters of life freely.'* Despise not therefore your own mercies, hut endeavor to wait upon God in the way of liis saered appointment, in humhie dependence on the influences of tliat holy spirit the comforter, who can prepare you for the service of your God in this ira- pcrfcct state, and for the enjoyment of him in those re- gions of eternal day, where you shall hehold with end- less wonder and delight, the unrivalled glories of your incarnate Saviour, . SERMON VI. CHRIST'S DOMESION OYER BOTH WORLDS. HEY. I, 18. I am he that liteth and ivas dearf, and behold I inn aJhe forexermore, amen : and have the Jieys of hell and of death. The context informs iis that it was our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave this sublime description of himself to the apostle John, whom he employed to write and con- vey his epistles to the seven churches of Asia. When he heard a voice of the son of God behind him, saying, " I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and what thou seest write in a book, and send it to the se- ven churches, which are in Asia ;" he turned about to sec the person that spoke with him. Being turned about, he saw " in the midst of the seven golden candle- sticks, one like to the son of man, clothed with a gar- ment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were Avhite like wool, as white as snow ; and his eyes were as a flame of fire ; and his feet were like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace ; and his voice as the sound of many waters, and his countenance was as the sun shining in his strength.'^ Expressions, which denote not only the glory and majesty of his person, but also his supreme lli bitants of earth and the powers of liell, frustrating the designs of the enemies of his church, supplying the wants of his numerous family, and conducting liis children to glory and felicity ? And who but God is able to doom the wicked to everlastmg darkness, and immediately execute the irreversible sentence, and with uncontroul- able authority, open the everlasting gates of heaven for the admission and reception of his faithful servants ?— * Must not Jesus Christ be God, to be qualified to govern and judge the world that he made? Ye5, certainly; and he will one day appear in all that incomprehensible glory of the godhead, when all the inhabitants of both worlds shall be summoned before his bar, the earth shall be moved at his dread command, and the iieavens shall flee away from the insuflerablc brightness of his presence. Christ's dominion* oyer both worlds. 117 ^. The next part of our blessed Redeemer's character mentioned in our text is, that he was dead. But liow was it possible for him to die, who had in himself an imderived principle of life and self-existence ? The diyine nature cannot suffer and die : But he was as truly man as he was really God j and the human nature which he assumed into personal union witli the divine, was made subject to mortality, suffered and died for our redemption. This is the great mystery of godliness— « God was manifest in the flesh." That " eternal word, who ^vas in the beginning with God, who was God, and wlio created every thing that was made, was made flesh and tabernacled among us." Thus it is said in the language of inspiration, that the prince of life was slain, that the Lord of glory was crucified, and that the church \vas redeemed by the blood of God. There were great and important purposes, worthy of the Avisdom and goodness of God,^ to answer, by the son of God's dying for us. He died to make an atcnement for our sins, being substituted in our place as our expiatory sacrifice, not to move the divine compassion for us, or excite an offended God to exercise that mercy and pity towards us, which are inseparable from the divine na- ture, but to open a consistent method, whereby his es- sential mercy and grace might be extended towards us, without casting any reflection on his unspotted holiness and impartial justice; or as an inspired penman ex- presses it, ^< to open a way, whereby God might be just and the justifier of them that believe on Jesus Christ." This is evident from all those passage^* in the sacred lis CHRIST'S DOMINION OVER BOTH WORLDS. oraeles, Miicre he is said to suiferfor our sins, '* the just ivv the mijiisl, that he might bring us to God ; to suffer lor us ill the flesh ; to bear our sins in his own body on the tree ; to give his body to be broken for us, and his blood to be shed for the remission of sins; to be bruised for our iniquities ; to be wounded for our trairs- grcssions ; to have the chastisement of our peace laid upon him ; to make his soul an offering for sin 5 to give himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice for sin unto God ; to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself; to be offered to bear tlic sins of many ; to taste death for every man ; and to be made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God through him." He that was under no necessity of dying, " being holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners," voluntarily assumed our nature, " humbled himself unto death, even the accursed death of the cross, that he might make an atonement for the sins of the people, and pay down his life as a ransom for us." He cheer- fully submitted to be made a curse for us, that we might be delivered from the curse of God's violated law, and have a sure foundation laid in point of merit and pur- chase, for our eternal deliverance from deatli and hell, and our restoration to the favor and friendship of God. Hereby all tlie important ends of God's moral govern- ment, that could have been secured by our dying forever, are as effectually olitaincd by his dying for us, ^< the just for the unjust." Hereby he has obtained eternal re- demption for us, and «' is able to save to the uttermost, all that come unto God througli him ;" so tirat his blood having cleansed us from all sin, " there is therefor^ now no coudemniition to them that arc in him." Hereby he CHRIST'S BOMINION OYER BOTH WORLDS. 11& has magnified the laAV and made it honorable, having: fulfilled all the requisitions of its precepts and penalty in their utmost extent. And hereby he has in his unpa- glided sufferings and death, exhibited such fearful dis- pl%s of the divine abhorrence of sin, and of his love to holiness, and of his inflexible determination to vindicate the authority of his laws, and the rectitude of his moral government, as are sufficient to deter his rational crea- tures from presuming to trample on his laws with im- punity. Hereby he has confirmed the laws which he came to give us for the regulation of our conduct, hav- ing sealed them by his blood. Hereby he has taught us " to die unto sin and to live unto God," not suffering sin to reign in our mortal bodies, seeing he bore our sins in his own body on the tree. And hereby he has taught us to triumph over death and the grave, having " des- troyed death and him tliat has the power of death, that is the devil.'' 3. The next part of the description which the hlessed Jesus gives of himself in the text^ is MholdJ lam alive for- evermore amen. He lives forever, not only as the eternal word, pos sessed of that underived life and glory, v,hieh he had with the father before the world began : but also with respect to his human nature, which by virtue of its union with the divine, was rescued from the dominion of the grave and dignified with the glorious privilege of immor- tality. Hence he is the ^< first born from the dead." — As it was not possible for him to be holden by death, h? burst the prison of the grave and rose from the dead on iZO CHRIST'S DOMINION OVER BOTH WORLDS. the third day, aceordhig to the scriptures. That good shepherd who laid down liis life for his flock, resumed it again hy his own power and shewed himself alive from the dead to a multitude of his disciples, to confirm their wa- vering faith by this incontestible evidence, that he Tiiad finally vanquished all his enemies, was placed beyond the reach of their malice and rage, had accomplished the arduous work of our redemption on earth, and was there- fore declared to be the son of God, with power in his resurrection from the dead. Hereby God testified his entire approbation of all that>lie had done and suffered, and that he had fully executed the important commission he had received from the father. Hereby he is become the first fruits of them that now sleep ; his resun^ection and immortal life being the pledge and earnest of our resurrection and complete immortality. He lives fore- ver, to give his children assurance, that he will continue to bestow with a liberal hand, those various gifts which he received for men when he " ascended up on high and led captivity captive," Avhich he purchased with his blood ** for the perfecting of his saints, for the work of the mi- nistry and the edification of the church, the body of Christ.'* He lives to prepare a place for liis people, to take possession of the mansions of his father's house in his own and in their names, as their forerunner ; having entered into heaven for this purpose, in virtue of the atonement which he made on the cross for our sins ; having consecrated a new and living way into the holiest of all by his own blood. There he ever lives to make intercession for his people, and to pursue the great ends of his glorious undertaking, until he sliall have compleated the salvation of all that come unto Go,d CHRIST'S DOMINION OYER BOTH WORLBSv 121 through liim. And if he could say in the days of his ilesli, " Father, I know that thou hcarest me always ;" Biuch more may we now assure ourselves, that he can- not fail of success when pleading in the court of heaven, in virtue of his meritorious sacrifice, for those things which he purchased for his people with his own blood, and which his heavenly father stands engaged by cove- nant to bestow. There he obtains the acceptance of our persons and services, and receives for us all the neces- sary supplies of grace, which he communicates to ug with a liberal hand, to fit us for our duty in this imper- fect state, and to prepare us for reigning together with him in glory and immortality, through eternal ages. He who once condescended to empty himself of the glory which he had with the father, before the world began, now ever lives to receive tlie homage of adoring Sera- phim and Cherubim, and the worship and praises of all the heavenly inhabitants. Every creature in those joy- ful abodes, with sounding harps and divine songs, celC' brate his glorious triumph, saying, <* blessed be the lamb that was slain ; blessing and honor, and glory and power, be unto him that sitteth on the throne, and to the lamb • forever and ever.'* This brings me to consider, 4. The fourth ttrticlc of this sublime description, ivkich he gives of himself ; and have the keijs of the inrisihle world. Some commentators understand by the word Adcs, which is here translated hell, the place of the damned, as it is sometimes used in this sense : as in (Mat. xvi, 18.) ** Tlie gates of hell shall not prevail against the Q VM UmilST's DOMINION OVEll BOXU WOULD S. ehurch.'' Others think that the word Ades signifies tlie grave, and that the meani^ig of the phrase is, " I have the keys of the grave and can call men from the sleep of death in their dark and silent abode*" But both these seem to fall far short of the true extent of the word, and to lessen that glorious authority, which our exalted Redeemer claims in our text ; and therefore, I would choose to understand the word in its largest and most usual acceptation, as comprehending the whole of the invisihJe worlds both the habitations of joy, and the abodes of torment. Because the word properly signi- fies, iL place removed from sight, and when spoken of the body, it means the grave, and when of the soul, it signi- fies the whole invisible world : because this interpreta- tion agrees better with other passages^^f scripture, which speak of the unlimited extent of Christ- s domi- nion ; and because it agrees better with the other part of the description, that he has " the keys of death." He not only rules in the invisible Avorld, but also commands the entrance into it by death; a key being the common ensign and symbol of ministerial authority, is here used by our Lord to express his government and dominion over them. All the inhabitants therefore of the invisi- ble world, are either his voluntary subjects, or under his absolute controul. The angels of light are under his government. These sublime and exalted spii*its, * who i^xccl in strength,' and ever stand ready to fulfil his plea- sure, account it their honor and happiness to obey his sovereign orders, and to be employed in the execution of his gracious designs. They arc * ministering spirits under him,' and sent forth by him to minister unto (he * heirs of salvation.' Even these principalities and pov Christ's domimon ovek both wobxds. 123 ors, thrones and dominions, amidst all the glory and splen- dor of their exalted stations, in the angelic hierarchy, bo^v the knee to the Lord of glory, in the profoiindesl homage and adoration, and <* acknowledge him for their Lord, to the glory of God the father." With inconceiv- able readiness and alacrity, they fly to the remotest cor ners of onr Lord's dominions, to execute his commands, adoring and rejoicing that they are counted worthy to serve the prince of angels, who is exalted far above all principalty and powers, might and dominion. The apostate legions of hell also are m ithin the bounds of our Lord's universal empire and subject to his absolute government. He that could « bind the strong man armed," and dispossess him at pleasure in the days of his humi liation, has not now, when exalted to the right hand of the majesty on high, lost his power to restrain and sub- due that that he may charge his watchful providence with our preservation in every danger in life, and that when he turns the key of death to bring us into the invisible world, we may be ever with the Lord, and behold his glory and see him as he is» SERMON VII. THE HAPPY TENDENCY OF CHRISTIANITY liUKE, IX, 46. For the son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, hut to save them. As our blessed Saviour passed tlirougli Samaria, in his "way to Jerusalem, to celebrate the passover there, he sent some messengers before him to provide enter- tainment for himself and his attendants. But there was an inveterate hatred subsisting between the Jews and Samaritans ever since the latter had forsaken the temple and worship of God at Jerusalem ; which ran so higli, that they would have no dealings with one ano> ther. For this reason, they would not receive him| because " his face was, as though he would go up to Jerusalem ;'* but denyed him even the common offices of humanity and civility. This inhuman treatment so inflamed the spirits of James and John, two of our Lord's disciples, that they desired nothing but liis con- sent to inflict some exemplary punishment upon them ; and therefore said, " Lord, wilt thou that v/e command lire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elias did ?" The action of Elijah, here referred to, is particularly related in 2 Kings, 1st chap. But these disciples did not attend to tlie different dispensations under which Elijah lived, and which our Saviour was 134< TUB HArpy TENDENCY OF CHRISTIANITI . about to introduce ; nor did they consider that things done by an extraordinary spirit, should not he drawn into precedents in ordinary cases; nor how inconsistent with the genius of the gospel, that temper of theirs must be, wliich could dictate so much cruelty. There- fore, notwithstanding the zeal, which they discovered for the honor of their master, and although they endea- vored to justify it by the example of so great a prophet, yet our Saviour was so far from approving such a mo- tion that he rejected it with tlie utmost abhorrence. He turned and rebuked them, and said, " ye know not w hat manner of spirit ye are of. For the son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." You little consider how impossible it is for me to approve of your proposal, as it flows from a sphit quite inconsis- tent with the salutary design of my coming into the world, which is not to destroy men's lives, but to save them ; not only to purchase eternal life and glory for them in ^. future state, but also to make them as hap- py in this, as the present constitution of things will ad- mit. That the design of our Saviour's coming into the world is not to be confined to his procuring eternal re- demption for us from ruin and misery and eternal liap^ piness in the world to come, but also extends to the pro- moting our happiness m this imperfect state, appears from it:^ being opposed to the temporal destruction, which the mistaken zealous disciples would have brought upon the Samaritiins for their inhuman treatment of (heir master. And indeed it miglit well be expected from the ap- pcarance of our Saviour amongst our degenerate race> THE HAPPY TENDENCY OF CHRISTIANITY. 135 ill the character of a messenger sent from God, and the founder of a religion, which was to be propagated through the world ; that he would have a particular regard to the present welfare and happiness of men. For it is not to be supposed, that God, who created and continually preserves us, that he might communicate the effects of his benignity and love to us, and who has formed us with such capacities and mutual de]>enden- cies, as plainly point out our duty to contribute to each other's happiness in tliis world ; should send his son as our saviour, who, notwithstanding, should be uncon- cerned about our comfort and happiness in this state of mortality and sorrow. The natural apprehensions which we have of God, lead us obviously to conclude, that our Saviour would not only secure our greatest and most extensive happiness in another world, hut also would take care to provide for that part of it, which was to be enjoyed in this life. Accordingly, when our Lord appeared in the flesh, he soon made it ardent that lie had that kind and beneficent intention towards us, which might have been reasonably expected in him; that tlie policy of this world Avas not the spring of his actions ; that he came not to promote any little selfish ends of his own ; but his design was noble, generous and friendly to mankind; to redeem them from the ruins of their fall; to confirm them in the joyful ex- pectation of a happy immortality ; to render their con- dition here easy and comfortable, and to diffuse a spirit of peace, harmony and love through human society. This will appear by considering, the conduct of our Sa- viour, while on earth, and what he has done to promote both our temporal and eternal happiness. 136 THE HAPPY TE?iDENCY OP CHRIS flANITY. 1. He died to deliver us from the curse of a lyrolien law and to make our peace with God, Reason as Avell as revelation assure us, that mankind were originally created pure and upright, and that we have lost our primitive rectitude and innocence : so that human nature is universally and unexceptionahly cor- rupted and degenerate. The natural consequence of this is, that we are disaifected to God and his ways ; or as the apostle expresses it, are enmity against God, and are not suhject to his laws, nor indeed can he, until we are renewed and changed by the spirit of God. Hence we became liable to suffer the threatened punishment of sin, which destroys all hopes of happiness, until we were delivered from it. But for this benevolent purpose, Christ came as our Redeemer to interpose for our relief, by submitting to bear in his own person, the punishment due to our sins. Hence he is said " to be wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities ; to be delivered up for our offences ; to bear our sins in his own body on the tree ; to be cut off, but not for him self; to die the just for the unjust, that we might live through him 5 to be made a curse for us ; to be made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him ', and to have the iniquity of us all laid upon him by God, so that by his stripes we are healed." The plainest and easiest construction of all tliese and many such scriptural expressions must be, that Jesus Christ suffered the punishment that was due to our sins, and died as our substitute in our stead ; that thereby we might be delivered from the curse or penalty of a bro- ken law, and be justified through the redemption that THE HAPPY TENDEXCY OF CHMSTIAXITT. 137 is in hira. And this doctrine of the vicarious sufferings of Christ in our room, is sufficiently confirmed by his being so often called in scripture, a ^' sacrifice for sin,'* and ^' the lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world ;" as the great antitype prefigured by the propi- tiatory sacrifices under the law, which only had their accomplishment in him. These piacular victims were of divine apppintment ; and although they could not of themselves take away sin or expiate its guilt, yet they were instituted as types and figures of the atoning sa- crifice of Christ, " whose blood cleanseth from all sin." Now these sacrifices were substituted in the room of the offender, and died instead of those sinners for whom they were offered ; and this notion prevailed through the whole world, both Jews and Gentiles ; and therefore, as these propitiatory sacrifices could not purge the con- science and remove the guilt of sin, but were emblems of the sacrifice of Christ, we must conclude that Christ in the same manner died in the room and stead of sin- ners, that they might be released from their obligations to punishment, and entitled through the merits of his death and sufferings, to eternal life and glory. Thus our title to the joys and happiness of heaven is secured by Jesus Christ, wliom God hath set forth to be a " propitiation for our sins, through faith in his blood.'^ But in order to make our salvation complete, our disaf- fection to God must also be removed by the sanctifying influences of his holy spirit j and therefore, Christ has appointed various ordinances and institutions, and re- quired the performance of certain duties, that by these means of grace we may have the natural enmity of our 1^8 THE HAPPY TENDEJ^CY OF CHRISTIANITY. hearts against God removed, and our tempers and dis- positions formed after his own image, and prepared for glory and happiness. And while we are considering these we shall have an opportunity of seeing, that while Christ, hy the appointment of them, is making us meet for the inheritance with the saints in light, he has also consulted for our comfort and happiness in this imper- fect state. Therefore we may add, that he has not only died for us, but also that, 2. He has given us the compleatest system of rules and lirecepts, xvhich xvhen ohserved, tend to promote both our' temporal and eternal happiness. '* The grace of God, whicli has appeared bringing salvation," or the gospel of Christ, teaches us ** to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in the present world." There is not an irregular practice or wrong affection counte- nanced- or tolerated in the gospel. It connives at no vice, and permits us to gratify no sordid and irregular pas- sions. It is its peculiar and distinguishing glory, that it either expressly or imi)licitly commands every virtue that has a tendency to perfect human nature. In gene- ral, " whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report, virtuous or praise-woi'thy, we are commanded to think on these things and to excel in them."* Let any one read tlie gospel with tho least attention and impartiality, and he must see that the great design and business of it is, to inculcate all those virtues' Phi THE HAPPY TENDENCY OF CHRISTIANITY, 139 whieli are the sources of public and private, of tempo- ral and eternal happiness. It strictly enjoins all the branches of piety towards God ; an awful veneration o( his majesty, the strongest love and gratitude for his mercies, a perfect resignation to his will, and a firm con- fidence in his almighty power and unlimited goodness. It indispensably requires an exact performance of those duties of justice, fidelity, compassion, charity, and bene- volence towards men, which are essentially necessary to our happiness in a social state ; and it does not permit us to gratify our private desires to the prejudice and detriment of others. It requires magistrates to provide for the safety and welfare of the commtmities in which they govern, by a steady and impartial administration of justice ; and subjects to honor, support and assist them in the execution of their offices, as being persons set over them for their good. It commands all men to fulfil the duties of their several relations ; to be laborious and dili- gent in their respective callings and employments, that they maybe not only no burden to the community, but also able to communicate to its indigent members ; to be per- fectly honest and equitable in all their transactions with one another; to cultivate an extensive spirit of humani- ty, meekness, forgiveness, and benevolence ; not to con- fine our good will to one party or denomination, but to do good unto all as we have opportunity. Again, are there certain affections which tend to make us comfortable and easy in ourselves, which have a more peculiar re- ference to the cultivation and improvement of our own minds, which yield us a lasting and substantial pleasure, and which prepare us for the joys of the heavenly world? It is also manifest, that the gospel strictly re 140 THE IlAPl'Y TEiM)JoXCV Ok' CHKlSTlA^JlTSr. coiuDiends and insists upon these as essential to tlie char racter of cliristians, and absolutely necessary to our happiness in the >vorld to come. Hence are those ex- hortations to deny ourselves, to crucify the flesh, to set our affections on things above, and to have our conver- ^tiou in heaven, and the like. In a word, the gospel insists upon our constant and unremitting endeavours to glorify God, to conform ourselves to his image, and to imitate all his imitable perfections. This is the constant strain and tenor of our holy religion ; these are tlic things which it inculcates in the most earnest and affec- tionate manner, as the great end and business of lifts which must be performed as ever we would ansA>ertlic obligations laid on us by the infinite love of God arid Christ, and as ever we would obtain their favor and the happiness of the coming world. Now, when these things are carefully consid* 5 1 1?^ may we not justly conclude that our blessed Redeemer has consulted both for our temporal and eternal happi- ness, in giving us such an excellent and compleat sys- tem of rules and precepts for the regulation of our con- duct? Are not these things the very source, from whence public and private happiness immediately flows ; which never fail to make societies flourish in prosperity and glory, and which prepare us for the pure and un- mixed joys of heaven ? What can contribute more to our comfort and happiness here, both as individuals and as members of society, than a virtuous temper and dis- position, attended with a correspondent course of action ; a supreme love, reverence, gratitude and submission to the author of our beings, together with a regular con- THE HAPPY TENDENCY OF CHRISTIANITY'. lil lidenee in his power, wisdom and goodness ; a careful observance of the various offices of love, justice, benevo- lence and humanity towards our fellow men ; a just mode- ration of our appetites and passions, and a due subjec- jection of tliem to the higher powers of the soul, ac- cording to the dictates of reason and revelation ? Every one, upon the least consideration, must acknowledge, that the exercise of these dispositions and affections af- fords the most noble pleasures of any with wiiicli he is acquainted; that they affect him in the most lively manner ; are steady and permanent in their nature ; are of constant use to support and revive him under every calamity of life, an' to give him the most ravish- ing prospect of eternity. Thus has Christ, by his com- ing into the world, consulted, for our comfort and happi- ness in time and through eternity, by the precepts and di- rections which he has given us. And this argument Avould still receive additional weight, had we time to consider the institutions of Christ, and the various discoveries made in the gospel, which all tend to encourage and establish the practice of piety and goodness in all its branches, and consequently, to lay a more lasting foundation for comfort and happiness. Such are the clear and full representations of the divine nature and perfections, and of the worship due to him, the more certain disco- very of the immortality of the soul, and of a future state of rewards and punishments, of the resurrection of the body, and the final judgment, together with the various doctrines relating to the incarnation, birth, death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession of Christ. But barely mentioning these, we proceed to shew farther, that Cluist came not to destroy, but to li,2 THE HAPPY TENDENCY OP CHBISTIANITT. save our lives, and to consult for our happiness here and hereafter; ^vhen. 3. He left US the most perfect example for our imitatioih and commands us to conform ourselves to it, AVhosoever reads over the history of his life,, trans- mitted to us hy the Evangelists, must soon he convin- ced that his hehaviour was not only innocent and inof- fensive, but also highly beneficent and useful. His con- versation was perfectly agreeable to the doctrines, which he taught, and he fully answered the character given of him, that " he went about doing good.*' If we would form a just notion of the unbounded compas- sion of his heart, and the extensive usefulness of his life, ^ve should follow him, healing the sick and curing the most obstinate diseases ; having compassion on the hungry, and feeding thousands with miraculous bread ; giving speech to the dumb, and unstopping the ears of the deaf 5 restoring sight to the blind, and strengthen- ing the limbs of the maimed and lame ; and raising the dead, to shevr himself the Lord both of the living and of the dead. Such ^vas the compassion of our Saviour to the bodies of men, that he gkidly embraced every op- portunity of relieving them from pain, and of rejider- ing them healthful and sound. Nor have we a single instance of his rejecting any, that ever applied to him with a suitable disposition of mind, or of his sending them away without a blessing. Though he was in such poor and mean circumstances, iliat he could not in the ordinary way relieve the outward distreses of the misera- i)le objects, whic]i daily met him and applied to him ; THE HAPPY TENDENCY OP CHRISTIANITY. 14^S yet lie did not fail to use his divine power to supply this deficiency, working miracles for their relief. To ask of him was the certain way to receive the hlessing and to helieve that he was able and willing to confer it, a never failing recommendation to his mercy. Nay, we often find him bestowing blessings unasked, and when there were no objects remaining in any particular place, that needed his assistance, he went to others more re- mote, that he might find fresh instances of misery and distress, to whom he might extend his compassion and help. But the goodness of our blessed Redeemer was not confined to the bodies and outward circumstances of men : He came to procure nobler blessings for their immortal souls, and " to seek and to save them that were lost." Hence Ave find him, with inexpressible af- fection and tenderness, addressing sinners, and directing them into the ways of salvation and peace. '* Come imto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," was the kind invitation of this friend and lover of men. And " whosoever comes unto me, I will in no wise cast out," was the glorious encouragement, which he gave, to trust in him, and accept his offers of peace and pardon. He went about with unwearied dili- gence from place to place, using the most earnest per- suasives and arguments to every tiling, that has a ten- dency to make men happy, in time and throngh eter- nity ; kindly reproving sinners for their vices ; exhort- ing them to return to a better temper and conduct ; en- couraging their faith and repentance, by the promises of mercy and the offers of everlasting glory ; and mtiurn- 344« THE HAPPY TESDEXCT OF CHRISTIANITT. ing over the ingratitude and obstinacy of impenitent sinners. His love to men engaged him to submit to a life of labor and fatigue ; for as he was touched with a feeling of tlieir infirmities, he declined no pains or trou- ble to remove them, and accounted his own sufferings repaid by making others happy. In these good offices he continually employed himself, and took so much de- light in them, that he could never be diverted from them ; by all the ungrateful usage, which he met with ; by the perverse constructions that were put upon his most generous and disinterested actions ; nor by all the hatred, rage and persecution, which he foresaw his per- severing in them would draw upon him. Though he was exposed to all kinds of evil treatment, and was more injured and abused for his good offices to mankind, than any man that ever lived ; yet he never discovered any thing of a malicious and avengeful disposition ; he had indeed a very lively sense of the indignities offered to him, but never rendered evil for evil, or railing for rail- ing ; but on the contrary expressed the greatest good- will for his enemies, by endeavoring to correct their tempers and conduct, and by hearty prayers to God for their forgiveness. This was the amiable and beneficent conduct of the founder of our religion ; tliis is the ex- ample, which he proposed to our imitation, and which he has obliged us all to follow ; telling us that he had left us an example, that we should do as he had done ; that we should learn of him ; and love one another as he had done. From all, which we may rationally conclude, that our blessed Redeemer consulted not only our future, but also our present happiness, by coming Into the world : because he not only made it the busi- THE HAPPY TEXOBNCY OF CHRISTIA^flTY. 145 aess of his whole life, hut also has hy the influence of his example and authority made it the duty of his fol- lowers to do the same. But that Christ has consulted both for our temporal and eternal happiness by coming into the world, appear!^ from this,; tliat, I. He has given us the most powerful arguments^ motives f promises and assistances, to engage us in such a course as will effectuaUij secure this end. Under the gospel we are addressed by every argu- ment that can be drawn from love, reverence and grati- tude to God and Christ; from the expectations of an inconceivable happiness in the world to come, which God has connected with our obedience to his laws, and from that awful destruction which awaits the obstinate and impenitent sinner. Every argument is used in the gospel, that is calculated to move the human heart, oi that can be drawn from the consideration both of the present and coming world, in w hatsoever light they are viewed. We have exceeding great and precious promises made to us, that we might be partakers of a divine na- ture, having escaped the pollution that is in the vrorld through lust ; and that this is the great end of them, the apostle assures us when he says, ^* Having these pro- mises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord." And on the other hand, all the awful and terrible things that are threatened in tlio gospel, were denounced against sinner?, that theTmigh* T iitJ THE HAPPY TENUliXCY Oh tHRlSTIAMTY. be engaged to live as becomes tbe gospel, in holiness and happiness, and to ily from tlic Avratli to come. For this salutary end, ** the wrath of God is revealed from hea- ven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men." And to take away every objection that can be made against the practice of holiness from the present weak- ness and imperfection of our natures, or from the strict- ness of the precepts of the gospel ; it gives us the great- est reason to expect all necessary assistance in the per formance of duty. The most cogent reasonings and elo- quent harangues of tlie ancient philosophers, wer« found ineffectual for conquering the natural corruption of our hearts, for subduing the passions, and for inspir- ing the people with the love of virtue. But we have reason to expect a more powerful method of persuasion, even the inspiration of him, who is the God of the spirits of all flesh, who formed the soul of man within him, and who, by a thousand secret w ays, can convey truth to the heart, can enlighten the darkened understandings, and rectify all the disorders of the soul. Christ has pro- mised his humble followers, that *^ liis grace shall be sufficient for them, and his strength made perfect in their weakness.'* And the apostle Paul assures us, " that through Christ strengthening him, he could do all things." The holy spirit is promised to christians, to sanctify and guide them through life ; to be a principle of divine life in them ; to comfort and support them in the performance of every duty. Now, whosoever im- partially considers the excellence and tendency of the precepts of the gospel, the amiable and attractive exam- ple of the blessed Redeemer, together with the cogent arguments and motives used to engage our compliance THE HAPPY TE^XDENCT OF CHRISTIANITY. 14? vVith them, and the powerful assistance of the spirit of grace to enable us td do so, must be convinced that Je^ sus Christ, by coming into the world, has laid a suffiei- ent foundation for the practice of universal righteous* aes5, in all its amiable branches, and consequently has consulted both for our present and future happiness. — For ^* godliness has the promise of tlie life that now is, as well as of that which is to come.*^ APPIICATIOX. 1. Has Christ then come to save us from niin and to provide for our hajjpiness here and hereafter^ How should this engage ns to esteem that institution which he has appointed for this gracious and Icnevolent pur- pose ? There is certainly no man, who has any regard for his own salvation or the happiness of mankind, but must heartily value and esteem the gospel of Christ, which is so well calculated for the reformation of human na- ture, and for promoting our perfection in lioliness and happiness. The intrinsic goodness and useful tendency of the gospel, is a sufficient foundation for our enter- taining the highest esteem for it, and for making our hearts overflow with love and gratitude to its adorable author, who has visited us in our miserable condition, and has ordered us such an excellent institution for en- gaging us to forsake every sin, and to return to God and our duty, that we may be forever happy. The ancient patriarchs and prophets desired earnestly to see and hear the glorious discoveries that are now made to us in the gospel : but God has reserved these glorious bles- lis THE HAPPY TENDENCY OF CHRISTIANIT:*. sings for us. We must then be extremely stupid and insensible, if grateful impressions of these things do not remain on our hearts, O ! how should our souls mag- nify the Lord, the God of our salvation, who has visi- ted and redeemed us, and raised up for us, a mightf' Saviour, ^* who is able and willing to save to the ut- termost.'^ 2. Has, Christ come lo save and not to destroy us ? How careful should we he, that our immortal souls he not lost amidst such advantages of salvation. Suffer me, my friends, to urge you in the most solemn manner, to enquire Avith impartiality, whether the de- sign of the gospel has taken place with regard to your own souls ; or whether all the labours and sufferings of the blessed Kedeemer, have had any effect upon you, to convince you of your need of an interest in him, and of liis ability and willingness to save all that come unt© him, and to bring you to a cordial approbation and ac- ceptance of the oifercd method of salvation. No doubt, you hope well concerning yourselves : but do your tem- pers and lives lay any solid foundation for your hopes? V Remember it is the idlest dream that ever imposed ou mankind, to hope that you are interested in the righte- ousness of Christ, while you do not imitate his example and live by his gospel ! To live in the habitual practice of any sin, whether secretly or openly, is absolutely in- consistent with being born of God and renewed in the temper of your minds, without which you cannot be saved. Christ came to save us in a way of Iiolincss and faith. THE HAPPY TENDENCY OF CHP.ISTIANITT. 1*9 How inexcusable then must you be if under all the advan- tages and obligations you continue impenitent and wicked. But are there not some now hearing me, who, not- withstanding all that Christ has done to save you, yet continue negligent and careless about your temporal and eternal happiness ? But what can engage you to be so cruel to yourselves, and to ruin your precious souls, when you are under no necessity of doing it ; when Christ has done so much to prevent it, and when there- by you must be guilty, not only of the most consum- mate folly and madness, but also of the basest ingrati- tude to Christ, our best benefactor ? Shall Christ think it worth his labor and pains to submit to inconceivable suiferings in his body and soul, and even to the wrath of God and the accursed death of the cross, in order to provide for our redemption from the everlasting tor- tures of hell and for our eternal happiness in the world above ? And will you, notwithstanding all this, plunge yourselves into irretrievable misery, througli your own carefulness, or attachments to things, which in this comparative view are but vanity of vanities ? Shall the blessed redeemer point out to you in the plainest man- ner, the road that leads to eternal life, and beseech you, by his dying groans, by his agonies on the cross, wlieii he made his soul an offering for sin, by all the horrors of eternal despair, and by all the glory of the heavenly state, to walk in tlie ways, that he has prescribed for you ; and shall you still, ungratefully reject, his kind invitations, and walk in the ways of your own hearts, dreaming from day to day, till you drop into thai hor- i'ible pit, from whence there is no redemption. How IBO THE HAPPY TENDENCY OF CHRISTIANITY. can you thus requite the God that made you, and the Lord that redeemed you witli his gracious blood ? May God awaken you to consideration before it be too late. Consider how you will look upon your careless or wicked life, when you are standing on the confines of the invisi-^ ble world, and ready to launch into the shoreless ocean^ without any thing to support you under the agonies of dissolution, or the far more intolerable forebodings of a guilty conscience ? How will you account for this con- duct at the impartial bar of your judge ? Will you not tremble and be covered with inexpressible confusion, when he will open the books, and read over the records of your ignorance and sloth, your carelessness and de- lays, your mispent sabbaths, abused ordinances, slight- ed seasons of grace and broken covenants w 1th God and man ? How can you endure it, that all the glories of heaven are forever lost, through your own obstinacy and sloth ; that your soul, which should have been your prin- ciple care, is now sinking into eternal flames, and that you must hear that doleful sentence passed upon you : ** Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire pre- pared for the devil and his angels ;" passed upon you, by that compassionate Redeemer, who died to save you, and who is yet stretching out the arms of his mercy, beseeching you by every argument that can move hu- man nature, to come to him for salvation and happiness. You may think of these things, as you have often done, with indiifercnce ; but as surely as Christ died to save sinners, this will be the condition of every careless im- penitent offender. And are you not guilty in your own consciences ? And do not your own consciences say that it is infinitely better, to secure a title to that salvation. TUE HAPPY TEXDENCT OF CHRISTIANITY. 151 which Christ came to procure for you, before it be too late ? And can you after all this, leave the house of God this day, without any resolutions of greater care and diligence for the future ? " O ! that you were wise, that you would consider your latter end ; that you would mind the things of your peace, before they are hid from your eyes." These are not visionary notions ; this is not empty harangue, there is a glorious reality in the gospel, to all those who cordially comply with the de- sign of Christ's coming into the world ; and it is full of amazing terror to all that neglect this great salvation. These are matters in which our souls, our immortal souls are nearly interested. O let us then be persua- ded to labour above all things, to secure a title to that salvation, which Christ came to purchase, and which is so freely offered in the gospel. Let us abandon our sins and follies, and apply to him for a pardon through his blood ; and let us make it the constant business of our lives to adorn his doctrines, and to live as becomes those that are redeemed by the blood of Christ. SERMON VIIL THE FATAL TENDENCY OF LICENTIOUi^ PLEASURE. 1, TIM. V, 6'. But she tliat liveth in pleasure is dead while she livetk* Youjf G persons are tlie liope of every society, whether civil or religious ; and surely it must he natural for those, who regard the prosperity of the puhlic or the interests of Christianity, to he solicitous that they should be instructed in those principles, which tend to make them useful memhers of the community in which they live, and ornaments to the religion which they profess ,* and that they he warned against such practices as would frustrate hoth these important purposes. And when we consider the numherless snares and temptations to which they are exposed, and particularly how apt they are to be led astray by sensual pleasures, at that season, when they have the keenest relisli for them $ it surely cannot be unseasonable to spend a few thoughts upon the fatal tendency of a life of licentiousness, in which some things may occur, that may not be altogether useless to those of more advanced years. Pleasure in its own nature, abstractedly considered, is not unlawful. We are naturally desirous of it, and eyidently designed to enjoy, not only those pleasures, JATAI TENDE'^^CY OE LICENTIGL S PtEASUHE, 153 which, being of a moral kind, greatly exalt and ennoble our natures : but also those, which haying a more im- mediate reference to the body, alleviate the burdens and soften the cares of life. We are under no necessity of denying ourselves of these entirely : for there is an al- lowable and laudable satisfaction to be enjoyed even in worldly and sensible goods, while we keep within the bounds prescribed by reason and revelation. Our only danger lies in excess ; but the danger being imminent and the consequences fatal and destructive beyond des- cription, we cannot be careful enough to guard against them. Those that give themselves up to a life of licen- tious pleasure, vanity, and debauchery, whether of one sex or the other, are, according to the judgment of the inspired apostle, ^' dead while they live ;" dead to all the valuable purposes of a rational and virtuous life : though naturally alive, yet they are morally and spiritu- ally dead ; though they have the appearance of men, and breathe and move, and enjoy animal gratifications, yet the more amiable affections and higher powers of their souls, which distinguish our species from tlie inferior creation, are so far extinct, that they are as little sen- sible of their dignity as men, as little mindful of the great purposes for which they were endowed with these rati- onal powers, and as little careful to act as becomes men and christians, as if they did not exist at all. Or at least, the phrase, being dead, must imply a very liigh pervei*- sion of our moral powers, and a very deep insensibility to all the valuable purposes of a rational life. This, no doubt, appears a very strange position to those, wJio have a keen relish for what is commonly called a life of gaity and pleasure : w ho think that the^ » of all men. have the justcst estimate of life, and that others of a different turn, arc dull and insipid mortals, cramped and enslaved M'ith precise and superstitious notions, and do not enjoy, but only drag through and endure life. But (ihc judgment of God, delivered by the inspired apostle in our text, is of infinitely more ^veight, as ^vill appear by considering, L The fatal consequences of a life of licentious pleasure. 1. Sensual pleasures wjlamc Ihejpassions more and mort:. withoiit affcrdJng that satisfactmi 7vhich rce expect from thein, Kvery extravagant passion rises in its demands b> indulgence, until it is confirmed into a vicidus habit, an^ \Tc arc sunk into the most ignominious slavery and bon- dage. There are degrees in the degeneracy and corrup- tion, Avliich proceeds from a life of licentious pleasure. The iirst beginnings of it generally communicate but a comparatively small degree of infection t6 the soul, which might soon be cured by watchfulness and care ; but when men are at no pains to make a timely retreat, or to restrain their desires, but go On headlong in their libertine course ; they soon lose their liberty, and their passions grow impetuous and domineering. So that what was at first perhaps, a gentle and soothing solicitation to gain our consent, becomes by degrees a prercmptory command, which can neither be safely complied with, nor resisted with ease. We are at ilrst won upon by rtattery and falsliood, but afterwards ruled >yith a ty- rant's rod, and find our slavv^ry to be l;o(h unavoidable rATAl TEXBEXCY OF LICENTIOUS PLEASIBE. i:»5 and intolerable. And thus irregular passions, by fre- quent indulgence, establish themselves in such an abso- lute dominion in the soul, that nothing but the poM'erfuJ operation of the sacred spirit, can ever conquer or sub- due them. " Can the Ethiopian eliange his skin or the leopard his spots ? then may ye also, that are accustomed to do evil, learn to do well." And ^vhat do these cri- minal gratifications give us in exchange for our liberty T Do they ever afford that satisfaction wliich ihcy pro- mised ? Docs not universal experience prove, that the <»bjects which raised the most eager and impatient ex- pectations, as frequently have disappointed them ? But the next airy phantom that presented itself was to make amends for the former disappointment. But hov.' often has this bubble also broken when the experiment was repeated? Hov>^ often has the expected joy vanished when the unhappy devotees to pleasure were ready to grasp at it ? And now, who that has any sentiments truly becoming his rational nature, does not feel his heart glow Avith indignation at such an inglorious bondage ar. this, for which there is nothing given in return but vexation, disappointment and shame ? This is one of the fatal consequences of a life of licentious pleasure. ^, Sensual Pleasures ai^ alxcaijs aitenHcH wUli «na?ie/j/ 071 d j^abi on every rccQllcction, Even the lawful pleasures of sense arc so Inadequate 10 the desires of an immortal soul, and so ilceting and transitory, that we soon disrelish and despise what lately we eagerly pursued, and look back with contempt or- indifference on what we vievred in prospect wllli deligln and impatience. But criminal pleasures are always at* leiided >vitli remorse and shame, until Ave hiivc made such fatal advances in the road to destruction, that " our consciences arc seared as with an hot iron," and the voice of reason and revelation is buried in the tumult of dis- orderly passions and irregular appetites. For it is ^visely ordered hy God, for the advancement of virtue and re- ligion among mankind, that shame and vexation should be necessarily connected with the practice of sin and a sense of guilt ; so that no man can live in open rebellion to tlie laws of God, without feeling at certain intervals, the severe remonstrances of a condemning conscience. And this alone is sufficient to embitter all the joys of life and to fdl us with uneasiness and terror, whenever we give ourselves an opportunity of serious recollection ; and to involve ourselves in a hurry of business or a tire- some round of diversion and gaify, is but a fatal and fruitless expedient to silence the voice of conscience. — We cannot fly from ourselves. This indwelling tormen- tor of the guilty sinner, always accompanies him. Or if he should be so unhappy as to stifle its remonstrances for a season : yet it will one day awake with redoubled fury, proportioned to the soundness and duration of its sleep, either in this or the coming world. And nothing but the long sulTering, patience and forbearance of G od prevents those, who go on in a course of sin, from fe'el- ing the severe and intolerable reproaches of a wonnded spirit, which arc sufficient to make them a terror to themselves and to ail around them ; and to force them to cry out, in the agony and bitterness of their souls, with Cain, " that their punishment was greater than they could bear." And painful as the review of crimi- nal indulgencics must be, bow many abuse the patience FATAt TENDENCY OF MCEKTIOUS TLEASLRE. 157 and Diercy of God, which should lead them to repen- tance, and eagerly pursue the same imposture which has often imposed upon them, and which has been as often detected^by tliem ; tliougli in direct contradiction to the repeated admonitions of their best friends, to their own experience and conscience, and to the most solemn warn- ings of God in his word and providence. But this is not all : 3. An addictedness to sensual indulgendes has ordinarily a destructive injluence upon our health. It would be endless to enumerate all the hazards and accidents to which an eager pursuit of pleasure exposes those, who have lost the government of themselves, and have given the reins into the hands of their passions to carry them wherever they will, at ail adventures . Youth- ful passions urge and stimulate each other, and prevent the salutary influence, which tender seasons, the ad- monitions of parents and friends, the precepts of the gospel, or our own good resolutions might have, to work a reformation. Sensual pleasures have attrac- tions fatally successful against the united force of all these, until they lead us on from one stage of wicked- ness to another; nor do they lose their force and pow- er before they have shattered the constitution and de- stroyed the healtli. So irresistible are their delusive charms when imited with the power of example, number and importunity, that unless the grace of God deliver us from their tyranny they soon overbear the most so- ber purposes; although universal experience proves that they are followed with such a train of diseases, as 158 lATAI. TENDENCY OE lICENTIOtJS PXEA^TTEE. will soon bring on the dissolution of the clay-tabernacic. Thus health, that most invaiuablc of earthly blessings, often falls a sacrifice to lawless pleasures. AtS Avhat more properly calls for our indignation and pity; or what more miserable objects can we behold, than per- sons, who have rendered themselves incapable of enjoy- ing those pleasures that arc rational and innocent, pos- sessing the iniquities of their youth, sinking under the weight of diseases, which they have brought on them- selves by their own extravagance and debauchery, and dying martyrs to their own lusts ? if. An open course of sensuality fixes an indeUhlc re proach upon our cliaracters. Bad as the state of the -^vorld is, vice has never got the ascendant over virtue, so far as to be accounted honorable by mankind. The good and virtuous love and esteem tliose that act agreeably to the voice of rea- son and revelation ; and they are secretly esteemed and reverenced ])y the abandoned and profane. The care and vigilance wliich the wicked use in order to conceal their vices from the eyes of mankind, tlic anxiety which they endure for fear of being detected, and the confu- sion and shame expressed upon the discoveiy of their vices, is an open testimony of their inward esteem of virtue and of their eon'^cloiisness of th^i odious nature and deformity of criminal gratifications of any kind. None have desired tlieir vices to be enrolled amon^ their titles of honor, nor would be wiiUng to be cha- racterized by them. And even the commonness of a viciou?; practice cannot wholly remove the just odium TATAX TEXDEXCY OF LICENTIOUS PIEASISE. 19S which it deserves, or secure the sinners memory from reproach. The wise man observes in general of the wicked, that <• their names shall rot," and particularly of those that are addicted to sensual pleasures, that << a wound and dishonor shall they get, and their reproach shall not be wiped away."* Thus, a life of licentious- ness and debauchery stains our charactei^, entails dis- grace and reproach on our names, and destroying our reputation, deprives us of that good opinion and confi- dence of others, which is necessary to our success in any calling or employment. Which brings me to add, that, 5. A life of sensual pleasures ruins our temporal intei'' csts in the warld. The prosecution of lawless pleasure is a costly thing, whicli branches itself out into innumerable expences, by which estates gained by honest industry and encreased hy prudent caconomy, have been speedily squandered. It is the observation of the royal preacher, that ^» the drunkard and glutton shall come to poverty ;" and that the sensualist <• shall be brought to a piece of bread." And almost every day presents us with miserable ob- jects reduced by their own extravagance to the most deplorable poverty and want. So that it is no wonder, to hear in the parable that the young prodigal sooa wasted his substance by riotous living. Besides, an ad- dictedness to sensuality naturally produces a complica- tion of other vices, which have a natural tendency io *Pro, VI, 33. 160 ISATXL TENDENCY OF IICENTIOUS PLEASURE. ruin the profligate sinner, and which separately are sufficient to reduce him to tiie lowest degree of wretch- edness and want ; and much more so, when they come upon him with united violence, like an armed man. And what is worse, heing still unsatisfied, they cleave to him until at last they plunge him into infamy and i^ontempt, or perhaps drive him headlong into some des- perate measures, which bring him to some untimely end or f^ublic punishment. Besides, the prosecution of criminal pleasures occasions a lamentable waste and havoc of our precious time, which was given us for the important purposes of life, and the infinitely more im- portant ones of eternity. It takes off our attention from our principle business ; fills our heads and hearts with the vain amusements of life, and occasions us to lose opportunities of usefulness, which others improve, and thereby to come behind thcni in every valuable at- tainment. And we may farther observe under this head, that the just providence of God often concurs in heightening the misery of the profligate sinner, and in making him feel the bitter fruits of his extravagance and riot. It is a righteous thing with an offended God to strip such of the common blessings which they abuse ; and to bring those who have spent their substance in riotous living, to know the worth of those mercies which tliey misimprove, by the want of them, and many times by the severe necessity of begging a morsel of bread. Thus we hear, that a famine arose in the land, when the prodigal had Avasted his substance, to heighten his misery by cutting off" all hope of supporting himself, by his future labor or by the charity and compassion of others. FATAl TElSfJENCY OF ilCENTIOUS PLEASURE. 161 But what is worse than any thing that has yet been jffientioned, is, 6. That a predominant love of sensual pleasure kills tke soul, as to a7i]f valuahle purpose of life, and effectualbj prevents our improvement in virtue and religion^ "Whosoever considers the constitution of human na- ture, must soon be convinced that he has implanted in him a principle of reason, to discern the nature and ten» dency of actions, and a conscience, which approves or condemns every action which we perform, as it is agree- able or repugnant to the laws of God» Now, as these were evidently designed to regulate and govern the lower passions and appetites of our nature ; the conduct to which they lead is briefly this. With respect to God that we worship and serve him with the most profound veneration ; the sincere st love and gratitude ; with the most stedfast trust and confidence, and the most humble resignation to his will ; and that we express our inward sentiments and dispositions towards him in proper acts of prayer and praise, and in vigorous endeavours to com- ply with his will and to imitate his imitable perfections* With respect to mankind, our reason and conscience point it out, as our indispensable duty, tliat we abstain from all injuries, treat every man according to the strict rules of justice, righteousness and equity, and according to the dictates of compassion and humanity : that vre cultivate an extensive and unconfined love and benevo- lence for them ; and that as we are members of society connected together by the divine appointment in a va- riety of the most important relations for ouf mis^ual 162 i'ATAL TEISUENCI Oi^ XICENTIOUS PliEASUllS. happiness, ^ve should endeavour to promote the public interests of the community and nation to whieli we be- long, as well as the more private advantage of those that ai-e dependant on us, or nearly related to us. And with regard to ourselves, the same principles teach us, that we ought to enrich our minds with religion and goodness ; that we should endeavour after the highest degrees of love to God and man as the foundation of our greatest perfection and truest happiness ; and that wc desire and use all external benefits with a reference to this great end of our being, and thus make them subser- vient to our progress in the spiritual life. This is the conduct which our reason, and which the revelation of the divine will requires of us ; if we would obtain the ap- probation of pur own minds, or of the supreme judge of the universe. Now, from this we can easily see the in- consistency of a course of licentious pleasure, with a sound and vigorous state of mind, with our principal business, and truest happiness as men and christians. For when the higher powers of the soul are degraded, and passion and appetite assume the prerogative of being guides of life, ancj are grown strong enough to check and controul the superior faculties of the mind^ we are said in scripture to be *' dead in trespasses and sins,*' lo be " the servants of sin, and to be held in the most shameful captivity to the law of sin and death." For nothing brings greater desolation into the mind, or more effectually extinguishes all the principles of the spiritu- al and divine life in us, than an habit of gross debauch- ery and a course of unbounded lawless pleasure. How is it possible that the love of God, and those other sub- lime affijclions^ which we are to exertisc towards the TATA! TENDENCY OE lilCEXTIOUS PIEASUHE. 163 most excellent and adorable being, should dwell in a sonl sunk under the power of sensual desires and gratifica- tions ? As soon may light and darkness agree together, or a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter, as that dispositions of so contrary a nature should be prevailingly found in the same subject. And as to the offices, which we owe to society ,• how can thai man be capable of serving the public with any punctu- ality, whose ruling passions all terminate on pleasinj^' himself, with sensual gratifications; and who may easily be diverted from an employment, in which he could re- ceive but little satisfaction. And moreover, as we have already seen, that a riotous and luxurious method of life tends to destroy the most opulent fortunes ; he may, of consequence, reduce himself by his extravagance, to such circumstances, as will put it out of his power to be as beneficial to the public, as he might have been ; and sometimes to such circumstances, as will dispose him to neglect not only the ollices of charity and be- nevolence, but also of justice and equity. And as to the improvement of our minds in religion and virtue, it is certain that nothing can be a greater hinderance to this than a voluptuous dissolute course of life. For it suppresses and stifles every thing that is generous and noble in our natures, fills us with the meanest notions and views of things, sinks us into the most abject slavery, deprives us of the most exalted and durable pleasures, and in their stead affords only painful pleasures, that last but for a moment. It cramps and destroys those affections and powers, which alone make us capable of enjoying the most substantial pleasures, and exalts those desires and passions to tlie throne, wJjich thereby be-. I6i I'ATAI, TENDENCY OF LItENTlOUS TiiE ASllJE. come our greatest ignominy and rcproaeli and the source of unspeakable misery to us. The amiable graces of meekness, humility, benevolence, a generous contempt of the world, an ardent love to God and man, an uni- form desire of being and doing good, and of advancing in every branch of the christian character, are not likely to flourish in a soul immersed in sensuality and sin. Our moral and intellectual powers cannot expand and gather strength but hj repeated exercise and ap- plication to such subjects as are adapted to enlarge the luind, and by avoiding every thing of a contrary tenden- cy. And surely grovelling in sensual pleasures must effectually frustrate this most important end of life ? There is great need of watchfulness and care, lest we be defiled by our necessary intercourse with sensible objects, while we are passing through this ensnaring world ; and how much more should we abstain from all fleshly lusts that Avar against the soul? It is retire- ment meditation and contemplation on spiritual and di- vine subjects, and especially, frequent converse with the father of our spirits, that qualifies us for the sublime and refmed employments and delights for which we were originally designed, and after v^hich it is our honor to be constantly aspiring. Now from such a vievr of Uih fatal perversion of the noble powers and faculties of the soul, occasioned by a life of licentious pleasure, and of its lamentable tenden- cy to hinder our improvement in those graces and vir- tues, which are our highest ornament and happiness, and which make us a comfort and blessing to those wit)i whom we are connected ; have we not reason to FATAL TENDENCY OF I^ICENTIOrs ri.EASrRE. 165 eoiielude, that those that live in sensual pleasures << are dead, wiiile they live ;" dead to all the valuable pui'po- ses of living ? Our Saviour has given us a very lively representation of the fatal tendency of a life of immode- rate pleasure to wound and destroy the soul, in his pa- rable of the prodigal ; who by abandoning himself to riot and debauchery soon lost the heart and understanding of a man, and brought himself into the most miserable state, in which human nature can here be involved. And our Lord speaking of his recovery from this deplo- rable condition, represented it under the idea of a spi- ritual resurrection ; "He was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'^ These are some of the woeful fruits of a life of licen- tiousness and sensuality, and the fatal consequences of it to our liberty, comfort, health, characters, interest and usefulness to ourselves and others ; all which it evidently tends to destroy. And these are such, as are of them- selves sufficient to alarm our fears, and to engage us to avoid it with the most sedulous care. But all these taken together, grievous and distressing as they may be, are but slight inconveniences when compared with that intolerable anguish and misery, whicii awaits the unhappy deluded sensualist in the world to come. For ^' we were born for eternity ;" and it is in this state, that our souls must be trained up for heaven and puri- fied from all uncleanliness, before we can be prepared for it. Therefore, tliose that are sunk in sensuality, having no relish for the pure and unmixed delights and pleasures of heaven, can never expect to enter there, but must hear that awful sentence prononnced upon them , 166 FATAi TE]NDli^CY OF JLICENTIOUS PLEASURE. ^' depart from me ye cursed into CAerlasting burnings, prepared for the devil and his angels." There they must rea]) that everlasting harvest of shame and anguish, the seeds of which they have sown in this life : there they must feel the severe reflections of an accusing condemn- ing conscience, and the " gnawings of that worm, that never dies :" there they must reflect with horror and despair upon their past extravagance and folly : there they must associate with tortured devils and damned spirits, for whom they have rendered themselves fit companions : there their enraged desires and passions must forever torment them, being deprived of every ob- ject that could gratify them : and there they must be tormented in those unquenchable flames, which their impure desires have kindled on earth, without so much as one drop of water to cool their scorched tongues. This is beyond all perad venture, the certain issue of a life of sensual pleasure persisted in without reformation. APPLICATION. 1. Jlnd what now remains, but iliat wc slwiild all he per- suaded to avoid and guard against all criminal grey- tifications of every iiuid. And, my young friend^, let me beseech and entreat you, in the name of the I^ord Jessus, who died for your precious and immorli)! souls, to guard against such a dangcrons course with the greatest solicitude. He well knew the av*ful misery in which it would involve you in time and through eternity, when he submitted to the Qvcrwhelming agonies of the cross, to redeem you from a vain conversation and the t;5Tanny of ungoverned pas- sions and appetites, and <• to purify j'ou to himself a pe- FATiX TENDENCY OF LICENTIOUS PLEASURE. 167 euliar people zealous of good works." And can you bear the thoughts of doing every thing in your power to frustrate so benevolent, and to you so advantageous, a design ? Could you thus requite the dying groans of the friend of mankind, the Lord of glory ? You have a strong relish and an insatiable desire for pleasures; and why can you not pursue those that are substantial; those that would exalt you and do you honor ; those that are worthy of the pursuit of immortal beings; those that will endure when every earthly comfort is gone ; those that >vill be continually enereasing through the bound- less ages of eternity ? Is it not more preferable to choose that course of life, which will make you comforts to your parents and relatives ; honored and beloved by all good men ; blessings to the society in which you live ; approved by your God and judge, and ineoneeivably happy in his presence forever ; than by a life of sensua- lity, to enslave yourselves to the vilest passions ; to ruin your health and reputations ; to liecome curses and plagues to mankind ; hated and despised while ypu live ; and when you die, be condemned to take up your habi- tations in everlasting burnings ? O ! be persuaded fre- quently to consider, that you are more exposed to temp- tations from this quarter, than those of more advanced age ; and let not that formidable phantom, custom or fashion, frighten you out of your reason and th© best principles of your religious education. Look on those Avho would solicit you to join with them in such base and unmanly practices, as acting the part of the great enemy of God and man, who lies in wait for your pre- cious souls. Frequently consider, that a few years will alter your judgments of these jileasures, that arc so 168 ]&ATA1, TEJ^DENCT OP 1.ICBNTI0US PtEASUKE. highly valued and so eagerly pursued by those that have given up themselves to vice and extravagance. Fre- quently think with yourselves, the sorry exchange you would get for the ravishing joys of eternity, and the rivers of pleasure that flow from the throne of God 5 and live daily under the habitual impression of this thought, " that the eyes of an holy God are ever on you, and that he will one day call you to give an account for all the deeds done in thje body." And lastly, pray to him daily, that he would guide you through the slippery paths of youth, and preserve you to his heavenly king- dom, 2. And as for you, my friends, who are advanced in years, I trust that you have tasted so much of the plea- sures of religion, that when you recollect the divine enter- tainments of retired hours, of solenm ordinances, and sacramental transactions, you feel a sacred indifference to the fleeting and unsatisfactory enjoyments of this world, an utter abhorrence of carnal pleasures, and a tender compassion and pity for those unhappy mortals, who are dead in sin and the servants of corruption. — And let us all aspire more earnestly after those sublime and unspeakable joys that are at the right hand of God^ and let the enlivening prospect animate us to bear the burdens of mortality with patience and resignation, and quicken and encourage us in our preparation for the inheritance with the saints in light. SERMON IX. THE PROSPERITY OF FOOLS, THEIR DES- TRUCTION. PKO. I, S2, The prosperity of fools shall destroy them. The primary design of God, in his rich and gracious blessings conferred upon us, is to engage our supreme love and affection for himself, and to constrain us to serve him " with a perfect heart and a willing mind.'^ Hence, the apostle Paul says:^ "the goodness of the Lord leadeth to repentance ;" as it is the most natural consequence that can be drawn from the divine clemency and bounty. Thus the Lord draws us « w ith the chords of love and the bands of a man." The mercies of God should melt the human heart into an humble penitent frame for sin and a sincere and speedy resolution to return to him, from whom we have revolted, and who is hereby declaring that he is ready and willing graciously to re- ceive us. But it is melancholy to observe, how many Aviek* cdly abuse the divine goodness, and pervert his rich and unmerited blessings to the contrary purposes of "encour- aging themselves in a bold and impious neglect of God. and in an ungrateful rebellion against Ins throne and *Rom. II, 4, 170 THE FKOSrEKlTl OF FOOLS, THElll DESTKUCTIOX. government. "While prosperity presents innumerable pleasing and attractive scenes to the carnal mind, the thoughtless sinner is captivated with the gay delusion ; the voice ot* conscience is silenced, and he has neither time nor inclination to attend to the affairs of his soul and eternity. Thus pinners abuse the divine mercies to pride and vanity, to idleness and luxury ; are hardened in impenitence, and grow regardless of the divine dis- pleasure, until death puts a period to their seasons of grace. — Others, who are not sunk into such a deep and dangerous insensibility, yet arc intoxicated with the good things of this world, which insensibly draw off their attention from the concerns of anotlier world. Tliey overvalue worldly comforts, and please themselves with an imaginary happiness in them, until their hearts arc at last alienated from the adorable God, the only source of happiness to a rational creature. Instead of delighting in the favor of God, and the communications of his love, they place their supreme happiness in the enjoyments of time and sense ; which is a melancholy symptom of an unrenewed, unsanctified soul, and a doleful presage of eternal ruin. — Others again, being surrounded with riches and honors, power aaid influence, forget that they were not made only for themselves, and that they were entrusted with these advantages for the benefit of otliers ; and therefore, instead of being rich in good works, are barren and unfruitful in the service of God and their generation ; ungrateful to God and unprofitable to men. — And otiiers, instead of em- ploying their prosperity and power for the glory of that God, who bestows these blessings upon them, and for the advantage of those, with whom they are connected. THE PROSPERITY OF FOOLS, TKEIH DESTRUCTION. ±7 i are improving these talents for the hurt and oppression of their fellow men, whom it would be their glory and honor, as well as it is their duty to relieve and support. Thus the unsanetified prosperity of foolish sinners, is perverted to their ruin. Although prosperity may be improved for the most valuable pjirposes of living both in this and the coming world,, yet through the corrup lion of their hearts, it becomes one of the greatest ob- stacles to the conversion and reformation of sinners, and one of the most dangerous engines in the hands of our great enemy, for the destruction of immortal souls. Thus '• the prosperity of fools shall destroy them," not from any thing that is in prosperity, when rightly im- proved, but from the abuse of it. As Ave shall have an opportunity of shewing more fully, when we shall con sider, I. How abused prosperity tends to destroy the "wicked. II. The certainty and dreadfulness of their destruction I. How abused prosperity tends to destroy the wicked. 1. Abused prosperity leads the carnal unsanetified heari to a careless disregard and neglect of Gad. The world with its desirable and pleasing thing^^ gaining the fall possession of the hearts of men, ba- nishes all serious thoughts and warm alieetions towards God. It is more especially the character of the men of this world, in their prosperity, that <* God is not in all their thoughts," Their prosperity, which shoidd lead 172 THE f aoaPEHITY OF TOOlS, THEIR DES TKUtTlON. them to a thankful acknowledgment of that bountiful hand^ from which all their mercies flow, often tempts them to an impious disbelief or disregard of his provi- dence, and swells them with pride and confidence in their worldly enjoyments. Nebuchadnezzar transported with a flush of vain-glorious joy at the view of his mag- nificent buildings, breaks out in these lofty and insolent expressions :=^ ^ 1S2 THE PROSPERITY OF FOOLS, THEIR DESTRUCTION. nings denounced in the sacred oracles, shall he executed in all their fearful extent, on the impenitent sinners, who neglect God, ahuse the bounties of his providence, and choose their portion in this world. When the mercy of God, ^vhich is over all his works, has been affronted and exasperated by the continual abuse of his benefits, when it is renounced and forfeited by sinners, their de- struction is irreversible. The mercy of God is designed to lead sinners to repentance, and to induce tlicm to a willing and cheerful obedience to his wise and good laws : but when it is perverted to encourage them in sin, they have reason to tremble for fear of that dreadful thrcatning in our context. " Because I have called, and ye have refused; I have stretched out my hind, and no man regarded ; but ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof; I also Avill laugh at your calamity and mock when your fear ccmeth : when your fear comes as a desolation, and your destruc- tion as a whirlwind ; when distress and anguish comes upon you : then shall ye call upon me, but I will not answer." This awful denunciation in our context, is pointed against the very persons, of whom ^Ve have been speaking: foolish sinners, that abuse their prosperity. Then shall those, who now sliut their eyes against dan- ger, be forced to open them and behold the fearful face of death attended -with judgment, and judgment with an everlasting hell. And what can be more just and rea- sonable? Is it not tlie highest ingratitude to the adora- ble God ? And is not ingratitude a crime of so black and detestable a nature, that all men, Avilhout excep- tion, universally condemn and abhor it ? It is an univer- |saconcession that springs from the light of nature ; so THE PROSPERITY OF FOOtS, THEIR DESTRUCTION. 18S that to be defective in our observance and thankful re- gards to a benefactor, is unnatural and base : but to pervert the blessings of God to wicked purposes, and to render evil for good, is so direct a violation of the plainest dictates of human nature, and so contrary to the obli- gations which are laid upon us by the goodness of God, to serve and obey hiin, that it must be highly provoking to him. And must not those foolish and unwise persons expect an aggravated destruction, Avho presumptuously abuse the divine liberality and patience, to make them more secure and careless of their souls and eternity ; to fortify them in their rebellion against their sovereign Lord and king 5 and to ruin his moral creation ? Are not the gifts of a friend slighted, when they arc employed for base and unworthy purposes ? And does not God himself look upon his goodness as despised by ungrateful mortals, when instead of leading them to repentance, it is perverted to encourage them in sin ? And will not a righteous and holy God visit for these things, and take a dreadful vengeance on all those that thus ungratefully requite his goodness and mercy ? Yes : justice will cer- tainly* exact all the arrears of abused mercies. Jud^c with yourselves ; w ould not every man despise and abhor the person, who being raised by his prince to the highest honor and trust, was not only unfaithful to his commis- sion, but also employed his power to the oppression of his fellov/ subjects, cr betrayed the arms and magazines of his master into the hands of his enemies ? Would not all pronounce such an abandoned person worthy of dealli? And can it be supposed that the adorable Gml, \vho is tenderly concerned for the happiness of his creatures, and is doing so much to promote it, will not resent the 18Z THE PROSPERITT OF FOOLS, TUEIR DESTRUCTION. nings denounced in the sacred oracles, shall he executed in all tlieir fearful extent, on the impenitent sinners, who neglect God, ahuse the bounties of his providence, and choose tlieir portion in tliis world. When the mercy of God, which is over all his works, has been affronted and exasperated by the continual abuse of his benefits, when it is renounced and forfeited by sinners, their de- struction is irreversible. The mercy of God is designed to lead sinners to repentance, and to induce them to a willing and cheerful obedience to his wise and good laws : but when it is perverted to encourage them in sin, they have reason to tremble for fear of that dreadful threatning in our context. " Because I have called, and ye have refused; I have stretched out my hi nd, and no man regarded ,• but ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity and mock when your fear ccmeth : when your fear comes as a desolation, and your destruc- tion as a whirlwind ; wlien distress and anguish comes upon you : then shall ye call upon me, but I will not answer." This awful denunciation in our context, is pointed against the very persons, of whom vfc have been speaking: fooiisli sinners, that abuse their prosperity. Then shall those, who now shut their eyes against dan- ger, be forced to open them and behold the fearful face of death attended wiO) judgment, and judgment with an cvei'lasling hell. And what can be more just and rea- sonable? Is it not tlie highest ingratitude to the adora- ble God ? And is not ingratitude a crime of so black and detestable a nature, that all men, wilhout excep- tion, universally condenm and abhor it ? It is an univer- jsaconcession that springs from the light of nature ; so THE PROSPERITY OF POOLS, THEIR DESTRUCTION. 18S that to be defective in our observance and thankful re- gards to a benefactor, is unnatural and base : but to pervert the blessings of God to wicked purposes, and to render evil for good, is so direct a violation of the plainest dictates of human nature, and so contrary to the obJi- gations which are laid upon us by tlie goodness of €^od, to serve and obey him, that it must be liighly provoking to him. And must not those foolish and unwise persons expect an aggravated destruction, who presumptuously abuse the divine liberality and patience, to make them more secure and careless of their souls and eternity ; to fortify them in their rebellion against their sovereign Lord and king ; and to ruin his moral creation 2 Are not the gifts of a friend slighted, when they arc employed for base and unworthy purposes ? And dees not God himself look upon his goodness as despised by ungrateful mortals, when instead of leading them to repentance, it is perverted to encourage them in sin ? And will not a righteous and holy God visit for tliese things, and take a dreadful vengeance on all those that thus ungratefully requite his goodness and mercy ? Yes : justice will cer- tainly* exact all the arrears of abused mercies. Jud^e with yourselves ; would not every man despise and abhor the person, who being raised by his prince to the highest honor and trust, was not only unfaithful to his commis- sion, but also employed his power to the oppression of his feilov/ subjects, or betrayed tlvc arms and magazines of his master into the hands of his enemies ? TVoiild not all pronounce such an abandoned person worthy of death? And can it be supposed that the adorable Gointment of our condi- tions in life, to that God, who consults for our happi- ness in the various dispensations of his providence, ami who best knows wiuit is most for our advantage: And no doubt, but many will see abundant reason, at ihft THE PROSPERITY OF TOOlS, TITEIR DESTRUCTIOX. 18V tjoncliislon of the mysterious plan of divine providence. for gratitude to God, who has mercifully delivered them from such snares and temptations as v, ould liave proved fatal to their souls. Hememher that the love or hatred «f God is not now known hy his present promiscuous dispensations ; and let us consider, that if our more prosperous neighbours raisimprove their prosperity, their riches may he to tlieir hurt, and their prosperity may destroy them ; and if they are good men, God, wh« knows what is best and safest for evei y one, may know tliat it is safer for them to be entrusted with sueli ta- lents, tlian it would be for us ; that they may be great mercies to them, and yet might prove too strong tem.p- tations for us ; and that we have manv more blessings than we deserve, and more talents than we rightly im- prove. These things should teach us resignation to the will 01 God in every condition, witliout envying the lot of others that are exalted above us. S. Let us from this discourse he exhorted to improve ihe 'prosperily we enjoy for the purposes, which God jiisthj expects from Ms bestowing these mlvantagvitli which they arc mixed, wc have abundant rea- son to conclude with Job, that " man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward/'* The frailties of our bo- dies, the injuries of the world, and the changcableness and vicissitude of all mortal things, arc fruitful sources of a variety of paiH. And although some drink deeper of tlic bitter cup than others, yet none can reasonably expect an exemption from the common lot of mankind. ]N^ay, even the true christian, whom his heavenly father loves with infinite compassion and tenderness, is so far from being excused from suflcrings in this present state, that his adherence to the cause of Christ exposes him to many sorrows, which never aifect the men of this world. And whence is it, tliat all without exception, are born to pain and misery ? Do our troubles spring from the dust ? Or rather are they not all appointed by *Job.T.7 THE ADVANTACrES ffP AlfFMCTIOX. tfijk a wise and holy God, whose providence extends to the most minute occurrence in life ? <^ The very hairs of our heads are all numbered by God ; and not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without his notice.'* And if even our afflictions and troubles are the dispen- sations of our heavenly father, who is tcnderljr concertt- cd for our happiness, must they not be for our advan- tage ? Yes, doubtless ; however no affliction is joyous, but grievous for the present, yet when rightly improved, *• it shall work the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them, that are exercised thereby." From tl^ infinite coiiipassioa of God and Christ, we may reasonably con^ elude, that our heavenly father corrects us, that he might do us good in the latter end. And daily obser- vation convinces us that there is too much disingenuity remaiaing in the best of christians, whereby thay ne- glect the calls of God, in his milder dispensations, and will not be allured, by the various instances of good- ness, which they receive, to the faithful performance of duty. There is too much of a carnal temper ; too strong an attachment to sensible objects ; too great an unconcern about their souls and eternity ; to cure and rectify which, our heavenly father appears in merciful severity against us. Although God does not afflict us willingly, (for judgment is his strange work,) yet see- ing it is absolutely necessary for us, he graciously uses this method for the reformation of sinners. So tbat this is to be esteemed the merciful invention of lieaven to work that blessed effect, which ricither the kind ad- monitions of his word,, nor the milder discoveries of himself in his providential dispensations can usually at- taia. And this is verified by the happy experience cX 192 THE ADVANTAGES OI^ Al?'J?.LICTIONi thousands, who can say, with the Psalmist, " It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes." To impress our hearts with a sense of this truth, so that we might be engaged, to make a right improve- ment of afflictions, to submit with patience and resigna- tion to the allotments of divine providence, without mur- muring and complaint is the design we have principally in view in our present discourse ^ and for this purpose, we intend, through divine assistance, to shew, I. Some of the advantages of afflictions and crosses. II. HoAV we should improve them so as to derive these advantages from them. I. Some of the advantages of afflictions. 1. AJ^iciions serve to awaken our attention to the great concerns of our souls and dernity, AVhen men enjoy an uninterrupted flow of worldly prosperity ; when they sail along a smooth and unruf- fled surface, with easy and gentle gales ; reason, which should sit as a vigilant pilot at the helm, is often lulled into a careless security. But adversity rouses the mind from its indolence, and puts it upon thinking closely. Those, who have met with no adversity to engage their attention to divine things, are apt to indulge a thousand gay ideas, a swarm of fantastic images, which, like in- sects, flutter and wanton in the warm sunshine of pros- THE ADVANTAGES OF AFFLICTION. 193 perity, but disappear upon the first inclemency of the season. It is indeed surprising, that men in the ful- ness of health and prosperity, when every thing smiles, around them, shoidd sink into a stupid carelessness about God and Clirist, heaven and hell, time and eternity ; until sickness and afflictions are sent to awaken them to serious consideration. While the prodigal's fortune lasted, and he could indulge himself in rioting and de- bauchery, he entertained no thoughts of returning to his father's house. But when he was reduced to want and misery, he began to consider how many of his fa- ther's servants had bread enough and to spare, while he was perishing with hunger. Then he formed the reso- lution to arise and to go to his father and say, " father I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son : make me as one of thy hired servants."* And Joseph's brethren appear to have been thoughtless of their former conduct towards him, and insensible of their cruelty and inhumanity, until they met with crosses, disappointments and hardships in Egypt. Then they were brought to that painful con- fession : " verily we were guilty concerning our brother^ in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress^ come upon us." And daily observation furnishes us with many instances of persons, who living in a pom- pous worthlessness, and fondly imagining that ^^ to-mor- row would be as to-day, and much more abundant,'* had been utterly undone forever, had not some reverse of fortune, some unexpected calamity awakened their n-uk. XV, ir, 18, 19. Br2 i9h THE ADVANTAGES 0¥ Al'iXICTIOJf. attention to the concerns of their souls and cternity> This puts men upon reviewing their conduct, upon con- sidering their condition, and upon securing some lasting and invariahle foundation of hope. This brings me to take notice of another advantage of afflictions. ii. They tend to ivcan our ujfectionsfrom the world, and to fix them on God, the onhj source and foundation of happiness. Riches and affluence too often beget in us a fondness for the present scene of things and a deadness of afflic- tion towards God and heavenly things. An uninter- rupted flow of worldly bliss, is a very dangerous thing, which has proved the destruction of thousands, and which few are able to bear. It is a melancholy indi- cation, of the obliquity of the human heart, that the very gifts and bounties of our heavenly father's hand, which were designed to engage our supreme affectioB for him and our ready obedience to his laws, are often the very things, which draw oiT our afflictions from him. How many, instead of loving him more, love him less, for the distinguishing benefits he bestows on them? How many abuse his choicest favors for his dishonor, and presumptuously place their confidence in the un- merited gifts of his hands, without any grateful regard to the author of their mercies ; as if the same almighty hand that bestows could not resume the blessing ? This is egregious folly and madness, and one of the most fatal disorders of the human heart, entirely owing to the intoxicating nature of wordly prosperity, working on our corruptions and rendering us vain thoughtless. THE ADVANTAGES OF APTXICTIOS. 195 and inattentive to our true happiness. This makes us forget, that wc are pilgrims and sojourners in this val- ley of tears, and at a distance from our native country and our father's house ahove. Now, the discipline of adversity is designed to correct this vanity and to cure this moral disorder of our hearts, hy discovering the emptiness of the world and its enjoyments, the folly «f such false dependencies, and the necessity of fixing ©ur hope and our trust not in uncertain riches, hut in the living God. When God «mhitters our cup, or de- prives us of any mercy that we have enjoyed, we learn to disengage our hearts from moi'tal things, and to seek an interest in the favor and friendship of that God and Redeemer, who has promised that he Avill never leave nor forsake us For afflictions naturally make us fly to God for security, protection and relief, when w^e apprehend ourselves forsaken and ahandoned hy ilw w orld ,• when we look around us, and there is none to help us, none to deliver us from impending danger and ruin. When our feehle reed is crushed and fails, then we seek a stronger support ; when our hroken cisterns are drained, we repair to the fountain. Convinced hy melancholy experience of the insufficiency of worldly eomforts, and finding ourselves disconsolate in a harren l-and, wherein is no water, we desire those rivers of pleasure, which flow^ without interruption in the para- dise of God. Then with fervour and earnestness we pour out our complaints hefore our heavenly father, who despises not, nor ahliors the afflictions of the afflicted, and from whom all our help and all our consolation must come. Then wc address the hearer of prayer for k«elp, to support us under our affliction s, and for grae^ 196 THE ADVANTAGES OP AlTllCTIOIir, to improve them for our advantage here and our happi- ness hereafter. Thus afflictions tend to wean our affec- tions from tlie worhl, and to engage us to fly to God for refuge, and to choose him for our portion and happi- ness. Thus tiicy leave us discncumhcred in the pursuit of spiritual and eternal joys. 3. Jlnothcr advantageous fruit of ajflicl'wns is a moix warm and active ^eal and diligence in the service of God and our generation* When a tedious and severe distemper confines us to beds of languishing, weakens our animal and mental powers, deprives us of every capacity of active useful- ness, and throws us wholly upon tlie friendly care and assistance of others ,• it is natural in such circumstances to reflect upon the many talents and opportunities of use- fulness, w ith which we have been favored, and of which we are now deprived, and possibly under the sad appre- hension, that they will never more return. Then w^ begin to mourn over our former sloth and negligence, to consider how many favorable opportunities we have mis- improved, how much more good we might have done in the world, and what account we could then give of our stewardship. Then we begin to form the most serious and solemn resolutions to redeem our time, and to make a better improvement of future advantages than ever we have done ; and although many of these impressions and resolutions vanish and pass away " like the morning cloud and early dew,*' when God in answer to our prayers, graciously restores us to our former comforts and capacities; yet some do actually issue in greater THE ADVANTAGES OT ArriilCTiO:^. 197 2eal and diligence in tiie service of God, and all may enjoy this advantage from tliera, and it is their own fault if they do not thus improve seasons of affliction. And the remembrance of opportunities lost, and of good re- solutions formed in a time of adversity, must have a na- tural tendency to excite us to greater ^vatchfulnes and diligence in employing these talents, of ^vhich we have so precarious a possession, and of which wc must render a strict account at the bar of God. Especially if we allow ourselves time to consider, with how dreadful a weight it must oppress our spirits at the hour of our dissolution, to think that our talents have been repea^ tedly misimproved, notwithstanding repeated warnings and resolutions to improve them better. Besides a sense of gratitude to God, with which every good man is ac- tuated, in such a ease as this, should powerfully eon- strain to greater diligence in our respective stations in the world, and to greater zeal and sincerity in every branch of duty towards God and man. The pious grate- ful soul, just delivered from some pressing calamity, thinks he can never do enough for the glory of that God, who so seasonably interposed for his deliverance ; and the language of his heart wiU be with that of the apos- tle Paul, after his conversion, " Lord what wilt thou have me to do ?" And when he is thus affected with a deep sense of the divine goodness, it is apparent ho\^^ much he must be excited hereby to greater assiduity, and care in all the important duties of his character.-- And besides all this, aflaictions qualify us for more emi- nent services, and for more extensive usefulness in the world. They teach us wisdom, fortitude, and firmness of mind, to prepare us for the sublimer and more diffi- 198 THE ADVANTAGES OP AFFIICTIOX. cult duties of cliristianity, and for doing and suffering hard tilings in the cause of religion, and for the testi- timony of Jesus. The Heathens themselves, who knew nothing of tlie conduct of divine providence, hut hy the faint glimmerings of the light of nature, were neverthe- less so sensible of tliis truth, that they laid it down as a certain maxim, " that there never was a great man without great afflictions and sufferings.'' And must it not then be of great advantage to us, that this severe discipline hardens and strengtliens the mind for the most difficult duties, and prepares us for distinguished use- fulness and redoubled zeal, and aetivity in the service of God and our generation? 4. Jlnother happy fruit of ajfliction, is tenderness and compassion for those that are in distress. Those who arc inured to ease and delicacy, and abound in the comforts and pleasures of this Avorld, are too often regardless of how many thousands are wear- ing out life in a sad variety of pain, or are dying perhaps of poverty or a broken heart ; at the same instant they are expending their fortunes in luxury and folly. But those who are acquainted with grief, are thereby soften- ed into humanity, and melted down into commiseration and tenderness for the sufferings of their fellow men. — This breaks the fierceness and insensibility of their tem- pers, and teaches them to sympathize with the distres- sed. Hence, when the apostle would encourage us to hope, and trust in the tenderness of Christ as our great high priest, and convince us that he is capable of being touched with a sympathetic feeling of our infirmities, THE ADVANTAGES OF APEHCTIOX. 199 he argues at large from tMs consideration : that he was in all points tempted as we are 5 " so that as he himself has suffered, being tempted, he is able more compas- sionately to succour them that are tempted ;" and lie farther assures us, that << it behoved Christ thus to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merci- ful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God."* Now this must surely intimate to us, that it is not in human nature, even in its most perfect state in this world, so tenderly to commiserate any sorrows, as those, which our own hearts have felt ; as we cannot form a perfect idea of any bitter draught, by the most exact description until we have ourselves tasted it. And if it is our perfection to resemble our blessed Re- deemer, and our honor and duty to sympathize with, and to succour, the sons and daughters of distress ; afflic- tions, which tend to produce such a happy effect in our tempers and conduct, must be for our advantage. 5. AJflictions tend to mortify our jJride, and to heget cinS cultivate humility. Pride is a rank weed, which often springs up and rises high in the sunshine of prosperity, and when it has ta- ken root in the heart, it is very hard to be eradicated and subdued by the storms and troubles of adversitv. However, afflictions have this happy tendency, and may be improved for this salutary purpose. Because the world being as it were excluded, and its comfoi^s em- bittered by adversity, the soul is set upon the closest nnd most impartial enquiry into its own sttite and eon- *Heb. II, 17. -IS dition. Then it takes a larger view and scope in its meditations, and examines tilings seriously from the bottom. It turns its thoughts every way with a solici- tous desire to find some solid foundation of hope and rest. Now the natural result of all this deep research and examination is in the language of Joh, " behold I am vile." Then we discover more amiss in our hearts and tempers, than we ever saw before, and more deficien- cies and trans3;rcssions, than we before imagined our- selves guilty of, for want of this inward scrutiny and self- examination. Then we see many things to excite our shame and self-abasement ; but nothing to cherish our pride. These mortifying views of our OAvn frailty and corruption have a powerful efficacy, by divine grace, to humble us in the dust. And this is one of the most advantageous fruits of afflictions^ because when this heavenly grace of humility has once taken possession of the heart, it banishes all those vices, which are the offspring of pride, and disposes the self-emptied soul to receive the greatest good, the best instruction and the sweetest counsel. It disposes the soul to give up all dependence on our own righteousness, and cordially to receive salvation on the terms of the gospel. 6. Jlfflictions tend to imjrrovc and cultivate patience and resignation to the will of God, which keeps the soul at perfect rest. Patience is a grace peculiar to a state of discipline, for which we shall have no occasion, when we arrive at that world of perfection and pleasure, where all suffer- ings shall be at an end, and all fears shall be wiped away from our eyes. But it is of great advantage to us here, THE ADVANTAGES OF AFFJLICTIOX. 201 :a^ it disposes us to bear afflictions in the best manner, and to receive spirftual advaatage and improvement from them. And therefore, as afflictions tend to strengthen and improve this christian grace, they must be good for us. We would have no opportunity of know- ing what advances we make in this virtue, if we had no disappointments and sufferings to put it to the proof. For this, as well as all the other graces of the spirit, is best improved by frequent exercise. '• For tribulation workcth patience ; and patience, experience ; and ex- perience, hope,"* And when patience has had its per- fect work, when it is displayed in all the strength and glory of meekness, and remains unconquered and inva- riable to the end, it appears lovely and amiable in the eyes of God and man ; while it strengthens the heart to bear every affliction, with resignation to the sovereign will of God, it even lightens the burden and makes it more tolerable. And surely there is no imaginable situ* ation of mind so delightful and so reasonable, as that which we feel, when we humbly refer ourselves in all things to the divine disposal, seeing and owning the hand of God, and bowing before it with filial acquies- cence, and imitating the distinguished example of our blessed Redeemer, who, under the greatest sufferings, could say, *• O my father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me ; nevertheless not my will, but thine be done !'' He was made perfect, in this as well as in other respects, by sufferings ; and so must all his humble followers, who through many tribulations must outer into glory. 'Rom. V, S. C2 iO:Z THE ADVANTAGES 01? .UTFl-lCTIiON. 7- •HJ^iktions are good for ns, as Utey tend to strengthen our faith. As faith enlarges our prospects, teaches to see fvir- ther, and enables us to judge better, it must have a Inighty influence to supi)ort the soul under afflictions, while itself is more confirmed by the exercise. It brings the happy period of all our troubles near in view, and transports the soul witli the ravishing prospect of that world of bliss and joy, with which it assures us that the present light afflictions, that endure but for a moment, are not worthy to be compared. This eifectu- ally teaches us those important lessons, which we so hardly receive under afflictions, that they are all tle- signed in mercy ; all for our, good ; all the eftects of our heavenly father*s love ; all the indications of his steady regard to our truest interests ; that he has chosen better for us, than we could do for ourselves ,• and that we would have chosen the very same lot, which he has ap- pointed for us, however grievous and afflictive, could we but see clearly the final issue and consequences of things. And while faith thus supports us under afflic- tions, they at the same time prepare and dispose the soul to stretch its prospects beyond the grave to another world, Avhich prospects v.e are too apt to coivrmc to this state, in a time of prosperity. Wlien the soul linds itself stripped of the pleasures and joys of the pre- sent life, it will naturally reach after some more per- manent and substantial good, and contemplate the glo- ries and felicities of the future stale. Tired of (he present world, it will long for a better ; will live witJi heaven more s^teadily in its eye, and wiH look upon pre THE ADTANTAGES OF AFF1.ICTI0X. 203 in their connection with the far more importaut con- cerns of another worhl. And hy these suhlime exerci- ses of the mind, the christian's faith is greatly confirmed and strengthened under afflictions. Upon the whole then, if afflictions are designed and calculated to rouse us from our insensihility, and to awaken our attention to the concerns of our souls and eternity ; if they tend to wean our affections from the world, and to fix them upon God and divine things ; if they promote a more warm and active zeal in the ser- vice of God and our generation ; if w hile they train us up for eminent services and diliicult sufferings, they teach us compassion and tendei^ness for the distressed : if they tend to mortify our pride and to heget and pro mote in us an humhle temper of miml ; if they tcacli us patience and resignation to the will of God ; and if they strengthen and confirm our faith, and enable us to live with our eye fixed on the invisible w^orld ; I say, if we may reap all thes« advantageous fruits from our afflic- tions ; have we not reason to say Avith the Psalmist in our text, '^ it is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes." But we also propo- sed to consider, II* How we should improve afflictions, that we may reap these advantages from them. It is certain that all do not receive tlicse advantages from afflictions. Wicked men by their obstinacy and want of thought, often defeat the good design of provi- dential dealings, and even grow more hardened by tJiost ^* THE ADVANTAGES OE AFFlilCilOK. very means, wliicli were calculated to soften and to re- claim them. And even some good men are but little mended by them. Their good impressions made on the mind by afflictions, too often vanish <^ like the morning eloud and early dew." Afflictions are only to be con- sidered as means in the hand of the holy spirit, to re- form the heart and conduct ; and therefore must be pro- perly improved by us, if we expect them to answer the desirable purpose. The best means must be ineffectual, if neglected or misimproved. How then should we im- prove afflictions? .1. Would we then receive spiritual advantage from our ajfflictions ; let us endeavour to reaU:ie the hand of God in them. He rules in the armies of heaven and amongst the inhabitants of this w orld with uucontroulable SAvay, and orders and disposes of all things to his own glory. Eve- ry one of our allotments is the operation of his hands, and nothing can befall us without his wise permission and determination. Therefore we should be careful, that we do not lose the view^ of God in any second cause, which might have immediately occasioned our suffer- ings. \Yc should, imdcr the consideration, that it is the hand of the Lord, say, '* let him do what seemcth him good." We should humble ourselves before him, that he may exalt us in due time ; should acknowledge that he is just in all that he has brought upon us, has punished us less than wc deserve. And as the Lord gives and takes away, wc should compose ourselves to bear his hand with patience, to glorify his name by ^v THE ADVANTAGES Of APPLICTIOX. 205 humble submission to his will, and to wait tlic issue with resignation. i2. A constant watchfulness, both under afflictions and after they are past, is necessary to our receiving spiri- tual benefit from them. Adversity as well as prosperity has its peculiar temp- tations, to deprive us of the command of our tempers ; and our affections and frames are very inconstant and variable. Hence, there is need of a constant care to keep them even, undisturbed, and regular, to cultivate an habitual contentment and a meek resignation to the will of God ; and to prevent any thing that might ex- cite the contrai^' dispositions. If we carefully watch every turn and change of our bodily distempers ; have we not unspeak?ibly more reason to watch and observe the more dangerous workings of the moral disorders oi the soul ? And when God has graciously restored us to our former comforts and capacities of usefulness, we should seriously examine what benefit we have already ueceived from our afflictions ; what lusts or corruptions they have subdued^ what graces they have improved and strengthened ; what resolutions we have formed ; and how we have put them into execution. And the re- sult of this examination should be renewed with watchful- ness and care, lest we again fall into those sins, which lay with so great a burden on our consciences under af- flictions, and which we have resolved in the strength of divine grace to guard against. We should be careful, that we do not " return with the dog to his vomit, or with the sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire," im Tim ADVAXTAGE5 OF AFFLICTION, 3, Would we enjoy spiritual advantage from ajjlidions, tve should endeavour to knoiv the design of God in '^ ''spending them, and comply tvUli it, God is as I'cally spcaldog to us by his providential dispensations, whether merciful or afflictive, as by his uord and spirit ; and an obstinate reluctance to the ap- prehended design of God in any visitation, is highly of- fensive to him. It provokes him to give men up to themselves, to follow the devices of their own hearts, and to say to them in wrath, as he formerly did to his ancient people, " why should ye be stricken any more ; ye Avill revolt more and more."* We should therefore examine our hearts and review our conduct, to know why the Lord is pleading a controversy ; that we may hearken to the voice of the rod, and of him who has ap- pointed it. Docs he design by this discipline to awa- ken us to a closer attention and a more diligent prose- cution of those things that belong to our peace ? We should be careful that we do not sink into our former insensibility, but make it our principle business in life, to lay up our treasures in heaven, and to prepare for our removal from this world. Does he embitter the comforts of life to us, that we might be engaged to choose him for our portion and happiness ? Let us be careful to live above the world, as travellers to the heavenly country, and not put our trust and coniidence in the unceriain, unsatisfactory enjoyments of time, but in the living God. Does he call us to greater diligence and activity in his service ? Let us remember that we *Is. I, 5. THE ADVAKTA€cES OF A^eilXlCTIQNi 2&7 sent things in the liglit of eternity, and eonsidev them are indebted to him for life, and all our comforts and talents, and consecrate our souls and bodies a living sacrifice to him, and work with renewed zeal and appli- cation while it is day, that we may be able to give an account of our stewardship with joy, at his bar. Does he send afflictions to mortify our corruptions, and to itrengthen our graces ? let us make it our constant stu- dy to " die unto sin daily, and to live unto righteous- ness f^ to grow in grace, and to hold on in our way growing stronger and stronger. Thus may we exi>ect the peaceable fruits of righteousness from our afflic- tions, Avhile we are thus concurring with the operations of the holy spirit, who is hereby training us up for glory and ripening us for the honors of the heavenly king- dom. For it is vain for us to expect that our afflic- tions shall be sanctified to us, while we do not use our best endeavours to have our hearts and our lives re- formed and amended by them. i. Would we reap the peaceable fruits of righteousness from our ujfUctions^ we should daily pray io God for his spirit to sanctify them. We should look to God for help and strength, to pre- serve in us a temper suited to sufferings, and disposed to receive spiritual advantage thereby ^ to strengthen, support and encourage our hearts ; and to assist us in the improvement of those graces, which we are called to exercise in p.dversity. And we should pray to him, to confirm the pious resolutions we have formed, nnd to enable us to perform the vows we have made to him in the day of distress. We should look to him for the in- 308 THE ADVANTAGES OF APFLICTIOX. flueiices of the holy spirit, which Christ has purchased for his suffering disciples, and which alone are able to support us with strength in the inner man, when our corruptions would certainly betray us. For it is by this sacred agent that good men are armed with pa- tience, fortitude, and resignation to the divine Avill. It is he that inspired the primitive christians with zeal and fortitude, under all their troubles, and enabled them to rejoice in tribulation, ^< the power of Christ resting on them." And it is he, that is promised to us under the reviving character of the comforter, to abide with us for ever. He can lead our minds to Jesus Christ, that distinguished example of patience and suf- ferings, who from his cradle to his grave passed through a scene of the greatest poverty and reproach, bearing the contradiction of sinners, and at last submitted to the accursed death of the cross ,• nay, who expired un- der the wrath of God for our sakes j and notwithstand- ing all this, was never heard to utter the least expres- sion of discontent, nor a single murmuring complaint against God. The holy spirit can set this amiable ex- ample of patience and resignation before our view, and engage our endeavours to imitate it, which is an infalli- ble way of securing the advantages designed to be com- municated by our afflictions. He can lead our views be- yond this troubled scene, to that world of light and joy, where sin and sorrow shall be no more ; and enable us to trust in the wisdom, the power and goodness of our exalted Redeemer, that he will at last bring us to his heavenly kingdom, though it be through many tribula- tions. THE ADVANTAGES OF ArFilCTION. 5209 APPIICATIOX. 1. If then it is good for us to be ajfiictedf we have reason to adore the divine mercy and compassion to his chil- dren in their CLfflictions. True it is, that *•' no affliction is joyous, but grievous for the present ;'' and we are too often ready to account our heavenly father severe in his corrections ; but when rightly improved, they are productive of the most desi- rable consequences, and are the indications of his care and love for us. The apostle assures us, that he chast- ens every child tliat he receives, that they might be made partakers of his lioliness. Like children, we are igna- rant of our true interests, judge only by appearances, and would soon ruin ourselves by our own choice. But our heavenly father sees, and judges, and chooses for us, and communicates, in love, vrhat he knows will be best. Never did any good man see sufficient reason to regret the severest afflictions he ever met with, if they were rightly improved ; and thousands have been thankful for them, as the greatest of their blessings, and have acknowledged, to the praise and honor of divine grace, that it was good for them that they were afflicted. 2. What has now been said may teach tis how to hear and improre hath present and future sufferings. This sickly season of the year has made many pain- ful breaches in many families, and has drawn forth the tears from the weeping eyes, and the groans from the burdened heart, for tlie loss of some near and tender relation. Those therefore, who are mourning under J) 2 i^lO IHK ADVANTAGES OF AFiilCTIOIN'. these afflictive dispensations, and those who arc involv- ed in any other eahimity, should be careful that they do not bear all the smart of such visitations without the benefit, that might be derived from them, and tliat would be a rich equivalent for tlie mercies resumed.— While God is calling you to mourning and lamentation, let it be your principal care to attend to the design of the rod, and search and try your ways, that you may turn again unto tlie Lord. Review the conduct of your lives, and the state of your affections, that you may dis- cover what has been deficient or irregular, and that the proper remedies may be applied. Look to that Gcd^ who has the licaKs of all men in his hand, that he would soften the hard heart, and give you a penitent frame ; that your souls might be purified from all their dross in the furnace of affliction, and have the divine image instamped upon them in brighter and fairer cha- racters. And in one word, endeavour to set ^ our heart«^ on that God, who can abundantly supply the place of all earthly enjoyments, with tlie communications of his grace, and who perhaps has removed some darling of your affections, which has filled that place in your hearts, which belonged only to him, and which by alienating you from Iiis love and service, might have proved fatal to you. Eternal glory, my friends, is so great a thing, that it is well worth our while to bear the sharpest sorrows, by which we may be formed Ibr it. And let thote of us, who are in ease and healtli, while others are mourning around us, learn to sympa- thize with the distressed, and remember that in the un- certainty of human affairs, it may not be long before we be called to put these iustruetions into practice. THE ADVANTAGES OE AEEIICTION'. 211 which wc have heen laying before you this day. Tho scene may soon shift, and a storm may soon succeed our present calm. It is our wisdom therefore, to be armed against the worst, by the cultivation of those graces, which will be a comfortable support under afflictions, and our only preparation for that state of everlasting rest, ^' where all tears shall be wiped aw ay from our eyes ; where there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor pain, and where we shall change the spirit of heavi- ness for garments of everlasting praise." SERMON XI. THE GIL4CE OF CHRIST SUFFICIENT FOR UB. COR. II, 'X2, 9. tind he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is r.iade perfect in weakness. This is a state of probation in wliicli we arc train- ing up for an endless state of happiness or misery, ac- cordingly as we behave ourselves in this world. And therefore we may reasonably expect to meet with many troubles and temptations, which no prudence can fo?'c- see, nor any industry guard against. The frailties of our bodies, the ignorance and corruptions of our minds, the injuries of the world, the vicissitude of all sublu- nary things, together with the repeated assaults of hell, are fruitful sources of a variety of uneasiness and pain. Nor has the disciple of Jesus Christ, who has enlisted under his banner, and devoted himself to him in tlic jnost public manner, reason to expect, that because of Ms profession of Christianity he shall be exempted from the common lot of mankind. Nay, so far is it from this, that from his adherence to the interest and cause of his master, he will be exposed to a variety of sor- rows, that never aifect the men of the world. Is the case then of the true christian more miscral^le, than that of others, who will not have Christ to reign over THE GRACE OF CHUIST SUFIICIENT FOR VS. 213 Ihem ? By no means. Although he is not immediately removed out of his probationary state, yet he has com- fort and support under all his trials, Avith which the world is unacquainted, which far overbalance all his troubles and calamities. Although he is ignorant and apt to be led astray, weak and easily overcome ; yet his almighty redeemer will never leave nor forsake him : and he has assured him, that " his grace is sufficient for him, for his strength is made perfect in weakness," This reviving promise, with many others adapted to his particular cases and necessities, he has for his security and comfort, in every trial and temptation. For this promise is to be considered, as made to every child of God ; altliough it was originally made to the apostle Paul, when he earnestly entreated the Lord, for the removal of that thorn in the flesli, that messenger of Satan, that was given him, lest he should be exalted on the account of extraordinary revelations made to him, when he was taken up to the third heavens. For we find the autlior of the epistle to tiie Hebrews Jvpplying a promise made on a particular occasion, as of general use. When Joshua was about to take tlie comraand of the Israelites, to lead them into the land of Canaan, and to fight the Lord's battles, God graciously promised to him for liis encouragement and support: " as I was with Moses, so I will be with you ; I will not fail thee nor forsake thee."* This promise the apostle improves as an argument against covetousness and an anxious concern for futurity, and a ground of contentment in •^very condition in life f For he hath said, ^f I will nc- *Jos. I, 5. 'Heb. xjir, 5. 21* THE GRAC£ OF CttiRIST SUiJblCIENT FOR ¥S. TCP leave thee nor forsake tliee ;" so that we may boldly say, " the Lord is my helper ; I will not fear what man can do unto me." All the children of God, whether in any preceding or succeeding age of the church, stand in the same relation to him ; are within the bonds of the same covenant ; have an interest in the same love, and are imder the conduct and direction of the same redeemer, in whom all the promises arc yea and amciu Therefore, we may justly understand the promise, made to the apostle in our text, upon a particular occasion, as extending to all the children of God in all their troubles. And they may derive en- couragement from it, to expect, that either God will re- move the temptation, or support them under it, so that they shall not be totally and finally ruined by it. " Thp grace of their Lord and Redeemer is sufficient for them ; for his strength is made perfect in their weak- ness.'' In the improvement of these words, we shall endea- vour, through divine assistance, to shew, I. That God*s own chiidren may, for wise reasons, ex- pect to be suifered to fall into troubles and tempta- tions. li. That the grace of the llcdeemer is sufficient for them under all their trials. I. That God's OAvn children, for wise reasons, may he suffered to fall into various troubles and temptation^. THE GKACB or CltKIST STJr*lCIENT *OR US. 2ib It would be arrogance and presumption in us ignorant and short sighted mortals, to attempt to lay doAvn all the reasons of the divine administration in any particu- lar instance of his government. He, whose wisdom is infinite, and whose understanding is unsearchable, must have many reasons of his procedure whicli we cannot comprehend. <^ His ways are above our ways, and his thoughts above our thoughts." Yet he has condescended to reveal himself so far to us, as to enable us in some good measure to vindicate his ways towards us, and to give some of the reasons Avhy he suffers liis own chil- dren, whom he loves with peculiar affection, to fall into troubles and temptations. 1. To prevent our heing exposed to temptaiion, zcoiiJd he inco^isistent with our heing in a state of pvohation, and mco7isist€nt with our profession of chrisliitnity. By enlisting under the banner of Christ, we are en = gaged in a continual warfare w ith the united powers cf hell, with the world around us, and with our own in- dwelling corruptions. And a state of warfare ahvays supposes opposition and coniiicts, and struggles and un- easiness ; and it must tlicrefore be absurd to expect, that we can ^* fight iliQ good light of faith," and at the same time meet with no temptation to draw us aside from the path of duty : Kor are these enemies of oui- salvation so weak and inconsiderable, as to give i:? ra tlonal gromuls to hope, that they will give us little or no uneasiness. *» The principalities and powci's^ and the rulers of ilie darkness of this world,*' witli \\liom wc proffss 1o contend, are possessed of angelic powers axMf :Z16 THE GRACK 01 CHRIST SUFFICIJENT TOR US. capacities, are filled with malice and revenge against iisj are many in number, vigilent to observe, and diligent ia improving an opportunity against us. Besides, they have liad long experience in the accursed arts of ruining im- mortal souls, have actually slain their thousands and ten thousands ; and the best of God's children have found by mournful experience, that they have been often over- come by them. So sensible was the apostle of the dan- ger arising from this quarter, that he founds an exhor- tation to vigilance and sobriety, upon the consideration of the devil's going about <^ like a roaring lion, seeking whom he might devour." As we are then engaged by our profession of Christianity, in this dangerous conflict with evil spirits, who will frequently renew their as- saults, however often vanquished ; we can reasonably expect nothing but frequent and severe struggles with them, while we are in this state of probation. Nor is this all: The christian not being of the world, while he is in it, but a sojourner and traveller to the invisible world, must expect to suifer persecution in some degree, if he would live godly in Christ Jesus. Although the enmity that subsists between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, does not discover itself in the heart and fire of a raging persecution, yet it v. ill appear in afflictions of an inferiour nature. Because the christian cannot run to the same excess of riot with a wicked and ungodly world, they will traduce and des- pise him, accuse liim of an affectation of singularity or of hypocrisy, and his brightest virtues will pass under an injurious name. His humility passes for pride and grimace, hisi^atience under injuries, cowardice and mean- THE GRACE OF CHRIST SUFFICIENT FOR US. 217 iiess of spirit ; and his punctuality in duty will furnish abundant matter for ridicule and reproach to a wicked world around him. And as this is his situation in the world, it must surely be no small trial to bear these things, in a manner becoming the dignity of his chris- tian profession. He cannot expect more than his inno- cent master : to be exempted from bearing the contra- diction of sinners against him. And during our continu- ance in this state of probation, we must necessarily con- Terse with sensible objec|i3 around us, which tend to en- gross our affections, to hinder our progress in the spiri- tual life, and to lead us astray from the path of duty. Among all the various tempers and dispositions of men, there is not one to be found but may be successfully addressed by some peculiar temptation of the world 5 there is no age or period of life, in which the riches of honor and the pleasures of time, have not attractions fatally successful against us ; and there is no state or condition, that can in this life, place us beyond the reach of an assault from one quarter or another. And there- fore, it is a necessary consequence of our being here in a state of probation, and engaged in a perpetual warfare with the world, that we must expect to meet w ith temp- tations of this kind. And further, by enlisting under the banner of Jesus Christ, we are also bound to conflict with our remain- ing corruptions, which are daily breaking out in variouvS instances, and subjecting us to many a severe and dan- gerous struggle. Our sanetification here is but imper- fect and incomplete ; so that the best of christians often find the '' flesh lusting against the spirit, and the spiiit E 2 5318 THE GRACE OF CHRIST SUFFICIENT FOR US. against the flesh ;" and these two are contrary, the one 1 0 the other, so that we cannot do the things that we wonld. " This, in a greater or less degree, is the con- dition of every one that has engaged in the spiritual warfare. And the apostle Paul, notwithstanding ail his proficiency and advancement in the spiritual life, had *• a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to huffet him," some peculiar infirmity or temptation, which was continued with him to keep him Immhle, though he he- sought the Lord thrice that it might be removed. So that from the whole it appears, that to be exposed to no temptations, would be inconsistent with the design of God in placing us in a state of probation here, and incon- sistent with our professions of Christianity. 2. God may siiffer his own cliildrcn to fall into tcmjita- tions and troubles, in order to mortify their remainins: pride and comiption, Wlion the christian is in prosperous circumstances, or is favored with cxtraordinarv manifestations of the divine favor, the gpeat adversary of his soul endeavours to improve his prosperity as a means of lulling him into a carnal security, or of puffing him up witli spiritual pride : but God in tender mercy to him, sends adversity to rouse his mind from his indolence and insensibility. This was the case of Joseph's brethren, who began to think of their unnatural treatment of him, when they fell into trouble in Egypt. " Verily we were guilty ccnceni- ing our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us and we Avoiild not hear^ therefore is this distress come upon us.'' And the apostle in our \ THE GRACE OF CHRIST SUFFICIENT FOR VS. 219 context assures us, that the reason why he had a mes- senger of Satan sent to buffet him, was in order to keep him from being immoderately exalted on the account of extraordinary revelations made to him, when he wa*^ caiiglit up into paradise. 3. God may suffer his children to fall into trovhle and temptation f to correct them for their sins and to make them more ivatchfiiL God frequently reclaims the Avanderings of his peo- ple by severe and afflictive dispensations of his provi- dence. Every child of God has reason to say with the Psalmist, " that it Vvas good for him to be afflicted ; for before he went astray, but now he had learned to keep the word of God." How ardent are their prayers, how deep their repentance, and how active and careful are they, when the hand of God lies hea%'y on them, in com- parison with what they were, when the sun shined un- clouded on their heads and every thing succeeded ac- cording to their wishes ! And if we grow remiss and careless in the ways of God, and leave the avenues and passes of the soul unguarded, we provoke our heavenly father to leave us, we pave the way for our adversary to destroy the peace and comfort of our minds, and give him an opportunity of convincing us by mournful expe- rience, of the necessity of vigilance and of living near to God. And if we not only remit our care and watchful- ness, but also barken to his destructive insinuations and comply with his temptations to depart from the living God, our oifended father may suffer us (o experience his power and malice, in order to teach us what an evj^ 220 THE GRACE OE CHRIST SUFFICIENT FOR US. and bitter thing it is to go astray from him, and to pro- voke him to Avithdraw the light of his reconciled coun- tenance. ^, God may suffer kis children to fall into temptations and trials, in order to prove and strengthen their graces. This was eminently the case of that ancient sufferer Job, who had obtained the character of a perfect and upright man, from God himself. Yet the accuser of the brethren maliciously insinuated, that his obedience to God flowed from some selfish and mercenary principle. " Does Job serve God for nought? Thou hast made an hedge about him, and hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is encreased in the land.-^ But put forth thine hand now and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.'^ The good map is brought to the trial and stands the shock, perhaps the greatest that any mere man did, triumphs over the ma- lice of the devil, and is accepted of his God. Fully sensible that afflictions and temptations give occasion for the exercise and improvement of grace, the apostle James (i, 2. 3.) exhorts us in these words : " My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations, knowing that the trial of your faith worketh patience." And the apostle Paul says to the same purpose, =^ f' We gloi'yin tribulations, knowiug that tribulation worluth patience, and patience experience, and experience hope." Thus our graces are improved and strengthened, and we are trained up for more eminent services and suffec- ^Kom. V, 3, '1. THE GRACE OF CHRIST SUrEIClENT EOR US. 221 ings in the cause of God. And while we are taught for- titude and firmness of mind, the same severe discipline breaks the insensibility and fierceness of our natures, softens us into humanity, and melts us into commissera- tion and tenderness for the distressed. Thus our Savi- our himself learned, and thus his followers learn to sympathise with one another under temptations and troubles. 5. God may suffer his cJtildren to he involved in dijjicut' ties to teach them the insufficiency of their own strength, and of every thing else to support them in the spiritual warfare. The scandalous and aggravated fall of Peter is re- corded to teach us the folly and danger of depending upon our own strength, to overcome the numerous and powerful enemies of our salvation, and the necessity of choosing God for our portion and happiness, our pro- tector and defence. Were we left to struggle with our enemies in our own strength, we should be soon baf- fled and swallowed up by them. And it is a mistake here that ruins thousands, who enter into the spiritual Avarfare without a dependance on the power of the vic- torious captain of t]ieir salvation; and therefore after they have made some faint resistance, and continued a iittl^ time in the field, they give up all for lost, and fall a sacrifice to their unwearied enemies. Therefore, God suffers his own children to fall sometimes by the pov, er of temptations, to teach them the folly of depending upon their own strength, or upon any thing else but the grace and power of their almighty Redeemer^ " who 222 THE GKACE OF CHftlST SUFFICIENT FOR XJS. alone can mrike them more than conquerors." This brings me to shew, II. That the grace of the Redeemer is sufficient for us in every trial and temptation. TJicrc is no purpose for which the christian needs grace and assistance, but lie may find a sufficiency in his exalted Kedeemcr, " in whom dwell all the trea- sures of wisdom and knowledge and the fulness of the godhead bodily." His grace is sufficient to restrain the rage and violence of his enemies. ** For he has the keys and power of the invisible world, and ail its inhabi- tants under his absolute controul. He holds the infer- nal spirits in chains, cheeks and governs all their mo- tions, and says to the most furious of them, as he does to the proud waves of the sea, "hitherto shall ye come and no farther." Are we ignorant and easily led astray by passion, or prejudice, or the false and delusive ap- pearances of things ? He is able to instruct and teach us, to lead us into all necessary truth, to direct us in the way that is everlasting, and to make us wise to salva- tion. Are we weak, and easily overcome by the rest- less enemies of our salvation ? His grace is sufficient to assure us, that no temptation shall befall us, but what is common to man, and what we shall be enabled to bear. So that lie is able to support our spirits when ready to sink under the weight of our afflictions or the power of our temptations. Nay, he is able to make us rejoice in tribulations, and to triumph in the midst of surrounding flames ; the power of Christ resting on us. Arc we ready to be discouraged at the prospect of dif- THE GRACE OF CHRIST SUFFICIENT FOR US. 233 iicult and laborious services, to which we may be cal- led in the course of divine providence ? Are we ready to account the yoke of Christ heavy, and his command- ments grievous ? In this trying conjuncture, his grace is sufficient for us and his strength is made perfect in our weakness. However hard and severe the duty may be ; yet " through Christ strengthening us, we shall be enabled to do all things ;" and therefore with the high- est reason the apostle exhorts us " to be strong in the liord and in the power of his might." =^ In a word he is able to strengthen all our graces, and to keep us by his mighty power through faith unto eternal salva- tion. He is able to keep us from the tyranny of Satan and the bondage of sin, from sinking under the over- whelming load of affliction, and from final apostacy, from the curse of a broken law, and the slavish fear of death. Now that the disciple of Jesus Christ, who has en- listed under his banner and devoted himself to his ser- vice, may depend with confidence upon the grace and strength of his Redeemer to be sufficient for him to an- swer all these important purposes, will appear from thp following considerations. 1. ThcTarious relations, under which he condescends to oitm us, are a sufficient ground of trust and con-fidence in him in every temptation. We are the redeemed of the Lord, For our sakes he descended from the regions of light, and emptied hiin- ^^.ph. VI, 10. 22* THE GRACE OF CHRIST SUFFIClEDiT FOK ivS. self of the glory, that he had with the fatlier before the world began. He condescended to assume our na- ture, t» submit to a life of labour and reproach, and te the ignominious death of the cross ^ in order to deliver us from the curse of a broken law, the wrath of an of- fended God, the tyranny and bondage of sin, and from the fatal consequences of it in the world to come. Now, seeing lie has redeemed us by his own blood, can there be any blessing that he will refuse to bestow on us? Will not his living care perform what his dying love began? Will not that love which brought liim from heaven, which supported him in all his amazing suffer- ings, which nailed him to the accursed tree, and laid him in the silent grave, still engage him to protect, to strengthen and to comfort those that he has died to re- deem ? Would he die to save us from the power of our enemies, and then leave us exposed to their power and rage ? No : Those that he loves, he loves to the end, and will never leave nor forsake them, until he brings them in safety to those mansions of joy and glory, which he has purchased for them, in his father's house. . Again, does he not acknowledge us as the members of his body ? And if it would be unnatural for us to suf- fer any of our limbs to be destroyed through our negli- gence, when it was easy to preserve it ; would it not be inconsistent in the blessed Redeemer to own us in this relation, and at the same time exercise no care over us ? Is it possible for us to remain unconcerned, when any of our members is suifering, or in eminent danger of being destroyed ? And does he not as tenderly sympa- thize with all his suffering members ; being " touched THE GR.iCE OF CHRIST SUFFICIENT FOR US. 225 witli the fcclittg of our infirmities ?• ' Nay ; sooner shall we be able to divest ourselves of all the feelings of hu- man nature, and delight in pain and misery, than the blessed Redeemer can lay aside his concern for the members of his riiystical body, and suffer them to be destroyed. Again ; does lie not acknowledge us as his hrethren 0' And is not this a title of love ; and does it not direct us to the expectation of favor ? Is it unnatural and unbeco- ming for those that are connected together in so close and endearing a relation, to be strangers to each other's griefs aud burdens and difficulties ? And will he, who encourages us to expect his counsel and assistance in ail our distresses, by assuming the title of our elder bro- ther, forget this tender relation, shut up his boAvels of compassion from us, and disappoint our expectations from him ? No : he exercises ail that tenderness and care for lis, which this relation demands. And is not this argument strengthened, when we consider that he owns us under every relation that can promise us pro^ tection, friendship, assistance and care ? And what is full and express to our purpose ; he has promised to be the captain of our salvatioiu to protect us against all the assaults cf our spiritual enemies, to lead lis on to victory, and to make us more than con- querors. In a battle it is of great advantage to have a brave and experienced commander, who has a tender regard for his soldiers, who will not desert nor expose them to unnecessary dangers and hardships, but wiU en- courage and help them in an hour of cxtremitv, Snoh F 2 :M T iiE GHACE 01' CH1118T SLl'i'lCiE.NT iOli i.>. a leader ami commander lias the chrislian warrior^ ^vho loves us Avitli infinite tenderness, who will never forsake us in the article of danger, hut will encourage and strengthen us to light the good light of faith, without yielding. He will never call out his children to fight with flesh and hlood, with principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, and leave them to struggle alone with their numerous and i)o*ent enemies. No : he has never deserted any of his humhl« followers ; and they will ever, till the end of time, find him kind and faithful, until every enemy is vanquished and their salvation is completed. However, he may for a season suffer them to he led captive hy their ene- mies ; and however they may he ready to give up all for lost, yet in this hour of darkness, the captain of their salvation appears for their deliverance, stirs them up to the fresh contention, and strengthens them to persevere with fortitude. For their support and en- couragement, he says to them, ** fear not, for I am with thee, he not dismayed, for I am thy God 5 I will help thee, yea I will strengthen thee ; yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."-^ He as- sures them in our text, that " his grace shall he suffi- cient for them, and his strength shall he made perfect in weakness." And he lias promised, that ** he will never leave nor forsake them."f This is that victorious captain, under whom the christian lights and conquers : •This is that man, who is promised '* to he a hiding place from the storm, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, and the shadow of a *Is. XL, 10. fiieb. :iiii; 5* THE aKACE OF CHRIST StlEriGIENT FOR US. 327 great rock in a weary land." In a word, tlicre is not a relation under which he is pleased to own his childrent but what promises comfort, support and direction, under all their troubles and temptations. 2. The dirinepeifections of our Medcemer give us ground to trust, that his grace shall be sufficient for us. Our Redeemer is God as well as man. " He is the man that is my fellow," saith the Lord of hosts. " He was in the form of God, and thought it no robbery to be equal with God." In him are lodged all tlie trea- sures of wisdom and knowledge ; so that he cannot be mistaken in determining the allotments of his children. *« He is the king of kings and Lord of Lords ; the be- ginning and the end, the first and the last ; who was in the beginning with God and is God, and by wliom all things were made, that were made, whether they be thrones or dominions, principalities or powers." And although he emptied himself of the glory tliat he had with the father before the world began, and appeared in tae humble form of a servant ; yet even in the days of his flesh, the whole creation, animate and inanimate* paid an absolute homage and obedience to liim. The winds and Avaves, sickness and deat]i, angels and devils obeyed his sovereign voice. Nor is the compassion and tenderness of his heart towards his disciples, inferior to his power. What then can all the united powers of earth and hell do against infinite wisdom, unlimited goodness, and almighty power ? Can t]iey destroy those that are protected by such a Saviour ? That arm, may the christian say, which laid the foundations of t]ie oartb ii^S THE GllAJJE OE CUKIST SUFFICHiNT TOR X:^. and settled tlic ordinances of the universe ; that arm, ^vhich formed and still upholds the stupendous fabric of nature, is stretched out for my protection and security. He that spoke the almiglity word, and immediately an universe emerged out of nothing, cannot want power to crush all my formidable enemies by a single act of his will. And he, whose words are more inviolable tlian the everlasting pillars of heaven, can never prove un- faithful to his gracions prouiises. Omnipotence itself must first be vanquished, and the compassionate Re- deemer lose all his affection for those, whom he pur- chased with his blood, before I can be destroyed by the violence or rage of my enemies. Let floods of corrup- tion then rise within me, and dangers threaten me from without ; yet I am secure in the hands of my Redeemer, from wliom none shall ever be able to pluck his sheep. A^ain world ! I shall e'er long be delivered from ail thy snares and placed beyond the reach of all thy tempta- tions. Infernal serpent ! Christ the victorious captain of my salvation will at last crown all my labours in the spiritual warfare, and give me pow cr to trample you under my feet. This, my friends, is the security that every person, who is enlisted under the banner of Christ, lias, that his grace shall be suiHclent for him, and that liis strength shall be made perfect in weakness. And what heart could desire more ? Who w ould be afraid to encounter the various enemies of his salvation ? "Who can despair of success and victory, under the conduct of om- nipotence ? Was there any necessity for it, we could appeal to innumerable gracious promises made to the christiaii rUE GRACE OF CHEIST SUETICIENT lOR US, 2^9 for his security and comfort under every trial and temp- tation. And we might appeal to tlie happy experience of thousands, who have heen enahled to fight the good fight of faith, and to come off victorious through him that loved them and gave himself for them. But the comfortable doctrine is suiliciently confirmed already ; and w'c shall therefore proceed to the APPXICJlTION. 1. Jlre the children of God then freqneiithj exposed to temptations and tronhles^ Hence learn of how great advantage it is to exercise a Urehj faith in the son of God. AVhen we are tempted to sin, our faifli in Christ should teach us to reason thus : Did tlie Lord of life and glory hear our sins in his ow n body on the tree, that we being dead to sin might live unto righteousness ? And shall we, who expect such inestimable advantages by his death, deliberately counteract one of the great ends of his sufferings ? Shall we suiTer those sins to reign in ouj* mortal bodies, which he designed to destroy, when lie bore the punishment of them in his own sacred body? Shall we not comply with this great end of our Savi- our's death, and testify the sense we have of our obliga- tions to live to him by a constant watchfulness against every sin, and by the strongest resolutions to forsake every false and w ieked way ? Has he not by his death obtained that invaluable gift of the holy spirit, by which we are enabled to mortify the deeds of the body ? And shall we not look up to him by an eye of faitli for those gracious aids and influences which he has pur- 3^0 %R-E, GKACE or CHRIST S1?^JPICIENT lOR IJS. eliased, which he bestows with the greatest readiness, and which alone can make us more than conquerers id eycry temptation ? Again, are wc tempted to distrust the goodness of God, and are we ready to look upon our trials and temp- tations as arguments of our rejection by (jod ? We may see from the preceding discourse, that God, foi* wise reasons, often suiTers his own childreli to fall into temp- tations I and we may derive encouragement by looking to that Redeemer, who was tempted in all things as we are ; who was assaulted for forty days in the wilderness by a variety of the most horrid temptations ; who was tempted, not only to a sinful distrust of divine provi- dence on the one hand, and to a rash presumption on the other, but also to fall down and worship the usurp- ing prince of this world. Faith is the shield by which we are to quench these iiery darts of the devil. And what little ground have we to think it strange, that he who dared to attack the head, should also assail the members ; or that we are rejected by God merely be- cause we are tempted ; when we see from the example of our blessed Redeemer, that it is not inconsistent with the divine goodness to expose the dearest of his children to the most violent temptations ? Again, are v>'c ready to faint in the spiritual warfare^ when we consider the violence and strength of tempta- tion and our own inability to resist ? Here faith in the son of God is of great advantJigc to encourage our hearts and to strengthen our resolutions to fight without yield- ing. " His grace is sufficient Ibr us, aud his strength The grace of christ stFFiciENT poK vs. 231 is made perfect in weakness." And we should by faith, consider him who rejected the most alhiring offers of the tempter, and who stood firm under the most violent shock of persecution and suffering. Wc may derive support from considering this glorious captain of our salvation, who triumphed over all his and our enemies, and who has not only taught us by his example how to conquer them, but has also promispd us all necessary assistance, and has assured us that greater is he that is in us, than he that is in the world. Let us then look to him by faith, who by his own sufferings, has learned to succour those that are tempted ; who has spoiled pria- eipalities and powers, and who can bruise Satan under the feet of his weakest followers, strengthening them with might in the inner man, and keeping them by his mighty power through faith unto eternal salvation. Are we ready to be discouraged, when we consider how often we have broken covenant with God and fallen into sin ? Let us by faith, consider our almighty advo- cate Avith the father, even Jesus Christ, the righteous, who is also the propitiation for our sins. Let us look to our glorious Redeemer, in whose atoning blood there is efficacy enough to wash away sins of the deepest dye, and in whose all-sufficiency there is strength enough to recover us from the most dangerous falls. 2. Is the grace of Christ siifficient far us in all our trials'^ How happy then arc those ivho are enlisted under his banner"^ They shall never be suffered to fail into teraptattons l>ttt for their advantage : for God grieves none of bK i23^ IHii GKACE Ot CHRIST SUFFICIlENT Jfc'Oll US. children willingly, but pities them with divine compas- sion, watclies oyer them with peculiar care, provides for their security and support, and orders all their allot- ments in infinite mercy and tenderness. They shall never he deserted hy their God and Redeemer in an hour of difficulty and distress, but he will either enable them to hear the temptation, or with it make a way for their escape. Thoy |iave peace and comfort which the men of the w orld know nothing of, and which can sup- port them under the loss of many external comforts, and when every thing looks dark and gloomy around them. They have peace with God, enjoy the light of bis countenance, " and the testimony of a good consci- ence, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not by fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, they have their conversation in the world." Their formidable enemies may rage, but they cannot destroy those, who are sup- ported by the mighty God of Jacob. They may pursue them with restless malice and assiduity, even to tlie confines of the invisible w orld, but their almighty Re- deemer stands ready to receive their departing spirits, and guards of attending angels are commissioned to convey them in safety to the abodes of everlasting joy and rest. >Vho then can sufficiently describe the hap- piness of those, for Avhom the grace of their Redeemer is sufficient in all their trials, and in whose weakness his strength is made perfect ? Who, my friends, would not desire to be under the protection of such a Saviour ? Who could think a hardship of his service ? Who would not glory in their relation to him ? Wlio would not be willing to enlist under his banner ? TUB GRACE OF CHRIST SUJJICIENT FOR US. 233 3. How miserable are those tvlio refuse to serve their Redeemer ^ They have no interest in the grace of the almighty Redeemer; and they are bound to conflict with all their enemies, who would soon swallow them up, if left to contend with them in their own strength : but if they do not conquer they are ruined forever. "We arc all probationers for eternity; and if we refuse to have Christ to reign over us, he will leave us in the hands of our enemies, and sentence us to dwell with them in everlasting flames. Now who can describe the horror and anguish that will certainly overwhelm them, when they find that they have no interest in their judge, and that they have nothing to save them from that place of torment, which was prepared for them and their apos- tate leader. 4. From this doctrine we viay learn how strong our oh- Vgations of gratitude and obedience are to God and Christ, for offered grace and strength. When we consider our own unworthiness to receive the least mercy from God, whom we have so often of- fended ; and at the same time consider that he has, not- withstanding, given his only begotten son to die the ac- cursed death of the cross, in order to redeem us from misery, to purchase grace and salvation for us; our hearts must be surprisingly hard and insensible, if ive forget our obligations to live devoted to his service and depending upon his all-sufl[icient grace. But may I not 23* rHE GRACE OF CHRIST SUFFICIENT FOR VH: hope, my friends, that we, who have this day renewed our covenant with the Lord at his tahle, shall feel the force of our obligations to serve him ? This congrega- tion arc witnesses of the pious resolutions we have formed, to encounter all our spiritual enemies in the strength of divine grace. And shall they not also sec the performance of our vows? The eyes of the world are on us. Let us not then give them an opportunity to speak evil of our profession : let us not wound the namo and interest of our Redeemer, or cast a reflection on hi* grace by our unguarded lives. We have acknowledged this day, before God, angels, and men^ that wc are under all the sacred ties of duty, interest, love, and gratitude, to fight the good fight of faith, and to remain loyal and faithful unto death. Let us then guard against making enquiries after our vows, against unfaithfulness in the covenant of God, lest after having enlisted under the banner of Christ, we be of that unhappy number who draw back into perdition. Let us not count the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, lest wlien we profess before Christ at his bar, that we have eaten and drank in his presence, he may declare to us, ^* I nevcT knew you, depart from me, ye workers of iniquity." Let us call to mind the solemn transactions of this day when we fall into temptation, and improve tlie dying love of our Redeemer as an argument against all sin. We have taken Jesus Christ this day, for our prophet, priest and king ; let us therefore depend upon him for grace to help us in every time of need, trusting that his strength shall be made perfect in our weakness. Thus shall we live happy and eojnfovta1)le in life, be secured against all thf* THE GRACE 0:P CURIST StimCIENT JOB US. 235 assaults of our enemies, and at last received as con- querors into those mansions of joy and glory, whicli are prepared for all that come off victorious in the spiritual warfare. SERMON XIL Tim PATH OF J HE JUST IS AS THE MORIW IN G LIGHT. TROY, IV, 18. But the path of the Jtist is as the shining light, that sM- nelh more and mora unto the perfect day* Notwithstanding the extraordinary degree of wis- dom that was given to Solomon, he shamefully and un- gratefully deserted the ways of God, through the vio- lence of sensual passions which had darkened his under- standing. This melancholy instance of human frailty, is recorded by the sacred historian as a warning to fu- ture generations, that men should not think themselves safe from error, whatever talents and abilities they pos- sessed, but in the exercise of the greatest vigilance and circumspection, and under the protection of divine grace. Such is the strength of our corruptions, the weakness of our disordered minds, the influence of bad examples, and the unwearied activity and vigilance of our spiritual enemies, that were we not continually preserved by the watchful providence and powerful grace of God, we must soon become a prey to their malice. Solomon being recovered from his wanderings, in order to make all the satisfaction he could for the dishonor he had done to God and religion, by his corrupting example, offers XHB PATH qr TUJS JUST, ^c. 237 himself as a guide to otliers in the paths of right eousue&s, and employs all his wisdom and eloquence, to dissuade them from the dangerous ways of vice, and to encourage and promote the cause of religion. For this purpose, insinuating his salutary instructions as the affectionate advice of a father to his son, for wliose happiness all his wishes and aims were directed, he uses the most earnest entreaties in our context, not to join in society with wicked men, nor to imitate tlieir examples. " Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men ; avoid it, pass not hy it, turn from it and pass away." Tlie inconceivahle importance of the exhorta- tion, added to his affectionate concerns for our happiness, not only engaged him to use such a variety of expres- sion, but also to dwell upon the subject and to point out in the subsequent verses, the injustice and violence to which men are led, either sooner or later, by the com- pany and examples of wicked men. They first begin with intemperance and then proceed to injustice ; and to injustice they add ungodliness. They first wrong their own souls, then distress their neighbour and their God. For having wasted their consciences witliin and their substance without, they make no scruple to disregard the eternal laws of heaven, and to invade the rights and the property of other men, that they may be able to maintain the expence of their lusts. " They sleep not except they have done mischief, and their sleep is taken away unless they cause some to fall : for they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence." Such is the hateful character and the destructive path of sinners ; and in order to enforce the exhortation with the greater evidence, he sets before us a beautiful and 238 THE PATH OF THE JUST IS lively representation of the safety and happiness of a iife of religion, by comparing it to the morning light, ^vhich gradually advances from one degree of brightness to another, until it arrives at meridian splendor : <* But the path of the just is as the shining light, which shines njiore and more unto the perfect day." By the just, wc arc not to understand those who merely abstain from doing unjust things to their neigh- bours, while at the same time they may be indiiferent about the duties they owe to God and themselves: but such as have a vital principle of religion implanted in the heart by the spirit of God, which disposes them to pay a sincere and universal obedience to all the law s of God, without exception or reserve. And by the path of the just, we are to understand the temper and conduct of those, Avhosc minds are enlightened by the mys of heavenly wisdom, rectified by christian principles, puri- fied in some good degree from earthly affections by a living faith, and elevated above sensual gratifications, and who act in the general frame of their conversation, under the influence of a principle of piety to God. There is such a thing as justice towards God, consisting in that love, reverence, and obedience, to which he is im- questionably entitled, by the unchangeable perfections of his nature, from all his rational creatures ; and since ^11 our rights and privileges are derived from him, who has distributed to every man as he pleases, giving unto one man more and unto anotlicr less, in the course of his wise providence ; every man is bound, by his dependence upon his Maker, to leave them in tiie quiet possession of them : so that injuBtice towards men, is still greater AS THE MORNING XIGHT. :i39 injustice towards God ; and therefore, the just man who is righteous towards God, and whose conduct is regulat- ted by a regard to the Avill of the supreme disposer of all things, cannot he unrighteous in his dealings with men. And as the health of his body and the serenity of his mind depends upon his temperance, and a proper improvement of the talents and bounties of God's pro- vidence, he cannot abuse them without being guilty of ingratitude to the bounteous author ; that is of the worst sort of injuitice to him. Hence it appears, that univer- sal goodness is implied in the character of a just man : and that it is with the greatest propriety and fitness, that the whole compass of our duty is represented under the notion of justice ; since whatever may be the imme- diate object of any duty, or whatsoever name it may pass under, it is however no other than strict justice towards God. Upon this account, godliness, righteousness, and sobriety, which comprehend the whole of our duty, are included in the character of the just man, whose " path is like the morning light, which shines more and more unto tlie perfect day." Having thus determined the character of the just, let Hs attend a few moments to the important instructions, which are suggested by the comparison, which the wlsvs( of men makes between the morning light and the temper and conduct of every good man. And althougli it i*^ extremely dangerous in the interpretation of scripture to strain and torture metaphorical expressions and simi- litudes, as far as a warm imagination and a creative fancy might carry us, and it is an important branch of om' duty to guard against if : yet I think mc are ti-hv 2^{) THE VATU OP THE JUST 13 ranted by the Avhole tenor of divine revelation, as well as by many particular passages of it, to suppose, that the path of the just being compared to the morning light, may suggest to us the certainty and pleasure, as well as the instructiveness and progression of a life of religion, which last is indeed, the principal thing in- tended by the comparison. 1. The true christian knows, with the most conif or table certainty 9 that' the way he has chosen is the way oftlie divine commands, and that it will terminate in eternal Ufe. As it is by the light of the sun that the existence of many material objects is discovered, so by the light of reason and revelation, the christian's mind is enlighten- ed to see his duty and his danger, and he knows upon the most rational evidence, that the path he has chosen is approved hy his maker and will bring him to glory. In this respect he has greatly the advantage of the sin- ner, whose way is represented as darknesg, and who knows not at what he stumbles ; as you have it in the verse following our text. If the sinner is ceii^ain of any thing, it must be that he is wandering from the way of the divine commandments, and that he can never obtain that rest and satisfaction, which he is seeking. For no other evidence can attend a vicious course of life, than that it is one continued deviation from the pre- scriptions of reason and revelation ; that it is folly in the beginning and progress, and shame and misery in the issue. He may, indeed, through his ignorance or inat- tention, or the darkening and deceitful nature of sin, AS THE MOJRNINQ XIGHT. 24^1 fondly imagine that he is wiser than the christian, and boast of his freedom of thought and the strength and sufficiency of his feehle understanding, merely because he can trample upon the principles of education, and laugh at those things, which formerly, perhaps, would have made him tremble. But being " alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in him," and because of the blindness of his mind, his confi- dence in error arises from the thick darkness in which he is involved. Putting light for darkness and dark- ness for light, he cannot have that clear perception of his duty and his interest, and that satisfaction of his be- ing right which attend the path of the just. But no- thing can be made more evident by the light of the sun, than this is to the christian, that while his conduct is actuated and governed by the great principles of reason and religion, it must necessarily be approved, by that righteous Lord, who loveth righteousness, and whose countenance beholdeth the upright. He knows that as God is a being of the most absolute moral perfection, infinitely holy, just and good, faithful, compassionate and merciful ; it must be his will, that we should be « followers of him as dear children," endeavouring to be perfect as he is perfect, and holy as he is holy, imi- tating all his imitable perfections, as far as the frailty of our nature will admit, and performing all those du- ties, which result from his perfections or from his rc^ lation to us, or the conditions in Avhieh we are placed by his providence. And as he has in unparalleled mercy and grace appointed a method for the pardon of our sins and our exaltation to a glorious immortality, through the righteousness and atonement of Kis son? it must h^ 112 2i2 illE PATH OF THE JUST 19 his ^vill that wo rononncr, every other dependence fo*- justification and salvation, and humbly rely on a Re- deemer for all the blessings of the well ordered cove- nant, while we cndcaEvour to adofn his doctrines by a holy conversation. Now, this is nothing else but a short description of a religious life, which consists in such ac- tions as are suited to our dependence upon God and out obligations to him, or such as qualify us for the enjoy- ment of himself in glory ; and consequently, the truly religious man has the comfortable assurance, that the way he has chosen is the way of the divine command- ments, being conformable to the dictates of eternal rea- son and the infallible revelation of the divine will. Nor has he less certainty that it will inevitably conduct him to eternal life and felicity in another world. The connection between holiness and happiness being neces- sary and unchangeable ; he has no reason to doubt, that it shall be well with the righteous in another world ; se that he has the same reason to conclude that he will be happy hereafter, as he has to believe that he is holy m)W. And what a satisfaction must it be to the just man to see his path plain before him, and the heavenly city at the termination ; to know that his conduct is agreea- ble to the will of God, and that eternal life will be his reward ; and to be delivered from all those perplexing fears which haunt the sinner, concerning the conclusion of his life, which he cannot but apprehend m ill be mise- rable whenever he turns his thoughts upon the melan- choly subject. Now, this advantage of a religious life, seems to be suggested in oi!r text, by its being compared to the AS THE MORNING HQUT. 243 Bioriilng iiglit ; as light is frequently taken for know- ledge in the scriptures. Tl^us, (2 Cor. iv, 6,) « God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into our minds, to give us the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ.'* Those who are en- lightened by the gospel of Christ, and walk in the truth, are denominated the " children of the light and of the 4ay ;" whereas those, who live in ignorance of God and religion, are said to be *• children of darkness."* But we are more especially confirmed in this interpretation, ftom the verse immediately following our text, where it is said, that " the way of the wicked is as jdarkness, they know not at what they stumble.'* But further x 2. The pleasure and satisfaction of a religious life is alsp suggested bij the comfarisoti of it to the morning iight. Ijight is often used in scripture for prosperity, joy and happiness. ^< Light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart."f And, " O ! that I were as in the months past, when his candle shined upon my head ; wiien by his light I walked through darkness.":!^ « The eandle of the wicked shall be put out ; his prosperity and comfort shall be destroyed.'* ^< Light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is to behold the sun." When the grace of God has made a saving change on the heart of a sinner, and turned him from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan to M, Thess. y, 4, 5. fPs. xcvu, 11. ,ii>i THE PATH ©r TllE JUST U serve the living God, inspiring liim ^vitli tiic love oi' goodness and a steady resolution to walk in tlic ways of wisdom, he finds to his comfortable experience, that they are ways of pleasantness and paths of peace. For *^ great peace have they that love the laws of God."-— They have pleasures, which strangers to God and his ways intermeddle not with ; pleasures in the immediato exercises of religion ; pleasures iu the recollection and review of their lives; and pleasures in the enlivening prospect of the favor of God, tlirough all the future stages of their existence. For our encouragement in the spiritual life, the benevolent author of our beings has so framed us, that pleasure waits upon a conscious- ness of having complied with any instance of duty, and the best plcasui'cs always attend upon the best actions. Even in the mortiilcation of our corrupt lusts and affec- tions, there is a more solid and substantial pleasure^ than can possibly arise from the gratification of them ^ and if a religious life, as far as it consists in abstaining from evil, be pleasant, it must be more delightful, as it employs us in doing good. Every virtuous action pro- duces an instantaneous satisfaction, which grows strong- er, as it is done with a more express regard to the will of G od, and with a stronger bent and determination of the mind. And if we carry our enquiry to those actions, which are more properly denominated religious, such as relate to the worship of God, both private and social, we shall find the pleasure still more rational, elevated> and divine. Devotion, as it is the soul's converse with God, the source of perfection and comfort, must be the most rapturous exercise of the human mind, where it is in any good degree fitted for the heavenly employments AS THE MOllNIXG IIGHT. 2*3 When the iimlerstanding and heart conspire, when a man has just and enlarged views of i\\Q divine perfec- tions, a soul sparkling witli the image of God, a com- ibrtahle sense of ilic divine favor, and an happy -svarmtli of affection and gratitude for the amazing discoveries of f he love of God through a Redeemer ; in such a case, ihcre are no pleasures on this side of lieaven, tliat de- serve to he compared with the pleasures of devotion ; the pleasures of contemplation, prayer and praise. Nor is the satisfaction small where devotion is sincere, even in the lowest degree, provided there he a rational hope of the divine acceptance, and our douhts and fears do not prevail so far as to destroy the ideasurc. But tlic religious man has another privilege in bis pleasures, that he can enjoy the past as well as the pre- sent ; that hy the amazing power of memory and reflec- tion, he can summon them afresh to his aid, under tlie troubles of life, and enjoy them again with advantiigc. Although the time past can never be recalled, and it is impossible that we should live over again the months' and years that are gone i joX the hours that are filled with virtuous actions are never lost, while the memory of them remains. And herein consists a eonsiderable part of the glorious distinction of tlie pleasures of reli- gion above the pleasures of sin, which last hut for a sea- son, and then turn into wormwood and gall. Vice, which allured the thoughtless sinner with her painted appear ance, when she approached him in a temptation, now terrifies and confounds the deluded victim witli her ghastly train ; and the shades of his departed pleasures appear in horror before his affrighted imagination, ai^il Zie THE PATH OF THE JtSX lb point Avith au a^vtul hand to the judgment of a sin-avejig- ing God. But the christian, Avho can review a life that has been governed by the principles of religion, enjoys a perpetual feast in the testimony of a good conscience, and experiences a solid satisfaction as lasting as his me- mory, and which he can repeat when he will ,* a plea- sure, independent of time and all its vicissitudes, which the world cannot give nor take away ; and a pleasure, the more valuable in that as it arises from the time past, so it runs on into the future and grasps an un- wasting eternity : for the pleasures of religion run pa- rallel with eternity, and grow and flourish by their duration, while the good man solaces himself with the recollection of the blessings and mercies which he has received from the bountiful hand of God, and considers that they are conveyed to him by the constitution of the well ordered covenant, his mind reaches forward to the invisible world, and dwells with pleasure and satisfac- tion on tlic joys of his heavenly kingdom and the man- sions of his father'o house, which were prepared for him by a Redeemer, and which are secured to him by the same everlasting covenant. Thus does he experience joy and peace in believing, and abound in hope through the power of the holy ghost. His hope in God, the rock of ages, places his soul upon an immoveable foundation ; and when the billows of adversity run highest and beat upon him with the greatest violence, when the years draw nigh, Avhen the hope of the hypocrite vanishes like a spider's web, and all the distempered pleasures of the sinner desert him in his greatest extremity ; the plea- sures of religion still subsist in all their strength and perfection 5 his confidene.e in God supports him in the AS THE MORinNG LIGHT. 2*7 prospect of adversity, and his hope of everlasting rest and peace and joy, raises him above the common dis- quietudes of life. Though I am weak and without strength, may the christian say, though the billoAvs of adversity might soon overwhelm my soul, and the ene- mies of my salvation make mournful inroads upon my peace; yet, blessed be God, my sufficiency is in the irre- sistible power of an almighty friend, and my confidenefc ill the faitlifulness of a covenant keeping God. I will not therefore, faint in the day of adversity, but wait with humble patience and liope till the arrival of that happy hour, when I shall be placed beyond tlie reach of every envenomed arrow, that might hurt or wound my peace. As long as I have this hope in God, through a Redeemer, I cannot be without peace of eonscieuee, and peace with God, and delight in him. I rejoice that he has undertaken the tender office of a shepherd, to guide me with his counsel, to refresh me with the con- solations of his spirit, and to conduct me in safety through all the dark and dreary steps of my pilgrimage, to the regions of eternal day. 3. The insiructiveness of a religious life seems to he sn^-. gested by its being compared to the morning light. By the light which it diffuses all around, others are invited and encouraged to walk in it. For this reason, our blessed Lord tells his disciples, that their " light should so shine before men, that they seeing their good works might glorify their father in heaven.'^ And he expressly calls them '* the light of the world," not only because they were appointed instructors of mankind, but i^iS THiB PATH OF THE JUST IS principally witli a view to tlieiv example, that otherfe might be induced to obey the gospel, from an observa- tion of its blessed effects in the lives of its professors. There is a light which arises from the lustre of a reli- gious conversation, which is often more instructive tliau that of precept, as it convinces men of the practicable^ ness, as well as of the excellence of religion, and insen- sibly enkindles a laudable emulation to accomplish what we see performed by others, in the same circumstances with ourselves. Upon this account, every christian who lives in a prevailing degree, according to the prescrip- tions of the religion he professes, is in some measure a light of the world. And we have reason to bless God^ that in all ages of the world, he has raised up many, whom he has qualified with such distinguished abilities and graces of his holy spirit, that they are properly de- nominated the burning and shining lights of the church. This should be considered as a great encouragement to true christians, that God makes use of their examples to reclaim others from the error of their Avars, and should excite them to be more circumspect and vigilant in their conversation, and to abound in every grace and ornament of a good life, that they may be thereby more extensively beneficial to mankind ; and liave the pecu- liar honor of co-operating with God in the glorious de- signs of his grace, in bringing many sons and daughters to glory. To do good, that wc may be seen and honored of men, is indeed but a sordid and mean inducement -, but to labor to excell in all the branches of a religious life, that God may obtain the greater praise, that his kingdom may have a greater extension, and that a great- er number of immortal souls, who arc >vandering in AS THE MORNING LIGHT. 249 darkness and error, may be brought home to God by a saving conversion, is the noblest ambition that can ac- tuate the human heart. 4. The climstian^s progress in religion is compared with evident propriety to the morning light which shines more and more unto the perfect day. As the morning sun encreases in light and splen= dor as he gradually ascends above the horizon, until he arrives at his meridian latitude ; so christianst whose tempers are regulated, and whose conduct is di- rected by the gospel of Christ, are upon the whole gra- dually improving in knowledge, holiness and spiritual joy, until they are translated to the " inheritance of the saints in light." By the sacred illumination of the spirit of God, their understandings will be gradu- ally enlightened with the beams of heavenly truth, their prejudices removed, their conceptions of divine things en- larged and cleared, and their spiritual thirst excited to take in a larger degree of that heavenly knowledge which makes them wise to salvation. The satisfaction a good man experiences in the encrease of his know- ledge, the pleasure aud profit he may hereby convey to others, the two great fountains of knowledge, the reve- lation and the works of God laid open before him, the examples exhibited to his view, and the animating en- comiums bestowed upon religious wisdom in the sacred oracles, will concur to raise his desires and strengtlien his resolutions and endeavours to encrease his know- ledge of divine things. And according to the natural progress of the life of God in the soul, the will and 12 250 THE TATH OP THE JUST liv affections will operate in some proportion to the clear- er views of the understanding, which may be one rea- son of the apostle's joining together " growing in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ."* This pro- gress in holiness and grace consists in an extensive obe- dience to the Avhole will of God, to all the laws of righteousness and truth ; a growing sincerity and go- verning intention to please him in the whole of our conduct 'y an ardent desire and zealous endeavour to do good to the souls and bodies of men ; an increasing hu- mility and daily repentance for our sins ; and a constant dependence upon Christ for the supplies of his grace to enable us in all things to adorn his doctrines by an ho- ly conversation and to comply with the terms of the gospel covenant for salvation. The essential excellence of these christian graces, together with an humbling sense of his low attainments in the spiritual life and the weakness and imperfection of all his graces, will pow- erfully engage the christian to '* give all diligence to add to his faith virtue ; and to his virtue, knowledge ; and to knowledge, temperance, and to temperance, pa- tience; and to patience, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness ; and to brotherly kindness, eliarity : that these things being in him and abounding, he may not be barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. '' j The rational satisfaction he must feel in finding his heart changed, his spirit rectified and his condition improved, will dispose him to make greater ad- vances in holiness, that he may be more like to God, a greater blessing to mankind, more prepared for heaven *2. Pet: in. 18. t ~. Tct. i, 5. AS THE MORNING UGHT. 251 and posses a greater degree of inward satisfaction and a lively hope. Besides it is essential to the nature of true grace to grow, and that sacred agent, who has im- planted the divine principle of life in the soul, will strengthen and support it hy his grace, and enahlc them that wait upon him, to <^ renew their strength" to ** mount up with wings as eagles, to run and not be weary, to walk and not fa nt." The same external means; the same internal thoughts and reflections, which were improved by the spirit of God to engage him at iirst in the love and practice of religion, will still be improved to lead him on to more exalted degrees of grace in the spiritual life, until he be brought to re- joice in the hope of the glory of God. For the " peace of God, which passeth understanding," is both the na- tural consequence and the promised fruit of exalted piety. " The works of righteousness are peace, and eflTects of righteousness are quietness and assurance for- ever." As it is honorable to the promises and previa dence of God, whom the christian has chosen for his portion : as it is for the reputation of Christianity, the great source of joy and comfort ; and as it is beneficial to himself and to the world, the christian will endea- vour to make such advances in religion, as will enable him to <* rejoice in the Lord and to joy in the God of his salvation." APPLICATION. And now, my friends, the proper application of tliis subject is, to examine ourselves by what we have heard, whether we are of the number of" the just, whose paths are like the morning light, which shines more and more tZbH THE PATH OF THE JUST IS unto the perfect day?'^ Do we know from happy expe- rience, that the ways in which we walk, are the ways of the divine commandments and the ways of life ? Do we experience those pleasures in religious duties, in the review of our lives, in the recollection of what God has done for our souls, and in the joyful hope of his favor, which strangers to him intermeddle not with ? Are we careful to make our " light so shine hefore others, that they ai^ therehy induced to glorify our heavenly fa- ther ?" And do we find upon impartial examination, that we are encreasing upon the whole in knowledge, holiness, and spiritual joy ; notwithstanding many fai- lures in duty and declensions in grace ? And are we humhlcd hefore God, that in the midst of any attain- ment which his grace has enahled us to make, we are still so defective in love to God, in thankfulness to Jesus Christ, in affection to ourhrethren, in good-will to men, in humility and heavenly mindedness, in resignation and spiritual joy ? If this is indeed your character, in a pre- vailing degree let me exhort and heseech you to give glory to God, whose grace has enahled you to choose that hetter path, that shall not he taken from you. Fre- quently review the great principles that have determined your choice, and endeavour to strengthen them hy de- vout meditation, watchfulness and prayer to God, for renewed influences of his grace, to enahle you to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. It is for the credit of the gospel, the honor of God, and bene- ficial both to your own souls, and the souls of others, that your light should shine with an encreasing lustre, that others seeing your good works may be induced to glorify our heavenly father. AS THE MORNIXG XIGHT. 253 But while we indulge our charity in hoping, that tliis is the character of many in this assemhly, faithfulness to your immortal souls, and the slightest ohservation of the conduct of persons in every christian society, forhid us to conclude, that it is tlie character of every indivi- dual present ; and w as there hut a single person here, who is still walking in darkness and wandering on in the broad way that leadeth to destruction, his precious soul, whose redemption cost the blood of the son of God, is entitled to a faithful w^arning of his folly and danger. And yet alas ! there may be more than one or two ; and should your own consciences testify to any of you, " thou art tlie man," who art hitherto walking with heedless steps in the road that leads down to destruction ; let me beseech you by your hopes of sharing in tlie salva- tion of the just, that you delay not a moment longer to enter upon that safe and pleasant way that leads to eternal life. We know the language of that deceitful heart, which says, that it is time enough hereafter, when you vainly hope for less opposition to this change either from yourselves or the world. Believe it, tlie difficulty will grow greater the longer it is deferred ; your reluctant hearts will be more disinclined to the blessings, the corrupting influences of bad examples will grow stronger, your attachment to the vicious practices to which you have been accustomed, will be firmer, and you will have less and less reason to hope for tlie quick- ening influences of the spirit of God, whom you arc daily provoking, and without Avhom you cannot be reco- vered from the error of your vvays. Be exhorted there- fore, to say with repenting Ephraim of old, " What have I more to do with idols V' <* I will this day avouch ^5* THE PATH or THE JUST, &£. the Lord to be iny God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes and liis commandments, and to hearken to his voice.'* Begin with an hearty repentance for the sins of yoiir past lives, and faith in the mercy of God, through a Redeemer, for the pardon of tliem. Plead with him, to give you a lively sense of your sins, confess them before the throne of his grace, and implore hh mercy to give you that evangelical repentance which is unto life, and those holy resolutions of amendment and endea- vours after new obedience, which he will strengthen by his grace, until they produce a genuine conversion to Crod and a comfortable preparation for his heavenly kingdom. SERMON Xm. TRAIN rP A CHILD IN THE AVAY HE SHOULD GO. PKOV. 22, 6. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when ht is old, he will not depart from it. It is a very old observation concerning the state of the world, and the conduct of mankind, that they are continually sinking into a deeper degeneracy and falling short of the virtue, and piety of their ancestors. This complaint has been borrowed by every age, as what they imagined was more applicable to themselves, than to any period that was past. I would not undertake to say, that there always has been a just foundation for such a mournful lamentation ; but certain it is, that every sincere christian is greatly concerned, and mourns be- fore God, that there is so little vital religion and prac- tical godliness to be foimd among all ranks of profes- sors in the christian churches. And possibly, if avc en- €|uire into the causes of this melancholy complaint, we shall find that nothing has a greater influence to pro- duce a general disregard to the interests of true reli- gion, than the want of care to bring the rising genera^ tion under a solenm and abiding sense of the importance of it in thetr own aouls. For, under the cood nrovi ^56 TRAIN UP A CIllIiD IN dence of God, the propagation of religion in the world to the latest posterity, depends in a great measure upon the pious care of parents to instruct their children in the principles of our holy religion, and to impress their tender minds with an early sense of their personal con- cern in them. For when young persons early devote themselves to the service of God, they have great ad- vantages for making a delightful proficiency in the ways of godliness ; and a sacred conscientious regard to the honor and a,dvancement of the Redeemer's kingdom, and the promotion of vital piety in their own souls, daily growing with their increasing years, they will grow more and more determined in theii' adherence to the ways of God, and more solicitous, when they are settled in families, that they and their houses may serve the God of their fathers. And there is equal reason to hope, that that hlessed Redeemer, who took little chil- dren in his arms and blessed them, will also prosper their pious labors in i\iQ Lord ; so that under the im- pressions of a religious education, pure and undefiled religion may be transmitted to the latest generations. Whereas, on the other hand, if parents neglect the training up their children in the nurtuie and admoni- tion of the Lord ; it cannot be rationally expected that they w ill either be solicitous to secure the salvation of their own souls, or careful to promote the eternal hap- piness of those that may be dependent on them or de- scended from them. So that the pious care or fatal neglect of parents, in the religious instruction of their children may have a much more extensive influence, than many seem to imagine ; when they can patiently bear the thoughts of their children's being sent into a THE WAY HE SHOULD GO. ^5^ world full of snares and temptations, unprincipled in re* ligion, unacquainted with the cprruption of their own hearts and unconcerned ahout their eternal salvation. "What can be rationally expected as the consequence of this ? Shall such children be a seed to serve the Lord, or accounted to him for a generation when we are sleep- ing in the dust ? It might as well be expected, that you should reap a plentiful harvest without plowing and sowing, as that your children should grow up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, withaut your pains to teach them the things that belong to their eternal peace. Nothing therefore can be of so great import- ance, both to the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom in the world, and to the everlasting salvation of your children, as to train them up in the ways, in which they should go, that when they are old they may not depart from them. And when I consider the happy conse- quences arising from a faithful discharge of this im- portant duty, I cannot but entertain a pleasing hope both of your patient attention and of the sacred inilu* ences of the holy spirit to bring what may be said with divine power to our hearts and consciences ; while I would plead for those, wlio cannot plead for them- selves. In consequence of the method proposed, when I explained the duty and shewed the success that might be expected from attempting it ; I propose at this timcj through divine assistance, to mention L Some arguments to enforce the duty of training up our children in the way, in which they should go. JI. Apply what may be said. K2 438 TIlAlxV VJe A CHILD IN I. Arguiiicnts to enforce the duty. 1. There is a iJCCuUar pkasiire aitending this duty, xchich should poiverfuUy constrain parents to the conscien- tious discharge of it. Besides the comfort attending the consciousness of having complied with any known and important obliga- tion ; the gracious parent of mankind has wisely framed us with such principles and affections as necessarily se- cure a secret unutterable delight in forming the tender minds of our children for God and religion. This is a commandment, in keeping of which there is a great re- ward, and one of those ways of wisdom which are w ays of pleasantness, and a path which will lead to peace and happiness. We trace with peculiar pleasure the first efforts of speech on theiii, stammering tongues, and the early dawnings of reason in their feeble minds. It is a delightful task to assist the openings of nature, to lead the young strangers into a new world, to pour the fresh instruction over the unenlightened mind, and to strength- en it with the principles of any kind of useful knowledge, which their age may admit, or their circumstances re- quire. And if this is a pleasant office, what superior delight and satisfaction must it afford, to raise their un- practiced thoughts to meditate upon the most noble and exalted objects ; to engage them to think on the ado- rable God with veneration and joy ; to teach them to enquire after an interest in t]ie blessed Jesus, the faith- ful shepherd of his helpless fiock ; to open to tltem the wonders of redeeming love ; to instruct them in tlie THE WAY HE SHOULD GO. 259 principles of diviue truth, and to form them to senti- ments of piety to God and love and benevolence to the whole human race. Must there not be a peculiar sa- tisfaction attending the consideration, that we are fel- low workers with God himself, that we are promoting that glorious plan of salvation, which the son of God condescended to bleed on the accursed tree, to establish in our degenerate world ; that we are preparing sub- jects for the kingdom of his grace ; and that we are laying the foundation of that knowledge, virtue and happiness, which shall be continually increasing through the boundless ages of eternity ! How reviving is the hope, that our pious labors in the Lord may be blessed by the concurrence of the holy spirit leading tliem into a saving acquaintance with God and themselves, and thereby making us the happy instruments of repairing those mournful breaches that sin has made in the world ; 01 counteracting the destructive operations of that apostate spirit, which works' in the children of disobe- dience, of rescuing an immortal spirit from slavery and ruin, and of preparing it for the glorious society of those exalted spirits, which surround the throne of God with the most enraptured strains of devotion and grati- tude. This is an exercise near a-kin to tlie employ- ments of the heavenly world ; and it may be rationally expected that God himself, who has enjoined it on pa- rents for the sake of their children, will visit their souls, in the midst of these pious cares, with some fore- tastes of those pleasures, which flow from his throne above, as a token of his gracious approbation, and as a pledge of their future success. For while we instruct our children in those sacred truths of our holy religion. which have afforded ourselves the greatest comfort ia this house of our pilgrimage ; our instructions and ad- monitions will return into our own bosoms with a rich increase of edification and refreshment. And hereby we shall rise into more endearing communion with our heavenlj father, be more attempered to the sacred em- ployments of the upper world, and more meet for the inheritance with the saints in light. However labori- ous it may be to give " line upon line and precept upon precept 3" and however discouraging it may be to con- sider the little good effects our most affectionate warn- ings and admonitions may have upon our children ; yet God has annexed a peculiar pleasure to the tender toil, and has afforded abundant hopes of future success, suffi- cient to encourage us to persevere in the important duty and "to be instant in season and out of season." And can we, after all this encouragement, which God has given to secure the religious education of our children, neglect that sacred business, which is attended with substantial comfort, even in the midst of a thousand anxious fears for their happiness, v/hich prepares our- selves for more endearing communion with God, and gives us a higher relish for the sacred pleasures of tlie heavenly world ? Our own desires to grovf in grace and to be qualified for a more exalted station in the king- dom of glory, powerfully plead for the children, which God has given us, and lay us under peculiar obligations to train them up in his ways. But this argument, we hope, will receive additional force, when we consider further, that^ . THE WAY HE SHOUI.D GO. ^^1 2. The interests of the Redeemer's kingdom depend greatly upon the care of Parents to train up their Children for God. ^^'c live in a moral world, where one generation after anotlicr, is removed from the stage of action to make room for tliose that are to succeed. With regard to ourselves, we are convinced, both from our own daily observation and from the sacred oracles of God^ that this state is but tlie house of our pilgrimage ; that here we have no abiding city, but are travellers to the invi- sible world ; that the most healthy and vigorous amongst us, shall soon go the Avay from whence we shall not re- turn ; and that we must resign the important trust of the gospel, which has been committed to our charge, to others that shall succeed us; aud if we have any just sense of the advantage of having the oracles of God committed to us, and the amazing and distinguishing goodness of God, in bestowing this invaluable privilege upon us, or any regard to the happiness of our children ; into whose hands would we rather choose to deposit the sacred trust than into theirs? But how can we hope, that they will esteem or be careful to maintain the trust, if we do not labor to prepossess their minds with a pre- vious sense of its importance ? How can we expect, that when we are mouldering in tlie house of silence, they will iill our places in the house of God, or rise up in our stead for the support of the dying interests of t]ie Re- deemer's kingdom in the world ? Can we expect it in the neglect of the only rational method of securing re- ligion amongst us ? It is true, that God has promised to be ever with his church, so that the gates of hell shall 262 TRAIX UP A CHIID m not prevail against it, but the kingdom of his son shall endure as long as the sun and the moon ; one generation after another rising up to declare his mighty works. But these gracious promises, which we are sure a faith- ful God will accomplish, do not prove that this kingdom shall be continued amongst us, more than they would once have proved, that the candlesticks would never be removed from the Asian churches, which have been given up to desolation many ages ago ; and is it not a distressing consideration to think, that true and vital religion should be lost among our dependants ; that the house of the Lord should be deserted by our children ; that they should forsake the assembling themselves to- gether to acknovrlcdge their dependence on their crea- tor, to do homage to the king of kings, and to cclel>rate the riches of redeeming grace? Is the thought c a 5y to be supported, that God should write upon our chiklren, or upon their posterity, the sad memorials of a departed glory ; that wlicn tlie worship of God is forsaken, the servants of God must bear a fruitless testimony against an unbelieving generation, until their hearts are broken with so sad an office, and religion is burled in their graves ? And is it not peculiarly melancholy, that the children of the kingdom should be thrust out ; tliat those whom we have devoted to God in the most solemn manner at their baptism, should fail of the grace of God and should walk in the v/ays of the destroyed, and of those that are forsaken of the Lord of all ? And can we after ail, entertain so great an indifFerence for the inte- rests of tliat Redeemer, in whose name both we and our children have been baptized, as to be contented that his holy religion should die in our hands ? Was it for this THB WAY HE SHOULD GO. 26S that the son of God descended from heaven, to publish the gospel covenant in the world, and expired on the cross to confirm it by liis blood ? Was it for this that the pious labors of our ancestors have transfcri^d this divine religion down through so many succeeding gene- rations, and so many martyrs have scaled it witli their death ? Was all this done that Christianity should be lost among our descendants, or at least sink into an empty name or a lifeless circle of unmeaning forms 2 "Yet, humanly speaking, this must be the melancholy consequence of neglecting to train up our chiidren in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Had we any love to a crucified Redeemer, any regard to the advance- ment of his kingdom in the world, or any grateful sense of his distinguishing grace in making known to us the way of salvation in his glorious gospel ; these things should awaken in us an holy zeal and an earnest desire to spread a sweet savour of his name, as far as our influ- ence can reach ; but especially in our families, amongst those whom we have received from him and devoted to him, and in whose happiness we are so tenderly con- cerned. This brings me to add, that S, The present and future happiness of our children de- pends upon our care to train them up in the ways tlieij should go. However little we may regard it, yet it is a solemn truth confirmed by the mouth of inspiration itself, that " godliness is profitable unto all tilings, having the jwo- mise of the life that now is, and of that Avhicli is to come." It is generally the surest way to happiness m *K^ ii.6*i TJRAIN UP A CHIXD IN this world, and tlirough the merits and righteousness of the Redeemer, the only waj to glory in the workl to come. It would be easy to enlarge upon its happy ten- dency to promote our health, reputation, estates, and the peace of our minds. It secm^es immediate blessedness to the man that fears the Lord and delighteth greatly in his commandments : as it moderates or suppresses those hurtful passions, which throw the mind into con- fusion and anguish, and affords abundant exercise for those affections which are delightful ; it secures a peace and satisfaction which cannot be derived from the ob- jects of time and sense ; it administers " peace of con- science and joy in the holy ghost ;'' so that the christian finds by happy experience, that <^ the ways of wisdom are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." They are ways, that not only secure comfort in this world, but also lead up to the paradise of God. For invariable truth and goodness has declared, that to them that by patient continuance in well doing seek for gl^ry, honor, and immortality, God will give eternal life. So that if our children, through the divine blessing upon our pious instructions, become truly religious, they will not only be preserved from those follies and crimes, which stain the honor and ruin tlie substance of fami- lies, but they will take the most probable method to make life comfortable, and will be entitled to the pater- nal care and blessing of God, while they are in this world, and will be made heirs of eternal glory in the paradise of God. But on tlie other hand, if they prove vicious and prophane, which, without tlie principles of religion to restrain them, we have but too much grounds to fear; what can we rationally expect, but tlieir infa- THE WAY HE SHOUM) GO. 25g my and misery in this world and eternal banishment from God, through the unwasting ages of eternity?— Now, if happiness or misery, the-greatest that human hearts can conceive, arc likely to be the portion of our children, according as we train them up for either ; what man or woman that has the bowels of a parent, can he- sitate a moment, whether he will bring up his children hi the fear of the Lord, or permit them to w alk in the ways of their own heart, and in the sight of their ow n eyes, until they sink into that horrible pit, fi-om whence there is no redemption ? How preposterous is that anxious care of parents, which engages them <* to rise early, to sit up late, and to eat the bread of carefulness," to advance the fortunes of their children, and secure to them the possession of those dubious advantages of this world, which may prove either blessings or curses to them, as they are improved or abused ; while they will be at no pains to secure for them the favor and appro- bation of their God, and an interest in those durable treasures, which ^^ the moth cannot corrupt, nor thieves steal away," and which alone can make them rich in- deed. Such a partial care only of the meanest part of their concerns, is no more reasonable than for a parent, who sees his child perishing before his eyes, to be solici- tous to adorn its clothes, instead of affording that im- mediate help which its extremity demands. Should not this consideration then engage us to consult for their greatest good, and employ our greatest care to lead them into those paths, by which they may avoid eternal destruction and arrive at unfading glory ? Especially when we consider, that they have derived a corrupted degenerate nature from us, which prompts them to d<^ • la 2 266 TJRAIX rr A ClIIXI) IX part from the living God ; and that ouv o^vn personal mistakes in conduct, or our bad examples, have contri- buted to lead them astray. Docs the subject, that by treason, has forfeited his estate from his children, look upon them with pity and concern, and use all his remain- ing influence to secure his majesty's favor for them be- fore he dies? And shall parents be unconcerned about the favor of God for their children, ^rho have derived from them a tainted blood and a forfeited inheritance ? Would he not be justly accounted an unnatural monster indeed, who could introduce the plague into his family, and see his children die around him without concern, while there was a sovereign remedy at hand, by which thousands had been cured ; and he would not so much as direct, or insist upon the application of it. But what is a natural death, or the most painful disease of the body, when compared with that mortal disorder of the mind, which, without an application to the great physi- cian of souls, must terminate in eternal death and the most insupportable torments forever and ever ? The matter may be brought to this easy but important ques- tion, shall we teach our cliildren to spend their days upon earth, like rational creatures, in the noblest enjoyment of God and themselves^ until they rise to the glories and pleasures of the heavenly w orld ? Or shall we teach them to live like the beasts that perish in the amuse- ments of a vain imagination and in the indulgence of the meaner appetites of their nature, until they sink under all the shame and remorse of a guilty condemning con- science, and the almighty vengeance of an ineenscd God I And can any be so far loiit to every sense of interest and duty, as to imagine that the little interests of time are THE WAT ^E SHOrLD GO. 2^ worth a moments thought, wliile these important things which helong to their eternal peace are forgotten and ne- glected ? But this argument should receive additional weight from considering, that i. The religious instniction of our cliildren, or the ne- glect of it will not terminate in them alone, hit will also have an exlensi-ce irvfluencc over all with whom fheij converse. If hy the hlcssing of God upon our pious care, our children's hearts are early touched witii an abiding sense of religion, they will soon he convinced that they were not born for themselves alone ; hut the mercies of God and the example of our Redeemer, will teach them to exert themselves for the service of mankind, and to do good unto all as they have opportunity. As they ad- vance in liR", who can tell, in how many instances their pious and charitable cares may be effectual for the benefit of their fellow creatures ; how many in the depths of poverty may be relieved by their liberality ; how many iu perplexed and intricate circumstances may be direct- ed by their counsel ,• how many weeping eyes may be dried, and how many mourning hearts may be revived by their tender sympathy or seasonable relief; how many of their thoughtless companions may be reclaimed from the error of their ways by their example and in- fluence ; and how many aged christians may be excited and quickened in the heavenly road by their ardor and zeal. I can appeal to the conscience of every parent in this assembly, that you wisjjL.this to be the cbaracicr of 268 TRAIN VT A CllllP IN - youp children. And should not tliis powerfully constrain you to exert your utmost endeavours, thus to train up your children for extensive usefulness in the world, that they may he good angels to mankind and blessings to all with whom they converse ? But on the other hand, wc must remcmher, tliat our children will not be mere cyphers in the world, if we neglect to train them up for God. Instead of blessings they will prove curses in their generation. The licen- tiousness to which their corrupt nature will prompt them, may lead them by unthought of consequences, to injure and defraud, as well as grieve and torment others. Instead of reclaiming those that are going in the paths of the destroyer, they may grieve the genera- tion of God's children, blast the hopes of many an anx- ious parent, defeat the good influence of all their pi- ous admpnitions, allure many unpracticcd youths into remediless destruction, by their sinful discourses and corrupting examples, and draw down the just judgments of God upon a guilty land. So that the care or neglect of the religious education of our children will have a very extensive influence, not only over their own con- duct and happiness, but also over the happiness or mi- sery of all with whom they converse ; which should excite us to redoubled diligence in training them up in the ways of God, least for want of the restraints of re- ligion, they become iliQ melancholy instruments of ruining the immortal souls of others, and thereby break the hearts of many a ])ious parent, who has deserved no ?Hich misery and afl!iction from our hands. THE WAY HE SHOUID GO. 26,9 The want of time engages me to wave the considera- tion of some other arguments, taken from the express command of tliat God and Redeemer, who have entrust- ed us with the religious education of our children ; the peculiar advantages whicli parents have for this pur- pose, by their being constantly with them and acquainted with their dispositions, and the most suitable seasons of address ; from the encouragcmjent they have to hope for the divine blessing to render their labors successful ; and from the influence that the conscientious discharge of this duty must have upon their own peace in life and at death. The bare mention of these arguments, which might be urged with pertinency upon the present occa- sion, must suffice, that we may leave room for an ad- dress to both parents and children, which we intend in the APPLICATIOX. 1. It is with pleasure, that we can congratulate some of you at least, who have the testimony of your own consciences, thai in the general tenor of your conversa- tion, you are faithfully endeavouring to discharge the important duty which vvc have been recommendiug ; and that you have reason to hope that your labor ha:^ not been entirely in vain in the Lord. You are better acquainted with the doctrines of the meek and lowly Jesus, than to ascribe the success to the prudence of your own conduct, to the strength of your reasoniiig, or to the warmth and tenderness of your address. Vriiat- cver of these or any other advantages you enjoy Avcre derived from the father of lights, " from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift." Irs vain had your pious admonitions, from day to day, dropped as the rain 17.0 TBAIN rp A CUIXD IX in refreshing showers, or distilled as the 71 sew your seed, and in the evening not to witliold your Land ; for you know not whether shall prosper, this or that 5 or whether hoth shall he alike good."* Is the danger extreme ? Let your efforts he so much the more zealous, your admonitions so much the more frequent and serious, and your prayers so much the more ear- nest and importunate. It may be that God will be gro.- cious to you, that the child may yet live } and yoiu* sad apprehensions may only serve to increase your joy, when you will be able to say, '* this my son, was dead, and is alive again ; he was lost and is found." Or it may be your pious admonitions may have the desired effect, when you are sleeping in the dust, and when the blessed Jesus appears in his own and his father's glory, he will bring with him that plant, which you have so often wa- tered with your tears and your prayers. But with regard to some of you, my friends, I am afraid that your own consciences now witness for me, that it is no breach of charity to suppose, that there may be some parents in this numerous society, who have been unfaithful to the souls committed to your care. If there are any of this unhappy character present, permit me to expostulate with you in a few words, in the presence of that holy God who has given you your children. You doubtless remember, that solemn and alarming charge that was given to the prophet : <^ Son of man I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel, therefore hear thou the word from my mouth and give them warn- ina:; and if thou sneakest not to warn the vitrei from Fr]. S7£ TilAIN UP A CHILD IN his Avicked way, to save his life ; tlie same wicked mafi shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand." If evei* you have read this passage with attention, yon must have been ready to say, " the Lord be merciful to ministers, they have a very solemn ac- count to give." It is certain they have : but permit me to remind you, that this is not our case alone, but you also have your share in it ; for your children are much more immediately committed to your care, than you are to ours ; and by parity of reason, if they perish in their iniquities, while you neglect to give them warning, their blood will be required at your hands. Let me entreat you for a few moments, to consider how you shall review a life spent in the neglect of this duty, when your souls stand trembling on the confines of the invisible world ; when your awakened consciences will testify against you, that your children's ruin is in part owing to your neglect to train them up in the fear of the Lord. This dreadful reflection will greatly dar- ken, if not entirely suppress those hopes, which alone can support you in that solemn conjuncture. Certain it is, if you considered the dreadful weight with which it will sit upon your minds, in the immediate prospect of your appearance before the bar of your judge, you would not suffer every trifling difficulty to deter you from the discharge of this duty. But carry your prospect a little farther, to the tremendous bar of Christ, where all your delusive hopes that are not founded on his glorious gos- pel, will forsake you ,• and think how you will answer him, when he makes inquisition for blood and demands an account of his children, whom he committed to your THE WAY HE SHOULD 60. 273 eare. How will you be astonished and confounded in the presence of your inexorable judge, and « call on the mountains to cover you from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb ?" But is it not infinitely better to prevent these insupportable reflections before it be too late ? Does not your own eternal salvation and the salvation of your children; does not interest, affection, gratitude, and every other sacred obligation, plead for your children, and loudly call upon you to train them up in the fear of the Lord ? 2. I shall only detain you while I say a few things to my younger friends, for whom I have been pleading so long. You see that it is your parent's duty to train you up in the ways of the Lord, and to instruct you in the things that belong to your eternal peace. You have im- mortal souls to save or lose as well as others, and you have reason to bless and praise the adorable God, who has made such a gracious provision for your instruc- tion. You might have been born where you never would have seen a bible, never heard of the name of a Savi- our, and never known the way to glory and happiness : where you would have wandered in the ways of the de- stroyer, and where your parents, involved in the same darkness and ignorance with yourselves, would not have been able to direct your steps in the midst of an ensna- ring world. Bless God, therefore, that you have been born in a land of light, and that you " hear the glad tidings of salvation through a Redeemer." Be careful to listen to the instructions of your parents, and labor td know the things of God ; remembering that your M 2 %7'Jb TRAIN UP A t HIXD IN eternal happiness depends upon your acquaintance witk God and Christ, " whom to know aright is life eternal." I hope wlien God is furnisliing you with so many advan- tages for knowing his will ,• when you are favored with the use of your hibles and other good books ; when your parents and ministers spend their time and pains to instruct you in the things that belong to your eternal peace ; you will not think much of the trouble of learn- ing. Remember that God himself has mentioned to the honor and praise of young Timothy, " that from a child he was acquainted with the scriptures, wliich could make him wise to salvation." And let me remind you, that your knowledge of the ways of God is not design- ed to fill your heads with speculative notions, but to make your hearts and lives more holy. For the bles- sed Redeemer himself has said it : ** If you know these things, happy are ye if ye do them ;" and we may add, hut if you do them not, better for you never to have known them, better for you never to have been born. <* For the servant that knew his master's will and did it not, was beaten Avitii many stripes." I will leave you at this time with this one exliortation more. Pray to God to teach you by his holy spirit, to lead you in his ways, to dispose you to comply with every duty, to fit you for serving liim in this world, and for living Avith him in the world to come. I would hope, that you do not live a single day without prayer to God for his di- rection and preservation, for the pardon of your sins, and for the blessing of your heavenly father and Re- deemer. God loves them that love him, and <^ they that seek him early shall find him." Your heavenly Re- deemer delights to see young persons cojning to his throne THE WAY HE SHOULD GO. 275 ^ of grace and asking a blessing from him. AVlien lie was upon this earth, he took the children that were brought to him in his arms and blessed them, and said, of such was his kingdom ; and he still retains the same compas- sion and tenderness for young persons, that ever he had. Pray, therefore, to him every day on your bended knees for a blessing. This, my young friends, is the way to grow wise unto salvation, to glorify your heavenly fa- ther ; to adorn the doctrines of God your Saviour ; to be ornaments to religion; to obtain peace with God and with your own consciences; to live comfortably and happy in the world ; to avoid the snares of your spiri- tual enemies ; to be a comfort and a blessing to your parents and ministers ; and to be brought at last " to dwell with God and Christ, with angels and the spirits of just men made perfect in heaven." And may the God of all grace enable you to walk in it, and preserve you by his mighty power, through faith unto eternal salvation. SERMON XIV. RECEIVE NOT THE GRACE OF GOD IN VAIN 1 Cor. 3, 16. Know yc not that ye are the temples of God ; mid that the spirit of God dwells in yon. The existence of an infinitely perfect being, who is the first cause of all things, from whom we have derived our beings, and to whom we owe the highest veneration and obedience, is a sacred and eternal truth ; witnessed by the heavens and the earth, by all above, below and around us. And it is but reasonable to suppose, tliat he who formed the human mind, and gave us a power of communicating our sentiments to each other, and of encouraging and persuading one another, without in- fringing our natural freedom, should also have access to our minds, and should know how far and with what degree of force, impressions may be made upon our spi- rits, consistently Avith our rational liberty. The opera- tions of the spirit of God therefore, are to be consider- ed as in a way of powerful assistance to the due appre- hension and belief of the mind and will of God as re- vealed in his word, and to the practice of every eom- Bfianded duty. Wliilc his immensity and omniscience assure us, that h^^ :h every where present, and beliolds all the secret workings of our minds, and his all sufli- KECEIVE NOT THE GRACE OF GOD IN VAIN- 277 cieuey, that he can liberally reward us for all the sin- cere devotion and homage that we pay to him ; his in- finite goodness and mercy give us the utmost confidence, that he is willing to maintain a spiritual communion with us, by accepting our homage and worship, and granting a gracious answer to our prayers, by receiving our grateful acknowledgments, and showering down his blessings upon us with a liberal hand; and these deduc- tions of reason are abundantly confirmed by di^ inc re- velation, in which he has promised to put his spirit within us and cause us to walk in his statutes and judgments, to quicken, enliven, direct, comfort, and strengthen UiS by the internal operations of his gracious and free spirit ; and that he will give his spirit to them that ask him, with tlie readiness of a most indulgent father, to answer all the purposes of our sanctification and preparation for glory. Nay, it is supposed in every page of the bible, that there is a gracious communication of the spirit of God with our minds, by which he is the author of everj^ devout affection, of every pious resolution, and of every religious motion of the soul; and of all that comfort, hope, confidence, and joy, which the true christian ex- periences in the spiritual life. This is what the apos- tle means by calling us the temples of God, and by say- ing that the spirit of God dwells in us. Now when the adorable majesty of heaven conde- scends to allow us this distinguishing privilege, of enjoy- ing a spiritual communion and fellowship with himself, by the in-dwelling of his holy spirit, is it not astonish- ing that any of the human race sliould be indifferent ^})OMt it, and much more that they should be averse to 278 RECEIVE NOT T«E GEACB 01? GOD IN VAIN. the cultivation of it? And yet melancholy experience proves that this is really the case. The men of this world immerse themselves so deeply in the enjoyment of the pleasures, profits, and honors of this life, and form such close attachments to temporal things, that they have but little relish for a spiritual intercourse with the au- thor of their beings and the source of their happiness. Kothing can more fully discover the mournful corrup- tion of our nature than this ; especially if we consider that we are made capable of enjoying this exalted privi- lege, that we must be sensible that we stand in the ut- most need of it ; that we are frequently and earnestly invited to it ; and that it is our greatest honor and hap- piness, as well as our duty, to comply with these invi- tations. This indisposition to a religious intercourse with the father of our spirits, is the mournful conse- quence of our apostacy from God ; and therefore, as uni- versal as the corruption of our degenerate nature, xmtil it be removed by the renewing and sanctifying opera- tions of his holy spirit. Man, in his original constitu- tion, was designed to be the temple of God, and was disposed to rejoice in the exalted privilege of maintain- ing an holy communion and fellowship with the author of his being. But look now into the corrupted heart of man, and how are all things in this once beautiful temple of God miserably defaced ? Those clear notices and discoveries of divine truths, which he originally enjoyed, are in a great measure obliterated, and those laws that were written on the heart greatly obscured. That hearty that was formerly the altar of God, from whence devout JRECEIVE NOT THE OKACE OF GOD IN VAIN. 279 uffections and spiritual oblations were Avont to asccntl in the flames of love, is now \vretchevitli a purified heart and the tenders of a devout and filial affection^ God Avill draw nigh to him with the quickening influen- ces of liis holy spirit, and the reviving manifestations of Jiis complacency and love. The reality of this spiritual intercourse between God and us, and our capacity for the enjoyment of this exalted privilege, is evidently im- plied in our being called the temples of God, and having this holy spirit dwelling in us. But that we may have a more comprehensive vieAv of this subject, let us attend to the method by which this spiritual communion is maintained and promoted. On our part it is maintained by faith, meditation and prayer, and on God's part, by his word, his ordinances^ and his holy spirit. 1. FaUli is an lutppy instriimetit, ivherehy an heavenly intercoiivse is maintained hehvcen God and the he- lieA^er. The light of reiisou and revelation discovers io us the reality of the divine perfections, together with tliese in- teresting truths, that belong to our eternal salvation. — But faitli goes further, and realizes them to the iiiind* and impresses it with such sentiments, as should natu- rally flow from them. This is mentioned by an inspired writer as the eWcct of Moses's faith, that <« he endured as ^pcinjjj him wlio is invisible."* It does not rest as a spe- nieb. WE AKE TUB Tli>W*LES OF GOJJ. -28o culative principle in the head, but descends into tlie heart, and operates with a quick and commanding influ- ence upon all the leading powers of the soul ; enlighten- ing the understanding, ruling the Avill, governing the af- fections, and thus regulates the whole conduct. It pro- duces such a disposition and behaviour, as corresponds ^vith the great principles and precepts, which we believe. It operates variously according to our faith. When God and his perfections are viewed by an eye of faith : it impresses the mind witli a lively conception of them, and by exciting corresponding sentiments of piety to him it becomes the means of an holy communion with him. It disposes us to resign ourselves to his wisdom and di- rection, to love his goodness, to trust his righteousness, to confide in his power, to fear his justice, to imitate his holiness and to honor and reverence his majesty. — Faith represents God as an ever-present friend, atten- tive to our thoughts and our words, our ways and our complaints, concerned for our happiness, and invariably pursuing it by all the methods of his providence and grace. AVhen it surveys the threatnings of liis word. It fills the soul with an holy awe and reverential fear : when a divine promise is the object of faith, it embraces and applies it, rejoices in it and depends upon it. — When a command is the object, our faith disposes us to endeavour after a conformity to it, and to take every precept of scripture as a rule of life. When a future state is the object of faith ; when it looks at those things that are unseen and eternal ; it represents them as pre« sent and visible, and affects the mind with the conside- ration of them as much as if they were so : and henoc it is called « the substance of things hoped for and the evi- 28dt WE ARE THE TEMPLES Ot GOU, dencc of things not seen/ Wien the blessed Rcilcemci is the object of our faith, it produces all those grateful and devout affections, of love and joy, of fear and hope, which should arise from those endearing characters, under which he is represented in scripture. When it views him as our mediator, it leads us to trust all our everlasting concerns in his hands, to approach God only through him, and to expect the divine acceptance only through the merits of his atonement. When it views him as our propitiation, it fixes our dependence on him alone for pardon and justification ; and when as our Re- deemer, it touches all the springs of gratitude in the soul and kindles the warmest sentiments of gratitude, love and joy. In a word, it engages us to hearken to liim as our instructor, to obey him as our king, and to follow him as our pattern and guide. And thus by ex- citing all tliosc devout and pious affections to God and Christ, on the lively exercise of which our communion with him depends, it is the happy instrument of carry- ing on an heavenly intercourse between God and the be- liever. 2. MeiUtaiion is also another way of enjoying communion xviili God. By turnhig our thoughts upon God, by entertaining ourselves with the views of his perfections exhibited in his works and by acknowledging his hand in every oc- currence, his children gain a growing acquaintance with their heavenly father ; while those who will not allow then) selves time for this heavenly employment contract an habitiial estrangement from him. The more the WE ARE THE TEMPLES Or GOD. 2S5 mind is accustomed to meditiition, the more readily will it engage in it, when any uncommon event or extraor- dinary providence calls us to contemplate the wisdom, power or goodness of God. And these impressions that are made on the contemplative mind arc often re- tained or recalled, until they have a religious effect on the heart, and are improved for the purposes of a grow- ing piety. Thus the pious christian has often found that the flames of divine lovc^ of hope and joy have been enkindled in his soul, while he was meditating on the glorious perfections of God, his wonderful works of mercy and goodness, the miracles of redeeming grace, the invaluable privileges of the gospel, the precious promises made to the believer, together with that incon- ceivable crown of righteousness, which is reserved for him in heaven. And thus does he rise into a more full and comfortable communion with the author of all his mercies. 5. Prayer is the natural consequence of devout medilar lion, and therefore another way of mahilainhig a hearcnlij intercourse ivith God, When the ciiristian's faith or meditation give him a strong and lively view of the wisdom, goodness or pov.'- er of God, in any affecting dispensation of his provi- dence, or in the glorious plan of our redemption by Jesus Christ, he will naturally lift up his heart to God in pious ejaculations, and devout ascriptions of praise and thanksgiving. And Iramble and fervent ]>rayer h admirably adapted to the purposes of a growing ae^ quaintauce with God, as it improves and strengthens ^86 WE ARE THE TEMPLES Of GOU. those pious dispositions, on >v14cli the pleasure auil happiness of religion and our capacity for enjoying com- munion with God depend : such as divine love and grati- tude, trust in the providence of God under all our trou- bles, contentment, patience and resignation to the di- vine will, hope in his mercy for whatever relates to our present or future welfare, and an ardent thirst for that fulness of joy and those rivers of pleasure, that are at the right hand of God. But this spiritual intercourse with God is also main- tained on his part, by all those methods by which he communicates the knowledge of himself and the richest blessings of his grace ; — viz : by his Avord, his ordi- nances, and the influences of his spirit. 1. God as really speaks to us in his word, as if we heard an audible Toice from heaven, directing vs in every duty. Herein he has made known to us the way of life through his son, and has given us the knowledge of those things which can make us wise to salvation. By the fullest directions for the regulation of our conduct, by the most powerful arguments to quicken and encou- rage us in duty, and the most jnvigoratiog consolations to support us under the troubles of life, which he has given us in the sacred volume ; he holds a divine cor- respondence with us, expresses the greatest good will towards us, and gives us the fullest assurance of his re- membrance of us and his readiness to help us. By this incomparable book, which is enriched with tlie most ex- WE ARE THE TEMPXES OE GOD. 2^? tensive promises and the wisest counsels, he disperses the clouds of ignorance and error, in which we are in- volved, in the land of our pilgrimage, and opens to us the ravishing prospect of immortal life and glory, 2. Our communion with God is also promoted by the or^ dinances of his church. He has appointed a standing ministry in his church, togetlier with various refreshing ordinances, which he has made tlie usual channels, through which he commu- nicates his special grace. And while we with reve- rence and sincerity attend upon his public worship, trea- sure up in our hearts the gracious contents of his w ord, or join together in celebrating his praise, or in com- memorating the dying love of our Redeemer ^ he draws nigh unto us, spreads the banner of his love over us, and gives those rich supplies of grace which we need. In these sacred ordinances he strengthens our graces, confirms our resolutions, comforts our hearts with the consolations that are in Christ, and inspires us Witli zeal to promote his kingdom and interest in the world, and to press forward to greater attainments in tlie spi- ritual life, and a better preparation for the business and the enjoyments of the heavenly state. 3. But our spiritual intercourse %cith God is pviiiclpaUy maintained hij the in-diceUing and agency of his hohj spirit. That we might both understand the meaning and fcGlthc genuine power of divine truth?,, and expericncr :*88 yy^ Aiti the temples of' god. those pious affections, in which our communication >vitk liim consists, the spirit of God is sent doAvn to dwell in our hearts, to remove our carnal prejudices, to enligh- ten our minds, to enlarge and elevate our understand- ings, to give us a larger acquaintance with divine things, and to make us wise unto salvation. It is his peculiar oiRce, as the comforter sent hy the father to ahide with us forever, to tftke of the things of Christ, his doctrines, his promises and instructions, and to shew them unto us; to bring the truths of the gospel with power to the conscience, to influence our conduct, and to enable us to discover our interest in the promises and blessings of the gospel covenant, for our comfort and support in life. It is his sacred office to strengthen us with might in the inner man, to lead us in the ways of righteousness and safety, and to 1111 the soul with joy and peace in believ- ing ; and surely, that soul who follows on to know the Lord, who is desirous of a farther acquaintance with God, cannot be disappointed in his expectations from the sacred agent, who has taken up his residence in the believer for this very purpose. Can it be thought, that the father of our spirits, who has assured us, that he will give his holy spirit to them that ask him, will not recruit the strength, fortify the resolution, and aid the endeavours of his children ? No : he will lead them in the way everlasting, he will give power to the faint, and to them that have no might he will encrease strength ; so that they shall find that his grace shall be sufficient for them, and that his strength shall be made perfect in their weakness. So that in all their troubles they shall be supported by the right hand of his righteousness, and in the hour of their dissolution, when their faith i^ WE ARE THE TEMPIES OF GOD, 2S9 almost turned into vision, they have reason to hope, that the spirit of God who dwells in them, will enable them to rejoice in the God of their salvation, with joy unspeak- able and full of glory, APPLICATION. 1. Hoiv marvellous k the condescension of God in making such sinful and worthless creatures his living tenifples, "What are our souls, to which so many i^mains of impurity cleave, that the high and holy God, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, should notwithstand- ing, choose them for his special residence ? What are our poor and defective services, that he should regard them with a favourable eye, or reward them with the manifestations of his Ioac ? Let us therefore adore and magnify the condescension of God, who stoops so low a» to dwell with the humble and contrite soul, who trem- bles at his word. 2. From this discourse we see the honor and happiness «f every true christian, whom the most high condeseendis to honor with his special presence ; for where the bles- sed God makes a soul his peculiar habitation, he dwell J in it by the stated operations of his holy spirit ; he re- plenishes it with the rays of divine light and life, en- stamps his own amiable image upon it, refreshes it with his own consolations, and admits it to that freedom and communion with himself, which is peculiarly delightful and inconceivably beneficial. He makes them to expe- rience the incomprehensible sweetness and the gloriojrs 290 WE ABE THE TEMJPUBa o:f GQD. extent of that precious promise, <* I will dwell with them and walk in them, and be their God." 3. Let this discourse excite us all to examine our- selves, and try ourselves, whether the spirit of God in- deed dwells in us ; or whether we are not still in the melancholy possession of the spirit that works in the children of disobedience. If we have not the spirit of Christ we are none of his ; but are led captive by Satan at his pleasure. No doubt, we all think too favoui-ably of ourselves : but do our temper and conduct lay a solid foundation for such an hope ? Does the prevalence of holy and devout affections in our souls, and the habitual regularity of our lives, and our growing conformity to the moral image of God, give us rational grounds to con^ elude, that we are led by his spirit in the ways of righ- teousness and peace ? I>o we experimentally know, what it is to enjoy communion and fellowship with God and Christ, by his holy spirit, in meditation and prayer, in reading his word and attending on the ordinances of the gospel, and in the exercises of faith and hope, and spi- ritual joy? If this should be our happy condition, let us magnify the Lord for the distinguishing honor he has conferred upon us, in making us his living temples, and earnestly aspire after a more intimate intercourse with him. Let us breathe after brighter discoveries of his amiable glories, fuller communications of his quicken- ing and transforming grace, and more ravishing mani- festations of his love. Let us endeavour to keep the fire of devotion continually burning in our hearts, that our spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, may be daily offered up to him in his spiritual temple. Frequent and W/E ARE THE TEMPI.Tls 0¥ GOD. ~ 291 lively contemplations of the gloi^ of God shining in his works and his word, the ardent breathings of inflamed affections, and the warm aspirations of onr souls, are exercises highly becoming those, whom he chooses to be an habitation for himself by his spirit ; and let us guard against defiling his temple by intemperance or sensuality, and thereby provoking him to withdraw from us and to destroy us. He will resent it as an heinoas indignity, if we suffer any moral impurity, such as ma- lice and envy, hatred and revenge, pride and sensuality, allowed to remain in our hearts : for the apostle speak- ing of those spiritual temples, says, " if any man defile them, him will God destroy." But if your own consciences testify against any of you, that you have no rational ground to conclude, that you are yet the temples of God and have his spirit resi- ding in you ; O ! be entreated, as you value the favor of God, as you wish to experience the smiles of his coun- tenance in time or through eternity, to consecrate your- selves, your souls and your bodies, to his special and perpetual service. Cry earnestly to him for the renew- ing influences of his spirit, to purify your degenerate nature and make you an holy habitation for himself. — Implore his sanctifying grace to enlighten your minds, to rectify your inclinations, to spiritualize your affec- tions, and to banish every hateful passion and every de- filing lust, that might provoke him to withdraw from you, and leave you to wander on in a melancholy es- trangement from the adorable source of life and happi- ness ; and be constant and conscientious in your atten- . the ordinances of the gospel church, Avhich he has ap^ pointed as tlie usual channels of communicating his grace, to prepare yon for the habitation of his holy spirit. Spi" rituality and purity in your desires, integrity and since- rity in your aims and intentions for the glory of God, Vfill invite that blessed spirit, who has given this tem- per to take up his residence in the souls you have con- secrated to his honor. And finally, to encourage you to seek for this exalted privilege, let me beseech you to consider the attaina- bleness, the knowledge, and the pleasure of communioH with God. Has he not promised to give his holy spirit to them that ask him, with infinitely more readiness than the most indulgent father could give bread to a starving child ? Are not his sacred influences purchased hj Jesus Christ to be communicated to such as desire them ? Is not this sacred agent daily striving with you, and pleading for adnnission into your hearts, to prepare you for communion with God ? And can you spend your time to greater advantage ? Can any thing more im- prove and exalt your degenerate natures, than by faith, meditation and prayer, to ascend up to the first cause and principle of all things, to behold, admire, and taste his surpassing excellence, and to feel his quickening in- fluences, until we arc changed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the spirit of the Lord ? And what pleasure and satisfaction can equal that which arises from the intimations of the divine love and the tokens of his favor ? To love and to be beloved by the greatest and best of all beings, who is the unwasting source of all good, and who can free us from every pain, secure WE ARE THE TEMPXES OF GOD^ 293 US from every danger, and confer upon us every bles- sing, is the most exalted happiness that the nature of man is capable of enjoying. This is << joy and peace in believing? which strangers to God intermeddle not with.'* If these things then have any weight, as they certainly should have the greatest, let them engage us to conse- crate ourselves as the temples of God, that he may send his spirit to dwell in our hearts, and prepare us for living with him in everlasting glory. SERMON XV. RECEIVE NOT THE GRACE OF GO© IN VAIN. 2 Cor. 6, 1. We tjim as workers together with himy heseech you also, that ye receive not the Grace of God in vain. It has been often observed that wc form the best estimate of the true value of the blessings of divine goodness, Avlien by the want of them Ave are made sen« sible of their necessity and importance to our happi- ness. The mercies, of which we have had a long and iminterrupted enjoyment, how great and valuable soever they may be, too commonly make but a very faint im- pression upon us. We become almost insensible of their worth, and are neither careful to improve them, nor sufficiently thankful to the bounteous author for the gift. This wrong judgment appears with melancholy evidence in nothing more than in our sentiments con- cerning the christian religion, which is stiled with pe- culiar propriety in our text, " The Grace of God.'' — It is an inestimable treasure, which we have enjoyed through our whole life : we never knew, what it was to want it ; what it was to be deprived of the privileges of looking into our bibles, and of drawing support and direc- tion from that sacred fountain of knowledge tor the con- duct of human life : and hence it comes to pass that so RECEIVE NOT THE GRACR OB GOD IN VAIN. 295 few in the christian churches have so high an estimation of its incomparable vahie as it justly deserves. Too many think of it with a cold indifference, and more act as if they looked upon the religion of Jesus as a superfluous in- stitution, of little or no advantage to mankind. They are at little pains to make themselves acquainted with the scheme of salvation which it proposes. Their bibles lie by them as a neglected or useless book; and they are sel- dom referred to as an infallible standard to rectify their opinions or practico. But had wft ever known, or did we attentively consider the horrid barbarity and igno- rance, that gloomy superstition and those slavish fears, from which we are delivered by the gospel of Christ, no cold or lessening thoughts of it could find room iu our breasts, TVith eager joy would we embrace the heavenly gift, and with thankful souls adore the divine goodness for the invaluable blessing. The heathen w orld were involved in impenetrable darkness, and per- plexed with excruciating uncertainty about the true happiness of mankind and the method of obtaining it. Even their philosophers with all the advantages of learning and of their deep and laborious researches, were much divided in their opinions about this question, which was of so much importance to the human race. The feeble light of nature served only to shew them the misery in which they Avere involved, and to fill their minds with the uneasy apprehensions of its continuance, by the slight notices which it affords of their future ex- istence in another world. Their continual sacrifices preserved amongst them a lively sense of their guilt, without giving them a comfortable assurance tliat ii could be removed by thfe most costly offerings. You ^96 RECEIVE WOT TttE GRACE OF COD IN VAIA'. have the perplexing uncertainty of the light of nature on this subject expressed in the pathetic language of the king of Moab. " AVliereAvith shall I come before the Lord, and boAV myself before the high God ? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old ? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or ten thousands of rivers of oil ? Shall I give my first born for my transgression ; the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ?" But blessed be God, all this uncertainty and doubt is removed by the glorious light of the gospel, which has brought life and immortality to light, and has laid the most solid foundation, on which we may securely build our hopes of pardon and eternal salvation. And shall we, my friends, receive this grace of God in vain ? Shall we, on whom the sun of righteousness has risen in all his glory and splendor, whose darkness is dispelled, and whose hearts are gladdened with the rays of his heavenly wisdom, be careless and indifferent about the safe and infallible directions he has given to lead us to glory ? By the grace of God, in the language of sci'ipture, we are to understand, the free unmerited favor of God, his unsolicited love and mercy, which is the spring and- foundation of all the blessings we receive from his bounty. In this sense, it is used in 2. Tim. i, 9. Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, accord- ing to his purpose and grace. In conformity to this general idea, it is frequently put for some particular instance of the divine favor and mercy to man ; such as RECEIVE NOT THE GRACE OF GOD IN VAIN. 2^7 tlie free and efficacious work of tlie holy spirit, renew- ing the soul after the image of God, and continually guiding and strengthening the believer to ohey his will, to resist temptations, to mortify corruptions, and to per- fect holiness in the fear of the Lord : " My grace is suf- ficient for you, and my strength is made perfect in your weakness ;" for the believer's justification in the sight of God, through the righteousness of Christ, and the con^ sequent glorious state of reconciliation and peace with him, into which we are introduced by the unmerited favor of God : '* By grace are ye saved through faith." *^ By whom also we have access by faith into this grace, wherein we stand ,•"* and also for the doctrine of the gos- pel, which contains the offers of pardon and salvation to penitent believers, together with all the great and pre* cious promises of the new covenant. « This is the true grace of God wherein you stand. "f This is the true and genuine doctrine of the gospel of God. <« For the grace of God that bringeth salvation, hath appeared unto all men ; that is the gospel of Clirist.'':j: In this sense I would understand the expression in the text. We be- seech you that " ye receive not the grace of God in vain.*' Now, that the gospel of Christ may be stiled vdth the greatest propriety, the grace of God, is abundantly evident from this single consideration, that all mankind, both Gentiles and Jews, were utterly unworthy of such .a favor. Mankind are endowed with rational powers, *Rom. V, 2. fl.Pet.v, 12'> tTit. II, U, P2 39S llECEIYE NOT THE GllACE OF GOD IN V-ilN. in the due exercise of wliieh they might attain to a con- siderable knowledge of God and religion. And however insufficient this may he in some instances, for the great purposes of religion ; \et undoubtedly a diligent search after it, and a suitable improvement of what we had already attained, gives the most probable foundation to hope, that a gracious God will give us what farther knowledge he sees necessary for creatures in our situa- tion. But the neglect of this knowledge and the mis- improvement of our rational pow ers, render us utterly tmworthy of such a favor. Now that this was the case with the heathen nations, is most certain. They had sunk into such ignorance of the nature and perfections of God, and had adopted such an impious, absurd, and ridiculous scheme of religion, as it was impossible for them to fall into, had they exercised and improved the reason that God had given to them. Our understand- ings are, no doubt, much darkened by our corruptions, and our natural powers much weakened 5 yet not so much, but that *' from the things that are made, we may know the invisible things of God, even his eternal poAver and godhead :" so that those ridiculous tribes of mock- deities, and that impious scheme of superstition, which the heathen nations adopted, must have been the off- spring of the most criminal negligence raul shameful stupidity. And how much more criminal must they ap- pear to be, if with many, we suppose thrit God never in any age of the world, left men to search out their duty by the faint glimmerings of the light of nature ; bul that they were aided by the traditionary remains of an ancient revelation : For to what a sinful neglect of God, to what a scandalous indifference about the great trutks RECEIVE NOT THE GRACE OF GOD IN \X1N, 299 of religion, must we ascribe it, that they suffered this knowledge of God to be so soon and so totally corrupt- ed and effaced, that they changed the glory of the in- corruptible God into an image, made like to corruptible man, to birds, to four-footed beasts, and to creeping things ; that they changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator. Now, if in the most enlightened ages of the world, and amidst all their boasted pretensions to wis- dom, the Gentile nations were so far from improving the light that God had given them, in sucli a manner as to deserve an additional revelation of his will, that they were absolutely without excuse for their impiety and folly, as an inspired apostle assures us they were : the revelation of the gospel must be a free unmerited favor of God, and an astonishing instance of his unparalleled mercy and grace. Nor were the Jews themselves more deserving of such a favor. Though distinguished above the rest of the world by a superior degree of knowledge, and an express revelation of the will of God, tliey so ob- scured and corrupted it, by their false and interested in- terpretations of it, that they rendered the commands of God of none effect, and taught for divine doctrines, the commandments of men. The public instructors of theii- nations, the Scribes and Pharisees, set np the idle tra- ditions of the elders, as of superior authority to the laws of heaven, and in many important instances of morality, taught the people to transgress the commands of God, by their vain traditions.'^ So that the gospel of Christ may, with the utmost propriety, be stiled tlic j^vnro oT * Mat. XV, 3. 300 KECEIVE NOT THE GRACE OF GOU IN VAIN. God, as it was a free and unmerited favor to the whole ^orld. I. But when may we be said to receive this grace of God in vain ? 1. We receive this grace of God in vain, when we are at no pains to gain an acquaintance with the gospel scheme of salvation, hy reading the scriptures, or attending upon the public eocplanation of thcm» It requires no great expence of tliought to discover, nor of language to prove, that it is our duty to gain a competent knowledge of that religion, on which our hopes of eternal happiness are built. Tliat wilful and affected ignorance, which arises from carelessness or inattention, or unreasonable prejudices against the means of instruction that God has given us, cannot fail to sub- ject us to the wrath and displeasure of God, in propor- tion to the abilities and opportunities of information we enjoy. If the heathen nations were inexcusably crimi- nal for their ignorance of the being and perfections of God, which were clearly seen by the works of creation and providence, so that God gave them up in righteous judgment, to vile affections and a reprobate mind ; we must be inccmparably more criminal, if we remain igno- rant of our duty in any important article, under all the advantages we enjoy by the clearer light of the gospel. It is in vain, and worse than in vain to us, that we are favored with the benefit of a full and final revelation from heaven, of the will of God concerning our salvation ; if we remain ignorant of the important doctrines and duties, IIECEIVE NOT THE GRACE OF GOD IS VAI^^. 30| which oup infallible instructor has taiiglit us to believe and practise. To what purpose is the mystery of our re- demption, which for ages lay hidden in the counsels of divine wisdom, made known to us in the gospel, if we are not at pains to make ourselves acquainted with the con- tents of that sacred volume ? To what purpose has the providence of God so ordered matters, tliat we have bi- bles in all our houses, at a very small expencc, and oppor- tunities of instruction for tlie rising generation to be furnished with the knowledge of the great principles of religion, if we seldom or never look into our bibles, or are cp^reless about instructing our cliildren ? To what purpose has God appointed an order of men, v»hose bu- siness it is to explain the doctrines of the gospel, and enforce them upon the consciences of men, by all those arguments wliich are suggested in that gloiious revela- tion, if we forsake the assembling of ourselves together, for the purposes of religious instruction, and suffer every frivolous excuse to have sufficient weight to restrain us from attending upon the public instructions of the sanc- tuary ? Reasons, if they indeed deserve llie name of rea- sons, taken from the coldness of tlic day, the unseasona- bleness of the weather, and distance of the place of worship, a trifling indisposition of the mind or body, have frequently weight enough to prevent our atten- dance upon the ordinances of the gospel, which the wis- dom of heaven has appointed for the instruction of man- kind, which reasons have no influence to keep us from scenes of diversion or the gratification of an idle curio- sity. From this carelessness and inattention to the doc- trines of the gospel, it is melancholy to observe the de- gree of ignorance that prevails in the christian churches,. o02 KECEIVi NOT THE GRACE OF GOD IN VAIN, concerning the peculiar doctrines of the gospel and the way of salvation, through a Redeemer. And do we not receive the grace of God in vain, if under all the advan- tages we are favored with, for gaining the knowledge of our duty, we are, notwithstanding, ignorant of it, and have nothing hut ohscure or false conceptions of the way which God has appointed for the pardon of our sins, and our recovery from the ruins of our fall ? 2. We may he said also to receive the Grace of God in TaiUf when the gospel fails to reform the heart and life, and we are huilding our hopes of salvation upon any foundation that is not authoi'ised hy this divine reve- lation. Let a man's knowledge of the christian religion be ever so exact and extensive ; suppose him, through the influ- ence of a good education and a careful attention to the peculiar doctrines of the gospel, able to explain them to others, and vindicate them from the (hjeetions and cavils of gainsayers ; yet if his knowledge do not mend his heart and reform the conduct ; that man's religion is vain. The only valuable end of knowledge of reli- gion is practice, and if it only produces a form of god- liness without the power ^ if it terminates only in amu- sing speculations, without descending into the heart, and operating with a commanding influence over all the ac- tive powers of our nature, it can answer no other pur- pose than to sink us down under a more aggravated de- struction. For " he that knows his master's will and doth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes.'^ Al- though we may have reason for gratitude to God, for DECEIVE NOT THE GRACE OF GOD IN VAIX. 303 the advantages of a good education and a well informed judgment, yet they should not be mistaken for a sancti- fied lieart. It will avail us nothing, that the oracles of God have been committed into our hands, that we have heard the glad tidings of salvation through a Redeemer, and that we are well acquainted with the doctrines of our holy religion ; unless we experience that saving change in the temper and conduct, which will discover itself in an holy conformity to the precepts and example of Christ. For what end has the inspiration of ti.e Al- mighty given us understanding, and distinguished us from the brute creation, with the capacity of consider- ing the tendency of our actions, and of looking forward to the consequences of our conduct in another state : and for what purposes are we favoured with such clear and perfect discoveries of the divine v, ill respecting our deportment in life ; if we may disregard these advanta- ges with impunity, and live as if we had no higher des- tination than the beasts that perish ? If the mere know- ledge of our duty, or a speculative belief of the doc- trines of Christianity had been sufficient for our salva- tion ; they doubtless had been safe, who heard the son of man teaching in their streets, and delivering his heavenly doctrines with unparalleled plainness and au- thority : and they too had not only been safe, but also entitled to a superior rank in his heavenly kingdou!, who have prophesied in his name and done many mighty works ; and yet we are assured by the mouth of infalli !)ility, that he will say to many of tliem at last, *• de- part from me, ye workers of iniquity, I know you not." Though v/e could speak with the perspicuity of an angel upon the nature of any christian doctrine, nndwith ihip 30i JRECEIVE NOT THE GIlACE OT GOD IN VAIJN. warmth of a Seraph, upon tlic influence of a christian grace, and with all the energy of persuasion explain the several arguments, hy which they are enforced upon the conscience ; yet if we do iiot reduce them to practice, if our knowledge of religion does not improve our dispo- sitions and regulate our lives ; our religion is vain, and we are <* as a sounding hrass and a tinkling (cymbal." The christian religion is a practical institution ; and while it unfolds the mysteries of redemption, and the method of pardon and justification through the atone- ment of Jesus Christ, by faith in his blood ; it insists also on an universal holiness of heart and life, and a prevailing conformity to the divine and unspotted exam* pie of our exalted head and pattern, as absolutely ne- cessary to qualify us for the enjoyment of God in glory. So that if our knowledge does not produce this happy eifect upon us by the sacred agency of the spirit of God, we shall be found at last to have received this grace of God in vain ; nay, it will be better for us never to have known the way of life through a Redeemer, never to have been possessed of higher advantages for knowing our duty, than the benighted savages enjoy who live without God and Christ and hope in the world. 3. We shall also be found to have received the grace of God in vain, if we build our hopes of eternal salvation upon any other foundation, than that which is warrant- ed by the gospel of Christ, as alas ! too many in the christian churches are observed to do, either through pride or ignorance or inattention. Notwithstanding the clearness and perspicuity of the gospel in the important doctrines that belong to our peace, it is found by long RECEIVE A'OT THE GRACE OE GOD LN VAIN. 305 experience and the observation of many ages, that many too securely trust to the privilege of their being born, and baptized and edneated in the r»hureh, of their pro- fessing themselves members of a particular christian society, separated from others, it may be from an ap- prehension of a more scriptural worship and purer doc- trines, as a sufficient foundation for their hopes of eter- nal life. But if a lineal descent from Abraham, the fa- ther of the faithful and the friend of God, or an incor- poration with the Jewish churchy could not entitle the Jews to the spiritual promises of the covenant that was made with him and his seed ; no more will the hearing of Christ preached in our streets, our eating and drink- ing in his presence, and our professing to be the mem- bers of his visible church, entitle professors under the gospel to pardon and salvation, without an hearty and unreserved compliance with all the terms of the new covenant. Nor is there more^security in a dependence upon the regularity and orthodoxy of our religious opi- nions and sentiments ; if while we have zeal enough to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints and abilities sufficient to vindicate and support the doc- trines of the gospel, we are at the same time making shipwreck of a good conscience, and mistake an ortho- dox head for a renewed temper and an holy conversation ; or if while we may indulge ourselves in the conscious satisfaction of entertaining more enlarged and generous sentiments, than what others can admit, who are under the influence of a narrow education and a biggoted spi- rit, we are, notwithstanding our freedom of sentiment, the Workers of iniquity and the slaves of sin and corrup- tion. Of the same precarious nature too, is the depen- Q2 606 HKCEIVE JMOT THE GKACE Oi' GOU IiV VAIN. dence of those, who are building their eternal hopes on the merit of their own imperfect obedience, and the ex- ternal regularity of their conduct, or their conceited apprehensions of their own attainments in the spiritual life ; without an humbling sense of the corruption of their hearts, of their manifold violations of the divine laws, and of the just demerit of their sins ; and without a fiducial regard to the righteousness and atonement oi* Christ, through which alone their sins are to be par- doned, their persons justified, and their services accept- ed of God. In vain also, is the dependence of others upon an external form of godliness, without the life and power of it, or upon a punctual and regular attendance upon the various ordinances of the church, or the exer- cises of public or private devotion, without cultivating that spiritual temper, which they are calculated to pro- duce in every christian. No more will the warmth of our passions in religious exercises avail us; the joy and transport which we have some times experienced in the glad tidings of the gospel, or the fearful apprehensions we have at other times entertained, of the wratli and displeasure of God, on account of our sins ; unless these experiences terminate in a hearty submission to the gos- pel method of salvation, and produce in the renewed soul, a steady aud uniform endeavour to live before God in newness of life, and to adorn the doctrines of Christ by an holy conversation. Now all these and many other as precai^ious foundations of hope, are unsupported by the gospel of Christ : and therefore, all those, whose pride or ignorance lead them to depend upon them for eternal life, and to neglect the only safe and infallible RECEIVE NOT THE GRACE OP GOD IN VAIN. 30; iiietliod of salvation which the gospel professes, may ha said to receive the grace of God in vain* The gospel of Christ gives encouragement to such guilty sinners as we are, to expect salvation only upon our compliance with the gracious terms of the new co venant, which was ratified and estahlished in his hlood ; and therefore, lays our only solid foundation of hope, in an hearty choice and personal acceptance of Christ, as our complete and only Saviour ; and a careful uniform endeavour to cultivate the same mind, which was also in him, and to imitate his perfect and distinguished exam- ple ; in a hearty renunciation of every other dependence, hut his righteousness and atonement for justification : a sincere repentance for all our sins, a total renovation of heart and life, a genuine conversion to God, hy the influences of the holy spirit, and a cordial union to Christ hy such an active and lively faith, as will discover itself, by engaging the renewed soul in a cheerful compliance witli every duty which we owe to God, our neighbour, or our own souls. Now this being the only method of salva- tion proposed in the gospel, every other scheme of men's devising, must be deceitful and vain, and our dependence upon them a melancholy argument, that we have re- ceived the grace of God in vain. APPLICATION. Now, my friends, has this grace of God been given unto us ? Do we behold the glorious light of the gospel ? Do we know the terms upon which our heavenly father is willing to receive us into his favor ? How thankful should we be for this invaluable gift of his gi'acc. ai>d 308 RECEIA'E KOT THE GRACE OF GOD IN VAIIS. how solicitous that we receive it not in vain. No nation perjiaps in the world was overwhelmed with more melan- choly darkness, with greater ignorance or more abomina- ble superstition, than this country in which we live. The natives of the land are yet wild and savage to a proverb : their principles of morality are almost extinguished, and their religion is worse than superstition; while we enjoy the glorious light of the gospel in its purity and perfec- tion ; and can we ever think upon our distinguished condi- tion, without hearts overflowing with love and gratitude to that merciful God, who has caused the sun of righic- ousness to rise upon us, and to visit the melancholy abodes of darkness and barbarity ; without dropping a tear over our unhappy neighbours, " who knows not God nor the way of salvation tlirougli his son ;'' and without sending up our most earnest supplications to the father of lights, that he would give his gospel a more extensive spread, and enlighten the wretched savages of the wilderness with the saving knowledge of his will. If we have any just sense of the greatness and importance of our happy destination above them in this respect, can we forbear crying mightily to God, to give his son these heathenfi for his inheritance, and these corners of the earth for his possession ; and encouraging every laudable attempt to enlarge the bounds of his Redeemer" s glorious king- dom. And while we express our solicitude for the propaga- tion of the gospel, should we not be more solicitous lest we should have received and so long enjoyed this exalted privilege in vain ? Should we not therefore cause our conduct in this respect to pass in review this day bprore RECEIVE NOT THE GKACE OF GOD IJf VAUV. ^09 our consciences, and examine ourselves, as in the pre- sence of the heart-searching God, whether we have duly prized this gracious gift of God ? Whether we have heen suiHciently careful to make ourselves acquainted with the contents of this sacred revelation, by reading it in private or attending upon the explanation of it in pub- lic ; whether we are not resting our hopes of eternal sal- vation upon our knowledge of its doctrines or upon some other foundation equally insufficient and precarious, without complying with those terms, which it proposes as absolutely necessai^ to our eternal happiness. Let us ask our ow n hearts, whether the light of the gospel has enabled us to see our wretched and miserable condi- tion by nature, our inability to make an atonement for our sin ^, our liableness to everlasting punishment, and our absolute insufficiency by our own strengtli to emerge from the ruins of our fall ? And have we from a sense of our own weakness been brought to a cordial depen- dence upon Jesus Christ for the pardon of our sins, and for the influences of his grace to enable us to live in newness of life and to adorn the doctrines of his gospel hy an holy conversation. If this is indeed your genuine character, you have reason for abundant thankfulness to that God, who has enlightened your minds by his glorious gospel, and ena- bled you by his grace to lay hold on the only foundation of hope that he has proposed to perishing sinners. 1 hope that it will be your constant care to regulate your lives by his gospel, and to cultivate those graces of his spirit, which he has emplanted in your hearts, by the daily exercise of them in all the duties of the christian 310 KEClilVE NOT TUE GRACE 01" GOU IN VAIN. life. And let the former exiiericnee of his goodness^ encourage you to look to him >vho has hegun a good V ork of grace in your hearts, to carry i( on to perfec- tion ; that through the continued influence of his holy spirit accompanying the truths of his gospel, you may he more and more conformed to his image, imtil you arrive at that hlessed state, in which you will shine forth in his complete resemhlance, and find it your inexprcs- sihle felicity and joy. But, my fi'iends, if any of your consciences arc tliis day suggesting alarming apprehensions against you, that you have hitherto received this grace of God in vain : we heseech you by the mercies of God, by the grace of a Kedeemcr, by tlie regard you have to your own salvation, to lay your mournful condition seriously to heart, and resolve from this day forward that you will study the intimations of the divine will concerning your salvation, with more attention than ever you have done j that you will listen to the salutary directions of his gospel, and love and live by your bibles. You are exalted to heaven in point of privilege, and enjoy many advantages for growing wise to eternal salvation, vt^hich have been denied and are still denied to thousands, whose souls are as precious as yours. O ! let it be youi* constant care that it be not your condemnation " tliat light has come into tlie world, and that you have loved darkness rather than lighi, because your deeds Ijave been evil.'' And let it never slip out of your minds, that all the warning you have had from the gospel of Christ 'y all the offers of grace and salvation that have been made to you ; all tlic endearing invitations of that RECEIVE NOT THE GRACE OJF GOD IN VAlJf. 311 compassionate Saviour, who has brought life and im- mortality to light, will rise up in judgment againt you, and aggravate your future condemnation, if you are found at last to have received this grace of God in vain, if you are found amongst the despisers of his gospel. Let me, therefoi^e, beseech you, while you study your bibles, and labour after a sacred acquaintance with them to know the things that belong to your peace, that you would look to the father of lights for the illu- mination of his holy spirit, to bring home the truths of the gospel to the heart, that you may be transformed into his glorious image, and made meet for his heaven- ly kingdom SERMON XVI. IIEASONABLENESS OF SERVING GOD. ROM. XII, 1, I hescecli you therefore, hrethren, hy the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acr ceptahle unto God, which is your reasonable service. The apostle Paul having dispatched the argumenta- tire part of his epistle to the Romans, comes in this chap- ter to the practical improvement of what he has said. Having suggested a variety of considerations, which proved the excellence of the gospel institution and the singular mercy of God to the Gentile nations, whom he had called into tlie christian church, and to those Jews, whom he still retained in so happy a relation to himself, while the hulk of their nation has fallen into a state of rejection ; he endeavoiirs to urge them to a conversation answerahle to the privileges they enjoyed, and the mercy they had experienced. For this purpose, he enters upon a series of the most admirahle practical exhortations and instructions, and wisely lays the foun- dation of all practical religion in a principle of unfeigned piety towards God, in consecrating ourselves to him as our most reasonahle service. To this he urges them by a consideration of the tender mercy of God, and especi- ally that illustrious display of his mercy and grace, in ]flEASONABXENESS OF SE^tK^G GOD. 313 calliag them out of darkness into the glorious light of the gospel, of which he had so fully discoursed in the former part of his epistle. I beseech yoti, therefore, says he, my dear brethren, partakers with me in this holy calling, by all the tender mercies of our most com- passionate\God, that instead of those animal victims, whose slaughtered bodies you have been accustomed to offer in sacrifice, you would now present at his spiritual altar, your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and accep- table to God, Let all the members of your bodies and all the faculties of your souls, being sanctified and ani- mated by divine grace, be employed in the service of him, to whom you are under such indissoluble obliga- tions. The body is here by an usual figure put for the whole person ; as on the one hand, the body cannot be presented as a living sacrifice to God, otherwise than as it is actuated and animated by the soul ; so on the other hand, the soul cannot now be presented unto God and consecrated to his service, otherwise than as dwel- ling in the body, and employing its members as instru- ments of righteousness. This God requires of every one of us, who are planted in his churches, and enlight- ened by the rays of divine wisdom in his gospel, as our reasonable service ; and it will be more acceptable to him than any ceremonial forms, though prescribed by divine appointment. And indeed, what can be more i^easonable in itself, or Biore honorable and advantage- ous to ourselves, than that we should be consecrated to the service of our Creator and Redeemer, our unwea- ried benefactor, and our supreme end and happiness ? It is the glory and honor of a rational creature, to emr X>loy all It?s active powers in the service of that Godj R2 314b REASONABLENESS OlS SEKVING GOl), who has given him his being and distinguished him from all the visible creation around him, by an amazing appa- ratus of active powers and capacities ; and who has made provision by the gospel scheme of salvation, for his being exalted to glory, honor, and immortality, in the coming world, although he had, by his apostaey from God, for- feited all right to any mercy and favor from his hand. The grace of God, therefore, which has appeared in the gospel, lays us under the strongest obligations to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. Whether we consider the nature of God, or the nature of man, the circumstances in which we are placed, or the peculiar advantages we enjoy by the gospel, it will appear in every view, our most reasonable service. — TVith the utmost propriety, therefore, does the apostle beseech you by the mercies of God, that we present our bodies and souls a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service. In the farther improvement of these words, we shall endeavour, through divine assistance, to shew, I. What is implied in consecrating ourselves to the ser- vice of God. II. The reasonableness of the duty of serving God. I. What is implied in consecrating ourselves to ihti^ service of God. In general, the service of God inclivdes the habitual practice of every duty, which we owe to God, our neigh- REASONABLENESS OF SERVING GOD. 51^ hour and our own souls. For God requires the whole heart and the constant exercise of all our active powers, without admitting a rival to him in our affections, or giving the least toleration for the indulgence of any known sin, however dear it may he to us : hut more par- ticularly, 1. Consecrating ourselves to the service of God, implies a careful discharge of all the duties of piety and deva- Hon, both public and private. As our heavenly father has graciously consulte-d for our happiness, in all our religious obligations, the great ends of the exercises of devotion, are to maintain an ac- quaintance and correspondence between God and our souls, and to recover those pious frames, and recall those serious thoughts, which are often dissipated by tlie importunate cares and pleasures of the world. Reading the scriptures therefore is found, by the universal experi^ ence of all christians, to be the unspeakable advantage for the accomplishment of this design. We derive in- deed, singular assistance in the spiritual life, from the pious labors of those shining lights of the church, who have employed their talents in explaining this sacred treasure of divine knowledge, and exhibiting to open \iew, the rich store of di>ine consolation and direction which it contains : but the reading this sacred volume is the usual means which the holy spirit generally makes effectual for the conversion of sinners, and the comfort and support of believers, amidst the troubles and per- plexities of life. It is able to make us wise to salvation, and when accompanied with his sacred illumination, will 316 REASOiTABLENESS OF SERVING GOD. prosper to the end for which it is sent, " pulling dow/i the strong holds of sin, and turning us from darkness unto light, and from the service of Satan to serve the living God." We are not to imagine, that the holy spirit miraculously conveys any new truths to tlie mind, dif- ferent from what he has already revealed in his word : but that he powerfully engages the attention and affects the heart with the reality and importance of those truths, with which we were pi-eviously acquainted ; and believers he comforts under their trials, directs in his ways, and assists in the performance of duty, by bringing the truths of his word to their remembrance, enlightening their minds to understand them, and enabling them to apply the various promises of the gospel for their refreshment and support. If we therefore desire to be changed and renewed in the temper of our minds, or to be prepared for the acceptable service of God, we should carefully read the scriptures and treasure up in our hearts, the principles of the christian religion and a rich store of useful knowledge. And it is doubtless of great advan- tage in the private exercises of piety and devotion, to choose the more plain and practical parts of the sacred volume ; to read but little at a time, and to quit when the attention flags ; and above all, to read with a view to have our hearts warmed and mended, and to receive instruction from God* And to reading the scripture, we should join medita- tion, and consider what influence the several truths we read have upon us, to correct our tempers and to re- form our practice. It is personal application which gives life and energy to the truths of the gospel, and powei* KEASONABliENE&S OP SERVING G01>. 3.17 to its arguments and motives to persuade ; and without this, the general knoAvledge which we have, makes little or no impression upon us. AVe should frequently con- sider, how we are aiFected with the great and interest- ing truths of the gospel ; with the nvomentous subjects of death and judgment, heaven and hell, the immorta- lity of the soul, and the account we must give of our improvement of the talents God has given us. We should think what we are likely to be a few years hence, when we must enter into the invisible world ; what is the pre- vailing temper of our souls now, and what is the gene- ral tenor of our conduct; what preparation we have made for an everlasting inheritance, and what rational prospects we may entertain beyond the grave. * In our private retirements we should examine, whetjier we are going backward or forward in the road to glory ; whe- ther we are more diligent and active in the concerns of our souls, and more in earnest in the service of our God and generation, than we formerly were : or whether we are not degenerating into a greater formality, hike- warmness, and indifference in duty. We should consi- der what are the sins, to which we are more exposed from our constitutions, and our conditions and employ- ments in life, and what advantages we gain over them ; what sins are yet to be repented of, what corruptions are to be mortified, what graces are to be strengthened, and what mercies we need. We should meditate oiii these and such like important branches of our duty, until the recollection of the number and aggravations of our' sins inspire us with an unfeigned sorrow and contrition of soul, and the most determinate resolutions in the strength of Christ, to hate and forsake everv falf^o and wicked J18 KJSASONABIiENESS OF SERVING GOD. way, aiwl to turn unto God and his service with all oiiv hearts. It is the melancholy corruption of our natures which renders us indisposed to the service of God, and obstructs our progress in the spiritual life ; and here we should mourn before him daily, for our imperfections and miscarriages, and guarding against every appear- ance of evil, determine in his strength, that we will have no more to do with the unfruitful works of darkness. Prayer to God for the strengthening influences of his grace should always attend these exercises of private devotion. lie is the author of every good and perfect gift, and gives his holy spirit to them that ask him, to assist us in the discliarge of every duty. Without the concurring operations of this sacred agent, all our fee- ble attempts to serve him must prove fruitless and abor- tive. *^ Without me," says our Saviour, <^ ye can do nothing ;" but it is the glory of the gospel constitution, that how weak soever we may be in ourselves, there is the most encouraging provision made for our deriving !itrength and assistance from Jesus Christ, who is the head of divine influence, to help us in every time of need ; so that while his power rests upon us, we shall be made strong in tlic Lord and in the power of his might, and enabled to do all things. However insuffi- cient we are in ourselves ; yet blessed be God, our sufficiency is in him, from whom cometh our help. — We should therefore look to him, for the communica- tions of his grace, and the aids of his spirit, to change and renew our tempers, to subdue our corruptions, to conquer our enemies, to strengthen us for every incum- iM^nt duty, and to animate us ** to ffght the good fight REASONABLENESS OF SERVING GOD, SW of faith, that we may obtain a cro^vn of righteousness and life." It is remarkable that after some of the most absolute promises of the new covenant (recorded in Ezek. 36 and 26,) " to take away the stony heart, and to give us hearts of flesh, to put his spirit within us," and « to cause us to walk in his statutes and judgments to do them," this declaration immediately follows: <• thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be en- quired after by the house of Israel to do it for them." A.nd for our encouragement in this instance of duty to God, he has annexed a sublime and rational pleasure to these exercises of private devotion, and has given us the most comfortable assurance of a gracious answer te our prayers. Every christian finds by happy experience, that these stated seasons of retirement to converse witli God and his OAvn soul are the most useful and delight- ful moments which he enjoys. Hence is the noble and pious resolution of Joshua, that whatever others might do, as for himself and his house, they w ould serve the Lord. Nor indeed can it be rationally dispensed witk by any head of a family, who is sincerely desirous of serving God himself, and of engaging others under his care, in the same laudable practice, by his pious ex- ample. But besides these private duties of piety and devc- tion, Jesus Christ, the great head of the church, has appointed others of a more pulUc nahirCf whereia we are required to serve the Lord. And therefore if we would rationally expect his approbation, we should be constant and conscientious in our attendance upon the public ordinances af his house, the word, sacraments ^%0 UEASONABX.ENESS Oi" SERVING liOD. and prayer, not only to give a public testimony of otir obedience to all tlic commands of God, but also to en- gage otbers in the same important duty by our exam- ple. So far are they from being a tiresome burden to the pious man, and an unwelcome interruption to his secular employments, that he rejoices at the approach of that day of sacred rest, when disencumbered with mortal cares, which arc so apt to make him forget his heavenly destination, he can come up to the house of God, to converse w ith the uncreated source of his being and happiness by prayer and praise, to contemplate tlie adorable perfections of his nature, to meditate on the wonders of his redeeming love, and to attend to the salutary and interesting messages of his grace. Feel- ing a sacred relish for divine ordinances and a solid sa- tisfaction in liis attendance upon them, he w ill encoun- ter many difficulties rather than be deprived of the be- nefit of them, and will stir up his heart and guard his thoughts, that he may worship God in spirit and truth, and be the better prepared for the employments of his heavenly kingdom. And as the public ordinances of the church were appointed by Christ, to form us into a glorious resemblance of God in purity and holiness, the pious worshipper will take heed, how he Kears the gos- pel, remembering, that it will be either *< a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death to his soul ;" that he must be either the better or the worse for his attend ance upon it ; and that he must one day give a solemn account of all those sacred op^jort unities of serving God and of growing wise unto salvation, and for his neglect of them, when he conld embrace them. KEASONABLEPTESS OF SERVING GOD, 321 2* Consecrating ourselves io the sei^ice of God, implies a careful discharge of all tht duties tvhich we oive to our neighbours, "While we are promoting the human and socilal vir* tues in their proper extent and influence, we are as really serving God, as when we are engaged in the more immediate acts of his worship. We are serving God, when we endeavour to exemplify in ourselves and to cul- tivate in others, a temper of peace, unanimity, meek- ness, moderation, candor, charity, henevolence, lenity, justice, and mercy, wliiuh are the great duties enjoined on christians towards others, hy our holy religion ; for no man is hofn for himself alone, or designed to live in a solitary and unconnected state in the world. God has wisely appointed the various connections and relations which hind us to one another, and formed us with amaz- ing powers and capacities, wherehy we may be exten- sively useful to each other ; by promoting peace and good order in the community in which we live ; remov- ing violence and spoil, and taking away exactions from the people ; defending the poor and the fatherless ; re- joicing the heart of the widow ; delivering the afflicted from the hand of the oppressor 5 by searching out the mo'st proper methods of preserving and restoring health ; of crowning laudable industry with the desired success; of carrying on trade and the mechanic arts to the best advantage ; of engaging men in the love and practice ojf religion; of removing their prejudices and .fastening conviction on their consciences, that their happine^ as men and members of society, depends upon their living ^odly, righteously, and soberly^ in the world. Vari<>ji^ 322 RBASONABIi£NE93 OT SERtlNti GOl?/ are the ways by which we may he extensively useliil to others by our example, our prayers, our advice, and many other offices of humanity and kindness. It is hardly possible to be placed in such circumstances in this Avorld, as will put it out of our power to be some way benefi- cial to our fellow men. Now, the very condition which puts it in our power to do any thing for the benefit of others, is the voice of God to us to improve the talent, with which he has entrusted us for their advantage ; and while we are acting conformably to his wise appoint- ment, we are serving him and our generation according to his will. So that it is a very great mistake, to think that religion consists wholly in the exercises of piety and devotion : for we are honoring the religion we profess, and adorning the doctrines of the gospel, when we are serving our generation and employing our time and ta- lents, for the benefit of mankind and the promotion of the Redeemer's kingdom in the world. 3. The service of God includes those dtilks, ivhkh har.^ a more immediate reference to ourselves. God has not only given us mortal bodies, which stand- ing in need of daily refreshment, demand a particular attention and care : but lie has also given us immortal spirits, which are of infinitely more importance, and whose salvation is ' the one thing needful ,*' and our na- ture is so corrupted by our apostacyfrom God, and we have contracted such a load of moral guilt by our viola- tions of his laws, as is sufficient to sink us down into the most miserable condition forever, and mu^t ruin us beyond the most distant hope of redemption, unless the REASONABLENESS OP SERVING GOD. 323 pardoiting mercy of God and the sanctifying influences of his spirit, are extended to us. Our business, therefore, is to labour after the pardon of our sins, through the atoning blood of Christ, and the renovation of our na- tures, through the sanctifying operations of his holy spi- rit. By a diligent attendance upon the instituted means of grace, we must strive to obtain that saving change, which the lioly spirit works in the hearts and lives of his children ; whereby all the powers and faculties of their souls are renewed, and holy and divine dispositions are implanted in the heart, which draw forth the desires to God and Christ, and evidence themselves in a conver- sation becoming the gospel. Pulling down every high thought which exalteth itself against the knowledge of Christ, we must humbly accept of life and salvation as a free and unmerited gift of divine grace, through a Re- deemer ; while at the same time, we use our utmost endeavours to grow in grace, strengthening evei^ virtu- ous disposition implanted in the soul, and improving in faith and hope, in charity and humility, in meekness and patience, and in all the other amiable graces of a good life. Firmly persuaded of the necessity of forsaking every false and wicked way, however dear it may be to us, and convinced of our own weakness and inability, we must resolve in the strength of divine grace, that we will yield ourselves unto God as alive from the dead, and our members as instruments of righteousness ,• and carefully practise whatsoever things are just, holy, pure, of good report, virtuous, and praise -worthy. A\hile we are strangers in this Avorld and travelling to tlie Xew Jeru- salem, the city of our God, we must serve hini on the road with our souls and our bodies, whi^h are hU. ^2^ IlEASONABJMiSJSSS OT SERVING UOy. The christian that acts in this manner, acts agreeably to the rational and immortal nature that God has givon him, making his precious soul, which is in danger of perishing by sin, the object of his principal attention* We come now to shew, II. The reasonableness of serving God. ii TJtis is easihj deduced from the perfections of God and the nature of man> The existence of an independent uncreated first cause of all things, is a sacred and eternal trutli, witnessed by the whole universe, by the heavens and the earth, by all above, below and around us ; the maker and con- triver of all things, and the source of all that harmony and order ; of all that beauty and happiness, which adoi^n the face of nature. And tliis adorable God, is not only infinite in power and wisdom and knowledge, but also unchangeably holy, just and good ; merciful compassionate and true, without the least variableness or shadow of turning. Religion therefore, which is founded in his adorable perfections, must be our most reasonable service. Is there an all-perfect being whose unsolicited goodness gave birth to the universe } Then it must be fit and proper, that every rational creature, whom he has made capable of knowing and serving liim, should reverence, adore and worship liiiji ; should pros- trate themselves in his presence and extol his incom- prehensible excellence and gloiy. Is he able to save or to destroy, to make us inconceivably happy or mise- rable, by a single act of his will ? Aod is it not reasona- REASUl«ABX£Nbi»» OF SEBVIKG GOD. 325 ble to give all diligence^ by a course of holy obedience to Ids sovereign >yill to avoid his displeasure, -which is worse than death and to secure an interest in his favor, which is better than life ? Are holiness, justice, goodl- ness and truth, essential attributes of tlie divine nature ? And can a reasonable being act in a way more becom- ing the rational nature, which God has given him, than by endeavouring after the nearest possible resemblance of him in those glorious perfections, which are the standard of all moral excellence aixd beauty ; by being *• holy as God is holy, merciful as he is merciful, and per- fect as our heavenly father is perfect". There never was, or never will be any other measure of the happi- ness and glory of a rational creature, than its confor- mity to the moral image of God. To restore our de- generate natures to this, and to re-instamp his image upon our souls, Avhich had been defaced by our apostacy from him, is the gracious design of God, in forming the amazing "plan of our redemption by Jesus Christ, whom he sent into the world to destroy the works of the devil, and to purify us to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works/' And can aiiy tiling be more reasonable than to be fellow workers Avith God, co-ope- rating with him in the glorious designs of his grace, by cleansing ourselves from all fiitliii^ss of the flesh and spirit and studying to be holy, as he who has called us is holy, in all manner of conversation. 2. The reciSonaUeness of serving God may also he deduced from a consideratiQii of the nature of man. Our nature is compounded of body and spirit, hy the first of which we are allied to the beasts tljat perish. o26 IlEAS0XA9LENi;SS 0¥ SERVING GOD, and by the latter we claim kindred to the highest order of intelligences. Our bodies are surrounded with in- numerable dangers, subject to many M^ants and pains, the seat of many restless appetites, preserved with dif- ficulty through a short and troublesome life, and then they return to their original dust. But our souls are capable of more sublime pleasures and more intolera- ble pains, than what belong to the body ^ are possessed of noble and exalted powers and faculties, which may be so refined, enlarged and improved in virtue and holiness, as to prepare us for the inconceivable blessedness of the heavenly world ; or so debased and polluted by sin as to render us incapable of relishing the pleasures of the heavenly state 5 and they will survive the stroke of death and live through a boundless duration either in eternal happiness or everlasting torment* As we are then part- ly mortal and partly immortal, ever anxiously pursuing happiness, under one form or another, and yet easily betrayed into misery more intolerable and lasting than any thing we can at present conceive; is it not our highest wisdom to put ourselves under the gracious pro- tection, and obey the salutary prescriptions of that al- mighty and glorious God, who can secure us from every danger, supply our innumerable wants out of his ful- ness, and crown our fidelity in his service, with an hap- piness, large as our most extensive wishes, and lasting as our immortal spirits ? Is it so that we are weak and indigent creatures, unable to provide for the supply of our returning wants, and daily supported by the unmeri- ted bounty of that God, who fills our hearts with food and gladness? And what can be more becoming our de- pendent state, than to con-secrate all our active powers REASONABLEISXSS OF SERTING GOU. 3i7 to the service of him, in whom we live, move and have our heing, who constantly loads us with the blessings of his providence, and opens his liberal hand to satisfy the desires of every thing that lives ? Is it not our wisdom to secure a title to the favor and friendship of that God, whose watchful providence provides for the ravens of the valley, and therefore will much more tenderly re- gard the cries of his own children ? Have we many restless appetites and turbulent passions in the gratifi- cation of which we are capable of but low and mean delights, which, when ungoverned, are the source of a sad variety of pain and torment, and which, when under proper subjection to the more exalted powers of our nature, our reason and conscieiice, are capable of an- swering the most important purposes in life ? And is it not our wisdom to hearken to the salutary prescriptions of God, in the regulation of our appetites and passions, idacing them only upon such worthy objects as he has pointed out, and exercising them only in that degree which he allows 5 that they may be improved as the happy instruments of promoting religion in our souls, refining them to a godlike lustre, and producing plea- sures, even in the pilgrimage of life, that are worthy ©f our rational and immortal nature, especially, when we farther consider, that the soul is capable of vastly fiobler pleasures, than what can be suggested by passion and appetite, and more piercing pains than the body is exposed to suffer. As long as the spirit within us re- mains firm and unbroken, we sink not under the infir- mities of the body and the calamities of life. Strong resolutions supported by the testimony of an approving conscience and the smiles of a reconciled God, and the 328 REASONABLENESS OT SERVING GOD. animating prospect of an incomiptible crown of glorv, can struggle through any outward distress: "hut a Mounded spirit who can bear?" AVhat can heal the wounds that are made by sin and guilt, or inflicted by the hand of an angry God ? In vain does the awakened sinner strive to loose his guilty fears amidst tlic hurry of business or the mad intoxications of sensual pleasures. These are but miserable comforters, which, instead of assuaging, will only encrease his pain. Religion alone prescribes the cifectual remedy, and points out the skil- ful physician, who alone csin bind up the broken heart and remove the spiritual maladies,^ under which our souls languish. Nay, he can not only heal the dange- rous wounds tliat sin has made, but he can cause tlie broken bones to rejoice, and fill the soul with joy and peace in believing. And can any thing be more bccoin- ing our mournful condition as sinners, ready to sink imder the frowns of a holy, sin avenging God, than f? speedy application to the blood of sprinkling for par- don, and to the influences of his grace, for the sanclifi- cation of onr natures ? Can any thing be more reasona- ble, than to consecrate ourselves to the service of tliat God, who has made this glorious provision for the rc-^ storation of our fallen nature to his favor and friend- V>hip ? But farther, has the soul many excellent powers and faculties, which, when rightly improved, render it capa- ble of a sublime and rational happiness, not only in this life, but also, when the body is laid in ruins in the grave ? And what is the right use of these powers and capacities, which tends to perfect our nature and make HBASOJf ABXEKE3S OIR S^I^VING QOB, &f^ US happy ? Is it any other, than what the seryioe o^ God requires ; the exercising of them in the duties of piety, righteousness and sobriety? Any othei* use of them is vain and trifling, and will leave us in a misera- ble condition at last, when we must appear before the righteous jii^S^ <>f the universe, to render an acco.unt of our improvement of the talents committed to our trust, and receive according to the deeds done in the body. Here we sojourn but a few days ; but an ever- lasting eternity depends upon our diligence and fidelity in the service of God, while we are in this state of trial. We must shortly remove into the invisible world, wher* nothing can stand us in stead, but the favor and friend- ship of that God, whom we must serve in this life, if we expect the manifestations of his love in the next.«i«> The happiness of our souls in the coming world will de- pend upon the gracious habits we have contracted ifi our embodied state. " He that is holy at death shall liO holy still, and he that is filthy then shall be filthy still.** The prevailing disposition, which the soul carries witji it into the invisible world, shall continue through eter- nity, rendering it meet, for an inheritance with the saints in light, or for everlasting banishment from the presence of God. The consequence of this is, that the service of God, in this imperfect state, is the most wise and ra- tional conduct, agreeable to the nature of luankind, dic- tated by the powers and faculties of our souls and bo- dies, and excellently calculated to promote your perfec- tion and happiness. Wth good reason therefore, do^ an inspired aposile beseech us by the mercies of God, to present our bodies and souls a living sacrifice, holy and T2 Acceptable unto God; and enforce his tender cxhorta'i tion by this powerful argument, because it is our reasom' able service. IPPLlCATlOKj 1. Hence we may learn our ohligations of gi^ittitude 13 God for the gospel of our Lord Jesus, and the method of saltatioh through him. If the service of God is highly reasonable in itself, md of unspeakable and everlasting consequence to a rational creature, we can never sufficiently prize the christian religion, from which we derive the clearest tnowledge of our duty, the most encouraging motives and arguments to comply with it, and the most satisfac- tory account of the method by which our sins may be pardoned and our immortal souls saved from everlast- ing destruction. Being founded in the adorable perfec- tions of God, and perfectly accommodated to the rational nature of man, and to his miserable and helpless condi- tion, as a fallen guilty creature, it carries with it evi- dent characters of a divine original, which should en- dear it to the affections of the human race. God having spoken to us iri these last days by his only begotten son, has distinguished us not only from the heathen nations, i;rho were left to search out their duty by tlie faint glim- merings of the light of nature, but also from his ancient people, who were favored with a considerable degree of divine revelation. The precepts of Christianity contain a complete and infallible directory for the behaviour of a reasonable creature towards God, his neighbour and BEASONABXENESS OP SXUVING GOD. 3$i himself 5 and his duty is explained and enforced upon the conscience by considerations and arguments, which were never sufficiently known before. Here we see the glory of the divine nature shining in the face of his only begotten son, and the different claims of his justice and mercy satisfied in the death and sufferings of the Saviour of sinners, " through which he can be just, and the jus- tifier of them that believe on him." ^' Here mercy and truth have met together ; righteousness and peace have kissed each other."* While we are called as xallen sinners to the exercises pf faith and repentance, and a life of holy obedience to the precepts of the gospel, Go^ has been pleased to give us the most encouraging assu- rance, that our sins shall be pardoned through the atone* ment of his son, and that our imperfect services shall not only be accepted, but also rewarded with an incon- eeivable and eternal weight of glory. And can we, my friends, consider ourselves as guilty sinners, justly ex* posed to the righteous vengeance of an offended God, and liable every moment to be sentenced to everlasting destruction ; and then view with attention, the astonish- ing mercy and grace of the gospel method of salvation, without hearts overflowing wiih love and gratitude^ and feeling the constraints of divine love, powerfully engag- ing us to consecrate our souls and our bodies, our time and our talents, to the service of that God and Redeemer, by whom we are delivered from hell and destruction, and are raised to the hopes of a glorious immortality ? Ps. LXXXV. IQ. $»fi BJSA€0NABI.£IV£S8 OY SfiUYllf G GOD. ,■3. Permit me thereforey mij friends, to ecchort and beseecli youf by the mercies of God, to consecrate yonrselxes ts hi$ service, as your most reasonahle duty. We appeal to your own conscknces, that power trhich God has given you to pass a judgment upon your own actions, whether it ishot the most reasonable thing in the world, that you should serve him with your senls and your bodies, which are his. Has he made you t© know more than the beasts of the field and wiser thati the fowls of heaven ? Has he given you reason, by which you may reflect upon your own conduct and look for- tvard to the consequences or your actions ? And will you, notwithstanding, act and live, as if you were posr sessed of no higher capacities than the beast s that perish. What end can this glorious distinction of your nature above the visible creation around you answer, but to sink you deeper into destrnction, if it be not improved according to the directions of God in his service ? Shall the dull ox know his owner, and the sluggish ass, his master's crib, at which he is fed ; and shall man, the lord of this lower creation ; man, who was formed after the image of his Maker, prostitute the exalted facul- ties and previliges of his rational nature to the ignoblfc service of sin and Satan ; an4 forgetting his divine ex- traction and heavenly difttinetion, content himself with a transitory and sordid portion on earth, without aspi- ring after glory, honor and immortality ? It is in the service of God alone, that our rational powers can find a proper employment, their greatest enlargement and their highest perfection. It is vice, that degrades and enslaves human nature and perverts and destroys its REASONABLENESS OIF SERVING GOD, 333 tioblest powers. If we would desire to be happy, let us not take the direct course to make ourselves misera- ble ; but let us consider, and shew ourselves men, that God has not given us reason and understanding in vain. He has shewn us what is the good and acceptable will of God, wherein our truest happiness consists and hov/ We may obtain it. Let a principle of gratitude and self preservation therefore operate with a commanding influ- ence upon our hearts, engaging us in his service. Shall God do so much for our salvation ? and shall we do nothing for ourselves ? Shall the adorable Trinity con- sult for our happiness, contrive and execute the asto- nishing plan of our redemption ? And shall we remain as careless and indifferent, as if \\c had no souls to save or loose ? How shall we answer it to God and our own con- sciences, if we refuse to serve him 2 " Is not his favor Kfe, and his loving kindness better than life ?" Can we be happy without an interest in his everlasting love r And shall we not be engaged to seek it above all things in that way which he has appointed ? Fain would we, my friends, prevail with tliose of our people, who have never yet sincerely devoted themselves to the service of God, to do it without delay, and to proceed no farther in that dangerous road that leads down to djestruction. Stronger arguments we cannot use. We beseech you therefore by the mercies of God and Christ, which yearned over you with infinite tenderness and compassion, when our degenerate nature lay buried in tlie ruins of our fall : by the unparalleled love of our heavenly father, which provided the ransomer in his own bosom^ and gave up the son of his love to the tor- SoA H£ASONJLBL£K£SS Of SEBVING GOD. tures of crucifixion for our sakes ; and by the seeptre of his grace, which he holds out with amazing long suffering and patience to guilty rebels, entreating them to lay down the weapons of their rebellion and to accept of salvation by a Redeemer : "We beseech you by the me- mory of the most benevolent person, and the most ge- nerous friend, that ever lived ; by all that he did and suf- fered to redeem us from a vain conversation in the world when he trod the wine press of the fathers wrath alone, and groaned and died upon Mount Calvary : Wc beseech you at once by the sceptre of his grace, and the swordof his justice, by which his incorrigible ene- mies will be slain before him : we beseech you by the regard you have for your immortal souls, and all your hopes of future happiness ; by the expectations of that important day, when the Lord shall be revealed from heaven ; by the terrors of a dissolving world, and the awful sentence w ith which that grand solemnity shall be closed ; we beseech you by all these arguments of love and terror, that you yield up yourselves to God as alive from the dead ; and that you serve him with fide- lity, till the latest hour of your lives. Thus alone shall we be able to meet our descending judge in the glori- ous triumphs of his grace, and be acknowledged by him as his servants and friends, who shall reign with him in everlasting glory. SERMON XVIL THE HIDDEN LIFE OF A CHMSTlAl^, Coi.. Ill, ^, For ye are d«ad, and your life is hid with Christ in Qodi It is one of the inestimable blessings of the gospel of Christ, that it has in a great measure removed that impenetrable eloud which hung over the invisible world, and perplexed mankind with inexplicable doubts about their future existence. The doctrine of a future state of rewards aird punishments, which is so peeidiarly com- fortable to the good man, amidst the storms and calami- ties of life, is set in the clearest light by the gospel; which greatly strengthens our obligations to an holy life, at the same time that it assures us, that our labour sliall not be in vain in the Lord, but shall meet with a bountiful reward of grace from the liberal master whom we serve. If this is but the beginning of our ex- istence ; if we are designed for an eternal duration, and hope for the approbation of our judge, when the time of our trial is over; both reason and revelation assure us, that we must live with a constant reference to eter- nity, and maintain such a conduct as Avill tend to pi*c- pare us for the business and employments of the hea- venly state. Now the gospel of Christ has pointed Out the temper and behaviour, which alone eatt qualify c? $B6 THE HIDDEN LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN. for an admissioa into the joys of the New Jerusalem^ and has cut off every presumptuous hope of entering into the kingdom of heaven, and of seeing the face of a reconciled God, unless we are born again and cultivate an universal holiness of heart and life. The voice of reason too is the same. If heaven is our native coun- try and our home; if we are strangers and sojourners on earth ; is it not reasonable, that we should lay up our treasures there, and set our affections on things above and not on things on the earth ? If we are by the interpo- sition of Jesus Christ, incorporated into a glorious society of pure and exalted spirits, who shine in the beauties of holiness, under lUm as our spiritual head 5 should wc not live as citizens of heaven, the members of that illustrious community, and maintain an habitual corres- pondence of sentiment, temper, and character? Now there cannot be » more proper motive to engage us in such a conduct, than that which is suggested by the apostle in our text : viz. That as christians we profess to be dead to sin and the world, and to depend upon Je- sus Christ as our spiritual head, for the sacred influen- ces of his grace, to begin and carry on a divine life in the soul, until we be prepared for eternal life and bles- sedness. For thus stands his argument : Set your af- fections on things above, and not on things on the earth : <^ for you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." It may be reasonably expected of christians, that their attachment to the great and glorious views of the invisible and eternal world, where Jesus Christ sitteth at the right hand of God, should moderate their regards to the transitory state ; as they are by profes- sion dead, with him to the world and sin, and they de- THE HIDDEN LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN. 33? rive from God a principle of a new and better life, lliroiigli Jesus Christ, t'^e lu ad of divine influences, and the author and finisher of their faith. Hence the lives of all true christians are said " to he by faith in the Son of God;" and they are animated and encouraged to such a conduct, hy what the apostle adds in the follow- ing verse : " AVlien Christ who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." When he, who is the great spring of our celestial life, shall appear in all the Tiomp and splendors of his fmal triumph, then shall you also appear v,ith him in glory, and make a part of that bright and illustrious assembly, which he has redeemed by his death, and wliieli he w ill form into a lustre and perfection, suitable to the glorious relation under which he will then acknowledge them before the assembled universe. The words of our text then contain a short but com- prehensive description of the temper and life of every real christian, which we shall endeavour more partieu- larly to explain. 1. The true christian is said to he dead ; dead to sliif and td the tvm^Jd, When he is enabled by divine grace to mortify the deeds of the flesh, so that the dominion and tyranny of sin is broken in the soul, he is said in the language of scripture to be dead to s^n. << How shall we, who are dead to sin, live any longer therein."* This is farther ^'xplained in the 7th verse. ^' He, that is dead^ is freed I 2 338 THE HIDDEN LIFE Oi' A CHRISTIAN. from sill ;*' and again in tlie lltli verse : '' Likewise reekoii ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God, tliroiigh Jesus Christ our Lord." ^y a simi- lar figure, those mIio continue umlcrthe unbroken do- itiiiiion and tyranny of corruption are said to be dead in sins and trespasses ; not that cither the one or the other expression sliould intimate that he is as incapable of moral action, as a man, that is under the power of natural death, and so is incapable of the actions and operations of natural life. We are not to torture and strain the metaphorical expressions of scripture, to such an unjustifiable height, as could not be vindicated, in the explanation of any other book ; but endeavour to fix our eye upon the general sense of Wiq expression ; to whicli we are safely conducted either by the scope and design of the sacred writer, in the place, or by more plain and parallel passages. Now the plain and obvious meaning of the phrases under consideration is no other than this ; that the man that is dead in sln^ is so far under the dominion of sin and corruption, that he cannot live without the habitual practice of it, until a change is wrought in his heart, by the spirit of God, " whereby old things are done away, and all tilings are become new ." And we are said to be dead to sin ; not vvhen we have arrived at an unsinning perfection in holiness, to whicli the best of christians never attain on this side the grave, until, in tlieir dissolution, the last act of sanctification passes upon the soul ; but when by the grace of God, we arc so far delivered from the reigninti- Koni. VI. i:'. THE HIDDEN I.IFE OF A CHRISTIAN. 33i» power of sin, and so effectually con\i need of its ruinous tendency and consequences, that Ave cannot any longer indulge ourselves, in the alloAved and habitual commis- sion of it. This makes the expression sufficiently plain, when we add, that those, who live in the habitual prac- tice of sin, are proceeding with dangerous steps, in the road to eternal death ; but tiiose, who are dead to sin, and live in the habitual practice of holiness, are delivered from the fears of eternal death, and are making a safe and comfortable progress, in the way to everlasting life and glory. But the true christian is also dead to the world : by which is meant, that he is no longer imder the govern- ment of worldly affections. Although he cannot but desire thQ good things of this life and it is an essential part of his duty, as connected with others, by the most import- ant relations of human society, to have a proper and reasonable regard to them 5 yet he does not seek them as his chief good, does not pursue them as his i.appiness and dare not sacrifice his conscience to obtain them. While the men of this world *• can rise early and sit up late, and eat the bread of carefulness" to encrease their earthly possessions, or even breakthrough the sacred restraints of reason and religion, of honor and conscience, for the sake of them, and content themselves with such a por- tion for their immortal spirits : the true christian, ha- ving obtained the knowledge of a more exalted happi- ness, enjoys the accommodations of this life with an hidifference becoming his hopes of a better, and with an attachment that is consistent with his resignation to the 310 THE HIDDEN I.IFC OF A CHRISTIAIV. will of God when they arc rcinoYcd from him, hy any calamitous dispensation of his providence. All its sinful pleasures, he renounces as inconsistent >vith his peace and the hopes of the favor and friendship of his God ; its inno- cent and lawful pleasures he endeavours to use with caution and discretion, and its calamities he does not anxiously dread, hut rather endeavours to consider them as the wise and salutary expedients of his heavenly fa- ther, to prove and strengthen his graces, to mortify his remaining corruptions, and to quicken his aspirations, and endeavour after a solid and suhstantial happiness, large as his wishes and lasting as his immortal spirit. Thus is he crucified to the w orld, and the world to him, as all those irregular appetites, which are generally de- nominated worldly affections, arc in some good degree mortified in him. Thus is the christian dead to sin, and dead to the world ; and w^e may add, that he endeavours to live daily in the near views of death, that he may he always in readiness for his great change. 3. But notwitlistanding thie, the christian is said to he alive ; alive unto God and divine things^ and in daily expectation of eternal life. Being quickened hy a principle of divine life, wrought in his soul hy the regenerating iniluenees of the spirit of grace, he is alive unto God, and unto righteous- ness; endeavouring to maintain lively affections to- wards God and Christ. Tenderness of conscience in matters of sin and duty, and a ready disposition to comply with his eternal obligations to piety and de- votion, to charity and justice, to temperance and so- THE HIDDEN XIFE OF A CHHI6TIAX. 341 bricty, to humility and seif-denial. He has a lively re- lish for those exercises of religion, which are insipid and disgustful to the men of this w^rld^ and being enligh- tened by the spirit of wisdom, he enjoys a sacred and unalterable pleasure, in contemplating the marvellous discoveries of divine love, which are made in the won- ders of creation, providence, and redemption. The ex- ercises of devotion are his most agreeable entertain- ments, and the care of his soul and his eternal interest his principal employment. ^Vliile others are addressing themselves mth eager unsatisfied desires to the objects of time and sense and enquiring with a restless solicitude, " who will shcAV us any good V The language of the christian's heart is, " Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me." Let unthinking mortals dresg up to themselves an imaginary happiness, which is ever flying before them, or which, if enjoyed, leaves them as xmsatisfied as before; I envy them not their labour nor their pleasure ,• I have not thus learned the Lord ; I am pursuing an happiness, which both reason and scripture assure me, will answer my most enlarged expectations, which will continue to afford unutterable delight when this world, with all its delusive scenes, is no more. — > Thus is the christian, though dead to sin and the world, alive unto God and divine things, and carried forward in the spiritual life, by the animating prospect of a crown of righteousness and life. .s. The life of the Christian is said to be hidden and con- cealed from the riew of mankind. Although it is the unquestionable duty of the chris- tian, *^ to let his light so shine before others, that they 3i2 TUB HIDDEN IrlFE dV A CHKISTIAN. seeing his good works," may be induced from the ami- able example to glorify our heavenly father ; yet so blinded is the world, so inattentive to that which consti- tutes the real dignity of human nature and the crown- ing excellency of the christian character ; that it often happens, that those who are in rcalRy, the excellent ones of the earth, are passed over unnoticed and disre- garded by a blind mis-judging world, like an unpolished diamond, whose intrinsic value is unknown to a careless or ignorant observer. They, who are precious in the sight of God, ihQ infallible judge of moral excellence, have been frequently esteemed as the vilest of men, treated as the oii-seoivrings of human nature, and perse- cuted with an unchristian rage, for those very things Avhieh should have secured to them the approbation and esteem of every rational creature. So tliat it does not appear to the world in general, what the true cliristian is now, any more than to himself, what he shall be, when Jesus Christ, his life, shall come in his glory. — This may, in some measure, arise from the nature of those christian graces, that constitute the most substan- tial and valuable parts of their character ; such as faith and love, humility and meekness, patience and resigna- tion, moderation and self-denial, which generally de- light in solitude, are not calculated to attract the notice of the world or the applauses of popularity, and which iiave but little in them to excite the admiration and gaze of a mis-judging multitude. Add to this, that the humble christian, conscions of his own failures, and pressed down mider a mortifying sense of his own infir- mities and corruptions, cannot be very solicitous about appearing eminently good in the eyes of others. He is THE HIDDEN ilFE Or A GHRISTIAN. 343 more coneernedubout that honor tliat cometh from God, than that which cometh from man. His principal study is integrity of heart and life, that he may secure the ap- probation of his heavenly father, who seeth in secret*— While hypocrites make clean the outside of the cup and platter, and are extremely solicitous to appear well in the eyes of the world ; his principal attention is employed ia the cultivation of the internal temper of his mind, ^^ hich is open to the inspection of the heart-searching God alone ; and this is one reason, why the christian's spiritual life is so often hidden from men, and the internal beauties of his mind are passed over and disregarded by an UHr distinguishing multitude. Besides, the envy and preju- dice, and ill-will of others, will dispose them to rob him of his just share of commendation, to call his brightest virtues by an injurious name, and to aggravate his real miscarriages and blemishes to an unchristian height ; lest the lustre of his graces shouW too far eclipse their own, or that they may find a Avr etched apology for their own vices, in the imhappy falls and miscarriages of the christian. The w orld is always ready to take more no- tice of the faults of a good man than of his virtues ; and both may be sometimes so much blended together, as to make it extremely difficult to ascertain his true charac- ter, which will contribute not a little to the obscurity of it. Add to all this, that virtue and goodness often lose their honor in this world, by being buried in the obseiu'ity of the christian's condition in the world; at tho same time that the distresses of his poverty and the straitjiess of his cireur.isiances, render him incapable of exercising many grdies, which would signal-y distinguish his real character, was ho not deprived of an opportunity of ^lis- 344j the MlODEN LltE OF A tUBISTlAN. playing them before the world. These things being con- sidered, it should not seem strange, that some of the best of men, who may be eminent for all the branches of the christian temper, and maintain the divine life with a comfortable vigour in their souls, may, notwithstanding, be so much hidden from the world as to pass unnoticed, and it may be, hated and despised. But the christian's life is not only hidden from the world, with respect to that part which he passes in this state of trial ; but the future part of it is also concealed both from them and himself also. It doth not yet ap- pear what he shall be, when the time of his complete redemption shall come. ^* Eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man to con- ceive," the grandeur and glory, the happiness or dura- tion of his eternal life. An impenetrable veil covers the glories of the invisible world, through which no mortal eye can penetrate. While we are imprisoned in flesh and converse only with embodied spirits, we are unable to form the least adequate conception how wc shall live in an unembodied state, nor Avhat satisfactions we shall enjoy in conversing with pure immaterial spi- rits. And hence that eternal life, which the christian is heir to, is, also a hidden life. i. The Christian's life is hid with Christ, in God. When he had accomplished the arduous work of our redemption, he went " to his father and our father, to his God and our God." There he is hidden from mor- tal vicwj and with him the first springs and principle? THI2 HIDDEN ilFE OF A CHRISTIAN. S4r5 <»f the christian's spiritual life, ^vhich flow from Lira as their sacred source. Although the eifects of Lis glo- rious grace may be in some measure discerned both by the believer and by otliers ; yet the first principle of it is hidden with Christ, with whom is the residue of the spirit, whereby he can quicken the wretch that has been long dead in trespasses and sins, and raise him to new- ness of life. And he is not only the author, but also the finisher of our faith. He not only implants a saving faith in the soul, whereby it is brought to lay hold on him as the Lord his righteousness for justifica- tion in the sight of God, but he also, by tlie con^ tinned aids and influences of his holy spirit, maintains and cherishes the sacred principle, and carries it on from one degree of strength unto another, until it final- ly terminates in the vision of God. Did not he, that begins a good work of grace in the soul, carry it on to perfection, through all the different stages of our sanc- tification, or did he suffer the operations of his quick- ening spirit to be interrupted ; the christian's spiritual life and vigor would as certainly decay> as the rivers would be exhausted, when the streams from whence they flow> are cut off. And as it is by these hidden springs of grace, that the spiritual life is maintained and supported, it is properly said to be hidden with Christ. And it is said to be hidden with Christ, in God ; on account of that spiritual union and communion which subsists be- tween God and the believer, " He that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him."* We live in God, when those holv and devout affections, which are im- *K John, IV. 16. X2 546 THE Hlt>DEN XirE or A CHRISTIAN. planted by the spirit of grace, are directed to liim as the object of all our hopes and our happiness when wo find the greatest satisfaction, in contemplating the glo- rious discoveries he has made of his perfections through a Redeemer, and enjoy the reviving smiles of his coun- tenance and the copious supplies of his grace, to srength- en us for the duties and trials of the spiritual life, and for tlie enjoyment of himself in glory. And as our spiritual life is hidden with Christ as the author and preserver of it, by the continued influences of his grace ; so is the perfection of it in glory hidden with him as the purchaser and preparer of it. He paid down his life as a ransom for us, and humbled himself unto death that he might obtain a right as our Redeemer to bestow eternal life upon his children ; and « he has gone before us to prepare a place for us, that where he is, we may also be" to behold liis glory. Hence he says *< my sheep are mine, and I give unto them eternal life ;'' so that when Christ, who is our life shall appear to be gloriiied in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe, they shall also appear with him in glory. His presence in the ordinances of his church is the support of his children during their minority on earth, and all the communications of his grace have no other tendency 01* design, than to prepare them for an introduction into that glorious kingdom, where he will bestow upon them the crowns of righteousness and life, wliich he hns hiU\ up for them. And as our future happiness shall consist in the hn mediate, eternal? and uninterrupted enjoyment of Cod, THE HIDDEN LITE OF A CHRISTIAN. Si7 ** whose favor is life, and whose loving kindness ishet- ter than life ;" our eternal life is said to he hid with Christ in God. *< In his presence is fulness of joy, and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore." The full fruition of the ever-hlessed God, is the sum and sub- stance, the perfection of a creature's happiness. To be- hold the unrivalled glories of our exalted Redeemer, to be admitted to the open vision of God, to enjoy the un- interrupted smiles of his countenance, and to feel our- selves inconceivably happy in the incessant manifesta- tions of his eternal love; this, this is life indeed! TYiU is the christian's life that is hidden with Christ in God. APPLICATION. 1, Hence we see, wherein the essence of true religion con- sists. As the design of all true religion is to prepare us for the final enjoyment of God in heaven, by making us holy in heart and life ; that man's religion, which con- sists in external forms and ceremonies, in an idle parade of words and shew, without correcting his heart and mending his life, is beyond all peradventure vaia and worse than vain. There never was, nor ever will be any other measure of the happiness of a rational creature, than its conformity to the moral image of God. If our happiness consists in living with a God of unspotted pu- rity, and with angels, that shine in the beauties of holi- ness, and ** the spirits of just men made perfect :" how is it possible in the nature of things, that we could enjoy any satisfaction even in heaven, without a disposition wrought in us by the spirit of God, and attempered by 348 THE HIDDEN LIFE Or A CHJUSTIAJT. the sac red operations of his grace, for the hiisiiiess and the employments of the celestial inhabitants ? ** Ex- cept a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,-' and " >yitliout holiness no man shall see the Lord.'' But in order to this, vfc must he dead unto sin, before wg can be alive unto God, or entertain any rati- onal hopes of living with him. The power of sin must he mortiried in the soul, for while we are the servants of sin, it is in vain for us to pretend, that we are the servants of God ; for nothing renders us more unlike to him, who is essential purity ; nothing can make it more impossible for us to love him, who is unspotted holiness, or to delight ourselves in the contemplation of his ado- rable perfections. So certain is it, that we must be dead to sin and to worldly affections, which are enemies to God, before we can have any rational hope, that our life is hidden with Christ in God. We appeal to every per- son's own conscience, to the unalterable reason of things^ and to the infallible testimony of God, whether it be pos- sible for an unholy soul, to enjoy the smiles of an holy God, " who cannot look upon sin, but with the utmost abhorrence." And sliall we, my friends, harbour that in our bosoms, or practise it in our lives, which will inevitably banish us from the presence of God mul Christ and from ail the joys of eternity ? Shall we not rather guar4 against it with the most constant and dili- gent attention ; Hy from every appearance of evil, and cultivate that universal holiness of heart and life, which will prepare us for heaven and bring us to God, the judge of all ; to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant ; to an innumerable company of angels, and to the spirits pf just men made perfect? THE HlDDEiV IIFE OF A CHRISTIAN. 349 -2, From this discourse ive see our oMigaiions io Jesuft Christ. He died to purchase our deliverance from eternal death, and "bore our sins in liis o>vn body, that we be- ing dead unto sin, might live unto righteousness." Our spiritual and eternal life is hidden with him, being the purchase of his precious blood and the operation of his efficacious grace. So that in every view, he is the great author of our salvation, and the adorable object of our highest praises. Shall we not then call upon our souls, with ail the powers of our nature to magnify the Lord our Saviour, and ascribe " blessing and honor, and glory and power unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb forever ?" 3. But have tee, my friends, any rational grounds to conclude f that tve are dead unto sin, and alive unto God"^ Do we indeed hate sin under all its appearances, even when it promises pleasure or honor or worldly advanta- ges : And do we love the Lord supremely with that pre- dominant fervor, which he demands ? Do the strongest desires of our souls tend to him as the centre of all ex- cellence, and the fountain of all our hopes ? Does our love to God, our faith in Christ, and our hopes of eter- nal life, make us die daily unto sin and to the world ? Do they quicken, guard and elevate our souls, animate our duties, warm our devotions and raise us above the world and its transitory enjoyments ? Do w€ feel our principal delight in the service of God, in conversing 350 THE HIDDEN ilFE OT A CHRISTIAS. with him by prayer and meditation and praise, and in the performance of those duties, which have a tendency to reform our hearts and refine our souls to a godlike lustre ? If this is our character, we have all the evi- dence we can desire, that our life is hidden with Christ in God, that tlie spiritual life is begun in the soul by the influences of his grace, and that he that has began this good work will carry it on to pei^fection. And let us therefore, go on in our way, rejoicing in God our Sa- viour, and growing in grace, while we are looking by an eye of faith to our exalted Redeemer, for the continual supplies of his grace, and the aids of his spirit, to strengthen us for every good work and to perfect holi- ness in his fear* But have not some of us reason to fear that this is BOt our character ; that we are not dead unto sin and the world, and alive unto God ? that the spiritual life is not yet begun in the soul ? If your own consciences, my friends, testify against any of you this day, that this is indeed your melancholy condition ; be entreated, as you regard your immortal souls ; as you prize an inter- est in the blessings of the Redeemer's purchase ; as you value the favor of God, which is life, to give yourselves no peace, until you have reason to hope better concern- ing your spiritual staie. While you wait upon God in the ordinances of his appointment, plead with him for the renewing and sanctifying influences of his holy spirit, to mortify your in-dwelling corruptions, to create you anew to good works in Christ Jesus, and to enable you to serve him in newness of life. Belay not a matter of such importance. It is your life ; it is your happiness : THE HIDDEN ilFE OE A CHRISTIAX. o3i For *^ except a man be born again, be cannot see tte kingdom of God." And may tbe God of all grace quicken us all to tbis most necessary of all concerns, and begin and carry on his own work in our souls, un- til we be finally brought to tlie uninterrupted ^^njoy- mentof himself in glory. SERMON XVIIl. ENTERING IN AT THE STRAIGHT GATE lUKE, XIII, 23-24. Tlien said one unto him, Lord, are there feiv that Ic saved"^ Jind he said unto fliew, strive to enter in at the straight gate, for manij, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not he able. We are not particularly informed, who it was, that asked this curious and uninteresting question, of out Lord : but it is probable from the decency of the man- ner, in which it was proposed* that he was one of our Lord's professed disciples. But whoeyer he Avas or whatever were his views in tlie interrogation, it way certainly a matter of mere curiosity, and of no real ad- vantage to the enquirer. Hence our Lord waves giving a direct answer to the fruitless enquiry, and thereby tacitly reproves his presumption, in desiring to know the hidden things of God with which he had no concern* but in the place of it gives him, in common with those that were present, an admonition, which was of infinitely more advantage to them, as tending to their own par- ticular salvation. " Strive to enter in at the straight gate, for I say unto you that many shall seek to enter in and shall not be able." As if he had said, I am not come to answer such fruitless enquiries, as these, which ENTERING IN AT THE STRAIGHT GATE. 353 are only suggested by an idle curiosity, and which when resolved, would have no influence on your own salvation, but I am *^ come to seek and save those that were lost ;" therefore I exhort you to ^* strive to enter in at the straight gate." For I, who am to preside at the judg- ment of the last day, assure you that many shall seek, who shall not be able, to enter " many shall say to me. Lord, Lord, have I not prophesied in thy name and in thy name done many wonderful works and even cast out devils in thy name ; but I will declare to them, I know you not, depart from me, ye workers of iniquity." But however it may fare with others, with whom you have no concern, my admonition is to you to " strive to enter in at the straight gate. Do not imagine that the in- estimable privilege of entering in at the straight gate, which I have told you before, leads to life eternal, is to be obtained by a few lazy endeavours or inattentive wishes ; you must use the utmost possible endeavours, employ the most vigorous exertions of both body and mind, and even against the most virulent opposition. If you expect to enter into life eternal, you must strive with all your might and in good earnest, for through many tribulations, the rigliteous themselves are scarcely saved, and thus you must all enter into the kingdom of Heaven ; " for it suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." In conformity with this, the christian life is frequent- ly compared, with the greatest propriety and elegance, to fighting, running and wrestling,* exercises that re- quire the greatest exertions of the active powers, both of body and mind. The metapher, which our Saviour Y2 3b'h ENTBUIx^G IN AT TUE STllAlGHT GATE. uses in our text, is evidently borrowed from the Roman and Grecian games, Avhere none made any considerable figure, but sucli as had been previously inured to them hy the closest application and the severest exercise. Consequently our Saviour's idea, of striving to enter in at the straight gate, must imply our exerting our- selves with vigour, and our using our constant and earnest endeavours, to obtain the salvation of our souls and an admission into the kingdom of heaven. Saints and sinners, tlie regenerate and unregenerate^ high and low, rich and poor are all equally concerned in this admonition of our Lord; for whether they are, or are not in a state of grace, and have experienced the saving operations of the spirit of God, by Avhich they are made new creatures, or are yet in the " gall of bit- terness and bonds of iniquity," they have all equally im- mortal souls, and should use their utmost endeavours to secure their salvation, or to gain their admission into the straight gate, that leads to life eternaL Our divine Redeemer never gave an injunction, which was not authorised by the principles of infinite wisdom, for he was the wisdom of the father ; and hence he has enforced the exhortation in the icxty by the most cogent reasons. " Because mauy shall seek lo enter in and shall not be able." Many will seek it, in a careless and indif- ferent manner, as if it was a matter of course, that tlu^ gates of heaven should be expanded for their reception, whenever '*hv;y shall be pleased to say, " Lord, Lord, open unto us ;" many will seek it in consequence of their OAvn imaginary righteousness, without any depen EXTEHIXC IX AT THE STRAIGHT GATE. 355 dence upon the righteousness and atonement of a Re- deemer for their pardon and justification : many will seek it on principles of their own devising, without regarding those that are fixed hy infinite wisdom and revealed in the gospel ; and many more will trifle with the calls of the gospel, and put off their repentance and amendment of life, until their day of grace sliall he over ; until they are called to their final reckoning, for which they have made no preparation. The entrance into heaven is said in our text to he through a straight, gate, douhtless in respect to the many difficulties and ohstructions, that attend the Avork- ing out our own salvation, or finally gaining admission into the Paradise of God. The way of error and vice is said to he wide and the gate to final destruction is broad ; because it is easy for our corrupted natures to lind and pursue it : but the ways of righteousness and life are represented as straight and narrow, on account of the many difficulties we must encounter, the enemies we must subdue, and the hardships we must sustain in the heavenly road. By the metaphorical expressions of a gate and a way? our Lord considers the happiness of heaven under the notion of a glorious mansion, to which there is a certain narrow way that leads through a straight gate, intimating thereby the difficulties and struggles of the spiritual life, occasioned by our cor- ruptions '. As he says on another occasion, <* In my father's house are many mansions, and I go before you to prepare a place for you." And the apostle John, using the same metaphor, says blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have a right' to the 356 ENTERING IN AT TH£ STRAIGHT GATE. tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into (he city. In the farther prosecution of this suhject I shall en- deavour to shew through divine assistance, I. What is implied in striving to enter in at the straight gate. II. The dreadful consequences of not striving. HI. The happy consequences of striving effectually. IV. What connection there is hetween an unconverted sinner's striving, and his ohtaining eternal life. V. Why many, that seek to enter in, shall not he ahle. I shall not detain you with the discussion of all these points, at the present time, but only request your at- tention to them, as they occur and God gives us an op- portunity. I. What is implied in striving to enter in at the straight gate. 1. Striving signifies that some vigorous effort is to be used for some important purpose. There is no need of a vigorous effort, where there is no labor to be sus- tained, no opposition to he overcome. No man strives, in any propriety of language, to do any thing, that is easily within the reach of his abilities. No man strives to lift a straw. The very idea of striving pre-supposes ENTERING IN AT THE STRAIGHT GATE. S57 some difficulty and opposition in the execution. This is the case with the Christian. There are great aud numerous difficulties lying in his way, and many tri- bulations, through which he must enter into the king- dom of heaven. *' Principalities and powers, and spi- ritual wickednesses in high places ;" the devil, the world and the flesh, are not to he overcome by a few lazy en- deavours, and a few cold ineffectual wishes. It will cost the christian many a struggle, and many a groan before he be proclaimed a conqueror at last, and crown- ed with a croAvn of glory 2. Striving to enter in at the straight gate implies farther, that a man believes, that although it may be attended with labor and difficulties, yet still it is a mat- ter of so much consequence in itself and of so much consequence to him, that it is worth all the labor that it may cost him. As no man will knowingly ^' spend his money for that, which is not bread, nor his labor for that, which profiteth not," he cannot be persuaded by all the arguments in the world, to " strive to enter in at the straight gate," as long as he believes that the gospel is but a '' cunningly devised fable," that there ife no salvation proposed in it, that is worthy of his accep- tance, or that he can do very well without it. If he can be induced to strive to enter into the straight gate, he must be previously awakened to some sense of his sin, guilt and misery, and of the necessity he is under of se- curing the salvation of his immortal spirit, by comply- ing with the prescriptions of the gospel. The gospel is a remedial institution, and considers the human race, not as righteous, but as sinners, apostate, degenerate 355 ENTERING IN AT THE STRAIGHT GATIE* and guilty creatures, justly obnoxious to the wrath of God. It is in this view that mankind are considered in the gospel, as involved in a state of sin, condemnation and ruin. And no person can be supposed to use his endeavours to obtain deliverance from this state, or to have a part in that salvation which the gospel reveals, while he remains in a state of carnal security, or has no sense of his misery, as lying under guilt, condemnation and alienation from God. The doing of any thing at all, although it cannot be properly denominated striving, with a view to obtain a deliverance from wrath and the dreadful consequences of sin, must necessarily imply, that the person, who does so, believes himself to be a sinner, and as such justly exposed to tie indignation of heaven, and that no labor and pains, which he can be- stow, will be too much for the aecoinplishment of so desirable an object. 3. Striving also implies, that a person earnestly de- sires an interest in the salvation revealed in the gospel by Jesus Christ. Desires always go before endeavours, both in temporal and religious matters. A man's stri- ving, or using his endeavours, to obtain riches, pleasures or preferment, supposes his heart to be set upon the«e things ; for otherwise he would give himself but little trouble about them. And this is evidently true of all our endeavours in religion, or our striving to enter in at the straight gate into life eternal. All efforts of this kind evidently suppose that we sincerely desire to ob- tain salvation ; nor will any man strive as he ought to do, unless his desires are strong and vigorous, in some proportion to the apprehended importance of the end ENTERIMG IN AT THE STRAIGHT GATE. 359 proposed ; nay, unless he believes that the salvation of Ms soul is of more consequence to him than the posses- sion of the whole world. For he that postpones the salvation of his soul to the acquisition of any thing that this world can bestow, cannot be said, with any pro- priety of language, to strive to enter in at tlie straight gate. 4. This striving implies the Use of proper means and care and diligence, to be rightly informed concerning the way of salvation and to guard against fatal errors in this respect. For certainly we cannot be said to strive to enter in at the straight gate, into life eternal, if wc are unsolicitous to enquire, where or what is that nar- row way that leads to the kingdom of heaven. There is but one way of salvation, and that is what Christ, and his apostles have taught mankind. He says, that he was " the way, the truth and the life, and no man comes to the father but by him." His apostles taught the same doctrine, of whom it was said, " these men are the servants of the most high God, who shew us the way of salvation." They pointed out the same road and taught the same doctrines, which tliey had learned from him, and therefore assure us, that " there is one faith, one baptism, one Lord, and one God and Father of us all." There is therefore, as certainly but one true faith, or one true gospel, in the faith of which we are to be saved, as there is but one God, and one Redeemer, But this way of salvation may be mistaken by those who are careless and negligent about it. And if there are some things in the scriptures " hard to be under- stood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest to their 360 ENTERING IN AT THK STRAIGHT GATE. own destruction," as they do other scriptures, and if there are some, " who receive not the love of the truth, that they might he saved; and that therefore God shall send them strong delusions, that they sliould be- lieve a lye, tliat they all might he damned, wlio believed not the truth," as the apostles of our Lord inform us ; nothing can be more certain, than that there is a possi- bility of mistaking this only way of salvation which our Lord has pointed out, through ignorance, inattention, prejudice or the turbulence and hurry of unruly pas- sions. And if there is this possibility of mistaking the way of life, there arises a necessity of care and dili- gence to make ourselves acquainted with the funda- mental doctrines of the gospel, and to guard against dangerous and fatal errors in this respect. Nor can any man be supposed heartily to desire and earnestly to strive to enter in at the straight gate, unless he be sor licitous to find it. 5. This striving supposes and implies in it earnest prayer to God for the sacred illumination of his spirit ; for his guidance and direction in the way of life ; for the pardon of sin and assistance in duty; for a new heart and a right spirit ; that he would purge our con- sciences from dead works ; create us anew to good works in Christ Jesus, and enable us to serve him in newness of life. Prayer is one of the most important means of striving to enter in at the straight gate ; and the ne- cessities of such feeble and helpless creatures would naturally point out this method of deriving assistance from a source that is inexhaustible, always at hand,, ready to be opened for our relief, and can never fail in EXTJEEIKG IN AT TfIS STSAIGHT GATE. 561 our extremities. And there are so many exhortations and encouragements to us lor tlie constant exercise of this duty, in the same oracles, and so universally known, that it seems unnecessary to dii^ect your attention to any particular one, on the present occasion. So that if any person restrains prayer hefore God, and ahoundiiig in his own wisdom, knowledge and strength ; imagines that he can, without divine assistance, work out his own salvation ; find the w ay to eternal life ; guard against fatal errors ; overcome the opposition and enemies, that stand in his w ay, and enter into the straight gate, in his own strength, he Avill find himself raiserahly mista- ken, and have reason to fear, least for his presumption he may he given up to strong delusions to helieve a lye, and finally be excluded from the gates of the city of the new Jerusalem. 6. Striving to enter into the straight gate, implies a resolute struggle against sin and temptation, and watch- fulness against the corruptions of our hearts, and a constant endeavour to avoid and forsake all those vicious practices, which God has forbidden in his word, and which bring down the w rath of heaven on the children of disobedience. For certainly that man cannot be said to strive to enter in at the straight gate, who does not endeavour to avoid those vices, against which the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, and which, if persisted in, would disqualify him for the joys of eter- nity. To live in the practice of any sin is so far from striving to enter into the straight gate, that it only qualifies for herding with those apostate spirits, who are for ever exclnded from the new Jerusalem. Z2 66^2 ENTERIJNG IN AT THE STRAIGHT GATE* 7. But to abstain from sin, is not of itself, sufficient to entitle us to an introduction into lieaTcn. \Vc Diust also conform to God's will, and perform wliatsoever he lias commanded us. And unless wc are careful in this respect, wc cannot be said with any propriety to be striving to enter into the straight gate. '< Not every one tliat saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doetli the will of my father, who is in heaven," said our Saviour, who came from the bosom of the fatlier, and hath revealed him unto us. And this will be found at last to be the funda- mental law of his kingdom. One would think, that it was hardly possible for any person to deceive himself so much, as to imagine that he is really striving to enter into the straight gate, who is not endeavouring to com- ply with the known will of God. This striving plainly implies that we should abstain from every thing that would obstruct, and that w© should comply with every thing that would promote, our eternal salvation. Yet it is far from our design to insinuate, that by all our obedience we could merit sal- vation, or that God was under any obligations, in point of either justice or equity to admit us into heaven, on account of any thing that we could do in his service ; for still we are but unprofitable servants, nay worse than unprofitable, for we arc guilty creatures, and liable to the wrath and indignation of God, and if ever we arc made partakers of eternal life, it must be acknowledged as the free and unmerited gift of divine grace, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, and has introduced that righte ENTERING IN AT THE STRAIGHT GATE. 363 ousness, ttirougli which alone wc can he justified in the sight of God. A dependence therefore on him as the mediator between God and man is implied in the very notion of our striving to enter in at the straight gate. 8. Lastly this striving must be perpetual and perse- vering as long as it shall please God to continue us in this state of trial. For if any persons after having by thus striving escaped the grosser pollutions that are in the world, should afterwards return to their former careless and wicked way of living ; the apostle com- pares them to « the sow that was w ashed, returning to her wallowing in the mire." Nay he says of such persons, *• that it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than thus to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." If it should now be asked whether an unrcge aerate sinner can thus strive to enter in the straight gate ; I answer, yes. There is nothing that I have said that necessarily supposes a state of grace, that the person is born of the spirit and become a new creature by the re- generating grace of God. But if it should be farther enquired, whether a sinner can be supposed thus to strive antecedently to any influence or operation of the good spirit of God upon his heart ? The answer is, by no means. The operations of the spirit of God are as extensive as the calls of the gospel, and none to whom the gospel comes are utterly neglected by this sacred agent. God is daily striving with sinful men, by his word and spirit and the vt^orks of his providence, awaken- ing them to a sense of their guilt and misery, antece 364 ENTERING IN AT THE STEAIGIIT GA*f£. dently to their striving or doing any tiling to^vards their own salvation : so that Avlien men arc finally brought to love God and to delight in his service, it is heeause he first loved them, awakened them to their duty and as- sisted them in the performance of it. Nay, so extensive and universal are the common operations of his grace, that he not only strives with those, who are excited thereby to strive for themselves, and to work out their own balvation w ith fear and trembling ; but he also strives with those who are so far from yielding to the operations of his grace that they are said, in scripture, to give, to resist, and even to quench the good spirit of God, until he, in righteous judgment leaves them to themselves, and gives them over to a reprobate mind t in conformity to his ow n threatning, " that his spirit shall not always strive with man," II, The dreadful consequences of not striving to enter in at the straiglit gate. Striving to enter into tlie straight gate, or using our best endeavours to work out our salvation, and to obtain eternal life, is so necessary by the constitution of God, that without it we can never behold his face in mercy nor enter into his kingdom. However free the grace of God may be supposed to be, yet nothing can be more manifest, than tlrat he has required something, some duty, to be done by us towards our own salvation, although nothing is required to be done in our own strength, or without the gracious assistance, which he is always more ready to afiord than we are to pray for it. The contrary supposition would involve in it, the ENTERING IN AT THE STRAIGHT GATE. 365 absurd assertion, that a man migbt sliare in the salva- tion offered in the gospel, v.ithout even believing it ;■ without being a^vakened to a sense of his guilt and dan- ger : Avithout repenting of his sins and forsaking them ; Mithcut praying to God for a pardon, or for his holy spirit to enable him to comply with his prescriptions ; and although he is so far from mortifying his corrup- tions, that he daily indulges them, and continues to do so until the end of life. This is so monstrous a suppo- sition tliat no man in his senses can believe it. Striving, therefore, to enter in at the straight gate, is so essen- tially necessary, that without it, no man can see the Lord, And what does this imply ? What less, than the loss of eternal life, glory and felicity, the subjection to eternal punishment as sinners, together with an addi- tional weight of woe and misery, arising from our ne- glecting and despising the gracious calls and invitations of the gospel ? The straight gate is the only entrance into life, joy, glory and immortality ; so that not to en- ter in thereat, is to be banished fram the presence of God ; from the smiles of his countenance ; from the incorruptible inheritance and inviolable kingdom, which he has in reserve for his children. In heaven alone these things are reserved, and there is no access to them but by the straight gate ,• and no person can ever taste of them, but those, who enter in through this straight gate and walk in the narrow way that leads to life. But the loss of heaven and of all the joys of im- mortality is far from being the whole consequence of not striving to enter in at the straight gate. This ex- clusion from heaven is followed by an immediate detru- sion into hell, « where the worm dieth not and the fire 366 ENTERING IN AT THE STRAIGHT GATE. 18 not quenched." As sinful creatures, we are exposed to condemnation by the just judgment of God. Nay, we are under his condemnation already ; being liable to death by our primitive apostacy from God, until wc are delivered from it by the redemption purchased by Christ. For it is only " to them that are in Christ Je- sus, and who Avalk not after the flesh, but after the spirit, that there is no condemnation." Now, think with yourselves, what a terrible thing it is to fall into the ha'ids of the living God, and to lie forever under the incessant manifestations of his eternal wrath. How holy a being is God ! how pure and immaculate is his nature ; how great is his abhorrence of sin ; how deter^ mined is his resolution to punish it, and how unlimited is his power to execute, whatsoever the rectitude of his nature, or the constitutions of his kijigdom demand ! "When the impenitent sinner continues to refuse the of- fers of salvation through a Redeemer, and unreclaimed by the means of salvation proposed in the gospel, and instead of being mortified becomes more and more ob- durate and hardened in sin, the Lord will swear in his wrath, that such abusers of his mercy shall never enter into his rest. Nay he has assured us that he "will be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, to take vengeance on all them that obey not the gospel of his Son." How- ever foolish sinners may flatter themselves with the hopes of impunity and imagine that God will not pour out the fierceness of his wrath on the impenitent work- ers of iniquity; yet they will find, that " God is not a man, that he should lie, nor the son of man that he ahould repent ;" that his threatnings will as certainly be accomplished as his promises. There remains no- ENTERIXG IN AT THE STRAIGHT GATE. 367 thing, therefore, for the impenitent workers of iniquity, who will not strive to enter into the straight gate, but the " blackness of darkness and everlasting banishment from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of his power ;" when the miserable out-cast Avill fmd what a terrible thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God. And it is farther to be observed, that those who arc favored with the gospel, and yet neglect to strive to enter in at the straight gate, will incur an additional weight of woe and misery, as despisers of the grace of the gos- pel. God has, in amazing compassion, opened a way of salvation and pardon, through the mediation, th« death, and sufferings of his own Son, for guilty, lost and condemned sinners. Nay, he has proclaimed it to all the world, that his grace is free to all that are wilHrig to partake of it, that " whosoever will, may come to the waters of life and drink ;" " that they may buy wine and milk, without money and without price." Now ii you neglect this method of salvation, and think that eternal life does not deserve your striving to enter in at the straight gate, you will not only remain un^ier the guilt ♦of all your other sins, but you will be also justly charge- able with the additional guilt of despising the goodness of God, even the riches of his goodness and patience ; and if so, what can be the melancholy consequence, but that you will thereby " treasure up to yourselves, ad- ditioiial wrath against the day of wrath, and the reve- lation of the just juf^gment of G od." In conformity to this you find our Lord himself, wlio is appointed the future judge of the world, pronouncing a peculiar woe 368 ENTEUING IN AT THE STRAIGHT GATE. against the inliabitaiits of Cliorazin, Bethsaida, and Ca- pernaum, where he had preached the gospel of his king- dom, and performed many wonderful miracles in attes- tation of his mission from the father, and assuring them, that because they, notwithstanding, continued impeni- tent and unreformed, it would be more tolerable for the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, those accursed cities, that were swept off from the face of the earth by an unparalleled destruction, than for them in the day of judgment. Hence also, you find the apostle Paul asking the awakening question, " How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which first began to be spoken by the Lord ?" " And if he that despised Moses' laws died, without mercy ; of how much sorer punishment think ye they shall be thought worthy, who have trodden under foot the blood of the Son of God.'* These are the dreadful consequences of not striving to enter in at the straight gate. They will not only re- main forever under the displeasure of God as sinners, but also be subjected to a peculiarly aggravated con- demnation, as despisers of that glorious salvation which is provided and offered in the gospel. Reserving the other heads of discourse for anothei** opportunity, we shall conclude with a few reflections, APPLICATION. 1. From what has been said, we see that the secu- ring of eternal happiness is not so easy a matter as many seem to imagine. They seem to treat it as a matter of amusement or a matter of course, that when they die they have nothing to do, but to step out of life into the ENTERING IN AT THE STRAIGHT GATE. 369 new Jerusalem, witlidiit any pains or labor, or self-de- nial, without any intense application or vigorous exer- tion. Our SaviouTj who certainly knew the way of life, enjoins us to strive to enter into the straight gate ; plainly implying, that the business of religion, the preparing the temper of our souls for the employments of heavenj is a matter of the utmost importance, and accompanied with great difficulties, requiring the most anxious con- cern, the most iixed resolutions, and tlie most vigorous exertions. The scripture metaphors of " figliting, run- ning, wrestling, striving, resisting unto blood, crucify- ing the flesh, cutting off a right hand and plucking out a right eye," by which the cliristian life is represented to us, must certainly imply continued cxeilion and care, and the most vigorous endeavours that we can possibly use, to prepare for the fortunes of that endless voyage ; and by no means represent heaven as a mighty receptacle for the drones of this lazy and indolent hive. Yet there are many in the world, who, instead of making the sal- vation of their souls their principal concern, and the object of their most industi'ious endeavours, consider it rather as something which is beside the main business of life, something that is subordinate to the getting of riches, the encreasing of their for times, their honor or their power; or what may be easily accomplished after they have indulged themselves in their amusements, their pastimes, and their sports. But such persons will find themselves miserably mistaken and disappointed^ if they expect in this easy way to gain admission into heaven, into which we must enter through many tribulations, and into which the righteous themselves scarcely enter;^ after all their struggles, their mortification and their 37© ENTERING IN AT THE STRAIGHT OATli* •triviiigs ill the cliristian warfare, liet none delude themselves with th« imagination, that they are in the waj that leads to life eternal, while they live in this loose thoughtless and negligent manner, nor unless they strive in good earnest to enter in at the straight gatcy as a matter of inhuite eoncern to which, in comparison, all other things are of trivial eonsequence. Let me therefore exhort and entreat you all to labour and strive to enter into the straight gate, that leads tn eternal life. In tempomi matters, if you lose your la- bour, your loss is but small } but in this ; if you strive successfully; your gain is immense; no less than a crown of righteousness, an inviolable kingdom, ^* an in- licritancc incorruptible, and that fadeth not away.'* You will be introduced to joys, which eye has not seen, Bor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man to conceive. And you have the greatest reason to hope for success. That merciful God, who pities you in your struggles in the spiritual warfare, who warns you tft fly from the wrath to come, and exhorts and beseeches you, to seek first the kingdom of heaven, and the righte- ousness thereof, will be ever nigh to assist you by his grace, to uphold your goiogs, to lead you by his coun- sel, to crown you with victory, and " make you more, than conquerors through him who has loved you and washed you in his blood :" Go therefore in the strength of the Lord, ** making mention of his righteousness" and truth, and depending upon his gracious promises, that if you *^ ask, you shall receive, if you seek you shall find, and if you knock, it sball be opened unto you." And if you thus strive to enter into the straight gate. ENTEEING IN AT THE STKAIGHT GATE^ STi and do his commandments, he will never leave nor for- sake you, but will give you <* a right to the tree of life, and cause you to enter through the gates into the citf*' of our God an4 Redeemer. SERMON XIX. PllEPARATION FOR DEATH, MAT. XXIV, 11. Therefore he ije also ready; for in such an hour as ye th'inli not the Sou ofmun cor^uth. The great business of life is to prepare for a com? fortablc and happy conclusion of our >vork. And it is likely, that he, ^vho thinks most on death, and keeps liis great end closest in view, ^vill be best prepared for his change. For by the blessing of God, this sacred study has a happy tendency to make us more careful of our time, and more diligent in improving it for the best of purposes. It will make us more vigorous and indus- trious in seeking to obtain iliose virtuous habits and gra- cious qualifications, which alone can prepare us for fu- ture happiness. For universal experience proves, that the near prospect of death, makes all, both goo'J and bad, more serious, and more thoughtful of themselves and another world. This makes the men of piety and religion much wiser than ever they were before in any part of their lives, and better judges of the value of time, and of the w orth of their immortal souls. And in what affecting language do the most stupid and careless sinners express their awful apprehensions of an unknown eternity, and their contempt of the vanities of this world, PREPARATION POR DEATH. 373 Ibr Mhicli tliey had bartered a^vay their souls. What would they not then give, to escape the torments of hell, and to obtain the glories of heaven? And >vhy this mighty change in their sentiments ? Is it not evidently, because they are brought to consider with seriousness and attention, the inconceivable difference between this and the coming world ? And surely then, the study of death, which transmits us from time to eternity, must have the same happy tendency to engage us to secure our title to ^< the inheritance with the saints in light." If the near views of eternity can awaken the careless and se* cure sinner, and animate the pious christian to more ardent aspirations after heaven and happiness ; the pro- per consideration of death must have the same effect. For this places us on the verge of time, and brings eter- nity near in view 5 because of the great uncertainty of the hour of our dissolution. Reason and revelation teach us to consider death as near at hand, in as much as we know not but this night our souls may be requi- red of us. Thus our blessed Saviour commands in our text : " Be ye also ready ; for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.'^ We propose, through divine assistance, to assist your meditations on this subject, by considering, I. Wherein our readiness or preparation for death con- sists. IT. Why we should always be in readiness to die. I. Wherein our preparation for death consists. 35^1} PKEPABATIO-N FOR DEATH* Our preparation for death may be considered either as hahiUml or actual; the first, indispensably ijicces- sapy to our futiii^ happiness ; the other, most desirable for our support and comfort in death. We shall con- sider both, and shew wherein they consist. 1, JVherein does our kaUtual 'preparation for death consi»U It must be allowed by all, that no man is habitually M for death, >vho is not also prepared for heaven. Now, the saered oracles require it of us, as a necessary quali- fication for heayen, that we " be hmm againp horn of the spiHt, created aneiv unto good works in Christ Je- sus f^ and he renewed in the spirit and temper of our minds. Or in other words, our habitual preparation for death or for heaven consists in that saving chanj^c, which the spirit of God works on the hearts and livt?s of his children ; whereby all the powers and faculties of the soul are renewed, and holy and divine dispositions are implanted in the heart, which draw forth the de- sires towards God and Christ, and discovep themselvie* by a conversation becoming the gospeL Hence, this JiaMtual preparation for death, must im- ply such a conformity of temper to the whole will of God, that the understanding' of the perso^n, who has ex- perienced this saving change, is enlightened in the knowledge of Christ. The gospel ministry, which was instituted among men, to open their eyes, and to tura them from darkness to light, by the spirit of God, has answered this important end to those that mt hBvu PKEPAKATIOX TOR DEATH* ^75 again through the word of truth* They are hrought to have lively and affocting yIcws of divine things, which counteract the former apprehensions, by which the soul was kept bound in sin ; so that the influence of light in the mind prevailing, their practical judgment is altered, and the objects of their faith appear the greatest reali- ties. They have just and scriptural views and appre- hensions of the divine perfections, together with the most humbling thoughts of themselves, and the deepest conviction of sin and guilt. Discerning and mourning over the corruption and deeeitlulness of their hearts and tlie badness of the principles, upon which they gene- rally acted before, they are persuaded, that in them- selves they are " poor and wretched, and miserable and blind and naked," justly exposed to the divine displea- sure, unable to atone for their sins, or to deliver tliem- selves from helL And together with these views of their sin and danger, they have been brought to see, that God was willing to receive them into favor through his Son 5 and that Jesus Christ was in every resj>ect qualified to become such a Saviour as they stood in need of. That their ignorance may be removed by that prophet sent from God ; that their guilt might be ex- piated by his sacrifice and atonement ; that their souls may be washed in his blood, and purified by his spirit; and tliat this victorious captain of their salvation was both able and willing to rescue them from tyranny, and to bring them into liberty and glory. And fi'om a thorough conviction of the necessity they lay under, to apply to him for salvation, (which can be procured by no other, for them,) they have been brought to accepi #f him on the terms of the gospel. They have been 376 PREPARATIOX FOU DEATH. led by the spirit of God to view with attention^ wonder and gratitude, the treasures of wisdom and knowledge of grace and glory, whicli are lodged in the great Me- diator, and which are sufficient for the supply of all their wants, he they ever so great or numerous ; and hereby they are brought deliberately, cordially, and willingly to comply with the glorious proposals of peace and pardon, that are made through him in the new co- venant. And thus. Their wills are renewed and changed as well as their understandings. Thus that " carnal mind, which is en- mity to God,'* and will not submit to his wise and good laws, is removed ; that unwillingness, which the unre- newed sinner discovers, to come to Christ, to take his yoke, to crucify the flesh, and to part with a right hand, or right eye, some darling sin, for his sake, is power- fully conquered ; and they are made a willing people in a day of Christ's power. Those that are born of God have every high thought, that exalteth itself against the knowledge of Christ, brought into subjection to him ; and all their prejudices against God and divine things being removed, they cheerfully submit to his laws, and to the self-denying terms of the gospel. They chuse God for the portion of their inheritance, Jesus Christ for their Saviour and Redeemer, in all his glori- ous characters and offices, and the holy spirit with all his gracious influences for their sanctifier and comforter^ The general determination, upon which they act, is to promote the glory of God, and to obtain his favor ; and hence they exi)ect it only in the way, that God has pre scribed, and on the terms, that he has proposed. tSEPAEATION TOR BEJLTIU S7f And farther, as tliey nre renewed ia the ^vholc man^ the affections and passions, which in the lUiregenerate are prevailingly set on earthly objects, are in them en- gaged for God and divine things. Althoiigh these will operate in different degrees, in different persons, accoinl- ing to their various natural constitutions, tempers, cdii* cations or customs ; yet as tliey make an essential part of our frame, it is impossible but that they will in some measure be expressed with a matter of such importance as religion must appear to be. Love to God is the ruling principle in their heart, although it may in many instances be greatly obscured by an irregular degree of self-lave, or too strong an attachment to earihly profits/ pleasures and honors. Although they may not have arrived at full assurance of the divine f?.yor, which in- flames the christian's love to God more than any thing else ; yet the views Avhich they have of God as infinitely the most amiable and glorious being, as daily loading them with the common blessings of his providence, and the special privileges of the gospel ; as reeoncileable to sinful men, and accessible through a Redeemer : will diffuse delight and love through their souls, wliidi will daily encrease as they advance towards the full assu-^ ranee of faith. And the blessed Jesus appear (o them "the chief among ten thousand and altogether lovely.'^ It is also another branch of their character that they love the holy spirit, tiie author of the spiritual life, who communicates to them the foretastes of heaven, by whom the love of God is shed abroad in their hearts, and by ^vhom they are sealed till the day of redemptionr And it is natural for those, who love the adorable Trinity, and feel themselves happv in the communica«^ B3 378 mEPAHATION rOR DEATH* iions of the divine favor, to be enlarged with a diffuse love and benevolence for the whole human race, and more especially for the household of faith. In propor- tion as they are renewed and sanctified, their hearts are melted down into tenderness and compassion, and warmed with love and charity. Hence they long for op- portunities of doing good ; for a greater degree of ac- quaintance with divine and spiritual things ; for a greater conformity to the image of Christ ; more love to him ; more delight in his service ; more enlarged com- munications of grace ; and greater advancements in the spiritual life. And thus all the other affections of their souls are regulated by this, and act in subordination to the great end, which their love to God and man prompts them to i>ursue. And lastly In coriselquence of this renewed and divine temper and frame of mind, the general tenor of their conduct is such as the gospel requires. Persuaded of the necessity of forsaking every sin of every kind, and convinced of their own weakness and inability, they resolve in the strength of divine grade^ that they will have no more to do with the unfruitful works of darkness, but will yield themselves to God as alive from the dead, and employ their members as instruments of righteousness* Hence their principal activity and vigor is spent in pleasing God, in laying up their treasures in heaven, in endeavours to grow in grace, and to prepare for that state of holiness and happiness, into which they hope soon to be translated. Thus they endeavour to live as strangers in this world, travelling to the new Jerusa- lem, the city of their King, their Father and their God. BHEPAEATION TOH HEATH. 379 serving him with their souls and their hodies on the road, and adorning his doctrines iu all things. These things constitute the principal part of the cha- racter of those that are born of God, and that are ha- bitually prepared for death and judgment, heaven and eternity. And nothing short of this can constitute an habitual preparation for death. ^< For except a man he born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven."* And none but those that love God can be happy in liis presence ; and none can love him, but those that are like him ; and nothing can make us like hira, hut the impress of his OAvn holy image on our hearts communicated in regeneration. And therefore this con- formity to God, and nothing else, can make us habitu- ally prepared for death, or for heaven ; the happiness of which consists in the perpetual enjoyment of the love of God. 2. But hesides this hahitual readiness f&r death, there is also an actual readiness, which consists in the lirehj M;ercise of grace at the season of death* The vigorous and lively exercise of those gracious habits and principles which are formed in the soul at its conversion, and by which it is habitually prepared for death, is what constitutes an actual readiness to die. The natural fear of death is in a great measure con- quered by an ardent love to God and Christ ; a lively faith in the Redeemer ; a realizing view of heaven ^ * Job. Ill, S, 3S(> PMEPARATiaX roil IJKATir, an^ a longing desire after perfection in holiness auii happiness. For that which most of all reconciles the liumble cliristiaii to the thoughts of his dissolution is the firm persuasion, that he is goitig where all the great and precious promises of the new covenant, ishall he completely fulfilled ^ where he shall he discharged from the tedious Vr arfare of mortality , where he shall be delivered from every thing, th?it could tempt to of-? fend his God; and where he shall exult forever in the irjanifestations of his eternal love. These exercises and prospects gild the horrors of death ; disarm it of its sting, and make it assume the appearance of a friendly and welcome messenger, dispatched from heaven, in rcr lieve us from i^ain and misery, and to bring us in safety to our father's house. This makes the lively christian desirous " to depart and to be with Christ, which is. Bar better." So that if we would be prepared and in ac- tual readiness for our removal from time to eternity, we should every day we live, endeavour to cultivate that faith and hope, that love and heavenly-mindedness, which alone can raise us above the fears of death. And for this purpose, we should endeavour always to maintain on our minds a lively sense of death as near at hand, that we may be as much under the influence of this thought, as if the physician or judge had passed the sentence upon us. For by habituating ourselves to consider death as near approaching, we shall never be much surprized with it ; but whensoever our Lord comes, we shall be found watching. And we should also think often on the glorious inheritance, which God has prepared for his children, and on the grounds of hope that we have, of an interest in it. For a realizing rjRliPAIlATION FOR BEATH. 381 persuasion oF this will make us willing " to be absent from the body that we may be present with the Lord," with whom we shall be joint-heirs of " an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled and that fades not away." And above all, it should be our constant and daily pray- er to God, that he would make us both habitually and actually ready for our dissolution ; that he would sup- port and comfort us in this solemn ar.d critical hour ; and enable us to perform this last act in life in such a manner, as would reflect an honor and credit on our pro- fes sion of Christianity. G od alone can strengthen and sup- port us in the last struggles of nature, and this severe con- flict Avith the last enemA'. And therefore we should look to him for this gracious assistance, which he is CTcr ready to communicate to his children. This is the actual preparation for death, wliich arises from the vigorous and lively exercise of grace implanted in re- generation, which can administer comfort in a dying hour. And therefore it is vastly different from that with which many poor ignorant careless souls launch into eternity ; viz : a prayer made by a minister in their chamber; a transient ejaculation or tv.o amidst the pangs of death ; or the bequeathing to acts of piety and charity the money which the dying sinner could no longer spend in sin and folly. Men may think what they will of these things, and depend upon what prepa- ration they will, but certain it is, if there be an eternal world to come, the most important business we have to transact in life, is to be thus habitually and actually ready to die. 382 EllEPIlRATlOy rOU DEATH. XI* Wiry should v,c be ahvays prepared for deatli t 'Bceattse ike time of our dissolution is to us entirely ntir ecrtain. In sucli an hour as we think not, the Son of man oometh. Our times are in the hands of God, and our continuance in the body depends upon his sove- reign pleasure. To him, who is the God of the spirits of all flesh, it belongs to determine how long our souls shall lire and act in these clay tabernacles, and when our bodies shall return to the dust, and our spirits to God who gave them. He, *' in whom we live, move, and have our being," holds our souls in life as long as he pleases, and then takes away our breath, so that we die and re- turn to the dust. Now, we have no lease of future years from the great disposer of life ; no certainty of a month, a day, or an hour, to live : but may be dispossessed of these houses of clay at a moment's warning. We see that death carries us off the stage at every age and pe- riod of life. Somo pay but a transient visit to our world, and close their eyes almost as soon as they have beheld the light. Others are hurried away as soon as their reasoning powers begin to unfold ; and the tender blos- som is nipped before it is fairly opened. How suddenly are our fondest expectations from a beloved relative blasted, and all our hopes of their future usefulness dis- appointed, by the rude relentless hand of death ? How many arc surprised by the sudden and unavoidable stroke of death, in all their hloom of youth, or in the midst of their prospect of many happy days and years to come ! Those very persons, that wc beheld in the morning rREPARATlOI^ rOR DEATH. 385 flourishing like the grass in all its pride and verdure, we hare seen cut down and withered before noon. The seeds of innumerable diseases are sown in our feeble constitutions, which grow and strengthen there, until they at last break out with such irresistible violence, as baffles the pliysiciftn'R skill tiud the force of medi* «ine. So that the man, who may be to day in his full strength, wholly at ease and quiet, with his breasts full of milk, and his bones moistened with marrow, may be in a very short time groaning under acute pains, and struggling in the agonies of death. No age nor condi- 'Hon in life is a sufficient security against the sudden and unexpected attacks of this last enemy. The human body is a curious and delicate machine, composed of in- numerable tender parts ; any of which being violently shattered and broken, may bring on the sudden and una- voidable dissolution of the whole. So that while we may be presuming ui)on the firmness of our constitu- tions, death may be secretly unpinning the clay taberna- cle, or approaching with hasty steps, to execute his awful commission upon us. How often does it happen, according to the parable, that while men are blessing themselves, in the survey of their ample possessions, and the smiling prospects of future happiness, that very night their souls were required of them. If therefore i^ie time of our death is so exceedingly uncertain, that we cannot promise ourselves another hour to live ; what can be more reasonable than to be always pre- pared for that solemn change ? Surely if it is a matter of any consequence to be prepared for death, it must be extremely foolish to neglect it upon the uncertain ex- pectation of having time enough before us for this pur- 384 PREPAKATION FOK DEATH, pose ; when we know not whether we have a single hour. And how much more ahsurd must it appear* lyhen we consider that an endless eternity of inconceiva- ble happiness or misery depends upon it. Our future state^ into wliieh we are removed hy death, will he de- termined hy our conduct wLUp wc are here, and our temper when we leave the world. For " as the tree falleth so it lieth." Those that are prepared for death, shall be happy through eternity , but those that are filthy then shall be filthy still, and shall be consigned to that place of torment, from Whence there is no re- demption. It is impossible for a good man, who ha» complied with the terms of the gospel covenant ; who loves God, and makes it his constant care through the whole of his conduct to please God, and is thus prepared for death, not to be happy in another world. Because he carries with him the very ingredients of happiness. And it is equally impossible for a careless unrenewed sinner, under the power of sin disaffected to God, and unprepared for death, to go to heaven, or to be happy there. Every one goes to that place he is most fit for ; to that company, which he most resembles in the ha^ bitual temper and disposition of his soul at death. And if death makes such a solemn and awful change in our condition, and removes us either into joys inconceivable and full of glory, or into torment lasting as our immor- tal spirits, and exquisite beyond all present imagina^ tion ; what madness can equal that of neglecting to pre- pare for this important hour, on which the fate of our souls through an endless eternity depends ,- especially when the Son of man has assured us that he will come at such an hour as we do not think ? Prudent men v, ould PREPARATION FOR DEATIU 385 not ve'ltiire a matter of any considerable consequence to tlieir health or estate upon so uncertain a foundation. And why would they venture the weight of their eter- nal salvation upon so precarious a footing, as the un- certain expectation of future months and years to pre- pare for death. From all this then we see with how much reason our Saviour urges us to be always ready for our dissolution, from the consideration of the un- certainty of life. " Be ye therefore also ready ; for in such an hour as ye think not, the son uf man comcth.'^ Other arguments to enforce the exhortation in our text might be easily adduced, were there any necessity for them ; but contenting ourselves with this mentioned in our text^ we shall now proceed to the APPlICATlOJf. 1, From the method , in ivMch we slwuld prepare for death, we see the ahsurdity of those methods which many take to rise above the fear of it. Some endeavour to banish the thoughts of death en- tirely from their minds ; and then it is no w ondcr that they are not afraid of what they w ill never allow" them- selves a moment's leisure to meditate on. And thus thev evade the last hold tliat religion can have on dis- solute minds. Others, who now and then spend a thought or two on death at certain intervals, yet con- sider it as at a very great distance ,• as an evil day, which they are w illing to put far from them ; and therefore conclude, that it is time enough to begin to prepare for it, when it comes nearer to them. Some 586 PREPAKATION TOR DEATH* again grow insensible to their dissolution from the ex* ample of those who out of a false affeetation of courage pretend to despise it; as if they had therein a fortitude superior to others, when it is fool-hardiness and rash- ness in the highest degree not to be afraid of this king of terrors. Others take refuge in a mere moral con- duet, without any regard to the peculiarities of Chris- tianity, whereby it differs from natural religion ; as if discharging the duties which we owe to one another in our different relations were sufficient to atone for their monstrous and ungrateful neglect of the blessed Re- deemer, through whom alone there is salvation. And others support themselves in the neglect of preparing for death, from some confused and extravagant notions of the mercy of God in Clirist, without considering on what terms that mercy is offered in the gospel ; or that justice, wisdom and holiness are other attributes as es- sential to the divine nature as mercy. But the time is fast approaching, which will effectually discover the vanity and absurdity of all these methods of banishing the thoughts of death from the mind. There is no safe way to rise above the fears of death but by an habitual and actual preparation for death and heaven. 2. Does our preparation for death consist in the cultiva- tion of that temper and conduct^ ivhich make us like t$ Christ ^ How foolish then is the judgment of those^ who think they have more than time movgh to prepare for their removal into another world 'J They indeed acknowledge that life is excccdingiy short, an hand's-breadtli, a vapor ; but liltle do they con- PREPARATION PttR DEATH. 387 suler how much is to he done in this short, uncertain space. All our time here is little enough to acquire the knowledge of God, to learn his will, to suhdue our corruptions, to break the power of vicious habits, to ac- quire those of virtue and goodness, to form our degene- rate souls into a resemblance of God, and to prepare ourselves by a course of holiness for a state of happi< iiess and perfection above. These are exercises for which we have naturally but little fondness ; and there- fore time, industry and perseverance, Avith the aids of the holy spirit are absolutely necessary to overcome the difficulties, which occur in them. The danger and slipperiness of our path require our attention and care, lest we stumble ; the assaults and allurements of our enemies demand resolution and fortitude, lest we be tempted to turn aside ; and the length of our journey, and the shortness of our day loudly call upon us to set out early, lest the night of everlasting darkness over- take us. Little then do those persons, Avho think they can soon prepare for death, consider the power of their corruptions, the weakness of their resolutions, the in- veteracy of evil habits, or the malice, the cunning and activity of their spiritual enemies. And little do they consider how much they provoke the blessed God to withhold the influences of his holy spirit, without which they cannot prepare for death, by their ungratefully re- jeeting his present offers, and their squandering away their precious time in folly and sloth. Our time is long enough for all the useful purposes of life, to ac- quire those habits of virtue and piety, which will be the foundation of future l>appiness. But we have not an hour to loose in vanity and sin. 3S8 PREPAKATION FOR DEATH. 3. WiU the Son of Man come in sucli an hour as xve think not9 Iloto strange is it that raorlal \ die, should so seldom think of death ^ 7iot9 How strange is it that raorlal hciugs who must This is such a degree of stupidRy as perliaps liotliing can exceed, unless it be, that soine of the hu^ian race are fooiish enough to make a jest of dyhig; ^vLieh ar- gues a most desperate and dangerous sIaIc. Yes, some are so exeeediiigij hardened bj a long continued course of folly and ignorance, that tlie sight of certain death cannot make them tremble. They cannot, or Avili not, direct one thought beyond the grave: cr if they do, they are so unaceustouied to meditation, that glvcB tlicm pain, and so they dismiss it. They have co;.tracted this melancholy aversion to serious reflection and meditation, by long disuse of it, and by giving themselves up to the pursuits and pleasures of the present world; and of all the bad habits to which men are enslaved, there is per- haps none that is more dangerous, or that exercises a more uncontroulable tyranny over the minds of maiio— The most awakening dispensations of divine provide lee cannot excite them to consider their latter end. They will take no warnings, hear no admonitions from the word nor spirit of God, nor from their best frit nds : but they will shut their eyes against tiie most eminent dan- gers ; stop their ears against the loudest calls of divine providence, whether personal, public, or private : dis- regard the plainest and most awful threatenings, and despise the chastening of the Lord, till sudden and in- evitable ruin overtakes them. It seems as if nothing but the flames of hell could make them feel ; and nothing but the terrors of the final judgment can make them PREPARATION POR DEATH. 389 iremble. But then, alas! reflection comes too late. O ! may God awaken such to consider their latter end, and to attend to the things that helong to their eternal peace, before they be finally hid from their eyes, and they be consigned to that place of torment from whence none are ever redeemed. i. Will the Son of Man come in such an hour as we think 7iot^ Let us he eoccited herehy to improve our re- maining lime, so as to be ahvays hahitualhj and actu- aUij prepared for death. Can yon, my friends, say upon just grounds, that yon are ready for the coming of your Lord ? Have you that renewed temper of mind, that holy conversion, which Las been described ? If you have, you may wait with patience for that joyful messenger, that will bring you to your father's house above. But if you have no rea- son to trust, that you are ye«t prepared for the solemn change, be persuaded and exhorted to improve the short remainder of life, for this most important of all pur- poses. Consider that much of your time is already spent, and how little yet remains, God only knows. Can you bear the thought, that you should yet go on to trifle with God and religion, with your souls and eternity ? Can you bury your talents in the ground, when you have an awful account to give of your improvement of them : wlien so much is to be done for God in the world, and while your own salvation is not yet secured ? Would you not be at pains to avoid everlasting burnings and to obtain inconceivable happiness ? These are not points of nice and fruitless speculation. No : they are etei- 39Q PfiEFARATION TOR BEATH. nal realities ; and you will find that beyond all peradvcM- ture, your lot will be in the lake that burns with iire and brimstone, if you trifle away your present seasons of grace and merey. Let nothing then divert us from the great business of life, the preparation for death ; and let us carefully guard a*^ainst delays in a matter of the greatest importance, which must be done, or we are ruined beyond hope, and which ought to be done imme- diately, as we know not the day nor the hour in which the summons of death may be put into our hands. Let lis make it the business of every day to prepare for our last, to be not only habitual but also actually prepared for that great change in the state of our existence, which is awful and important beyond any thing we can at present conceive. Let us see to it, that we have not only oil in our lamps, but also those lamps well trimmed and burning, that Ave may enter with the bridegroom into the marriage. And let us every day examine the state of our souls, the strength of our graces, and the foundation of our hopes, remembering that what Ave are thus doing, we are doing for eternity ; and happy, thrice happy, shall that serA'ant be, Avhom his Lord, Avhen he cometh, shall find so doing. SERMON XX. DEATH: ITS NATURE AND CONSEQUENCES. HEB. IX, 27. It is appointed unto men once to dk. By the good hand of God upon us we are continued in life and brought in safety to the close of another year, although many that were as youug and likely to live as ourselves, have been numbered with the dead in the course of it, and are deposited in the house appointed for all living. This is the very condition on which wc are horn into the world, that in a few years we must elose our eyes on mortal things, and submit to the irre* sistible stroke of this last enemy, who is constantly in- vading our borders, entering into our families, and slay- ing our friends and relations. In the compass of a sin- gle year, what numbers go into captivity, are swept off the face of the earth, and pass into an unknown eter- nity ? So unlimited is the empire of death over the hu- man race, and so steady is he in the execution g£ iiis original commission to bring us down to the dust of the grave, that none are so vain as to promise themselves an immorrality on earth, or to hope for ?iu exemptioii from this common lot of mankind. How diflTereiit so 392 DEATH ; ITS NATURE AND CONSEqUENCES. ever their circumstances and methods of life are, yet all expect to be laid in the solitary grave at last. Yet not- withstanding this, universal experience proves that men too often neglect this important consideration, and do not draw those practical infcreBCCs from it, which by the blessing of God, would have an happy tendency to en- gage them to live as borderers on the grave, and proba- tioners for eternity. All need a constant monitor to re- mind them of their own mortality, and to quicken them in their preparations for a comfortable close of life. — As it iinishes our trial, seals our cliaracters, and trans- mits us into an eternal state of retribution, whicli will never be succeeded by another, it is certainly a very useful subject of consideration. It reads us the plain- est and most instructive lectures, and furnishes medita- tions that are likely to be productive of the most ex~ eellent tempers, and the most rational conduct. And nothing ran be more becoming a rank of rational beings, who know that they must soon dit-, Ihan at the close of a year, to make a solemn pause and rellect upon tlie dis- tinguishing goodness of God to them, who has spared them in the land of the living for another year, and enquire what valuable purposes it has answered to their souls, and what progress they have made in their pre- parations for meeting this last enemy ^vith the forti- tude and composure of a christian. Let us then, my friends, take our stand, for a few moments, on the bor- ders of the grave, and cast our thoughts backward on the world and forward through eternity, and consider both in the light reflected on them by death. And to as- sist our meditations on this subject, permit me to con- fine your contemplations at present to DEATH ; ITS NATURE AND CONSEQUENCES. 393 L The nature of death. II. The necessity of dying that we are all under. III. The foundation of this necessity. lY. The momentous consequences of dying, I. The nature of death. 1. To die is to have the soul disunited fi^om the body* None of those disemhodied spirits, who once inhabi- ted houses of clay, have returned from the invisible world to tell us what it is to die ; the full acquaintance with this subject is reserved to be learned only by the last experiment. We only know in general that death is the dissolution of that union by which our souls and bodies are linked together. When the body becomes an unfit or disagreeable habitation, the soul takes its flight into the invisible world, and ascends to God who gave it, while the body returns to the dust, from whence it was originally taken. How this vital union is dis- solved we can no more tell, than how such different principles at first came to be so intimately conjoined to- gether. We know neither, how an immortal mind can be united to an organized piece of clay, in order to its present sensations and motions, norhowtlie unwelcoiriC separation is made in order to the entire cessation of aniraal separation. Experience teaches, that in some instances the lamp of life gradually expires, and the christian falls asleep in Jesus, without a sigh or a groan • T) 3 39* death; its nature and CONSBtltJENCESr but most frequently, human nature dofis not yield t» death, without manifesting a deep reluctance to its stroke. Hence it is, that Ave so often hear tiie expiring groans of our departing friends, which afford the deep- est conviction of what agonies they feel, when their souls and bodies are forcibly torn asunder. But whatever be the manner of our death, whether the separation is effected with or without a struggle, yet both reason and revelation conspire to assure us, that this king of terrors has received no commission from the Father of our spirits to destroy their essen- tial life, by reducing them to a state of inactivity with the body. They survive the stroke of death, and are only transmitted into the world of spirits, where they think and reason, are conscious of good and evil, and entertain prospects and reflections, that give them plea- sure or pain, and doubtless in greater perfection than they could ever have them, during their connections with objects of flesh and sense. There is no similarity or agreement between our ideas of matter, however or- ganized and refined, and a thinking, free self-active be- ing, which presides over the body and governs its mo^ tions according to its own will, which can take in spi- ritual and abstract notions of God and religion, can compose them together, reason upon them, and deduce a long train of speculative and practical consequences from them ; and therefore it cannot be capable of a dis- solution by any impressions from corporeal objects. — God alone who has fornjed the soul of man within him, can put an end to its existence. But it cannot be sup- posed without absurdity, that he would furnish it with BEATH; its nature and CONSEi^UENCES. 395 such exalted pov, ers of conversing with ohjeets ^vhich lie beyond the reach of our bodily senses, and appoint it only to spend a few years amidst a thousand sorrows, which frequently fall with double v, eight upon tlie best of men on account of their regard to his laws, and suf- fer it to drop into non-existence at the dissolution of the body. Add to all this, that the soul is a subject of moral government, and capable of endless improvements in knowledge, holiness and happiness, and that it is fur- nished with strong appetites and desires after immor- tality, attended with hopes and fears in another state. And can we imagine that God has made all these in vain, without any thing to answer them in a future world? K"©, certainly : And revelation confirms the dic- tates of reason on this subject, and assures us, that when we put off " the earthly house of this tabernacle, we shall have a building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens," if we are the children of God; and that when we are absent from the body we shall be pre- sent with the Lord. 2. The scriptures lead us into another view of death as the dissolution and destruction of the hody. However the immaterial principle of thought and ac- tivity within us remains unhurt and unaffected by the stroke of death ; yet this wild destroyer of the human race, reduces all that is visible of man to deplorable ruins. Our bodies indeed are curious pieces of divine workmanship, * fearfully and wonderfully made,' which the wisdom of God has formed for an habitation to the soul. Yet still they are but piles of organized clay and 396 DEATHS ITS NATUKE AND COjS SEqUEKCJEfe, liable to be reduced to their original dust, wlien God comirmnds tlie soul to quit her eartlily tabernacle. — " Our earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dis- solved :"* Wliich expression of the apostle is an Tevident allusion to the tabernacle in the ^viIde^iless, which was so constructed, that it could be easily taken to pieces, and one board parted from another. Death Icosens the joints of the body, unpins the clay tabernacle, and dissolves it into dust. As it is constructed only for a teiitpoiary dwelling and not a fixed habitation, it can- not be cf long continuance, Eowevcr it iiiay baffie the assaults of the harbingers of death for a season, yet the seeds of mortality are sown within it, which will e'er long strengthen and bring on its final dissolution. Nor in this effect of deatli will there be any distinction ; the beautiful frame of the body will then be defaced, its animal life shall expire and all its active powers and sensations shall be extinguished. Death stains the pride of the human body and changes its most engaging quali- ties into deformity. The strongest body drops down in weakness and can rise no more, when the mighty are taken awaj^ without hand ; the most lively and vigo- rous lies still in the grave, like a statue of clay. He pays no reverence to figure or dress. He arrests the prince upon the throne as intrepidly as the peasant at his spade ; he strips the young aixd beautiful of all their charms, nor spares the proud and pampered in the day of his power. The fmest, fairest, strongest body shall be seized by death, and consigned to the silent habita- tion of the grave. One dieth in his full strength, being *2Cor.v, .1. DEATH ; ITS NATURE AND CONSEQUENCES. 3^7 ^vliolly at ease and quiet 5 his breasts are full of milk and his bones are moistened Avith marrow ; and another dieth in the bitterness of his sonl, and never eatetU with pleasure. ^^ They shall lie down alike in the dust and the worms shall cover them.''^ Of that active and sprightly creature, which lately we beheld so full of busy projects, and so industrious in the prosecution of them, when death lays his cold hands upon him, we see nothing remaining but a breathless lump of unanimated clay, destitute of all sense and motion : and instead of that attractive form, which drew tlie attention and commanded the admiration of every spectator, death substitutes an liideous and ghastly spectacle, Avhich we are obliged to conceal from the eyes of the living, and commit to the grave to be the spoil of worms. S. To die* is to depart out of this world, and to enter into another state of existence. Under this figure does the good old Simeon mention his death : ** Now Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.'* f So also the apostle Paul had a desire to depart.:|; Thus we report the death of a friend and a person of our ac- quaintance ; that he is departed this life ; that he has left the world and all its busy concerns, and entered upon another state of existence. As soon as the veil of mortal flesh, is rent, which hides the invisible world from our view, we are already in another state. Were *Job. XXI, 23-27 tLuk. 11, 29. IPhil, I, 25. 398 DEATH I ITS NATURE AND CONSE^UENGES. our departed friends allowed to converse with us about the aifairs of this woi*ld, how should we he surprized at the justice and propriety of their sentiments concern- ing the pleasures and advantages, the honors and the vanity of earthly things ? And what solemn and affect- ing narratives could they give of the manner of their existence and the subjects that employ their medita- tions in the world of spirits ? But this must not be, we have Moses and the prophets, Christ and his apostles, and they have no more to do with us, and no more to say to us. They have done with markets and sermons, witli sales and speculations, with their own houses and the house of God. They have no more intercourse with a disconsolate wife, with weeping children, with a broken hearted parent or the dearest friend who was as their own souls. To die, is to depart out of this world, and to leave our earthly projects and schemes behind us. Death re- lieves the poor and indigent from their anxiety and so- licitude about wliat they sliall eat and drink and where- with they shall be cloathcd. It puts an end to the plow- ing and sowing of the husbandman, and gives the weary hireling rest from all his labours. In the grave the weary are at rest, and the servant is free from his mas- ter. While the busy merchant is laboriously engaged in studying the various arts of trade and commerce, and exchanging the productions of his native country for the commodities of foreign climes, and it may be, is comforting himself with tlic pleasing prospect of a large estate, or is ready to enter upon a more full enjoyment of past labours ; death cuts off his fond expectations, death; its IS^ATUTIE AND CONSEQUENCES. S99 antl hurries him into a world of spirits, where his ac- cumulated treasures can neither follow nor aifect him. While the devotees of pleasure are torturing a tired imagination to find out new scenes of dissipation and amusement to murder their precious moments, on which an awful eternity depends, death levels his unerring shaft for their lives, and carries them into the invisible world. While the covetous wordling is restlesly em- ployed in enlarging his treasures, adding house to house and field to field, and contriving how he may be placed alone in the earth ; death in a moment puts an end to his busy cares and toils, and instead of his swelling ex- pectations, assigns him the scanty possession of a tomb. In a word, death, without distinction, sweeps off all from the theatre of public action and business, and confines them in the dark and lonely prison of the grave, from whence they shall have no enlargement until the morn- ing of the resurrection. To die is to depart from all our wordly prosperity and happiness. IVo state or condition in life is ? suili- eient security from the assaults of death. The most extensive conquests and the best established kingdoms cannot bribe the inexorable king of terrors to delay his stroke for a moment. He triumphs over the proudest conquerors, and by a single stroke deprives them of all that power, and military prowess, which made lliem tlic scourge of mankind, and the terror of the nations around them. He brings down the greatest monarchs from their lofty thrones, and levels tlieir honor with the dust. Nothing of that pomp and splendor, which before at- tracted the esteem and admiration of mankind, descend** 400 death; its nature and COK^EqUENCiES. with them to the dark dominions of the grave : no mavkg of their former dignity and pre-eminence to distinguish the nohle from the ignoble dust. Death pays as little regard to riches as to honors and power. Tiioiigh they should not '' make unto themselves wings and fly away," yet we must soon be torn from the embraces of our beloved treasures, and ** the places that now know us shall know us no more." We may enlarge our barns, encrease our stores, and lay up much goods for mauy years to come and be ready to say to ourselves, " eat and drink and take thy pleasure," when death may se- cretly enter our chamber with that solemn reprim.and : « Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee, and then whose shall these things be ?" Nor can the carnal pleasures of the voluptuous sensualist afford any better security against the arrests of death. While he spends his days in the excesses of mirth and riot, am! restrains himself from nothing that his heart desires, death with a silent hand, writes vanity and Texation of spirit on all his fleeting enjoyments, and hurries him, however reluctant, to the solitary mansions of the dead. Nor can the innocent amusements of life, nor the plea- sing conversation of the most beloved relations and friends secure us from departing into that land of dark- ness and silence, where we shall no more behold man with all the inhabitants of the earth. To die is not only a departure from all the pleasures and enjoyments of the present state, whether virtuous or vicious, innocent or unlawful ; but it is also to tlic good man an hapi)y discharge from all the labours of mortality, the sorrows of his pilgrimage, and the strug- aEATH^ ITS XATURE AND CONSEatTENCES. 404 gles of his christian >Yarfare. To him, death brings the sovereign cure for all the maladies of a sickly, crazy constitution, heals the ATOunds of poverty and affliction^ puts an end to the calamities of Avar, and sheaths the persecutor's bloody sword. <« In the grave the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest."— There the prisoners rest together ; they hear not the voice of the oppressor ,• the small and great are there ; aiid the servant is free from his master. To die, is to depart from all the ordinances of the gospel church, and all the opportunities of growing wise unto salvation. Tliis is our state of probation in which we are favored with many singular advantages, for at- taining those measures of grace and knowledge and ho- liness, which arc absolutely nieessary for their future happiness. The divine command, to turn aside on the Lord's day from the common business of life, to pay our united homage to the God that made us, the institution ef public w orship, the preaching of the word, the ordi- nances of the sanctuary, with all the metliods of private devotion, were all designed to train us up for more ex- alted happiness in the coming world. But death will soon remove us from all those invaluable privileges, all those golden opportunities which are now ptit into our hands, by our being born in an age of knowledge and a land of light, by our being planted in the courts of our God, and watered with the dews of his heavenly gracC;^ and by our being educated in the church of Christ, where we have " line upon line, and precept upon precept."--" Our day of grace cannot be protracted beyond the grave. ** Now is the accepted time ; now is the day of salva- E 3 ^Ot OEATli; ITS NATURE AND CONSBa^'fiNCEb* tion." " The grave cannot praise the Lord nor death celebrate him ; they that go down to the pit cannot hope for his truth."* Death will seal the lips of our wisest teachers, and stop the ears of the most attentive hearers. That Voice, which at once both charmed and instructed, shall be silenced in death, and the ministry of reconciliation appointed by Christ, to beseech and en- treat sinners to return to God and their duty by a true repentance, will then be at an end. The overtures of pardon and mercy which are now sounding in our ears, will be made no more, and the calls of God by his word and providence, by his holy spirit and his faithful moni- tor in our own bosoms, shall follow us no farther than the close of life. For there is no repentance, nor work, nor knowledge, nor device in the grave, to which we are all hastening. (i To die, is to depart from all our opportunities of ad- vancing the glory of God, the interest of the Redeemer's kingdom and the happiness of mankind. We have many talents committed to our trust in the present life, and we are accountable to our great Lord and master, for our diligence and fidelity in the improvement of them. Every day opens new scenes, wherein we may be service- able to our friends and neighbours, to the church of Godj and the community in general ; and wherein we may abound in those good works, which are pleasing to God and profitable to men. Here we have a thousand opportunities of proclaiming the praises of our God and Redeemer, and of advancing the interests of his king Is. sxxviii, IB. death; its nature and CONSEqUENCES. 403 dom in the world, by instruetiug the ignorant and re- claiming transgressors from the error of their ways, by relieving the poor and indigent and protecting the widow and the orphan, by publishing the w onders of redeem- ing grace, and the amazing dimensions of the love of God, for the support of the trembling christian or the encouragement of the awakened sinner, who is ready to sink into despair. And here we have daily opportuni- ties for the exercise of those social virtues, those acts of charity and justice, of hospitality and benevolence, which add a glory to our christian profession, and ren- der us distinguished blessings in our generation. But death will remove us from all these opportunities of public or private usefulness in the w orld. He will give us a final discharge from all the duties of our particu- lar stations and employments in life. We have but a few hours to work the works of him that sent us into the world, before the shades of nigiit shall overtake us, in which no man can work; a few days more to labor in the vineyard of our Lord, before death brings us the solemn message from the eternal Judge : " Give an ac- count of your stewardships, for ye may be stewards no longer."* Lastly ; to die is to depart out of this world, and from all its enjoyments, and to enter into an eternal world of retribution, where we shall be treated according to our conduct in life and our prevailing tempers and disposi- tions when we appear before our judge. Solemn depar- ture indeed, out of changing and successive time, into an unwasting eternity, where the sentence that shall be *Luk. XVI, 2. 40* BEATHI ITS NATUlllii A^D CO.NbEllUENCtS. passed upon llie disembodied spirit shall never moie ha^ reversed ! Here we are upon trial as candidates for liea- venlj preferments, as probationers for exalted stations in the upper ^vorld, and our whole behaviour is under our master's eje. But at death tins trial is over and in the state, in which we are found at that solemn hour^ wc must appear before our judge, who will try our tem- pers and conduct by the unalterable rules of his gospel, and accordingly either receive us to dwell with himself in the Paradise of God, cr docnius to everlasting ba- nishment fi om him into ^' that lake tliat burns with iire and brimstone prepared for the devil and his angels,"— When millions and millions of ages are past, the happi- ness of the righteous is but bcginningj and the misery of the wicked is as far from coming to a period, as it was at the first moment of their departure out of the world. But more of this under another head. It is time to make some practical improvement of what has been said ; by way of APrilCATIOW. 1. Is death then the dissolution of that vital bond, hy which our souls and bodies are linked together, and an enlargement of the soul from the incumbrance of its earthly taheriiacM Should not every one of us make a solemn pause and consider where we shall be after the worms have de- stroyed this body ; in what company, and in what em- ployment; what views of the present world, and what eternal prospects we shall then entertain ? Is it con^ sistent with reason, or can we reconcile it with our professions of Christianity, to make many years provi- heath; its nature and consequences* 405 sion for the body, when we have iio assurance tliat we shall see another day, and little or none for an immor- tal soul, that survives the stroke of death ? Is it the design of Christianity to quicken our care and industry for the present life, and to extinguish in us all concern for futurity? Did our blessed Redeemer, our pattern and our judge act in this manner ? No : very far from it. Such a conduct is as contradictory to the genius and design, the spirit and maxims of Christianity as light is to darkness, as Avisdom to folly. Should we not also consider what are the thoughts and subjects, that most engage our meditations while we are in the body, and what are our moral habits and dispositions ? These be- long to the soul, are inseparable from it, and will prove the immediate sources of happiness or misery in our disembodied state. Practical habits, whether virtuous or vicious, whether divine or wordly love, meekness or anger, charity or uncharitiibleness, benevolence or sel- fishness, pass with the soul into another state, and when its union with the body is broken, it will be too late to be cured of pride and envy, unrighteousness and sensu- ality, profaneness and impurity. Let us then guard against contracting those unlovely dispositions, or if contracted already, let us speedily apply to the great physician for the removal of them, before death fixes them in the soul. ^. Is death the dissolution of the clay tabernacle and the destruction of the hody^ Should not this moderate our anxious solicitude ahout the accommodations of a mor- tal body, xvhieh must speedily crimhle into its original 106 death; its nature and consequences. Is it not absurd and preposterous to spend so much labour and pains to dress and pamper a pieee of cor- ruptible flesh, which must soon lie undistinp^uislied from its kindred dust, Avhich must soon acknowledge " cor- ruption to be its father, and the worms to be its mother and sister ?" Does it deserve laborious days and sleepless nights ? Does it merit the arts of oppression and cru- elty, of lying and deceit ? Does it deserve, that the soul should forfeit all its noble and angelic expectations be- yond the grave, in order to adorn and accommodate a ruinous house which must soon be deserted, as unlit for the habitation of an heaven-born spirit ? Have we no higher ambition than to eat and drink, no nobler end of our creation to answer ? Has the infinitely wise Crea- tor made us thinking, rational beings, capable of enter- taining the most exalted contemplations, to spend all our thoughts and time in talking of a statue of clay ? Nay, ratlier should we not employ our principal care and pains in cultivating those hearcnly and godlike dis- positions, that will prepare us for an heavenly habita- tion, " a building not made with hands, eternal in the heavens ?" 3. Is death our deparlure out of this world '^ How solici- tously should we guard agaivst a grotving fondness for a world 7vhich we imist leave, and whose fashion passes away^ In this view, what little things arc gains and losses, grandeur or obscurity, flattery or scorn, a fine or a coarse attire, a joyful or a melancholy meeting, or any thing else that respects only the present life ? We should JJEATH ; ITS NATURE AND CONSEQUENCES. 'i07 I'egard the occurrences and enjoyments of this life, only as the traveller does the accommodations of an inn, which he must leave in an hour op two. Let us there- fore consider ourselves as travellers through this valley of tears, who should not he exceedingly depressed or elated with what may hefall us on the journey unless it respects our souls and eternity. This will prevent such an attachment to the things of time as will make the thoughts of our separation from the world uneasy and afflictive. A wordly heart is beyond peradventure a very troublesome companion in a dying hour. It not only makes the thoughts of our departure hence terri- ble, but it also lays a foundation for a* durable misery in the separate state. For when the soul, by abandon- ing itself to sensual and earthly gratifications, vitiates or extinguishes its spiritual appetite for sublime and rational enjoyments; its violent propension to those bodily pleasures, which it can no longer enjoy, must ne- cessarily create in it the torment of eager unsatisfied desires, and melancholy tears of everlasting banishment from all those pure and unmixed delights, wiiich pro- ceed from the throne of God. *. Is death our departure out of this tvorJd 9 Hoxv care- ful should we he to have <* our loins girt aud otir lamps hurning,'^ that we he not surprixed, unprepared in that solemn hour. All our business in life is but a trifle compared with this important work. If this be neglected, better for us never to have been born into the world ; better ne- ver to have heard the glad tidings of salvation through ^e$ DEATHS ITS NATURE AND CONSEQUENCES. a Redeemer; better ne\er to have been possessed oIl higher capacities than the beasts that perish. These disiingiiishing advantages can, in that case, answer no other purpose to us, than to sink us under a more aggravated condemnation. Whatever other business we have transacted in life, and transacted with re- putation, we shall certainly condemn ourselves for egre- gious folly and madness, for having neglected our prepa- ration for our last change. Let us then be exhorted to make tliis our first and great concern in life. Let us begin it early, attend to it with seriousness, and pursue it with unremitting assiduity and diligence, until we have acquired tliat holy temper and disposition which ensures eternal happiness to the humble christian. Our work is important and our day is short. God only knows how long our seasons of grace shall be continued with us : whether we shall live to see the conclusion of another year, or whether death may not number us with our departed friends before the expiration of an- other month. It requires labor and pains with the sanc- tifying influences of the spirit of God, to root out evil habits, to conquer the corruptions of our hearts, to rc^ sist temptations, to learn the holy art of living above the world as citizens of the Kew Jerusalem. It re- quires application and care to study the nature and per- fections of God, to make ourselves acquainted with his laws, to acquire the habits of virtue and grace, to raise our cold and unaffected hearts to God and divine things, to be transformed by the renewing of our minds into the image of Christ, and to have our whole souls fashioned according to the gospel of his grace. We may perhaps wish for more time, when sickness comes and death re- death; its nature and CONSEqrENCES. 40P ceives his commission to execute his last solemn work upon us. But why should we have more, when enough has been already assigned us, and we have trifled with our seasons of grace. Let us then, as we value our immortal souls, as we would be armed against the un- known terrors of a dying hour, endeavour to view this world in the light of eternity, and set such a value upon time as we shall then do, and make such an improve- ment of it as we shall then wish we had done, which will greatly contribute to our readiness to depart out of the world at the summons of death. 5. Does death 'put a period to all our seasons of grace and opportunities of doing good in the icorld^ 'We live in a dying world, the objects of our benefi- cence and charity are mortal, and death will e'er long remove us from all our opportunities of doing good to the souls or the bodies of men. Now is our season of usefulness, the gospel calls us to embrace and improve it, and God and conscience approve the call. Let us not then act the part of the slothful and unprofitable servant, who hid his Lord's money in a napkin, but ra- ther let us imitate the example of him who went about with unwearied assiduity from place to place, doing good to the souls of men, and who has left it in charge to his followers, that they be rich in good Avorks, ready to communicate, and willing to distribute out of the abundance which he liberally bestows upon them, a por- tion to his necessitous and sufiering children. Let us be exhorted from the consideration of our own mortality V r. *10 death; its nature and CONSECtUENCE?. and the mortality of all with whom we are connected, to do good unto all as we liave opportunity, but espe- cially to the household of faith ; remembering for our encouragement, that the time is fast approaching, when no work will be reviewed with so much pleasure, nor meet with so noble a reward as that which was done for the glory of God, and the promotion of the Redeem- er's kingdom in the world. A comfortable and happy death must be the result of an holy and well spent life. Those ape likely to die with the highest triumphs of faith and hope and joy, who can give the best account of their improvement of their talents and trusts: those whose consciences bear the fullest testimony, " that in simplicity and godly sincerity and not by fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, they have had their conversa- tion in the world." Who can say with Hezekiah : ^* Remember, O Lord, how I have Avalked before thee with a perfect and upright heart, and done that which is good in thy sight 5" or with the apostle Paul : " I have finished my course, I have fought the good fight^ I have kept tlie faith, hencefortli there is laid up for me a croAvn of righteousness, which the Lord will give me in that day. For blessed are the dead who die in the liord, for they rest from their labors and their works do follow them." Let our lives then, which we live in the body be such a laborious service of our God and generation as will give us a comfortable prospect beyond the grave, of en- tering upon that rest which remains for the people of C^od, Let us make those good works our principal death; its natffe and consequences. 411, study, wbich are to the praise and gioiy of God, and which shall follow us into the iiivisihle world, and there be the evidences of our heing the disciples of Jesus Christ and consequently of our title to his promised re- ward. Let us live the life, if Me hope to die the death ef the righteous. Let us abound in those good fruits wlierehy our heavenly father is gloriiied, if we expect that he would administer to us an abundant entrance into his heavenly kingdom. For nothing short of this can give us any solid and scriptural foundation of hope for the time to come. Be not deceived, God is not mocked ; " whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. If we spw tg the flesh, we shall of the flesh reap corruption ; but if we sow to the spirit, we shall of the spirit reap life everlasting.*' "\Vould to God this were more attentively considered by mankind, so many of whom delude themselves with the presumptuous hopes fvf reigning with Christ in glory, although they have ne- ver enlisted under his banner, nor fought the good flght of faith. Contrary to the express declarations of the gospel, they hope to be admitted into heaven at the close of a wicked life, Avhen they haye nothing to plead, but that they have embezzled their master's money and buried his talent in a napkin, O ! how melancholy must their disappointment be, when they shall find, that it is their Lord's unalterable resolution, to bring forth such slothful and unfaithful servants to slay them in his presence, cutting them asunder and casting them into outer darkness. If we would then entertain a rational hope in death of passing into life eternal, let us keep the commandments ; let us endeavour to be faithful until 41^ DEATH ; ITS NATURE AND CONSEqUENCES. death, adorning the doctrines of God our Saviour in all things, that we may ohtain a crown of right^usness and life. THE END. ERRATA, At the head of pages 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, for « Receive not the grace of God in vain** read " We are the temples of God*' //^/.{c', ^-/ / y^irJ^ / / :y:.-.^.; ' ..s^^