A 561242
Tappan Presbyterian Association
LIBRARY.
Presented by HON. D. BETHUNE DUFFIELD.
From Library of Rev. Geo. Duffield, D.D.
IPUBLICĂ, ET AMICIS
DEO REI
ALFTITERITI ČEST
ESTO SEMPER FIDELIS.
Geekufferte
Section
19
>
Di Kung
R
1365
.A32
1743
NON
CIRCULATING
SERMONS
ΟΝ ΤΗΕ
Following SUBJECTS,
VIZ.
Of that Belief which is neceffary
to Baptifm.
The Deſign and End of Baptifm
is Newneſs of Life.
Of being baptized into the Name
of any Perſon.
The Nature, End and Deſign of
the Holy Communion.
Of the Catholick Church of Chriſt.
Of the Number of Thoſe that
fhall be faved.
The Qualifications of Thoſe that
fhall be faved.
That the Terms of Salvation are
offered to All Men.
The Qualifications neceffary to re-
ceive the Terms of Salvation.
Mens not accepting the Terms
of Salvation is from Them-
felves.
Of the Nature of true Chriftian
Zeal.
By SAMUEL CLARKE, D. D.
Late Rector of St James's, Westminster.
Published from the AUTHOR's Manufcript,
By JOHN CLARKE, D.D. Dean of Sarum.
V O L. IV.
The SIXTH EDITION.
LONDON:
Printed for JOHN and PAUL KNAPTON, at the Crown
in Ludgate-Street. M DCC XLIV.
}
CONTENTS.
S
ERMON I, II. Of that Be-
lief which is neceffary to
Baptifm.
St MARK Xvi. 16.
He that believeth and is baptized, fhall be
Javed; But he that believeth not, ſhall
be damned.
SERM. III.
Page 1, 27
The Deſign and End
of Baptiſm is Newnefs of Life.
ROM. vi. 3, 4.
Know ye not, that ſo
many of us as were
baptized into Jefus Chrift, were bapti-
VOL. IV.
A 2
zed
CONTENTS.
zed into his Death? Therefore we are
buried with Him by Baptifm into Death,
that like as Chrift was raifed up from
the Dead by the glory of the Father,
even fo We alſo ſhould walk in Newness
of Life.
55
SERM. IV. Of being baptized into
the Name of any Perfon.
I COR. i. 13.
or were ye baptized in the name of
Paul?
79
SERM. V, VI. The Nature, End
and Deſign of the Holy Com-
munion.
I COR. xi. 25.
After the fame manner also he took the Cup,
when he had fupped, faying, This Cup is
the New Teftament in my Blood; This
do ye as oft as ye drink it, in remem-
brance of Me.
103, 127
SERM.
:
CONTENTS.
SERM. VII. The Nature, End
and Deſign of the Holy Com-
munion.
I COR. xi. 25, latter part.
This do ye, as oft as ye Drink it,
in remembrance of me.
151
SERM. VIII. The Nature, End
and Deſign of the Holy Com-
munion.
I COR. xi. 27.
Wherefore, whosoever ſhall eat this Bread,
and drink this Cup of the Lord unwor-
thily, fhall be guilty of the Body and
Blood of the Lord.
SERM. IX, X, XI.
177
Of the Ca-
But
tholick Church of Chrift.
HE B. xii. 22, 23.
ye are come unto mount Sion, and un-
to the City of the Living God, the hea-
venly Ferufalem, and to an innumerable
company of Angels, to the general Affem-
Aſſem-
bly
CONTENTS.
bly and Church of the first-born which
are written in Heaven, and to God the
Judge of All, and to the Spirits of just
men made perfect, and to Jefus the Me-
diator of the new Covenant.
203, 225, 247
SERM. XII. Of the Number of
Thoſe that ſhall be faved.
REV. iii. 4.
Thou hast a few Names even in Sardis,
that have not defiled their Garments;
and they fhall walk with me in white:
for they are worthy.
271
SER M. XIII. The Qualification of
Thoſe that ſhall be faved.
REV. iii. 4.
;
Thou hast a few Names even in Sardis,
that have not defiled their Garments
and they shall walk with we in white :
for they are worthy.
297
1
SERM.
CONTENTS.
SERM. XIV.
That the Terms of
Salvation are offered to all Men.
REV. ii, 29.
He that hath an Ear, let him hear, what
the Spirit faith unto the Churches. 323
SBR M. XV. The Qualifications ne-
ceffary to receive the Terms of
Salvation.
RE V. ii. 29.
He that hath an Ear, let him hear, what
the Spirit faith unto the Churches. 347
SER M. XVI. Mens not accepting
the Terms of Salvation is from
Themſelves.
RE V. ii. 29.
He that hath an Ear, let him hear,. what
the Spirit faith unto the Churches. 373
t
SERM.
CONTENTS.
SERM. XVII.
Of the Nature of
true Chriftian-Zeal
REV. iii. 15, 16,
:
I know thy Works, that thou art neither
cold, nor hot: I would thou wert cold
or hot. So then, becauſe thou art luke-
warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will
fpue thee out of my Mouth.
399
SERMON
[1]
SERMON I
Of that Belief which is neceffary
to Baptiſm.
KINTET
St MARK Xvi. 16.
He that believeth and is baptized,
fhall be faved; But he that be-
lieveth not, fhall be damned.
T
HESE Words, together with SER M.
the Verfe foregoing, are an I.
Abridgement of our Savi-
our's laſt inftructions and
directions to his Difciples,
a little before his Departure from
them and Afcenfion into Heaven: He
VOL. IV.
B
faid
2
Of that Belief which is
I
SER M. faid unto them, Go ye into all the World,
and preach the Gospel to every creature:
He that believeth and is baptized, fall
be faved; But he that believeth not, fhall
be damned. And that they are nothing
more than fuch a brief Summary or
Abridgment of his Difcourfe, is evident,
both from the whole Tenor of the Go-
fpels in general, wherein almoft All his
Difcourfes are recorded after This man-
ner, in Onc more briefly, in Another
more at large; and particularly from com-
paring the Account the feveral Goſpels
give us, of this very particular,
FOR St Matthew in His Gofpel, has
left us upon record fome other parts of
The fame Difcourfe, ch. xxviii. 18, All
Power, fays our Lord, is given unto me
in Heaven and in Earth: Go
Go ye therefore
and teach all Nations, baptizing them in
the Name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them
to obferve all things whatsoever I have
commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even unto the end of the World.
The Words, Teaching them to observe
3
all
neceſſary to Baptiſm.
3
all things whatſoever I have commanded you, SER M.
how that even This alfo, is but ano- I.
ther ſhort Abridgment of the fame
courſe.
Dif
St Luke, in His Gofpel, gives us a
ftill more particular Account, how our
Lord appeared to his Difciples in the
way to Emmaus, and beginning at Mofes
and all the Prophets, expounded unto them
in all the Scriptures the things concern-
ing himſelf,
himſelf, ch. xxiv. 27. And after-
wards at another Appearance before his
Afcending, ver. 45, Then opened be their
Underſtanding, that they might underſtand
the Scriptures: And faid unto them; Thus
it is written, and thus it behoved Chrift
to ſuffer, and to rise from the dead the
third day; And that Repentance and Re-
miſſion of Sins fhould be preached in his
Name among all Nations, beginning at
Jerufalem; And ye are Witnefjes of thefe
things.
St John adds feveral other Circum-
ſtances; of his particularly convincing
St Thomas; of his appearing at feveral
other times to his Apoftles; and of his
B 2
ufing
m
4
Of that Belief which is
SERM. ufing the following Words to them in
I. his laſt Inſtructions, ch. xx. 21, As my
Father bath fent me, even fo fend I you;
Whofefoever Sins ye remit, they are
remitted unto them;
ye retain, they are
and whofefoever Sins
retained. That is ;
whofoever receiveth the Doctrine I fend
you to preach, for the Remiffion of Sins,
and complieth with the Terms thereof,
his Sins fhall be forgiven: Or, as the
fame Senfe is expreffed by other Words
in the Text, He that beliveth, and is
baptized, shall be faved. But whofo-
ever rejecteth your Doctrine, and com-
plieth not with the Conditions therein
offered him from God; his Sins fhall be
retained, and he muft confequently pe-
rish: In the Phrafe of the Text; he that
believeth not, ſhall be damned.
St Luke, in his Hiftory of the Acts,
tells us yet further, that our Lord was
ſeen of his Difciples after his Paffion
for forty days together, Acts i. 3; and
that That time was fpent in inftructing
them in the things pertaining to the
Kingdom of God.
FROM
neceſſary to Baptifm.
มา
I.
FROM theſe ſeveral Paffages compared S ER M.
together, 'tis evident, that St Mark did
not intend the Words, of the Text ſhould
be taken to be the very Words, and the
whole of the Words, which our Saviour
fpoke; but on the contrary, that they
hould be understood only as an Abridge-
ment of his laft Inftructions to his Dif
ciples; and fo not be taken in their bare
literal Signification, but as well known
by common Uſe, in a fhort and abbre-
viate manner of fpeaking,
to compre-
hend more than they might otherwiſe
ſeem at first fight to exprefs. In order
to underſtand therefore their full mean-
ing, we ought to take Notice, that to
the Words Believe and be Baptized,
St Luke, in relating our Saviour's giving
theſe very fame Inftructions to his A-
poftles, adds Repentance for the Remif
fion of Sins: And St Matthew adds fur-
ther, Obferving all things whatſoever I
have commanded you. And thence it will
appear, that, by believing and being bap-
tized, St Mark plainly means, Believing,
Repenting, and Obeying the Gospel. All
B 3
which,
6
Of that Belief which is
SERM. which, there was no need to exprefs at
I. length; becauſe it was perfectly well
underſtood in the common Ufe and Ac-
ceptation of each of thofe Words among
Chriſtians, that the part was always fup-
poſed to be put, in a brief way of ſpeak-
ing, for the whole; and that, where-
ever any One of theſe Words was uſed,
it always fignified the fame as if all
Three were expreſſed. The Reafon
whereof is plain; Becaufe in reality
theſe things cannot be feparated from
each other; To believe the Gofpel, with-
out repenting and obeying it, being not
indeed believing it, but only pretending
to do fo. And hence it is, that, through-
out the whole New Teftament, Faith
generally fignifies, not bare abſtract Be-
lief, but the whole Obligation of the
Chriſtian Religion, including Repentance,
Fidelity, and Obedience; juft as Repent-
ance likewife fignifies, not the bare Sor-
row for Sin, but the actual forfaking it
alfo, and the effectual reforming our
manners. Baptifm alfo must always be
underſtood to fignify, not the bare Rite,
the
neceffary to Baptiſm.
7
I.
the outward Form or Ceremony, the SER M.
washing away of the Filth of the Flesh;
but the Anfwer of a good Confcience to-
wards God: Not the being baptized
with Water only, but the being born
of Water and of the Spirit: Not the be-
ing baptized only into the Name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost; but the being taught alſo to ob-
ſerve whatſoever I have commanded you;
as our Saviour adds in the very Words
of Inftitution, St Matt. xxviii. 20. To
believe therefore, and to be baptized is
to believe the Gospel, and to enter into
a folemn Obligation to obey it. And as,
under the Law, to him that tranfgreffed
the Law, his Circumcifion (fays the A-
poftle) is made Uncircumcifion; fo under
the Gospel, to him that obeys not the
Gofpel, his Baptiſm is no Baptiſm to any
fpiritual Purpoſe, but a mere natural
Waſhing of the Body, without Fruit or
Efficacy. In like manner on the other
fide, the Unbelief of them who in Scrip-
ture are condemned for Not believing,
is not the bare Negative Difbelief of
what
B 4
}
8
Of that Belief which is
SERM what men do not clearly Know, or
I. have not fufficient Means of coming to
the Knowledge of; but always, either
an obftinate rejecting of what is diſtinct,
ly propoſed to them, and, through the
Love of Vice, refufing to confider what
might be fufficiently proved to them;
or elfe, and indeed more ufually, it fig-
nifies, the Difobedience of thoſe who
hypocritically profefs, or perhaps care-
leffly fancy themſelves, to be Believers.
In either of theſe Senfes, He that belie-
veth not, faith our Saviour,
our Saviour, Shall be
damned. And there was no need of ad-
ding in this fecond Claufe, as he had
done in the firſt, any mention of Bap-
tifm: Becauſe, in the first Cafe, Belic-
ving is not fufficient without entring in-
to the Obligation to obey, and therefore
Both were neceffary to be diftinctly men-
tioned; but, in the latter cafe, Unbelief
implies in courſe the Neglecting or the
renouncing of Baptifm, and therefore it
was fufficient that That alone was ex-
preffed. The full meaning therefore of
the Words of the Text, compared with
the
neceſſary to Baptiſm.
9
I.
the paffages in the other Gofpels, where-S E R M.
in the fame Hiſtory is recorded, is This.
He that believes the Doctrine of the
Goſpel when preached to him, and by
Baptiſm enters into an Obligation to live
fuitably to that Belief, and verifies that
Obligation by his following Practice, in
a Life of Virtue, Righteouſneſs and Cha-
rity; the fame fhall be faved: But he
that rejects the Doctrine of the Goſpel,
when duly and reaſonably propoſed to
him; or pretending to embrace it, yet
obeys it not; (Both which, in Scripture-
phrafe, are equally ftiled Unbelief;) the
fame fhall be damned.
THE general Meaning of the Words
being thus briefly explained, I fhall in
the following Difcourfe, for the
particular juſtifying the feveral Parts of
This Explication, and for the more clear-
ly illuftrating fo univerfal and important
a Doctrine, endeavour to fhow diſtinctly,
1st, What the Thing to be believed, or
what the Subject-Matter of that Belief
is, which our Saviour here declares to
be ſo neceflary to Salvation. 2dly, What
the
ΙΟ
Of that Belief which is
SERM.the Manner of the Belief, or what the
I.
Nature and Extent of that Act of Be-
lieving is, which is here fo indifpenfably
required. 3dly, Whence it comes to
pafs, that Believing which in other
cafes is a matter of Indifference, of Pru-
dence or Underſtanding only, and not
of Morality; yet in the Cafe of Reli-
gion, is fo highly esteemed: And Theſe
with regard to the former part of the
Words; He that believeth and is bap-
tized, fhall be faved. Then with regard
to the latter part of the Words; He that
believeth not, ſhall be damned; I ſhall
inquire 1, What is the full and proper
meaning of this Phrafe of not believing;
and 2dly, Whence it comes to paſs, that
Unbelief is in Scripture always fo fe-
verely cenfured, as being the greateſt of
Crimes.
IN the 1 place, It is a matter of the
greateſt importance, to inquire What
the Thing to be believed, or what the
Subject-matter of that Belief is, which
our Saviour here declares to be fo ne-
ceflary to Salvation. And becauſe it is
necef-
neceflary to Baptifm.
I I
toSER M.
'tis
that it
neceffary to every man's Salvation,
whom the Gospel is duly preached;
therefore evident at firft fight,
muft of Neceffity be fomething, which
every man is equally capable of under-
ftanding. For that God fhould make
any thing neceffary to any man's Salva-
tion, which That man, to whom it is
neceffary, is not made capable of under-
ftanding and knowing; is contrary to
common Senfe, and to the Nature of
God the righteous Judge. The Doctrine
of the Goſpel therefore, on the Belief
whereof our Saviour in the Text makes
all men's Salvation to depend; (that is,
the Salvation of all men to whom that
Doctrine is duly and reafonably propo-
fed;) is not, cannot be, any Matter of
Intricacy and Difficulty, any thing that
requires Learning or Subtilty to appre-
hend; but 'tis a Doctrine of Practice,
a Doctrine of Virtue and Righteousness,
propofed as of Neceffity to be embraced
by All men alike; by the Learned and
the Ignorant, by the Rich and the Poor,
by the Wife and the Simple, by the
Teacher
I.
I 2
Of that Belief which is
SER M. Teacher and by the Meaneft of Them
I.
that are taught. For fince they All
have Souls alike to be faved, and muſt
All appear equally before the Judgment-
Seat of Chrift; 'tis plain they muſt All
underſtand the Rule by which they are
to be judged; and That Rule muft con-
fequently be level to the Capacities of
them All. Degrees indeed of Know-
ledge there are; and accordingly to
whom much or little is given, of him
proportionably will much or little be re-
quired. But as to the main Body of the
Rule, the great. and Fundamental Doc-
trines of Religion, the things covenanted
about at Baptifin, the things to be known
and believed as of general abſolute Ne-
ceffity to Salvation; theſe cannot but be
equally intelligible to perfons of all Ca-
pacities. And accordingly the Charac-
ter the Scripture gives us of the Doctrine
of the Gospel, is This; that it is made
plain, that he that runs may read it, Hab,
ii. 2. And in the Prophecy of Jere-
miah, ch. xxxi. 33, applied by St Paul,
Heb. viii. 11, I will put my laws into
their
1
neceſſary to Baptifm.
13
SER
I.
their mind, faith the Lord, and write S ER M.
them in their Hearts; and they ſhall
not teach every man his Neighbour, and
every man his Brothor, faying, Know the
Lord; For all shall know me from the
leaft to the greatest. And again, Deut.
xxx. 11, expreffly applied by the Apoſtle
to the Doctrine of Chrift, Rom. x. 6, The
commandment which I command thee This
day, is not hidden from thee, neither is it
far off; It is not in Heaven, that thou
Shouldt fay, Who shall go up for us to
Heaven, and bring it unto us, that we
bear it and do it? Neither is it be-
yond the Sea, that thou shouldft fay, Who
Shall go over the Sea for us, and bring it
unto us, that we may hear it and do it?
But the Word is very nigh unto thee,
even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that
thou mayeft do it.
may
And here, 'tis very
obvious to afk; if the Doctrine, of
which our Saviour declares, that he who
believes and is baptized into it, ſhall be
Javed, be fo very plain, and nigh unto us;
Where then is it exprefly and explicitly
to be found? And what is it, that every
fincere, every well-difpofed perfon, may
fa
14
Of that Belief which is
I.
SERM. fo cafily understand; and, by embracing
and being guided by it, be undoubtedly
faved? I anſwer: 'Tis as to its ultimate
and moſt effential parts implanted in our
very nature and reafon. "Tis more diftinct-
ly and authoritatively delivered to us in
the Diſcourſes of our Saviour, and in the
Writings of the Apoftles; and repeated
over and over again, and inculcated perpe-
tually throughout the whole Scripture. The
Sermons of our Saviour himſelf in the
Gofpels, are fo plain and intelligible, that
hardly any well-difpofed perfon can mif-
underſtand them. In the Epiftles of the
Apoſtles, the plain and univerfally necef-
fary Doctrines, are intermixed indeed
with particular and more difficult deter-
minations of certain points of Contro-
verfy, peculiarly neceffary and well-
known in Thofe Times; ufeful and in-
Atructive at all times to All that have Ca-
pacities and Abilities to confider the fe-
veral Occafions of their being written ;
but not abfolutely and indifpenfably need-
ful to be exactly underſtood by every
fingle Chriftian for his own Salvation.
The Primitive Church therefore, ufed
to
neceſſary to Baptifm.
15
I.
to felect out of Thefe, the univerfally S ER M.
neceffary and Fundamental Doctrines,
wherein to inftruct All perfons. who, by
believing and being baptized, were de-
firous to fecure to themfelves the Promife
in the Text, that, by fo doing, they
fhould be faved. In which Matter, that
the Authority of the Doctrines revealed
immediately from God, might be dimi-
niſhed as little as poffible by any mixture
of human Fallibility; they kept as near
as could be, to the very Words them-
felves, the undoubted and indiſputable
Words of Scripture. And the Sum of
the Doctrines fo expreffed, as of Necef-
fity to be believed by All to whom
they were preached, was after This or
the like manner. That there is One.
God, the Father and Lord of All things;
the Maker of Heaven and Earth ; the
Preferver, Governour, and Judge of All;
who is above All, and through All, and
in us All. That by the Sins and Impie-
ties of Men, this Supreme Governour
of the World, who is of purer Eyes
than to behold Iniquity, was justly of
fended;
16
Of that Belief which is
SER M. fended;
I.
and They confequently, be-
come the Objects of his Anger and Dif
pleaſure. That yet compaſſionating the
Frailty of our Nature, he reſolved to
have Mercy upon finful Man, in fuch a
manner, as not to give countenance or
incouragement to Sin; and accordingly
fent forth his own Son, the Brightneſs
of his Glory, and the Exprefs Image of
his Perfon, both to condemn Sin in the
Fleſh, and at the fame time to obtain
pardon for it, by the fhedding of his
own blood. That, to this end, the Son
of God freely and willingly left the bo-
fom of his Father, was incarnate and
made in the likeneſs of Man, became
ſubject to all the infirmities and weak-
neffes of our Nature; lived therein ho-
lily and purely, without fpot of Sin;
preached and declared the Will of his
Father to Mankind; fet an Example of
all Virtue, Righteoufnefs and Patience
in his Converſation; gave himſelf up in-
to the Hands of Wicked Men, to be
crucified and flain for our Sins; rofe a-
gain the third day from the Dead; af
cended
neceſſary to Baptifm.
17
I.
cended up into Heaven, and fat down on SER m.
the right Hand of the Throne of God;
and fent forth his Holy Spirit, (the ſame
Spirit of God, which ſpake of old by
the Prophets,) to infpire his Apoſtles in
like manner, and inable them with Pow-
er and Authority to preach Repentance
and Remiffion of Sins in his Name, to
all Nations. That by the fame Spirit, he
now governs and fanctifies his Church,
and will continue to do fo unto the End
of the World. At which Time he fhall
come again in the glory of his Father,
and raiſe the whole World from the
Dead, and fhall judge every One accord-
ing to his Works. The Devil, and all
thoſe Angels which followed him in his
first Tranfgreffion; and all wicked Men,
who have ſuffered themſelves to be fedu-
ced by him; the impious and the pro-
fane, the unrighteous and unjust, the
unholy and the impure; theſe he ſhall
condemn to be caft into the furnace of
Fire; where they fhall every one be
niſhed with exact Juftice according to
But All holy and
their feveral Deferts.
VOL. IV.
C
pu
good
18 Of that Belief which is
or
SER M.good Men; who under the feveral Dif-
I. penfations of God's true Religion in all
Ages and in all Nations from the begin-
ning of the World, either in obedience to
the Light of Nature, with Enoch and
Noah and Job and the Patriarchs, ;
under the Law, with Mofes and the Pro-
phets; or
or under the Goſpel, after the
Example of the Apoſtles and Difciples of
our Lord, have in Piety and Devotion,
in Righteouſneſs, Equity and Charity,
in Holiness and Purity of Life, ferved
God and kept his Commandments, ei-
ther from the beginning of their Lives,
or from the time of their forfaking their
Sins by Repentance; theſe he fhall re-
ward with everlaſting and inexpreffible
Happineſs, each in their feveral Degree,
in the eternal Kingdom of his Father;
in that general Affembly and Church of
the Firſt-born, where the Spirits of juft
men made perfect, together with the
innumerable company of Angels, and
with Jefus the Mediator and great High-
Prieft of the New Covenant, fhall ftand
continually in the prefence of God the
Judge
neceſſary to Baptifm.
19
I.
Judge of All, and fhall ferve him before SER M.
his Throne for ever. This is that Form
of Sound Words, that Summary of ne-
ceffary Truth, which the Apoftle exhorts
all men to hold faft. This is that uni-
verfal Doctrine, in the Profeffion of
which confifts the Unity of the Catho-
Tick Church of Chrift under all Diffe-
rences of external Forms, and under all
Variety of Opinions in other and lefs
important matters, in all Ages and tho-
rough all Nations over the Face of the
whole Earth. This is that Doctrine,
which whofoever fincerely believes, and
verifies that belief by a fuitable Prac-
tice, fhall be faved. Other Doctrines
there are, delivered in Scripture, uſeful
for reproof, for correction, for inftruction
in many particular Cafes; but not indif-
penfably neceffary to be understood by
And ftill other Doctrines
every man.
there are, and Explications of Doctrines,
delivered by the Authority of Men;
ſometimes profitable indeed and helpful
for the underſtand of Scripture, but
more frequently occafioning nothing but
C 2
vain
20
Of that Belief which is
I.
SER M. vain Contentions and empty Difputes,
which hinder rather than promote mens
Salvation. At leaſt Neceſſary to Salva-
tion, there cannot any thing be, befides
that general Doctrine before-mentioned;
which All men can as univerfally under-
ftand, as they are univerfally concerned
to look after their own Salvation ; and
of which our Lord declares, that He that
believeth and is baptized into it, fhall be
Javed.
THIS therefore may fuffice concern-
ing the 1st Particular, viz. What the
Thing to be believed, or what the Sub-
ject-Matter of that Belief is, which
our Saviour here declares to be fo
neceffary to Salvation. 2dly, I am to
confider in the next place,
the next place, what the
Manner of the Belief, or what the Na-
ture and Extent of that Act of Believing
is, which is here fo indifpenfably re-
quired. And to Him that ſeriouſly con-
fiders the Scriptures upon this Head, it
will plainly appear, that therein is al-
ways intended fuch a firm and rational
Perfwafion, as is founded upon reafon-
able
neceſſary to Baptiſm.
21
able and
31.
I.
good grounds, and produces 3 ER M.
ſuitable and proper Effects. There have
been ſome ſo unreafonable, as, from
theſe Words of our Saviour, He that be-
lieveth, ſhall be faved; and from other
paffages of Scripture, wherein men are
faid to be justified by Faith; and, believe Acts xvi.
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt
be faved; to conclude that mere Credu-
lity, how inconfiderate foever, and how
little effect foever it has upon their lives,
will entitle them to Salvation. But tho'
in a fhort and concife manner of ſpeak-
ing,
the Part is indeed fometimes thus
put for the Whole, yet very often the
Whole is fully expreffed; and, where it
is not, yet Reafon and the general Tenor
of Scripture ſhows, that it is always un-
derſtood. I fay therefore, that to Believe,
conftantly implies theſe two Things,
1st, A Firm Perfwafion, founded upon
reaſonable and good grounds. And This
in oppofition to fuch a
lity, as, like a Foundatioareless Credu-
in the Sand,
quickly fuffers whatever is built upon it
to fall to the Ground.
C 3
The Simple be-
lieveth
22 Of that Belief which is
SERM.lieveth every word, but the prudent man
I.
<
looketh well to his going, Prov. xiv. 15.
The Bereans are commended, Acts xvii.
II, for fearching the Scriptures of the
Old Teftament daily, whether the things
taught them by the Apoftles were fo or
not. (Far from That Popish Notion, of
believing at a venture as the Church be-
lieves; they are commended, for not
having an implicit Faith even in the
Apoftles themselves, but fearching the
Scriptures daily, whether those things were
So.) And St Thomas's careful and in-
quifitive Faith, was by our Saviour him-
felf thought fit to be confirmed in the
following fingular and moft affectionate
manner, St Joh. xx. 27, Reach bither thy
finger, and behold my hands; and reach
hither thy band, and thruſt it into my
fide; and be not faithless, but believing.
He does indeed, in the next Words, pro-
nounce Them fill more bleffed, who have
not feen, and yet have believed. But his
meaning therein, is not to recommend
a careless and inconfiderate Credulity,
which he elſewhere compares to Corn
fown
I
neceffary to Baptifm.
23
I.
fown upon a Rock, which fprings up SER M.
indeed fuddenly, but foon withers for
want of Root; but his Defign on the
contrary, is highly to commend the Di-
ligence of thofe, who, having not the
opportunity which St Thomas had; and
confidering, that Faith is moft properly
the Subftance of things hoped for, the Heb. xi.1.
Evidence of things not feen; and that Rom. viii.
Hope that is feen, is not Hope; for what 24.
a man feeth, why doth be yet hope for?
his Defign, I fay, is to commend the Di-
ligence of thoſe, who hoping for that they
fee not, do with Patience wait for it, Rom.
viii. 25;
who beholding the promiſes a-
far off, and being perfwaded of them, en-
dure with Mofes, (Heb. xi. 13, 27,) as
feeing him which is invifible; in a word,
who, by inquiring and fearching dili-
gently, (as St Peter expreffes it, 1 Pet. i.
8,) attain to a fatisfactory and rational
conviction of the Truth of the Doctrine
of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift;
whom, having not feen, they love; in
whom, though now they fee him not, yet
believing they rejoyce with joy unfpeak-
C A
able
24 Of that Belief which is
SERM.able and full of Glory, They confider,
I.
;
the Purity and Excellency of the Doc-
trine itſelf, and its agreeableness to Rea-
fon, and to the Nature and Attributes of
God: They ponder the Evidence of the
Miracles he worked which though
they behold not Themfelves, yet they
find atteſted by the greateſt and moſt re-
markable Teſtimony that was ever given
to any Fact in the World: They ex-
amine the Prophecies which went before
concerning him, and compare all the
Actions of his Life with thofe antient
Predictions; Searching what Things, and
what manner of Time the Spirit of Chriſt
which was in the Prophets did fignify,
when it teftified before-hand the Sufferings
of Chrift, and the glory that should fol
low, I Pet. i. 11. They confider alſo the
Prophecies that He himself delivered,
and his Apoſtles after him; and compare
them with the whole Series of Events,
and general Difpenfations of Providence
through all the
all the Ages of the World.
And by these means they work in them-
felves a Firm Perfwafion, founded upon
I
reafona-
neceſſary to Baptifm.
25
I.
reaſonable and good grounds; which is S ER M.
the 1st thing, that I faid Believing, in
the Scripture-fenfe, conftantly implies.
The 2d is, that it be fuch a perfwafion
of Mind, as produces fuitable and pro-
per Effects: He that believeth and is
baptized. But This; together with the
Reaſons, why Believing, in this cafe, is
fo highly eſteemed and rewarded ; He
that believeth and is baptized, ſhall be
faved; and the confideration of its con-
trary, Unbelief; and the reaſons why
That is declared fo criminal and fo fe-
verely condemned; He that believeth not,
Shall be damned
muſt be referred to a
further Opportunity,
;
SERMON
[27]
SERMON II.
Of that Belief which is neceffary
to Baptiſm.
St MARK Xvi. 16.
He that believeth and is baptized,
fhall be faved; But he that be-
lieveth not, fhall be damned.
Na Former Difcourfe upon SER M.
thefe Words, I propoſed to II.
confider, 1ft, What the Thing
to be believed, or what the
Subject-Matter of that Belief is, which
Our Saviour here declares to be fo necef-
fary to Salvation. 2dly, What the Man-
ner
28
Of that Belief which is
SERM.ner of the Belief, or what the Nature
II. and Extent of that Act of Believing is,
which is here fo indifpenfably required.
3dly, Whence it comes to pass, that Be-
lieving, which in other cafes is a Mat-
ter of Indifference, of Prudence or Un-
derſtanding only, and not of Morality;
yet in the Cafe of Religion, is ſo highly
eſteemed. And Theſe with regard to
the 1st part of the Words; He that be-
lieveth and is baptized, shall be faved.
Then with regard to the Latter part of
the Words; be that believeth not shall be
he
damned. ft, What is the full and pro-
per meaning of this Phrafe of not bc-
lieving; and 2dly, Whence it comes to
pafs, that Unbelief is in Scripture always
fo feverely cenfured, as being the great-
eft of Crimes. In the 1ft place, What
the Thing to be believed, or what the
Subject-Matter of that Belief is, which
our Saviour here declares to be fo necef-
fary to Salvation, I have already ex-
plained. 2dly, As to the Manner of the
Belief, or what the Nature and Extent
of that Act of Believing is, which is here
fo
neceſſary to Baptifm.
29
I.
fo indifpenfably required; I obferved SER M.
that, in Scripture-fenfe, it always im-
ports fuch a firm and rational Perfwa-
fion of Mind, as is founded upon reaſon-
able and good grounds, and produces fuitable
and proper Effects. The Explication of
the former part of this Propofition, I
have already gone through; viz. that
Belief, in Scripture-fenfe, always im-
ports fuch a firm and rational Perfwa-
fion of Mind, as is founded upon reaſon-
able and good grounds. It remains that
I proceed at this Time, to fhow that it
alfo conftantly fignifies fuch a perfwa-
fion, as produces fuitable and proper Ef-
fects.
AND This is evident in the firſt place,
from the very Nature and Reafon of the
Thing. For as the Shadow or Image
of a Man, is not the Man himſelf; nor
a dead Corpfe, the Perfon, whoſe Body
only it is And, in all other Cafes,
Things are valued only by their Power
and Efficacy; and are what they are, not
by the mere denomination or external
Appearance, but by their real Nature and
inward
30
Of that Belief which is
II.
SER M. inward Virtues or Qualities: So Faith,
is not a bare empty Affent to the Truth
of the Gospel, a Means confidered fepa-
rate from its intended End; but 'tis fuch
an Effectual Affent of the Understanding,
as by a regular Operation influences and
determines the Will, and thereby governs
the Man's Life and Actions; fhowing
forth itſelf in the Fruits of true Virtue.
And He of whom our Savionr declares
in the Text, That he ſhall be ſaved be-
cauſe he believeth; is not he who pro-
poſes to believe, what in his Actions he
has no regard to; but he who by the
Fruit and Effects of a Chriftian and
Good Life, fhows that he really has
within himſelf That Faith, which is the
Root, the Spring, and the Caufe of fuch
Actions.
ALL which, as it is evident from the
Nature and Reafon of the thing itſelf,
fo it is farther apparent from our Sa-
viour's adding thoſe Words, And is bap-
tized. He that believeth, and is bapti-
zed; That is, which believeth the Go-
ſpel, and entreth into a folemn Obliga-
tion
neceſſary to Baptifm.
31
tion to obey it, and verifies That Obli- SER M.
II.
gation by a fuitable Practice in the fol-
lowing Courſe of his Life; He fhall be
faved. For fo the Apoſtle expreffly ex-
plains it; that the Baptifm which faves
us, is not the putting away the Filth of
the Flesh, but the Anfwer of a good Con-
fcience towards God, 1 Pet. iii. 21.
And
our Saviour himſelf paraphraſeth his own
Command, (baptizing them in the Name
of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Ghoft,) by the Words immediately
following; Matt. xxviii. 20, Teaching
them to Obſerve all things whatfoever I
bave commanded you. And in his Dif
courfe with Nicodemus, St Job. iii. 5,
Except a man be born, faith he, of Wa
ter and of the Spirit, he cannot enter in-
to the Kingdom of God. The Baptiſm of
Water, is but the Sign or Emblem; the
Baptiſm of the Spirit, is the reality or
thing fignified. And what That means,
viz. the being Baptized or Born of the
Spirit; the Apoftle tells us, 2 Th. ii. 13,
God has from the beginning chofen you to
Salvation, through Sanctification of the
Spirit,
32
Of that Belief which is
SERM. Spirit, and Belief of the Truth. What
I. our Saviour, in the words of the Text,
calls believing and being baptized; and,
in St John's Gofpel, being baptized with
Water and the Spirit; St Paul here
ftyles Belief of the Truth, and Sancti-
fication of the Spirit. And what That
Sanctification is, he explains ftill more
diftinctly, 1 Cor. vi. 11, Know ye not,
that the unrighteous fhall not inherit the
Kingdom of God? And fuch were fome
of you; But ye are washed, but ye are
Sanctified, but ye are juſtified, in the
Name of our Lord Jefus Christ, and by
the Spirit of our God. Hence Baptiſm
is called, the Baptifm of Repentance for
the Remillion of Sins; And baptized Per-
fons who anſwer their Profeffion, are
Rev. vii. faid to have washed their robes, and made
them white in the Blood of the Lamb.
The literal meaning of which figurative
expreffion, is thus fet down by the Pro-
phet; I. i. 16, Wash you, make you clean,
put away the evil of your doings from
before mine eyes; ceafe to do evil, learn
to do well; Then though your Sins be
14.
as
neceſſary to Baptifm.
33
as Scarlet, they shall be white as fnow; SER M.
though they be red like crimson, they fhall II.
be as wool. Now as the Scripture thus
fully explains This part of our Saviour's
Words, he that is Baptized, to fignify a
man's entring into a folemn Obligation
to obey the Gofpel, and his verifying
That Obligation by a fuitable Practice;
fo does it, in numberless places, as clear-
ly explain thoſe other Words alfo, be
that Believeth, to fignify always fuch a
Perfwafion of Mind, as ftops not with-
out producing its proper Effects. What
is here called Believing, is elſewhere ex-
preffed more diftinctly, Repent ye, and
believe the Gospel, St Mar. i. 15. In an-
other place, 'tis ftyled believing with the
Heart unto Righteoufnefs, and with the
Mouth making confeffion unto Salvation,
Rom. x. 10. In other places, 'tis called
believing and perfevering; Heb. x. 39,
We are not of them who draw back unto
perdition, but of them that believe to the
faving of the Soul; where believing being
oppofed to drawing back, muft of necef-
fity fignify That Perfeverance which is
VOL. IV.
D
the
34
Of that Belief which is
II.
SER M. the effect of True Faith. And I Cor.
xv. 2, By which ye are faved, if ye keep
in memory what I preached unto you, unless
ye have believed in vain. In the fixth
chapter of St John's Gofpel, what our
Saviour fays, ver. 40 and 47, He that
believeth on me, bath everlasting life; is
at the 54th verfe repeated in another form
of Expreffion, Whofo eateth my flesh and
drinketh my blood, bath eternal Life :
That is; He who in a conftant Imita-
tion of me and Obedience to my Com-
mands, continues united to me by a Vi-
tal Participation, as Members of the Bo-
dy with their Head; he has the promiſe
of eternal Life remaining in him.
other paffages of Scripture, what is meant
by believing, fufficiently appears
appears from
the parallel Expreffions, by which it is
deſcribed. Acts vi. 7, 'tis being obedient.
to the Faith; and again, Rom. i. 5,
Obedience of Faith. Ch. ix. 30, 'tis cal-
Rom. x. 6. led the Righteouſneſs of Faith; and Phil.
iii. 9, the righteoufnefs which is of God
by Faith. 1 Tim. i. 19, 'tis Faith and a
good Confcience; and ch. iii. 9,
In
the
Faith in
a pure
neceſſary to Baptifm.
35
II.
a pure confcience. Gal. v. 6, 'tis Faith SER M.
which worketh by Love; and Tit. iii. 8,
They which have believed in God, must be
careful to maintain good Works. In
theſe and numberless other the like pla-
ces, fufficient Care is taken to fatisfy all
reaſonable Perſons, that Belief is in the
Goſpel always valued, not by its Deno-
mination, but by its Effects.
And yet,
to prevent all Poffibility of Miftake in
a matter of fuch extreme importance,
there is ſtill a clearer and more exprefs
way of fpeaking, for explication of this
Doctrine, made ufe of by St James,
ch. . of his Epiftle; where he tells us,
that Faith without Works can no more
fave a man, than good Words without
Deeds can feed the Hungry, or cloath the
Naked, ver. 14, 15; that even the De-
vils themfelves believe, and tremble, ver.
19; that Abraham our Father was jufti-
fied by Works, or (which is the fame
thing) was therefore juftified by Faith,
becauſe by Works was his Faith made per-
fect, ver. 21, 22; that, as the Body with-
out the Spirit is dead, fo Faith without
Works
D 2
36
Of that Belief which is
SER M.Works is dead alfo, ver. 26. And by our
II. Saviour himſelf, St Matt. vii. 21,
Not
every one that faith unto me, Lord, Lord,
Shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven;
but he that Doth the Will of my Father
which is in Heaven; and ver. 26, he that
heareth thefe fayings of mine, and doth
them not, ſhall be likened unto a foolish
man, that built his Houfe upon the Sand.
From which clear and decifive Expref-
fions it appears moft evidently, that
when St Paul fays we are juflified by
Faith without the deeds of the Law, he
must be understood to mean by Faith,
not a bare fpeculative Belief, but fuch
Belief and Moral Obedience to the Com-
mands of the Gofpel, as are oppoſed to
the ceremonial Works of the Mofaic Law:
And that, when 'tis faid, Acts xiii. 39,
that by Christ, All who believe, are juſti-
fied from all things, from which they could
not be justified by the Law of Moſes; it
muſt be underſtood, All who fo believe,
as to repent and forfake thofe Sins, from
which they hope to be juftified by that
Faith. And that when 'tis faid, Acts xv.
9, that
neceſſary to Baptifm.
37
II.
9, that God purified the hearts of the SER M.
Gentiles, by Faith; it muſt needs be un-
derſtood of fuch a Faith, as St Peter de-
fcribes in his First Epiftle, ch. i. 21, 22,
when he ſays, you who by Chriſt do be-
lieve in God,- have purified your fouls
in obeying the Truth. All which expli-
cations of the Word, Believing; are fur-
ther confirmed, by the like Ufe of other
Phraſes in Scripture; where Other fingle
Virtues, as Hope, Love, Fear, the Know-
ledge of God, and calling upon the Name
of the Lord, are by a like Figure put
for the whole of Religion: As they are
plainly declared to be, either by the
Manner of Expreffion itself in the places
where they are mentioned, or by diſtinct
Explication in other paffages. Hope,
when it is ufed to fignify a Virtue, can
for That only Reafon be fuppoſed to be
fo, becauſe the Ground or Foundation on
which it is built, is the having obeyed the
Commandments of God. Fear, in like
manner, when it is not a Paffion, but a
Virtue, evidently fignifies fuch a filial or
reverential Fear, as is the fame with O-
dience. Our Love of God, is by cur
Saviour
D 3
38
Of that Belief which is
II.
and ver.
15 23.
he
the
SER M. Saviour himſelf diftinctly defined, St Job.
xiv. 21, He that hath my Commandments
and keepeth them, be it is that loveth
me; and by the Apoftle, 1 Joh. v. 3, This
is the Love of God, that we keep his
Commandments. In like manner,
Knowledge of God, 1 Joh. ii. 3, 4; Hereby
we know that we know him, if we keep
bis Commandments. He that faith, I
know him, and keepeth not his Command-
ments, is a Liar, and the Truth is not in
bim. And what is affirmed, Acts ii. 21, that
chofoever shall call on the Name of the
Lord, fhall be faved; is by our Saviour
fully explained in the place before-cited,
Not every one that faith unto me, Lord,
Lord, fkall enter into the Kingdom of
Heaven; but he that Doth the Will of
my Father which is in Heaven. By the
fame Analogy therefore, Belief alſo muſt
always be understood to fignify, not
barely an empty Affent, but fuch a Con-
viction of the Understanding, as fails not
to operate by a fuitable Obedience of the
Will and Actions.
AND This may fuffice for Explica-
tion of the fecond particular in the Text,
2
What
neceffary to Baptifm.
39
What the Manner of the Belief, or what SER M.
the Nature and Extent of that Act of II.
Believing is, which is here fo indifpen-
fably required; namely, that it is fuch a
firm and rational Perfwafion of Mind,
as is founded upon reaſonable and good
grounds, and produces fuitable and pro-
per Effects.
THE 3d Particular to be confidered,
was, whence it comes to pafs, that Be-
lieving, which in other cafes is a Matter
of Indifference, of Prudence or Under-
ftanding only, and not of Morality; yet
in the cafe of Religion is fo highly
eſteemed; He that believeth and is bapti-
zed, fhall be faved. And the Reaſons are;
1st, BECAUSE, in practical Matters,
it is an Act, not of the Understanding
only, but partly of the Will alfo, to at-
tend and be willing to fubmit to reafon-
able Evidence; to lay afide the Preju-
dices of Lufts and Paffions; to fuffer
Reafon and Argument to prevail over
worldly Interefts; and to embrace a
Doctrine of Truth and Right, merely
upon the Evidence of its being fuch,
without
D 4
40
Of that Belief which is
SER M. without regard to temporal Confiderati-
II.
ons. Believing, in matters of ftrict De-
monſtration, is an Act, not of Choice,
but of Neceffity. In Queftions of un-
certain Speculation, 'tis a thing merely
indifferent, neither good nor evil, or at
moſt a part of Prudence or Imprudence
only. But in matters of Practice, to
Believe and be guided by Reaſon and E-
vidence, not by Inclination and Paffion ;
as 'tis the moſt proper and natural, fo 'tis
one of the moſt commendable and excel-
lent Actions of a rational Being. Hence
in Scripture, the fingular Commendation
given the Bereans, Acts xvii. 11. is found-
cd upon This, that they fearched the Scrip-
tures daily, whether thofe things were fo
or not. And the high Encomium be-
Abraham's Faith is upon
this ground, Heb. xi. 19, that he Ac-
counted, (the word in the original is, he
Reafoned within himself, and was fatis-
fied,) that God was able to raise up his
Son Ifaac again, even from the Dead:
And our Saviour's Approbation of the Ca-
naanitish Woman, O Woman, great is thy
ftowed
upon
Faith
neceſſary to Baptifm.
4!
II.
23
Faith, Matt. xv. 28, was occafioned by her S ER M.
arguing reaſonably, that as even the dogs eat
of the Crumbs that fall from the childrens
table, fo fhe, though an Alien from the
Commonwealth of Ifrael, yet might hope
for ſome ſmall portion of Bleffing from the
Meffiah who was fent into the World
by the common Creator of All men.
And the extraordinary Character he gives
the Centurion; I have not found fo great
Faith, no, not in Ifrael, Matt. viii. 10,
was upon This account, that he reaſoned
himſelf into a Belief of Jeſus's power to
heal Diſeaſes at a Distance, by confider-
ing that even he himself alfo, though a
Perfon infinitely fuperiour to our Lord,
yet had Servants under him, ſo that he
needed not to go in his own Perfon, but
could fay to This man, Go, and he go-
eth, and to another, Come, and he cometh.
The particular Commendation given to
thefe Perfons Faith, was, that it was
not a rash Credulity, but a reaſonable,
confiderate, and well-grounded Belief.
And accordingly the Scripture, in other
places, directs us to try the Spirits whe-
ther
42
Of that Belief which is
SERM.ther they are of God, 1 Joh. iv. 1; and
II. exhorts us to be ready always to give an
anfwer to every man that asks us a rea-
fon of the hope that is in us, 1 Pet. iii. 15.
And the Sluggard on the contrary, who
confiders nothing carefully, is justly re-
proved for being wifer in his own Con-
ceit, than seven men that can render a
Reaſon, Prov. xxvi. 16. God himself, in
his Dealings with mankind, appeals to
If. xlvi. 8. them by the Prophet, to confider and
Show themselves men: Mic. vi. 2, The
Lord has a controverfy with his people,
and he will plead with Ifrael: And,
Come now, and let us reafon together, fays
the Lord, If. i. 18. He expects of them,
a reaſonable ſervice, founded upon a juſt
and reaſonable Belief; and Both thefe,
the proper and moſt commendable
Acts of reaſonable Creatures.
are the
2dly, ANOTHER reafon, why Faith
is in Scripture always fo highly com-
mended, is becaufe, in the Scripture-
Senfe of the Word, it is always fuppofed
to arife and begin from a Willingneſs of
knowing and being informed in the
Will
neceſſary to Baptiſm.
43
Will of God, and ends in actual Obe-S ER M.
dience to his Commands fo made II.
known. Which being both the Four-
dation and the higheft Improvement of
Virtue, 'tis no wonder if upon That
Part, which by way of eminence is fre-
quently put for the Whole, fo great Com-
mendations are
are beſtowed in Scripture.
2 Chr. xx. 20.
Believe in the Lord your
God, fo fhall ye be established; Believe
his prophets, ſo ſhall ye profper. The
meaning is, Obferve and obey them;
obey the commandments, which They de-
liver you from God; (in like manner as
our Saviour in the Text, Believe and be
baptized, and verify that Obligation in
the Senfe before-explained ;) So fhall ye
be Partakers of the Promiſe annex'd.
; 0-
AND This, concerning the former
part of the Words, He that believeth,
and is baptized, fhall be faved. In the
latter part of the Words, He that belic-
veth not, skall be damned; it is to be
confidered, 1ft, What is the full and
proper meaning of this Phrafe of not be-
lieving; and 2dly, Whence it comes to
país,
44
Of that Belief which is
SERM.pafs, that Unbelief is in Scripture al-
II.
ways fo feverely cenfured, as being the
greateſt of Crimes.
THE latter of theſe will be cleared by
the explication of the former, viz. what is
the full and proper meaning of this Phraſe
of not believing.
AND This is indeed a very great and
important Inquiry; becauſe there is no
Sin, againſt which feverer Judgments
are denounced in Scripture, than againſt
Unbelief. Amongſt thoſe who are to have
their part in the Lake that burneth with
Fire and Brimstone, the unbelieving are
placed in the firſt rank, Rev. xxi. 8.
The fearful and unbelieving and the abo-
minable and murderers, and ſo on. And
when our Saviour expreffes his higheſt
indignation againſt
againſt that evil Servant,
who began to beat his Fellow-fervants,
and to eat and drink and be drunken
if he had nothing more fevere to terrify
him withal, he threatens to cut him in
funder, and appoint him his Portion with
Unbelievers as with the worft of Offen-
St Luk. xii. 46. 'Tis evident
ders;
; as
therefore,
neceſſary to Baptifm.
45
དཀ
therefore, that by Unbelief, in this and SER M.
other places of Scripture, cannot be II.
meant that bare negative Want of Belief,
which, with regard to the whole Go-
Spel, is the cafe of all thofe to whom it
never was preached; and, with regard
to any particular Doctrine whatsoever, is
the Cafe of thofe to whom that Doctrine
was never clearly made known and rea-
fonably explained. For, not to believe
what a Man has not good and fufficient
Reaſon to believe, can never be fo much
as any Crime at all. And the Judge of
all the Earth will do what is right, and
with Equity will be judge the Nations.
And to whom a little is given, of him will
not be much required. And St Paul ex-
preffly declares, that when the Gentiles
which have not the Law, do by nature the
things contained in the Law, thefe, having
not the Law, are a Law unto themselves;
and that their uncircumcifion fhall be
counted for circumcifion, Rom. ii. 14,
26: So that though there is indeed no other
Name given under Heaven, by which we
must be faved, but that of Christ only;
yet
46
Of that Belief which is
SER M. yet by that very Name may thofe poffi-
II. bly have Benefit, who never had any ex-
plicit Knowledge of him. But by Un-
belief therefore in Scripture, is always
meant one of the two following things;
Either ft, in general, fuch an obſtinate
Rejecting of the Whole Gofpel and of
the gracious Terms thereof, as ariſes
from a vitious and wilful refuſing to at-
tend to and examine the Evidence of it;
Or 2dly, fuch a Difbelief of the Parti-
culars of God's Promifes, in thoſe who
profefs to imbrace the Whole, as hinders
them from obeying the Doctrine, which
they would ſeem to receive. The first
was the Cafe of the Pharifees, in our Sa-
viour's time; and is Now the Cafe of all
vitious Infidels in Chriftian Countries,
who refufe to examine and confider the
Reaſonableneſs of the uncorrupted Do-
ctrine of the Gofpel, as delivered by
Chrift and his Apoftles, feparate from
the uncertain Doctrines and Comments
of Men. The latter, was the Cafe of
the Jews of old, who in the Wilderneſs
were ſo often charged with Unbelief;
and
neceſſary to Baptiſm.
47
and Now is the Cafe of all profeffed S ER M.
Chriſtians, whofe Works do not prove II.
their Faith to be real.
As to thofe who wholly reject the Go-
ſpel, when duly and reaſonably preached
to them; That the Unbelief They are
charged with in Scripture, is always a
vitious Refuſing to examine ; appears
from all the Texts, wherein fuch Unbe-
lief is mentioned. For fo our Saviour
when he had declared to Nicodemus, that
he who believeth not in the Name of the
only begotten Son of God, is condemned al-
ready; immediately explains it by ad-
ding, And this is the Condemnation, that
Light is come into the World, and men Job xxiv.
loved darkneſs rather than Light, becauſe ¹3.
their Deeds were evil, St Joh. iii. 18.
And again, ch. xii. 46. I am come, faith
he, a Light into the World, that whofoe-
ver believeth on me, ſhould not abide in
Darkness; And if any man bear my
Words, and believe not, I judge him not;
the Word that I have spoken, the
fame fhall judge him in the last day.
ch. xv. 24. If I had not done
And
among Joh x.37.
them
48
Of that Belief which is
II.
SERM. them the Works that none other man did,
they had not had Sin; but now they have
both feen and bated, both me and my Fa-
ther. And the fame thing is expreffed
in thoſe other places of Scripture, where
men are ſaid therefore to caft God's words
behind them, becauſe they hate to be re-
formed; and that they believe
Truth, becauſe they have pleaſure in un-
righteousness, 2 Th. ii. 12.
not the
AND hence it is, that the Word, not
believing, comes in the fecondary ſenſe
to be uſed frequently, not only for Re-
jecting the Whole Goſpel, but alſo to fig-
nify fuch a partial Disbelief of the Par-
ticulars of God's Promiſes, in thoſe who
profeſs to embrace the Whole, as hinders
them from obeying the Doctrine, which
they would ſeem to receive. So that in
Scripture nothing is more common, than,
in like manner, as he is ftiled Fool, who
acts not according to what he knows and
understands; ſo to call him Unbeliever,
who practifes not what he profeffes to
believe. What our
our Saviour threatens,
St Luke xii. 46. ſhall appoint him his por-
tion
I
neceſſary to Baptiſm.
49
tion with the Unbelievers, is in St Matt. SER M.
{=
thus expreffed, ch, xxiv. 51. fhall ap- II.
point him his portion with the hypocrites.
In like manner, Eph. v. 6. What in the
margin is tranflated, cometh the Wrath of
God upon the children of Unbelief, is in
the Text itſelf, the children of Difobedi-
ence. The Jews in the Wilderneſs, tho'
they could not poffibly difbelieve what
they faw with their own Eyes, yet for
their Difobedience they are in Scripture
called Unbelievers: Jude 5. The Lord
having Javed the People out of the land of
Egypt, afterwards deftroyed them that
believed not. And Heb. iii. 19. We fee
they could not enter in, because of Unbe-
lief; And ver. 18. To whom fware be,
that they ſhould not enter into his Reft,
but to them that believed not? That is,
as 'tis explained in the verfe before; them
that had finned. Again, ch. iv. 6, They
entred not in, because of Unbelief; i. e.
of Difobedience. And the fame Phrafe
is uſed concerning their Pofterity in the
days of Hofbea, 2 Kings xvii. 14. They
would not hear, i. e. would not obey;
VOL. IV.
E
but
50
Of that Belief which is
SERM.but hardened their neck, like to the neck
II. of their Fathers, who did not believe in
And ch. iii. 12.
Take
the Lord their God. And the Apoſtle
applies it in the fame Senfe to Us Chrifti-
ans, Heb. iv. 11. Let Us labour therefore
to enter into that Reft, left any man fall
after the fame example of Unbelief; in
the margin it is, after the fame example
of Difobedience.
beed, brethren, left there be in any of You
an evil Heart of Unbelief in departing
from the living God; i. e. as he explains
it in the following verfe, in being hard-
ned (as The Others were ) through the De-
ceitfulneſs of Sin.
AND NOW the Nature of Unbelief
being thus explained, it thence fuffici-
ently appears (which was the Laſt thing
propoſed) how it comes to pafs, that not
believing is always in Scripture fo feverely
cenfured, as being the greateſt of Crimes.
For, the Doctrine of Chrift being ex-
tremely reaſonable in itſelf, (the Doctrine
of Chrift, I fay, as delivered in Scrip-
ture in its original Simplicity, and fepa-
rate from the uncertain additional Do-
"
Єrines
neceffary to Baptifm.
51
II.
trines and Comments of Men,) This SER M.
doctrine being extremely reafonable
in itſelf, and being proved moreover
by the ſtrongeſt Evidence in the World ;
All thoſe to whom That Evidence is
fairly propofed, and the Reasonableness
of the Doctrine truly reprefented, if
they obftinately reject it, and the gra-
eious Terms thereof; they plainly do
deſpite to the Spirit of God; And their
Love of Vice being the only Cauſe of
their Unbelief, 'tis confequently of the
fame Nature, and accordingly called in
Scripture promifcuouſly by the fame
Name, with the Difobedience of Believ-
ers. And therefore they are joined to-
gether, as in their Crime, fo in their Pu-
niſhment; they that know not God, and
they that obey not the Gospel. And 'tis
very reaſonable, that as He that believ-
eth and is baptized, shall be faved; 19
he that believeth not, in the Senſe which
has been Now explained, should on the
contrary be damned.
THAT
E 2
52
Of that Belief which is
SERM. THAT which remains is, by way of
II. Inference, it, to exhort thofe who call
themſelves Deifts, or Followers of natu-
ral Religion only, without regard to the
Goſpel, to confider ſeriouſly what it is
they reject; and, when they have ſepa-
rated the undifputed Doctrines of Chrift
from the uncertain Opinions of contenti-
ous Men, Then to judge, whether defpi-
fing this gracious Offer of the divine
Goodneſs, be not rejecting the Counsel of
God against themfelves, and foolishly for-
faking their own Mercies. 2dly, To ex-
hort all thoſe who profefs themſelves
Chriftians, above all things to live wor-
thy of their holy profeffion; to let their
light Shine before men, that others feeing
their good works, may glorify their Father
which is in heaven; at leaſt, to give no Of-
fence to Them that are without, left through
Them the Name of God be blafphemed a-
mong the Gentiles, as it is written,
Rom. ii. 24. And Laftly, to exhort,
thoſe who Teach Chriftianity to others,
that, fince hindring others from believ-
ing
neceſſary to Baptifm.
53
ing, is of the fame guilt, as not believ-SE RM.
ing ourſelves; therefore we be very dili- II.
gent to repreſent the Doctrine of Chrift
as reaſonable and plain, as he himſelf
has repreſented it; defiring with Mofes,
that All the Lord's people were Prophets ; Num. xi.
and not imitating the Romish and Scho- 29.
laftick Writers, who make their own
Doctrines, Traditions, and Explications
of Doctrines, of the fame Authority
with the Word of God; and, inftead
of teaching all men (after the Apoſtle's
example) to be ready to give an Anfwer
to every man that asketh them a Reafon of
the Hope that is in them, perfwade them
on the contrary to believe fo much the
more implicitly and with the greater
Confidence, as the things they impoſe
on them are the more unreasonable and
abfurd to be believed. From fuch Fol-
lies and Impieties, which promote no-
thing but Scepticiſm and Infidelity, let
Us turn away ourſelves; Always remem-
bring our Saviour's Admonition, that
we are the Salt of the Earth; But if the
E 3
Salt
54
Of that Belief, &c.
II.
SER M. Salt itself has lost its favour, wherewith
Shall things be feaſoned; It is neither fit
Mat. v. 13. for the land, nor yet for the dungbil, but
Luk. xiv. to be caft out and to be trodden under foot
34.
Col. iv. 5. of men.
6.
SERMON
[55]
SERMON III.
The Defign and End of Baptifm
is Newnefs of Life.
ROM. vi. 3, 4.
Know ye not, that fo many of us as were
baptized into Jefus Chrift, were bapti-
zed into his Death? Therefore we are bu-
ried with Him by Baptifm into Death,
that like as Chriſt was raiſed up from
the dead by the glory of the Father,
even fo We alſo ſhould walk in Newness
of Life.
T
HE Apoſtle having in the SER M.
foregoing chapter, with great III.
variety of emphatical expreſ
fions, fet forth the exceeding
goodneſs and compaffion of
God towards Mankind, in caufing the
E 4
Righte
56
The Defign and End of Baptifm
SER M. Righteoufnefs of the Second Adam to
III. become in its confequences more effectu-
al towards the recovery and falvation of
Sinners, than the introducing of Sin in-
to the World by the First Adam had
been inftrumental towards their Deftru-
Etion; He in This chapter proceeds to
anſwer a very great and dangerous Ob-
jection, and to prevent a moft fatal Cor-
ruption, and Abufe, which he forefaw
would ariſe in ill minds upon the Doc-
trine he preached; and which in Fact,
to great Numbers of thoſe who call
themfelves Chriftians, has caufed the
Goſpel itſelf, inftead of being the Sa-
vour of Life unto Life, to become on the
contrary the Savour of Death unto Death.
Ver. 1, What fall we fay then? Shall
we continue in Sin, that Grace may a-
bound? The Inference to vitious and
corrupt minds is very natural and ob-
vious. If God has fent his Son into the
World to die for the Sins of Men; if
Chrift has given himſelf a fufficient Sa-
crifice, Oblation, and Satisfaction, for
the Sins of the whole World; is it not
a ren-
is Newness of Life.
57
i
a rendring honour to Chrift, to rely en- SER M.
III.
tirely upon his Merits; and to depend
more upon his Satisfaction, than upon
Any Virtuous Practice of our own? Is
it not (they will fay) a Magnifying of
the Mercy of God, to think that a Vi-
tious Life will be eafily pardoned to
thoſe who fully rely upon the Merits of
Christ? and may we not therefore conti-
nue in Sin, that Grace may abound? To
This the Apoſtle, not without juſt in-
dignation, replies, ver. 2, God forbid :
bowe shall we that are dead to Sin, live
any longer therein? A Chriftian ( he ſup-
pofes,) as Such, even eſſentially to his be--
ing a Diſciple of Chriſt, has put off That
Body of Sin which Chrift came to de-
ſtroy; and can no more, with Any Con-
fiftency to his profeffion, live in the'
practice of any known Vice, than a man
naturally dead can perform any natural
action of life. Know ye not, that fo
many of us as were baptized into Fejus
Christ, were baptized into his Death?
Therefore we are buried with him by Bap-
tifm into Death, that like as Chrift was
raiſed
58 The Defign and End of Baptifm
SER M.raifed up from the dead, by the Glory
III. ( that is, by the glorious Power) of the
~
Father, even fo We alfo fhould walk in
Newness of Life.
IN which words there are Three Par-
ticulars principally remarkable. Ift, The
Apoſtle here fuppofes, that the Great
End and Deſign of the Gofpel is to bring
men to Amendment and Newness of Life.
2dly, He urges the confideration of the
Death and Refurrection of Christ, as a
Great Argument to promote This End.
And 3dly, He alleges, that the Great De-
fign of Baptifm in particular, is to re-
mind us perpetually of This Argument, and
to inforce it upon us.
I. First, THE Apoſtle here fuppofes,
that the Great End and Defign of the
Gofpel, is to bring men to Amendment
and Newness of Life: Even fo We alfo
Should walk in Newness of Life. The
only reaſon why God, who ſtands in
need of Nothing, and is infinitely Self-
fufficient to his own Happineſs, ever
created any rational Creatures at all, is,
that by following the Light of the Rea-
fon
is Newness of Life.
59
fon he has given them, and by imitating S E R M.
the moral Perfections of God, and by III.
obeying his Commandments in the Prac-
tice of Virtue and Righteoufnefs: they
might (as St Peter expreffes it) become
Partakers of the Divine Nature, that is,
might have fuch Degrees communicated
to them of their Creator's Happineſs, as
irrational Beings are by their nature in-
capable of. Now the Perfections of God
being abfolutely unchangeable, and the
nature of Good and Evil effentially in-
variable; 'tis manifeft that That Practice
of Virtue and Righteoufnefs, That Wor-
ſhip of God who ruleth over All, and
That Juſtice and Goodneſs due from
One Creature towards Another, in which
the Effence of True Religion confifts;
muſt among All rational Beings, in All
parts of the Univerfe, and in All periods
of Time, be eternally and univerfally the
Same. Had All creatures therefore Al-
ways continued innocent and virtuous,
the Form and Method of Religion could
never have admitted of Any Change.
And for the fame reafon, when, upon the
account
to
The Defign and End of Baptifm
SER M. account of Sin, the Mercy of God has
III. vouchfafed to appoint any particular me-
thod or inftitution of religion, in order
to the acceptance and reconciliation of
Sinners; tis evident that the ultimate
End and Deſign of every fuch method
or inftitution of religion can poffibly be
no Other, than the recovery or bringing
back of ſuch perſons to the fame State,
in which they would originally have been
fixed, had there been No Tranfgreffion.
Our Saviour expreffes this Notion very
emphatically, St Luke v. 35, They that
are whole, need not a phyfician, but they
that are fick; I came not to call the Righ-
teous, but Sinners to Repentance. Virtue
is the Life and Health of the Soul: And
as, in all cafes in general, the ultimate
End of whatever is intended for restora-
tion or recovery, is always the attaining
of that firft and natural State, the Lofs
of which occafions a Want of Reftora-
tion or Recovery; fo in particular, the
End and Defign of That religion, which
the Goſpel has appointed for the recon-
ciliation of Sinners, is fummed up in
I
what
is Newness of Life.
61
III.
what the Text here ftiles Newness of SER M.
Life. For, for This purpoſe, fays the
Apoſtle, the Son of God was manifefted,
that he might destroy the Works of the
Devil, 1 Joh. iii. 8: The Works of the
Devil; That is, all thoſe Sinful Habits
and Vitious Practices of Men, which they
commit either through the Temptation,
or after the Example, or agreeably to
the Inclinations and Defires of the Wick-
ed One. Again: Tit. ii. 14, Our Savi-
our Jefus Christ, fays St Paul, gave him-
felf for us (to This End,) that he might
redeem us from all iniquity, and purify
to himself a peculiar people, zealous of
good works. And the fame thing he
elſewhere expreffes in a very elegant and
fublime figure; Eph. ii. 10, We are bis
Workmanship, created in Christ Jefus un-
to good Works, which God hath before
ordained that we should walk in them.
And fo particular a Stress is laid upon
this Great Truth, that the Scripture ex-
preffly declares, it had been better for
men never to have heard the Goſpel at
all, than that it fhould not produce in
-
:
them,
62 The Defign and End of Baptifm
SER M. them the Fruit of a Virtuous
III.
Life.
2 Pet. ii. 20, It had been better for them
not to have known the way of righteouf-
nefs, than after they have known it, to
turn from the holy Commandment delivered
unto them.
FROM what has been faid upon This
Head, evidently appears the Folly of
making a comparative oppofition (as Some
have done) between Chriftianity and Mo-
rality. For if the Great End and De-
fign of the Goſpel, is to bring men to
Amendment and Newness
Newness of Life is only
of Life; and
another Name
for the Practice of Virtue, which is Mo
rality; 'tis plain there can be no other
oppofition made between Christianity and
Morality, than between the Means and
the End. Much less ought true Virtue
to be lightly spoken of,
with any pofitive Duty,
formance whatſoever:
the fame Abfurdity, as preferring the
Means which are in order to any End,
when compared
or ritual Per-
Becauſe This is
before the End itſelf to be obtained by
thoſe Mcans.
ALSO
is Newness of Life.
63
W
ALSO from what has been faid upon SER M.
This Head, appears the Vanity of fub- III.
ftituting any thing elſe in matters of re-
ligion, upon which finally to build our
Hopes, befides the Fruits of true Virtue
and Righteouſneſs of Life. For if the
great and ultimate End of the Goſpel, is
to bring men to Repentance, and Amend-
ment of manners; 'tis evident that what-
ever falls fhort of this End, and proves
ineffectual to it, cannot be finally good
and profitable unto men. Profeffing the
Religion of Chrift is nothing, if men
be not thereby made better than if they
profeffed it not. Having prophefied in
the Name of Chrift, and in his Name ha-
ving caft out Devils, and in his Name
done many wonderful Works, is of no im-
portance, if at the fame time the Perfon
be a Practifer of thofe Works of Iniquity
which the Works of Christ were intended
to deſtroy. Laftly, Laying hold upon
Christ, and depending upon him with a
ftrong and confident Faith, is of no Be-
nefit, if That Faith which is the Root,
or Tree that ought to bring forth the
Fruits
I
64
The End and Defign of Baptifm
SERM. Fruits of Righteoufnefs, be itſelf mifun-
III. derſtood as fupplying the Want of That
Fruit, which is the only Excellency of the
Root to produce.
Ꮙ
AND thus having explained the First
Particular in the Text, that the Great End
and Defign of the Gofpel, is to bring men
to Amendment and Newness of Life: I pro-
ceed now to obſerve in the
II. Second place, That the Apoftle here
urges particularly the confideration of
the Death and Refurrection of Chrift, as
a Great Argument to promote this End:
That, like as Chrift was raised up from
the Dead by the glory (that is, by the
glorious Power) of the Father, even fo
We also should walk in Newness of Life.
The Doctrine of Chrift is one continued
Exhortation, and his Life a perpetual
Example of Goodness, Righteousness and
all Virtue. And the Deſign of his Death
and Refurrection, is, by making an A-
tonement for past Sins, and eſtabliſhing
for the future a gracious Covenant of
Repentance, to prevail with men effectu-
ally, by all the Arguments of Life and
Death,
is Newness of Life.
65
n
He died for 2 Cor. v.
which live,¹5.
themſelves,
Death, to turn from the ways of Sin SER M.
and Destruction, into the Paths of Virtue III.
and everlafting Happiness.
All (faith St Paul) that they
fhould not henceforth live unto
but unto Him which died for them, and
rofe again. And St Peter in his Firſt
Epiſtle, ch. iv, 1, Forafmuch then as
Chrift (fays he) has fuffered for us in the
Alesk, arm yourfelves likewife with the
fame mind; for he that hath fuffered in
the Flesh, bath ceafed from Sin; that he
no longer fhould live the rest of bis time
in the Flesh, to the Lufts of men, but to
the Will of God. By the Death of Chriſt,
God has made the fevereft Declaration
poffible, of his Hatred against Sin; and
at the fame time given the ftrongeſt at-
teſtation to the Truth of that Evange-
lical Doctrine, which indiſpenſably re-
quires Amendment for the future, upon
the forgiveness of what is past. Heb. ix.
14, The Blood of Christ, -purges your
confcience from dead works, to ferve the
Living God. It eafes the confcience, by
giving men affurance of pardon; not
VOL. IV.
F
that
66 The Defign and End of Baptifm
SER M. that thereby they may become acceptable
III. to God, without the Practice of Virtue;
but that they may more effectually be
encouraged, by true Repentance and A-
mendment, to ferve God for the future
in Newness of Life. Before the Coming
of Chrift, the Whole World, in a man-
ner, lay in Wickedness: the Heathens, ge-
nerally ſpeaking, being involved in the
moft enormous Vices; And the Jews al-
fo having far departed from True Virtue,
by placing their Religion more in typical
Purifications, than in that real Purity
which thoſe types were intended to re-
prefent. The Reformation of Both Thefe,
through the Preaching of That Doctrine
which our Lord fealed with his Death,
and confirmed by his Refurrection; the
Apoſtle fets forth in a moſt lively and
elegant manner, in his Epiftle to the E-
phefians, ch. ii. As to the converted
Heathens; Ye (fays he) being in times
paft Gentiles in the Flef, were with-
out Chrift, being Aliens from the common-
wealth of Ifrael, and Strangers from the
Covenants of Promife, having no Hope,
ver. 11.
and
is Newness of Life.
67
A
-walk-SER M.
III.
ver. 2.
·Butver. 13.
and without God in the World;
ing according to the course of this World,
according to -the Spirit that now work-
eth in the children of difobedience
Now,ye who fometimes were far off,
are made nigh by the Blood of Chrift.
And as to the converted Jews; We alfover. 3.
(fays he) had our converfation in times
past, in the lufts of our fleſh, fulfilling the
Defires of the flesh and of the mind; and
were by Nature the children of wrath,
even as Others; But God, who is rich in
mercy, -bath quickned us together with
Chriſt. Theſe latter words, and were by
Nature the children of Wrath, have by
Some been very abfurdly underſtood, as
if men were Born children of Wrath,
and were of God created originally wick-
ed: Whereas the evident Meaning of the
Apoſtle is, that wicked and debauched
men, before their converfion to Chrifti-
anity, were by the Practice of thofe
Vices which Habit had made as it were
natural to them, become Enemies to
God, and children of Wrath. But Chrift,
by his death, obtained pardon for as ma-
F 2
ny
68.
The Defign and End of Baptifm
SER M.ny of them, as, by putting away thofe
III. Vices, would die unto Sin; and, by his
refurrection, he gave affurance of eter
ternal life to All, who in the moral
fenſe, would first rife with him unto
Newness and Holiness of life. According
to the Analogy of which figurative ex-
preffions, all Sins in general are in Scrip-
ture frequently styled dead works; and
wicked men are defcribed as being dead
in Sin; and they who have forfaken their
Vices, are dead to Sin; and converted
Jews, are dead from the rudiments of
the World, and dead to the Law, that
they may live to God: And all Sinners
who have reformed their lives, are faid
to be crucified with Chrift, and to have
crucified the flesh with the affections and
Lufts; and that they are dead, and their
Life is bid with Ghrift in God; and that
they are quickned with Chrift; and riſen
with Chrift, and the like. And upon
thefe figures of Speech, are grounded
the following Exhortations; 2 Tim. ii.
11, It is a faithful Saying; if we be dead
with him, we shall also live with him
And
is Newness of Life.
69
And Rom, viii. 10, If Christ be in you, SER M.
(that is, if ye be Chriftians indeed,) the III.
Body is dead [dià] as to Sin, but the
Spirit is life becauſe of [or, as to] Righ-
teouſneſs And in the words immediately
following my Text; If we have been
planted together in the likeness of his
Death, we shall be alfo in the likeness of
his Refurrection: Knowing this, that our
old man (that is, our former vitious
courſe of life,) is crucified with him, that
the body of Sin might be destroyed, that
henceforth we ſhould not ferve Sin :-¨¨ Now
if we be dead with Chrift; we believe that
we fhall also live with him :-Let not Sin
therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye
fhould obey it in the Lufts thereof.
FROM what has been faid upon This
Head, there naturally and plainly arifes
This important Inference; that one of
the greatest and most pernicious corrup
tions poffible of the Chriftian Religion;
is That kind of Reliance upon the Merits
of Christ, in which wicked Chriftians
place their Hopes of Salvation, inſtead
of obeying the Commandments of Chrift.
F 3
deli-
70 The Defign and End of Baptifm
SER M. delivered in his Gofpel. Next to Total
III. Infidelity, the greateſt Enemy of true
Religion is Superflition: And of all Su-
perftitions, the moſt pernicious is That
which turns the grace of God into Wan-
tonnefs; which (as the Apoftle elsewhere
expreffes it) makes Chrift the Minister of
Sin, that is, makes even the Goſpel it-
felf an Incouragement to
to Wickedneſs.
Now This is directly the cafe of all
thofe profeffed Chriftians, who, while
they live vitiouſly, ftill rely upon the Me-
rits of Chrift for Salvation; or, as the
Apoftle expreffes it,
continue in Sin that
Which is fubverting
Grace may abound.
intirely the whole Defign of Religion.
For Chrift came into the World to pro-
cure pardon of paſt Sin, for no other
reafon but that he might more effectu-
ally prevent it for the future. And there
can be no greater Mockery of God and
Religion, than to turn That Goodneſs of
God declared in the Gofpel, which was
intended as the Great Motive to lead men
to Repentance; to turn it into an argu-
ment for Security in continuing in Sin.
Rom.
is Newness of Life.
71
Rom. i. 4. Defpifeft thou the Riches of SER M.
his goodness, and forbearance, and long- III.
Suffering; not knowing that the goodness
of God leadeth thee to Repentance? But
after thy hardness and impenitent heart,
treaſureft up unto thyself wrath against the
day of wrath, and revelation of the rightcous
judgment of God.
THIS therefore is the Second Parti-
cular remarkable in the
the confideration of the
Text; namely,
Death and Re-
furrection of Chrift, here infifted upon
as an Argument, to perfwade men to R-
pentance and Amendment of Life. The
III. Third and Laft thing I propofed
to take notice of in the words, is the A-
poftle's here urging finally, that the
Great Defign of Baptifm in particular,
is to remind us perpetually of This Argu-
ment, and to inforce it upon us: Know
ye not, that As many of us as were bap-
tized into Jefus Chrift, were baptized in-
to his Death? Therefore we are buried
with Him by Baptiſm into death, that
like as Chrift was raiſed up from the dead
by the glory (by the glorious Power) of
F 4
the
72 The Defign and End of Baptifm
SER M. the Father, even fo We alſo ſhould walk in
III. Newness of Life. Our Lord, when he
fent forth his Diſciples to preach the Go-
ſpel to all Nations, commanded them to
Baptize every one that was converted,
in the Name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghoft: That is, to
cauſe them to enter by Baptiſm into a
folemn obligation, to dedicate them-
felves to the Service of God in That Me-
thod of religion, which the Son of God
came into the World to eſtabliſh, and
confirmed by Prophecies and Miracles
of the Holy Ghost. The Sacrament of
Baptifm therefore, according to this in-
ftitution of our Lord, is emphatically
fignificant of our Duty, and moſt aptly
fitted to remind us of it perpetually, in
the three following refpects. 1ft, As be-
ing in general a folemn initiation into the
Profeffion of That religion, the Great
End of which is Holinefs of Life. 2dly,
As typifying, in a particular manner,
the neceffity of moral Purity and Righte-
ouſneſs of life, by the fimilitude of waſh-
ing the Body with water. And 3dly,
(which
is Newness of Life.
73
·III.
(which is what the Apoſtle peculiarly S ER M.
infifts upon in the Text;) Baptiſm, as
being an emblem or reprefentation of
Men's dying with Chrift, and rifing
with him again; is a continual me-
morial of our obligation to put off the bo-
dy of Sin, and to put on the new man,
(that is a virtuous courſe of life;) which
after God, (that is, according to the ex-
ample and commandments of God,) is
created in righteousness and true Holi-
neſs.
Ift, Baptifm is in general a folemn
initiation into the Profeffion of That
Religion, the Great End of which is Ho-
linefs of Life. If therefore That End
be not attained, there is then no Benefit in
having been initiated into That Reli-
gion, the Only Ufe whereof is for the
obtaining That End.
2dly, BAPTISM typifies in a parti-
cular manner, the neceffity
the neceffity of Moral
Purity and Righteouſneſs of life, by the
fimilitude of washing the Body with
Water. And as, in all cafes, a type or
reprefentation is nothing, without the
reality
I
74
The Defign and End of Baptifm
III.
SERM.reality of the thing intended to be fig-
nified thereby fo in this prefent point
the Scripture is always particularly care-
ful, to exprefs wherein the Real efficacy
of this Sacrament confiſts. In the Pro-
I
11.
Cor. vi.
*
Go ye
phetick Defcription, Ezek. xxxvi. 25,
27. after the figurative phrafes, then will
I Sprinkle clean Water upon you, and ye
fhall be clean; immediately follows the
explication, from all your Idols will I
cleanse you,
and cauſe you to walk in
my ftatutes, and ye shall keep my judg-
ments and do them. Our Lord himself,
in the very words of inftitution ;
(fays he) and baptize all Nations,
teaching them to do whatſoever I have
commanded you : And again; Except a
man be born of the Spirit, as well as Wa-
ter, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of
God. The Apoſtle St Paul accordingly,
defcribing Chriſt's fanctifying and clean-
fing his Church with the washing of wa-
ter by the Word; immediately adds, by
of explication, that he might preſent
Holy, and without Ble-
way
it to himfelf
mish, Eph. v. 26. And
1
elſewhere,
fpeaking
is Newness of Life.
75
IH.
fpeaking of particular Chriftians, heSER M.
puts, washed, fanctified, justified, as Sy-
And in his Epiftle
nonymous Terms.
to Titus, he mentions the washing of re-
generation and the renewal of the Holy
Ghoft, as two phrafes equally, and with-
out any difference of fignification, ex-
preffing the effect of That Kindness and
Love, which God our Saviour fhed on
us abundantly through Jefus Christ our
Saviour, ch. iii. 4, 5, 6. In the epiftle
to the Hebrews, having our bodies washed
with pure water, and our Hearts Sprink-
led from an evil confcience, are uſed as
Phraſes of the fame import, ch. x. 22.
And St Peter, ftill more exprefly, (1 Pet.
iii. 21.) declares the Baptifm, which
Javes us, to be, not the putting away of
the filth of the flesh, but the anfwer of a
good confcience towards God.
3dly, (WHICH is the Argument pecu-
liarly infifted upon in the text; Baptifm,
as an emblem of men's dying with Chrift
and rifing with him again, is a continual
memorial of our obligation to put off the
body of Sin, and to walk with Chrift in
newness
76 The Defign and End of Baptifm
SERM.newness of life. This Argument the A-
III. poſtle purſues at large, through the
whole chapter. And
And in Other of his
epiftles; Col. ii. 12. Buried with Him in
Baptiſm, wherein alfo ye are rifen with
him, Gal. iii. 27.
As many of you as
have been baptized into Chrift, have put
on Chrift. And Eph. iv. 22. That ye
put off, concerning the former converfa-
tion, the old man, (that is, your antient
manner of living,) which is corrupt ac-
cording to the deceitful Lufts; And be re-
newed in the spirit of your Mind.
THE Application of what has been
faid upon this Laft General head, is;
that, at the first Preaching of the Go-
ſpel, the perfons brought to Baptifm be-
ing fuch as had been converted from a-
mong the Jews or Heathens; whereas
Now they are generally fuch as have been
born of Chriſtian Parents; 'tis always to
be understood, that all the fimilitudes
and compariſons, all the reafonings and
arguments, drawn in Scripture from the
nature and Form, from the defigns and
obligations of Baptifm; muft Now be
applied
is Newness of Life.
77
applied to Chriftians, at fuch time asSER M.
they profeſs themſelves to be Difciples of III.
Chriſt, and followers of his Religion,
with underſtanding, knowledge, and choice.
Which matter, if duly
duly confidered,
would have a great Effect upon the
Hearts and Lives of all reaſonable per-
fons, And that it may have fuch Effect,
God of his infinite Mercy grant, &c.
SERMON
[ 79 ]
AZIZUTNIUSTI
15
SERMON IV.
Of being baptized into the Name
of any Perfon.
T
?
I COR. i. 13.
or were ye baptized in the
name of Paul?
w
HE Apoftle is in this chap-SER M.
ter reproving the Corinthi- IV.
ans, for their unreaſonable
Animofities and Divifions a-
mong themſelves, fo con-
trary to the nature and obligations of
their Holy Profeffion, fo unbecoming
the
80
Of being baptized into
SER M. the Name and Character of Chriftians.
IV. They had all been inſtructed in one and
the fame Faith; They had all been bap-
tized with one and the fame Baptifm ;
They had all profeffed themſelves Difci-
ples of One only Lord and Saviour, Je-
fus Chrift: And yet afterwards, falling
into Parties, and laying ftrefs upon par-
ticularities, and valuing themſelves upon
adhering, one to One Form or Method
of teaching, and Others to Another ;
they by degrees forgot the Great and
Fundamental Obligations of Chriftianity,
and departed from the Simplicity of their
common Religion. One was for follow-
ing Paul, Another for Apollos, and a
third for Cephas. This Beginning of
Fooliſh Divifions and needlefs Animofi-
ties, This Breach of Chriftian Charity
and univerfal Love, the Apoſtle very
largely and feverely reproves in This and
the following Chapters: And no where
with greater elegance and more affectio-
nate ſharpneſs, than in the words of the
Text: Is Chrift, fays he, divided? was
Paul crucified for you? or were ye bapti-
zed
the Name of any Perfon.
81
zed in the Name of Paul? I thank God SER M.
that I baptized none of you, but Crifpus IV.
and Gaius; Left any should fay, that I
had baptized in my own Name.
IN Difcourfing upon which words, I
fhall confider, 1ft, What the Meaning of
This Phrafe is in general, being baptized
in, or into the Name of any Perfon. 2dly,
What Effect, the confideration of our
being All baptized particularly into the
Name of Christ, ought to have upon us.
And 3dly, What the Nature of That
Corruption is, and what the ill confe-
quences of it, which St Paul here re-
proves in the Corinthians by This fharp
and fevere Queſtion; Were ye baptized in
the Name of Paul?
ift, As to the Meaning of this Phrafe
in general, of being baptized in, or in-
to the Name of any perfon; 'tis to be ob-
ferved, that Baptifm, by an expreffive
emblem, or figure, of waſhing the Body
with Water, fignifies and repreſents a
Change in the Mind of the baptized
Perfon, from One fort of Profeffion or
Practife to Another. And becauſe This
Change
VOL. IV.
G
82 Of being baptized into
SERM. Change in the Perfon's Mind, This refo-
IV. lution of forfaking One State of life, one
fort of Profeffion or Practice, and en-
tring upon Another, is, in This cafe,
ſuppoſed to be worked and effected, by
the Preaching, Admonition, or Exhor-
tation of Some Teacher, who either by
Reaſon and Argument and Doctrinal
Perfwation, or by Evidence of Authori-
ty and Divine Commiffion, convinces
Men that the Change he indeavours to
work in them, will be acceptable and
well-pleafing to God; hence the Action
of Baptifm, or the external Significati-
on of this inward Change, is ftiled a
being baptized in, or into the Name of the
Teacher, whofe Difciple, or the Follower
of whofe Doctrine, the baptized perfon
hereby profeffes himſelf to be. Thus
the children of Ifrael, becauſe when they
paffed thro' the red Sea, and were con-
ducted in the Wilderness by a Cloud,
they in this whole matter profeffed
themſelves to be Followers of That Re-
ligion which God taught them by Mofes;
therefore they are faid by the Apoſtle to
have
the Name of any Perfon.
83
have been All baptized unto Mofes, in SER M.
the Cloud and in the Sea. And they who IV.
by the preaching of John the Baptift,
were prevailed upon to repent and amend
their lives, through a firm Belief of the
Promiſes God had given them of the
Meffiah then ſpeedily to appear; were
baptized, as the Scripture expreffes it,
into John's Baptifm; and
and called The
Difciples of John. In like manner, they
who afterward by the Preaching of Chrift
and his Apoſtles, were converted to the Be-
lief and Profeffion of the Gofpel; were
baptized in the Name, or into the Name, of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghoſt. That is; They made a folemn Pro-
feffion of their Believing the Doctrines,
and of their Refolving to obey the Precepts
of That Religion, which God the Father
Almighty revealed and taught by his Soni
Jefus Christ, and confirmed by the mi-
raculous Teftimonies of the Holy Ghoft.
Which being the fame thing as, briefly
and in Other words, profeffing them-
felves Chriflians, or Difciples of Chrift;
they are therefore elſewhere ſpoken of,
G 2
in
84
Of being baptized into
کیا کرے
Acts viii.
16.
xix. 5'
SER M. in a general and lefs diftinct manner of
IV. expreffion, as having been baptized in
the Name of the Lord Jefus, or, in the
Name of Jefus Christ, for the remiffion
of Sins, Acts ii. 38. And thoſe nume-
rous places in the New Teſtament
A&tsii.21. where we read, that whosoever shall call
Rom. x. on the Name of the Lord, fhall be faved;
and where Chriftians are diſtinguiſhed by
13.
Actsix.
21.
14.
>
the character, of thoſe who call on the
I Cor. i. 2. Name of the Lord Jefus; are, accord-
ing to the true fenfe of the Original,
plainly of the fame import with That
Other expreffion, Acts xv. 17.
Acts xv. 17. All the
Gentiles, upon whom my Name is called,
faith the Lord; that is, all thoſe who
have fincerely embraced the Profeffion of
Chriſt's religion, and are
are accordingly
baptized into an obligation to obey it.
And thus therefore in the Text likewife;
the Queſtion here put by the Apoſtle,
Were ye baptized in the Name of Paul?
is as much as if he had faid, Am I your
Mafter? Are ye My Difciples? do ye
profefs a religion of Mine? have I
taught you any doctrine of my Own?
AND
the Name of any Perfon.
85
ER
AND This may fuffice for explication S E R M.
of the first particular; what the Mean- IV.
ing of this Phrafe is in general, of being
baptized in or into the Name of any
perfon.
2. THE Second thing I propofed, was,
to inquire What Effect, the confideration
of our being All baptized particularly
into the Name of Christ, ought to have
upon us. And This evidently is, that
we ought to look upon ourſelves as His
Difciples, obliged to hearken to His Do-
ctrine, to follow His Inftructions, to obey
His Commandments.
THE Original Authority and Domi-
nion of God over the Univerſe, over All
rational Creatures; and Their confe-
quent Duty and Subjection to Him; St
Paul elegantly expreffes, by ftiling Them
the Family in Heaven and Earth, and
Him the Father, of whom That whole
Family is named, Eph. iii. 15. They
bear his Name; that is, they are His
Property, they derive from him, they
depend upon him, they acknowledge him
as their Head, their Father, the Author
G 3
of
86
Of being baptized into
SERM. of their Being, and their Supreme Go-
IV. vernour; In virtue of which relation,
ch xiv. 1.
All Honour, All Obedience, All Subjecti-
on, is neceffarily and uniformly due to
him from Them. And This in their na-
tural capacity, as they are in general his
Creatures, or the Work of his Hands.
In the religious fenfe, and where there
comes more particularly a distinction to
be made, between thoſe who are only
fubject by neceffity to God's kingdom of
Nature, and thoſe who are fubject by
Choice to his Kingdom of Grace; the
Scripture fpeaks of theſe latter, as, in a
fpecial and more peculiar manner, bear-
ing the Name of God, or ſtanding in a
nearer and more proper relation to him.
Him that overcometh, faith our Saviour,
will I make a pillar in the Temple of my
God, and I will write upon him the Name
of my God, Rev. iii. 12.
And elfe-
where, the whole Body of our Lord's
fincere Followers are
are diſtinguiſhed, as
having bis Father's Name written in
their Foreheads. And in the deſcription
of the Happineſs of their final ſtate, one
principal
the Name of any Perfon.
87
ch. xxii.4.
principal character made uſe of is, that SER M.
they fhall fee the Face of God, and his IV.
Name fhall be in their foreheads. The
Meaning is; they fhall be received and
acknowledged by him as his Sons and his
Servants, as being in a more particular
manner his Family or Houfhould. The
Tabernacle of God fhall be with them,
and he will dwell with them, and they
fhall be his people, and God himself fhall
be with them, and be their God, Rev.
xxi. 3.
By the fame Analogy, bearing like
wife the Name of Chrift, or having been
baptized in His Name, fignifies a con-
ftant acknowledgment and profeffion of
His relation to Us, and Ours towards
Him. That He is our Saviour and Lord,
our Mediatour and Advocate, the only
Revealer of the Will of God to us in
the preſent time, and by him conſtituted
our Judge at the laſt day. And that
confequently We are his Difciples and
Followers; who are to receive from him
the doctrine of true Religion; to look
upon him as the Way, the Truth, and
G 4
the
88
Of being baptized into
in
SERM.the Life; to adhere ftedfaftly to what he
IV. has taught us, and to practiſe carefully
what he has commanded. St Luke,
his hiſtory of the Acts, tells us, that the
Difciples were called Chriftians first in
Antioch, ch. xi. 26. By their Adverſa-
ries, it was intended as a Name of Re-
proach: By Themfelves, it was eſteemed
as a Title of the higheft Dignity: By
Both, it was underſtood not to be a bare
empty Name; but to be expreffive and
declarative of their adhering to Chrift's
Doctrine, and of their
and of their obferving his
Laws. Our Lord himself, fpeaking of
thofe, who, whether few or many in
number, fhould in their Teaching adhere
ftrictly to the Rule and Doctrine of
Truth; infomuch
infomuch that whatsoever they
Should bind on earth, should be bound in
Heaven, and whatſoever they should loose
on Earth, fhould be loofed in Heaven; (as
in the cafe of men's preaching the Sin-
cere and Uncorrupt Doctrine of Truth it
muſt needs be;) He expreffes it, by their
being gathered together in his Name:
Matt. xviii. 20. Where two or three are
gathered
the Name of any Perfon.
89
gathered together in my Name, there S ERM.
am I in the midst of them.
He does IV.
not mean, where-ever men call them-
felves Chriftians, or fay unto him, Lord,
Lord; but where-ever, they really are,
What That Name fignifies, and Do, as
he has taught them, the Will of his
Father which is in Heaven.
That pro-
felling the Name of Chrift, or being
baptized into Jefus Chrift, is nothing,
without being fincerely follicitous to un-
derſtand what his Doctrine truly is, and
careful to obey the Laws he has given
us, St Paul declares to us in a very af-
fectionate manner, Rom. vi. 3, Know ye
not that fo many of us as were baptized
into fefus Chrift, were baptized into his
Death? -knowing this, that our old man
is crucified with him, that the Body of
Sin might be destroyed, that henceforth
we should not Jerve Sin.
And again,
Gal. iii. 27, As many of you as have been
baptized into Chrift, have put on Chrift;
that is, have put yourſelves under an
obligation of laying afide all other Di-
ftinctions, and of being united upon the
foot
go
Of being baptized into
SER M. foot of obedience to his alone Commands:
IV. There is henceforth neither few nor Greek,
there is neither bond nor free;
-for ye
are all One in Christ Jesus: One, not
in Title and Denomination only, but in
reality of fincere affection; One, in
Faith; One, in Charity; One, in uni-
form Obedience to the Commands of
Chrift;
without which, 'tis of no mo-
ment to have been called by his Name.
The fame method of arguing, is again
infifted upon by the fame Apoftle, 2 Tim.
ii. 19, Having this Seal,
Let every one
that nameth the name of Christ, depart
from iniquity. The manner of expref-
fion, having This Seal, is a remarkable
allufion to certain figurative paffages of
Scripture, fome of which I have already
mentioned. For as St John in his Vi-
fion, faw the Servants of God fealed in
their foreheads; and the true Difciples of
Chrift, having his Father's Name written
in their foreheads; And St Paul himſelf,
in fome other of his epiftles, ſpeaks of
fincere Chriftians as being fealed by the
Holy Ghoft unto the day of redemption ;
I
fo
the Name of any Perfon.
91
IV.
fo here likewiſe, The Foundation, fays he, SER M.
or the Covenant, of God, ftandeth fure,
having This Seal,
Let every one that
nameth the name of Chrift, depart from
iniquity: His meaning is; Let no man
think, that his title to God's covenanted
mercies, depends upon his bearing the
Name of a Chriftian; but upon his be-
ing conftantly influenced by That con-
fideration, to be in reality what That
Name denotes, a practiſer of univerfal
righteouſneſs, meeknefs and charity. As
a fort of Memorial of This obligation
a Cuſtom has long prevailed in the Chri-
ftian Church, that every perfon, at the
time he is baptized, ſhould have given
him what we call a Chriftian Name.
And the Defign was prudent; that our
very Name ſhould remind us of our
Holy Profeffion: And becauſe Chriſtians
received their own Name at the time they
were baptized into the Name of our Lord;
that therefore they ſhould
ſhould never hear
their own Name mentioned, without be-
ing put in mind of their being dedicated
to his. The very Name therefore and
{:
Title
92
Of being baptized into
IV.
SER M. Title of a Chriftian, is a great Reproach
to every man, who in his Life and
Converfation, takes no care to anfwer
the fignification, and to verify the inten
tion of it; but intirely forgets or difho-
nours the Thing, while the Word or Name
is perpetually in his mouth.
AND thus having at large explained,
What Effect the confideration of our be-
ing All baptized into the Name of Chrift,
ought to have upon us; It remains now
in the
قم
3d and last place, That I proceed to
fhow what the Nature of That corrup-
tion is, and what the ill confequences of
it, which St Paul here reproves in the
Corinthians by this fharp and fevere que-
ftion; Were ye baptized in the name of
Paul? And This, from what has been
already faid, is very apparent.
For if
being baptized in the name of Chrift,
fignifics being Difciples and Followers of
Him; by the fame reafon, being bap
tized in the name of any other perfon or
perfons, fignifies likewife being Follow-
ers of Him or Them. And for Chrifti-
་
ans,
the Name of any Perfon.
93
ans, who were baptized in the Name of SER M.
Chrift, to behave themfelves nevertheleſs IV.
in fuch a manner, as if they took them-
felves to have been baptized in the Name
of other Teachers; evidently denotes all
fuch mutual Schifms and Differences, as
arife among Chriftians from their fol-
lowing and being fond of the Doctrines
of Men; the Doctrines either of parti-
cular men, or of any Numbers or Bodies
of men whatſoever. It has been de-
clared unto me of you, my Brethren, fays
the Apoſtle in the words juft before my
Text, that there are Contentions among
you, ver. II. What thofe contentions.
were, he explains in ver. 12; My Mean-
ing (fays he) is This; I hear,
that every
one of you faith, I am of Paul, and I of
Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ.
Some were for following one man's Doc-
trine, and fome another's. To This Fol-
ly of theirs, he gives a very harp Re-
proof, in the 13th verfe, in which are
the words of my Text: Is Chrift (fays
he) divided? was Paul crucified for you?
or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
I thank
94
Of being baptized into
SERM.] thank God that I baptized none of you,
IV. but Crifpus and Gaius; Left any ſhould
fay, that I had baptized in my own Name.
Had theſe their differences, (which St
Paul calls Schifms; had they regarded,
not fingle perfons, but Bodies of men ;
the cafe would ſtill have been exactly the
fame. Had every one of them faid, I
am of the Church of Corinth, and I of
Ephefus, and I of Philippi, and I of Rome:
St Paul would ftill have given them the
very fame reproof; Is Chrift divided?
was the City or People of Corinth crucified
for you
? or were ye baptized into the City
or People of Corinth? In like manner
could St Paul hear men contending and
pleading, that One of them was for the
Council of Trent, Another for the Synod
of Dort, and a Third, for That of Con-
ftantinople; he would ſtill make the very
fame Reply; Is Chrift divided? was the
Council of Trent crucified for you ;
were ye baptized into the Synod of Con
ftantinople or Dort? Were it lawful for
Any man, or any Number of men, to
have Any Doctrines of their own, or any
>
or
Followers
R
the Name of any Perfon.
95
n
Followers to be diftinguiſhed by Their SER M.
Denomination; 'twould be reaſonable to IV.
think, that the Apostles certainly might,
of All others, beft have claimed That
privilege. Yet St Paul, we find, was
very careful, was very follicitous, not to
give any occafion to have it thought,
that there was any fuch thing as the
Doctrine of Paul, much less any fuch
thing as the Doctrine of the Church of
Corinth or Rome, or of Any other than
Christ only, who alone was crucified for
us, and in whofe name only we were bap-
tized, and not in the Name, or, into the
Doctrines, of any Other Teachers what-
foever. For my own part, fays he, I
determined, not to know any thing among
you, fave Jefus Chrift, and him crucifi-
ed:
And my speech, and my preaching,
eas not with enticing words of man's
wiſdom;--that your faith ſhould not
Aand in the wisdom of men, but in the
power of God, ch. ii. 2. He diſclaims all
power in himſelf,
in himself, to add any thing to
the Doctrine of Chrift; any notions, any
particularities, any diftinguiſhing doc-
trines
96
Of being baptized into
IV.
SER M. trines of his own. The Doctrine of
Christ, who alone was crucified for them,
and in whofe Name they were All bapti-
zed; he juppoſes, they All underſtood
and embraced: Otherwife they were not
capable of being Members of Chrift's
Church, in the Senfe that perfons of
riper years were admitted fo to be. The
doctrine of Christ, I fay, into which they
were baptized, he ſuppoſes they All un-
derſtood; namely, the Doctrine of Re-
pentance from Dead Works, and of Faith
towards God; of the Refurrection of the
Dead, and of eternal Judgment. And
as to any additional doctrines, by which
One party of Chriftians might be diftin-
guished from another; which he elfe-
where calls, unlearned queftions; in the
Tidur, original it is, untaught, things which
2 Tim. ii. were no part of the inftruction of a
taught at Chriftian; as to thefe, he Thus expreffes
Baptifm.
2 Cor.xi.3. his Sentiments; I fear, fays he, left by
any means, as the Serpent beguiled Eve
ἀπαίδευτοι,
23, not
through his Subtilty, jo your minds ſhould
be corrupted from the Simplicity that is
1 Cor. iii, in Chrift. For, Other foundation can no
II.
2
man
1
the Name of any Perfon.
97
IV.
man lay, than That is laid, which is Je-SER M.
fus Chrift. And though We curfelves,
fays he, or an Angel from heaven, preach
any other Gofpel unto you, than that which
we have preached unto you, let him be ac-
curfed. By preaching another Gospel, he
does not mean fetting up a new Religi-
on in oppofition to Chriftianity; but, as
he exprefly explains himfelf in the verfe
foregoing, Gal. i. 6, 7. he directs his dif
courſe againſt Thofe, who called men to
another Gofpe!, which is not another ;
That is, who to the Gofpel of Chrift
added their own peculiar Doctrines as
Marks of diftinction among Chriftians,
thereby giving unavoidable occafion to
Divifions and mutual Schifins in the Bo-
dy of Chrift; Directly contrary to that
Great Precept of cur Lord, Matt. xxiii.
9, Call no man your Father upon the
Earth, for One is your Father which is
in Heaven; Neither be
called Mafters,
for One is your Mafter, even Chrift. As
Chriſt alone was crucified for us, fo in
His Name only, (fays the Apoſtle, ) into
His Doctrine only, were we baptized;
VOL. IV.
H
ye
and
98
Of being baptized into
SERM.and not into the particular doctrines of
IV.
;.
any other man, or any Sect of men what-
foever. This is the Root of Chriftian
Unity, the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond
of Peace, the Unity of the One undi-
vided and undefiled Spouſe of Chriſt
which is the Temple, the Houſe, the
Church of the Living God; difperfed in
All Ages, and in All places, over the
face of the whole Earth; and
yet uni-
ted in One Holy Bond, in One indiffo-
luble Tie, of Truth and Charity. For
notwithſtanding the numberless mutual
Schifms and Differences, among the vari-
ous worldly Sects, or Bodies of men, who
place the Sum of their religion in fol-
lowing the doctrines and ceremonies each
of their own Sect; yet concerning all.
real and fincere Chriftians in every place,
who, without laying any Streſs on the
Traditions of men, endeavour carefully
to ſtudy and underſtand the Doctrine,
and to obey the Laws and Command-
ments of Chriſt, into whom alone they
were baptized; (and who confequently
are the True Church of Chrift ;) con-
cerning
the Name of any Perfon.
99
μx, or
I Cor. x.
cerning Thefe, I fay, the fimilitude ufed SER M,
by St Paul is ſtill and always true, that IV.
as the Body (of a man) is One, and hath
many members, and all the members of
that One body, being many, are One body,
fo alfo is Chrift; For by one Spirit are
we all baptized into One body, and
have been all made to drink into * One* ÉV TVED.
ἐν πνεῦ
Spirit: So that, as to the Fundamentals ;
of religion (upon which alone Thefe compare
perfons lay any confiderable ftrefs,) they 2.
are all of them entirely One body and
One Spirit, even as they are called in
One hope of their calling; having One
Lord, One Faith, One Baptifm,
Baptifm, One
God and Father of all, who is above all,
and through all, and in them all, Eph.
iv. 4. Men of evil and corrupt minds,
even in St Paul's days, began to depart
from this Simplicity of the doctrine of
Chriſt, and to form themfelves into Sects.
and Parties under different denominati-
ons, occafioning mutual Schifms and un-
charitable Diviſions among Chriftians:
Ch. iii. of this 1 Cor. ver. 3, Whereas,
fays he, there is among you envying and
Strife
H 2
100
Of being baptized into
SERM.ftrife and divifions; are ye not carnal,
IV. and walk as men? That is, do ye not
behave yourſelves more like the profane
and corrupt Infidels of This prefent
World, than like Difciples of Chrift?
For while One fays, I am of Paul, and
Another, I am of Apollos, are ye not car-
nal? That is, Do ye not show your-
felves more concerned for particular
Parties, than for propagating univerfal-
ly the Truth of Christ, and the Practice
of That Doctrine which is according to
Holiness: In later and
and more corrupt
Ages, this evil Spirit has continually in-
creafed among thofe who call themſelves
Chriſtians. And the Confequences, the
natural and neceffary Confequences of
it, have been Animofities, Contentions,
Hatred, Schifins, Wars, Fightings, Per-
fecutions, Ravages, and Devaſtations of
the World. The Remedy, is One only;
a very obvious remedy, and the cnly pof-
fible one; even This, prefcribed by the
Apofle in the Text; that All Chriftians,
every fingle Chriftian, and All Bodies of
Chriftians, whether finall or great, would
feri-
the Name of any Perfon.
101
IV.
{
feriouſly confider, that as Chrift alone SE RM.
was crucified for them, fo in His Name
only were they All baptized, and not in
the Name of Paul, or of any other man,
or of any Sect of men, whatſoever: And
that confequently they ought All to con-
tinue in the Simplicity of the Profeffion
and Practice of That Gofpel, into which
they were All baptized; without con-
tentiouſly adding, each of them their
own peculiar Doctrines, to the Doctrine
of Chrift; which muft unavoidably be
the Occafion of never-ceafing Divifions.
In the Great Foundations of Faith and
Practice, they do already agree. In
other matters, if every one would but
allow to Others, what he knows and
expects fhould in Chriftian Charity be
by Them allowed to Him; however
men might and cannot but differ about
many Things, yet with regard to each
other's perfons they might eafily (ac-
cording to St Paul's advice) be of the Rom. xii.
Jame mind one towards another, perfectly
joined together in the fame mind and in
the fame judgment, 1 Cor. i. 10; holding
H 3
the
16.
102
Of being baptized, &c.
IV. peace.
SERM.the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
So the Apoſtle expreffes it with
great accuracy: Holding, not unity of
opinion in the bond of ignorance, nor
unity of practice in the bond of hypo-
crify; but the Unity of the Spirit, the
unity of a Chriftian and Charitable Spi-
rit, in the bond of Peace.
SERMON
[ 103 ]
SERMON V.
The Nature, End and Defign of
the Holy Communion.
I COR. xi. 25.
After the fame manner also he took
the cup, when he had Jupped,
faying, This Cup is the new Te-
Aament in my Blood; This do
as oft as ye drink it, in remem-
brance of me.
ye,
NE great End of our Savi- SERM.
our's coming into the World,
was to deliver Men from
that yoke of ceremonious
performances, which neither they nor
their
H
4
V.
104
The Nature, End and Defign
SERM their Fathers were able to bear: and to
V. eftabliſh Religion upon the Foot of Vir
that
tue and everlaſting Righteoufnefs. The
World had from the beginning been fo
addicted to ritual and external obfer-
vances, and laid fo great ftrefs on fenfitive
and outward parts of Worfhip;
God, in condefcenfion to their infirmity,
and confidering the hardness of their
Hearts, had for feveral ages thought fit
to prove the difobedience of his peculiar
people the Jews, by giving them fuch
pofitive precepts, as had not in them-
elves any real and intrinfick worth; but
their Obligation depended wholly, upon
their being pofitively commanded. Theſe
rites, were external and fenfible; fuited
to the capacity of fuch perfons, whoſe
minds could not immediately relish the
more fublime and fpiritual parts of Re-
ligion. A willing and diligent obferv-
ance of them, was indeed an evident
proof of an obedient and fincere Mind;
and a wilful neglect of them, when
commanded, a manifeft token of a ftiff
necked, ftubborn, and perverfe genera-
tion;
of the Holy Communion.
105
V.
tion; but yet they were not, in their own SER M.
nature, Acts of Piety; or conduced any
thing of themselves, towards the perfect-
ing of the Soul, and making it like unto
God. Hence, though theſe things were not
to be left undone; yet the weightier mat-
ters of the Law, were always judgment,
mercy, and truth. To thefe, God con-
tinually exhorted his people by the Pro-
phets;
and declared upon all occafions,
that their ritual obfervations, in compari-
fon of theſe more important Duties, were
of no value; and without them, were
even abominations in his Sight. Think-
eft thou that I will eat bulls fleft, or
drink the blood of Goats? No; But offer
unto God thankſgiving, and pay thy vows
unto the most High, Pfal, 1. 13. God did
therefore, by a Succeffion of Prophets,
wean the Jews by degrees, as they were
able to bear it, from their too high
eſteem of ritual and ceremonious per-
formances and inculcated to them the
true and ſpiritual nature of Religion;
till at last, in the fulneſs of time, when
the World was prepared for the recepti-
;
on
106 The Nature, End and Defin
SERM.on of the Gofpel, he wholly abolished
V. thoſe rites by the coming of his Son,
whom he fent forth into the World
made under the Law, to redeem them that
were under the Law, that we might re-
ceive the adoption of Sons. Our Religion
therefore Now confifts not in fuch out-
ward and ceremonial parts of Worſhip,
whofe Obfervance was difficult, and their
fignification oft-times obfcure. We know
that God is a Spirit; and they that will
worship him acceptabiy, must worship him
in Spirit and in Truth. The Perfection
of our Religion, is to imitate the Life of
God in Holiness; and having eſcaped the
corruption that is in the World through luft,
i. e. through the Temptations of Ambition,
Covetoufnefs and Senfuality; having efca-
ped Thefe, to become partakers of the di-
vine nature. The Promiſes of the Go-
fpel are almoft wholly fpiritual; and its
Precepts accordingly are fo excellent, as,
not only by virtue of God's promife and
appointment, but even in their own Na-
ture alſo, to fit and prepare us for that
truly fpiritual life in Heaven. But then,
as
of the Holy Communion.
107
V.
as we are not yet actually in the ftate SER M.
of Perfection, but only in a ſtate of pre-
paration for it; as we are here confined
to theſe earthly Bodies, and to converſe
with fenfible and corporeal objects: fo
the inward devotion of our Minds muſt
be excited and expreffed, by outward
acts of Religion. We must glorify God
I
both in our Body and in our Spirit, which
are God's, 1 Cor. vi. 20. No leſs there-
fore do They err, who would exclude all
outward Acts of Worſhip from true Re-
ligion, than they who place Religion
(as the greateſt part of Men are apt to
do) almoſt wholly in them. Our Minds
muſt be filled with a due honour, and re-
verence towards God; and that difpofi-
tion muſt be maintained and fhow forth
itſelf, in proper Acts of external wor-
ſhip. And here our Saviour has not con-
fined us,
to difficult and burdenfom
forms ; but only that all things be done
decently and in order. We are not obli-
ged to fuch pofitive and ritual obfer-
vances, as the Jews of old, but only to
fhow forth the religious affections of our
minds
2
108
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M.minds in fuch outward acts, as are in
V. their own nature apt to excite that devo-
tion, and to express it. There are no
more than two pofitive inftitutions in the
Chriſtian Church, as of neceffity general-
ly to Salvation; Baptifm and the Lord's
Supper; and thefe, fo extremely figni-
ficant, and the connexion between the
Sign and the thing fignified fo evident,
that they can hardly be called barely po-
fitive inftitutions. By the One, we are
admitted into the Society of Chriftians,
and made members of the myſtical Body
of Chrift; by the other, we are con-
firmed and established in that ftate; and
receive fpiritual nourishment, as
as mem-
bers united to the Head; being made
partakers of the benefits of his Death and
Paffion.
THE Words of the Text, are part of
the Hiſtory St Paul gives us of the infti-
tution of this latter Sacrament; exactly
agreeable to the Account that three of the
Evangelifts give us, of the fame inftitu-
tion. The Occafion of the Apoſtle's re-
reating it in this place, was the diſorderly
manner
of the Holy Communion.
109
manner of the Corinthians communica-SER M.
ting; who. by reafon of many divifions
among themſelves, and thro'
the rich defpifing the poor,
Holy Sacrament without
the pride of
received this
a Devotion
fuitable to fo facred an inftitution; not
difcerning, (as the Apoſtle expreffes it
ver. 29.) the Lord's Body; not diftin-
guiſhing it fufficiently from a worldly
or common feaſt; not confidering the
Solemnity, and Defign of the Action;
not having their minds prepared with
worthy Qualifications, to approach with
due Reverence the Table of the Lord.
In order to remedy this their careleffneſs,
and prevent the like unbecoming beha-
viour for the future; the Apoftle
thought no Argument more proper, than
to repeat to them the very words of our
Lord's inftitution: Which containing in
themfelves a plain account of the End
and Defign of this Holy Sacrament,
could not but put them to fhame, and
be a strong reproof of their unworthy
behaviour; that they fhould fo foon for-
get the main and principal intent of
V.
their
IIO
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M. their coming together and err, not in
V.
an external circumftance, or in a matter
of form; but in fuch a particular, as
fhew them to have neglected that admo-
nition and precept, which, in expreſs
words, was a part, and a principal part,
of the inflitution itself; This do in re-
membrance of me. For it was not poffi-
ble, they ſhould at the very time of their
religious affembly have run into excess;
if they had confidered, that what they
were then doing, was in remembrance of
the Death and Paffion of Chrift, who
gave himſelf a Ranfom for them to that
very End, that he might redeem them
from all worldly and inordinate defires:
It was not poffible, they fhould at the
very time of their receiving the Holy
Communion, have deſpiſed their poor
Brethren, and treated them uncharitably
and with contempt; if they had confi-
dered, that the Action they were then
about, was a Solemn fhewing forth the
Lord's Death, a folemn profeffion of
their belief in a crucified Saviour, a
publick declaration of their Hope of Sal-
vation
of the Holy Communion.
III
vation only thro' the merits of his Death, SER M.
who died equally for poor and rich, for V.
the mean and for the honourable ; and
made it his laft Defire and Command-
ment before his Death, that they who
would be his Difciples, fhould love one
another without diftinction of worldly
confiderations, and be Examples of Cha-
rity to the whole World. Nothing
therefore could be a jufter and ftronger
reproof, to the prefent careless and un-
charitable behaviour of the Corinthians;
nothing more inftru&tive to them, how
to behave themfelves worthily and be-
comingly for the future; than to repeat,
as St Paul here does, the folemn words
themſelves of our Lord's own inftituti-
on; which fo plainly and with fuch Au-
thority expreſs the nature and deſign of
his Holy Sacrament. For I have recei-
ved, (faith he) of the Lord, that which
alfo 1 delivered unto you; that the Lord
Jefus the fame night in which he was be-
trayed, tock bread; and when ke bad gi-
ven thanks, he brake it, and faid, Take,
Eat This is my Body which is broken for
;
you
I 12
The Nature, End and Defign
V.
SERM. you; This do in remembrance of Me:
•you
After the fame manner alfo he took the cup,
when he had fupped, Jaying, This Cup is
the New Teftament in my Blood; This do
ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance
of Me: In remembrance of me; i. e. in
commemoration of my Death and Paffi-
on; fhewing forth, (as the Apoſtle ex-
preffes it in the following verfe,) the Lord's
Death till he come.
the
IN difcourfing upon thefe Words,
ift Thing proper to be obſerved
in them and confidered,
is the gene-
ral Nature, End, and Defign of this
Holy Communion :
Communion: expreffed by our
Saviour in thefe Phrafes, This is my Bo-
dy, which is broken for you; and This
Cup is the New Testament in my Blood;
This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in re-
membrance of Me: Do it in remembrance
of Me; i. e. Let it be a perpetual folemn
Commemoration of my Death and Paffi-
on; and a
and a continual Occafion of your
meditating upon the fpiritual Benefits
purchaſed to you thereby: Meditate ſe-
2
riouſly
A
of the Holy Communion.
113
V.
riouſly and devoutly, upon the wonder- SER M.
ful Love of God, the Supreme Lord and
Father of all, in fending freely into the
World no meaner a perfon than his own
Son, to become a Sacrifice and Propitia-
tion for all Sins forfaken and amended.
Meditate upon the Love alfo of Chrift,
in fubmitting willingly to this good plea-
fure of his Father; in fubmitting will-
ingly to Death, even the Death of the
Cross, to accomplish this merciful and
gracious Defign: For greater Love bas
no man than this, that a man lay down
his life for his Friends, St Joh. xv. 13.
Think with a Juft Senfe upon the Hu-
mility and Condefcenfion of him, who
being in the form of God, i. e. who being
the perſon by whom God from the Be-
ginning created and governs all things,
yet did not affect to appear in that form,
to appear like unto God, to appear (as he
might have done) in the glory of his Fa-
ther; but voluntarily made himself of no
reputation, and took upon him the form of
a fervant, and was made in the likeness of
men, and being found in fashion as a man,
VOL. IV.
I
Le
114
The Nature, End and Defign
SERM. he humbled himself, and became obedient
V. unto Death, even the Death of the Cross.
with due affection of mind,
Confider,
the vile and heinous nature of Sin; con-
fider it with the higheſt indignation, and
with the firmeft refolutions againſt it;
which, in the Wiſdom of the Almighty's
Government, was the Occafion of ſuch a
Humiliation to the beloved Son of God,
in order to expiate and purchaſe pardon
for it: And let your frequent eating this
Bread, and drinking this Cup, be a con-
ftant Remembrancer to your Thoughts,
an Affiftance to your Devotion, and a
perpetual renewing of theſe fpiritual
meditations. Do this, in remembrance of
Me. The Mind of Man, in this prefent
State, is fo conftantly and fo ſtrongly af-
fected by the impreffions of Senfible Ob-
-jects which perpetually furround it, that
it can very difficultly conceive of things
fpiritual, purely and
purely and abftractedly by
themſelves: It is fo clofely united with
Matter, and its attention fo continually
and powerfully follicited by external
and corporeal objects; that to meditate
with
of the Holy Communion.
115
with any clofeneſs
clofeneſs and application of SER M.
Mind on things remote from Senſe, V.
(though indeed the most natural and
proper operation of the Soul,) is yet
become one of the hardeſt parts of our
Duty, and the want of it one of the
greateſt occafions of Sin. The chief
Reaſon, why men, who feem convinced
in their minds of the Truth and Im-
portance of Religion, of the certainty
of a Judgment to come, and who will
readily acknowledge the infinite difpro-
portion between things temporal and
eternal, between fpiritual and earthly
concerns; yet at the fame time, in their
practice prefer things earthly before fpi-
ritual, and temporal concerns before e-
ternal; the Reaſon of This, I fay, is
want of frequent and ferious Confider-
ation: And the reaſon why they do not
confider, is, becauſe the capacity of
their Mind is ſo wholly taken up, and
their Attention fo conftantly employed,
about fenfible Objects; that either they
turn not their thoughts at all towards
things moral and fpiritual; or, if they
I 2
do,
116 The Nature, End and Defign
SERM.do, yet Thefe take fo little hold, that
V.
they are preſently diverted; and make
fuch flight impreffions, that they are im-
mediately ſwallowed up and loft, among
the deeper impreffions made by the Ob-
jects of Senfe. In confideration of this
weak and depraved ſtate of man's Soul
it is, that God, who is a Spirit infinitely
removed from Senfe, the King immor-
tal, inviſible, whom no man hath ſeen
nor can fee, has, in all his Revelations
and Diſcoveries of himſelf to mankind,
reprefented himſelf, not by any fublime
deſcriptions of his nature and effence,
(which are commonly barren and un-
fruitful Speculations,) but repreſents
himſelf affectionately under the chara-
cter of being Author of fome great and
memorable Work worthy of God, for
the good and benefit of Mankind: That
fo men might neither on the one hand
have any occafion given them to frame
to themſelves any likeness or fimilitude
of God; (which is the greateſt Indig-
nity;) nor yet on the other fide want
fuch a juſt Idea of him, as they might
fix
of the Holy Communion.
117
V.
fix their thoughts and Meditations upon. SER M.
Thus to the Patriarchs he ſtyled himſelf,
God who created the Heavens and the
Earth, and all things that are therein.
To the Nation of the Jews, God who
brought them out of the Land of Egypt,
out of the houſe of bondage; To us Chri-
ftians; God, even the Father of our Lord
Jefus Chrift. And becauſe the great End
and Effence of Religion is to imitate
the nature and life of God, in Holiness,
Juſtice, Mercy, Truth, and the reft of
his commendable Attributes; therefore
he has exemplified that life to us, in his
Son Chrift Jefus; clothing him in fleſh,
and ſending him to dwell among us, that
he might leave us a vifible and fenfible
Example, that we should follow his steps.
Further; becauſe men are ufually as un-
apt to Remember, as they are at firſt flow
to Apprehend, things of a fpiritual na-
ture; God has therefore generally been
pleaſed to uſe the fame means, as in con-
veying fpiritual Notions first into our
minds, fo in keeping them up there like-
wife after we have once received them,
1 3
by
118 The Nature, End and Defign
SERM.by the help of continued outward and
V. fenfible Signs.
For fuch is our Frame,
that Any fenfible Memorial makes na-
turally a deeper
and more lafting im-
preffion upon us,
than a mere hiftorical
narration of the Fact to be remembred:
And the more proper and fignificant,
the more exprefs and pertinent the Me-
morial is, the more strongly does it ftill
affect us.
When God entred into Co-
venant with Abraham, to be a God unto
Him and to his Seed after him; he in-
ftituted the rite of Circumcifion, as a
perpetual memorial of it to after-gene-
rations; and it shall be, fays he, a Token
of the Covenant between Me and You,
Gen. xvii. II. In like manner under the
Mofaical Inftitution, the Jews had feve-
ral fenfible Signs and pofitive Rites ap-
pointed them; for the keeping up
in
their minds a continual Remembrance of
God's commands, or for lafting memo-
rials of fome peculiar bleffings; That ye
Jeek not after your own Heart, and after
your own Eyes, but may remember and
do all my commandments, and be boly un-
to
of the Holy Communion.
119
OfSER M.
to the Lord your God, Num. xv. 40.
this, we have feveral inftances in the
Books of the Law; But the moſt re-
markable one of all, and that which
bears moſt Analogy to our Sacramental
remembrance of the Death of Chrift in
the Eucharift, is the Feaft of the Palo-
ver; appointed (as is fet down at large
in the xiith of Exodus,) for a perpe-
tual commemoration of the
of the miraculous
deliverance of the people of the Jews
out of Egypt, when the Lord paffed over
the houses of the children of Ifrael, but
Smote all the first-born of the Egyptians
with Death. This bringing up the If
raelites out of the land of Egypt, was the
greateſt and moſt wonderful deliverance
that had ever been vouchfafed to any
Nation. They had been long kept in
fervitude, and oppreffed by a mighty and
potent People, without any poffibility of
deliverance in all humane appearance;
and their work was exacted with rigour,
fo that it was called
the house of bondage,
by way of eminence
and the iron furnace
where-
I 4
V.
I 20
The Nature, End and Defign
SERM.
V.
wherein they were made to ferve: Yet
did God bring them forth with a strong
hand and with an out-ftretched arm, with
figns and wonders and with mighty works.
This was fuch a deliverance, as it might
reaſonably have been prefumed, there
could be no danger it fhould be ever
forgot by them: It was fuch a convin-
cing and aſtoniſhing proof of the im-
mediate prefence of God amongſt them,
that 'tis not eaſy to imagine, how the
deep impreffions it must of neceffity
make upon
their minds, of the Power
and peculiar Providence of God over
them, fhould ever after come to be worn
out. For there is nothing apt to affect
men in ſo ſtrong and lafting a manner,
as the beholding fuch works, as they
cannot but judge to be above the Power
of natural cauſes, and to be the imme-
diate effect of the finger of God. Yet
we find that That very people, even that
very generation, who had feen all theſe
things with their own Eyes, (as Mofes
often upbraided them;) forgat God's
works, and his wonders which he had
Shewed
of the Holy Communion.
I 21
V.
fhewed among them; They kept not the SER M.
Covenant of God, but refused to walk in
his law; They finned yet more against
him, and provoked the most Highest in the
wilderness, Pf. lxxviii. 17. How much
more would the Memory of that great
work have been loft in After-genera-
tions, had not God appointed fuch a me-
morial of it, as, by its conſtant return,
and by its fitnefs to reprefent the thing
fignified, might always preferve it freſh
in their memories, and oblige them to
teach their children the fame? For This
cauſe therefore was the Feaſt of the
Paſſover inſtituted ; an inſtitution moſt
for That End to which it was
proper
defigned : Men, in fuch a feftival So-
lemnity, being conftantly obliged to re-
collect and rehearſe particularly the Mat-
ter they gratefully commemorate; and
by rejoycing together, with humble De-
votion, to imprint it more and more
deeply upon their minds for ever. And
acordingly we find in the Hiſtories of
All Nations, that fomething like This
was their ufual manner of keeping up
in
122 The Nature, End and Defign
SERM.in their Minds a Senfe of great and re-
V. markable bleffings; of
of preferving the
Memory of their moſt eminent Bene-
factors; and of making effectual the Laws
and particular Precepts, fuch Benefactors
have thought fit fhould be perpetually
obferved.
AND now, This is the Method which
God has been pleafed to make use of
with Us Chriftians likewife. The Sacri-
fice of the Death of Chrift, (which is
the Foundation of God's accepting Re-
pentance, confiftently with the Honour
of his divine Laws,) was ineftimably the
greateſt bleffing that was ever conferred
upon the Sons of Men; yea, the foun-
tain and ſpring, the original and foun-
dation of all other bleffings: For fo the
Apoftle juftly argues, He that spared not
his own Son, but delivered him up for us
all, how ſhall be not with him also freely
give us all things? It was a Bleffing,
of which the deliverance of the people
out of Egypt, and their paffage through
the Red Sea, was but a Type and a Fi-
gure; And therefore, if that Shadow
was
I
of the Holy Communion.
123
V
was to be ſo folemnly commemorated SE R M.
by the Paffoever, how much more does
the Subſtance itſelf of this eternal Blef-
fing, deſerve to be perpetually kept in
mind with the higheft veneration, and
commemorated with the greateſt thank-
fulneſs, that can poffibly be expreffed.
That This might be done the more ef
fectually; Our Saviour, in confideration
of the weakneſs of mens apprehenfions,
and the flowneſs of their memories in
fpiritual matters, has thought fit to in-
ftitute fuch fymbols or reprefentations of
what he has done and fuffered for us, as
might best conduce to the fpiritual ends
he defigned in the Sacrament; that is,
fuch Symbols, as might reprefent him to
our Minds rather than to our bodily
fenfes ; and might affift the meditating
faculties of the Soul; yet fo, as at the
fame time not to affect the Senfes in fuch
manner, as to give any occafion to the
outward actions to drown or thruft out
the ſpiritual affections of the mind; fuch
fymbolical Repreſentations, as might be
naturally uſeful to excite Devotion; and
yet
124
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M. yet at the ſame time not to be apt to de-
V.
~
generate into occafions of Superſtition,
There is no corporeal Image, (fuch as
vain and corrupt men are apt to affect,
and have found the great miſchief of it;)
there is no Object to terminate the Senſe;
but the Bread is appointed to be broken,
and the Wine to be poured out; to re-
mind us in an abstract and spiritual man-
ner, how his Body was broken, and his
Blood fhed for us. And This he has
commanded us to do always, in remem-
brance of Him; showing forth the Lord's
Death, through all Generations, until
his Second Coming.
WE are to do it all times; to fhow
forth his Death, by a perpetual com-
memoration, untill his fecond coming
But more especially, at the folemn re-
turn of thoſe great Feſtivals, fet apart
in remembrance of his Nativity, Paf
fion, and Refurrection. His Birth in hu-
man Fleſh, was the humbling himſelf
to a Capacity of fuffering Death for our
fakes ; and his Refurrection after Death,
was the evidence and demonftration,
of
his
I
of the Holy Communion.
125
V.
his Sufferings being accepted in the fight SER M.
of God. He died for our Sins, that he
might expiate them by his Blood; and
he rofe again for our juftification, that
he might in his Glory communicate to
us the full Effect and Fruit of that A-
tonement. He offered himself once a
Sacrifice for Sin; and then for ever fat
down on the right hand of God; having
by one offering for ever perfected them
that are fanctified. But now in order to
make ourſelves capable of fo ineftimable
a Benefit, it is neceffary on our part, that
we ſo commemorate his Death, as to die
ourſelves alío unto Sin; and fo to rejoice
in his Refurrection, as to rife ourſelves
likewiſe, unto newneſs of life.
our Paſſover is facrificed for us;
fore let us keep the feast, not with old
leaven, neither with the leaven of malice
and wickedness, but with the unleavened
bread of fincerity and truth, 1 Cor. v. 7.
To fuch as are fincerely and heartily de-
firous fo to do, there can be no better Af-
fiftance than the frequent and worthy
receiving this Holy Commnnion:
Christ
There-
The
general
126 The Nature, End and Defign, &c.
V.
SER M.general Nature, End and Defign of
which, I have Now fhown to be a fo-
lemn commemorating of the Death of
Chrift, (Do this in remembrance of Me;)
and the particulars contained under this
general Head, fhall bereafter more fully
be explained.
LET us therefore, with Hearts full of
fincere Refolutions to forfake every Sin,
partake of this Holy Feaft in the Manner
our Lord himſelf has appointed: And
that it may have an effectual influence
upon us to imitate him in his Life,
whom otherwife we do but mock when
we commemorate his Death; God of his
infinite mercy grant, &c.
SERMON
[ 127 ]
SERMON VI
The Nature, End and Defign of
the Holy Communion.
Krem 1917XCA.
I COR. xi. 25.
After the fame manner alfo he took
the cup, when he had Jupped,
faying, This Cup is the new Te-
stament in
Blood; This do ye,
as oft as ye drink it, in remem-
brance of me.
my
HAVE from theſe words, in SER M.
a foregoing Difcourfe, con-
VI.
I
fidered the general Nature,
End, and Defign, of the
Inftitution of the Sacrament of the Lord's
Supper.
128
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M. Supper.
VI.
I proceed at this time, to re-
duce to Practice the feveral particulars
included in that One general direction gi-
ven us by our Lord, Do this in Remem-
brance of Me.
And ift, To do This in remembrance
of Chrift, fignifies fixing and imprinting
in our minds with a more lafting and
permanent Impreffion, the remembrance
of his Death and Paffion; as an effectual
Motive to univerfal Obedience: That is,
to the Practice of Virtue, upon the Prin-
ciples of the Doctrine of Chriſt. There
can be no ftronger Argument, to per-
fwade Men to the practice of Virtue and
Holiness, than a due confideration of the
exemplary Life and meritorious Death
of our Saviour; His Life as a Pattern of
all Virtue, and his Death as an Evidence
of God's Hatred againſt Sin. His Life
was fo complete a pattern of pure Reli-
gion; and his Death fo affectionate a
perfwefive to imitate That example;
that whofoever frequently and ſeriouſly
meditates upon theſe things, can neither
readily er from the right way, for want
of
of the Holy Communion.
129
of due inftruction and fufficient directi-SER M.
on; nor faint for want of powerful M- VI.
tives to proceed in it. For, What temp-
tation can prevail upon That perfon to
fin deliberately against God, to run in-
to any Acts of Debauchery or Impiety;
who by Faith continually beholds our
Lord hedding his moft precious Blood,
to redeem him from the dominion and
puniſhment of that Sin, which he is
now tempted to commit? What Heart
can be fo obdurate, what Breaft fo un-
grateful, as to run knowingly and will-
ingly into the commiffion of Sin; when
he has his dying Saviour habitually before
his eyes, intreating and befeeching him
to avoid thofe Sins, which were the
cauſe of his cruel and ignominious
Death? In matters of temporal Concern,
Men always indeavour to remember the
inftructions of a dying Friend; and think
nothing more facredly obliges them,
than his last and most affectionate De-
fires: How much more religiouſly ought
we to obferve thofe Precepts, which we
find our Saviour injoyning us not only
VOL. IV..
when
K
130
The Nature, End and Defign
moft
1
SERM. When dying, but when dying for our
VI. fakes; when dying even for that very
end, that he might enable us the more ef-
fectually to perform them! Now the
Means to preſerve thefe Impreffions con-
ftantly freſh upon our Minds, and in
their full force; is to partake frequently
of thoſe elements, which our Lord him-
felf has appointed to be received, as the
proper remembrances of himſelf.
Whofoever keeps up in his mind a con-
ſtant remembrance of Chrift, of what he
has done and fuffered for us, will not ea-
fily fall into grofs and habitual Sins: and
he that frequently and devoutly, with
underſtanding and knowledge of what he
does, partakes of the Holy Communion,
cannot fail to keep up in his Mind fuch
a conftant remembrance of our Lord.
When we ſee the Bread broken, and the
Wine poured out; we cannot but con-
template how his Body was broken, and
his blood fhed for our fakes; and the
oftner we renew theſe thoughts by fre-
quent communicating, the ftronger and
more vigorous, the deeper and more laſt-
ing
of the Holy Communion.
131
un
ing impreffions muſt theſe things necef-SER M.
farily make upon our Minds. One prin- VI.
cipal reaſon why Men in theſe latter A-
ges of the World, who profefs them-
felves Chriftians, are yet fo looſe and ſen-
fual, fo careleſs and indifferent in mat-
ters of Religion, fo cold and lifelefs in
their devotion, and fo little affected with
things fpiritual and of a heavenly na-
ture, is becauſe they feldom allow them-
felves Time, from the Cares and Bufi-
neſs and pleaſures of the World, to re-
collect their Thoughts, and meditate
feriouſly upon the great Motives and Ar-
guments of Religion: And one reafon
why they fo feldom think on theſe Argu-
ments, is, becauſe they neglect thofe
means, which God has graciouſly ap-
pointed to awaken and withdraw their
Minds from earthly and temporal confi-
derations; thofe means, to which God
has annexed the Affiftance of his Holy
Spirit, to enable us to raiſe our Thoughts
and fix our Meditations upon things fpi-
ritual and removed from Senfe. Hence it
comes to pafs, that tho' they believe indeed
K 2
the
132
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M. the Hiftory of Chrift's dying for them,
VI.
i
as a bare relation of Matter of Fact; yet
they ſeldom remember or think at all upon
it; or if they do, yet 'tis fo flightly and fu-
perficially, with fo little due apprehenfion
of the great concern and importance of
it to themſelves, or of the true Deſign
of it with regard to their own real A-
mendment; that it leaves upon their
minds none of thofe impreffions, which
are neceffary in order to have an effectual
influence upon their lives and actions.
One great and principal End therefore
of the inftitution of the Sacrament of the
Lord's Supper, is, by means of outward
and vifible Signs, apt and decent, proper
and fignificant, to imprint and fix in our
minds with a more lafting and perma-
nent impreffion, the remembrance of
Chrift's Death and Paffion; that, ha-
ving always before our Eyes thoſe admi-
rable inftances of his unparallelled Love,
and being conftantly reminded of the
true End and Defign of his Sufferings,
we may be the more ftrongly fortified a-
gainst all temptations, that would feduce
us
of the Holy Communion.
133
VI.
us to fin against fo great a Benefactor; SER M.
and that we may go on the more effect-
ually in the ways of his commandments,
who has done and fuffered for us things
of fo great and fo ineftimable a value.
2. Doing this in remembrance of Chriſt,
is making fuch a commemoration of his
Death, as is with all Humility a conti-
nual acknowledgment of its being to Sin-
ners the only Ground of Hope and Affu-
rance of Pardon. This Cup, faith he,
is the New Teftament in my Blood, which
is fhed for You and for many for the re-
miffion of Sins; Therefore do this in re-
membrance of me. The Sacrament of
the Lord's Supper is not itself, like Bap-
tifm, a Rite appointed for the Remiffion
of Sins; but 'tis a commemoration only
of that All-fufficient Sacrifice,
was once offered for an eternal Expiation.
To imagine that the Lord's Supper,
which is to be repeated perpetually, has
fuch a promfe annexed to it of taking
away all paft Sins, as Baptifm had,
which was to be adminiftred but once,
is a dangerous and fatal Error; Becauſe
K 3
fuch
which
134 The Nature, End and Defign
SERM.fuch an Opinion would be plainly an en-
VI. couragement for Men to continue in Sin,
that the Grace of Forgivenefs might be
perpetually repeated and abound. But
the receiving This Sacrament is a conti-
nual acknowledgment, that That Pardon
which God vouchfafes us, not as a ne-
ceffary confequent of the outward Acti-
on, but upon the condition of our true
and unfeigned Repentance; even that
That Pardon, is the purchaſe of the
Blood of Chrift, and the Effect of that
great and eternal Sacrifice, once offered
for the Expiation of Sin.
The Church-~~~
of Rome, by pretending That facrifice
to be perpetually repeated upon the Al-
tar; as they give Men too great incou-
ragement to continue in Sin, fo they
expreffly contradict the Apoftle St Paul;
-who affures us, Heb. ix. 25, that Chriſt
is not to offer himself often, as the High
Priest entred into the Holy place every
year with blood of others; For then must
he often have fuffered fince the foundation
of the World; But now Once in the end
of the World; has he appeared to put a-
way
of the Holy Communion.
135
نعمت اليد
VI.
}
way Sin, by the Sacrifice of himself. SER M.
The Sacramental remembrance of which
great Propitiation, the antient Writers
of the Church do indeed frequently ftile,
by a figurative expreffion, the unbloody
Sacrifice; But for that very reason, and
by that very expreffion, it is declared not
to be properly itſelf a Sacrifice, but only
a grateful commemoration of one; be-
caufe without Blood, as there is no remif-
fion, fo there is properly no Sacrifice. It
is a Sacrifice, only in a figurative Senſe,
and by way of allufion; juſt in the fame
manner of ſpeaking, as Chriftians are fti-
led in the New Teftament the Circumci-
fion made without hands. Nevertheless,
to thofe who truly and fincerely repent
and amend, and who humbly and de-
voutly beg of God the pardon of their
paſt and forfaken Sins, through the inter-
ceffion of Chrift; to fuch perfons, though
there is indeed no new Sacrifice, no new
Foundation of Remiffion; there is never-
theleſs fufficient ground for hope and
affurance of Pardon, in the merit of that
All-fufficient Sacrifice Once offered
one
K 4
for
136 The Nature, End and Defign
VI.
འ་-
SER M. for ever: And fincere Penitents can ne-
ver with more reaſonable and well-
grounded Faith, hope to have applied
to themſelves the benefit of the grace
and forgiveneſs, purchaſed once for them
by that great Expiation; than when they
are with true Devotion and with full
purpoſe of Ainendment of Life, com-
memorating their Saviour's fufferings in
that folemn manner, which He himself
has appointed, who was the Perſon that
gave himſelf to be the reconciliation for
us, that through him we might have acceſs
with confidence to the throne of grace;
and whom God has fet forth to be a propi-
tiation for us, through Faith in his Blood;
to declare his righteouſneſs, (that is, his
mercy for fo the righteousness of God
fignifies in the New Teftament;) to de-
clare, I fay, his righteouſneſs for the re-
miſſion of Sins that are pa?, through the for-
bearance of God. They can never with
better and more lively Hope, expreſs
their full Truft and humble dependance
upon God, that he fhall freely give them
all Other things; than at That Time
when
of the Holy Communion.
137
when they are worthily and devoutly SER M.
commemorating, acording to our Lord's VI.
inftitution, how be spared not even his
own Son, but delivered him up for us all.
How ill therefore does it become Men
who call themſelves Chriftians to neg-
lect this ordinance with a careleſs indif-
ferency; and upon flight pretences, to
deprive themſelves of the benefit of fo
reaſonable a duty! The Blood of Chrift,
is, in the Scripture-language, a fountain
opened for Sin and for Uncleanness, that
is, for Sin repented of, and utterly for-
faken; and the benefit thereof is never
more likely to be effectually applied, than
when Men, with determined refolutions
of better Obedience, are difpofed to be-
come worthy partakers of thefe Holy
Myſteries.
3. Doing this in remembrance of Christ,
is declaring publickly to the World our
Faith in him; and indeavouring to con-
tinue down the Memory of his Love to
all generations. Thus St Paul, 1 Cor.
xi. 26. in the words immediately follow-
ing the Text; As oft, fays he, as ye cat
this
1 38
The Nature, End and Defign
SERM. this bread and drink this Cup, ye do fhow
VI. the Lord's death till he come. We here
;
profefs publickly our Faith in his Death
and declare folemnly to the World, that
we expect remiffion of our Sins, only
through the virtue of his blood fhed for us.
We commemorate his unfpeakable Love
to Mankind; and extol and magnify in
our Praiſes thoſe great Acts, which were
the Effects of that ineftimable love. We
rehearſe and proclaim the benefits he has
procured for us; and as much as in us
lies, make known to all men the glory of
his Love and Power: that one generation
may praise his works to another, and de-
clare his mighty acts; that men may speak
of the glorious honour of his Majesty, and
of his wondrous works.
-
IN the inftitution of the Paffover,
when the children of Ifracl, were com-
manded to cat unleatened bread feven days,
in remembrance of their deliverance out
of Egypt; 'tis expreflly added in the
command, that they fhould declare or
tell forth unto their children the mercy
of that deliverance: Thou shalt fhow thy
Son
of the Holy Communion.
139
VI.
Son in that day, faying, This is done be-S ERM.
cauſe of that which the Lord did unto me
when I came forth out of Egypt: And it
Shall be a Sign unto thee upon thine hand,
and for a memorial between thine eyes,
that the Law of the Lord may be in thy
mouth; for, with a strong hand hath the
Lord brought thee out of Egypt, Exod.
xiii. 8. Hence they called the Pafchal
Leffon the Annunciating or Declaring;
Which is a Word exactly anfwering to St
Paul's expreffion of fhewing forth, or
declaring, the Lord's Death, till he come.
To communicate therefore in remem-
brance of Chrift, is to declare publickly,
and keep up amongſt Men the memory
of his Death, and of the ineftimable be-
nefits purchaſed for us thereby: 'Tis to
teſtify our firm belief of the virtue and
efficacy of that great Sacrifice and to
profeſs ourſelves publickly in the number
of thoſe,
;
thofe, who, by partaking of the
Feaſt inſtituted in Remembrance of the
Sacrifice, expect to be made partakers of
the Sacrifice itſelf.
4. To
140
The Nature, End and Defign
SERM. 4. To do this in remembrance of Chrift,
し
​VI. implies, that with the greateſt joy, and
higheſt expreffions of gratitude, we re-
turn Thanks to God for his unſpeakable
Mercy, in fending into the World his
Son, the Son of his Love, out of his
Bofom, for the redemption of mankind.
It was a precept in the Law of Moſes,
Deut. xvi. 11, Thou shalt rejoice in thy
feafts before the Lord.
And particularly
in the Pafchal Supper, befides the ufual
forms of Bleffing and Thankſgiving, they
fung a peculiar Hymn, in memory of
their deliverance out of the land of E-
gypt. In compliance with which cuſtom,
we find it recorded by two of the Evan-
gelifts, that our Saviour and his Difci-
ples, immediately after the inftitution of
the Lord's Supper, fung an Hymn of
Praiſe unto God; probably the fame, or
part of That Hymn which the Jews
ufed to fing after the Pafchal Supper;
Their deliverance from the Egyptians,
being a type of our deliverance from the
power and dominion of Sin; and the
Thanksgiving proper upon
upon That occa-
fion,
of the Holy Communion.
141
VI.
fion being much more emphatically ap-SER M.
plicable to This. Befides; in the infti-
tution itſelf, the Evangeliſt takes notice,
that when our Saviour took the Bread,
he gave Thanks, or Bleffed and Praiſed
God; Whence the whole Action is ufu-
ally called the Eucharift, that is, the So-
lemn Thankſgiving; and, by St Paul,
the Cup of Bleffing which we blefs, or, as
the word may no lefs properly be ren-
dered, the Cup of Praife and Thankf
giving. The fame is alfo obfervable in
St Luke's deſcription of the practice of
the moſt primitive Chriſtians; Acts ii.
46, And they continuing daily with one
accord in the Temple, and breaking bread
from houſe to house, (in the house, the
words fhould be tranflated; i. e. in the
place of their religious affemblies;) did
eat their meat with gladness and fingleness
of heart; Praiſing God, and having fa-
vour with all the people. Frequent Forms
of Praife and Thanksgiving upon this
occafion, we meet with in the moſt an-
cient Chriftian Writers; and none more
affectionate than That we ftill make uſe
of
142
The Nature, End and Defign
VI.
SER M. of; We praife thee, we bless thee, we
worship thee, we glorify thee, we give
thanks to thee for thy great glory, O Lord
God, heavenly King, God the Father Al-
mighty. We give thanks to thee for thy
great Glory; i. e. for the wonderful ma-
nifeſtation of thy Glory and Power, thy
Mercy and Goodness towards Mankind,
in fending thine own Son to die for our
Sins, and to give himself a ranſom and
propitiation for Sinners.
THIS reconciliation of Penitent Sin-
ners to God by the Death of his Son,
is the Higheſt Inftance of Love and
Goodneſs, that was ever ſhown to Man-
kind For, fcarcely for a righteous man,
faith St Paul, will one die : But God
commendeth his love towards us, in that
while we were yet Sinners, Chrift died
for us, Rom. v. 7. God could in a mo-
ment have deſtroyed the whole race of
Sinners; and, as St John Baptifſt affecti-
onately expreffes it, was able out of the
Stones to have raised up children unto
Abraham. But he turned away his wrath
from them, and fuffered not his whole dif
pleaſure
of the Holy Communion.
143
pleafure to arife. Wherefore, if at all SER M.
times we are bound to return Thanks to VI.
+
God for all his mercies, for the mercies
of every day and of every hour; with
how much greater earneſtneſs and ſtron-
ger affection, ought we to expreſs the
fame thankful difpofition of mind, when
we are commemorating That mercy,
which is not only the greateſt of all
others, but the fountain alfo and foun-
dation of them all? And how zealous
ought we to be of expreffing our thank-
fulneſs to him by fuitable Obedience ;
when the confideration of the firſt mer-
cy, that he spared not his own Son, but
delivered him up for us all, gives us rea-
ſon to hope, that if we behave ourſelves
any meaſure worthy of fo great a Sal-
vation, much more fall he with Him
alfo freely give us all things? and that
if, while we were yet Sinners, Chrift died
for us; much more, being now justified by
his blood, we ſhall be faved from wrath
through Him? For if, when we were
enemies, we were reconciled to God by the
Death of his Son ; much more being re-
conciled,
in
C
144
The Nature, End and Defign
VI.
SER M.conciled, we shall be faved by his Life,
Rom. v. 9. Wherefore, let us fay with.
the Holy Pfalmift, Pf. cxvi. 12, 13, What
fhall I render unto the Lord for all the
benefits that he has done unto me? I will
receive the cup of Salvation, and call up-
on the Name of the Lord. And Pf. ciii.
1, Praife the Lord, O my Soul, and all
that is within me, praise his holy Name;·
Praife the Lord, O my Soul, and forget
not all his benefits; Who forgiveth all thy
Sin, and healeth all thine infirmities;
Who faveth thy life from deftruction, and
crowneth thee with mercy and loving-
kindness. There is no poffibility, but he
who duly contemplates the unspeakable
love of Chrift, in giving himſelf freely
to bear our Sins kimfelf in his own body
on the tree, and feriouſly meditates on
the original and effential Goodneſs of
God, which firſt moved and diſpoſed him
to find out this method of recovery for
muſt wiſh he had the tongues of
Men and Angels, to fhow forth the
praifes of him that has loved us, and fent
his Son to wash us from our Sins in his
us;
Own
of the Holy Communion.
145
VI.
own bloed, and to make as Kings and SER M.
Priests unto God even his Father, to whom
be glory and dominion for ever.
5. Doing this in remembrance of Chriſt,
implies on our part a confirming of our
Covenant with God, a thankful accept-
ance of thoſe Conditions of Pardon he
has offered us in the Gospel, and an ac-
knowledging and renewing our Obligati-
ons to obey him. This Cup, fays our
Saviour, is the New Teftament, or (as
the word equally fignifies) the new Co-
venant, in my Blood
Blood: Now
Now every Cove-
nant, in the Nature of the thing, fup-
poſes conditions to be performed on either
part. God has commanded Repentance
and Remiffion of Sins to be preached to
all Nations in the Name of Chrift; and
the condition on his part of the Covenant,
the Remiffion of Sins, is always ready
to be verified; if we fail not in our part,
of having worthily repented, and re-
formed our Lives. But if we continue
in our Sins; the Commemoration of the
Death of Chrift can do us no fervice,
where the Effect of his Death itſelf takes
VOL. IV.
L
no
146
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M, no place: The partaking of this Feaft in
VI. remembrance of the Sacrifice, can be of
no benefit to us, when we have no part
nor lot in the Sacrifice itſelf. The Sa-
crament of the Lord's Supper is not
properly an Expiation of Sin, even to
thoſe who truly repent; but only a thank-
ful remembrance of that great Atone-
ment, by virtue of which our Repentance
is made acceptable: Much leſs, can it
be of any efficacy, or power to do away
fuch Sins, as are never forfaken. Reli-
gion is no way capable of a greater cor-
ruption, nor can any Superftition be of
more deſtructive confequence, than to
make That Ordinance an eafy method of
obtaining perpetual Pardon of repeated
Tranfgreffions, which in reality was in-
tended to remind us continually, that the
Pardon of Sin could not at all be obtained,
but by the fhedding the precious blood of
the Son of God.
THERE are many pious and religious
perfons, who, on the other hand, are
unreaſonably fcrupulous; and notwith-
ftanding their fincere Endeavours to obey
•
God's
of the Holy Communion.
147
God's commandments, ftill fear, where SER M.
no fear is: But, as fuch perfons have all VI.
the reaſon in the world to reſt ſatisfied,
that the general courfe of a virtuous and
religious life, is an abundant fecurity a-
gainst the danger of not difcerning the
Lord's Body; fo, on the contrary, vicious
perfons. ought to be well affured, that
there is no external part whatſoever of
religious worſhip, by which they can re-
ceive any benefit, without actual amend-
ment and reformation of life. The Ar-
guments of Religion are ftrong and
powerful, to invite them to Repentance;
The gracious motions of the Spirit of
God are ready to affift and ftrengthen
their fincere endeavours; and efpecially,
where it finds them with ferioufnefs at-
tending his holy Ordinances: But their
Obedience to this one commandment of
Chriſt muſt be with an intention of
obeying the reft, and not with a defign
to fupply that Neglect. He that does this
worthily in Remembrance of Christ, muft
mean to exprefs his gratitude to God
for the Death of his Son, by fuch a Re-
L 2
pentance,
148
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M. pentance, as the Death of Chrift has
VI. enabled and obliged him to make perfect.
He muſt ſo commemorate the Love of
his Saviour, as thereby to excite in him-
felf a fuitable return of Love to him
that died for him; and our Love to
Chrift, the Scripture tells us, is This,
that we keep his Commandments. We
must show forth the Lord's Death till be
come, by fo dying ourselves unto Sin, as
to declare evidently to the World, that
we have a well-grounded Hope, of be-
ing made like him alfo in his Refurrec-
tion. We must confider, than when the
Blood of Chrift is ftiled in the prophe-
tick language, a fountain opened for Sin
and for Unckannefs; the Meaning is,
(as St Paul explains it,) for the forgive-
nefs of Sins that are paft, not for our
incouragement to continue in them for
the time to come. We muft remember that
we are bought with a price; and there-
fore must glorify God in our Body and in
our Spirit, which are God's; Knowing
that we were redeemed, not with cor-
ruptible things; but with the precious blood
of
of the Holy Communion.
149
of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish SER M.
and without spot. We must with firm VI.
and effectual refolutions of future Obe-
dience, offer and prefent ourselves, our
Souls and Bodies, a reafonable, holy, and
lively Sacrifice unto God; as often as we
commemorate that great Sacrifice, which
was once offered for us in the Death of
his Son. Otherwiſe, instead of doing this
in remembrance of Chrift, we ſhall be
found to do it in Contempt of him; aʊ-
counting the blood of the Covenant, where-
with we ought to be fanctified, an unholy
thing; denying the Lord who bought us
with the precious Blood of his dear Son;
and doing defpite unto the Spirit of Grace.
Laftly, Doing this in remembrance of
Chrift, is a Profeffion of our Communion
one with another, and a ftrong Obliga-
tion to mutual Love, Charity, and Good-
will. This is a Subject much infifted
on by St Paul in this whole Epiſtle, and
particularly in this chapter, and in this
very Argument, of which the Text is a
part; and therefore deferves to be dif
courfed upon more largely.
L 3
SERMON
[ 151 ]]
"
SERMON VII.
The Nature, End and Defign of
the Holy Communion.
I COR. xi. 25, latter part.
This do ye, as oft as ye
drink it, in remembrance of
me.
T
HE due Obfervance of this SER M.
Precept of our Saviour, Do VII.
this in remembrance of Me,
I have ſhown to imply the
following particulars.
L 4
1. A
152
The Nature, End and Defign
1. A fixing
SER M. 1. A fixing and imprinting in our
VII. minds more laftingly, the remembrance
of his Death and Paffion; as a Motive to
Obedience.
2. A commemorating his Death in an
humble Acknowledgement, of its being the
only Ground of our Hope of Pardon.
3. A declaring publickly to the World,
our Faith in him and indeavouring to
continue down the Memory of his Love to
to all generations.
4. A returning Thanks to God with the
greateſt Joy, and higheſt expreffions of
Gratitude, for his unfpeakable Mercy in
fending his Son into the World for the
redemption of Mankind.
5. A confirming on our part, our Co-
venant with God; a thankful acceptance of
thoſe conditions of Pardon he has offered
and an acknowledging and renewing
our Obligations to obey him.
us;
AND theſe I have already difcourfed
upon.
Lafly, (and to conclude what I have
to offer on this Head;) Doing this in re-
membrance of Chrift, is a Profeffion of
our
of the Holy Communion.
153
our Communion one with another, and a SERM.
ſtrong Obligation to mutual Love, Charity VII.
and Good-will.
IS
A PRINCIPAL part of the defign of this
whole ft Epiftle of St Paul to the Co-
rinthians, is to fhow the Neceffity of
Love and Unity among Chriftians; and
all that he difcourfes particularly in the
10th and 11th chapters concerning the
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper,
chiefly with intent to draw Arguments
from the nature and defign of that Holy
Inſtitution, to fhow the unreasonableneſs
and unchriftiannefs of Animofities and
Divifions among themſelves.
themſelves. With This
he begins the Epiftle, ch. i. ver. 10. Now
I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our
Lord Jefus Chriſt, that ye all ſpeak the
fame thing, and that there be no divifions
among you; but that ye be perfectly joined
together in the fame mind and in the fame
judgment. His meaning is not, that Chrifti-
ans are bound to be, or to pretend to be, in
all things of the fame opinion. For to be ſo,
is impoffible; and to pretend to be fo, is hy-
pocrify. But his meaning is, that notwith-
Standing
أي
154
The Nature, End and Defign
VII. as
SER M.ftanding all fuch differences of opinion,
are abfolutely unavoidable, yet, by
mutual forbearance, meeknefs and cha-
rity, they fhould be as free from ftrife
and contention, as if they were really in
all refpects of One Mind. This exhor-
tation, he carries on thro' the whole Bo-
dy of his Difcourfe, ch. iii. ver. 3.
Whereas there is among you envying and
ftrife and divifions, are ye not carnal,
and walk as men? To This, all his diſcourſe
concerning the Communion, ch. x. has re-
fpect; For, we being many, are one Bread
and one Body; for we are all partakers of
that one Bread, ver. 17. With regard to
This more especially it is, that in the xith
chapter he paffes fo fevere a cenfure on
thoſe who eat this bread and drink this
cup of the Lord unworthily. For fo he
introduces his difcourfe, ver. 18. a little
before the Text; First of all, when ye
come together in the Church, I hear that
there be divifions among you, and I partly.
believe it. And by the help of this ob-
fervation, the connexion of the Apoſtle's
diſcourſe in theſe two chapters will ap-
pear very eaſy, which otherwiſe may
feem
of the Holy Communion.
155
feem fomewhat difficult to be underſtood. SER M.
In the tenth chapter, the divifions refer- VII.
red to, are fuch as arofe among the Co-
rinthians upon the queftion concerning
the lawfulneſs of eating things offered
unto Idols. That an Idol was nothing
in the World, and that the good crea-
tures of God could receive no defilement
from the vanity and fuperftition of men,
the Apoſtle knew and plainly enough
declared: But leaft Offenſe ſhould be gi-
ven to weaker brethren, who could not
fo clearly diſtinguiſh; he exhorts them
to forbear joining themſelves with fuch
affemblies of Gentiles, as might make
them feem (at leaſt to the weaker bre-
thren) to be partakers of the Heathen I-
dolatry. For, faith be, in like manner as
a man's receiving the communion with
Chriftians, is a publick declaration of
his being a Chriſtian himſelf, and as a
Man's partaking of the Sacrifices at the
Altars of the Ifraelites, is openly pre-
feffing himſelf to be a few by religion;
So for a Chriſtian to eat of things facri-
ficed to Idols, though he has in himſelf
that
156
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M.that knowledge that an Idol is nothing
VII. in the World, yet may by others be in-
terpreted as if he joined with them in
their idolatry. This is plainly the true
connexion of the Apoſtle's difcourfe;
ver, 14, &c. My dearly beloved, flee from
Idolatry: I speak as to wife men, judge ye
what I fay, i. e. judge and obferve,
while I explain this to you by an eaſy
compariſon: The Cup of bleffing which
We Chriftians blefs, is it not the commu-
nion of the blood of Chrift? The Bread
which We break, is it not the communion
of the Body of Chrift? that is; Is it not
a publick declaration of our mutual a-
greement and fellowship, in commemora-
ting together the love of our common Sa-
viour? (For we being many, are one bread
and one body; for we are all partakers of
that one bread;) And in like manner,
fays he, continuing the fame fimilitude,
Ifrael after the flesh; are not they which
eat of the facrifices partakers of the Al-
tar? i. e. Are they not partakers of the
Jewish religion? do they not thereby
profefs their Communion with Them?
>
2
So
of the Holy Communion.
557
VII.
So alfo, the things which the Gentiles fa- SER M,
crifice, they facrifice to devils and not to
God, and I would not that ye fould'
have fellowſhip with devils. The Words
are not abrupt and incoherent exhorta-
tions, as (without carefully attending to-
the defign of the Apoftle's argument,)
they at first Sight may feem to be; but
they are directly connected with what
went before, and are clearly a continua-
tion of one and the fame fimilitude;
that, as among both Jews and Chriftians
the partaking in the fame folemn religi-
ous acts, is a declaration of Unity, com-
munion, and agreement; fo to
agreement; fo to eat with
Heathens of things facrificed to Idols,
would be an affording too great a ground
of fufpicion, of agreeing with them in
their Idolatry. In the following chapter,
the divifions referred to, are of another
kind; namely,
namely, fuch as
ſuch as aroſe in the
Church, upon occafion of the rich de-
fpifing the poor, and not allowing them
to partake equally in their religious fefti
val. This was their eating and drinking
unworthily; This was their not difcerning
the
1
158
The Nature, End and Defign
SERM. the Lord's Body: They did not ſuffici-
VII. ently difcern and diftinguiſh, at leaſt
they did not act as if they were fenfible,
that this folemn act of Religion was ef
ſentially a ftrong and indifpenfable Obli-
gation, to mutual Love, Unity, and Cha-
rity. To remedy this diforder therefore,
the Apoftle thought no Argument could
be more proper and powerful, than to
repeat to them at large the hiftory of our
Saviour's inftituting his laſt fupper. He
thought it was not poffible, if they wor-
thily remembred their common Lord, that
they could be fo forgetful of their Du-
ty one towards another.
IN Both theſe paffages therefore, he
fuppoſes (what I am now infifting upon,)
that commemorating of Chrift in the man-
ner he himſelf has appointed, is a Profeffi-
on of our Communion one with another,
and a ſtrong Obligation to mutual Love,
Charity and Good-will. The Cup of Blef
fing which we blefs, is it not the Communion
of the Blood of Chrift? The Bread which
we break, is it not the Communion of the
Body of Christ? For, faith he, we being
many, are one bread and one body; for
1
чес
of the Holy Communion.
159
VII.
we are all partakers of that one bread; SER M.
And he therefore declares,
that when the Corinthi-
ch. x. ver. 17.
ch. xi. ver. 20.
ans came together into one place, this was
not to eat the Lord's Supper; becauſe,
faith he, I bear that there be divifions a-
mong you, and I partly believe it. One
great part of the defign of the Gofpel
of Chrift, was to eſtabliſh a Religion,
which, as it might teach us how to be
reconciled to God, fo it might reconcile
us likewiſe unto one another: which, as
it was to oblige us to love the Lord our
God with all our Heart, fo to love our
Neighbours alſo as ourselves. By This
Shall all men know, faith our Saviour,
that ye are my difciples, if ye have Love
one to another, St Joh. xiii. 35. To This,
the very Nature and Conftitution of the
univerfal Church of Chrift, the
the very
Notion of its being a Body whereof
Chrift is the Head, does itſelf naturally
lead and direct us; For, as (in the literal
fenfe) we have many members in one body,
faith St Paul; fo (in the spiritual ſenſe
likewife) We being many are one Body
in
160
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M. in Christ, and every one members one of an-
VII. other, Rom. xii. 4, 5. To This, the due
confideration of every part of the Chrifti-
an inftitution will have a powerful in-
fluence to oblige us; Let us endeavour,
as the fame Apoftle expreflly argues, to
keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
Peace; For, fays he, there is One Body
and One Spirit, even
as ye are called in
One hope of your calling; One Lord, One
Faith, One Baptifm, One God and Fa-
ther of all, who is above all,
all, and in you all, Eph. iv. 3.
and thro'
And ver.
15, Speak the truth in Love, that ye may
grow up into him in all things, who is the
Head, even Chrift; From whom the whole
Body fitly joined together, and compacted
by that which every joint Supplieth, ac-
cording to the effectual working in the
meaſure of every part, maketh increaſe of
the Body, unto the edifying of itself in
Love. Through the wickedneſs of Men
indeed, and by the Fraud of the Devil;
through falfe Notions of the great End and
Deſign of Religion; through unchriſtian
contentioufnefs, and more eager Zeal for
the
of the Holy Communion.
161
the imaginations of Men, than for the SER M.
commands of God; this Body of Chrift, VII.
this one univerſal Church, intended by
our Lord to have been fpread uniformly
over all the Earth; has been for many Ages
divided by many Parties, and into numerous
Factions. But, as we all believe in the
fame God and Father of all, as we are all
redeemed by the fame Lord Jefus Chrift,
as we are all baptized into the profeffion
of the fame Creed, (the Apoſtles Form
of Sound Words,) and are all partakers of
the fame Communion at the Table of our
Lord; fo by this one unchangeable and
fundamental Root of Unity, ought we
to uſe our utmoſt endeavours to hold faft
the Head, from which all the Body by joints
and bands having nouriſhment miniftred, and
knit together, increaſes with the increaſe of
God, Col. ii. 19.
AND as this great Duty of mutual
Love and Charity, is thus inforced upon
us by the general Defign and Tendency,
by the whole Tenor of the Gofpel; ſo is
it ftill more particularly and most strongly,
by the Example of that unparallelled in-
VOL. IV.
M
ftance
162
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M. ftance of amazing Love, the Death of
VII. Chrift for our fakes, which we profefs
to commemorate as often as we commu-
nicate at his Holy Table: Where 'tis
not poffible for us to approach with
Hearts duly fenfible of, and worthily af-
fected with, the Greatness of the Love
of Chrift towards us: but it muſt at the
fame time excite in us a difpofition to
imitate him, according to the proportion
of our Abilities: and to expreſs our Gra-
titude to him, by following that Exam-
ple of loving and doing good to our
brethren, which he has in fo eminent a
manner fet before us. "Tis particularly
taken notice of by St Luke, that the pri
mitive Disciples, as they continued fted-
faft in the Apoftles doctrine and in break-
ing of bread and in prayer, fo they did
all things unanimoufly, with one accord,
Acts ii. 46, with mutual Love, Charity,
and Good-will. Our Lord himſelf, in
that laſt and moſt affectionate Difcourfe,
which he made to his Difciples à
little before his Death, at the time of
his inftituting the Sacrament of the
Lord's
of the Holy Communion.
163
S
ཝ ༤ ཙ
VII.
Lord's Supper; infifts upon This, as the SER M.
thing of all others the most acceptable ~
to him, and moft defired by him: This
is my commandment, that ye love one an-
other, as I have loved you, St Job. xv. 12;
and ch. xiii. 34, A new commandment I
give unto you,
that ye love one another
even as I have loved you, that ye alfo
love one another. And the Apoſtle St
John, who leaned upon his Mafter's
Breaſt, and ſeems in a particular manner
to have been partaker of his kind and
loving Spirit, the Spirit of meekneſs,
gentleneſs, and goodness; preffes this
Duty accordingly, with a like earneft-
nefs: Herein, fays he, is Love; not that
we loved God, but that he loved Us, and
fent his Son to be the propitiation for our
Sins. Beloved, if God fo loved us, We
ought alſo to love one another, 1 Joh. iv. 10;
And ch. iii. 16, Hereby perceive we the
Love of God, becauſe he (becauſe Chriſt)
laid down his life for us; and We ought
to lay down our lives for the Brethren : To
lay down our lives for them; i. e. to love
them, comparatively ſpeaking, even as
M 2
གྲྭ
our
164
The Nature, End and Defign
w
ner
•
ŞER M. Our Own Lives; to love them as our
VII. felves; to do every thing that is in our
Power reaſonably, for their benefit and
advantage. This is the true Spirit of
Chriſtianity; This is the full and proper
Effect of the Gofpel of Chrift: By This
we are to judge of ourſelves, whether
we be truly and indeed his Difciples,
and have made any confiderable progreſs
and improvement in his religion. And
By This we are in a more eſpecial man-
to examine ourſelves, whether we
be duly qualified, to be made worthy
partakers of his Body and Blood, who
died for this end, that as he might re-
concile us to God, fo he might alſo re-
concile us to each other. And indeed in
other particulars, men are not fo very
apt to miſtake. There is no Man who
approaches the Lord's Table with any
Reverence, with any Senfe of Religion
upon his Mind; but is defirous at that
time, to ftrengthen his Faith in God, to
exprefs his Gratitude to his Saviour, to
obtain Pardon of his paft and forfaken
Sins through the Merits of his Blood
whe
of the Holy Communion.
165
VII.
who loved us and gave himſelf for us,SER M.
and to make folemn refolutions of per-
fecting his Repentance and renewing his
Obedience towards God: There is no man,
I fay, who has any Senfe at all of Reli-
gion upon his Mind, but muft needs
come affected with fuch Thoughts and
Intentions as thefe: But in the matter of
mutual Love and Good-will towards
each other; in the exercife of Chriftian
Charity and univerfal Benevolence; in
that readineſs to forgive offences, to o-
verlook little provocations, to promote
ſpeedy reconciliation, which the Gofpel
requires and infifts upon as of ſo great
importance; in This we are very apt to
be careleſs and defective; and to imagine
that external zeal in devotion towards
God, may compenfate for the want of
real Charity and doing good to our Bro-
ther. For, notwithſtanding all the un-
reaſonable Heats and Animofities among
Chriſtians, all the ufelefs and contentions
difputes, all the peevish and needlefs
provocations, all that difficulty of for-
giving and being reconciled to each other,
which
M 3
166
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M. which is fo obvious to obferve in the
VII. World; yet how few do we find, whofe
Confciences are apt to be affected with
theſe things? whofe fcruples concerning
their own unworthinefs to communi-
cate, are founded upon thefe confidera-
tions? And yet 'tis very evident, that
to be in love and charity with our Neigh-
bours, (i. e. with all mankind, as far as
is poffible in that infinite variety of dif-
ferent circumſtances, ) is no lefs neceffary
a Qualification for communicating wor-
thily, than 'tis neceffary that we truly
and earnestly repent us of our Sins com-
mitted more immediately againſt God.
'Tis as evident that the defign of our
Saviour's inftituting the Sacrament of
the Lord's Supper, was to be a declara-
tion of our Communion one with ano-
ther; a declaring, that, according to the
Apoſtle's expreffion, we, being many, are
one Bread and one Body, fignified by our
being all partakers of that one Bread;
as that it was intended to be a Profeffion
of our Communion with Him; a
a pro-
feffing, that the Bread which we break,
is
of the Holy Communion.
167
is the Communion of his Body; and the SER M.
Cup which we blefs, the Communion of his VII.
Blood. 'Tis no leſs evident, that the
Connexion and Sympathy of the Mem-
bers one with another, is neceffary to the
Life and Preſervation of the Body: than
that the Union of them all with the
Head, and their common dependence
upon it, is neceffary to the fame End.
Our Saviour, in all his difcourfes, lays
fo great and remarkable a ſtreſs upon
This duty; as if therein confifted almoſt
the whole of Religion: Thou shalt love.
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, is
the first and great commandment, the be-
ginning and foundation of all Religion;
and the fecond, faith he, is like unto it.
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
THE particular Expreffions, or manners,
of fhewing forth which Love, moft ear-
neftly and peculiarly infifted upon in
Scripture, are thefe two. ift, A willing-
nefs to forgive injuries and offences; and
2dly, A readiness to fhew mercy to the
poor. ift, A willingneſs to forgive in-
juries and offences, is particularly re-.
M 4
commended
168
,
The The NatureEnd and Defign
, NatureSER M.commended to us by the Example, as
VII. well as injoined by the Commandment of
our Lord: The whole Chriftian difpen-
fation, the general grace
grace and mercy of
the Goſpel, the great pardon purchaſed
by the Death of Chrift, whereof the Sa-
crament of the Lord's Supper is a per-
petual folemn commemoration ;
commemoration; being
entirely founded in God's gracious readi-
nefs, for Chriſt's fake, to forgive Us;
and being no lefs intended to be fet be-
fore us as an Example to imitate, than
as an inestimable Bleffing to be received
with all poffible Thankfulneſs. For
which reaſon, that great and original
Grace of God in the Gofpel, the Re-
miffion of Sins fet forth even in Baptifm
itſelf, feems by our Lord to be reverfed
upon failure of this condition of our for-
giving one another; in that Parable.
wherein he compares the Kingdom of
Heaven to a certain King, who having
forgiven one of his Servants a debt of.
ten thouſand talents, yet afterwards, when
that fervant refufed to forgive one of his
fellow-fervants an hundred pence, the
King
of the Holy Communion.
169
King was wroth with him again, and de- SE R M.
livered him to the Tormentors, till he should VII.
pay all that was due unto bim? faying
unto him, O thou wicked fervant, I for-
gave thee all that debt, becauſe thou de-
firedft me: Shouldft not Thou also have
bad compaſſion on thy fellow-fervant, even
as I had pity on thee? Which our Sa-
viour thus applies to Us in the conclu-
fion of the Parable; So likewife, fays he,
fhall my heavenly Father do alfo unto you,
if ye from your hearts forgive not every
one his Brother their trefpaffes, St Matt.
xviii. 35.
35. (He does not mean Publick
Malefactors: For this would deftroy all
Government : Neither are fuch ſtiled
Brethren: But, forgive every
every one his
Brother their private Offences, and be
reconciled upon reaſonable and eafy
Terms: This is the Meaning of the Pa-
rable.) And in that Form of Prayer,
which our Saviour was pleaſed to teach
his Difciples for perpetual Ufe, he fo
interpofes the acknowledgment of our
Obligation to this Duty; that every man
even in his daily Prayer, is obliged to de-
clare
І
170
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M.declare himſelf unworthy of Pardon,
VII. and to have forfeited all title to the for-
givenefs of God, for his own Sins; if at
the fame time he is not willing and
ready, upon the moſt reasonable terms,
to forgive all his Brother's trefpaffes and
offences against him. How much more,
at that moſt folemn commemoration of
the Death of Chrift in the Sacrament ;
when we are acknowledging in the moſt
publick manner, all our hopes of Salva-
tion, all our expectation of Pardon, to
be owing to that free and undeferved
Goodness of God, which fent his Son to
die for us, and to obtain remiffion of
Sin; How much more (I fay) at That
time, muſt the very Nature of the Du-
ty we are performing, the Solemnity of
our confeffing our own Unworthiness, the
publickneſs of our acknowledging the
freeness of God's Goodneſs to us in for-
giving us through Chrift our ten thou-
fand talents; of neceffity remind us, how
abfolutely fit and reaſonable and indif
penfable it is, that we fhould be very
willing to forgive each other our hundred
pence!
of the Holy Communion.
171
pence! Even fo neceffary does our Lord SER M.
make it, that he adviſes a man, if he has VII.
brought his gift to the altar, and there
remembers that his Brother, has ought a-
gainst him; he advifes him to leave there
his gift before the altar, and go his way,
first be reconciled to his Brother, and then
come and offer his gift, St Mat. v. 23.
He makes it, not indeed of more impor-
tance, than offering his gift; as if it
might be an excufe for neglecting That
but he declares it to be of ſo much im-
portance, that the Gift or Service is not
acceptable to God, without the forego-
ing reconciliation with Man. The A-
poſtles likewife are perpetually urging
this Argument, upon the fame ground:
Col. iii. 13. Forbearing one another, and
forgiving one another, if any man has a
quarrel against any; even as Chriſt for-
gave you, so alfo do ye. And again; Be
ye kind
kind one to another, tender-hearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for
Chrift's fake has forgiven you, Eph. iv. 32;
and in the following chapter, ver. 2, Walk
in Love, as Chrift alſo has loved us, and
given
172
The Nature, End and Defign
1
SERM.given himself for us, an offering and a
VII. facrifice to God, for a fweet-fmelling ſa-
Jour. "Tis impoffible that any man who
confiders theſe exhortations, and has a
juft Senſe of his own unworthiness, and
of the Goodneſs of God, and of the
great Remiffion purchaſed for him by
the Death of Chrift, of which he hopes
to partake in attending with a fit difpo-
fition of Mind upon the ordinances of
Divine appointment; 'tis impoffible that
any man, with Thefe thoughts about him,
can continue peevish and contentious,
merciless and uncharitable, eafy to be
provoked, and difficult to be reconciled.
The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
therefore, fo far as 'tis a memorial of the
Death of Chrift, of his Love towards us,
and of his purchafing forgiveneſs for us;
fo far 'tis a moft ftrong and powerful
Argument, to oblige us to mutual Love,
Charity and Good-will; to Forgiveneſs,
Gentleness, and Eafinefs to be reconciled.
And yet even This alfo, ought not to
be made a Matter of Scruple
lefs Doubts, as if no man
and ground-
could be a
worthy
of the Holy Communion.
173
i
worthy Communicant without being inSER M.
VII.
actual Agreement with all Mankind;
But 'tis to be underſtood only as an Argu-
ment of Duty, within its juſt bounds and
proper limitations: For 'tis by no means
impoffible but Controverfies concerning
men's Rights and Properties may ariſe,
even among good Chriftians; nay, 'tis not
poffible, in the prefent ſtate of human
Nature, but they will fometimes arife:
And our Saviour must not be underſtood,
to forbid us making uſe of ſuch means,
for the prefervation of our juft rights,
and for preventing the increaſe of in-
juries, as the Laws of Wife and Chri-
ſtian Countries, and the Ufages of good
and pious men direct us to make uſe of.
But the intent of what has been faid, is;
that the confideration of the Death of
Chrift, of his great Love and Forgive-
nefs to us, which we folemnly comme-
morate in the Holy Sacrament, cannot
fail to diſpoſe us, if we partake thereof
worthily, to be very willing and ready,
upon the moſt reaſonable terms, to for-
give injuries and offences; to be difficult
to
174
The Nature, End and Defign
SERM to be provoked, eafy to be reconciled,
VII. apt to interpret things in the beſt man-
ner;
•
rather to recede fomewhat from
our right, than exceed in infifting upon
more; and if at any time we are un-
avoidably engaged in controverfy about
our Juft Rights, yet never to carry it
further than is abfolutely neceffary for
the Preſervation of Peace and Order and
good Government in the World, as be-
comes the Society or Communion of
Chriſtians. 2dly, The other branch of
that Love and Charity, to which (I faid)
the commemoration of the Death of
Chriſt obliges us, is a ready difpofition
to ſhow mercy to the Poor. The Primi-
tive Chriftians, as they always celebrated
the Praiſes of God upon this folemn
occafion, with the greateft zeal and ear-
neftneſs of affection, with gladness and
fingleness of Heart, Acts ii. 46; fo they
as conftantly expreffed this their joy and
thankfulneſs, by liberal contributions, to
relieve the neceffities of the poorer Saints.
Which cuftom is, with great reaſon, con-
tinued to this day. And indeed 'tis very
natural,
of the Holy Communion.
175
VII.
natural, when we ſeriouſly meditate on SER M.
the ftupendous love of Chrift, in giving
himſelf freely a Sacrifice for us, and his
own felf bearing our Sins in his own body
on the tree; 'tis very natural, (fince we
cannnot make any return to him,) that we
fhould defire to exprefs our gratitude in
that way, which he is pleaſed to accept
as done immediately to himſelf; that is,
in ſhowing mercy and charity to the
Poor. That Their hearts being rejoiced
with our Bounty, may zealoufly jɔin
with us in fending up praiſes and thankf-
givings to our common Father ; and
that, abounding to every good work, we
may be inriched in every thing to all boun-
tifulness, which caufeth through us thankf
giving to God. For the adminiftration of
this Service (as St Paul expreffes it, 2 Cor.
ix. 12,) not only supplieth the wants
of
the Saints, but is abundant alfo by many
thankſgivings unto God; While by the ex-
periment of this miniftration, they glorify
God for your profeft Subjection unto the
Goſpel of Chriſt, and for your liberal diſtri-
bution unto Them and unto all men.
SERMON
1
[ 177 ]
ˇ
XXXXXXXXXXXX
SERMON VIII.
The Nature, End and Defign of
the Holy Communion.
I COR. xi. 27.
Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this
bread, and drink this Cup of the
Lord unworthily, shall be guilty
of the Body and Blood of the
Lord.
HAVE lately, from our Sa- SER M.
viour's words of inftitution, VIII.
(This do in remembrance of
Me,) difcourfed concerning
the Nature, End, and Defign,
of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
VOL. IV.
N
I ſhall
178
The Nature, End and Defign
SERM. I fhall now from theſe words of St Paul,
VIII. proceed to fome other confiderations, ne-
ceffary to be underſtood, in order to our
partaking worthily of that Holy Sacra-
ment: Whosoever fall eat this bread, and
drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, fhall
be guilty of the Body and Blood of the
Lord. Which words do plainly fuppofe
in them, ift, A Duty enjoined; to eat this
bread and drink this cup: 2dly, A Benefit
arifing from the due performance of the
duty; implied in the contrary danger of
doing it unworthily. 3dly, A certain
Care and Preparation neceſſary, in order
to perform it worthily; leaft by negli
gence and want of Devotion, we become
guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord.
In the following difcourfe therefore, I
fhall briefly confider, 1ft, The Obligation
we lie under to perform the Duty enjoin-
ed. 2dly, What Benefits we may expect
to be made partakers of, by performing it
in a due and worthy manner. 3dly, What
Qualifications or Preparation is neceffary,
in order to fuch a due and worthy receiv-
ing. In which Matter, becauſe Men
have fometimes on the one hand, been
perplexed
of the Holy Communion.
179
*
VIII.
perplexed with many and unreaſonable S ER M.
fcruples, as well as on the other hand
been too negligent and void of Devotion;
I fhall therefore in the 4th place confider
the groundleffneſs and vanity of the
greateſt part of thofe Reafons, which
Men ufually allege for their abstaining
from the Communion, under pretenſe of
Want of due Preparation. And Lastly,
I fhall conclude what I think proper to
offer to your meditations upon this Sub-
ject, with taking notice of fome of the
great and ſcandalous Corruptions, where-
with the Church of Rome have difho-
noured this folemn commemoration of our
Lord, and of his dying for us.
I. I AM to confider what Obligation
lies upon us, to perform this Duty at all.
And upon This Head there needs little
inlargement; it being acknowledged by
Chriftians of all Communions, (ex-
cepting perhaps One only Sect,) to be the
exprefs and pofitive Commandment of our
Lord. So that tho' we could not have un-
derſtood fo much of the reaſonableneſs
and uſefulneſs of the precept, as we do;
tho' we could not have perceived diſtinct-
1
N 2
ly
180
The Nature, End and Defign
SERM.ly, the Benefits that we receive thereby;
VIII. nor have at all apprehended the particular
ye
grounds and reafons of the fitnefs of the
command; (which Now is by no means
the cafe ;) yet the clearness and expreff-
neſs of the injunction itſelf, would never-
theleſs have made the Obligation fuffici-
ently evident; and it would well have
becomed us, without further inquiry, to
have fubmitted with all Humility to the
Will and Authority of our Lord. Take,
eat; and, Drink all of this; and, This
do in remembrance of me; are words con-
taining as clear and exprefs a command,
as are any where to be met with, upon
any other occafion in the whole New Te-
ftament and they are recorded by three
of the four Evangelifts. And they are re-
peated by St Paul, in the words a little be-
fore the Text, as a commandment enfor-
ced diftinctly, by a new and particular
Revelation to himself; I have received,
faith he, of the Lord, that which I alſo
delivered unto you, that the Lord Jefus,
the fame night in which he was betrayed,
took bread, and when he had given thanks,
he brake it, and faid, Take, eat; this is
my
of the Holy Communion.
181
my body, which is broken for you: this do SER M.
in remembrance of me. After the fame man- VIII.
ner alſo he took the Cup, when he had fup-
ed, faying, This Cup is the New Tefta-
ment in my Blood: this do ye, as oft as ye
drink it in remembrance of me.
For as
often as ye eat this bread, and drink this
cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he
come. I have received of the Lord; that
is, he received it, not by tradition from
thoſe who were before him, but by im-
mediate Revelation from Chrift himſelf.
For fo he expreffly affures us, concerning
the manner of his own inftruction in all
the precepts of the Goſpel: Gal. i. 16, 17,
12, I conferred not, faith he, with Flesh and
Blood, neither went I up to Jeruſalem to
them which were Apoftles before me ;—nei-
ther received I it of man, neither was I
taught it; but by the Revelation of Jefus
Christ. This added fingular Weight and
Authority, to all St Paul's admonitions
and exhortations; and it made his reproof
to the Corinthians, (in this particular in-
ftance of their unworthily receiving the
Holy Communion,) to be doubly power-
ful and effectual: becauſe it was in the
cafe
N 3
182
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M. cafe of their neglecting fo express a Com-
VIII. mand, not only delivered to them at the
firſt preaching of the Goſpel, but receiv-
ed alfo by St Paul with particular inforce-
ment, in a new Revelation, from the Lord
himſelf. And fuitable to the exprefinefs
and importance of the Command, is the
account the Scripture gives us of the
Practice of the primitive Difciples:
Acts ii. 42, 46. They continued ſtedfaſt-
ly in the Apostles doctrine and fellowſhip,
and in breaking of bread, and in prayer;
And continuing daily with one accord in
the Temple, and breaking bread from houfe
to boufe, they eat their meat with glad-
nefs and fingleness of Heart.
In which
account is remarkable, not only their ob-
fervance of the Duty, but the confancy
alfo and frequency of their doing it; They
continued fedfastly in the Apoſtles do-
ctrine, and were daily in the Temple,
breaking bread with one accord. Which
frequency of Communicating, (though not
as to the precife Time indeed, yet in ge-
neral the doing it frequently) is plainly
implied to be our Duty, and ſuppoſed in
thoſe words of our Saviour; Do this, as
oft
Bo
of the Holy Communion.
183
oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me, SER M.
1 Cor. xi. 25. and in thofe of St Paul, VIII.
As oft as ye eat this bread, and drink this
Cup, ye do fhew the Lord's death till he
come. And indeed, if there could be any
difference in the degree of the Obligation
of our Lord's commands, (I mean, of
fuch commands as are not moral and e-
ternal, but of a pofitive nature only ;)
it would be natural almost to lay the
greatest ftrefs, upon that which he gave
us a little before his death; upon that
which he commanded us to do particular-
ly in remembrance of him; upon that
which he commanded us to do in remem-
brance of the greatest inftance of Love
and Compaffion, that ever was in the
For, Greater Love has no man
than this, that a man lay down his life for
his Friend; But our Lord refuſed not to
die for Us, while we were yet Enemies.
And ſcarcely for a righteous man, as St
Paul expreffes it, will one dare to die;
But God commendeth his Love towards us,
in that while we were yet Sinners, Chrift
died for Us, Rom. v. 8. The Meaning is :
God was never, in point of Justice, un-
N 4
World.
der
I
184
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M.der Any Obligation to pardon continually
VIII. All the Sins of All Penitents; But this
gracious and free Compaffion, his divine
Wiſdom and Goodness has thought fit to
manifeft, in the Method of That Re-
demption purchaſed by the Death of
Chriſt. In point of Gratitude therefore,
no leſs than in Duty, are we bound fre-
quently to commemorate this unparallelled
Love of our Lord; and our neglecting to
attend this facred Ordinance, is breaking
thro' the ſtrongeſt ties of a double Obli-
gation. I might add, further, that not
only in Duty and Gratitude, but in In-
tereſt alſo are we obliged to attend theſe
pofitive Inftitutions; God having appoint-
ed them as external means, to promote
and improve in us (that which is the great
End of all outward Performances,) the
real Virtue and inward Religion of the
Mind. But This is the
2d, Thing I propofed to confider,
namely, what Benefits we may expect to
be made partakers of, by the due and
worthy performance of this Duty. And
here, as I before obferved, tho' we did
not diftinctly know what thoſe Benefits
were ;
·I
of the Holy Communion.
185
were, yet in all reafon ought we with an SER M.
VIII.
implicit Faith to have obeyed the com-
mandment of Him, who, as he cannot
deceive, fo neither can he impofe any
thing upon us, that is not for our advan-
tage. But, in reality, the Benefits we
partake hereby are manifeft and evident.
For, though the Sacrifice of the Death
of Chrift, is not daily repeated; as the
Church of Rome has fondly and pro-
phanely imagined: Though the Substance
of the Body and Blood of Chriſt, is not
in an unintelligible manner produced a-
new, out of the elements of Bread and
Wine Tho' the grace of God is not con-
fined by any neceffary connexion to the
material action; that the mere formal and
external participation,
participation, ſhould,
fhould, without
true devotion of mind and without real
amendment of Life, operate fecretly and
unintelligibly any fpiritual advantage, ac-
cording to fome Men's vain and ſuperſti-
tious expectation: Yet, when with Hearts
full of Piety and true Devotion, with
ftedfaft Faith in God, and firm reſolutions
of fincere Obedience, Men thankfully
and frequently, in that manner which
God
86
The Nature, End and Defign
SERM. God has appointed, commemorate the Sa-
VIII. crifice of the Death of Chrift once offer-
ed for ever; is it not evidently a great
and ineftimable Benefit, if, through the
affiſtance of the Spirit of God, annexed
not to the material elements, or to the
outward action, but to the Ordinance
partaken of by truly devout and well-dif
poſed minds; their Faith in God, be in-
creaſed; their Hope and Trust in him
be ſtrengthened; their Charity towards
their brethren be inlarged, in proportion
to that Love they are commemorating of
their common Lord; their good refoluti-
ons be confirmed; themselves inabled, to
fulfill thofe refolutions in more effectual
Obedience; and comforted with fuller af-
furance of pardon of their paft Sins, up-
on true Repentance and Amendment,
through the interceffion of Him who died
for them? Thefe (I fay,) are evidently
great and ineftimable Benefits: and very
clearly arifing, from a due and worthy
frequenting of the Holy Communion.
For, if even to private Prayer our Savi-
our has annexed fuch a promiſe, that
with far greater readiness than Men give
good
of the Holy Communion.
187
good gifts unto their Children, will our SER M.
heavenly Father give good things, St VIII.
Matt. vii. 11. (Spiritual good things even
his Holy Spirit, as St Luke in the parallel
place expreffes it,) to them that ask him;
and if all publick Devotions, being Ordi-
nances of God's own appointment, as
Means and Inftruments of Religion, have
ftill a greater affurance of God's Bleffing
attending them; how much more in this
moft folemn of all religious actions, in
this great commemoration of the Sacri-
fice of the Death of Chrift, is it reafona-
ble to believe, that pious and well-difpo-
fed Minds, are, by the affiftance of the
Spirit of God, which delights to dwell
in Heavenly and devout Hearts, improved
in all religious Affections, and ftrength-
ened unto the acceptable Obedience of a
Holy Life? But all this depends, as I be-
fore obferved, and as Chriftians can never
be too frequently reminded; It depends
(I fay) entirely, not on any fecret Virtue
annexed to the external Action, (which is
one of the moſt pernicious of all Errors in
matters of Religion;) but it depends whol-
ly on the right Difpofition and worthy
Qualification of a pious and devout Mind.
I
WHICH
188
The Nature, End and Defign
SERM.
Ꮙ
WHICH was the 3d thing I propo-
VIII. fed to confider; namely, What Qualifi
cations or Preparation is neceffary, in
order to the making us worthy parta-
kers of the Holy Communion. That,
in general, there is a diftinction to be
made between things facred and pro-
fane; is allowed by all men. That men
are not to approach to the Table of the
Lord, with the fame careleffnefs and in-
differency of Mind, with the fame unat-
tentiveneſs and unconcernednefs of Spirit,
with the fame worldly Thoughts and
Difpofitions about them, as they do to a
common Feaft: That, feeing (as St Paul
argues) we have Houfes to eat and to drink
in, therefore we ought not to defpife the
Church of God, by behaving ourſelves
careleffly in Both places alike: That, if
we come unworthily and without any
due Preparation of Mind, this is not to
eat the Lord's Supper; But, inſtead there-
of, we become guilty of the Body and
Blood of the Lord, i. e. guilty of profane-
neſs, in not difcerning the Lord's Body, in
not diſtinguiſhing fufficiently a folemn
Act of Religion, by the difference of our
behaviour
of the Holy Communion.
189
behaviour from that in Common Life: SER M.
That hereby we eat and drink our own VIII.
condemnation, that is, as St Paul expreffly
interprets himſelf, we provoke God to
inflict ſeveral kinds of judgments upon us:
All this is acknowledged by every one. But
wherein particularly confifts that due Pre-
paration, by which we may be fure to
avoid thofe evils and dangers, and to ob-
tain the Benefits of worthy receiving;
this is what the Confciences of well-dif-
pofed Perfons, are always defirous to be
eſpecially inftructed in. Now the only
rule the Scripture gives us in this cafe, is
that advice of the Apoſtle, in the Words
immediately following the Text; ver. 28,
Let a man examine himself, and fo let him
eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup.
And This Examination can only be of two
forts: Either an
an Examination into the
whole ftate and general courfe of a man's
Life, whether he be at all a fincere Chri-
ſtian, or not; or elſe an Examination in-
to the prefent difpofition of his mind,
whether he be at this particular Time in
a devout frame and temper, or not. The
former of thefe is indeed of exceeding
great
190
The Nature, End and Defign
SERM great importance, but of no difficulty at
VIII. all; the latter, is of great difficulty and
full of fcruple, but by no means of fo
great importance. Ift, A man is to ex-
amine into the whole ftate and general
courfe of his life, whether he be at all
a fincere Chriſtian, or not. In this fenfe
St Paul ufes the word; 2 Cor. xiii. 5, Ex-
amine yourſelves, whether ye be in the
Faith; prove your own felves: Know ye
not your own felves, how that Jefus Chrift
is in you, except ye be reprobates? And
this Examination, is not a matter of great
difficulty: For, as St John tells us, the
children of God are manifeft, and the chil
dren of the Devil; Whosoever doth not
righteouſneſs, is not of God, neither he that
loveth not his Brother. If any man be a
Blafphemer of God, or a profane Mock-
er and Deſpiſer of Religion; if he has
no Senfe of the Majefty of God upon his
Mind, but habitually profanes that fa-
cred and adorable Name by Oaths and
vain Imprecations; if any man lives in
the practice of fecret Fraud and Deceit,
of cheating and over-reaching his Neigh-
bours; or by acts of open Violence
•
and
of the Holy Communion.
191
and Cruelty, of Paffion and blood-thirſty S ER M.
Revenge, ſhows that he hates his Brother VIII.
whom God commands him to love; if
any man indulges himfelf in Sins of bru-
tiſh Uncleanness, or gives himſelf over
to Drunkenneſs and bafe Debauchery;
there is no great Difficulty in fuch a
perfon's Examination of himſelf; for his
Confcience at the firft Thought condemns
him without controverfy, and his Sins
apparently go before unto judgment. He
is unfit, not only to approach the Table
of the Lord; but unfit to joyn himſelf
in the affemblies of the Saints; unfit to
bear the Name and Profeffion of a Chri-
ftian; unworthy to lift up his Eyes to-
wards Heaven, towards the throne of him
who cannot behold iniquity.
fon has no other courfe to
mediately with fhame and
face to acknowledge his unworthineſs,
and repent in duft and afkes; to turn him-
ſelf unto the Lord by a total Change of
his Courſe of Life, and an effectual Re-
formation of manners; and to cry migh-
tily unto him that is able to fave, if per-
haps the Wickedness of his paft life may
Such a per-
take, but im-
confufion of
be
192
The Nature, End and Defign
SERM. be forgiven him. But without fuch a
VIII. thorough Change of the whole courſe of
his life, to imagine that by the formal
Preparation of a few days devotion, he
can become worthy to partake of the
Holy Communion, and then return to his
former vicious practices; this is openly
mocking the Authority of God, who hateth
the Hypocrite; 'tis as it were challenging
the Almighty to make good his threat-
nings. But now on the other hand, if a
man in the general courſe of his life has
made it his fincere endeavour to obey the
commandments of God, to live in the
habitual Practice of Sobriety, Righte-
oufnefs, Piety and Charity; If he has
either been fo happy as to have avoided
all great crimes, or at leaft has truly re-
pented of them by utterly forfaking them
and his confcience accuſes him of no other
unrepented and unforfaken Sins, but the
daily incurfions of humane frailty; the
frailties that virtuous and good men al-
ways complain of, but can never wholly
eſcape; the little deviations of inadver-
tency and want of attention; the ſmall
furprizes of Paffion and fudden tempta-
1
tion
of the Holy Communion.
193
VIII.
tion in things not of the higheſt import- SER M.
ance, the careleſſneſs of an unguarded word,
the Vanity of an indecent thought, the
want of conftant warmth and affection in
devotion, or the like: When this, I fay,
is the cafe; then the Preparation of fuch
a Perfon for the Holy Communion, is
only that fecond fort of Examination I
mentioned; an Examination into the pre-
Sent difpofition of his mind, whether he
be at this particular time in a devout
frame and Temper or not. And This,
as I faid, is indeed, to pious perfons of
melancholy difpofitions, a matter very of
ten of great difficulty and full of Scruple;
but, in reality, by no means of fo great
importance as the other. For, though
we are indeed always to keep our feet, Ecclef. v.
when we enter into the House of God; that'
we offer not the Sacrifice of fools: yet
the flowneſs and indifpofition, the want
of warmth and affection, the troublefom
and uneafy or even irreligious Thoughts
coming fuddenly into their minds, which
fuch melancholy pious perfons are apt to
complain of; are by no mean things that
unqualify them for religious duties. Such
VOL. IV.
perfons,
O
194 The Nature, End and Defign
VIII.
Their
SER M. perfons, feeing they conftantly endeavour
to obey the commandments of God, and
to live in the habitual Practice of true
Virtue, are always fincerely religious,
though they be not always equally fenfible
of it to their own Satisfaction.
Lamps, though not always alike trimmed,
yet are always burning. They have al-
ways upon them what our Saviour ſtiles
the wedding-garment, although not al-
ways in equal order. Wherefore, though
it becomes us highly, upon every folemn
occafion, to trim our lamps, to fet our
garments in order, to excite our moſt af
fectionate devotion, to lay afide for the
preſent all fecular and worldly Thoughts,
and to examine more strictly and parti-
cularly into the ftate and difpofition of
our Souls, as Time and Opportunity of-
fers, without anxious and fuperftitious fo-
licitude; yet, where this is by any acci-
dent prevented, good men are, by the
habitual courſe of a virtuous life, in a
continual general Preparation; and may
at all times as fafely communicate with-
out Scruple, as 'tis certain that a vicious
and debauched perfon can at no time be
fit
of the Holy Communion.
195
fit to do it, by any formal preparative ofS ER M.
a few days Devotion. For after all that VIII.
~
can be faid upon this Subject, there is
not;
护
​no other certain and infallible mark, to
judge whether we have prepared ourſelves
duly, and communicated worthily, or
but only by the confequent effect.
If we improve more in Virtue, and more
diligently avoid every kind of Sin; if we
ferve God more devoutly, and love our
Brother with a more univerfal Charity,
and endeavour more fincerely and ſteddily
to obey the commandments of God in
the following courfe of our lives; 'tis ve-
ry certain our Preparation was good, and
our Communion acceptable: But if we
continue to live viciouſly, in Any inſtance
of unrighteous Practice; our Preparation,
at beſt, was but a formal hypocrify; and
our Offering, was without Incenſe. This
is the only Rule that may certainly be
depended upon; This is judging of the
Tree by its Fruit; Which, both in Na-
ture and in Religion, is the only unerring
way of Trial. And all other marks what-
foever, are but perplexing difficulties, full
of doubts and fcruples and endleſs Super-
O 2
ftition.
196 The Nature, End and Defign
And now from hence 'tis very
SER M.ſtition.
VIII. eafy to ſhow, in the
4th place, The Groundleffnefs and Va-
nity of moſt of thoſe reaſons, which men
ufually alledge for their abftaining from
the Communion, under pretence of want
of due Preparation. For, if their unpre-
paredneſs arifes from a vicious and de-
bauched life, which they are unwilling
to reform; they are unworthy indeed,
and they ought to abftain; but not from
the Communion only, but from Prayers
alfo, and from all Profeffion of Religion;
they being fuch perfons, whom Chriftiam
Difcipline ought to feparate from the
Communion of Saints, as their own con-
fcience feparates them from the hopes
of Heaven. All religious Actions to fuch
perfons, being like watering a plant,
whofe very roots are dead. In which
ftate fo long as they continue, they have
no great reaſon to be uneafy at their un-
worthinefs to receive the Holy Commu-
nion here; feeing they have no regard for
their own Souls, and no Care of being
worthy to partake of the Happiness of
the Righteous hereafter. But if the un-
worthiness
of the Holy Communion.
197
worthineſs they alledge, be only a prefent SER M.
Want of Warmth of Devotion, or a ge- VIII.
neral Senſe of their being frail and finful
creatures, notwithſtanding their beſt and
moft fincere endeavours to avoid all
known Sin; this I have already fhown,
not to be a real Unworthinefs, but mere-
ly an ungrounded and melancholy ima-
gination, which ought to be flighted and
refifted. If they be terrified at the fe-
verity of the Penalty, that they who eat
and drink unworthily, eat and drink con-
demnation to themselves; 'tis to be obſer-
ved, that when this is underſtood of the
unworthiness only of a fingle Action, the
condemnation denounced is not eternal
damnation, but temporal judgment, as St
Paul exprefly explains his own Words
in That very Text. But when the un-
worthiness is habitual, and fo liable to a
feverer condemnation ; 'tis evident the
penalty annexed, is not to the fingle Ac-
tion of eating and drinking, but to the
habitual fate of Unworthiness; in which
evil ftate That man equally continues,
who, being habitually Unworthy, eats
not; as he who eats, being likewife un-
worthy :
↓
03
198
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M.Worthy; And confequently he cannot, by
VIII. abstaining, eſcape that
that condemnation,
which is however due to his Unworthiness,
whether he communicates or no.
For 'tis
not poffible, that he who now continues
unworthy to partake of the Lord's Sup-
per, fhould hereafter be found worthy to
participate of the eternal Supper of the
Lamb. Wherefore, whilst any man really
continues unworthy; as it is no benefit to
him to communicate, fo to abftain is no
advantage, and there is no other way for
him to eſcape the judgment he fears, but
by immediately preparing himſelf in the
way of righteouſneſs, to become worthy
to ferve God here, and injoy him here-
after. Laftly, if men abftain out of an
apprehenfion that Sins committed after-
wards will become unpardonable; I an-
fwer, there is not the leaft ground or hint
in Scripture for any fuch apprehenfion.
That the Sins of Chriftians againſt the
clear light of the Gofpel fhall more dif-
ficultly be pardoned, than the Sins of
thoſe who want that light; the Scripture
does indeed frequently affure us: And 'twere
well if men would think of it more than
they
*
of the Holy Communion.
199
they do: But this Aggravation of Sin is SER M.
equally the fame, in thofe who receive VIII.
the Communion, and in thoſe who receive
it not.
For not, if we Sin wilfully after
we have received the Sacrament, but if
we Sin wilfully after we have received the
knowledge of the Truth, (faith the Apoſtle,)
there remains no new Sacrifice for Sin.
And this confideration indeed is a good
reafon, not to deter men from the Com-
munion, but to deter them from pretend-
ing to be Chriftians at all, ſo long as they
refolve to live viciouſly and irreligiouſly.
5. AND now nothing remains of what
I propoſed upon this Subject, but in the
laft place just to mention fome of the
grofs corruptions, wherewith the Church
of Rome have highly diſhonoured this ſo-
lemn commemoration of the Death of
our Lord. And
ift, WHEREAS our Saviour has thought
fit to inſtitute no other memorial of his
Death and Paffion, but only the Eucha-
riftical Feaſt of the Sacrament; 'tis a
great and unpardonable prefumption, for
men to imagine that they themselves can
invent better repreſentations and more
fenfible helps to Devotion, than that which
0 4
God
200
The Nature, End and Defign
SER M. God has appointed: Such as are the uſe
VIII. of Images, and the like, in religious Wor-
ſhip.
Wherein, as they have departed
from the Simplicity and ſpiritual Purity
of the Chriſtian worship; fo they have
found by experience, that the addition of
any ſuch humane inventions in the Wor-
fhip of God, has tended only to corrupt
mens manners, and bring in great and end-
lefs Superftitions.
2. WHEREAS our Saviour inftituted
this Holy Sacrament exprefly for a per-
petual Remembrance or Commemoration of
his Death and Paffion; 'tis a very great
corruption, to teach that the elements are
changed into the Subftance of the Body
and Blood of Christ, and that the Sacrament
is properly a continual repetition (not
commemoration) of that expiatory Sacri-
fice once offered upon the crofs. Our
Lord's command, is, Do this in remem-
brance of Me. Now in the Nature of
Things, the remembrance of any thing, is
not the repetition of the thing itſelf. And
fuch a repeated offering up continually
the real fubftantial Body and Blood of
Chrift, (if any fuch thing could be,)
would
of the Holy Communion.
201
would not be a commemorating the Sacri- SER M,
fice once offered upon the crofs, but obli- VIII.
terating the memory of it by offering
perpetually new
new ones. And then muſt
Christ oft have fuffered fince the foundation
of the World; whereas now Once only in
the end of the World (as the Scripture ex-
prefly affirms) has he appeared to put
away Sin by the Sacrifice of himself. The
Arguments drawn by thoſe of the Church
of Rome, from the figurative expreffions, by
which the elements are called Chrift's Body
and Blood; and the Sacrament itſelf, a Sa-
crifice; (in like manner as Chrift figurative-
ly calls himſelf a Door, a Way, a Vine,
and the like; and the Apoftles call Praise
and Alms a Sacrifice; and St Paul ftiles
the Chriftian Church the True Circum-
cifion :) The Arguments, I fay, drawn from
theſe figurative Expreffions for the Popish
doctrine, are as abfurd and contrary to
common fenfe, as their Practife of wor-
fhipping a piece of Bread for God, is idola-
trous and abominable.
3.
WHEREAS our Saviour commands
his Difciples exprefly, to cat of this
Bread and drink of this Cup; 'tis a moſt
unjufti-
202
The Nature, End and Defign, &c.
SER M. unjuſtifiable innovation in the Church of
VIII. Rome, to with-hold the Cup from the
people. St Paul, in the plaineft words that
can be, declares it to be the peoples Duty,
to partake in both kinds; As oft as ye eat
this bread and drink this
cup, ye do fhew
the Lord's Death till he come : And our
Saviour's command to his Difciples, was,
Drink
y'e
all of this, as well as, Take, eat,
this is my Body. To which if it be replied
(as they fometimes abfurdly do) that all
thofe Difciples whom our Saviour com-
manded to drink this, were Priefts, and
none of them Lay-men; 'tis evident they
were the fame perfons only, to whom he
adminiftred the Bread alfo: And then it
will follow, by the fame reaſon, that the
people are denied the Cup, that they may
be denied partaking of the Sacrament at all:
Which is the higheſt Impiety. But then
We alſo of the reformed Church, ought al-
ways to be put in mind, that though we
are allowed to communicate in Both kinds,
yet we may ſtill lofe the Advantage of Both,
if the Holineſs of our Lives be not anſwer-
able to the obligations which This Commu-
nion lays upon us.
SERMON
[203]
SERMON IX.
Of the
the Catholick Church of
Chrift.
HE B. xii. 22, 23.
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto
the City of the Living God, the heavenly
Ferufalem, and to an innumerable company
of Angels, To the general Aſſembly and
Church of the firft-born which are written
in Heaven, and to God the Judge of All,
and to the Spirits of juſt men made perfect,
and to Jefus the Mediator of the new Co-
venant.
T
HESE words contain the SER
livelieft and moſt noble De- IX.
W
ſcription of the Church of
God, and of the Communion
of all its Members both with
each other and with their Head; that is
any
204
Of the Catholick
IX.
SER M. any where to be found in the whole Scrip-
The Name of God's Church; and
the Fellowship of the Saints, or the Com-
munion of the Faithful; are words perpe-
tually in the Mouths of All, who call
themſelves Chriftians: But the true Intent
and application of them, according to the
Scripture-fenfe of the words, is attended
to and underſtood by Few. The Love of
Power, Authority and worldly Dominion,
has made Some abufe the facred Name of
the Church of God, to ſerve Purpoſes
of Tyranny, Ambition, and Cruelty:
And This is what the Scripture calls, The
Man of Sin fitting in the Temple (or
Church) of God. Others, through a
mean, peevish, and uncharitable Spirit;
fond of impofing upon their Brethren
particular Modes and Notions; and blend-
ing Doctrines and Ceremonies of mere
human Authority, as of the fame impor-
tance with the effential Laws of our Sa-
viour's kingdom; have profanely and fa-
crilegiouſly made ufe of the fame vene-
rable Name of the Church of God, to co-
ver the Worldly Defigns and Intereſts of
particular Parties, Factions, or Bodies of
Men:
Church of Chrift.
205
Men And This, in the proper and high-S ER M.
eſt Senſe of the word, is an Inftance of IX.
the Sin of Schifm; the Sin of rending the
Body of Chrift; the Sin of causing Divi-
fions in the univerfal Church, through the
Ambition of Men inclofing to themfelves
by temporal Power thofe fpiritual Privi-
leges, which our Saviour intended to con-
fer upon his Church univerfal. The
Church of Rome has been the great Au-
thor and Example of this fundamental
Corruption: Which has been of ſuch
per-
nicious confequence to the Chriſtian Re-
ligion, that fometimes even for feveral
Ages together, the very Notion of the
Church of Christ has been in a manner
wholly worn out and obliterated among
thoſe who called themſelves Chriftians ;
and there has fucceeded in its place a
mere Temporal Polity and worldly Domi-
nion, in the room of That Kingdom which
our Lord himſelf fo expreffly declared
was not to be of This World. Infomuch
that Chriftians have too generally behaved
themſelves in fuch a manner, as if they
thought that at That Great and Tremen-
dous day, when we muft All appear be-
fore
206
Of the Catholick
IX.
SER M. fore the Tribunal of Chrift, men were
to be judged in Nations and Bodies Poli-
tick, in Parties and Societies of human
eftablishment, according to certain Forms
of Government and particular Systems of
Notions, and Rites and Ceremonies; and not
that every fingle Man fhall then perfo-
nally be acquitted or condemned, accord-
ing to the Great and Univerfal Rules of
the Gofpel; according to what He him-
felf in his own perfon has actually done
in the Fleſh, whether it be good, or
whether it be evil; that is, according to
his Obedience or Difobedience to the Com-
mands of God, the Morality or Immorali-
ty of the Actions of his Life. The
Want of This confideration, has incredi-
bly perplext Men's Notions concerning
the Church of God: And though no Two
things are in Scripture conftantly repre-
fented fo directly oppofite to each other,
as the Love of God and the Love of the
World; yet in all Popish times principally,
and in all Other corrupt Ages (proportiona-
bly) Dominion and Pomp and Power, in-
ſtead of Truth and Righteousness and Cha-
rity, have been efteemed as Marks and
Characters
2
Church of Chrift.
207
IX.
Characters of Chrift's Holy Catholick SER M.
Church. But undoubtedly the true Church
of God here upon Earth, confifts of the
fame Perfons, is made up of the very
fame Members, of which hereafter it fhall
be conſtituted in Heaven. And therefore
as, at the day of judgment, our Saviour has
no where given us any the leaft Intimation,
that in order to determine any Man's final
Sentence, inquiry will be made concerning
Nations and Parties, concerning a man's
relation to one body politick or another,
concerning Rites and Ceremonies or Forms
of Government and the like; which are
Now the Great Objects of Men's Zeal,
and the main Caufes of their reviling, ha-
ting, and perfecuting each other: but
every Man's future and eternal State will
Then be appointed him by the Impartial
and unerring Judge, according to his be-
haviour in every ſtation and circumſtance
wherein Providence has placed him, i. e.
according to the virtuoufnefs or viciouf
nefs of his paft life: So Now alſo, if we
would make a right Judgment concerning
ourſelves or Others, whether we be real
and Living Members of the Body of
Chriſt,
208.
Of the Catholick
SERM. Chrift, children of God, and Heirs of
IX. His Kingdom; we must take our Efti-
mate from the fame divine Rules and
Meaſures, by which we fhall at last be
judged; and not from our prefent human
Paffions, and worldly Marks of Diſtinct-
ion. They who worship the Father in Spi-
rit and in Truth, as our Saviour deſcribes
the True Worshippers, Joh. iv. 23; that is,
who live with an habitual Senfe of Reli-
gion upon their Minds; in a conſtant Ex-
ercife of Piety towards God, through Je-
fus Chrift; in a fober and temperate injoy-
ment of the things of this preſent World,
with an abhorrence of all Vice and De-
bauchery; and in a regular Practice of
Justice, Righteousness, Equity, Meekness,
Charity, and univerfal Goodwill towards
Mankind; looking for, and waiting unto,
the bleed Hope, and the glorious Appear-
ance of the Great God and of our Saviour
Jefus Chrift; who, according to his Pro-
mife, fhall give them an inheritance in
That New Heavens and New Earth,
wherein Truth and Righteousness are to
dwell for ever: Theſe, and Theſe only,
are the true and living Members of the
2
Body
Church of Chrift.
209
Body of Christ, of his Flesh, and of his SER M.
Bones, (as St Paul by a bold and lively IX.
Figure moſt elegantly expreffes it, Eph.
v. 30;) of One Body, and of One Spirit
with him: Thefe are indeed the Holy
Church, and City, and Temple, of God:
Theſe are they, of whom the Apoſtle in
the Texts by one of the nobleſt and moſt
expreffive Metaphors that ever was uſed
by Any Writer, affirms that they are al-
ready come unto Mount Sion; Even while
they ſtill continue here upon Earth, in
this mortal and tranfitory ftate; yet be-
cauſe their converfation is in Heaven, and
they live according to the righteous Laws
of That ſpiritual Country, wherein they
expect their portion of inheritance, and
into which there fhall in no cafe enter any
thing that defileth, neither whatſoever
worketh Abomination, or maketh a Lie;
therefore they are already, faith he, come
unto mount Sion, and unto the City of the
Living God, the heavenly Jerufalem, and
to an innumerable Company of Angels, To
the general Aſſembly and Church of the
firft-born which are written in Heaven,
and to God the Judge of All, and to the
Spirits
VOL. IV.
P
210
Of the Catholick
SER M.Spirits of just men made perfect, and to
IX. Jefus the Mediator of the New Cove-
nant.
IN the further treating upon which
words, I fhall first confider diftinctly the
feveral Perfons, whom the Apoſtle here
fuppofes to have a relation to, and com-
munion with, each other: And from
thence, fecondly, there will naturally ap-
pear the true Scripture-notion of the Ca-
tholick Church of Chriſt, and of That U-
nity, or Communion, which is between the
Members of it, as Members of the One
Body of Chrift.
Iſt, As to the ſeveral Perfons, whom
the Apoſtle here fuppofes to have a rela-
tion to, and communion with, each other;
'tis to be obſerved that the Kingdom of
God, is in Scripture defcribed under the
Notion or Similitude of a royal City:
Hẹb. xi. 10. Abraham looked for a City
which lath foundations, whofe builder and
maker is God: In the words of the Text,
'tis Mount Sion, the City of the Living.
God, the heavenly Jerufalem. Now as in
every City or Kingdom, All who in Any
ſtation belong unto it, have a mutual re-
1
I
lation
Church of Chrift.
211
lation to, and fome fort of communication S ERM.
with each other, by which they are All IX.
eſteemed as One political Body; The
Prince, who governs All; The Perfons
by whom he governs; The Subjects, who
live under That Government: and Thofe
who, through travelling in foreign parts,
yet ſtill continue under the fame Domi-
nion: So with regard to this heavenly
City, the Apoftle St Paul tells all Chri-
ftians, that they are no more frangers and
foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the
Saints, and of the household of God; being
built upon the foundation of the Apostles
and Prophets, Jefus Christ himſelf being
the chief corner-ftone, in whom the whole
building is fitly framed together. And in
defcribing the conftitution of this City or
Kingdom of God, and the perfons with
whom every one that becomes a Subject
of that Kingdom, enters confequently
into ſome relation; the fame Apoſtle, in
the Text, diftinctly enumerates the fol-
lowing particulars. There is, fays he,
God, the fudge of All: There is Jefus,
the Mediator of the New Covenant: There
is an innumerable Company of Angels :
P 2
There
212
Of the Catholick
IX.
SERM. There are the Spirits of just men made
perfect; And there is the general Aſſem-
biy and Church of the first-born, which
are written in Heaven, though they be
not yet actually arrived there. In the
1/t place, fays the Apoftle, ye are come
to God, the Judge of All. Ye are come
to a right Knowledge of the One True
God, the Author and Maker of all things,
the Father of all rational Beings, and
the Supreme Judge of every one's beha-
viour. By Nature, we are his Subjects
and his Creatures; by Sin, we are be-
come Enemies to him, and Objects of his
Difpleafure; by Repentance and true Re-
ligion, we have again Access to him, and
are admitted to bear relation to him as
our God, and our Father. He is the Fa-
ther; of whom, by Nature, the whole Fa-
mily in Heaven and Earth is named; and
through whofe Grace and Goodness, even
Sinners, upon their Amendment and Re-
formation, are again favourably received
into their Father's houfe, into the Family
or City of God. Behold, faith St John,
what manner of Love the Father has be-
ftowed upon us, that we should be called The
Sons
Church of Chrift.
213
IX.
Sons of God, 1 Joh. iii. 1. In the de- SER M.
ſcription of the heavenly Jerufalem, the
City of the Living God; (in allufion to
which, the Earthly Jerufalem, or Con-
gregation of True Worſhippers, is by our
Saviour ſtiled The City of the Great
King;) In the defcription, I fay, of the
heavenly Jerufalem, the relation of God
to his faithful Servants is thus fet forth,
Rev. xxi. 3. and xxii, 4. Behold, the
Tabernacle of God is with men, and he
will dwell with them, and they ſhall be his
people, and God himſelf ſhall be with them,
and be their God; And they shall fee bis
Face, and his Name (the Father's Name,
ch. xiv 1.) fhall be in their foreheads:
And of him that overcometh, faith God,
ch. xxi. 7. I will be his God, and He fhall
be my Son. Upon account of which Pro-
mife, though to the Patriarchs, and to all
other good Men, it was made at a great
Distance; yet the Apoſtle juftly draws his
inference even with regard to the prefent
time, Heb. xi. 16. Wherefore God is not
afhamed, is not Now afhamed, to be call-
ed Their God; for he hath prepared for
them a City. To This relation between
P 3
God
214
Of the Catholick
SERM. God and righteous Men, St John has re-
IX. fpect; when he tells us, 1 Job. i. 3. Our
m
khow
He is
valued
Drond
Lessing
istians
{
Fellowship is with the Father. The word,
Fellowship, fignifies in the original, Com-
munion or mutual Relation; The Saints,
are the Saints of the most High; and Good
Men, the Children of the Living God.
THE Ufe, or practical Application of
This Head, is the Inference St John has
drawn for us, 1 Joh. iii. 3. Every man
that has This hope in him, (every Man
that is truly fenfible of this Love which
the Father has bestowed upon us,) purifies
himfelf even as He is pure: Always re-
membring the Admonition of our Savi-
our, Bleled are the pure in Heart, for
they fall fee God: and That folemn de-
claration made to St John, at the Con-
clufion of his prophetick Viſion of the
new Jerufalem, the City of God; Rev.
xxii. 14, Blefjed are they that do his com-
mandments, that they may have Right to
the Tree of Life, and may enter in thro'
the Gates into the City.
2dly. Ye are come; faith the Apoſtle, to -
Jefus, the Mediator of the New Cove-
nant; to the Blood of trinkling, that
Speaketh
Church of Chrift.
215
Speaketh better things than that of Abel. SER M.
'Tis by Christ, that repenting Sinners, IX.
having received the Atonement and recon-
ciliation; are brought back unto God;
have Access unto the Father; are prefented
as faultless before the prefence of His Glo-
ry, who has gathered together in One All
things in Chrift, both which are in Hea-
ven and which are on Earth, Eph. i. 10.
From henceforth therefore, our fellow-
Ship, as St John tells us, is with the Fa-
ther, and with his Son Jefus Chrift: And
God is faithful, faith St Paul, 1 Cor. i. 9.
(that is, if we continue obedient, God for
His part will certainly perform His Pro-
mife faithfully,) by whom ye were called
unto the fellowship of his Son Jefus Chrift
our Lord. Christ has an everlaſting
Kingdom given unto him; wherein he
rules, as a Son in his own houſe, under his
Father the Supreme Houſeholder; Angels,
and Principalities, and Powers, being
made fubject unto him: And He is the
Head of the Body, the Church, Col. i. 18.
He is the Head; from whom the whole Bo-
dy fitly joined together, and compacted by
That which every joint jupplieth, accord-
P4
ing
216
Of the Catholick
IX.
SERM.ing to the effectual working in the meaſure
of every part, maketh increase of the Bo-
dy unto the edifying of itself in Love,
Eph. iv. 16. He is the chief corner-ftone,
in whom all the Building fitly framed to-
gether, groweth unto an holy temple in the
Lord; in whom Ye alfo are builded together
for an habitation of God thro' the Spirit,
ch. ii. 21. He is the Vine, and his Difci-
ples are the Branches, Joh. xv. I. God
looks upon us, not as what we were ori-
ginally in ourselves, but as being Now, by
regeneration and Adoption, planted toge-
ther, in Chrift; as redeemed and purcha-
fed, by His Blood; as made accepted in
the Beloved; as Members of His Body:
as Subjects, of the Kingdom given unto
Him, Infomuch that St Paul tells us,
upon account of This our relation to
Chrift, that God hath us raifed up toge-
ther, and made us fit together, (has alrea-
dy made us fit together) in heavenly
places in Chrift Jefus, Eph. ii. 6. ſpeak-
ing in an elegant and figurative manner,
as of a thing already accomplished, what
our Lord expreffes by way of Promiſe,
with regard to a Future State, Rev, iii, 21.
I
To
Church of Chriſt.
217
IX.
To Him that overcometh, will I grant to SER M.
fit with Me in my Throne, even as I over-
came, and am fat down with my Father in
His Throne. This is in the higheſt and
moſt exalted Senfe, what the Text calls,
being come unto Jefus the Mediator of the
New Covenant, and unto God the Judge
of All. This is the Accompliſhment of
our Saviour's Prayer, Job. xvii. 21. That
they all may be One, as Thou, Father, art
in Me, and I in Thee; that They also may
be One in Us:
And the glory which
thou gavest me, I have given Them; that
They may be One, even as We are One: I
in Them, and Thou in Me: that they may
be made perfect in One. Laftly, This is
what the Apoſtle tells us, Heb. ii. 11.
Both be that fanctifieth, and they who are
fanctified, are all of One; for which caufe
he is not ashamed to call them Brethren.
THE proper Application of what has
been faid upon This Head, is to Thoſe
who underſtanding literally fome of the
fore-cited expreffions of Scripture, look
upon themſelves to be in fuch a manner
Members of the Body of Chrift, as that
His Righteoufnefs and Acceptableness to
God
218
Of the Catholick
IX.
1
SERM. God is imputed to Them, and This mere-
ly by Virtue of their confident Reliance
upon His Merits, without being much fol-
licitous whether they themselves be perfo-
nally indued with the Fruits of Righteouf-
nefs or no. Which is one of the greateſt
Corruptions, that was ever introduced into
the Chriſtian Religion. For indeed, all thoſe
expreffions, of being Members of Christ, of
being One with him, of being in him, and
the like; are merely figurative and moral;
denoting the Subjection of Members to
their Head, and the Unity or Likeness
which arifes from Imitation and Obedience.
If we have been planted together, faith St.
Paul, into the Likeness of Chrifl's death,
we shall be alfo in the likeness of his Refur-
rection, Rom. vi. 5. And what That
means, he explains, ver. 4 and 6; like
as Chrift was raiſed up from the Dead by
the glory of the Father, even fo We also
fhould walk in Newness of Life ;-
the Body of Sin might be deftroyed, that
henceforth ye should not ferve Sin. Let no
Man therefore deceive himſelf with vain
words: Being Members of Chrift, and
Sons of God; means nothing elſe but Obe-
-that
dience
Church of Chrift.
219
dience to the Gospel, and thereby confe-SER M.
quently obtaining reconciliation with God. IX.
2 Cor. v. 17. If any man be in Christ, be
is a new Creature; that is, his Life muſt
be actually amended and reformed. So
likewife Rom. xiii. 14. Put ye on the
Lord Jefus Chrift, is joined in the fame
verſe as an equivalent exhortation with,
make not provifion for the Flesh, to fulfill
the Lufts thereof. Having the Spirit of
Chriſt, that is, a moral likeness to him;
is the only thing, that can make us truly
belong to him: If any man have not the
Spirit of Chrift, he is None of His, Rom.
viii. 9. And ver, 14. As many as are led
by the Spirit of God, (that is, who bring
forth the Fruits of the Spirit, or live in
the Practice of all moral virtues,) they,
and they only, are the Sons of God. Jefus,
the Text tells us, is the Mediator of the
Nero Covenant; of
of That Covenant
wherein are declared the gracious Terms
of Pardon and Forgiveneſs to all thoſe
who repent and amend; and which, up-
on That account, is oppofed in the fore-
going verfe, to the Terrors of the Law,
to the Mount that burned with Fire, join-
ed
220
Of the Catholick
SERM.ed with blackness, darkness and Tempeft.
IX. To Come therefore to Jefus the Mediator
of the New Covenant, fignifies, by true
Repentance and effectual Amendment of
Life, (not by groundless Confidence and
vain Reliance on Christ, but by fincere O-
bedience to his Commands, by true Repent-
ance and Amendment of Life) made avail-
able to the Forgiveneſs of paft Sin
through the Interceffion of Chrift; To
come to Chrift, I fay, fignifies, by That
Repentance which the Goſpel teaches, to
be reconciled, and have Accefs again, as a
returning Prodigal Son, through Chrift
to God the Judge of All, the Supreme
Lord and Father of the Universe. Thus
this whole point is at large fet forth by
St Paul, Col. i. 19. It pleafed the Fa-
ther, that in Him fhould all Fulnefs dwell;
And by Him to reconcile all things unto
bimself; And you that were fometimes
alienated, and Enemies in your Mind by
wicked Works, yet now bath he reconciled,
In the body of his Flesh thro' Death, to
prefent you holy and unblameable and unre-
proveable in his Sight; If ye continue in
the Faith, grounded and fettled, and be
not
Church of Chrift.
221
not moved away from the Hope of the SER M.
Gospel.
HAVING thus briefly explained the
Two First Particulars in the Text, (the
first in order of Nature, though not in the
placing of the words) Ye are come, to
God the Judge of All, and to Jefus the
Mediator of the New Covenant: It might
here feem natural to have been expected in
the next place, that in like manner as in
fome Other paffages of Scripture, with
the Grace of our Lord Jefus Chriſt, and
the Love of God, is joined likewiſe the
Fellowship of the Holy Ghost; fo here al-
fo, I fay, it might feem naturally to have
been expected, that the Apoſtle ſhould
have added, the Communion or Fellowship
of the Holy Ghost; Which with the Two
before-mentioned are the True-Scripture-
Trinity. Ye are come, unto God the
Judge of All, and to Jefus the Mediator
of the New Covenant, and (it might na-
turally have been expected he ſhould here
have fubjoined, and) unto the Holy Ghoft
the Comforter. But This last particular,
the Apoſtle does not add: And the Rea-
Son
IX.
222
Of the Catholick
SER M.fon of his omitting it, feems to be This.
IX. The Holy Spirit, is in Scripture repreſent-
ed as being to the Church in the place of
Chrift; and, for That very reafon, is ftiled the
Comforter, becauſe his proper Office is, in
the Abfence of Christ, to comfort the Faithful
with his Gifts and Graces, with his Holy In-
fluence and Affiftance. Job. xvi. 7. I tell
you the Truth, faith our Lord, it is expedient
for you, that I go away; For if I go not a-
way the Comforter will not come unto you:
but if I depart, I will fend him unto
and He will guide you into
you;
All Truth; for he ſhall not speak of him-
Jelf, but whatfoever he shall hear, That
ſhall be ſpeak; and he will ſhew you things
to comc. The proper Office therefore of
the Holy Spirit, being in Chriſt's ſtead to
fupport and comfort, to guide and direct
the Church, until our Lord's fecond Co-
ming; for this reafon, the Apoſtle in the
Text, fpeaking of good Chriftians in a
very fublime and figurative manner, as
being already come unto the True Mount
Sion, the City of the Living God, the
heavenly Jerufalem; and being, by fpiri-
tual relation, communion, and unity, as
it
Church of Chrift.
223
IX.
it were already actually prefent with God SER M.
the Fudge of All, and with Jefus the Me-
diator of the New Covenant; for This
reaſon (I ſay) it ſeems to be, that the A-
poſtle omits in this place the Fellowship
of the Holy Ghost, as a thing fulfilled and
accomplished, as having already obtained
its full Effect; as being now fuperfeded by
the immediate prefence of God the Judge
of all, and of our Mediator Jefus Chrift.
During our Abfence from whofe Beatific
prefence, while we continue in this mor-
tal Life, good Men are under the directi-
on and influence of the Holy Spirit.
And the Proof, by which only it can
appear that they really are fo, is not a
pretending to Enthufiaftick influences, but
their bringing forth the Fruits of the
Spirit. Which Fruits of the Spirit,
(if we will follow St Paul's Authority,
rather than the imaginations of Enthu-
fiafts,) are Love, joy, peace, long-fuffer-
ing, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekneſs, 、
temperance, Gal. v. 22: That is, the
Practice of all moral and eternal Vir-
tues.
THE
224
Of the Catholick, &c.
SERM. THE remaining particulars of the
IX. Text, are; Ye are come to an innume-
rable Company of Angels, to the Spirits
of just men made perfect, and to the gene-
ral Affembly or Church of the firſt-born
which are written in Heaven.
שלא
SERMON
[225]
SERMON X.
Of the Catholick Church of
Chrift.
HE B. xii. 22, 23.
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto
the City of the Living God, the heavenly
Jerufalem, and to an innumerable company
of Angels, To the general Aſſembly and
Church of the first-born which are written
in Heaven, and to God the Judge of All,
and to the Spirits of just men made perfect,
and to Jefus the Mediator of the new
Covenant.
I
theſe SER M.
N difcourfing upon
words, I have propoſed First
to confider diftinctly the fe-
veral Perfons, whom the A-
poſtle here ſuppoſes to have
a relation to, and communion with, each
X.
VOL. IV.
е
other ;
226
Of the Catholick
IX.
SER M. other: And from thence, Secondly, to de-
duce the true Scripture-notion of the Ca-
tholick Church of Chrift, and of That U-
nity or Communion which is between the
Members of it, as Members of the One
Body of Chrift.
I. First, As to the feveral Perfons,
whom the Apoſtle here fuppofes to have
a relation to, and Communion with, each
other I obferved that the Kingdom of
;
God, is in Scripture defcribed under the
Notion or Similitude of a royal City;
wherein All, who in Any Station belong
unto it, have a mutual relation to, and
fome fort of communication with each
other; by which they are All efteemed
as One political Body. In the profecution
of which Similitude, the Apoſtle in the
Text diftinctly enumerates the following
Particulars; of which is conftituted the
True Mount Sion, the City of the Living
God, the heavenly Jerufalem. There is,
firft, fays he; (firft, in order of Nature
though not in the order, wherein the
words are placed;) There is, in the first
place, God the Judge of All: There is,
fecondly, Jefus the Mediator of the New
Covenant;
Church of Chrift.
227
X.
Covenant: Thirdly, There is, fays he, an SER M.
innumerable Company of Angels: Fourthly,
There are the Spirits of just men made
perfect: And Laftly, There is the gene-
ral Affembly and Church of the firſt-born
which are written in Heaven, though they
be not yet actually arrived there.
THE two first of thefe particulars I
have already gone through: Ye are come
unto God the Judge of All, and to Jefus
the Mediator of the New Covenant.
remains that I proceed now to the
It
3d particular; Ye are come, faith the
Apoſtle, unto an innumerable Company of
Angels. Angels, are in Scripture declared
to be miniftring Spirits, which go in and
out continually before the Throne of God.
And our relation to them, as members of
the fame heavenly Jerufalem, the City of
the Living God, is manifold in the pre-
fent, as well as in the future ftate. They
are Worshippers together with Us, of the
Jame God and univerfal Father, of whom
the Whole Family in Heaven and Earth is
named. Rev. xxii. 9, I am thy fellow-fer-
vant, faid the Angel to St. John; I am
Thy fellow-fervant, and the fellow-ſervant
Q²
of
228
Of the Catholick
འབ
SER M. of thy brethren the Prophets, and of them
X. which keep the Sayings of this Book: Wor-
Ship God. Nor are they only, in common
with Us, Subjects of the natural King-
dom of God; but they are alfo moreover
Subjects and Minifters of the mediatorial
Kingdom of Chrift. Heb. i. 6, When be
bringeth in the first-begotten into the World,
he faith, And let all the Angels of God
worship him. By Chrift, God has gather-
ed together in One, Eph. i. 10, (into One
Family, into One Kingdom, under One
Head,) all things both which are in Hea-
ven and which are on Earth: Angels, and
Authorities, and Powers, being made fub-
ject unto him, I Pet. iii. 22. They are
miniftring Spirits, fent forth to minister to
thofe who fhall be Heirs of Salvation, Heb.
i. 14.
Our Saviour, fpeaking of little
children, literally; and, figuratively, of
good men, who are of the fame harmleſs
difpofition; tells us, Matt. xviii. 10, that
the Angels, are Their Angels or Miniſters ;
that is, have the Care of them committed
*Compare to them by God; even thofe * principal
10 with Angels, who always behold the Face of his
Efth i. 14. Father which is in Heaven. In other pla-
Mat. xviii.
and Tobit
xii. 15.
ces,
Church of Chrift.
229
ces, the Scripture affures us, that they, SER m.
as Subjects of the fame heavenly King- X.
dom, are continually obferving the Pro-
vidences of God towards his Church ;
Theſe things, the Angels defire to look into,
1 Pet. i. 12; and Eph. iii. 1o, To the in-
tent, that now unto the principalities and
Powers in heavenly places, might be made
known by the Church, (by the Church, that
is, by the various difpenfations of Divine
Providence towards good men,) the mani-
fold Wifdom of God. It affures us; that
there is joy in the presence of the Angels
of God, over every Sinner that repenteth,
Luk. xv. 10; that the Souls of righteous
men, as of Lazarus, Luk. xvi. 22, are,
at their departure out of this World,
carried by the Angels into Abraham's bofom;
that, at the general Refurrection at the
laft day, the Angels fhall come forth, Matt.
xiii. 49, and ſhall fever the Wicked from
among the Juft; and lastly, that they
which shall be accounted worthy to obtain
That World, and the refurrection unto
Life, Luk. xx. 35, 36, fhall themſelves be
equal unto the Angels, and be the chil-
dren of God. Which final Union, of An-
Q3
gels
230
Of the Catholick
SER M.gels and righteous men, into one heavenly
X.
Society, St John excellently fets forth, in
the ivth and vth chapters of the Revelation:
Where, beginning the Worship originally
paid to God by all his creatures in general,
ch iv. 8, who, in their giving glory and honour
and thanks to him that fitteth on the Throne,
who liveth for ever and ever; reft not day
and night, ſaying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord
God Almighty, which was and Is, and is
to come;
9, 11.
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to
receive Glory and Honour and Power; for
thou haft created all things, and for thy
pleaſure they Are, and were created: And
thence proceeding to defcribe the parti-
cular Worſhip, which began to be paid
to Christ upon his exaltation to the right
hand of God; (when the Saints who were
redeemed from the Earth, began a New
ch. v. 2 Song, faying, Thou art worthy;————— for
thou waft flain, and haft redeemed us to
God by thy Blood, -and haft made us
unto our God Kings and Priests;) he at
length concludes with uniting in one
univerfal Chorus the Voices of Angels and
of Men; giving praiſe at the fame time
to God who fat on the Throne, and to
་་
I
the
Church of Chrift
231
the Lamb who had been flain for men:SER M.
X.
Angels
living
Num-and ch vii.
And I heard the Voice of many
round about the Throne, and the
Creatures and the Elders, and the
ber of them was ten thousand times ten
thousand, and thousands of thousands, Say-
ing with a loud Voice, Worthy is the Lamb
that was flain, to receive Power and Riches
and Wiſdom and Strength and Honour and
Glory and Bleffings; And every Creature
which is in Heaven and on the Earth,-
heard I faying, Bleffing and Honour
and Glory and Power, be unto him that
fitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb
for ever and ever.
THE Ufe which the Church of Rome
has made of This Doctrine, of good
men's being in Scripture joined together
with the innumerable Company of Angels,
as Members of the fame heavenly Jerufa-
lem, the City of the Living God; The
Ufe, I fay, which the Church of Rome
has made of this Doctrine, has been ve-
ry perverſe, as well as impious. For, in-
ftead of directing their Prayers uniformly
to God the Fudge of All, through Jefus
the Mediator of the New Covenant, whom
ver. I I.
II.
Q4
the
232
Of the Catholick
X.
.
1
SER M.the Scripture declares to be Alone our Ad-
vocate with the Father; They, by a falſe
inference from a True doctrine, of An-
gels being miniftring Spirits, have, of
their own Authority, prefumed to efta-
bliſh a Worſhip of Angels, in contradiction
to the express Command of God. For,
whereas the Scripture folemnly declares,
that as there is but One God, fo there is
alfo but One Mediator between God and
Men; they, on the contrary, have, by
Angel-worship, fet up Many Mediators;
which is direct Idolatry againſt Him who
is the Only True one. To charge them
with giving to Angels the proper Wor-
fhip of God Almighty, is charging them
with a Fact which they deny; and there-
fore is not the beſt and moſt proper way
to convince them of their Error: But
the ſetting up of Many Mediators, is a
Fact they do not, and cannot, deny:
And yet the Worfhip of Falfe Mediators,
is as true and formal Idolatry againſt the
One Mediator appointed by God; as the
Worship of Falle Gods, is Idolatry againſt
the One God and Father of the Univerſe.
St Paul therefore feems prophetically to
defcribe
Church of Chrift.
233
•
deſcribe their practice, and to condemn it SER M.
directly upon fuch a Principle, as cuts off X.
from them all poffibility of Evafion or
Excufe; when, fpeaking of things which
have a Shew of Wisdom in Will-worſhip
and Humility, Col. ii. 23; he Thus ar-
gues, ver. 18, Let no man beguile you of
your Reward, in a voluntary Humility and
Worshipping of Angels, intruding into thofe
things which he hath not feen, vainly puft
up by his Fleshly mind, And not kolding the
Head; that is, not keeping ſtedfaſt to
Chriſt the One Mediator, upon whom a-
lone the whole Church depends, as the
Members of a Body on their Union with
the Head.
4thly, Ye are come, faith the Apoſtle in
the Text, to the Spirits of just men made
perfect. The true Members of Chrift's
inviſible Church here upon Earth, known
unto God only, who fearches the Heart,
and judges of every man's fincerity; are
in Scripture always repreſented, as being
One and the fame Body, or Society, with
the Saints in Heaven: Juft as perfons tra-
velling in foreign parts, are ftill always
eſteemed to continue Members of the
fame
234
Of the Catholick
X.
SER M. fame Community, with thoſe who remain
at home in their native country. Jeru-
falem which is above, faith St Paul, Gal.
iv. 26, is the Mother of us All. Thofe
who are not actually arrived there, yet,
if they be meet to be partakers of the in-
heritance with the Saints in Light, their
Treaſure, their Portion is laid up for
them in Heaven, and their Names are
already written There. Their Faith,
their Hope, their Converfation, their Ci-
tizenſhip is in Heaven: They live Now
according to the Laws of that Spiritual
Country; and therefore expect bereafter
to be admitted there as obedient, at leaſt
as penitent and returning Children, into
their Father's houſe. Though their na-
tural habitation is upon Earth; yet, in
the moral fenfe, having relinquiſhed things
Earthly, that is, all the Wickedness where-
in the World generally lies; they are (as
St Paul expreffes it, Eph. ii. 19.) no more
Strangers and Foreigners, but fellow-citi-
zens with the Saints, and of the Houſehold
of God. St John expreffes the fame thing
in a ftill more fublime and elegant figure
of ſpeaking, according to the manner of
the
Church of Chrift.
235
X.
n
the Prophetick ſtyle, Rev. xiii. 6; where SER M.
he Thus deſcribes Antichriftian tyranny,
perfecuting the True Worshippers of God;
He opened his mouth, faith he, in Blaf
phemy against God, to blafpheme his Name
and his Tabernacle, and them that dwell
in Heaven; and it was given unto him to
make war with the Saints, and to over-
come them: The fame perfons who, in
the Latter part of the Sentence, are cal-
led Saints under Perfecution, are, in the
former part of the fame fentence, they
that dwell in Heaven; that is, who, by
the practice of Virtue and True Holiness,
are qualified for, (and are therefore with
great elegance faid actually to have, what
by the Promife of God they have a cer-
tain Title to,) an inheritance in that new
Heaven and new Earth, wherein righte-
oufness is to dwell for ever.
THE Ufe, which the Church of Rome
has made of the Doctrine contained un-
der This Head likewife, as well as the
foregoing; has been extremely corrupt,
and irreligious. For inſtead of imitating
the Virtues and Examples of the Saints,
who have gone before them in the Wor-
Ship
236
Of the Catholick
SERM.fhip of the True God, and in the Practice
X. of Righteousness and all Holiness; they
have on the contrary turned This very
thing into an Occafion of Apoftatizing
from Chrift; and made Idols of the
Saints, by cauſing Them after their Death,
to become Objects of That Worſhip,
which, while they lived, they both by
their Doctrine and by their Practice
taught, ſhould be paid only to their com-
mon Lord. Nor is there any Colour of
Reaſon, in That Excufe alleged by the
Church of Rome; that they worſhip the
Saints no otherwife, than by defiring the
Affiftance of Their Prayers to God. For
undoubtedly the Heathen of old, when
they worſhipped Demons and Heroes or
the Souls of their departed Kings, did not
take thofe Dead men to be God Almighty:
And yet the Worſhip they paid them,
whatſoever it was, becauſe it was paid to
a mere Fiction, to an Object which either
had no Being at all, or (however) which
had no Right to the Honour they paid it;
was always juſtly charged as the Crime
of Idolatry. An Idol, faith St Paul, is
Nothing in the world: A mere Fiction of
the
Church of Chrift.
237
the Imagination of Vain Men; Either SER M.
totally fuch, if the Object has no real X.
exiſtence at all; or ſo far fuch, as there
is paid to it any religious Honour which
does not belong to it. That the Saints
departed have Any Knowledge at all of our
Affairs here upon Earth, is what no Ar-
gument can be brought to prove, either
from Reaſon or Scripture: But if they
could know and hear the Prayers of men,
yet that They who have not as yet been
judged themſelves, (and of whom the moſt
righteous, as St Peter tells us, fhall Scarce-
ly be faved, that is, fhall owe their own
Salvation merely to God's free Pardon of
their Sins through Chrift,) fhould be al-
lowed to mediate and be interceffors for
Others; is what can be no otherwife look-
ed upon by ſerious perfons, than as an
impious Fiction. Angels, who are mini-
String Spirits fent forth to minister to them
who shall be Heirs of Salvation, we are
fure, have knowledge of our Affairs, and
Always behold the Face of our heavenly
Father in That State of Glory, which
the Saints fhall not be inftated in till the
Great day of Retribution: And yet even
of
238
Of the Catholick
SER M. of Angel-worthip St Paul declares, that
し
​X. it is an intruding into things which men
have not feen, vainly puffed up by their
flefbly mind, falling away from Chrift
the only Head of reconciliation, and be-
guiling themselves of their Reward: All
which therefore, muft ftill much more be
chargeable upon the Practice of Saint-
worship. God has appointed One only
Mediator between God and Men, who
has perfect knowledge of our Infirmities,
and is abundantly able to fuccour them
who come unto God by him: And for
men to idolize either Saints or Angels,
by fetting them up, merely in their own
imaginations, as Interceffors for them with
God, whom God never appointed to That
Office; is a manifeft derogation from the
Honour of our Lord. This is evidently
the State of the cafe, even though it were
true, what fome of the Romanists allege,
that they went no further than barely re-
quefting the Prayers of the Saints depart-
ed, to be offered unto God for them.
But indeed they go much further; taking
it for granted, that the Prayers of the
Saints are undoubtedly very much avail-
!
able
Church of Chrift.
239
able for their devout Votaries:
And SER M,
his
whereas our Saviour expreflly tells
Difciples, that the Greatest Saints are at
the beſt but unprofitable Servants; theſe
men teach on the contrary, that befides
working out their own Salvation, they
have moreover a Stock of Superabundant
Merit depofited in the Church, to be ap-
plied for the Benefit of thoſe who want
it. Which Notion has been carried to
fuch a Heighth of Extravagancy, in fome
Ages and Nations which call themſelves
Chriſtian; that the deluded people, in-
ftead of loving the Lord their God with
all their Heart and with all their Soul,
have been taught to rely with a more
conftant and more entire confidence, up-
on the powerful Prayers and Merits of
the Holy Virgin and the Saints; than
upon the interceffion of Jefus the Medi-
ator of the New Covenant, or the accept-
ableneſs of Virtue and True Holinefs in
the preſence of God the Judge of All.
THE only Text that I am ſenſible of
in the whole New Teftament, that can
poffibly be perverted to give fo much as
the leaft appearance, even to the meaneft
Under-
X.
གདག
240
Of the Catholick
X.
SER M. Underſtanding, of countenancing the Do-
ctrine of the Merit of the Saints; is That
of St Paul, Col. i. 24, I rejoyce in my
Sufferings for you, and fill up that which
is behind of the Afflictions of Christ in my
Fleft, for his Body's fake, which is the
Church. From which words it has been
collected, that the Afflictions and pious
Works of particularly eminent Saints,
are meritorious towards obtaining remif-
fion of Sin, not only for themselves, but
for Others alfo; in fome proportion as
the Sufferings of Chrift, were for the re-
demption of the whole Church. But the
true meaning of St Paul's words, is plain-
ly This only; that in like manner as it
was foretold and appointed that Chrift,
the Head of the Church, fhould firſt ſuf-
fer; fo it was appointed that his Body
alfo, the Members of his Church, ſhould
in many degrees fuffer after him; being
conformed to the Image of the Son of God,
and through much tribulation entring into
the Kingdom of God. This is filling up
that which was Behind of the Sufferings
of Chrift; accompliſhing that which re-
mained to be fulfilled, of the fore-ap-
pointed
I
Church of Chriſt.
241
pointed Sufferings, firſt of Christ, and SER M.
then of his Church.
ا
THE real Ground and Foundation of
this whole Invention, of the Saints in
Heaven being helpful to Sinners upon
Earth; was nothing elſe, but the Worldly
profit arifing from this Doctrine to Thoſe,
who claimed to themſelves the Power of
difpenfing out the Merits of the Saints
for Money, and of enjoying the rich Gifts f
and Prefents offered to the Saints (in a
grateful Return for their Prayers) by Su-
perftitious Votaries.
'TIS likewife upon the very fame
foundation, with thefe imaginary Prayers
of the Dead for the Living; that on
the reverſe, great Endeavours have been
ufed, to make the Prayers alſo of the
Living thought available for the Dead:
Men having been taught to believe, that
Prayers purchaſed with Money to be faid
for them after their Death, might avail
inſtead of their having perfected True
Repentance and Reformation in
in their
Lives. Which being therefore indeed
more effectual than the interceffion of
Christ himself, who obtains forgiveness
VOL. IV.
R
for
1
X.
242
Of the Catholick
SER M. for thofe only who actually repent and
X. amend; hence it has come to pafs, that
among men of wicked and corrupt minds,
the imaginary Prayers of Dead Saints in-
terceding for the Living, and Maffes faid
by the Living in behalf of the Dead;
Fictions of vain and deceitful Men, have
been more relied on, than the everlasting
Gospel of Christ.
THIS is the perverſe and corrupt Uſe,
which the Church of Rome has made of
this plain Doctrine of the Apoſtle, that
good men on Earth are Members of the
Jame City of God, with the Spirits of
just men already made perfect in Heaven.
The True and Chriftian Uſe of this doc-
trine, is That which the Apoftle himſelf
teaches us to make of it; that, if we
look upon ourfelves as Fellow-citizens
with the Saints, and of the Houſehold of
God; if we eſteem ourſelves as Members
of the fame Society with them, and be-
longing to the fame heavenly country,
the Jerufalem which is above; then ought
we to fet our affections on things above,
not on things on the Earth, Col. iii. 2;
that our Hearts may be, where we believe
is
Church of Chrift.
243
X.
is our Treaſure; confidering, in every SER M.
important action we go about, what in-
fluence it will have upon our future and
eternal, rather than on our preſent and
temporal eftate; having our converfation
in Heaven, as being partakers of the fame
Hope with thoſe who have gone before
us, and who have already attained to the
inheritance of the Saints in Light; Prai-
fing God, for Their deliverance from the
Miſeries of this finful World; ſetting be-
fore us Their Good Examples, imitating
their Virtues, and refpecting their Me-
maries; Looking for, and waiting unto,
the Bleſſed Hope, and the Glorious Ap-
pearance of the Great God, and our Sa-
viour Jefus Chrift; when We together
with Them, who have gone before us in
Chriſt, ſhall have our perfect Confumma-
tion and Bliſs both in Body and Soul, in
the eternal Kingdom of God: We, I fay,
together with Them, fhall then receive
our perfect Confummation and Blifs. For
though, in the Text, They are ftiled al-
ready, the Spirits of just men made per-
fect; yet this is fpoken only with regard
to their having perfected or finished their
courſe,
R 2
244
Of the Catholick
X.
SERM.courfe, and having eſcaped all the Dan-
gers and Temptations of this preſent
World. For, as to the actual poffeffion
of the complete Happineſs laid
up for
them in the Kingdom of God, in This
they are not to be inftated till the Refur
rection from the Dead: As the Apoſtle
in the xith chapter of This Epiſtle to the
Hebrews, fpeaking of the Patriarchs and
Martyrs of old, expreffly tells us, ver. 39,
Theſe all (fays he) having obtained a good
Report through Faith, received not the
Promife; God having provided fome better
thing for us, that they without us should
not be made perfect.
5thly and Laftly; Ye are come, faith the
Apoſtle in the Text, to the general Af
fembly and Church of the first-born which
are written in Heaven. The word, firft-
born, carries along with it, in common
Speech, the Notion of a Right of Inhe-
ritance; and to be written in Heaven, or,
in the book of Life, fignifies being quali-
fied, by a Life of Virtue and true Righ-
teouſneſs, to be made Partakers of That
Inheritance. (Thus, Rev. xxii. 14, Blef
fed are they that do his Commandments,
that
Church of Chrift.
245.
X.
that they may have Right to the Tree of S ERM.
Life, and may enter in through the Gates
into the City.) I fay, To be written in
Heaven, fignifies; not, being unalterably
predeftinated unto Life; (for, Him that
finneth against me, will I blot, faith God,
out of my Book; and even Judas himſelf,
before his Apoftacy, was one of thoſe, to
whom our Lord faid, Luk. x. 20, that
their Names were written in Heaven;)
but it denotes, men being at preſent true
children of God, and, if they continue fuch
unto the End, actual Heirs of his King-
dom. When therefore the Apoſtle fays,
Ye are come unto the general Aſſembly and
Church of the first-born which are writ-
ten in Heaven; the Meaning is, as if he
had faid; Ye are become Members of
That Bleffed, but at preſent Inviſible So-
ciety, which confifts of all the righteous
and good men, who fear God and keep
his Commandments, or who have done
and ſhall do ſo through All Ages, and in
all Nations over the Face of the Whole
Earth. This is the True Catholick Church
of God, the Spouſe and Body of Chrift.
The Scripture-notion of which univerfal
Church,
R 3
246
Of the Catholick, &c.
SER M. Church, having been much miſtaken by
X. the ignorance of Some, and much per-
3
verted by the wickednefs of Others I
fhall therefore ftill further and more di-
ftinctly endeavour to fet That matter in
a clear Light in a following Difcourſe.
1
SERMON
[247]
SERMON XI.
Of the Catholick Church of
Chrift.
HEB. xii. 22, 23.
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto
the City of the Living God, the heaven-
ly Jerufalem, and to an innumerable
Company of Angels, To the general Af
Jembly and Church of the first-born
which are written in Heaven, and to
God the Fudge of All, and to the Spi-
rits of just men made perfect, and to
Jefus the Mediator of the New Cove-
nant,
I
N difcourfing upon theſe SER M.
words; I have already,
I. In the First place, con-
fidered diftinctly the feveral
Perfons, whom the Apoſtle,
in this his Defcription of the City of the
R 4
Living
XI.
248
Of the Catholick
X.
SER M.Living God, the heavenly Jerufalem,
ſuppoſes to have a relation to, and Com-
munion with each other. There is, 1ft,
fays he, God the Judge of All: 2dly,
Jefus the Mediator of the New Covenant:
3dly, An innumerable Company of Angels:
4thly, The Spirits of just men made per-
fect: 5thly, The general Assembly and
Church of the firft-born which are written
in Heaven: Written in Heaven: that is,
not, predeftinated unalterably unto Life ;
(for, Him that finneth against me, will I
blot, faith God, out of my Book; and e-
ven Judas himſelf, before his Apoftacy,
was One of Thofe, to whom our Lord
faid, Luke x. 20, That their Names were
written in Heaven :) But written in Hea-
ven, are they, who at prefent are true
children of God, and, if they continue
fuch unto the End, fhall be actual Heirs
of his Kingdom.
Now this laft Particular, the general
Affembly and Church of the firſt-born
which are written in Heaven, being an
exprefs Definition of the True Catholick
Church of God, the Spouſe and Body of
Chrift; the right Notion of which uni-
I
verfal
Church of Chriſt.
249
verfal Church, has been much mistaken SE RM.
by the ignorance of Some, and much XI.
perverted by the Wickedness of Others:
My
II. Second general Head therefore, (to
which I am to proceed at This time,)
was, from theſe words of the Apoſtle, to
deduce the true Scripture-Notion of the
Holy Catholick Church of Christ, and of
That Unity, or Communion, which is be-
tween the Members of it, as Members of
the One Body of Chriſt,
Now though the word Catholick is
well known to fignify, in general, the
Whole or Univerſal Church; yet are there
feveral different Senfes, wherein even this
general Expreffion, is taken in greater or
in lefs Latitude of fignification. The
ift and largest Senfe of the term Catho-
lick Church, is that whch appears to be
the most obvious and literal Meaning of
the words of the Text, The general Af-
fembly and Church of the firſt-born which
are written in Heaven; that is, the whole
Number of thoſe who fhall finally attain
unto Salvation, According to that live-
ly deſcription St John gives of them,
Rev.
250
Of the Catholick
ނ
SER M. Rev. vii, 9. I beheld, and lo, a great mul-
XI. titude, which no man could number, of all
Nations, and kindreds, and people, and
tongues, food before the Throne, -and
cried with a loud voice, faying, Salvation
unto our God which fitteth upon the Throne,
and unto the Lamb. Men, being corrupt-
ed and depraved by Sin could not of
themselves, confiftently with the infinite
Holiness of the Divine Nature, and the
Honour of God's righteous Laws, be ad-
mitted to have Accefs unto Him, who
dwelleth in Light inacceffible, and is of pu-
rer Eyes than to behold iniquity. But,
through the interceffion of the Lamb flain
from the Foundation of the World; whom
God from the Beginning promiſed by All
his Holy Prophets, and in the fulneſs of
Time actually raised from the Dead, and
exalted into Heaven to the right hand of
the Throne on the Majefty on High, and
gave him a Name which is above every
Name, and a Kingdom which should never
be destroyed: Through His interceffion,
I fay, All who forfake their Sins and a-
mend their Lives, fhall, confiftently with
the Honour of the Divine Laws, be ad-
mittted
Church of Chrift.
251
mitted to the Grace and Favour, of ha-SER M.
ving their Repentance accepted unto Par- XI.
don. To Him God has given, (to become
Subjects of that Kingdom which the Fa-
ther has appointed him, and to be Parta-
kers with him of his eternal Glory and
Happineſs,) All Thofe who by fincere Re-
pentance and true renewed Obedience,
Thall be found capable of applying to
themſelves the Redemption purchaſed by
the Blood of Chrift. Behold, faith he, I
and the Children which God has given me,
Heb. ii. 13. And Luke xxii. 29. I ap-
point You a Kingdom, as my Father hath
appointed unto Me. Theſe are, in the
largest and most extenfive Senfe of the
word, the Catholick Church of God; the
General Aſſembly and Church of the firſt-
born which are written in Heaven : All
Holy and Virtuous Men, who in All A-
ges and in All Nations, have feared God
and kept his Commandments, from the
Beginning of the World. In This Bleffed
Affembly of the Sons of God, are com-
prehended all Thofe, who, under the ori-
ginal and general Law of Nature only,
thro' the Love of Truth and Right, of
God
252
Of the Catholick
SER M. God and Goodness, have after the example
XI. of Enoch and Noah, of Melchifedec and
Job, of the Patriarchs and other Antient
Heroes, of whom the World was not wor-
thy, feparated themſelves from the cor-
rupt Practices of the idolatrous and un-
righteous Nations of the Earth; and they
Shall therefore, as our Saviour declares,
come from the Eaft and from the Weft and
from the North and from the South, and
Shall fit down with Abraham, Ifaac and
Jacob, in the Kingdom of God, Matt. viii.
11; when the Son of man ſhall ſend forth
his Angels, and ſhall gather together his
Elect from the four Winds, from one end of
Heaven to the other, Matt. xxiv. 3 I. For
God is no respecter of perſons, Acts x. 34;
but in Every Nation, he that feareth God
and worketh righteoufnefs, is accepted of
him. Theſe therefore, together with All
fuch as, under the Jewish Difpenſation
in particular obeyed the Law of Mofes,
waiting for the Hope and Redemption of
Ifrael; and all Thofe in the last place,
who, under the Gofpel-ftate, fincerely be-
lieve in the Name of Chrift, and, by pa-
tient continuance in well-doing, according
to
Church of Chrift.
253
to the Commands of God delivered to SER M.
them in the Gospel, feek for glory and ho- XI.
nour and immortality: Thefe All, confi-
dered together, as One united Body, or Af-
fembly of God's Faithful Servants, are,
in the moſt true and primary notion, in
the highest and largest fenfe of the word,
the Catholick or Univerfal Church of
Chrift; his Spouſe, and his Body; his
Brethren, and his Members; his Sheep,
his Inheritance, and the Subjects of his
Kingdom. This is that Church, which
Christ loved and gave himſelf for it; that
he might fanctify and cleanfe it, by the
Word of God; that he might wash it from
its Sins, in his own Blood; that he might
prefent it to his Father, a glorious Church,
not having pot or wrinkle or any fuch
thing, but that it fhould be Holy and
without Blemish, even undefiled and fault-
lefs before the Throne of God. These are
They, who ſhall finally, at their arrival
in the True Mount Sion, the City of
the Living God, the heavenly Jerufalem;
make one complete and Bleffed Society,
with an innumerable Company of Angels,
and with Jefus the Mediator of the New
Covenant,
254
Of the Catholick
SER M. Covenant, and with GOD the Judge of
XI, All: And in the mean time, the Unity or
Communion which is between the Mem-
bers of This Univerfal Church or Family
of God, confifts in This; that they are
All, Servants of the fame Supreme King,
the One God and Father of the Universe;
all, redeemed by the Blood of the fame
Saviour, whether they explicitly knew of
him, or no; all, guided and fanctified
by the fame Spirit; all, Heirs of the
fame Promifes, and have laid up for them
a fhare of the fame Glory, not in the
fame Degree, but in different degrees of
the fame Glory, in the eternal Kingdom of
God.
Ir then we fincerely believe This, as
we all pretend and profefs to believe it;
what manner of perfons ought we confe
quently to be, in all Holiness and Godly
Converſation; (not regarding, in matters
of Religion, the doctrines and command-
ments of Men, but the Laws of God on-
ly;) that we may be worthy to be found
written in the writing of God's people,
Ezek. xiii. 9. (that is, as St John ex-
preffes it, in the Book of Life;) and to
have
Church of Chrift,
255
have our portion of inheritance among SER M.
thoſe Saints of the moft High; being XI.
numbred together, in that general Affem-
bly and Church of the firft-born, with
the Patriarchs and Prophets, with the
Apoftles, Martyrs and Confeffors, and all
righteous and juſt Men, who have lived
and died in the Fear of God from the
Foundation of the World.
2dly, THE Catholick or univerfal
Church, fignifies in the next place, and
indeed more frequently, the Chriftian
Church only: The Chriftian Church, as
diſtinguiſhed from that of the Jews and
Patriarchs of old: the Church of Christ,
fpread univerſally from our Saviour's
Days over all the World, in contradi-
ftinction to the Jewish Church, which
was particularly confined to One Nation
or People. And in This fenfe, the Holy
Catholick Church fignifies That inftitution
of Chriflianity, or Society of men profef-
fing the Doctrine of the Gospel; which
being built upon the Foundation of Chrift
and his Apoftles, (in which fenfe our Sa-
viour emphatically ftiles St Peter a Rock,
or principal Foundation-ftone;) is by a
continued
I
256
Of the Catholick
SER M. continued Succeffion of their Difciples
XI. and Followers, propagated in the Preach-
ing of Truth and in the Practice of Righte-
ouſneſs through All Ages, without any to-
tal Interruption, unto the End of the World.
This is That Church, which Chrift has
promiſed to be Always with, and to pre-
ſerve it, that the Gates of Hell, that is,
Perfecution and Tyranny and even Death
itſelf, fhall never be able to prevail a-
gainſt it. This is That Church, which
though continually oppofed by Unbelievers
on the one hand, and on the other hand
perfecuted by the feveral Religions and
Powers of the World that calls itſelf
Chriftian; though corrupted by falfe
Doctrines and Determinations of Men,
diſtracted by mutual Impofitions and
Schifms, and moſt of all deformed by tem-
poral Profperity, by the mixture of Am-
bition and worldly Power, and by the vi-
tious Lives of thoſe who pretend to be
its Members; yet fhall finally fo prevail,
that at length the Kingdoms of the World,
fhall become the Kingdoms of our Lord and
of his Christ; and the Knowledge of God
fhall fill the Earth, as the Waters cover
the
Church of Chrift.
257
the Sea ; and the everlasting Gospel fhall S & R M.
be preached to all Nations, faying, Rev. XI.
xiv. 6, 7. Worship him that made Heaven
and Earth and the Sea, and all that is
therein.
THE Unity or Communion which is be-
tween the Members of this Church of
Chriſt, ſpread over the World from the
days of our Saviour to the Confummation
of all things, and confidered as diftinct
from the Jewish Church, and That of the
Patriarchs of old; I fay, the Unity of
its Members confifts further in This;
that they are, not only Servants of the
fame God, and Heirs of the fame Promifes,
(for fo were the Jews and Patriarchs,
and All the Worthies of Antient Ages ;)
but Theſe have Communion moreover,
in profeffing particularly the fame explicit
Faith in Chrift, of whom the Antients
had but an obfcure expectation as of Him
that was to come; they have a Commu-
nion or Unity
or Unity, as being Members of
Christ's peculiar myftical Body, of his
Flesh and of his Bones, Eph. v. 30. as be-
ing united, under the fame Head; as be-
ing governed, by the fame Laws; as
VOL. IV.
S
communi-
258
Of the Catholick
SER M. communicating, (though they live in ve-
XI.
ry different Ages and Countries of the
World,) in the fame Ordinances of the
Gospel, in the offering up of Prayers to
God thro' Chrift, in the Miniftration of
the fame Word, and the Participation of
the fame Sacraments: According to that
elegant deſcription given by St Paul,
Eph. ii. 20. Ye are built upon the Foun-
dation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jefus
Chrift himself being the chief corner-ftone,
In whom all the Building fitly framed to-
gether, groweth unto an Holy Temple in the
Lord.
3dly, THE Catholick Church fignifies
very frequently, in a ſtill more particular
and restrained fenſe, that Part of the u-
niverfal Church of Chrift, which in the
prefent Age is Now living upon Earth;
as diftinguiſhed from thoſe which have
been before, and fhall come after. And
in This fenfe, the word fignifies the Pre-
fent True Members of Chrift, wherefoever
they be difperfed, or howfoever diftin-
guiſhed, over the Face of the whole
Earth. This is the Prefent Church Mi-
litant, the Invisible Church known only to
God
Church of Chrift.
259
XI.
n
God the fearcher of Hearts; who, among SERM.
Christians of all Nations, and of different
Rites and Ceremonies and Forms of Go-
vernment, and of great Diverſity of O÷
pinions in matters not fundamental, that
is, not covenanted for at Baptifm; knows
who they are that worſhip him in Spirit
and in Truth, and obey the Goſpel with
Simplicity and Sincerity of Heart. This
is the invifible Catholick Church, the on-
ly true Church upon Earth in the Sight of
God; but not diftinguishable by Us, who
know not each others Hearts, and there-
fore very often cannot poffibly diftin-
guish between the hypocrite and the fin-
cere.
FOR which reafon, between the Mem-
bers of this True Invifible Church, there
cannot poffibly be, in this preſent Life,
any diftinct and feparate Communion; till,
at the great day of Retribution, the All-
ſeeing and Unerring Judge, fhall finally
and for ever ſeparate the Sheep from the
Goats.
4thly and lastly; THE Term, Catholick
Church, fignifies in the last place, and
most frequently of all, That Part of the
S 2
Univerfal
260
Of the Catholick
SER M. Univerfal Church of Chrift, which in the
XI. prefent Generation is Vifible upon Earth,
in an Outward Profeffion of the Belief
of the Gofpel, and in a vifible external
Communion of the Word and Sacra-
ments. This is That Church, which, in
our prefent imperfect State, we are forced
very improperly and promifcuouſly to
judge and ſpeak of, as if the Vifible and
Invifible, the Apparent and the Real
Church of Chrift, were one and the fame
Body of Men, actually united in the
Communion of Saints. This is That
Great Field, fo ftyled by our Saviour
in his Parable, wherein grows toge-
ther the Corn and the Tares: This is
that Net, deſcribed by him in another
parable; wherein are incloſed both Good
Fish and Bad. This is the mixt Society
of fincere Chriftians and Hypocrites, who
fhall not be ſeparated till the End of the
World.
THE Church of Rome, pretends her-
felf to be This Whole Catholick Church,
exclufive of All other Societies of Chrift-
ians. Which is the very fame contradict-
ion, as for a fingle Member, nay, for a
Member
Church of Chrift.
26.1
Member after it has cut itself off from SER M°
the Body, confidently to call itſelf the XI.
Whole Body.
Marks alfo, or Notes, they pretend to
give; whereby, as by a certain Teſt, Men
may eaſily diſtinguiſh the True Catho-
lick Church, from all that are errone-
ous.
One of thefe Marks of Theirs, is Vi-
fibility; that is, Temporal Grandeur and
Profperity, founded upon Worldly Power
and Dominion: Which the Scripture, on
the contrary makes one of the Great
Marks of Antichrist, compelling by Force
of Perfecution all the World to worſhip
him, that is, to make profeffion of His
Religion: Rev, xviii. 7, 3, She hath glor
rified herself, and lived deliciously;
fhe faith in her Heart, 1 fit a Queen,-
and ſhall fee no ſorrow:
All Nations
have drunk of the Wine of—ber fornica-
tion, and the Kings of the Earth have com-
mitted fornication with her, (that is, have
fupported her idolatrous religion;) and
the Merchants of the Earth are waxed
rich through the abundance of her Deli
cacies.
$ 3
Another
262
Of the Catholick
SERM.
Another Mark they give us of the True
XI. Church, is Univerfality; By which they
mean, a large extent of Country: Not
confidering, that Mahometanifm and Pa-
ganiſm are much fuperiour to them in
This refpect: And if they were not, yet
our Saviour feems to have had no great
Opinion of This way of judging of Truth
by Numbers; when he tells us that Wide is
the Gate, and Broad is the Way that leadeth
to Deftruction, and Many there be that
in thereat.
go
Another Mark of the True Church, they
tell us, is Antiquity: By which they mean,
not Antiquity indeed, not the Primitive
Antiquity of Chrift and his Apoftles; but
only ſeveral past corrupt Ages; which,
with refpect to Us Now indeed, are An-
tient; but, with refpect to the Gospel it-
Self, were very late Innovations.
Laftly; Another Mark they give us of
the True Church, is Miracles: Which
were indeed Authentick Evidences of our
Saviour's divine Commiffion, and of his
Apofles after him: But miraculous Pow-
ers, extended not any further than to Their
perfons; and to thofe immediately im-
powered
Church of Chrift.
263
XI.
powered by them in the firft Age: And asS ER M.
to the pretended Miracles, which began in
the Fourth Century about the Time of
St Anthony the Monk, and have conti-
nued ever fince in the Church of Rome
the Character the Scripture gives of Them,
is This; 2 Th. ii. 8. Then fhall that wick-
ed one be revealed,whofe coming is af-
ter the working of Satan, with all Power
and Signs and lying Wonders, and with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them
that perish because they received not the
Love of the Truth;for this caufe God
Shall fend them ſtrong delufion, that they
Should believe a Lie And Rev. xiii. 13.
He doth great Wonders, and deceiveth
them that dwell on the Earth, by the means
of thofe Miracles which he had Power to
do: According to that original Prophecy
of our Saviour, Matt. xxiv. 24. There
Shall arife falfe Chrifts and falfe Pro-
phets, and ſhall ſhow great Signs and
Wonders.
ALL things therefore of This kind,
are mere cheats and delufions. And in-
deed Marks, or Notes, of the true Church,
there are None other, but This One only;
S 4
the
264
Of the Catholick
SER M. the adhering ftedfaftly to the plain and
XI. uncorrupted Doctrine of Christ and his A-
poftles, as delivered in their own Diſcourſes
and Writings. Where-ever This is the
Cafe, There is the True Church; even
though but Two or Three be gathered toge-
ther, to worship God in Christ's Name,
and according to his Command. And
where-ever This is not the Cafe, There is
no True Church; even tho' it were as Catho-
lick or Univerfal as the whole World.
THE Church of Rome therefore, and
in proportion, all its Followers, whether
in whole or in part, by mixing the Au-
thority of Popes, and Councils, and Vain
Men, with the pure Doctrine of Chriſt ;
have, like the Jews of old, by the Tra-
ditions of Men, made void the Command-
ments of God; and are thereby become
That Man of Sin, (of whom the Apoſtles
have foretold us,) fitting blafphemouſly
in the Seat and Temple of God, and
changing Laws and Times, and command-
ing all Men to worship his Temporal Au-
thority.
THE
Church of Chrift.
265
THE True and Real Authority of the SER M.
Church of Chrift, is to be a Witness and XI.
Keeper of Holy Writ; to tranfmit it down
uncorrupted from generation to generati-
on, as the only Rule of Faith and Man-
ners; and in matters of indifference, in
Rites and Ceremonies and Forms of exter-
nal Government, to take care that all
things be done decently and in Order. In
which matters, the univerſal Church be-
ing too large to have any poffibility of
confulting together, the Church in every
Nation Therefore has the fame Right and
Authority to determine for itself, as the
Catholick Church, if it were poffible for
it to come together in One, would have
to determine for the Whole. Which Pow-
er or Authority, in Matters of Doctrine
indeed, that is, in appointing the Terms
or Conditions of Salvation, is none at all;
Not only in any particular Church, but e-
ven in the Whole Catholick Church collective-
ly; nay, even in the Apostles themſelves;
nay, if we will believe St Paul, even in
an Angel from Heaven, it is abfolutely
None at all; For if any man shall add to
Thefe things, God shall add unto Him the
Plagues
266
Of the Catholick
XI.
SERM. Plagues that are written in His Book; and
if any man ſhall take away therefrom, God
fhall take
away his
part out of the book of
Life, and out of the Holy City. But in Rites
and Ceremonies, in the Manner and Cir-
cumſtances of Governments, and all mat-
ters of external Form, which God hath
left indifferent; in Thefe things, the Au-
thority of Men takes properly place: And
herein every good man ought to comply
willingly, with the Laws and Cuſtoms of
the Government he lives under: Always
remembring this One Rule, that, with
regard to theſe outward and indifferent
things, they who make Divifions in the
Church of Chriſt, either by needlefly
feparating Themselves, or, thro' needleſs
and imperious impofitions, giving to O-
thers any Ground or Occafion of Separa-
ting; are on Both fides equally guilty of
a Schifmatical Spirit. For fo St Paul ad-
moniſhes, Rom. xvi. 17. Mark them which
caufe Divifions and Offences. He does not
fay, Mark Them only, who divide; Which
is the Fault on One fide: But alfo, Mark
them who
gave occafion to Divifion ;
เ
I
Which
L.
Church of Chrift.
267
Which is equally the Fault on the Other SER M.
fide.
XI.
FOR the Unity or Communion, which ˇ
ought to be between the Members of the
Vifible Church Catholick, confifts in This;
that, with univerfal Love and Charity,
with mutual Forbearance and Good-Will,
they affift, inſtruct, comfort, reprove,
forgive one another; and, in a word,
(notwithſtanding any Differences of Opi-
nion in ſmaller matters,) perform all the
Offices of Kindnefs and Goodneſs, that
becomes Members of One and the Same
Body to do for each other. That the
Members fhould all have the fame Care one
for another; and if One member fuffer, all
the members fhould by Compaffion fuffer
with it, 1 Cor. xii. 25. That the Eye can-
not say to the Hand, I have no need of
Thee; nor again, the Head to the Feet, I
have no need of you, ver. 21. That Great
Care fhould always be taken, not to lay
a Foundation for Schifms and Divifions,
by affuming Authority to impofe upon
each other as Neceffary, fuch Matters ei-
ther of Opinion or Practice, as Chrift has
not made necellary. The attempting of
which,
1
268
Of the Catholick
SER M.which, has in all Ages been the fulfilling
XI. of That Prophecy of our Saviour, I come
not to fend Peace, but a Sword. For the
True Unity of Chriſtians does not depend,
(as fome have vainly imagined,) upon
procuring by Force an Uniformity of Opi-
nions; (which to be real, is abfolutely im-
poffible in Nature; and the Appearance
of it, can never be any thing elſe than
Ignorance or Hypocrify:) But the True
Unity of Chriftians depends upon their A-
greement in the fincere Love of Truth,
and Practice of Charity; bearing each e-
thers Infirmities in all things that are of
an indifferent nature, and being stedfaft
and unmoveable in things fundamental,
that is, in the Faith and Obedience for
which they covenanted at Baptiſm; bold-
ing the Head, Col. ii. 19, from which all
the Body by Joints and Bands having Nou-
rishment miniftred, and knit together, in-
creaſeth with the Increase of God. If we
walk in the Light of the Gofpel, we muſt
have This Fellowship one with another.
For he that faith, he loves God, and loveth
not his Brother, St John tells us, is a Ly-
ar. Nay, St Paul goes farther, and de-
I
clares,
Church of Chriſt.
269
XI.
clares, that if a man could speak with the SER M.
Tongues of Men and Angels, and had all
Faith fo that he could remove mountains,
and gave his Body to be burned, and be-
ftowed all his goods to feed the Poor, and
had not Charity, (that is, had not that
good and Chriſtian Spirit, which would
hinder him from putting impofitions upon
his Brethren, which are the Occafions of
dividing the Body of Chrift; ) all the reft
would profit him Nothing. With one thing
indeed, with Vice and Immorality only,
we are to have No Charity: Have No
Fellowship with the unfruitful Works of
Darkness; neither be Partakers of other
men's Sins; For what Communion has
Light with Darkness, or what fellowship
has Chrift with Belial? But beyond This,
our Saviour has given us no Authority to
go; leaſt by a miſtaken zeal, we needlefly
pluck up the Wheat with the Tares. For
good men are not hurt, by living in Com-
munities, with the Wicked, but only by
joining with them in any Sin. In all o-
ther refpects, we are to fhow tenderneſs to
all men; to inftruct, rebuke, or bear
with them as Brethren: Conſidering,
that
270
Of the Catholick
XI. rit,
ŞER M. that as there is One Body and One Spi-
and one Hope of our Calling, One
Lord, One Faith, One Baptifm, One God
and Father of All, who is above All; ſo
we ought to indeavour with all forbear-
ance towards one another in Love, to keep
the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of
Peace: That we may grow up into Him
in all things, which is the Head, even
Chrift; From whom the whole Body fitly
joined together, and compacted by That
which every joint Supplieth, according to
the effectual working in the measure of e-
very part, maketh increaſe of the Body un-
to the edifying of itself in Love. Till we
all come in the unity of the Faith, and of
the Knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the fta-
ture of the fulness of Chrift. By This
Rule, if we walk here upon Earth; we
may hope finally to be numbred in That
general Aſſembly and Church of the first-
born, which are written in Heaven: with
Angels, and with Jefus the Mediator of the
New covenant, and to come to God in whofe
prefence is fullness of Joy, and at whofe
right hand are pleasures for evermore.
SERMON
..
[271]
SERMON XII.
Of the Number of thoſe that ſhall
be faved.
REV. ill. 4.
濃
​Thou hast a few Names even in
Sardis, that have not defiled their
Garments; and they shall walk
with me in white, for they are
worthy.
W
HETHER thefe Epiftles of SER M.
our Saviour to the Seven XII.
Churches of Afia, are to be
underſtood literally only, as
Exhortations to thofe Seven
particular Churches; or whether, accord-
ing
272
Of the Number of Thoſe
SER M.ing to the Analogy of the reft of This
XII. Book, they are to be applied in the pro-
phetick ftyle to Seven different States,
Succeffions, or Periods, of the Whole
Church of Chrift; is not material to our
preſent Purpoſe to inquire. The Matter
contained in theſe Admonitions, may, by
a Moral Application, become equally ufe-
ful to us, upon either Suppofition. For,
what St Paul affirms concerning the State
of the ancient Jewish Church; that the
things which befel them, were our Ex-
amples, and were writ for our Admoni-
tion, upon whom the Ends of the World
are come; is undoubtedly much more
true, of the things relating to the An-
tient Chriftian Church, whether parti-
cular or univerſal. Theſe Exhortations
therefore of our Saviour, whether given
to the Single Churches of Afia, or in-
tended to be applied to the feveral Suc-
ceffive Periods of the Catholick Church
are either way worthy of our moſt ſeri-
ous meditations. The Subject-matter of
each of the ſeven Epiftles is very nearly
the fame; confifting of three parts; A
Commendation of the Faith and Patience
of
that ſhall be Saved.
273
XII.
of the Saints, a Reproof of their Defects, S ER M.
and an Exhortation either to Amendment,
or Perfeverance. The State of the Church
of Sardis is reprefented as one of the
most reproveable of the feven; and there-
fore the Epiſtle to This Church does not
begin, as moſt of the others do, with a
Commendation of their Faith and Pa-
tience, but on the contrary with a very
ſevere Reproof; ver. 1, I know thy Works,
that thou hast a Name, that thou liveft,
and art dead. Then follows the Exhor-
tation to repent, ver. 2, Be watchful and
Strengthen the things which remain, that
are ready to die; for I have not found thy
Works perfect before God: Remember
therefore how thou haft received and heard,
and bold faft, and repent. After which
he adds in the laft place that fmall Com-
mendation which could be allowed to fo
imperfect a Church, in the Words of the
Text: Nevertheless thou haft a Few Names
even in Sardis, that have not defiled their
Garments, and They shall walk with me
in white, for they are worthy. It might
reafonably be hoped, that, in a careless
and corrupt Age, it ſhould be an awaken-
VOL. IV,
T
ing
274
Of the Number of Thofe
SER M.ing Confideration to All who have any
XII.
true Concern for the Glory of God, and
for the Honour and Purity of Religion ;-
to think within themſelves, if in the beſt
and pureft Times of the Gofpel, if in
thofe Primitive Ages, and among thofe
moft eminent Churches of Afia, there
was one to which no better Commenda-
tion could be afforded, than that there
were in it a Few Names which had not
defiled their Garments; what Appre-
henfions will it become Us to have of
ourſelves, in thefe laft and degenerate
Ages, when our Works are not only Rea-
dy to die, but actually dead; nay, when
we ſcarce have fo much as a Name that
we live? when on the One hand by open
Atheiſm, Irreligion and Prafanenefs, and
on the Other hand by ignorant and fu-
perftitious Contentions about vain, need-
tefs and unintelligible Opinions, the Life
and Soul of Religion, true Devotion and
Piety towards God, and Univerfal Righ-
teouſneſs, Love and Good-will towards
Men, is in a manner wholly eaten out
and confumed? If in the Primitive Church
itſelf, Judgment thus began at the House
of
that fhall be Saved.
275
حمة
of God, what must the End be of them SÉR M.
that obey not the Gospel at all; And if the XII.
Righteous fcarcely be faved, where shall the
Ungodly and the Sinner appear? But This
I intimate only, as a general Obfervation
upon the Whole. In the Words themselves
we may more diftinctly obferve the fol-
lowing Particulars. 1ft, The Number
or Proportion of thofe, who fhall inherit
Salvation; Thou hast a Few nàmės even
in Sardis: 2dly, The Qualification by
which they are entitled to that inheri
tance; Which have not defiled their Gar-
ments: 3dly, The Nature or Defcription
of the Reward promifed them; They shall
walk with me in White: And 4thly, The
Character or Encomium given to the
perfons who fhall obtain this inheritance;
For they are Worthy.
Ift, HERE is expreffed the Number or
Proportion of thofe who fhall inherit
Salvation; Thou hast a Few names even
in Sardis: The Atrict and proper inten-
tion of which Words in this place, feems
to be to declare, that even in Sardis, tho'
one of the moſt corrupt of all the Seven
Churches, yet even in That Church there
T 2
were
276
Of the Number of Thoſe
SERM. Were fome who fhould be Heirs of Sal-
XII. vation: Implying, that in the other
W Churches there were more, and in a much
greater Proportion, when there were a
Few found even in that, which was one
of the worst of all. But yet, fince the
evil things which are ſpoken of the Church
of Sardis, are but comparative with re-
gard to the Purity of the other more un-
corrupt Churches; and That primitive
Church, with all its Faults, was ftill one
of the golden Candleſticks, and of the fe-
ven Stars in our Saviour's right Hand;
with which the Things that are moſt
highly commended in theſe later and more
degenerate Ages of the Chriftian World,
muſt hardly prefume to be compared:
Therefore our Saviour's declaring that in
One, even of Thefe Churches, there were
but Few who fhould walk with him in
White, may juftly give us occafion to
confider the feveral Texts of Scripture,
wherein ſeems to be contained that me-
lancholy Doctrine, that there are Few
only which fhall attain unto Salvation.
In the fecond Apocryphal Book of Ef-
dras, there is a very ftrange expreffion to
I
this
that ſhall be Saved.
277
XII.
this Purpoſe, ch. viii. 1, The moſt High, SERM.
fays he, has made this World for many,
but the World to come for Few: For as
the Earth giveth much mold whereof Earth-
en Veſſels are made, but little duft that gold
cometh of; even fo is the Course of this
prefent World; there be many created, but
Few ſhall be faved: And ch. ix. 15, There
be many more of them which perish, than
of them which shall be faved: Like as a
Wave is greater than a Drop. Our Sa-
viour himſelf, when one asked him, Lord, Luk. xiii.
are there few that be faved; took that 23.
occafion to exhort
exhort his Difciples, fay-
ing, Enter ye in at the ftrait gate; For, Mat. vii.
frait is the Gate, and narrow is the Way 14.
that leadeth unto Life, and Few there be
that find it: And at the Conclufion of
two of his Parables, he fums up his Doc- Mat. xx.
trine twice in the very fame Words; For 16.
many are called, but Few chofen. The
Apoſtle St Peter compares our being fa-
ved by the Goſpel, to the prefervation of
Noah and his Family from the Flood ;
and makes Baptifm a like Figure to the
Ark, wherein Few, that is, eight Perfons,
were faved by Water, 1 Pet. iii. 20. And
Rev. xiii. 8, All that dwell upon the Earth
Shall
T 3
xxii. 14.
278
Of the Number of Thofe
ཤཇ་
SERM fhall worship him, whofe names are not writ-
XII. ten in the book of life of the Lamb flain from
the foundation of the world: That is; the
Generality of Chriftians who are not fin-
cerely fuch, will always run after the Reli-
gions of this World, inſtead of ſtudying
the Doctrines which Chrift himſelf taught
them. St Paul, Rom. ix. 27, applies to the
Salvation of the Gospel, that paffage of I-
faiah, Though the Number of the children
of Ifracl be as the Sand of the Sea, c
remnant shall be faved. And as in Eli-
jab's time there were in all Ifrael ſeven
thousand men, who had not bowed the knee
to the image of Baal; Even fo, faith he,
at this prefent time alfo there is a remnant,
according to the election of Grace, ch. xi.
at the 4th verſe. Theſe may juftly feem
to be hard fayings, and Who can bear
them? For if theſe things be fo, Who
And how fhall this
G
then ſhall be faved?
be reconciled with thofe Divine Attri-
butes, the Goodnefs, the Mercy, and
Compaffion of God; of whom the Scrip-
ture declares, that he would have all men
to be Javed, that he would not that Any
Should perish, and that his tender mercies
are over all his Works? Now to This
Diffi
that shall be Saved.
279
Difficulty it might be fufficient to anſwer SER M.
in general, that at the great day of Re- XII.
tribution, God will abundantly vindicate
himſelf before Men and Angels, and all
Mouths fhall be stopped before him: Stop-
ped, not by Power and fupreme Autho-
rity, but by conviction of the Juftice, the
Reaſon, the Equity, the Neceffity of the
Cafe By all which things, God will be
juſtified in his ſaying; and clear, both
when he judges and when he is judged.
This, I fay, is in the whole a fufficient
ground of Satisfaction, (even though no-
thing further could be alleged,) to a ra-
tional, pious, and modeſt Mind, who can
truſt God till the final event of Things,
to make it appear at laft, that the Judge
of all the Earth will do what is right.
And indeed it may univerfally be looked
upon as a never-failing Rule, which may
in all cafes fafely be depended upon; that
where-ever any Notion we entertain, is
in any degree inconfiftent with any of
the natural and unchangeable Attributes
of the Divine Nature, there is always ei-
ther fome latent Error in the Notion it-
felf, which at prefent perhaps we cannot
diftinely diſcover; or at leaft, there is
fon e
T
I 4
280
Of the Number of Thofe
SERM. fome great Defect in our Knowledge of
XII. feveral very material Circumstances, which
in reality alter the nature of the whole
Queſtion. Upon the Whole therefore,
we ought in all reaſon to reſt ſatisfied,
with being able to affirm, that God will
finally juſtify his own proceeding to eve-
ry man's Conſcience, and with righteouf
nefs will be judge the World. Yet in the
matter at preſent before us, there is fome-
thing further both in general, of confi-
derable moment, that we are capable of
obferving; and alfo in particular fome-
thing remarkable, with regard to each of
the fore-mentioned Texts of Scripture.
In general: We know it was reaſon-
able God fhould create Beings, endued
with Freedom of Will; that they might be
capable of rendring him a Free-will-of-
fering of voluntary Obedience; which is
the only thing that can poffibly be ac-
ceptable to a Supreme Governour. Now
by the very fame Liberty, which rendred
them capable of paying a voluntary Obe-
dience, they muft needs be capable like-
wife of refusing to obey: And thence
came Sin and Miſery into the Crea-
tion of God. Further: It was fit, that
infinite
that ſhall be Saved.
281
infinite Power and Wiſdom fhould dif- SER M.
;
play itſelf in making great Variety of
fuch Creatures. In which Variety, it
could not be, but of thoſe which were
the loweſt and fraileft and moft fallible
of all rational Beings, greater Numbers
fhould prove incapable of the Heavenly
ftate; and confequently muft perish. Muft
perish: Not by the Appointment of God;
(For God made not Death; neither hath
he pleaſure in the deftruction of the Li-
ving; but invites all men to come and
take of the Water of Life freely;) but
they perish, by their own Careleffneſs and
Senfuality, by their own Diſobedience,
Wilfulneſs and Impenitency; being unfit
for, and incapable of the Happineſs of
Heaven. And yet even of thoſe who fo
periſh, not All are condemned to the fe-
vere
Puniſhment of Thofe, concerning
whom it is faid that it fhall be more
tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the
day of Judgment than for Them; But
every one ſhall be puniſhed according to
the exact Degree only of his own demerit;
fome with few ftripes, (as cur Saviour
declares to us,) and others with many;
according as the Juftice and Wisdom of
God
XII.
282 Of the Number of Thofe
SER M. God in his Supreme Government of the
XII. World neceffarily requires, for the ſupport
i
*
of his Authority, and the honour of his
righteous and eternal Laws.
THIS, in general. There is in parti-
cular fomething proper to be remarked,
with regard to each of the forementioned
paffages in Scripture.
IN the first place, the Smallneſs of the
Numbers there mentioned, is not abfolute,
but comparative. The Righteous are Few,
not abfolutely ſpeaking; but in Compari-
fon only with thoſe who are Wicked. For
otherwife, where the Expreffions are not
comparative, the Scripture fpeaks after a
very different manner I beheld, fays
St John in his Vifion, Rev. vii. 9, and lo
a great multitude which 120 man could
number, of all Nations and Kindreds and
People and Tongues, stood before the throne
and before the Lamb, clothed with white
robes, and palms were in their hands. And
yet This great Multitude were of Thofe
only, who were faved out of the Antichri-
ftian State, out of that great and univerfal
Corruption, which was to overfpread the
Church in its lowest and moft oppreffed
Condition; ver. 14. These are they which
·
came
that fhall be Saved.
283
and
XII.
came out of great Tribulation, (out ofS ER M.
The great Tribulation, it ſhould be ren-
dred,) and have washed their robes,
made them white in the Blood of the
Lamb.
In the next place; 'tis to be obferved,
that feveral of the Texts before-cited, are
parts of Parabolical Difcourfes; in which
Parables, there must not be a ftrict Ap-
plication made of every fingle Expreſſion,
but of That only, or principally, wherein
the Similitude confifts, and which is the
main Intent of the Parable. Thus the
intent of theſe Two Parables, which our
Saviour concludes with thefe Words, Ma-
ny are called, but few chofen; is not to
exprefs the Proportion of the Numbers,
of thoſe that ſhall be ſaved, and of thoſe
that perish; but to declare, that as the
Perfon who came without a Wedding-
garment, was caft out from the Marriage-
Feaft; fo no man who comes not clothed
with the Works of Righteoufnefs, fhall
be admitted into the Kingdom of Hea
ven, to the Marriage-Supper of the Lamb:
And that, as the Labourers who came
into the Vineyard in the Morning, were
not
Rev.xiii. 8
284
Of the Number of Thoſe
SER M. not preferred to thofe who came in later,
XII. but on the contrary reproved for their
.
envying and complaining at the Favour
ſhown to others; fo the Jews who were
first and originally the people of God,
fhould not be preferred before the Gen-
tiles who were converted later; but on
the contrary many of them fhould be re-
jected for their ill behaviour, while o-
thers from the Eaft and from the Weft,
from the North and from the South, of all
Nations, Kingdoms and Tongues, fhould
come and fit down in Their places, with
Abraham, Ifaac and Jacob in the King-
dom of God. From whence our Saviour
draws, by way of Inference, this warn-
ing to his Difciples, that they fhould not
depend upon the bare outward Profeffion
of the true Religion; for that Many of
thofe who were called, were not chofen. And
from his manner of expreffing this Warn-
ing at the Conclufion of thefe Parables,
(Many are called, but Few chofen ;) it
ought no more in ftrictneſs to be infer-
red, that, abfolutely fpeaking, Few only
fhall attain unto Salvation than from
what he elſewhere fuppofes, that of Ten
Virgins
that shall be Saved.
285
Virgins Five were wife, and Five foolish, SE R M•
it can be concluded that the Numbers of XII.
Both are equal: Or from the Parable of
the Talents, wherein to one Servant were
committed Five talents, to another Two,
to a third One; and of theſe This Laſt
only misbehaved himſelf; that therefore
the Righteous are more in number, than
the Wicked: Or from the Parable of the
Marriage-Feaft, wherein of Thoſe who
were invited, and called out of the high-
ways and ſtreets of the City, and even
compelled to come in, One only among
them all is reprefented as not having on
a Wedding-garment; that therefore it can
be concluded the Number of thoſe who
ſhall finally be rejected, is extremely finall.
All thefe Arguments, I fay, from Para-
bolical Difcourfes, are without juft Foun-
dation: The Deſign of our Saviour being
evidently, not to exprefs the Proportions
of Numbers, but the Qualifications of the
Perſons that ſhall attain unto Salvation;
and to warn his Difciples, againſt depend-
ing, like the Pharifees, upon the bare
Profeffion of the true Religion, without
the Practice of it: For that many of the
Children
•
286
Of the Number of Thofe
SER M. Children of the Kingdom, fhould them-
XII. Selves be caft out; and many of them that
are called, are not chofen. And 'tis wor-
thy of Remark, that it is at the End of
that very Parable, wherein One perſon on
ly is reprefented as not having on a Wed-
ding-garment, that our Saviour expreffes
his Caution in thofe particular Words,
Many are called, but few are chofen.
Which therefore muft by no means be
underſtood to be a Difcouragement, as
if any Sincere perfon were, by any Act
of God, excluded or rejected from Salva-
tion; but it must be interpreted as a Com-
plaint, of the Wickedness and Perverſenefs
of Men; that of thofe who are called to
the greateſt Advantages and Means of
Salvation, ſo Many prove unworthy of be-
ing finally chofen.
A's to the paffages in the Apocryphal
Book of Efdras, which is the Book that
has the leaſt Authority even of all the
Apochryphal Books themfelves; they feem
to be the Expreffions of a Jewish Writer,
who thought that as the Jews were in
This World the peculiar People of God,
fo no others but They were to have any
fhare
2
that shall be Saved.
287
fhare likewife in the World to
come. SE RM.
SERM.
far XII.
Which was a Notion the Jews fo
retained even till our Saviour's time, that
there was nothing in the Gofpel more
difficult for them to be perfwaded of,
than that even unto the Gentiles alfo God
had granted Repentance unto Life. And
yet even This very Same Author elfe-
where expressly acknowledges, that not
by the Appointment of God, but by the
Wickedness only and Incapacity of Men,
is their own Deftruction brought upon
them. Ch. viii. 41, As the husbandınan
Soweth much Seed upon the ground, and
planteth many Trees, and yet the thing
that is forn good in his Seafon cometh not
up, neither doth all that is planted take
root; even ſo is it of them that are fown
in the World, they fhall not all be Saved.
And ch. ix. 20. So I confidered the World,
and behold there was peril, because of the
Devices that were come into it; And I
faw and fpared it greatly; and have kept
me a Grape of the Clufter, and a Plant of
a great People.
THE Paffage in St Peter, wherein
he makes Baptifm a like Figure to the
Ark,
n
288
Of the Number of Thoſe
SER M. Ark, wherein Few, that is, Eight Per-
XII. fons, were faved by Water; may reaſon-
ably be underſtood of that particular Time
of Perfecution and Difficulty, wherein
the Apoſtle lived. For in like manner as
at the Time of the Flood, God faw that
the Wickedness of Man was great in the
Earth, and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil conti-
nually, Gen. vi. 5: Which character 'tis
very unreaſonable to apply (as fome have
done) to the whole Race of Mankind,
when it was plainly fpoken of that par-
ticular corrupt generation only: So 'tis
reaſonable to fuppofe St Peter's Applica-
tion of the fimilitude, to be made not to
the whole Bulk of Mankind, but to that
particular generation, wherein Few enter-
tained the first preaching of the Gofpel,
even like the Few that hearkned to Noah's
preaching of Righteouſneſs. And the fame
is to be underſtood concerning the Text in
the Revelation, ch. xiii. 8.
IN like manner St Paul's applying to
the Salvation of the Gospel, that paffage
of Ifaiah, Though the number of the chil-
dren of Ifrael be as the Sand of the Sea,
a rem
that ſhall be Saved.
289
a remnant ſhall be faved; and his affirm-SER M.
ing, that as in Elijah's time there were XII.
in all Ifrael feven thousand men, who had
not bowed the knee to the Image of Baal,
even fo at this prefent Time alfo there is
a
e.
remnant according to the election of
Grace; This, I fay, is by the Apoſtle's
own expreſs Words limited to that par-
ticular Time then prefent, wherein Few in
compariſon embraced the Gofpel: Even
jo at this prefent Time, fays he, also there
is a remnant according to the election of
Grace; i. e, of thoſe who embrace the
gracious Terms of the Gofpel. And as
in the Old Testament there were exprefs
Prophecies, that things fhould not always
be in fuch a melancholy ftate, but on the
contrary the Time fhould come when
God's People fhould be All righteous, If.
lx. 21; that he would make even their
Officers Peace, and their Exactors Righ-
teouſneſs, ver. 17; that the Earth ſhould
be full of the Knowledge of the Lord, as
the Waters cover the Seas, ch. xi.
9; that
God would put his Law in their inward
parts, and write it in their Hearts; and
that they ſhould all Know him, from the
VOL. IV.
U
leaft
290
Of the Number of Thofe
SERM.leaft of them to the greatest, Jer. xxxi. 33;
XII. So in the New Teftament alfo 'tis expreff-
ly declared, that the Time will come,
when all Ifrael fhall be faved, Rom. xi. 26;
i. e. the Whole, or main Body, of the Peo-
ple ſhall be converted unto God; and
Rev. xi. 15, The Kingdoms of this World
Shall become the Kingdoms of our Lord,
and of his Chrift; and he shall reign for
ever and ever. And therefore 'tis pro-
bable, that even thofe Words likewife of
our Lord
Lord himſelf, (trait is the Gate
and narrow is the Way that leadeth unto
Life, and Few there be that find it,) are
fpoken principally of thofe Times of Dif-
ficulty and Perfecution, wherein no man
could embrace the Gofpel of Chriſt,
without immediately parting with all he
had in the World. For fo the Word
which we render, Narrow is the
way, in
the Original fignifies Afflicted, or Perfe-
cuted is the way, that leadeth unto Life.
And then it will be of the fame import
with that Affertion of the Apoſtle, that
we must through much Tribulation enter
into the Kingdom of God.
Laftly,
that shall be Saved.
291
of XII.
Lastly, THERE is one thing further to SER M.
be obferved upon thefe Expreffions of
our Saviour: And That is, that what in
St Matthew's Goſpel is fet down in theſe
Words, (Enter ye in at the flrait gate;-
Becauſe ſtrait is the Gate that lead-
eth unto Life, and Few there be that find
it,) is in St Luke's Goſpel otherwiſe ex-
preffed thus; Strive to enter in at the
frait gate; For many, I fay unto you, will
feek to enter in, and shall not be able,
St. Luk. xiii. 24. And why fhall they not
be able? The reafon follows in the next
Words, When once the Mafier of the house
is rifen up and has shut to the door, and
ye begin to ftand without and knock,-
Shall anfwer and fay unto you, I know
not whence you are,depart from me All
ye workers of Iniquity. From whence it
appears, that the Difficulty of Entring,
is not fo much the Appointment of God,
as the Negligence and Delay of Men:
They feek to enter, and they are not able;
becauſe they ſeek negligently, they feek
too late, they feek when the Door is fhut.
And fo This Paffage becomes parallel to
thoſe other Texts of Scripture, St Matt.
U 2
be
you
XXV. 10;
292 Of the Number of Thoſe
SER M.XXV. IO; After the Bridegroom was come
XII. and the door fhut, came the foolish Vir-
gins, laying, Lord, open to us; But he an-
fwered and faid to
Again: St John vii.
and ſhall not find me.
them, I know you not.
34, Ye ſhall ſeek me,
The reafon is expref-
therefore, whither
ſed, ch. viii. 21, Ye shall feek me, and
fhall die in your Sins;
1
I go, ye cannot come.
Prov. i. 28, Then
Shall they call upon me, but I will not
anfwer; they fhall feek me, but they
ſhall not find me; For that they hated
Knowledge, and did not chufe the Fear of
the Lord, Pf. xviii. 41, They cried, but
there was none to fave them; even unto the
Lord, but he answered them not, If. i.
15, When ye Spread forth your hands, I
will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye
make many Prayers, I will not hear; For
your hands are full of Blood. Jer. xiv.
12, 10, When they fast, I will not hear
their cry; and when they offer burnt-of-
fering and an Oblation, I will not accept
them; For they have loved to wander, they
have not refrained their feet, therefore the
Lord doth not accept them. Hof. v. 6,
They fall go to feek the Lord, but they
1
Shall
that fhall be Saved.
293
XII.
fhall not find him, he hath withdrawn him- SER M.
Self from them; For they have dealt trea-
cherously against the Lord. Mic. iii. 4,
Then Shall they cry unto the Lord, but he
will not hear them; he will even hide his
Face from them at that Time, as They
have behaved themselves ill in their doings.
St Fam. iv. 3, Ye ask and receive not, be-
caufe ye ask amifs. And, to mention but
one paffage more; Rom. ix. 31, Ifrael
which followed after the law of righte-
ousness, hath not attained to the Law of
Righteoufnefs: Wherefore? Because they
Sought it not by Faith; that is, by That
way which God had thought fit to ap-
point. From theſe and numberleſs other
paffages in Scripture it appears, that the
Rejection of men, is not from God, but
of themſelves; and that the Difficulties
in the way of their Salvation, are not ſo
much the Appointment of God, as the
Effects of their own Negligence and De-
lay: Excepting only in the Cafe of great
Perfecution; And there God has promiſed
a proportionably great Affiftance, which
will, together with the Temptation, alſo
make a way to eſcape, that we may be
U 3
able
294
Of the Number of Thofe
SER M. able to bear it. Whether therefore the
XII. Number of thoſe who fhall be faved, be
in proportion Many or Few, makes no
Alteration in the Concern of any One
particular perfon; And therefore Every
One ought to endeavour, by following
the plain Rules that are fet before him,
to make his own Calling and Election
fure, and to work out his own Salvation
with Fear and Trembling, without in-
quiring too curioufly into the Affairs of
Others, wherein God the great Judge of
All will at the general Day of Account
take care abundantly to juftify his own
Proceedings, much better than we are
now able to conceive or apprehend. For
fo our Saviour, when One put that Que-
ftion to him, Lord, are there Few that be
Javed; inftead of making him a direct
reply to the Quefton propofed, anfwered
him with This more pertinent Exhorta-
tion, St Luk. xiii. 24, Strive Ye to enter
in at the ftrait Gate.
UPON the whole; The Paffages in
Scripture, which feem to reprefent to us
as if Few only fhould be faved, are on
the one hand fuch, as ought by no means
to
that shall be Saved.
295
to be any occafion of Defpair or Diffi- SER M.
dence to melancholy pious Perfons; be- XII.
cauſe the reaſon why fo great Numbers
periſh, is always in thofe very Texts
expreffly afcribed to the Wickedness and
Careleſneſs of Men, not to any Appoint-
ment of God: And yet on the other
hand the fame Texts are, by the Wiſdom
of the Spirit of God, expreffed in fuch
a manner, as to excite the carelefs, and
thoſe who are apt to be too negligent
and remifs; by giving them to under-
ftand, that except their Righteouſneſs ex-
ceeds the Righteoufnefs of the careleſs
and worldly Multitude, they fhall in no
cafe enter into the Kingdom of Hea
ven.
AND This may fuffice concerning the
ift Particular; viz. the Number or Pro-
portion of thoſe who fhall inherit Sal-
vation: Thou hast a Few names even in
Sardis. I fhould now have proceeded to
the 2d Head, namely, the Qualification
by which they are intitled to that In-
heritance: Which have not defiled their
Garments. But This must be deferred to
another Opportunity.
U 4
SER-
[ 297 ]
SERMON XIII.
The Qualification of thoſe that
fhall be faved.
REV. iii. 4.
Thou hast a few Names even in
Sardis, that have not defiled their
Garments; and they shall walk
with me in white, for they are
worthy.
T
N thefe later and corrupter SER M.
Ages of Chriſtianity, wherein XIII.
Prophaneneſs and Impiety have
not only from without affault-
ed and endeavoured to de-
ftroy Religion, but also crept in and even
openly
I
298 The Qualification of Thofe
SERM.openly appeared within all Parts of the
XIII. Church of God; and when among thoſe
who are not without fome Degrees even
of fincere Defire to become truly Religi-
ous, yet Speculations entring in the Room
of Practice, and vain Contentions prevail-
ing about Human Opinions, inſtead of
Diligence to obey the plain Command-
ments of God, have almoſt eaten out the
very Heart and Life of Religion, which
confifts in Piety and Righteoufnefs, in
Juſtice and univerfal Charity, in Sobriety
and Temperance, and the Practice of all
Virtue and Holiness: During this Dege-
nerate State, I fay, of the Chriſtian
World, in theſe later and corrupter Ages
of the Church; there is nothing more
likely to be of Effect in reviving the true
Spirit of Chriſtianity, and reftoring in the
Minds of well-difpofed Perfons right and
worthy Notions of Religion; than put-
ting them upon confidering, what Chriftian
Religion was in the Primitive and pu-
reft Times, when Chriftians were of One
Heart and One Mind, ferving God with
Simplicity and Sincerity of Devotion, lo-
ving one another with Perfect Charity
and
that ſhall be Saved.
299
and an undivided Affection, and keeping SER M.
themſelves Pure and unfpotted from the XIII.
World. This latter Character of the
Church of Chrift, its Purity and Holi-
nefs; and the Neceffity of all its true
Members anſwering that Character ;
is
no where more affectionately deſcribed,
than in the Epiftles to the feven Churches
of Afia, fet down in This and the fore-
going Chapter. Wherein the excellent
Character that is given to most of them
by our Saviour himſelf, and yet the Re-
proof added at the Conclufion of that
Character, will give us juft Occafion to
confider, what feverer Admonitions and
Exhortations to Repentance we ftand in
need of, who have not Their Excellent
Qualifications to extenuate our Defects.
To One of thefe Churches, our Saviour
gives this Character, ch. ii. 2. I know thy
Works, and thy labour and thy Patience,
and how thou canst not bear them which
are evil; And haft born and haft pati-
ence, and for my Name's fake haft laboured,
and haft not fainted.
This Church he adds,
fomewhat against thee,
And yet even of
Nevertheless I have
because thou hast
left
300 The Qualification of Thofe
XIII.
ver. 9.
Fear
SERM. left thy first love. To a Second he declares,
I know thy works and Tribulation
and Poverty, but thou art rich :-
none of the things which thou shalt ſuffer.
To a Third, ver. 13. I know thy Works,
and that thou holdeft faft my Name,
And yet
and haft not denied my Faith.
even of This he adds, But I have a Few
things against Thee. To a Fourth, ver. 19.
I know thy Works, and Charity, and Ser-
vice, and Faith, and thy Patience and thy
Works, and the last to be more than the
first. And yet of This alſo he adds; Not-
withstanding, I have a Few things against
Thee. Of a Fifth, he gives the follow-
ing character, ch. iii. 8.
I know thy
Works; Behold, I have fet before thee an
open door, and no man can ſhut it:
Be-
cauſe thou hast kept the Word of my Pa-
tience, I alſo will keep thee from the hour
of Temptation, which shall come upon all
the World, to try them that dwell upon the
Earth. No Man, that has a true Senfe
of Religion upon his Mind, can read theſe
Characters, without confidering immedi-
ately within himſelf, How are they Now
applicable to the Chriftian World? and
in
that ſhall be Saved.
301
in what Proportion do we Now imitate S ER M.
the Piety and Holiness of thofe Primitive XIII.
Churches? And if fome even of theſe
were charged with falling in fome mea-
fure from their firft Love
;
and com-
manded to confider and remember from
and repent;
whence they were fallen,
what Reflexions ought this to excite in our
Minds, when we compare the Failings of
fuch bright Examples of Piety, with the
open Profaneneſs and Debauchery, with
the irreligion and wickednefs of later Ages?
the Two remaining Churches of the Seven,
are repreſented as falling extremely ſhort of
the Character of the other Five. Con-
cerning One of them our Saviour declares,
ver. 1ft, of this iiid chapter, I know thy
Works, that thou haft a Name that thou
liveft and art Dead; Be watchful, and
Atrengthen the things which remain, that
are ready to die. To the other he ſays,
ver. 15, I know thy works, that thou art
neither cold nor hot, i. e. art grown care-
lefs and indifferent in the great Works of
Piety and Righteoufnefs; Thou fayeft, I
am rich and increaſed with goods, and have
need of nothing; and knoweft not that
thou
302
The Qualification of Theſe
SER M. thou art wretched and miferable, and poor;
XIII. and blind, and naked, i. e. very defective
in the weightier matters of Religion, in
Works of Goodneſs, Charity, and true
Holineſs. And yet even of Thoſe our Sa-
viour in the very fame place fo expreffes
himſelf, as of Churches not wholly caft
off, or under his entire and final Difplea-
fure: As many as I love, I rebuke and
chaften; Be zealous therefore, and repent, ver.
19. If fome of thofe Primitive Churches,
for whom our Saviour declares fo great a
Concern and Love, were worthy of fuch
fevere Reproofs for the decay of their
Piety even in thofe Purer Times; what
concern muft it needs raife in the Breaſt
of every fincere Chriſtian, to confider
how much greater Corruption of Man-
ners, how much more open Profaneneſs
and Impiety, how much more uncharita-
bleness and unreaſonable Animofities
how much more general Unrighteoufnefs
and Iniquity of all Kinds, has in theſe later
Ages overfpread the Face of the Chriftian
World? What feverer Reproofs We have too
juſt reaſon to fear from the Hands of God;
and how much more remarkable a Repen-
I
tance
that fhall be Saved.
303
tance and more univerfal a Reformation S ER M.
of Manners, 'tis incumbent upon Us to XIII.
fet about; leaſt when the Son of Man co-
meth, there remain not fo much as Room
for that Queſtion, fhall be find Faith upon
the Earth? The Things which were
threatened to fome of the Primitive
Churches, that our Lord would remove
their Candleſtick out of its place, and that
he would ſpue them out of his Mouth ;
and which, upon their further Decay in
Virtue actually came upon them; befell
them, not only upon their own Account,
but for Examples alfo to Others; and
they are written for Our
written for Our Admonition,
upon whom the Ends of the World are
come.
THE Words of the Text, are taken
out of our Saviour's Admonition to the
former of thoſe two Churches, which fell
under his more particularly ſevere Re-
proof; and they may ferve for a perpe-
tual direction in all Ages, to fuch Per-
fons as, in the midft of a degenerate and
contentious World, are defirous to under-
ftand and practife that Religion, which
at its firſt inſtitution was fo deſervedly
eminent,
304
The Qualification of Thofe
SER M. eminent, for Amending Men's Manners,
XIII. and Reforming their Lives. Thou hast a
few Names even in Sardis, that have not de-
filed their Garments; and they ſhall walk
with me in white, for they are worthy.
WHICH Words, I in a former Dif
courſe obſerved to contain in them the
four following Particulars. 1ft, An inti-
mation of the Number or Proportion of
thofe, who fhall inherit Salvation; Thou
haft a Few Names even in Sardis. 2dly,
The Qualification by which they are in-
titled to that inheritance: Which have not
defiled their Garments. 3dly, The Na-
ture or Deſcription of the Reward pro-
miſed them; They shall walk with me in
white. And 4thly, The Character or
Encomium given the perfons, who fhall
obtain this Inheritance; For they are
Worthy. The 1ft of Thefe, we have al-
ready confidered, namely, The Number
or Proportion of thofe, who fhall inherit
Salvation; Thou hast a Few names even
in Sardis. Without repeating there-
fore what has been before ſaid upon
That Head, proceed we now in the
2d place, to confider the Qualification.
mentioned
that shall be Saved.
305
mentioned in the Text, by which thofe SE RM.
who ſhall be faved, are reprefented as be- XIII.
ing prepared or intitled to a Share in that
glorious Inheritance. And This is, their
having not defiled their Garments. Could
a man for the prefent lay afide the Scrip-
ture, and, forbearing to look into the
Characters There given of true Chrifti-
ans, view the prefent Face of the Chri-
ſtian World, and judge from thence what
the Defign and Nature of our Religion
was, he could not but be tempted to ima-
gine, that Chriftianity was rather a Con-
tentious and uncharitable Art of difputing
about needlefs Ceremonies, and unintelli-
gible Opinions, than
than a Rule of Life
and Practice, an Obligation to Virtue,
Holiness, and univerfal Charity. But
in the Scripture itſelf, the great Streſs of
Religion, is always laid upon the Influ-
ence it has upon Men's Manners; And
the higheſt Character of a true Diſciple
of Chrift, is That given in the Text,
that he has not defiled his Garments. The
Expreffion is figurative, but yet of a very
Obvious Signification; And by confider-
ing on the contrary what the Scripture
VOL. IV.
X
calls
306
The Qualification of Thofe
SERM. calls Defilement, we may moft eafily and
XIII. fully underſtand what it is not to be defiled.
St. Mat. xv. 18. Not that which entreth
into the Mouth, fays our Saviour, but
thofe things which proceed out of the
Mouth, and come forth from the Heart,
thefe defile the man; For out of the Heart
proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, falfe witness, blafphe-
mies; Thefe are the things which defile a
man; But to eat with unwashen hands,
defileth not a man. The fame may be faid
of all other external Denominations what-
foever: No difference of Meats; No va-
riety of outward Rites, Forms or Cere-
monies; No fimple Errors of the Under-
ftanding, in fuch matters of Opinion as
affect not Moral Practice: But whatfoever
worketh Abomination or maketh a Lie;
Whatſoever corrupteth the Heart of Man,
and is inconfiftent with fincere and virtu-
tuous Intention; Whatever is contrary to
the Practical Law of God, and deſtruct-
ive of Charity and Good-will among
Men; That is it, which in the religious
Senfe of the Word, defileth the Man.
And to abftain from all Appearance of
fuch
that shall be Saved.
307
before God? Job
that he should be
-
fuch Evils, in the mid of a degenerateS ER M.
and corrupt World; This is pure Religion XIII.
and undefiled before God; This is keeping
a man's felf unspotted from the World;
This is, having not defiled his Garments.
Originally, and in the ftrict and moſt pro-
per fignification of the Phrafe, it denotes
an entire Freedom from Sin: But in That
Senfe, the Character would belong, not
to a Few Names, as is affirmed in the
Text; but abfolutely to None at all. For
how should man be just
ix. 2. What is man,
clean? and be that is born of a woman, ch. xv.
that he should be righteous? Behold, be
putteth no truſt in his Saints; yea the bea-
vens are not clean in his Sight: or as the
fame thing is expreffed in another paffage
of the fame Book; Behold he put noch. iv. ver.
Truft in his Servants, and his Angels he18.
charged with Folly. Again: ch. xxv. 4.
How then can man be justified with God?
or how can he be clean, that is born of a
Woman? Behold, even to the moon, and it
Shineth not, yea, the stars are not pure in
his Sight; how much lefs Man that is a
Worm, and the Son of Man that is a
X 2
Worm?
ver. 14.
308
The Qualification of Thoſe
SERM.Worm? The Scripture is full of declara-
XIII. tions of This Kind. Prov. xx. 9. Who
can fay, I have made my Heart clean? I
am pure from my Sin? Pf. cxxx. 3. If
thou, Lord, shouldst be extreme to mark
iniquity; O Lord, who shall ftand? And
ftill more directly, Pf. cxliii. 2. Enter not
into judgment with thy Servant, for in
thy fight ſhall no man living be justified.
The Wife man, even yet more exprefly,
Ecclef. vii. 20. There is not a just man
upon Earth, that doeth good and finneth
not. Accordingly Job, that moſt righ-
teous perfon, whofe Character God him-
felf joyns with that of Noah and Daniel,
as the moſt irreproveable of all mortal
men; yet even be confeffes of himſelf,
Fob ix. 20. If I justify myself, my own
Mouth fhall condemn me; if I Say I am
perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.
And the manner of fpeaking of the Apo-
ftles in the New Teftament, is the very
fame: In many things we offend all, St
Jam. iii. 2. And if we fay, we have no
Sin, we deceive ourselves, and the Truith is
not in us, 1 Joh. i. 8. 'Tis evident there-
fore, that by this phrafe in the Text,
having
that ſhall be Saved.
309
having not defiled their Garments, is not, SE RM.
cannot be meant, ftrictly and abfolutely, XIII.
being without Sin. No, This is the pe-
culiar Character of our Saviour alone,
and cannot be truly affirmed of any other
Perſon, that ever dwelt upon the Face
of the Earth. Another fignification
therefore of this Phrafe may naturally be
fuggefted to us by the uſe of a like ex-
preffion in the fame Book; Rev. vii. 14.
Theſe are they who
who have washed their
robes, and made them white in the Blood of
the Lamb. Here, having washed their robes
in the Blood of the Lamb, is uſed as an equi-
valent expreffion to that of having never de-
filed them; fignifying, that under the graci-
ous Covenant of the Gofpel, Thoſe who
by Baptiſm have washed away their Sins,
and return not to them any more, are
thro' Chriſt reputed in the Sight of God,
as having never committed them. And
becauſe, by Baptifm, in Scripture is al-
ways meant, not the washing away the
filth of the Flesh, (not the bare Form or
external Ceremony,) but the Anfwer of a
good Confcience towards God; therefore
thoſe who have broken off their Sins by
Repentance, and their Iniquities by shew-
X 3
ing
310
The Qualification of Thofe
SERM.ing Mercy to the Poor, (which bears the
XIII. beft Analogy to, and is fignified by the
teous.
Baptiſm of riper years;) fuch perſons (1
fay) are in Scripture fpoken of, as being (in
the Goſpel-Senfe) perfectly juft and righ-
Noah was a just man, and perfect
in his generation, and Noah walked with
Go!, Gen. vi. 9. Zacharias and Elizabeth
were righteous before God, walking in all
the Commandments and Ordinances of the
Lord blameleſs, St Luk. i. 6. All Chri-
ftians in general are exhorted to be, dili-
gent, that they may be found of our Lord
in peace, without fpot and blameleſs,
2 Pet. iii. 14: that they may be blameleſs,
in the day of our Lord Jefus Chrift, 1 Cor.
i. 8. that their hearts may be ftablished
unblameable in Holiness, before God even
our Father, at the coming of our Lord Je-
fus Chrift with all his Saints, 1 Th. iii.
3; that their whole Spirit and Soul and
Body may be preferved blameless unto the
coming of our Lord Jefus Chrift, 2 Th.
v. 23. that they may be prefented faultlefs
before the prefence of his glory, with ex-
ceeding joy, Jude 24. And accordingly
in the deſcription of them in their hea
venly
that fhall be Saved.
311
venly State, 'tis faid that in their Mouth SER M.
was found no guile, for they are without XIII.
Fault before the Throne of God, Rev. xiv.
5. The Confiftency of thefe high En-
comiums with the declarations in the paf-
fages before-cited, concerning the Impof-
fibility of any man's being juftified before
God; The manner (I fay) how theſe two
different kinds of Expreffion are to be re-
conciled, is moſt clearly and diftinctly fet
forth by St Paul, Col. i. 21; You that
were fometime alienated, and Enemies in
your Mind by wicked Works, yet Now bath
be reconciled, In the Body of his Flefh
thro' Death, to present you holy, and un-
blameable, and unreproveable in his Sight;
and Eph. i. 4, 6. That we should be holy
and without blame before him in love;
to the praise of the glory of his grace,
wherein he has made us accepted in the be-
loved; In whom we have Redemption thro'
his blood, even the Forgivenefs of Sins.
Thefe and the like Expreffions of the A-
poſtle do with ſufficient clearness explain
to us, both how it is poffible on the one
hand, in the gracious and merciful Senfe
of the Gofpel, for frail and finful Men to
attain
X 4
312
The Qualification of Thofe
SER M. attain unto this Character, that they have
XIII. not defiled their garments; and at the fame
time how abſolutely neceſſary it is like-
wife on the other hand, notwithſtanding
all the Favour and Indulgence of the Go-
fpel, that they ſhould preferve themſelves
fo undefiled.
3dly, THE Third particular, obferv-
able in the Text, is the Nature or De-
fcription of the Reward promifed to them
that defile not their Garments; They shall
walk with me in White. And here 'tis ob-
vious to obferve, how in the nature of the
Thing itſelf, as well as by the Decree and
Appointment of God, the Reward promi-
fed to good men in Scripture is agreeable
to the nature of the Qualification, to
which that Reward is annexed. To them
that keep their Garments undefiled, 'tis
promiſed that they fhall walk with Chriſt
in White: To them that hunger and thirst
after Righteousness, that they shall be fill-
ed and clothed with Righteoufness. To
them that take delight in ferving God
bere; that hereafter alſo they shall be be-
fore his Throne, and fhall ferve him day
and night in his Temple. Whether a
wicked
that shall be Saved.
313
XIII.
wicked Perfon, if admitted into Hea- SER M.
ven, could not poffibly be made happy
there, (as fome have prefumed to affirm,)
is but a vain and needlefs Queſtion. That
which is certain, and all that concerns us
to know, is; that whatſoever defileth,
whatſoever worketh any abomination or
unrighteouſneſs, ſhall in no wise be per-
mitted to enter therein. And 'tis a pow-
erful recommendation of the neceffity of
a religious Life, and worthy the moſt ſe-
rious confideration of careleſs Sinners
that Virtue is, not only, by the Appoint-
ment of God, the Way to Happiness;
but itſelf alſo, in the nature of Things,
an effential part of it.
And that, as God
is Himſelf of effential Holiness, and can-
not behold iniquity; fo he has made the
Happineſs of Heaven to confift, not in-
deed in That only, (for, the Whole of
thoſe things, which God has prepared for
them that love him, neither has eye feen,
nor ear heard, neither has it entred into
the Heart of Man to conceive;) but in
great meaſure he has made it to confift in
the Perfection of Virtue, or at leaſt to be
in neceffary Conjunction with it.
There
is
314
The Qualification of Thofe
SER M. is nothing more earnestly and more con-
XIII. ftantly inculcated in Scripture than this
:
Notion, that Righteoufnefs here, is there-
fore neceffary to Happineſs hereafter; be-
caufe a great Part even of that Happiness
itſelf, is to be made up of the Perfection
of Righteousness. One principal Parti-
cular of the great Promifes made in the
Old Teftament to the Jews after their final
Reftoration; which, if it does not direct-
ly fignify, yet is at least a Type of the
Heavenly ſtate; is, that their people
fhould be All righteous, If. lx. 21; that
they ſhould delight to come to worſhip be-
fore the Lord perpetually, ch. lxvi. 23;
and fhould not do iniquity, nor speak lies,
neither fhould a deceitful Tongue be
found in their mouth, Zeph. iii. 13. And
in the New Teftament the future Happi-
neſs of the Church of Chrift, is defcribed
after the fame manner; that it fhall be
a glorious Church, not having spot or
wrinkle or any fuch thing, but holy and
without blemish, Eph. v. 27; and that
we, according to his Promife, look for new
heavens and a new Earth, wherein dwelleth
Righteoufnefs, 2 Pet. iii. 13. Now This
Righteoufnefs,
that shall be Saved.
315
J
2
XIII.
Righteouſneſs, is figuratively reprefented SER M.
in the Text, and in other places of Scrip-
ture, by White Garments. The Purity
and Holiness of God himſelf, is expreffed
Pf. civ. 2, by his being covered with Light
as with a garment; and by his garment
being white as the Snow, Dan. vii.
9. And
That of our Saviour; by his appearing at
his Transfiguration, in a raiment as white Mat. xvi
as the Light; even fhining, exceeding 2.
white as Snow, fo as no Fuller on Earth
could white them, St Mark ix. 3; and, af
ter his Refurrection, in the fame Habit,
Matt. xxviii. 3; and again, after his Af
cenfion, Rev. i. 14. In purſuance there.
fore of the fame Figure, the Saints in
Heaven are in the Text deſcribed as walk-
ing in white: The Church in the Prophe-
cy, P. xlv. 13, is reprefented as all glo-
rious within, and that her clothing is of
wrought Gold.
He that overcometh, faith
our Saviour, the fame fhall be clothed in
white raiment, Rev. iii. 5. The four and
twenty Elders, fitting about the Throne,
were clothed in white raiment, ch. iv, 4
To them that were flain for the Word of
God, were given white robes, ch. vi. II.
The
316
The Qualification of Thoſe
SERM.The great multitude that no man could
XIII. number, that were redeemed from the
Earth out of all Nations, were clothed
with white robes, and palms in their hands,
ch. vii. 9.
The Armies in heaven were
clothed in fine linnen, white and clean, ch.
xix. 14; And the literal meaning of all
thefe expreffions is unfolded, ver. 8; that,
at the marriage of the Lamb, To Her
(viz. to the Church,) was granted, that
She should be arrayed in fine linnen, clean
and white; for the fine linnen is the righ-
teouſneſs of the Saints. And This explains
to us the Parable of the Man who was
caft out into utter Darkneſs, becauſe he
had not on a Wedding-garment, St Matt.
xxii. 11. i. e. was not clothed with
Works of Righteouſneſs; and illuſtrates
thoſe Admonitions of our Saviour, Rev.
iii. 18, I counsel thee to buy of me-
white raiment, that thou mayeft be clothed,
and that the Shame of thy nakedness do not
appear and ch. xvi. 15, Bleffed is he that
watcheth and keepeth his garments, left be
walk naked, and they fee his Shame. The
Sum of all is, that into Heaven fhall be
admitted no Impurity, no Wickednefs,
}
nothing
that shall be Saved.
317
nothing that defileth. Wherefore Bleſſed SER M.
are they that do his commandments, that XIII.
they may have right to enter in;
•For Rev. xxii.
without are dogs and forcerers and whore- 14, 15.
mongers, and murderers and idolaters and
whosoever loveth and maketh a Lie.
4thly, and Laftly; The Text concludes
with a Character or Encomium given of
thoſe perfons, who were to walk in white
with our Saviour: For they are Worthy.
The Church of Rome has, upon thofe
Words, founded the Doctrine of Merit;
and others, through Fear of falling into
that Error, have run into the contrary
extreme, and decried All neceffity of Vir-
tue and Good Works. The Truth in This,
as in moſt other cafes, lies plainly between
the two extremes. Our beſt Virtues or
Works are fo imperfect, as to need Par-
don rather than deſerve a Reward; and if
they were never fo perfect, we ſhould ſtill
be but unprofitable Servants, having done
only what was our Duty to do. Yet
thro' the Interceffion of Chrift, God is
pleaſed to accept them, as if they were
really meritorious ; and by the gracious
Promife of God, we have as juft a claim
to
318
The Qualification of Thoſe
SERM. to the Reward, as if it had been origi-
XIII. nally due to us of proper Right. Our
improvement in Virtue, is the Ground" of
Proportion, tho' not the Meritorious caufe
of the Reward. So that tho' the Happiness
of Heaven, be given us, not indeed for
our Works; yet it will be in proportion
to them; and tho' not upon account of
our Virtue, yet exactly according to our
improvement therein. The beft of Men
are fo far from being able (properly and
ftrictly speaking) to merit any thing for
themſelves and others, (which is the Ro-
mish Doctrine of Merit ;) that on the con-
trary even the Patriarch Jacob declared
himſelf not worthy of the leaft of God's
mercies, Gen. xxxii. 10. And St Paul,
concerning Himſelf, that tho' he was not
confcious of any thing against himſelf, yet
was he not thereby justified, 1 Cor. iv. 4.
And, of all Chriftians in general, that
not by works of Righteousness which we
have done, but by his Mercy he faved us,
Tit. iii. 5. that he has faved us, not accord-
ing to our Works, but according to
his grace-
-given us in Jefus Chrift,
Rom. vi. 2 Tim. i. 9. that our Salvation is the
uit.
I
Gift
that ſhall be Saved.
319
Gift of God; not of works, left any man SER M.
Should boast, Eph. ii. 9. That by the deeds XIII.
of the Law there ſhall no Flesh be juſtified
in his Sight, Rom. iii 20. that Abraham
himfelf had whereof to glory, but not be-
fore God, Rom. iv. 2. that even in thoſe
things we actually do, we have no fuffi-
ciency of ourſelves, but our fufficiency is of
God, 2 Cor. iii. 5, that it is God which
worketh in us, both to will and to do of his
good pleaſure, Phil. ii, 13. and that 'tis he
that makes us perfect in every good work
to do his Will, thro' Jefus Christ,
;
Heb. xiii. 21. The meaning of all theſe
Paffages is, that the Offer of the Happi-
neſs of Heaven to us at all, is the free and
undeſerved Gift of God in Chrift; and
that the Ability of performing the condi-
tions neceffary to the obtaining even that
Free Gift, is continually the Effect of the
Divine Affiftance and that therefore
(properly fpeaking,) the very beſt of our
Works have no Merit in them. Even in
the Old Testament where the Scripture af-
firms it shall be our Righteouſneſs, if we
obſerve to do all the Commandments, Deut.
vi. 25;
'tis obfervable that the. Word
which we render Righteoufnefs, is by the
Seventy
320
The Qualification of Thofe
Seventy tranflated λenposuvn our Way of
XI. obtaining Mercy only. And they who
would make More of it,
are ſeverely re-
There is a gene-
proved, Prov. XXX. 12.
ration that are pure in their own Eyes,
and yet is not washed from their Filthiness.
Which Cenfure is ftrongly confirmed by
our Saviour's declaration, that the Publi-
can in the Parable went down to his Houfe
juftified, rather than the Pharisee who was
righteous in his own eyes. Thefe are fuf-
ficient Evidences, that our Works (in
Strictneſs of ſpeech) have no Merit. Yet
on the other fide, taking the Expreffion
in its right Senfe, (which will beft be
done by comparing it with thofe already
mentioned;) and underſtanding it accord-
ing to the gracious Tenor of the Gofpel,
it may be Truly faid of virtuous and good
men, becauſe the Scripture frequently
fays it, that they are Worthy. Not pro-
perly and ftrictly, but according to God's
gracious acceptation and Promiſe in the
Goſpel. They to whom God has promiſed,
upon an eafy condition, a very great and
disproportionate Reward, may Truly be
faid, tho' not by
not by the Merit of the
Work itſelf, yet by virtue of the Promiſe
I
when
that fhall be Saved.
321
;
XIII.
when they have performed That condition, SE R M.
to have deferved the Reward. Our Sa-
viour himſelf expreffes himſelf in This
manner, not only in the Text, but alſo
in other places of Scripture; St Luk. xx.
35. They, faith he, that shall be accounted
Worthy, to obtain That World. And St
Matt. x. 37. He that loveth Father or Mo-
ther more than Me, is not Worthy of me
implying, that he who did the contrary,
might be faid to be worthy of him. And
accordingly the Apoftle exhorts, Col. i.
10. to walk Worthy of the Lord; and
1 Th. ii. 12. to walk worthy of God who
has called us, unto his Kingdom and Glory.
St Peter declares, that if a man, for con-
fcience towards God, endure grief, ſuffer-
ing wrongfully, this is Thank-worthy,
1 Pet. ii. 19. and St Paul affirms of the
Saints who fuffered of old, that they were
fuch perfons, of whom the World was not
worthy, Heb. xi. 38. And he calls God's
Performance of his own free Promises gi-
ven in the Law and in the Prophets, the
Righteouſneſs of God which is by Faith
of Jefus Chrift, unto All, and upon All
them that believe, Rom. iii. 22; and a-
gain ver. 25.
his righteouſneſs for the
VOL. IV.
Y
remiſſion
322
The Qualification, &c.
XII.
SERM.remiffion of Sins that are paſt, and argues,
Heb. vi. 10. that God is not unrighteous,
to forget our Work and labour of love:
And concerning himself in particular, he
profeffes his firm affurance, that henceforth
there was laid up for him a crown of
Righteouſneſs, which God the Righteous
Judge fhould give him at that Day,
2 Tim. iv. 8. and Rev. xxii. 14. Bleſſed
are they that do his commandments, that
they may have right to the tree of life, and
may enter in through the gates into the
city. Such as allow themfelves to pick
fingle Texts of Scripture without compa-
ring them with the whole and with each
other; may from thefe places collect the
Romish Doctrine of Merit; or from thoſe
before-cited may draw juft the contrary
Doctrine, of the Ujefulness of good
Works: But they who compare the feve-
ral paffages, and confider them Together;
will eafily fee the meaning, and the con-
fiftency of them all; and particularly
what it is that our Saviour intends in the
Text, when he declares concerning thofe
who keep their -garments undefiled, that
they fall walk with him in white, for
they are Worthy.
SERMON
[323]
IXXIXXIX
SERMON XIV.
That the Terms of Salvation are
offered to all Men.
REV. ii. 29.
He that hath an Ear, let him hear,
what the Spirit faith unto the
Churches.
T
HESE words are fo frequent-SER M.
ly and fo emphatically repeat- XIV.
ed by our Saviour, at the V
End of feveral of his Dif
courſes in the Gospel, and
again at the general Conclufion of cach
of theſe Epistles to the Seven Churches
Y 2
of
324 That the Terms of Salvation
SERM. of Afia; that no one can doubt but they
XIV. contain fomething in them, of very weigh-
ty and fignificant importance. In the
xith chapter of St Matthew, ver. 15, af-
ter his explication of the Nature of John
Baptift's Office, he adds, He that bath
ears to bear, let him bear. And in the
xiiith chapter of the fame Gofpel, at the
end of his Parable of the Sower, ver. 9;
and at the end of his explication of the
Parable of the Tares of the Field, ver. 43;
(Both which Parables, are moſt full and
emphatical Defcriptions of the whole
State and Nature of the Chriftian Dif-
penfation,) he again concludes with re-
peating the fame Words, Who bath Ears
to hear, let him hear. In the iid and iiid
chapters of the Revelation, are contained
Jesen Epiftles to the Seven Churches of
Ajia; full of very earneft and preffing
Exhortations to Repentance and Amend-
ment of life, and moft lively and affec-
tionate Deſcriptions of the True Nature
of Chrift's religion: And at the conclu-
fion of every One of thefe Epiftles, are
diftinctly and at length repeated, no leſs
than feven feveral times, the words of the
Text;
are offered to all Men.
325
གདག
Text; He that hath an Ear, let him hear, SER M.
what the Spirit faith unto the Churches. XIV.
And in chapter the xiiith, of the fame
Book; after having given a large Pro-
phetick deſcription of Antichriftian Pow-
er fitting in the Seat and Temple of God,
and making War with, (that is, perfecu-
ting) the True Worshippers of God, and
having all Nations given into his hands,
ſo that all the World ſhould worſhip him,
whoſe Names are not written in the Book
of Life; To fhow that This is a Matter
wherein All Sincere Chriftians are more
or lefs concerned, to take heed to them-
felves that they be not impofed upon by
Dekufions of worldly Power and Ambi-
tion, and by empty Shows in matters of
Religion; he fill again repeats the fame
exclamation, ver. 9, If any man have an
Ear, let him hear.
THE words are a ftrong and general
Appeal, to the Reaſon and Underſtanding
of all unprejudiced and impartial men.
And they are highly expreffive, of the
Authority and Goodness of God who ſpeaks;
of the Reasonableness, Truth and Excel-
lency, of the Things that are spoken and
Y 3
of
326
That the Terms of Salvation
SER M. of the Capacity men have, and the Ob-
XIV. ligation they are under, to hearken to,
and obey, what God thus delivers to
them.
THE Phrafe, Let him hear, is an Au-
thoritative expreffion, becoming the Ma-
jeſty of God, and the Weight and Dig-
nity of what is fpoken by his Command.
It denotes, that All the Commands of
God, are given men, not for his own fake
or Benefit, but for Theirs: Being found-
ed in the nature and reafon of Things,
and effentially conducive both to mens
prefent and future Happineſs. And if
they refufe, or neglect, to Hear; if they
be careless and negligent to underſtand the
word of God, and will be at No Pains to
examine into the True Nature and End
of Religion; 'tis No Hurt to Him, but
to Themfelves only. When therefore He
has done all that was reafonable for him
to do, and has given them plain and fre-
quent Warnings, and admonished them
of the Ufefulneſs and Neceflity of Virtue,
and yet They continue deaf to his in-
ftructions; he proceeds no further, he
ufes no Compulfion, he draws them only
with
are offered to all Men.
327
with the Cords of a Man, and will apply SER M.
to them no otherwife than as to moral XIV.
Agents. Thus the Prophets in the Old
Teftament: Ezek. iii. 27, Thus faith the
Lord God, He that heareth, let him hear;
and be that forbeareth, let him forbear;
for they are a rebellious boufe. And
Thus the Great Prophet of the New Te
ftament, Rev. xxii. 11, He that is unjuſt,
(after the repeated Admonitions and In-
vitations to Repentance given him in the
Gofpel,) let him be unjust fill; and be
that is Filthy, let him be Filthy fill. Up-
on the fame Ground, and after the fame
manner of ſpeaking, St Paul, in 1 Cor.
xiv. 38. The things, ſays he, that I write
unto you, are the Commandments of the
Lord; But if any man be ignorant, let
him be ignorant. And the fame Apoftle,
after having long preached in vain to the
obftinate and prejudiced Jers, Acts xiii.
46, It was necessary, fays he, that the
word of God should first have been Spoken
to You; but feeing ye put it from you, and
judge yourſelves unworthy of everlasting
Life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. Of the
fame nature and kind, though in the way
Y 4
of
328
That the Terms of Salvation
XIV.
r
SERM. of a gentler and more tender Reproof,
are thoſe words of our Saviour to his
Difciples; when, after Two admonitions,
in a time of extreme danger, he found
them the Third time fleeping; Sleep on
Now, fays he, and take your Reft, Matt.
xxvi. 45.
This therefore is the First no-
tion, which thofe words in the Text, Let
him hear, do obviouſly carry along with
them; They are expreffive of the Au-
thority of God, and of the Weight and
Importance of what is fpoken by His
Command.
BUT This is not All. For as they
exprefs the Authority of God, in requi-
ring men to attend; fo they do further
denote his Goodness likewife, in propofing
to men, univerfally and plainly, the Doc-
trine and the Way of Life. In This ſenſe,
the words of our Lord in the Text, Let
him bear what the Spirit faith unto the
Churches; are well paraphrafed by Sclo-
mon, Prov. i. 20, Wisdom crieth without,
The uttereth her Voice in the Streets; She
crieth in the chief place
the opening of the Gates,
long, ye fimple ones, will
ye
of Concourfe, in
-faying, How
love Simplicity!
-Turn
are offered to all Men.
329
XIV.
Turn you at my Reproof; Behold, IS ER M.
will pour out my Spirit unto you, I will
make known my words unto you. And by
the Author of the Book of Wifdom, ch. vi.
16, 14.
She goeth about, feeking fuch as
are worthy of Her; he showeth herſelf fa-
vourable unto them in the Ways, and meet-
eth them in every Thought; Whofo feeketh
her early, fhall have no great Travel; for
he ſhall find her fitting at his doors. St Paul
in a very emphatical and lofty figure of
fpeaking, carries this matter ftill further,
2 Cor. v. 20; God, not only propofes to us
the Means of reconciliation, but as tho
God did Befeech you (fays he) by us, we
pray you, be ye reconciled to God. His
manner of expreffion in that whole Verfe,
is extremely remarkable: We are (fays
he) Ambaſſadors for Chrift; He does not
fay, We are the Ambaffadors of Chrift,
(though That alfo might properly enough
have been faid;) but we are, fays he,
Ambaffadors for Chrift: Chrift, is the
Great Ambaffador of the Father; (the
Apostle and High-Priest of our Profeſſion,
Christ Jefus, Heb. iii. 1.) And, in His
abfence, We (fays the Apoftle) are Ambaf
fadors
330 That the Terms of Salvation
SERM.fadors for him, Ambaffadors in his ftead,
XIV. Ambaffadors from God to men, if we de-
1
liver his words faithfully: And therefore,
as though God did Befeech you by Us, We
(fays he) in Chrift's ftead, (in the Abſence
of Chrift the Great Ambaffador of the
Covenant, We in his ftead) pray you, be
ve reconciled to God. This is the Second
notion included in the words, Let hint
hear; They denote the Goodness of God,
in propofing to men, univerfally and plainly,
the Doctrine and the way of Life. Who-
foever hath Ears, let him hear; and who-
foever heareth, let him obey; and whofo-
ever obeyeth already, let him perſevere in fo
doing unto the End: Rev. xxii. 11. He that
is righteous, let him be righteous ftill; and
be that is Holy, let him be Holy ftill.
THE other phrafe in the Text, He that
bath an Ear; fignifies, he that hath Un-
derſtanding, that hath Ability, that hath
Capacity to apprehend what is fpoken.
Thus Matt. xix. 12. when our Saviour
had given a Deſcription of Some Excel-
lent Perfons, who had chofen to abftain
from many even of the Innocent Enjoy-
ments of Life, that they might have more
Time
are offered to all Men.
33 L
Time and Opportunities to promote the SER M.
Intereſt of Religion and Virtue, which is XIV.
the Kingdom of God; he adds, He that ~
is Able to receive it, let him receive it.
And in like manner, ch. xi. 14, after ha-
ving given a large Character of the Per-
fon and Office of John the Baptift; And,
if ye will receive it, fays he, This is Eli-
as which was for to come: He that hath
Ears to hear, let him hear. To have an
Ear therefore, fignifies to have Under-
Standing and Apprehenfion. By which,
however, is meant, not mere
not mere Natural
Parts and Abilities; (For the Gofpel is
preached to the Poor and Mean, as well
as to the Learned; Neither are Many of
the Wife men of This world, called; Nor
are mere Natural Parts and Abilities of
Any confideration in Moral and Religious
Eftimation;) But to have an Ear, in the
Scripture-fenſe, means, to have an Un-
derſtanding free and unprejudiced, open
to attend unto, and apt to receive the
Truth. Which is a Qualification inclu-
ding Probity and Fairneſs of Mind, and is
therefore highly commendable in the moral
Senſe. Matt. xiii. 16. Bleſſed are your
Eyes,
332
That the Terms of Salvation
SER M. Eyes, for they fee, and your Ears, for they
XIV. hear. And the Want of it, is not, like
the Want of natural Parts and Abilities,
pitiable and compaffionable; but faulty,
and deferving of fevere Reproof: Mar. viii.
17, 18. Perceive ye not yet, fays our Lord
to his Difciples by way of Expoſtulation ;
perceive ye not yet, ſays he, neither under-
fand? Have ye your Heart yet harden-
ed? Having Eyes, fee ye not? and having
Ears, hear ye not, and do ye not remem-
ber? From which Rebuke given by our
Lord to his Difciples, in fo earneſt and
affectionate a manner, for not making
Ufe of their Reaſon and Understanding;
we cannot fail to infer this important
Obfervation in matters of Religion; that
the Taste or Relish, the Judgment, the
Understanding, by which men are to dif
cern and chufe, and by which they are
to form their Sentiments concerning the
Truth or Error of any religious doc-
trines; muſt never be, any Enthufiaflick
Fancy, any trong Imagination, or unac-
countable Impreffion of Mind, which is the
Spirit of Delufion; but it muſt always
be, an impartial Attention to the Right
and
!
are offered to all Men.
333
and Reaſon of the Cafe, and to the Na-SER M.
ture and Evidence of the Thing. This is XIV.
in the Goſpel-fenfe, having Ears to hear,
and Eyes to fee, and Understandings where-
with to understand. According to which
explication of the words; This Phraſe, ſo
often uſed by our Saviour, he that hath
Ears to hear, does plainly contain a very
affectionate and ftrong Appeal to the un-
prejudiced Senſe of Mankind, for the
Reaſonableness, Truth, and Excellency of
the Things Spoken, or the Doctrines delivered
by him.
>
AND as This Challenge, Whofo hath an
Ear, contains thus a declaration of the
Reaſonableneſs of the Doctrine propofed;
and the other part of the words, let him
bear are expreffive of the Authority
and Goodness of God who fpeaks: So
Both of them together, plainly infer and
fet forth the Capacity men have, and the
indifpenfable Obligation they are under,
to hearken to, and obey, what God deli-
vers to them. He that bath an Ear, let
him hear, what the Spirit faith unto the
Churches.
THE
334
That the Terms of Salvation
SERM.
XIV.
THE Words being thus explained, we
may from hence in the enfuing Difcourfe
naturally deduce the four following Doc-
trinal Obfervations. It, That God, the
Great Creator, and righteous Governour,
and merciful Judge of the Whole Earth,
offers to All men the gracious Terms and
Poffibilities of Salvation: Let him hear,
(let every man hear,) what the Spirit faith
unto the Churches. 2dly, That This Of-
fer, though graciously made to All, yet
in Event becomes Effectual to Thoje only,
who are qualified and capable to receive
it: He that hath an Ear, let him bear.
3dly, That they who want an Ear; they
who want the Difpofitions neceffary to
their receiving and embracing this graci-
ous Offer of Salvation, or are prevented
by any of the Hindrances which render it
ineffectual, are always very feverely re-
proved in Scripture; plainly denoting it
to be their own Fault, their own Per-
verfeneſs only, that they have not Ears to
hear. 4thly and Laftly, That hence con-
fequently All thofe Paffages of Scripture,
wherein God is at any time repreſented as
blinding mens Eyes, or clofing their Ears,
or
are offered to all Men.
335
or hardning their Hearts, or taking away SER M.
their Understanding from them; muft of XIV.
neceffity be understood to be figurative
Expreffions only; not denoting literally
what God actually effects by his Power,
but what by his Providence he justly and
wifely permits.
I. First, GoD, the Great Creator, and
righteous Governour, and merciful Judge
of the Whole Earth, offers to All men
the gracious Terms and Poffibilities of
Salvation: Let him hear, (let every man
hear,) what the Spirit faith unto the
Churches. God speaks to men Originally,
by the Light of Nature, by the Order and
Proportions of Things, by the Voice of
Reafon, by the Dictates of Confcience.
'Tis every man's Duty, and 'tis in every
man's Power, to hearken to this Voice of
Reafon and Confcience; to this Candle of
the Lord, as the Wife man ftiles it, Prov.
XX. 27. And concerning Them who do
fo, St Paul declares, that, having not the
Law, (that is, having no revealed Law
given them, yet) they are a Law into
themfelves. And by That Law, by the
Law of Reaſon, of Nature and Confcience,
2
fhall
336
That the Terms of Salvation
SERM.fhall they finally be judged. For every
XIV. man is accepted according to what he
un
Hath, and not according to what he
Hath not. This Light of Reason, is uni-
verfal; the First, and Great Gift of God
implanted in the Minds of All men; ac-
knowledged by the Confcience, even of the
Unrighteous themſelves; attefted to by the
neceffary judgment and approbation even
of the moſt abandoned and Corrupt, in
all Cafes wherein their own particular
Interest is not concerned. The acting
contrary to This Light, by any profane,
unjust, fraudulent, or debauched Practi-
ces whatſoever, is in All perfons, under
All Difpenfations, the higheft and moſt
inexcufable Fault ; as being deftructive
of the very Foundation of All Religion.
And the acting agreeably to it, is in All
perfons Always acceptable to God; and,
in Thoſe to whom no Light of Revela-
tion hath been afforded, 'tis All that is
required of them. For in every Nation,
be that feareth God and worketh Righte-
oufness, is accepted of him. When, thro'
the growing Corruptions and Idolatry of
many Ages, Cuftom and Example and
I
bad
àre offered to all Men.
337
bad Education had almoſt univerfally ex-SER M.
tinguiſhed the natural Light of Confci- XIV.
ence; and cauſed Reaſon, That great Gift
and Witneſs of God, to be almoſt totally
neglected; God raiſed up the Patriarchs,
both before and after the Flood, to be
Preachers of Righteoufnefs to the World,
to be as Lights ſhining in a dark place,
to invite All men to Repentance, to the
Acknowledgment of the Truth, and to the
Practice of Virtue, in their feveral and
refpective Generations. After which, by
the giving of the Law to the Ifraelites,
he placed That people as a City on a Hill,
an eminent and ſtanding Witnefs to all
the Nations around, calling them off from
impious and abominable Idolatries to the
Worſhip of the God of Heaven: Iſ. xlix.
22. Thus faith the Lord, Behold, I will
lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and fet
up my standard to the people; and they
fall bring thy fons in their arms, and
thy daughters fhall be carried upon their
fboulders. And by a Succeffion of Pro-
phets for Many Ages, he declared conti-
nually to the whole People of the Jews,
and by Them to All Others who were
willing
VOL. IV.
Z
338
That the Terms of Salvation
SERM. willing to retain God in their Knowledge,
XIV. and had not wholly given themſelves up
to a reprobate Mind; he declared his rea-
dineſs to accept That Repentance and A-
mendment of Sinners, which even the
Light of Nature itſelf, if they had at-
tended to it, would in a good degree have
led them to; God having never left him-
Self wholly without Witness, in that he did
good, and gave men rain from heaven, and
fruitful feafons, filling their hearts with
food and gladness; and their own conſci-
ences in the mean time, according to their
moral or immoral Behaviour, accufing or
elfe excufing one other. God, I ſay, by
a continual Succeffion of Prophets, de-
clared (what the Light of Nature itſelf
gave reaſonable but obfcurer Hopes of,)
his readineſs to accept the Repentance
and Amendment of Sinners, and to re-
ceive All men to his Mercy, upon Their
returning into the way of Righteouſneſs.
Ezek. xxxiii. 11. As I live, faith the Lord
God, I have no pleafure in the Death of
the Wicked, but that he turn from his way
and live. And Iſ. lv. 1, 3, 6, 7. Ho, eve-
ry one that thirfteth, come ye to the Was
ters :
are offered to all Men.
339
ters: And he that hath no money; come ye, SER M.
buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and XIV.
milk without Money and without Price.
,
Incline your ear and come unto me;
hear, and your Soul ſhall live; and I will
make an everlaſting Covenant with you,
even the fure mercies of David,
Let the
wicked forfake his way, and the unrighte-
ous man his Thoughts, and let him return
unto the Lord, and he will have Mercy
upon him; and to our God, for he will
abundantly pardon. By the Gospel of his
Son, God has ſtill more expressly and ex-
plicitly declared, and commanded to be
preached to every Nation under Heaven,
the merciful Offer of Salvation made un-
to All Mankind, upon the moſt reafon-
able and neceffary Terms of Faith and
Repentance, That is, of fincere renewed
Obedience; Excluding None from this
gracious Invitation; but commanding his
Servants to go out into All places, and to
exhort men, to befeech them, to urge them,
to be inftant with them, nay even to com-
pel them, (by the moſt kind and earneſt
Intreaties, by the moſt affectionate and
preffing Importunities, compel them) to
Z 2
come
340 That the Terms of Salvation
SERM.come in, that his houfe may be filled.
XIV. Accordingly, their Sound has gone forth
into all the Earth, and their Words unto
the Ends of the World. And no man, to
whom this Doctrine has been preached,
can fay, that his Duty and the Way to
Happineſs has not been clearly made
known to him; unless he wilfully clofes
his Eyes that he may not fee, and his
Ears that he may not hear. Our Sa-
viour himſelf, who was in the Boſom of
his Father, (and who knew perfectly, and
was ſent by him on purpoſe to reveal to
us his Whole Will concerning the Salva-
tion of Mankind;) thus teftifies in the
moſt expreſs words, God (fays he) Jo
loved the World, that he gave his only-be-
gotten Son, that whofoever believeth in
him ſhould not perish, but have everlasting
Life; and that the World through him
might be faved, Joh. iii. 16, 17: He does
not fay, he was fent that a few particular
perfons, but that the World, if they would
hearken to him, and be prevailed upon to
return into the ways of Righteouſneſs, thro'
him might be faved. And accordingly when
he fet about this great Work for which he
was
are offered to all Men.
341
was fent; he applies himſelf to All men SER M.
without reſerve; Matt. xi. 28. Come unto XIV.
me All ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you reſt: And John vii. 37.
If any man thirst, let him come unto Me,
and drink.
unto Luk. iv.
But 23-27.
Matt. xv.
24.
IN one place indeed, we find him af- Joh. xvii.
firming, that he was not fent, fave
the loft Sheep of the house of Ifrael.
the occafion, and manner, of his affirming
this; and his Treatment of the perfon
afterwards, to whom he has faid this; and
the whole Hiſtory and Tenour of Scrip-
ture, plainly ſhow, that his Meaning
herein was not to affirm, that he was not
ſent to Others at all; but only that, in
order of Time, he was not fent to Others
fo foon, as to the loft Sheep of the Houfe of
Ifrael. The Gofpel was to be preached
firft to the Jews; and our Lord was firſt
to be the Glory of God's people Ifrael :
But afterwards he was to be alfo a Light
to lighten the Gentiles, and to be their
Salvation unto the Ends of the Earth.
The Apostles themfelves, at the Beginning,
were under very ftrong Prejudices con-
cerning this Matter: But they were con-
vinced
Z 3
342
That the Terms of Salvation
SER M. vinced afterwards by frequent Admoni-
XIV. tions from our Lord: And then they Ful-
ly and Clearly teftified this Great Truth.
The Grace of God, faith St Paul, which
bringeth Salvation, hath appeared to All
men, Tit. ii. 11: And 1 Tim. ii. 4. Who
will have All men to be faved, and to come
to the Knowledge of the Truth. St Peter
in like manner, in his Second Epistle,
ch. iii. 9. The Lord, faith he, is not wil-
ling that Any should perish, but that All
Should come to Repentance: To Repent-
ance; That is, to a real and effectual A-
mendment and Reformation of Life; Which
is Always the meaning of Repentance in
Scripture. Some Writers have contend-
ed, that, in theſe feveral Texts, the
words, Al men, must be underſtood to
fignify only, Some of All forts of men,
Some from among the Jews, Some from
among the Gentiles, Some from among
the Rich, Some from among the Poor;
and the like. But This interpretation a-
rifes merely from a great Unfkilfulneſs in
Language. For though the words All
men, do indeed in Scripture, as in vulgar
Speech, fignify very frequently, not All
I
men
are offered to all Men.
343
men abfolutely, but, in a limited fenfe, SER M.
All againſt whom no exception is plainly XIV.
underſtood; yet in no language, accord-
ing to Any vulgar manner of ſpeaking,
can they mean, Some only out of every
Sort of men; and confequently in Scrip-
ture, which always expreffes itſelf in the
language of the Vulgar, the words cannot
poffibly have That Meaning. But the
Senſe plainly is, that God really and fin-
cerely intends the Salvation of All men;
and that 'tis for his Own Fault only, for
Wickedness only, and deliberate Unrighte-
oufness, that Any man fhall be condemn-
ed. Beſides the places before-cited, This
great and fundamental Truth is ftill more
clearly (if more clearly it can be,) ex-
preffed in the xxiid chapter of the Reve-
lation, ver. 16, 17; I Jefus have fent
mine Angel to testify unto you theſe things
in the Churches: And the Spirit and
the Bride fay, Come; And let him that
beareth, fay, Come: And let him that
is athirst, come; And whosoever will, (i. e.
whofoever will live a virtuous life,) let
him take the Water of Life freely. And,
to add ſtill greater Weight to this folemn
decla-
Z 4
344
That the Terms of Salvation
SER M.declaration; God, even the Father him-
XIV. felf in Perſon, is introduced as affirming
the fame thing from the Throne of his
Glory; ch. xxi. 5, 6. And he that fat
upon the Throne, faid; theſe words are
true and faithful; I will give unto
him that is athirst, of the Fountain of the
Water of Life freely: He that overcometh,
(that is, who refifts the temptations of a
wicked and debauched World,) shall in-
herit all things, and I will be his God,
and he shall be my Son. The Senfe is the
fame, as in the words of my Text; He
that hath an Ear, let him hear, what the
Spirit faith unto the Churches.
THIS therefore is the First Particular,
God offers to All men the gracious Terms
and Poffibilities of Salvation.
II. THE Second is: That This Offer,
though graciouſly made to All, yet in E-
vent becomes effectual to Thofe only, who
are qualified and capable to receive it. But
referring This to a further Opportunity,
I fhall conclude at prefent with This One
Inference from what has been already
faid; viz. That from hence all unrighte-
ous, all wicked and debauched perfons,
"
being
are offered to all Men.
345
being convinced that the deftruction is SER M.
of themſelves, if they continue in the XIV.
Practice of Unrighteoufnefs; and not
from any Appointment of God; may be
prevailed with to reform their Lives, while
they have yet Time. That fo they may
eſcape the Wrath of God, from which
there is no other poffible Means of eſca-
ping,
SERMON
[ 347 ]
SERMON XV.
The Qualifications neceffary to
receive the Terms of Salvation.
REV. ii. 29.
He that hath an Ear, let him hear,
what the Spirit faith unto the
Churches.
I
N difcourfing upon thefeS ER M.
words of our Saviour, I have XV.
propoſed to deduce from
from
them the four following
Doctrinal Obfervations. 1ft,
Iſt,
That God, the Great Creator, and righte-
ous Governor, and merciful Judge of the
whole Earth, offers to all men the graci-
ous
348
The Qualifications neceffary
SERM.OUS Terms and Poffibilities of Salvation:
XV. Let him hear; (let every man hear,) what
the Spirit faith unto the Churches. 2dly,
That This Offer, tho' graciously made to
All, yet in Event becomes effectual to
Thofe only, who are qualified and capable
to receive it: He that hath an Ear, let him
bear. 3dly, That they who want an
Ear; they who want the difpofitions ne-
ceſſary
ceffary to their receiving and embracing
this gracious Offer of Salvation, or are
prevented by any of the Hindrances
which render it ineffectual; are always
very ſeverely reproved in Scripture, plain-
ly denoting it to be their own Fault, that
they have not Ears to hear. 4thly and
Laftly; That hence confequently All thoſe
Paffages of Scripture, wherein God is at
any time reprefented as blinding men's
Eyes, or closing their Ears, or hardning
their Hearts, or taking away their Under-
Standing from them; muft of neceffity
be underſtood to be figurative Expreffions
only; not denoting literally What God
actually effects by his Power, but what by
his Providence he juftly and wifely per-
mits.
TIE
to receive the Terms of Salvation.
349
THE First of thefe, I have already SER M.
gone through; that God offers to All XV.
n
men the gracious Terms and Poffibilities
of Salvation: Let him hear, (let every
man hear,) what the Spirit faith unto the
Churches. I proceed Now to the Second
General Head:
The
II. THAT this Offer of Salvation,
though graciouſly made to All, yet in
Event becomes effectual to Thofe only,
who are qualified and capable to receive
it: He that hath an Ear, let him hear.
Light introduced upon Any Object, fup-
poſes always that there be Eyes to view,
and to difcern it by That Light.
Sound of a Voice, or the Ufe of Speech,
ſuppoſes always that men have Ears to
hear, what the Speaker uttereth. Truth
and Right, Reafon and Argument, Theſe
likewiſe ſuppoſe always that men have
Senfe and Understanding, to judge of what
is offered to their confideration. And, in
matters of Religion; God's offering to
men certain Terms or Conditions of Salva-
tion, ſuppoſes in like manner a certain
moral Difpofition in the Mind, which
caufes it to have a Regard to things of
I
That
350
The Qualifications neceſſary
SERM. That nature, to have a Senfe and Relish
XV. of things relating to Morality: Other-
wife Men would, in their Nature, be no
more capable of Religion, than Beaſts.
Sweetneſs is No Sweetness to a perſon
whoſe Palate has no Tafte: Light is No
Light, to him who has put out his own
Eyes And Religion, or the Preaching of
the Gospel, is as Nothing to That Man,
whoſe Mind has no Regard to, nor Gare
to make any Diftinction between, what
in the nature of things is moral and immo-
ral. St Paul ſets This obfervation in a
very clear light, 1 Cor. ii. 14; The natu-
ral man (fays he) receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God; for they are Fool-
ishness unto him, neither can be know
them, because they are spiritually difcerned.
The words are not rightly rendred, The
Natural man; as if God had made men,
naturally, incapable of Religion. Which
is the very fame thing, as it would be to
find Fault, with a Man for not Seeing,
when he was Born Blind. But the True
meaning of the Apoftle, is, The Senfual
man; He who, by habitual Debauchery,
by a courſe of any Any vitious or corrupt
Practice,
A
to receive the Terms of Salvation.
351
Practice, has extinguiſhed the Eyes of his SER M.
own Underſtanding; fuch a one can have XV.
no true Senſe of things relating to Religi-
on, of things which are only ſpiritually
difcerned. Our Saviour repreſents the
fame notion to us, in a very lively and
expreffive fimilitude, St Matt. xi. 17;
where he compares the Pharifees, who ha-
ted to ſee Truth in Any Light, and refu-
fed to hear Reafon under Any form ;
(who were neither moved by John Bap-
tift's preaching, who had come in the
more referved and auftere way; nor by
our Saviour's own preaching, who came
in the more free way of converſation and
inftruction;) he compares them to chil-
dren fitting in the Markets, and calling
unto their Fellows, and faying; We have pi-
ped unto you, and
have not danced; we
have mourned unto you, and ye have not la-
mented: They had No Ear; they heard
not; they gave no Attention; they knew no-
thing of the Tune which their Fellows plaid
to them, in what manner foever they di-
verfifyed it. The Application our Lord
makes of the fimilitude, is; that to ar-
gue with the Pharifees about morality,
ye
about
352 The Qualifications neceſſary
SER M.about the true nature of religion and vir-
XV. tue, in what manner foever it was done;
whether in John Baptift's more fevere
way, or in his own more mild way; 'twas
All One; 'twas talking to them, about a
matter they had no ſenſe of; 'twas ſpeak-
ing to them in a ftrange Tongue, in a
Language they understood nothing of.
There is an Allufion to the fame Simi-
litude, in Rev. xiv. 3. No man could
learn That Song, but the one hundred and
forty four thousand, which were redeemed
from the Earth: No man can Underſtand
and Practiſe the Religion of Heaven, but
they who by a worthy difpofition of
Mind, by an habitual Love of Truth and
Virtue, are qualified to be redeemed from
the Earth. Theſe are the perfons, whom
our Lord calls his Sheep; which bear and
know his Voice, Job. x. 27: Who readi-
ly perceive the excellency of his Doctrine,
and its perfect agreeableness to eternal
Truth and Reafon: Who receive inftru-
tion in the ways of Truth and Righte-
ouſneſs with the fame kind of Pleaſure,
as the Eye is entertained with at the Ap-
proach of Light: Who come unto Chriſt,
becauſe
to receive the Terms of Salvation.
353
XV.
becauſe the Father draws them; That is, SER M.
becauſe their Love of Right and Equity,
which is natural religion, recommends to
them That which is revealed; and, thro'
the Love of Righteouſneſs and true Vir-
tue, they are led to believe and embrace
the Goſpel of Chriſt. Theſe are They,
of whom our Lord declares, Matt. xiii.
12. Whosoever bath, to Him ſhall be given,
and he shall have more Abundance. But,
on the contrary, Whosoever bath not,
from Him fhall be taken away even That
he bath: Whofoever is fo infenfible of
the effential and eternal Differences of
Good and Evil; whofoever hath ſo little
Diſcernment in matters of religion, as to
think Any thing whatsoever can be an e-
quivalent for the neglect or Breach of the
leaft Moral Virtue; whosoever shall break
one of these least commandments, and ſhall
teach men fo; he shall be called the leaft
in the Kingdom of Heaven: That is, he
ſhall be the Laſt perſon that ſhall be ad-
mitted there, or fhall be very far from
ever entring therein at all. Thus, tho' the
Offer of Salvation is graciously made to
All, yet in event it becomes effectual to
VOL. IV.
A a
Thofe
354 The Qualifications neceffary
SERM. Thofe only, who are qualified and capable
XV. to receive it.
ن
In order to make which Doctrine more
ufeful to us in Practice, I fhall proceed to
ſhow diſtinctly, ift, in general, that That
Difpofition of Mind, which qualifies and
makes men capable to receive and embrace
effectually the Terms of Salvation, is fome-
what which the Scripture always ſpeaks of,
as a matter of fingular excellency, and wor-
thy of Great Commendation. 2dly, In what
Particulars this excellent temper and dif-
poſition principally confifts. And 3dly, What
are the oppofite Qualities, or chief Hindran-
ces, which generally prevent the Offers of
Salvation from being effectually embraced.
First; I obferve in general, that That
Difpofition of Mind which qualifies and
makes Men capable to receive and em-
brace effectually the Terms of Salvation,
is ſomewhat which the Scripture always
ſpeaks of, as a matter of fingular Excel-
lency, and worthy of Great Commendation.
'Tis an eminent Gift, or Grace, of God;
not in the fenfe of Thofe, who think God
works upon men mechanically, as upon
mere Machines; but in fuch a Senfe, as
Reafon
to receive the Terms of Salvation.
355
XV.
Reafon is the Gift of God, which makes SER M.
us to be Men, to be rational and intelli-
gent Creatures. Which we receive indeed
wholly from God the Author of our
Being; and yet 'tis a commendable and
praiſe-worthy Excellency in Him that has
it, becauſe, in the Ufe and Exerciſe of it,
it depends entirely upon the Free Will of
the perfon himſelf, either to use or to a
buſe it, either to improve or to neglect and
lofe it. Upon which account, St Peter's
Admonition is both very elegant and ve-
ry exact; 2 Pet. iii. 18, Grow in Grace.
The Thing to be acquired, is the Free
Gift of God; and yet his Exhortation fup-
poſes it to be their own Duty, and confe-
quently in their own Power, to receive,
to uſe, and to improve That Gift. And
becauſe, though all men are created rati-
onal, yet Few actually make use of their
reafon; though all men are indued with
the Senſe of Hearing, yet Few (as our
Saviour in the Text expreffes it) have an
Ear to bear; therefore That Temper,
That Spirit, That Difpofition of Mind,
which is in Scripture denoted by this fi-
gurative Phrafe, is therein always fet
forth,
A a 2
356
The Qualifications neceffary
SER M.forth, under characters of the Highest
XV. Excellency and fingular Diſtinction. 'Tis
That, which caufes men to prefer God
and Virtue before the finful injoyments of
a vitious and corrupt World; to chooſe
Truth and Right and Reaſon, before popu-
lar Errour and prevailing Wrong; to
ſtrive to enter in at the ftrait gate, rather
than accompany the Power, and the Num-
bers, of an unrighteous and debauched
Age. 'Tis This, that, even in the Hea-
then world, caufed Socrates to chooſe
Death rather than not maintain the
Knowledge of the One True God againſt
his fuperftitious and idolatrous Country-
'Tis This, that made the Patri-
archs of old, to go out from their native
Country, not knowing whither they
went. 'Tis This, that, in Elijah's time,
when the whole Houfe of Ifrael had de-
parted from God, and introduced almoft
univerfally a falſe Religion, cauſed ſeven
thouſand men to diftinguish themſelves,
by forbearing to bow the knee to Baal.
They loved, and hearkned to, Truth:
They had an Ear to difcern the Voice of
God, even in the midft of the moſt cor-
men.
rupt
to receive the Terms of Salvation
357
XV.
rupt Times and Nations; and they chofe, SER M.
to follow That Call. And by adhering to
That Choice, with Courage, Patience,
and Perfeverance; they acquired to them-
felves the Character of thoſe whom the
Prophet Malachi fpeaks of, ch. iii.
17,
They shall be mine, faith the Lord of Hofts,
in That day when I make up my Jewels :
And whom our Saviour deſcribes, as per-
fons thought worthy to obtain That Life,
and the Refurrection from the Dead: And
calls them his elect, which ſhall be gather-
ed together from the four winds, from eve-
ry corner under Heaven: And whom St
Paul means, when he applies to Chrifti-
ans That Paffage of the Prophet, Though
Ifrael be as the Sand of the Sea, yet à
Remnant ſhall be faved: And of whom,
Lastly, St John ſpeaks, Rev. xv. 2, when
he faw in his vifion Them that had gotten
the Victory over the Beast: In the Origi-
nal it is, which from out of the midst of
the Beaſt, that is, from the midſt of the
moſt idolatrous and wicked, the moſt
corrupt and perverſe Generations, had ſa-
ved themselves, and overcome the Tempta-
A a 3
tions
358
The Qualifications neceſſary
SER M. tions of a corrupt World.
XV. General: I proceed now in the
But This in
Second place, to confider more particu
larly, Wherein confifts This excellent
Temper and Difpofition of Mind, which
qualifies men to receive thus effectually,
and to embrace ftedfaftly, the Terms of
Salvation propoſed to them ; And in
What Particulars This Difpofition princi-
pally ſhows forth itſelf. And
Ift; THE firft Inftance wherein this
Good Difpofition fhows forth itfelf, is
Attentiveness or Confideration. Without
Attention and Confideration, a Man's
Mind is in the fame State with regard to
religious Knowledge, as it would be with
regard to the Knowledge of things in the
World, had his Eyes always been clofed,
and his Ears always flopped. God has gi-
ven us Faculties of the Mind to under-
ftand, just as he has given us Senfes in the
Body to perceive. Neither the One nor
the Other are of Any Uſe, unleſs applied
and attending to their proper Objecs. He
that hath an Ear, muſt hearken: And he
that hath Underſtanding, mult attend. Be-
bold, (fays our Saviour to his Diſciples,
when
"
to receive the Terms of Salvation.
359
when he had foretold them how falfeSER M.
Prophets and falfe Teachers fhould arife XV.
and deceive the whole World; Behold,
faith he, (take Notice,) I have told you
before, Matt. xxiv. 25. And Mofes, when
he had delivered to the Ifraelites the Mo-
ral part of the
of the Law; See, faith he,
Deut. xxx. 15; See, (that is, Obferve and
Attend,) I have set before thee this day
Life and Good, Death and Evil.
2dly, THE fecond particular, wherein
This excellent difpofition of Mind fhows
forth itſelf, (and which is the natural
Confequence of Attention and Confidera-
tion,) is a Delight in Examining into
Truth and Right; a taking pleaſure at all
times in beholding the Light, and in bear-
ing the Voice, of Reafon. Among igno-
rant and among fuperftitious men, No-
thing is more neglected than Reafon; That
Great Gift of God, That bright and fin-
gular Ornament of our Nature; which
diſtinguiſhes us on the one hand from ir-
rational natures, fuch as are the Beasts
that periſh; and on the other hand from
unreaſonable and perverſe natures, which
is the character of Devils. But how far
A a 4
foever
360
The Qualifications neceffary
be neg-
SER M.foever this Gift of Reafon may
XV. lected by corrupt Minds; yet 'tis (as Solo-
mon elegantly expreffes it, Prov. xx. 27;
'tis) the candle of the Lord, fearching all
the inward parts of the Belly. Nor is
there any feverer Puniſhment in This
Life threatned any where in Scripture,
than God's taking away men's Reaſon
and Underſtanding from them; Job xviii.
5. The Light of the Wicked fhall be put
out, and the spark of his Fire fhall not
fhine; The Light shall be dark in bis Ta-
bernacle, and his Candle fhall be put out
with him. To This Light God requires
us to attend; and They who do ſo, are
acceptable to him. And he appeals to men
to judge thereby, even concerning his
own Proceedings with them: I. i. 18.
Micah vi. Come now, and let us reaſon together, faith
the Lord; and, Let us plead together, ch.
xliii. 26; Judge, I pray you, betwixt Me
and my Vineyard. Which Appeal of God
to the Reason of Mankind for the Equity
of his Dealings with them, is alluded to
in That Paffage of the Pfalmift, cited by
St Paul, Rom. iii. 4. That thou mighteft be
juſtified in thy Sayings, and mightest over-
2. 3.
Il. v. 3.
come
to receive the Terms of Salvation
361
come when thou art judged. Now if we SER M.
are required to judge in this manner con- XV.
cerning God's dealings with Us; much
more muſt it needs be criminal in us, to
neglect to make uſe of this Light in judg-
ing what we are to do Ourfelves. Our
Saviour reproves the Jews, Luke xii. 57,
Why even of yourſelves (faith he) judge ye
not what is right? And St Paul ſpeaks
in like manner to Chriftians, 1 Cor. xi. 13.
Judge in yourſelves, is it comely? And a-
gain, ch. x. 15. I speak as to wife men,
that is, to reaſonable and intelligent perfons;
judge ye what I fay.
FROM the Texts cited under This
Head, I cannot but obferve here by the
way, that the Scripture (in direct oppo-
fition to the Romish doctrine) every where
Suppofes, that men muft of neceffity judge
for themſelves in matters of Religion:
And that there is never any Infalli-
ble Guide, There recommended; never
any Credulity, or Implicit Faith in Men,
There required or incouraged. As in-
deed, in the very nature of things, how
is it at all pofible, that ignorant and un-
learned
362
The Qualifications neceſſary
SER M.learned men fhould be able to look over
XV. the World, and to fee and judge Which
of all Nations is the fittest to be relied on
implicitly? On the contrary, men are al-
ways in Scripture fuppofed to have an Ears
and they are commanded to hear, and to
confider: To call no man maſter upon
Earth, but themselves to prove all things,
and to Try the Spirits whether they be
of God: To fatisfy their Own minds;
as Abraham, Heb. xi. 19. accounted, (in
the original it is, Reaſoned with himſelf,)
that God Could raiſe his Son from the
dead: And to be able alfo to give Sa-
tisfaction to Others, who at any time
ask them a Reafon of the Hope that is
in them, I Pet. iii.
Ι
15. In the Great
and Weighty Matters of Religion, the
forming of This Judgment is not a Bufi-
nefs of Skill, of Parts and Learning; but
of Integrity and Simplicity of Mind.
Which whofoever is indued with, though
otherwiſe of mean Abilities, will judge
better concerning any religious and moral
Truth, than the moſt Learned Philofo-
pher in the World. But if this Simpli-
city of Judgment, this natural Eye and
Guide
to receive the Terms of Salvation.
363
on,
XV.
Guide of the Mind, be itſelf corrupt- SER M
ed and depraved by Vice or Superftiti-
no wonder if men fall into end-
lefs and inextricable Errors. Our Saviour
excellently repreſents this to us, Matt.
vi. 22; The Light of the Body is the Eye:
If therefore thine Eye be fingle, thy whole
Body fhall be full of Light: But if thine
Eye be Evil, thy whole Body shall be full
of Darkness: If therefore the Light that
is in thee be darkness, how great is That
darkness! The Mind of a Man, whoſe
moral judgment is thus vitiated by depart-
ing from the Guidance of Reaſon and
from The Love of Truth, is, in the
Spiritual fenfe, a land of Darkness as Dark-
nefs itſelf, and of the fhadow of Death, with-
out any order, and where the Light is as
Darkness, Job x. 22.
3dly, Therefore; The Third and Prin-
cipal Particular, wherein confifts That
excellent Temper and Difpofition of Spi-
rit which fits and qualifies men to em-
brace effectually the Terms of Salvation,
is Moral Probity, Sincerity, and Integrity
of Mind. If any man will do his Will,
be fhall know of the Doctrine, whether it
be
364 The Qualifications neceffary
XV.
SERM.be of God, Joh. vii. 17. If thou defire
Wisdom, keep the Commandments, and the
Lord fhall give her unto thee; For he that
keepeth the Law of the Lord, getteth the
Underſtanding thereof, Eccluf. i. 26. xxi.
48.
10.
Pf. xxv .9.
II.
This is what our Saviour, in his
Parable, calls the Good Ground, which
brings forth fixty and an hundred fold.
Theſe are the perfons which our Lord
Joh.xi 27. calls his Sheep; which bear and know his
Voice. Theſe are they, of whom we read
A&ts xiii. that they are ordained, or (as the Greek
fignifies,) prepared and fet in Order to re-
ceive the Means of eternal Life. Theſe
are they to whom 'tis promifed, that the
Dan. xii. Wife fhall understand; that the Meek,
God will guide in judgment; and fuch as
are gentle, Them he will teach his Way.
Of this kind was Nathanael; of whom
our Saviour declared, when he first faw
Joh. i. 47. him; Behold, an Ifraelite indeed, in
whom there is No Guile. Of the fame
kind feems to have been That Other per-
fon, to whom our Saviour faid, Mar. xii,
34. (though indeed it is not recorded in
the Goſpel, what further Progreſs he af-
terwards made;) Thou art not far from
14.
I
the
to receive the Terms of Salvation.
365
XV.
the Kingdom of God. Laftly, of This SER M.
kind are All Thofe, who come unto Christ,
becauſe the Father draws them; that is, Joh.vi.44.
who through the Love of God, through the
Love of Righteouſneſs and true Virtue, are
led to believe and embrace the Gospel of
Christ. For
4thly, The fourth and last Inftance,
wherein this Good Difpofition I am fpeak-
ing of, fhows forth itſelf, is a Readineſs
to hearken to the Voice of Revelation,
as well as of Reafon. A well-difpofed
mind preſently feels the Goodneſs, and is
ftruck with a fenſe of the Beauty and
Excellency, and acknowledgeth the agree-
ableness of the Doctrine of Christ, to the
eternal Truths of Nature. And This real
Harmony of Reafon and Revelation, not
any Enthuſiaſtick Fancy, is the true inter-
nal evidence of Scripture; is God's Spi-
rit, bearing Witnefs with Our's. St Paul,
Rom. x. 8. applies to the Gofpel, what
Mofes had faid of the Moral Law, The
Word is Nigh thee, even in thy Mouth and
in thy Heart: 'Tis, in a manner, almoſt
connatural to a reaſonable and well-difpo-
fed Mind.
The Sound of the Apoſtle's
Preaching,
366
The Qualifications neceſſary
SER M. Preaching, faith he again, ver. 18. (what
XV.
Rom. x.
18.
by the Pfalmift was ſpoken concerning the
Motion of the Stars of Heaven,) Their
Sound, fays he, is gone forth into all
Lands, and their Words unto the Ends of
the World. He that hath Ears to hear,
Hab. ii. 2. cannot but hear their Doctrine; He that
has Eyes to fee, even tho' he runs, may
read it; He that has Understanding and
Probity of Mind to apprehend, cannot but
embrace it, when propofed to him fairly
and uncorruptly. As the regular Motions
Pf. xix. 1. of the Stars in the Heavens, are an unde-
niable Proof of the Power and Wisdom
of God, and of the confequent Obligati-
ons of Natural Religion; fo the Doctrine
of the Gofpel carries along with it, to rea-
fonable Minds, by its intrinfick Excellen-
cy, bright Evidences of Divine Truth in
Joh. xii. what it reveals. Chrift is come a Light
into the World: And the Gospel is the
Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of
God in the Face of Jefus Christ; fhining in
our Hearts, faith St Paul, as confpicu-
ouſly in the Moral Senſe, as in the natu-
ral fenfe God originally, at the creation
of the World, caufed the Light to Shine
46.
I
out
to receive the Terms of Salvation.
367
out of Darkneſs, 2 Cor. iv. 6.
Again, SER M.
Our Saviour himſelf uſes the fame Simi- XV.
litude, Luke xvii. 21. The Kingdom of
God, fays he, is within you:
And if
they shall fay to you, See here, or See
there; go not after them, nor follow them:
For as the Lightning that lightneth out of
the one part under heaven, Shineth unto
the other part under heaven; ſo ſhall also
the Son of Man be in his day. This uni-
verfal Light of revealed Truth is to be
found by all men, not by following This
or the Other particular man or Body of
men as a Guide; which is the very thing
our Lord forbids in the Paffage now-ci-
ted: But 'tis to be found only by attend-
ing to the Revelation itſelf: According to
our Saviour's direction, Search the Scrip-
tures; And after the Example of Thofe,
whom we find particularly commended,
Acts xvii. 11. for fearching the Scriptures
daily, whether the things that were taught
them, were ſo or no: The confequence of
which was, that they received the word
(fo the Text expreffes it,) with all readiness
of Mind.
THESE
368
The Qualifications neceſſary
THESE are the Principal Particulars,
XV. wherein confifts that excellent Temper and
SERM.
Difpofition of Mind, which qualifies and
makes men capable to receive and em-
brace effectually the Terms of Salvation.
The
Third and Last thing I propofed to con-
fider under This Head, was; what are
the oppofite Qualities, or chief Hindrances,
which generally prevent the Offers of
Salvation from being effectually embraced.
Of theſe, the
1ft Is Carelessness, and Want of Attention.
Which Temper cannot poffibly be deſcribed
in any livelier and more expreffive man-
ner, than it is by our Saviour in the
following Similitude, Luke viii. 5. A Sower
went out to fow his Seed; and as he fowed,
fome fell by the way's fide, and it was trodden
down, and the Fowls of the Air devoured it.
The
2d Hindrance, is Prejudice or Prepof
feffion. This was the Cafe of the Jews
in general, concerning whom St. Paul
fays, that the Veil was
2 Cor. iii. 15: And
more particularly, to
to
upon their Heart,
of thofe Pharifees
whom our Lord
faid,
to receive the Terms of Salvation. 369
ye
XV.
faid, Matt. ix. 13. Go and learn what S ER M.
That meaneth, I will have Mercy and not
Sacrifice. Falfe and fuperftitious Notions;
or groundleſs, unreaſonable, unintelligible
Opinions in religion, taken up upon Pre-
judice, are a greater Impediment to Truth,
than even the moft Profound Ignorance.
The
3d Hindrance, is Perverfenefs and Ob-
ftinacy. This Temper is admirably ex-
preffed in Scripture by That Phraſe of a
Stony Heart. Zech. vii. 12. They stopped
their Ears that they ſhould not hear; yea,
they made their Hearts as an Adamant-
ftone, left they ſhould hear the Law. This
was eminently the Temper of thofe Jews,
who becauſe John the Baptift came neither
eating nor drinking, they faid He hath a
Devil; and becauſe Chrift came both eat-
ing and drinking, they faid he was a wine-
bibber and a glutton: But in Both theſe
and in all other various circumftances,
Wiſdom is juſtified of all her Children.
The
4th and last, and of all Others the
Greateſt Impediment, is a Love of Vice.
Into a Malicious Soul, faith the Scripture,
VOL. IV.
Bb
Wiſdom
370
The Qualifications neceffary
SERM. Wiſdom will not enter; and None of the
XV. Wicked Shall underſtand. Concerning fuch
a Perſon, St. John elegantly expreſſes him-
Dan xii felf, that Darkness has
Wild i. 4.
10.
:
blinded his eyes,
1 Job. ii. 11. St Paul, by a like figure
of Speech, calls it Blindness of Heart,
Eph. iv. 18 and tells us that the God of
this World has blinded the minds of fome
men, 2 Cor. iv. 4; and deludes them
with all deceivableness of unrighteousness;
becauſe they have not a Love of the Truth,
that they might be faved; but take plea-
fure in unrighteoufnefs, 2 Th. ii. 10, 12;
placing their religion in any thing rather
than in true Virtue. And our Saviour, in
a phraſe very like to That in the Text,
upbraids the Pharifees, Joh. viii. 43. Why
do ye not understand my Speech; even be-
caufe ye cannot hear my word: Ye are of
your Father the Devil; and the Lufts of
your Father
ye
will do. They had a ſtrong
Love to fome Great Vices, which they
were very unwilling to reform; and there-
fore they had No Ear, to hear his Words.
THUS
to receive the Terms of Salvation.
371
XV.
THUS have I largely fhown, (which SER M.
was my Ild General Head of Difcourfe,)
that the Offer of Salvation, tho' graciouſly
made to All, yet in Event becomes effectual
to Thofe only who are qualified and capable
to receive it: He that hath an Ear, let him
hear. The
IIId, Propofition was, that they who
want an Ear; they who want the Dif
pofitions neceſſary to their receiving and im-
bracing this gracious Offer of Salvation, or
are prevented by any of the Hindrances
which render it ineffectual, are always very
feverely reproved in Scripture, plainly de-
noting it to be their own Fault, that they
have not Ears to hear.
· Bb 2
SERM-
[373]
AVIL
SERMON XVI.
Mens not accepting the Terms of
Salvation is from Themfelves.
REV. ii. 29.
阿
​He that hath an Ear, let him hear,
what the Spirit faith unto the
Churches.
T
HE Obfervations or Doctrines SER M.
I have propófed to difcourfe XVI.
upon from theſe words of
our Saviour, are Four. 1ſt,
That God, the Great Crea-
tor, and righteous Governour, and mer-
ciful Judge of the whole Earth, offers
B b 3
to
374
Mens not accepting the Terms
SER M. to All men the gracious Terms and Poffi-
XVI. bilities of Salvation: Let him hear, (let
every man hear,) what the Spirit faith
unto the Churches. 2dly, That This Of-
fer, though graciouſly made to All, yet
in Event becomes effectual to Thofe only,
who are qualified and capable to receive
it: He that hath an Ear, let him hear.
3dly, That They who want an Ear; they
who want the difpofitions neceſſary to their
receiving and embracing this gracious
Offer of Salvation, or are prevented by
any of the Hindrances which render it
ineffectual, are always very feverely re-
proved in Scripture, plainly denoting it
to be their Own Fault, that they have
not Ears to hear. 4thly and Laftly, That
hence confequently All thofe Paffages of
Scripture, wherein God is at any time re-
preſented as blinding mens Eyes, or cloſing
their Ears, or hardning their Hearts, or
taking away their Understanding from
them, muft of neceffity be underſtood to
be figurative Expreffions only; not de-
noting literally what God actually effects
by his Power, but what by his Providence
he juſtly and wifely permits.
THE
of Salvation is from Themſelves.
375
THE Two former of theſe Propofitions S ER M.
I have already difcourfed upon: That XVI.
God offers to All men the gracious Terms
and Poffibilities of Salvation: And yet,
that in Event This Offer becomes effectual
to Thoſe only, who are qualified and capable
to receive it: He that hath an Ear, let him
bear.
I am now to proceed to the
IIId general Obfervation: That they
who want an Ear; they who want the
Difpofitions neceſſary to their receiving
and embracing This Gracious Offer of
Salvation, or are prevented by any of
the Hindrances which render it ineffectu-
al, are always very feverely reproved in
Scripture; plainly denoting it to be en-
tirely their Own Fault, that they have
not Ears to hear. The Reason is, be-
cauſe theſe neceſſary Difpofitions are not
natural but moral Qualifications; and the
contrary Impediments are not natural
but moral Defects. Did Religion depend
upon the ſtrength or weakneſs of mens
natural Parts or Abilities of Mind, as
Quickneſs of Hearing or Seeing depends
upon the Goodness of the Bodily Organs
of Senfe; (Neither of which are at all
Bb.4
in
376
Mens not accepting the Terms
SER M.in mens Own Power :) It would follow,
XVI. that Want of Religion was no more blame-
worthy, than the Want of good Eyes or
the Want of deep Understanding. But
Religion depends entirely upon fuch Qua-
lities as are Moral; and the Capacity of
Hearing mentioned in the Text hath evi-
dently relation to the Heart, and Will of
the Hearer. Of This we have a moſt
expreſs and undeniable Evidence, in that
cloquent and ſharp Reproof given by
St Stephen to the Jews, Acts vii. 51, Ye
fiff-necked and uncircumcifed in Heart and
Ears, ye do always refift the Holy Ghoft.
Every one that heard him well under-
ſtood, that his calling them uncircumci-
fed in Heart and Ears, was no more meant
as a Cenfure upon their natural Under-
fanding, than upon their Bodily Organs;
but that it was a fevere Rebuke upon
them for Another kind of Defect, where-
of they could by no means lay the Blame
either upon God or Nature. Perfons of
the Meanest natural Capacities may have
a Mind Attentive to inftruction; may
have a Love to Truth and Right; may
have great Probity and Integrity of Heart:
Which weak things of the World (as
St Paul
of Salvation is from Themſelves.
377
St Paul elegantly ftiles them) are in re-SER M.
ligion much fuperiour to the things that XVI.
are Mighty. And on the contrary; men
of the Greatest Abilities in other reſpects,
may yet very poffibly have no Reliſh of
moral Truths; may lie under powerful
Prejudices; may be very Perverſe in their
Tempers; or may have violent Paffions,
and ſtrong Affections to particular Vices.
Upon which account, St Paul tells us
that not many Wife men after the Fleft,
not many Mighty, not many Noble are cal-
led: It being very poffible, that fuch
perfons, notwithſtanding All Other Ad-
vantages both of Mind and Fortune, yet,
as to the matter of Religion, may be in
the State our Saviour reprefents the Church
of Laodicea, Rev. iii. 17, Thou fayeft, I
am rich, and knoweft not that thou art
wretched, and miferable, and poor, and
blind, and naked. Whoever has once
carefully confidered This, will find no dif
ficulty in underſtanding fuch expreffions
as Thefe; I. xliii. 8, Bring forth the
Blind people that have Eyes, and the Deaf
that have Ears: And Jer. v. 21, Hear
now This, O foolish people, and without
Under-
378
Mens not accepting the Terms
XVI.
SERM. Understanding; which have Eyes, and fee
not, which have Ears and hear not. A-
gain, I. xlii. 18, 19, 20, Hear, ye deaf;
and look, ye blind, that ye may fee: Who
is Blind, but my Servant;
or deaf, as my
Meſſenger that I fent?
Seeing many
things, but thou obfervedft not; opening the
ears, but he beareth not. 'Tis evident
from the Manner in which thefe Expref-
fions are introduced in the refpective
Contexts, and from the whole Tenor and
Phrafeology of Scripture, and from par-
ticular additional Circumftances in Other
Paffages wherein the like Expreffions are
uſed; that None of thefe Phrafes fignify
natural Want of Capacity, which is an
Object of Compaffion; but a wilful indif-
pofition to hear reafon, which is a moft
juſt ground for the fevereft Reproof. In
Ezek. xii. 2, 'tis Thus expreffed: Son of
Man, Thou dwelleft in the midst of a re-
bellious house, which have Eyes to fee, and
fee not; they have Ears to hear, and hear
not; for they are a rebellious houfe. He
does not fay, they wanted Capacity, or
natural Underſtanding; but they were a
Rebellious houſe. They were the fame,
of
of Salvation is from Themſelves.
379
of whom he ſpeaks, ch. xxiv. 13, I have SER M.
purged thee, and thou waft not purged. XVI.
In the Gospel 'tis alleged by our Saviour,
not as a pitiable Infirmity, but as an Ar-
gument of mens Unworthiness, and of their
deferving to be caft off: Matt. xiii. 13,
Therefore Speak I to them in Parables,
becauſe they feeing, fee not; and hearing,
they hear not, neither do they understand.
In the natural and literal fenfe of the
words; not to fee, not to hear, not to
underſtand, is no Fault at all. But when
men ſeeing, fee not; and hearing, hear
not; This is the great Reproach of humane
nature, and what makes men worthy even
to be left without inftruction. Hence our
Saviour could not, (fo the Scripture ex- Mat. xiii.
preffes it :) That is, Agreeably to his ge- Mar. vi 5-
neral Deſign and Method of acting, he
could not do many mighty works in his
own Country, becauſe of their Unbelief:
And he adviſes his Difciples, after the ex-
ample of his own Practice, not to give Mat. vii. 6.
that which is Holy unto the Dogs, nor to
caft their Pearls before Swine. In obedi-
ence to which Direction, St Paul tells
the Jews who continued to reject his
Preaching,
58.
380
Mens not accepting the Terms
SER M. Preaching, after many repeated Admoni-
XVI. tions, Acts xiii. 46, and xxviii. 28, See-
ing ye put from you the Word of God, and
judge yourſelves unworthy of eternal Life,
lo, we turn to the Gentiles; and They will
hear it. In his Epiftle to the Hebrews,
after a more gentle manner of Reproof,
but ſtill in way of Reproof it was, as for
fomething which was entirely their own
Fault, that he complains of them as be-
ing dull of Hearing, ch. v. 11; and that
They who for the Time ought to have
been Teachers of Others, had ſtill need of
being Taught Themfelves. This was a
Faulty and blame-worthy Imperfection; a
Want of Improvement in Religion; a
Want of employing thoſe Talents, where-
with God had intruſted them; a Want of
Growing in Grace and in the Knowledge
of God. As for thoſe who are Totally
ignorant, and have no Difcernment at all
in Moral Matters; of Thefe, the Scripture
always fpeaks with ſtill Greater Indigna-
tion, and with the utmoſt Severity of Re-
proof; as of perfons labouring under a
Defect, the Blame whereof cannot poffi-
bly in Any wife be laid either upon God
or
of Salvation is from Themfelves.
381
XVI.
n
or Nature, but merely upon the WilfulSER M.
and Obftinate Negligence of the Perfons
themſelves. They are like the Deaf Ad-
der, faith the Pfalmift, which stoppeth
ber Ears, which refuſeth to bear the Voice
of the Charmer, charm he never ſo wiſely :
They wilfully and obftinately refufe to
confider the Reaſonableness, and the Proofs,
of true religion. 'Tis not a
a natural
Deafneſs, but a Deafness which proceeds
from flopping the Ears, and Refusing to
hear the Voice of the Charmer. The
Prophet Jeremy, ch. vi. 10, fets forth this
Cafe to us in a very bold and lively fi-
militude; Behold, faith he, their Ear is
uncircumcifed, and they cannot hearken;
behold, the word of the Lord is unto them
a Reproach, they have no Delight in it.
To which beautiful and expreſſive Figure
of Speech St Stephen plainly alludes, in
that fharp and cutting Reproof before-
mentioned, Acts vii. 51, Ye Stiff-necked,
and Uncircumcifed in Heart and Ears, ye
do always refift the Holy Ghost. St John,
by Another Comparison of the Like Na-
ture, tells us that whofoever hateth his
Brother, (that is, whofoever thinks Un-
chari-
382
Mens not accepting the Terms
SER M. charitableness to be confiftent with True
XVI. Religion,) is in Darkness, and-Dark-
nefs has Blinded his Eyes, 1 Joh. ii. 11.
Which being the cafe, 'tis no wonder that
the Scripture here pronounces a Woe with
a particular Emphafis: Wo be to them that
call Evil Good, and Good Evil; that put
Darkness for Light, and Light for Dark-
neſs, Ifai. v. 20. And though in Scrip-
ture-phrafe, 'tis to the Delufions of Sa-
tan that this Moral Incapacity of men
is frequently afcribed; as when Satan is
ſaid to take away the Word out of mens
Hearts; and Satan has filled their Hearts;
and the like: Yet this is never ſpoken by
way of Excuſe, but always on the con-
trary, of High Aggravation. They, out
of whofe Heart Satan taketh away the
word, are by our Saviour compared to,
and blamed for being like unto, the very
worst and most unfruitful Ground. And
Ananias, whofe Heart Satan had filled,
was afked by St Peter in way of fevere
Reproof; Why bath Satan filled, (that is,
why haft thou been fo wicked, fo covetous
ſo corrupt, as to fuffer Satan to fill) thine
Heart, Acts v. 3. Nay, in all thoſe pla-
ces,
of Salvation is from Themſelves.
383
XVI.
ces, where God himſelf is repreſented as SER M.
depriving men of their Underſtanding ;
'tis ftill always, (which is a Demonftra-
tion of the True Meaning of fuch Phra-
fes,) 'tis always (I fay) in the way of
moſt ſevere Reproof and Blame, to the
Perſons of whom it is fpoken. Of This,
we have a fingular and very remarkable
Inftance, in Deut. xxix. 4: Where Mofes,
bitterly expoftulating with the Ifraelites
for their incorrigible rebelliouſneſs, Thine
eyes (fays he) have feen the Signs, and
thofe Great Miracies; Yet the Lord hath
not given you an Heart to perceive, and
Eyes to jec, and Ears to hear unto this day.
Nothing ever was more evident, than
that Mofes here did not mean to affirm
literally, that any thing was wanting on
God's part; (For he is here urging That
very Argument, that God had done all
that was fit for him to do;) but on the
contrary his plain Intent was, in a moſt
affectionate manner, to expoftulate with
the people for their Negligence, Obftinacy
and Perverſeness, in not being led by the
Sight of God's Great and numerous Mi-
racles, to Repentance. Your own Eyes have
I
Seen
384
Mens not acccepting the Terms
SERM. Seen thofe Great Miracles: Yet fo unrea-
XVI. fonably obftinate and perverſe are ye, that
the Lord hath not given you; i. e. all the
Means he has ufed, have not cauſed in
you a Heart to perceive, even unto This
day. And This brings me to the
IVth and Last General Propofition :
That, fince the Scripture always thus
expressly lays the Blame upon mens felves;
hence confequently All thofe Paffages,
wherein God is at any time reprefented as
blinding mens Eyes, or closing their Ears,
or hardning their Hearts, or taking away
their Understanding from them; muft of
Neceffity be underſtood to be figurative
expreffions only; not denoting literally
what God actually effects by his Power,
but what by his Providence he juſtly and
wifely permits. And becauſe the Paffages
of This kind are very numerous, I fhall,
for Method's fake, diftinguish them un-
der the following Heads.
Ift, SOME of thefe forts of expref-
fions denote only the general Analogy or
Fitness of the thing to be done.
I
2dly,
of Salvation is from Themſelves.
385
XVI.
2dly, Others of them, are only figu-SER M.
rative Acknowledgments of the univerfal
Superintendency of Providence over All
Events; without whofe Permiffion, no-
thing happens in the World.
3dly, OTHERSs of them, are only Af-
plications of Prophecies, or Declarations
of certain Prophecies being fulfilled.
4thly and Laftly, SOME others of them,
are Denunciations or Threatnings of God's
juſtly and in a judicial manner leaving in-
corrigible men to themselves, after many
repeated Provocations.
Ift, SOME of thofe Expreffions, where-
in God may ſeem to be repreſented as
blinding men, and hardening them to de-
ftruction, do indeed in ftrictnefs denote
nothing more, than the general Analogy cr
Fitness of the thing to be done. Thus
Prov. xvi. 4, The Lord has made all
things for Himfelf; (the true Rendring is,
The Lord has made all things, one anfwer-
able to another ;) yca, even the wicked to
the day of Evil: That is, (as the Scrip- Job xxi.
ture elſewhere expreffes it,) The wicked is 30.
referved to the day of Deftruction, they
ſhall be brought forth to the day of Wrath:
VOL. IV.
C c
For
386
Mens not accepting the Terms
SER M. For the Good, are good things created from
XVI. the Beginning; fo likewife evil things for
Ecclus.
xxxix. 25.
xi. 16.
xl. 9.
Sinners.
AGAIN, I Sam. ii. 25, The Sons of
Eli hearkned not unto the Voice of their
Father, becauſe the Lord would flay them.
The reaſon here affigned, because the Lord
would flay them, anſwers exactly to That
expreffion in modern language, Becauſe
they were Abandoned, Profligate or Grace-
lefs. In which manner of fpeaking, no-
body underſtands Want of Grace to be a
charging of any Defect on God's part, but
a deſcribing of the Perfons themselves to
be worthy of Deftruction.
2dly, SOME other Expreffions of This
kind, are only figurative Acknowledgments
of the univerſal Superintendency of Pro-
vidence over all events; without whofe
Permiffion, nothing happens in the world;
without whom, not a Sparrow falls to
the Ground, or a Hair of our Head
periſhes. Thus, in Scripture-language,
God delivers into his Neighbour's band,
that is, Providence permits to fall, every
perſon who happens to be fain by Chance.
XXV. 38. Thus the Lord fmote Nabal, that he died;
1 Sam.
AЯs xii.
23.
where
of Salvation is from Themſelves.
387
where the Hiſtory is not recording a SERM.
Miracle, but only the man's being ftruck XVI.
with a mortal diſeaſe. And, the Lord 2 Chron.
fmote the Ethiopians before Ala, that is, xiv. 12.
in the courfe of Providence they were
defeated by him in Battle. And what
Mofes fays concerning the King of Hefl-
bon; the Lord God hardned his Spirit, Deut. ii.
and made his heart obftinate, that he might 30.
deliver him into thy hand; and Joshua Joh. xi.
concerning the Canaanites, it was of the 20.
Lord to harden their hearts, that they
fhould come against Ifrael in battle, that
he might destroy them utterly; is plainly
of the fame import only, as if he had
faid, It pleafed God to let their Obftinacy
deftroy them. Thus, God's hardning Pha- Exod. iv.
raub's heart, evidently means no more, 21.
than that the Miracles God worked be-
fore him, inſtead of convincing him as
they ought to have done, made him on-
ly more obftinate and ftubborn. And
when God fays of him, Rom. ix. 17, E-
ven for this purpoſe have I raiſed thee up,
that I might few my Power in thee;
St Paul thus explains it exprefly, ver. 22,
What if God willing to how his Wrath,
Cc 2
and
388
Mens not accepting the Terms
SERM. and to make his Power known, endured
XVE with much long-fuffering, the Vellels of
Wrath, fitted to Destruction? Pharaoh
was by his Own Wickedneſs fitted to De-
ftruction: God endured him with much
long-fuffering, and waited long for his.
Repentance: But he appearing incorri-
gible, God therefore chofe him as a pro-
per Inftrument, and raised him up into
an eminent Example, upon whom he might
fhow forth his Wrath, and make his Power
known; for à Terror to fuch as ſhould
imitate his Obftinacy, in all fucceeding
generations. And exactly the fame, was
the Cafe of Judas. And in general, he
Hath mercy on whom he will have mercy,
and whom he will be hardeneth; That is,
not arbitrarily, irrefpectively, and without
regard to mens behaviour: But the Mean-
ing is; God, who knoweth the Heart, and
not We, is the only Proper Judge, who
are fit Objects of his Mercy, and who of
his Wrath. Even in Humane Judicatures,
a Judge may very reafonably be fuppofed
to fay to an ignorant multitude, not ar-
bitrarily, but as having himſelf a moft
perfect knowledge both of the Law and
of
of Salvation is from Themſelves.
389
XVI.
of the Fact; I will acquit whom I willSER M.
acquit; and I will condemn whom I fee fit
to condemn. And that This is indeed the
whole meaning of the word, harden, ap-
pears clearly from hence; that 'tis ufed,
not only of Pharaoh and Other Enemies,
but alfo of God's own People. If. lxiii. 17,
Lord, why haft thou made us to err from
thy ways, and hardened our heart from
thy Fear? Undoubtedly the Prophet in
This Prayer, did not mean to charge God
with the Sins of the People; but merely
to expreſs his Sorrow for their being, in
fact, corrupted. And, in the place be-
fore-cited, Deut. xxix. 4, The Lord, fays
Mofes by way of expoftulation to the
people, hath not given you an Heart to
perceive; that is, his many wondrous
Works have not yet had their due Ef-
fect upon you. And concerning our
Lord's Difciples themselves, 'tis written in
the Goſpel, Mar. vi.
52, viii.
17, that
they confidered not the Miracle, for their
Heart was hardened: Which is thus ex-
plained, Luke ix. 45, xviii. 34, They un-
derstood not this Saying, and it was hid
from them, that they perceived it not.
Cf 3
To
390
Mens not accepting the Terms
SERM.
XVI.
To give but One inftance, or Two,
more. By comparing 2 Sam. xxiv. 1, with
i
1 Chron. xxi. I; it appears evidently, that
God's moving David; or Satan's provo-
king him; or his own distrustful Heart
tempting him to number the People; are
All Phrafes, that have one and the fame
Meaning. In like manner The men of
Shechem's falling out with, and dealing
treacherously with Abimelech, Judg. ix.
23, is ftiled, God's fending an Evil Spi-
rit between Abimelech and the men of She-
chem. The Princes of Egypt acting fool-
ishly, in I. xix. 14, is; The Lord has
mingled a perverfe Spirit in the midst
thereof. The Hypocrify of the Jews, in
drawing near with their mouth, and c-
nouring God with their Lifs, when they
kad removed their Heart far from him,
If. xxix. 13, is Thus expreffed juft before,
ver. 10, The Lord hath poured out upon
you the Spirit of deep Sleep, and kath clofed
your Eyes.
And the Prophet Jeremy's
Prayer, ch. iv. 10, Ab Lord God, Jurely
Thou beft greatly deceived this people;
evidently was not intended as charging
God with caufing the people to err, but
merely
of Salvation is from Themselves.
391
merely as an expreffion of his Sorrow for S ER M.
their being juſtly ſuffered to err. But
XVI.
3dly, SOME Other Expreffions of this
kind are Only Applications of Prophecies,
or Declarations of certain Prophecies be-
ing fulfilled. Thus Jude 4; Ungodly Men,
who were before of Old ordained to this
condemnation; whereunto alfo they were
appointed, 1 Pet. ii. 8. Not, appointed
of God to be Wicked, but foretold by
the Antient Prophets, that fuch perfons
would arife, Of the like fenſe, are the
following expreffions, Dan. xii. 10, The
wicked fhall do wickedly. 2 Tim. iii. 13,
Evil men and Seducers fhall wax worse
and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
And Rev. xvii. 17, God hath put it in
their Hearts to fulfill his Will, (that is,
hath cauſed them, not by influencing of
their Wills, but by his all-wife Conduct
of Providential Events, he hath caufed
them to accomplish the Prophecies,) and
to agree, and give their Kingdom unto the
Beaf, until the Words of God fhall be ful-
filled. And Rom. xi. 7, 10, The election,
(that is, the elect people, thoſe who be-
lieve in Chrift,) have obtained it, and the
Cc 4
reft
392
Mens not accepting the Terms
SERM.reft (i.e. the Unbelievers) were blinded:
XVI. According as it is written, God has given
them the Spirit of flumber, Eyes that they
ſhould not fee, and Ears that they ſhould
And David faith,
Let
not bear.
their Eyes be darkned, that they may not
Jee.
BUT the moſt remarkable Text to This
purpoſe in the Whole Scripture, is That
in the xiith of St John, ver. 37, 39, 40,
Though he had done fo many Miracles be-
fore them, yet they believed not on him:
Therefore they could not believe, becauſe
that Efaias faid, He bath blinded their
Eyes, and hardned their Heart, that they
hould not fee with their Eyes, nor under-
ftand with their Heart, and be converted,
and I should heal them. Evidently the
Meaning of theſe words is; not, that
Ifaiah's Prophecy was the Reafon or Cauſe
of the Jews Unbelief; but only that the
Jews Unbelief was the Accompliſhment of
Ifaial's Prophecy. For as, in many other
paffages of the Gofpels, according to the
Nature and Phrafeology of the Jewish
language, 'tis written that fuch a thing
was done, that it might be fulfilled which
was
of Salvation is from Themfelves.
393
;
was Spoken by the Prophet; and yet 'tis SER M.
certain the thing was not therefore done XVI.
becauſe it had been foretold, but had there-
fore been foretold becauſe it would cer-
tainly be done and the words, that it
might be fulfilled, mean nothing more
than, thereby Was fulfilled: So is it like-
wife in the prefent cafe; They could not
believe, becauſe that Ifaias had faid it:
That is, Their Unbelief was not to be
wondred at; 'twas nothing more than
what Iſaiah had foretold; and it could
not indeed be expected of fo corrupt a
people, that they fhould do better. That
This is the true and only fenfe of the
Paffage, will appear undeniably, by con-
fidering the Original Prophecy itself, and
the manner how it is quoted in Many
Other places of the New Teftament. The
words of Iſaiah are, ch. vi. 9, Go and tell
this people, Hear ye indeed, but underſtand
not; and fee ye indeed, but perceive not;
make the Heart of this people fat, and
make their Ears heavy, and shut their
Eyes; left they fee with their Eyes, and
bear with their Ears, and underſtand with
their Heart, and convert and be healed.
Qur
394
Mens not aceepting the Terms
I 2.
IO.
and in Them is
SER M.Our Saviour himſelf, citing theſe words,
XVI. applies them by way of Reproof, Matt.
xiii. 13, Becauſe they feeing, fee not; and
hearing, they hear not ;
fulfilled the Prophecy of Efaias. St Paul
cites and applies them in the way of a
ftill sharper Rebuke to thofe who rejected
his Preaching; Acts xxviii. 26, Well Spake
the Holy Ghost by Efaias unto our Fathers,
faying, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall
Mar. iv. not understand. In St Mark and St Luke,
Luke viii. they are Thus cited; That ſeeing, they
might not fee; and hearing, they might not
understand: Expreffing, as is evident from
the parallel Texts, not the Defign of God,
but the Event of the Thing: In the fame
fenſe, as our Saviour fays concerning
Himſelf, I come not to fend Peace, but a
Sword; And to the Pharifees, Joh. ix. 39,
For judgment I am come into this World;
that they which fee not, might fee; and
that they which fec, might be made blind.
By comparing together all which feveral
References to that one Prophecy of Ifaiah,
and the manner how it is always alleged
in the way of a moft fevere Reproof to
the perfons to whom it is applied; it
I
moft
of Salvation is from Themſelves.
395
moſt manifeftly appears, that there is ne-SER M.
ver in Scripture any Intention to afcribe XVI.
to God any actual efficiency in the making
men hard and wicked; but only a perpe-
tual declaration of God's just Judgments,
and of the Wisdom of his Providence, ma-
nifeſted in the Truth of the Prophecies,
and in the exact Fitness of the reſpective
Applications. The moft that is ever litc-
rally and frictly afcribed to God, is what
Thofe Expreffions amount to, which I
obferve in the
4th and Laft place, To be Denuncia-
tions or Threatnings of God's juſtly and
in a judicial manner leaving incorrigible
men to themselves, after many repeated
Provocations. Of This kind is That of
Ezekiel, ch. xxiv. 13, Because I have pur-
ged thee, and thou waft not purged; thou
fhalt not be purged from thy filthiness any
more. And I. xxix. 13, Forafmuch as
this people has removed their Heart far
from me;
their Wife men fhall perish,
therefore the Wisdom of
deftanding of their prudent
and the Un-
men ſhall be
bid. The Heathen-world, becauſe, de-
parting from the Light of natural Con-
fcience,
;
396
Mens not accepting the Terms
SER M. fcience, they liked not to retain God in
XVI. their Knowledge; therefore God gave them
up unto vile Affections, Rom. i. 24. The
Jews after long provocations, God gave
up unto their own hearts luft, Pf. lxxxi. 12;
and let them follow their own imagination ;
even ſo far as to worship the Host of Hea-
ven, Acts vii. 42. And of Chriftians, in
the Times of great Corruptions of the
Church, St Paul prophecies, 2 Theff. ii.
11, that fince they loved not the Truth,
God should fend them ftrong Delufion,
that they might believe a Lye. 'Tis a fe-
vere, but very juft Threatning, which we
read in Ezek. xiv. 3, 9: Since thefe men
have fet up their Idols in their Heart,
if the Prophet be deceived when he hath
Spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived
That Prophet, and they shall bear the
Puniſhment of their Iniquity. Of the ful-
filling which Threatning we have a re-
markable inftance in the Cafe of Idola-
trous Abab: Concerning whom, the Scrip-
ture in a figurative indeed, but very em-
phatical and expreffive manner, defcribes
the Prophet in a Vision beholding the
Lord fitting upon his Throne, and all the
Hoft
of Salvation is from Themfelves.
397
XVI.
Host of Heaven standing about him, and SER M.
the Lord giving Leave to an Evil Spirit
to deceive the Prophets of Ahab. Yet
even here 'tis very obfervable, that, as a
Laft Warning to Abab, if it had been
poffible to bring him to Repentance; this
very thing, even the deceiving of his Pro-
phets, was itſelf told him beforehand by
Micaiah. But he was under the ftrong
Prejudice of an idolatrous Mind, and
therefore he had not Ears to hear. More
than This, God was not obliged, nor was
it fit, to Do for him. Nor will God to
Any man, after he has ufed all reaſonable
Motives, add irrefiftible Means, to con-
vert him whether he will or no. When
the Jews, after our Saviour had worked
Many Miracles, ftill called for a Sign
from Heaven; he told them, there ſhould
no Sign be given to an adulterous and
perverfe generation. And after his Re-
furrection, he fhowed himſelf alive, not
to all the people, but to chofen and fuffi-
cient Witneſſes. And when his unbelie-
ving Countrymen, perverfely, and not
with any real Defire of being fatisfied,
urged him to repeat the fame Miracles
2
among
398 Mens not accepting the Terms, &c.
SERM. among Them, as he had already worked
XVI. in other places; he made them this fharp
Reply, (the Senſe whereof is a Paraphraſe
on the words of my Text, and where-
with I fhall conclude ;) Luke iv. 25, I
tell you of a Truth, many Widows were in
Ifrael in the days of Elias,- but unto none
of them was Elias fent, fave unto Sarepta
a City of Sidon, unto a woman that was a
widow. And many Lepers were in Ifrael
in the time of Elifeus the Prophet; and
none of them was cleanfed faving Naaman
the Syrian. The Manifeftations God was
pleaſed to make of Himſelf, were abun-
dantly fufficient; and they that had Ears to
hear, could not fail of underſtanding them.
The cafe is the fame Nowe, and in All
Ages: God has made abundant Manifeſt-
ations of Himſelf, both by Reason and
Revelation; and no man can excufably be
ignorant of Him.
SERMON
[ 399 ]
SERMON XVII.
Of the Nature of true Chriftian
Zeal.
REV. iii. 15, 16.
I know thy Works, that thou art nei-
ther cold nor hot: I would thou
wert cold or hot. So then, becaufe
thou art lukewarm, and neither
cold nor hot, I will fpue thee out
of my Mouth.
R
ELIGION is the Great Or-S ER M.
nament and Glory of Humane XVII.
Nature; that which princi-
pally diſtinguiſhes Men from
the inferiour Orders of Crea-
tures; and upon which Alone are ground-
ed
400
Of the Nature of
SER M. ed all Hopes of Life and Happineſs here-
XVII. after, when this fhort and tranfitory World
fhall be paffed away. In a matter of ſo
great importance therefore, 'tis very won-
derful, that any man who calls himſelf a
reaſonable Creature fhould be carelefs
and indifferent; careless, whether he has
Any Religion, or Nonc; indifferent, whe-
ther his religion, when he does profefs any,
be True or Falfe; careless, when he has
embraced the True Religion, whether he
makes Any Improvement in his Practice
anſwerable to it, or no. The words of
the Text are a Reproof fent by our Sa-
viour to the Church of Laodicea, upon
account of their remifsnefs and lukewarm-
nefs in this last particular. The Church
of Laodicea, fignifies either literally one
of the Seven primitive Churches of Afia,
or figuratively one of the feven fucceffive
States or Conditions of the Primitive
Church Catholick, before its falling into
That Univerfal Antichriftian corruption
defcribed in the following chapters of This
Book. In whichfoever of theſe two ſenſes
we underſtand the Church of Laodicea to
be meant, yet ftill, it being part of the
Primitive Church before the times of
That
true Chriftian Zeal.
401
;
That Great and Total Apoftacy; 'tis plain SER M.
the lukewarmnefs here charged upon XVII.
them, cannot fignify a general careleffnefs
whether they had Any Religion or None
nor an indifferency whether the Religion
they profeffed was True or Falſe; (for
Theſe are the Crimes of later Ages, not
of the Primitive days:) But Their luke-
warmneſs was a remifsnefs or neglect of
making improvement in Practice, anfwer-
able to the excellency of the Religion
they profeffed. I know thy Works, that
thou art neither cold nor hot. The De-
fect was in their Works, or Practice:
They would not lay afide the Profeffion
of Religion, and yet they would not live
anfwerable to it by being zealous of goed
works. This is what our Saviour reproves
them for in the Text: And to add
Weight and Dignity to the Reproof, 'tis
introduced with a Solemn defcription of
the Greatneſs and Excellency of the Per-
fon who fent it: Unto the Angel (fays he)
of the Church of the Laodiceans, write ;
Theſe things faith the Amen, the faithful
and True Witness, the Beginning of the
creation of God. I know thy works, that
VOL. IV.
thott
Dd
402
Of the Nature of
SERM. thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou
XVII. wert cold, or hot: So then, becauſe thou
art luke-warm, and neither cold nor hot,
I will pue thee out of my Mouth: Becauſe
thou Sayeft, I am rich, and increaſed with
goods, and have need of nothing; They
profpered, (it feems,) in all worldly ap-
pearance, and had much Form of religi-
on; but knowest not that thou art wretched
and miferable, and poor, and blind, and
naked: Naked, that is, deftitute of the
works of righteoufnefs; and Blind, that
is, infenfible of the dangeroufnefs of their
condition. The words therefore are a
Reproof to the Laodiceans for their Want
of Zeal; and an intimation wherein the
nature of True Zeal confiſts.
Thou art
luke-warm, and neither cold nor hot, is
the Reproof for want of Zeal; And, I know
thy Works, that thou art blind and
naked, is an intimation What was the
Zeal they wanted. Now fince Theſe
things are Our Examples; and the Scrip-
tures are written for Our Admonition,
upon whom the Ends of the World are come;
and the Faults of which the Primitive
Church was guilty, are much more in-
creaſed
true Chriftian Zeal.
403
creaſed in the Ages of Apoftacy: It can-S ER M.
not but be very proper for us, from the XVII.
confideration of theſe affectionate words
of our Saviour, to inquire, for our Own
inftruction, into the nature of True Zeal,
which the Laodiceans are here reproved
for wanting; and alfo of That Falſe Zeal,
which is apt to make Chriftians think
themſelves to be rich (in the fpiritual
fenfe,) and to have need of nothing, when
indeed they are moft wretched and mife-
rable, and poor, and blind, and naked.
TRUE Zeal then, which is the Virtue
of a Chriftian, may be diſtinguiſhed from
Falfe Zeal, which is the Character of
private Parties or Factions; principally
by Three ways: By the Object, about
which it is employed; by the Manner
and Circumstances, in which it expreffes
itſelf; and by the End, to which it is
directed.
I. THE First Mark, by which True
and Chriftian Zeal may be diftinguiſhed
from that which is Falfe and Unchriftian,
is the Object about which it is employed.
The Object of True Chriſtian Zeal is the
Study of Truth, and the Practice of
Right;
Dd 2
404
Of the Nature of
SERM. Right: The continued, impartial, unpre
XVII. judiced Inquiring after Truth ourselves
1
and the giving conftant encouragement to
All Others to fearch for it after the fame
manner: The conforming conſtantly our
own Practice, to the unquestionable eter-
nal Rules of Right and Equity; and uſing
continually all juft, honourable, and Chri-
ftian means, to prevail with Others like-
wife to do the fame. On the contrary:
The Object of Falfe and Unchriftian Zeal,
never is an Impartial Inquiring What and
Where the Truth is; but always the pro-
moting violently, establishing, and forcing
men into the Profeffion of fome Imagined
Truth, without ever confidering carefully
whether it be really a Truth or no; And
in like manner, the infifting on the prac-
tice, not of fuch things as are unquestion-
able and undifputed Acts of Virtue and
Righteousness; but of fuch things princi-
pally as are the diftinguishing practices,
or practices built upon the diftinguiſhing
opinions, of particular Sects or Parties.
To explain this matter more particu-
larly: The primary and proper Object of
a Chriftian and good Zeal, is the promo-
ting
true Chriftian Zeal.
405
ing the Practice of Virtue and Righteouf SER M.
nefs. But becauſe right Practice can hard- XVII.
ly be built, at leaft can never be built
with any certainty and fteddineſs, but
upon the Foundation of Truth; therefore
the Object of Zeal first in the Order of
Nature, is the Knowledge of Truth. And
Zeal for fearching after and difcovering
of Truth can never poffibly be exceffive.
The Price of Wisdom, Job xxviii. 18, is
above Rubies; The Topaz of Ethiopia fhail
not equal it, neither shall it be valued
with pure Gold. Buy the Truth, (faith
Solomon,) and fell it not; alfo Wisdom,
and Inflruction, and Understanding, Prov.
xxiii. 23. The like phrafe is uſed by our
Saviour in the words immediately follow-
ing my Text; I counsel thee to buy of
me gold tried in the Fire, (that is, to in-
quire diligently after the uncorrupted Do-
ctrines of the Gofpel, which will bear
the Trial of the moſt impartial examina-
tion ;)
and anoint thine eyes with eye-
falve, that thou mayeft fee; that is, lay
afide blind prejudices and corrupt affecti-
ons, which hinder men from difcerning
the Truth; And fearch the Scriptures
Dd 3
with
406
Of the Nature of
SERM. with an unbiaffed underſtanding, that in
XVII. Them you may find the words of eternal
Life. This Zeal therefore, Zeal for in-
quiring and fearching after the Truth,
Zeal to know perfectly the Will of God,
can never poffibly be faulty in Excess.
All Faultineſs upon This Head, is always
and only on the Defective fide: A want
of Zeal, a Coldnefs and Luke-warmneſs,
a Careleffnefs and Indifferency in men,
whether the things they profefs to be-
lieve, be true or not. They receive things
ignorantly and negligently at all adven-
tures; They take their Religion upon
Truft, upon the Authority of common
Repute; without being at all follicitous
to understand it, or to know whereof they
affirm: As if it was nothing more than
the Cuſtom of the Country, or the Fa-
fhion of the place they live in. Hence,
hough the Doctrine of Chriſt is ſo plain-
ly and clearly expreffed in the Gospel,
that he who runs may read it; and All
Chriſtians, at all Times and in all Places,
have been baptized into the Profeffion of
the Same Faith, and into an Obligation
to obey the Same Commandments; yet
•
for
true Chriftian Zeal.
407
for all this, what hath vulgarly been cal- SER M.
led Chriftian Religion, has been at diffe- XVII.
rent Times in the Same Country, and is
Now in different Countries at the Same
Time, as different from itſelf, as Light is
from Darkneſs: God having (in great Ju-
ftice) Sent men ftrong Delufion, that they
Should believe a Lye, 2 Theff. ii. 11;
II; that
they ſhould entertain innumerable and in-
credible abfurdities; becauſe they received
not the Truth in the Love thereof, and
according to the Simplicity of the Goſpel
of Chrift. The first, therefore, and ori-
ginal caufe of all corruptions in religion,
is Want of Zeal for inquiring after Truth;
a coldneſs or luke-warmneſs, a careleffneſs
or indifferency in men, whether the things
they profeſs to believe, be true, or not.
But then further; if we have never fo
much Zeal for inquiring after the Truth,
and never fo much Success in That I
quiry; yet ftill even This is nothing with-
out virtuous Practice: And therefore, as
I before obſerved, the Great, the Princi-
pal, the Proper Object of Zeal, is the
Practice of Virtue and True Righteousness.
And here likewife, as well as in the cafe
Dd 4
of
408
Of the Nature of
SER M. of Searching after Truth, there is no room
XVII. for our Zeal to be too Great. Men may
3.
miſtake the Object, and be zealous for
fomething elſe inſtead of Virtue; or, when
the Object is right, the manner and cir-
cumftances in which it expreffes itſelf,
may be very faulty: But the degree of the
Zeal itself; the Zeal for Virtue, Righte-
oufness, and Equity, can never poffibly be
too Great. It is good (faith St Paul) to
be zealously affected always in a good mat-
ter, Gal. iv. 18. And the Zeal of the
2 Cor. is. Corinthians in their liberality to the Poor
of other Churches, is by the fame Apoſtle
commended as highly exemplary. And
in his Epiſtle to Titus, ch. ii. 14, he de-
clares that Chrift gave himſelf for us, and
redeemed us to this very end, that we
might be a people zealous of good Works.
Our Lord himſelf, by a figure of Speech
expreffing a Zeal which cannot be ex-
ceffive, Bleſſed, fays he, are they that hun-
ger and thirſt after righteousness. And
defcribing his Own Practice, My Meat,
fays he, is to do the Will of him that fent
me, and to finish his Work. And again,
Job. ii. 17, The Zeal of thy Houfe bas
eaten
true Chriftian Zeal.
409
eaten me up. And when, in the words SER M.
of the Text, he had feverely rebuked the XVII.
Laodiceans, for being luke-warm and nei-
ther cold nor hot; for making profeffion of
his Religion, and yet being remiſs and
negligent to improve themfelves in vir-
tuous practice, anfwerable to the excel-
lency of the Religion they profeffed; he
adds immediately in the 19th verfe, Be
zealous therefore, and repent. This is the
full Notion of Christian and good Zeal,
with reſpect to the Object about which
it is employed: 'Tis a Zeal for the Know-
ledge of Truth, and for the Practice of
Right; And This Zeal, if it be not faulty
in Other Circumftances, the Degree of it
can never be exceffive; Men can never be
too zealous for inquiring impartially into
Truth, or for doing what is confeffedly and
unquestionably Right.
BUT what has been faid upon This
head, will be ftill further illuftrated, by
confidering, on the Other hand, the na-
ture of Falfe and unchriftian Zeal, with
regard to the Object about which That
alſo is employed. And the Object of That,
as I observed at the Beginning, is always
Some
410
Of the Nature of
SER M. Some Imagined Truth, never carefully ex-
XVII. amined whether it be really fuch; Or elfe
fome Form or Ceremony, of no great mo-
ment to Religion and Virtue; Or perhaps
fome diftinguishing Practice, or Practice
founded upon fome diftinguishing Opini-
on, of fome particular Sect or Party. To
explain this, by Instances: St. Paul re-
lates, that the Corinthians were zealous,
fome of them for Paul, fome of them
for Apollos, and fome for Cephas; and
This their Zeal, he tells them, was not
Spiritual, but carnal; that is to fay, 'twas
not for the Religion of Christ, but for
-Parties among Men. Again: Some (he
tells us,) upon the foundation of Chrift,
inſtead of gold, filver, and precious ftones,
built wood, bay and stubble; materials which
would not bear the Teft of the Fire:
The Meaning is; They were zealous for
Opinions, of which they had never care-
fully examined the Truth; for Doctrines,
which had no uſeful Influence upon Pra-
ctice;
for Forms and Ceremonies, which
made men not at all the more careful to
lead a virtuous Life. And of this fort of
things it is, that our
Saviour fpeaks, in
2
the
true Chriftian Zeal.
411
and
the words following my Text, ver. 17, SER M.
Thou fayeft, I am rich, and increafed with XVII.
goods, and have need of nothing;
knoweft not that thou art wretched, and
miferable, and poor, and blind, and naked.
Again: We read, 2 Sam. xxi. 2, concern-
ing the Gibeonites, to whom Joſhua and
all Ifrael bad folemnly fworn they ſhould
not be deſtroyed, that yet Saul long after
fought to lay them, in his Zeal to the
children of Ifrael and Judah. The Object
of his Zeal was Falfe, as well as the
Manner of it Cruel: It was a Zeal for the
Power and Intereft (as He fanfied) of the
children of Ifrael and Judah, in oppofition
to the Reaſon of the Thing, and to the
Oath of God. To mention but One In-
ftance more: The whole Body of the
Jewish Nation in our Saviour's days, were
extremely zealous for the Obfervation of
the Law: But 'twas a Zeal, without
Knowledge; 'twas a Zeal, without care-
ful Examination ; 'twas a Zeal for the
ceremonial part of the Law, more than
for the moral; 'twas a Zeal for the Tra-
ditions of the Elders, and for the Doc-
trines
412
Of the Nature of
SER M. trines each of their own particular Sect,
XVII. more than for the Law of God: And
Rom. ix.
34, 32.
the Zeal which they had even for the
Law itſelf, was without confidering,
that the very End and Defign of the
Law was to lead men to the Gospel;
that it was itſelf, in its own nature, but
a Type of Chrift; and that God by the
Prophets had all along clearly enough in-
timated, that there was to be fuch a
Change in the Difpenfation. For want of
confidering theſe things carefully and im-
partially, even thofe Jews who were con-
verted, continued ftill, generally fpeak-
ing, all zealous of the Law, Acts xxi.
20: And were very earnest to enforce the
obſervation of it upon Other Chriſtians:
Concerning whom St Paul thus fpeaks,
Gal. iv. 17, They zealously affect you, but
not well.
And Thofe of them who were
not converted, were infinitely zealous, in
their oppofing the Gofpel: I bear them re-
cord, fays St. Paul, Rom. x. 2, that they
have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge; For they being ignorant of
God's righteousness, (of that Method of
Salvation
true Chriftian Zeal.
413
XVII.
Salvation which God has appointed,) and SER M.
going about to eſtabliſh their own righteouſ-
neſs, have not ſubmitted themſelves unto the
righteousness of God; For, Chrift (faith
he) is the End of the Law. Of Theſe, St
Paul himſelf, before his converfion, was
One. According to the perfect manner of
the law of the Fathers, I was zealous
(fays he) towards God, as ye all are this
day, Acts xxii. 3; being more exceedingly
zealous of the traditions of my Fathers,
Galat. i. 14; touching the righteouſneſs
which is in the law, blameless; concerning
zeal, perfecuting the church, Phil. iii. 6;
becauſe I verily thought with myself, that
I ought to do many things contrary to
the Name of Jefus, Acts xxvi. 9.
For when the Object of Zeal, is not
the Searching after Truth and the
Practice of Moral Virtue, but the in-
confiderately and rafhly promoting, vio-
lently and by all means, fome unexamined
or imagined Truth; it often comes to paſs,
that even Zeal itself for Truth, degene-
rates into the moſt inveterate Prejudice,
and moſt incurable Obftinacy againſt it
and
;
414
Of the Nature of
SER M. and puts men upon the moſt unrighteous
XVII. Methods, of propagating (as they think,
but indeed of oppofing) it. They ſhall put
you out of the Synagogues, faith our Savi-
our, Joh. xvi. 2; yea, the time cometh,
that whofoever killeth you, will think that
he doth God fervice. The Reafon follows,
ver. 3; Theſe things will they do unto you,
becauſe they have not known the Father,
nor Me; that is, becauſe they have no true
Notion, either of Natural Religion, or
of Chriftian. The Malignity of this fort
of Prejudice is fet forth to us under a
moft lively and expreffive figure, Acts vii.
57, They stopped their Ears, and ran up-
on Stephen,
took effectual care, not to be convinced
by what he ſhould fay, They were, as
the Pfalmift expreffes it, like the deaf ad-
der that stoppeth her Ears; which refufeth
to bear the Voice of the Charmer, charm be
never fo wifely. Our Saviour defcribes the
unreaſonable Prejudices of the Pharifees,
by the fame figure of speech, Joh. viii.
43; Why do ye not underſtand my Speech?
even becauſe ye cannot hear my word. His
and toned him. They
Meaning
true Chriftian Zeal.
415
Meaning is; Their vitious and corrupt SER M.
inclinations, would not fuffer them to XVII.
hearken to the Truth. And elſewhere in
the fame Goſpel, he more than once ex-
preffes the fame thing again, by ftiling
them Blind. But
'Tis
2dly; The next Mark, by which
True and Chriftian Zeal may be diſtin-
guiſhed from that which is Falfe and
Unchriftian, is the Manner and Circum-
ſtances in which it expreffes itſelf.
manifeft that Zeal cannot be at all a Chri-
Stian Virtue, except it be imployed about
its true and proper Object, the Search af-
ter Truth and the Practice of Right. But
This alone is not fufficient. For, be its
Object never fo good, fo that the Zeal
cannot poffibly be exceffive in its Degree;
yet ſtill by the Manner and Circumftances
in which it expreffes itſelf, it may eafily,
if great Care be not taken, degenerate
into a Falfe and Unchriftian Zeal. Wrath
and Fierceness, Contentiousness and Animo-
fity, Violence and Hatred, are vitious and
ungodly Practices, whether the Object of
a man's zeal be good or bad.
St Paul
was
a
416
Of the Nature of
SER M. was not only faulty for perfecuting the
XVII. Chriftians, when himſelf was a few;
but he would alfo ftill have continued to
have been equally faulty, if he had per-
fecuted the Jews, when Himſelf was a
Chriftian. The character of the great
Author of our Religion is This, Matt.
xii. 18, Behold, my beloved, in whom
my Soul is well pleafed, I will put my Spi-
rit upon him, and he shall show judgment
unto the Gentiles; He fhall not strive, nor
cry, neither shall any man hear his voice
in the streets; A bruifed reed shall be not
break, and fmoaking flax shall be not
quench, till he fend forth judgment unto
victory. And when fome of his own dif-
ciples, beginning to depart from this ex-
ample, would have called for Fire from
Heaven upon the Samaritans, he rebuked
them, faying, Ye know not what manner
of Spirit ye are of. According to this
Great Pattern, St Paul directs, 2 Tim. ii.
24, that the Servant of the Lord muſt not
Atrive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to
teach, patient, in Meekness inftructing
those that oppose themſelves.
2
And he ad-
vifes
1
true Chriftian Zeal.
417
vifes All Chriftians, to let their Mode-SER M
ration be known unto all men: Their Mode- XVII.
ration that is, not a luke-warmneſs or
;
indifferency in Religion, an indifferency
in the great and weightier matters of the
Law, (which is the luke-warmness repro-
ved in the Text, and which is very con-
fiftent with men's being infinitely zealous
about Trifles;) but, by Moderation, St
Paul means That Meeknefs, Calmness, and
Equitableness of Spirit, which very well
agrees with, and indeed ufually accom-
panies, the higheſt poffible Zeal for Truth
and Virtue. The Want of This Spirit
it was, that the fame Apoftle complains
of in the Corinthians, in the following
Whereas there is among you en-
vying and strife and divifions, are ye not 3.
carnal, and walk as men? his Meaning is,
do ye not act like men who are more con-
cerned for your cwn private parties and
pallions, than for the religion of Chrift?
Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have s.
reigned as Kings without us; that is, ye
are puffed up, and grown infolent and
domineering, in your feveral Parties and
manner ;
VOL. IV.
E e
Divi-
I Cor. iii.
I Cor. iv.
418
Of the Nature of
-1
SER M.Divifions, one againſt another. The man-
XVII.
ner of expreffion, is exactly like That
in the Text, where our Saviour, having
rebuked the Church of Laodicea for being
luke-warm and careless as to the Works
or Fruits of true religion, immediately
adds, Yet thou fayeft, I am rich, and in-
creafed with goods, and have need of no-
thing; and knowest not that thou art
wretched, and miferable, and poor, and blind,
and naked.
BUT to proceed: How right foever
the Object of our Zeal be, yet if That
Zeal be accompanied with the Wrath
Jam. i. 20.of man, the nature of it (St James
tells us) is entirely altered, and it work-
eth not the righteoufnefs of God. For
Wars and Fightings, Jam. iv. 1. (that
is Hatred, Animofities, Contentiouſneſs,
and Defire of Rule over each other,) can
proceed from nothing but from your
Lufts, that is, from worldly paffions, not
from Zeal for True religion. And who-
foever takes pleaſure in injuring his Bro-
ther, 'tis abfurd and ridiculous (St John
affures us) for fuch a one to pretend he
2
docs
true Chriftian Zeal.
419
XVII.
does it out of Zeal towards God: If a man SER M.
Say, I love God, and hateth his Brother, be
is a Liar, 1 Joh. iv. 20.
3dly and Laftly. THE Last particular,
by which a religious Zeal is diftinguiſhed
from a human paffion, and by which it
becomes truly and properly a Chriftian
virtue, is the End or Intention towards
which it is directed. A Zeal for inqui-
ring after Truth may poffibly be nothing
but Curioſity; and a Zeal even for doing
what is right, may poffibly fometimes
proceed merely from Temporal Views. In
which cafes, poffibly indeed it may be
an uſeful and commendable Paffion; pro-
vided the Manner and Circumstances, in
which it expreffes itſelf, be not faulty.
But nothing makes it properly a Chriftian
virtue, but when, together with all the
forementioned requifites, the End alſo or
Intention, to which it is ultimately di-
rected, is the Honour and Glory of God.
By the Honour and Glory of God, always
taking care that we mean not any thing
imaginary and enthufiaftick, which often
turns religious zeal into fome of the worst
and
4.20
Of the Nature of, &c.
SER M. and moft pernicious of all vices; but that
XVII. thereby be conftantly meant the eſtabliſh-
ment of God's Kingdom of righteoufnefs
bere, in Truth and Peace and Charity;
in order to the falvation of men's fouls
bereafter in his eternal Kingdom of Glory.
I conclude therefore with the words of the
wife Son of Sirach, Eccluf. vii. 36. What-
foever thou takeft in hand, remember the End,
and thou shalt never do amifs.
The End of VOL. IV.
1
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